Heroes in Crisis #4: The Day the Narrative Stood Still

On the one hand, in the grand scheme of this seemingly-sprawling arc, nothing happens. On the other hand, a number of small clues appear to have been dropped throughout the issue that amount to at least a tiny bit of development as we crawl towards the hinge-issue of the series.

For those of you that have been following my reviews of the series (Hi JJ, B, Derbs, Nick, and Ross!), we see a pretty clear indication of the duplicity of the simulation tech in the form of Donna’s poetic waxing on Troy. “A confusion of two stories” is a clear allusion to the conflicting eye-witness reports given by Booster and Harley. As we progress through the series, I can almost see a commentary on the nature of social media and the development of AI algorithms beginning to come into focus, although such a narrative has been recently tackled by “the other Tom” over at the formerly Cross-Town Rival to great success, so perhaps I’m simply reading that into it.

The fingerprints of the Teen Titans/Titans continue to be central as we begin the arc with Donna and Garth mourning at a bar but exactly how they play into the story other than as mourners is no clearer four issues in than it was after the first issue.

It is worth noting that Mann’s artwork, the high point of the series and perhaps a high water mark for comics in 2018, seemed rushed in several sequences, particularly the much-debated Batgirl session and the above Donna Troy session. Coupled with the fact that Lee Weeks subbed in for nearly a full issue recently already, it does raise questions as to how well Mann is able to keep up with this title.