The DC Universe Timeline is a
timeline of the major events in the fictional
DC Universe. It represents fictional settings for most of the stories featured in
DC Comics' publications. DC has published several official timelines with publications such as History of the DC Universe. These timelines coincide with each other because they were published by DC Universe. Plotholes are common in the Golden Age of Comics throughout the Modern Age because of the concept of the
Multiverse. The timeline represents fictional time in the
Golden Age,
Silver Age, and
Modern Age of comics. Due to the "
floating timeline" that is applied to events in the Modern Age, everything published in the past 5 decades are considered to have taken place in the present. Please note that DC has officially revised its universe's history several times, such as in the limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985), Zero Hour (1994) and Infinite Crisis (2006) and events in the current
continuity might no longer be the same as when they were originally published. All dates are approximate unless stated otherwise and all listings include the individual timelines of the DC Universe.
There have been several "creation" stories for the DCU. The current theory (which has been repeatedly revisited, as noted below) was first shown in the
Brainiac story in
Action Comics #544 (June 1983).[citation needed]
Crisis on Infinite Earths: The
Anti-Monitor appears at the dawn of creation to undo the universe. The
Spectre, backed up by superheroes, fights the Anti-Monitor and allows the universe to be created.[1]
c. 17,000,000,000 B.C. – Life begins to evolve on GodWorld.
c. 15,000,000,000 B.C. – Humanoid beings on the GodWorld became known as the
Old Gods and fought titanic wars.
Imperiex is reborn in the new universe and begins his eons-long destiny of remaking the universe again.
Billions of years ago
The GodWorld is destroyed in a great war caused by the
Old Gods' greatest weapon,
Mageddon. The gods are killed, and the "Godwave" is unleashed on the universe. This creates forces in the universe (such as the
Speed Force and the
Metagene) that allow certain superpowers to exist. It also gives birth to new gods on planets all around the universe, including Earth.
Mageddon is imprisoned in a gravity sink on the outer curve of space-time.
An experiment to witness the creation of the universe by
Krona, a member of an immortal race of creatures from the planet
Oa, creates the
Multiverse and
Anti-Matter Universe; his people decide to atone for this accident by becoming the
Guardians of the Universe. [6]
Many of the then existing cosmic entities meet to discuss the ways and means of the universe. There the first
Despair convinces
Rao to spark life on the planet
Krypton, doomed at the onset, and suggests that he should let one
Kryptonian survive, in order that
he might despair at the loss of his home.[7]
The
Guardians bind all the wild magic in the universe into the
Starheart orb at the farthest reaches of space. [8]
The
Zamarons temporarily reside on the planet
Korugar before moving on to
Zamaron. The male
Oans swear not to interfere with them as the killing of a male
Korugarian by them or their agents can result in the destruction of the main Green Lantern power battery.
The
Guardians create the
Manhunter androids to serve as their agents. However, they eventually rebel against their masters. [9]
Anthro, the first
Cro-Magnon Man, is born. He becomes a leader among early humans. [12]
The
Guardians of the Universe accomplish mass genetic tampering with the
Martian species, giving them a weakness of fire and making them shy away from being chaotic creatures. [13]
A great civilization, rich in both magic and technology, forms on the continent of
Atlantis.
Many years after its formation,
Atlantis sinks. Some cities survive underwater thanks to their protective domes. The surviving Atlanteans use magic and technology to change themselves into water-breathing forms, and continue to live under the sea, unknown to the rest of mankind.
2600 BCShazam gives power to
Teth-Adam, a
protectorate to watch over his lands while he is gone, who builds the first of the pyramids in Egypt, after which he speeds up civilization to rule it by killing the first of the pharaohs. Shazam only returns to banish Teth-Adam into another dimensional realm. Two
Thanagarians crash on the planet. After their deaths the culture and technology is hidden and their civilization disappears.
To protect the
Amazons from persecution, the
Greek gods transport them to the island of
Themyscira, where they do not age.
64 AD – Doctor Doome summons the Roman emperor
Nero to battle the
Seven Soldiers of Victory in 1942. Five tyrants from the past were summoned with his
time machine. Nero captures
Captain Atom. The alien civilization has settled on Earth waiting in disbelief for
Monarch and their leader returning (
Alpha Centurion joins the alien civilization and spends centuries with these aliens.
6th centuryMiddle Ages.
Merlin gives the
Shining Knight, Sir Justin of the Round Table, magical equipment.
Morgan le Fay destroys
Camelot;
Merlin and his half brother, the demon
Etrigan, curse a man named Jason Blood into serving as Etrigan's host body. (The Demon #1)
October 30, 1938 : Coinciding with the panic caused by
Orson Welles'
infamous broadcast, Newspaper publisher Lee Travis, assisted by his Asian chauffeur Wing How, makes his debut as the
Crimson Avenger, the first of the twentieth century's masked heroes.
December 8, 1941: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brings the U.S.A. into the second World War; America's heroes try to retaliate only to find that a spell cast by Hitler and the Dragon King (using the
Spear of Destiny and the
Holy Grail, respectively) causes magical and magic-sensitive people to fall under their control if they enter Nazi-held territory. This leaves most of the truly powerful heroes out of the War. A time travelling heroine from the future clad in Red, White & Blue arrives and is in pursuit of an entity called Dark Angel. She is Queen Hippolyte of the Amazons who has replaced her daughter as Wonder Woman. President Roosevelt then organizes all of America's superheroes into the
All-Star Squadron, to protect the homefront. Normal people without special powers (such as
Easy Company) fight the war, along with secret experimental soldiers like the
Creature Commandos.
1951: The
Justice Society of America disbands, after being subjected to
McCarthyism. (Adventure Comics #466) Superhero activity declines (but doesn't totally disappear) afterwards. In response to this, the covert government organization Task Force X is formed to fill the gap left by the departing heroes.
Character origins
c. "58 Years Ago"
Krypton explodes. The Kryptonian scientist
Jor-El manages to save his baby son,
Kal-El by sending him to Earth in a prototype
starship. The planet's remains become
kryptonite.
A scientist, Dr. Saul Erdel, accidentally teleports
J'onn J'onzz, the last living Martian, to Earth. He is secretly active for years, studying humanity and fighting crime under several false identities.
American lighthouse keeper Arthur Curry raises the
son of exiled Princess Atlanna of
Atlantis.
c. "30 Years Ago"
A mugger murders
Thomas and
Martha Wayne in what will come to be known as "Crime Alley" in
Gotham City. Their son
Bruce swears to fight a war on crime. [17]. The killer,
Joe Chill is eventually caught. [18].
c. "29 Years Ago"
Hippolyta, queen of the
Amazons, yearns for a child and carves a statue of a little girl out of clay; her gods grant her wish by turning it into a real girl that she names
Diana. [19]
c. "24 Years Ago"
Young, immature Oliver Queen is shipwrecked and trains, eventually becoming the
Green Arrow upon his return to civilization [20]
Bruce Wayne begins his training in a variety of disciplines.
Princess Diana, the only child on
Themyscira, is lonely.
Amazon Sorceress
Magala creates a "
mystic twin" companion for Diana from a fragment of the young princess' soul which was subsequently kidnapped by an enemy of
Hippolyta known as
Dark Angel. Dark Angel places the twin in a state of suspended animation for years.
Clark Kent emerges as
Superman. This inspires a new generation of superheroes to debut as well. Later, he joins the staff of the
Daily Planet as a reporter. He encounters Batman for the first time. [21]
Bruce Wayne begins his career as the Batman at age 25[22] in Gotham City.
Selina Kyle is inspired by Batman to become
Catwoman shortly afterward.[23] The
Joker appears within the year.[24]
Diana, Princess of the Amazons, arrives in America, where she takes the costumed identity of
Wonder Woman. [25] She later rescues her long lost "twin" Donna after she was left to die in a building fire by Dark Angel and brings her home to Paradise Island where she is trained by both the Amazons and the Titans of Myth. [26]
Central City police scientist Barry Allen is hit by lightning and chemicals, becoming the
Flash, named after his
childhood comic book hero. [27]
The
Justice Society of America officially comes out of retirement and begins regular team-ups with the newly-formed JLA.
Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad unite in Hatton Corners to defeat the villain Mr. Twister (The Brave and the Bold #54). Shortly thereafter, the three join forces with Wonder Girl and Speedy and call themselves the
Teen Titans (Teen Titans #53; Secret Origins Annual #3).
Kara Zor-L, then age 18, lands on Earth after her rocket ship departs the Krypton of the
Earth-Two dimension.[35] She is discovered by Superman and eventually joins the
JSA and makes her debut as
Power Girl.[36]
Former Olympic Athlete Jefferson Pierce debuts as the urban super-hero
Black Lightning.
Air Force Pilot Travis Morgan first journeys to the lost world of
Skartaris.
Raven arrives and helps create the
New Teen Titans: Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, Changeling, Robin, Wonder Girl & Kid Flash.
The wizard
Shazam grants Fawcett City orphan Billy Batson the power of
Captain Marvel.
Dr. Sivana's bodyguard Theo Adam learns how to access the powers of his ancestor Teth-Adam to become
Black Adam.[37]
A new
Teen Titans is formed to fight the H'San Natall invasion. The new roster: A newly de-aged
Atom II,
Argent,
Joto,
Risk and
Prysm. Eventually Joto dies and Captain Marvel, Jr. joins the team. Shortly after defeating the invasion the team disbands.
Princess Diana, a.k.a. "
Wonder Woman" is killed by the Demon
Neron and is transfigured by the
Olympian Gods as a new Olympian- Diana, the goddess of truth. Meanwhile on Earth, Diana's mother Queen Hippolyte takes up the mantle of Wonder Woman to continue where Diana left off. She would subsequently find herself involved in a time travelling adventure to the 1940s where she becomes known as that era's "Golden Age Wonder Woman".
No Man's Land:
Gotham City is struck by a massive earthquake. The Federal government, finding that the cost of rebuilding Gotham would be too great, declares the city a "No Man's land", meaning Gotham is no longer a property of the United States. Most of the populace evacuates, but those who remain form territorial tribes in order to protect themselves. After restoration by
Lex Luthor, the order is lifted one year later, and Gotham City is readmitted into the U.S.
Kyle Rayner's powers grow exponentially and becomes
Ion. He expels his massive energies to recreate the
Guardians of the Universe and recharge the Central Power Battery on
Oa.
An old friend of
Batman's Thomas Elliot comes back as
Hush to tear his life apart at the seams.
Jason Todd becomes entangled in the affair and appears before
Batman, although because of
Clayface his return is not confirmed.[69]
The Spectre erases the Flash's secret identity from the world.
Krona seeks to erase both the DC Universe and the
Marvel Universe to observe the creation of a new universe. After heroes from both universes fight to stop Krona,
Flash and
Hawkeye imprison him in a
cosmic egg.
The Vanishing, a mysterious force of nature, causes millions of people, including Lois Lane, to disappear. Superman, as it turns out, finds them in an alternate universe
Phantom Zone-type dimension, where he tries to create a new world for humans to avoid the same fate as Krypton. Eventually, he destroys this place after an alternate Zod tries to take over, the Fortress of Solitude is destroyed after a fight with Wonder Woman, and Lois and the other humans are returned with their memories of the whole event erased.[78]
World War III:
Black Adam destroys the nation of Biyala, killing all of its citizens, and most of Earth's heroes band together to defeat him.
Aquaman disappears.[103]
Almost all the DC supervillains are gathered and shipped to a presumably peaceful planet under
Darkseid's reign.[133]Martian Manhunter's disguise as
Blockbuster is uncovered and the villains trap him on the planet when they escape.[134]
The
Black Glove and the
Joker attack
Batman by taking advantage of an old self-destruct code embedded in his psyche from an experiment years before. [140]
64th century A.D. Magic and Science have become one and the criminal
Abra kadabra is exiled to the 20th Century where he again takes up a life of crime.
853rd centurySolaris destroys thousands of Superhumans and with the aid of Supermen,
Justice Legion Alpha save the solar system. An android Hourman escapes to the past.
The Great Disaster. Jack Kirby's Fourth World presented a scenario known as The Great Disaster, which destroys human civilization sometime between the 20th and 30th centuries. Infinite Crisis and Countdown have contained a number of implicit and explicit references to the event, and that it may come to pass in the near future.
Future Earth A.D. (After Disaster)- the world is ruled by evolved animals with intelligence,
Kamandi is the last human on Earth.
Krona tries to look past this time to view the beginning of the universe, only to unleash entropy on the early universe wiping out countless lives. Doomsday is sent here, consumed by entropy, and later escapes.
Epoch the Lord of Time goes to the year 1 billion and creates the
Timepoint.
100,000,000,000 A.D – The universe finally ends.
Mister E and
Timothy Hunter visit here briefly.
Destiny closes his book and dies, and
Death sends Mr. E and Tim Hunter back. Death figuratively closes shop on the universe. (The Books of Magic)
The universe loops back to the beginning. It is the job of Imperiex to end and recreate the
DC Universe.
^No official publication has fixed the position of Lonnie's existence within the timeline of the DC universe. However, Anarky's debut was proceeded by the death of Jason Todd, and followed by the introduction of Tim Drake as Robin. His location on this version of the DC timeline is an estimate in relation to these two events and may be subject to change. Detective Comics #608, 1989