Chapter Text

DC comic books exist in a shared continuity in which events from one story can influence another. For this reason, I find it interesting and beneficial to try and consider when the comics occur relative to one another.

But BOY does DC not always make this easy! Of course, it's normal for fictional characters like Charlie Brown or the Simpsons to exist frozen in time. However, comic book characters are different in that they're part of an ongoing serialized narrative rather than a "status quo," and yet despite this they too are frozen in time, except only sort of because sometimes time DOES pass for them. Or sometimes, the stories will SAY that time passes but then later retcon it so that time didn't pass after all.

Most recently, for instance, the event "Absolute Power" was published in 2024 and is said to occur in late summer / early autumn. After that came the comic "Batman/Santa Claus: The Silent Knight Returns," in which the characters all celebrate Christmas, and plot threads from after Absolute Power are continued upon. Next year, we get "I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus," and then Supergirl (2025) #9 in which Supergirl celebrates New Year's. So far so good. We've followed cleanly from 2024 into 2026.

But then we get Justice League Unlimited (2025) #19-21. A newspaper clearly shows that this story occurs in June. Going by the holidays that have passed, this should be June 2026, which matches the publication date. And yet, the characters say that Absolute Power happened "a few months back." But that was two Christmases ago! It should have happened almost two years ago!

The comics are full of this sort of thing. For whatever reason, DC editorial wants lots of events to happen but for very little time to pass. Every major event in DC comics history happened "recently," which results in decades of comics happening in extremely short timespans.

So for Part 1 of my timeline ramblings, i want to not worry about the precise dates of things. Instead, I want to lay out the timeline of the DC Universe, as I think it works according to DC editorial.

A further wrinkle in all this: DC comic lore gets retconned and rebooted quite a lot. Since such changes can be controversial with fans and make prior stories feel "unimportant," DC editorial has lately learned to retcon things quietly without really announcing it or even making clear what exactly has been changed. Most recently, the New History of the DC Universe miniseries enacted a pretty major series of retcons and more or less serves as a "reboot" even if DC isn't calling it such. So I would argue that anything published after New History is "more canon" than things published before it. "Post-New History" comics definitely happened, whereas "Pre-New History" comics only sort of happened. All comic books are canon, but some comic books are more canon than others.

Anywho, let's take a look now at our "Post-New History" DC Universe, based on how I think DC editorial probably thinks about it:

39 Years Ago (1987)

Baby Kal-El crash lands on Earth.

Action Comics #1098 shows that the Kents in the current continuity visited a fertility clinic prior to the spaceship crashing. That would place this in 1980 at the earliest, when the first IVF clinic opened in the US. You could say science progresses more rapidly in the DC universe, but I would argue this detail is probably a deliberate reference placed by the writers to give a clue about when this is taking place.

8 year old Bruce Wayne's parents are killed. According to New History of the DC Universe, he leaves soon after this to travel the world and train as Batman.

32 Years Ago (1994)

Published shortly after New History of the DC Universe (2025) #2 and immediately retconning it, Titans Annual 2025 establishes that Diana rescued Donna Troy from an apartment fire when she was a baby, drawn to look probably 1 year old (The comic also says she lived with a foster family for "about a year" before the orphanage fire so we know she's at least 1). It also establishes that Donna is roughly the same age as Dick Grayson, meaning Dick must also be a baby during this time.

This means Diana has been retconned to have debuted BEFORE Superman and Batman, overriding what New History of the DC Universe says. Her rescue of Donna even got a newspaper article written about it, so the public knows about Wonder Woman (meaning you can't fanwank and say that Diana was acting as Wonder Woman in secret before her "debut" or anything like that).

Of course, you could argue there was some form of time travel or magic age-up involved, but that's really not what Titans Annual 2025 implies. It's also mentioned that her biological dad was able to figure out who she is because she looks so much like her biological mom. If she were a different age than he expected, he probably would have assumed she was some other relative, not his daughter specifically.

Also worth noting is that Wonder Woman (2023) #36 establishes that Diana was born AFTER Hippolyta's WWII adventures. She's likely around the same age as Steve Trevor, as opposed to some versions of Diana in other continuities who are centuries old. Wonder Woman's Dawn of DC era comics mention that she became Wonder Woman when she was "just a girl." It's also possible she ages a bit more slowly than a normal human.

By the way, Steve Trevor is also younger than he should be. If he was 19 when Diana debuted, he would be like 50 when he dies and about 70 in the alternate timeline where the Matriarch has taken over. But he's drawn to look more like 60 in that alternate future. "Drawn to look" is hardly definitive proof, and perhaps him spending some amount of time dead before returning to life means he didn't age for a period of time. I don't know and I dont especially want to go back thru the Tom King run to figure this shit out.

24 Years Ago (2002)

15 year old Clark Kent debuts as Superboy. The "Superman: Kingdom of Zod Special (2026)" says this was about "20 years ago" from the present day and that Clark is "thirty-something" in the present day. 24 years ago is as far back as I can push it, since that makes Clark 39 in the present day (So for this timeline, Clark is "frozen in time" at age 39 in the present day, always just about to turn 40).

The current run of Action Comics takes place during Clark's time as Superboy, and it shows computers in the home and in school. That would place this in the mid-1980s at the earliest (Logically, it should be in 1995 at the earliest due to the fertility clinic seen 15 years ago). It's also definitely set before the rise of smartphones.

21 Years Ago (2005)

Around age 18, Clark gradually starts to be called "Superman" rather than "Superboy" (New History says this happens when he's a "young adult"). This is helped by the fact that he's spent some time in the future with the Legion of Superheroes, which "ages him up" to some degree upon his return to the present (Although on this timeline, he must have spent less than a year total with the Legion since he has yet to turn 40 in the "present day"). There's surely no set day when everyone starts to call him SuperMAN, it simply happens over time.

If we take the DC Black Label comic Jenny Sparks (2024) as canon, then Clark was SuperMAN sometime during the Iraq War, which would be 2003 at the earliest and 2011 at the latest.

On his birthday, Bruce turns 26, and soon afterwards, he debuts as Batman. New History says this is "almost two decades" after his parents are killed, which I've chosen to mean 18 years later.

20 Years Ago (2006)

In March, Dick Grayson turns 10. In August of Bruce's second year as Batman (following "Year One" and "Zero Year"), Dick's parents are killed, and 3 weeks later he debuts as Robin (according to Batman and Robin: Year One).

(Robin's origin is based on the Post-Crisis era comic "Batman Year Three" however I couldn't make it work as year three so I've had to squish it into Batman's second year.)

In Batman and Robin Year One Dynamic Duos #2, 10 year old Robin references Shrek, which released about 25 years prior to the publication of this comic, so this is probably intended to be no more than 25 years ago (also it seems to probably be set before the prevalence of smartphones).

According to New History of the DC Universe, Superman fights Bizarro for the first time after Dick becomes Robin but before the Justice League forms. The comic "Bizarro: Year None" supposedly depicts Bizarro's debut. However, in that comic, everyone has smartphones and they use phrases like "cringe" which was popularized in 2013, "woke" which became a pejorative in 2016, and "gram fam" which became popular in 2019. So far, this comic has not made any specific references to other comic storylines and has not been referenced by other comics... except strangely that the statue from Death of Superman is seen in Metropolis, which would seemingly contradict New History by placing Bizarro's debut after the Death of Superman. Because of all this, I'm pretty convinced that Bizarro: Year None is not intended to be canon. If Bizarro Year None WERE canon, it would wreak havoc on the timeline because it says Superman debuted a mere 18 months ago and yet Death of Superman apparently already happened.

(Also, we can't get clever and move this whole timeline into the future because Clark definitely debuted as Superboy BEFORE the rise of smartphones.)

17 Years Ago (2009)

Barbara Ann Minerva becomes the Cheetah.

Justice League forms (This would be Batman's "Justice Year" comic, which presumably would be a different year from when Robin debuted and probably is closer to when Dick is a teenager and forms the Teen Titans).

Teen Titans form. Dick is 13 and Donna is 16. The idea of them having a romance is pretty iffy but that's the only way I could make this timeline work... Maybe Dick was at least closer to 14 when they kissed? Depending on when exactly their birthdays are. With Donna being an orphan rescued from a fire, it could also be that her exact birthday isn't known? So maybe they at least looked closer together in age?

According to Titans Annual 2025, the Teen Titans were around for a "few years" before Dick became Nightwing.

14 Years Ago (2012)

Okay, get ready, this is a huge year for DC comics history!

Sometime shortly before Dick becomes Nightwing, Earth-3’s Lois Lane AKA Superwoman is seen pregnant with Earth-3’s Jon Kent.

Around now is when the Batman/Superman World's Finest (2022) comics are set. These comics shows a 2010s era Youtube and iPads. Titans Annual 2025 also shows a laptop around this same time.

Batman/Superman Worlds Finest #55 has an editor's note reference to Batman (1940) #232, which sets this issue (and probably this whole series) sometime probably in the late Bronze Age, right before Robin becomes Nightwing.

Bruce and Talia meet for the first time AFTER Earth-3 Lois Lane became pregnant.

Roy Harper's daughter Lian is probably conceived somewhere before the Crisis on Infinite Earths. The comics also had her spend years getting "teleported across time" and uses that to sidestep questions about her age.

Dick, age 16, becomes Nightwing.

It's right after Dick's debut as Nightwing that Dr. Manhattan yanks the "Post-Crisis" era out of the timeline, originally 10 years but now only 6 years thanks to compressed comic book time (2012-2017).

Donna Troy is 19 around this time and gets married (Her age is confirmed in Titans Annual 2025).

Roy Harper meets his daughter Lian Harper for the first time around now. Lian's precise age is unclear, but she's definitely a baby.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths

14-to-16-ish year old Billy Batson becomes Captain Marvel. He seems to be "forever 14-16," never aging like he should.

The Jon Kent of Earth-3 is born. He’s a couple months older than Prime Earth’s Jon Kent.

Clark Kent and Lois Lane get married.

"Mr. Terrific Year One" takes place around now. It mentions smartphone apps which places this post-2008 at the earliest. Lex appears in this comic and definitely isn't president at this very moment. Oddly in this comic, Mr. Terrific reacts to Darkseid Apokolips stuff like the general public is unaware of it, even though New History (published a year before this) says Darkseids very public invasion of Earth is still the reason the Justice League formed. Real sloppy continuity here... This comic is said to occur "years" ago from the present (published 2026).

Lex Luthor is elected president of the United States.

13 Years Ago (2013)

Around the time Lex takes office, Static is in high school, probably 14, BEFORE Jon Kent is born. a woman is seen using a modern-looking smartphone with a flashlight which should place this in 2013 at the absolute earliest, when iphones began having flashlights (assuming the tech didnt develop earlier in the dc universe, etc).

During "The Dakota Incident," a character uses the phrase "with extra steps" which was popularized by an episode of Rick and Morty that aired on August 30, 2015, which arguable could place Lex's presidency in 2016, although whether the author of that comic knew this obscure trivia and put it in as a deliberate timeline clue is pretty unlikely imo. Probably just an accidental anachronism.

"The Dakota Incident" also says Static and the other heroes of Dakota City were only active for a year, "the golden year," before President Luthor shut them down.

Jon Kent is born.

General Zod's son is also born. He is pretty much the exact same age as Jon.

Wally West's kids, Jai and Irey, are also born around this time. The Flash (2023) #6 says Wally's kids are 13 and a half in the "present day." 

Shortly after Jon's birth, Damian Wayne debuts as Robin. Damian was "artificially aged" to 10 (His debut age of 10 is reaffirmed in Batman 2025 #11). Strangely, Damian ages much slower than he ought to, and the characters in-universe seem to be unaware of this fact. However, he debuted in comics published in 2006, which is also when Jon Kent was born (during Infinite Crisis), and New History of the DC Universe indeed seems to suggest that Damian was artificially aged to 10 when Jon was a newborn.

In Batman (2025) #11, Damian says he read The Great Gatsby when he was 6. I think probably Damian here was counting his literal years without artificial aging in order to make himself sound more impressive. He was never "physically" 6. But that does at least prove he has physically existed for at least 6 years.

Black Canary grows close with a little girl known as Sin, who would be like 4-5 years old at the time (Birds of Prey 1999 #92).

9 Years Ago (2017)

Lian Harper is said to be presumed dead when she is 5 years old, shortly before the New 52 era begins.

8 Years Ago (2018)

The "Flashpoint" storyline occurs when Jai and Irey are about 5.

Around now, sometime during the "New 52" era, Harley and Ivy Life and Crimes (2026) takes place. They reference the phrase "believe women," which suggests the Me Too movement has already begun, which should place this in like 2017 at the earliest, relative to the "present day" of 2026 (although this comic is being narrated by Harley as a framing device, and she could be an unreliable narrator).

3 Years Ago (2023)

Shortly after turning 10, Jon Kent debuts as Superboy.

Sometime soon after Damian turns physically 13, they form the iconic Super Sons duo. Damian chronologically ought to be much older than 13, but for whatever reason he has aged only 3 years in all the time it took Jon to grow up.

Jon Kent, age 10, goes to the future and ages up. Superman Son of Kal-El #9 says that he aged from 11 to 16. Note that this is a retcon from the Rebirth continuity in which he aged from 11 to 17, according to Superman (2018) #8. And then I retconned it to 10 to make his birth in 2013, the year a new president would have taken office.

2 Years and 6 Months Ago (2023)

Aquaman (2016) #49, Mera reveals she is pregnant with Arthur's child.

1 Year and 9 Months Ago (2024)

Aquaman (2016) #57, Mera gives birth. This is an interesting example where it does seem the comics almost move in real time since this was like 8 months later from her pregnancy announcement based on the comics' cover dates.

Around this time, Jon Kent WOULD HAVE BEEN 11 (He would have been 12 according to Superman during the Infinite Frontier Warworld saga, but we'll have to retcon this to 11 so that his birth can be in 2013, after President Lex took office).

Wally's wife gets pregnant.

1 Year Ago (2025)

Wally's son is born.

In the Kelly Thompson Birds of Prey run, Sin should be like 16-17 years old.

0 Years Ago (2026)

As of The Flash (2023) #36, which is supposed to be set in "the present," Wally's son looks to be about a year old.

Earth-3 Jon Kent tricks the Kent family. He should be like 13 and thus a bit too tall to pass as the 10 year old Jon Kent. HOWEVER, the Kent family is aware that Jon spent YEARS in that volcano, so they probably are accounting for that extra time. Earth-3 Jon Kent may also be a bit short and scrawny due to his dad's abuse.

In New Titans (2026) #39, Static calls himself a "college kid." By the logic of my timeline here, he ought to be 27, roughly 13 years older than he was during "The Dakota Incident" before Jon Kent was born. 27 is slightly too old to be a college kid, but maybe he only recently turned 27 and still thinks of himself as a college kid? It kinda works just barely.

In current comics, Aquaman's daughter seems to be about 1-2 years old.

Oh yeah I forgot Wonder Woman has a daughter too, I must've mentally blocked the Tom King run from my brain again, whoops. As of ww#37, Diana's daughter seems to be less than one year old. She would've been brought to life from clay a while AFTER Wally's son was born, so that tracks.

As of me writing this on August 6, 2026, the "present day" of the DC universe seems to be 2026. In Justice League Unlimited (2025) #19, we see a newspaper dated June 5. In Superman (2023) #38-40, set right before the Justice League issue, it's said to be a Wednesday, which would make it Wednesday, June 3, 2026. That lines up perfectly, which suggests to me that DC editorial was looking at the 2026 calendar as a reference.

Of course, that's going to get retconned again as soon as they feel the characters are growing too old. The characters have been allowed to age somewhat at times, though, such as Bruce mentioning in DCKO that he's getting really old by now.

One possible explanation for characters seeming younger than they should is that, although the timeline was restored after Dark Knights Death Metal, perhaps the characters retained their extra youth, remaining 10 years younger than they should be. However, the comic itself seems to present the situation as if the timeline has been "fully unknotted" with everything returned to "how it should be," so I really doubt that's the case. After all, then the general public would think Clark Kent would be 10 years older than he appears, etc. It leads to countless questions and plot holes.

Personally, I hate comic book sliding time and think it leads to bland, stagnant storytelling, but it is useful to at least understand how it works and what the creative intention is.

What this doesn't help me with, though, is understanding when exactly particular comic book issues occur relative to one another. Time is so squashed, it seems like all the comics are happening at once, which just makes it all more confusing!

Grr! If only someone were to actually skim through the past several years of comic books and count the exact number of days that pass! But that will never happen. No one is that neurotic. 

NEXT TIME: I COUNT THE EXACT DAYS THAT PASS, ISSUE BY ISSUE