Sweating the Small Stuff
"THE REAL IDENTITY CRISIS"
Copyright © 2005, Glenn Walker
Reviewing Identity Crisis #1-7, written by Brad Meltzer, pencilled by Rags Morales, inked by Michael Bair and covers by Michael Turner.
It's called Identity Crisis. If one were to believe the hype, this was the comics event of 2004. It has left me quite conflicted. Well written, beautifully illustrated and featuring what many - including myself - consider the classic line-up of the Justice League of America... how could this book possibly lose?
The cover of issue #1, a wonderful inverted homage to Nick Cardy's cover of the original Justice League of America #100, by Michael Turner says it all - "Deadly Secrets! Private Hells! The Comics Event of the Year Begins Here!" Says quite a bit, doesn't it? I think, minus the hype, this would have been much easier to take.
Brad Meltzer is a brilliant writer, and the latest of many mainstream authors like Michael Chabon, Kevin Smith, Robert Rodi, Christopher Golden, the upcoming Orson Scott Card and many others who have been seduced by the idea of chronicling their favorite comic book superheroes. Meltzer has been branded by some critics as a second or third-rate John Grisham, but let me tell you, if you read Meltzer's "The Tenth Justice" or "Dead Even," you'll know what a hack Grisham is. Meltzer rocks.
And he knows his comics too, as his previous venture for DC Comics, the "Quiver" storyline in Green Arrow and even Identity Crisis itself proves. There is not only a knowledge but a love of these characters. The difference between GA and ID, for Brad Meltzer, is that he displays great respect for the characters in "Quiver." That respect just ain't happening in Identity Crisis no matter how well he knows his subject matter.
As for the art, I like Rags Morales and I like Michael Bair, together though... I just don't think this is a good team. It's not horrible, it's only adequate, but after an amazing cover by Michael Turner, even the best work by Morales and Bair is only satisfactory in my eyes. Their worst offense is the weirdness of their close-ups on faces. They just feel bizarre to me.
Michael Turner, what can I say? He is wonderful, artistically he is like a next generation Neal Adams. Turner is one of the finest artistic talents in the industry today. Whatever he touches turns to gold. Had the insides of issues been blank, I still probably would have purchased every issue of Identity Crisis just for his covers. I'm not sure what the cover to the last issue implies but it looks great, as does the one action cover on #3. Turner is a name to watch, for a long time to come.
There are things about Identity Crisis that I like quite a bit. Among them was that the old Injustice Gang satellite is still in continuity. I had always loved the idea of its existence when it was introduced as the Gang's headquarters as an opposite number to the heroes HQ back in Justice League of America #111. Libra, whose identity still remains a mystery (although fan press of the time suggested he was JLA foe Professor Ivo), formed the first version of the Injustice Gang and somehow produced this satellite in an opposite orbit to the JLoA headquarters. It was seen again briefly during Steve Englehart's run when the Construct re-organized the Gang. It was always a cool design and it's unfortunate that Morales fails to capture that coolness. Sigh.
The idea however that it was still in use by the super-villain community bothered me. Yes, clever that the baddies know the League has the place wiretapped, and also that they broadcast old Adlai Stevenson speeches when they know that the good guys are listening - but my big question is why doesn't the League just raid the damned satellite?? At the opening of this series we are shown the organization of the heroes by staking out a mystery box suspecting super-villain activity. What the hell would so hard about staking out the Injustice Gang's satellite in much the same fashion?
Meltzer goes a long way toward recreating and redesigning the DC Universe's underworld. Chief among this is the re-imagining of one of my lame faves of the 1970s, the Bob Rozakis-created Calculator. This was the inexplicable foe from the ongoing Detective Comics back-up series who wore a giant pocket calculator on his chest. In the words of Bolt, "Exactly. A moron."
I never thought so myself though. Like most Bob Rozakis creations, the Calculator was a concept that never lived up to his potential. His modus operandi was that once he was beaten by a particular foe - he could never be defeated by them again. Before fading into obscurity, he had scored on at least the Atom, Green Arrow, the Elongated Man, Black Canary, Hawkman, Air Wave and the Batman. Not bad, even for a guy whose power to do such a thing was never quite explained.
Also wonderful is that the bad guys have figured out the Oracle deal. Clever. I often wondered what the villains would be thinking as Batman, Robin, the Huntress and Nightwing talked to an invisible entity called Oracle. Bravo, Brad. And the idea that this inspired the Calculator to higher aspirations recalls the Golden Age origins of Wildcat and Little Boy Blue. I love it.
The third big thing I liked about Identity Crisis was the retcon (which as a rule I usually don't care for unless they are exceedingly clever) of Dr. Light. The evil Doctor was one of Gardner Fox's more unique creations and one of the Justice League's most dangerous foes. He had determined that he could not defeat the more powerful League as a team so he would attack each member individually.
The subtle crossover of Light's conflict with the solo heroes was similar to Zatanna's search for her father. Fans anticipated and thrilled to the battles against the Atom, Green Lantern, the Flash and the team of Superman and Batman. Then in the mid-1970s, against the coincidentally Bob Rozakis-scripted Teen Titans, a change occurred. Dr. Light was suddenly mischaracterized as inept, as a hapless idiot, who could be easily defeated by a bunch of kids. The interpretation stuck and soon anyone, including the new and inexperienced Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys could put out the lights on the bad Doctor.
Brad Meltzer's retroactive continuity implant explained the change quite well, but also ruined this miniseries for me. Dr. Light is also at the core of another problem. At first glance, Identity Crisis is not a 'crossover' but a self-contained story. This is far from true. Dr. Light remains free, aware of some of the JLA's identities apparently, and highly in the mood for revenge. This is only one of many loose ends in the book. But back to Meltzer's tragic retcon...
Justice League, in any of its myriad forms, is one of my dirty passions. It's one of my guilty pleasures like Golden Age comics, and anything with the Avengers or the Flash. I've collected and read the League throughout its many incarnations. I loved the originals and I loved the team that Denny O'Neil created from that and the evolution that became the 'big fifteen' (give or take) that most of us think of when we think of the JLA.
I enjoyed Justice League Detroit (yeah, I'm the one, and I'm thrilled they're appearing on the "Justice League Unlimited" cartoon by the way). I suffered through that Keith Giffen travesty and even the Zero Hour team led by a Wonder Woman and a Hawkman who had never been members of the League before. Every version, every victory and every embarrassment, I've been there. I'm a Justice League junkie. And I don't like seeing my heroes in a bad light.
I like my heroes in black and white, not shades of gray. The ideal that the Justice League is always right and on the side of the angels is part of its appeal. They are champions. The Justice League are the good guys. My heroes would have had no part in this mindwiping of criminals, for whatever reason. Yes, Meltzer did provide a retconned answer to a few old stories that didn't make sense, especially that fun, old Secret Society story - even if they had to replace Wonder Woman with the Black Canary. The anal retentive continuity freak in me appreciated the gesture, but the fan in me who respects his heroes has a bad taste in his mouth. They may look like the classic League, but it ain't my Justice League.
Perhaps to lighten the impact of this moral failing of my heroes was the brutal humiliation and rape of Sue Dibny at the hands of a sick and maniacal Dr. Light in a flashback to the League's satellite days. Why? Why did this have to be so brutal? It's bad enough we have to put up with this crap now in what I call comics' Dark Age, but why retcon it into a simpler joyful time like the Silver and Bronze Ages?
When continuity in comics gets raped (pun unintended) again and again nowadays we can always go back and read classic quality stories of our heroes from the good old days and relive good memories. After this, who knows? Can any of us read tales of the classic satellite JLoA ever again without thinking of the events of Identity Crisis? Sorry, this is a mental scar that just won't fade.
To hammer this new dark violence nail into the coffin even harder, Sue Dibny dies halfway through Identity Crisis #1. This is painful.
I know Sue Dearborn/Dibny, known her since the Elongated Man hung out with the Silver Age Flash. I remember the clever back-ups in Detective Comics. I remember Ralph's energetic personality at the Justice League's 100th anniversary meeting adventure and I also fondly recall how a few issues later Green Lantern materialized on the hood of the Dibnys' convertible and invited them both to the satellite for the Elongated Man's induction into the team. I even hung out when Ralph and Sue became that twisted combination of both Nick and Nora and George and Gracie during the aforementioned "humorous" era of Justice League.
So I know Sue, she was a dear friend, her death - her brutal murder - was enough, but the first half of Identity Crisis #1 was the real crime. I would have mourned Sue anyway but Brad Meltzer makes it worse with expert creativity. He takes his talent to task in making Sue even more likable before landing the deathblow.
Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, has always been a third or fourth tier hero. Nobody knows him outside of comics. They know Plastic Man, maybe Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, and maybe on a good day, they might know Jimmy Olsen was Elastic Lad - but nobody outside of comic books knows who the Elongated Man is. When asked who the stretching hero in the Justice League was, most people would say 'Plastic Man' even back in the days when Plas wasn't a member.
One small side point in ID was that Ralph's belt on his third costume, which he returns to here, now resembles Plastic Man's. Homage or mistake I have to wonder. And yes, his third costume, I consider the purple version of the red one his second. Hey, the name of this column is "Sweating the Small Stuff." I'm really picky.
In the first half of the first issue, Meltzer rebuilds the Elongated Man story, of which Sue is, and always has been central. The conversation between Ralph and underused heroine Firehawk (a character with much potential whose career is extinguished by this series) recounts the good points of the Dibnys' relationship - the love and the romance. Debutante Sue Dearborn could have anyone but she chose Ralph. Meltzer brings up the birthday mysteries that the couple shared and sets the stage for the most recent. These sequences make me so much want to see an Elongated Man series. It could work like this, and be such a kick to read.
But then I thought about romance and love in comics. Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Aquaman and Mera. The Atom and Jean Loring, hmmm, maybe a bad example, but we'll get to that later. Green Arrow and Black Canary. Flash and Iris Allen. The Vision and the Scarlet Witch. Comic book writers just don't like superheroes to have good love lives. It makes me think they have miserable relationships themselves. Maybe this is why I'll never be a comic book writer, I love my wife. Subconsciously I knew Sue was doomed after this wonderful build-up. And honestly, folks, I don't hold out much hope for Lois and Clark or Petey and Mary Jane.
And, Mr. Meltzer, having Sue be pregnant is simply an exercise in kicking someone when they're down. Bad form.
Onto other stuff... When was the last time we saw Captain Boomerang? The man is seriously out of shape. He's looking more like Comic Book Guy from "The Simpsons" than the svelte super-villain from Flash's Rogues Gallery and Suicide Squad. Too many vegemite sandwiches, I suppose.
The son of Captain Boomerang leaves many questions, ones that I doubt I'll like the answers to. Are there any female super-speedsters that Digger could have gotten pregnant? Joanie Swift? Nope, too obscure. Jesse Quick? She's already been shown to have made questionable choices in sexual partners (much to this reader's chagrin). One of Blue Trinity? That Lady Flash/Lady Savage chick? Maybe. I guess we'll find out in current issues of Flash (which I haven't read yet) to find out. I hope it will be worth it. There have been too many disappointments over in that title since Scott Kolins left.
The subplot here is too contrived for words for me. First we are to assume that Jean Loring knows that Tim Drake is Robin. Didn't Tim take on the Robin mantle after she was divorced from the Atom? It was a pretty messy divorce too. Does anyone out there share serious company secrets with ex-wives who screw them over? I don't think Ray Palmer is that dumb, not at all. But then again, I don't believe Ray knows who Tim Drake is either. Would the big, bad, stingy, secretive Batman share that kind of information?
Then we are to believe the Calculator, shown to be smarter than the average super-criminal, and also admitted friend to Captain Boomerang, took on a hitman gig from Jean Loring, famous attorney ex-wife of the Atom - and then assigned it to his buddy, Boomerang?? What's he got against ol' Digger? And why would he even consider the job? Does everyone in the villain community know what went down here? And no, I don't doubt that Jean would be able to get in touch with the Calculator. In my best Marvel Comics no-prize logic, I'm sure a criminal attorney has the proper connections to find a super-villain when she needs to.
What does bother me is that she's put away in Arkham Asylum. Did the League mindwipe her as well? Wouldn't they have to? The last thing we need now, over and beyond the other loose ends of Identity Crisis, is a psychopath like the Scarecrow or the Joker with this kind of knowledge.
There were a few good moments that made me smile. The JLA membership certificate on the wall at the Dibnys' house was one. Green Arrow's chat with Hal Jordan was another. Contingency plans for the deaths of heroes and the relationship between Wally and Ollie were two others, but by a long shot, the bad outweighs the good.
What's the real point here though? Just because it's written by a big name author and has amazing writing with revelations and great drama and trauma, doesn't mean it's good. I enjoyed the ride, but hated the aftereffects and the result. I rode Lightning Loops screaming with excitement the whole way and then puked my guts out. That's Identity Crisis to me.
You know what the real identity crisis is? What do comic books and superheroes want to be when they grow up? Entertainment for all ages, black and white tales of good versus evil where the good guys always win, as they were for fifty-plus years or dark gritty reality-based stories where you never know who the good guys are and have to wince and turn away from the brutality displayed? What's it gonna be?
Either way, I want my heroes back.