Crisis of identity: 20 years on, DC's 'Identity Crisis' continues to divide fans

Identity Crisis caused a rift inside the Justice League Of America that would have repercussions in future storylines. — Photos: DC Comics

20 years ago, DC Comics addressed the elephant in the comics room by asking how far heroes would go to protect their loved ones. With the seven-issue miniseries Identity Crisis back in 1984, writer Brad Meltzer and artists Rags Morales and Michael Bair waded into this issue, and even wrapped up loose ends from some illogical Silver Age stories for good measure.

While the “crisis” word is usually synonymous with universe-wide cataclysmic events in the DC Universe(s), the creative team down-scaled the entire project by focusing on just one single planet (aka Earth) and making its smallest character the lead antagonist.