Introduced in CW’s Arrow, Barry Allen became a metahuman due to an accident and gained super-speed. Played by Grant Gustin, the character’s likability and popularity soon made The Flash a spin-off of Arrow. Existing in the same universe which is popularly called the Arrowverse, Green Arrow and the Flash teamed up on several occasions, along with a few other superheroes too.
In the sixth season of The Flash, fans were introduced to one of the largest events of DC Comics; Crisis on Infinite Earths. As the annual crossover series of The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, and other popular DC shows on CW, Crisis on Infinite Earths put the heroes to their limits with the introduction of Anti-Monitor. Loosely based on the event-book, the Crisis on Infinite Earths led to the death of Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow, which signaled the end of Arrow.
The sixth season of The Flash introduced a few new characters. One of them was Ralph Dibny aka Elongated Man. Created back in 1960, Elongated Man was created as a supporting character for The Flash. Later on, Elongated Man became a member of the Justice League to work alongside Batman, Superman, Flash, Green Arrow, and many other heroes.
In the comics, Ralph Dibny is a brilliant detective, often compared with the likes of Batman. He is also an amateur chemist who triggered his latent genes by creating and drinking a super-concentrated extract of the fictional Gingo fruit. As the extract of the Gingo fruit was popular among contortionists, Ralph Dibny’s fascination and curiosity turned him into a superhuman who can twist, bend, and elongate his body parts to unimaginable levels.
Unlike most superheroes, Ralph Dibny had a very stable and loving relationship with his wife, Sue Dibny. Sue Dibny is also a brilliant private detective who has served as an administrator on a few occasions for the Justice League.
In CW’s The Flash, Ralph Dibny made his first appearance in the fourth season as a recurring character. Soon, he was promoted to a series regular in the fifth and sixth season of The Flash. In the show, Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man is played by Hartley Sawyer. His comic-book love interest and wife, Sue Dibny also made her first appearance in the sixth season.
Hartley Sawyer was soon going to be a prominent member of The Flash in the upcoming seventh season. But unfortunately, no one can outrun their past mistakes, not even the fastest man in the universe. Hartley Sawyer’s past came back to haunt him which resulted in the premature end of his peaking career.
Before joining the cast of The Flash, Hartley Sawyer had tweeted a series of racist and misogynistic tweets back in 2012. Though the account has been deleted, the tweets made their way to media houses which were enough for CW to promptly fire Sawyer from the show.
“Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for season seven of The Flash,” reads a statement from The CW, producers Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions and executive producer Eric Wallace. “In regards to Mr. Sawyer’s posts on social media, we do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation. Such remarks are antithetical to our values and polices, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive and productive environment for our workforce.”
Showrunner Eric Wallace, actors Grant Gustin, and Stephen Amell publicly condemned Sawyer’s egregious mistakes. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and #BlackLivesMatter protests erupting all across the world, CW quickly made its stance clear by firing Hartley Sawyer from The Flash.
As Ralph Dibny was promoted to a series regular, Eric Wallace has confirmed that a different actor will soon be cast for the role of Elongated Man for the upcoming seventh season of The Flash.
More details are yet to be revealed as the production of The Flash has been halted due to the ongoing CoVID-19 pandemic. Unlike every year, The Flash won’t be having its new season premiere in October. Instead, the seventh season of The Flash is slated to be released in January 2021.
For the seventh season, Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Tom Cavanaugh, Danielle Panabaker, and Carlos Valdes will be returning to reprise their respective roles.
