History DecompositeCharacter / TheDCU

* The Arkham Knight identity from ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' made its debut in ''Detective Comics'' #1000, though WordOfGod already confirmed that it wouldn't be [[spoiler:[[ComicBook/RedHood Jason Todd]]. The comics character was also revealed to be a case of SamusIsAGirl three issues later, as the comics Knight turned out to be Jeremiah Arkham's daughter, Astrid]].

** ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Kon-el the 90s CivvieSpandex rocking clone of Supes from ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' (see below) was reintroduced in the New 52 as a DarkerAndEdgier character with CloningBlues who made subsequent appearances in ''Superman'' and ''Teen Titans'' comics as well his own series. However the 90s version of Kon-el [[TheBusCameBack returned]] in ''ComicBook/YoungJustice2019'' having been alive all this time marooned in an alternate reality making the New 52 Kon-el a different character. All Superboys are decomposite characters taking after the original Superboy series which about the adventures of a younger Superman in Smallville. Besides Kon-el, there’s also [[ComicBook/SuperboyPrime Superboy Prime]] originally a good kid in the real world who became Superboy before turning evil and the ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' [[Characters/SupermanJonathanSamuelKent Superboy]] who’s the HalfHumanHybrid son of Supes and Lois, much like Jason from ''Film/SupermanReturns''.

** Abin Sur is already long dead by the time Hal Jordan finds him and obtains his power ring, with Kilowog instead being the one to provide Hal with exposition on the Green Lantern Corps and how the power ring works.
** Sinestro eventually becomes affiliated with the Yellow Lanterns, but is no longer the founder, a role now filled by the last Guardian.

* ''ComicBook/EarthOne'' has done this twice and combined it with GenderFlip:

** Similarly, in ''ComicBook/BatmanEarthOne'', [[spoiler: Harvey Dent and his sister, Jessica, become disfigured. As with Lex Luthor, Harvey died and it's Jessica who serves as this setting's Two-Face]].

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': The Blue Bowman is reinterpreted as the Injustice Syndicate counterpart to Green Arrow, when in the comics he was merely an alias used by Signalman (who is among the lesser-known Batman villains to make cameo appearances in this cartoon).

** There are four Batmen in this continuity, with Thomas Wayne (who [[FakingTheDead survived the shooting and let the public believe he died with his wife Martha]]) becoming the second Batman after [[OutlivingOnesOffspring his son Bruce died]], Dick Grayson becoming the third Batman after Thomas Wayne sacrificed himself to save Dick's life during the events of ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}'' and [[spoiler:the legacy coming full circle when Bruce's daughter and Helena's granddaughter Helena Wayne becomes the fourth Batman by the end of ''Earth 2: Society'']].

** There are four Batmen in this continuity, with Thomas Wayne (who [[FakingTheDead survived the shooting and let the public believe he died with his wife Martha]]) becoming the second Batman after his son Bruce died, Dick Grayson becoming the third Batman after Thomas Wayne sacrificed himself to save Dick's life during the events of ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}'' and [[spoiler:the legacy coming full circle when Bruce's daughter and Helena's granddaughter Helena Wayne becomes the fourth Batman by the end of ''Earth 2: Society'']].

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBravendTheBold'': The Blue Bowman is reinterpreted as the Injustice Syndicate counterpart to Green Arrow, when in the comics he was merely an alias used by Signalman (who is among the lesser-known Batman villains to make cameo appearances in this cartoon).

** Similarly, pre-''Flashpoint'', the current Kid Flash had been Bart Allen, the grandson of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash. The New 52 ''Comicbook/{{Teen Titans|New 52}}'' relaunch used Bart as Kid Flash and implied that he might still have some relation to Barry, only for it to eventually be revealed that he was really an amnesiac teenage criminal from the 30th century named Bar Torr. The real Bart Allen eventually returned from the Speed Force at the end of ''Comicbook/FlashWar'', with it being explained that he had been trapped in another dimension following a battle with Mirror Master. He currently operates under his original costumed identity of Impulse due to the aforementioned Ace West using the Kid Flash name and costume.

** The New 52 continuity finally reintroduced ComicBook/WallyWest in 2014 as a [[RaceLift half-black]] [[YoungerAndHipper teenage]] delinquent with a different backstory and no connection to his former TrueCompanions (who are still adults). ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' began with the original Wally West returning after having been lost in the Speed Force, revealing that the younger Wally is the original's cousin. (Their shared name is explained as them having both been named after their great-grandfather.) The younger Wally currently uses the Kid Flash identity (and eventually starts going by "Wallace,” and later, “Ace,” in his civilian identity), while the original Wally shares the "Flash" name with Barry Allen.

** The New 52 continuity finally reintroduced ComicBook/WallyWest in 2014 as a [[RaceLift half-black]] [[YoungerAndHipper teenage]] delinquent with a different backstory and no connection to his former TrueCompanions (who are still adults). ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' began with the original Wally West returning after having been lost in the Speed Force, revealing that the younger Wally is the original's cousin. (Their shared name is explained as them having both been named after their great-grandfather.) The younger Wally currently uses the "Kid Flash" identity (and eventually starts going by "Wallace"), while the original Wally shares the "Flash" name with Barry Allen.

** Similarly, pre-''Flashpoint'', the current Kid Flash had been Bart Allen, the grandson of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash. The New 52 ''Comicbook/{{Teen Titans|New 52}}'' relaunch used Bart as Kid Flash and implied that he might still have some relation to Barry, only for it to eventually be revealed that he was really an amnesiac teenage criminal from the 30th century named Bar Torr. The real Bart Allen eventually returned from the Speed Force at the end of ''Comicbook/FlashWar'', with it being explained that he had been trapped in another dimension following a battle with Mirror Master. He currently operates under his original costumed identity of Impulse due to the aforementioned Wallace West using the Kid Flash name and costume.

** Pre-Crisis, the Earth-2 version of Wonder Woman fought in UsefulNotes/WorldWar2 and was a member of the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica. This no longer worked Post-Crisis, so the Creator/JohnByrne run later had Diana's mother Hippolyta temporarily don the Wonder Woman identity and travel back in time to World War 2, where she eventually joined the JSA.

* The original [[Usefulnotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'' comics starred Rick Flag, the SoleSurvivor of a flying squadron that had been wiped out by Japanese forces back during Usefulnotes/WorldWar2. Decades later, the character resurfaced as a member of the Forgotten Heroes in the pages of ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'', where it was revealed that the Suicide Squad had disbanded following a disastrous encounter with a [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti yeti]] in Cambodia. Comicbook/PostCrisis, Flag's backstory was retold in ''Secret Origins'' #14, but with a few major changes: The man who led the original Suicide Squad, survived the yeti attack and subsequently joined the Forgotten Heroes was now retroactively declared Rick Flag '''Jr.''', while his previous history as a guilt-ridden World War 2 pilot was instead given to Rick Flag '''Sr.''', his deceased father.

* The original [[Usefulnotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'' comics starred Rick Flag, the SoleSurvivor of a flying squadron that had been wiped out by Japanese forces back during Usefulnotes/WorldWar2. Decades later, the character resurfaced as a member of the Forgotten Heroes in the pages of ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'', where it was revealed that the Suicide Squad had disbanded following a disastrous encounter with a [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti yeti]] in Cambodia. Comicbook/PostCrisis, Flag's backstory was retold in ''Secret Origins'' #14, but with a few major changes: The man who led the original Suicide Squad, survived the yeti attack and subsequently joined the Forgotten Heroes was now retroactively declared Rick Flag '''Jr.''', while his previous history as a guilt-ridden World War 2 pilot was instead given to Rick Flag Sr., his deceased father.

* The original [[Usefulnotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'' comics starred Rick Flag, the SoleSurvivor of a flying squadron that had been wiped out by Japanese forces back during Usefulnotes/WorldWar2. Decades later, the character resurfaced as a member of the Forgotten Heroes in the pages of ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'', where it was revealed that the Suicide Squad had disbanded following a disastrous encounter with a [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti yeti]] in Cambodia. Comicbook/PostCrisis, Flag's backstory was retold in ''Secret Origins'' #14, but with a few major changes: The man who led the original Suicide Squad, survived the yeti attack and subsequently joined the Forgotten Heroes was retroactively declared Rick Flag '''Jr.''', while his previous history as a guilt-ridden World War 2 pilot was instead given to Rick Flag Sr., his deceased father.

* In the original Silver Age ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'' comics, Rick Flag was said to be the last surviving member of an aerial squadron that had been wiped out during Usefulnotes/WorldWar2. Due to ComicBookTime eventually kicking in, it was retconned that the present day Rick Flag was actually Rick Flag ''Jr.'', and that it was his father, Rick Flag ''Sr.'', who had been a pilot during [=WW2=].

* ''The New Golden Age'' establishes that the original, unnamed Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} from the 1940s was ''not'' Arthur Curry, but rather a separate character who served as his predecessor, and that the kid in at the end ''Comicbook/DCNewFrontier'' wearing a shirt with the name "Irons" was actually the uncle of the better known [[Comicbook/{{Steel}} John Henry Irons]].

* ''The New Golden Age'' establishes that the original, unnamed Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} from the 1940s was ''not'' Arthur Curry, but rather a separate character who served as his predecessor.

* In the original Silver Age ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'' comics, Rick Flag was said to be the last surviving member of an aerial squadron that had been wiped out during Usefulnotes/WorldWar2. Due to ComicBookTime eventually kicking in, it was retconned that the present day Rick Flag was actually Rick Flag ''Jr.'', and that it was his father, Rick Flag Sr.'', who had been a pilot during WW2.

** Harvey Dent is the real name of the Tangent universe's Superman (here a bald, black man with psychic powers, with the universe's counterpart to the Atom having more in common with Superman). The regular Harvey Dent's traditional codename Two-Face is mentioned in the Tangent Superman's one-shot as one of the villains he's fought (and said to have the codename for being a master of disguise rather than his face being partially disfigured).