DC is one of the oldest and most significant entertainment brands in history, originating as National Allied Publications in 1934 when cavalry veteran and pulp writer Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson published New Fun, the first all-original comic book. The initials DC stand for Detective Comics, the title of the comic series first published in 1937. DC Comics is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and is home to some of the most recognizable characters ever created, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, the Joker, and Lex Luthor. The DC Extended Universe film franchise grossed over $7 billion at the global box office before being replaced by the rebooted DC Universe under James Gunn and Peter Safran in 2024.

DC’s History

The Golden Age and Superman (1938 to 1956)

DC’s most significant moment came in June 1938 when Action Comics number 1 introduced Superman, the first costumed superhero in comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and had been rejected by multiple publishers before National Allied Publications recognized its potential. Superman’s success triggered the superhero genre and the Golden Age of comics. Batman followed in Detective Comics number 27 in May 1939. Wonder Woman debuted in 1941. These three characters remain the cornerstones of the DC brand nearly ninety years later.

The Silver Age and the Justice League (1956 to 1970)

DC revitalized superhero comics in the Silver Age by reimagining Golden Age characters with new origins and science fiction elements. Barry Allen became the new Flash in 1956, Hal Jordan became the new Green Lantern in 1959, and the Justice League of America brought DC’s heroes together as a team in 1960. The Silver Age DC characters were cleaner and more aspirational than their Marvel counterparts, reflecting a different philosophy about what superhero stories should be.

The Bronze Age and Landmark Stories (1970 to 1985)

The 1970s brought more socially conscious storytelling to DC. Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams ran Green Lantern and Green Arrow as a story about social issues including drug addiction. Jack Kirby came to DC and created the New Gods and Fourth World mythology. The death of Gwen Stacy in a Spider-Man comic forced the Comics Code to revise its policies about death in comics. DC’s own landmark moment in mature storytelling came with Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns in 1986 and Batman: Year One in 1987, which redefined the Dark Knight for modern audiences and influenced every serious Batman adaptation since.

Crisis, Vertigo, and the Modern Age

Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985 restructured DC’s entire multiverse by reducing it to a single continuity. Vertigo, DC’s mature readers imprint launched in 1993, produced some of the most significant comics of the 1990s including Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Garth Ennis’s Preacher, and Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s Watchmen in 1986 is widely considered the greatest superhero comic ever written and remains in print continuously. DC has undergone several subsequent line-wide reboots including Infinite Crisis, Flashpoint, The New 52, DC Rebirth, and the Krakoa-era equivalent Infinite Frontier.

DC in Film

The Christopher Reeve Superman Era (1978 to 1987)

Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie in 1978, starring Christopher Reeve, proved that a superhero film could be taken seriously and treated with genuine craft. The tagline “You’ll believe a man can fly” was not an exaggeration. Reeve’s performance as both Superman and Clark Kent remains the gold standard for the character. Three sequels followed with diminishing returns, and the Supergirl spinoff in 1984 was a commercial failure.

Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s Batman (1989 to 1997)

Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson proved the genre could be dark, gothic, and taken seriously as cinema. It grossed over $400 million worldwide. Batman Returns in 1992 was darker and stranger. Joel Schumacher replaced Burton with Batman Forever in 1995 and Batman and Robin in 1997, the latter being one of the most notorious blockbuster failures in superhero film history.

Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy (2005 to 2012)

Batman Begins in 2005, The Dark Knight in 2008, and The Dark Knight Rises in 2012 with Christian Bale are the most critically acclaimed DC films ever made. Heath Ledger’s Joker won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The Dark Knight is widely considered one of the best films ever made in the superhero genre. The trilogy’s influence on subsequent superhero filmmaking cannot be overstated.

The DC Extended Universe (2013 to 2023)

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013 launched the DC Extended Universe, DC’s attempt to build a shared cinematic universe to compete with the MCU. The DCEU included Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam, Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, The Flash, and others. Wonder Woman in 2017 directed by Patty Jenkins was the critical and commercial high point of the DCEU. The theatrical cut of Justice League in 2017 was a commercial disappointment. Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2021, a four-hour director’s cut released on HBO Max, generated significant fan enthusiasm. The DCEU concluded with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in 2023.

The DC Universe (2024 to present)

James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed co-chairmen and co-CEOs of DC Studios in November 2022 to restructure the DC film and television operation. Their DC Universe launched in 2024 with a unified continuity across film, television, animation, and video games. Superman, directed by Gunn himself and starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, is the first major theatrical release in the new DCU, scheduled for July 11, 2025. The Penguin series on HBO in 2024, starring Colin Farrell, was the first DC Studios production and was well received. The DCU represents DC’s most ambitious attempt to build a coherent shared universe with a long-term creative vision.

DC on Television

DC’s television history stretches from the 1966 Adam West Batman series through the Arrowverse, which at its peak comprised Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Batwoman, and Superman and Lois running simultaneously across multiple networks. Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 is considered one of the greatest animated series ever made. The Arrowverse concluded and gave way to the new DCU’s television operations. HBO’s Watchmen series in 2019, written by Damon Lindelof as a sequel to the Alan Moore comic, won eleven Emmy Awards and is considered one of the best television series of that year.

DC in Video Games

DC’s most significant gaming legacy is Rocksteady Studios’ Batman Arkham series, beginning with Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009 and considered the gold standard of superhero games. NetherRealm Studios has produced the Injustice fighting game series featuring DC characters across two entries. Mortal Kombat, also by NetherRealm and published by WB Games, regularly features DC characters as guest fighters. WB Games Montreal developed Batman: Arkham Origins and Gotham Knights. James Gunn has confirmed that video games will be part of the DCU’s shared continuity, with WB Games developing titles that connect to the film and television universe. A dedicated DC game from WB Games Montreal is currently in development.

Franchises under DC

Batman

Batman is one of the most enduring fictional characters in the history of entertainment. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and first appearing in Detective Comics issue 27 in May 1939, Bruce Wayne has spent over 85 years as Gotham City's dark knight across comics, radio, television, film, animation, and video games. The Batman…

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