User:TheJoebro64/drafts/DCU

The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which the majority of American comic books published by DC Comics take place. The initial DCU was established in All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940—1941) with the formation of the Justice Society of America.

Golden Age
The DC Universe (DCU) was first established in All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940—1941), an anthology series containing the most popular series from other anthologies published by both All-American Publications and National Comics (later which later merged into DC Comics). The issue depicted the first meeting of the Justice Society of America (JSA), which featured the Flash, Hawkman, Hour-Man, the Spectre, the Sandman, Doctor Fate, and the Green Lantern, and the Atom. Batman and Superman were later established as being members of the JSA. Prior to this, most of DC's superheroes were generally treated independently of each other; All Star Comics was the first comic to recognize they lived in the same world and could interact with each other. A rule requiring the JSA to feature a rotating cast—characters who were given their own ongoing series were retired from All Star Comics in favor of new characters—helped expand the DCU and laid the groundwork for the shared universe concept.

Timeline
The DCU timeline is split into four ages, which DC refers to as "generations".
 * Generation 1
 * Generation 2
 * Generation 3 begins with the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985–1986), in which the multiverse is destroyed, leaving a single DCU known as "New Earth". Significant events in Generation 3 include the formation of the Justice League International, the death of Jason Todd at the hands of the Joker in "A Death in the Family" (1988–1989), "The Death of Superman" (1992–1993), and crossover events such as Infinite Crisis (2005–2006), Final Crisis (2008–2009), and "Blackest Night" (2009–2010). It concludes with Flashpoint (2011), in which the DCU is rebooted due to the machinations of Doctor Manhattan.
 * Generation 4