Break out the Clearasil, “The Big Three” (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) along with the rest of the Justice League of America, have finally matured.

They have finally awakened to the realities of the world in which their stories are told, coming out of an idealistic haze that has permeated their universe for decades in favour of a more realistic and humanizing direction. However, this turns the unwritten laws, which have been a staple in all superhero lexicons, upside down.

It used to be that superheroes and villains never crossed the line of murder, brutality and deceit in their countless battles throughout the years, especially in the DC universe, but that all changed when Identity Crisis hit the shelves earlier this year and the trend continues in this summer’s Countdown to Infinite Crisis.

In Identity Crisis Elongated man’s wife, Sue Dibny, and Robin’s father, Jack Drake, were killed by the wife of the Atom, Jean Loring. Before this year, it was an unwritten rule that super villains did not kill the friends and family of their enemies. Granted, Marvel comics have killed off friends and family of the heroes before (the effects of the death of Spiderman’s girlfriend, Gwen Stacey, are still being felt in that universe today) but the DC universe had never crossed that line before Identity Crisis. In addition, the JLA’s loss was made more painful, especially for the Atom, by the revelation that the woman behind it all was their friend and Ally Jean Loring. Heroes have never had to face such a personal threat from someone so close to each of them, much less someone without super powers.

However, the heroes themselves are not pictures of perfection in this story. In by gone days the guys in the tights stood for truth, justice and the American way. They always did the right thing, but these days the right thing isn’t always so clear and now the JLA has stepped out of the black and white and into the land of the grey with the rest of us. After the rape (that’s right, rape!) of Sue Dibny aboard the JLA watchtower by Dr. Light, it is decided by a second string group of heroes to lobotomize him, so that he will never learn the secret identities of the heroes, and harm someone else close to them. This decision opens up an ethical can of worms that is made worse when batman shows up, catches them in the act and they make the decision to clear his memory of the incident. Thanks to an injection of realism, the hereos are forced into ethical dilemmas like this one and they are finally made into flawed human beings with real problems, rather than high and mighty god-like creatures that always do the right thing. Villains also seem to be crossing a line; the JLA has never had to deal with the rape of anyone, let alone a spouse of one of their own. The effects of Identity Crisis are still being felt one year later. The ramifications of Batman’s mind-wipe are being felt in Countdown to Infinite Crisis’s OMAC Project, as he implements a spy satellite network designed to make sure no other heroes cross the line with anyone else again. The fallout from Identity Crisis can be seen in JLA #115-120 as the heroes deal with betraying their own ideals. Now, because of this one story, it seems that rape has been added to the arsenal of super villains and now even the world’s most classic heroes aren’t so squeaky clean anymore. They seem to come out of the pages of DC’s adult line, Vertigo.

What is the comic world coming to? Well, DC has put on their big boy pants in favour of quality storytelling with deeper characterization. Now, we finally get to see the true colours of our favourite heroes at their most vulnerable. We see the love Bruce Wayne truly has for his protege as he comforts Robin after the death of his father, we see the weakness and hardship the heroes have to go through as they sacrifice a villain’s faculties for the safety of the people they love and we also see that even heroes make mistakes that have grave consequences and change all involved forever. The world is a dangerous place where people feel a whole myriad of conflicted emotions and we are constantly reminded that our actions have consequences, some good and some bad. It’s about time the heroes show us their true colours; show us what is under the mask and triumph over real emotional adversity. It is much easier for a reader to root for a character when they know that underneath the cape and past the powers they are just average people trying to do the best they can in the world. Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales, the writer and artist for Identity Crisis, remind us that without a human heart and soul, superheroes are just inconsequential gods. Still, comic fans love what they love: the clearly defined good guys versus the clearly defined bad guys, paired with the classic trysts between good and evil with a clear cut decision that has the hero coming out on top. There is always room for that, and no one wants to see their favourite characters get hurt in new and brutal ways, but every so often there are stories that show us the darker and more visceral side of heroism, in doing so, also show us what it means to be a hero. Being a hero means making the tough decisions, so others don?t have to. Being a hero also means wearing your heart on your sleeve for the benefit of others. Meltzer and Morales show us that along with the darkness, there is also growth and wisdom in the adult realm.

Meltzer and Morales aren’t the first to explore what it means to be a hero through darker and more mature subject matter, Alan Moore did it with Watchmen, Frank Miller did it with The Dark Knight Returns, Neil Gaiman did it with Sandman and Alex Ross did it with Kingdom Come. However, all of those series were limited stories with a beginning middle and end that only lasted as long as the stories needed to be told. They were only brief forays into this subject matter, and once they were finished the world of comics snapped back to its original formula and nothing really changed permanently in superhero comics. Now, it seems like comics will be elevated to a more sophisticated level and will stay there, as the effects of Identity Crisis extend to the countdown books and finally Infinite Crisis itself, with the series opener killing off the Blue Beatle. Also, DC isn’t the only company going through the pains of “superhero puberty.” Marvel is currently exploring what happens when one of their most beloved Avengers, Scarlet Witch, goes insane and loses control of her reality altering powers, effecting the Marvel heroes personally as they are transported into alternate universe she created in the House of M books. The Avengers are slowly reformed as well, in the pages of New Avengers, after she caused such cataclysmic devastation to the previous incarnation.

Still, there are those who will draw their line in the sand and prefer the more classic stories of yesteryear. The ones that deal with universe altering external threats rather than the soul altering personal ones and that is fine. That’s why Marvel Age titles, suggested for junior readers, can exist on a shelf with DC’s Vertigo line, suggested for mature readers. However, all comics need to evolve to meet the world that their stories are told in. They need to remain relevant and show us that what it means to be a hero evolves over time. They need to show us that the job is tougher now, than it has ever been.

The collected Identity Crisis graphic novel comes out in September, follow its aftermath in the pages of JLA and Countdown to Infinite Crisis. Find a Comic shop near you by calling the Comic Book Locator Service toll free at 1-888-COMIC-BOOK.






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