Comic Book Lessons in Analytics — The Elongated Man
The Stretchable Sleuth smells a secret
Meet Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man. Told you I’d get back to him.
As the second of the “big three” stretchy characters introduced in comics, Ralph is known for being:
- Stretchy
- Funny
- Not Plastic Man
- The world’s greatest detective
Ralph is also in a loving marriage to a devoted wife. Ralph and Sue are one of the few comic couples who have never strayed, separated, or fell into any of the relationship drama that usually follows fictional couples. It’s not really relevant to this article, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Now, let’s go back to that world’s greatest detective thing.
The Ductile Detective
I didn’t create these alliterative nicknames, by the way. Ralph did.
It is pretty impressive to be known as one of the world’s best detectives in a world that includes Batman and the Question. It’s even more impressive when you’re also known as “the stretchy guy who’s not Plastic Man”.
It’s still true. Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, is one of the few people that Batman will call when he wants a second opinion. Police departments across the country keep his number on file for, as they put it, the “really weird” stuff.
Lateral thinking
Ralph Dibny is a very intelligent man, but that’s not the only reason for his success. When pressed, he’ll often attribute his skills to lateral thinking.
Lateral thinking is a broad term that involves avoiding preconceptions and keeping you mind open to connections that others might miss. You might hear this idea conflated with the oft-used phrase “think outside the box”, but I disagree with that assessment.
A lateral thinker would ask who brought the box in the first place. Also, were there doughnuts in it?
Whether you prefer lateral thought or thinking outside the box or just Ralph’s a pretty clever guy, he’s a good detective because he sees connections that others disregard. He looks for clues where others do not. He does not let assumptions and preconceptions limit his investigations.
Ralph’s Bouncy Little Brain
Sue coined that one, not Ralph.
Ralph Dibny has always been clever and curious, but he wasn’t born stretchy. He was born relatively wealthy, so he spent time travelling the world just looking for mysteries that no one had been able to solve.
While traveling through Asia, Ralph realized that he was seeing a surprising number of men working as contortionists. Usually, they would put on street shows or work in traveling fairs, but some of them claimed to have developed their abilities through meditation and spiritual awareness.
Ralph wasn’t buying it. He wanted to know the trick.
As it turned out, there was no intentional “trick”. There were a few relatively famous contortionists with skills beyond the norm, and they would teach others, individually or in larger classes. The teachers didn’t want to share their secrets with an outsider who displayed keen insight and open skepticism.
The students and performers were more willing to spend time with Ralph, who was really just interested in learning more about them. And while they would not share their secrets, they were willing to share their meals.
Ralph noticed that these contortionists shared a love for a certain elixir brewed from a local plant. They called it gingold. It wasn’t a secret; they just liked the taste of it. All of the famous teachers drank it, and some even sold it.
When Ralph tried gingold tea, he found that he also became more flexible. And when he drank a large amount…
Ralph’s reaction to the gingold was extraordinary, well beyond what anyone else had experienced. And while he did need to drink it regularly for a while in order to maintain his pliability, the reaction was eventually permanent.
But the fact remains that the Elongated Man gained his metahuman powers by paying attention.
Flexible Fate
On another night, the Helm of Nabu, Helmet of Dr Fate, appeared to Ralph with news of a cult that was attempting to resurrect the dead, including his murdered wife (yeah… long story). They had already stolen her body. Ralph began to investigate for three reasons:
- If they could resurrect Sue, he wanted help them.
- If they were frauds, he wanted to expose them.
- In either case, he wanted Sue’s wedding ring back.
Ralph followed this investigation throughout the DC series 52, which was published weekly for a year, moving in real time. The entire scenario was actually a ruse by the evil wizard Felix Faust, who wanted to exploit Ralph’s anger and despair to release something very bad from the underworld.
Ralph knew. After 52 weeks, we learned that had known from the beginning.
Plot hole? No.
When the Helm of Nabu, totem of Dr Fate and idol of Order, appeared to the very depressed Ralph Dibny with Earth-shaking news of his dead wife and dangers from the spirit world… he dusted it for fingerprints.
Limber Logic
Let’s fast-track the usual bit about the importance of careful analysis and data gathering. Yes, they’re very important. Got it? Good.
Just skip the assumptions. Don’t skip the analysis. And if you ever make the move from comic books to live action, bring your costume designers…
For more heroes who have this whole detective thing down…
