Who the Clix? Elongated Man

Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.

For the full Who The Clix? archive, click here.

Appearances in Heroclix: The Flash, Collateral Damage
First Appearance: The Flash #112
Team Affiliations: Justice League, Doom Patrol, Black Lantern Corps

When he was younger, Ralph Dibny was intrigued with contortionism. He learned that all of the best body-benders drank a popular soda called Gingold, made from the gingo fruit of the Yucatan. As he grew older, he focused on becoming an expert chemist and refined the extraction process used to make the soda. The concentrate he drank gave him his superhuman elasticity.
At first, the Flash suspected that the Elongated Man (as Dibny began to call himself) was a criminal. However, Dibny used his superior detective skills to capture the true criminals and clear his name. Dibny went on to reveal his secret identity to the public and marry the love of his life, Sue. They went on to have many adventures together, both eventually joining the JLA.

Ralph and Sue were one of, if not the, happiest couples in the superhero community until Sue’s murder by Jean Loring. After Sue’s death, Ralph deals with a cult obsessed with resurrecting the recently deceased Superboy. Ralph goes to a ceremony of the group and is mentally scarred by the ceremony. Afterwards, Ralph is part of a group that finds Dr. Fate’s helmet and follows the instructions of a voice the others fail to hear in order to resurrect Sue.

Upon completion of the ceremony, Felix Faust reveals that he was within the helmet impersonating Nabu and intended to sacrifice Ralph for his own freedom. Ralph reveals to Faust that he knew the truth and had followed the instructions in order to trap Felix, and Faust’s master Neron, in Dr. Fate’s tower for eternity. Before Neron can learn this, he kills Dibny and thereby locking his own cell door.

Through this tragedy, however, Ralph achieves his goal. He is reunited with Sue in the afterlife and the pair work as ghost detectives.