‘The Flash’ Name-Drops Plastic Man In “Elongated Journey Into Night”

The Flash introduced audiences to Elongated Man in tonight’s episode – and included a reference to a similar DC Comics hero along the way.

Spoilers for tonight’s episode of The Flash, ‘Elongated Journey Into Night’, below!

The episode saw Team Flash dealing with Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man (Hartley Sawyer), a private investigator who recently acquired the power to stretch his body. Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin) was forced to address his shady past with Ralph – and realized that he had the ability to be a hero.

Barry offered Ralph the chance to be a hero, and Ralph asked if he would get a superhero name. Barry suggested “Plastic Man”, but Ralph quickly shot it down.

As DC Comics fans will know, Elongated Man and Plastic Man have each been a big part of DC Comics lore. While both have some things in common – membership in the Justice League, team-ups with other heroes, etc – there’s also quite a bit that separates them.

Plastic Man, aka Patrick O-Brian, appeared first, debuting in 1941. His powers came about after he was injected with a mysterious chemical mixture. He had the ability to shape shift into particular objects, and then would essentially have the same properties as that particular object. He also had a wide array of other powers, including the immunity to telepathy.

Ralph, on the other hand, debuted in the pages of The Flash in 1960. He acquired his powers through the extract of a fictional fruit, which gave him – as was seen on The Flash – the ability to stretch to significant lengths. Overall, he has a more limited roster of powers than Plastic Man. For example, he had a limited amount of vulnerability, and can only shape-shift in painful circumstances.

The Plastic Man reference might not hold a lot of significance in the long run (especially with Ralph seeming to jump into a larger heroic role), but it’s still an awesome nod to the DC Comics world nonetheless.

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.