I have been looking forward to continuing this series all week. Reviewing books like this are what make slugging through the week, worth while. Anyway, onto the review.
Just looking at the cover, you know something happened. Now, I’ve read this whole series before, but the last time I read it was years ago and I have a horrible memory. So whenever I re-read something it’s almost like reading for the first time again. That being said, there is clearly a look of shame and/or contempt on the faces of all of the heroes on this cover. Michael Turner did a fantastic job on all of the covers of these books, but this one, I think, is one of the most powerful, emotionally. The look on the face of the Flash says everything you need to know going into this book.
The first couple of pages are just setting up the time for the book… cautious, loving, complicated. The Atom has exchange with his ex-wife where he gives her a crossbow for protection. Changes scenes to a dark room where Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman, Zatanna, the Atom and Ralph Dibny are getting ready to go hunting Dr. Light. The lighting of the scene is dark and it appear that they have come back to the church to meet up. Hawkman catches Flash (Wally West) eavesdropping, and Green Arrow calls out Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) as well. Now this confuses me. I understand how the Flash could feasibly turn invisible. He could just vibrate his molecules until they were such a blur as to be able to be seen though (although, with this theory I’m gonna have to call bullshit on him being able to hear anything at all), but GL (Green Lantern)? I don’t remember invisibility on the list of stuff a power ring can do.
“No. The boys are all grown up. This one, they need to hear.” – Green Arrow
Queue the flashback with multiple voiceovers, but lead by Ralph. He tells a tale of Dr. Light breaking into the Watchtower. Most likely he was looking for his old gun, but what he found was…Sue Dibny. He pins her against a table in a way the insinuates a rape position. I don’t believe that he succeeded in this act, but it seems like it is leading that way. Luckily, he is stopped by Barry Allen (Silver Age/New 52 Flash) and then beaten to pulp by several other heroes.
“It’s your weakness, isn’t it? I finally got it… I’ll find her again, you know. I’ll find all of yours.” – Dr. Light
Obviously, Dr. Light was threatening the heroes that his new goal was to find each one of the heroes’ family/loved ones and hurt them. The next page shows Sue on the found with Ralph cradling her body. Sue’s pants looked ripped on the back, once again, pointing towards rape.
Rape is, and always will be one of the most taboo topics in all media. Rape is such a horrible atrocity of one human towards another human. It is one of the only things in this world that makes my stomach turn. I aphor the very existence of such a heinous crime. Personally, I think the laws are too lax on sexual deviants that cause such acts of emotional and physical violence on another person, but I’ll do there. No need to turn this into a political rant.
The Flash (Wally West) comments on how he had fought Dr. Light on several occasions and never seen any hint of that kind of diabolical mind in him. Wally fought him while on the Teen Titans and he was basically trading fodder for the Titans. He never did anything too evil, and there is a very good reason why. Dr. Light was so goofy and bumbling because the Justice League lobotomized him. That’s right… the “good guys” decided that he was too dangerous to keep his mind, but they couldn’t just outright kill him. Barry Allen, the nicest guy ever, the Flash, had to make the tie breaking vote. Do it or don’t, it was his choice, and his wife had just died. He made the call.
Zatanna had never tried to alter someone’s personality before, so it was kind of an experimental procedure. She ended up making him a bumbling idiot. Perfect villain for heroes-in-training to practice on. Back to the present, the group in closing in on Light’s last know address. While they are defending their actions to GL Kyle and Flash Wally, Ralph charges into the residence prematurely. Rude surprise, Light hired Deathstroke as a bodyguard. Now I really love the character of Deathstroke, but I’ll save that for another time.
Switch over to a scene in a coroner’s lab, Dr. Midnight, who is a fantastic doctor and forensic scientist is looking over Sue’s body. Then, the twist… dun dun dun… Sue wasn’t killed by Dr. Light. When Dr. Light attacked and set her of fire she was dead before he even shot his gun.
Final Thoughts: I love a good story with a good red herring, this is one of those. So if Dr. Light didn’t do it, who did? Who else had the motive to kill such a sweet, innocent lady? Stay tuned.
TLDR: Sue was raped by the Light, Light was raped in the head and we still have no idea whodunit
The Comic Stretch 