Crisis II – Julie Schwartz’s Idea

Pencils & Production

As we’ve been talking about these past couple of weeks, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, the long-gestating DC 50th Anniversary project designed to streamline and tidy up their universe and their continuity was such an immediate and huge hit that plans were made even before the series had run its course to produce a sequel, a second Crisis of some sort. Ideas for this second Crisis were solicited from among DC’s editorial staff and key creators, many of whom responded with their ideas. One who did was longtime DC editor Julie Schwartz.

Julie’s idea was called THE GREAT IDENTITY CRISIS (no relation to the later IDENTITY CRISIS that Brad Meltzer wrote) and it’s very much in keeping with his classic Silver Age sensibilities. Julie focuses almost exclusively on the members of the Justice League of America in his outline, though if this story were to have moved forward, it’s doubtless that other popular characters would have been similarly affected by Felix Faust’s enchantment.

I don’t know that this is really a 9 issue idea, but you can see the straightforward methodology of Schwartz’s approach here: an opening issue to set up the scenario, seven issues in which each Leaguer deals with the loss of his or her civilian self in a unique way, and one issue at the end for everybody to unite and defeat Felix Faust, restoring the status quo.

Julie also included this reproduction of the cover to Felix Faust’s first appearance, in case the folks reading his pitch weren’t familiar with the character.

Published

10 thoughts on “Crisis II – Julie Schwartz’s Idea”

  1. If Julie had done this idea when Fox and Sekowsky were still on JLA, it’d be a one-issue story.

    I don’t think it works for a line-wide crossover — and if it was done in 9 issues, it’d get repetitive pretty fast. It’d need some sort of rising and developing threat so that the overall situation is changing as the Leaguers deal with their situation, rather than just doing the same bit 7 times in a row with a different character each time.

    Maybe something like two ongoing plot threads —

    1. With their “human sides” forgotten, the Leaguers change from heroes to destructive forces embodying their inner drives to “benevolent” fascists, so they become Faust’s footsoldiers and part of what the rest of the DCU has to fight. It’s not a new trope, but the DCU versus the JLA would be dramatic and promotable.

    2. Before the story kicks in, you have Wally West lose his powers (as Marv was planning to do), but the “hole” in Faust’s spell creates a spiritual vacuum that, unknown to Faust, is trying to revive the Flash so it can act on him like it did on the others. In the end the “Flash-spirit” is instrumental in bringing back the Leaguers to who they really are (with the help of various other DCU heroes, of course), and rather than dissipate when its job is done, it grounds itself into Wally, like a lightning bolt, restoring his powers and “choosing” him as the new Flash.

    3. Faust gets a new outfit, because the old one doesn’t work for the late 80s.

    Unfold that story over 9 issues, with lots of tie-in connections and each of the middle 7 issues of the core series seen through the viewpoint of one of the affected Leaguers, and you might have something that’d make an effective crossover event.

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    1. There’s a Mark Gruenwald story from the 1990s where aliens separate the League and their alter egos and they transform similar to the way you suggest, only not as drastically malevolent. The best twist was that in Batman’s case, it’s Bruce Wayne who becomes the unhinged psycho while Batman stands around brooding — “Because the death of your parents is your memory, not Batmans. So Batman has nothing to drive him while you’re full of anger with your way of expressing it choked off.”

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    2. Tom, are you aware if anyone has sent the Kaminski link to Don Cheadle on social media? I don’t have any accounts or else I’d give it a try.

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  2. Isn’t this a rehash of Operation: Jail The Justice League?

    I did appreciate the issue references in the proposal — that was one of my favorite Schwartz signatures as a kid.

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    1. There’s multiple similar stories: A Dr. Light tale from the 1970s has him confuse the Justice League so they think they have each other’s secret identities, making it (somehow) easier to trap them.

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  3. Quoting from memory here but wasn’t the premise of Mark Waid’s pre-JLA mini similar to this? Just with Doctor Destiny as the villain?

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