Identity Crisis
Writer: Brad Meltzer
Artist: Rag Morales
While heavily polarized and controversial among fans and critics, IDENTITY CRISIS was still a fun and entertaining read for me!
Ranking: 4 stars
In my last review I stated that SPIDER-MAN: THE CLONE SAGA was quite possibly the most controversial comic ever published. While I still feel that’s true, and that the comic we’re looking at today didn’t generate as much criticism, the polarizing response this comic has received may be enough to put it alongside the CLONE SAGA in terms of highly controversial comics. This is the 2004 seven-issue miniseries IDENTITY CRISIS. As I’ve stated before on numerous occasions, I’ve encountered many comics that have received polarizing responses from fans, with most either loving or hating it (there’s rarely any middle ground). However, IDENTITY CRISIS puts all of those to shame in that regard as it was a book that was quite literally universally praised yet simultaneously critically panned at the time of it’s release, and still creates heated debate to this today. Heck, the ComicsAlliance even placed it on their 15 Worst comics of the Last Decade list, proclaiming that it was, “the embodiment of all the worst aspects of current super-hero comics.” Despite the intense hatred that many have thrown at this series however, it won several awards, introduced the DC Universe to many new readers, and has been placed on many recommended comics reading lists. In all my years of reading and reviewing comics, never have I encountered a comic as heavily divided and opinionated as this one (and I’ve tackled several controversial comics in my reviews). I think the primary reason for this reception is because IDENTITY CRISIS was the of many comics from DC to place greater emphasis on darker and mature themes in their otherwise bright and colorful universe. Because of this, the book alienated long-time readers who felt that it went overboard with it’s dark elements, but was able to attract new readers. Having heard all of these things that surrounded IDENTITY CRISIS (as well as watching and reading other reviews), I decided to take a look into it myself. While the comic does possess flaws in a couple of areas, and I can understand why people have issues with some of its aspects, I still found IDENTITY CRISIS to by a fun, compelling, and overall highly entertaining read. Written by New York Times best selling novelist Brad Meltzer (author of THE ZERO GAME and THE MILLIONAIRES), the story of IDENTITY CRISIS opens on the birthday of Ralph Dibny, otherwise known as the superhero the Elongated Man. While attempting to breakdown a high-tech arms dealing, Ralph receives a distress call from his wife Sue Dibny, who is currently being attacked by an unknown assailant in their apartment. Although the Elongated Man quickly attempts to rush to her aid, he arrives only to find the kitchen of his apartment completely torched, with Sue lying dead in the middle of it. The event of Sue Dibny’s death rocks the DC Universe to its core, as not only was her relationship to the Elongated Man public knowledge, but she also had close ties to several members of the Justice League of America. Because of this, nearly all of the heroes of the DC universe immediately jump on board to figure out who was responsible for her murder. However, the Flash III (Wally West) and Green Lantern V (Kyle Ranner) learn from a group consisting of the Atom, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman, and Zatana that reasons for Sue’s death are possibly darker than a simple attack on a superhero’s loved ones. They reveal to Wally and Kyle that years ago during the satellite era of the Justice League, the villain known as Doctor Light had snuck on board to the League’s satellite headquarters. While his original intentions were unknown, Light had stumbled upon Sue Dibny, who would often come to the Satellite when she was bored. Having suffered countless losses against the League in the past, Light saw an opportunity to strike at the heroes personally, leading to him assaulting and raping Sue Dibny. However, the aforementioned group of heroes (along Wally and Kyle’s predecessors Barry Allen and Hal Jordan) soon arrived and are able to stop and capture Light. When Light threatened to go after all of the other heroes’ loved ones, the six heroes decided to vote on mind-wiping Doctor Light in order to prevent him from hurting their relatives. Despite the ethical ramifications of their actions, they ended up erasing Doctor Light’s memories of the rape, as well as degraded him to a buffoon. As the heroes pursue Doctor Light, believing him to be the primary suspect in the murder, they will soon encounter more clues as to who was truly responsible for Sue Dibny’s death, more ominous threats to the heroes’ loved ones, and when the culprit is finally revealed, the DC Universe will never be quite the same again. As I stated previously, IDENTITY CRISIS is quite possibly one of the most controversial comics ever published by DC. While many praised the story for it’s murder-mystery, dark atmosphere, and mature themes, others criticized it for the exact same reasons, blaming it for being the start of an unnecessary darkening of the DC Universe. In my case, while I do understand why the various elements in this book anger many, I still found it to be a highly entertaining and fun read. There was always something going on in the story, making it difficult for the reader to lose interest, the mystery behind Sue Dibny’s murder was highly compelling, there were intelligent arguments centered around ethics and morality, and the characters were intriguing and felt realistic and believable. That said however, IDENTITY CRISIS isn’t without it’s faults, though the problems I had were not the same that others had. Whereas most complaints are directed towards the treatment and handling of certain characters (as well as the retcons), the issues I had were instead over plot holes, elements that didn’t make complete sense, as well as some plot points that felt like padding or simply unnecessary. These problems didn’t kill the book for me, but they’re definitely worth analyzing. I also feel that I should provide my own perspective on the more controversial elements of this story, as while I can see why they anger some fans, I still feel that they’re useful in developing complex themes and addressing the plot forward (seriously, they do not warrant the comic to be considered one of the worst in the last decade, it’s not SPIDER-MAN: ONE MORE DAY or HOLY TERROR levels of awful). Because of the numerous areas that I feel I need to address in this review, and because of it’s polarizing reputation, I’m going to take a similar approach to what I did in my SPIDER-MAN: MAXIMUM CARNAGE review. I’m first going to go into further detail about what problems I personally had with the story, then address the criticisms that others have given it while providing my own perspective on these elements, and then finally discuss what I thought was well executed and genuinely good in IDENTITY CRISIS. The main problems that I had with IDENTITY CRISIS were primarily over plot holes and story elements that are introduced but are forgotten or rendered unnecessary, or some elements that were stupid or didn’t make sense. Like with most murder-mystery stories, IDENTITY CRISIS utilizes the literary device known as a red herring, which is when a character is mislead by false information that distracts them from the situation at hand. In murder-mystery or detective stories, this plot device is used to misdirect both the characters and the reader to a false suspect, which is used to increase suspense and keep them guessing who the real culprit is. In IDENTITY CRISIS, the red herring is utilized with Doctor Light, as the League suspects him to be responsible for Dibny’s murder because of past events. However just as when it’s revealed that Light was not the murderer and the heroes have confronted him, Light is able to regain his memories from the mind wipe. Instead of taking vengeance on the heroes, Light just leaves the battle and is never seen by the heroes again. Not only does this not make any sense as normally someone who had his memory forcibly erased would lash out those who did it, but it also renders all of the build up and suspense of Light possibly being the culprit unnecessary as it was immediately forgotten about afterwords. I understand that the primary drive of the story is to discover the identity of the murderer, but a plot point as big as Doctor Light’s can’t simply be built up and forgotten without some form of closure. It’s not the only plot hole evident in the story, but is the one I took the most issue with. Another problem that some story aspects outside the murder-mystery were confusing or unnecessary. A prime example of this was the subplot with Captain Boomerang and his father, as while it’s meant to be another red herring to the mystery, it feels padded out as most of the time with them was focused on the two attempting to bond as father and son. While the concept of an estranged father and son bonding together by pulling off one last crime together was interesting, it felt that two much time was focused on them talking about it rather than actually seeing it happen. Then there was the stuff with the villain Calculator and his involvement in the mystery, as his scenes were just baffling and hard to follow. While the narrative flowed naturally for the majority of the comic, it felt that there was unnecessary padding in some areas as well. The final issue I had was that there were one or two scenes that were stupid and made no logical sense. I already addressed the scene where Doctor Light’s reaction to regaining his memory, but right before that Light hires the mercenary Deathstroke, aka Slade Wilson (arch-nemesis of the TEEN TITANS), to protect him. When the Justice League engages him, Slade is able to instantly counteract all of the heroes attacks, and is portrayed as an invincible god, which is simply over-the-top ridiculous. While Deathstroke indeed possesses fighting and strategic skills that nearly rival Batman’s, the way this fight is presented makes him come across like he’s absolutely invincible, rendering it impossible for him beaten in a manner that’s plausible to the reader. Apparently this was done because Brad Meltzer was a fan of Deathstroke from the original Titans comic series, and while author appeal can be beneficial to a character and story (as it was with Kitty Pryde in Joss Whedon’s ASTONISHING X-MEN), it also has the potential to hurt the story as well. While the Deathstroke fight was not a major flaw, I still found it to be incredibly stupid. Aside from those flaws, I still found IDENTITY CRISIS to be a compelling and highly entertaining read. Similar to MAXIMUM CARNAGE, I feel that IDENTITY CRISIS receives criticisms from fans and critics that while not entirely unwarranted, are somewhat unfair. I can understand why this book bothers people and I respect their opinions, but I still feel has gained too much of a biased reputation. As I said, IDENTITY CRISIS is considered by many to be the start of what would soon become a gradual darkening of the DC Universe, and an introduction of more mature themes into its comics. As a result, many readers felt that this story went overboard with introducing these darker elements, feeling that they were either unnecessary or robbed the story of its any serious credibility. For me personally however, I didn’t take issue with these darker elements, as I felt that they presented some interesting concepts and helped with my investment in the story and characters. While several aspects of IDENTITY CRISIS were controversial, I'm going to provide my insight on the two that I've seen the most criticized. The first complaint was the manner in which several of the heroes were portrayed (particularly the seven who mind wiped Doctor Light), as they made morally ambiguous decisions, making their actions come across as unheroic. Readers felt that this made the characters come across as a**holes that didn’t act like superheroes, leaving no room for sympathy. For me however, I didn't have a problem with the heroes making morally ambiguous decisions as was meant to convey that not all decisions are black and white, and it made the characters feel fleshed-out and believable. I honestly don’t why some readers have a problem with characters making morally gray decisions (which I've noticed from many people by the way...) as it doesn’t automatically make them a selfish or unlikable jerk. Instead I feel that it conveys the complexity of making hard decisions, as there is never an absolute answer, and sometimes risks must be taken in order to do what one feels is right. It’s a part of reality that even the most noble of persons must experience, and superheroes should be no different, despite the fact that they're supposed to be figures we can look up to. Even they're going to do questionable things at one point in their lives, which I feel doesn’t make the characters unlikeable, but makes them flawed and realistic (like human beings are). The other major criticism that I’ve seen is the treatment of the character Sue Dibny, as many felt that her being raped by Doctor Light was unnecessarily dark and served only as a plot device. I’m going to be brief with this one because of the sensitivity of this issue. While I can definitely understand why this point bothers many, I honestly didn’t take much issue with it though as it didn’t feel out place within the context of the story, and it did help help increase my emotional investment in the heroes' attempts to discover Sue’s murderer. That being said however, I do think that because of the sensitivity of this particular plot point, it could have been handled better than it was in order to avoid the polarizing response it received (similar to Doctor Light, it’s built up and rarely mentioned again). So while the criticisms that many have directed towards IDENTITY CRISIS’ dark and mature elements were not unwarranted, I do feel that they aren’t enough for it to have received the polarizing reception that it did, and certainly not to classify it as “one of the 15 worst comics of the last decade.” So while IDENTITY CRISIS does have it’s fair share of flaws, I still found the book to be quite entertaining and intriguing, as there were many elements that were well-developed and highly compelling. The plot is able to move at a natural and steady pace throughout its majority, and there is always something going on, making it difficult for the reader to lose interest. Aside from the areas of padding that I briefly mentioned, for the most part, the book is fully immersed into the mystery of Sue Dibny’s murder, and the greatest strength of any mystery story is that continuously supplies the reader with a steady pace of twists and revelations to increase suspense and investment. Not only is this portrayed through the heroes’ pursuit of possible culprits, but also in the investigation scenes as well, where the heroes investigate the scene of the crime and for forensic evidence. A major aspect of the mystery is that the killer was somehow able to sneak into Sue’s apartment undetected, and the homes of all DC heroes and their relatives are fortified with the most advanced security systems on Earth. Because the impossibility of the crime, the heroes are forced to use their powers to scan the crime scene with their powers or advanced tech, years beyond that of regular law enforcement. Not only is this an awesome scenario (like a superhero version of LAW AND ORDER), but it also increases the suspense of who killed Sue as they were somehow able to get past the advanced security system and leave no trace behind. The emphasis of the investigation also ties into the book’s major theme of protecting one’s loved ones. While the mind wipe subplot allows the exploration on themes of morality, I felt that the symbolism behind surrounding the heroes loved ones was better. Because of serious and unknown circumstances of Sue’s death, the heroes become more protective of their relatives, fearing that Sue was the first of many to be targeted by an unknown assailant (especially after Jean Lorring (wife of the Atom) survives an attempted hanging). As the story progresses, the emphasis of protecting their loved ones becomes greater, which not only provides great symbolism about the dangers of vigilante life, but also provides an emotional anchor for readers to latch onto. The final aspect that I felt was well-done was it’s portrayal of the DC heroes. While they made morally questionable decisions, I felt that it helped paint them in a realistic manner. It showed that even superheroes are flawed individuals that share the same problems that real people have, but are at greater risk because of their status as crime fighters. I felt this was well established through it’s depictions Robin (Tim Drake), Green Arrow, the Elongated Man, and the Flash (Wally West), as their dialogue felt natural and human, their relationships with other characters were clear and refined, and even if I didn’t agree with the decisions they made, I could still understand their motivations from a psychological perspective. While overall not a perfect story, IDENTITY CRISIS was a fun and compelling read for me through it’s intense focus on the murder mystery, it’s themes of morality and protection of loved ones, as well as it’s fleshed out and understandable characters. Despite the controversy that surrounds the individual elements of IDENTITY CRISIS, I feel that they aren’t enough for it deserve the heavily divided opinions that it did. While I personally problems with some plot holes, padding, and stupid moments, I still found the story to be highly compelling with a well-developed mystery, interesting themes, believable characters, and dark and mature elements of the story didn’t bother me like they did others. When it comes to comics that are heavily divided among fans, my opinion on them ranges from them being great to simply okay, and while I don’t think it’s reaches the mark of quality that others have credited it for, I still found it to be a fun and enjoyable read. IDENTITY CRISIS has certainly received the most polarizing fan response out of any controversial comic I’ve reviewed, but I still feel that it does’t warrant it the reputation it’s gained. In order to get past a shroud of bias, somethings must be analyzed with greater care and thought than one normally would give. The book may be controversial and it’s not for every one, but that doesn’t mean IDENTITY CRISIS is not worth taking a look into. I sure did and I’m happy that I invested my time with it, despite it’s flaws. “Bias and prejudice are attitudes to be kept in hand, not attitudes to be avoided.” -Charles Curtis
