Creator / DC Universe

DC Universe was a streaming service by DC Comics which began operating in September 2018 and was discontinued in January 2021. It was exclusive to the United States of America.

DC Universe was created to serve as a platform that both gathers a large backlog of past live action and animated DC shows and films, digital comics, and brand new material exclusive to the service. Born out of the former Cartoon Network show Young Justice (2010)'s success on Netflix, and frustrations in dealing with corporate execs trying to impose their will onto them under the threat of cancellation, the service is intended to be the ultimate source of entertainment for DC fans. Its selection of comic books now includes the archives of nearly every series that DC sells digitally under their mainline imprint, including kids content, with new issues arriving a year after their original publication.

In terms of new content, the service began with Titans, the first of several planned live-action shows, and the long-awaited third season of Young Justice after steadfast fan support led it to be Un-Cancelled, called Outsiders. Also, new entries in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line, starting with Reign of the Supermen in 2019, are on the service on the same day they're released on home video.

By the time DC Universe launched, AT&T had acquired Time Warner, the parent organization of Warner Bros. which in turn owns all DC media. The newly rebranded WarnerMedia then swiftly announced their intentions of launching a new large-scale and all-encompassing streaming service for all their properties, HBO Max, to compete with Netflix and Disney+. In the wake of the announcement, it was confirmed that DC Universe would continue to operate independently; when HBO Max launched, Doom Patrol was available on both services (new episodes were released simultaneously). Several DC Universe shows have been licensed to air on linear television as well, including Swamp Thing and Stargirl (on The CW) and Harley Quinn (on Syfy).

Several events in 2020 marked a transition in the streaming service's model. Other than the launch of HBO Max and its simulcast of Doom Patrol, the economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic led to major layoffs and restructuring in WarnerMedia, as well as the cancellation of the service's oldest original programming, DC Daily. Stargirl moved to The CW after just one season and a few weeks afterward DC removed the streaming service's annual subscription plan.

After months of speculation about the service's future, DC Content Officer Jim Lee announced in August 2020 that all new series forthcoming for DC Universe would air on HBO Max, following Doom Patrol's footsteps. The service was renamed DC Universe Infinite in 2021 and now focuses solely on the distribution of digital comics, fan interactions and merch. It stills feature new content, but these are limited to comics (called DC Universe Infinite Originals). Unlike the original, DC Universe Infinite would expand outside America as early as summer 2021.

For the DC Universe in terms of the fictional comic book setting, see The DCU. It is also not to be confused with the DC Universe Online MMORPG.

Launch Trailer, 2019 Trailer.

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DC Universe original series (moved to HBO Max or other networks as noted)

This is for DC Universe exclusives; only add shows that predate the service if new content is being made for it.

Live-Action TV

• DC Daily (2018-20)
• Titans (2018-19) ^note The series moved to HBO Max from the third season onward.
• Doom Patrol (2019-20) ^note Season 2 was simultaneously streamed on HBO Max. It found permanent residency on Max from the third season onward.
• Swamp Thing (2019)
• Stargirl (2020) ^note The series premiere moved from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020 to make room for the second season of Titans. Beforehand, the cast members made an Early-Bird Cameo on Crisis on Infinite Earths, setting it on Earth-2 of the Post-Crisis multiverse. The first season's episodes were broadcast on The CW the day after becoming available on DC Universe. In July 2020, it was announced that the show would air exclusively on The CW from the second season onward.

Western Animation

• Young Justice (2010) (2019) ^note The first two seasons aired on Cartoon Network before it axed the show in 2013. In April 2017, DC Universe announced a series revival for the streaming service. The series moved to HBO Max from the fourth season onward.
• Harley Quinn (2019-20) ^note The series moved to HBO Max from the third season onward.

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Content that aired on the service included:

Documentary

• Batman Tech
• Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight
• Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman
• The Science of Superman
• Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics
• Under the Hood

Film — Animation

• DC Animated Universe:
  • Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
  • Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
  • Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
• DC Universe Animated Original Movies:
  • All-Star Superman
  • Batman: Assault on Arkham
  • Batman: Bad Blood
  • Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
  • Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
  • Batman: Gotham Knight
  • Batman: Hush
  • Batman Ninja
  • Batman: Under the Red Hood
  • Batman: Year One
  • Batman vs. Robin
  • The Death of Superman
    • Reign of the Supermen
  • Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
  • Green Lantern: First Flight
  • Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
  • Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
  • Justice League: Doom
  • Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
  • Justice League: Gods and Monsters
  • Justice League: The New Frontier
  • Justice League vs. The Fatal Five
  • Justice League: War
  • Son of Batman
  • Superman: Doomsday
  • Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
    • Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
  • Superman: Red Son
  • Superman Unbound
  • Superman vs. the Elite
  • Wonder Woman
  • Wonder Woman: Bloodlines
• DC Showcase:
  • Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam
• Watchmen:
  • Watchmen (motion comic)
  • Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter

Film — Live-Action

• Superman serials:
  • Superman
  • Atom Man vs. Superman
• Superman Film Series:
  • Superman: The Movie
  • Superman II
  • Superman III
  • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
• Batman Film Series:
  • Batman (1989)
  • Batman Returns
  • Batman Forever
  • Batman & Robin
• The Dark Knight Trilogy:
  • Batman Begins
  • The Dark Knight
• Jonah Hex (2010)
• The Spirit
• Watchmen (2009)

Live-Action TV

• The Adventures of Superboy
• The Adventures of Superman
• Aquaman (2006 TV pilot)
• Birds of Prey (2002)
• Constantine (2014)
• The Flash (1990)
• Human Target
• Krypton
• Legends of the Superheroes (1979 TV specials)
• Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
• Shazam! (1974)
• Wonder Woman (1974) (TV pilot)
• Wonder Woman (1975)

Western Animation

• The Batman
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold
• DC Animated Universe:
  • Batman: The Animated Series
    • Batman: The Animated Series
    • The Adventures of Batman and Robin
    • The New Batman Adventures
  • Batman Beyond
  • Justice League
    • Justice League
    • Justice League Unlimited
  • Static Shock
  • Superman: The Animated Series
• DC Nation shorts:
  • Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld
  • Animal Man
  • Batman: Strange Days
  • Batman of Shanghai
  • Creature Commandos
  • Deadman
  • Doom Patrol
  • Farm League
  • Green Arrow
  • Metal Men
  • New Teen Titans
  • Riddle Me This!
  • Shade, the Changing Man
  • Shazam!
  • Super Best Friends Forever
  • Super-Pets
  • Superman of Tokyo
  • Sword of the Atom
  • Tales of Metropolis
  • Thunder and Lightning
  • World's Funnest
  • Vibe
  • Wonder Woman
• Green Lantern: The Animated Series
• Legion of Super Heroes (2006)
• The New Adventures of Batman
• The New Adventures of Superman
  • The New Adventures of Superman
  • Aquaman
• Superfriends
• Superman Theatrical Cartoons
  • The Mad Scientist
  • The Mechanical Monsters
• Teen Titans (2003)
• Young Justice (2010)
  • Young Justice
  • Young Justice: Invasion

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General tropes applying to shows on the service include:

• Alternate Company Equivalent: DC Universe was a sort of mashup between Marvel Unlimited and Netflix. It was a streaming service that provided access to past DC properties (including comics, television, and films) while also adding a slew of DC-focused original content. The comic-focused relaunch in 2021 firmly made it DC's equivalent of the former.
• Alternate Continuity:
  • All of the original shows are this to the DC Extended Universe films and other current DC Comics-based TV shows like the Arrowverse, Gotham and Krypton, unless Multiverse crossovers happen someday (something the Arrowverse has dabbed into already). Furthermore, Titans and Doom Patrol are part of the same continuity, while Swamp Thing is separate from them.
  • Crisis on Infinite Earths shows that Titans, Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, and Stargirl all exist in the Arrowverse's take on The Multiverse (Earths-9, -21, -19, and -2, respectively), which means that while the DC Universe shows DO share continuity with the Arrowverse, they aren't crossing over with them.
    • Interestingly enough, Crisis claims that Titans and Doom Patrol are set on different Earths, something that had already been alluded to by Word of God.
    • While creators of the Titansverse have invoked Schrödinger's Canon and stated that their shows are separate from the Arrowverse, it's hazier with Stargirl, whose first season aired concurrently on DC Universe and The CW. And then the show moved permanently to The CW for its sophomore season, making potential crossovers even likelier.
• Animated Adaptation: Harley Quinn gets her own series, and Young Justice: Outsiders continues where the original series based on Teen Titans and Young Justice left off.
• Live-Action Adaptation: Of the Teen Titans, Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, and the Justice Society of America.
• Spin-Off: Doom Patrol was announced as one to Titans, set after the Doom Patrol themselves debut in the latter.
• Un-Cancelled: Young Justice, which previously aired on Cartoon Network.

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