DC Comics has rebooted its entire comic book line several times, mainly to keep the stories and origins up to date for new generations. The golden age of DC gave way to the silver age without a significant event; instead, it was marked by the introduction of new versions of all the characters. That changed after Crisis on Infinite Earths, the first important event series that changed everything. This lasted through a couple of more Crisis events before Flashpoint changed everything again with the New 52. Since then, there have been Convergence, Rebirth, and Doomsday Clock, before Infinite Frontier tried to bring everything together.
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Of these, three DC reboots were massive, but only two were really necessary. Here is a look at the three important ones and why one of them almost ruined the company.
3) Crisis On Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths was a way for DC to simplify its continuity, which had grown increasingly confusing as the 1980s wore on. There were countless parallel Earths, with some heroes different on the various worlds, and some legendary heroes not actually existing on the main Earth. This series brought all the Earths together and had them fight a deadly villain in the Anti-Monitor. By the end, everything was combined into one Earth, with the comic book characters rebooted with fresh origins and new versions.
This DC reboot was essential for the comic book line, simplifying things for new readers and dispelling the idea that they needed homework to catch up. This was the reboot that changed Superman and Lex Luthor into what they are today, thanks to John Byrne. It also replaced Barry Allen with Wally West as the Flash, set the stage for the introduction of a new Green Lantern, and more. Crisis on Infinite Earths was the best reboot that DC Comics ever attempted.
2) The New 52
Flashpoint led to the New 52, which was the first significant DC reboot since Crisis on Infinite Earths. This initial storyline saw Flash go back in time to save his mother from being killed. However, it ended up changing the timeline into something terrible: Bruce Wayne died as a child, Superman was captured early after arriving on Earth, and the entire planet was an awful place. Flash fixed things and created the New 52.
This was mainly the most unnecessary reboot in DC Comics history, and many fans rejected it. This is because some of the changes were not good. The refreshed Superman was decent, the rebooted Justice League formation was fun, and Wonder Woman’s series was fantastic. However, Batman didn’t change at all and just kept its storytelling after the change, and that was the big problem. DC didn’t seem to know what it wanted. DC realized a few years later that they needed to fix things, making this a problematic and eventually worthless reboot.
1) Rebirth/Doomsday Clock
When DC Comics realized fans never bought into the New 52, the company decided to course correct. This happened in four stages. First up, DC brought out Convergence, which allowed the company to bring back many of the other Earths with fresh stories. When that worked, they released Rebirth, which reverted the DC Universe to the pre-New 52 state. However, DC also made some new changes, including having Superman and Lois Lane married with children.
This then led to Doomsday Clock, where Watchmen crossed over with the DC heroes. It was Doctor Manhattan who then finished what DC started in Rebirth. This ensured that the storyline cleaned up any mess made when DC reverted the timeline to what fans wanted to see. Since then, DC also released Infinite Frontier, which tried to claim everything was canon thanks to the Omniverse, including the New 52. It just seemed like an overcomplicated mess that led to Dawn of DC.
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