10 Worst Things That Ever Happened To Batman

3. Having His Memory Wiped (By His Friends) - Identity Crisis

Identity Crisis Batman
DC Comics

Identity Crisis is a supremely controversial comic that burst onto the scene during the early noughties. Writer Brad Meltzer had previously helmed a compelling take on Green Arrow in the Archer's Quest alongside artist Phil Hester, and even went on to write his own stint on Justice League with artist Ed Benes, starting with The Tornado's Path.

Sadly though, Identity Crisis remains his most significant and lasting contribution to the DC mythos, despite those other stories being genuinely great.

I say sadly, mainly because while the book itself is great to look at and really nails the sense of community in the DC universe, it also regurgitates some nauseating comic book clichés. Oh, and did I mention it actually undermines the whole community aspect too, revealing how your favourite heroes are all terrible in a disastrous retcon that ends with Zatanna wiping Batman's memory? Well, it does, and it's so unbelievably stinky.

After Doctor Light (yes, the goofball Teen Titans Doctor Light) rapes Sue Dibny in the Watchtower, a group of heroes, including Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, decide that Zatanna should mind-wipe Light and change his personality so that he'd become a buffoon. Batman stumbles upon them as they hatch this plan, at which point Zatanna mind wipes him too so he couldn't go to the rest of the League with his discovery.

Batman later discovers the deception, but long story short, having your friends mind wipe you for exposing their sinister punishment isn't exactly a chill thing to happen. On the upside, it isn't canon anymore, so Zatanna fans can breathe a sigh of relief.

Advertisement
Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.