The newly created DC Studios just announced 10 projects that will herald in a new DC Universe. While I’m over the moon about Warner Bros. Discovery finally having a plan for its DCU, there’s an aspect of these movies and shows that begs a lot of questions. As with a lot of James Gunn’s announcement, if we’re being honest. But the one that is a little harder to pin down, is the new DC Universe timeline. With movies taking place in different periods, with different subject matter and characters being of different ages than expected, let’s try to figure out where it all fits.
Superman: Legacy Is A Younger Superman Story
The movie that is supposedly kicking off the new DCU is, of course, about Superman! While we don’t know a lot about its story or if it’s particularly based on any one comic book source material, we know from Variety about writer James Gunn’s approach. When announcing that Henry Cavill will not be the DCU Superman, Gunn mentioned that the Superman: Legacy story, while not being an origin story, will skew the character younger. Which, makes absolutely when you’re rebooting and introducing a new Superman to the world.
How Does A Young Superman Fit With An Older Dad Batman?
But then we must ask about how the World’s Finest fit together if they’re of drastically different ages. The dynamic between Superman and Batman have always been of similar ages. With maybe a few years here and there. They’re peers, colleagues and at times, friends of the same generation with drastically different ideologies and experiences.
So having the new DCU Superman be younger, someone who is coming into his own, with a much older Batman who (potentially) has fostered and mentored multiple young kids as Robins and now has his own son, seems off. The shift in age is something that would definitely change the dynamic between these two characters. At least, in a way that we’ve never seen before. The creative team of Gunn and whoever the director is may absolutely find a way to make it work. But it’ll be a totally different kind of Superman-Batman relationship than we’re used to.
And Then There’s The Wonder Woman Of It All
Similarly, there is the matter of DC Comics’ holy Trinity comprising Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. The newly announced Paradise Lost series is set in Themyscira and may or may not be a Wonder Woman origin movie. But will at least, be an orange story about where she comes from, and their culture, morals and more. Presumably, the series will explore the Amazonian culture that Wonder Woman comes from, establishing other characters from her world, potential spin-offs, etc— before introducing us to this new DCU Wonder Woman.
Trying to make sense of this new DC Universe timeline, it sounds like Paradise Lost will be a prequel to the events of the main DCU continuity, similar to Captain America: First Avenger or Captain Marvel. Which makes the most sense. Because then you can have a Wonder Woman born after the events of this series, or be a young girl during them. And then age the character up into the Wonder Woman we know, aligning with Superman or Batman’s age. Or somewhere in between. But if the story of Paradise Lost is happening in the same time frame as Superman: Legacy and The Brave And The Bold, then Wonder Woman would be significantly younger than two-thirds of the DC Trinity.
Creature Commandoes Is Definitely A Prequel In New DC Universe Timeline
One project that is clearly a prequel is the Creature Commandos animated series. The series is all about a team of monsters— sorry— creatures who team up to fight nazis. What will be interesting to see, is how the show lines up with the present day stories, eventually hooking up with the present-day characters like Superman and Batman. Given that it’s a team of creatures, I don’t think their aging will be an issue.
Where Do The Other Projects Fall In The New DC Universe Timeline?
The remainder of the new DCU projects are less complicated, although, still a little head scratchy. Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow promises a darker Supergirl. But any discrepancy with the timeline they can attribute to the timey-wimey complications of space travel, which is actually canon in the Supergirl origin story.
The Authority sounds like it’ll be pretty set in the modern day, so that should bypass any complications. Although, how they can introduce a team like that in a world that may already have a Superman or a veteran Batman is a question for another article. Maybe.
Lanterns as a detective-style story set on Earth can play in the modern day or as a prequel to events leading up to the present day. Given that Hal Jordan and John Stewart are both modern-day Green Lanterns, I don’t foresee any issues connecting them to the other present-day heroes. And let’s not even get into Booster Gold, given that the entire premise of that character is someone who travels back in time from the future.
Let me know what your theories are about what periods the new DC Universe timeline will play in.
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