There may have been characters that I thought were cooler, but the superhero I most identified with as a kid had to be Elongated Man. He loved having his powers and didn't want to keep his identity a secret. He had red hair and loved a good mystery. He never became quite as popular as some of the others he shared adventures with. I even had a brother named Ralph. I hope James Gunn likes Ralph Dibny too and that he finds a place for him in the DCU.
Thank you, thank you!! And the original costume, too! Yeah, I also was a fan. I think I loved that he was basically a regular person, and married to that nice Sue lady. "Identity Crisis" broke my heart - so many sad moments in that series.
ReplyDeleteRalph is still wearing his purple mask on this cover. So, evidently, this is still early in his crime-fighting career. Perhaps even before he met Sue! He obviously hasn't met Moon Knight, as yet.
ReplyDeleteGiven all that, plus the presence of Thor and a bunch of high-tech henchmen, I will guess that Tomorrow Man is up to his old temporal-tampering tricks, again. Perhaps even in collusion with Per Degaton!
Ralph may have worn the mask to give him something to standout. With these beings, it might feel he needs it. I think Thor might have used Ralph for his detective skill first though.
ReplyDeleteI would like to have seen more of Ralph on Flash too. I know the actor committed social "crimes" YEARS ago, but if the actor had reformed and did not act wrong on the set didn't he earn a second chance?
Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man... add Kang the Conqueror, the Time Trapper, Degaton, and the Master, and we have at least a really good start to a group of Time Wreckers.
ReplyDelete@Tobor: I agree that Harley Sawyer was given a bum deal over the matter. It's an addition of insult to injury that he was fired over years-ago comments, while an admitted domestic abuser not only got to keep her role in the movies, but was expressly re-hired for it.
For the longest time growing up, I hated EM because I thought he was a ripoff of Plastic Man, who I enjoyed much more, thanks to his comics and the Saturday morning cartoon show. Now, knowing all the behind the scenes “grief” that came from who owned Plas and how DC could and couldn’t use him and the such, makes me appreciate EM and his legacy.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard about any BTS grief. The story I read is that Julius Schwartz didn't know at the time that DC owned the rights to Plastic Man, so he and John Broome created a new stretchable hero. He's said that he would have used Plas if he had known he could.
DeleteI had hoped that the CW would spinoff Elongated Man. I think it would have been a hit for the network. Ralph and Sue solving mysteries would been fun.
ReplyDelete@ 3 Bobs: truth is more stretchable than fiction.
ReplyDeleteP.S.---maybe it's Ralph that needs Thor as back-up. Having already deduced that either Zarrko or Degaton has accidentally deleted Moon Knight from history in an attempt to do the same to Pharaoh Rama-Tut!
ReplyDeleteat some point, Plastic man, Elongated man & Mr. Fantastic must get there team up ! or is that too much of a stretch…
ReplyDeleteSimon, Plas is off somewhere with Woozy Winks, but for a stretchable group, search here for the Expansion Team.
ReplyDeleteCue theme song (a mixed-in version of "Rubber Band Man").
ReplyDeleteP.S.---re: the Expansion Team. Shouldn't the Metal Men (from STF #3466) technically be part of one of the two Roboforces?
ReplyDeleteMaybe even a _third_ Roboforce?
ReplyDelete