This year marks the 40th anniversary of the massive DC Universe Crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths. Needless to say, those last 40 years have been pretty rough for DC comics, with a total of roughly 5 reboots. Continuity for us comic fans can usually be quite a mess; it mainly boils down to writers constantly changing their minds on how much experience they want their heroes to have. After Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman had her entire history erased and past with the Justice League retconned and replaced by Black Canary. However, at the same time, they can’t decide whether or not Wonder Woman was active within the Justice Society. Just recently, they retconned her mother Hippolyta as being Wonder Woman during WW2, yet again. However, because this ruins the idea of Diana being the first Amazon to leave the island, I don’t even expect this see-saw of a retcon to last.
Needless to say, this is where the other issues come in, asking if the universe has a legacy of heroes going back to World War 2 or if they are a new occurrence like we saw during the New 52. In the opening text of this year’s Superman movie, we are presented with a simple answer: there have been metahumans on Earth for over 400 years, and Superman is already 4 years into his career. Not only that, but later in the movie we see a giant mural in the Justice Gang headquarters full of not only Golden Age heroes, but some as recent as the 90’s and some others that have their stories going as far back as 400 years ago.
I really applaud James Gunn on this. First, it establishes this DC Universe as very unlike our own. A universe where the existence of cryptids and magic is actually fact. This provides a good counterbalance to the MCU, which is always trying to be more like our world. This was also something that DC tried shutting down during the New 52. I can understand the desire to have more mainstream appeal by establishing heroes as a new occurrence to create relatability, but the concept of legacy is deeply ingrained within the DC Universe. It was the company that created the entire genre.
However, what I personally love most about the Justice Gang mural is that it establishes a minor gripe I’ve always had with these superhero timelines. In both the Marvel and DC Comics universe, we are told that there was an active Superhero team in the 40’s that fought the Axis powers alongside the Allies, and then a massive gap between then and the present when new heroes became a rare occurrence. Sure, there are retconned teams such as the 1950s Avengers or the 1970s Mighty Avengers, but these teams were mostly incognito in order to maintain the status quo.
Thankfully, we are seeing a push against this even in the comics. Action Comics is currently doing a flashback to Superman’s early years as Superboy, featuring Captain Comet, DC’s first mutant, who in turn may be a mentor figure for him.
Action Comics #1089 by Mark Waid and Skylar Patridge
However, if the history is set in literal stone already, what about the future? Unfortunately, James Gunn has admitted to not being a big fan of time travel stories, so don’t expect any Komandi, Batman Beyond, or Legion of Superheroes appearances anytime soon. Despite strong rumors, this would also mean future appearances of Booster Gold may also be out of the question.
Still, I feel this is the right track to start an expanded DC universe because it stabilizes their concept of a heroic legacy. I already have a slight gripe with how the MCU established Captain America as the only hero during World War 2 up until the appearance of Iron Man. Plus, DC Comics has The Flash, who is probably the best example of a successful legacy of heroes. Hopefully, by doing this, it will help put a lot of continuity matters to bed, the end of Wonder Woman’s history constantly shuffled around, the existence of the Justice Society, and the concept of future legacy. I know comics reflecting the movies and TV shows never work out too well, but this is something the company needs. We haven’t had any hints about whether or not someone in this DC cinematic universe is the fifth person to put on a costume and take over a mantle, but it is possible and fitting to what the DC Universe is. Needless to say, hopefully, this means a more streamlined continuity, and we can stop getting a reboot every 5 years.
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