Ralph Dibny's character development in The Flash Season 4

Season 4 of The Flash returns January 16 with the tenth episode, "The Trial of the Flash," and more than a few fans of the show are hoping that our favorite ductile detective will be involved in the plot. The episode following that will be titled "The Elongated Knight Rises," which suggests it'll be a major moment in Ralph's story arc.

The Flash's treatment of Ralph Dibny continues to be debated by viewers of all walks. As this blog has just finished going over the first bunch of stories featuring Ralph in the comics, I can say I actually welcomed seeing the character being reinterpreted with flaws and a character arc. As he was introduced as a possible rogue who turned out to be a recurring guest star superhero in the original comics, the original version of Ralph didn't have a lot of characterization.

Over on Reddit's community for The Flash, user electrickittenshark had quite a bit to say about how they believe Ralph's character will develop in the coming episodes of the show. With their permission, I am quoting large parts of that post below, some editing done:

[Ralph is] an opportunity for Barry to reflect on his own identity as a hero. In "Elongated Journey Into Night" we are introduced to this sleazy, self-centred version of Ralph and throughout the episode Barry keeps stating that Ralph is terrible person who won't change. One of the reasons why Barry is kind of a judgemental douche at first is because his judgment is being tainted by his own painful experiences.

When Ralph turns out to be dirty cop who framed a man for murder, Barry is reminded of how his own father was falsely accused of killing his mother. When Ralph shows up again, Barry who seems to have found peace at this point is reminded of these old wounds. It’s only when Caitlin a character who has struggled with her own shadow self (Killer Frost) calls Barry out, that Barry even considers the possibility that he is in the wrong. Instead of seeing Ralph as an egomaniacal jerk who committed perjury for some kind of glory Barry is forced to see Ralph as a man who had the best of intentions and genuinely believed that he was doing the right thing. Barry ends up being honest about all the bad choices he made to protect the city (e.g. that totally unethical pipeline prison). Ralph Dibny represents Barry’s own selfishness, lack of self-awareness and short-sightedness as a hero.

Dibny states “I was a good cop, I was a good detective…” which implies that he doesn't see himself as a good man now. So, Barry’s initial perception of Ralph is how Ralph actually sees himself. It’s only when Barry
a) calls Ralph out on his crap and forces him to take responsibility for his choices and
b) tells Ralph that he is still and can be a good man that Ralph decides to do something selfless.

Barry suggesting the name ‘Plastic Man’ isn't just a cute little comic book reference, it foreshadows Ralph’s arc. Plastic Man like Ralph is a crook and goofy sleazebag. Ralph’s arc through the season is to transform from Plastic Man to the more moral and compassionate Elongated Man.

In "Girl's Night Out," Ralph continues to act as a shadow self by pushing Barry to go to a strip club and it is because of Ralph’s influence Barry kind of neglects his duties as the Flash. In "When Harry Met Harry," Barry acts as Ralph’s heart and moral compass. This episode continues to highlight Ralph’s fatal flaws: his pride and his stubbornness. There are parallels between Ralph single minded pursuit of Bison at all costs and Ralph’s pursuit of the woman’s murder 5 years ago. In both cases, there is a huge price to pay. For his past case Ralph compromised his morals and committed perjury whereas now he compromised the civilian’s safety and a little girl got hurt. Ralph completely dismisses Barry’s advice at first because of his own pride. He was Barry’s senior after all, but once he sees how much damage he has caused he is wracked with guilt. Barry’s speech about the importance of having a support system and his promise to protect Ralph’s heart is a very pivotal moment.

For five years, Ralph has been completely alone. He had no support system. He hasn't been shown compassion, empathy or friendship for a while. Basically, he is good man who is covered with 50 layers of grime and shit. He needs two things to develop: a) decent support system and b) someone who will call him out on his crap. We see his potential as a caring hero when he visits the girl at the hospital and returns the necklace to the tribe.

Here is where we start to see a pattern:
1) Ralph acts like a selfish dickhead.
2) He gets a metaphorical kick in the balls (i.e. someone tells him he is being stupid and selfish)
3) He also gets a dose of kindness or understanding from someone else.
4) Ralph apologises and takes responsibility for his actions. (Super important!)
5) He reveals more of his ‘heart’ (i.e. his sense of empathy and compassion)

This pattern is repeated in "Don't Run." Ralph’s lack of self-awareness and social skills end up driving Caitlin away. Ralph doesn't realize that his teasing is hurting Caitlin until Cisco tells him to SHUT HIS BIG MOUTH! When Cisco comes back and apologises, Ralph admits that he was a dick (private and public). Just like "When Harry Met Harry," he reveals his heart towards the end of the episode, (i.e decorating the West household.)

I think it's important to highlight how Ralph is treated like an outsider and butt-monkey by Team Flash. He isn’t taken seriously as a private investigator or as a hero. He is not invited to the bachelor party or wedding. Nobody in the lab geeks out over his powers (there are multiple scenes of him showing off his powers and everyone else is just ‘meh’) and no one thinks about asking this expert detective for help. His bland grey costume and lack of a Cisco approved code name symbolizes his lack of identity as a hero and how he isn't being taken seriously.

Here’s what needs to happen next, there has to be an episode where Ralph really proves himself as a hero and a detective. Which will probably happen in "The Elongated Knight Rises." He needs to solidify his identity as a hero and decide what kind of man/hero he wants to be. He needs a mission statement and maybe even his own theme song.

As for Ralph’s sexist behaviour we need to have a genuinely strong woman to call him out on his chauvinistic behaviour by telling Ralph how being a desperate horndog drives women away. This has to be someone who Ralph respects, admires and sees as a friend.

The main point I am trying to make in my long long post is that Ralph’s ability to stretch, bend and twist mirrors his own ability to change and adapt. He may be intolerable now but we still have a lot of episodes left. Who knows he could end up being one of the most likeable characters on the show.

I really dug electrickittenshark's opinions of Ralph, and when someone suggested that Ralph needs to crack about being able to stretch "everything," they proposed this scene with Sue in the future:

You know what would be really funny, if his ability to stretch every part of his body was some kind of inside joke between Ralph and Sue.

Scene: Ralph stretches his neck across the room to talk to Sue or give her a kiss.

Caitlin: "How are you not weirded out by...this?"

Sue: "Oh, you get used to it, Ralph is basically a cartoon character. A really handsome cartoon character, mind you. (With a cheeky smile on her face) Plus there are some obvious benifits of being able to stretch every part of your body. He can reach those hard to get places, you know?"

Ralph winks at Sue and they giggle secretly. They know...They know. 

Further commenting on the role of a good woman who can help Ralph evolve, they highlighted the relationships Ralph has with the two main female characters on the show:

I think that Iris will be more brutally honest with him about his creepy behaviour and Caitlin will provide her dose of kindness. Or maybe Sue will straigten him out who knows...

I always had my own personal headcanon that Dibny may have suffered from depression during those five years (he binge eats, drinks, his spirit was crushed, his loneliness). I think he has been alone for so long that he has turned into a really desperate horndog who comes on way too strong. More than anything Ralph may want some kind of intimacy/companionship but he goes about approaching women the wrong way. 

I have to agree about Ralph's depression. Note that in "Elongated Journey Into Night" when he transforms his gut into abs, he says, "I'm back!" In the following episodes, Ralph has changed his hairstyle (he lazily let his bangs dangle over his forehead, then in the next episode, he has it combed to the side) and wears more stylish clothing. It's as if he was also talking about his sense of self worth.

They also commented on their hopes of Ralph's eventual relationship with Sue:

I think in one of the interviews they mentioned that Ralph and Sue were endgame, so they will introduce Sue eventually. I am not sure how they will write her though. I want to see a loving partnership between the two where both of them are equals. Maybe Sue's skills/powers could balance Ralph's. I don't like the typical dramatic CW relationship with lies, misunderstandings and 'will they wont they' nonsense.

Ralph and Sue's relationship should be more playful and light. It would be great if they started out as friends who goof off together and solve mysteries and then they turned into this dorky but touching couple. When I think about them, I kind of imagine two people who have inside jokes, tease each other, play silly little games and constantly flirt with each other. I think the Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt kind of dynamic would work well for them. 

And when a comment arose about why on earth we have to have every character adhere to moral standards, electrickittenshark offered this:

The thing with writing a 'rogue' character or a character with questionable morals is that you don't want to frame his behavior the wrong way. You don't want a character who ends up adovacting sexism and objectification. I think this why more feminist/politically correct people bash Ralph's character so much. They are worried that Ralph is pushing forward a negative message.

BUT here's the thing: Ralph's sexism is being framed negatively in the show. Iris, Joe, Barry, Cisco and Caitlin don't condone his behavior. There are moments when the other characters are like, "Dammit Ralph!" His behavior isn't rewarded. He doesn't get a girl and he won't have a healthy or long-lasting relationship until he stops objectifying women and treats them like people.

 I'm glad this was pointed out. When we first see Ralph, he drops bad news on a woman about her husband, and as she grieves, he hits on her (including rubbing her shoulders without her okay, which really shouldn't be done), but it's made clear that she doesn't welcome this advance and slaps him. Both Iris and Caitlin make it clear that they are not amused by his antics.

Well, we have just a little over two weeks before The Flash—and hopefully Ralph—returns to our screens. Let's see how well these observations play out.

Happy new year!

The Pied Piper's Double Doom!

 Ralph's last appearance in The Flash for nearly eight years was in #138. Nine months after this issue, Ralph moved to a solo backup feature in Detective Comics, but we'll get on the details of that next time.

Seeing Ralph out of the book he debuted in was of course the same team that saw him appear: John Broome writing, Carmine Infantino on art, and Joe Giella on inks.

The front cover continues the tradition of turning a panel in the story into the cover, with a layout change, of course. And this is certainly quite the dynamic cover with how the Pied Piper is directly in the middle with the two heroes clearly in his power. Also, Infantino is clearly having fun with Ralph's body by fitting it around that text, likely the work of Mr. Gaspar Saladino. (But since work went uncredited at the time, it's difficult to pin down exactly who did the lettering for a lot of these comics.)

On to the splash page! Using a three-panel design, the text and image tantalize us with what's to come in the story. Even without the text, the motion indicated in the artwork already suggests that Ralph and Barry are being influenced by the Pied Piper to commit crime somehow.

The story opens with two guards making sure no one enters the Tower of Tower City, which must be near Central City. The text indicates that the Tower was basically a fortress that settlers used to fight off "Indians" three hundred years ago when it was just Tower Town. For some reason, instead of upkeeping the original tower, it's been rebuilt. Well, I guess it was 300 years ago.

Even more bafflingly, a monarch of an undisclosed European country has loaned their royal jewels to Tower City and they're keeping them in the top of the Tower. Under guard, of course. I guess the Tower is the museum they got. But bafflingly, the jewels have been stolen when the story properly starts.

The page cuts to the Pied Piper, who is admiring the Star of India, the stolen gem and thinking about how clever he is to use superheroes as his "plundering puppets." I like that his thoughts use alliterative words.

On this page, we see the Piper's previous plot to steal the Star of India in action as he recognizes Ralph Dibny in a crowd at Tower Town. Using a small pipe, he programs Ralph to do his bidding, which he did the previous night, playing a special turne that makes Ralph leave his hotel room  and use his stretching powers to cross the moat and reach up to the top of the Tower.

This is a really good flashback page. Note the jagged edges around the panels and the profile of the Piper on the left side giving us the idea that this isn't happening in the present, but the past.

You'll notice a woman near Ralph in the first two main panels, which seems to match Sue as we see her later in the story. So they at least don't forget her anymore.

The next page shows Ralph breaking in to steal the jewels, smashing the case, which is a surprise that it doesn't alert the guard who's standing right outside. The page is particularly creepy, which is good since it's featuring Ralph acting out of character. The Piper has Ralph turn the loot over to him, then wipes his memory of what he's just done.

It's important to note that this would be mind control, not hypnosis. Hypnosis only offers suggestions or helps to dig up memories. Mind control in this sense is basically science fiction and can be depicted however they want.

 Ralph reads of the mysterious crimes in the paper, with Sue realizing he'll be off on a case in a moment. This is basically going to be the template for their cases in Detective Comics. Surprisingly, they happen to have a double date with Barry Allen and Iris West that night. Iris and Sue will spend the day shopping. Also something we'll see more of in the future...

Infantino draws the Dibnys as a fairly sweet and loving couple and it's still amazing how much motion he manages to depict in these still images. Sue herself is particularly glamorous, and you can easily pick up on the idea that they love each other very much and that they're from very different backgrounds.

Barry begins investigating the Tower City robbery, but while he's at the tower, the Piper puts him under mind control as well and has him rob the Tower City bank at super speed, so fast no one sees it happen. He boasts at his control of Barry for an hour before sending him back to the Tower and wiping his memory. The only thing is, Barry does the robbery at super speed, but finds the Piper back in his hideout in his standard garb. How did the Piper have enough time to get back, much less change clothes?

Barry has noticed footprints that are too far apart for any normal human, and finding Ralph at the Tower City Bank, he tells him that only he could have committed the robbery at the Tower. (I guess the DC staff hadn't yet decided Plastic Man existed in this world or Barry doesn't know about Jimmy Olsen as Elastic Lad.)

I'm pretty sure at the time of writing this story, it wasn't the plan for Ralph to move into a backup feature in Detective Comics and the plan was that he'd be back in the The Flash, but in this moment, we have an echo to his first appearance where Barry suspects he might be responsible for crimes. And it just so happens that it's his last regular guest star appearance for a very long time. So, this moment serves as nearly a fitting bookend for this chapter of Ralph's appearances in The Flash.

Ralph informs Barry that the clocks stopped in mere milliseconds from each other. The only one who could move that fast would be Barry himself.

The two realize they must have been forced to do these robberies and forget, which is a totally reasonable line of thought. They go back to Ralph's hotel room, where they decide to take precautions if it ever happens again.

The two heroes paint the soles of their feet with special paint that'll leave infra-red traces for them to follow. I love how Ralph has elongated his leg to easily paint his foot, just showing off what he can do with his powers.

Barry then asks Ralph for some gingold, which he claims should allow him to stretch. Given what's revealed about gingold later, this shouldn't work, but because it's only been established that it gives people elastic powers, it works just fine.

Ralph notes that a half hour vanishes as Barry drinks the gingold, meaning they've been made to do another crime. They leap into action with the infra-red lamp, showing their prints.

I really hope The Flash TV show has Ralph ride on Barry's shoulders sometime. It's a classic position for them.

The Piper is informed of Ralph and Barry arriving by his "musical radar system." If you're going to balk at a musical radar that has specific alarms for the wavelengths of the heroes, you just haven't been paying much attention. It's the Silver Age, after all.

Being alerted to the heroes arriving, the Piper steps outside and uses his mind control to make Ralph stretch and twist himself into a super long corkscrew, and this is of course where the scene depicted on the cover comes from. Barry runs on empty air as if he's stuck on a treadmill. Because gravity doesn't matter with super speed.

Infantino of course draws this absolutely insane sequence with nearly cinematic visuals.

Using the powers granted him by gingold, Barry manages to stretch his arm and knock the pipes away from Piper, breaking his control of the heroes. He runs back inside to get another pair of pipes because he forgets that he's up against someone with super speed.

Barry stops to help Ralph untwist himself, which causes a small tornado due to Barry doing it at super speed. This wrecks the Piper's house, preventing him from using another pair of pipes, Ralph snatching him out at the last minute. Barry then stops the tornado from damaging anything else in the city.

Ralph manages to meet Iris and Sue in time for their double date, but Barry arrives ten minutes late, due to dealing with reporters at the police station and returning the stolen goods to their owners. Iris gives him a tongue lashing, but what can he do?

Ralph and Sue totally know Barry's the Flash, right? Why else would they pair up with Barry and Iris—a police scientist and a reporter—for a double date?

So, here we are at the end of Ralph's appearances in The Flash as a guest star for awhile. When he returns to the pages of The Flash in #206, it's only for a small run of backup stories. I wish I had the story of why they decided to give Ralph his backup in Detective Comics and why five solo stories ran in The Flash. If anyone knows, feel free to drop a comment.

But what about this story? Frankly... it's a fun story at first glance. When examined closely, it begins to show some glaring weaknesses. Suddenly Piper must also have super speed to do some of the things that he does. I'm not sure why Barry had to stop to help Ralph recover instead of letting him snap back to normal instead of just apprehending the Pied Piper. But hey, we wouldn't have gotten those cool panels with the tornado that I didn't show you.

So, once again, we get some "nerfing" going on in a team up, though it's not quite as glaringly bad. Perhaps this is why Ralph disappeared from The Flash for so long: they were having trouble coming up with stories that used him without becoming a detriment to both characters. But hey, we got more Sue!

Next time, we get to Detective Comics at last.

TV Review - "Don't Run"

Ralph Dibny returns to The Flash proper after a two-week absence (not counting the stretched scene from two weeks ago). But before anyone asks where he was during the crossover last week, he was RIGHT HERE!

Okay, so that's actually just an action figure on my desk. Ralph didn't get a single mention. Hartley Sawyer claimed that Ralph was caring for his sick goldfish. Fan theories ranged from him not being invited to Barry and Iris' wedding, to him deciding not to attend, to him going to a strip club. Some even suggested that he was still at the hospital seeing to the little girl he'd inadvertently harmed in "When Harry Met Harry." No official in-universe explanation exists, so take your pick or create your own.

In the lead up to the midseason finale of The Flash, the CW released a deleted scene and a "stretched scene," both featuring Ralph. They can be viewed above.

 Holiday stress hits Team Flash hard. After Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris' (Candice Patton) wedding (and honeymoon), Barry is abducted by Clifford Devoe, the Thinker (Neil Sandilands). Meanwhile, Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) is kidnapped by Amunet Black (Katee Sackoff) to perform a life-saving surgery under threat of death. This leaves Iris forced to choose who to rescue with only Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Ralph able to rescue them. But is Team Flash being played into a larger scheme?

In addition, Ralph gets to reconsider how he handles relationships.

 With a light holiday theme, "Don't Run" delivered everything we'd want for a midseason finale. Adventure, action, intrigue, humor, heart, and even a cliffhanger making us all look forward to January 16.

Viewers in the US may view "Don't Run" at no charge during a limited availability window on the CW website and app. With the current licensing agreement, the entire fourth season of The Flash will be available on Netflix in June, 2018. Digital versions of the episode may be purchased on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, Google Play and other retailers of digital video content. Blu-Ray and DVD copies of the season are expected to be available for sale in or by September, 2018.

Non-US viewers should check their local listings, the websites of the channels that air The Flash, and digital video retailers.