Identity Crisis #6

[history79]

10 pages of 30

Comments

[mrstatham]

I remember reading the commentary for the TPB and Meltzer being really hyped that they had basically made a King Lear reference with that page with Dr Light, and that they were enthused that they had made readers worry what that smirk might mean and what came next.

Yeah, thanks a fucking bunch. You just consigned a lighthearted goofy villain to being Dr McRapey Rape forever more. I'm not excited to see where Light's shenanigans take him next, I'm worried about who he's going to sexually abuse.

Also, Ollie's argument might have carried some kind of weight if he hadn't played that "YOU THINK BATMAN HASN'T DONE THE SAME THING TO US?" card, which is clearly meant to suggest the moments of Batdickery he'd suffered prior to this like Tower of Babel, but you aren't selling it WHEN YOUR SHITTY RETCON CAN BE INTERPRETED AS PRETTY MUCH BEING THE CAUSE OF ANY DICKISHNESS FROM THE CHARACTER, BRAD.

[reveen]

Dead End? I get it! Cos lots of characters are dead! Haha!

And what's the deal with Watchtower food?

Q: "What are you doing to him?"

[7dialsmystery]

A: "He tried to escape! We're subduing him!"

See, you people could have avoided this if you were better liars.

[icon_uk]

"You think he hasn't done the same thing to us?"

Actually, no I'm pretty sure he never has Ollie.

[locuatico]

i just love the phrase the phrase he uses. so, because batman MIGHT have done something like this, they are justified to do the same? If batman had ever done something even similar to this, something for the so called "greater good", wouldn't he have done something to stop the Joker permanently?
I mean, the fact that Dr. Light raped Sue was awful (and awful writting), but The Joker has done some truly despicable things, and it is obvious at this point that the system is not going to stop Joker.
this statement is just stupid "OH, Batman, we cannot trust him, he is willing to do anything for the greater good. he has done stuff we would never forgive. if he was in the same situation he would have done the same". NO, he would not. if he has not tried to mind wipe Joker already, he is not going to fall for any of that "greater good" crap.

[bradygirl_12]

So all this is the reason we've gotten the rude, petty, condescending Bat-dick all these years, making him almost completely unlikeable? Great, another thing to chalk up to this lousy event.

[drtechnobabel]

You know Ollie, your whole speech about doing what's necessary to protect one's identity might hold more weight if your own mask wasn't so tiny it could fit between two fingers. Oh, and if you ever shaved that super-distinctive goatee that no one except Oliver Queen wears anymore.

[matrix_dragon]

Ah yes. The moment Green Arrow went from 'Bit of a Jerk, but you know he means well', to 'Arrogant, hypocritical filth.'

Hooray for 'Realism'! :(

[starwolf_oakley]

When I first read this, and how Bruce came back because of Sue, that meant Bruce was glad Ralph had "a life" as part of "The Life." Bruce Wayne is aware of how screwed up he is, and Batman can *really* tell how screwed up he is compared to the rest of the Justice League. If that's the reason Batman "hates" the JLA, well, that just makes Batman look petty. (I'm all about Batman not looking petty.)

Sometimes you accept "Because he's Batman." He knew right away *what* Zatanna was doing to Light and *why* because he's Batman. And he rushed to stop them because he's Batman. And you can imagine him thinking "I thought, I sometimes even considered... Harvey Dent was one of my BEST FRIENDS!!!"

Again, anyone think Zatanna somehow messed it up with Light because Batman interrupted?

[matrix_dragon]

As a side note, one of the other things about this story I disliked was that it essentially claimed that Superman and Batman were 'lazy'. They'd show up for the punching and fighting, and then they'd leave the cleanup to other people, because they had 'more important' things to do. They never found out what Ollie and co were up to for so long, because they never stuck around to help.

Just... no.

[espanolbot]

It's still kind of bizarre that Ollie, who once called Aquaman a fascist due to his being in charge of a monarchy, is the one being used as a mouthpiece for this... stuff. Like, Frank Miller uses Batman to on an extended powertrip all the time (Dark Knight Strikes Again and All Star Batman being the most guilty of this), but even he didn't opt to use lobotomies on his colleagues due to them inconveniencing him.

Also, notice that the blame of this is implictly placed on Zatanna? Who, chronologically here, is a much younger hero than the others at this point, and who just lost her dad over in Swamp Thing? She's the one Batman sees kerfoobling with Light's brain, she's the one who freezes Batman...

For all their talk of it being a Cabal, it really seems to boil down to Hawkman telling people "the Ends Justify The Means" and Ollie going "Welp, can't argue with that". What are Zatanna's opinions on this? What are Dinah's? Why are there no narrators who are women in this thing?

Okay, let's tally this up, shall we?

- The story kicks off with a (pregnant) woman getting murdered in her own home by a friend, who then burns the body to hide the evidence.

- Said woman was revealed to have been raped, and we're not told what her feelings were on it, only conjecture from her male friends.

- Zatanna is presented as not just a plot convenience, but as an emotional impulsive one due to her dad dying recently.

- Zatanna, despite being a long time friend of Bruce, is shown to freeze him without warning, something that causes her to come to blows with the other members of the Cabal.

- The end reveal that the entire thing was a ploy to make Jean Loring's ex-husband, the husband who SHE DIVORCED, come back to her. In a scheme that has no explanation other than "She's crazy" that leaves at least three people dead.

- Jean is then committed to a mental hospital where, a) most of the DCU's supervillains are kept, and b) they know who she is due to her leaking her identity to the newspapers, as shown earlier in the story. This leads to her being tortured and raped by the inmates, as revealed in another magazine.

Why is it that, besides Dr Light and the Arkham thing with Jean, the story seems to consist of men being manipulated or forced into doing things by emotional/unstable women?