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.

Who is Gaspar Saladino?

The work of a letterer might seem small in the line of comic production. Even moreso in modern comics in which the work can be done with computers. Yet the role is quite important, ensuring that the text is placed in a readable layout, flowing nicely for the readers and that it doesn't detract from the art. If this is done poorly, the resulting comic book can be dissatisfying, even with a good story and art. So, we here at Dibny Diaries would like to pay tribute to everyone who helped make the legendary comics we break down.

Gaspar Saladino was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 1, 1927. By the age of 20, he'd attended Manhattan's School of Industrial Art for his high school education and had begun his work in comics by inking for Funnies Inc., and then later served two years in Japan in public relations for the military.

In 1949, he showed some samples of his work to the staff at what would become DC Comics. Editor Julius Schwartz was unimpressed with his art style, but liked the lettering. In 1950, he debuted in National Publications' Romance Trail, a western magazine. He lettered Romance by Mail, which was drawn by Carmine Infantino and inked by Joe Giella, who he would later work with on the legendary relaunch of superhero titles that marked the beginning of the Silver Age. This would, of course, include the first Elongated Man stories in The Flash.

Comics were generally produced onsite in those days and Gaspar would work with the artists to ensure that the lettering worked naturally with the art. His calligraphy was aesthetically pleasing and easy to read, and about 1966 to 1967, he was given the main tasks of lettering and designing logos and house ads at DC, although the work was considered freelancing. He would also do freelance lettering and design work for Marvel and other smaller comic companies that would come along. He would remain actively employed in lettering until about 2002 when it seems he retired, only doing occasional work.

He married his wife Celeste in 1957 and moved to Plainview, Long Island in 1959, where he lived until his death on August 4, 2016. He is survived by his three children and five grandchildren.

The Curious Absence of Ralph Dibny from "And Therefore I Am"

Last night's episode of The Flash hadn't featured Hartley Sawyer's Ralph Dibny in any publicity photos, and I noted that he wasn't credited in the guest star credits either. Ralph was entirely absent from the episode with no explanation. That is, aside from the "Stretched Scene" which doubled as a commercial for Microsoft's Surface computers.

In the "stretched scene" Ralph chats with Iris West (Candice Patton), and he's sporting a pair of glasses, which he explains Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes, not appearing in this scene) set up with a HUD. He references Cyrano DeBergerac (getting the name wrong, Iris corrects him), a play with a scene in which a writer remotely provides words for someone to say. We then see a small bit of text Ralph is seemingly going to read off.

Umm, guys? They might have needed a sugar boost and decided to treat themselves to one.

As Ralph leaves, Iris reminds him not to "interrupt a bride in wedding plan mode." He respectfully motions that the point has been taken and goes on his way.

It was rather ironic that Ralph was not in the episode as part of it featured Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) investigating Clifford DeVoe (Neil Sandilands), who manages to report Barry's investigation as harassment to the police, getting Barry suspended. Barry's over-reach into trying to dig up evidence on DeVoe echoes the situation that got Ralph removed from the police force, and not seeing Ralph react to this turn of events feels like a missed opportunity.

Next week is the major crossover between the DC shows on the CW, and Hartley Sawyer has reported that he is not in it, which is strange as the setting for the crossover is Barry and Iris' wedding, and you would imagine that Ralph would have attended since he's in their lives. Perhaps we'll see yet another "Stretched Scene" revealing where he is.

In a little bit of trivia, when Stephen DeStefano designed Ralph's third costume in the comics, he had the idea to give him glasses, specifically "granny style" glasses. While this was nixed and I can't recall Ralph wearing glasses in any comics I've seen, it's interesting to see him with glasses that are also going to be a tool in his investigations on The Flash.

The Man Who Mastered Absolute Zero!

Ralph's penultimate appearance as a recurring character in The Flash for nearly eight years was in #134. Quite a familiar team by now was on board with this one: Carmine Infantino on the artwork for the cover and the story, John Broome writing, and Joe Giella on inks.

The front cover throws us for a loop, looking as if Ralph is somehow in cahoots with Captain Cold, capturing the Flash. In fact, the smug Captain Cold is so confident, he throws his cold gun away as he runs. If you missed Ralph's previous appearances, it might make Ralph seem to be one of the rogues.

The detail on the cover is very good, despite no background beyond the sidewalk. This art is so lively.

The splash panel depicts a scene late in the story in which Captain Cold creates a mirage with his cold gun to slow down Barry. The difference between the splash panel and the point in the story is that the splash panel puts the scene outside. In the story, it's inside.

The story finds some scientists working on a supercomputer called a "lightning calculator" or "Lical," which has been giving the wrong answers to questions they feed to it.

And here we find Barry and Ralph casually riding in a car together at the campus where they're about to check out Lical. No sign or mention of Sue. However, we do get an asterisk informing us that Ralph's identity has been revealed to the world, although the wording is a little off. If you thought Ralph's secret identity (such as it was, thanks, Barry) being revealed would be a big story, think again. There's a reason why I'm glad that The Flash TV show is giving Ralph character arcs: he needed a revamp that did something like that.

I do love the way Infantino draws Ralph's elongated neck. It already tells you he likes to show off.

Wait, is this Barry's car? If it was one of the cars Ralph and Sue use (I'm theorizing that they rent), why isn't Ralph driving? The problem is, I doubt he has that car licensed to "the Flash," thus meaning all someone has to do is take down his license plate number and look it up, and they know who the Flash actually is. What the heck, Barry?

The two superheroes go to check out Lical and the error is reported to them. Barry attempts a test to see if he can spot any errors with the electric pulse since he can actually keep up with it. However, he loses balances and nearly falls into a glass case, but Ralph springs into action and saves him. Aside from this mishap, Barry can't detect an error.

These pages where Ralph and Barry inspect Lical are well-done with Infantino's use of shading to imply limited light sources and an indoor locale.

Heading back out in the car, Ralph and Barry hear about a mass escape from the state prison and decide to go hunt down the escapees.

The panel where Ralph gets a newspaper is oddly without dialogue when compared to all the other pages. It's the only panel without a narration box or dialogue. There's quite a bit of mainly empty space in the lower right corner, so I wonder if there's a missing word balloon where Ralph tells the newsboy that he'll take a paper. If this is the case, it's never been corrected.

Ralph and Barry set out to use their own techniques to round up the thirty escaped convicts.

Barry and Ralph manage to capture all of the convicts except one: Leonard Snart, a.k.a. Captain Cold. The two heroes stroll out in what should be an iconic pose for the duo, though it's mainly in silhouette. Ralph says he's going to stick around.

Take a look at Ralph's dialogue here: "The two of us will be, Flash—for I'm going to hang around here till Captain Cold is—put on ice!" He takes a pause to make a pun. That's our Ralph.

Noting the repairs to the prison wall, Barry reflects that it was pure luck that caused the earthquake that allowed Snart to escape. We then cut over to a cave outside Central City where Snart is congratulating himself for causing the earthquake with "ultra-cold." How on earth he made that happen in prison is anyone's guess.

At the bottom of page 7, we see Barry and Iris West on a dinner date, Iris eager to tell Barry about what she was doing, but Barry's thoughts appear and we don't see Iris say what she was doing. I'm interpreting this as Barry getting lost in his thoughts and missing what she said. Rude, Barry. Rude. Well, until the next page where she reveals that she got to visit Snart's cell and noted that he seemed to be obsessed with a dancer named Miss Twist when he'd previously approached her for romantic intentions.

Overhearing that Captain Cold is in midtown, Barry convinces Iris to go see him, intending to dash out himself. I hope he made arrangements to pay for dinner. Barry finds Snart at a subdivision of the US mint, where he's just frozen the guards and prepares to make off with a lot of cash. Snart manages to distract Barry with a mirage from his cold gun as seen in the splash panel.

Seriously, Barry, did you slow down? You're moving at super speed. He shouldn't have time to see you're there and use his gun before you can catch him.

Running outside, Barry almost apprehends Snart before Ralph grabs him instead by accident, knocking him down. He doesn't know why he did it, but Barry assures him that they'll catch him. After catching up to Snart again, Barry gets frozen with "absolute zero," but manages to free himself with "vibration at super-speed." And yes, seems this bit serves as the basis for the title of the story.

As Ralph makes another grab for Snart, he again grabs Barry, making Snart so smug, he throws away his ice gun, and yep, here's the panel Infantino redrew as the cover. The composition is nearly the same, with things a bit more detailed and striking on the cover.

Whatever is going wrong with Ralph, it causes him to pick up Cold's gun and fire at Barry. Barry manages to out-maneuver him and finally has to knock out Ralph and then whirls Captain Cold back to jail.

Helping Ralph recover, Barry is reminded of Lical and drags Ralph back to the college campus, where he realizes some of the tubes in Lical are giving off a strange violet glow. Once the tubes are replaced, Lical begins working correctly. It seems that the odd radiation had affected Ralph as well due to his molecules being "vulnerable" because of his elasticity.

Well, looks like Barry has stopped using his car everywhere now. Also, the explanation of why the radiation affected Ralph reeks of bull. If anything, elastic molecules should bounce back, not absorb.

So, everything's peachy keen for Ralph and Barry, and apparently Sue, who it seems the creative team has completely forgotten about.

So, Ralph goes up against Captain Cold, is exposed to an odd weakness, and also, the defining moment of him not having a secret identity is right here, although it could easily have been an editorial afterthought. This story would've been better before Ralph's marriage to Sue.

The story is a rather weak team up story because we get a random "nerfing" of Ralph and Barry to make the story have any stakes. There's details about Captain Cold established in the story that wind up going nowhere. His interest in Miss Twist is why he commits the robbery of the subdivision of the mint. Speaking of which, are those people okay? We don't hear a thing about them. Realistically, no, those people are dead. Comic book science... maybe they survived once they thawed out.

In any case, next issue, Ralph's last appearance in The Flash for a long, long time.

TV Review: When Harry Met Harry

"When Harry Met Harry" featured a special bonus scene during the commercials. I decided to go ahead and give you guys the commercial declaring it and the actual scene. Videos are copyright of Warner Television, DC Entertainment, The CW, etc.

"When Harry Met Harry" has two main plots: to find the mysterious DeVoe, Harry (Tom Cavanagh) enlists the help of different versions of himself from across the multiverse. However, with each having a distinct, strong personality, Harry finds it surprisingly difficult to work with himself.

The other plotline finds Barry (Grant Gustin) beginning to train Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) in the ways of being a superhero. Barry and Ralph have different priorities, Ralph focusing on catching the bad guy while Barry tries to minimize casualties by protecting anyone who might get hurt. As they track a new metahuman who can puppet any image of a living thing (Chelsea Kurtz), Ralph gets to use the prototype costume Cisco (Carlos Valdes) has made for him.

The Flash has consistently been a lot of fun this season, and "When Harry Met Harry" is no exception. Ralph's redemption arc really kicks into high gear here, and our new metahuman isn't an entirely unsympathetic villain. However, there are a few cringe-worthy moments when viewed in the light of recent events, some of them involving Ralph. That said, still an overall fun episode.

Viewers in the US may view "When Harry Met Harry" 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.

Who is Julius Schwartz?

Julius Schwartz was born in New York's Bronx on June 19, 1915. He was the son of Joseph and Bertha Schwartz, who were Jewish emigrants from Romania. At about age 17, Schwartz co-published The Time Traveler with Mort Weisinger and Forrest J. Ackerman, one of the first science fiction fan magazines. It would be rebranded as Science Fiction Digest and Fantasy Magazine before ceasing in 1937.

Schwartz and Weisinger would go on to found the Solar Sales Service literary agency, which would represent writers such as H.P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury during 1934 to 1944. He also helped organize the first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939.

He became an editor at All-American Publications, which would eventually be folded into National Publications, now known as DC Comics. Among his writing recruits were John Broome and science fiction writer Alfred Bester.

Beginning in 1956, Schwartz was the driving force behind reintroducing superheroes to the market, creating new versions of characters such as the Flash, the Atom and Green Lantern, now with a more science fiction orientation. Schwartz himself created the non-superpowered hero Adam Strange and conceptualized the Justice League of America. Relevant to this blog is his directive to create other superheroes to serve as supporting characters for The Flash, which brought us Kid Flash and Elongated Man.

Schwartz worked extensively at DC until his retirement in 1986, the same year his wife Jean of 34 years died. He returned to edit some graphic novels for the company. Under his supervision, Batman and Superman were made more grounded and serious, with an attempt to eliminate Kryptonite from the latter's weaknesses.

Until his death from pneumonia in 2004, Schwartz was a "Goodwill Ambassador" for DC and considered an "Editor Emeritus." However, after his death, a number of women came forward with reports that he had sexually harassed them.

Schwartz's contribution to DC Comics is undeniably significant, basically shepherding the company from the 50s through the 70s. However, that last moment lets us remember that few people are without flaw, and sometimes you must separate your love of the work from the artist.

Kid Flash Meets The Elongated Man!

This story comes from The Flash #130. John Broome is writing again, Carmine Infantino is back on the art, and Julius Schwartz editing.

So, we have the first time Ralph meets young Wally West, Kid Flash, and post-Crisis on Infinite Earths, he became the Flash after Barry died while making a strike against the Anti-Monitor. This is before Kid Flash had his own unique costume.

This splash page does something unusual by showing us the main characters twice. The lower part shows a moment from the climax of the story, while up above, we get decorative illustrations of the characters around the title and a teaser.

The lower part of the splash page amuses me because that is a HUGE block of dialogue that Ralph is rambling off as he moves quickly. Infantino draws it nice and dramatic here, although you'll notice Wally's costume is lacking the circle behind the thunderbolt on the chest.

The story starts with Barry arriving in Wally's room at his home in Blue Valley, and the art makes it look like Barry is spinning at super speed. He makes Wally close the window blinds so no one sees him. Maybe you could have done that at super speed first, Barry, just saying. Would've looked cooler.

Barry tells Wally that Ralph Dibny sent a letter to the Flash at the Central City Police Department asking for his help in investigating a "situation." Barry is about to vacation with Iris, so he sends Wally because he can't spare a moment away from his woman.

Okay, can our superheroes not work out a better way to communicate than just letters?

Wally agrees, eager to meet Ralph and become friends, so he hurries to Ralph's location.

Ralph (Sue is nowhere to be seen) explains that Oakley County is inaccessible due to the roads being blocked by extreme winter weather. Not even planes can get through due to heavy clouds. Ralph and Wally head out, and the use of outdoor scenes only on the rest of the page can get a little confusing. Also, Ralph's car is seemingly the only car at the motel, so maybe this bad weather has really badly affected the economy of the area.

Here we have Ralph and Wally making their way through the ice and snow wearing only their superhero costumes. I really hope for their sake that those costumes are well-insulated.

Infantino is doing good work with the winter landscape here, especially this ravine that Ralph helps Wally cross. He shows you how deep it is, and how resourceful the two are. So you get the idea that they're well-matched to what they'd come across.

Aside from the splash page, this is the point of the story where it is confirmed that the Weather Wizard is behind the extreme weather. He's making the people of Goldville (the main town of Oakley County) pay him before he'll stop the extreme weather, seeking a payout of $100,000. The townsfolk are beginning to break.

The comic cuts to some excellently drawn panels of Weather Wizard, who reveals to the reader that his plan is to use the money to build an even bigger weather station. And to supplement the ransom money, he's having a few assistants robbing the local bank.

Having split ways with Wally, Ralph runs into Goldville and spots the bank robbers. Noting hail falling directly out of the way of the robbers but  blocking the way of the bank guard. However, Ralph springs directly into action, stretching in a long arc to grab one of the thieves.

Infantino excellently draws snow and hail, but again, I really hope his costume is helping him fend off the cold, and he must have some good traction on those shoes to be running like that on the snow.

The captured henchman squeals that the Weather Wizard is behind this, making Ralph hurry to the hideout, where Wally has been heading.

More great art from Infantino, on the next panel (which I didn't show), he draws a little brown rabbit hopping around in the snow.

Wally notices a big reflector on the shack, then hurries in and finds Weather Wizard, who manages to take him out with a flash of light and a smoke bomb that masks him punching him in the back of the head. Wow, it's almost as if Wally didn't have super speed.

Ralph has reached the cabin and manages to spot that Weather Wizard has taken out Wally. He slips in, but Weather Wizard is ready for him and uses a "lightning bolt device" that stops Ralph's "circulation" which paralyzes him.

Um, pretty sure that if you stop someone's circulation, they die.

Wally revives and "vibrates" at super speed in an attempt to save Ralph. I mean, to be fair, maybe Ralph is dying here.

I looks more like Wally is moving Ralph at super speed than just "vibrating." But I guess he has to move so Weather Wizard can't get them again.

I am going to save my comments on these pages' story for the end...

Ralph's circulation is restored and he manages to knock out Weather Wizard. The criminals are all thrown in jail, the weather controlling mechanisms are destroyed, and the snow finally melts across Oakley County as the two heroes head home.

Well, it's one of those Silver Age stories that has points that don't really hold up to actual scientific scrutiny. But that's just about standard for any Silver Age story.

The bigger issue is that aside from that bit to getting to Goldville, there's really no reason why Wally needed Ralph's help. No reason why Weather Wizard should've been able to knock him out. Basically, both characters get "nerfed" (or having their power reduced) in order to justify a team up, which is one of the negative tropes of team up stories of this era.

So, it's cool that we see Ralph meet Wally, a friendship that'll come up quite a bit in the future, but the two really deserved a more solid team up.