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Comic-Con 2018: DC Holds Weird, Cult-Like Event To Promote Heroes In Crisis

Am I in a cult now?

By Mat Elfring on July 21, 2018 at 1:04PM PDT

On Friday morning at San Diego Comic-Con, DC held a press event on a yacht to introduce its upcoming event Heroes in Crisis. Writer Tom King was joined by the artists Clay Mann and Mitch Gerads to discuss just what the new story is. And since it's comic books, people are going to die... a lot of them.

During the event, in which everyone was wearing white, including members of the press in DC robes, King--who resembled more of a spiritual guru speaking to the crowd--explained that Heroes In Crisis revolves around a place called Sanctuary. In this place, heroes who need to repair those that need help, mentally. At times, the stress of saving people can break a person, as King explained. He gave an example of a hero saving six people but missing the seventh. Knowing that they couldn't save that seventh person could be a lot to deal with, so Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman created Sanctuary as a place to heal these heroes.

Writer Tom King addressing the press.

When heroes need this help, they go to Sanctuary, which is in rural Nebraska, put on white robes, and wear gold masks to remain anonymous. These heroes go into something like a holodeck below Sanctuary to get the psychological help. They can talk to a holographic version of someone they hurt--or hurt them--in order to move forward. "They give you the therapy you need," explained King. "You stop hiding and bring it out... It's a process of realizing my pain is my strength."

However, this is a comic book event, so not everything is going to be fine and dandy. One day, there's a massacre at Sanctuary, killing a dozen heroes. The question becomes "Who did this?" Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman--the creators of this place--try to find out why this happened.

Joining them is Booster Gold and Harley Quinn. King explained they fit the story exceptionally well because they are characters who have gone through a lot and come out fighting. Quinn is a survivor of an abuse relationship and eventually became a hero, and Gold constantly screws up while trying to be a worshipped icon. "This is a book about mistakes," King said.

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The word "Crisis" goes hand-in-hand with DC events. Most notably Marv Wolfman and George Perez's Crisis on Infinite Earths from 1985. However, as King explained it, "We're not trying to out Wolfman, Wolfman." He said that Heroes In Crisis, in a sense, is a follow up to Mister Miracle, which dissected a singular character within its own bubble. Heroes In Crisis does the same thing, but on a much grander scale, opening it up to the entire DC Universe.

The seven-issue miniseries from DC Comics, Heroes in Crisis, comes to local comic shops and the digital market on September 26. Stay tuned for the rest of the weekend for more news from SDCC.

San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Coverage

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