Identity Crisis #6

[history79]

10 pages of 30

Comments

[alschroeder3]

HEY!!!!!!

While there are things about this mini-series I loathed, the JLA ALTERING THE MEMORIES OF OTHERS AND THEMSELVES is NOT OUT OF CHARACTER!

Exhibit A: Justice League of America #19, one of the best of the early stories. The Justice League is framed by a super-Justice League, looking just like them and minus all their individual weaknesses. The JLA is beaten individually by their doppelgangers (created by Dr. Destiny from their dreams) and then arrested by the police (no, they didn't put up a fight to the authorities--they aren't MARVEL heroes. *Grin*) and Jean Loring, ironically in light of this min-series, was their lawyer. They pled nolo contendre to the charges (not admitting their guilt but having no way to prove their innocence) but agreed to leaving the Earth in a space ship they built until they could prove their innocence under court order.

Except for one loophole. They were under court order not to return as Superman, Batman, et al--but Clark Kent, Diana Prince, Bruce Wayne COULD. They returned for a return match with the super-Justice League and eventually won--but they showed their powers in their civilian identities (and had to reveal their identities to each other, something they hadn't done up to this point) to the public.

So at the end, Superman--with the agreement of all of them---remarked it was "wonderful" to know each others' identities, but that public knowledge of their identities would endanger their loved ones--he said he'd use his "amnesium" in his Fortress to make EVERYONE ON EARTH---including THEMSELVES--forget each others' identities. (Or at least, who didn't know it before, like Batman and Superman knew each others'.)

That was UNANIMOUS on every JLAer's part. INCLUDING Batman and Green Arrow. And no, the ordinary people didn't get a vote. (I'm not sure how that was done. Amnesium, which appeared in other stories, needed to be in close proximity. Did Superman and Flash super-speed around everyone on Earth and expose them to it...?)

So when Green Arrow said about Batman "you think he hasn't done the same to us"...well, guys, it has DEFINITELY happened before.

Yes, this is a little different. But aren't they all? I'm sure if I looked through my collection, I could find other examples---Superman with his amnesium, GL with his power ring---where memories were wiped of others WITHOUT their consent.

Maybe Meltzer just has a good memory. HATE the rape. HATE the fact that the murderer had such a flimsy pretext, and was so easily guessed. But HERE--Meltzer is portraying the JLA the way they WERE.

I can post the scenes, if anyone's interested. It might take me a little while to find the pictures to scan, though.

[starwolf_oakley]

GL with his power ring---where memories were wiped of others WITHOUT their consent

The Alex Ross "maxi-series" series JUSTICE had something similar. John Stewarts GL ring does a "forget the League's secret IDs" in the last issue.

I believe JUSTICE was Alex Ross doing a "measured response" to IDENTITY CRISIS. It is like a "Take That," but thought out instead of a quick story beat. Actually, JUSTICE had a "response" to Emerald Twilight, where Hal Jordan does *not* want to live in a ring-created fantasy of Coast City.

[crinos]

Speaking of Doctor Destiny, didn't they remove his ability to dream or something? Which led to him withering into an emaciated skeleton?

[espanolbot]

I thought he did that to himself by using Morpheous' ruby too much? Or was that added in later?

[crinos]

I think that was the later explanation, in the original silver age story they just removed his ability to dream so he couldn't use his Materioptikon. (I think that's what happened).

In fact, I think that's another thing Identity Crisis was trying to do, reference all the times in the Silver Age the JLA and other heroes got away with erasing memories and stuff like that, only playing it straight and showing the consequences of that.

You know, of all the things of the Silver Age to latch on to, why that?

[mrstatham]

Because DC's management and top writer LOVE the Silver Age but miss the point of it being fun and lighthearted and stuff kids could read.

[halloweenjack]

I'm sure if I looked through my collection, I could find other examples---Superman with his amnesium, GL with his power ring---where memories were wiped of others WITHOUT their consent.

If you're talking about the Silver Age, then I'm sure you could--along with plenty of examples of superdickery, batdickery, and probably speeddickery and lanterndickery as well. (Not so sure about wonderdickery, although there were those awful issues of WW from the seventies that had the evil crypto-dykes in them.) But this takes place after Morrison's and Waid's runs and represents a regression of sorts both to the grimdarkness and the problematic ethics of earlier eras.

[skemono]

I recall Sinestro was going to mindwipe someone who discovered Hal's identity in Emerald Dawn II, but I don't remember if Half ever went along with it or not.