DC Confirms Superman ’78 and Batman ’89 Exist in the Same Universe

The DC mythos has inspired some pretty beloved adaptations over the years, from blockbuster movies to long-running television shows. In the right contexts, the characters and elements from those adaptations have found their way back into the world of DC’s comics — and it looks like the recent Dark Crisis: Big Bang is certainly no exception. The one-shot, which ties into the larger Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths event, officially canonized a number of movies, television shows, and even video games inspired by DC, and revealed a surprising tie about two of them in the process. Spoilers for Dark Crisis: Big Bang #1 from Mark Waid, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Federico Blee, and Troy Peteri below! Only look if you want to know!

In a montage throughout the issue, Barry Allen / The Flash runs through a string of universes — including one dubbed Earth-789, which clearly shows Michael Keaton’s Batman and Jack Nicholson’s Joker posed together. Earth-789 is also referenced in the multiverse map at the end of the issue, which lists it as a world where “Superman and Supergirl are Earth’s only powered heroes [and] Batman’s parents [were] killed by the Joker.” This nod means that the lore of the 1978 Superman movie and the 1989 Batman movie, and their subsequent sequels, spinoffs, and comic- tie-ins, is not only part of the comic multiverse, but it exists within the same universe. While this counteracts ’89’s designation in The CW’s TV version of Crisis on Infinite Earths, it now connects together two of the most beloved live-action adaptations DC has ever had.

Will Michael Keaton return as Batman?

This detail comes as Keaton is poised to return as Batman in live-action in next year’s long-awaited The Flash movie. 

“It seemed like fun,” Keaton explained in an interview with Variety earlier this year. “I was curious what it would be like after this many years. Not so much me doing it – obviously, some of that – but I was just curious about it, weirdly, socially. This whole thing is gigantic. They have their entirely own world. So, I like to look at it as an outsider, thinking ‘Holy moly!’”

What do you think of this connection between Superman ’78 and Batman ’89 in the DC multiverse? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Flash is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 23, 2023.