Just thought I would add a new topic.
How many of you are reading this series?
I am not going to spoil anything but I have just read issue #5 and have been totally blown away. I mean the whole series has been fantastic.

This issue also blended very well with the tie in to Firestorm # 6.

Any thoughts?

WARNING - BIG, BIG, BIG, SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!!!

This was the first time in a long time that I could not wait to make the 1/2 hour trip home from the CBS to read the comic. I had to pull into a parking lot to read the issue. Last time I did that was for Legion Lost #12.

What an incredible comic!! For those of you who stopped reading because of the content of the first two issues, I understand, but you are missing out on some really good and intense writing!!

SPOILERS for those who aren't buying the comic ( and why aren't you?)

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(last chance! really big spoilers ahead!)
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The heroes are on the hunt for villains who might be involved with the murder of Sue and attack on Jean. In one fight, Green Lantern (Kyle) gets shot in the face, point-blank(!) by Deadshot. He lives, but apparently might have lost his eyesight. We never do see his face.

One group of hereos (Firestorm/Ronnie Raymond, Captain Marvel, Vixen, and Shining Knight) tracks down the Shadow Thief. The Thief manages to get a hold of the Knight's sword and uses it on Firestorm. The magical properties of the sword cause Firestorm to explode and probably die, although the Firestorm tie-in indictes that Ronnie might still be alive in the new Firestorm.

The Atom and Jean Loring apparently get back together again. I'm not sure what to make of this subplot. Meltzer obviously doesn't put anything in without a reason. This is building to something important.

Captain Boomerang shows his new-found son how to throw boomerangs. In the course of the training, the son discovers that he has super-speed. Boomer is forced to confess that Golden Glider is really not his mother. I'm wondering if Captain Boomer isn't really the dad. Can't think of any female speedsters that would qualify as a pop. Maybe his real dad is a spedster. Next issue of Flash is supposed to be very telling.

Dr. mid-Nite and Mr. Terrific are still doing an autopsy on Sue. Not much progress apparently, but magic is ruled out.

Robin and his dad have a heart-to-heart about Tim's role as Robin. Jack Drake relents and allows Tim to go out on patrol with Batman. As Tim leaves, Jack discovers that a package with a note of warning and a gun are left behind, and it wasn't left by Tim. (I think the person in the shadows on the cell phone left the package. Cell phones have been playing a big part in this series haven't they?)

Just then, an intruder enters the Drake house. Mr. Drake is able to get ahold of Oracle on a cell phone who patches him through to Robin who's riding in the Bamobile with Batman. In an incredibly intense scene, father and son talk one last time as the intruder turns out to be...

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*man I hate to spoil this for anybody, this series is so good*

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...Captain Boomerang, who also insinuates that he was responsible for Sue's death! Batman and Robin are speeding home as fast as they can go. Jack Drake fires a round into Boomerang's chest just as Boomer fires a razorrang right into Jack's chest. The issue ends with both men lying in a pools of blood!


I know it sounds gory and depressing, but this was the most intense comic I have ever read. The conversations between Robin and his dad were done with such strong emotion. Most exciting single issue of any comic I have ever read since the days of Crisis!

Fast skip to miss the spoilers since I didn't get out to pick up my books today.

Not to take anything away from Stargazer but we already have one thread with this exact name for the series and one for each of the previous issues. So we have been discussing the books. The threads just tend to get pushed back a page or two in-between issues.

Simply put:

I really want my comics now.

RECON!

Personaly, i have a feeling that the killer will be

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...Jean Loring WITH Luthor backing her! AND i have a feeling Atom may stumble on to this fairly soon too.

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My guess as to the killer:

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Captain Boomerang's newfound "son", who I'm guessing is actually Amazo in disguise (using J'onn Jonzz's shape-changing power).

My guess for the killer will be .... the mystery woman that bore Captain Boomerang's son!!

Anyway, I'm actually getting less excited about the series as it goes on. It seems to be more of the same to me and we don't seem to be getting much lately in terms of the developing mystery.

I'm also turned off by the way the heroes are acting. It reminds me of "Avengers Disassembled" in that we're seeing these heroes in a more "human" light, reacting the way people might genuinely react in these extreme circumstances, but it seems off to me because it seems to disregard that *they've all been through this and much worse in the past*. Yes, their loved ones are in danger, but not only has that happened before (gee, Lois Lane in danger?? No wonder Superman's freaked out), but their loved ones are in danger every time the world is threatened isn't it? Like with Avengers, I don't think we see enough of them acting like seasoned professionals. Instead we see them running around like chickens with their heads cut off, beating up random criminals to get information.

The Deadshot/GL face-off was cool though.

I liked the parallel father/son stories, but that "DAD!" moment seemed strange to me because there was no reason for Boomerang's kid to react that strongly to that message.

Seems to be the mystery villain left Jack the gun. There's no way Boomerang killed Dibney - kicking in the door doesn't fit the "he was never there" m.o. of the Dibney murder. That and of course we still have another couple issues to go.

I've considered Amazo as well...

But I don't think so, according to Metzler it would be someone appearing in the series. Amazo was only mentioned once, IIRC, and has never been seen.

My guess right now...


the Atom. I think that Jean is STILL in big trouble...

I actually felt more empathy for Captain Boomerang than I did for Tim's dad... probably because of the whole I-just-reconnected-with-my-son bit. I hope he pulls through...

People elsewhere are speculating that CB isn't Owen's dad, but even after Owen guesses that Golden Glider isn't his mom, CB still acts as though he's his son.

Is Jesse Quick too young to be the mom?

LL-

Sorry about additional thread...I honestly did not go back far enough.
I will look for that thread to post..can this one be removed to stop any kind of confusion?

Truly sorry...really

i figured Boomerang's 'son' for the killer since he's the only new character in the series and sticks out as a story point (leading me to ask "why is he there?")

really Barry's (bitter & resentful) son after an affair with Golden Glider?

i've enjoyed a few of the brawls (terminator & the sattelite league, deadshot/gl), the development of a new, informal (and thus probably more effective) 'secret society of supervillains', and the Green Arrow narration (as Metzer really has Ollie's voice IMO), but most of identity crisis doesn't work for me

super hero comics - with all their primary colors - move fast
murder mysteries dangle and twist in the wind, looking different from every angle, shedding new light or shadows depending how you enter it

Identity Crisis, for me, hasn't been successful in making the genres effectively merge

as mysteries go - unmasking Sensor Girl and the murder of Mr. Terrific both rank higher for me

i had high hopes for identity crisis -- and so far, it hasn't quite reached them
at least i don't hate it (that would truly suck)

Danny Blaine:

Well, if I'm right that "Boomerang's son" is him in disguise, he has been seen.

I mean, a kid who suddenly, upon meeting Boomerang, picks up the fine art of boomerang-throwing, and out of nowhere displays super-speed? Someone who perfectly imitated Slipknot's M.O.?

And has a grudge against the JLA?

Whoa
i never even thought of that

or, pushing another point, it could be amazo reprogrammed by calculator or luthor or dr moon

Maybe it'll be revealed that the Atom is really a Manhunter in disguise...

Well, I hope it's not the Atom or Jean. I think their reconnecting and getting back together has been one of the most emotionally moving parts of this whole series. Besides, I love the Atom!

The son as Amazo is something I hadn't considered, but makes perfect sense. There are still too many open questions though now--maybe issue six with a focus on Bat's detective skills will shed some more light.

A very intense issue and very good. My only regret is if Ronnie Raymond is really dead, which would just plain suck for me. Still, like every issue of this series so far, there are parts that blow me away and parts that I'm not too crazy about.

I think the son as Amazo makes the most sense of any other theory I heard. We know the killer has used the powers/abilities of more than one hero/villain. We know the son has an outstanding skill with a boomerang and super-speed. If Boomerang even has a son, I'm betting Amazo has replaced him.

Very interesting theory...
I am still trying to figure out how the events happened in the latest issue. How did the Drakes get involved and where the heck is Jacks wife??

The Drakes, I'm guessing, are involved because the killer knows Robin's ID and this fits the motif of striking at the heroes' loved ones.

We may find out where Jack's wife was after the fact, or it may turn out they just forgot to include her.

I think the person behind it all may be the calculator. Each person that has lost someone or been attacked so far has something to do with the team that stopped calculator back in that Batman book from about 25 years ago.

Then again, if lois is attacked, I might be wrong, lol.

But, the best mysteries are usually those that have an inside man, someone close to the "leads" that is unsuspected.

It's...the revenge of Snapper Carr! (he can teleport now can't he?)

Snapper lost the teleportation power awhile back I believe. I'm not sure how/when that all happened, but I know it was gone by the time he started appearing in "Hourman".

I hope that there's another twist to this or I'm pissed off about who the killer really is.

Well, there is one more issue to go. So, who did they reveal to be the killer? I probably won't be able to get the issue since I haven't been able to afford my books this month.

I'm sticking with my Amazo theory - he has the power of that JLA member (I'm not going to be the one to spoil issue # 6) along with all the others.

SPOILER (DO NOT HIGHLIGHT THE TEXT IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW!):

The Atom!

I totally agree.

Actually, there's a surprise twist in the next issue.

The killer is really:

Shrinking Violet!

Oh, geez.

Are we talking about Tim's mother here, or has Jack remarried? If he hasn't remarried Tim's mother died way back just before Tim became Robin.

After rereading issue #6, I think the killer(s) really isn't the person(s) they've suggested at the end of the issue. I think it's someone using the same power(s)...

I agree wity you STU, and echo those that have said they'll be really pissed if who they say the killer is really is the killer. It's just so...random. Why would he/she/it DO that?!? It makes no sense, and seems to be thrown in just to raise the ire of the reader (which, BTW, is one reason that I think this is just a red-herring).

Jack remarried. Tim's mother did die years ago, but I don't remember exactly when/how she died.

Haven't read the issue yet, but I'm hoping for similar, given that it's generally bad form in mysteries to reveal the killer this soon. On the other hand, in comics, this would just set up the inevitable "big fight", so we'll see.

I'm also thinking that if the killer isn't the individual named above, there's really only one other option given what we know.

Tim's mother was murdered by some witch doctor type of guy who had kidnapped the Drakes after their plane crashed somewhere in South America (I think). This all happened in Detective Comics *years* ago under the awesome pencils of Norm Breyfogle.

Quick interlude - Man, Norm Breyfogle is one artist whose work I hated at the time but look back on now with more experienced eyes and realise just how talented he was! I wish he and Jim Aparo could get jobs at DC again today! - End interlude.

As for Identity Crisis #6...

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Atom is SO not the killer! Though I did love the surprise revelation, and especially the evidence they discovered that gave him away - only in comic books! , its still too soon for the big reveal. Every fan of mystery stories should know that there's always one last bit of misdirection just before the grand revelation at the end. And that's just what Ray is here.

You wanna know who the real culprit is? I think its going to be Jean Loring. I know this isn't exactly a new theory (they've been saying it on the DC Boards for months now) but it all makes sense now. She has the means (one of Ray's old shrinking belts), the knowledge (as a JLA wife she would know their security protocols, plus she knew Sue and as a lawyer specialising in the superhero set would have access to the files of dozens of heroes and villains), the opportunities (she was off-screen for all of the attacks including the one on herself that she conveniently survived) and finally the motive too (maybe she wanted Ray to start caring for her again? or maybe she resented the superhero community for breaking their marriage up? or maybe she's being mind-controlled? or maybe she was just always jealous that Sue got to hang out on the satellite more than she did? ).

I really hope I'm wrong so that I can still be surprised by #7 - and Meltzer's a good writer so I may very well be - but that's my theory as of this late stage.

Poor Sue and Jean. I always liked all the old JLofA wives and girlfriends!

I completely agree with you for all the reasons you set out. There have been way too many random details about Jean sprinkled around so far for her not to be involved to some degree.

Her saying that she knew Ray would save her when she'd been attacked now stands out as an indication that her plan (to divert attention away from her) went off without a hitch.

Plus, Batman could be trying to reach Ray to warn him about Jean, rather than to apprehend him...

I'm thinking the bad guy was called "The Obeah Man" but it's been years since I read those books.

Good memory Outdoor Miner - I think you might be right.

STU Cat - That's how I read the Batman scene too.

My only question now is this (well, actually I've still got loads of question but this is a big one ) - didn't I read somewhere before this series came out that Elongated Man would play a big part in it and be portrayed as the brilliant detective us Ralph fans know him to be? Well sitting on the same couch and crying for six issues isn't really getting that job done! Its time to put away the tears Ralph!

I predict a big, dramatic entrance from him next issue in which he'll expose the true culprit!

I also think the Atom's a red herring. Whatever the killer's motivation, I imagine it has to tie in with the whole brain wiping stuff that's been the other half of this story (whether it ties in with Luthor's armor is another one). I don't know who the culprit is, and at this point I barely care. This book has been going downhill from the get-go, imo. Two more reasons were served up this issue:
- Batman. Yeah, they not only wiped Light's memory, but wiped Batman's memory of the incident. If this remains canon, how's he supposed to trust any of these heroes again? They invaded his mind to "protect the League", but we're supposed to believe these guys are fighting for justice all the while being teammates with someone they assaulted in the worst way (maybe this will be used as an excuse for Batman's paranoia and distrust of his fellow heroes and the darker change in mood in the '80's)? Aside from how uncharacteristic it was for those Leaguers, I think it's a crappy blemish to put on the League's history (I also didn't buy Ollie's comment that they "panicked" - this is the *Justice League!!*)
- My second reason is a big plot hole (which I admit might not be depending on how things are wrapped up next issue). So let's see, Sue appears to have been burned to death, but she was really killed by a microscopic intruder and the burning was supposed to cover up the real cause of death right? I have a couple of problems with this. Firstly, that the person obviously did a piss poor job with the wrong tool (the killer should've burned her to a crisp) since they managed to find the evidence anyway. A bullet to the brain would've actually destroyed the evidence. Secondly, from what we saw of Sue's death, the killer didn't even need to go to such elaborate means to kill her anyway! S/he could've *actually* burned her to death or shot her, or whatever. Why even take the chance of using such an exotic means of murder on Sue Dibney when a more mundane one would've been just as effective but without "footprints".

I think the Atom's a red herring too, despite that look on his face at the end. Doctor Light has to tie into this heavily based on those few panels with him in it.

Yeah, that seems to have made no sense whatsoever -- though I suppose there could still be an explanation for it next issue.

Did you notice the title of the issue, prominently labeled in large letters, under the scene where Jean is hanging on the door, "dying"? It read "SERIAL KILLER." If Jean does turn out to be the killer, that would have been a pretty subtle way to label her, IMO. (And everyone else is labeled throughout the series -- "lovers," "father and son," "friends," etc. -- including Jean, who's labeled as "divorcee" on just the prior page.)

Plus, I don't think you see any part of the killer's body in that scene where Jean's attacked, unlike the scene where Sue is killed. The hands that are tying a blindfold around Jean's face could actually be her own...

Maybe, should Jean be the murderer, the reasoning behind giving Sue a stroke before torching her body was to not to have to see Sue suffer. It could be Jean had enough feelings for an ex-fellow spouse of a hero to not to want to see her burn alive.

That's just 'cause his Viagra was kicking in.

I think he just shrank every other part of his body to make himself look bigger!

I'm not reading this coz of all the raping that's going on - but are we supposed to believe that Jean Loring has out smarted Batman?

Other things that bothered me about the latest "IC"
-- How in the world did the rest of the heroes think that Boomerang was behind Sue's death (and Jean's attempted murder)?!? Boomerang kicked in the door, which is totally not the same m.o. -- oh yeah, and the killer didn't use a boomerang in Sue and Jean's attacks!
-- One of the problems I have had with the series is that the "realistic" tone of this story seems incongrous at times with a comic about men in tights and Ollie's discussion with Wally hammered home that fact. Did anyone else find it a bit ridiculous that Green Arrow was talking about how the mask protects them and their loved ones, but of all the heroes, he's one of the most easily identifiable regardless of that skimpy mask! It only serves to show how overblown Meltzer's script is and how despite wanting to tear down the conventions of the silver age, he's being selective about which ones he thinks need to be done away with.
-- Again, the very liberal use of first names. Are we officially back in silver age continuity where everyone knew everyone's identity? I can believe Hal or Barry being more relaxed about it, but Zatanna calls Batman "Bruce" on the satellite. I thought he was more protective about his ID back then.

Other questions that are raised:
-- What did Ollie mean about Batman when he said, "You think he hasn't done the same to us?"??
-- How does the Calculator have all those cameras around? He's right in the middle of GA and Flash's conversation and right there with Dr Light
-- How exactly did Batman figure out the killer's identity? He thinks the word "molecule" and suddenly has a revelation? I hope he offers up some actual proof at some point (or at least what lead to this deduction).

Haven't read the latest ish yet, but....

The Atom ain't the killer. I'd bet just about anything on that. If he *is*... well, shades of AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED.

Jean Loring? Well, I never DID like her. But where's Carol Ferris while all this craziness is going on?

Is IDENTITY CRISIS really worth losing the followup to "Formerly Known as the Justice League" mini? So far, I have to say... no it isn't. Though DC would disagree. The latest IC is the # 1 comic of November per DIAMOND.

It isn't lost - DC plans to put it out in "JLA:Classified" (I don't remember when though)

I thought I read somewhere that Giffen and Maguire hadn't finished it, and weren't going to finish it. Are they going to have someone else finish it off then? Unless it's Hughes on art it just won't be right.

Spoilers

It had better not be the Atom! Please tell me DC won't go that far...

Actually, I don't really think it's him anyway. Like others have said, the real killer will be revealed in the end and this is a red-herring.

It's also already been established in DC history that Jean Loring has gone completely nuts before. Does anyone remember the JLA story where she became "Queen Jean" or something like that and went crazy, to the point where Hawkman and the Atom had to take her to Thanagar and cure her? It was right at the end of the Silver Age, circa the same time that both Atom and Hawkman's comics came to an end, and the story continued into the pages of JLA. Wish I had the issue numbers in my memory. Since Meltzer has obviously done serious JLA homework and has incorporated a lot of old JLA stories, it isn't unreasonable to consider that he might include this one too--and that Jean might be crazy.

The Amazo/son of Amazo theory is still a good one too though, since he could easily duplicate the Atom's power.

All of the points brought up about the flaws in this series are valid. There are a lot of 'out of character' moments and mistakes. Just like #1, I'm still loving/hating the title. Not sure how I feel about the whole thing, but I *am* interested.

Lou, I was under the impression that they had finished it but would no longer do anything of the sort because of IC.

Giffen & DeMattis are done (and, indeed, have sworn off doing anything related again because of IC). How far along Maguire is varies according to reports, but he's not done yet.

One wonders why, since he said he was working on it before Formerly 6 had come out...

It's going to be pretty tough seeing Sue in it and thinking, "Hmm. Not longer after this, she gets murdered horribly in IC."

I think I recall someone at Wizard World Texas mentioning that it would come out eventually, with some acknowledgement that the story predates IC (for the small number of people who didn't know what happened in IC, I guess)...

You mean when the laughter died and nothing was fun in the DCU ever again?

That would be Bob Wayne at the DC panel, if memory serves. He announced it there, so they definitely intend to release it as of now.

I've worked out a different possiblity maybe this Atom is really the Phantom Atom(a silver age alternate evil Atom) and maybe he has been in the real Atom's place siince Zero Hour meaning that the teenage Atom,back to the adult Ato has been preparing for this since then,perhaps at the end they'll find the real Atom near dead in an alternate reality and the real Ray will retire from super-heroing and the JLA will disband...
Of course now trusting the silver-age JLA seems a little harder for me.

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HOLY CRAP!! They zapped the Bat!

And first his dad, now Steph in the Gangwar... how much are they gonna dump on Tim???

Did they kill off Steph, or was she just hurt? (not sure what Gangwar is... I haven't read any Bat titles lately)

Sorry, Cru. The gangwar was part of the recent WAR GAMES story running through all the Batbooks. Steph apparently died from her wounds at the hands of the new Bat-uber-baddy, the Black Mask/Hood/whatever... And Orifice, I mean Orpheus also bit the dust, along with alot of Gotham's crimelords, allowing Black-headgear Guy to take over the Gotham underworld. :rolleyes:

She died in the end.

i seriously don't know why IC is such a big deal

it's not cutting edge or new for DC or Marvel or any comics company to rape and murder the females in order to build character (look at Gail Simone's women in refrigerators page for a more complete illustration of this dynamic)

you can barely suggest rape happening to a male character (I.E. Authority's Apollo under Millar), but on a woman? It builds character for all involved (suddenly, Dr. Light is menacing, Ralph & Sue's light-heartedness becomes about recovering from trauma, the satellite JLA gets to be more serious, et. al.), right?

i find THE PRACTICES of sexual assault/gender-specific violence disgusting

if you're gonna put it in comics, then make sure you deal with the ramifications

IC for me has been largely over-hyped ... the characterization of Green Arrow is dead-on and everyone else is slightly off ... and i don't know if it's deliberate or not ... and even after crime after crime is committed, i find it completely unbelievable that Batman or Oracle haven't figured out 'whodunnit' yet

i guess mysteries evolve differently in the comics medium -- i'd care more if Bat/Oracle had figured it out and spent the last 2 issues trying to stop XXX before they could strike again

Is this new baddie the one who looks like Mr. Bones only with a black skull?

Scott, he's the old Bat-villian Black Mask, although he really came back in force during #1-12 of Catwoman, where he was written as a major sicko. Although it looked like he was dead at the end of it, he’s recently come back again for this one and emerged as the top Bat-Villian.

He’s from the 80’s (early 80’s I think) from some really good stories. Recently, they’ve made him more like the Joker (a la, wise-cracking and making sick jokes), which goes a bit against his original more sinister character.

And yes, they’ve made him more like Mr. Bones in appearance now.

Great villain, although I’m unsure of what I think of his recent appearances.

That sucks. I really liked the Spoiler-Robin romance, although that seemed to have taken a backseat since Robin joined the Titans.

Boy... it doesn't pay to be a female crime-fighter in the DCU nowadays...

Part of the original hype for IC was that it would introduce a "major new villain" that would menace the DCU for years to come. So....who's the new villain?

Only one I can see so far is Captain Boomerang's son who also happens to possess super speed. That along with Boomerang's arsenal could make him a powerful criminal for Wally to contend with but I hardly think that he will be in the same league as a Ras al Ghul or Luthor or Darkseid, villains that can endager the world.

Even were he to turn out to be Amazo's son, I wouldn't put him in that category. So, if it's not him...who will this mysterious new force for evil be? Ray Palmer? Jean Loring? I find both highly unlikely though Ray is a physicist.

Can you think of anyone else? I can't.

Issue 7 (the final issue) has much to answer in this story and little to work with in my opinion. I suspect this latest Crisis is going to be a real letdown.

It'll be published as the second arc of JLA: Classified. After the Morrison/McGuinness arc.

wait, who the sprock is boomerang's son's momma?

or is he just a mutant with super-coincidental super-speed.

We don't know. Owen was originally said to be the son of Boomerang and Golden Glider, but Boomer admitted that GG wasn't the mother.

who is a female with super speed?

iris and barry's daughter (formerly of the tornado twins)in the future or xs? hmmmmm anyone have any thoughts as to who it could be?

What?!

I suppose this is all part of "making Tim into the next Batman"... it still sucks.

That's exactly what it is, STU. Read #17 and #18 of Teen Titans.

Interesting image posted by Zatanna1 on teh DCBoards IC forum:

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More grist for the rumor mill:

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(...Jeez, I feel like Mark Waid leading the "Legion Cheer:... )

-Anywho:

This is Rags' cover for the third printing of IC #1. Check out who's at the center of the glass shards:



...and wasn't this picture seen on Jean's bedroom wall?

Well..shoot.

Pov..I never picked up on the hints but it sure looks like they are pointing fingers.
I am still trying to figure out how and why him?

JLA: Classified #4 - No sign of Sue.

[EDIT: Although Wizard reports she'll be there.]

Pov,

that cover image is not so clear on my laptop. Who is the woman to the Right of Hawkman (in the white cape)

I'm not a JLA fan so its not obvious to me.

Zatanna in her blue and white Perez costume, Darden.

And Gazer... That's not to say it's actually Ray, or these aren't a red herring... Issue 7's big reveal should be interesting, though...

One thing's been bothering me since the first issue, though. (Not the crap with Sue, that will ALWAYS bother me! )

The kids who shot up Bolt... they seemed crazed during their shooting spree, or possessed... Afterwards, one runs off while the other drops his gun in shock before calling 911 for Bolt. And how does Luthor's armor figure into any of this???

Like I said, it should be interesting to see how everything fits together.

I'm curious about that fed's line to Boomerang's son about how all these villains end up getting resurrected whenever someone's allowed to see the body. It could be a throwaway line about how villains seem to die then come back all the time, but I dunno...

D'OH!!

I just had a real senior moment yesterday.

I was in my local comic shop to pick up GL Rebirth and saw IC on the shelf. Thinking it was the new/last issue I bought it, then when I opened it up I realised it was the reprint of issue 1.



I think I'll just book the room in the home now.

DC and Marvel will be counting on the failing memories of aging fans to boost their sales!

Faraway, can't you return it? I'm pretty sure my dealer would do that for me.

Actually, offer him the first printing for 10 pounds store credit and KEEP the Rags cover. I am so FREAKing sick of Michael Turner, and Rags' cover is so much better than any of Turner's...

Hey, that is a good idea! Actually, the Turner cover is probably worth more; it might not hurt to try to ebay it.

Now that it's over, I'm a little underwelmed by the whole thing and not sure all of it was necessary. I wish this was linked to that DC Super-Team storyline somehow to better explain the killer's actions.

BTW, it was Jean Loring!

Sue died for this.


What a frelling waste.

Utter, utter horsecrap.

i havent got it yet! i mustve missed it at the store.

someone can spoil it for me though...

I did. Above ^.

i mean, what happened?

Ray Palmer figures out the truth. The killer goes in Arkam Asylum. We see how life goes on for the rest of the DCU.

The Atom and Firehawk seem to retire. Batman chooses to ignore the fact he was mind-wiped.

WTF?

The DCU must have some messed-up court system, where anyone can be deemed "criminally insane" at the drop of a hat. What evidence do they have that [the killer] is insane, other than the supposed heinousness of his/her crimes? So [the killer] was tried, found insane, and committed to Arkham Asylum in what seemed to have been a matter of days? What? And do all serial killers in the DCU end up in Arkham Asylum? Too bizarre. (Plus, apparently the torture of specific inmates in Arkham Asylum is obvious enough to make front-page news, but not so heinous that anyone actually does anything about it.)

It also annoyed me that about nine different loose ends were not even addressed, let alone tied up, in the last issue. I suppose we'll now have to buy all those IC tie-ins?

Bah.

What a freakin' rip-off, cop-out, horsecrap ending. Whoever edited this book and let this ending happen should be fired.

1. Ray always held a torch for Jean. To go to these lengths is just ludicrous. Since when do women have to kill to get guys back??? Wouldn't just putting out have accomplished the goal??? But I guess a booty-call doesn't sell a million issues.

2. What was accomplished by this entire story? The elimination of 2 heroes wives. The intro of an Oracle for crooks. Knocked off Tim's dad. Rebooted Capt. Boomerang. Wow. Great job. You could've done all this by a simple building collapse. Or a gas line explosion. A random act like that would have been more powerful, in retrospect, than this dung heap.

3. Oh, here we go. Batman mindwiped. The JLA torn apart by secrets. I liked it better when it was "Tower of Babel" and Ra's al Ghul was behind it.

4. I could go on, but why? This series had the opportunity to be great. Ray as the killer made sense. This is poop. Someone at the DC editorial staff should grow a pair.

Identity Crisis my ass. More like Credibility Crisis to me.

Yeah, I was pretty disappointed by the thing myself but at this point my enthusiasm had dimmed considerably. The ending seemed pretty anticlimactic to me and worse, left me feeling like a lot of it didn't make sense.

I read on the DC boards that Jean had been insane at one point - is that right? The Atom mentions how he remembers why they got divorced in the first place but y'know what? I don't! If that's at all relevant, why not explain it (or did I miss something from the other issue?)? And what's this nonsense about her bringing some other weapons just in case? Where'd she even get a weapon like that? Talk about forced.

So they spent all this time on Dr Light as though he was still a player in this drama, but we just see him with his newly recovered memory just sitting there. I suppose it's a lead up to his return in "Teen Titans" or something, but I felt cheated there.

And tell me again why Jean left no trace whatsoever? She wasn't even microscopic the whole time. The bungling, deranged ex-wife of the Atom was able to outsmart the entirety of DC's heroes?

And tell me again how Batman's miraculous detective skills were able to put it together?? Every other detective from Jessica Fletcher to Encyclopedia Brown explains how they figured it out - we're just supposed to believe that Batman looked over the evidence and it just came to him??

And I've criticized Meltzer for uveruse of heroes' secret ID's in this story, but c'mon - Jean Loring knows that Bruce Wayne is the Batman?? Does Doiby Dickles know too?

Man! I should put my first printings up on eBay before everyone ELSE figures out it was complete shit!

Overall I was less than impressed with the mini. Let's see... they killed off Sue, who I kinda liked. They pushed Tim into the Batman direction by murdering his father. They completely screwed up my favorite JLA era by making the heroes as bad as the villains by having them screwing around with mind control.

Just out of curiosity, is there some reason why they didn't just move the family members to the watchtower while they tried to find the murderer?

Cuz that would've made too much sense and Meltzer needed the heroes to run around like panicked idiots to create drama.

Well I hate to say it because I have *loved* this series so far... but I was also extremely let down by the ending!

So many loose ends left hanging - Who was Owen's mother? Why did Bolt seem to lose his powers? What was the significance of the Luthor suit? What is Batman going to do about the mind-wiping? Did Black Lightning and Katana get dessert to go with that meal? ... and so on.

And the series really accomplished very little too - Atom and Firehawk retired? Well not according to current issues of JLA and Firestorm they haven't! Tim Drake loses his father and Elongated Man loses his wife? Great - take away the best examples of what set them apart from most other heroes. For a series that was supposed to "ROCK DC TO ITS CORE!" as all the ads said - it really didn't. Now most of that is probably the fault of the DC Marketing department but still - it annoys.

Such a shame - Identity Crisis was a great journey but the destination sucked!

If I had bothered buying the last two issues (I think my copy of 7 comes with my first shipment from DCBS at the end of the month) I'd do it. At least this didn't suck as much as Identity Disk. Did anyone even bother finishing that series?

well even i was let down by this ending !!! and i'm usually easily pleased !!!

i thought we may have seen JEAN totally "flip out" and attack or stab RAY !!!??? .... go a bit "FATAL ATTRACTION" at least !!!

i had enjoyed the build up for the most part, and the JEAN's reason for "attacking" SUE [ did make sense ] but for the whole storyline to play out of a supposed accident, is pretty weak imo !!!

as as other people have said, we haven't really got any major "shake ups" from this series, apart from the senseless deaths of some of the more "human" characters of the DC UNIVERSE .....

Matthew.

I also found this unsatisfying: although I'm OK with the "big picture" of the killer and the motive, the details leave a lot to be desired.
For example: hard enough to believe that Jean would know the secret IDs of Superman and Batman, but why would she know the ID of the current Robin? I'm pretty sure Jean and Ray had already split up before Tim appeared, so why would anyone have told her? Heck, why would Ray even know? Tim's never been a JLA member.

Yep. Around the end of the Silver Age Atom title, and then into Atom & Hawkman.

Short answer: Jean was cheating on Ray (this dates from the period of the Power Of The Atom specials and minis, and I don't have those back issues handy to review the details).

Good points.

Especially since she was crying and stuff. Didn't any of those tears end up on the floor? And if not tears, or a stray hair or fleck of dry skin -- weren't there any, um, Jean particles in the environment that one of those high-powered folks could have detected?

I've heard the Bolt thing may get covered in a comic fairly soon. Owen seems like a good candidate to show up in FLASH. No idea about your other (good) questions.

I have to agree with folks here. #7 was a serious letdown.

I wish it had been linked to the mind-wiping in order to provide some sort of thematic consistency.

IIRC Owen will be leading the bad Rogues against the 'good' Rogues in a new Flash arc. February I think.

I actually liked Owen -- and Digger, too. For some reason, Digger's death seemed like more of a tragedy than Jack Drake's.

I don't remember specifically, but didn't they also employ mystical and telepathic means of trying to determine what happened? No way she could've avoided that kind of detection.

because digger has more screen time than jack drake
most of us have followed Digger since AT LEAST suicide squad where he opened and closed the late, lamented Ostrander/Yale series

also, i think metzger used this series to build on geoff johns work of reimagining (to use Waid's terms) the Silver Age villains as strong characters ... and any sentiment over Digger's demise is probably attributed to that feat

now i think the failure in identity crisis has been a failure to realize some basic differences in plot structure for mysteries in comics vs. novels (in a comic the hero figures it out in the 2nd to last issue and spends the final issue in confrontation with a credible surprise threat), AND the recognition that the preponderence of crime tv (from CSI to COURT TV to Law & Order) means that our general knowledge of evidence collection and crime prosecution is much higher now than 10-20 years ago and we're gonna have a different range of questions about the crime, the investigation and the conclusion of it all

One more thing... "I feel so small" comments are beyond trite when they come from people with the power to shrink. I rolled my eyes when Violet said some variation thereof in the early issues of Legionnaires (after defeating Micro), and double rolled at Ray's comment...

I'm glad I dropped this after issue #1.

okay -- just finished the final issue -- and i have to wonder == WHAT THE ($)#*@_)$* was that about???

HELLO??? ANYONE???

Wow. I don't think I've ever seen a book get(thus far) unanimous comments here.

Dont look for me to break the trend, either. It was utterly craptaculous.

There are so many ways it *could* have been better too... # 1 among these is Miner's excellent suggestion about tying it in to the mindwiping somehow, and also the suggestion for tying it in to Jean's previous bout with insanity (although, I guess it kinda did do that without actually mentioning it).

Very disappointed by this.

Well..I have to agree with the board on this one.
Issue #7 was not quite what I expected in the conclusion to this series. I really did like the story as it began but this ending was a let down.
So many great points have been made, Jack Drake senseless death, really how did Jean now Robins ID?
I wish the JLA would come and mind wipe me so I could forget this issue.

This was like some of the worse DanA issues. A great start, let down by a unsatisfying ending.

what makes this story even worse was that the ending to me cheapens and destroys any value or meaning in the rape and the mindwiping. I didnt like them to start with but was willing to accept them because the story looked to be going somewhere. With this ending I no longer feel like giving the writer the benefit of the doubt.

All I have to say is...meh.

For such a big "event"...shrug.

To be honest, I felt let down by the ending as well. Nothing could have lived up to the hype regardless.

HOWEVER....

I suspect that if I re-read IC, I might find a truly sad, quiet and moving story about the failure of these humans to protect the ones they love despite the fact that they are super-heroes. I.e., preventing all the mind-wiping, sexual assault and super-villainy in the world isn't gonna stop the emotional damage that being a super-hero can impose on your life and, more importantly, the lives of those around you.

Rokk...You have now made me want to re-read and take another look for a deeper meaning.
I have to agree with your statement above..take time and smell the roses. We really never do appreciate what we have until it is gone.

I assume that Jean has spent a great deal of time wearing Ray's costume in the past? I mean, call me silly, but I doubt that I could slip on his costume and ride through the telephone line without some practice.

I don't know about a GREAT deal, but she certainly has had some time with it.

I liked the resolution to the murder. As told, it really was a great tale by Metzler. While it was a good murder mystery, the actually story was all of 3 issues. The rest of IC seems to be more set up for future stories. In that regard, I feel let down.

The first issue hooked readers, getting us to care about the characters, and interested in seeing how this played out. The throw down with Deathstroke was great, but I still can't figure out why Slade didn't kill the heroes. Jack Drake's murder was one of the most gripping scenes I've read in years. And Ray's realization and subsequent departure were a great ending.

Take out the Owen Mercer/Captain Boomerang scenes, they apparently were just set-ups for future Flash stories. Ditto with the Calculator and his business dealings. Mind you, I was intrigued, and would still like to see how both sub-plots are played out. But they had nothing to do with the story.

Take the murder mystery as it is, a stand alone tale of a personal nature for our heroes. It gives them a more human perspective, and that much was well done. That's the tale Rokk is talking about.

Stargazer and CJ make very good points. Everyone should listen to them and do exactly as they say.

Identity Crisis contained some interesting character-interaction scenes, but as a mystery story I cannot respect it.
Expessing it in terms of the classic Triumvirate of Detection:
Motive I can accept, but Method was hopelessly implausible and Opportunity was dubious at best.

And, I admit it, I was annoyed that the whole mindwiping business turned out to be completely irrelevant to the murders.

Rokk...I am more a follower. I tend to get people into trouble when I lead. (LOL)

I think DC Countdown will continue more of the IC story. At least thats what the gossip I have read leads me to believe.

sorry guys, it wasn't a the mystery was only there because the writer made the heroes to stupid to follow up the obvious clues.

thought that this story might be interesting in showing the interplay of trust and identity between the heroes, like who do Batman and Superman trust with their identities, how does Kyle deal with the fact that 2 important people in his life died because he didn't think thru the 'secret' part, who trusts one another in the super hero fraternity and what records does the gov't have access to?

instead there was the cheap sensationalism of killing off a beloved supporting cast member, a subplot of who the hell this new speedster kid is and the whole your heroes are not as clean as you remember them. all these issues were actually dealt with in the recent Starman series and, while there was moral ambiguity and complexity, they didn't leave me feeling nearly as dirty.

this series cost us Sue, Firestorm and a fair amount of respect for the editing at dc and hopefully is forgotten about very soon.

...though the new upcoming grim and gritty 'avenger of the stretchy night' series starring Ralph does tickle the dark places in my psyche.

"Ray always held a torch for Jean. To go to these lengths is just ludicrous. Since when do women have to kill to get guys back???"

That's RIGHT, dammit. SWORD OF THE ATOM had his heart broken when his wife CHEATED on him. In POWER OF THE ATOM (which I dearly loved) Ray tried to see if he and Jean could get back together. He wanted it. She-- DIDN'T.

So this whole story makes NO F****** sense!!!!!

What a piece of S***.


I'm glad I read it first this week-- then read GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH after. The contrast in style-- and TALENT-- is STAGGERING.

And-- why did the art by Morales & bair look so UGLY this time out? Is it possible it was a last-minute rush job-- or maybe THEY didn't have their hearts in it?


As I said-- whata piece of S***.

! The image isn't showing up on my page, but I followed the url to the index -- friggin' hilarious stuff!