“Elseworlds” Was Almost Named After a Different DC Comics Crossover

The CW’s latest DC Comics crossover united Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl in a reality-warping storyline titled after a fan-favorite run of comics, affectionately referred to as “Elseworlds.”

But the 3-night event was almost named after an entirely different series from DC Comics, as Arrow consulting producer Marc Guggenheim revealed in a behind-the-scenes bonus feature. According to Guggenheim, “Elseworlds” was almost called “Identity Crisis,” but they ultimately decided against it.

“The problem is that Identity Crisis is another different iconic DC story. While the title would work perfectly for this, it would really be false advertising, because we’re obviously not doing the Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales Identity Crisis story,” Guggenheim said in the clip (via Entertainment Weekly).

For those who are unaware, the 2004 series Identity Crisis focused on a murderer targeting family members of Justice League members, kicking off with the death of the Elongated Man’s wife Sue Dibny. The series was controversial and critically panned for including elements of sexual assault through retconned storylines, and many of the events have since been reversed in continuity reboots in the following years.

As Guggenheim himself points out, the comic storyline has nothing to do with that of the “Elseworlds” crossover, though the name is fitting for the dilemma both Oliver Queen and Barry Allen find themselves in.

While they decided to go with a more thematically appropriate title for the crossover, Guggenheim teased that a proper adaptation of Identity Crisis could happen in the future: “Maybe one day,” the producer said.

“Elseworlds” was a major payoff for fans of Arrow and The Flash, highlighting the differences between the characters who play so well off of each other in a story paying homage to DC Comics lore.

“The fact that Grant and I have this exchange, and have this really cool moment sitting on the steps of the Smallville ranch, is pretty much surreal as it gets,” Arrow star Stephen Amell said during the “Elseworlds” set visit. “The most important relationship in this crossover is the relationship between Barry and Oliver, not just because of the theme of them swapping lives but just because I personally think that’s the most important overarching, macro relationship in the entire universe that we’ve made over the past seven or eight years. Some of the scenes they have are just very earned because of the stuff you’ve seen before in the crossovers but just done a little differently.”

Fans can stream all three parts of the “Elseworlds” crossover now on The CW app.