Identity Crisis Killer Revealed! Maybe. Spoilers.

He was probably just trying to get Batman's attention.

I eagerly await the hue and cry from the masses, should this prove to be the case.

(My solution: fuck continuity between titles except in those cases where it actually helps the story. Stan and Jack and the gang put the FF, X-Men, Avengers, etc., in the same self-consistent world to free them to write more stories -- like Spidey being rejected from the FF, or When Titans Have A Misunderstanding between the X-Men and Avengers, or the Hulk thrashing on the Thing -- not to limit themselves. Cross-title continuity isn't a marriage. If she stops blowing you during the game, it's okay to ditch her.)

1) It's not like I thought it would be.

2) I really hope it's Dick Grayson.

2. Do you think there's enough within the text of Identity Crisis to support Dick Grayson as the killer? The strongest hard evidence is that he's wearing a trenchcoat at the same time as the Sue Dibney killer is wearing a trenchcoat, and many other characters have been seen to wear trenchcoats in the series.

2. I think there's as much to support him as anyone else, which is to say, not very much. His parents' anniversary (of their marriage or murder?) is the same day Sue was killed, and it kept jumping out at me when we'd cut from a murder or discussion thereof to Robin. Granted, the Robin in question is Tim, but if Dick's the killer, I assume there's gonna be some kind of "I was too young to be a superhero, I was in shock from my parents being killed and you exploited me and turned me into a soldier!" accusation thrown at Batman[1]. The only other person I see any kind of hints towards is Tim Drake's dad.

[1] One way or the other, in the world of this story (and I know, it isn't an Elseworlds or anything, but it's definitely a different take on the DCU than in most of the main books), that accusation would be correct. I mean, the only real defense for "well, I took these kids and made them my wards and, um, trained them to fight -- but it's okay, I made them smart, too!" in the comics is "because it's comics, and you know, you just have to look the other way and accept a few things."

But this story presupposes a less silly DCU, one where villains are more realistically villainous instead of just colorful dilettante burglars who would've been written as the good guys a few centuries ago, and where the magic rule of "truly awful things don't happen" is broken in such a way that the break is the whole point of the story. That's not a world in which I can take Batman's creation of Robin -- any of them -- as a moral act.

And the Dick-era Titans have already been brought up in connection to the rebooted Dr Light. I'm not sure how those things would fit in, but it's like the prerequisite to a clue.

My first reaction when I learned about Identity Crisis, that it was about a dirty secret from the JLA's past and that it would affect those closest to them, was to think it would be about kid sidekicks. Certainly the convention has been questioned with regards to the Green Arrow/Speedy relationship, and since from the 40s to late 60s, Green Arrow was rarely more than a Batman analogue, it was through GA that all sorts of questions could be raised that would be taboo within the cash-collecting Batman mythos. What happens when a hero abandons his sidekick? Sidekick finds the smack, what else? How coincidental is it that GA and Batman had the same creative team (D O'N and N A) in the 70s, and GA got a social consience while Batman got Ra's Al Ghul (Batman wins)?
Green Arrow and Speedy dealt with the ambiguities of a not-quite-parental relationship long before Batman and Dick Grayson ever did. But the verdict was the same: superheroes make terrible parents.

One of the main arguments against Grayson as the killer is that he's supposedly an icon, and as such, untouchable. That's a total fallacy. It's been proven time and time again (most recently in the Teen Titans cartoon, where Robin is merely Robin, the mask never comes off) that the icon is Robin. Not Dick Grayson, not Tim Drake, not even Jason Todd, Carrie Kelly, or Stephanie Brown. The moment Dick took off his short-shorts, he removed himself from the legacy enough that he became unfixed. He became minor and transmutable, like Green Arrow or Aquaman. Surely Aquaman's beard messes with DC's iconography more than having the former occupant of the passenger side of the Batmobile become a killer.

I like Dick Grayson and Nightwing, and the way that he, much more than the Jason Todd's empty uniform under glass in the Batcave, serves as a reminder of Batman's innate, if not defining, lack of empathy for the very people he claims to protect. I will be sad to see him go (if he even goes, I mean, his series hasn't been cancelled, but neither have we been promised new Nightwing stories).

Just noticed: Dick: Identity Crisis Killer! Take that, HEAT!

I'm not sure it would be a good idea, from a company standpoint, to make Grayson go nuts, mind you -- just that, for this story, I want it to be him because he's the most interesting possibility. And in the long run, I think it'd be no more damaging/controversial/whatever than Jason Todd's death (which no one would care about if it hadn't been for the vote line).

It's kind of odd that five issues of a seven (right?) issue series are out, and there's no list of suspects yet.

The thing about the "who benefits?" thing is that it doesn't bear on anything we know yet, because from what we know right now, no one benefits. It's a way to weigh future clues. Or "clues," I should say -- this is really more Sherlock Holmes than Ellery Queen.

TIM OF THE PAST: Dick! It can't be!

FUTURE TIM: I'm from the future! I remember! He hired Captain Boomerang to kill our father!

TIM OF THE PAST: But wait -- why would he -- Captain Boomerang?

FUTURE TIM: AS A SYMBOL OF THE BATARANG, TIM OF THE PAST!

TIM OF THE PAST: Holy Hannah!

(( woooee woooee wooee time travel noises ))

TIM OF THE PAST BUT IT'S THE PRESENT NOW: Batman! It's Dick! Dick Grayson is the Identity Crisis killer!

BATMAN AND JLA: whap whap whap

DICK GRAYSON: *gurk*

TIM OF THE FUTURE: That'll show that fucker. Now I am the sole heir to the Wayne fortune! A Batman is me!

DICK GRAYSON OF THE FUTURE BECAUSE ACTUALLY HE WAS INNOCENT: *poof*

"You made fun of me, and then stopped putting me in comics. They don't call me AMBUSH Bug for nothing."

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DON'T READ UNLESS YOU HATE YOURSELF!!!

http://www.quarterbin.net/img/gu0401.jpg

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/35c5d524/a84b/__sr_/85d7.jpg?phudQkBBd5f1G4xL

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/35c5d524/a84b/__sr_/40c9.jpg?phudQkBBIywsWuxl

I can't make out the text, but, uh, fuck fuck fuck!

HAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

What a rubbish twist!

If you only want to sell to the DM, that attitude is fine. But there's about, oh... EVERYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET who doesn't set foot in a regular comics shop ever.

Gah.

Not that that supports the Grayson Hypothesis, but I wonder if the Something That Counts will be another victim, the identity of the killer, or (least likely, yet most interesting) a rift in the JLA-centric superhero community vis-a-vis methods and so on.

It does seem like there are a lot of balls in the air that are going to look sloppy if they're not ... um, connected ... okay, you don't connect balls in the air, but you know.

Or they're assuming that money spent pushing it was spent well. You know, like Kingdom Come, official most important series ever.

Batman: "Hmm... Sue Dibny's apartment was completely sealed."
Superman: "Yes, Batman, not even an ATOM could have gotten through."
Batman: "YES SOMETHING REALLY SMALL LIKE AN ATOM."

(I think I'm paraphrasing here.)

Did I remember right?

I missed getting a copy of the JSA autopsy issue (drawn by DAVE GIBBONS no less!!!)(and I usually get JSA, so it's not like I'm just some jerk fanboy who was only gonna buy it for the IC tie-in and deserves to not get a copy), but I guess nothing important (IC plot-wise) is really revealed there, since it's revealed here.
Merlyn, Monocle & Deadshot seem to be highlighted throughout this series, even though we know nothing too major happens with Deadshot since he's got a 4-issue mini-series coming next month, that deals specifically with him being the same character that he's always been, so it's not like he's gonna find out he has (YET ANOTHER) son who...
I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed at how many balls in the air there are, because, uh, at first this seemed like it was going to be a very specific and focussed sort of story, but it's just sort of, uh, flits between all these different things and assumes that you care enough follow what goes on between panels, which I do less and less.

Prediction: It will in fact blow chunks from the first page, and by next September will be as well-remembered as the Skrull Kill Krew (but not as funny).

also, the Atom is supposed to be brainy - you'd think he'd have stolen someone elses shoes or gone in on a midget bike to avoid leaving footprints.

Incidentally I have a client at work called Dr Light, but I don't think it's the same one...

I just read #6 finally, and yeah, #7 really has to be extraordinary to tie everything together. That said, the whole Batman thing, the League Within The League, that conflict -- you can't just leave that behind after this mini. I mean, that's the best thing going on here, for one thing.

btw- does anyone not reading IC want the cbrs in their gmail? I was going to wait for the trade, but since they've delayed that I decided to read them anyway.

http://www.dcuguide.com/DCP/As.php#ATOM3

http://www.dcuguide.com/MiniWho/As.php

I guess it could be cool if it'd Dr Light after all, because the explanation of his delobotomization could be cool, and hmm is Batman dememorywiped too? and etc.

Better yet, though, maybe Grayson is controlling Dr Light and making him control the Atom!

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/1449/400/1449_4_012.jpg

TEEN TITANS #21
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Mike McKone & Marlo Alquiza

Part 1 of the 3-part “Lights Out,” an IDENTITY CRISIS follow-up story! Doctor Light has forced the Titans’ hand and staged a publicized battle with the young heroes to take back his reputation. But as the Titans fall, help arrives in the form of two young heroes. Get ready for the debut of the new Hawk and Dove!

On sale Feb 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.50 US

I vow, no matter what the outcome of Identity Crisis, to ask, "Man, how did Grayson pull that off?", even if, for instance:

1) It ends with Dick Grayson being killed by Gloomsday, Doomsday's gothy kid sidekick;

2) It ends with the reveal that Ralph dreamed it all and look, it's Sue in the shower;

3) It ends with Superman talking to his legion of Super-robots and gloating about how he's the Identity Crisis and it was a lot of fun and he can't wait to go live in the sun for awhile.

How did Grayson get the Outsiders to let him stay on the team after killing Sue Dibny? That wacky Grayson! Such a cad!

Anyway. I'm still getting my head around the idea of the B-list guys in the League erasing Batman's memory to protect themselves, and in a way where they're not quite being presented as villains -- more the point, I'm getting my head around the fact that DC can't just undo this and forget it happened. It's Batman! They erased part of his memory!

(Not to mention the unanswered question of how many villains they lobotomized -- Wally mentions that Dr Light seemed so harmless when the Titans fought him, he can't believe he's the kind of guy who could've raped Sue Dibny -- and Green Arrow's like, yeah, how do you think he got that way, sport?)

On Sale February 2, 2005

http://www.dccomics.com/media/covers/2659_180x270.jpg

You blabbermouths are on my shit list for 5 minutes for spending the past week+ going ATOM ATOM ATOM ATOM over a good number of spoiler-free threads that ain't got jack to do w/ IC.

Make that 10 minutes. Bastids.

Dick Grayson did it.

OR KAMANDI!

Atom does indeed have hot loving with his Ex but when he finds out what she did he takes her to Arkham Asylum where all the other inmates are mean to her. Everyone is sad. The DC universe has changed for-evah!!! The end.

Oh and the Flash asks Green Arrow out on a date and gives Batman the cold shoulder.

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I think what bothes me is that the anti-silver-age revisionism isn't profound, but mundane. I think this is what makes IC different from Watchmen, Rick Veitch's Brat Pack, or even those "grim and gritty" image comics (the logical end consequences of vigilantism)--the plot twist isn't really integral to the superhero genre, it's just sort of nasty and vaguely mean-spirited. I don't think it really changes the way anyone thinks about superheroes--so it's different from watchmen in kind, not in value--just how we think about this particular scene of heroes. The way it diminishes superhero comics the most doesn't seem to be through the OMG revelations, but in the way that it treats superheroism as just another occupation, where people cut corners and do bad things to cover-up for themselves when their boss barges in.

So my question is--and this may reveal my complete ignorance of Infinite Crisis--do they ever follow-up on the Batman part of this story or reveal anything else these nasty superheroes did? (I'm betting that people not liking IC probably had something to do with Batman revealed as being not omniscient.)

And a more anthropological question--so was this really the big deal that everyone said? Was the fan reaction generally good? This "they're ruining the characters" vs "multi-layered storytelling" polarity sounds right, but do people really think that IC gave the DC universe a compelling dose of humanism? It seemed to invoke characterization the same way every superhero comic of the last 15 years has: someone dies, other people cry, insert voice-over narration.

And is Firestorm really dead?

*Tom (freakytrigge...), September 13th, 2004.

Only in every single comic published by DC (and a few by Marvel) since. Batman's new mistrust led him to build a giant a.i. satellite to monitor the superheros, but before he got a chance to use it, yet another benign supporting character gone bad kidnapped the satellite and killed 80s joycore comics the same way IdC killed 70s joycore comics. Then the Justice League went to Batman's house, but Alfred said he wasn't home, but Superman has X-ray vision, so he was like, "He is too home." But Alfred said, "Nuh-uh."
So the heroes left, and then Batman came out from the behind the fern he was hiding behind and says, "I'm going down to the basement, I'm taking apart the Red Tornado."
But when he got to the basement, Aquaman was down there (I guess there's a waterway in the Batcave), only he had THREE EYES!!!

http://www.comictreadmill.com/CTMBlogarchives/images/IdentityCrisis7.jpg

The closest I've come to Firestorm of late are those "Supergirl, she's banging! / shut up, Ted!" asides in the OTHER IC.

Also, I think my main suspension of disbelief issue was how everyone and their wife (hint, hint) seemed to know everyone's secret identity and would throw around "bruce" and "clark" in public. I know that's the whole point, but it seems silly.

Mrs. Atom is probably sub-Sue Dibny, since a) nobody likes the Atom b) Sue was a popular supporting player in the Giffen-Era JLE (among other JLs).

Aha! I can (sadly) confirm I am reading Firestorm. He is not dead, but it's not clear who's currently inhabiting the body (apart from Jason) in the INFINITELY SADFACE IN SPACE issues. I think it's an alcoholic he picked up off the street, who is as confused as the readers.

Did I mention that I reread Identity Crisis recently and decided that the dialogue is quite possibly even worse than the Killer Reveal?