The Dibnys Chronology

Randolph "Ralph" William Dibny is born in Waymore, NE, USA.
Susan Dearbon is born in Westchester, NY, USA.
Flash #112 (flashback)
  • Fascinated by India rubber men since childhood.
  • As a young adult, Ralph develops a serum out of Gingold, a soda they all seemed to like.
Flash #112 
  •  Ralph starts operating as the Elongated Man in Central City. 
  • His success outshines the Flash, who suspects that only a criminal could beat him to solve so many crimes. 
  • Eventually they end up teaming up and becoming friends. Ralph reveals his secret identity to the Flash. 
  • Ralph and Flash share the "Man of the Year Award". 
Flash #115 (off-panel)
  • Ralph makes a fortune in TV and stage performances.
Flash #115 
  • Ralph retires from showbiz and starts traveling the world with his fortune. 
  • His first trip is to Yucatan, Mexico, the source of the gingo fruit, which is the main ingredient of Gingold. He teams up with Flash to foil an alien invasion there.
Identity Crisis #1 (flashback)
  • The Elongated Man and Flash crash Sue Dearbon's debutante ball pretending to investigate a crime. Sue and Ralph start dating.
Unespecified:
  • Ralph reveals his secret identity.
Flash #119 (off-panel)
  • Ralph and Sue marry. The Flash is the best man.
Flash #119
  • The Dibnys go honeymooning. Ralph is kidnapped by a sub-marine civilization of creatures and Flash rescues him.
Flash #124
  • Ralph aids the Flash to get evidence against Captain Boomerang (who's confronting Flash for the second time). The three team-up to foil an extra-dimensional invasion. Ralph rescues the Flash from Captain Boomerang.
Flash #130
  • Ralph meets Wally West, the Kid Flash, who aids him to rescuea town from the Weather Wizard.
Flash #134
  • Ralph aids the Flash to defeat Captain Cold.
Flash #138
  • The Pied Piper uses both the Elongated Man and Flash to secretly commit crimes, the both deduce what's going on and defeat the villain.
Detective Comics #327 (flashback)
  • The Dibnys visit Canada and start traveling USA.
Detective Comics #331
  •  The Elongated Man teams up with Batman and Robin for the first time.
Detective Comics #332
  • Sue organizes the first birthday mystery for Ralph.
 Detective Comics #334
  • The Elongated Man fights Martin Beene, a stalker who developed a formula to elongate object that had been touched by him.
      Detective Comics #360
      • The Elongated Man aids Flash to defeat the Mirror Master.
      Detective Comics #343
      •  Batman, Robin and the Elongated Man team up again to defeat the Phantom General.
      Detective Comics #344
      • Ralph takes Sue to Paris for the first time. He's already popular there as 'L'Homme Etendu".
      Batman #177
      • Batman recruits the Elongated Man and the Atom to help him with a case. 
      Detective Comics #350
      • The Elongated Man meets Green Lantern when he helps Thomas Kalmaku restore his memory. 
      • Sue gives Ralph a new Elongated Man uniform with a different design (the red one).
      Detective Comics #355
      • The Elongated Man meets Zatanna.
      Detective Comics #360
      • The Elongated Man travels to London to perform in front of the Queen.
      Justice League of America #51
      • Zatanna recuits Batman, the Atom, Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Elongated Man, all the heroes who had helped her in the past, to find Zatara, her lost father.
      Detective Comics #368
      •  The Elongated Man rescues the Atom from Chronos and they team-up to apprehend him.
      Detective Comics #373
      •  The Elongated Man defeats the Riddler.
      Flash #207
      •  The Elongated Man defeats the Mirror Master again.
      Justice League of America #105 (flashback)
      • The Justice League of America awards the Elongated Man membership for life.
      Justice League of America #105
      • Ralph and the Justice League foil an alien invasion.
      Flash #252
      • The Elongated Man becomes the evil Molder and turns the Flash into putty.
      Flash #253
      •  Iris rescues the Flash and he helps the Ralph to get his memory back. 
      Detective Comics #500
      • Ralph finds an unpublished magazine by Edgar Allan Poe.
        Justice League of America Annual #2
        • Aquaman disassembles the Justice League of America, only full timers stay with him: Ralph, Zatanna and a returning Martian Manhunter. Sue starts living with them in the new Detroit headquarters. 
        ??
        • Ralph changes his uniform again.
        Legends #2
        •  The Justice League of America is defeated by Brimstone.
        Justice League of America #258
        •  The Justice League formed by Aquaman disassembles. Ralph punches Vibe to blow off some steam.
        Detective Comics #572
        • The Elongated Man teams up with Batman and Robin, Slam Bradley and Sherlock Holmes to defeat Edgar Moriarty, a descendant of Professor Moriarty.
          Justice League International #24
          • Maxwell Lord recruits Ralph for the new Justice League Europe.
          Justice League Europe #1
          •  Ralph and Sue move to the Justice League International embassy at Paris.
          Justice League Europe #37
          •  Sue is named bureau chief of the Justice League Europe. She changes the uniform designs of Ralph (this is his fourth uniform), Power Girl and Dr. Light.
          Gotham Knights #48 (off-panel)
          • Sue becomes a best selling mystery novel author.
          Gotham Knights #48
          • Batman recruits Ralph to solve a case. Sue cracks it before both.
          Formerly Known as the Justice League #1
          •  Maxwell Lord recruits the Dibnys again. This time t form part of the Super Buddies, an accessible super hero service.
          Identity Crisis #1 (off-panel)
          • Sue gets pregnant.
          Identity Crisis #1
          •  Sue is killed by Jean Loring.

          Identity Crisis #2
          •  Sue and their unborn child get their funeral. Ralph organizes a team to catch, Dr. Light, their main suspect.
          Identity Crisis #7
          •  The Atom and Batman figure out the identity of Sue's murderer.
          52, week 47
          • Ralph Dibny dies in order to fulfill his wish and imprison Neron and Felix in the Tower of Fate.

          52, week 52
          • Ralph and Sue are seen for the first time returning as detective ghosts.



            Other publication references
            Detective Comics #328 - First nose twitch.
            ?? - First time Ralph is called the Ductile Detective.
            ?? - First time Ralph is called the Stretchable Sleuth.

            ?? - First time Ralph is called the Malleable Marvel.


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            5 comments:

            1. What would be the best stories to start with for EM? I really like the blog, great work!

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              Replies
              1. One day I'll do a top ten. But for now:
                Detective Comics #500
                52 (You can also skip the non Ralph parts and it's a shorter, fun read as well).
                Justice League Quarterly #6
                The Elongated Man Vol 1. Read the early 'tec stories, + the Cowboy Millionaire, the one in Paris, the one with Billy Warner, the Elongated Evildoer, and all the crossovers with Batman, Flash, GL, Zatanna and the Atom. I think the one with the Riddler is not on the book.
                Gotham Knights 41 (Crossover with Batman, big development for sue).
                JLE #9
                Formerly Known as Justice League and I Cant' Believe It's Not the Justice League
                Longarm of the Law
                Detective Comics 572
                Identity Crisis
                The ABC murders (The Brave and the Bold).

                I'm not a fan of Europe 92, but many like it.

                Delete
            2. Nice.
              Shame elongated man isn't taken as more of a serious character in the DC universe. People only know him from identity crisis but as seen here, he's been in a lot more than just that

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              Replies
              1. That's right.
                Ralph is a modern Sherlock Holmes. I think he has the highest emotional intelligence in the DCU.

                Delete
              2. That's right.
                Ralph is a modern Sherlock Holmes. I think he has the highest emotional intelligence in the DCU.

                Delete