The True Cost of Identity Crisis
Filed under: Comics
With all the talk about Sue-this and Jean-that, reviewers of DC’s Identity Crisis have missed the most significant death. It’s understandable why it wasn’t noticed right away as it’s tucked away in a small corner of the scene on the villains’ space station. As Merlyn is walking into the common room on the space station, his running commentary gives the reader clues to what is going on.
The only people I don’t talk to are these two.
Phobia and Dr. Moon.
Scary and Scarier.
Once a month they come up here and someone disappears.
Signalman’s been missing since January.
And there you have it; the most important event in the Identity Crisis to date: the apparent death of Signalman.
First appearing in Batman #112 (December 1957), Phillip Cobb was a small-time crook who devised his Signalman guise and shtick after seeing the Bat Signal in the sky. He committed crimes based on signals and left signals behind as clues for Batman to deduce. He failed repeatedly as Signalman, so he tried his hands as an archer once, becoming the Blue Bowman before he returned to crime (unsuccessful as always) as Signalman. His final appearance was apparently Batman: Gotham Knights #33.
With his first appearance in 1957, Signalman predates both the Elongated Man (April/May1960) and the Atom (Sept/Oct 1961) as well as their respective spouse and ex-spouse: Sue Dibny (Mar 1961) and Jean Loring (Sept/Oct 1961). He was also around long before Dr. Light (June 1962). (It’s interesting to note that Signalman is also 13 years older than Brad Meltzer.) It’s a shame to see the death of Signalman eclipsed by the antics of all these Johnnies-come-lately.
It’s wrong to think of Signalman as a poor man’s Riddler; he’s more of the poor man’s Cluemaster, only he appeared several years earlier — and he still got less press. His trouble was not only one of the world’s ugliest costumes, but also his inability to understand his own symbols (what exactly does the checkered flag mean?) .
requiescat in pace, Signalman
September 7th, 2004 at 9:12 pm
Granted, I haven’t been reading IC, but they just said he’s missing. That doesn’t neccesarily mean dead, does it?
September 7th, 2004 at 9:19 pm
True…but still Dr. Moon and Phobia…he’s dead (unless of course he’s the culprit, in which case you read it here first!)
September 7th, 2004 at 9:48 pm
Ian:
Forget it – he’s rolling.
September 7th, 2004 at 10:13 pm
Signalman may be the poor man’s Cluemaster, but Cluemaster is/was the poor man’s Riddler, and then we’re just getting a little too recursive…
September 7th, 2004 at 10:52 pm
SIGNALMAN! If you’re still alive for god’s sake man give us some kind of sign!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!
September 8th, 2004 at 8:01 am
That’s it – I’m boycotting DC. They just took away my favorite character! I mean, come on, who’s had more staying power – Signalman or Sue Dibny?
(For those humor-challenged, the above was said with tongue planted firmly in cheek)
September 8th, 2004 at 9:07 am
Dorian’s right, Signalman is a Riddler clone. In yet another show of disrespect, Riddler went after Cluemaster in Robin for stealing his shtick, but didn’t seem to care that Signalman did it first.
You have to feel sorry for Signalman: he’s finally invited to the villain’s secret club, only to fall in with the wrong crowd. So was he invited because of his exploits, or just to placate Dr. Moon and Phobia? I mean Dr. Light was never invited, and he was at least a little more threatening than Signalman.
Not that Cluemaster was that competent either. I remember him best from his stints in the Injustice League during the Justice League Europe years. That issue where both the JLE and Injustice League ended up in French class together was comedy gold (JLE #6, I believe). And who can forget Justice League Antarctica… (at least Major Disaster moved up to the big leagues.)
January 7th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Signalman is not dead! In Justice League of America #1 he turns out to be an informant for Black Lightning.
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