Flashback Friday: Identity Crisis #3

Been a bit sick this week so this might be a shorter than the normal short comments.  I randomly grab books to read as the weeks go by and I just need something.  I picked up three of the Identity Crisis series books I had gotten for a quarter a piece.  I do own and have read the Trade form of the entire story, but Issue 3 stands out.  In this issue you have one of the best narrated and drawn action fight scene ever presented in comics.  

It is Deathstroke, hired to protect Dr. Light in the aftermath of Sue Dibney's murder, versus the Justice League of America.  The JLA is consisting of the already beaten Ralph Dibney, The Elongated Man, Green Arrow, The Atom, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), The Flash (Wally West), Hawkman, Zatanna, and Black canary.  This is a very strong group.  Each could stand against Deathstroke in most instances, but here he has all of them to take on.  Guess what, he totally owns them.

One by one he impales, punches, gags, cuts and just owns the JLA.  The entire action just blows the readers mind.  It is given color commentary by Green Arrow.  He is perfect in this role and well written.  His perspective gives rise to the tension as to why they are after Dr. Light to begin with and how all this came to be.  It also leads to a cool quote once the table turn.

"Like I always say, the JSA may teach you how to be a hero, and the Titans may teach you how to be a family, but the League -- sure it teaches you how to protect, but from the very start the League teaches you how to fight."    --Green Arrow

As the fight turns, Dr. Light remembers the mind erasure and then blinds everybody, Superman shows, and Deathstroke slips away.  Then we get a reason for secret identities and the rationalizing of messing with Batman's memories.  It is probably the best among the great moments of this series.  If you ever see it in a back issue box for next to nothing, it is a great purchase for the fight alone.