Rebirth Year Seven

Rebirth Era (Post-“Superman Reborn”) Chronology

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YEAR SEVEN (2008)
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–REFERENCE: In the second feature to New History of the DC Universe #2—originally told in Flash #275-277. The sadistic Reverse-Flash (aka Professor Zoom aka Eobard Thawne) murders Flash’s wife, Iris West-Allen. Bruce, Clark, Barry and the rest of the heroes attend Iris’ funeral. Unknown to all, Iris has actually been saved by her parents, who live in the 31st century. Iris’ biological parents (Eric Russell and Fran Russell) collected her spirit and used future tech to resurrect her. A traumatized Iris decides to stay with her folks in the 31st century, leaving all her friends in the 21st century to go on thinking she has passed.

–FLASHBACK: From Knight Terrors #1—and referenced in Batman: Urban Legends #18 Part 4. Originally told in Justice League of America #175-176. The Justice League defeats a returning Dr. Destiny, sending him to Arkham Asylum.

–REFERENCE: In Blue Beetle Vol. 9 #11-12, Adventures of the Super-Sons #6, and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #34—originally told in Justice League of America #177-178 and referenced in Justice League of America #253. Despero kidnaps Martian Manhunter away to the prison planet Takron-Galtos. There, J’onn is forced to play a game of “cosmic chess” wherein which deadly chess piece robots mirror his moves by attacking the Justice League on Earth. The JL travels to Takron-Galtos to save J’onn and defeat Despero.

–FLASHBACK: From Flash Vol. 5 #21, Zatanna Vol. 3 #5, and the second feature to New History of the DC Universe #2—originally told via flashback from Identity Crisis and The OMAC Project. Dr. Light infiltrates the JL Satellite and rapes Elongated Man’s wife, Sue Dibny. After being apprehended by several superheroes (Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Flash, and Zatanna), Dr. Light is mind-wiped by Zatanna, which erases the villain’s memories and alters his personality to ensure that he never again commits so heinous a crime. Batman stumbles upon the heroes in the midst of scrambling Dr. Light’s brain. Outraged at the unethical procedure, Batman lashes out at his peers. The heroes restrain and mind-wipe Batman, initiating a cover up that will years later be exposed as the terrible “mind-wipe scandal.” Until then, Batman will have no memories of what has occurred. (Notably, Zatanna Vol. 3 #5 makes it seem like Batman’s mind-wiping occurs after Crisis on Infinite Earths, but that’s definitely not the case.)

–REFERENCE: In the second feature to New History of the DC Universe #2—originally told in Justice League of America #179-180. Firestorm joins the Justice League.

–FLASHBACK: From Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU #6 and Green Arrow Vol. 7 #7—and referenced in Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1 Part 4 and Green Arrow Vol. 7 #13. The Justice League poses for a series of photographs before going into unspecified action. The current lineup is Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Flash, Hawkman, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Zatanna, and Elongated Man.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #1-3 (“THE DEVIL NEZHA”)
(Note that the first ten pages of Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #1 were shown as a preview in the 3rd feature to Detective Comics #1050.) Batman and Robin track Poison Ivy to Metropolis where Superman encounters her for the first time, helping the Dynamic Duo make a bust. Kryptonite-powered Metallo (John Corben) shows up to attack the Man of Steel. While Batman and Robin prevent Poison Ivy from escaping, Metallo injects a cocktail of different Red Kryptonite bits into Superman. The immortal Devil Nezha and Felix Faust, pulling the strings, watch from the shadows. The Red Kryptonite quickly courses through Superman’s bloodstream, causing him intense pain and confusion before morphing him into a man with steel skin (a literal “man of steel”). Batman phones the Doom Patrol for help, and they arrive immediately.^[1] Superman then begins hallucinating visions of Zod (Dru-Zod), Ursa, Non, and Lex Luthor. Batman is able to talk Superman back into his senses, but Superman’s powers rage out of control. Negative Man showers Superman with red sun radiation, knocking him unconscious. At the Doom Patrol HQ in Midway City, Superman is subdued and restrained as he continues to go through various bodily alterations. Dr. Niles Caulder performs surgery on Superman, but when things go south, Negative Man irradiates Superman’s arteries, saving his life. Later, Caulder shows off an ancient Chinese weapon—the legendary sword of the immortal Devil Nezha—that the Doom Patrol took from Nazi villain General Zahl. After the Doom Patrol delivers a lesson in Chinese history, specifically about how the warriors of the House of Ji (Shuǐ, Huǒ, Kōngqì, and Dìqiú) defeated the Devil Nezha in the 16th century BCE, Caulder reveals that the Devil the Devil Nezha has likely returned and is responsible for the attack in Metropolis. Caulder shows surveillance footage of Flash, Wonder Woman, and Hal Jordan dealing with super-villain situations and Faust accosting Billy Batson in Philadelphia. (Batson is a boy that can turn into Captain Shazam aka Shazam, a superhero imbued with magickal powers by the wizard Shazam.)^[2] Batman and Superman rescue Batson from Faust, all while shaking off a magick hallucination that they are trapped in Hell. Meanwhile, Robin and Supergirl, having had a negative experience during their recent team-up in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #12, reluctantly agree to work together. Using the patented (but dangerous) Super-Family ability to break through the time barrier by going at intense speed, Supergirl takes Robin (and herself) to to 1579 BCE China. There, the teen heroes, mistaken for agents of Nezha, are briefly attacked by the House of Ji before allying with them. Meanwhile, in present day Switzerland, the Doom Patrol confronts General Immortus. Despite suffering from dementia, he tells them that Nezha can be found on the isle of Corto Maltese. In Central City, Batman and Superman take on Mirror Master and Dr. Alchemy, who have already bested Flash and Wonder Woman thanks to power boosts from Nezha. Batman and Superman take down Mirror Master and Dr. Alchemy, but they are attacked by Hal Jordan, who has been mind-controlled by Nezha. Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Nezha mind-controls Alfred to gain access to the Bat-Computer, through which he learns all about present day metahumans.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #4-5 (“THE DEVIL NEZHA”) Conclusion
Picking up directly from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #3, Batman and Superman fight a possessed Hal Jordan, stripping him of his ring to take him down. The magick of Dr. Alchemy’s Philosopher’s Stone combined with the energy of Hal’s power ring causes Batman and Superman to merge into a single composite being. (This fusion is also shown via flashback from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #28, Superman Vol. 6 #18, and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #46.) Also, as seen in Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #9, the Fusion Batman-Superman is teleported into a few minutes of action in the year 2025. This disappearance can only register for an unnoticed infinitesimal moment on our timeline here, and, despite this bizarre occurrence definitely happening, there’s almost no doubt that Batman and Superman won’t remember any of it.) Unfazed by the heroes’ GL-powered fusion technique, Nezha unleashes a possessed Wonder Girl, Firestorm, Black Canary, Kid Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Red Tornado upon them. Fusion Batman-Superman easily defeats the heroes and then battles Nezha Dragon Ball Z-style into outer space. When the fusion ends, Nezha gains the upper hand, but a returning Supergirl arrives just in time to punch the demon back to Earth (also very Dragon Ball Z-style). Unfortunately, Robin has been lost in time somewhere. Supergirl delivers the news that the only way to defeat Nezha is to lock him in his tomb from the inside. The heroes gather at site of the tomb (on Lazarus Island) only for Nezha to possess Superman and Elasti-Girl. When Robotman begins pummeling Nezha with ease, the heroes realize that the demon’s weakness is to modern technologies. Freeing himself of Nezha’s control, Superman calls an audible and banishes Nezha to the Phantom Zone. Unbelievably, Nezha tears a hole in the fabric of reality, allowing him to force his way out of the Phantom Zone (!). Superman has no choice but to exile himself inside the tomb with the demon, thus ending his threat upon the world. Once inside, Superman uses the Phantom Zone Projector on himself. Outside, Batman realizes what Superman has done. The heroes reach through the quickly shrinking portal that Nezha had created while escaping from the Phantom Zone. Just before it the fissure re-seals, the heroes pull Superman to safety. Superman and Supergirl then hide the tomb under giant boulders.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #6
Picking up directly from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #5, Robin remains trapped in time—specifically 1892 on the isle of Corto Maltese. After etching a help message into a stone, Robin takes up with Stratford’s World-Famous American Circus. In present day, Batman and Superman find Robin’s 19th century message. Superman uses x-ray vision to follow a tachyon trail leading to 1892. Batman and Superman join Robin in the circus, helping him solve a murder mystery. While Robin busts the perps, Batman and Superman rescue folks from a burning circus tent. Afterward, the trio returns to present day.

–REFERENCE: In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #47. Batman debriefs Alfred about recent events, including his fusion with Superman.

–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #999. February—Bruce’s birthday. As he does every year on his birthday, Batman runs Program 2.1, placing himself into a virtual world that challenges him by pushing him to his most extreme limits.

–FLASHBACK: From Gotham City Villains 100-Page Anniversary Giant #1 Part 6. Batman busts Killer Moth.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #7-8 (“STRANGE VISITOR”)
When Vicki Vale, Angela Chen, Shauna Taylor, and Jack Ryder report news of an interdimensional rift opening up above Gotham, Superman, Batman, and Robin are on the case. A teenage boy named David Sikela emerges in a space capsule, telling tale of his Earth getting destroyed, upon which his super-scientist parents rocketed him to the safety of an alternate universe using a “Hypertime Drive.” (Note that this is the first time our heroes hear the word “Hypertime,” but they still understand almost nothing about it.) Triggered by being in a new world, David displays out-of-control meta-powers, prompting Superman and Robin to take him to the Fortress of Solitude. The trio shrinks down and enters the Bottle City of Kandor for testing with the Kryptonian Science Council. Finding he has light and heat powers, Professor Kim-Da gives David the garb of legendary Kryptonian warrior Hel-Oz. Meanwhile, Batman looks up the Earth-0 version of David’s parents, discovering that they lost their David at age three. David visits his alternate universe parents, but they flip out at the sight of him. Superman agrees to watch over the boy and take care of him for now. Robin introduces David to some of the Teen Titans (Robin, Wonder Girl, Speedy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash). Elsewhere, the Key plots a nefarious scheme. Later, Batman gives David a private communications device. Superman then patrols the globe with David, helping out with a volcanic eruption in Costa Rica. From the Batcave, Batman, Robin, and Alfred (along with Ace the Bat-Hound) radio Superman and David, telling them that the Key has used a widespread chemical virus that has caused everyone to lock themselves inside their homes and vehicles. Superman, Supergirl, and David (with Batman’s remote guidance) conduct a series of rescue missions across the city. Batman creates a an antidote formula, which he gives to Blue Beetle, who synthesizes a large batch and dumps it on the entire city. Later, in the Batcave, Supergirl gives David a much needed pep talk. Elsewhere, the Key meets with his secret partner, Joker!

–REFERENCE: In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #10-11. David Sikela officially begins going by the moniker Boy Thunder. He teams up with Batman and Superman to defeat Dr. Phosphorus. Superman tells Batman and Robin that, if things ever go south with Boy Thunder, Professor Kim-Da has invented a special procedure that can remove David’s powers for good.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #9-11
Batman and Boy Thunder (David Sikela) take down the Ratcatcher together. Batman isn’t too keen on Boy Thunder’s methods. Meanwhile, Joker steals the cosmic Angler from Angle Man (severing the latter’s hand in order to get it). Later still, off the coast of Nigeria, Superman and Flash (Barry Allen) watch from a distance as the Teen Titans (with Boy Thunder) deal with some pirates. When Boy Thunder rages out of control, Superman pulls him aside to chew him out. Boy Thunder tells Superman that he blames himself for his parents’ deaths, citing that he accidentally ruined a rocket that had been big enough for their entire family months prior to the destruction of his planet. Using the Angler, Joker and the Key teleport a river into the streets of Gotham. Superman diverts the water back to its origin, but Joker kidnaps Boy Thunder. Batman, Superman, Commissioner Gordon, and the Teen Titans spend a full week searching for Boy Thunder to no avail. Meanwhile, Joker sadistically tortures Boy Thunder. Eventually, they discover the Key’s hidden lair and free Boy Thunder. Chaos ensues as the Key unleashes interdimensional monsters upon the heroes. An angry Boy Thunder loses his cool and nearly kills Joker, much to the dismay of all the superheroes present. Superman and Robin escort Boy Thunder to the Fortress of Solitude for his punishment—a schvitz in Professor Kim-Da’s power nullifying chamber. But before that can happen, the Fortress is infiltrated by several villains—the Key, Acid Master, Bag O’Bones, Abominable Snowman (Dr. Phoenix), Ferlin Nyxly, and Zebra-Man. Superman and Robin defeat all the villains except the Key, who separates them from Boy Thunder. Batman arrives to take down the Key, but not before the villain activates an interdimensional vibration within Boy Thunder and his parents’ spacecraft. Boy Thunder gives his final goodbye before being hurled to Earth-22 where he is greeted by the evil god Gog. (The sequence of Boy Thunder getting sent to Earth-22 is also shown via flashback from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #20.)

–REFERENCE: From Batgirl Vol. 5 #30—originally told in Detective Comics #492 Part 1. Batgirl is nearly killed by master assassin Cormorant, who is working for a mobster named General Scarr. Batman and an injured Batgirl team-up to bust Cormorant and General Scarr.

–REFERENCE: In Harley Quinn Vol. 4 #47—originally told in Detective Comics #496. Bruce attends a horror convention, meeting famous director Jonathan “John” Carlinger. Clayface (Basil Karlo) attacks the convention, but Carlinger kills him! Seeing an opportunity to get rid of some actors that have threatened him with a lawsuit, Carlinger dresses up in the mask, fedora, and cape once similar to those once worn by Karlo, becoming Clayface IV! With no powers to speak of (only proficiency wielding a knife), the new Clayface is easily brought down by Batman.

–REFERENCE: In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #40. Batman already has two mechs—the Justice Buster and the Thasher. But now, the Caped Crusader begins a much more ambitious mech project, starting construction on a much larger Gunam-esque Bat-mech that is way larger than the others. While we won’t see it listed on our timeline ahead, the Dark Knight will work on this two-hundred-foot-tall Bat-Gundam for months to come, likely with the assistance of metahumans (but not Superman, as the giant mech will come as a complete surprise to the Man of Steel when he first sees it later on).

–REFERENCE: In Red Hood: The Hill #3-4. WayneTech employee Leonard “Lenny” Kreckk gains psi-kinetic metapowers that allow him to manifest his imaginations into reality. When Gotham’s underworld discovers this, they weaponize Kreckk into the super-villain known as The Kreckk, manipulating him to their own nefarious advantages. Batman takes down the bad guys and the Kreckk goes to Arkham Asylum.

–Batman Giant Vol. 2 #1 (Batman: Gotham Nights Vol. 3 #2)
When famous actor Dillon Yates is charged with the murder of a Hollywood producer, Batman busts him. However, upon further investigation, Batman realizes Yates has been framed. It’s not long before Batman realizes Clayface (Basil Karlo) is the real killer. In their eventual confrontation, Clayface says he killed the producer for selling his favorite old theater to be demolished. He explains that he framed Yates because Yates is a serial sexual abuser that kept getting away with it. A fight ensues, during which Clayface burns down the theater and makes his escape.

–REFERENCE: In Red Hood and The Outlaws Vol. 2 #8. Batman busts Cornelius Stirk, a cannibal serial killer with mental-projection powers.

–FLASHBACK: From Batman Secret Files #2 Part 3. Riddler begins killing people who have wronged him in the past via bombs. Batman follows his clues (and the bodies) from Gotham University, to a stage theater, to a downtown apartment, to a diner, and to a hospital, eventually violently busting Riddler.

–FLASHBACK: From Nightwing/Magilla Gorilla #1. Batman stonewalls Robin before a dangerous unspecified case, telling him to say behind. Batman presumably completes the unknown case.

–FLASHBACK: From Batman Beyond Vol. 8 #28. Batman and Robin patrol together.

–REFERENCE: In Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1 Part 1. Batman deals with Doom Patrol rival Mr. Nobody, leader of The Brotherhood of Nothing aka The Brotherhood of Dada.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #13-15 (“ELEMENTARY”)
Bruce sets up a business meeting with the unsavory billionaire tycoon, Simon Stagg. Later, Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk disguise themselves as Batgirl and Supergirl, tricking Batman and Superman for a while, but ultimately the World’s Finest (along with the real Batgirl, real Supergirl, and Robin) see through the ruse (thanks to Jimmy Olsen). The imps are sent back to the 5th Dimension. En route back home, Batman and Robin learn that Stagg has been poisoned to death in his Metropolis hotel room. Notably, Metamorpho has gone missing. After the Dynamic Duo and Superman survey the crime scene, they help a resurfaced Metamorpho bust some thieves at the museum. Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen interviews Sapphire at the Stagg Mansion, but he gets forcibly ejected by Java, the hulking Stagg family servant. Batman and Superman question Metamorpho as a suspect in Simon Stagg’s murder, much to the dismay of Metamorpho, who claims innocence. Later, both Jimmy and Metropolis Police Department (MPD) Inspector Bill Henderson find evidence that points to Bruce Wayne being Simon Stagg’s murderer. (Note that the MPD is also sometimes known as the MCPD, short for Metropolis City Police Department.) Soon afterward, in Gotham, Bruce is arrested by Harvey Bullock, Officer Renee Montoya, and Commissioner Gordon. (Note that the Daily Planet issue breaking the news story shows the date as June 5, but this must be ignored.) Bruce is immediately set free on bail. Remotely, Bruce chats with Clark, airing his own frustrations about the Daily Planet‘s smear job on him. Oliver Queen video-phones Bruce, telling him he’s reconsidered a Queen Industries/WayneTech partnership, so long as the collaboration involves work on WayneTech’s cutting edge artificial intelligence. Immediately, Bruce suspects that something is off with Ollie, thinking that he might even be speaking to an impostor. Meanwhile, Metamorpho takes his frustrations out on Doc Dread, Stingaree, and El Matanzas. In Venezuela, Superman and Robin help Metamorpho defeat El Matanzas and his robot army. The next day, Bruce phones a dozen other billionaires, including Ted Kord, Loren Jupiter, and Mento (Steve Dayton) to determine that they’ve all been replaced with doppelgängers. Bruce notifies Clark, who is attending Simon Stagg’s funeral with Metamorpho, Sapphire Stagg, and Java. Clark X-rays the casket, seeing that Simon Stagg’s body is an android replicant. After a cursory investigation, the heroes learn that all the kidnapped-and-replaced tycoons have had their bank accounts drained into offshore accounts owned by Professor Anthony Ivo. They also realize that their android copies seem to have been built by Dr. Will Magnus. Batman and Metamorpho visit Magnus Robotics in Upstate New York, finding the Metal Men trapped in a vat of lava. Concurrently, Superman and Robin infiltrate Ivo’s lab in the Allegheny Mountains only to be swarmed by androids, including a new Metamorpho-inspired version of Amazo called Ultramorpho (also spelled “Ultra-Morpho”) that can transform into Kryptonite. Batman (wearing armor literally made out of the Metal Men) and Metamorpho join Robin and an injured Superman to fight Ultramorpho while a strange voice (close to Ivo’s but not his) taunts them over an intercom. Metamorpho turns into a special armored costume for Superman to wear, but Ultramorpho is too powerful for the heroes, kidnapping Batman and Superman. Meanwhile, robots all over the planet begin to run amok, including Red Tornado, who glitches-out while helping with a flood in Kentucky. In Washington DC, the Doom Patrol fights Mekanique, during which Robotman turns evil. In Colorado, the The Challengers of the Unknown (Kyle “Ace” Morgan, Lester “Rocky” Davis, Matthew “Red” Ryan, and Professor Walter Haley) fight Ultivac. In Maine, the Teen Titans fight the Awesome Threesome (Torpedoman, Magneto, and Claw). In an unknown location, Batman and Superman awaken to find themselves wearing restrictive inhibitor collars along with other captives—Professor Ivo, Amazo, Dr. Magnus, Dr. Cyber, Toyman (Winslow Schott), Oliver Queen, Ted Kord, Simon Stagg, and Bug-Eyed Bandit. (Despite meeting Dr. Cyber and Bug Eyed-Bandit for the first time, Batman knows all about them from his vast crime-files.) Their captor is a new model of Amazo called Newmazo, who has gained autonomy. In Gotham, Robin drives the Batmobile and radios Supergirl, who is dealing with Chemo in Metropolis. Newmazo remotely takes control of the Batmobile, causing Robin to head into a brick wall.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #16-17 (“ELEMENTARY” Conclusion)
Picking up directly from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #15, Flash saves Robin’s life and gets briefed on the situation. Flash tells Robin that Mr. Atom and Ultivac have rounded-up and imprisoned thousands of humans. In Midway City, Hawkman, Metamorpho, the Metal Men, and Plastic Man fight against Kelex, a few Superman Robots, and GI Robot. The Metal Men are destroyed in an explosion. At Newmazo’s lair, Oliver Queen is able to shoot Ultramorpho with a makeshift arrow, which causes the prisoners’ control necklaces to come off. This provides enough time for Flash, Robin, Wonder Woman, Firestorm, Hal Jordan, Metamorpho, and Supergirl (actually a disguised Newmazo) to arrive for a rescue. Realizing TO Morrow must be involved with the robot revolution, Batman sends Wonder Woman and Robin to interrogate him. The other heroes spread out across the country to save humankind from the robots, leaving Batman behind. Newmazo sheds his Supergirl disguise and attacks Batman. Thankfully, Martian Manhunter and the real Supergirl double back to save Batman. Superman and Wonder join in the fight, but they are quickly outmatched. Will Magnus is able to turn all the brainwashed robots (plus the original Amazo) against Newmazo, evening the odds. Backed by other joining heroes Hal Jordan, Captain Shazam (likely time-traveling from the future), Blue Beetle, and Green Arrow, the original Amazo forces Newmazo into an energy feedback loop that forces them both into destruction. Metamorpho then lands the final blow on Newmazo, ending his threat. Later, Will Magnus and Niles Caulder fix all the damaged robots. The Dynamic Duo, Superman, and Metamorpho debrief Jimmy Olsen, who realizes that the Daily Planet will have to exonerate Bruce. As referenced in Absolute Power #2, the JL collects both Newmazo’s skull and Bug-Eyed Bandit’s helmet as a trophies for their armory.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #20-22 (“HEIR TO THE KINGDOM”)
This item specifically occurs a few months after Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #11. Flash runs through the multiverse (past, present, and future), mapping it all out for fun.^[3] He views Earth-1 Batman, Earth-11’s Justice Guild (including Batwoman, Superwoman, and Wonder Man), past Earth-12 Batman (DCAU Bruce Wayne), younger Earth-12 Joker (DCAU Joker), Earth-12’s Justice League Unlimited (including Earth-12 Batman aka Terry McGinnis and Earth-12 Flash aka Dani Williams), Earth-19’s Bat Man (aka Gotham by Gaslight Batman), Earth-27’s Batsaur, Earth-30’s Soviet Superman, Earth-31’s Captain Leatherwing, Earth-32’s Bat-Lantern, Earth-37 Batgirl (aka Thrillkiller Batgirl), Earth-37 Robin (aka Thrillkiller Robin), Earth-38 Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, Earth-38 Justice League (including Earth-38 Kid Flash, Earth-38 Robin, and Earth-38 Wonder Girl), Earth-38 Robin II (Clark Wayne), Earth-43 Batman (aka vampire Batman), Earth-46 Batman, Earth-49 Superman (Earth-Injustice Superman), Earth-55 Wonder Woman (DCeased zombie Wonder Woman), Earth-63 Wonder Woman, Earth-118’s League (including Bat-Prince, Prince Kal-El, and Queen Diana), Earth-162’s Superman Red and Superman Blue, Earth-183’s Karkan, Earth-387 Supergirl (werewolf Supergirl), Earth-789 Batman (modeled after Michael Keaton from Tim Burton’s films), Earth-1098 Flash, Batman from the Superman: Speeding Bullets timeline, Batman and Robin (Carrie Kelley) from the future of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns universe, Batman and V2 (from “Heroes of Tomorrow” in Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #1 Part 4), Batman (from Paul Pope’s Year 100), Flashpoint Joker (Martha Wayne), Future State Batman (Tim “Jace” Fox), and Future State Batman (Bruce Wayne). However, Flash becomes troubled when he sees the future of Earth-22’s Justice Brigade (including Earth-22 Batman, Earth-22 Superman, Earth-22 Wonder Woman, Earth-22 Alan Scott, Earth-22 Red Robin, Earth-22 Hawkman, and Earth-22 Kid Flash), specifically a future where most of the heroes are dead. (This is the original Kingdom Come arc, which occurs on Earth-22 a couple decades into the future.) Flash traces this tragic fate back to a key moment, the meeting between Gog and Boy Thunder (David Sikela) that occurred years prior. Flash immediately returns to present day Earth-0, helping Batman, Superman, and Robin defeat Villainy Inc (Cheetah, Dr. Poison, Zara, and Blue Snowman). Flash tells his friends that something is terribly wrong with Boy Thunder on Earth-22. After Flash sets up a Cosmic Treadmill inside the Batcave, Batman and Superman use it to travel to Earth-22. They initially wind up in the future of Earth-22 where they spy on an older David, who in turn spies on an elderly Batman and Superman at a funeral that is being held for nearly every single superhero (following the events of Kingdom Come). After witnessing a vision of several deceased Earth-22 residents, Batman and Superman are teleported to an earlier point on Earth-22, just a few years ahead of their own time. Bruce and Clark figure out their surroundings as they get lunch at Earth-22 Booster Gold‘s Planet Krypton restaurant. After a quick scan, Superman learns that the residents of Earth-22 have no knowledge of the greater multiverse. Outside the restaurant, David (now Thunderman) fights Earth-22 Atom-Master. Batman and Superman arrive just in time to prevent Thunderman from handing out lethal punishment to the villain. Superman happily greets Thunderman, who immediately attacks him. Soon after, Earth-22 Superman comes to Thunderman’s rescue and begins fighting Superman. Meanwhile, Batman subdues both Earth-22 Batman and Earth-22 Nightwing. After regrouping at the farm of the deceased Ma and Pa Kent, Batman and Superman learn that, regarding his origins, Thunderman has sold a bill of lies to the heroes of this world. Batman and Superman also learn that the heroes of Earth-22 worship the great god Gog. Earth-22 Batman, Earth-22 Superman, and Thunderman meet with Gog, who rides Metron‘s Mobius Chair, at his stronghold in the Sahara Desert. Batman and Superman are attacked by Gog’s Justice Brigade, a cadre of Earth-22 heroes, including Alloy, Aquaman, The Atom, Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, Beast Boy, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Skeets, Captain Atom, Captain Marvel, Cyborg, Dr. Fate, Donna Troy, Etrigan/Jason Blood, Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein), Green Arrow, Hal Jordan (of the Green Lantern Corps), John Stewart (of the Green Lantern Corps), Hawkgirl, Huntress, Jonah Hex, Judomaster, Kid Flash (Wally West), Martian Manhunter, Metamorpho, Nightshade, Peacemaker, Plastic Man, Raven, Red Tornado, Starfire, Starman, Supergirl, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Cadejo (aka Cadejos), Rana Dorada, and Boruka. Batman and Superman are overwhelmed and thrown into Gog’s Saharan gulag, which is home to nearly all Earth-22 super-villains, including Clayface, Black Manta, Deathstroke, Gorilla Grodd, Captain Cold, Sinestro, Black Adam, Cheetah, Killer Moth, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Kirk Langstrom, Deadshot, Catman, Scarecrow, Silver Banshee, Parasite, Metallo, Poison Ivy, Star Sapphire, Solomon Grundy, Bizarro, Riddler, Penguin, Bane, Two-Face, Killer Croc, and more. Batman and Superman are thrown into a cell with an emaciated Metron. Superman recognizes him as a New God of New Genesis. Up to this point, Batman has dealt with and known about Apokolips, but this is is first interaction with the New Genesis side of the New God spectrum. (The interdimensional planet of New Genesis, home to the benevolent New Gods, is the polar opposite of Apokolips, home to Darkseid and his evil New Gods.) Meanwhile, Gog bestows new powers unto Thunderman, turning him into Magog. Inside our heroes’ cell, Metron reveals Gog’s origin story, also detailing how Gog betrayed him to steal his Mobius Chair. Secretly listening-in, Earth-22 Batman and Superman realize the error of their ways. Joining forces with their counterparts, Earth-22 Batman and Superman listen to Metron’s continued story. Metron says that Gog plans an “ascension,” which involves sending all of Earth-22’s heroes on a suicide mission to Apokolips.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #23-24 (“HEIR TO THE KINGDOM” Conclusion)
Picking up immediately after Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #22, the Batmen and Superman attack Magog and Gog at the latter’s Saharan citadel. As they battle, Gog uses Magog to open a Boom Tube to Apokolips, explaining (sans logic) that dying in battle against Darkseid will be a good thing for all the heroes, as it will allow them to attain immortality in Valhalla. Realizing the error of his ways, Magog turns on his master, allowing Earth-22 versions of Hal Jordan, Wally West, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, and Hawkman to enter the citadel. As these heroes attack Gog, Batman and Superman realize that Gog has discovered the Anti-Life Equation. The Supermen defeat Gog, but they are too late to prevent Darkseid from coming through the Boom Tube. Struggling against Darkseid’s mighty power, the heroes are tossed aside with ease. Feeling the only way to stop Darkseid from accessing the Anti-Life Equation within Gog, Magog kills Gog. With no reason to be on Earth-22 anymore, Darkseid simply departs. Magog celebrates victory, but the Batmen and Supermen chide him for having used lethal force when there were other options. A pissed Magog storms off. Earth-22 Spectre arrives, telling the Earth-0 heroes it’s time to go home. Before they go, Batman and Superman demand to know what happens to Magog. The Spectre obliges, showing them a vision of the entirety of Kingdom Come. The Spectre allows Superman to visit with an older Magog following the tragic events of Kingdom Come. Superman hugs Magog, urging him to make up for his genocidal mistakes. Batman and Superman then return to present day Earth-0. Meanwhile, inspired by Superman’s kindness and forgiveness, Magog will come to lead a new generation of amazing heroes on Earth-22.

–REFERENCE: In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest 2024 Annual #1 Part 4. When something goes awry with a supercollider experiment by noted scientist Dr. Elias, Batman sends the Challengers of the Unknown (Ace Morgan, Rocky Davis, Red Ryan, Professor Walter Haley, June Robbins, and benevolently-reprogrammed Ultivac) to investigate. After traveling through an interdimensional portal, the Challengers rescue Dr. Elias from a Cthulhu-esque monster.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #25 Part 2
In the Batcave, Batman finishes analysis on Scarecrow’s latest Fear Gas while Robin fights his personal training robot. All of a sudden, Abe Lincoln emerges from the giant penny and begins fighting the animated T rex. Superman, along with a bunch of his interplanetary zoo animals, involuntarily teleports into the Batcave. It’s not long before Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk appear, revealing themselves as the cause behind the mischief. But the imps aren’t visiting for fun. Begging for help, the imps reveal the corpse of their 5th Dimensional comrade Green-Mite, citing that a mysterious unnamed Big Bad (Doom-Mite from the 6th Dimension) has caused the massacre of their buddies. (Notably, superstring theory states that the 6th Dimension is a plane in which one can view possible worlds, comparing and positioning all the possible universes. Writer Mark Waid describes it as a plane where “all of time exists at once.” Scott Snyder, in his “Sixth Dimension” arc, refers to this plane as the “hypothetical dimension.”)

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #26-29 (“IMPOSSIBLE”)
Picking up directly from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #25 Part 2, Batman, Robin, and Mr. Mxyzptlk to to Coast City to assist Hal Jordan, who has been taken out by Sinestro and Sin-Mite. Superman and Bat-Mite travel to Central City to assist Flash, who has been taken out by Abra Kadabra and Abra-Mite. (The villainous Mites are creations of Doom-Mite.) After besting the villains, our heroes and imps go to Metropolis to deal with Parasite and Paras-Mite. (Parasite is Rudy Jones, but someone—off-panel—calls him “Jenkins.” We must assume this is Bat-Mite or Mr. Mxyzptlk being goofy.) Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen watch in terror as Parasite and Paras-Mite use magick to send Batman, Superman, and Robin into the 2nd Dimension i.e. turning them into literal wall graffiti. When Cheetah and Cheetah-Mite arrive, Wonder Woman and the Metal Men arrive to combat them. This prompts the arrival of Chemo and Chemo-Mite, Black Manta and Black Manta-Mite, Merlyn and Merlyn-Mite, and Killer Frost and Killer Frost-Mite. The imps teleport Aquaman, Firestorm, and Green Arrow to Metropolis as well. Bat-Mite is able to free Robin from the wall by swapping places with him. Bat-Mite then ushers Batman and Robin into the 6th Dimension. Back in Metropolis, Supergirl fights Zha-Vam and Zha-Vam-Mite. Mr. Mxyzptlk causes Jimmy Olsen to split into all the various meta-powered forms he’s taken in the past. Backed by this “Olsen Squad,” Mr. Mxyzptlk takes down all the villains and their evil imps counterparts. Doom-Mite appears, declaring that Jimmy Olsen, “Earth’s mightiest hero,” must die! Doom-Mite imprisons all the heroes except Robin and Jimmy. Gifted with Mr. Mxyzptlk’s 5th Dimensional magick, Jimmy begins fighting Doom-Mite solo. In the 6th Dimension, Batman and Superman bear witness to a dizzying kaleidoscope of scenes from their past and future. The past images include scenes from “The Devil Nezha,” Ace the Bat-Hound adventures. The future images include scenes from “Failsafe,” scenes from “Warworld Saga” (including a vision of Mongul III and Earth-9 OMAC), and scenes from “House of Brainiac” (including a vision of Brainiac Queen). Superman also learns he will one day have a son named Jonathan. I guess he knows what to name him now! Bat-Mite takes the heroes through a tour of realms beneath the 6th Dimension, but he accidentally brings them back to the prison of the 2nd Dimension. At first, Batman chews him out as only Batman can, but then he realizes that he’s gotta kill Bat-Mite with kindness if they are to get back home. Batman gives Bat-Mite a pep talk and asks him for his help. Meanwhile, Robin stalls for time and Jimmy summons members of the 5th Dimensional Just-Us League aka Justice Mites (Aqua-Mite, Hawk-Mite, Wonder Wo-Mite aka Wonder-Mite, Morpho-Mite, Martian Mite-Hunter, Robin-Mite, and Flash-Mite). After Doom-Mite easily bests (and even seemingly kills some of) the imps, Batman and Superman return thanks to Bat-Mite. Doom-Mite zaps Batman, turning him into a wooden puppet. Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk recruit Zatanna, Dr. Fate, Yz, Dr. Richard Occult, and Mark Merlin (aka Prince Ra-Man of the Lords of Order). (John Constantine is too drunk to join.) Just as Doom-Mite is about to finish off Superman, the magick-users arrive to stem the tide. At puppet-Batman’s urging, the heroes begin literally pulling strands of the 6th Dimension out of Doom-Mite’s body, which begins to weaken him. Within the strands of random time that spew forth, the heroes see hazy future images of Negative Earth-22’s The Batman Who Laughs, Superboy (Conner Kent), Superboy/Superman (Jonathan Kent), Robin (Damian Wayne), Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), Doomsday, Brainiac Queen, Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Batgirl, Batman (Terry McGinnis), and Joker. The heroes also see a future image of Superman (Clark) getting shot during Absolute Power. As the strands of time continue to get pulled, time itself briefly warps, causing some of the magick-users to drastically age. For a moment, Batman morphs into an alternate grim-and-gritty version of himself. Eventually, Doom-Mite is defeated and imprisoned by Dr. Fate. Bat-Mite’s tattered costume remains, leaving the heroes to think that the little guy has made the ultimate sacrifice to help save the day. Of course, he immediately shows up wearing nothing but his undies. Robin tricks Mr. Mxyzptlk into poofing away, after which Batman gives Bat-Mite high praise before sending him home as well. Later, Batman puts Bat-Mite’s costume on display in the Batcave.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #31-33 (“SHADOWS FALL”)
With generous funding from Wayne Enterprises, Kord Industries, and Queen Industries, the Justice League builds Solar City, California. Designed by Dr. Bruce Gordon and his wife Dr. Mona Bennett (by utilizing repurposed Dr. Light technology), Solar City is the most advanced clean energy installation ever. Batman and Robin prevent Dr. Spectro, Mr. Element, and The Thinker from attacking the site. Later, after Superman easily bests Eterno the Immortal Giant by himself, he joins the JL (sans Batman) aboard the JL Satellite to view a solar eclipse. Eclipso uses this moment (along with a second magick diamond) to take control of Dr. Gordon, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Hal Jordan. Batman boards the JL Satellite to help Superman, Wonder Woman, and Elongated Man fight the Eclipso-possessed team members. Meanwhile, Eclpiso builds a giant light cannon and blasts the JL Satellite, destroying it. (Don’t worry, the trophies are safe thanks to automatic phase-shift technology—we’ll see them again!) Red Tornado teleports to Justice Society of America HQ, begging the JSA for help. Meanwhile, Eclipso traps the JLA inside a giant crystal in the Sahara Desert. He then takes control of Batman and Superman, sending them to beat up Robin in the Batcave. Robin escapes, fleeing to the JSA for help. Later, evil Batman responds to Commissioner Gordon (who is with an out-of-costume Babs) lighting up the Bat-Signal. Half the JSA arrives to fight Batman while the other half goes into Earth’s orbit to prevent Superman from downing all telecommunications satellites. In Gotham, the Spectre creates a false vision of Robin dying, which causes Batman to snap to his senses, thus exorcising the darkness from his mind. Batman tells Robin to get a countermagick amulet from Dr. Fate. In outer space, Dr. Fate flings Superman into the Sun, thus purging the darkness from his mind as well. In the Sahara, Hal Jordan and Alan Ladd-Scott combine their might to smash the crystal prison. At Solar City, all the heroes strike at Eclipso and a possessed Bruce Gordon, but the villains are able to once again trap them in crystal. Using Dr. Fate’s amulet, Robin saves everyone. The JL and JSA spread across the globe to deal with chaos being caused by Eclipso. While Superman risks his own life to save the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, the rest of the JL fights Eclipso-possessed JSA members. Eventually, Eclipso is caged back inside his black diamond, which Superman tosses into the Sun. Later, the JL quickly rebuilds an upgraded JL Satellite HQ, filling it with everything that was in the previous HQ.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #34
Superman, Batman, and Robin mysteriously vanish, forcing Batgirl and Ace the Bat-Hound to take over as Gotham City’s primary protectors. (Spolier: Superman, Batman, and Robin have been kidnapped by a vengeful Galtar.) After two full weeks of patrolling with no contact from the Dynamic Duo or Man of Steel, Batgirl and Ace easily take down the Green Mask Gang. Batgirl notices that all the canines in the city are acting a bit strange. (The dogs can sense Galtar’s presence on Earth.) In Metropolis, Jimmy Olsen drinks some Elastic Lad Serum to return to a former stretchy superhero persona—Elastic Lad (aka Mr. Action)! With Krypto the Superdog leading the way, Jimmy goes to Gotham and meets up with Batgirl and Ace. The foursome (still led by Krypto) visits Arkham Asylum to find that Galtar and his other Golden Eye have taken control of the entire prison. While Batgirl and the pups fight Galtar and the Golden Eye, Jimmy spots the missing Batman, Superman, and Robin, freeing them from Galtar’s captivity. With the addition of the three heroes fighting against them, Galtar and the Golden Eye are easily defeated. With the case wrapped, Jimmy tells Batgirl she should meet Streaky the Supercat some other time.

–REFERENCE: In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest 2025 Annual #1. Batman and Superman learn that Plastic Man is now working on a longterm assignment for the FBI.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #35-37 (“20,000 LEAGUES”)
Superman busts Toyman (Winslow Schott) and then joins Aquaman and Robin at a Major League Baseball game, pitting the home team Metropolis Monarchs against the Star City Rockets. (For our timeline, it makes the most sense if this is preseason i.e. in February or early March, but since preseason MLB usually doesn’t occur in the Northeast, it might be best to ignore this topical reference.) Having heard a distress signal from Mera, Batman gathers his friends and they head to Atlantis where the merpeople of Tritonis have begun morphing into feral creatures due to a fungal infection. Batman sends the chemical makeup of the fungus to Alfred for analysis. Meanwhile, the heroes are joined by Lori Lemaris and Ronal. While Aquaman’s own subjects accuse him of spending too much time on land, Ronal assembles his army and threatens to invade the royal city of Poseidonis, blaming Aquaman’s people for bringing surface-dweller drama under the sea. Ronal is able to take down and bind Superman with magick. Meanwhile, Floronic Man (Dr. Jason Woodrue) reveals himself as the spreader of the fungus and attacks the Dynamic Duo. While Batman and Robin chase away Floronic Man before joining while Lori and a freed Superman. Batman radios Alfred, telling him to summon Swamp Thing. Concurrently, Ronal’s army swims to the gates of Poseidonis, threatening civil war. Superman offers to help, but Aquaman turns away the Man of Steel, citing that, as king, he needs to look strong and end the conflict solo. As Floronic Man monologues about his plan to foment Atlantean civil war so he can control all undersea vegetation, Swamp Thing arrives and begins kicking his ass. Not far away, Aquaman and Mera defeat Ronal’s entire army, leaving Ronal in embarrassed defeat. Ronal gets even angrier when he senses that Lori is kissing Superman! While Aquaman talks down Ronal, Floronic Man gains the upper hand over the heroes. Eventually, Aquaman and Mera stem the tide, helping defeat Floronic Man once and for all. Afterward, Lori apologizes to Ronal for cheating on him. They make amends and vow to be better partners to one another. Blue Beetle creates an antidote to Floronic Man’s plague, which gets spread through the undersea kingdoms. Aquaman’s people and Ronal’s people for a peaceful alliance.

WE ARE YESTERDAY
————————–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #38
————————–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest 2025 Annual #1
————————–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39
Bruce and Clark are on-hand as Hal Jordan test pilots a new WayneAeronautics super-jet. When the jet is attacked, Hal bails out over Gorilla City, a cloaked Central African metropolis (in the Democratic Republic of Congo) filled with talking telepathic apes. Flash’s rival Gorilla Grodd captures Hal and declares war on all humans. Flash fills in the rest of the superhero community about Gorilla City, letting them know that Grodd is a rogue terrorist that has gone against the wishes of Gorilla City’s benevolent and highly secretive ruler King Solovar. Batman, Superman, and Flash enter Gorilla City where they battle dozens of Grodd’s soldiers, including a towering Titano. While Batman releases Hal and King Solovar from a cell, Grodd is able to swap minds with Superman, taking control of his body. Flash prevents the Grodd-controlled Superman from decimating the Land Forces of the DR Congo. King Solovar takes over Titano’s body and is about to kill the mind-controlled Superman, but Flash is able to switch Grodd and the Man of Steel back to status quo. Grodd is confined to a cell where he is approached by a time-traveling version of himself from 2025, who endows him with knowledge of the future and a plan to defeat the heroes. Under the control of his future self, Grodd escapes and assembles a rudimentary mobile Hall of Doom headquarters. (Justice League Vol. 1 #4 tells us that the Hall of Doom was once the HQ of a decades-old group of rogue scientists known as the Legionnaires Club, of which Lex Luthor’s father, Vandal Savage, and Saul Erdel were key members. Thus, we must assume that Grodd has taken the abandoned Legionnaires Club HQ and fixed it up.) Grodd then forms the Legion of Doom, consisting of Luthor, Joker, Scarecrow, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Black Manta, Sinestro, Bizarro #1, and Pythoness. Meanwhile, Batman, Superman, and Robin take down a resurgent Moon-Man. The heroes get alerts that there are simultaneous attacks at the lab of Professor Carter Nichols, the lab of Professor Alpheus Hyatt, and the Flash Museum. Superman and Flash fight Luthor, Captain Cold, and Bizarro #1 at the Flash Museum. The Atom, Plastic Man, and Hal Jordan fight Cheetah, Sinestro, and Black Manta at Hyatt’s lab. Batman and Robin fight Joker and Scarecrow at Nichols’ lab, during which the villains accidentally zap Robin into the year 2025. (In 2025, Robin meets a 2025 Batman and a 2025 version of himself aka Nightwing, both members of the Justice League Unlimited.) In present day, the LOD temporarily freezes the remaining heroes while collecting tachyon energy. Soon afterward, the heroes chase the LOD back to the Hall of Doom. Pythoness casts a magick spell that masks the LOD’s tachyon-powered time-jump to 2025, where they plan to catch the future superhero community off guard. (In the future, the LOD meets up with its accomplice, 2025 era superhero-turned-spy Air Wave.) Part of Pythoness’ spell also pins all the tachyon-gathering attacks on just Cheetah alone, who acts as a patsy and goes to jail. Meanwhile, time itself begins to break down and become unstable. In 2025, that era’s Batman’s memories briefly become muddled as he his swarmed by various images from the past (including visions of himself as a younger man, the Batman Who Laughs, Pariah, Ultraman, Abin Sur, and electric blue Superman). In an instant, 2025’s Superman, Batman, and Nightwing swap places with their 2008 counterparts. The time-displaced Superman, Batman, and Robin of 2008 are greeted by 2025’s Superwoman (Lois Lane with metapowers), who mistakenly thinks they are her contemporaries dressed up in retro outfits. (As seen in the Batman-less Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #7 Part 1, the LOD—with Air Wave’s help—then storms the Watchtower, banishing almost every JLU member to random points throughout time.) Immediately thereafter, the time-displaced 2008 Superman, Batman, and Robin fight time-displaced LOD members Sinestro and Scarecrow at the Superman Museum. Scarecrow is defeated and jailed. In present day, the time-displaced 2025 heroes briefly greet Black Canary and Alfred before focusing on how to switch back to their correct time. The 2025 trio soon enters a Legion of Super-heroes time bubble, but they quickly crash into a chronal firewall set up by the LOD. Meanwhile, in 2025, 2008 Sinestro exiles our 2008 heroes to the Arabian desert circa 14,000 BCE.

WE ARE YESTERDAY Conclusion
————————–Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #7 Part 2
————————–Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #8-9
This item picks up directly from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39. While our contemporary Superman, Batman, and Robin toil in Arabia circa 14,000 BCE, the LOD remains in 2025, marveling at the energy of the Omega Rift, which exists inside the Justice League Unlimited Watchtower. Grodd reveals his plan to siphon this power, simultaneously baiting Lex Luthor to betray him. Sure enough, Luthor attempts a double-cross, only to get easily taken down by Grodd. Realizing the error of his ways, Air Wave attempts to bring all the JLU members back to 2025, but this causes all of time to collapse. It also causes Grodd to gain Omega powers. In 2025, Air Wave (with help from Red Tornado) pull some heroes (including our present day Batman and Robin) from random eras to help fight Grodd. The present day Dynamic Duo are joined by Batman (Bruce) from Year Two (2003), Batman (Terry McGinnis) from the 2054, Superman from Year Ten (2011), Aquaman from Year Ten (2011), Flash (Wally West) from Year Ten (2011), Wonder Woman from Year Eight (2009), Jonah Hex from 1872, Ultra the Multi-Alien from 2212, Green Lantern (Abin Sur) from the late 1990s, Robin (Dick Grayson) from Year Three (2004), Flash (Barry Allen) from Year Two (2003), Boy Thunder and Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) from Year Six (2007), the Terrifics from Year Seventeen (2018), Harley Quinn from Year Fourteen (2015), and 2025 JLU members—Wonder Woman, Donna Troy, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Star Sapphire (Carol Ferris), Black Lightning, Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), Captain Shazam, Beast Boy, The Atom (Ray Palmer), Flash (Wally West), Plastic Man, Mr. Terrific, and Supergirl. The good guys defeat the 2008 LOD, but resultant unstable Omega energy makes it so that all the time-displaced heroes remain trapped in 2025. In light of this chronal chaos, the World Forger (Alpheus) and Time Trapper (an elderly Doomsday from the distant future) meet in the heart of Hypertime (amid visions of various Hypertimelines). While not shown in the arc itself, 2025 Batman, Superman, Robin, and Wonder Woman make it back to their correct era. However, 2025 Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) and 2025 Mr. Terrific are quick to remind them about “rules of separation,” meaning that no one should come into contact with their time-displaced counterpart or else very bad things could happen. With this in mind, the 2025 Trinity exiles itself to parts unknown. Despite this, 2025 Mr. Terrific decides to work directly alongside his counterpart from Year Seventeen (2018) at Terrifitech. (There are also still multiple Batmen and Robins aboard the Watchtower, so yeah, whatever.) Meanwhile, the unstable Omega energy also breaks time, causing heroes and villains from throughout time and space to begin appearing and disappearing at random in 2025. Among those who appear are: Harley Quinn from the No Man’s Land period, the composite Fusion Batman-Superman from earlier this year in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #4), Marilyn Moonlight from the Wild West, and Huntress (Helena Wayne) from the 31st century. Many—including Batman from Year Two (2003)—are also zapped back to whence they came. In 2025, Old Doomsday and Alpheus arrive on the Watchtower and give a speech to the heroes about what is going on, saying that the only way to save the cosmos is to kill Grodd, who remains chained at their feet. The heroes (joined by 2025 Big Barda, who oddly speaks in reverse-English magick-speak, which makes me think she was supposed to be drawn as Zatanna) refuse to allow Grodd’s murder. As the heroes try to fight Alpheus and Old Doomsday, visions of the past and future (and from alternate Hypertimelines) appear all around them. Batman (Jean-Paul Valley Jr) from Year 10 (2011) and Amazing-Man (aka Amazing Man) from the early 1940s appear. In an instant, our present day Batman, Robin, and Superman finally return home to 2008, thus ending their involvement in this wild arc. Since their involvement comes to an end, so does this synopsis. You can read more about “We are Yesterday” later on. Presumably, our present day Dynamic Duo and Superman’s memories of this event are partially erased upon their return home, but that isn’t made clear.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #40
On behalf of Hamilton Hill (who was elected as Gotham’s new mayor late last year and inaugurated earlier this year), Commissioner Gordon joins Daily Planet chief Perry White to publicly debate dirtbag manosphere podcaster Frank Rotsler on the latter’s show, live in Metropolis. Bruce, Clark, and Lois are on-hand to lend moral support. Backstage, Bruce flirts with Lois just to get a rise out of Clark. During the show, a massive kaiju attacks the city. Batman debuts his latest mech (a two-hundred-foot-tall Gundam-style machine) to help Superman fight the beast. Simultaneously, Lois and Gordon interrogate Rotsler’s associate producer Melinda Jackson, learning that her brother Hollis is a metahuman that can conjure up real live monsters from his imagination. Rotsler had orchestrated the monster appearance to drum up ratings, but Hollis’ kaiju went out of control. Eventually, Superman finds Hollis and takes him down, which saves the day. Rotsler and Hollis (and presumably Melinda) go to jail.

–REFERENCE: In Batman Vol. 3 #85 and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #45. Bruce purchases Gotham City’s primary sports stadium. (He already owns Wayne Arena, which has been in the family for decades.) The stadium is home to two Gotham NFL teams—the Gotham Goliaths and Gotham Knights. (Notably, Gotham also has a third NFL team, the Gotham Wildcats, although they must play at a different stadium.) With the regular season about to commence, Bruce gets into the football spirit. He also learns that Clark is a huge Metropolis Meteors fan. Moving forward, he will follow the NFL closely.

–REFERENCE: In Dial H for Hero #1-3. The Justice League publicly ventures into deep space for an unspecified mission. While they are gone, Gorilla Grodd threatens Central City. Grodd is bested by youngster Robby Reed, owner of a fantastic device called an H-Dial, which, when activated, taps into the mystic Heroverse realm, turning its user into a brand new never-before-heard-of temporary superhero with a random superpower. (As referenced in Dial H for Hero #9, Robby has been wielding the H-Dial for years already, ever since he was ten-years-old.) Upon their return to Earth, the JL learns about the H-Dial.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #41-43 (“BIZARRO WORLD TOUR”)
Superman, Batman, and Robin are randomly teleported to and trapped on Bizarro World. After hours of toil, Superman reminds his pals that Bizarro World randomly shifts between dimensional planes and, at the moment, he doesn’t know their exact location, so he can’t return them home. In Bizarro Metropolis aka Bizopolis, our heroes find hundreds of Bizarros in crude Superman costumes battling each other as dozens of Bizarro citizens (including a few Bizarro Loises and Bizarro Jimmy Olsens) watch on. One of the Jimmys explains—in perfect English—that a plague causing the reversal of the typical backwardness of the planet has stricken much of the populace. While being swarmed by raging Bizarros, Batman fires up a Duplicator Ray. At great pain to himself, Superman collects some Green Kryptonite from space and merges it with a piece of the Duplicator Ray to create the Bizarros’ only weakness—Blue Kryptonite. At the Bizarro Batcave, Superman, Batman, and Robin meet with Bizarro #1 and Batzarro (both members of the Unjustice League of Unamerica), who have been infected with the plague and now have ordered minds and perfect diction. The Supers pair off to take on the threat of Brainzarro, who attacks the planet with his enlarging ray. Meanwhile, the Bats (with Robin) visit Bizarro Lex Luthor, who tells them the plague began in Uncentral City. Eventually, all the heroes reunite in Uncentral City, finding a dead alien from Slyggia there. The heroes read the alien’s journal, learning that he visited Bizarro World only to find that its unstable gravity was leading toward total planetary collapse. Hoping to give the Bizarros the intellect necessary to deal with the impending crisis, the Slyggian created and spread the “straightforward logic virus.” Unfortunately, the virus had the reverse-effect upon him and he began turning into a Bizarro, at which time he decided to commit suicide. Just as the heroes finish reading the journal, the entire exterior of the planet begins to implode while its core begins to expand. Robin comes up with a plan to save Bizarro World by using the Enlarging Ray to create a new larger cubed planetary shell. The Dynamic Duo and Batzarro fly in the coal-powered Batzarro-Wing to meet with Bizarro Bibbo Bibbowski. Being a great chemical engineer, Bizarro Bibbo synthesizes a cure for the smart virus. While the Bats spread the cure, the Supers (along with Bizarro Krypto) fix the planet. After a bit of clean up, the Bizarro #1 and Batzarro send the Earth-0 heroes back home.

–REFERENCE: In Superman Vol. 6 #32—originally told in the Super Friends TV show and Super Friends comic series. The Justice League takes on the the resurgent Legion of Doom, which now includes Lex Luthor, Gorilla Grodd, Sinestro, Black Manta, Bizarro #1, Riddler, Scarecrow, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Giganta, new Toyman (Jack B Nimball), Solomon Grundy, and Brainiac.

–FLASHBACK: From Multiversity: Harley Quinn Screws Up the DCU #6—originally told in the Super Friends TV show and Super Friends comic series. The Justice League (specifically Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman) and Robin are aided on an unspecified case by teen siblings Marvin White and Wendy White and their canine pal Wonder Dog. The heroes pose for a photo with Marvin, Wendy, and Wonder Dog. Marvin (also known as Marvin Harris and Marvin Kuttler) and Wendy (also known as Wendy Harris and Wendy Kuttler) are the children of the super-villain known as the Calculator (Noah Kuttler).

–REFERENCE: In Robins #2—originally from the Super Friends comic series. Batman and Robin take on Joker, Cheetah, Penguin, and Poison Ivy. The super-villains bring along their respective new sidekicks Giggles and Guffaw, Kitten, Chick, and Honeysuckle—collectively known as the Junior Supercriminals. The Dynamic Duo defeat the bad guys.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #44
While Batman and Superman take down Toyman (Jack B Nimball) and Mad Hatter in Bolivia, Robin goes on special undercover assignment in Sedona, Arizona to investigate shady Ardora Industries. Superman tells Batman that Ardora Industries is a subsidiary of LexCorp. (Ardora is actually the name of Lex’s ex-lover from the planet Lexor—it’s a long story not involving Batman, so we’ll just move on.) With Krypto off planet on a case with the Space Canine Patrol Agents aka Space Canines, Superman suggests that Supergirl watch over Robin just in case. Soon after, Supergirl spies on Robin as he infiltrates Ardora Industries and begins fighting security guards. Supergirl joins in on the fight only to learn the hard way that Ardora Industries is making synthetic Kryptonite. After being captured, our bickering teen heroes escape, blow up the factory, and—realizing they have a strong mutual attraction despite all odds—share a kiss! Robin and Supergirl then spend the entire night necking in Robin’s car only to get interrupted by a surprised Batman and Superman, who respond to the Boy Wonder’s proximity beacon, which accidentally gets set off. Robin and Supergirl declare that they definitely aren’t dating. A flustered Supergirl storms off, wanting nothing to do with the men.

–REFERENCE: In Detective Comics #1000 Part 5, Detective Comics #1000 Part 10, and Batman Vol. 3 #159. September 21. Batman and Dr. Leslie Thompkins visit Crime Alley (as they do every year on the anniversary of the Wayne murders). Batman also visits the cemetery where his parents are buried.

–Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #45-47 (“THE MERGER”)
Batman bets Green Arrow that he doesn’t have a “nuclear warhead arrow,” but, much to Batman’s surprise, Green Arrow does indeed have this. As such, Bruce gives Ollie access to his box suite at the Gotham stadium for the big NFL game between the Metropolis Meteors and Gotham Goliaths. Soon after, Superman and Batman grab some Big Belly burgers and popcorn to watch the game on TV in the Batcave. Bruce mentions that the Meteors have struggled ever since their star quarterback Steve Lombard—now a Daily Planet sports reporter—retired at the end of the previous season. (The announcers say the game has potential playoff implications, but it’s far too early in the season for such a hyperbolic claim, so we should probably ignore the topical specificity.) The boys cut their fun short when Lex Luthor attempts to steal a brain enhancing device from STAR Labs’ Gotham branch. However, an interfering Joker, having stolen Dr. Double X tech, gets in Luthor’s way. (This is their first encounter since Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #25 Part 1, which happened four years ago.) Joker brings Luthor to his Ha-Ha-Hacienda where he asks him to help steal the Absorbascon, an ancient and powerful Thanagarian artifact, from the Midway City Museum. Joker and Luthor break into the museum only to run into its angry curator Hawkman. As Hawkman fights the villains, he signals Batman and Superman, who rush to his aid. Joker and Luthor steal the Absorbascon, but they play tug of war with it, causing a cosmic blast that merges them into a composite Joker-Luthor. Meanwhile, Batman and Superman turn into intangible ghost-like beings as a result. The solution to their immateriality? Hal Jordan merges them together, giving us the return of Fusion Batman-Superman! Fusion Joker-Luthor’s first act is to use the Absorbascon to cause hundreds of people in Metropolis to go insane. After saving lives and stopping the insanity wave, Fusion Batman-Superman fights Fusion Joker-Luthor, but the latter gains the edge by causing everyone on the planet to instantly learn Batman and Superman’s secret identities. At Wayne Manor, Fusion Batman-Superman saves Alfred from Poison Ivy. Later, aboard the JL Satellite, Fusion Batman-Superman chat with Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and the Atom about the current situation. The Superman half of the fusion then has a heart-to-heart with Lois about the shocking secret ID revelation. Soon after, the Fusion Joker-Luthor begins arguing with itself—it’s two egotistical halves just can’t stand to occupy the same body. While Fusion Batman-Superman fights Fusion Joker-Luthor, the Atom paralyzes the latter while Flash uses Dr. Double X’s tech to unpair Joker and Luthor. Batman and Superman are also unpaired, but, surprisingly, a separate but inert Fusion Batman-Superman remains in existence as an anomaly! With the villains behind bars, Batman, Superman, Hal Jordan, and Hawkman use the Absorbascon to erase all the mind-fuckery that has gone on, including making everyone’s secret IDs secret again. Soon after, Batman accompanies Superman to the Fortress of Solitude where the Fusion Batman-Superman gets stored in a stasis field for safekeeping.

–REFERENCE: In the second feature to New History of the DC Universe #2—originally told in Doom Patrol #121. Batman isn’t a part of this item, but he’d definitely be made aware. The Doom Patrol is soundly defeated by General Zahl. Robotman is temporarily destroyed, although he’ll be rebuilt by next year. Larry Trainor loses his Negative powers, but he’ll get them back by next year. Unfortunately, Elasti-Girl is killed. As mentioned earlier, in the second feature to New History of the DC Universe #2, Dave Wielgosz (with Mark Waid) incorrectly places this item a year prior to now, but this is a continuity error as it ignores Waid’s own use of the Doom Patrol in the Batman/Superman: World’s Finest series above. Nevertheless, the second feature to New History of the DC Universe #2 still functions as the primary reference for this event.

–REFERENCE: In Justice League Vol. 3 #33, Deathstroke Vol. 4 #27, Nightwing Vol. 4 #39, Teen Titans Vol. 6 #8, Teen Titans Vol. 6 #17, Man of Steel #6, Heroes in Crisis #9, Titans Vol. 3 #11, Titans Vol. 4 #2, and Speed Force #1. Originally told in New Teen Titans #1-5. The Teen Titans disband and reform as the “New Teen Titans”—featuring Robin (team leader), Kid Flash, Cyborg, Changeling (formerly known as Beast Boy), Raven (Rachel Roth), Wonder Girl, Aqualad, Speedy, and Starfire.^[4] When the threat of the demon Trigon (Raven’s father) looms, Raven goes to her sorceress mom Arella for help, but she wants nothing to do with the situation. The Justice League then meets the New Teen Titans for the first time, sadly mistaking Raven for a villain. Kole Weathers also joins the Teen Titans, but she will only actually work with them once or twice. Omen (Lilith Clay) also joins but only extremely part-time. Notably, Robin and Starfire begin dating. The Teen Titans also form a splinter B-team known as Teen Titans East, consisting of Bumblebee, Flamebird (former Bat-Girl Bette Kane), Hawk, Dove, Más, y Menos. Shortly afterward, the primary Teen Titans unit is attacked by Deathstroke and his son Ravager (Grant Wilson). Thanks to unstable new powers given to him by HIVE, Ravager has a heart attack during battle and drops dead. Deathstroke takes his son’s corpse and leaves the scene, blaming the Teen Titans for his death. (Notably, the Batman-less Green Lantern/Green Arrow: World’s Finest Special #1 leads directly into this item, and it reveals that, despite being a main Bat-rogue, Deathstroke doesn’t come onto the rest of the Justice League’s radar until now. Prior to this moment on our timeline, Hal Jordan, Flash, and Green Arrow were not familiar with him at all.)

–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1027 Part 3. Note that writer Matt Fraction places this item in “Year Four, Month Two.” However, since this flashback specifically deals with the New Teen Titans, it must instead go here. Onto the brief synopsis. An escaped Joker defeats the Teen Titans (Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Changeling, and Raven), leaving them bound, unconscious, and underwater as Batman’s monthly “birthday” gift. Batman saves the Teen Titans.

–FLASHBACK: From Gotham City Villains 100-Page Anniversary Giant #1 Part 8—and referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #101 and The Next Batman: Second Son #8-9 (The Next Batman: Second Son Print Edition #3). Lucius Fox’s seventeen-year-old son Timothy “Tim” Fox is involved in a vehicular hit-and-run that kills a man. Lucius uses his resources and wealth to cover up details of the crime before shipping his son overseas to boarding school. While Batman has nothing directly to do with this item, he definitely knows that Tim is sent overseas, and he likely knows the details behind the move.^[5]

–REFERENCE: In Justice League of America Vol. 5 #8—originally told in Batman #332-335 (“THE LAZARUS AFFAIR”). Batman follows Talia al Ghul on a wild goose chase across the globe, eventually winding up on the mysterious Infinity Island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. After Batman and Talia defeat various attacking warriors in a strange compound, Ra’s al Ghul emerges from the shadows. Infinity Island is a League of Assassins stronghold. Talia joins her father, revealing that everything has been a setup just so Ra’s al Ghul could have a rematch against the Dark Knight. Shortly thereafter, Batman and Ra’s al Ghul square-off one-on-one with the Caped Crusader gaining victory yet again as most of Infinity Island is blown up in a volcanic eruption.

–REFERENCE: In Tales of the Titans #4—originally told in Detective Comics #505. When Anthony Lupus’ niece needs a bone marrow transplant, Batman travels to Alaska to capture the werewolf. Batman brings Lupus back to Gotham for the operation, saving his niece’s life.

–REFERENCE: In Arkham City: The Order of the World #2—originally told in World’s Finest Comics #276. Batman and Superman defeat Dr. Double X.

–REFERENCE: In Action Comics #1072 and Action Comics #1080—originally told in The Phantom Zone #2-4. General Zod (Dru-Zod), Faora Hu-Ul, Va-Kox, Jax-Ur, Kru-El, Jer-Em, Az-Rel, Nadira Va-Dim, and Nam-Ek all escape the Phantom Zone, swapping places with Superman. While the Justice League deals with the Kryptonian villains on Earth, Superman joins Mon-El, Quex-Ul, and Thul-Kar to challenge Aethyr the Messiah (aka Aethyr the Oversoul) in the Phantom Zone. Eventually, Superman escapes, helping his JL comrades defeat his Kryptonian brethren, who are all sent back to the Phantom Zone.^[6]

–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1000 Part 3. November. Batman invents the undercover disguise of loutish henchman-for-hire “Knute Brody,” who signs-up to be a heavy for an escaped Kite Man. Of course, Brody costs Kite Man a big heist, which results in the super-villain going right back to jail. It is unknown who plays the role of Brody for this item. It could be Batman, Alfred, or someone else.

–FLASHBACK: From Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #4—originally told in The Brave and The Bold #186. Batman and Hawkman bust The Fadeaway Man (Anton Lamont).

–REFERENCE: In Justice League of America Vol. 5 #5, Detective Comics #969, and Detective Comics #972. Originally told in Batman #344 and Detective Comics #511-517. WGBS TV news reporter Olivia Ortega helps expose City Councilman Arthur Reeves of corruption, destroying his political career. Meanwhile, Batman runs afoul of Reeves rival, the equally corrupt Mayor Hamilton Hill. Despite discovering Mayor Hill’s criminality (with help from Ortega), Batman won’t be able to prove it. Mayor Hill will be a slightly irksome thorn in Batman’s side for years to come (although these on-and-off-again clashes won’t be specifically listed on our timeline). Note that, while Batman has had the love of the police, he’s never been embraced by city government. Mayor Hill’s opposition is just the start of a rocky relationship between the Bat-Family and City Hall that will last for quite a long time.

–FLASHBACK: From Detective Comics #1027 Part 1—originally told in Batman #353. Bruce goes on a few dates with famous photojournalist Vicki Vale, who is really more interested in Batman than Bruce. Batman takes on an escaped Joker in the New Jersey Palisades only to be captured and tied to a giant stone Joker head, which Joker tries to blow up with dynamite. The Caped Crusader escapes and busts the Clown Prince of Crime.

–REFERENCE: In Batgirls #13—originally told in World’s Finest Comics #285-286. Batman and Superman defeat the team-up of Dr. Zodiac and Madame Zodiac.

–REFERENCE: In Heroes in Crisis #3—originally told in The Brave and The Bold #170 and The Brave and The Bold #193. The Department of Metahuman Affairs’ top super-spy Nemesis (Tom Tresser) teams-up with Batman to take on the evil criminal organization known as The Council. (As revealed in Action Comics #1010, Penguin is the secret director of the Council.)

–FLASHBACK: From Titans Vol. 4 #2. The New Teen Titans attempt to bust their top rival Brother Blood along with his Church of Blood (aka Blood Cult) minions. (Notably, the Church of Blood always has a leader that assumes the Brother Blood role.) However, upon arrival at the Church of Blood’s lair, the Teen Titans are bummed to discover that the Justice League has already completed the task with ease.

–REFERENCE: In Super Sons #15, The Green Lantern #3, and Year of the Villain #1 Part 2—originally told in Silver Age. The Justice League faces off against the Injustice League (Agamemno, Lex Luthor, Black Manta, Chronos, Dr. Light, Felix Faust, Mr. Element, Sinestro, Penguin, and Catwoman). Note that the Injustice League is not the Injustice Gang—different team! Batgirl and Deadman form a brand new (one-shot) Seven Soldiers of Victory—comprising of themselves, Metamorpho, Blackhawk (Janos Prohaska), Mento (Steve Dayton), Shining Knight (Gardner Grayle), and Adam Strange. The Seven Soldiers, the JL, the Green Lantern Corps (including NautKeLoi), and a platoon of Thanagarians band together to defeat Agamemno’s IJL. Notably, the original version of this story involved body-swapping and mind-wiping to keep secret IDs intact. It’s not clear that happens in current continuity, but it’s possible!

–REFERENCE: In Nightwing Vol. 4 #79. Bruce and Dick’s relationship begins deteriorating. They’ll have a tiff whenever they cross paths for weeks to come. We’ll have to imagine some of these instances on our timeline.

–FLASHBACK: From Red Hood and The Outlaws Vol. 2 #23. Batman takes on Riddler and his goons. Career henchman Willis Todd, while working for the Riddler, fights Batman, resulting in him getting a bat-shaped scar on his arm. Later, Willis shows his son, Jason Todd, the scar. Not long afterward, Willis takes the fall for Penguin, earning a long jail sentence. Jason avoids child protective services by going on the lam and living on the streets.

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1. ^[1]XAVIER: In Silver Age continuity, the Doom Patrol is killed by General Zahl (as originally seen in Doom Patrol #121) well before this part of our timeline. Dave Wielgosz (with Mark Waid) adds the death of the Doom Patrol to the back matter timeline of New History of the DC Universe #2, placing it where it would have gone on the Silver Age timeline (about a year prior to where we are now). However, this completely ignores Waid’s own Batman/Superman: World’s Finest series, which features the Doom Patrol time and time again this year. Yes, the Doom Patrol gets resurrected, but not until later. To reiterate, while Wielgosz’s placement of the Doom Patrol’s death correctly mirrors Silver Age canon, it fails to take into account Waid’s contemporary canon. Therefore, Wielgosz’s placement of the Doom Patrol’s death is an out-and-out error. The Doom Patrol won’t die at the hands of Zahl until later this year.↩
2. ^[2]ISRAEL SILVA: There are some issues to discuss in regard to Captain Shazam’s debut and his age. First, the origins of Captain Shazam and the Shazam Family still reflect a version of their debut as depicted by Geoff Johns in the New 52. Second, Mark Waid, in New History of the DC Universe #3, says outright that the Captain debuts during (or just after) the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Since the Crisis isn’t until next year, the Captain’s appearance here (and throughout) Waid’s own Batman/Superman: World’s Finest series seems to create a major continuity error. Regarding this ostensible flub, it had already been surmised by various internauts that the character’s anachronistic appearances might be made possible via time-travel from the future. (After all, time-travel had already long been big part of the Waid’s Captain lore prior to this.) In 2025 interviews, following the publication of New History of the DC Universe #3, Waid said openly that he regretted putting the Captain in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and wanted to retcon his presence there to time-travel via the Rock of Eternity’s magick. Thus, we have the time-travel explanation given straight from the author’s mouth. Obviously, interviews aren’t necessarily canon, but it’s the only valid option we have. A better explanation would have been saying this is Captain Marvel (an alternate version of the Captain from Earth-5), but oh well. Onto the second issue at hand: the Captain’s age. In prior canon, Billy Batson was originally around seven-years-old at the time of his debut. On the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era timeline, he’s seemingly even younger—around four-years-old—at the time of his debut (due to the fact that he’s still in high school as of 2023). Some folks online think four makes sense while others think that’s too young. On Reddit, there are several theories about positing that Billy debuts a bit older but gets de-aged during the Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis (or all three). Others point toward later cosmic upheavals involving Dr. Manhattan—like Flashpoint, Doomsday Clock, or Death Metal—as potential factors in Billy’s de-aging. In the second feature to New History of the DC Universe #4, Dave Wielgosz states that the Flashpoint event causes de-aging of certain characters. While there’s no definitive consensus, this seems like the best solution to solve Billy’s age problems. Therefore, we can assume that Billy is around seven or eight-years-old when he debuts (in Year 8), but then the Flashpoint event (in Year 14) de-ages him back to around seven or eight-years-old. Let’s not forget that any de-aging that happens to Billy must also likely come into play with the rest of his family too. In any case, be sure to choose your own headcanon regarding age and time-travel whenever you see the Captain ahead, especially prior to the era of our timeline that is based upon New 52 stories.↩
3. ^[3]COLLIN COLSHER: Flash running through the multiverse in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #20 is our first chronological glimpse at a bulk of other Earths and alternate Hypertimelines. All other numbered Earths (and many Hypertimelines) contain their own unique continuities (i.e their own unique timeline chronologies). Some might utilize different physics that quicken or slow the passage of time, running in advance of, behind of, or concurrent to our primary Earth-0 timeline, but—no matter what—they each run parallel to the Earth-0 timeline. In other words, even though Earth-19 (from Gotham By Gaslight) features a Victorian Era Bat Man, its late 1800s (the focus of its narrative) runs parallel to the current early 21st century Earth-0 timeline. Likewise, while Earth-12 (from the original DC Animated Universe) features Batman Terry McGinnis in the 2040s, the 2040s (being the focus of its narrative) runs parallel to the current early 21st century Earth-0 timeline as well. (Since Bruce Wayne was Batman prior to Terry on Earth-12, this means that, when/if we see Earth-12 Bruce, we are actually seeing the past of Earth-12’s timeline.) In The Multiversity Guidebook (2014), Grant Morrison describes Earth-12 as having “a timeline running slightly in advance of Earth-0.” Likewise, in Dark Crisis: Big Bang #1 (2023), Mark Waid emphasizes, “On some Earths, [like the medieval Earth-118], time—and history—move noticeably slower. [Some Earths, like Earth-22], move somewhat faster.” [Earth-51 aka Earth-AD has an] accelerated timeline.” Naturally, in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #20, aside from specificity given for Earth-22, Waid doesn’t tell us whether or not Flash views the past, present, or future of these alternate realities. This is commonplace for most writers that dip into the multiverse or Hypertime. They tend to pull toys out of the sandbox to use as “cool” Easter Eggs without acknowledging that there’s pre-established lore (and sometimes fully fleshed-out active timelines) attached to each item. Each time an alternate universe crosses over with our primary one, unless time-travel is involved, said crossover must occur at the same point on each timeline. Because of this, the prospect of including multiversal crossovers on the main timeline means, to some extent, chronologizing the alternate timeline as well, which is quite an exhausting (and at times impossible) exercise. Nevertheless, it’s up to us to determine what we are seeing (and when we are seeing it)—not just here, but in all other instances of multiversal crossover ahead.↩
4. ^[4]COLLIN COLSHER: As per New History of the DC Universe #2, Cyborg has spent the past three years in suspended animation. So while he’s now actually sixteen-years-old, he appears as a thirteen-year-old. Typically, Cyborg, being a cyborg, doesn’t really physically age that much anyway.↩
5. ^[5]COLLIN COLSHER: The troubling origin of Tim Fox was originally told in Batman #330-333 and DC Retroactive: Batman – The ’70s #1. However, the Modern Age version of things is much different. In those issues, Batman and Robin track down Tim (Lucius Fox’s estranged delinquent son from a previous marriage), who is mixed up with the notorious Watkins Gang. With help from Talia al Ghul, the Dynamic Duo convinces Tim to leave his crew. But shortly thereafter, a copycat Terrible Trio—funded by Talia—causes mayhem in Gotham. Batman, Alfred, and Lucius Fox bust the rookie bad guys, learning that the new Vulture is none other than Tim, who gets sentenced to a short jail term and becomes estranged from his family for many years to come. Obviously, writer John Ridley has completely retconned away that original tale, replacing it with what we have listed in the synopsis attached to this item above.↩
6. ^[6]COLLIN COLSHER: Notably, following the publication of the second feature to New History of the DC Universe #4, which re-instituted the concept of multiple Legions of Super-heroes, the primary (Earth-0) Mon-El (aka Lar Gand) likely has his original history intact. This history includes him being 21st century hero that has suffered a severe illness, thus requiring him to go into exile in the Phantom Zone where he currently resides. Mon-El will live in exile in the Phantom Zone for a thousand years until he is cured by the Legion (and then joins their ranks).↩