Countdown to Infinite Crisis - JLA: Crisis of Conscience
又看完一本Countdown to Infinite Crisis了，薄薄的120多頁，很快就看完了。
這次的故事是我最愛的Identity Crisis的後續，看起上來特別帶勁。
一如既往，來自wiki的簡介：
In the Watchtower, The Flash gathers the League within the League[3] to tell them that if they don't tell Batman they wiped his mind,[4] he's going to tell them himself. Green Arrow and Hawkman argue, while Zatanna struggles with her personal guilt. When he finds out, J'onn tells them that Batman already knows, and then leaves to talk to him about it. Meanwhile, the original Secret Society of Super-Villains reforms with the aid of a mysterious benefactor, and begins wreaking havoc on the respective cities of the heroes. They defeat the majority of the League, then travel to Gotham City and confront Batman and the Martian Manhunter, incidentally along with Catwoman. After dumping the unconscious bodies of the other leaguers on the adjacent ground, The Wizard tells the heroes that their mind wipes[5] have been undone, and that the Society now retains full knowledge of each of their private lives and secret identities.
The JLA battles the Secret Society of Super-Villains in Gotham City, but before a clear winner can be shown Felix Faust teleports the Society elsewhere. In the Batcave, Batman tends to Catwoman (who was injured in the battle), but the rest of the League quickly catches up with him and confronts him about the mindwipes.[6] They apologize, but retain that they did what they did because it was what they had to do. They argue, and Batman and Hawkman briefly come to blows. The issue unresolved, the League leaves when they realize that the Society will be after their families next. In the Watchtower, as J'onn tries to figure out who it was that restored the Society's minds, the culprit simply reveals himself: Despero.
Despero expresses his disappointment in the League to J'onn, and the two of them battle. The Flash, while checking up on everybody's families, finds himself with Lois Lane when the Secret Society of Super-Villains attacks the Daily Planet. Superman returns to the League after his absence[7] in just enough time to save Lois, and with the exception of Batman, the League battles the Society. The fight is long and hard, but eventually the Society is subdued, and the League is once again left with the decision of what to do with them;[8] this time with Superman in the equation. Hawkman suggests that, once again, they put it to a vote.
J'onn and Despero's battle leaves the Watchtower, and they plummet down to San Diego where they are joined by Aquaman.
Back in Metropolis, the League has an informal vote on what to do with the captured Secret Society of Super-Villains. Hawkman is adamantly for removing the heroes' identities from the villains' memories, and Green Arrow and the Flash reluctantly agree. Superman, Green Lantern and Black Canary are all sorely opposed, which throws the deciding vote to Zatanna. Zatanna tells them that her vote is inconsequential, as no matter the outcome she would refuse to wipe anymore minds. Zatanna requests that she be removed from the League's roster, and leaves the group.
The League returns to the Watchtower with the Society, having loosely decided to vote with the Martian Manhunter on whether or not he will perform the memory erases. Unaware of the earlier fight with Despero, they are confused to find the Monitor Room in a state of destruction.
Zatanna goes to Themyscira, and finds the council of both Wonder Woman and Supergirl. Wonder Woman, still in semi-exile after murdering Maxwell Lord,[9] sympathizes with her.
Back in the Batcave, Batman continues to repair Red Tornado's body, while Catwoman stays with him. The cave is invaded by Despero, who has managed to get both Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter in his mental thrall. The two mind-controlled heroes subdue Batman, and Despero gains control of his body as well. Catwoman is left alone in the Batcave facing all four of them.
In the Batcave, Despero and his mind-controlled Leaguers have surrounded Catwoman. Turning down his offer of an alliance, she uses the Batcomputer's emergency JLA communicator to summon help. However, Despero steadily mesmerizes some of the new arrivals. In this way, he divides the team between those who supported the mindwipes and those who opposed them. In forcing them to fight, he plays on their own insecurities, as individuals and as a team. Soon, the only members left are Superman, Zatanna and Hawkman. Despero gloats that Superman cannot resist his powers, but he is suddenly blown back by the arrival of Red Tornado, who is immune to his powers. The remaining Justice League is about to kill Superman, Zatanna stops them, releasing them from Despero's powers, and berating them for "using Despero as an excuse to kill each other". Fixing Wayne Manor with her magic, she teleports away to deal with the Felix Faust's Secret Society.
Zatanna brainwashes the villains, but Batman still doesn't believe in her methods. J'onn wonders how the League will cope with these events, and Hal Jordan points out that most of the heroes present are not current members of the team, and that most of the current members have left due to the events of the recent past; the League now consists of John Stewart, Superman, Martian Manhunter and the Flash - and the Flash needs time off to deal with his two new kids. It is agreed that J'onn will try to create a new Justice League roster. Going to Batman, he realizes why the Secret Society case enraged him so - Catwoman was a member before they disappeared, and he worries that her current status as an ally was not her own choice.
In the watchtower, J'onn and John Stewart are discussing possible members. J'onn remarks that Ted was worried about a conspiracy. Since Ted's death, the Justice League is fractured, the magic of the DCU is being destroyed by the Spectre, half the heroes are in a war zone in space, the villains have united, and superhuman cyborgs are attacking superteams all over the world. He wonders at the identity of the mastermind behind such a far-reaching conspiracy. Suddenly, the teleporters register Superman arriving. J'onn turns around to greet someone in a Superman costume, but he reacts strangely - the new arrival is not quite Superman. Suddenly, the Watchtower explodes.
簡單而言，本作講述Identity Crisis事件後，JLA面對的不信任危機。當中對朋友的不信任到達最高點的當然是Batman了，他除了選擇退出之外，亦開始了OMAC計劃。而在本作中，揭露Zatanna在那次事件中，同樣消去了J'onn的記憶，此外，她亦曾對知悉他們秘密身份的Secret Society六人施行相同的魔法。到了今日，一個神秘人恢復了Secret Society的記憶，後者決定了向所有JLA成員報仇，再一次展開了Identity Crisis。JLA成員與SS第一次交戰不分上下，最終SS先行撒退，JLA成員先與Batman吵了一場，再各自會合自己的家人。而另一方面，這次事件的幕後黑手也出現了——Despero。
不久，Lois Lane在Daily Planet總部遇襲，SS再次與JLA交戰，這次JLA有Superman的加入，最終成功打敗SS。然而，Hawkman再次就應否消去SS的記憶要求成員們投票。這次，Green Lantern, Black Canary, Superman投反對票，Hawkman, Green Arrow及Flash投贊成票。最終，Zatanna則指自己不會再用同樣的魔法，離開了現場。話分兩頭，J'onn在Watchtower中見到了Despero，二人從太空戰至地面，當J'onn正要被殺死時，Aquaman出現，二人決定合力以Telepath的能力與Despero分出勝負。
Zatanna到達了天堂島，與Supergirl及Wonder Woman徵詢意見。WW指自己殺了Maxwell Lord，已不是JLA的成員，但也以此鼓勵Zatanna，有些東西是明知不可為而為之，哪怕它會使自己身敗名裂。在Batcave，Batman在Catwoman的陪同下成功維修了早前被SS擊敗的Red Tornado，卻驚見Despero帶著已被精神控制了的Aquaman和J'onn，最終Batman不敵，同樣被控制了。Catwoman馬上聯絡JLA，還好一眾英雄馬上就趕到了，與Despero等人大戰。然而，Black Canary、Green Lantern都被控制了，在危急關頭，Red Tornado也出手了，Zatanna也及時趕到，以魔法定住了Despero。這次，大家決定了送Despero到OA被其他GL所監禁，Zatanna意志堅定的去消除SS有關英雄們及其家人的身份的記憶，Hawkman、GL、BC、GA都申明自己要一點時間處理自己的心意和亂局，暫時退出JLA。Batman仍然不信任這些「朋友」，叫他們馬上滾蛋。回到Batcave，Batman望著Catwoman的相片出神，J'onn來到他的身邊，也許是知道J'onn跟他一樣被消去記憶吧，Batman對J'onn的厭惡感不如其他JLA成員，他告訴J'onn Catwoman是第一代SS成員，但在不知不覺間成為了他的拍檔，現在想來，這個結果未必全然是Catwoman的個人選擇。
J'onn回到Watchtower，忙著為現時只有四人的JLA招募新成員。他想起Blue Beetle在死前的說話，後悔當時沒有聽從他的忠告，以致現時不論地球、太空，以致JLA內部亂象四起。此時，Watchtower報告Superman被傳送到此，J'onn回首卻驚呆了，然後Watchtower就爆炸了。
我不知不覺間還是把整個故事都打出來了。沒辦法，我太愛Identity Crisis了，也愛屋及烏。
不過老實說，本作沒有如IC般引人入勝，最多只是Despero出場那一幕讓我驚喜了一下。但觀乎本作出場的英雄及敵人，雖然劇情不怎麼特別，但也教人心滿意足了。
我本來以為SS就是本作最大的反派，始終SS成員各人的能力都很強(不過人物形象一般，都是平面的傳統壞人，存在感頗低)，但還是兩下子被JLA收拾掉了，有點浪費。不過，倒是把戲份都放在大奸角Despero這個霸氣人物上，這倒也不壞。
其實為奸角洗腦是一個很值得探討的議題。這固然是關於道德議題，同時關乎效率問題。老實說，如果不是漫畫世界中的監獄都那麼低效，讓犯罪者一次又一次的越獄，那就完全不用傷服筋了。我認為洗腦是可行的，但只限於大奸大惡之徒及重犯者。在漫畫世界中，多少無辜市民被這些不斷逃獄的瘋子殺害，英雄們就算很快制服罪犯，還是免不了死去一大票人。而對洗腦最為反感的Batman，是個最守法的人，假若洗腦決定不是由小團子數人主導，而是國家法律，只怕他也沒話說了。另一方面，怎麼處理這些罪犯的形式怎麼只有JLA來決定？警察和政府真的打算把責任完全交給英雄？我認為怎麼判刑應當交由法庭判決，或來一個全民公投吧，那麼英雄們也會無話可說吧。
本作中，Wonder Woman與Zatanna的一席話讓我知道Maxwell Lord已死，我還以為Lord在Infinite Crisis中被殺，原來早在Countdown時被殺，我還真是太年輕了。那我馬上就去查查系列的閱讀順席，哇，數十本書，我可真沒耐性都看一遍了……
本作的劇情並不豐富，完全就是把握Identity Crisis的核心議題再作延伸罷了，所以本作並沒有太大的新鮮感，與Infinite Crisis的關係大概就是JLA的成員減少及最後那個疑似Superman毀了Watchtower一事吧，但明眼人一定知道那就是Superboy-Prime吧，所以一句到尾，本作是部不過不失的作品，不看也可，但喜歡Identity Crisis的讀者則可以一戰。
75分。
這次的故事是我最愛的Identity Crisis的後續，看起上來特別帶勁。
一如既往，來自wiki的簡介：
In the Watchtower, The Flash gathers the League within the League[3] to tell them that if they don't tell Batman they wiped his mind,[4] he's going to tell them himself. Green Arrow and Hawkman argue, while Zatanna struggles with her personal guilt. When he finds out, J'onn tells them that Batman already knows, and then leaves to talk to him about it. Meanwhile, the original Secret Society of Super-Villains reforms with the aid of a mysterious benefactor, and begins wreaking havoc on the respective cities of the heroes. They defeat the majority of the League, then travel to Gotham City and confront Batman and the Martian Manhunter, incidentally along with Catwoman. After dumping the unconscious bodies of the other leaguers on the adjacent ground, The Wizard tells the heroes that their mind wipes[5] have been undone, and that the Society now retains full knowledge of each of their private lives and secret identities.
The JLA battles the Secret Society of Super-Villains in Gotham City, but before a clear winner can be shown Felix Faust teleports the Society elsewhere. In the Batcave, Batman tends to Catwoman (who was injured in the battle), but the rest of the League quickly catches up with him and confronts him about the mindwipes.[6] They apologize, but retain that they did what they did because it was what they had to do. They argue, and Batman and Hawkman briefly come to blows. The issue unresolved, the League leaves when they realize that the Society will be after their families next. In the Watchtower, as J'onn tries to figure out who it was that restored the Society's minds, the culprit simply reveals himself: Despero.
Despero expresses his disappointment in the League to J'onn, and the two of them battle. The Flash, while checking up on everybody's families, finds himself with Lois Lane when the Secret Society of Super-Villains attacks the Daily Planet. Superman returns to the League after his absence[7] in just enough time to save Lois, and with the exception of Batman, the League battles the Society. The fight is long and hard, but eventually the Society is subdued, and the League is once again left with the decision of what to do with them;[8] this time with Superman in the equation. Hawkman suggests that, once again, they put it to a vote.
J'onn and Despero's battle leaves the Watchtower, and they plummet down to San Diego where they are joined by Aquaman.
Back in Metropolis, the League has an informal vote on what to do with the captured Secret Society of Super-Villains. Hawkman is adamantly for removing the heroes' identities from the villains' memories, and Green Arrow and the Flash reluctantly agree. Superman, Green Lantern and Black Canary are all sorely opposed, which throws the deciding vote to Zatanna. Zatanna tells them that her vote is inconsequential, as no matter the outcome she would refuse to wipe anymore minds. Zatanna requests that she be removed from the League's roster, and leaves the group.
The League returns to the Watchtower with the Society, having loosely decided to vote with the Martian Manhunter on whether or not he will perform the memory erases. Unaware of the earlier fight with Despero, they are confused to find the Monitor Room in a state of destruction.
Zatanna goes to Themyscira, and finds the council of both Wonder Woman and Supergirl. Wonder Woman, still in semi-exile after murdering Maxwell Lord,[9] sympathizes with her.
Back in the Batcave, Batman continues to repair Red Tornado's body, while Catwoman stays with him. The cave is invaded by Despero, who has managed to get both Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter in his mental thrall. The two mind-controlled heroes subdue Batman, and Despero gains control of his body as well. Catwoman is left alone in the Batcave facing all four of them.
In the Batcave, Despero and his mind-controlled Leaguers have surrounded Catwoman. Turning down his offer of an alliance, she uses the Batcomputer's emergency JLA communicator to summon help. However, Despero steadily mesmerizes some of the new arrivals. In this way, he divides the team between those who supported the mindwipes and those who opposed them. In forcing them to fight, he plays on their own insecurities, as individuals and as a team. Soon, the only members left are Superman, Zatanna and Hawkman. Despero gloats that Superman cannot resist his powers, but he is suddenly blown back by the arrival of Red Tornado, who is immune to his powers. The remaining Justice League is about to kill Superman, Zatanna stops them, releasing them from Despero's powers, and berating them for "using Despero as an excuse to kill each other". Fixing Wayne Manor with her magic, she teleports away to deal with the Felix Faust's Secret Society.
Zatanna brainwashes the villains, but Batman still doesn't believe in her methods. J'onn wonders how the League will cope with these events, and Hal Jordan points out that most of the heroes present are not current members of the team, and that most of the current members have left due to the events of the recent past; the League now consists of John Stewart, Superman, Martian Manhunter and the Flash - and the Flash needs time off to deal with his two new kids. It is agreed that J'onn will try to create a new Justice League roster. Going to Batman, he realizes why the Secret Society case enraged him so - Catwoman was a member before they disappeared, and he worries that her current status as an ally was not her own choice.
In the watchtower, J'onn and John Stewart are discussing possible members. J'onn remarks that Ted was worried about a conspiracy. Since Ted's death, the Justice League is fractured, the magic of the DCU is being destroyed by the Spectre, half the heroes are in a war zone in space, the villains have united, and superhuman cyborgs are attacking superteams all over the world. He wonders at the identity of the mastermind behind such a far-reaching conspiracy. Suddenly, the teleporters register Superman arriving. J'onn turns around to greet someone in a Superman costume, but he reacts strangely - the new arrival is not quite Superman. Suddenly, the Watchtower explodes.
簡單而言，本作講述Identity Crisis事件後，JLA面對的不信任危機。當中對朋友的不信任到達最高點的當然是Batman了，他除了選擇退出之外，亦開始了OMAC計劃。而在本作中，揭露Zatanna在那次事件中，同樣消去了J'onn的記憶，此外，她亦曾對知悉他們秘密身份的Secret Society六人施行相同的魔法。到了今日，一個神秘人恢復了Secret Society的記憶，後者決定了向所有JLA成員報仇，再一次展開了Identity Crisis。JLA成員與SS第一次交戰不分上下，最終SS先行撒退，JLA成員先與Batman吵了一場，再各自會合自己的家人。而另一方面，這次事件的幕後黑手也出現了——Despero。
不久，Lois Lane在Daily Planet總部遇襲，SS再次與JLA交戰，這次JLA有Superman的加入，最終成功打敗SS。然而，Hawkman再次就應否消去SS的記憶要求成員們投票。這次，Green Lantern, Black Canary, Superman投反對票，Hawkman, Green Arrow及Flash投贊成票。最終，Zatanna則指自己不會再用同樣的魔法，離開了現場。話分兩頭，J'onn在Watchtower中見到了Despero，二人從太空戰至地面，當J'onn正要被殺死時，Aquaman出現，二人決定合力以Telepath的能力與Despero分出勝負。
Zatanna到達了天堂島，與Supergirl及Wonder Woman徵詢意見。WW指自己殺了Maxwell Lord，已不是JLA的成員，但也以此鼓勵Zatanna，有些東西是明知不可為而為之，哪怕它會使自己身敗名裂。在Batcave，Batman在Catwoman的陪同下成功維修了早前被SS擊敗的Red Tornado，卻驚見Despero帶著已被精神控制了的Aquaman和J'onn，最終Batman不敵，同樣被控制了。Catwoman馬上聯絡JLA，還好一眾英雄馬上就趕到了，與Despero等人大戰。然而，Black Canary、Green Lantern都被控制了，在危急關頭，Red Tornado也出手了，Zatanna也及時趕到，以魔法定住了Despero。這次，大家決定了送Despero到OA被其他GL所監禁，Zatanna意志堅定的去消除SS有關英雄們及其家人的身份的記憶，Hawkman、GL、BC、GA都申明自己要一點時間處理自己的心意和亂局，暫時退出JLA。Batman仍然不信任這些「朋友」，叫他們馬上滾蛋。回到Batcave，Batman望著Catwoman的相片出神，J'onn來到他的身邊，也許是知道J'onn跟他一樣被消去記憶吧，Batman對J'onn的厭惡感不如其他JLA成員，他告訴J'onn Catwoman是第一代SS成員，但在不知不覺間成為了他的拍檔，現在想來，這個結果未必全然是Catwoman的個人選擇。
J'onn回到Watchtower，忙著為現時只有四人的JLA招募新成員。他想起Blue Beetle在死前的說話，後悔當時沒有聽從他的忠告，以致現時不論地球、太空，以致JLA內部亂象四起。此時，Watchtower報告Superman被傳送到此，J'onn回首卻驚呆了，然後Watchtower就爆炸了。
我不知不覺間還是把整個故事都打出來了。沒辦法，我太愛Identity Crisis了，也愛屋及烏。
不過老實說，本作沒有如IC般引人入勝，最多只是Despero出場那一幕讓我驚喜了一下。但觀乎本作出場的英雄及敵人，雖然劇情不怎麼特別，但也教人心滿意足了。
我本來以為SS就是本作最大的反派，始終SS成員各人的能力都很強(不過人物形象一般，都是平面的傳統壞人，存在感頗低)，但還是兩下子被JLA收拾掉了，有點浪費。不過，倒是把戲份都放在大奸角Despero這個霸氣人物上，這倒也不壞。
其實為奸角洗腦是一個很值得探討的議題。這固然是關於道德議題，同時關乎效率問題。老實說，如果不是漫畫世界中的監獄都那麼低效，讓犯罪者一次又一次的越獄，那就完全不用傷服筋了。我認為洗腦是可行的，但只限於大奸大惡之徒及重犯者。在漫畫世界中，多少無辜市民被這些不斷逃獄的瘋子殺害，英雄們就算很快制服罪犯，還是免不了死去一大票人。而對洗腦最為反感的Batman，是個最守法的人，假若洗腦決定不是由小團子數人主導，而是國家法律，只怕他也沒話說了。另一方面，怎麼處理這些罪犯的形式怎麼只有JLA來決定？警察和政府真的打算把責任完全交給英雄？我認為怎麼判刑應當交由法庭判決，或來一個全民公投吧，那麼英雄們也會無話可說吧。
本作中，Wonder Woman與Zatanna的一席話讓我知道Maxwell Lord已死，我還以為Lord在Infinite Crisis中被殺，原來早在Countdown時被殺，我還真是太年輕了。那我馬上就去查查系列的閱讀順席，哇，數十本書，我可真沒耐性都看一遍了……
本作的劇情並不豐富，完全就是把握Identity Crisis的核心議題再作延伸罷了，所以本作並沒有太大的新鮮感，與Infinite Crisis的關係大概就是JLA的成員減少及最後那個疑似Superman毀了Watchtower一事吧，但明眼人一定知道那就是Superboy-Prime吧，所以一句到尾，本作是部不過不失的作品，不看也可，但喜歡Identity Crisis的讀者則可以一戰。
75分。
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