History YMMV / IdentityCrisis2004

* FightSceneFailure: The fight with Deathstroke is infamous. Deathstroke has only mild superpowers and mostly FightsLikeANormal, but he effortlessly dishes out a CurbStompBattle on the Justice League while barely moving. Special mention for how he holds out his sword and the Flash runs into it, and Green Lantern runs up in his face rather than attacking him from a distance.

* FightSceneFailure: The fight with Deathstroke is infamous. Deathstroke isn't that strong but he effortlessly dishes out a CurbStompBattle on the Justice League while barely moving. Special mention for how he holds out his sword and the Flash runs into it, and Green Lantern runs up in his face rather than attacking him from a distance.

* FightSceneFailure: The fight with Deathstroke is infamous. A BadassNormal effortlessly dishes out a CurbStompBattle on the Justice League while barely moving. Special mention for how he holds out his sword and the Flash runs into it, and Green Lantern runs up in his face rather than attacking him from a distance.

* NeverLiveItDown: This comic forever tainted the image of Dr. Light (at least in the comics) in the eyes of comic book fans as that of a creepy SerialRapist. It's even got to the point that fans joke that his actual superpower is rape and not his light powers. It could be argue this completely destroyed any semblance of popularity he still had, to the point he has been far less prominent ever since.

* TheScrappy: Dr. Light's storyline was intended to reverse his VillainDecay and make him a more threatening and popular villain. It catastrophically backfired, and Dr. Light became one of the most despised villains in DC Comics as a result of it cementing [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape]] as his main villain gimmick. (After all, plenty of super-intelligent villains have discovered heroes' secret identities or loved ones before, but Dr. Light went the extra nine yards and sexually assaulted one of their spouses, and in subsequent stories [[{{Flanderization}} later writers made the fact that he was a rapist Dr. Light's only major personality trait]].) Ultimately, fans were left so disgusted and repulsed by his new characterization that they just wanted him to go away for good, and DC obliged, [[TakeThatScrappy killing him off shortly afterwards]].

** Notably, the book occupies many extremes simultaneously. [[spoiler:Jean Loring claims not to have wanted Sue's death, but brought along a flamethrower anyway, [[SarcasmMode perhaps as a baby shower present]]. It also retconned Dr. Light into being a rapist, which up ended up painting him as a more loathsome and uncomfortable character than it was intended, leading to DC later killing him off. On the other hand, Calculator's upgrade and the rarity of a CrisisCrossover focused more on a personal level than on an apocalypse were both critically lauded elements.]] Not to mention it led to Ralph's epic storyline in ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo''.

* OneSceneWonder: Deathstroke, ''and HOW''.
** A quieter one: Sue's funeral is the last physical appearance of [[ComicBook/{{Starman}} Jack Knight]] (he's next to Stargirl).

* TheWoobie: Several, particularly Elongated Man and [[spoiler:Robin]].

** Not to mention [[spoiler:Dr. Light and the whole, y'know, raping Sue Dibny thing.]]

* TheScrappy: This comic single-handedly turned Dr. Light into this, thanks to being rewritten as the living embodiment of RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil. Although he wasn't exactly popular beforehand thanks to undergoing massive VillainDecay, fans are so disgusted and repulsed by his new characterization that they just want him to go away for good.

* CondemnedByHistory: ''Identity Crisis'' was a top seller in its time that won no small amount of acclaim, being one of DC's most successful events in years and having many declaring it the herald of a new age. However, as it turned out, its effects on the wider universe ended up being largely negative, with many an AudienceAlienatingEra being able to trace itself back to ''Identity Crisis''. What was more, its vision of the DCU as a darkened version of the Bronze Age became increasingly discredited with time, due to the many stories that copied that idea and failed to shock. ''Identity Crisis'' itself fell under far greater scrutiny as a result, being criticized for weak plotting, implausible elements, GratuitousRape, and the murder mystery at its core being a complete mess. The nail in the coffin likely came with its SpiritualSuccessor ''ComicBook/HeroesInCrisis'', which was hated even upon release and caused many to look back on such stories with a far more critical eye. Consequently, it went from being regarded as one of DC's best stories to one of its worst. Even those still positive about the book will admit to its shortcomings and the longterm damage it's done.

* CreatorsPet: The writer is an admitted Deathstroke fanboy who wanted to establish his favorite character as a badass. And he did so in the most fanboyish way possible: clumsily. Deathstroke's victory over a Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica team can only be described as a complete and total AssPull. Sure, the team of heroes he fought didn't include Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman (two of whom would barely notice Deathstroke if he attacked them, and the third, Batman, would be ready for him if he did), but it ''did'' include the Flash and Green Lantern, neither of whom was portrayed as actually ''knowing how their own frigging powers worked'' during the fight. Key pieces are being somehow faster than the prototypical SuperSpeed superhero and overpowering Green Lantern's ring by developing stronger willpower (a facet that would be a reason for ''him'' to have the ring to begin with, not to mention not being how the ring works at all). It also included a direct reversal in how the Atom's powers normally work (the Atom ''does'' normally retain full mass when he shrinks) for no reason that was ever stated, and a complete and arbitrary nerfing of Black Canary's superpowers (she's easily able to rip through several feet of steel-reinforced concrete with her Canary Cry, but apparently, penetrating a single layer of burlap over her mouth is beyond her abilities if it's ''Deathstroke's'' burlap sack).

* ItWasHisSled: Dr. Light once raped Sue Dibney, the Elongated Man's wife, and when the other heroes tried to not only erase his memories of the Dibney's secret identities but [[MindRape rewrite his mind altogether to make him less of a threat]], Batman walked in and they had to mind-wipe him too when he attacked them over it. A shocking twist in the mystery that has since become about the most famous (and infamous) thing in the comic.

* SignatureScene: If people bring it up and aren't discussing all the controversy surrounding the story or it's effects on the DCU, they're likely talking about Deathstroke effortlessly defeating the entire JL, minus the trinity, in seconds.

* TheScrappy: As mentioned above, this comic single-handedly turned Dr. Light into this, thanks to being rewritten as the living embodiment of RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil. Although he wasn't exactly popular beforehand thanks to undergoing massive VillainDecay, fans are so disgusted and repulsed by his new characterization that they just want him to go away for good.

* CondemnedByHistory: ''Identity Crisis'' was a top seller in its time that won no small amount of acclaim, being one of DC's most successful events in years and having many declaring it the herald of a new age. However, as it turned out, its effects on the wider universe ended up being largely negative, with many an AudienceAlienatingEra being able to trace itself back to ''Identity Crisis''. What was more, its vision of the DCU as a darkened version of the Bronze Age became increasingly discredited with time, due to the many stories that copied that idea and failed to shock. ''Identity Crisis'' itself fell under far greater scrutiny as a result, being criticized for weak plotting, implausible elements, GratuitousRape, and the murder mystery at its core being a complete mess. The nail in the coffin likely came with its SpiritualSuccessor ''ComicBook/HeroesInCrisis'', which was hated even upon release and caused many to look back on such stories with a far more critical eye. Consequently, it went from being regarded as one of DC's best stories to one of its worst.

* NeverLiveItDown: This comic forever tainted the image of Dr. Light (at least in the comics) in the eyes of comic book fans as that of a creepy SerialRapist. It's even got to the point that fans joke that his actual superpower is rape and not his light powers.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: This ''seemed'' to be the aim regarding Dr. Light who, if never exactly a top tier menace, was still able to threaten the Justice League back in the Silver Age before he became a comical punching bag of the Teen Titans. Unfortunately, if that was the plan, it backfired, because rather than becoming a LoveToHate villain, many people simply found him way too loathsome and uncomfortable to read about[[note]]Even in an all-ages comic like ''DC Super Friends'' - based on the Imaginext toyline, not the cartoon - in which he appeared in a Christmas issue four years after ''Identity Crisis''[[/note]]--not helped by a storyline in ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'' where him being a rapist became pretty much his sole character trait. Said storyline was one of only two major appearances following ''Identity Crisis'' (the other important one, a story by Geoff Johns in which Light has a rematch with the Titans, notably avoids mentioning rape altogether) and he was killed off by Spectre merely three years after this story.