2009

2009 brought to a close Final Crisis, the last of a series of multi-part crossover events, the roots of which, extended as far back as the original "Crisis on Infinite Earths". Final Crisis was pivotal in that it featured the return of the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen, who heroically gave his life to save the Multiverse during the first Crisis.

2009 also began with the "Superman: New Krypton" storyline, a multi-part arc that crossed over into all of the Superman Family related titles. "Superman: New Krypton" saw the emergence of more than 200,000 Kryptonians on the planet Earth and resulted in the deaths of two minor Superman supporting characters.

Hot on the heels of Final Crisis was "Faces of Evil" a string of themed one-shot and regular series issues that spotlighted the more infamous super-villains of the DCU.

Following Final Crisis and Faces of Evil, DC introduced a cornerstone event titled, "Origins and Omens". Origins and Omens was a back-up bonus featured in regular monthly issues that re-examined the origins of major characters in the DC Universe.

Both the "Bat" and "Super"-verses expanded on their previous storylines with multi-part arcs that extended into the summer season. Following "Batman R.I.P." was the seven-part "Last Rites" storyline which led into the greater "Battle for the Cowl" event – an event which completely restructured the Batman universe as various heroes struggled to fill the role of Batman – a position vacated by the presumed death of Bruce Wayne. In the aftermath of this feud, a new Dynamic Duo emerged. Former sidekick Dick Grayson once again donned the cowl of Batman while reluctantly taking Bruce's son, Damian Wayne, under his figurative wing as the new Robin. As part of this "Batman: Reborn" event, the previous Robin, Tim Drake, assumed a new identity – Red Robin.

In the Super-verse, Superman decided to keep a closer eye on the affairs of New Krypton and voluntarily journeyed to the planet to become part of the Kryptonian military guild under General Zod. Leaving Earth a "World Without Superman", several heroes emerged to fill in the void. The Daxamite Lar-Gand protected Metropolis as Mon-El while the Kryptonian vigilantes Flamebird and Nightwing patrolled the planet hunting down Kandorian sleeper agents.

The major summer event of 2009 was the cosmic-spanning storyline "Blackest Night". Primarily involving characters from the Green Lantern family of titles, "Blackest Night" was the pivotal climax of the larger "War of Light" saga, which had been steadily gaining momentum since 2007.

Creators

The following creative talent passed away in the year 2009:

Titles

The following comic titles debuted with a 2009 cover date:

The following Comic titles were last published with a 2009 cover date:

The following One Shots were published with a 2009 cover date:

Characters

Selected 2009 character debuts. See all.

Teams

Selected 2009 team debuts. See all.

Chronology

The following events were published by DC Comics in the year 2009. This does not necessarily indicate that these storylines took place in the year 2009. The passage of time in the DC Universe is nebulous and subject to change and interpretation. Events from historical time periods are indexed under their corresponding years.

January

Event	Source	Date
New Krypton: Sam Lane frees Lex Luthor from prison to help him develop a military defense against Earth's new Kryptonian colonists.	Action Comics #871	1.09
New Krypton: Doomsday attacks the Kryptonian delegation in Washington. Dozens of Kryptonians grab him, fly him to the moon and incapacitate him.	Action Comics #871	1.09
New Krypton: Zor-El puts his daughter Kara through a process to purge her of Kryptonite poisoning. Kara regains her true memories of life in Argo City before she arrived on Earth.	Supergirl (Volume 5) #35	1.09
The Clock King visits the Dark Side Club. Vundabar, Steppenwulf and DeSaad do not appreciate the way the Clock King has been using unpredictable metahumans in combat. He grows weary of their criticism and decapitates Vundabar and Steppenwulf with razor-spheres.	Terror Titans #2	1.09
The new Terra save a subterranean race known as the Illumi-Mites from a cave in caused by minors in Broomfield, Virginia.	Terra #1	1.09
Connor Hawke develops accelerated healing and a higher resistance to pain. However, he loses most of his memories of his past life with his father, Oliver Queen.	Green Arrow and Black Canary #14	1.09
Jericho, trapped in the body of Match, invades Titans Tower and fights the Titans. A combined effort on the part of Cyborg and Raven separates Jericho's essence from Match.	Titans (Volume 2) #7	1.09
Superman of Earth-22 stops one of Lex Luthor's Kryptonite attacks against the Daily Planet. He accidentally comes into conflict with the New Earth Superman. Later, he visits Chicago reverend Norman McCay.	Kingdom Come Special: Superman	1.09
The new Magog, David Reid, learns that his old military unit, Epsilon Squad, has been attacked in the Congo. He succeeds in saving the life of one of his former compatriots and slaughters the Congolese soldiers responsible for the attack.	Kingdom Come Special: Magog	1.09
New Krypton: Commander Gor leads a contingent of Kryptonians to break the Parasite out of Stryker's Island so they can imprison him in the Phantom Zone. Several Science Police officers are killed during the prison raid.	Superman #682	1.09
New Krypton: Several Kryptonians capture more of Superman's known adversaries and imprison them in the Phantom Zone. Included are the Silver Banshee, the Parasite, Bizarro, the Prankster and the Toyman.	Superman #682	1.09
Damage becomes a devout Gog worshiper. His proselytizing earns him the attention of Atom Smasher and the two fight one another. Their fight destroys the family home of Albert Pratt.	Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom	1.09
Power Girl and the new Terra are forced to fight alongside the Silver Banshee in order to defeat the awakened Sumerian god, Gorsedd.	Terra #2	1.09
After creating miracles for six days, Gog declares that the people of the Earth should begin worshiping him.	Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom	1.09
Geo-Force fights the zombie Deadcoil and his undead minions in Markovia. Terra arrives to lend a hand.	Terra #2	1.09
Green Lantern and the Phantom Stranger travel to the planet Kahlo to investigate a supernatural virus that is somehow connected to an autistic Earth girl named Cora.	The Brave and the Bold v.3 #19	1.09
Simon Dark decapitates a sexual predator from Gotham City named Ray Wheeler.	Simon Dark #14	1.09
Possessing Superman's powers, Batman goes to Santa Prisca and gets into a fight with Bane, nearly killing him.	Superman/Batman #54	1.09

February

Event	Source	Date
Terra saves Geo-Force from being possessed by the villain known as Deadcoil. She brings Geo-Force to her native land of Strata.	Terra #3	2.09
Geo-Force and Terra fight Richard Faulkner. Terra then teams up with Power Girl to fight Satana and later, Solomon Grundy.	Terra #4	2.09
Green Arrow and Black Canary fight a low-rent thug named Dregz. Canary slams him through a wall with her Canary Cry.	Green Arrow and Black Canary #15	2.09
Connor Hawke leaves Team Arrow to go and find his identity.	Green Arrow and Black Canary #15	2.09
The Guardians of the Universe enact the Third Law of the Book of Oa, which forbids members of the Green Lantern Corps from maintaining romantic relationships with one another.	Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #31	2.09
Jericho secretly possesses Nightwing's body and forces him to take a hallucinogenic drug that will enable him to manipulate him more easily.	Titans (Volume 2) #8	2.09
Green Lantern Amnee Pree goes berserk and attacks the Sinestro Corps member, Kryb.	Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #31	2.09
Following the death of her husband at the hands of Mongul, Miri Riam joins the Star Sapphires.	Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2) #31	2.09
A being known as the Purge comes to Kahlo and begins killing people. He assimilates the Green Lantern Orlan and uses him to kill his wife.	The Brave and the Bold (Volume 3) #20	2.09
New Krypton: Reactron, Metallo and dozens of Brainiac Probes invade New Krypton. The Kryptonians enlist the aid of the Creature Commandos and Ultra the Multi-Alien to help them. Reactron kills Supergirl's father, Zor-El, but the villains manage to escape.	Action Comics #872; Supergirl (Volume 5) #36	2.09
New Krypton: Funeral services are held for Zor-El. His widow, Alura In-Ze, conspires with rogue Kandorians to retaliate against Earth.	Supergirl (Volume 5) #36	2.09
Robin quits the Teen Titans and the team goes through a major roster shake-up.	Teen Titans (Volume 3) #66	2.09
Sinestro kills the Red Lantern Laira, saving Hal Jordan's life.	Green Lantern (Volume 4) #37	2.09
The Calculator is revealed to be the father of Wendy and Marvin	Teen Titans (Volume 3) #66	2.09
Hal Jordan succumbs to rage and becomes a member of the Red Lantern Corps	Green Lantern (Volume 4) #37	2.09
New Krypton: The heroes of Earth fight the Kryptonian immigrants. In defeat, the Kryptonians use Sunstone technology to move Kandor into outer space to form its own planet.	Superman #683; Action Comics #873	2.09-3.09

March

Event	Source	Date
Superwoman murders Agent Liberty with a blast of heat vision.	Action Comics #873	3.09
Merlyn is hired to kill five young geniuses, but betrays them. He fights with Green Arrow and shoots Black Canary through the wrist.	Green Arrow and Black Canary #16	3.09
Green Lantern KT21 defeats the Sinestro Corps member Kryb at the cost of her own life. Star Sapphire Miri Riam brings Kryb back to Zamaron.	Green Lantern Corps #32	3.09
Poison Arrow begins stalking Oliver Queen.	Green Arrow and Black Canary #16	3.09
After giving birth to their child, Amnee and Matoo Pree quit the Green Lantern Corps.	Green Lantern Corps #32	3.09
Ravager fights Static at the Dark Side Club.	Terror Titans #4	3.09
The original "Simon Dark" tries to kill the current Simon Dark and officer Tom Kirk.	Simon Dark #16	3.09
Clock King kills Persuader's father.	Terror Titans #4	3.09
Inspector Mike Henderson begins working for the Meta-Crimes division in Metropolis.	Supergirl (Volume 5) #37	3.09
Nightwing learns that Jericho is being controlled by the mental impressions of everyone he has ever possessed.	Titans (Volume 2) #9	3.09
Ravager visits Deathstroke at Belle Reve, and Deathstroke breaks out of prison. Note: Takes place after the Terror Titans mini.	Faces of Evil: Deathstroke #1	3.09
The ramifications of their battle with Gog forces the JSA to re-examine their roster. Hawkman quits the team.	Justice Society of America v.3 #23	3.09
Alura In-Ze sends Supergirl to Earth to capture Reactron, the man who murdered Zor-El. Along the way, Supergirl fights Superwoman.	Supergirl (Volume 5) #37	3.09
Black Adam forces Felix Faust to fully restore Isis. They go to the Rock of Eternity and steal the "The Power of Shazam!" from Billy Batson.	Justice Society of America v.3 #23	3.09
Brother Blood escapes from Hell and briefly battles Kid Eternity and the Teen Titans.	Teen Titans v.3 #67	3.09
Parasite absorbs power from Mon-El in order to fight Superman.	Superman #684	3.09
The Phantom Stranger frees himself from the Purge and exorcises the entity from Green Lantern, Orlan.	The Brave and the Bold v.3 #21	3.09

April

Event	Source	Date
The new Copperhead kills TNTeena.	Terror Titans #5	4.09
The Terror Titans turn on Ravager and attack her.	Terror Titans #5	4.09
Poison Arrow springs Merlyn from jail as part of her bizarre stalking plot against Green Arrow. Note: Takes place on February 14th, Valentine's Day.	Green Arrow and Black Canary #17	4.09
Emerald Eclipse: Mongul takes control of the planet Daxam and establishes it as the new base of operations for the Sinestro Corps.	Green Lantern Corps v.2 #33	4.09
The Justice League fight the Titans in an effort to sanction Jericho. Jericho ultimately escapes from them however.	Titans v.2 #10	4.09
Nightwing quits the Titans in order to take care of troubles in Gotham.	Titans v.2 #10	4.09
Alura In-Ze frees General Zod from the Phantom Zone and gives him a full pardon.	Action Comics #874	4.09
The Phantom Zone begins to collapse and Superman is forced to free Mon-El even though doing so will kill him.	Action Comics #874	4.09
Simon Dark's evil progenitor kills his creator, Gus. Simon takes revenge and tears his "brother" in half.	Simon Dark #17	4.09
Superwoman fights Supergirl and tries to get her to leave Earth. She then tracks down and fights Reactron.	Supergirl (Volume 5) #38	4.09

May

Event	Source	Date
The New Star-Spangled Kid is revealed to be Miss Martian. Miss Martian helps free the brainwashed Dark Side Club members and fights the Terror Titans.	Terror Titans #6	5.09
Emerald Eclipse: On Daxam, Mongul defeats Arkillo in martial combat. He tears out his tongue as a sign of victory.	Green Lantern Corps v.2 #34	5.09
Superman decides to leave Earth to investigate matters on New Krypton. He leaves guardianship of Metropolis in the hands of Mon-El.	Superman #686; Superman: World of New Krypton #1	5.09
On New Krypton, Superman joins the Military Guild under General Zod. He is searching for Zod's son, Lor-Zod.	Superman: World of New Krypton #1	5.09
The new Flamebird and Nightwing begin scouring the planet looking for Kryptonian sleeper agents. Their quest brings them into conflict with Ursa.	Action Comics #857	5.09
Superwoman and Reactron murder Reactron's ex-girlfriend, Lori Murphy.	Supergirl v.5 #39	5.09
Emerald Eclipse: Vice breaks out of a Sciencell on Oa and attacks Green Lantern Voz.	Green Lantern Corps v.2 #34	5.09
Metropolis inspector Mike Henderson learns that the new Superwoman is responsible for murdering Agent Liberty.	Supergirl v.5 #39	5.09
Following a battle with Rampage, Mon-El joins the Metropolis Science Police. He assumes the Earth name Jonathan Kent.	Superman #686	5.09
Battle for the Cowl: The Batman Family rallies to save a burning Gotham now that Batman is gone and one must take his place as the Dark Knight.	Batman: Battle for the Cowl #1	5.09
Beast Boy meets with Raven at her school. He keeps trying to make a date with her, but Raven continues to dismiss him.	Titans v.2 #11	5.09
Simon Dark makes peace with himself and the world around him and decides to leave Gotham.	Simon Dark #18	5.09
The Outsiders fight up against the Insiders for the first time.	Outsiders v.4 #16	5.09

June

Event	Source	Date
Battle for the Cowl: After a battle with Doctor Phosphorous, Kirk Langstrom discovers that he can transform into the Man-Bat without taking his serum.	Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat #1	6.09
Bizarro escapes from a LexCorp containment vehicle and fights Solomon Grundy. The two become friends until Grundy transforms back into Cyrus Gold.	Solomon Grundy #2	6.09
Battle for the Cowl: Black Mask plays the Penguin and Two-Face off of each other as he plots to burn Gotham City to the ground.	Batman: Battle for the Cowl #2	6.09
Ursa attacks Flamebird and Nightwing at the Fortress of Solitude and nearly kills Flamebird. Nightwing develops a new power and forces a section of the Fortress to collapse onto Ursa.	Action Comics #876	6.09
The JSA hold a surprise birthday party for Courtney Whitmore, aka, Star Girl.	Justice Society of America v.3 #26	6.09
Supergirl has another battle with Reactron and manages to defeat him by tearing the Gold Kryptonite out of his chest cavity.	Supergirl v.5 #40	6.09
Supergirl learns that the new Superwoman is actually Major Lucy Lane.	Supergirl v.5 #40	6.09

July

Event	Source	Date
Mike Miller, the Human Flame is down on his luck after killing Martian Manhunter. At the behest of a junkie named Joey, Miller becomes involved in a failed scheme against the Kyrgyzstani mob.	Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! #1	7.09
Power Girl restarts her old R&D firm, Starrware Labs.	Power Girl v.2 #1	7.09
The Ultra-Humanite uses his robot army to literally take Manhattan hostage in the hopes of taking control of Power Girl. He wants to transplant his brain into her body.	Power Girl v.2 #1	7.09
Poison Ivy tries to kill Cyrus Gold. Gold transforms into Solomon Grundy and defeats her.	Solomon Grundy #3	7.09
Lois Lane calls upon Kimiyo Hoshi to save the dying Kryptonian, Thara Ak-Var.	Action Comics #877
Agents of Project 7734 track Lor-Zod to the Fortress of Solitude and attack him.	Action Comics #877	7.09
Deathtrap: Jericho takes a hotel room full of hostages and threatens to kill them unless the Titans and the Teen Titans face him. The heroes arrive, but Jericho still detonates the bomb, killing dozens of people.	Titans v.2 #13	7.09
Ravager has a final confrontation with Bombshell, after which, she decides to quit the Teen Titans.	Teen Titans v.3 #71	7.09
Who Is Superwoman?: Supergirl has another confrontation with Superwoman. Destroying her costume causes a bizarre reaction which seemingly results in Superwoman's death.	Supergirl v.5 #41	7.09
Green Arrow and Black Canary begin seeing a marriage counselor.	Green Arrow and Black Canary #20	7.09
Poison Arrow uses stolen Trick Arrows to create a sound buffer in Star City, causing everyone within its radius to go deaf.	Green Arrow and Black Canary #20	7.09
The spirit of Kung invades JSA headquarters and uses its power to send five team members back in time to August 5th, 1945 - the day the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.	Justice Society of America v.3 #27	7.09

August

Event	Source	Date
World Without Superman: Flamebird and Nightwing battle two more Krypontian sleeper agents, Az-Rel and Nadira. The battle is joined by Codename: Assassin.	Action Comics #878	8.09
Batman: Reborn: Dick Grayson assumes the mantle of Batman. He reluctantly takes on Damian Wayne to be the new Robin. They operate out of the Gotham Tower.	Batman #687	8.09
Batman and Robin unveil their new paracapes as well as a flying Batmobile.	Batman and Robin #1	8.09
Batman and Robin stop Mister Toad, an underling of the crime boss known as Pyg.	Batman and Robin #1	8.09
Emerald Eclipse: Sodam Yat sacrifices himself to turn Daxam's star from red to yellow, thus empowering the Daxamites to rise up against Mongul and the Sinestro Corps.	Green Lantern Corps v.2 #37	8.09
Tim Drake believes that Bruce Wayne is still alive and begins travling the globe in search of him.	Red Robin #1	8.09
Red Robin busts up a hostage situation in Madrid, Spain.	Red Robin #1	8.09
Cyborg fights up against Nano at S.T.A.R. Labs.	Titans v.2 #14	8.09
Ron Evers establishes the First Church of Anti-Technocracy.	Titans v.2 #14	8.09
Victor Stone goes on a date with scientist Tamara Belson.	Titans v.2 #14	8.09
Booster Gold tries to sneak into the Batcave to recover evidence that Bruce Wayne possessed regarding his time travel escapades. He gets into a conflict with Dick Grayson and the Black Beetle. Afterward, the Black Beetle alters the timeline, erasing Dick Grayson from the present era.	Booster Gold v.2 #21	8.09
Blue Beetle fights a three-hour battle against the giant robot THINKO!	Booster Gold v.2 #21	8.09
Wally West and Jay Garrick try to drain the Speed Force away from Barry Allen so he will no longer be the Black Flash. Barry takes an alternate route and runs off. He races into the Speed Force and encounters Johnny Quick and Max Mercury.	Flash: Rebirth #3	8.09

September

Event	Source	Date
Mirabai of Project 7734 manages to capture and incarcerate Az-Rel and Nadira.	Action Comics #879	9.09
Kal-El is prosecuted on New Krypton for treason. After heavey deliberation, prosecutor General Zod suggests aquital in honor of the Nova Cycle Celebration. The Kryptonian Religious Guild absolves Ksl of his crimes.	Superman: World of New Krypton #5	9.09
Supergirl celebrates her birthday and chooses her Kryptonian guild house. She elects to join the Kryptonian Science Guild.	Supergirl v.5 #43	9.09
An assassin's shot fells General Zod during the Nova Cycle Celebration on New Krypton.	Superman: World of New Krypton #5	9.09

October

Event	Source	Date
The Red Shard apprehends Ral-Dar, the Kryptonian who attempted to assasinate General Zod. After an intense interogation, Ral-Dar escapes and heads towards Earth. Commander El decides to assume his former guise of Superman to recapture him.	Superman: World of New Krypton #6	10.09

November

December

Alternate Realities

Event	Source	Date
Teen Kryptonian Kara sneaks aboard a rocket ship and accidentally comes to Earth where she meets her cousin Superman. Superman doesn't have the means to return her home, but provides her with the cover identity of Linda Lee and enrolls her in the 8th grade.	Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade #1	2.09

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