Updates

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 Tuesday, 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. 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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–9/6/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Moved Poison Ivy #13 a bit later, connected it to Poison Ivy #14.
–9/6/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21-22. Moved Justice Society of America Vol. 4 #4-5 from Year 21 to Year 22, connecting it to Justice Society of America Vol. 4 #6.
–9/6/2023. Modern Age Year 11. Added Batman learning about Kent Nelson’s death (as per Justice League America #29).
–9/6/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 6-7. Removed unnecessary/incorrect reference issues from Teen Titans/Loren Jupiter note. And as per World’s Finest: Teen Titans #2, altered information about Mal Duncan, which will likely change once future issues of World’s Finest: Teen Titans come out. Added Mal Duncan’s debut as superhero to Year 7. Special thanks to Dylan Robinson.
–9/8/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 17-20. Moved Robins series from Year 19 to Year 20. Moved a reference about La Agente Fúnebre from Year 19 to Year 17. Special thanks to Martín Lel.
–9/11/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Early Period. Moved Bruce and Anton’s India training (from Batman: Urban Legends #11-12) in-between Batman: The Knight #5 and Batman: The Knight #6. Special thanks to Jack James.
–9/11/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 15. Moved Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol. 2 #4 Part 1 post-Joker’s “Endgame.” Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–9/11/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 15-16. Moved the Two-Face flashback from Batman: One Bad Day – Two-Face #1 from Year 15 to Year 16 due to Batman’s Rebirth costume.
–9/12/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Moved the entire Batman Incorporated Vol. 3 series in-between the conclusion of Joker Vol. 2 and Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing. Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–9/12/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Slid a handful of more inconsequential items in Part 1 of this section in order to move Catwoman, Punchline, and Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing closer to Dark Crisis. There is a strong possibility that these latter issues (along with Ram V’s Detective Comics) may go post-Dark Crisis, but we’ll wait and see.
–9/18/2023. Modern Age Year 7. Corrected The Brave and The Bold Vol. 3 #10, which does not appear in full in Year 7. Only a part of the issue occurs in Year 7 via flashback.
–9/19/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Moved entire Hawkgirl Vol. 2 series right before “Failsafe.”
–9/19/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1-2. Removed Brainiac and Bottle City of Kandor note from Year 2, moved reference material related to it into Year 1—as per Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #19. Also moved Lois Lane’s debut a bit earlier in Year 1.
–9/28/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1-2. Moved Poison Ivy #13-14 just prior to “Girl in a Crisis” (as per reference in Harley Quinn Vol. 4 #32).
–10/3/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 3. Consolidated some Catwoman items at the outset of Year 3.
–10/3/2023. Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Moved Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #1 prior to Batman Vol. 3 #137.
–10/10/2023. Infinite Frontier Era Year 20-21. Moved Poison Ivy #13-14 just prior to Batman and Robin Vol. 3 #1-2 due to editorial note/reference in latter. (Also, Harley Quinn Vol. 4 #31 shows Poison Ivy’s return to Gotham City, so Poison Ivy #13-14 has to go after Knight Terrors.)
–10/16/2023. Modern Age Year 13, 21. Moved note about Tim’s age from Year 21 to Year 13.
–10/16/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1. Moved flashback from Detective Comics #1027 Part 3 into Batman’s second encounter with Joker notation.
–10/16/2023. Infinite Frontier Era Year 21, future section. Moved flashback from Detective Comics #1027 Part 3 (Joker sending bday gift) from future section to Year 21. In the future section, moved Jim Gordon’s reinstatement as commissioner a bit earlier.
–10/17/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 3. Added in Atom-Master debut (as per Super Sons #6).
–10/17/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 6-7. Complete restructuring of Year 6 and Year 7 based upon distance (length of time being “a few months”) between Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #11 and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #20.
–10/18/2023. Modern Age Year 1-4. I realized that Howard Porter’s Batcave image in Flash Vol. 2 #210 is based off of Dick Sprang’s 1995 Secrets of the Batcave lithograph. As such, I’ve added in a few Batcave trophy and equipment references.
–10/18/2023. Golden Age Year 4, 10, and 16. Moved Batman’s acquisition of giant Two-Face bust from Year 16 to Year 10. Added in reference about Two-Face bust into Two-Face’s debut in Year 4.
–10/24/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 17-18. Moved Ram V’s Batman Secret Files #1 Part 2 from Year 17 to Year 18 as per timeline given in Detective Comics #1075.
–10/24/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 20-21. Moved Batman Inc Vol. 3, Punchline: The Gotham Game, and associated Catwoman Vol. 5 issues and associated Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing references from Year 20 to Year 21 (as per Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Red Hood #2). Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–10/25/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Realized that Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn #1 Part 3 has an epilogue that occurs after Batman vs Robin #5 and Lazarus Planet have ended. As such Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1 doesn’t need a hidden ellipsis to accommodate all of Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn #1 Part 3. Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–11/1/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21-22. Moved all of Ram V’s Detective Comics arc from Year 21 to Year 22.
–11/2/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21-22. Split up Ram V’s Detective Comics arc, moving “Gotham Nocturne: Overture,” “Gotham Nocturne: Act I,” and Two-Face – One Bad Day prior to the start of Chip Zdarsky’s run (Batman Vol. 3 #125 Intro). Special thanks to Dylan Hall!
–11/7/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Added the resurrection of the Criminal and the Clown Jokers as per references in Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Scorched Earth #1 and Batman Vol. 3 #139. This is a tricky one, open to various interpretations. Chip Zdarsky could be referencing parts of Geoff Johns’ three Joker mythos, taking things piecemeal; Zdarsky could be overwriting Johns’ Three Jokers series entirely; or Zdarsky’s previous arcs (notably “Bat-Man of Gotham”) may have already given narrative clues pointing toward the resurrection concept that I’ve gone with here. See my new blog entry for added details.
–11/7/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 10. Moved formation of Wonder Woman-led JL and formation of JL Task Force a bit earlier.
–11/12/2023. Bronze Age Year 16. Moved The Brave and The Bold #193-194 prior to Peter Pauling’s death. Special thanks to Mike Thompson!
–11/14/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 5. Added Batman versus Music Meister (as referenced in DC Pride 2022 #1 Part 3).
–11/21/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 11. Moved JL and JSA versus Ultra-Humanite a bit later.
–11/21/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 10. Removed Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong #1. The series is non-canon.
–11/21/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1 and Year 17. Moved Batman adding electrified brass knuckles to his utility belt weaponry from Year 17 to Year 1. The knux are first referenced in Batman: Urban Legends #19 Part 5, but are now going early due to the fact that we see them in Batman: Off-World #1.
–11/21/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 2. January 18 flashback from Killing Time #2 moved a bit earlier.
–11/28/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1-16. Added-in Batman: The Brave and the Bold Vol. 2 #6-7 (“Pygmalion”) references and flashbacks.
–11/28/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 13-15 and Year 18. Major adjustments in order to achieve better balance.
–11/28/2023. Golden Age Year 10-12. Major adjustments in order to achieve better balance.
–11/29/2023. Silver Age Year 1-2. Moved some items from the end of Year 1 into the beginning of Year 2 to achieve better balance.
–11/29/2023. Silver Age Year 7-9. Moved some items from the end of Year 7 into the beginning of Year 8, and beginning of Year 9 into end of Year 8, to achieve better balance.
–11/29/2023. Modern Age Year 4-5, 11-13, and 16-17. Moved items around to achieve better balance.
–11/29/2023. New 52 Year 5-6. Moved items around to achieve better balance.
–11/29/2023. Rebirth Era Year 9-10. Moved items around to achieve better balance.
–12/4/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 15-16. Major adjustments in order to achieve better balance.
–12/10/2023. New 52 Early Period. Moved things around in accordance with Batman and Robin Eternal #1 and Gotham Academy #1. Bruce goes to Gotham Academy to start his schooling (for kindergarten), then transfers to Roxbury Fielding Academy for 3rd grade where he meets Tommy Elliot. Special thanks to John Doe!
–12/10/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Early Period. Added Bruce learning to speak Russian. Special thanks to Frank Hanson!
–12/12/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Early Period. Moved Bette Kane’s birth a few years earlier. Special thanks to Jason Fetterley!
–12/12/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21-22. Moved Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight #1 from Year 21 to Year 22.
–12/12/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 6-7. Moved World’s Finest: Teen Titans from Year 7 to Year 6.
–12/13/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 6. Moved items around to accommodate Robin’s suspension in World’s Finest: Teen Titans #6.
–12/19/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Early Years. Cleaned up Bette Kane debut item.
–12/19/2023. New 52 Early Years. Cleaned up Bette Kane debut item.
–12/19/2023. Modern Age Year 5-6. Moved Blockbuster’s debut from Year 6 into Year 5. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–12/20/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Years 5-9. Moved Cosmic Odyssey (and associated follow-up) from Year 5 to its proper spot in Year 9.
–12/21/2023. Modern Age Year 22. Added flashback of Batman getting Omega Sanctioned from Justice League: Cry for Justice #1.
–12/21/2023. Modern Age Year 22. Added Titans Vol. 2 #21 and rearranged things accordingly. Cry for Justice goes just prior to Blackest Night, not after it. Special thanks to JDMA.
–12/26/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 11. Added Bridgette Clancy debut.
–12/26/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved “Mindbomb” after Beast World (as per Green Arrow Vol. 7 #7).
–12/26/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved current Ram V Detective Comics run completely post-“Gotham War,” just prior to Beast World. Depending on how things turn out with Ram V’s seemingly more and more epic (and detached) narrative, things could radically shift again.
–12/27/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 6. Removed incomplete reference entry for The Spook’s debut. As of now, the Spook is still non-canon in current continuity.
–12/27/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 10. Removed incomplete reference entry for Harold Allnut’s debut. As of now, Harold is still non-canon in current continuity.
–12/27/2023. Modern Age Early Period. Added flashback to Wayne murders from Detective Comics #701.
–12/28/2023. Modern Age Year 13. Moved Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen’s marriage just prior to Batman #484-487.
–12/28/2023. Modern Age Early Period. Added flashback to Wayne murders and references to childhood from Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds.
–12/28/2023. Modern Age Year 15. Moved Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds and DC vs Marvel Comics prior to Action Comics #719-720 on account of Lois and Clark’s relationship status. Also moved Joker: Devil’s Advocate to fit better as well. Special thanks to Troy Doliner.
–12/28/2023. Modern Age Year 3. Added Batman meeting Joker’s associates (as referenced in The Joker: Devil’s Advocate).
–12/30/2023. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 13. Added Plastic Man Vol. 4 #5, Suicide Squad Vol. 5 Annual #1, Batman Vol. 3 #79, Flash Vol. 5 #61, and Catwoman Vol. 5 #51 as references to the canonicity of Gail Simone’s Secret Six.
–1/2/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 2. Moved some of Dick’s training items a bit later to accommodate his training abroad with Lucie Chesson (as referenced in Batman Vol. 3 #141).
–1/2/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 5, 11. Moved Batman and Robin Eternal from Year 5 to Year 11, moving Cassie Cain’s debut (as per Birds of Prey Vol. 5 #5).
–1/3/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era. Undid previous item. I totally misread Birds of Prey Vol. 5 #5. Cassie is not sixteen, Sin is sixteen! Cassie is around 21-years-old in current continuity. Thanks to Dylan Hall.
–1/9/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era. As per Outsiders Vol. 5 #3, the official date of the Wayne murders is September 21. Made massive changes accordingly.
–1/10/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 16. Added in Run-Offs debut (as per Nightwing Vol. 4 #34).
–1/12/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 13. Added Green Lantern Vol. 6 #1 as additional reference to the Sinestro Corps War.
–1/17/2024. Rewrote/edited the intro pages to the site (Canon, Rebooted Timelines, and Process), adding new sources and informational text.
–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.
–1/18/2024. Modern Age Early Years, Year 1-2. Moved “Gothic” to its correct location in Year 2—in late April to early May setting. Added references from “Gothic” into Early Years and Year 1 as well. Special thanks to Marcello Millicay.
–1/21/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21. Having spent countless hours reading, re-reading, and doing in-depth analyses of Superman: Lost, I’m convinced it is non-canon. As such, I’ve removed it from the chronology (although, I’ve left a footnote in Year 21 detailing why I’ve done so).
–1/23/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1. As per Batman: The Brave and the Bold Vol. 2 #9 Part 1 (the conclusion to “The Winning Card”), I’ve moved around a ton of Joker stuff.
–1/25/2024. Modern Age Year 1-20. Added in multiple flashbacks from 52 #30. Special thanks to Martín Lel.
–1/25/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. After revisiting the messy editorial of Green Arrow Vol. 7 #6-8 and Beast World Tour – Star City #1, a new order of things has begun to develop. I’ve made specific changes accordingly, including moving Ram V’s arc closer to present day. Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–2/2/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 2. Moved intro flashback scene of Batman vs Syyn earlier in Year 2 as per timeline given in Batman: Off-World #3.
–2/8/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 2-4. Moved both Green Arrow and Plastic Man’s debuts from Year 4 to Year 2.
–2/15/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 17-18. Moved Batman: City of Madness from Year 18 to Year 17 (prior to Dick becoming Ric). Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–2/18/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 17. Moved “Beasts of Burden” prior to Witching Hour and Heroes in Crisis #1. Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–2/19/2024. Modern Age Year 13. Moved reference notes about Babs becoming Oracle to April (just after Swamp Thing Vol. 2 Annual #4). Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–2/21/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1-2. Moved Bruce starting to visit Flunky’s from Year 2 to Year 1.
–2/22/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 16-17. Moved Three Jokers and Batman Giant #1-2 from Year 17 to Year 16. Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–2/22/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 15-16. Moved a bunch of items from the beginning of Year 16 to the end of Year 15.
–2/23/2024. Modern Age Year 1. Added flashback from Batman #644 and reference in Batman #645 about Batman vs Elmo “Buzz” Galvan.
–2/23/2024. Modern Age Year 15-16. Moved “Ghosts” from Year 15 to Year 16. Special thanks to Troy Doliner.
–2/23/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 21 and Future Section. Moved Batman putting Damian’s old costume on display in Batcave (as referenced in Batman Beyond Vol. 8 #18) from Future Section to Year 21. In Future Section, moved around Damian references attached to Batman Beyond Vol. 8 #9-10.
–2/21/2024 to 2/23/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1-17 and Future Section. Updated everything according to Chip Zdarsky’s “The Joker: Year One.” This includes adjustment of all Three Jokers material, removal of references to three jokers outside of their initial inception, adjustments to the New 52 section, and the addition of Damian as “666 Batman” to the Future Section.
–2/23/2024 to 2/24/2024. Modern Age Year 14-15. Moved Batman/Demon from Year 15 to Year 14. Added flashback of Abattoir’s death from Batman/Demon into Year 14.
–2/25/2024. Modern Age Year 15. Moved Lex Luthor’s resurfacing and marriage prior to Final Night, JLA #1-4, and JL Incarnations #6 Part 2. Special thanks to Troy Doliner.
–2/25/2024. Modern Age Year 6. Added in reference from Adventure Comics #517 Part 2 about Batman’s first meeting with the Atom. Special thanks to JDMA.
–2/27/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 14-17. Moved start of Gotham Academy narrative from Year 14 to Year 15. Moved other Gotham Academy stories from Year 17 to Year 16.
–3/3/2024. Modern Age Year 14. Moved items that were in incorrect order pertaining to “The Search” and “The Crusade”—notably Shadow of the Bat #21-23, Robin Vol. 2 #1-5, and Detective Comics #667-668. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–3/5/2024. Modern Age Year 21. Added the previously missing Superman #670 and moved some things around, accordingly. Special thanks to Sam Groover.
–3/5/2024. Modern Age Year 16. Added in Superman telling Batman about the bottle city of Kandor (as per Superman: The Man of Steel #100Supergirl Vol. 5 #6-8, and Superman #670).
–3/5/2024. Modern Age Year 15. Added in the previously missing Sovereign Seven #12. Special thanks to Troy Doliner.
–3/5/2024. Modern Age Year 14. Added in the previously missing Sovereign Seven #5.
–3/6/2024. Modern Age Year 10-16. Moved Superman telling Batman about bottle city of Kandor from Year 16 to Year 10. Also added Superman telling Batman about the Phantom Zone to this note (as per JLA #58 and Action Comics #825).
–3/6/2024. Modern Age Year 15. Made several major adjustments to the timeline near the debut of the “Big Guns” JLA and Final Night. Special thanks to Troy Doliner.
–3/6/2024. Modern Age Year 14. Moved Sovereign Seven #5 a tad bit later on the timeline. Special thanks to Troy Doliner.
–3/8/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Early Years and Year 1. Moved flashback of Bruce visiting Joe Chill in prison (from Batman Vol. 2 #124) from the Early Years to Year 1. Special thanks to Martín Lel.
–3/9/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved Nightwing Vol. 4 #111 prior to “Mindbomb.” Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–3/10/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 10. Moved debut of Big Guns JLA and lunar Watchtower closer to “Final Night.”
–3/11/2024. Modern Age Year 15. Moved the reference in the second feature to Aztek: The Ultimate Man #3 a bit earlier. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–3/13/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Moved Batman and Robin Vol. 3 2024 Annual #1 a bit earlier, into the middle of the ongoing Batman and Robin Vol. 3 storyline.
–3/14/2024. Silver/Bronze Age Year 9-10. Moved reference note from Batman #532 from Year 10 to Year 9.
–3/17/2024. Modern Age Future Section. Changed Legends of the Dark Knight #101 note into legitimate entry. Special thanks to Bardia.
–3/19/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22. Nightwing Vol. 4 #112 specifically says it occurs “a few weeks” after Titans: Beast World. Therefore, I moved Nightwing Vol. 4 #111-112 later on the timeline. This may shift again once things settle.
–3/19/2024. Modern Age Year 15. Moved Nightwing Vol. 2 Annual #1 with the rest of the “Pulp Heroes” stories. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–3/19/2024. Modern Age Year 15. Combined Batman-less JLA #9 Epilogue with JLA #10 proper.
–3/19/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 22 and Future Section. Added all Tom King Trinity stories and references released thus far in the second feature to Wonder Woman #800 and the second features to Wonder Woman Vol. 6 #1-6.
–3/19/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Early Period to Year 19. Major overhaul to all sections based on Tom King’s Wonder Woman Vol. 6 #7, which canonizes Bruce’s birthday as February.
–3/21/2024. Modern Age 21-22. Added the previously missing Death of the New Gods #2 and associated reference notes from Death of the New Gods #1-2. Also moved a reference note from Death of the New Gods #8 a bit earlier to dovetail properly with Death of the New Gods #2. Special thanks to Sam Groover.
–3/21/2024. Modern Age 16. Added in Batman: Outlaws #1-3, which I had previously (incorrectly) regarded as non-canon. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–3/21/2024. Modern Age 13. Moved Manhunter #17 after Babs’ debut as Oracle.
–3/21/2024. Modern Age Year 15-16. Added in Batman: Joker’s Apprentice #1, which I had previously (incorrectly) regarded as non-canon. Special thanks to Mike Thompson.
–3/26/2024. Modern Age Year 11. Moved JLI #7 next to JL #6.
–3/26/2024. Modern Age Year 11. Moved Firestorm The Nuclear Man #64 and Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 earlier. Special thanks to Dave Challis.
–3/26/2024. Modern Age Year 12. Moved JLI Annual #2 and DC Bonus Book #7 closer to JLA Incarnations #6 and JLI #15-17.
–3/26/2024. Modern Age Year 12. Added-in flashback from Batman Annual #12 Part 2.
–3/26/2024. Modern Age Year 12. Moved JLI #19-21 next to JLI #15-17, as JLI #14-21 features one continuous uninterrupted story. Special thanks to Dave Challis.
–3/27/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 1-7. Split up Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #25 in half, moving the Joker/Luthor story (Part 1) into Year 2. Also added a reference about one of the Batmobiles from Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #25 Part 2 into Year 1. Special thanks to Dylan Hall.
–3/27/2024. Rebirth/Infinite Frontier Era Year 15-17. Moved Gotham Academy arc based on Second Semester from Year 16 to Year 15. Moved “They Make Great Pets” Gotham Academy arc from Year 17 to Year 15. (All of Karl Kerschl’s Gotham Academy stories, including his current/ongoing “Mother’s Day” arc, occur shortly after the original Gotham Academy: Second Semester narrative. Maps is still a freshman, Bruce isn’t yet involved/engaged to Catwoman, etc.)

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87 Responses to Updates

  1. Dylan Robinson says:

    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!

  2. Dylan Robinson says:

    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.

  3. Drive a Sandwich says:

    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.

  4. Antonio says:

    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.

  5. Dylan Robinson says:

    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’?

    • Dylan Robinson says:

      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.

        • Dylan Robinson says:

          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.

            • Dylan Robinson says:

              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?

                • Dylan Robinson says:

                  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.

  6. Dylan Robinson says:

    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.

        • Dylan Robinson says:

          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.

  7. Cinnamon Toast Crunch Enthusiast says:

    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.

  8. Dylan Robinson says:

    Looks like Human Target COULD actually be in-continuity, given revelations in the most recent issue.

  9. Dylan Robinson says:

    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.

  10. Dylan Robinson says:

    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.

      • Dylan Robinson says:

        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.

  11. JDMA12 says:

    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.

  12. Dylan Robinson says:

    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.

  13. Dylan Robinson says:

    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.

  14. Pocok says:

    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.

      • Pocok says:

        Wow, thank you very much! Great site as always! 🙂

        • Pocok says:

          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!

  15. Dylan Hall says:

    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.

      • Dylan Hall says:

        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.)

          • Dylan Hall says:

            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!

  16. Dylan Robinson says:

    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.)

      • Dylan Robinson says:

        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.

          • Dylan Robinson says:

            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.

  17. Dylan Hall says:

    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!

      • Dylan Hall says:

        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…

          • Dylan Hall says:

            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.

  18. Dylan Hall says:

    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?

      • Dylan Hall says:

        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.

          • Dylan Hall says:

            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

  19. Dylan Hall says:

    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.

      • Dylan Hall says:

        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.

  20. Antonio says:

    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.

  21. Dylan Hall says:

    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 🙂

      • Dylan Hall says:

        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.

            • Dylan Hall says:

              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!

  22. Dylan Hall says:

    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.

  23. Dylan Robinson says:

    > –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.

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