Please note that this recent updates page/change log does not include the weekly inclusion of synopses for newly released comics, which I add every single New Comic Book Day, 52 weeks a year. Nor does it include minor edits like reformatting, typos, spelling, small corrections, added caveats, image insertion, or other things of that nature. Nor does it include daily tasks of responding to emails or general site maintenance. Instead, this log highlights the last six months of changes to the order of the chronology or chronologies, mostly pertaining to items that had previously been set in stone or been missing.
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–6/1/2024. New blog entry! https://therealbatmanchronologyproject.com/the-complicated-history-of-batman-and-catwoman-discovering-each-others-secret-ids/
–6/5/2024. Modern Age Year 19. Moved “Rogue War” to correct position, post-Wonder Woman going blind. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–6/12/2024. Modern Age Year 19-20. Moved Action Comics #825 from Year 20 to Year 19. Added in Action Comics #821 and reference from Adventures of Superman #632. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–6/14/2024. Modern Age Year 20. Added note about Battle for Blüdhaven. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–6/20/2024. Golden Age Year 2, 9. Removed incorrect reference note (from Star Spangled Comics #66) about green beanie trophy. It’s not a green beanie, it’s the jade Buddha statue from Detective Comics #45! Added this to Year 2. Special thanks to John Litschauer.
–6/20/2024. Silver Age Year 1, 6. Removed reference note (from World’s Finest Comics #139) about jade Buddha statuette trophy from Year 6 to Year 1, adding it alongside new entry for nod to Detective Comics #45.
–6/22/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved Ram V’s Nocturne arc (“Act II” through “Act III”) prior to Chip Zdarsky’s “Mindbomb” as it seems like this is how things are panning out. Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–6/23/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved Ram V’s Nocturne arc (“Act II” through “Act III”)—prior to Beast World but shortly after “Gotham War” and Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #12. Moved multiple other items in order to accommodate. Special thanks to Dylan Hall and Michael.
–6/23/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Added flash-forward from Absolute Power: Free Comic Book Day Special Edition #1.
–6/23/2024. Modern Age Year 14. Added Batman: Mitefall. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–6/25/2024. Modern Age Year 2. Added in Batman putting Riddler’s riddle clue notes on display in the trophy room (as per The Batman Files).
–6/26/2024. Modern Age Year 16, 21. Removed Superman/Batman #72-74 (non-canon) and moved Superman/Batman #75 Part 1 to Year 16. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–6/30/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year Year 4 and future section. Added in references to Batman #59 and Detective Comics #241 as per Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #28. Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–7/1/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 16. Added in additional details from Superwoman #1 (as per the second feature to Steelworks #2). Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–7/2/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22-23. Moved Chip Zdarsky’s run from “Mindbomb” onward closer to present day (from end of Year 22 into beginning of Year 23), inserting Tom Taylor’s ongoing “Fall of Grayson” Nightwing arc in-between Batman Vol. 3 #149 and Batman Vol. 3 #150.
–7/3/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 8. Added Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1 as additional reference to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–7/3/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 15. Added reference about Black Adam versus Psycho-Pirate from Infinite Frontier #5 to Infinite Crisis. Notably, in the original Infinite Crisis, Black Adam killed Psycho-Pirate. In the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier reference, Psycho-Pirate’s death isn’t explicitly confirmed—and, since we see him later, we can assume that he isn’t actually killed in the Rebirth/Infinite Frontier version of events, instead merely badly injured. (Either that or he gets resurrected. Your headcanon call.) Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–7/9/2024. Modern Age Year 21. Added Countdown to Final Crisis #20. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–7/9/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 5. Added reference from Knight Terrors #2 to Batman first meeting Sandman (Wesley Dodds). Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–7/9/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 4. Added references to Power Girl’s history as per Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton Part 4 and Justice Society of America Vol. 4 #5. Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–7/12/2024. Silver/Bronze Age Year 7. Added missing Batman #186 Part 2. Special thanks to James Mahoney.
–7/15/2024. Modern Age Year 5. Added decree of Gotham’s anti-Batman impersonation laws (as referenced in Batman Incorporated #4).
–7/15/2024. Modern Age Year 5. Added Batman teaching Robin about guns (as referenced in Robin: Year One #1).
–7/15/2024. Modern Age Year 5. Added flashback to Zucco’s Dark Victory downfall (as seen in Robin: Year One #1).
–7/25/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22-23. Moved the reference from Harley Quinn Vol. 4 #41 from Year 22 to Year 23, after Vandal Savage has become commissioner.
–7/26/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Early Years to Year 4. As per Absolute Power: Origins #1, I’ve updated and moved references from the Robin 80th Anniversary Spectacular and the second feature to Batman Vol. 3 #150.
–7/26/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved Batman’s annual September visit to Crime Alley to correct position on the timeline.
–7/26/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved Joker’s April “birthday” gift to Batman to its correct position on the timeline.
–7/31/2024. Modern Age Dick Grayson Year 23. Added in previously missing Justice League: Generation Lost #16 and reference to Magog’s death from Justice League: Generation Lost #13. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–8/2/2024. New 52 Year 7. Added in reference from Arkham Manor: Endgame #1.
–8/7/2024. Modern Age Year 4-5. Moved Achilles Milo’s debut from Year 4 to Year 5. Special thanks to James Mahoney.
–8/7/2024. Modern Age Year 4-5. Moved Falseface debut and Silas Wayne death from Year 4 to Year 5.
–8/8/2024. Modern Age Year 11. Added reference from Batman #439 to “Ten Nights of the Beast.” Special thanks to Jasper Derklin.
–8/8/2024 to 8/9/2024. Modern Age Year 5, 6, and 12. Added in missing flashback to Batman training Robin, missing flashback to Jason’s death, and missing flashback to Batman and Robin busting up Zucco’s operations (all from Batman #438). Added in multiple missing references from Batman #436-439 as well.
–8/9/2024. Modern Age Early Years and Year 13. Added in missing references and flashbacks from Batman #619.
–8/9/2024. Modern Age Year 10 and 19. Added in missing flashbacks from Batman #618.
–8/9/2024. Modern Age Year 8 and 12. Added in missing flashbacks from Batman #614.
–8/9/2024. Modern Age Early Years. Added in missing flashback from Batman #613.
–8/10/2024. Modern Age Year 1. Added in missing reference from Batman #618.
–8/12/2024. Golden Age Year 2-3. Moved Batman adopting no killing code from Year 3 to Year 2.
–8/13/2024. Modern Age Early Years. Added in missing references from Detective Comics #821.
–8/13/2024. Modern Age Years 2, 4, 12, 14, and 16. Added in missing references (trophy collection) from Detective Comics #821.
–8/13/2024. Golden Age Years 31-40. In 1978, added in missing reference from All-Star Comics #69.
–8/9/2024 to 8/14/2024. Working on a major (extensively researched) new blog entry about every time Batman has killed someone. Very excited about this piece. Keep an eye out for it soon!
–8/14/2024. Check out my latest blog entry! (“The Complicated History of Batman Killing People“)
–8/15/2024. Modern Age Early Years. Added in missing flashback from The Legion #29.
–8/18/2024. Modern Age Year 6. Corrected misattributed Rainbow Creature item—from Batman #673-674 to Batman #678.
–8/18/2024. Modern Age Year 6. Made some necessary clarifications in regard to Batman #682 flashbacks.
–8/20/2024. New 52 Year 6. Moved Clayface reference from Batman Vol. 2 #20 around one in-story month prior to Detective Comics Vol. 2 #14-15. Special thanks to James Mahoney IV.
–8/21/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Years 7, 10, 12, and 14. Added Batman telling Jason, Tim, Stephanie, and Damian his “criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot” mantra.
–8/21/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Major overhaul of the entire year. Moved Poison Ivy #14-15 and all of Batman and Robin Vol. 3 post “Gotham War.”
–8/22/2024. Modern Age Year 6. Changed Bat-Girl’s debut from a flashback from Batman #682 to correct reference from Batman #682.
–8/22/2024. Modern Age Year 5-6. Moved The Batman Files reference to Turning Points #2 from Year 6 to Year 5. (Going to officially add-in Turning Points #2 with big caveats in the near future.) Update initiated by site contributor Marcelo Millicay.
–8/23/2024. Modern Age Year 5. Added-in Turning Points #2, with important (and big) caveats.
–8/25/2024. Modern Age Year 2. Moved Batman/Catwoman: Trail of the Gun #1-2 to correct location later in the year, and added-in reference from Batman/Catwoman: Trail of the Gun #1-2. Update initiated by site contributor Peter.
–8/25/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 3 and 7. Moved flashback from Red Hood and The Outlaws Vol. 2 #23 from Year 3 to Year 7. Update initiated by site contributor Martín Lel.
–8/25/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 5, 7, and 9. Moved Jason Todd and Tim Drake image references from Batman: One Bad Day – Two-Face #1 from Year 5 to Year 7 and Year 9, respectively. Update initiated by site contributor Israel Silva.
–8/28/2024. Modern Age Year 7. Split Teen Titans: Year One #4-6 into a separate reference item and a main bullet point item (since Batman doesn’t technically physically appear in issue #4, only in issues #5-6).
–8/28/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 3. The flashback from Detective Comics #1027 Part 3 that is labeled “Year 3 Month 1” makes reference to Robin having debuted. Therefore, the label is a continuity error (since Robin doesn’t debut until “Year 3 Month 12”). As such, I have moved this particular flashback to its correct position on the timeline and added a necessary caveat. Update initiated by site contributor Martín Lel.
–8/28/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 3. Moved flashback from Killing Time #2 a little later on the timeline (to late September). Update initiated by site contributor Martín Lel.
–8/29/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 3-4. Moved a few date specific items in Year 3 to better fit the internal calendar. Moved the final item of Year 3 to the beginning of Year 4 to lighten the heavy load at the end of the former. In the same vein, also combined Robin’s debut with his meeting Commissioner Gordon for the first time. Update initiated by site contributor Martín Lel.
–8/29/2024. Modern Age Year 19. Added in references from Nightwing Vol. 2 #90-93. Special thanks to Stephen Smith.
–8/29/2024. Modern Age Year 20-22. Moved Birds of Prey #96-101 note and Birds of Prey #114 note (including additional missing notation from Birds of Prey #115-117) from incorrect spots in Year 20 to correct spots in Year 21 and Year 22. Moved Birds of Prey #121-124 (including additional missing notation from Birds of Prey #119-120) from Year 21 to Year 22, post-Final Crisis. Special thanks to Stephen Smith.
–8/30/2024. Modern Age 13. Added in missing Flash Vol. 2 #33 and associated reference note. Special thanks to Ben Langford.
–8/30/2024. New 52 Year 4. Cleaned up the tail end of Year 4, moved some things around to clarify Nightwing and Batgirl’s more-or-less simultaneous returns. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–9/2/2024. New 52 Year 5-6. In Year 5, created an ellipsis inside Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #5 in order to accommodate Red Hood & The Outlaws #17-18, which goes inside it. This allowed for the removal of messy reference and flashback items pertaining to Redbird and Wingman in Year 4. It also sanctifies Jason Todd’s overall arc from Year 4 into Year 5. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–9/8/2024. New 52 Year 3. Added in visual reference from Harley Quinn Vol. 2 #0. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–9/8/2024. New 52 Early Years. Added in missing flashbacks from Detective Comics Vol. 2 #29.
–9/11/2024. Modern Age Year 8. Moved the end of Joker’s pop-crime phase prior to Batman: Batgirl.
–9/11/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22-23. Moved Super-Pets Special: Bitedentity Crisis #1 Part 3 prior to Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #11-13.
–9/11/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved Justice Society of America Vol. 4 #7 a little bit later (so it isn’t in the middle of Batman and Robin Vol. 3).
–9/11/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1 and 8. Added in references from The Penguin #8.
–9/12/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Early Years and Year 4. Added in references from The Penguin #9.
–9/12/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Added in reference from The Penguin #10.
–9/12/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 3. Added in reference from The Penguin #11.
–9/12/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 5, 14, and future section. Removed Detective Comics #1000 Part 7 and all its associated references. (Detective Comics #1000 Part 7 rendered non-canon by The Penguin series.)
–9/12/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22-23. Added in The Penguin #5-12.
–9/13/2024. New 52 Year 5. Added in reference to new Teen Titans forming on January 1. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–9/15/2024. New 52 Year 7-8. Changed first Catwoman Vol. 4 Annual #2 entry into flashback and fixed second Catwoman Vol. 4 Annual #2. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–9/15/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved Batman’s creation of the Lenny secret ID (and condo HQ)—as referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #139—closer to the end of “Gotham War” and added major caveats about this. Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–9/16/2024. New 52 Year 2. Added additional reference to “Robin Dies at Dawn!” from Grayson #5. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–9/16/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 23 and Future Section. Moved final part of Detective Comics #1027 Part 3 (with major caveats) from Future Section to Year 23. Removed some unnecessary items from “2024” of the Future Section. Special thanks to Martín Lel.
–9/16/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 9. Added additional reference to Batman putting Batgirl’s costume on display in the Batcave (as per Batman Beyond Vol. 8 #18).
–9/16/2024. Golden Age Year 6. Added in mid 1940s Batman and Robin [newspaper strip dailies preview].
–9/16/2024. New blog entry about my favorite Bat-stories of the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Ages! Special thanks to Troy Doliner.
–9/18/2024. Modern Age Year 10. Added additional reference from Batman #416 to item representing Modern Age version of Detective Comics #523-526 and Batman #357-359.
–9/18/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 11. Moved Lex Luthor’s presidential election prior to “Imperiex War.” Special thanks to JDMA.
–9/18/2024. Golden Age Year 7. Updated reference note about FDR’s death and funeral.
–9/18/2024. New 52 Year 0. Swapped the positions of the main flashback from Batman Vol. 2 #21 and Batman Vol. 2 #0. Special thanks to Ty.
–9/19/2024. Modern Age Year 7. Added reference from 52 #41.
–9/19/2024. Modern Age Year 14. Added reference from Batman #497.
–9/19/2024. New blog entry about Martín Lel’s Batman Chronology Project video on YouTube. Special thanks, of course, to Martín Lel.
–9/22/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 12. Added Wonder Woman killing Max Lord (as per Wonder Woman Vol. 5 Annual #2). Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–9/23/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 13. Added reference to Batman #687 Part 2 and Superman/Batman #76 Part 2 from Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis #1 Part 1.
–9/24/2024. Golden Age Year 19. Did complete overhaul of Year 19, spacing things more correctly to account for the realtime and in-story calendar (and Bruce’s semi-retirement at the end of the year following Helena’s birth). Special thanks to James Mahoney.
–9/26/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 2-5. August Year 2 flashback fromDetective Comics #1027 Part 3 accidentally was placed in August Year 5. This has been corrected. Special thanks to Martín Lel.
–9/27/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 11. Added Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #15 Part 3 and Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #16 Part 3 as references to “Officer Down.”
–9/27/2024. Modern Age Year 7. Added Superman/Batman #75 Part 8 as reference to Krypto the Superdog existing early on the timeline (as per Superman: Secret Origin), attaching it to flashback from Superman/Batman #75 Part 8. Special thanks to The Little Muar.
–9/27/2024. Silver Age Year 1. Cleaned up the notes regarding the death of the Flying Graysons. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–9/28/2024. Silver/Bronze Age Year 1 and 5. Moved Scarecrow’s debut from Year 5 to Year 1. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–9/29/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1, 9, and 11. Updated James Gordon Jr’s age to reflect his birth during Frank Miller’s “Year One” (as per Batman Vol. 3 #143). Updated other James Junior items accordingly. Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–9/30/2024 to 10/1/2024. Major update of “Process” page ongoing.
–10/1/2024. Modern Age Early Years. Added in Infinite Crisis #6-7 as reference to Joe Chill not only killing Thomas and Martha Wayne, but also being publicly exposed as their killer.
–10/1/2024. Modern Age Year 3 and 5. Moved Joe Chill’s death from Year 5 to Year 3.
–10/1/2024. Modern Age Year 5. Added in flashback to Appelaxian invasion from Infinite Crisis #6.
–10/1/2024. Modern Age Early Years. Moved flashback from Superman/Batman #50 a bit earlier, corrected misinformation in the summary, and added important subtext notes. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–10/2/2024. Golden Age Year 14. Added in reference from World’s Finest Comics #75.
–10/2/2024. Silver Age Intro. Re-wrote and cleaned up intro.
–10/2/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 23. Removed non-canon flash-forwards from Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 Epilogue, Absolute Power: Free Comic Book Day Special Edition #1, and Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1.
–10/4/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 13. Added in Doomsday Clock #12 as a reference to Final Crisis.
–10/6/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 20. Added in A-Day flashback from Batman: Secret Files – Peacekeeper-01 #1. Special thanks to JDMA.
–10/6/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Years 1 to 4. Split up the first two parts of “Shadows of the Bat: House of Gotham” (from the second feature to Detective Comics #1047-1050) along with associated references. Issues #1047-1048 occur in Year 1 whereas issues #1049-1050 (Batman not featured in issue #1049) occur after Robin’s debut. Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–10/8/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Years 1 to 10. Split Years 1 to 10 into separate pages.
–10/8/2024. Modern Age Year 6. Added Robin sharing Batmobile design concepts with Batman (as referenced in Superman/Batman #6).
–10/8/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 6. Added in marriage of Jean Loring and Ray Palmer. Special thanks to Tim Drake.
–10/9/2024. Modern Age Year 19. Added in additional references from Superman/Batman #10 and Supergirl Vol. 5 #40. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–10/10/2024. Modern Age Year 1 and Year 8. Added in flashback and references from Trinity #18.
–10/15/2024. Modern Age Year 1. Moved The Man of Steel #3 (Batman’s first meeting with Superman) in the Batman: Year One gap between May 20 and June 2. Moved a few other items to accommodate. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–10/15/2024. Modern Age Year 1. Added in flashback from Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #4. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–10/15/2024. Modern Age Year 8. Added in reference from Identity Crisis #6-7.
–10/16/2024. Modern Age Year 1, 2 and 20. Added in references from Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1.
–10/16/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22-23 and Future Section. Moved Lizzie Prince’s birth (as per Wonder Woman V0l. 6 #14) from Year 22 to Year 23. Updated the dates connected to Lizzie stories in Future Section.
–10/17/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era 3-4. Removed Dick’s six month training session as per Mark Waid’s Batman and Robin: Year One #1. This is a major work in progress that will ultimately alter the timeline significantly! In fact, as the title will likely follow a full calendar year format, it stands to reason that Robin’s debut might go much earlier in Y3—which could provide room for the Justice League to debut a bit earlier as well. This would ultimately throw Tom King’s internal calendars and logic further out of whack than they already are, but we shall see.
–10/18/2024. Modern Age Years 8, 9, and 14. Added missing flashbacks from Wizard #0 Special: Hush Interlude.
–10/21/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Years 1 and 12. Added in Batman: Hush 20th Anniversary Edition and associated references.
–10/23/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Years 5 and 6. Moved Calendar Man item (from Batman/Superman Vol. 2 #22) from Year 5 to Year 6.
–10/24/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Years 5, 6, 11, and 9. Moved flashbacks from The Joker Vol. 2 #15 to correct locations. Added in flashback and reference to “Five-Way Revenge.” Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–10/24/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Years 5 and 6. Moved Justice League switch from Secret Sanctuary to JL Satellite from Year 6 to Year 5. Added in reference to Joker starting pop-crime phase into early Year 5 (as per The Joker Vol. 2 2021 Annual). Moved around items in the beginning of Year 5 to accommodate.
–10/24/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Years 15 and 16. Moved flashback from Batman: One Bad Day – Two-Face to its correct position with All-Star Batman #1-5. Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–10/24/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 9. Moved Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #18 Part 1 after the debut of Amygdala and made Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #18 Part 1 a reference to Amygdala’s debut.
–10/25/2024. Modern Age Future Section. Added references to 853rd century from Superman/Batman #79.
–10/26/2024. New 52 Early Years. Added in flashback from Nightwing Vol. 3 #30 Part 1.
–10/26/2024. New 52 Year 7. Moved Nightwing Vol. 3 #30 Part 1 immediately after Forever Evil #7 (but prior to its epilogues). Moved Nightwing Vol. 3 #30 Part 2 and associated items accordingly. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–10/28/2024. New 52 Years 5 and 6. Moved Stormwatch Vol. 3 #2 from Year 6 to Year 5. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–11/3/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 4. Added-in reference to Justice League of America #4 from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #32. Moved around Green Arrow items pertaining to him joining the JL. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–11/5/2024. New 52 Year 0. Moved Superman’s debut just prior to Batman’s debut. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–11/11/2024. New 52 Year 0. Added in Flash Vol. 4 #25 as a legit entry since Batman makes a teeny tiny cameo in it.
–11/11/2024. Modern Age Year 10. Added in reference from Batman #410 in conjunction with the main action of Batman #408 Part 2.
–11/11/2024. Modern Age Years 5 and 6. Moved the debut of the Getaway Genius from Year 5 to Year 6.
–11/15/2024 to 11/19/2024. New 52 Years 3-7. Conducting a radical alteration of the timeline, as I’ve come to realize that my 2011 into 2014 are way off (thanks to a reassessment and multiple re-reads). I’ve also done a deep dive on the timelines on Canonology.net for cross-reference. Special thanks also to Kipfan, for supporting and bouncing ideas back-and-forth.
–11/22/2024. New 52 Year 1. Moved the first part (main part featuring Harry X) of Batgirl Vol. 4 #0 to its correct location at the very beginning of Year 1. Added in note about the Bat-Signal as well. Special thanks to Kipfan.
–11/25/2024. New 52 Year 3 and 8. Added in All-Star Section Eight #1, All-Star Section Eight #3, and associated reference. Special thanks to Jwala.
–11/27/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 6. Moved Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #12 before World’s Finest: Teen Titans #1-6, and moved a bunch of items to accommodate. Special thanks to BatVacuum.
–11/30/2024. Modern Age Year 13. Removed incorrect/unnecessary reference note about the debuts of Chico Mendez and Larry Doofner. Chico and Larry debuted in Detective Comics #614. Special thanks to Marcelo Millicay.
–12/5/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1. Added in reference to Joker’s real name from The Penguin #7. Special thanks to Israel Silva.
–12/8/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1. Added in reference to Jim Gordon learning Batman’s secret ID (as per Detective Comics #1065 and Batman Vol. 3 #155). Special thanks to Jasper Derklin.
–12/9/2024. Modern Age Year 11. Added in reference to Lex Luthor getting out of jail following Crisis and partying at galas also attended by Bruce (as per Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #52 and Booster Gold #23).
–12/12/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 23. Moved Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #1 a bit earlier. Added in reference from Action Comics #1077.
–12/13/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 3-4. Moved Aunt Harriet playing Batman (reference in The Green Lantern: Blackstars #2) from Year 4 to Year 3.
–12/13/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 4. Moved Astrid Arkham debut a bit later on the calendar.
–12/18/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 6. Added in reference to Justice League of America #177-178 from Blue Beetle Vol. 9 #11-12 and Adventures of the Super-Sons #6.
–12/18/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 23. Moved The Question: All Along the Watchtower #1 right after DC All In Special #1.
–12/19/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1. Added in note about Batman learning about the Five Families (as per The Penguin #6-7).
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I recall you mentioned considering moving Dick’s recruitment out of Year One a bit ago- what happened there?
Still waiting for a few series, notably TK’s Killing Time, to wrap before I examine a Robin move again. (Although, I’m not sure it’s going to mention or hint at Robin at all…) Haven’t forgotten about this, though!
Also, you may be interested to hear that we’re getting a Tom King book titled ‘Gotham: Year One’, a mid-20th century tale starring Slam Bradley in a noir mystery about a stolen Wayne heir, supposedly showing the tipping point from Alan Scott’s gritty-but-decent Gotham and Batman’s hellhole Gotham.
Thanks, Dylan. Didn’t hear about that. I’ll def check it out when it comes out!
Why is Batman: The Detective in the past now? I had assumed as the present neared its future, it would be disregarded. The idea it could have already happened seems surprising .
For a handful of reasons, most notably Ducard’s age (only 59-years-old), the Wayne Manor Batcave still being in use, Amina has already debuted as Squire by Dark Crisis, and if Alfred stays back for good, then it throws a wrench in its narrative. Either we add a lot of caveats to keep in in the near future, it has already occurred, or it’s non-canon (i.e. can be disregarded).
Tom Taylor definitely intended it to be a future story, but aside from Bruce’s haircut, it actually reads as taking place in current day. Just re-read it, and it doesn’t feel like a future tale at all really. More Elseworlds-ish than anything else. Honestly, I’m leaning on throwing it out entirely. We’ll see.
The more I think about this, the more I think that I’m going to move it back to the future section, just with a few minor caveats.
Oh, I’m glad you reconsidered that one! I do think this is the best choice for now
Hey Collin, What About The ONE BAD DAY series? I saw you included the Two Face story only. Are the Riddler and Penguin’s issues non-canon? I’m also scratching my head for Batman: Fortress… That seems out-of-con to me, so may be that’s why you haven’t included it?
I guess Alfred In B Vs R is not the real Alfred based on the last scene of issue n.2
Guess Alfie is really gone forever. Shame to all DC for that!
Riddler is non-canon. I’ve placed Penguin in the future section, although it could also easily be non-canon. And Two-Face could be on the chopping block depending on what occurs in other contemporary stories. I think Alfred is coming back… but we’ll see.
I have a question about New Golden Age- since these flashbacks all appear to take place on Prime Earth, what do we make of Power Girl and Sylvester Pemberton appearing in the ‘1972’ section? Since Sylvester has to be rescued by the League, I see a couple of options.
A) All of the JLA/JSA team-ups are, in Prime Earth, time travel adventures instead of inter-dimensional crossovers. A little muddy of an explanation, but it works.
B) The JLA was also around in the 70s in current continuity. This seems unlikely, given that Geoff also has Catwoman in her Year One costume in a section listed as ‘thirteen years ago’.
C) The year listing on that page is just a cheeky reference to the year the comic in question came out, and shouldn’t be taken as continuity (see also: your decision regarding the reference to The Hill happening 23 years ago).
Any thoughts, outside of ‘why must you torture me so, Geoff Johns’?
As a side note, despite the 1972 problem, Selina’s costume in the ‘thirteen years ago’ section actually roughly lines up, despite appearing not to at first, because Selina wore her Year One costume in her story in Showcase 93′.
My bigger question is how does this jibe with Batman Beyond? If Bruce dies when Helena is age eighteen, and Helena is already in elementary school by 2032, then this means Bruce must likely die in the mid 2040s. So does all the Batman Beyond stuff get squished before that? And what is the reason for Bruce being in costume when he is killed?
The entire New Golden Age #1 issue seems to crib heavily from Earth-2 material, especially in regard to Huntress, Bruce, and Selina. If Johns is really merging this into primary canon, it’ll take some chronological gymnastics to make it work with the future stuff that is already definitively set in stone. Not to mention, yet another contradictory Bruce Wayne death, which I’m assuming would trump all the others. Not saying it can’t be done, but I feel like I need to wait a bit for a few more issues in order to really see what Johns has up his sleeve.
I do think that Helena’s origin timeline is probably just one of many possible futures, of which Batman Beyond is also one.
I hear you, although that’s not technically how my site functions, nor how I approach my personal headcanon (or a even a more concrete canon). Sure, there are myriad alternate futures throughout Hypertime, but some items definitively weave back and forth through the primary timeline, with certain stories and characters making significant impact (sometimes via time travel, but also through other narrative means) on the main line. Terry McGinnis and other members of the McGinnis family are definitively canon to Earth-0, as was Tom King’s version of Bruce’s death by cancer as an old man (at least for an undetermined period that may or may not have ended, anyway).
So in my mind, everything in the future must jibe with everything else, much akin to how things must co-exist in an orderly fashion with other things in present day and throughout history. (tbh I think right now that both Batman Beyond and New Golden Age can co-exist with minimal caveats, but I think TK’s death of Bruce by cancer might finally be 100% out on Earth-0.) However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge and give praise to what you are saying. There have been plenty of alternate futures that had to be averted (and which were averted, to be relegated/discarded as Hypertimeline castoffs). Could this be the case? For sure. As you say, Johns isn’t making it easy. He never did, but I think he’s got a great head on his shoulders for this stuff, so I’m looking forward to the JSA series.
I tend to think of DC’s future (and hypertime) like this:
The present is a very real thing in DC. It is a point moving across time. On one end, in front of the present, there are infinite possible futures existing in hypertime. Some are more likely than others, and many share aspects.
As the present pulls across time like a zipper, it collapses the possible futures it crosses into a linear history.
As an example, there are many different versions of the legion in the future, and there will be, until the present moment crosses the year 3000.
Until the present moment passes over them, Justice League 3001, Retroboot Legion, Bendis Legion, etc, are all equally possible futures and thus are also equally capable of interacting with the present.
Once the present moment hits, those possibilities remain in the sea of hypertime, but are no longer directly connected to the ‘timeline’, so to speak.
So by your interpretation, the Legion in Bendis’ recent JL vs Legion, while Earth-0 canon now, could wind up being an alternate Hypertime Legion? i.e. We cannot deny that the JL had some interaction with the Legion and traveled into the future, but maybe the JL traveled to an alternate future, not their own primary future?
Sorry that it took me so long to respond to this- life and work, all that.
In my interpretation, all of the future Legions are equally canon and ‘real’ until they are made conclusively impossible by something occurring in the present.
Bendis’ Legion co-exists with Retroboot Legion, Five Years Later Legion, Reboot Legion, Zero Hour Legion, Justice League 3000, etc. Yes, I am actively ignoring the explanation from Legion of Three Worlds because I think it’s silly. They are all equally valid possible futures, and all of them can interact with the ‘present’ through time travel.
IE, there is no ‘primary’ future, only possible futures.
I suspect there may be some more evidence for my headcanon here soon, given that the new JSA book is going to deal with the Legion and in Flashpoint Beyond, Rip’s crazyboard mentioned ‘Legions of Four Worlds’.
No worries on the delay! I like your idea of “canon and ‘real’ until they are made conclusively impossible by something occurring in the present.” That could honestly apply to both our viewpoints in some fashion. Anyway, I think I’m going to do a deep dive blog entry about this very topic (it’s been a while since I wrote something like that). Time travel is a literal paradox, so there’s always something of the realm of impossibility and improbability attached to it. And I’m def going to wait for a few JSA issues to come out before I put anything on the site. God only knows where Johns is really going with everything.
Boy howdy, Geoff Johns is REALLY committed to making timeline problems, ain’t he.
Based on the preview for tomorrow’s issue, we now have two separate Geoff issues implying that Batman began his first year fourteen years ago, and I’ve got a friend at a shop saying that later stuff in that issue repeats the thing about the All-Star Comics relaunch with Power Girl and Sylvester Pemberton being around in the 1970s.
I could potentially abide a genuine fourteen year timeline if it weren’t for, y’know, the chronologically twelve year old Jon Kent who was born after the Death of Superman (I’m choosing to ignore the Astrid Arkham problem at the moment, since she’s a much more minor character), but Geoff, my pal, you can’t have the Seven Soldiers be rescued by the JLA before they exist! Also, having Power Girl operating before Superman is just plain weird!
I really don’t get why they didn’t just have him label these panels ‘not so long ago’ and ‘many years ago’, etc. The specific years only cause more problems.
I bet Geoff Johns is placing Power Girl and Sylvester Pemberton in the 1970s, implying that they were rookies then, but like their teammates obtained extended youth. I guess? Now, I haven’t seen any previews yet, but I’m interested to see the specificity of a “fourteen year” timeline. That seems quite odd. As you say, it muddles up the Jon Kent stuff for sure. It would also mean that Damian was conceived in Batman’s first year, which is also no good nonsense.
In any case, it all seems a bit odd, which is why I’m holding off on adding most of the Johns stuff for a bit. I want to see how it all shakes out, see if I can really step back and see the forest for the trees after a handful of issues have been released. We’ll see…
Ok, having read JSA #1, Johns is clearly doing some weird stuff with time and timelines. The entire arc is going to revolve around Huntress battling Per Degaton through time, with her trying to undo his machinations. I think by arc’s end, we could have a consistent version of things that could actually jibe with the current timeline.
OR (equally likely)
Johns is finally doing what he originally wanted to do with Doomsday Clock—reboot the DCU. DiDio wanted to reboot the DCU into 5G at the same time Johns wanted to reboot the DCU into whatever he had planned for post-Doomsday Clock. Neither of them got their wish as instead, we got Snyder’s anti-reboot which kept the same Rebirth timeline going. Now that Johns has regained his power, could we be seeing the birth of a new DCU?
Either that, or this is an alternate Johns-verse timeline. After all, a timeline where Bruce’s parents were killed 31 years ago (making Bruce currently in his late 30s) and where Batman only debuted 13 years ago is quite the novel timeline. In fact, it would squeeze all the Robins into a tight timeframe, basically going right back to New 52 compression (which barely made sense). And as you’ve mentioned, really zero room for next generation heroes like Jon Kent and Damian to have grown up.
I’m content to just ignore the ’13 years’ statements for now, because Geoff has also written books that directly state that COIE and Infinite Crisis take place a two years apart.
That said, I have to imagine that he’s not just going to leave the 1976 segments completely unexplained, right?
Related: my dumb headcanon I’ve settled upon is that any golden age appearance of Batman and Robin that can’t logically be filled with Flying Fox should filled with Mister Scarlet and Pinky the Whiz Kid. They’re surprisingly overlapping characters, to the extent that Mister Scarlet was even originally written as being from Gotham. You could even have a grown up Pinky take the place of E2 grown-up Robin in the All-Star Comics storylines Johns is saying took place in 1976.
Definitely adopting a wait-and-see on this. Love that headcanon idea lol. I should have started a Mr. Scarlet and Pinky the Whiz Kid chronology, it’d have been much easier on the brain.
Will Batman: The Knight by Chip Zdarsky be included as part of his early years? Not entirely sure if its canon, but the entire story takes place prior to Year One during his training period and just finished a couple months ago.
Hello! It was already added some time ago. 🙂
Ah I see it now, in Rebirth! I was looking for it under Modern Age.
Looks like Human Target COULD actually be in-continuity, given revelations in the most recent issue.
So getting frozen and shattered into a million pieces was no problem for the power ring to fix. Okayyy. But yeah, if that wasn’t really a Guy Gardner death scene, then this doesn’t violate any canon.
I feel the revelation will probably be that it was a reflection or some kind of illusion using a Lantern construct plus the ice. I think next issue is Ice’s confession anyway, so we’ll know for sure next month.
Issue #10 already says exactly that—it was a ring illusion.
Another hink has arisen in Geoff’s weird 12-year timeline:
Monkey Prince hard establishes that Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have been operating for at least fifteen years.
Really wish DC editorial would mandate some consistency on this.
Oh yeah, good catch. Justice League vs Ultra-Humanite 15 years ago, which hints that DC is operating with a longer timeline (at least 16 years long, but likely the 21 year timeline that we currently have in place). Johns’ short timeline just doesn’t make sense, unless it’s a reboot. We’ll see.
Yet more of Geoff’s goofiness:
To fit his weird twelve year timeline, today’s issue of Stargirl and the Lost Children is now claiming that Doctor Manhattan took five years, not ten, as was previously and repeatedly stated.
Oh yeah, he’s digging in, ain’t he? Do you remember by any chance what specific issues mentioned the “10 years of missing time”? I seem to recall that it started out as “ten years” (as explicitly stated in DCU Rebirth) and then it became more vague (just “years” without specificity) at some juncture. Never before was it five, though.
Furthermore, Johns’ goofiness stands out even more in the face of Mark Waid’s recent comics, which are clearly fleshing out a longer timeline and trying to honor the Silver Age in greater detail.
I don’t recall the specific issues, alas, outside of DCU Rebirth.
At this point, I’m mostly just curious why editorial hasn’t stepped in to force some consistency here. I appreciate editorial giving writers some leeway, but I think this is a place where they should probably be taking a firmer hand, lol.
I think it’s tough when there is a power vacuum and someone as big-time as Geoff Johns steps in to take some semblance of charge. Right now, it seems like the creators have more control than the editors, which is kinda like saying the inmates are running the asylum. Say what you will about Dan DiDio, as head of publishing, he definitely kept the creators in line and always scaffolded the power of editorial. Personally, I’m glad DiDio is gone, but someone needed to fill his shoes, and that someone never really came.
I’m currently reading trough DC’s recent digital-first series, so I’ve decided to see which of the Batman appearences on them aren’t in here. They are Flash: Fastest man alive #9, Harley Quinn: Make ’em laugh #3 and Sensational Wonder Woman #6.
Nice! It was very hard to keep track of all those, although I did my best. Thanks a million. I’ll add these to my reading list and place them accordingly.
So- Gotham: Year One. Largely fits alright (save for the Patrick/Richard thing), some really interesting characterization of Slam Bradley, and.. one doozy of an implication in regards to Thomas Wayne’s heritage.
Thoughts?
I think it’s getting mostly positive reviews (mostly as a decently-told hard boiled detective tale), but in my humble opinion it’s yet another instance of Tom King treading very heavily upon pre-existing lore. It reminds me of when King had Booster Gold re-visiting (and tromping all over) Crime Alley on the night of the Wayne Murders. The implication with Gotham City: Year One is nearly more than that. Slam sleeps with Constance nine months prior to Thomas’ birth (at time where it was made clear she was not sexually active with Richard Bruce Patrick, and she later asks Slam to act as father figure (which he declines). Of course, there’s still an out for anyone that doesn’t like it, since it’s never 100% confirmed. I don’t mind the Slam-as-Bruce’s-grandpa revelation, but it is heavy-handed. Still, not as heavy-handed as the reveal that Richard Bruce Patrick was a boozing, gambling, womanizing schemer that not only kidnapped his own child (leading to her death) but also was technically the original “Bat-Man” complete with an underground “Bat-cave” trophy room connected to Wayne Manor.
I much prefer lighter, forward-thinking tales that don’t dwell in the well-worn territory of the past while making twist retcons for shock value. There’s so much to build upon, yet I find King constantly getting grim’n’gritty with comic book history. Wally West, Adam Strange, Mr. Miracle, Booster Gold, Patrick Wayne, Marvel’s Vision… King’s depiction of all of them have left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and in the end, I’m not so sure that we receive anything of additive value for the line.
I’m not sure if this would factor into anything that’s been mentioned on the timeline at all, but comments regarding Galaxy’s presence in the upcoming Hawkgirl Book places Galaxy’s solo graphic novel as happening six years before the present day:
https://twitter.com/planetx/status/1645861240915525632?s=20
Not particularly Batman-related, but I figured on the off chance any of the points on your timeline are connected to Galaxy it was information worth knowing.
Thanks Dylan. It’s definitely neat that they are canonizing this character!
Dear Collin, I know its a long shot, but is there any chance that you can post (retrospectively) the Update Changelog between 7/3/2022 and 11/1/2022?
I tried to look up web.archive and that part wasn’t saved/recorded, but I’m still curious what changes were made in those 4 months.
Thank you in advance.
Hi Pocok, looks like there is a strange gap in the history there that didn’t properly save in web.archive or the internet archive. I keep some old Update records, but I seem to be missing a gap between 7/4/2022 and 10/4/2022. There definitely were changes made during that stretch, but I don’t have an exact record, sorry! Here’s what I do have:
–7/3/2022. Modern Age Year 8. References to Deadman’s debut come from Batgirl: Year One #7, not Batgirl: Year One #8. This has been corrected.
–7/3/2022. Modern Age Year 8. Deadman’s debut moved immediately prior to Batgirl: Year One #7-8 (in which it is specifically said that Batman is adventuring with Deadman).
–7/3/2022. Modern Age Year 8, Modern Age Year 10. Deadman Vol. 2 #1 has been moved from Year 8 to Year 10 as it features the death of Cleveland Brand, who appears alive and well in Nightwing Vol. 2 #103. Deadman Vol. 2 #1 is now placed after Nightwing Vol. 2 #103. Special thanks to Dave Challis on this one.
–7/3/2022. Modern Age Year 15 Part 1. Power of Shazam #22 moved prior to JLA #5. Thanks to Troy Doliner on this one.
–10/5/2022. Infinite Frontier Year 21. Added Joker Vol. 2 #15.
Added: –10/6/2022. Modern Age Early Years. Added Batman #681 epilogue flashback of Thomas Wayne telling Bruce “they’d probably throw someone like Zorro in Arkham.”
Added: –10/6/2022. New 52 Early Years. Added Thomas Wayne telling Bruce “they’d probably throw someone like Zorro in Arkham” (as referenced in Batman Inc Vol. 2 #3).
Added: –10/6/2022. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Age Year 4. As per the second feature to Batman Vol. 3 #12, moved the following from Year 6 to Year 4: Zur-En-Arrh hallucination, Simon Hurt’s debut, red phone line debut, and Achilles Milo’s debut.
Added: –10/8/2022. Modern Age Year 15. Added reference from Aztek: The Ultimate Man #3 about Wayne Enterprises publishing books.
Added: –10/11/2022. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 17. Moved Neal Adams’ Deadman and Batman vs Ra’s al Ghul from Year 18 to Year 17, prior to Dick Grayson’s brain injury.
Added: –10/17/2022. New 52 Futures End. Clarified some information regarding the start of the timeline and the end of the Earth-2 War. Thanks to Martin Lel on this one!
Added: –10/19/2022. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 6 through Year 16 Part 1. Updated/corrected the history of the two Ace the Bat-Hounds as per details in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #8 and “Hounded” (Batman: Urban Legends).
Added: –10/20/2022. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Future and Year 19. Moved Batman: The Detective #1-6 from the future section to Year 19.
Added: –10/25/2022. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Future and Year 19. Moved Batman: The Detective #1-6 back to the future where it belongs. Should future narrative deem it unworthy of canon, so be it. For now, it lives on in the future section. Thanks to Drive a Sandwich for getting me to rethink this.
Added: –10/30/2022. Modern Age Early Years. Martin Lel helped re-organize various parts of this section.
Added: –11/1/2022. Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. “Failsafe” moved from Year 20 to Year 21, post-Dark Crisis.
Added: –11/2/2022. Modern Age Year 14 Part 1. Added references from Showcase ’94 #3. Special thanks to Anthony Fallone.
Wow, thank you very much! Great site as always! 🙂
Also P.S.: hopefully someone managed to save that time period locally in a .txt file and can/will post it some time in the future, just for the sake of documentation!
I think the Zur-En-Arrh vs. Failsafe training montage in #136 is actually after the death of Jason. They flash to a Robin suit in a case during the bout and are discussing failures of Batman. I could be wrong, but if you look at how advanced the cave is and how advanced Failsafe is, I’d say he has been working on it for some time.
Hey Dylan. I missed that on my first go-around, but now that I’m looking at it (and it’s weird design), this is actually the ROBIN OF ZUR-EN-ARRH costume, which we first saw in Batman Vol. 3 #127. While the Robin of Zur-En-Arrh has yet to make an appearance, this might be Chip Zdarsky hinting at something in the future. After all, in the main narrative, Bruce is worried about what other things his Zur-En-Arrh persona might have cooked up in the past that may emerge in the future. I’ll think about this some more though and I’ll def let you know if changes are to be made.
You are absolutely correct.
I guess I also assumed Failsafe wasn’t started until after Tower of Babel. But maybe I misread that in the original Failsafe arc.
Hey Dylan, the creation of Failsafe definitely goes post Batman creating anti-JL contingencies, which is reflected on my timeline. “Tower of Babel” doesn’t occur until Year 11, and while that story is obviously about Batman’s anti-JL contingencies, he comes up with said contingencies years prior. With Zdarsky’s recent output, though, it’s apparent that Zur-En-Arrh comes and goes periodically, meaning that all of his secret machinations (including Failsafe updates) could theoretically be sprinkled throughout the timeline. (Originally, I thought the building of Failsafe was only connected to the early origins of Zur-En-Arrh, but this is obviously not the case any longer.)
Duh, of course the contingencies would exist soon after meeting them. It wouldn’t just be days before Tower of Babel. And Failsafe is a contingency for himself, which would start after he creates those other ones.
Thanks for clearing that up!
I’m curious about your thoughts on the placement of World’s Finest: Teen Titans.
It’s clearly not concurrent with the regular World’s Finest book- that much is clear. Different team, different situation.
My original theory was that it was going to be set between the original Teen Titans #49 and #50, because of the presence of Bumblebee (and with the team disbanding at the end of the following arc), but now that it’s out, with the appearance of Charlie Parker (and mentioning that he’s retired), I think that Waid is just flat out establishing a new iteration of the team that existed between the disbanding of the original team and the founding of the New Teen Titans.
I think it is a totally new iteration of the Teen Titans that fits in at some point after the team disbands (following Teen Titans #50-53) but obviously before New Teen Titans #1. I suppose it could occur prior to World’s Finest, but I think Waid might have it overlap at some point with upcoming issues of World’s Finest. (I think it can be the same team seen in World’s Finest, just with Bumblebee added.)
I’m sure you’ve caught it since, but it seems like, per the interactions with Mal Duncan, Waid is instead overwriting the back half of the OG Teen Titans run. Admittedly, given that it’s a run where Wally West tacitly approves of segregation, that probably makes sense.
Hey Dylan, I’m not so sure it’s overwriting the end of the Teen Titans run so much as continuing it, adding in story the preceded the debut of the New Teen Titans. But I’ll certainly keep an eye on it—especially since it’s one of the better books being published by DC atm.
The problem is that it starts with Bumblebee on the team and THEN introduces Mal Duncan as a character Bumblebee hasn’t met and isn’t a hero yet, which isn’t exactly compatible with the actual silver age comics there.
Oh yeah, that is curious. It clearly occurs post Lilith Clay, Cave Boy (Gnarrk), and Golden Eagle… but sans Mal Duncan. I’ll look into this a bit more. If this is indeed the debut of Duncan, then I’m assuming we’ll see him become Guardian/Herald in this series? If that is indeed the case, then Waid has simply erased Duncan from earlier stories or, like you said, he’s re-writing this era. Either way, a change will def have to be made. I’ll likely wait until the series wraps, though.
Quick question: when do you think the Batman Brave and the Bold #4 Part 1 story takes place? The writers revealed it was originally meant as an inventory story that they got to put out now since it ties into their Batman Beyond series. It seems fairly early in Rebirth considering the inclusion of Cullen Row, Alfred being alive and the costume Batman is wearing. Maybe I missed you posting it elsewhere, but would love your insight.
https://twitter.com/JacksonLanzing/status/1693671494524788964
Hey Dylan, I have this item in my Year Fifteen, just prior to Joker’s “Endgame”. I realize that my search bars can’t handle a mix of italicized words and non-italicized words (i.e. “Vol. 2 #4 Part 1″), which is why, if you were trying to search for it, nothing was coming up. I’ll see if I can fix this!
I thought he didn’t have the purple cape, yellow outlined Bat symbol til after Endgame.
Oh yeah, you are correct. That era is more a blur to me than like all previous 50 years of Batman lol. I will correct. Makes me wonder if I’ve made this mistake elsewhere. Hmmm…
I’m quite nostalgic for those early days of Rebirth, it was my intro to reading monthly. That costume will always be a highlight for me.
There are too many comics, your hit rate is still pretty good all things considered.
Haha, thanks, Dylan. I like that era too, just a blur in my mind lol. Early days of Rebirth were a refreshing course correction from the fatal flaws of the New 52.
Batman Incorporated just wrapped up!
With how it ended, this could be either before Man Who Stopped Laughing starts, during the same flashback time frame where he meets up with the Legion of Doom OR sometime during it (seems less likely seeing as how the action in California seems to happen over the course of a couple days leaving less time for world travel).
Let me know what you think!
Yeah, I think putting the whole thing before The Man Who Stopped Laughing makes sense. I’ve changed it for now… although, it feels strange to put it (and The Man Who Stopped Laughing so far in the past—before Dark Crisis and material that was published well over a year ago). I wonder if there’s a way to place Batman Inc and Man Who Stopped Laughing at the very least after Dark Crisis?
Do you think that there the timeline for Joker could be as follows: Joker Vol. 2 series, then Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing series, then Batman Inc Vol. 3 series?
I think it goes Joker Vol. 2, certain flashbacks (like the Legion of Doom confrontation) from Man Who Stopped Laughing, then Batman Inc Vol. 3, then the main plot of Man Who Stopped Laughing. The main plot must be after Dark Crisis over the course of few weeks because I believe issue 9 leads directly into Knight Terrors and issue 10 directly references the goon shortage caused by Gotham WWA.
I think part of why Batman Inc feels so out of place is because the prelude story in the 2022 Batman annual came out a couple months before the first issue. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a delay.
I think a lot of things (even Ram’s run) will be set after Dark Crisis so the whole Dawn of DC timeline makes more sense. Look what happened with the Failsafe arc. I wonder if they’ll retcon Connor Hawke as the Green Arrow for that issue.
It would make sense for it to be Connor. I doubt they’ll address it, but that’s the only fanwank that makes sense. I’m patiently waiting for Detective to give us a sense of placement. Hopefully soon.
They have solicited that the next arc in Detective after Gotham War ends will also be set post-Gotham War.
I think the final timeline will be as follows:
Shadow War > Dark Crisis > Lazarus Planet > Ram V Detective > First halfish of Man Who Stopped Laughing > Zdarsky Batman & Knight Terrors > Gotham War plus end of Man Who Stopped Laughing > Outlaw Detective arc > Zdarsky Batman vs Joker
Thanks Dylan! I’ll take a look about re-structuring things once Ram V starts his new arc.
Where do you see Christian Ward’s Batman: City of Madness taking place in continuity (assuming it does). He has been on several interviews saying it is a sequel of sorts to Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and features the Court of Owls (who have not interacted with Batman in the story, so this could be before or after the original Court of Owls story by Snyder and Capullo). It’s obviously not a lot of information yet, but I’m always curious about how you determine placement and specifically how and why something is/isn’t canon.
In general, stories like this could take place anywhere, so I just look for key story indicators. If there aren’t any, and it fits in the present era, then it can likely go there. With Black Label, I’m also looking for key indicators of things that are screaming “this is not meant to tie into continuity,” although plenty of Black Label stuff is canon.
In regard to City of Madness specifically, I’ll definitely wait until the series wraps before trying to definitively place it. But after a quick skim of issue #1, it obviously has to occur while Alfred is still alive. I would imagine that it’ll be post Court of Owls debut, but we can’t be sure yet. One of the Terrible Trio gets killed, but deaths don’t mean much when Death Metal/Infinite Frontier states that numerous people were resurrected at that point. However, this would help us place it in-between Death Metal/Infinite Frontier and the prior appearance of the Terrible Trio (which if I’m not mistaken is in an issue of Batgirl). In any case, I’ll def let you know where it goes once the series wraps.
Hello again.
What did you think of City of Madness and how it added on to Arkham, the Court and several other characters?
I rather liked it and appreciated it all wrapping things up with a bow. Would love to see Ward tackle more Batman.
In terms of continuity, I feel this is possible. It could go in the Damian-less portions of the Infinite Frontier timeline, after the finale of Morrison’s run. Let me know what you think!
Hey Dylan, I just re-read it in its entirety. I think it can be canon, although imbuing another malevolent spirit within Joker (I think that’s what happens at the end?) seems like a bit much when Zdarsky and others are already heavy-handedly adding way too much to the Joker mythos as it is. Nevertheless, I dig the story, and I feel like Gotham Below links interestingly to the Dark Multiverse mythos.
In terms of placement, I’d lean on putting it closer to just prior to Alfred’s death. The costume is Christian Ward doing his own thing—I wouldn’t really use it as a means of determining placement. In any case, a neat Black Label tale. I’ll add it in shortly.
I think City Of Madness is meant to be non-canon. Batman’s costume is not always an indicator of canonicity or non canonicity, but I really do think that this is one of those cases where strange costume + strange story = non canon.
I tried reaching out to Ram V about how the events of his Detective fit into continuity, but have not received a response yet. I did pose a similar question to Chip’s substack and he said it’s honestly left up to the editors since Batman ends up in upwards of 12 books per month. Which I guess kind of makes sense, I see why writers would put crafting a good story over whether or not it lines up tidily with others.
I feel like there used to be greater effort from writers to insert natural ellipses in their ongoing arcs, but it’s been over a decade since I can really recall such an effort being done with any success. And Batman being in twelve books per month is too much. (I read all the comics, trust me he’s in well more than just twelve per month on average.) In the end though, that response by Zdarsky only motivates me more—and shows that there is plenty of reason to warrant a site like mine 🙂
Are you able to apply to be the next Batman or DC editor? I feel like it isn’t crazy to have a shared universe that can have good stories and continuity.
Haha wouldn’t that be somethin’!
Having read Detective #1080 (and seen where the solicitations are heading), there’s really no way Ram V’s arc occurs in the middle of another one (i.e. in the middle of Gotham War). Ram V’s arc is much bigger than Gotham War, especially where it seems to be heading. I think I’m going to move it, as you suggested, Dylan.
It’s just a weird run! It’s hard to place which makes it easy to read in a vacuum (making it new reader friendly, which is always nice), but it has also been referencing events and history inconsistently. We’ll see what happens next!
Just leafed back through Birds of Prey #5 to see where the age 16 was mentioned and it appears to be just the character Sin. So I guess we don’t need Cass at age 5 in No Man’s Land?
I always suspected Tim, Cass and Stephanie were early/mid 20s. Minimum college aged.
Wow yeah i totally mis-read Sin as Cassie. Phew. Thanks! Will revert. Cassie should be around 21-years-old atm. I thought it was insane that they were knocking her back five years in age! PS I have Tim and Stephanie both at age 26.
> –1/17/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Added Superman: Lost #1. Notably, Superman: Lost #10 retcons its own narrative (through in-world cosmic temporal hijinks), rendering Batman’s involvement in Superman: Lost #1-10 to just be attached to the first issue.
I don’t think this is (totally) the case? My read was it all still happened, but that the Clark that went on the journey sent the other version of him created by the time-space fuckery back to Earth, so there are technically two Clarks out there- one on Earth, and one in deeeeeep space.
Hey Dylan, I’ll be honest, I read Superman: Lost twice, and I still don’t quite understand it. I guess I can agree with your synopsis—that it all happened. But by story’s end, Clark (some Clark) winds up returning mere hours after the inciting incident (thus sparing him the trauma of living that other long life). In regard to our timeline at hand, the narrative through-line of Clark being despondent and catatonic for months upon his return is removed in regard to everyone else (even if Lois still somehow experienced/remembers it). In any case, I’ll take another gander at this one.
I’ve now read the ending multiple times, and man, this is a real head-scratcher. Time-travel stories aren’t my favorite tbh, and this one seems especially paradoxical for my taste.
Here’s what I’m struggling with. Does the book end on Day One or Day Ninety after all is said and done? At the end of the story, with Superman having returned to Earth instead of Victor’s Planet (sans trauma), they show the issue #2 Contrectatio scene verbatim, only swapping out Victor’s Planet for Earth. This should in effect nullify the rest of the series from that point onward. And, in fact, when Clark returns from his mission at the end, he doesn’t know about the white solar suit and has never heard of Victor. Which seems to point to this being a new Day One—where Clark came back and Lois wrapped up her McGonigle case with ease.
Yet, bizarrely, in this sequence, Lois still knows about the white solar suit and about Adam Strange rescuing Clark. Why would she know about this? In fact, if the Contrectatio never brought Clark to Victor’s Planet, then all of that stuff never happened, right? The entire 3 months of Superman having been upset/PTSD are gone, so that entire 3 months is fundamentally altered to a point of non existence, no? The experience of being lost and then having the bad life (which happens to old Superman) gets relegated to that of an alternate timeline, no? If there’s a loop that is created and closed, I’m not seeing it. I’m just seeing plot holes.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything, but I’ll update the site accordingly. Again, I simply just don’t understand it in full, so it’s hard for me to correct. If you can explain the ending in layman’s terms, I’d love that.
I just read it again lol. And guess who makes a cameo in issue #6. One Alfred Pennyworth. This story is supposed to take place with Alfred alive, and with a beardless old school Aquaman. But it also has elements of canon that are more current (i.e. Black Adam as JL member). After having read this story now multiple times, it’s my firm opinion that it is non-canon.
Don’t forget the flashback of Bruce Wayne and Nora Fries in DC’s Spring Breakout #1 that came out recently. Bruce was still a child and Victor Fries was already engaged to Nora. i start to question how old is Mr Freeze and how long was Nora Frozen.
Hi Matthew, I didn’t forget! It was added the day it came out. (This update section is for any changes to the site that are not related to new weekly releases. I enter all new release stuff as it comes out week-to-week. Thanks!)
Hi Collin, what about Penguin 9 and The Boy Wonder? Are they canon?
Hi Antonio, all of Penguin is canon. Just waiting to add it in once the series finishes. Boy Wonder reads non-canon Black Label to me. Seems to be a slightly re-imagined Damian as Robin Y1 story.
Why did you choose to list Dick Grayson at age 14 in your rebirth timeline from by the looks of it, he seems to become Robin or at least he’s drawn to be at around 12 like he traditionally is depicted as being?
Hi Hassan! As stated in a footnote in Y3, Dick’s age reasoning comes from having to combine 1. Tom King’s overall timeline (from Batman: Killing Time and The Penguin #6-7, which seems to imply Dick becoming Robin in later Y3) with 2. the fact that Dick stops being Robin on his eighteenth birthday (according to Marv Wolfman’s Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Spectacular Part 1). Aside from that, there’s nothing in contemporary canon (so far, at least) that has definitively given Dick’s age at the time of his parents’ deaths.