"Hello, there. I'm the World-Famous Elongated Man" - Ralph Dibny

Quote taken from numerous publications

History

  Growing up in the small prairie town of Waymore, Nebraska, young Ralph Dibny dreamed of big-city fame and fortune. Worrying far more about being ignored than becoming a spectacle, he played the part of prankster and showoff during his entire childhood. To his dismay however, his "shows" were always overshadowed by the achievements of his older brother Ken - star football player, Eagle Scout, and the light of his school. Ralph wanted to find a way to make an alternative career, preferably in showbiz, but he couldn't sing, couldn't dance... But he was skinny! And there were those who had actually turned their skinniness into a career - the "India rubber-men" that he had always loved to watch at carnival side shows.

  Training for years, but never coming close to being even half as agile as the India rubber-men, Ralph became more and more convinced that there was a trade secret behind their skills. In his late teens, he started traveling around, going from carnival to carnival and talking to "rubber-men" at every opportunity, always getting the answer that the trade secret did not exist.

  However, Ralph found a peculiarity that all the contortionists had in common - they were all very fond of the soda pop called "Gingold", made from juice of the rare Gingo fruit of the Yucatán.

  Ralph deduced that if the rubber-men did not drink Gingold to become stretchable, the secret might lie in the soda pop unknowingly to them. In a final attempt to solve the riddle, he distilled the raw essence of the Gingo fruit and drank it. First nothing happened, but later, when he least expected it, Ralph discovered that the extract had given him the ability to stretch his body to great lengths.

  While his brother Ken started a political career, Ralph left Waymore to embark on a career on his own - not as a contortionist, but as a super-hero. He crafted a purple, elastic costume for himself and, calling himself "the Elongated Man", and headed for Central City, home of the second Flash. The Flash originally believed Ralph to be a villain responsible for a series of odd robberies in the city, but after they managed to capture the real criminals together, the two heroes became lifetime friends.

  By the time that Ralph hit Manhattan, he had made some money from TV shows and stage appearances. Being content with a life of fame, Ralph was one of the first super-heroes ever to reveal his identity to the world. Since this day, he always introduces himself as "Ralph Dibny - the World-Famous Elongated Man".

  However, his first publicity stunt in New York was to crash the debutante ball of the rich, young, and beautiful Sue Dearbon, while checking for jewel thieves. Sue immediately became intrigued by the Stretchable Sleuth, and shortly after, this odd couple became married. The marriage has endured for almost ten years now, and their initially rather un serious relationship has evolved to deep and true love.

  Though Ralph and Sue were different in many respects, they had one thing in common: both craved excitement and adventure. For the better part of the decade, they traveled around the world on a nearly endless honeymoon, in American small-towns and big cities, in Europe and South America, and wherever they went, Ralph always found a bizarre mystery that cried out to be solved by the effective sleuthing of the Elongated Man. Inspired by famous detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and Hamilton Drew, Ralph refined his deductive skills during this time, becoming the master detective he is today. He thwarted the schemes of normal criminals as well as gimmicked ones such as Captain Boomerang, Master Zero, the Phantom General, the Calculator, and the Intangibles, even becoming the costumed criminal called the Molder himself, for a time when he suffered from amnesia.

  Frequently, he worked together with the Flash, the Batman, and even the entire Justice League of America. After assisting the League on a few cases - among them the rescue of the time-lost Seven Soldiers of Victory - the Elongated Man was nominated for League membership by the Flash, and the other members agreed. On his first official JLA case, Ralph distinguished himself by rescuing his fellow members from the Queen Bee. During his tenure with the JLA, the Ductile Detective added his light-heartedness to the team, sometimes pushing the limits, but, as the Atom once said, "he always came through in the pinch". When the League disbanded, and re-formed as a full-time gig, Ralph joined up, with Sue tagging along, settling down with her hubby in JLA's Detroit bunker.

  The couple's globetrotting resumed after this JLA disbanded at the hands of Professor Ivo's androids. However, Ralph soon came to miss the companionship (and added fame) of the League days. When Maxwell Lord approached him to join the new European branch of Justice League International, Ralph accepted without hesitation. Moving to Paris, both Ralph and Sue became durable members of the various incarnations of the JLI and the JLE.

  When the Modoran dictator and super-villain known as Sonar threatened the peace in Europe, Ralph and Sue stepped in and saved the day, defeating villains such as Copperhead, Warp, and Eurocrime in the process. This gave Ralph's solo career a vitamin injection, something that eventually made the couple decide to quit the League and start traveling again. For a while they were accompanied by Duke Donald, an English ghost they had encountered in the JLE's castle in London. Ralph returned to assist the League in battle against threats such as the Overmaster and Parallax, but did not stay as a permanent member. After some time, the JLI disbanded. When the original Justice League of America re-formed, Ralph was considered for membership, but the offer instead went to Plastic Man, whose powers had more diversity than Ralph's.

  Later, the Elongated Man and Sue assisted Starman Jack Knight, Ted Knight, and the Shade to fight the menace of Culp and his villain hordes in Opal City. During these events Ralph met his childhood idol, the famous (and long-lived) 19th century detective Hamilton Drew, who spoke appreciatively of Ralph's detective career. After Culp's threat was ended, Ralph and Sue decided to stay in Opal for the foreseeable future.

  Although still based in Opal, Ralph has since been active with other heroes, among them Superman, Batman, and Thayer Jost’s new Doom Patrol, of which he was briefly a member. Meanwhile, Sue has started a career as a renowned writer of mystery novels, something which presumably brings in the money to their "family".

  Most recently, Ralph was approached by Maxwell Lord to join a group of super-heroes formerly active in Justice League International.

  Behind Ralph's goofy acts and showoff mentality, one can find the traces of a mature, kind man, willing to do good. By nature, Ralph is first and foremost a detective, and detection is one of the few things he is ever serious about. Even his teammates and associates have often been surprised to hear the jokester spout off a series of brilliant analytical deductions. Hence, once every year, Sue surprises Ralph with a custom-tailored birthday mystery.

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