The Flash Theory: Ralph Dibny's Death Sets Up Arrowverse's Next Crossover
If The Flash were to fix its Hartley Sawyer problem by killing off Ralph Dibny in season 7, this could set up “Identity Crisis” as the next Arrowverse crossover, but with a huge twist. The next crossover is expected to only consist of episodes of Batwoman and Superman & Lois, but it has been said that numerous Arrowverse characters would be incorporated nonetheless, so The Flash cast could still have a big part to play in the story.
A major problem was created for The Flash season 7 when old comments made by Elongated Man actor Hartley Sawyer on Twitter surfaced. Many perceived them to be racist, and for this reason Sawyer was abruptly fired from the CW series. There’s been much discussion over how Sawyer’s sudden exit will be handled when The Flash returns, considering how important he was to the show’s story. Elongated Man has been a key member of Team Flash since season 4, and over the last few seasons he has evolved into one of Barry’s most reliable allies. In fact, he was chosen to replace Barry as the protector of Central City in the wake of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”.
The Flash season 6 continued to build on Ralph’s Arrowverse story and his relationships with the other characters, including Killer Frost (Danielle Panabaker) and Cecile (Danielle Nicolet). Most importantly, it finally brought in Ralph’s comic book love interest, Sue Dearbon, played by Natalie Dreyfuss. The season devoted a great amount of time to developing her character and establishing a bond with Ralph. At the end of the season, The Flash set up a bigger role for Sue on the show and in Ralph’s life by framing her for murder and keeping her in Central City. Needless to say, this creates a messy situation for The Flash. There may not be a “perfect” way of resolving it, but one way it can tackle the problem is by using its plan to write off Ralph to set up the next Arrowverse crossover event, which could end up being “Identity Crisis”.
“Identity Crisis” is a controversial DC Comics crossover that encompassed a wide array of characters associated with the Justice League, including Green Arrow, Flash, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and more. The setup for the story was the murder of Sue Dibny, the wife of Elongated Man. Her tragic death triggered an investigation that led the heroes of the DC Universe into conflict with several major villains as they sorted out the suspects in pursuit of the real culprit. It also brought about the reveal that Justice League heroes like the Green Arrow had tampered with the memories of their teammates. Digging into the Justice League’s dirty secrets created all sorts of strife within the team.
As it turned out, the killer was the Atom’s ex-wife, Jean Loring, a woman whose inability to let go caused her to go to extreme lengths to win back the Atom. She used the Atom’s shrinking technology to go into Sue’s brain in an effort to cause a small stroke. She mistakenly believed that her plan would reunite the Justice League and give her a chance to spend time with Atom, but instead things got out of hand and Sue was killed. In the end, Loring was committed to Arkham Asylum. To this day, “Identity Crisis” is remembered as one of DC’s darkest stories.
In the comics, it’s Sue Dearbon who meets a tragic and unexpected end, but the Arrowverse could reverse this by keeping Sue alive and killing Ralph off in her place. Ralph has become a fan-favorite character, so seeing him written off in such a grisly way would certainly be a dark and perhaps unpleasant turn, but at the same time it may be the most sensible way to remove him from the show. Other possible ways for Ralph to be written off include having him move to another city in need of another hero, or explaining that Ralph went on the run with Sue. Both of these solutions are anticlimactic at best, and they wouldn’t stop The Flash season 6’s story from being a waste. They also don’t make sense in terms of who Ralph is in the Arrowverse. There doesn’t seem to be a good reason why he would just leave Central City. He’s become such a huge part of the team that giving him an off-screen exit won’t be as easy as it was with Julian (Tom Felton), who left in-between seasons.
That’s why murder could be the best way to handle this problem. If The Flash can’t find a way to explain why Ralph would just leave Central City in a satisfactory way, it shouldn’t try. Instead, The Flash can reveal that Ralph was murdered. For the story, it would work, and it would explain why there’s no proper exit for his character. The nature of murder is that it’s always unexpected and it comes without closure. Of course, this would be a sad and dark twist for the show, but it wouldn’t be the first time The Flash has dealt with tragedy. The Flash already took away Barry’s mother, father, and future daughter.
The murder of Ralph Dibney could be the basis of the next Arrowverse crossover in the same way that Sue’s death served as the foundation for “Identity Crisis.” The Flash can create its own “Identity Crisis” with a crossover event that encompasses various Arrowverse superheroes as they investigate the sad death of one of their own. A storyline so deeply connected to The Flash playing out in a crossover between Batwoman and Superman & Lois could feel like an odd fit, but as previously noted, the event is said to feature plenty of characters from the other shows.
It would be a fresh approach to the Arrowverse’s crossover formula. They’ve already done alternate universes, aliens, and immortals, but they haven’t done a superhero murder mystery yet. Similar to what happened in the comic books, the investigation into Ralph’s death can result in certain secrets being unearthed. These secrets could threaten to shatter long-standing friendships. Dealing with the sudden departure of a beloved Arrowverse character by turning it into another big, inclusive story would be one way the Arrowverse can make the best of a bad situation.