Strange Adventures’ inciting incident revolves around a grisly murder mystery, but could the true culprit have been in plain sight all along?
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Strange Adventures #4, by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Evan “Doc” Shaner and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
At the heart of Strange Adventures lies a murder mystery, with the cosmic superhero Adam Strange implicated in the grisly death of a disgruntled man who accosted him while on tour promoting his memoir. The man was discovered with his head blown off by a laser pistol, which was linked to the signature Rannian pistols that Adam has used his entire superhero career. And while the subsequent investigation led by Mister Terrific has been derailed in the public eye by Adam and his wife Alanna and their media connections, the murder still remains unsolved. However, recent developments hint Alanna herself may be the true culprit.
Before even starting his investigation on Adam, Terrific realized that the superhero was lying about the death of his and Alanna’s daughter, Aleea, casting doubt on the veracity of his entire memoir. The couple was visibly upset at Terrific’s initial line of questioning, even strongly considering a lawsuit to shut down the investigation before it could expose their secrets. Alanna helped her husband discredit Terrific on talk shows, publicly calling his reputation into question . As Batman confronted Alanna privately about this smear campaign, Alanna apparently had their conversation secretly filmed. That footage was then leaked to the press to make it appear as if the couple were being bullied in their own home by the Justice League.
This level of coordinated manipulation shows the unusually devious lengths Alanna will go to so as to keep her family’s secrets safe and defend her and her husband. This ferocity extends not just to enemies and strangers, but even longtime friends and allies. Adam’s own credibility is facing heightened scrutiny, but he hasn’t been complicit in Alanna’s manipulation of the Dark Knight, or at least his involvement hasn’t been explicitly revealed. And as public opinion turns against the Justice League, Alanna is no longer playing a defensive game. In Strange Adventures #4, she breaks into Terrific’s home to taunt him about his investigation after he narrowly escapes Alanna’s father during a brief visit to Rann.
The big question about Alanna’s potential role as a murderer all comes down to motive: Why would Alanna put herself and Adam at risk by killing someone who was publically harassing her husband? As Adam’s wife, Alanna would definitely have access to her husband’s Rannian pistols, but the question about motive still remains. The biggest possible motivation could lie in the heart of Alanna’s Rannian code of honor. After learning Terrific struck her father, Alanna compared the action to blasphemy. A stranger with the audacity to publicly disrespect her husband could be a capital offense on Rann, with Alanna carrying out the murder to defend her husband’s honor.
With Strange Adventures having wrapped its first act, Terrific seems more interested in exploring the credibility of Adam Strange than directly addressing the murder itself, although the two are inevitably linked. If Alanna is indeed the killer, she may go to lethal lengths again if she feels Terrific poses a threat to her family. Alanna has proven she is more than capable of taking care of herself on the field of battle. With Terrific coming closer and closer to the Strange family’s deeply held secrets, a routine murder investigation may have put the DC Universe’s third-smartest man directly in the crosshairs.
