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NOT this time. Brad Meltzer is a mystery-writer, and that's exactly what this story is; digging through tons and tons of clues, understanding motives, putting everything together... and discovering it's HER?!?!??!?!?!?!? Jean Loring? A woman who's been around for how long?!?!?!??!!!! But in Issue 7, as any good mystery writer will do, all the pieces fit very well. No, this isn't the Biiiiiiiiig Fight we expected... but this is the way a murder mystery should end; someone staring the killer in the face and going 'Why?'
Finally, what still hits hard for me is the humanity of these characters. For once it's not about Truth, Justice, and the American Way, it's not about Criminals Being a Cowardly Lot or any other ideas. The story is about pain, it's about loss, it's about fear, and it's about how things lead to ripples that affect EVERYTHING. As Bruce says a prayer for Sue and Tim's father at his parent's grave, you KNOW he understands the pain Ralph is fighting through. As Clark puts on the suit AGAIN, you feel the weariness, the sense of reponsibility. And finally, as poor Ray Palmer shrinks to who knows where in total despair and shame... you feel for this poor guy who's seen his wife thrown into an asylum for killing someone he also cared for. His grief, his pain is REAL... and you realize that no amount of super-heroics or bashing super-villains will help him.
And perhaps that's why the response to this mini-series has been so 'eh', albeit the sales have been nuts. This ISN'T s 'superhero' book where the bad-guys get creamed, the people are all saved, and the world is happy. This is reality. As umpteenth mini-series roll out in preparation for THE event in the DC Universe of 'Infinity Crisis', the most important lesson is NOTHING ends. All actions have repercussions and that's what IC proved. You might be faster then a locomotive and the master detective... but LIFE is bigger then you... be afraid.