Reality names were reused several times. See also DC Universe, DC Extended Universe, DCAU.
The DC Universe[1] (officially Earth 1)[2] is a shared continuity comprised of numerous film and television adaptations of DC Comics stories. It officially began in 2024 with the series premiere of Creature Commandos, though some earlier events in its canon are shared with the DC Extended Universe.[3]
History
Early history
Origins of civilization
In this reality, humans dominated the planet Earth for millennia, and developed complex civilizations that covered much of their world's land masses. At the same time, the Amazons formed their own small nation on Earth's hidden island of Themyscira,[4] the Kryptonians of the planet Krypton founded a technologically advanced society, and the intergalactic Green Lantern Corps was created to keep peace across the universe.[5][6]
Metahuman emergence
A mural in the Hall of Justice depicting some famous superheroes throughout Earth's history
Around the 18th century, the human race began to physically evolve, giving rise to a subspecies of superpowered metahumans.[7] Many of these metahumans used their incredible powers to protect others, and donned masks and costumes to do so as superheroes. They inspired many humans without powers to do the same with any skills they had, and fought those who would use their powers or skills to harm others as supervillains.[5]
By the early 19th century, humans began making incredible scientific advancements, as seen when Dr. Victor Frankenstein brought to life his patchwork zombies, Eric and the Bride in the 1830s.[8]
20th century
The combat android, G.I. Robot, with the Easy Company platoon in World War II
International conflicts on Earth grew more catastrophic and destructive, culminating in two world wars in which metahumans and other scientific breakthroughs became increasingly essential to.[8][5] In 1943, a combat android was manufactured in the United States of America to kill Nazi soldiers alongside the U.S. Army. After the war ended, the android was studied by Dr. William Magnus, who used the data he collected to make further advancements in robotics.[9]
Scientific understanding of metahumans continued to develop, and by the 1990s, it had become much easier to offer support and treatment to those born with mutations that made their lives more difficult, such as Nina Mazurksy.[10]
21st century
Superhero influx
By the 21st century, metahumans had become a major part of life on Earth, to the point where three Green Lanterns were assigned by the Corps to protect it.[6] Many superheroes, such as Batman, became famous and well-liked figures,[11] which inspired the megacorporation LordTech to sponsor their own superhero team, the Justice Gang, to earn publicity and promotion.[5] Eventually, the American government founded A.R.G.U.S., a department dedicated to neutralizing superpowered threats to national security.[4]
Superman shields a civilian of Metropolis from danger
Around 2022, the Kryptonian hero Superman emerged in the city of Metropolis, with greater powers than any other metahuman, and became an icon across the world over time. In response, egotistical genius Lex Luthor began developing a complex plot to destroy Superman through his company LuthorCorp out of a belief that his power drew focus from humanity's true potential.[5]
Global metahuman affairs
At some point, A.R.G.U.S. director Amanda Waller founded the Task Force X program, through which incarcerated supervillains would perform covert ops government missions in exchange for shortened sentences. This program ran in secret for years, running the Project Starfish and Project Butterfly missions, until Waller's daughter exposed it to the press in 2023 and it was promptly shut down by Congress.[4][12][13]
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Task Force M on their mission to Pokolistan
In 2024,[note 1] Waller managed to circumvent Congress's restrictions by selecting entirely non-human operatives for missions through her new Task Force M program, which she used to carry out a mission to protect Princess Ilana Rostovic from the witch Circe in Pokolistan,[4] and later to assassinate her.[14] After the chaos of this mission, Waller was replaced as head of A.R.G.U.S. by General Rick Flag Sr.[10][12]
Superman's arrest
In 2025, Superman interfered in the impending war between the nations of Boravia and Jarhanpur, leading to controversy surrounding him that Lex Luthor fueled through news outlets and social media. This led to an intense conflict between Superman and Luthor, in which Superman was briefly detained by Luthor's forces in a pocket universe, Luthor nearly allowed the world to be destroyed by a dimensional rift inadvertently created by a LuthorCorp dimensional portal, and the Justice Gang fought and defeated Boravia's army, saving Jarhanpur from invasion.
As the conflict subsided, two journalists at the Daily Planet news outlet exposed evidence of Luthor's involvement with the Boravian government to engineer the war, and he was promptly arrested. Superman's reputation with the general public was restored, though A.R.G.U.S. and the U.S. Department of Defense began devising new safeguards to deal with superheroes taking international matters into their own hands.[5]
A month after the Boravian-Jarhanpurian War ended, A.R.G.U.S. discovered that the vigilante Peacemaker was in possession of a dimensional portal to the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, a pocket dimension with doorways to other realities. As Peacemaker began exploring one particular universe,[13] General Flag sent out several agents to arrest him and aquire his portal,[12][15] eventually enlisting the help of an incarcerated Luthor and his employees to do it.[16][17]
Once A.R.G.U.S. had access to the QUC, the doorways within were thoroughly investigated in a search for a potentially habitable world. They eventually found a world General Flag dubbed "Salvation", where he planned to effectively imprison metahumans the U.S. government felt were too dangerous to remain on Earth. In response to this, a group of vigilantes and disillusioned A.R.G.U.S. agents, including Peacemaker, founded their own independent agency called Checkmate to truly help the world, though this didn't stop Flag from recapturing Peacemaker and sending him to Salvation as its first prisoner.[18]
Averted future
A vision of a war-torn future, which has been erased
In a now-averted future foreseen by Circe, Ilana Rostovic would form an alliance with Gorilla Grodd and use her country's militia to wage a vicious and bloody war against the rest of the world. The war would result in the deaths of dozens of Earth's superheroes and the princess conquering the planet.[14] This future was erased when the Bride assassinated Ilana in 2024.[10]
Points of Interest
- Butterflies' homeworld[19] (Destroyed)
- Earth[4][5][13]
- Antarctica[5]
- Boravia[5]
- Corto Maltese[4][12]
- Jarhanpur[5]
- Pokolistan[4]
- Frankenstein Manor[20][4] (Destroyed)
- Poko Castle[20][4]
- United States[4][5]
- Belle Reve Correctional Center, Louisiana[4]
- California[21]
- Evergreen, Washington[13]
- A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters[13][22]
- Checkmate Headquarters[18]
- Chris Smith's house[13][12]
- Gotham City[23]
- Metropolis, Delaware[5]
- The Pentagon, Virginia[5][18]
- Smallville, Kansas[5]
- Star City[10]
- White House, Washington, D.C.[12]
- Krypton[5] (Destroyed)
- Pocket dimensions
Residents
Media
Films
Released
- Superman (2025)
Upcoming
- Supergirl (2026)
- Clayface (2026)
- Man of Tomorrow (2027)
Television series
Ongoing
- Creature Commandos (2024–present)
Completed
- Peacemaker (2022–2025)[note 2]
Upcoming
- Lanterns (2026)
Ancillary media
Films
- The Suicide Squad (2021)[note 3]
- Blue Beetle (2023)[note 4]
Web series
- Krypto Saves the Day! (2025–present)[note 5]
Comics
Books
Notes
- While the DCU officially began with the 2024 series premiere of Creature Commandos,[25] many of the events of the DCEU projects The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker season 1,[3][26] and Blue Beetle[27][28][29] are retroactively part of the DCU timeline.
- Actors from these retroactively canon projects reprise their roles in the DCU.[30]
- Previously, Gunn and Safran had stated that the DCEU's continuity reset at the end of The Flash would give birth to the DCU,[31] making it a soft reboot.[32][33]
- None of the books or comics made to tie into DC Studios projects are officially DCU canon.[34]
- The first wave of projects in the DCU is entitled "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters", which began with the premiere of Creature Commandos.[1]
- Every project in the DCU is developed and produced under DC Studios, overseen by co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran.[1]
- Gunn and Safran have stated they plan to release two films and two TV series in the DCU per year.[35]
Trivia
- Certain real world locations such as New York City and Los Angeles do not exist in the DCU.[36]
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters – DC on YouTube
- ↑ Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn Season 2, Ep. 5 – DC on YouTube
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 James Gunn on Creature Commandos and Killing Nazis in His New DC Universe – IGN on YouTube
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Creature Commandos: "The Collywobbles"
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 Superman (2025)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 When Green Lanterns Become True Detectives: Meet HBO's Pulpy, Prestige-y 'Lanterns' – Vanity Fair
- ↑ Superman lights the way: How Hollywood's new Man of Steel shepherds the DC universe of tomorrow – Entertainment Weekly
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Creature Commandos: "The Tourmaline Necklace"
- ↑ Creature Commandos: "Cheers to the Tin Man"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Creature Commandos: "A Very Funny Monster"
- ↑ Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn Season 1 Rewatch, Ep. 4 – DC on YouTube
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 Peacemaker: "A Man Is Only as Good as His Bird"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 Peacemaker: "The Ties That Grind"
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Creature Commandos: "Chasing Squirrels"
- ↑ Peacemaker: "Another Rick Up My Sleeve"
- ↑ Peacemaker: "Ignorance Is Chris"
- ↑ Peacemaker: "Like a Keith in the Night"
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 Peacemaker: "Full Nelson"
- ↑ Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn Season 1 Rewatch, Ep. 8 – DC on YouTube
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Warner Bros. Reveals An Exciting Slate of Animated Projects at Annecy Animation Festival – Nexus Point News
- ↑ DC's 'Clayface' Lands 'Speak No Evil' Director James Watkins (Exclusive) - The Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ Peacemaker: "Back to the Suture"
- ↑ Creature Commandos: "Priyatel Skelet"
- ↑ Peacemaker: "Need I Say Door"
- ↑ James Gunn Reminds Us "No One Has Seen Anything from The DCU Yet" – Bleeding Cool
- ↑ James Gunn Breaks Down Easter Eggs From 'Creature Commandos' Season 1 – Rotten Tomatoes on YouTube
- ↑ Warner Bros Springs First Trailer For DC's 'Blue Beetle' – Deadline
- ↑ Blue Beetle director confirms movie's place in DCU – GamesRadar+
- ↑ Blue Beetle Will Be the First Character in the New DC Universe, James Gunn Confirms – TheWrap
- ↑ Here's the Full Cast of DC's 'Creature Commandos' – Collider
- ↑ James Gunn's New DC Slate: Your Burning Questions Answered – Gizmodo
- ↑ DC Studios: 6 Questions About James Gunn's Movie, TV Plans – The Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ Superman: Legacy Cast Adds Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi and Nathan Fillion – Vanity Fair
- ↑ @jamesgunn on Threads (September 5, 2025)
- ↑ Here's How Many DCU Films and Shows Will Release per Year – ComicBook
- ↑ James Gunn Takes Rainn Wilson Inside His DC Cinematic Universe – Interview Magazine
- ↑ In the DCEU, the Project Starfish mission took place in 2021. In the DCU, the Project Starfish mission is said to have occurred two years prior to the events of Creature Commandos season 1, which are confirmed to have only occurred months before the events of Superman. Given that Superman is confirmed to take place in 2025 via viral marketing, that places the events of The Suicide Squad in 2022 and Creature Commandos around 2024 in the DCU timeline.
- ↑ The first season was originally part of the DC Extended Universe, while the second season integrates the series into the DC Universe. Nearly all the events in season 1 are retroactively DCU canon, and Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn clarifies which details did not carry over to the new continuity, such as Aquaman being an established hero and the existence of the Justice League.
- ↑ Retroactively DCU rough canon, according to these interviews
- ↑ Retroactively DCU rough canon, according to these articles
- ↑ Not technically DCU canon, but connected