Ralph Dibny (aka, Elongated Man) was written out of the Arrowverse in Hartley Sawyer was fired from the show in June 2020 after a string of racist and sexist tweets reemerged. Sawyer's dismissal from the Arrowverse series left a gap in Ralph's onscreen story, as well as that of Sue Dearbon.
At the end of The Flash season 6, Ralph was attempting to help Sue, a thief who was trying to bring down Black Hole for extorting her parents. Before that story could wrap up, Sawyer's contract was terminated. There was a lot of speculation on what the Arrowverse series would do with the Elongated Man's arc in the aftermath of Sawyer's firing. Rather than hire another actor in his place to play Ralph, however, The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace wrote the character out of the show without killing him off.
Ralph is mentioned once in The Flash season premiere, "All's Well That Ends Wells," and he later appears in season 7's episode 3 (though his face is covered up for plot reasons). While the bit of exposition was brief, it went a long way in addressing Ralph's absence and his future, with an additional storyline effectively writing him out of the series while simultaneously leaving the door open for a potential reappearance.
How The Flash Explained Ralph Dibny Being Missing
After Eva McCulloch (aka, Mirror Mistress) escaped the Mirrorverse, she killed husband Joseph Carver and framed Sue for his death. The Flash season 7 revealed Ralph helped Sue stay off the grid and they went on the run together until Sue's name could be cleared. However, Sue and Ralph returned to aid in the final battle against the Flash villain Eva aka Mirror Master. After finding footage of Eva killing Carver, the villain blew up her own building with Ralph inside. The Elongated Man survives the explosion, but his body is melted and burned to the point that he had to stay in a suit that covered up his whole face until he looked like himself again. With Sue's name cleared, she and Ralph leave Central City to take down other criminal organizations similar to Black Hole together, effectively writing out Sawyer's character.
Will Ralph Dibny Be In The Flash Season 8?
When Sue returned to The Flash season 7, she came on her own to assist Team Flash in finding an artifact while Ralph kept working on their cases abroad. Considering all that's happened on the Arrowverse series since Ralph's departure, it seems unlikely he will return to The Flash in season 8. That said, it's always possible the character could return in The Flash season 8, which has welcomed back a plethora of characters who have said goodbye over the years (including Cisco and Ronnie Raymond). If Ralph ever does show back up again, it's likely he'll be sporting a new face given that he can shapeshift. As of right now, however, there are no concrete plans to bring Ralph back in The Flash season 8.
