DC introducing a new wrinkle to classic continuity

[Restingvoice]

It only seems that way to you, because... well, because it really is unworkable. Seriously, does anybody think this is a good idea?

I do, not for realistic continuity sake, because it's gonna be a mess, but because I've been wanting to include as much history into canon as possible and now it's official

The Linearverse is only worth all the hassle and convolution if we get new stories out of it that aren't rehashes.

...Nah. Not possible. Writers still like to do homage.

This is such a mess. It defies any in-universe logic to believe these characters would have experienced all those changes and yet still act like they do in the present. Bruce Wayne would be broken if he remembered all his past iteractions. And he somehow is around since the start of last century but didn't age at all.
It has bad idea written all over it and it's even worse than Death Metal's idea of everyone remembering past continuities.

Bit of a fantasy trope here, long-living beings like vampires or elves either not remember every single thing because it's been so long, or they've grown to be really bored and apathetic because they've seen everything.

Anyway, I'm not taking this literally at all. I highly doubt they're writing them like they are elves. They're just gonna continue as they were.

Maybe Linearverse Bruce is nicer and more well adjusted than mainstream Batman? I find it hard to believe you would create an entirely new continuity and kept the same characterization. Then again, current DC is does not act with common sense.

Nah... too many dead kids, and maybe that's one reason why he can't be apathetic like elves. Too much trauma keeps it fresh ^^

Trying to rectify Batman's, Superman's, Wonder Woman's, etc. histories that are vastly different and contradictory to one another by saying it all happened to the same character makes absolutely no sense.

No... they're going to have to make a choice, like how Rucka choose to make the New 52 Wonder Woman a Lie. The experience still happened, the island still existed, but the characters turn out to be illusions.

Didio? Wasn't 5G opposite of what we have here?

It's kind of the same thing. In Didio's timeline, Bruce was born in the WW2 era, and he continues to live until 2020 when 5G was supposed to begin. The term they used was the time-lapse in DCU is faster than in the real world. So if in the real world it took 80 years from 1940 to 2020, in his timeline it only took 40 years or so.

As someone pointed out, the Golden Age (or Earth 2 Batman) married Salina Kyle, had a child and eventually died. You can't rectify that with current Batman even if you argue that he began in the '30s and time runs slower in comics, and that's substantially different than "corded phones versus cell phones". There are similar issues with Superman and Wonder Woman as well.

Jurgens said that not everything's gonna fit and they're gonna have to trim things, so what will happen is what already happened in current stories: Batman and Catwoman are not married with daughter yet, so they're never married in the Golden Age either.

Also, that marriage only happened once the Earth is separated into two. The one they're talking about right now is the main Earth. We still have a Multiverse as shown in Metal.

It's just silliness. We have two completely different versions of Superman's cousin - Power Girl and Supergirl. Does Superman just have two cousins now? What about Huntress? Or the Crime Syndicate? Or the Shazam family?

I wanna say that for all those questions, Shazam especially, I'm gonna need to wait until the writer themselves start telling their stories, and I actually think it's gonna be fun watching them trying to reconcile everything, but honestly, I think they're just gonna move on and not bother explaining the past as usual, since just like the other explanations, this is just gonna be an excuse for DC to resell old stories.

[kingaliencracker]

Why can't you rectify it? All the characters are now aware that they have experienced several realities during different parts of their lives, so why can't you rectify it? I'm not seeing the contradiction?

That's not what this "Linearverse" is establishing. That's what Death Metal tried to establish.

With this, it's quite clear based on the article that the idea is that everything we've ever read from the point these characters were first published actually happened to the current incarnation of the character. So Superman, for example, operated during World War II and had all his Golden Age/Silver Age/Bronze Age/Post-Crisis/Post-Infinite Crisis/Post-52/Post-Rebirth adventures.

Again, you can't do that without understanding that there are going to be major contradictions, such as the fact that Superman INTERACTED with his Golden Age incarnation, or Supergirl and Power Girl are both technically Superman's cousins, on top of many other major contradictions.

[PurpleGlovez]

Holy sweet mother of God, they just can't stop making it worse. I'm as big a continuity nerd as anyone else but I am sick to death of this. Metaverse, Linearverse, Omniverse, Elseworld, who the hell cares? What functional narrative purpose does any of this serve? Could you imagine trying to explain this **** to a normal person, or a potentially interested casual reader? It's so prohibitively confusing that I don't blame anyone who takes one look at the DC Universe and decides to not even bother with it. You know how to fix your continuity? LEAVE IT THE HELL ALONE AND TELL STORIES. With a modicum of care and attention, they actually could create an official timeline and make some effort to follow it, but DC is clearly not capable of such a thing. They just need to stop. Oh, dear Lord, please let them stop.

I always thought sliding time was totally rational and easily understood. This is so problematic.

Yeah, I don't understand why everyone pretends to be so confounded by a sliding timeline. Everything still happened but with topical references updated or removed, and details in new stories trump the details in old stories. Simple enough? It's not perfect, but as far as comic book universes go it's about the best you can do.

The Linearverse is only worth all the hassle and convolution if we get new stories out of it that aren't rehashes.

This.

Also when it comes to the Batman side of the DCU, the "everything happens" mantra has always been perfectly rational and doesn't require this absurd explanation. Yes, there are conflicting stories, but once again, with a deft slight of hand, it could be reconciled so easily into the one true story of Batman. Same goes for the rest of the DCU. I just don't understand why it constantly has to be this confusing.

[kingaliencracker]

No... they're going to have to make a choice, like how Rucka choose to make the New 52 Wonder Woman a Lie. The experience still happened, the island still existed, but the characters turn out to be illusions.

Jurgens said that not everything's gonna fit and they're gonna have to trim things, so what will happen is what already happened in current stories: Batman and Catwoman are not married with daughter yet, so they're never married in the Golden Age either.

Also, that marriage only happened once the Earth is separated into two. The one they're talking about right now is the main Earth. We still have a Multiverse as shown in Metal.



I wanna say that for all those questions, Shazam especially, I'm gonna need to wait until the writer themselves start telling their stories, and I actually think it's gonna be fun watching them trying to reconcile everything, but honestly, I think they're just gonna move on and not bother explaining the past as usual, since just like the other explanations, this is just gonna be an excuse for DC to resell old stories.

Death Metal reinforced the Omniverse that Johns more or less created with Doomsday Clock. This isn't what's being described in the article. Again, MAYBE the article is misinterpreting this and therefore I'm misinterpreting this. But it seems clear that the "Linearverse" is supposed to establish everything that we've ever read about a particular character from the point he/she began publication up to their current incarnation happened to the current incarnation of the character. And again, that's a problem, which is supported by Jurgens' own statement in that some things won't fit and will therefore need to be "trimmed", which makes the whole endeavor IMO completely pointless.

[kingaliencracker]

I just really, REALLY wish DC didn't publish Crisis on Infinite Earths. To quote the immortal Doc Brown, "It's caused nothing but disaster".

[HsssH]

It's kind of the same thing. In Didio's timeline, Bruce was born in the WW2 era, and he continues to live until 2020 when 5G was supposed to begin. The term they used was the time-lapse in DCU is faster than in the real world. So if in the real world it took 80 years from 1940 to 2020, in his timeline it only took 40 years or so.

To me that is a major difference. From what I remember entire idea behind 5G was that classic heroes are now old guys and gals and this is why we are getting new Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman and whoever else. This stuff, from what I understand, does not make Batman too old to keep being Batman.

[kingaliencracker]

To me that is a major difference. From what I remember entire idea behind 5G was that classic heroes are now old guys and gals and this is why we are getting new Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman and whoever else. This stuff, from what I understand, does not make Batman too old to keep being Batman.

5G was supposed to be a regime of new generational characters replacing established heroes that were operating since the Golden Age.

This still establishes that the heroes were operating in the Golden Age but because time doesn't move in their universe as it does on ours they remain in their 20's/30's.

The whole concept is just silliness to the Nth degree, IMO.

[Will Evans]

I’m honestly confused.

Can anyone break this down to me in 5 sentences or less?

[Restingvoice]

I’m honestly confused.

Can anyone break this down to me in 5 sentences or less?

Batman has been operating from 1939 to 2021, aging really slowly. Stories like Batman Year One now happened in the 1930s. Every other story that doesn't fit they're gonna stretch and trim so it fits this concept.

Apply the same for every character from supers to civilians.

[Will Evans]

Batman has been operating from 1939 to 2021, aging really slowly. Stories like Batman Year One now happened in the 1930s. Every other story that doesn't fit they're gonna stretch and trim so it fits this concept.

Apply the same for every character from supers to civilians.

?????????

Um.

So in the DCU the human lifespan is now 300 years ?

[Avi]

?????????

Um.

So in the DCU the human lifespan is now 300 years ?

Kinda. Technically immortal. Only this is one Universe in the whole Omniverse, not the main DCU.

[The Darknight Detective]

I do, not for realistic continuity sake, because it's gonna be a mess, but because I've been wanting to include as much history into canon as possible and now it's official.

But it's impossible to be able to merge every single story into one universe. It literally can't be done, except by recreating the pre-COIE-style multiverse.

[Will Evans]

Kinda. Technically immortal. Only this is one Universe in the whole Omniverse, not the main DCU.

Ok. So that one new Earth they mentioned post-Death Metal, is an Earth where all stories take place?

Is that right?

[Jim Kelly]

With characters like Batman, Superman and the Legion, I already do this and always have. I think in terms of multiverses, too. But one way of thinking I apply is a linear approach and trying to conceive of a universe where all things are true. Don't we all do this? I never just think in one stream--I have multiple options going on in my mind at the same time.

[Nite-Wing]

Kinda. Technically immortal. Only this is one Universe in the whole Omniverse, not the main DCU.

That's an easy way to write this off when it gets too confusing for some

What a bad idea