Elongated Man
Elongated Man ( in the German translation Elastoman ) is the title of a series of comic publications are issued by the U.S. publisher DC Comics since 1960.
The " Elongated Man " comics genre were quantified in the past usually a mixture of science fiction and detective stories. A characteristic feature of the series was also usually a good dose of humor in terms of its content and its narrative style.
Publication data
The idea for Elongated Man goes to Julius Schwartz, a senior editor at DC Comics in the 1950s and 1960s, back, who had the idea of a " fun superhero comics ," which focuses on a character with the - for " visual jokes " as particularly should be, his body stretch at will and to be able to deform - suitable prestigious ability ("super power ").
As a model for the new character to be developed while the Schwartz floated in the 1950s, published by the publishing Whiz Comics, superhero character Plastic Man before. Since Schwartz himself was not aware that DC gone since the purchase of the bankruptcy Whiz -Verlag, 1956, the rights to Plastic Man held, he commissioned the authors John Broome and Carmine Infantino so the signatories to clarify his idea and develop a new character, they " Elongated Man " called.
After Broome and Infantino had its approach to the " rubber man " in this regard is 1960 Stories by Elongated Man as a "backup stories " began in May to publish in the rear part of the series The Flash ( starting with issue # 112). Since the stories about the " detective made of rubber" came across a very sympathetic response from readers and critics
In the further course of the 1960s was followed by an independent Elongated Man series with a nearly five -year term. In the 1970s and 1980s, eventually followed by other uses of the substance as a "backup " feature, this time in the series Detective Comics before the character in the later 1980s in the Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis created was " funny " incarnation of the superhero classic Justice League, a series about a group acting as a team of superheroes installed. A highlight in the "career" of the figure formed 1987 anniversary issue Detective Comics # 527 ( the 500th appearance of Batman since his debut in # 27), in the Elongated Man, Batman, Slam Bradley and Sherlock Holmes (or an optical double) as the " greatest detectives in the world" (or the " DC universe" ) to celebrate the occasion in an overlong, by Mike W. Barr wrote, history together to solve a tricky one criminal case.
In the 1990s, followed by a four-part mini-series (1992 ), as well as some guest appearances.
Plot and main character
The focus of Elongated Man is the jovial private investigator William Randolph " Ralph " Dibny. Dibny, a very thin and lanky big man be in his debut story attributed to two wishes that he had already had as a teenager: Once the need to be the center - and a concomitant tendency to sensationalism and showmanship " - and his admiration for " contortionists " artists to be able to with the gift, bend and contort their bodies in extreme ways.
In his quest to solve the mystery of the " flexible people " Dibny finally discovered that all of them the consumption of a " miracle drink " called " Gingold " is common. As a student Dibny is especially devoted to the chemistry, so that he ( is obtained from the Gingold ) finally a "super concentrate" the gingo fruit can develop. By taking this concentrate Dibny finally wins the awaited ability to deform his body on the type of contortionists - only in a much more extreme way: His entire body has from now on a texture such as rubber, which allows it to stretch and compress it into the draw length, extremely inflate or flatten to "dilute " and " thicken " to squirm in spirals, or mimic the shape and form of other things, and the like. So he can his whole body, or parts thereof, meters long pull, " constrict " other people with his arms like a rope, etc. Moreover, his body offers increased resistance to physical violence, heat and cold effects and the like.
Dibny uses his newly acquired skills first in order - to work as a private detective - with his wife, Sue Dibny. Together, the two kinds of windy figures the craft. It is noteworthy that both marry relatively early ( in superhero comics, in which the relationship between the hero and his love interest is usually kept at a "perpetual flirting " until the 1990s, a " rarity " ) and that the Elongated Man 's identity as Ralph Dibny not kept secret - that does not have the almost obligatory for the Superheldengrenre secret identity.
While Elongated Man clearly a "Fun" was character until the 1990s, whose stories always have a cheerful and carefree spirit breathed (note, both for DC: on the one hand - with a wink - The Man of Rubber, on the other hand - more ' serious created ' - the Man of Steel ( Superman ) ), beat the stories about the " man made of rubber" in the recent time a much somber tone: for instance, is Sue, who is about her husband to open her pregnancy in the series shot Identity Crisis of the insane Jean Lorning and " resurrected " later by her husband with the help of a magical artifact as spirit. Since Ralph Dibny is killed himself in the meantime by a demonic creature called Neron and since then even strolls as ' astral beings ' on earth, both of which lead since an existence as a "ghost Couple", which examines paranormal occurrences in his new incarnation form.
Adaptations
Adaptations of the " Elongated Man " substance in other media has so far given only on television. There the figure as one of several characters was in several episodes of the animated series Justice League Unlimited (U.S. synchronous voice: Jeremy Piven ).
Comments
- DC Comics