The Tomorrowverse is a Shared Universe that exists as part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line starting in 2020. It replaced the DC Animated Movie Universe, which officially ended a few months before this film series began. Like the DCAMU this continuity has yet to receive an official name, but fans have been quick to name it.
Unlike the Darker and Edgier DCAMU which at first took heavy inspiration from the New 52 era of DC's history, the Tomorrowverse is a Lighter and Softer film series that has so far told original stories influenced by more popular eras of DC's history alongside adaptations of Post-Crisis comics. Many were quick to compare it to the DC Rebirth relaunch. Also unlike the DCAMU, which started with the formation of the Justice League and quickly established that many heroes were already active, this series starts in the early years of the DC universe with characters like Superman and Batman only recently making their debuts before introducing the Justice League.
Works set in the Tomorrowverse include:
- Superman: Man of Tomorrow (August 2020)
- Justice Society: World War II (April 2021)
- DC Showcase: Kamandi (April 2021)
- Batman: The Long Halloween (June and July 2021): A two-part adaptation of the comic of the same name.
- DC Showcase: Blue Beetle (July 2021)
- Green Lantern: Beware My Power (July 2022)
- DC Showcase: Adam Strange (May 2020): Established to be canon in Broad Strokes.
- Legion of Super-Heroes (February 2023)
- Justice League: Warworld (July 2023)
- Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths (2024): A three-part adaptation of the comic of the same name.
The Tomorrowverse provides examples of:
- Alternate Continuity: Is a separate animated film universe from the previously mentioned DCAMU, which is also true in-universe, as revealed by Crisis Part One.
- Alternate Universe:
- The majority of Justice Society: World War II takes place on Earth-2 instead of the past like the Earth-1 Flash had believed. However the Helmet of Nabu is apparently powerful enough to see the future of alternate universes, and Dr Fate brought the Flash to Earth-2 to help create the Justice League.
- Crisis on Infinite Earths features a number of new realities and heroes from them. It also confirms that the Blue Beetle short is set in an alternate world to the Tomorrowverse.
- Animated Adaptation:
- While the story is original, the most noticeable influences on Man of Tomorrow are Superman: American Alien in regards to Superman's Beta Outfit and the presence of Lobo along with Superman: Secret Origin with the use of Parasite as the villain.
- The Long Halloween adapts the comic of the same name.
- Both Adam Strange and Beware My Power serve as loose adaptions of the Rann-Thanagar War storyline from the comics, while the latter also uses story elements from Emerald Twilight in regards to the Green Lantern Corps.
- Art-Shifted Sequel: The DC Showcase shorts use a different art style to the rest of the Tomorrowverse.
- Breaking Old Trends: Crisis is the first adaptation to be spread across three movies as opposed to only one or two.
- Continuity Reboot: This continuity was created after the conclusion of the DCAMU, and technically began the same time the DCAMU ended since the Adam Strange short was released in the Blu-Ray version of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War as part of the bonus features.
- Denser and Wackier: A downplayed example in comparison to the DCAMU, which had plenty of science fiction and fantasy elements such as time travel, magic and New God technology from Apokolips. However due to a heavy focus on Batman and influences from New 52 comics, the universe was rather grounded for the most part. The second film features an Alternate Universe, the fifth film explores an interplanetary war, and the sixth film introduces a superhero team in the 31st century that the present day heroes can visit, which makes it seem more fantastical than the DCAMU.
- The Future:
- Legion of Super-Heroes is mainly set in the 31st century, a thousand years after the present of the Tomorrowverse.
- The Kamandi short is set an unspecified time in the future of Earth-2.
- Lighter and Softer: In comparison to the DCAMU, which started and ended pretty dark with the characters only becoming more optimistic during the middle. Even Superman started out as a Smug Super in the DCAMU before becoming the All-Loving Hero he is famous for being, while here he more or less starts out as the latter. It's even a literal example as the art style is far more colorful than the DCAMU.
- Shared Universe: The films and shorts are in-continuity with each other.
- Time Skip: The Tomorrowverse is fond of these, often skipping over certain plot points or events to tell a specific story. Beware My Power is a noticeable example of this as it skips the Justice League officially forming and creating the Watchtower, Martian Manhunter returning to Earth and the debuts of Wonder Woman and Vixen.
- Truer to the Text: The Justice Society exist in an Alternate Universe to the more well known heroes like in pre-Crisis instead of coexisting with them like most modern version.
- Younger and Hipper: Again in comparison to the DCAMU which started with many of the heroes having been active for a few years as both heroes and civilians, with Clark and Lois in comparison being an intern and a grad student in Man of Tomorrow. This is very noticeable with Batman who, in the DCAMU, had already trained Nightwing and had a ten year old son, while here he has only been a crime fighter for a few years.
