Identity Crisis (DC Comics)

File:Identity Crisis 7.jpg

Identity Crisis #7, the conclusion. Art by Michael Turner.

Identity Crisis is a seven issue comic book miniseries published by DC Comics in 2004, written by Brad Meltzer and drawn by Rags Morales. It was one of DC's top-selling series throughout its run, but attracted controversy for its high-stakes storytelling, especially when it drastically retconned aspects of DC's Silver Age. These attempts to add modern excitement and drama to "old-fashioned" characters were widely considered sensationalist exploitation of beloved characters for commercial purposes by some critics, while others hailed it as a controversial masterpiece that updated DC's characters into the post-9/11 world.

Template:Spoiler Many characters close to classic DC superheroes (such as the Elongated Man's wife Sue Dibny and Tim Drake's father) are murdered and the superhero community responds to these crimes. Furthermore, it was revealed the Atom, Hawkman, the Elongated Man, the Flash, Zatanna, Green Lantern and Green Arrow had mind-wiped and altered the personality of Dr. Light after he attacked and raped Sue Dibny in the JLA Satellite. When Batman walked in on the heroes doing this, he unsuccessfully attempted to stop them. His memory was also wiped of the event.

Jean Loring, the ex-wife of the Atom, was revealed as the mastermind of the murders to get the Atom to return to her and was consequently committed to Arkham Asylum.

Casualties of Identity Crisis

• The Ronnie Raymond Firestorm was killed when the Shadow Thief stabbed him with Shining Knight's enchanted sword, breaching his skin. Approaching critical mass, Firestorm flew into the sky and exploded.
• Sue Dibny was accidentally killed by Jean Loring who covered up the death by burning the body and creating suggestions that some supervillain with a grudge did it.
• Tim Drake's father and Captain Boomerang killed each other.
• Bolt was seriously injured.

Notable Changes and Consequences of Identity Crisis

• The Calculator, formally a technology-using supervillian with a rather silly costume, becomes a formidable information broker. Indeed, he is now essentially the villian counterpart of the Oracle.
• The Atom quits the JLA and superheroics in general.
• Firehawk quits the superhero game as well.

Notable Retcons of Identity Crisis

• Previously, it was determined that in the post-Crisis DCU, only a handful of other heroes knew the secret identity of Batman and Superman (or in the case of Superman, that he had a secret identity at all). Now it seems to have reverted back so that virtually every hero in the JLA knows who they actually are.
• Dr. Light's previous ineffectualness was not due to his own foolishness, but rather, because of the effects of the JLA's attempt to alter his personality.
• Green Arrow and Hawkman's mutual antagonism was no longer primarily rooted in their differing political philosophies, but instead on their opposing opinions of what should have been done to Dr. Light.

Plot Points Left Open

• Who was the mother of Captain Boomerang's son?
• Why did Bolt attack the owners of Lex Luthor's body armor?
• What happened to Luthor's body armor?
• Dr. Light's memory of what happened on the satellite were restored. What will he do with that knowledge?
• What were Dr. Moon and Phobia up to?
• Will Jean Loring be forced by Arkham inmates to reveal the identities of the DC heroes?
• Will Batman discover the mindwipe?

Continuity Errors in Identity Crisis

• Firehawk tells her father over the phone that she's quitting the superhero life. Firehawk's father was killed years previously in Hawkworld #13.

Criticisms of Various Plot Points in Identity Crisis

These should be consided common fan opinions and critiques rather than exhaustive literary review.

Melodrama

• By revealing that Sue was also pregnant when she was killed is a cheap, almost cliche way to milk emotion from the reader.

Mysogyny

• Deathstroke's subdual of Black Canary (having a bondage mask zipped over her head to prevent her from using her Canary Cry and then having her hands handcuffed behind her back to prevent her from removing said mask) has been accused of being mysogynistic by many fans. The fact that Deathstroke then steps on Black Canary to use her as a platform to attack another hero supposedly reinforces the argument.
• Sue Dibney's rape is mere sensationalism and unnecessary to the plot and contributes the comic book stereotype of women as victims in comics. ("Girlfriend-in-Refrigerator Syndrome")

Logic Criticisms of Various Plot Points in Identity Crisis

• Jean Loring burns the body of Sue Dibney using a flamethrower she conveniently brought with her "just in case." Is it reasonable for the Atom to have a flamethower in his workshop? Wouldn't it have been simpler and more logical for Jean to have brought something like a gun for protection?
• Why would the heroes of DC Universe allow Jean Loring, who knows the secret identity of virtually every hero in the JLA, to be locked up in Arkham Asylum, where some of the most notorious villians of the DC Universe are incarcerated? Isn't that an invitation for someone's secret ID to be exposed and exploited in a horrific manner?

Sequel

In 2005, DC is scheduled to publish several mini-series under the umbrella title Infinite Crisis. These stories, to an extent, constitute a sequel to Identity Crisis and are expected to continue in the same vein of controversial storytelling that marked the earlier series. Prior to the launch of this new series, DC reprinted Identity Crisis.