History Franchise / TheDCU

* ComicBook/TheWarlordDC

* [[BettyAndVeronica/TheDCU Betty And Veronica]]

* [[Yandere/TheDCU Yandere]]

* PlotArchaeology: TheDCU usually does this with certain events in its history, reviving old (and more than finished) issues and collections just for the event's sake. Some examples are seen in the ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' event where all the historical tiles of DC had one more number (i.e. if a collection finished on issue 405, the ''BN Special'' is the 406) and even some {{crossover}}s with actual characters as seen in events like ''ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime'' and ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}''.

* PlotArchaeology: TheDCU usually does this with certain events in its history, reviving old (and more than finished) issues and collections just for the event's sake. Some examples are seen in the ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' event where all the historical tiles of DC had one more number (i.e. if a collection finished on issue 405, the ''BN Special'' is the 406) and even some {{crossover}}s with actual characters as seen in events like ''ComicBook/ZeroHour'' and ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}''.
** A major offender is ''ComicBook/BoosterGold''. Being a time traveller, Booster has had various numbers which were continuations of past events stories and ''still being part of them as tie-ins''. Some examples are in ''ComicBook/DCOneMillion'' and ''ComicBook/ZeroHour'', usually made even decades before these events finished and still count as part of their collections.

The DC Universe is primarily responsible for establishing the concept of the super-hero in popular culture, with ComicBook/{{Batman}}, ComicBook/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/WonderWoman as some of their oldest and most popular characters. Their introduction of the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII was also the first real super-hero team book, using the [[CrossOver cross-over]] to establish the first shared universe in comics history. Their massive early popularity was stunted by the invention of UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode which nearly killed the industry, and many of the [[{{Bowdlerise}} bowdlerised]] stories from this era are responsible for several negative stereotypes about the medium. There was a revival in the late fifties and early sixties with the creation of newer more imaginative updates of characters like ComicBook/GreenLantern and ComicBook/TheFlash, leading to DC's biggest characters forming the ComicBook/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}. To explain the difference in continuity, they established a [[TheMultiverse Multiverse]] with the different versions of the heroes occupying different worlds. The popularity of this team book also inspired Creator/MarvelComics to publish their own team book ComicBook/FantasticFour[[note]]Especially since co-creator Creator/JackKirby used much of his earlier DC creation, ''ComicBook/ChallengersOfTheUnknown'', to create the Four[[/note]], leading into an era of more maturely written super-hero stories dealing with the development of characters and more serious problems.

If you would like to know more about the history of DC Comic's editors and Editors-in-Chief changed the company, see [[UsefulNotes/DCComicsEditors here.]]

** Back in UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|of Comic Books}}, DC was formed from three nominally separate companies: Detective Comics, All-American Comics, and National Publications.

* DemotedToExtra: Practically every [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] character save for the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica's core team has either been killed off as CListFodder or relegated to the team's reserves. It's hard to imagine that the Red Bee once had his own backup series.

* {{Elseworld}}: The TropeNamer. During the '90s and early '00s, DC's {{Elseworld}}s imprint showcased a great many "what if" tales that carried on the tradition of [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] "imaginary stories"; the best-known was ''ComicBook/KingdomCome''. Since TheMultiverse was brought back, many of these have become full-fledged {{Alternate Universe}}s.

** DC Comics created several characters during UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|OfComicBooks}}, but by the end of WWII the interest in superheroes died down, and most titles (except Superman and Batman) were closed or moved to other genres. UsefulNotes/{{The Silver Age|of Comic Books}} began with the relaunch of Flash... besides the name and the speed, Barry Allen had nothing in common with Jay Garrick. The same thing was done with ComicBook/GreenLantern, ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}, and others. But the prize goes to ComicBook/TheAtom, who went from a rough-and-tumble boxer who was kinda short to a physicist who could shrink to subatomic size.\\\
Though in this case, things were {{retcon}}ned twice. The first time, it had been revealed that the Golden Age characters lived on [[AlternateUniverse Earth-2]], while UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} characters lived on Earth-1.\\\

* KilledOffForReal: Many DC characters that have died were thought to come back after ''ComicBook/BlackestNight''. While [[ComicBook/BrightestDay 12 random people were brought back to life]], many more stayed dead. Examples are [[ComicBook/IdentityCrisis2004 Sue Dibny]], [[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica Johnny Quick (Johnny Chambers)]], ComicBook/TheQuestion [[ComicBook/FiftyTwo (Charles Victor Szasz)]], the ComicBook/ElongatedMan (Ralph Dibny), Eclipso (Jean Loring, that is - Eclipso itself is functionally immortal), the first two ComicBook/{{Blue Beetle}}s (Dan Garrett and Ted Kord), [[ComicBook/TheFlash Mirror Master I (Samuel Joseph Scudder)]], [[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica Doctor Mid-Nite I (Charles M. McNider), Sandman (Wesley Dodds), Mister Terrific I (Terry Sloane), Damage (Grant Emerson)]], [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Kal-L (Earth 2)]], and many more not listed here. Many of those were brought back in the New 52 or ''Comicbook/DCRebirth'', however.

** Pre-[[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis]], Earth-1 represented contemporary[=/=][[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] continuity whereas the alternate Earth-2 represented UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|of Comic Books}} (with some minor {{retcon}}s to introduce more differences).

[[folder:Comics series and characters set in the DCU]]
For a more complete list of DC comics see DCComicsSeries.