DC Comics Has been an industry leader in comic books since the 1930s, with key events like the creation of Superman serving as turning points in the history of the superhero genre. To keep its continuity fresh for new generations of readers, the company routinely pursued a series of reboots and relaunches, each of which aimed to simplify things.
For better or worse, each of them was a success in their own right, typically – but not always – revitalizing sales figures, as readers flock to stores to see if the new direction is for them.
DC’s reboot can be a little confusing, especially for new readers who want to understand the publisher’s history. It’s worth a primer on the critical events for readers, so new fans can spot the best jumping on pointsAnd get a better sense of what each era of DC has to offer.
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Dawn of the Silver Age (1956)
Start with: Showcase #4 – Written by Robert Kanigher; Art by Carmine Infantino
When DC Comics was founded in the 1930s as National Publications, its continuity was the loosest that it had ever been. In fact, it took years for some characters, including Batman and Superman, to meet. While the universe became more interconnected throughout the late 1940s and early ’50s JSA stories, It wasn’t until the dawn of the Silver Age in 1956, when DC created Barry Allen and moved into a new era of interconnected stories, that readers had a better understanding of a shared continuity. This was especially true of the principal Justice League of America Series.
While the Silver Age was marked by the creation of Barry Allen, it was not until the 1960s that The brave and the bold #28 That DC has laid out its full vision, finally uniting its best heroes under the Justice League banner.
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Crisis on Infinite Earths (1986)
Start with: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 – Written by Marv Wolfman; Art by George Perez
Crisis on Infinite Earths was created with one goal in mind: to simplify DC’s continuity and pave the way for a new generation From readers to jump in. The series was a resounding success, resulting in the publisher folding its parallel Earths into one, avoiding variants of iconic heroes, and even incorporating newly acquired Charlton heroes into continuity. When the limited series ended, DC relaunched almost every title, to allow for new readers and creative teams across the board.
Crisis on Infinite Earths remains a key chapter in DC history due in large part to the death of Barry Allen, allowing for the creation of Wally West. Just as a new bottle heralded the dawn of the Silver Age, a new bottle also signaled the birth of the modern era of comics, and West remains a favorite fan among readers. Not only was it one of the first true events in comics, but it offered a clean slate across the board for readers.
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The New 52 (2011)
Start with: Flashpoint #1 – Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Andy Kubert
In 2011, DC Comics launched its Flashpoint Event, what Followed Barry Allen in an alternate timeline he inadvertently caused by saving his mother’s life. After the event ended, DC launched its New 52The hardest reboot of its universe since the Silver Age. Every core title reverts to a first issue, including legacy books like Action comicsAnd origin stories are retold. From a young Superman learning the ropes of being a hero to a revised Wonder Woman origin, the 2010s for DC reeled in thousands of new readers through darker stories than ever before.
The New 52 has had its share of excesses, from unpopular character redesigns to full-on revivals of heroes like the Justice Society members. All these problems finally paved the way for DC’s Rebirth event, and the disdain readers have sealed its fate for the DCYou initiative. The event was by far the most ambitious in DC history, and this was shown by the company’s line of talent, but the direction was thin with readers.
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rebirth (2016)
Start with: DC Universe Rebirth One-Shot – Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Ivan Rice, Phil Jimenez, and more
After the decline in popularity of the New 52The company reoriented its creative direction and tone back to what it was in the 2000s. with DC Universe RebirthThe company paved the way for its line-wide rebootwith the return to form signaled by the reversion of series II Action comics And Detective Comics To legacy numbering. This change was seen by many as something of an apology to fans for missteps like drastic and unpopular character redesigns and bad characterization for heroes like Superman.
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Rebirth Gave readers some treasured changes, such as giving Superman a family in Lois and their son, Jon Kent, as well as the restoration of ’90s-era Lobo. Almost every creative step was perfect for the new era, and readers got modern classic runs on heroes like Green Arrow, Superman, Green Lantern and Flash.
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Doomsday Clock (2018)
Doomsday Clock #1 – Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Gary Frank
In 2018, Geoff Johns and Gary Frank teamed up to bring readers the long-awaited sequel to Guard, Doomsday Clock. The series follows Ozymandias escaping from a dying Earth in his universe to travel to Earth-Prime, where he tries to find Doctor Manhattan to save his world. However, he travels to a regular DCU suffering the effects of Manhattan’s alteration of history, going so far as to wipe out the Justice Society of America.
Although not as hard a reboot as these New 52, Doomsday Clock basically erased the 2011-2016 continuity, returning the DC universe to its more popular post-Crisis Vision. The Justice Society of America was restored to its former glory and Doctor Manhattan reversed all the changes he had made to the timeline since Flashpoint; in other words, This wasn’t so much a hard reboot as a cleanup, taking Rebirth to its natural conclusion and explaining the return of the original timeline.
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Infinite Frontier (2021)
Infinite Frontier #0 – Featuring stories and art from DC’s top talent
After the time after Doomsday Clock As DC’s continuity returned to its post-Crisis norm, there was some confusion about exactly what was and wasn’t canon. In an effort to please everyone, DC unleashes its “omniverse” through Infinite FrontierAn era where the publisher tried to have his cake and eat it by suggesting that everything is, to a certain extent, canon.
The event was sponsored by the Infinite Frontier miniseries, which followed the Justice League Incarnate in their war against Darkseid. This eventually culminated in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths – written by Joshua Williamson, art by Daniel Sampere – which once again ushered in a new era. Once again, this It wasn’t so much a reboot as a soft relaunch, not unlike the post-Infinite Crisis Relaunch in 2006. However, this period was cut short by DC’s later efforts to, once again, simplify the continuity and refocus on iconic heroes by Dawn of DC. The publisher’s latest soft launch, All-inContinue the effort to revitalize key titles.
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Elseworlds (2024)
Start with: Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age #1 – Written by Andy Diggle, Art by Leandro Fernandez
In 1989, DC Comics launched their Other worlds imprint, a line of non-canon comics styled after Marvel’s What if…? series, casting heroes in completely reimagined universes. While some of these stories are complete makeovers, others incorporate DC heroes into works of classic literature, from the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs to Robert Louis Stevenson.
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In 2024, DC revived the Elseworlds imprint after two decades; Just like the original imprint launched with Gotham by GaslightThe reboot of the imprint gave the seminal story a sequel in The Kryptonian Age. Since then, everything from Batman the Barbarian to continuations of stories like DC vs. Vampires has been announced. Not only did the relaunch bring back Other worldsIt also did what everyone expected in keeping the black label stories in print as a Dark Knights of Steel Sequel.
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DC’s Absolute Universe (2024)
Start with: Absolute power #1 – Written by Mark Waid; Art by Dan Mora
In 2024, DC Comics announced the creation of a parallel line of continuity, the Absolute UniverseModeled after Marvel’s Last Universe. Focusing on a full-blown reimagining of key heroes like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and The Flash, the new line of comics is slated to serve as its own pocket universe, completely free of the Earth-Prime continuity. Although this reboot does not directly affect regular DC continuity, it is spin out of the Absolute power Event.
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The Absolute Universe of DC promises to take the original potential of the New 52 to an even greater extreme, leaving the core aspects of learning to allow endless possibilities for its heroes. This allows creators like Scott Snyder to leave their mark on key heroes in a way like this New 52 did notConsidering that it was still attached DC Comics Character histories. At the same time, DC is running with All-inWhich offers jumping on points for series in regular continuity. with Absolute Batman Leading the pack, readers can expect the most dramatic alterations to their favorite heroes in years.