I am a huge Ralph Dibny fan and I really hate that he has gotten the short end of the stick for so long. It all started with Plastic Man getting selected instead of him for Grant Morrison's JLA series due to a perceived higher profile. I never liked that decision, Plastic Man never really fit in there and I always felt that he stole the spot. One of the great things about Ralph was his relationship with his wife, Sue Dibny. When DC unleashed all sorts of terrible things on her and ultimately killed her, it did not sit well with me at all. The Dibny's were supposed to be two of DC's lighter characters and this all just felt so wrong. I thought maybe it would propel Ralph into the spotlight, but his big storyline in 52 was mostly him moping around until he was eventually killed off as well. All would have been forgiven if he and Sue were two of the heroes brought back at the end of the Blackest Night mini series, but they were not included. There is still a White Lantern ring floating around out there, so I really hope they are revived by the time the Brightest Day mini ends.
I agree with you for all those reasons and more. didn't they "kill" off Plastic Man when the JLA and JSA teamed up with the Freedom Fighters way back when?
ReplyDeletePlas is an OK character, but I've never liked him being included in the DCU proper, much like Captain Marvel. I much prefer Ralph.
and everything they did to Ralph and Sue... no wonder I don't read comic books any more.
David
Stretch-O!
ReplyDeleteYou're familiar with Earth-B, designated for Bob Haney?...
On Earth-D, this Dave imagines that the Justice League was founded by Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman; with Batman and Superman, and possibly Captain Marvel and Plastic Man. There is some debate on Earth-D over this, or whether Cap and Plas joined prior to Green Arrow...
I SOOOOO want to see Plas, Ralph, Reed and Jimmy Olsen duke it out. That would be so geektacular!
I've always loved Ralph but I've also loved Plas. I've seen Plas as an icon, with his toy and cartoon exposure in the 70s. I'm glad he finally made the cut.
ReplyDeleteBuuuut I love Ralph, too. It's wrong what they did to him and I wish they'd undo it.
I completely agree on your vision about Ralph. Even though he became my favorite DC character precisely because Identity Crisis and 52 (I always assumed that a crisis would restore them along with Ted Kord).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I loved the pic. I posted about this post in my blog about the Elongated Man".
btw, where did you get that Elongated Man pic?
ReplyDeleteIt's from an issue of Booster Gold.
ReplyDeleteI read Ralph's origin story when it hit the stands, and was annoyed when they later swapped his purple outfit for an early, sillier version of the one on that cover, apparently to make him look less like Reed Richards and more like Plas, who had not yet been revived. I was happy when the purple/white costume improved on the original. I hope he and Sue will be retconned soon!
ReplyDelete