WI: No Identity Crisis

What if the DC Comics miniseris Identity Crisis is never made? That probably means no or at least vastly altered Infinite Crisis which has major effects on the rst of the DC Universe. Does Comics never get the tread of taking goofy Silver Age characters and making them Grim and Gritty that some would argue this comic started? Your thoughts?
 
What if the DC Comics miniseris Identity Crisis is never made? That probably means no or at least vastly altered Infinite Crisis which has major effects on the rst of the DC Universe. Does Comics never get the tread of taking goofy Silver Age characters and making them Grim and Gritty that some would argue this comic started? Your thoughts?


The problem is that as the Silver Age became the Bronze (c 1973) the goofiness of the era started to pick up a darker tone so Identity Crisis wasn't so much a cause but an extension of what as going on before.

The Legion of Superheroes (Silver age through and through) took a five year jump further in the future around 1989 and everything immediately went grim and dark.

The Dominus Effect (1998) in Superman touched on the darkside aspect of the Silver Age silliness.

Then you have the 12 issue Silver Age (2000) in which:

Lex Luthor swaps bodies with Superman
Chronos swaps bodies with Atom
Black Manta swaps bodies with Aquaman
Catwoman swaps bodies with Black Canary
Doctor Light Swaps bodies with The Martian Manhunter
Mr. Element swaps bodies with The Flash
Penguin swaps bodies with Batman
Felix Faust swaps bodies with Green Arrow
Sinestro swaps bodies with Green Lantern

JLA: Tower of Babel (2000) firmly established that this series was in continuity. So the seeds for the mind wipe in Identity Crisis had been set forth at least 4 years previously and the tone even earlier then that.
 
The problem is that as the Silver Age became the Bronze (c 1973) the goofiness of the era started to pick up a darker tone so Identity Crisis wasn't so much a cause but an extension of what as going on before.

The Legion of Superheroes (Silver age through and through) took a five year jump further in the future around 1989 and everything immediately went grim and dark.

The Dominus Effect (1998) in Superman touched on the darkside aspect of the Silver Age silliness.

Then you have the 12 issue Silver Age (2000) in which:

Lex Luthor swaps bodies with Superman
Chronos swaps bodies with Atom
Black Manta swaps bodies with Aquaman
Catwoman swaps bodies with Black Canary
Doctor Light Swaps bodies with The Martian Manhunter
Mr. Element swaps bodies with The Flash
Penguin swaps bodies with Batman
Felix Faust swaps bodies with Green Arrow
Sinestro swaps bodies with Green Lantern

JLA: Tower of Babel (2000) firmly established that this series was in continuity. So the seeds for the mind wipe in Identity Crisis had been set forth at least 4 years previously and the tone even earlier then that.
OTOH, that series took place chronologically before Identity Crisis, and thus made IC's treatment of Batman a needless plothole, along with others (Zatanna adopting her Perez-era costume after Green Arrow left the JLA, Hawkman and Green arrow being at odds prior to either event.)
 
OTOH, that series [JLA: Tower of Babel (2000)] took place chronologically before Identity Crisis, and thus made IC's treatment of Batman a needless plothole, along with others (Zatanna adopting her Perez-era costume after Green Arrow left the JLA, Hawkman and Green arrow being at odds prior to either event.)

Well, DC continuity has always been a train wreck.

In fact over at reddit it is stated that Tower of Babel is AFTER the mindwipe of Batman. And it makes sense that Kyle NOT Hal is Green Lantern in Tower of Babel and Green Arrow visits Hal as the Spectre

But when things blow up in Crisis of Consciousness (JLA #115-JLA #119) Hal states he votes no just as he did for the original mind wipe. So Batman was mindwiped BEFORE Kyle become Green Lantern which means Tower of Babel is AFTER the mindwipe.

And DC fans went back to reading post-Crisis pre-Zero Hour Hawkman because its continuity make their heads hurt less. :)
 
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