Advertise on Eye on ComicsOutside Looking In: Identity Crisis
Posted by Devan MacPherson on September 22nd, 2008
From the editor: In my comics reviews, I often write about the importance of accessibility, especially when it comes to super-hero comics. I often suggest that there are some stories that those unfamiliar with the characters and past stories wouldn’t be able to follow.
Here, one of those uninitiated, non-comics readers examines one such continuity-dependent super-hero stories. I didn’t have to look far for that perspective; I found one in my own gene pool. And now, I yield the floor to my brother, Devan MacPherson.
Identity Crisis
Writer: Brad Meltzer
Pencils: Rags Morales
Inks: Michael Bair
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Ken Lopez
Cover artists: Michael Turner/Rags Morales & Michael Bair
Editor: Mike Carlin
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $24.99 US (hardcover)/$14.99 US (softcover)
The formula for super-heroes, from an outsider perspective, is simple. You cheer on the heroes as they use their powers and their wits to take on similarly endowed villains bent on world domination. Identity Crisis has the premise that the heroes are responsible for themselves, choosing to put themselves in harm’s way but that those that lose out are their loved ones -– those who are also in the crosshairs and have to share their heroes with the mistress of crime-fighting. The loved ones pay for the heroes’ choices. But Identity Crisis delves far deeper in to the humanity behind the heroes than a good versus evil storyline would ever tell. We see heroes filled with blood-thirsty rage, consumed by anger and fueled by revenge. We see them emotionally distraught, brought to the breaking point. We see them weighed down by the burden of secrecy, torn apart by past indiscretions, and driven to a morally corrupt brink.
I will admit that I am not a comic book insider. If anything, I am one-time wanderer, dropping in on the comic book universe when something pulls me to a graphic novel. For Identity Crisis, it was Brad Meltzer’s name that lured me in because I have been enamored with Meltzer’s novels and wanted to see what he did with the graphic novel medium.
Therefore, I claim ignorance to many of the backstories that Identity Crisis references. But Identity Crisis is sufficient as a standalone novel that I don’t feel confused by the storyline, and that the salient points are explicitly laid out so that the naive, casual fan can enjoy it. To me, the new Flash, Green Lantern and Robin all have their creative space in the novel but their origins are not central to the idea of the novel but the grieving of their predecessors -– and their motivation to keep loved ones safe — is. While true fans of the genre will relate even more to the backstories, I only need to know that the pains of lost loves drove the original Flash and Green Lantern to turn to a necessary evil of being a hero.
At the heart of the novel is question: does the end justify the means? Sue Dibny’s death sends the heroes on a crusade through which heroes are shown to be angry, vindictive and vengeful. In short, the line between hero and villain is blurred. Does solving the murder justify the heroes’ tyrannical, almost Gestapo-like strongarm approach after Sue Dibny’s funeral?
The death of Sue Dibny is a tragic precursor to an even greater betrayal, the revelation that both Dr. Light and Batman along with many others had their minds magically altered by Zatanna. The backstory of Dr. Light’s mind alteration after Sue Dibny’s rape shows us the vigilante justice in its darkest and most disturbing form. It is also where the artwork of the novel comes to forefront. Due to graphic nature of the subject matter, the visual nature of the book builds to the emotional quotient of the scene in a way that a pure novel would never be able to approach. The graphics capture Ralph Dibny’s rage after the funeral and the weight of the mind-wipe decision on the heroes. It ratchets up the moment in which the Flash realizes the depth of the conspiracy into which he has entered. Does the rape and protection of loved ones justify the Dr. Light mind-wipe? If the mind-wipe was the right decision, does keeping it secret justify Batman’s mind-wipe? Can justice cloaked in secrecy be justice at all?
Both the Dibny murder and the mind-wipes show us that it is those who know us best can hurt us the most. They know our pressure points and can strike at our heart easier than anyone else. The trigger point for the novel lies in an accident and a betrayal so devious and cunning that it shocks our core, much like the ending of that Harrison Ford mystery movie, Presumed Innocent. Does the separation of Jean Loring and Ray Palmer justify the accidental death of Sue Dibny? Does the ripple effect of the heroes spending more time with their loved ones justify her death?
There is difficulty for the heroes in the understanding of who benefits from her death. It is the motivation behind the murder that leads Batman to look towards the inner circle rather than the villainous underworld.
The humanity of the heroes is also revealed at the end of the novel as we start to comprehend that while others can betray us, we are the masters of deluding ourselves. We see Superman and Batman who are doing their level best to ignore the facts in front of them, believing only what they choose. We see the inherent division between the A-listers and the cleanup crew, and how evil is in constant battle with good, even within the hearts of heroes.
In short, the humanity of heroism is the thread that binds all the Identity Crisis storylines together. It is the heroes’ humanity that reveals itself in grief, in rage, in secrecy, in betrayal, and in self-delusion. It is the depth of these things that ties us to the heroes, because even if they are beyond us in capability, their fall from grace is something to which that we can infinitely relate. It is the connection that allows us to cheer for the heroes in their darkest hour, in the middle of their Identity Crisis.
Devan MacPherson is a quality-control engineer living in Lethbridge, Alberta. Click here to e-mail him.
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:24 pm
If there’s one illusion that I persist in believing shattered by this story once and for all, it’s the one that Brad Meltzer believed reaffirmed by the story: the “need” to maintain the secret identity. All it is, really, is just another of Chekhov’s guns on the mantle.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I think Devan’s review shows Don’s belief that the story is “dependent” on continuity to be mistaken. Maybe we comic know-it-alls (I have the equivalent of a Bachelor’s in Marvel Mythology, but only a GED in DC) assume too much helplessness on the part of the new reader, and have our own perspectives skewed by how much we’ve experienced with these characters.
I mean, don’t get me wrong – there’s a fair share of ridiculous navel-gazing out there – but weren’t most of us introduced into continuity-heavy books via the deep end? The first X-Men comics I read, I sure as heck didn’t know much – but the characters were cool, I was having fun, and so long as I got the basic premise of the story it was like walking into the living room when an awesome movie is half-over: yeah, I missed the first half, but darnit if I don’t find myself sitting down on the couch….
September 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 am
Well, I think the truth lies somewhere in between. I suspect that what Devan did was ignore or jump past the bits that called for knowledge of past stories. For example, for the reader to fully appreciate the mind-wipe of Dr. Light, it helps to be aware of the shift in the character from the time he fought JLA members to his time as the loser who led the Fearsome Five against the Teen Titans. Meltzer clearly intends for the mind-wipe to be something of an explanation for the change. Devan had no way of knowing that, but it didn’t seem to interfere too much with his appreciation of other aspects of the book.
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
This reminds me of the first time I started really reading comics back in the seventies. I picked up a book that, for a twelve year old who had not read the title, provided huge continuity issues:
Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes #243.
I had an idea of who Superboy was, but I picked up part 3 of a 5 part story that took place with a crowd of unknown characters in the 30th century.
I had a great time with it.
Not knowing who everyone was and what was precisely going on led to a bit of extra fun…as I scoured the used bookstores in the area for back issues (comic shops?), I’d find an issue that filled in a little more story. It was my own little detective work to figure out everything that was going on.
A few months later, it happened again…this time, something happened on Earth 2. Earth 2?
I actually found the discovery of what was going on just as fun as reading the comics themselves.
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I actually jumped into comics around the time of Identity Crisis. So I didn’t know who most of the characters were, but I always find it fun joining a story in progress. I disliked Identity Crisis solely on the basis of its self-contained “morality”, and not for how it fit into the larger scheme of things. The big picture is fun. I think “You just don’t understand the big picture.” is usually a poorly-constructed defense by comic fans, and rarely an actual problem. I read House of M before any Avengers or X-Men comics, and I enjoyed the drama of it. I like feeling that the universe is a big place with lots of interesting history I don’t know about. I like “the deep end”, as Adam said. So I don’t buy it when people excuse stories on the grounds that you need to know the history. No, you don’t. I don’t care what story it is, you enjoy it if it’s good and emotional, and you don’t enjoy it if you don’t like the plot or characterization. You don’t need prior knowledge of a universe to form a reasonable opinion about anything. So when I hear people defend Grant Morrison, and say that if you don’t like his stuff you must not have read enough, I have a problem with that. Isn’t it possible that I just don’t like the writing? Sure, in Final Crisis I have no clue what he’s referencing. But that has absolutely nothing to do with why I don’t like it. I don’t like it because I don’t like his plots and I hate his characterizations. And I don’t need to have a PhD in superhero history to get that. I can tell I hate the story from the story itself.
September 23rd, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Agree with the commenters’ points about continuity not being at all a burden. Geoff Johns said that everyone new that you meet has continuity, and if you be friends with this new person, you jump into the middle of the continuity; you don’t not be friends with them, fearing a huge, confusing back story. (Well, some ppl, yeah, but anyhow…). This is a good analogy. My first book was a in the middle of Detective Comics arc. I was so compelled by the book that I sought everything thereafter and a lot: actual books or at least the history/knowledge of what happened.
As for the Identity Crisis, I really liked the book. The art was more hit than miss, and the story was compelling. I liked the justification for the masks. (I especially liked the contrast to Marvel’s “Civil War”, where masks were antiquated.) I also liked the stark villany of Dr. Light. Sure, it was drastic, and detracts from the escapism that is comics, but Meltzer turned Light into a villain that hasn’t been seen ever in DC, or at least not in a long time. I liked the history it drew from, I liked the interconnectedness of all characters, good and bad. It was a big story, and Meltzer and co. did well.
There were points to not like about it, and to scratch your head over — why was Wally wearing Barry’s costume in the 3rd ish? — but that’s with any book. And that’s a continuity, comic-geek point, prob irrelevant here.
Definitely a good read!