Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Identity Crisis

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!