It's a story that would be right at home on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Help arrives too late after a desperate phone call, and a woman is found dead inside her home, brutally beaten by a mysterious intruder and then burned past the point of recognition.
The main investigators are baffled. There is no reason, no motive. But then the pieces begin to come together, and it turns out that the main suspect is ... a man who can shrink down to the size of an atom?
Such is the problem currently being faced by Batman, Superman, and the other characters of the DC Comics Universe, who are all embroiled in a massive crossover miniseries that promises to change the face of the comic empire, for better or for worse.
"Identity Crisis" has had comic fans abuzz since its first issue was published in June 2004. The seven-issue miniseries, which was written by Brad Meltzer and drawn by Rags Morales, has engulfed the world normally home to such favorites as Wonder Woman and the Justice League. The next and final installment is due to be published next week on Dec. 15.
Unlike traditional comic storylines, which usually feature super-powered heroes taking on deadly foes, Meltzer has attempted to craft a classic murder mystery. A mysterious villain, whose identity is yet unknown, has been targeting the loved ones of superheroes, killing them as brutally as
possible.
In the premiere issue, the first character to bite the dust was Sue Dibny, wife of the Elongated Man, who is able to stretch his body like an elastic band at will. Her murder left her husband so devastated that he literally could not hold himself together, collapsing in an elastic fit of grief at her funeral.
Since then, Lois Lane has gotten death threats and the father of Batman's young sidekick, Robin, was murdered in his own home. No one is safe, the creators say, not even Ma and Pa Kent, the iconic parents of Superman.
"Identity Crisis" marks a turning point for the DC Comics Universe. In the past, DC has had a reputation for showing the better side of human nature - even with the gritty "Batman" titles as their bestsellers, the model boy scout Superman is the company's flagship character.
But the new miniseries represents a shift away from the happy, uplifting days of the Golden Age. DC's archrival, Marvel Comics, has long been capitalizing on a more "real" universe. Their mainstays are superheroes with flaws, like the popular Spiderman, who deals with massive tragedies and day-to-day struggles in his fight to protect New York City.
Comic fans today, it seems, don't want to see Kryptonians fly faster than a speeding bullet or leap entire buildings in a single bound. They much prefer to watch their heroes struggle with their own morality, of what it really means to be a hero.
Over the course of the "Identity Crisis" miniseries, darker issues have been brought to light. It turned out that Sue Dibny was raped years ago by one of Elongated Man's nemeses, though that fact was concealed because the Justice League decided to mind-wipe the villain responsible (the result of a handy trick common in comics called "ret-conning," or adjusting the facts of the past to fit a present scenario).
The resulting fallout is as much a struggle to deal with the moral implications of the cover-up as it is a hunt to find the murderer. Did the heroes have a right to alter a villain's personality? Is it acceptable to play God?
The very existence of "Identity Crisis" is interesting not only for what it says about comics, but the very state of society today. In a world embroiled with more "CSI" spin-offs than one can count, it would seem that we're obsessed with looking at the darker side of life, with understanding what makes a truly inhuman individual tick.
In "Identity Crisis," even star detective Batman has been baffled. The heroes, used to living in a world where their secret identities meant that their families were safe, have been thrown off their game by the all-too-personal threat. No one knows to whom they can turn, and in the last issue, suspicion was cast on a longtime "Justice League" mainstay, the Atom, who can use a gravity belt to change his size at will.
The last issue of "Identity Crisis" is due to be published next week, and with it, the mastermind behind the murders may finally be unmasked. The fallout, however, will extend far beyond any revelations in a dining room.
For the moment, at least, Superman and Batman are living in a universe that is that much more real. No longer immune to tragedy or questionable morality, the choices that they make have very real consequences.
This is, after all, what comic fans have asked for. It has become a more realistic world with more realistic, sometimes brutal, consequences.
Whether they like what they get, after the murders and the mind-wipes, still remains to be seen.
