15 Emotional Comic Book Moments That Made Us Shed A Tear
4. The Death/Funeral Of Sue Dibny
Nearly 10 years after it was first published, the Brad Meltzer-scripted Identity Crisis miniseries continues to polarise fan opinion. But whether you love it or hate it, the brutal murder of Sue Dibny, the wife of Justice League-member Ralph Dibny, aka, the Elongated Man, and her subsequent funeral in the very first issue, remains one of the most shocking and gut-wrenching moments in comic book history.
Part of what makes Sue's death so memorably sad is the way Meltzer's script builds to the ultimate reveal. The issue starts with Elongated Man and Firehawk on a stakeout, when Firehawk starts asking Ralph questions about how he met Sue. Over the course of conversation, Ralph expresses his love for his wife, while also mentioning the inherent threat that exists for her because she is married to a superhero with a publicly-known identity.
In traditional, Chekovian-gun fashion, Sue is attacked by an unknown assailant and Ralph arrives at the scene (she was planning her husband's annual surprise birthday party) only to find her dead on the ground, horrifically burned. As an added knife in the back, the creative team adds in the detail that Sue had just taken a pregnancy test and it was positive. Meltzer then immediately follows Sue's death scene with her funeral an affair that is attended by nearly every hero in the DC Universe, plus a number of media members and spectators.
Reminiscent of celebrity funerals that occur in the real world, a number of DC characters speak about Sue's life until things end with Ralph, who is too choked up to get any words out. The whole issue is just so profoundly sad. Of course, Identity Crisis would become far more controversial from here, when it is later revealed that Sue had been raped by Dr. Light year's before her death, raising legitimate questions about how women tend to be portrayed in mainstream comics.