Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Husbands & Wives
Written by: Brad Meltzer
Penciled by: Rags Morales
Inked by: Michael Bair
Colored by: Alex Sinclair
Lettered by: Kenny Lopez
Assistant Editor: Michael Siglain
Editor: Mike Carlin
Publisher: DC Comics
This review is full of spoilers!
You”¦
Have”¦
Been”¦
Warned”¦.
Brad Meltzer is building an incredibly well thought out murder mystery in the pages of Identity Crisis. Other than last mont’s anti-climatic death of Firestorm the deat’s seemed to be a reasonable part of the action. They maximized the tension of the storyline and the events will serve as ample fodder for character growth of those affected by the lost comrades and loved ones. The villains of the DC Universe will come out of Identity Crisis a more realistic, cold-blooded, and most importantly, dangerous group.
The tense closing moments of issue #5 where Jack Drake (Robin’s father) and Captain Boomerang killed each other were proof of Meltze’s ability to pull a reader to the edge of their seat with the tension becoming palpable. The opening this month plays well on the conclusion of last mont’s chapter. We see Robin’s reaction to the carnage, as well as a classic splash page of the usually stoic Batman showing emotion. Then it’s on to the other side of the coin as we see the reaction of Boomerang’s son. The Captain is dead, long live The Captain. The story moves through the reaction from both the hero and villain communities at the losses suffered thus far in Identity Crisis.
This is the calm.
Meltzer gives the reader a moment of respite to gather our thoughts, and prepare for the encroaching climax. As the pen-ultimate issue winds down Green Arrow tells The Flash one final deep, dark secret that the superheroes have been keeping. Many years ago a faction in the JLA (Green Lantern, Flash, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Atom, and Zatanna) changed Dr. Light’s personality to make him less of a threat. Thanks to Zatanna’s spell casting abilities Dr. Light was rendered a non-threat. That’s old news from chapter two. What we learn this month is what happened just after Zee toyed with Light’s mind”¦Batman returned to the JLA Satellite. Walking in on the incident did not make The Dark Knight happy. Thanks to Zatanna’s intervention, Bats too forgot about the incident. How this is going to play out and where the story will go next month isn’t even the biggest revelation.
As the issue closes, the autopsy of Sue Dibny (the first murdered during Identity Crisis) has finally given an answer to Mr. Terrific and Dr. Mid-Nite. It seems Sue’s killer shrunk down and caused an infarction in her brain. This leads to the big revelation that The Atom is the killer in Identity Crisis. We get a final sequence between Ray Palmer (The Atom) and the ex-wife he recently got back together because he “saved” her from the “killer,” Jean Loring. We are led to believe that Ray killed everyone, so he could be a “hero” and get his wife back.
I don’t believe we know the answer yet, but Brad Meltzer has unveiled a whopper of a cliffhanger for the final issue. Could The Atom really be the killer? It’s plausible.
To not mention the efforts by Rags Morales and Michael Bair would be a disservice. The power of the story and the effect of the circumstances on the players are rendered beautifully. I do have to say some of the characters haven’t looked quite the way I’m used to in these pages, but the emotional drama makes up for artistic license. I don’t think I’ve ever seen characters with more emotional range than those we’ve seen so far in Identity Crisis.
Where this is all heading will be answered in one short month. Then, finally, I won’t have to hear all of the guessing at who the killer is. I’ve heard so many good, bad, and ludicrous guesses. The fun in the guessing is long overdue”¦now I just want the answer!
Identity Crisis has been a winner for six issues now, but the real litmus test is still to come. As engrossing as Identity Crisis 1-6 were. As interesting as the twists-and-turns Mr. Meltzer has given us. No matter the wonderful character growth we’ve seen. It all comes down to issue #7 and the revelations within. Nothing matters until the truth is finally shown. It all hinges on the final chapter. Identity Crisis could be one of the best ever, or it could still be a stinker. The ending must be convincing, stunning, and most importantly, plausible.
The pressure’s on Mr. Meltzer!
