That's an interesting point.
I feel that Identity Crisis was when DC really went all-in on the dark & gritty crap that tainted it's characters all through the late 90's and 00's.
I still think Crisis on Infinite Earths created as many headaches as it set out to resolve, and when it sold as well as it did all the wrong lessons were learned. Everything since has been some form of mop-up since this story with none of them having any sort of permanent effect.
Zero Hour
Infinite Crisis
Final Crisis
Metal
Flashpoint
Multiversity
Dark Crisis
Constant tweaks and re-sets making the DCU more and more inpenetrable to new readers (which is continually dwindling). Hell, the people in charge can't agree on what's canon and what isn't!