DC Comics has officially announced Tom King and Clay Mann's Sanctuary project as Heroes in Crisis. When the story opens, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman will have established the Sanctuary crisis center to help superheroes deal with the violence and trauma they experience in their line of work. The seven-issue series will explore what happens when it all goes wrong.

In the release, King spoke about his experience overseas in the CIA, and how “millions of people cycle through that machine and come home to America. And I think that sort of experience of violence is shaping who we are as a culture, and as a country." He sees this project as an opportunity to talk about those experiences, and "what violence can do to a person, to a community, to a nation, to a world.”

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Few details are known about the nature of the series, except that Heroes in Crisis will focus specifically on Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn and Booster Gold as they investigate a murder mystery involving the superhero community. In order to get some answers to the questions we have, though, we can look to the cover of the first issue for clues.

Exploring the Aftermath

After taking a long look at the gathered group of heroes, one thing that becomes clear is, many of the characters Tom King has been writing are featured prominently. Superheroes deal with a lot more violence and trauma than the average person, but no one seems to understand how those experience can affect them. King has been dealing with these themes in his work since well before his Sanctuary project was even first teased.

Many of these characters have gone through their own crises in the pages of King's work, and Heroes in Crisis will seemingly deal with the healing that comes after. Mister Miracle and Big Barda have been dealing with survivor's guilt and the effect of abuse in Mister Miracle. Booster Gold recently went through a traumatic time travel experience that left him in a dark place over in Batman.

RELATED: DC Continues to Drop Clues For Tom King’s ‘Sanctuary’ Project

Heck, even villains have been dealing with the psychological problems from excessive violence. Poison Ivy was recently brought to Sanctuary after she broke down over her past crimes. Even Kite Man, who has dealt with the pain of loss, failure and depression, is on the cover. Considering Harley Quinn's central role in the story, it's possible that she could be using her past trauma with the Joker, not to mention her degree as a psychiatrist, to help others heal.

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A Murder Mystery at the Sanctuary

Superman is front and center holding a golden mask, which could easily be taken to be Psycho-Pirate's Medusa Mask. As seen in King's run on Batman, it has the ability to influence the emotions of others, which could come in handy when trying to administer therapy to a superhero. However, there isn't just one mask on the cover. There are multiple figures scattered throughout the assemblage of heroes wearing matching gold mask and white robe. Could this be the crisis center's staff?

Unfortunately something goes wrong, and someone is going to die. Superman is holding a blood stained robe, but does this mean a patient went too far and actually killed a staff member, or did the wrong person gain access to the crisis center and commit a crime in disguise? It would be enlightening to know who is is behind the masks.

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When dealing with death, it's always important to take note of who is and isn't there. The Heroes in Crisis cover assemble almost every major superhero in the DC Universe, but it doesn't manage to fit everyone. One notable exception is Green Lantern John Stewart. As a member of the Justice League and a military man, you would think he would make sense among the assembled heroes. And then there's the apparently missing Tim Drake, who was held prisoner outside of time for about a year, the trauma of which caused all sorts of problems for him and his teammates on the Gotham Knights.

Another interesting element is the fact that everyone seems to be standing in a big, open field filled with what looks be wheat. Then, in the background, is a small farmhouse off in the distance. Could this be the Kent family farm, and has it been repurposed to create a Sanctuary for superbeings in need of solitude and healing? It would be an interesting development for an iconic comic book location.

Everyone Has Their Trauma

Captain Atom being ripped apart by energy

Trauma can create heroes, but it can also be what defines them. Batman was created by tragedy, and he lives that violent past every day of his life. Every assembled hero on the cover of Heroes in Crisis #1 has gone through some form of crisis. Wally West was lost in the Speed Force and had his kids taken from him following the Flashpoint. Damian Wayne was trained from birth to be a weapon for the League of Assassins. Batgirl was violently assaulted by the Joker. The trauma goes on and on, and it's what Sanctuary is here to help with.

Something to point out is the fact that several superheroes on the book's cover have not been seen in awhile. As the collection of heroes fades off into the background, several prominent superheroes can be seen hanging around. Some are characters who have not been seen since the start of the Rebirth era. It could be explained that each of them have gone through their own traumatic experiences.

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Power Girl has been stuck between worlds for several months now. Blue Jay survived the destruction of his entire world. Firestorm is literally a guy whose psyche is merged with another. Captain Atom jumped through time and has been a weapon for the military. An interesting inclusion on here is also Citizen/Commander Steel, which has been a character steeped in violence, manipulation, and tragedy.

The scene that Clay Mann's cover depicts may not even take place within the story itself, but it's a powerful image that helps give a sense of what is to come. DC superheroes are not strangers to crisis, but can they work together to overcome this new challenge?