Look, we rag on Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales' Identity Crisis mini-series a loton here, but not without good reason. Along with the previously well-documented attempts to bring superheroes into the sort of "gritty reality" we'd narrowly avoided in the eighties and its unfortunate use of serious crimes as a plot device, it also included some of the most half-witted plot twists seen anywhere, let alone comics. And this was all thanks to Meltzer, the bestselling mystery author! The eventual resolution as to who murdered Sue Dibny, the wife of Elongated Man, was bad enough in itself. The reveal that the perpetrator was none other than Jean Loring...you know, Jean Loring? Ray Palmer's estranged wife? You know Ray Palmer the Atom, the guy who can shrink himself really small? The reveal that the perpetrator was none other than Jean Loring and she had killed Sue in an attempt to bring her and the Palmer back together, which isn't really up there with John Cusack holding a boombox up on your lawn in the realms of all-time great romantic gestures. Perhaps the worst twist that came out of Identity Crisis, however, was that the Justice League had been secretly getting magician Zatanna to routinely wipe people's minds, and they'd been doing it for years. They did it to Doctor Light after he assaulted Sue Dibny, irrevocably damaging his brain and changing his personality. They did it to the Secret Society of Super Villains after they discovered the League's secret identities. Then it turns out they did it to Batman, too, when he objected to the initial mind-wipe of Light. Identity Crisis is a cynical comic book that had loads of ridiculous twists, and those twists managed to borderline ruin a large proportion of DC's superheroes. Thanks a lot, Meltzer.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
