Heroes in Crisis, Part 1 - Atop the Fourth Wall

[@chaoticjusticezero]

Heroes in Crisis is the antithesis to one of my favorite moments in Justice League: Unlimited. A scene where Flash confronts a mentally ill villain called The Trickster, talks him down, and convinces him to not only help the heroes, but return to the asylum and get help, all without a single punch getting thrown. HIC deals with Wally West and mental health in a much *MUCH* stupider fashion.

[@LordSvzklx]

Orion: "But what of your enemy?" Flash: "Oh, right! Dude, finish your drink then turn yourself in!" Trickster: "Got me again Flash!"

[@thanatos_razl]

Honestly I love that entire episode but especially that scene

[@kyarabarrion4523]

My favorite scene too

[@dnmstarsi]

@@thanatos_razl Same. It was a cool tribute to The Flash/Wally West.

[@xavispalaceajua]

I love that episode, if i remember correctly Even the rogues liked Wally more in the comics pre new 52, such a loved character , so sad to see what they do with him

[@JustRobin2009]

Fun fact: this series is now retconned. In last year’s Flash annual it was revealed that a speed force burst killed the heroes and it wasn’t Wally’s fault. Also, Roy is now back.

[@TevyaSmolka]

Yup that’s right and thank god for it because this story was a complete trainwreck.

[@Krystal64Alec]

Was it the Reverse Flash who did that?

[@JustRobin2009]

@@Krystal64Alec Savitar

[@Krystal64Alec]

@@JustRobin2009 Oh, ok. Thanks

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@JustRobin2009 technically it was both savitar and reverse flash.

[@AtrocityEquine01]

"Heroes in Crisis deals with Mental issues. Poorly. VERY Poorly." ....aaaaaand now I see why...

[@Ethereal-23]

I'm really appalled by how the type of 'help' they give people with mental issues here. Big part due to being a psychology student. You learn how much people equate mental issues with insanity and danger. And it's frustrating to see this stereotype living so strongly in so many places, to point that just feeling overwhelmed emotionally and seeking someone to talk to, a professional for example, is seen as 'weakness' or just plain 'wrong'

[@Ethereal-23]

@@Dinosaurianationazation well actually that handled stress and trauma from childhood much better, the issue was that his caretakers are aliens who didn't really understand how humans deal with that sort of thing and so missed the signs

[@zemox2534]

No. SU handles it badly.

[@Ethereal-23]

@@shadowspider9 I'm rather impartial to the series, but I recognize when they did a good job of portraying (in their own way) the kind of psychological issues that develop in a kid who grows up constantly with stress

[@Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

*"The Character Assassination of Wally West, Because Screw Him": Part 1

[@Izanagi009]

Holy balls, didn’t expect you here. Thought you were more anime focused

[@DamosLexicon]

I mean they do him better downline, still sucks what they put Wally through

[@kaicreech7336]

Flash Forward started to fix him

[@SuperWolsey]

Nah. Part 1 was Final Crisis and Flash: REBIRTH. Part 2 would be The New 52 and Berlanti. This is basically Part 3

[@ForrestFox626]

Because DiDiot and Fool know nothing about any of the Titans

[@captainhamilton]

Behold, the reason why Dan Didio and his dumb hatred of "sidekicks" should be kept as far away as inhumanly possible from DC's editorial.

[@SuperWolsey]

And it took 18 years to get rid of the bum. Would've been 5 had a current Disney exec/former WB exec not sparred him back in 2008

[@thatonepsycho5157]

Fate Grand Order fans unite in our hatred of Dan Didio!

[@michaelsantamaria3053]

Thank god 5g will never come to be

[@JoeChillton]

Btw Dan your excuses of why you hate Nightwing and Wally can go to hell.

[@Bolbi145]

I say we tip something over!

[@Leiliel1]

Me:*starts watching* Linkara: *starts with angry groan and skipping intro to avoid dignifying comic* Me: *dis_gon_b_gud.gif*

[@Alucard-A-La-Carte]

Seconded.

[@Silver_Adventures]

@@Alucard-A-La-Carte third

[@badatgamesguy5399]

@@Silver_Adventures All.

[@allowableman2]

What a way to begin

[@MelissiaBlackheart]

"Hydra!Cap... was not mentally ill. You don't need to be mentally ill to be evil. Yet often media will say they go hand in hand..." Thank you. The worst evil is when someone chooses to be evil even when they perfectly understand the harm they're causing and why that's wrong.

[@yakudde]

That is why I prefer Lex over the Joker.

[@chrisossu2070]

Narcissism and sociopathy are actual mental disorders, and they can lead someone to kill others in droves without feeling a hint of remorse, which is a lot of villains. However, for the more complicated villains, especially those with standards who don't kill arbitrarily, it definitely wouldn't hurt to see more who just believe in the wrong set of values, believe their actions to be in the right, or are aware of how horrible their actions are but see no alternative.

[@sarafontanini7051]

"The worst sort of evil is one that does not realise it is evil" -Weather Report, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6, paraphrased

[@bthsr7113]

@@sarafontanini7051 I'd say that's the most dangerous, but morally, the worst is knowing you're evil, and still enjoying punting dead a puppy at an orphan.

[@redjirachi1]

Media likes to pretend that no rational mind could sink to such evil, but humanity can fall to the depths of inhumanity with complete clarity

[@thegayghost872]

A Teen Titan: *exists* DC writers: "So you've chosen death."

[@ToHoldNothing]

It's like they've always been doing this since Death in the Family, the earliest I can think of where a hero's ward/sidekick is killed, though I forget if Speedy's using heroin predates that or not. But in terms of outright killing, it feels like that started with Jason Todd (who they brought back anyway)

[@kitdraken]

DC: THE TEEN TITANS ARE GAY AND YOUR STUPID FOR LIKING THEM Me: no they aren’t, and no I’m not DC: WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SO PC

[@L1701]

I think Titans are often chosen to be casualties of events for one reason: They’re famous enough that people care if something happens to them, but not so famous that DC wouldn’t worry about losing profits. It’s why they would make the JLI miserable in the lead up to Infinite Crisis. The JLI had a fan base and a following, but they weren’t cash cows.

[@Djinsin]

It's especially egregious when you consider that most of the dying Titans were the ones CREATED specifically for their respective runs on the team. I swear, if DC kills Roundhouse or Crush, I will be PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSED!!

[@ThatRandomEncounterGuy]

DC: are you a [Teen] Titan? Former/Current Titan member: yes DC: then... *DIIIIIIIIEEE!!!!!!*

[@phoenixshadow6633]

You see, Marvel and DC hate teen heroes. You can't age them too much or else you make the older heroes look old. They're not cutesy kids, so it's okay to kill them off since you see them get beat up regularly. It's stupid I tell you.

[@ForrestFox626]

Fuck that mindset of the big two! 🖕🏿

[@L1701]

Marvel doesn’t tend to massacre off their young heroes like DC does.

[@phoenixshadow6633]

@@L1701 Unless you're an X-Teen. In which case, you drop like flies. The Academy X kids were mostly killed and weren't resurrected until Hickman's run.

[@LupineShadowOmega]

@@L1701 Avengers Arena disagrees. Especially the cast of Academy.

[@MasterGeek-mk5ne]

That’s why I tend to read mangas or Image comics more. I can read just the main series without worrying several other spin-offs

[@BronzeBoy520]

Okay... when I was a kid I learned a lot from the Flash’s. One of my first comic books ever was a book about the origins of DC characters and I hated it cause I only wanted to see Batman and Superman, not this ‘Aquaman’ and Wonder Woman was a girl, that was bad. But the Flash one terrified me because of how he died in it. Crisis on infinite earth mention. But after rereading it... Barry Allen taught me not to fear death. But Wally was the guy I read who helped me come to terms with a lot. I was bullied a lot cause I was autistic and I felt I had to hide a lot of myself because of various reasons. But Wally taught me I didn’t have to be scared of things because I just had to be my self. I didn’t need to be ‘Barry Allen’, Wally West taught me how to be myself. He really did change me as a human being. This book... is not only an insult to that, it is a LEGIT offensive book in terms of therapy. This book is LEGITIMATE harmful! It can make people think therapy doesn’t work and those who need it are psychos and evil because they need it. Jesus... this is the WORST event in all of DC history and I really hope they NEVER try to beat it. At least the other worse tend to not be real world dangerous to people. Also screw this book’s art. It looks good but than you realize everyone is dead inside cause of it and MAN it makes this book even MORE depressing. I... I have no more words before I really rant and want to thank Linkara for TEARING THIS SHIT TO SHREDS!

[@ToonamiT0M]

Heroes in Crisis can be explained by the fact Dan Didio hates hopeful stories, happy heroes, and legacy characters. You know, everything DC comics are suppose to be. I'm glad he's gone now, but it may be too little, too late.

[@ToonamiT0M]

Plus it doesn't help that Tom King has no respect for any hero's established character or history. Eager to crap on everything people love in order to force his own ideas in where they don't belong.

[@ForrestFox626]

It can't be all for nothing. We just have to hope DC gets its shit together.

[@kimifw58]

Yeah, there are plenty of other bad writers/editors DC could replace him with.

[@michaelzaiser8088]

I am unfamiliar with Dan Didio's work. Is this the only example of his destruction of good story telling, or are there other victims?

[@tomhur1]

@@michaelzaiser8088 Here's just SOME of the things that Dan Dido has done Ordered Stephine Brown killed off for no reason Approved of Countdown one of DC's most infamous stories Was the one who was pushing the New 52 Came up with the idea to cause Nightwing to get Amnesia and become Ric Grayson completely screwing over not just the Nightwing book(The writer at the time Benjamin Percy was so ticked off that he wasn't able to tell the story he wanted to tell jumped ship to Marvel) but also the Titans book Linkara mentioned in this review.

[@Silver-Kaitou]

This was the perfect opportunity to bring back Psycho Pirate as a big bad like he was Pre-Flashpoint. Hell, for a while I thought they were doing _just that._ But,.... That's not what happened.

[@billymccrary2246]

That what we should've got.

[@michaeliv284]

Psycho Pirate creating and amplifying mental trauma as a physical allegory using his medusa mask, something that looks identical to the masks used by the cultists on the cover. Genius idea, goes to show hindsight is 20/20

[@battleupsaber462]

nobody: Tom King and Dan Didio: **WALLY WEST HAS COMMITTED SEVERAL WAR CRIMES** (Edit: upon looking it up i think the blame for this one is more on DiDio than King. I actually think Tom King's work can be pretty gd sometimes ngl)

[@voidstrudel]

Considering who Tom King used to work for, he probably thought making him a mass murderer mames him more sympathetic.

[@thatonea-hole]

@@voidstrudel Wait. Who exactly did he work with?!

[@EngineerLume]

@@thatonea-hole The actual CIA

[@michaelsantamaria3053]

And that why dan got fired

[@brianjohnson4156]

@@EngineerLume Holy moly

[@FanStoryVideoStudios]

“And dear lord, do we all wish we could just punch depression in the face.” NEW FAVORITE LINKARA LINE, SO EFFING TRUE

[@dnmstarsi]

Does the year 2020 count? Cuz I wanna do what Linkara wanted to do with the Operation Overdrive theme in History of Power Rangers.

[@Ethereal-23]

oh boy, I wonder how much this thing affected Linkara *video starts with a long suffering groan* yup sounds about right

[@vwin9112]

David Blajman it’s very very effective...Linkara faints.

[@kitdraken]

David Blajman exact reaction when I saw him

[@thomasplummer8103]

The worst thing about is that the setting of heroes in crisis could have been something really good, new, and actually helpful for people who struggle with things in their own lives. Seeing heroes have trouble dealing with their own shit, exploring the trauma they have for who they couldn't save could have made a really good character study. It could also have helped people, because if superman has trouble dealing with things, and sometimes needs help, maybe it is okay for me to need help. Too bad they screwed it up with utter incompetence.

[@idongesitusen5764]

If I ever wrote for DC Comics, I would revive the concept of Sanctuary & make it a permanent fixture in the canon There's plenty of things you can do with it, be it as a miniseries or just as a way to catch your breath.

[@DuelaDent52]

Thomas Plummer You know what I wouldn’t mind seeing? A book about Doc Samson helping people out with their troubles, both the ordinary and the extraordinary.

[@ryanbarofsky4948]

The even sadder part is they killed Roy Harper in this story, a character who raised the bar for DC touching on darker themes and societal issues with his heroine addiction. Roy legitimately did help people in the way you described because he was a hero that struggled with a real, relatable problem. The New 52 dealt with him rehabilitating and even had Killer Kroc as his sponsor. Their relationship was amazing and so was Roy’s and Jason’s and this fucking comic ruined all of that.

[@xavispalaceajua]

Young justice did the therapy thing so good in one episode , why tom King didnt take notes from that

[@rebornkusabi7264]

This was my thought as well. The CONCEPT of a mental health clinic for superheroes AND villians is actually a great concept. Funded and staffed by people vetted by Batman and staffed by ACTUAL MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS isn't a horrible concept. The best parts of the comic, having read it, are when the confessions are being treated seriously by Batman for instance. A simple fix would have made this a whole lot better- staff it with medical professionals and not an AI. Obviously, it wouldn't be possible without a writer who actually understood and grasped psychological problems.

[@JohnnyElRed]

Come to think of it, the only comic I know of that has treated mental disorders appropiately... is the Incredible Hulk. Seriously. Bruce Banner problems of depression and dissociative identity disorder have been the central stage of entire arcs of the comic. And can get very thoroughly explored, with a lot of nuance and tact, even. Specially now, with Immortal Hulk. To the point of Al Ewing getting letters of encouragement from people with DID. Also, it probably helps that one recurring side chacter of Hulk comics is a professional psychotherapist.

[@Gojiragon]

Recent wasp comics of the last few years have also been fantastic with mental health.

[@skyslasher2297]

There’s also Moon Knight and his experience with DID

[@ALIEN-DUDE]

Deadpool too kind of explores mental health with his depression, suicidal thoughts and I think he has schizophrenia.

[@Vesperitis]

I remember one reboot/restart of She-Hulk (I think this was after Civil War 2 after Bruce's 'death') being about Jennifer Walters struggling with crippling anxiety, and how she coops herself up in her apartment and becomes agoraphobic, afraid that any random stimulus will trigger her into transforming into the uncontrollable She-Hulk and destroy everything.

[@kylejones8289]

Grant Morrison's run on Doom Patrol handled mental health issues fairly well.

[@bowenorcutt78]

So last week, I RE-learned a valuable lesson: When an internet reviewer tells you what they're going to review next, and makes it clear that it's going to be a doozy, *DON'T* LOOK IT UP. I went from thinking, "Hey, this doesn't sound so bad, and I actually think this is a great premise" to wincing uncontrollably and dreading what I was going to see next when I scroll down. And I only read cliffnotes, not a full summary. And "Don't look it up" is an especially good idea with anime reviewers. That $#!+'ll scar ya if you don't have someone to ease you into it.

[@richmcgee434]

@jbiehlable You heartless monster. :)

[@GeneralKenobi75]

I notice that for this Event Comics Month, Linkara actually started out with the best of the comics for this month, and progressively made his way to the bottom each week.

[@chaoticjusticezero]

Debatable. House of M is a little better than Zero Hour, IMO.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

@@chaoticjusticezero Eh, I felt Zero Hour was better. House of M really made the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and the X-men look bad. While Zero Hour didn't do much better with Hal Jordan, but it ended on a much better note.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

@Darth_ Madara I already said Secret Empire is worse than Zero Hour and House of M. That was implied when I stated the comics he reviewed this month got worse and worse as he went along. With Heroes in Crisis topping it off as the worst one.

[@ShanaReviews]

not to mention 2 of these events dealt with mental health issues that were poorly handled and both Marvel and DC screwed the pooch on this

[@kitdraken]

Oh yeah, saving the worst and most anticipated for last

[@charleshockenbury353]

Why is this even a Murder Mystery? Isn’t the idea of a place like Sanctuary a solid enough premise for a story to begin with? Like if you want to discuss mental health, don’t do it with a framing of violence. Or if you need some kind of action, do it half way through the story. Have a collection of heroes you’re going to focus on, then midway the facility is under attack from some villains, and the heroes help each other to defend themselves and deal with their issues. That’s not a great story, but it’s better than this!

[@dnmstarsi]

The real mystery is who killed Tom King, took his face and name and decided to write his story under his name?

[@williamharmon4039]

Honestly, even a place like Sanctuary is pretty horrifying. The place is like a checklist of how not to help a trauma victim. Isolation from support groups and actual therapists, an AI that seems to antagonize the patients and berate them for not moving on instead of talking them through their thoughts and feelings, and a simulation room that can be used to relive the trauma over and over again. It is honestly insulting that this is genuinely portrayed as an amazing safe haven for the heroes and no issue is ever brought up with how the way Sanctuary was run is what enabled the events of the story to begin with.

[@charleshockenbury353]

William Harmon it’s like they’re trying to reinvent therapy. They can’t just go to an establish therapy center with trusted doctors. It needs to be this advanced sci-fi smart house using alien technology

[@williamharmon4039]

@@charleshockenbury353 When you get down to it, Sanctuary was never designed to help heroes deal with mental health issues. It was designed to facilitate a murder mystery plot.

[@kyarabarrion4523]

Actually imo I think your story idea is pretty good (I would actually 💘 to read that)

[@FelinaofL2]

As someone who grew up watching the DCAU shows, Wally West is my Flash. The way he interacted with the other characters (heroes, villains, everyone) emphasized how he truly was the "heart" of the JL founding 7 in those shows and how he's great as both a hero and person. To see DC treating Wally so horribly breaks my heart! Why be so cruel to him and all of the other "younger/newer" heroes like Roy?! WHY DOES DC KEEP KILLING CHARACTERS SO CALLOUSLY?!

[@williammorahan4907]

Systemic flaws.

[@Robin0928]

Tom King: I've got an idea for this story, its a bit dark and maybe should be something out of continuity, maybe a part of the black label? Dan Didio: *giggling at the idea of killing Wally West again* How about we make it an event comic?

[@SuperWolsey]

@@jonbrewer297 Barry and Hal (plus Barbara since 2011) became damaged goods in my eyes. I'd include Ollie but Connor had it ok before Infinite Crisis and beyond

[@Robin0928]

@@jonbrewer297 See, i love Hal and Kyle, Barry and Wally. Legacy characters are great, even with the original one to hold the mantle still around. One doesn't have to die for the other to matter.

[@42Caio]

@@jonbrewer297 As someone who grew up with Wally as Flash, all the crap DC did all these past decade did make me fucking hate Barry Allen. I don't like him, I don't like how he was brought back to life and the events that spiral from it, flashpoint made me drop DC comics until Rebirth gave me some hope, until fucking Didio derailed every comic he could, and this fucking comic made me drop it again, hopefully never to pick it back up. I'm sick of the big 2 and I'm having a much better time with other kinds of comics.

[@JustRobin2009]

So why wasn’t this out of continuity?

[@Robin0928]

@@JustRobin2009 Probably because someone at DC saw that they didn't have a massive crossover event for the year, saw the word "Crisis" in the pitch and decided it should be the big event for DC.

[@red-havic9123]

I honestly thought the masks were like alluding to the fact this might just be a cult of Psycho Pirate. Gold mask, people in one place with different emotions, traumas? That SOUNDS like something the dude would BENEFIT from greatly! BUT NO. It's dumber.

[@pokejoseph]

THEY JUST DIDN’T CARE!!!!!!!

[@skyslasher2297]

I thought it was the Madusa mask

[@dannyfenlon2476]

Hell! He could've been planted there? But by who? How bout one of the few people to hack batman's tech..... GRANNY GOODNESS!!!!! Nah maxwell lord

[@sarafontanini7051]

I never even heard of this event until this video (well and people mentioning it in the previous video's comments) and yeah I thought the mask was about pyscho pirate too or something, considering linakra mentioned mental health issues But Naahhhhhhh the mask matters not at all THAT'S WHY WE MADE IT THE FOCUS OF ALL THE COVERS! BECUASE GOO WRITING MEANS FOCUSING ON POINTLESS BULLSHIT THAT DOESN"T MATTER TO THE STRY

[@kelvinphillips7140]

You know, a cult of Psycho Pirates sounds WAY cooler than this story. I would rather read that one instead.

[@jlantern100]

My reactions to Wally's return, to his arc in heroes in crisis: Rebirth: HALLELUJAH! Wally's back! He can be with the Titans again, maybe even join the justice league. The possibilities are endless. By the end of Heroes in Crisis: You were the chosen one! It said that you would stop the criminals not become them! Bring happiness to fans, not leave them in sorrow. You were my speedster Wally! I loved you!

[@daelen.cclark]

Thankfully he got better.

[@jdng86]

A theraputic hospital based on any parts of Batman's mind should have been vetoed from the get go.

[@Salve-ager]

It’s absolutely hysterical to me that this comic is implying that Batman, the character who’s rogues gallery and arguably is himself defined by trauma/mental health issues, who is constantly trying to get villains the help they need, who LITERALLY WORKS WITH A MENTAL INSTITUTION with mental health professionals for that express purpose, doesn’t adequately know about or respect mental health. I mean, it’s stupid that most characters in this story don’t, but for Batman in particular it’s a ridiculous pill to swallow.

[@JustRobin2009]

This was described as a “spiritual successor to Identity Crisis.” Enough said. It is about mental health the same way The Shining is about the ups and downs of the hotel industry.

[@CazMeister]

General comic readers: Wally West has been the definitive Flash since Barry's death. There is nothing that can be done to change that. Tom King: Hold my beer.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

you know tom king screwed wally so bad that scot lobdell's flash forward was a genuine improvement over what happened in heroes in crisis

[@RabblesTheBinx]

I love Barry Allen. He's always been my favorite Flash (and favorite superhero, in general) and I was ecstatic when they brought him back. My first comics were from the Silver and Bronze Ages because they were easier to find in libraries than post-Crisis and I didn't have the money to just buy them, so I grew up on him. That being said *fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck* this comic. Wally is still in my top 5 superheroes of all time and he deserved so much better than this. Flash Forward tried to fix him, but imo, didn't do enough.

[@xavispalaceajua]

Wally is one of the few legacy characters that lasted a lot being the Main hero, heck he is for a lot of people the Main flash, the decisión to bring barry back was stupid but what they did to wally since the new 52 is just awful and mean spirited, the guy means a lot to people and dc decided to screw him over

[@guilhermehank4938]

The justice league TAS generation: wally is our flash "Not anymore"

[@kazinadbiralamadit6905]

@@guilhermehank4938 technically the Wally west in Justice league TAS & Unlimited was based more on Barry than Wally. The only reason he was called Wally was because Barry was dead at the time, so they transplanted Barry's personality & characteristics onto Wally. That's not to say I hate Wally if Barry ever retired from being The Flash I 100% believe that Wally would succeed him, much like Tim is more likely to succeed Bruce as Batman than any other Bat-family member. Wally is my 2nd favourite flash after Barry but man did New 52 fail him miserably.

[@CrisisComics]

It's not like Tom King needed to make up that whole "I'm accidentally shrinking while sleeping" thing to give Blue Jay some trauma. The guy comes from a parallel Earth, Angor, which was consumed by nuclear fire, and every single one of his fellow heroes that made it to Earth 1 has died thanks to supervillains.

[@ForrestFox626]

King didn't do enough research.

[@alfreddiogu92]

Wait is that true?

[@bthsr7113]

So double super dose of Survivor's Guilt, probably some PTSD, and feeling out of place. That would have been great to explore. Show how intense that trauma is, and why help is important. It also shows how there is a lot more beyond the League and whoever gets a show. Or you could just make something up and have his body eaten by crows. THAT WORKS TOO!!!!

[@ForrestFox626]

@@Danny-qc8fv No problem. I don't blame you for doing so

[@billuraral1870]

Kings constantly gets characters wrong. Its mainly because instead of looking into characters and writing a story about them, he wrotes what he wants and bends characters in a way that saying they're OOC is an understatement (see: everytime he uses Booster Gold)

[@FallenAngelX00]

Tom King had a lot of oversight when doing this series. Hero's in Crisis was originally called Sanctuary and was supposed to be a deep dive into mental health issues and then Dan Didio imposed his will on the project.

[@SuperWolsey]

Ah, DiDio: the Jon Peters of Comics

[@kalainreinard8421]

Dan Didio. More like Dan "Dildo"

[@leephillips4402]

Yeah always find the right people to blame. I'd like it if Linkara covered "The Trial of Magneto" at some point but only if Leah Williams isn't unfairly implicated.

[@fictionarch]

So king had the more interesting idea. But. DC decided to go with the murder mystery.

[@PosthumanHeresy]

I still don't trust a former CIA operative to write about psychology. Actually, I don't trust him to write period. "Former" is never trustworthy with spies.

[@SteveElOtaku]

So they made a robot therapist...using Batman as part of the framework. Batman. The poster boy for needing therapy. That Batman.

[@danielkells6021]

I'm surprised DC's editors never brought that up with King, really seems to be one hell of a massive oversight

[@SteveElOtaku]

@@danielkells6021 King literally wrote an entire arc where Batman admitted he was, or at least had been, essentially suicidal. So, yeah, King might have considered that logic of Bats being questionable.

[@alexandersturnn4530]

What makes this even dumber is that they did this with Batmans help and approval. Batman knows better then anyone else that his mental state is NOT qualified for work as a Therapist! He would NEVER willingly put a copy of even a part of his mind into a Therapist-AI! Just another prime example of People being horrendously out of Character in this garbage Comic.

[@danielkells6021]

@@SteveElOtaku That just makes it worse if you ask me, since the writer himself should know that it's not a good idea

[@SteveElOtaku]

@@danielkells6021 Well, I think DC themselves had a realization. They cut his Batman run short, if I remember correctly.

[@ShinoSarna]

Isn't it terrible idea for a cyber-therapist to be unable to keep records of its patients? Every time you visit Sanctuary, you would need to recount your life story - including your trauma - over and over. That sounds exceedingly frustrating, and would make it impossible for Sanctuary to tell if therapy is going in the right direction.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

My head cannon as to why Booster Gold was turned into such a screaming moron is that the real Booster was replaced by a version of him from the Dark Multiverse who serves as a scout for The Batman who Laughs. His backstory is that he's so god damn stupid he destroyed his universes time stream only to be rescued by TBHL. Also can we all just breathe a sigh of relief that the true mastermind behind this event; Dan "The Dick" Didio was finally shitcanned?

[@TevyaSmolka]

yup indeed and i am all for that.

[@carlrood4457]

Actually, the "I hate pudding" line could have been some real insight into her mental state. It's one of her pet names for the Joker.

[@gracekim1998]

Mmmm good point

[@jordanloux3883]

That's definitely what they were going for, but it's just kinda awkwardly put in there.

[@leephillips4402]

I knew what it meant from the start and I hated it. I used to have really strong opinions about New 52 Harley Quinn, nowadays they're not really gone but their less strong opinions and more, I dunno, conversation starters.

[@GatorRay]

Now I think about it. They should've had Harley say in her confessional that she has a hard time remembering stuff from before she started working at Arkham Asylum because of Joker's abuse.

[@PosthumanHeresy]

@@GatorRay Agreed. In the N52, he dipped her in the Joker slime at Ace Chemicals. Harleen should be like "Jack" (to use the most common name given in various versions). The defining trait separating them in this being that Joker doesn't want to remember Jack and Harley wants to remember Harleen.

[@SuperWolsey]

*sees thumbnail* Don't hold back, Lewis. Let it the rage flow through. Execute Order 66....

[@Gloomdrake]

This book is a Jedi? No wonder they had to die

[@antimonitor4729]

From my point of view Tom King and Dan Didio are evil!!!

[@SuperWolsey]

@@antimonitor4729 King is Vader; DiDio is Palpatine minus the sophistication

[@kelvinphillips7140]

@@SuperWolsey My belief based on everything that I have so far read on the subject(though there is a lot I most likely missed) is that Dan DiDio used this as a cover to get rid of characters he personally did not like. This of course could have easily been a large factor in why the book turned out the way it did (IMO).

[@SuperWolsey]

@@kelvinphillips7140 thus AT&T fired his ass just when he was about to push 5G (which probably would've been terrible af)

[@morganyoung3557]

I definitely agree that the Harley Quinn animated series actually giving a reason why Harley drastically changed her look was a good thing. One of the things I think is a good thing in the Harley Quinn story is her realizing his toxic the Joker is and doing everything she can to distance herself from him even going so far as to give herself a new look. The Harlequin outfit is iconic, but it has such huge connections to her abusive relationship with the Joker. I like the idea that she wears the Harlequin outfit when she is with the Joker, but makes her own look when she becomes her own woman.

[@Reivanhist]

The fact is that Tom king really wanted to write a story about how the characters remember their darkest times in life, what it was worth to go through and overcome them. It was a very personal story for him. It was called the Sanctuary. And then Dan Didio came in and told him to do a spiritual extension of his main success as an editor, The identity crisis . That's why the story is so twisted, that's why it has the word Crisis in its title. Blame Didio, we lost a great story. King has repeatedly proved that he is a genius screenwriter, it's a pity he was not allowed to do what he is best at here.

[@daelen.cclark]

I don’t really like King’s work, but Didio made it worse.

[@richardwestsports]

Hi, no. This isn't true. Didio was definitely one of the absolute worst things about DC during his time there, but this failure of a comic wasn't solely because of him. It was a very common and popular rumor that Didio was the one that stepped in and meddled with the story but Tom King openly addressed this and openly denied it, going on record to say that every single character decision was his own.

[@thegreatstoneddragon9432]

*starts review with long suffering groan* Me: Oh no. *reveals that this event is worse than what's come before* Oh no! *this deals with mental health issues* OH NO!! 🤦

[@SuperWolsey]

Tom King( *doing a Frank Nelson impersonation* ): Oh, YEEEEESS!!

[@meowistforlife]

Not enough Knuckles voice from Sonic Adventure/10

[@alexiaNBC]

How is it that Joker (2019) discussed mental health in a more respectful way than this comic?!!

[@gorlomimargheriti8870]

Jotaro Kujo: Good freaking grief...

[@linbatspiderprime6202]

Heroes in crisis: The first of many reasons why Dan Didio is an awful human being and who hates comics the only character that people weren't mad about was the Tatooed man, number 2 the evil one, when people are more outraged at not Nightwing from the anti-drug comics death that's a seriously bad freaking problem

[@WhaleManMan]

I dunno about "awful human being" cause he made a bad comic bro

[@ghidorah15]

@@WhaleManMan He's done a lot more nasty crap than just one bad comic.

[@daelen.cclark]

Matt Harvey Like asking a fan what women to hire for his comic as opposed to Dan himself who is the damn publisher.

[@SuperMutant2099]

Him and Joe q why comics have been going in wrong direction for years.

[@daelen.cclark]

Naquin Green My god, is there no end to his ruination? (Although it would be kind of interesting to see aunt Harriet from Batman ‘66 in the main continuity)

[@TevyaSmolka]

i agree heroes in crisis was really terrible and ruins my flash wally west for garbage and to make it even worst this story wasn't originally supposed to be a murder mystery story it was supposed to be a psychological story which i was all in for because that sounded interesting but instead of getting that story we got this terrible murder mystery story which makes no sense whatsoever.

[@ForrestFox626]

It feels like Tom King never went through any real trama. (I'm not saying he hasn't gone through trama, just that it doesn't feel like he did).

[@TevyaSmolka]

@Naquin Green indeed and honestly all of those criticisms with this terrible book are highly accurate and frankly i am still pissed on what this book did to one of my all time favorite characters wally west flash and killing off roy harper was terrible because he was finally going somewhere but nope instead of that we got bullshit instead.

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@ForrestFox626 indeed and i honestly i think you're right about that

[@langleymneely]

Darius Brown It sounds more like him tapping into his trauma (of which the man has loads considering his former profession) was sidetracked by editorial for sensational nonsense and character assassination.

[@langleymneely]

Exactly! I was genuinely on board for a deep & interesting examination of mental illness in the DC Universe, especially as a survivor of suicide & depression, but my God this was terrible! Probably the worst book King has done so far, worse than even his Batman run post “the wedding”! Such an epic waste of characters, story and potential! lol

[@DeisFortuna]

For books you don't want to own physical copies of, you could BURN the digital files to a blank DVD and smash it instead of burning a physical comic.

[@KyleRayner12]

Or "delete every scrap of data immediately," as Moron!Batman insists on putting it.

[@upintheairstudio]

Good idea.

[@guilhermehank4938]

Not as impactful

[@legomaniac213]

Now I'm just picturing him, Linksano, and Harvey reenacting the scene from Office Space where they smash the fax machine.

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

That's just wasteful.

[@jasonedwards8352]

This comic does to Wally West what Civil War II did to Carol Danvers.

[@SuperWolsey]

To be fair, Carol was already there even before that...

[@WhiteDarkness3113]

@@SuperWolsey don't forget Ironman

[@williammorahan4907]

@@SuperWolsey Why do I feel that’s partially correct?

[@williammorahan4907]

@@WhiteDarkness3113 What did Civil War 2 do to him?

[@JaelinBezel]

But i like Carol Danvers…

[@TwoToneShoes]

It really is crazy to me that Wally figured out his kids were alive and lost in the universe and all his friends and family sent him to a "mental health facility" to get over it and accept his kids are gone. They exist! Why did no one BUT Wally care?

[@maxxjapan619]

Sooooo, I hope nobody'd mentioned this already, because, as it turns out, yes, Hotspot DID have a catchphrase! And it was indeed "I'm just warming up!" ... in the 2000s Teen Titans cartoon.

[@averagejoe5145]

Recent interviews from Tom King & Dan Didio suggest that most of what's wrong with this series is MOSTLY Didio's fault. He's apparently the one who INSISTED that Wally West ACTUALLY DIE (sort of) in this series because he claimed "a Flash dies in EVERY Crisis" which Linkara himself COULD prove given that he's read them and/or referenced them on his show. Didio also HATES sidekicks (both current & former) because he claims that they "complicate" DC's canon. I assume that he's just complaining about having to account for them when it comes to revising the backstories of various heroes, but that sort of thing is to be expected when writing about a SHARED FICTIONAL UNIVERSE! He's also voiced his belief in interviews that he's wanted to age DC's characters realistically & (for some reason) thinks that DC's sidekicks & former sidekicks are an obstacle to doing that for SOME reason! His ideas on "aging" DC's comic book characters already has problems of their own as well. The primary problem being that DC will NEVER FULLY RETIRE Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc. no matter what & the second problem being that aging characters in comics according to real world time has ALREADY been tried & FAILED! Look up Marvel's failed "New Universe" imprint for more info there. This is just speculation on my part, but I believe Didio hijacked this miniseries & used it to lash out at fans of Wally West, sidekicks, & former sidekicks in general as well as critics of the New 52. His hatred of sidekicks & such would also explain why the Titans have gotten shafted MANY TIMES in recent years as well given how many of their members are ALSO sidekicks or former sidekicks, but admittedly that's just speculation on my part. It's very telling that these characters started getting better treatment after he left the position of editor-in-chief at DC Comics. I've heard that Wally West in particular has been handled a LOT better since he left! My apologies for the rant, but I'm honestly just trying to add my own criticisms here & NOTHING ELSE. I'm against people attacking Didio or ANY other creator myself. Criticism of their work is fine. Personal attacks & death threats AREN'T & NEVER WILL BE ACCEPTABLE!

[@jacobovillamizar3363]

I mean DC once actually killed Bruce Wayne and just had Dick Wayn- sorry Grayson (and perhaps Huntress, I need to seek more information about the events to confirm it) take his place as Gotham's hero and it wasn't undone until six years later during Crisis on Infinity Earths, admitedly though it happened on Earth Two instead of Earth One, but still had a share of stories after the event.

[@Leegend99]

Probably, but Tom King isn't a very good writer for these characters anyway, because he brute-forces his themes of psychological problems and dramas on characters on which they don't always fit.

[@averagejoe5145]

@@Leegend99 I still think that most of the fault lies with the editors. It sounded like Tom King had been in therapy so he would have a better idea on how therapy works. I'm not so sure the same can be said for the editors at DC when this story was made.

[@Leegend99]

@@averagejoe5145 Sure, but as Linkara points out later in the review quoting DiDio and King, DiDio is at fault for suggesting *the characters* King should use (thus proving your point about him hating sidekicks and Wally West) but King is an idiot who didn't bother adapting the plot he had thought up (which is extremely stupid from a psychology standpoint, I showed the review to my psychology major friend and she agreed it's all offensive horsecrap) to the characters DiDio forced on him, and instead did character assassination after character assassination because he just cared about his plot and not the characters...as usual.

[@averagejoe5145]

@@Leegend99 You shouldn't forget that Didio had SOME influence over the plot though. Like I said, it was HIS idea to have the nonsensical plot point about Wally West turning up dead. I'm also fairly certain that the crap about Wally West being a "symbol of hope" in the story came from Didio being frustrated over people not liking the "New 52" & fans' INSISTENCE on bringing back the old Wally West. I just can't see any reason for King to write that stuff into the story as it seems like a mean-spirited jab at the fans. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think I'm too far off the mark. As for the psychology stuff, I know that what's portrayed here is all crap. I honestly don't know how much of it is King's fault & how much of it is the editors' fault. I'm honestly baffled at how poor the portrayal of therapy is in this comic.

[@RhyperiorRanger]

Oh damn. He is NOT happy. He’s gonna be on this comic’s ass

[@frezling2442]

He's less than two issues in by the end of the episode too. We might be getting a three part episode 🤞

[@MrXemnas1992]

@@frezling2442 confirmed on twitter that it's going to be a three-parter.

[@ForrestFox626]

And it will be awesome!

[@teddyfurstman1997]

The Comic is as bad as Countdown, Cry for Justice, OMD, and Holy Terror. Also, Sins Past. Yes even Franky Boy's ASBAR.

[@thegreatstoneddragon9432]

Comic: He's right on my ass. Right. On. My. Ass. What is his goddamn problem? All I did was tell a lousy story with meaningless superhero deaths. And now he's right on my ass.

[@thatonea-hole]

Heroes in crisis; more like DC comics is in crisis! Also if you want a mental issues with superheroes done right: *WATCH DOOM-PATROL!!*

[@cartooonman8626]

or steven universe future

[@thatonea-hole]

@@cartooonman8626 No. Steven Universe is more super human not a superhero. Since all of his villains are gems. No human super-villains.

[@philliprudin5315]

This is one of the reasons I love Doom Patrol both in the series and in the comics long history they not only have sympathetic portrayals of those suffering from mental health issues but also discussed the various ways to treat mental health from group therapy to exercise

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

I loved DOOM PATROL. Even the improvised therapy they had in "Therapy Patrol" was a better therapy than the one people received in Sanctuary. Also, on a side note, i am sure they could introduce Animal Man/Buddy Baker in season 3 and make him the most tragic of them all even if his powers left him body completely intact and human looking but they only affected his mind. How? well, lets just say... the more he used his powers..... the more animal his mind became and at one point ....... he did what the mother rat did to her child in the Second season's first episode. or what curt connors did to billy in SHED

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@BigK13372 I want to believe half was the rat's fault but half of the instigation was cliff's genuine desire for them to talk (by the way, what do you think of my idea of Animal Man in doom patrol?)

[@amanofculture580]

I remember after I watched your titans retrospective I really got into the titans, I loved the rebirth titans book, I read this event while it came out and I had never been so angry and disappointed at a comic.

[@sebastianemond5313]

11:51 Denny's Red White & Blue Pancakes: Tastes like... " 'Merica."

[@teddyfurstman1997]

Lol! Wish I was at IHOP or Dave and Busters now because of Covid.

[@halfpintrr]

I fucking loved those pancakes.

[@dronesaur4328]

Me reading issue #1 of HiC: "oh boy, this is a novel and interesting idea!" Me reading issue #9 of HiC, purely out of morbid curiosity: "...okay we're doing this."

[@TLSoulDude]

If you wanna see "superheroes tackling mental health" better, there's a podcast called "The Bright Sessions". While not about superheroes EXACTLY, it IS about people with superpowers seeing a therapist and dealing with things that come with them--a lady who jumps through time and has severe PTSD, a high school boy with empathy struggling to figure things out, and a telepath who wants to do good with it but just needs focus. It's a really good series and an old friend of mine (who also went to therapy for a while) vouched for its validity on how it can feel when talking to a psychologist--overly casual and comes off as a bit invasive. Yes, it also gets into super-power shenanigans down the line (there's a bit with a mimic and a guy who can put thoughts into peoples' heads), but it comes about organically.

[@lazyotakuandfangirl]

As Akihiko Sanada once said, "I've been waiting for this!"

[@CenetaurmanE52]

Hopefully Shinji didn't see this one.

[@diamondeyes4430]

At least Shinji's death was meaningful

[@zillafire101]

"This is where the fun begins."

[@ForrestFox626]

Didn't expect a Persona 3 reference in the comment section.

[@myriadmediamusings]

It’s time for the evisceration of Heroes in Crisis, and may the New Gods have mercy on whatever soul it has.

[@ZekeStaright]

Man, seeing the Trickster in Justice League was refreshing. He actually wasn't all there & Flash talked to him like a person. I don't think Jokers kind of insanity is a good reason for them always sticking him in Arkham. He's fully aware of what he does.

[@arkhamftw6186]

“You... we all need.. justice.” Oh No! I’m getting Cry for Justice flashbacks! Cue The “No God No” Office Clip.

[@TheBonkleFox]

I mean arsenal DOES die here.

[@lordofuzkulak8308]

Sanctuary just being confessionals that are deleted makes it sound less like a therapy institution, and more like they should’ve just hired a Catholic priest.

[@philliprudin5315]

That one scene in All Star Superman with Superman and the jumper is a better depiction of mental health issues and treatment than anything seen in this comic

[@SilverHairedFreak25]

And we have the triumphant return of Combine Harvester! Not for a mental breakdown -yet- but it's still fun to see!

[@dnmstarsi]

He was sorta mentally broken at this point. LOL

[@ForrestFox626]

You sure? I couldn't tell.

[@starwarsnerd100]

SilverHairedFreak25 huh? There was no combine harvester joke

[@SilverHairedFreak25]

@@starwarsnerd100 18:56 Combine Harvester plays in the background.

[@starwarsnerd100]

SilverHairedFreak25 ah I couldn’t hear it b4 but I can now

[@darkbats20]

Man Tom King really is a one trick pony. "What if superheroes were depressed and had PTSD like soldiers!"

[@eamonndeane587]

It does make me think he would be a good fit as a writer for Hulk or Punisher book.

[@AussieDragoon]

On the note of Harley escaping the Trinity, I wouldn't blame them for that. This has been a bad trope of Harley Quinn writing since she first started getting her big solo push. Essentially the character's God mode became a thing, where she can easily punk out, dodge, or beat people who logically should easily will over an unhinged normal human with above average acrobatic skills, little to no formal training, and a hammer. While I haven't seen it, I heard her solo film did this a bunch but one that I know happened was in the comic sequel to Batman & Harley Quinn, which is set in the DCAU and has her run circles around Rick Flag, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang without ever getting hit, then essentially out maneuvering Amanda Waller.

[@slifer875]

thats awful, thats on the same level of awfulness as batman beating someone like superman, popularity armor is the worst.......

[@eamonndeane587]

@@slifer875 At least with Batman it's somewhat more excusable since he was trained by numerous people to get himself into his Overpowered state. Harley Quinn..... I haven't a Clue in this case....

[@L1701]

All she needs to do is break the fourth wall, an she’d basically be Deadpool in short shorts.

[@jacobovillamizar3363]

@@eamonndeane587 Still, his training was not made by people with superhuman strength or the ability to fly or that by any means could have prepared him to fight against somebody who has these powers.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

@@jacobovillamizar3363 Batman's is still more believable because his taking down the League is based around him planning ahead and exploiting their weaknesses. Harley however.... She doesn't have his level or training or the equipment Batman has. It's just Harley is so popular so she can beat everyone somehow. Even though Batman alone has been too much for her in the past.

[@sammcguire3798]

Secret Empire means well but fails miserably. This event from even it's conception...is terrible.

[@welch_inc6532]

It’s well met. King had three mini-series under his belt that dealt with mental health issues and trauma

[@themilo1567]

It feels like it´s been a while since Linkara has been this angry. And considering the few details I know about the story, we have yet to even reach the peak of rage. Also, I kind of like the idea of Poison Ivy as a anti hero. With everything going on in the world, it kind of make sense that somebody associated strongly with protecting nature would be viewed in a more positive light. Makes more sense than turning Harley Quinn into a anti hero, which is also not something i´m inherently against mind you.

[@101Draico]

I feel like the confessions should have been separate issues with the characters, like them explaining a battle where they had to deal with their personal issues and how thanks to sanctuary is helping them, like having actual doctors there or holograms or robots that can help them mentally. Heck the writers should have gotten actual therapists to see how actual professionals would help these guys

[@daelen.cclark]

YES!!!! They really should have.

[@ladyaceina]

they actualy threw away all of ivy's character development she is back to being a villain and DC is burying all traces of her and harley being in arelationship yes they are doing that despite the huge hit that the cartoon was DC comics still bad at math

[@DuelaDent52]

ladyaceina That’s not what happened at all? The evil Ivy is one half of the whole. And couples in comics break up all the time, why should Harley and Ivy be treated especially differently?

[@ladyaceina]

@@DuelaDent52 because same sex couples are very rare in comics? and no DC is not even allowing references to there relationship to be mentioned they would not even allow a mention of it to be tweeted out on valentines day here is an article on it bleedingcool.com/comics/booster-gold-gets-the-harley-quinn-moment-denied-poison-ivy-spoilers/

[@derrickhaggard]

Oh this one. The story that touches on the topic of mental illness especially PTSD but comes off as more insulting then anything. And is also the story that pretty much ruins the Flash most of us grew up with Wally. Yeah this one sucks.

[@mariomaster88]

That last ridiculous bit with Harley Quinn... it's not a good sign for your ultra-serious event when I can imagine that same scenario playing out on DC Superhero Girls.

[@jonahfalcon1970]

Dan Didio DESPISED Wally West. Even though he was the central focus of DC Rebirth, he didn't even appear in any meaningful away in Doomsday Clock. And you wonder Didio why was abruptly fired.

[@joshuaingobo1559]

Didio was fired over five months ago, causing DC to try and fix its main continuity Dark Knights: Death Metal instead of 5G.

[@SuperWolsey]

I blame Alan Horn (WB studio head of the 2000s til 2013; currently Studio Pres at Disney) for ever bring the bastard to DC (and sparred him from the first firing attempt in '08) in the first place

[@derrickhaggard]

And let's not forget Dan Didio hates legacy characters with one of his favorite targets being Tim Drake.

[@ChigoIEbere]

It feels weird that you'd have the character to introduce DC Rebirth become what he does a few years later.

[@ChigoIEbere]

@@derrickhaggard What I know is that in New 52 they basically took away the origin and all the ideas of what Timothy was supposed to be. Did he do anything else?

[@BodySprayMan]

I'm going to get this out of the way. Sanctuary as an idea is not bad and a place to go where heroes can get mental health treatment is good. However, its destruction and people acting like it is a huge deal... doesn't really work when Sanctuary didn't really appear before this event. It may eve been vaguely mentioned at one point or another, but it never really appeared or got much of a look. We never had a status quo with it or really knew it. So its destruction and it being treated as a huge deal... falls extremely flat. There are tons of worse problems, but going into this event, this was an issue I had to begin with and I feel gets everything off on the wrong foot, even besides the mass murder of heroes.

[@williamharmon4039]

Sanctuary as it was presented was a horrible idea. The place is like a checklist of how not to help a trauma victim. Isolation from support groups and actual therapists, an AI that seems to antagonize the patients and berate them for not moving on instead of talking them through their thoughts and feelings, and a simulation room that can be used to relive the trauma over and over again. It is honestly insulting that this is genuinely portrayed as an amazing safe haven for the heroes and no issue is ever brought up with how the way Sanctuary was run is what enabled the events of the story to begin with.

[@Ninjamaster227-]

Let’s all just call, “Heroes in Crisis” what it truly is, “Cry For Justice 2”

[@louisduarte8763]

Or "Cry for A Refund".

[@GatorRay]

@@louisduarte8763 I prefer "Cry of Madness"

[@justinpullen1097]

* The title card is horribly hilarious. I can just hear Wally saying "Did I do that?" * You know it's gonna be bad when Linkara has apparently been screaming for a week. * I think King has serious Alan Moore envy, with this trying to be like Watchmen and The Gift being a messed up For the Man Who Has Everything. Problem is he comes off more like Bendis trying to be Alan Moore. * I too find this to be a mix of the worst parts of Cry for Justice and Identity Crisis. * Don't feel bad, I think a lot of us enjoyed Flash punching Booster for how stupid King writes him.

[@SuperWolsey]

He and Geoff Johns; especially the latter since he kept pillaging from unused ideas

[@kingsadvisor18]

I remember the original Damage Control comic. It was amazing, touching on a background detail of 'who cleans up after super hero fights?' to make it into a whole book. They COULD have done that with this, maybe a book about a hospital or other health facility dedicated to the treatment of super heroes. But NOOOOOOPE

[@louisduarte8763]

Didn't Marvel later screw up Damage Control, a little while before (ugh) the first CIVIL WAR event?

[@daelen.cclark]

The guess that I had on why Harley’s wearing her old costume is because since she walked from Nebraska to Gotham, she probably just needed a change of clothes.

[@joshuaingobo1559]

18:56 to 19:17: He has finally did a “Combine Harvester” freakout after two years.

[@starwarsnerd100]

Joshua Ingobo . . . That wasn’t a combine harvester rant

[@starwarsnerd100]

Never mind I couldn’t hear it at first

[@daelen.cclark]

He said it wouldn’t be appropriate for a series where someone broke and did nonsensical things, which I agree with. So this is pretty much compensation for it.

[@deegleffler4887]

Stop killing my favorite flash characters, bringing them back, then killing them again! Ugh

[@mistertea603]

You know...I LOVE the idea of Poison Ivy being an anti-hero! Presenting a more positive light on climate science and animal rights in a more positive light and NOT as extremists... Even the idea of a place where Superheroes can go to therapy, without the surprisingly real threat of their therapist getting captured... ...However the idea of being treated by an AI raises a HILARIOUSLY long list of ethical questions that would take DECADES of debate to even get theories on.

[@Bobsheaux]

"But they are not doctors. They are not trained in this area." Ugh... The Batman fan in me hates to stroke the ego of The Bat-god, but... regardless of the absence of an actual doctorate, doesn't Batman have the training to BE a doctor? He did study psychology while prepping for his war of crime, and we all know how he strides to be the BEST at everything he does. Does that not suggest that he would be qualified to help these other heroes deal with their issues? "You know what you would PROBABLY get??" Only the most hilariously broken thing in existence. That was GOLD! lmao 20:25 - Sadly, THIS Penguin is more Danny DeVito than the Penguin who was actually WRITTEN by Danny DeVito... Oy...

[@drewalexander6024]

Well, his name is King. Guess he would reign, making the worst DC Event of the decade. Edit: I want to make clear that Tom King is a great writer. I love his run on Vision, and I felt he was done dirty on his Batman run being cut very short (He was killing it with City of Bane), but I do think he has a habit of vilifying or embarrassing characters if it suits his story. The Gift is made BG practically evil by sheer stupidity, and Thomas Wayne is somehow able to beat Bruce and then leaves him to die in a desert. Thomas, the guy who risked everything to let Bruce live instead of him in Flashpoint, practically leaves his kid to die in a hole. I'm not saying King is a bad writer, but when he changes things, it reaks of retconning and not thinking it through and it comes off as disrespectful and mean spirited, even when he's not trying to be.

[@SophiaSanders61]

Reign* Also, 100% agree. This comment was spectacular and made my day.

[@daelen.cclark]

Trevor Anthony As a person or a writer?

[@WolvTerror]

Why not both? HiC is not good but I usually like his work and himself

[@MDoorpsy]

@@daelen.cclark His Mister Miracle comic was really good... and I've heard good things about Vision, but I personally didn't care for his Batman run from what I read, and this event is just terrible, with the exception of the one good idea of superheroes needing therapy, until you realize how nonsensical it is, when you realize that a lot of these characters that really should have gotten therapy, clearly haven't gotten it (Batman, for example.).

[@paulakroy2635]

@Trevor Anthony he did this www.reddit.com/r/DCcomics/comments/hy8kem/jae_lee_to_tom_king_were_not_all_good/ he's not a good person

[@mightyfilm]

Wait wait wait! Someone burned "The [something] are all dead?" into the wall? So basically they referenced that famous "The Transformers are all DEAD!" cover with Shockwave? Yeah. Time and place for being cute and it is NOT it. Also, yeah, both the Harley Quinn movie AND cartoon actually were arsed to remember that she was a psychiatrist at some point. Hell, in the movie she psychoanalyzed some of the characters at some points. Doesn't believe in trauma? Really?!

[@sarafontanini7051]

I don't think tom king actually remembered what her ob was before she became the joker's sidekick (even though she left him far behind at this point)

[@mightyfilm]

Didn't know or didn't care. There's actually a reason for this, but I'm not going to spoil the other parts of this video. Once you find it out, it'll all make sense and be just that more infuriating.

[@SiRenfield]

Hell while it’s non canon (Black Label) in Harleen her friggin’ thesis is that unresolved trauma can lead people to commit crimes!

[@GatorRay]

Considering the OG Transformers comics were done by Marvel. I can see that "Are all dead" inclusion being a potshot.

[@Greener221]

How would it be a potshot at Marvel?

[@YourUncleBenis]

That whole thing about Sanctuary being some kind of "best of" compilation of the Trinity seems like an unnecessary plot hole. Sure, some other media like the Young Justice cartoon has them say that keeping the weaknesses of the heroes on the downlow is good for public morale or something(though that was in terms of not making the deaths of heroes public), so we can MAYBE say that putting out a call for a superhero therapist is possibly something they may not want to do, but why not privately hire a bunch of specialists in mental health to form the basis for the Sanctuary AI? Bruce Wayne could probably shake enough spare change out of his couch to get the best of the best, so why not do that?

[@thomasraines1396]

It’s better then having Batman be the basis for a mental health AI.

[@SerenityM16]

You know what would have been two traits better for those robots that Superman and Batman do have? (Wonder Woman’s compassion is fine) Batman’s Insight and Superman’s Hope

[@KertaDrake]

With the masks... This really would have made A LOT more sense if Psycho Pirate was the villain. Wouldn't have made it good, but would have made it somewhat less terrible.

[@AshuraH]

You want a positive take on psychiatrists and mental illnesses, I'd suggest reading Volume 2 of The Unstoppable Wasp, especially say... issues 4-6

[@derrickhaggard]

I actually like Unstoppable Wasp.

[@daelen.cclark]

I will, thank you.

[@ryanschrafel9576]

The Unstoppable Wasp issues you mentioned were coming out at around the same time Heroes in Crisis was being released! Needless to say, The Unstoppable Wasp handled the subject a hell of a lot better!

[@james13sylar]

18:56, Linkara's portrayal of the big three of DC. Amazing acting.

[@ZemeckisTEN]

Good fucking god, my dad would’ve DESPISED this event comic. Especially with how they portrayed Booster Gold. RIP Dad 1970-2016.

[@benwasserman8223]

Well if anyone wants a good mental health DC story, watch Doom Patrol. Yes the show where rats and cockroaches make out and a muscle guy orgasm-flexes is more respectful then this.

[@Vesperitis]

The best part about Doom Patrol is that while the team find themselves in some of the most fuckest uppest situations in all of television, their emotional issues are even more fucked up, and their struggles against their own problems is why they're heroes.

[@dnmstarsi]

Well, good to know I was watching something cool. I loved Doom Patrol on DC Universe but nice to know that the show featuring James Bond in a wheelchair who turned Rick O'Connell into a robot actually did a better job handling mental health issues.

[@RaptorJesus]

I wanna spread you like the plague, daddy.

[@wolftitanreading5308]

oh wow has he been screaming this long how can he still talk

[@benwasserman8223]

Canonically a week. If the house is a hyperbolic time chamber, at least up to a year.

[@ShinyGaara65]

If the old NC crossover's still anything to go by, I'd argue "clean throat."

[@Zelinkokitsune]

It's a learned art.

[@jbleichman]

I get the sense that Tom King writes the story first and then kind of plugs characters in as an afterthought. Sometimes it works, like that Supergirl story.

[@taliad.1020]

If you watch Part 3 of this video, you'll learn that's exactly what happened.

[@KitsuneRokaku]

Me: *sees notification* Neat. New AT4W. *sees the first opening seconds* Me: *proceeds to get popcorn* This gonna be good

[@bacsilva]

On the subject of Booster being "crazy", someone who stuck with the Batman King run can correct me, but I think Skeetz was hacked to mess with his head as part of Bane's plan. I gave up on the Penguin arc, but I remember Skeetz hanging out with the villains in the wedding issue.

[@ProfessorHurt]

AND IT WAS NEVER TOUCHED ON AGAIN after #50. Though note we must make Linkara review "City of Bane" next. He has to conclude the Tom King "Trilogy of Terror".

[@justinpullen1097]

The extreme convoluted plan by Bane and how everything had to happen just right reminds of Harvest. "My pwan is gweat!"

[@Gojiragon]

Justin Pullen At some point I want to see one of those “spin doctor“ villains get easily laid out after trying to spin how “this is totally part of the plan. My pwan is gwait!”

[@sarafontanini7051]

@@justinpullen1097 "I may be melting in the sun and dying but I'm still winning!"

[@anthonyrodriguez8788]

@@sarafontanini7051 "ha! After thwee wong years of being fwoating space dust I have come back as a bwack wantern! Awl accordin to pwan."

[@akkristor]

Between this and The Gift, I am so glad to have stopped reading DC comics. Wally and Booster were my two favorite heroes. Booster especially, since after Infinite Crisis, he went from being the immature fool out for personal glory, to pretending to be the immature fool while he and his son, Rip Hunter, protected the integrity of history. He really was the Greatest Hero You've Never Heard Of. All of that is gone now. The hero I enjoyed is gone. All I have left of Good DC universe right now is the DCAU, Young Justice especially. Can't wait to see how DC fucks that up.

[@teddyfurstman1997]

Sad, I love the DCAU, Harley Quinn, and DC Animated Movies. Also, Justice League Action.

[@JayKayEllEmm]

I feel like Herpes in Crisis was good in concept, but a truly horrible execution. But that’s pretty much Tom King’s entire career in a nutshell. Except for his run on Vision. That was 100% genuinely good. Edit: Young Justice did an episode with this concept and did it infinitely better. Not quite “great”, but it’s better than this.

[@alexandrefrauches132]

His mister miracle was good too, except for the ending which I felt was really confused and made no sense.

[@JayKayEllEmm]

Alexandre Frauches I haven’t read that yet.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

Was that a typo? Cuz I'm totally gonna call this piece of shit "Herpes in Crisis", from now.

[@isenokami7810]

Okay, this episode really goes to show how infectious Linkara's passion is. Keep in mind, I don't actually read Marvel or DC stuff, I JUST watch AT4W...and yet after how much Linkara talked about the good days for Roy and Lian Harper back in Cry for Justice, my first reaction the MOMENT he mentioned this story killed Roy was "HOW ****ING DARE YOU!"

[@Rabbitlord108]

Especially since they brought Lian back to life in Convergence.

[@feelsjeffman7787]

God bless Jeremy Adams and everything he’s done with Wally after HiC. Unfortunately, he announced today that his run on The Flash is ending after issue #800, getting new #1 and creative team… for some reason

[@daelen.cclark]

He’ll be writing a Jay Garrick Flash book, so he’ll stick around.

[@AnimatedIdiotGuide]

18:56 not exactly what I thought I’d get for a combine harvester meltdown but it was hilarious 🤣

[@JungleKarmaPizzaKitchen]

I quite liked some of the character interviews during Heroes in Crisis. The ending though? Complete character assassination.

[@JoeChillton]

The murder of Wally West by the coward Tom King.

[@billuraral1870]

*Captain America voice* I understood that reference!

[@NR-yu5xe]

And don’t forget his accomplice Dan Didio

[@JoeChillton]

@@NR-yu5xe thank God he got fired.

[@herounlimited13]

The Dark Id! Hell yeah!

[@chrisossu2070]

I mean, going by the general pecking order at DC, wouldn't it be "the coward Dan Didio and his accomplice Tom King"?

[@Air_Dan]

18:55 This was the greatest DC moment of AT4W ever. You sir are comedy gold and got me into superhero comics.

[@CharlesGouraudgaming]

Lewis, I wanted to thank you for putting out this amazing content week to week. I've been watching for a while, my first episode of yours was the Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham review, and it's really interesting how the common themes you keep bringing up from comics got me engaged with your show: An eyecatching cover (with the comic holding you), good content, and a mythology that makes the viewer or reader want to learn more about what came before. I binged your back catalog after that, and now, 7 (I think, dunno how long ago that vid was) years later, I'm with you all the way. Keep up the amazing work.

[@jamesaziz7004]

Not gonna lie, I always thought Sanctuary was just like a safe house that no one could get to in case they needed a break from the world. Or a sweet water park.

[@DuelaDent52]

James Aziz A break that encourages you to hide who you truly are and relive your trauma over and over again.

[@jamesaziz7004]

Was also thinking it served as a hospital to recover from abnormal injuries. I admit when the event happened I wasn't reading it, I just heard about it from others.

[@sarafontanini7051]

no we have to make it as stupid as possible because we don't know to therapy works

[@jamesaziz7004]

Really does make you wonder what exactly is the Justice Leagues Budget? With the amount of magic users I figured they would want to put Sanctuary in a pocket dimension so if they had a break down they could be contained.

[@sarafontanini7051]

@@jamesaziz7004 Their budget is the same as batman's....LIMITLESS

[@punkrockbttrfly]

So, if I had to guess based on the first issue of the comic, I would hazard that the original plan was that Harley Quinn killed everyone at Sanctuary and the idea was to turn her back into a villain. What with her idiotic confessional mocking people who suffer from trauma, I would guess that the justification would be that she thought people who needed help with trauma were "weak", and that superheroes who needed help with trauma were therefore weak and brought the rest of the superhero community down. "The puddlers are all dead" means that there's nobody left to "skim the weakness and the impurities" from the superhero community (aka the mentally ill ones) and that's why she did it, to get rid of what she saw as the weakness in the community and therefore make everyone stronger. And that she would somehow frame Booster Gold for it (possibly using poisons she got from Poison Ivy to unbalance his mental state and make him hallucinate) to make everybody, including him, think he did it, and get away with it. The novelty teeth thing would be a double bluff: so obviously connected to her that there's no way she would be stupid enough to plant it, so clearly somebody is framing her, right? I would also guess that Tom King wrote the first issue based on this idea, presented the overall story to DC, and somebody told him that it was garbage and to try again, hence why the actual Heroes in Crisis ended up with so many obvious last-second rewrites, because it was written on the fly after the original idea got thrown out. Obviously this is just speculation, and if this is the case that story would have been absolute crap, possibly even more crap than the story that ended up happening.

[@GoatHeadWalletProdt]

Linkara: *plays Combine Harvester* Heroes in Crisis: Why do I hear Boss music?