“Heroes in Crisis” Limited Series by Tom King & Clay Mann to Start in September

[BatmanJones]

Identity Crisis redux.

I could maybe understand that before the issues came out and people were just going on word of mouth and rumors but it's not like Identity Crisis at all.

(I happen to love Identity Crisis. And Heroes in Crisis too. But they don't remind me of one another in the least.)

[silly]

Or the Sanctuary is like the Holodeck from Star Trek and we're watching one of the heroes darkest thoughts play out in an attempt to 'fix' them.

That's actually an interesting idea. So whose likely to have those thoughts in Sanctuary? Might the AI hacked the Batcomputer and carried out a few Batman protocols? The fan outrage would be just insane.

Or a villain could have hacked the AI. But that sounds really cheap.

[Montressor]

I seriously can't wait to see who the killer is and what their motivation was. What's the point of the entire thing? How does it tie into the goings on in JLA (multiverse dying) Batman (Bane's plan), Doomsday Clock, the Flash? If it does at all?

[kjn]

Or the Sanctuary is like the Holodeck from Star Trek and we're watching one of the heroes darkest thoughts play out in an attempt to 'fix' them.

For DC's and Tom King's sake, I really hope they don't go that way. That kind of storytelling bait-and-switch fundamentally destroys the implied contract between reader and author in most fiction, and after the BatCat wedding fiasco King and DC really needs to rebuild that trust again.

There are examples of stories that make "is this real" work, either by switching mode entirely (like many of the Star Trek holodeck episodes), or by actively working on undermining history or reality (like in the film Hero), but there is no hint of anything like that here.

[LordUltimus]

I could maybe understand that before the issues came out and people were just going on word of mouth and rumors but it's not like Identity Crisis at all.

(I happen to love Identity Crisis. And Heroes in Crisis too. But they don't remind me of one another in the least.)

It's been referred to as "Identity Crisis' spiritual successor" by DC.

[TheNewFiftyForum]

I could maybe understand that before the issues came out and people were just going on word of mouth and rumors but it's not like Identity Crisis at all.

(I happen to love Identity Crisis. And Heroes in Crisis too. But they don't remind me of one another in the least.)

I haven't read Identity Crisis in a long while, but as I remember it I do think there are some big similarities. A murder mystery with a somber tone, superheroes suddenly having to deal with "real-life" tragedy, deep personal secrets coming back to haunt them... Even Harley Quinn giving the slip to the trinity sort of mirrors the JL v.s Deathstroke fight from IC.

[BatmanJones]

I haven't read Identity Crisis in a long while, but as I remember it I do think there are some big similarities. A murder mystery with a somber tone, superheroes suddenly having to deal with "real-life" tragedy, deep personal secrets coming back to haunt them... Even Harley Quinn giving the slip to the trinity sort of mirrors the JL v.s Deathstroke fight from IC.

I don't disagree with any of this or with the post above it... I just feel like it has a very different feeling. Just my opinion. It does have some superficial similarities and ID Crisis has the distinction of being my favorite JLA story ever while Heroes in Crisis is the current series I'm most excited by after Doomsday Clock. I'm about equally excited by each and I've not been this excited by any comic for a very long while before these two series' launched (HiC, D-Clock).

Though I love King's writing and Meltzer's writing I find their voices to be very different from one another. And the art (love Rags, love Mann/Weeks/Gerads) is great in both but also very, very different stylistically.

"Spiritual sequel" feels like an apt descriptor. I just don't see very deep connections between the two series'. In each of them it's the strength of the creators' voices that make them so strong but the creators' have very different voices.

It's a more than fair comparison. I just don't read them that way. Their main commonality for me is how much I love them and how eagerly I anticipate each new issue. They're almost identical in those ways.

[Last Son of Krypton]

From Clay Mann's insta:



https://www.instagram.com/p/BpxnY90nzO4/

[Badou]

Maybe if this wasn't the 2nd or 3rd time they killed Wally since Rebirth that would be more impactful, lol.

[byrd156]

Maybe if this wasn't the 2nd or 3rd time they killed Wally since Rebirth that would be more impactful, lol.

That's a big maybe.

[Thaxander12]

Am I the only one more sad about Poison ivy, Hot Spot, and several other characters than Wally West and Roy Harper?

[Clark_Kent]

Not for those who are DEAD.

Even if you do those two specials that are about say Hotspot or Ivy or General Steel-WHO CARES??? They are dead.

Now the alienating of fans will hurt the sales of all this. When you could have done all those themes and build up a murder mystery after EVERYONE has been built up.

Instead of Harley & Booster-you could have done one with EVERYONE dead and lead it to Trinity it figure out who did it.

Ivy controls plants. Think of all the DEADLY plants out there. She could have done it.

If Kyle is there-he has a ring that is limited by his mind.

Hotspot is half alien-who knows what he could really do. Outside of Manta-when has a POC been a killer of this scale in DC?

Now while that could still be done-who cares now? You are not going to get higher sales because you have alienated a lot of folks who are TIRED of this death and I hate certain characters mess.

I'm very much interested in exploring more of the things that led the dead characters to Sanctuary, and their time there. Also interested in seeing the themes explored as lain out by the trinity in this issue. So, *I* care. <shrug>I'm sorry you're not enjoying it, but that doesn't mean there isn't value in the story in how King is playing it out. It's just not your bag (nothing wrong with that).

As for sales, I agree with the other poster who said it's too early to talk about sales. But if I had to guess, a small circle of hate on CBR probably won't make much of a dent, if at all, in how this book sells. The majority of readers don't post here, and I'm not seeing this throng of "alienated fans" you mention (it's very possible they exist, I'm just saying I'm not seeing it). And for arguments sake, let's say they do exist...are they all dropping this book? Or will they be back next month anyway just so they can find something else about it they don't like? That sort of purchase always seems weird to me, but I know a lot of people who do it.

Honest question, I'm not being a jerk here and I'm not telling you to read or not read, but will you be purchasing #3? How about everyone else here who's saying the book is "lazy", or "alienating" or "Identity Crisis 2.0"? Will they be buying it even though they aren't enjoying it? Again, honest question, but it pertains to sales so I'm curious. We're not finished with the first act of a three-act structure, and I can't wait until the next issue. Very excited!

[Frontier]

From Clay Mann's insta:



https://www.instagram.com/p/BpxnY90nzO4/

Man, remember when the Flash hug in the Rebirth issue seemed like it was a signifying happy times ahead for the DCU?

Good times...

[Jackalope89]

Man, remember when the Flash hug in the Rebirth issue seemed like it was a signifying happy times ahead for the DCU?

Good times...

Rebirth had a lot of things going for it signifying happy times...

Then Geoff Johns got to busy with other projects.

[WallyWestFlash]

Man, remember when the Flash hug in the Rebirth issue seemed like it was a signifying happy times ahead for the DCU?

Good times...

Yup. Good times.
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