The History of the DC Universe, revised, updated & illustrated (August 2019)

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I was always a little confused by that.
It all happened, but did it all happen in the same universe? Or did they happen in different universes, Earth 1, Earth 2, New Earth, etc?

They happened on all of those Earths, which all co-exist.

Doomsday Clock #10 lays it out pretty well, I think.

Essentially, there was one Earth that sprung into existence the moment Superman first appeared in April of 1938, which is the creation of what would become the entire DC Universe, and Multiverse, all of which exists in the overarching Metaverse. Since that moment, new Earths have sprung up as a result of Superman's unique position as the originator of this existence--and the entire genre of superheroes.

All events, irregardless of what Earth they've been living on at that particular moment, have occurred within that larger Metaverse and the characters we've been following since the beginning are the same Superman, Lois, Batman & Robin, Wonder Woman, and the rest, but their lives have been in a constant state of change due to the shifting temporal nature of their reality--which we call comic book time.

Superman is Superman, no matter what designation the Earth he's living on. He was Siegel & Shuster's rough n' tumble social crusader, and he was also the patriotic paragon of the war years, then he was Superboy, which altered not only his entire history, but the history of the entire world, splitting into two. From each choice he made, an infinite number of new realities were born.

[CellarDweller]

Wow, really well done!

and nice to see my sentimental faves, the Wonder Twins, got a mention in the bronze age write up!

[witchboy]

They happened on all of those Earths, which all co-exist.

Doomsday Clock #10 lays it out pretty well, I think.

Essentially, there was one Earth that sprung into existence the moment Superman first appeared in April of 1938, which is the creation of what would become the entire DC Universe, and Multiverse, all of which exists in the overarching Metaverse. Since that moment, new Earths have sprung up as a result of Superman's unique position as the originator of this existence--and the entire genre of superheroes.

All events, irregardless of what Earth they've been living on at that particular moment, have occurred within that larger Metaverse and the characters we've been following since the beginning are the same Superman, Lois, Batman & Robin, Wonder Woman, and the rest, but their lives have been in a constant state of change due to the shifting temporal nature of their reality--which we call comic book time.

Superman is Superman, no matter what designation the Earth he's living on. He was Siegel & Shuster's rough n' tumble social crusader, and he was also the patriotic paragon of the war years, then he was Superboy, which altered not only his entire history, but the history of the entire world, splitting into two. From each choice he made, an infinite number of new realities were born.

Thanks for explaining that. I'm in a rural area with no comic shop so I just wait and read the trades so I'm always behind.
That explanation is pretty clear and concise but completely different from what they've done before.
I can make sense out of the shifting realities, but I don't understand how they works when different realities cross over. I can understand that the Golden Age/Earth 2 Superman is altered and is still the same person as Earth 1 Superman, but what about when the two Supermen meet?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Thanks for explaining that. I'm in a rural area with no comic shop so I just wait and read the trades so I'm always behind.
That explanation is pretty clear and concise but completely different from what they've done before.
I can make sense out of the shifting realities, but I don't understand how they works when different realities cross over. I can understand that the Golden Age/Earth 2 Superman is altered and is still the same person as Earth 1 Superman, but what about when the two Supermen meet?

The gist is Superman was split into multiple versions of himself. The main one we mostly read remained young and vital (and single) while another aspect of himself grew older and settled down with Lois Lane. It's not much different than interacting with a version of yourself from another time, or, in this case, another timeline.

After Crisis on Infinite Earths consolidated and merged all those various Earths together, the memories of them being from different Earths just sort of faded away and became vague recollections of alternate doppelgangers from the various time shenanigans our heroes deal with on regular basis.

As for the average person in the DCU, they are mostly blissfully unaware that their lives have been rewritten and altered over and over again throughout their lives.

[witchboy]

The gist is Superman was split into multiple versions of himself. The main one we mostly read remained young and vital (and single) while another aspect of himself grew older and settled down with Lois Lane. It's not much different than interacting with a version of yourself from another time, or, in this case, another timeline.

After Crisis on Infinite Earths consolidated and merged all those various Earths together, the memories of them being from different Earths just sort of faded away and became vague recollections of alternate doppelgangers from the various time shenanigans our heroes deal with on regular basis.

As for the average person in the DCU, they are mostly blissfully unaware that their lives have been rewritten and altered over and over again throughout their lives.

So the multiple Earths still co-exist? The Earth 2, Earth 1 versions are still out there, but the Prime Earth versions are still carrying all that history?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

So the multiple Earths still co-exist? The Earth 2, Earth 1 versions are still out there, but the Prime Earth versions are still carrying all that history?

Originally, there was just Earth-0, which was split into an infinite variety of Earths that was the first DC Multiverse. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths destroyed that Multiverse, Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-S, Earth-4, and elements of a few others were all merged into New Earth (Earth-0), where they have mostly remained. However, after Infinite Crisis and Fifty-Two, a new multiverse from Earth-0 was created which contained new versions of many of those old Earths, which are similar to their Pre-Crisis counterparts, but quite different in some ways, too. In addition, those Earths are constantly being tweaked and altered thanks to the changes that have occurred on Earth-0 thanks to the various temporal and cosmic shenanigans it regularly goes through.

Initially, this post Infinite Crisis Multiverse was limited to 52 Earths, but has now expanded to an infinite number again with the addition of the Dark Multiverse made up of potential Earths created by the hopes, dreams, fears, and nightmares of the Multiverse.

[witchboy]

Originally, there was just Earth-0, which was split into an infinite variety of Earths that was the first DC Multiverse. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths destroyed that Multiverse, Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-S, Earth-4, and elements of a few others were all merged into New Earth (Earth-0), where they have mostly remained. However, after Infinite Crisis and Fifty-Two, a new multiverse from Earth-0 was created which contained new versions of many of those old Earths, which are similar to their Pre-Crisis counterparts, but quite different in some ways, too. In addition, those Earths are constantly being tweaked and altered thanks to the changes that have occurred on Earth-0 thanks to the various temporal and cosmic shenanigans it regularly goes through.

Initially, this post Infinite Crisis Multiverse was limited to 52 Earths, but has now expanded to an infinite number again with the addition of the Dark Multiverse made up of potential Earths created by the hopes, dreams, fears, and nightmares of the Multiverse.

Thanks for taking the time to explain all this.
So this new inclusive timeline is going to be a new reboot? Sort of? It seems like it would have to be since the current Prime Earth history is changing so much.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Thanks for taking the time to explain all this.
So this new inclusive timeline is going to be a new reboot? Sort of? It seems like it would have to be since the current Prime Earth history is changing so much.

From the sounds of it, this isn't so much a reboot as a big overhaul of everything that finally rolls back in all the stuff that previous continuity revamps left behind.

The DCU has been rebooting itself as early as 1945, so this isn't exactly a new thing. The only constant thing about DCU history is how it is always changing and reinventing itself. This is just the latest reinvention that tries to respect the past legacy of the DCU better than the New 52 did, while avoiding the missteps that the Post-Crisis DCU made when it attempted to consolidate so much stuff into one continuity.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

My original DCU History ain't going anywhere, but it's so similar to what it looks like DC's cooking up that it was relatively easy to adapt it. Here's Generation One (The Golden Age) and I'll create alternate versions of the subsequent Generations as time permits.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

Please let me know if there's anything I missed or you think should be tweaked or corrected. Thanks.

[Restingvoice]

My original DCU History ain't going anywhere, but it's so similar to what it looks like DC's cooking up that it was relatively easy to adapt it. Here's Generation One (The Golden Age) and I'll create alternate versions of the subsequent Generations as time permits.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

Please let me know if there's anything I missed or you think should be tweaked or corrected. Thanks.

Who's the artist for Steve Trevor on page 2, first pic? It's pretty

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Who's the artist for Steve Trevor on page 2, first pic? It's pretty

That's an old WW1 painting of an early flying ace that the Patty Jenkins movie clearly took as inspiration for their Steve.

[DrNewGod]

Originally, there was just Earth-0, which was split into an infinite variety of Earths that was the first DC Multiverse. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths destroyed that Multiverse, Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-S, Earth-4, and elements of a few others were all merged into New Earth (Earth-0), where they have mostly remained. However, after Infinite Crisis and Fifty-Two, a new multiverse from Earth-0 was created which contained new versions of many of those old Earths, which are similar to their Pre-Crisis counterparts, but quite different in some ways, too. In addition, those Earths are constantly being tweaked and altered thanks to the changes that have occurred on Earth-0 thanks to the various temporal and cosmic shenanigans it regularly goes through.

Initially, this post Infinite Crisis Multiverse was limited to 52 Earths, but has now expanded to an infinite number again with the addition of the Dark Multiverse made up of potential Earths created by the hopes, dreams, fears, and nightmares of the Multiverse.

I'm getting a headache! Can Supes just go back to leaping tall buildings, interrogating sleazy lobbyists by playing high-toss, and slamming domestic-batterers into walls?

[Nine Crocodile]

Just reading these for the first time. Very impressive. Thanks!

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I'm getting a headache! Can Supes just go back to leaping tall buildings, interrogating sleazy lobbyists by playing high-toss, and slamming domestic-batterers into walls?

There's actually an Earth for that

The great thing about this approach to continuity is you don't really need to think about it if you don't want to, in the same way you don't have to think about how Archie and his friends have remained teenagers for decades (unless you want to). Just enjoy the stories you want to read and ignore the ones you aren't interested in. If anything seems confusing, just chalk it up to multiversal time shenanigans and move on.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Just reading these for the first time. Very impressive. Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to check it out. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please let me know. I'm always looking for ways to tweak it to make it better or easier to understand.