Return of the Quickie: Comics to Screen Part I: DC Comics
This blog post is about DC Comics characters that have been adapted to the screen...as it relates to the multiverses of DC Canon. My upcoming TELEVISION CROSSOVER UNIVERSE: WORLDS AND MYTHOLOGY will cover how DC Comics characters and series fit into the Television Crossover Multiverse, and my other upcoming book, the Cartoon Crossover Encyclopedia, will do the same for DC characters and series in the Cartoon Multiverse. But DC over the years has also established that their own shows and movies exist within their own multiverse. And so that's what I'm talking about today, since this is a blog about shared realities of television and film.
OmniverseOriginally according to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe 2004, "the omniverse is the collection of every single universe, multiverse, dimension (alternate or pocket) and realm."
Original MultiverseCatalogedOriginally there was no consistency regarding "numbered" Earths—they would be either spelled out as words or use numbers even within the same story. For example, "Crisis on Earth-Three!" (Justice League of America (vol. 1) #29, August 1964) uses "Earth-3" and "Earth-Three" interchangeably. However, a tradition of spelling out the numbers emerged in "The Most Dangerous Earth" (Justice League of America (vol. 1) #30, September 1964). This convention was disregarded in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and it became common practice to refer to the various Earths with numerals instead. Infinite Crisis reverted to the original practice, but 52 and Countdown have referred to the alternate universes with numerals.In this single universe, the timeline was destroyed in the early 1990s by Hal Jordan (possessed by Parallax) and created an slightly changed timeline (Zero Hour, 1994). It was later revealed that this Central Timeline was like a river with branches. This branches were like different realities, the history of Earth was different in every branch and everything could be possible in them. They could affect the Central Timeline as they return to the mainstream and the heroes could encounter with different versions of themselves. However, they where somewhat ephemeral as the Central Timeline is the only one that could prevail (The Kingdom, 1999).After Crisis on Infinite Earths, there was no place for alternate realities, although they could exist in the form of ephemeral timelines (Hypertime), dimensions (such as the fifth dimension or the Fourth World) or Universes inside the Universe (Legion of Super-Heroes' Pocket Universe, Amalgam Universe).However, there was contact with realities that existed outside the Universe such as those from Marvel, Milestone and Wildstorm. The collection of universes, multiverses and others that are unrelated, is most of the times called Megaverse. Some also call it the Omniverse but tend to include the Real World when using this denomination.
The contact of these worlds usually brought cataclysms, being the most common, the amalgamation. Traveling between these realities was extremely hard, only two characters were capable of doing so with natural abilities: Rift, who existed in both the DC and Milestone Universes, and Access, who had the task of keeping DC and Marvel separated to prevent amalgamation.
Most of the times, these events were either forgotten (as shown in the Unlimited Access miniseries as Access has the power to annul or restore the memories of heroes) or believed to be "dreams" (as shown in DC/Milestone: Worlds Collide and DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar), which in the end left few traces of the events in the respective continuities.The Wilstorm Universe was part of a larger multiverse but was separated after a multiversal cataclysm, forming a multiverse of its own (Shattered Image). Organizations known as Planetary and The Authority were capable of traveling across the Multiverse and were also able to map it. Its structure was described as a web of 196,833 universes arranged in a pattern resembling a snowflake, each universe separated from its neighbors by a medium called the Bleed. The Bleed prevented the Universes from colliding and was inhabited by "fauna" that despised all different Earths. Constantine The reality that this film exists in is said to be an alternate reality in Hellblazer.HypertimeThe Kingdom #1Structure of the time stream of the DC Universe.All retcons, "imaginary stories", alternate timelines, Elseworlds, appearances in other media and even worlds of the former multiverse are branches of the main stream. Like in a river, these branches usually returned to the main stream and affected it, which explained retcons and certain interactions with the main timeline.The 52A new Multiverse was revealed at the end of the 52 weekly limited series. Unlike the original Multiverse, which was composed of an infinite number of alternate universes, this Multiverse is composed of a predetermined number of alternate universes, which were originally referred to as New Earth and Earths 1 through 51, although erroneously in Tangent: Superman's Reign #1, New Earth is referred to as Earth-1; however, in Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1, New Earth is instead designated Earth-0. Dan Didio has since explicitly denied that New Earth is Earth-1. The alternate universes were originally identical to New Earth and contained the same history and people until Mister Mind "devoured" portions of each Earth’s history, creating new, distinct Earths with their own histories and people, such as the Nazi-themed version of the Justice League that exists in Earth-10. Each of the alternate universes have their own parallel dimensions, divergent timelines, microverses, etc., branching off them.The Guardians of the Universe serve as protectors of the new Multiverse. Each universe within the Multiverse is separated by a Source Wall, behind which Anti-Life keeps the universes apart. The Bleed permeates the Anti-Life in unpredictable places behind the Source Wall, allowing for transport between the universes. The destruction of New Earth would set off a chain reaction that would destroy the other fifty-one alternate universes at the same time, leaving only the Antimatter Universe in existence. As a consequence of Alexander Luthor's attempts to recreate the Multiverse, fifty-two new Monitors were created to oversee the fifty-two universes created afterwards. The Monitors seek to protect the Multiverse from people who crossover from one alternate universe to another, through the Bleed or through innate ability, who the Monitors have labeled "anomalies".A partial list of some of the alternate universes that make up the new Multiverse was revealed in late November 2007.Earth-12Post-52Characters and settings shown in the DC animated universe, such as the Batman Beyond television seriesThe Green Lantern of Earth-12 is a descendant of Hal Jordan. In Countdown: Arena #1, it is explained that seven Green Lanterns patrol the "seven primary galaxies" and that Hal Jordan's descendant patrols the Milky Way Galaxy.Countdown #21 (December 2007) and Countdown: Arena #1 (February 2008)Earth-16Post-52Characters shown in the Young Justice (TV series) .Young Justice (TV series) Episode 1:"Independence Day" (January 7, 2011) Earth-23 Post-52Characters shown in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold television seriesThis Earth's designation was shown in the episode "Deep Cover for Batman!".Batman: The Brave and the Bold Episode 1: "Rise of the Blue Beetle!"The New 52The Flashpoint story arc ended with a massive change to the Multiverse; to what extent it's entirely new, and to what extent it's as it was formed in the wake of 52, has not fully been established. Some worlds, like Earth-1 and Earth-23, appear to be entirely untouched, while others, like Earth-0, Earth-2, and Earth-16, have changed drastically. In July 2014, a map of the Multiverse was released, in promotion of Grant Morrison's The Multiversity series.Earth-12The Justice League BeyondResembles the Batman Beyond era of the DCAUBatman Beyond #1 (February 2012)UnknownLego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite, The Lego Movie, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League, The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Movie 2 According to one YouTube video, the Lego Universe is part of the New 52 multiverse. Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite Beyond The New 52BATMAN ‘66 Batman Wonder Woman Batman: The Movie Superman Superman II Superman III Supergirl Superman IV: The Quest for Peace SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP The Batman/Superman Hour The Adventures of Batman The New Adventures of Batman The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour Batman and the Super 7 Krypto the Superdog DC Nation Shorts Teen Titans Go! SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 Smallville DC TELEVISION MULTIVERSEDC CINEMATIC UNIVERSE Man of Steel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Wonder Woman Justice League Part One The Flash Aquaman Justice League Part Two Cyborg Green Lantern DC TELEVISION UNIVERSE Arrow Gotham The Flash Constantine iZombie Supergirl Vixen DC Animated Shared Universe Justice League: War Justice League: Throne of Atlantis Son of Batman Batman vs. Robin Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiver...
OmniverseOriginally according to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe 2004, "the omniverse is the collection of every single universe, multiverse, dimension (alternate or pocket) and realm."
Original MultiverseCatalogedOriginally there was no consistency regarding "numbered" Earths—they would be either spelled out as words or use numbers even within the same story. For example, "Crisis on Earth-Three!" (Justice League of America (vol. 1) #29, August 1964) uses "Earth-3" and "Earth-Three" interchangeably. However, a tradition of spelling out the numbers emerged in "The Most Dangerous Earth" (Justice League of America (vol. 1) #30, September 1964). This convention was disregarded in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and it became common practice to refer to the various Earths with numerals instead. Infinite Crisis reverted to the original practice, but 52 and Countdown have referred to the alternate universes with numerals.In this single universe, the timeline was destroyed in the early 1990s by Hal Jordan (possessed by Parallax) and created an slightly changed timeline (Zero Hour, 1994). It was later revealed that this Central Timeline was like a river with branches. This branches were like different realities, the history of Earth was different in every branch and everything could be possible in them. They could affect the Central Timeline as they return to the mainstream and the heroes could encounter with different versions of themselves. However, they where somewhat ephemeral as the Central Timeline is the only one that could prevail (The Kingdom, 1999).After Crisis on Infinite Earths, there was no place for alternate realities, although they could exist in the form of ephemeral timelines (Hypertime), dimensions (such as the fifth dimension or the Fourth World) or Universes inside the Universe (Legion of Super-Heroes' Pocket Universe, Amalgam Universe).However, there was contact with realities that existed outside the Universe such as those from Marvel, Milestone and Wildstorm. The collection of universes, multiverses and others that are unrelated, is most of the times called Megaverse. Some also call it the Omniverse but tend to include the Real World when using this denomination.
The contact of these worlds usually brought cataclysms, being the most common, the amalgamation. Traveling between these realities was extremely hard, only two characters were capable of doing so with natural abilities: Rift, who existed in both the DC and Milestone Universes, and Access, who had the task of keeping DC and Marvel separated to prevent amalgamation.
Most of the times, these events were either forgotten (as shown in the Unlimited Access miniseries as Access has the power to annul or restore the memories of heroes) or believed to be "dreams" (as shown in DC/Milestone: Worlds Collide and DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar), which in the end left few traces of the events in the respective continuities.The Wilstorm Universe was part of a larger multiverse but was separated after a multiversal cataclysm, forming a multiverse of its own (Shattered Image). Organizations known as Planetary and The Authority were capable of traveling across the Multiverse and were also able to map it. Its structure was described as a web of 196,833 universes arranged in a pattern resembling a snowflake, each universe separated from its neighbors by a medium called the Bleed. The Bleed prevented the Universes from colliding and was inhabited by "fauna" that despised all different Earths. Constantine The reality that this film exists in is said to be an alternate reality in Hellblazer.HypertimeThe Kingdom #1Structure of the time stream of the DC Universe.All retcons, "imaginary stories", alternate timelines, Elseworlds, appearances in other media and even worlds of the former multiverse are branches of the main stream. Like in a river, these branches usually returned to the main stream and affected it, which explained retcons and certain interactions with the main timeline.The 52A new Multiverse was revealed at the end of the 52 weekly limited series. Unlike the original Multiverse, which was composed of an infinite number of alternate universes, this Multiverse is composed of a predetermined number of alternate universes, which were originally referred to as New Earth and Earths 1 through 51, although erroneously in Tangent: Superman's Reign #1, New Earth is referred to as Earth-1; however, in Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1, New Earth is instead designated Earth-0. Dan Didio has since explicitly denied that New Earth is Earth-1. The alternate universes were originally identical to New Earth and contained the same history and people until Mister Mind "devoured" portions of each Earth’s history, creating new, distinct Earths with their own histories and people, such as the Nazi-themed version of the Justice League that exists in Earth-10. Each of the alternate universes have their own parallel dimensions, divergent timelines, microverses, etc., branching off them.The Guardians of the Universe serve as protectors of the new Multiverse. Each universe within the Multiverse is separated by a Source Wall, behind which Anti-Life keeps the universes apart. The Bleed permeates the Anti-Life in unpredictable places behind the Source Wall, allowing for transport between the universes. The destruction of New Earth would set off a chain reaction that would destroy the other fifty-one alternate universes at the same time, leaving only the Antimatter Universe in existence. As a consequence of Alexander Luthor's attempts to recreate the Multiverse, fifty-two new Monitors were created to oversee the fifty-two universes created afterwards. The Monitors seek to protect the Multiverse from people who crossover from one alternate universe to another, through the Bleed or through innate ability, who the Monitors have labeled "anomalies".A partial list of some of the alternate universes that make up the new Multiverse was revealed in late November 2007.Earth-12Post-52Characters and settings shown in the DC animated universe, such as the Batman Beyond television seriesThe Green Lantern of Earth-12 is a descendant of Hal Jordan. In Countdown: Arena #1, it is explained that seven Green Lanterns patrol the "seven primary galaxies" and that Hal Jordan's descendant patrols the Milky Way Galaxy.Countdown #21 (December 2007) and Countdown: Arena #1 (February 2008)Earth-16Post-52Characters shown in the Young Justice (TV series) .Young Justice (TV series) Episode 1:"Independence Day" (January 7, 2011) Earth-23 Post-52Characters shown in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold television seriesThis Earth's designation was shown in the episode "Deep Cover for Batman!".Batman: The Brave and the Bold Episode 1: "Rise of the Blue Beetle!"The New 52The Flashpoint story arc ended with a massive change to the Multiverse; to what extent it's entirely new, and to what extent it's as it was formed in the wake of 52, has not fully been established. Some worlds, like Earth-1 and Earth-23, appear to be entirely untouched, while others, like Earth-0, Earth-2, and Earth-16, have changed drastically. In July 2014, a map of the Multiverse was released, in promotion of Grant Morrison's The Multiversity series.Earth-12The Justice League BeyondResembles the Batman Beyond era of the DCAUBatman Beyond #1 (February 2012)UnknownLego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite, The Lego Movie, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League, The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Movie 2 According to one YouTube video, the Lego Universe is part of the New 52 multiverse. Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite Beyond The New 52BATMAN ‘66 Batman Wonder Woman Batman: The Movie Superman Superman II Superman III Supergirl Superman IV: The Quest for Peace SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP The Batman/Superman Hour The Adventures of Batman The New Adventures of Batman The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour Batman and the Super 7 Krypto the Superdog DC Nation Shorts Teen Titans Go! SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 Smallville DC TELEVISION MULTIVERSEDC CINEMATIC UNIVERSE Man of Steel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Wonder Woman Justice League Part One The Flash Aquaman Justice League Part Two Cyborg Green Lantern DC TELEVISION UNIVERSE Arrow Gotham The Flash Constantine iZombie Supergirl Vixen DC Animated Shared Universe Justice League: War Justice League: Throne of Atlantis Son of Batman Batman vs. Robin Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiver...
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