there’s a period in recent Marvel history that i know little to nothing about, but i often hear it referred to… i think it was during the height (or if you will, the depths) of the Jemas era, but some of it might have been before: i’m talking of the period when through a bizarre set of editorial edicts, major changes were made throughout the way the Marvel Universe was presented. for instance:

- simplified continuity: writers were prohibited from making explicit reference to any plot elements older than a year or two, and flashbacks as a storytelling element were banned altogether

- no crossovers: not only was the practice of crossing storylines across various titles eliminated, but each individual character existed in his own continuity that was unrelated to the continuity of other characters

- no secret identities: i don’t know if this was actually an mass editorial directive, but wasn’t there a period when it seemed most characters were having their secret identities revealed? Daredevil, obviously, but also Captain America, the X-men, Iron Man and others, right?

i’m particularly interested in the whole thing with each character being in their own continuity… was this something that just happened like “let’s chill out on the whole crossover thing” or was it explicitly stated like “Spider-Man is the ONLY superhero in **his** New York City, while the Fantastic Four are in **their** New York”? how did that start? and better yet, how did it end?