Why I Think Ralph Dibny Is Important

It was about seventeen years ago when I was going over my father's collection of Batman comics, including a large number of issues of Detective Comics. I particularly recall picking up #359, because it was the first appearance of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl.

I read through the main story, enjoying it, and then after it finished, I saw that there were plenty of other pages, so I kept turning and was surprised to find the first Elongated Man story I'd ever seen, "Riddle of the Sleepytime Taxi!"

I've always enjoyed the weirder things pop culture has to offer, and a superhero who could stretch his body was right up my alley. So, not only did I continue the issue, I began searching my father's other issues of Detective Comics for more adventures of Ralph and Sue Dibny.

My father didn't have a complete collection, but what he did have had some excellent stories. Among them was the Silver Age Classics reprint of #327, the first issue that Ralph appeared in.

Well, yours truly was a fan from the get go. Later, I managed to find and read more of Ralph's appearances, including his first stories in The Flash.

What I've recently realized is that Ralph is a perfect poster child for chasing your passions and dreams. His original origin finds him with an oddball obsession, one that he chases into adulthood and turns it into a full blown superhero career. His marriage to Sue, a loving, devoted relationship, is an example that your oddball nature doesn't mean you can't have a good life.

About twelve years ago, I had an idea for a fan script for a superhero movie. Titling it "Ralph," I never got very far in it. Ralph Dibny lived with his parents and brother in Waymore, Nebraska, the story opening with him hurrying to a local circus so he can talk to the contortionist. He gets shut down, but he goes to his chemist friend and they realize Gingold extract is the key Ralph was looking for. They create their own potent version and both get elastic powers. Storing some in an old sports drink bottle in the fridge, Ralph goes to bed at home, but not before calling his girlfriend Sue with the news.

Ralph's brother Ken grabs the bottle on his way to football practice, and drinking it makes him seriously sick. Thinking Ralph intentionally tried to harm Ken, Mrs. Dibny kicks Ralph out of the house. Sue gets her parents to let Ralph stay with them, and they're soon married and traveling the country, adopting a dog and a recreation of "Ten Miles to Nowhere!" happens on the honeymoon.

Ralph's chemist friend discovers that drinking too much extract results in fearsome powers and a personality change. That's about where I stopped writing. The idea would be that Ralph discovers he can be his own worst enemy and reconciles with his mother by the end.

Five years ago, I came out as gay and thinking of Ralph's origin and the ways I'd interpreted it (I tackled it again as a fan fiction for The Flash TV show last year), I began to see Ralph's story as a metaphor for the queer experience. It didn't matter that the character is heterosexual. Ralph doesn't feel valued in his hometown and he embraces something about himself that's different from most people he knows, including his own family. In the end, he finds love with Sue, acceptance in the publicity he receives and even a welcoming community in the Justice League.

Basically, Ralph Dibny is a superhero who embodies both "Live your dreams" and "Let your freak flag fly" without a downside. In a world that often demands us to fit in one specific spot, having a hero who doesn't fit in one is very welcome.