James Gunn's Entire DC Universe Timeline Explained

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Spoilers for "Superman" to follow.

"Superman" is here and, Highfather willing, it's the beginning of a new DC Universe on film. James Gunn isn't just the movie's director, he's co-president of the new DC Studios with Peter Safran and is charged with assembling a DC Universe on film and television. The fate of "Superman" will determine the future of that DCU and possibly parent studio Warner Bros'.

But there's messiness, because Warner Bros already spent a decade trying to make a cinematic universe out of the DC Comics world. That effort was called the DC Extended Universe. Gunn was involved back when the DCEU was still ongoing; he wrote-directed "The Suicide Squad" and created its TV spin-off, "Peacemaker."

Gunn has pretty consistently maintained that the DCU is a fresh start, but it's not a clean break either. In a 2023 post on Threads, Gunn said that:

"Some actors will be playing characters they've played in other stories & some plot points might be consistent with plot points from the dozens of films, shows & animated projects that have come from DC in the past."

Does "Superman" offer any clarity here? Does it make it any easier to assemble the timeline of the new DC Universe in a neat, one-by-one list?

We know where the DCEU ends ("Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom"), but where does the DCU begin? The correct answer is with "The Suicide Squad."

The 2024 animated series "Creature Commandos" may be where Gunn marks the DCU as officially beginning, because it's the first project that was produced with the intention of being part of the DCU. However, "Creature Commandos" is very much a sequel to "The Suicide Squad," as its story directly builds off the film. But both "The Suicide Squad" and "Peacemaker" were developed with the intention of being in the DCEU and have links to show for it.

Remember, "The Suicide Squad" was itself a semi-sequel to 2016's "Suicide Squad" directed by David Ayer. That's why the movie brought back Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag Jr., and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Do other projects that featured these characters, like the Ayer "Suicide Squad" or Harley Quinn vehicle "Birds of Prey," count?

"Peacemaker" also ends with a cameo from most of the Justice League as Zack Snyder assembled them. Ezra Miller's Flash and Jason Momoa's Aquaman even get close-up cameos in the "Peacemaker" season 1 finale.

Let's break down two methods to answer questions about a text: Watsonian or Doylist. They both go back to the stories of Sherlock Holmes; a Watsonian (as in Dr. John Watson, Holmes' sidekick) lens looks at things from an in-universe perspective, whereas Doylist (i.e. the stories' author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) readings look at the real world events around a text to find an answer. Lots of superhero fans have Watsonian tunnel vision, even for questions that can only have Doylist answers. Canonicity in Gunn's DCU is one of those questions.

Here's the useful shorthand; anything that Gunn was involved with is essentially canon. In the spots where "The Suicide Squad" or "Peacemaker" line up with the old DCEU, ignore them. The DCU going forward certainly won't be referencing those parts of "The Suicide Squad" and "Peacemaker." Pretend it was David Corenswet's Superman that showed up at the end of "Peacemaker" season 1, not Henry Cavill's. In all likelihood, that's what Gunn is doing.

In September 2023, Gunn (on Threads) listed three actors from the DCEU who would be returning to play their old parts in the DCU: Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, John Cena as Christopher Smith/Peacemaker, and Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle.

Davis' Waller has already appeared in the DCU via "Creature Commandos." "Peacemaker" is coming back for a season 2, which will be fully canon to the DCU this time. (Hopefully, that season will shed some light on where the series falls in the DCU timeline.) Blue Beetle, though? There's been no word on him since then.

Released in August 2023, "Blue Beetle" followed the teenage Jaime as he bonded with an alien Scarab and became the eponymous superhero. As Blue Beetle, he wears scarab-themed armor that can make practically any weapon or tool he imagines. The movie also referenced the previous Blue Beetle, Ted Kord; the movie's villain, who wanted to exploit the Scarab as a weapon, was Ted's sister Victoria (Susan Sarandon). The post-credits scene also hinted that Ted is secretly still alive somewhere. Will the DCU follow up on that?

It remains to be seen. The cynical explanation is that, when Gunn made the statement about Maridueña coming back for the DCU, "Blue Beetle" was still freshly released. Gunn and WB probably didn't want to immediately dismiss the movie as a failure. However, since "Blue Beetle" did bomb, don't be surprised if Maridueña doesn't return and the movie is swept into the past with the rest of the non-Gunn DCEU.

Then, one last question: Matt Reeves' "The Batman" was developed during the old DCEU but was never intended to be part of it. "The Batman Part II" is still set to be made. (Reeves and his writing partner Mattson Tomlin recently completed the script.) Gunn has said that Reeves' projects ("The Batman," "The Penguin") are not being folded into the DCU continuity, and that's unlikely to change.

The first chapter of Gunn's DCU is titled "Gods and Monsters," quoting Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) in James Whale's 1935 film "Bride of Frankenstein." According to some opening text narration in "Superman," the people of Earth have known about metahumans (heroes and villains with superpowers) for 300 years, and metahumans had existed in secret long before that. "Creature Commandos" previously showed how this DC Universe's age of gods and monsters stretched as far back as the 19th century.

Almost all of the seven episodes in "Creature Commandos" season 1 include flashbacks to one of the Commandos' backstories. Episode 2, "The Tourmaline Necklace," returns to 1831 when Victor Frankenstein (Peter Serafinowicz) created the Bride (Indira Varma) for his "son," Eric (David Harbour). Instead, Victor and the Bride fall for each other. Eric then murders his father and the Bride flees; a montage shows that, for the next two centuries, Eric has kept trying to make her his Bride, but she always violently rejects him.

"Creature Commandos" episode 3, "Cheers to the Tin Man," flashes back to World War II. G. I. Robot (Sean Gunn) was created by the Allies to kill Nazis and only to kill Nazis. By the 1960s, there were no more Nazis to kill, so G.I. Robot was deactivated. In the 2000s, Neo-Nazi Sam (Michael Rooker) then reactivated G.I., who slaughtered Sam and all his friends when he learned about their political leanings.

While G.I. was shut off, the alien Starro was discovered floating in space by NASA. Taken back to Earth, Starro was locked up in the tower "Jotunheim" in the South American nation Corto Maltese, as overseen by the sadistic scientist the Thinker (Peter Capaldi).

Starro isn't the only alien who comes to Earth in the '90s. The "Superman" opening text states that Kal-El came to Earth 30 years ago, meaning 1995 or so. On the doomed planet Krypton, scientist Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) sensed the planet's end approaching. So, he sent his only son in a spaceship to carry their people's hopes and dreams. Jor-El and his wife Lara (Angela Sarafyn) also recorded a final message for Kal, expressing their love and last wishes for their son. Baby Kal-El then landed in Smallville, Kansas, where he's adopted and raised by Jonathan (Pruitt Taylor Vince) and Martha Kent (Neva Howell) on their family farm as Clark Kent.

Relatively more recent origins are told in other "Creature Commandos" episodes. Episode 4, "Chasing Squirrels," shows that in the recent past, the mutant Weasel (Sean Gunn) befriended some schoolchildren. When the school caught fire, his appearance and inability to speak meant he was labeled the culprit.

Episode 6, "Priyatel Skelet," reveals the nuclear scientist Alex Sartorius (Alan Tudyk) was blackmailed by mob boss Rupert Thorne (Benjamin Byron Davis) into developing nuclear weapons. Sartorius refused, so Thorne murdered his family. Sartorius was then transformed into Dr. Phosphorus, killed Thorne, and took over the mob in Gotham City before being defeated by Batman.

Episode 7, "A Very Funny Monster," shows that the scientist Edward Mazursky (Gregg Henry) turned his daughter, Nina (Zoë Chao), into a fish-human hybrid in an effort to cure her unique lung condition. Nina eventually ran away from home and was arrested for her mutant appearance; her father was later shot by one of the arresting cops when he tried to bring her home.

By the 2020s, the age of the DC heroes truly begins. Clark reveals himself to the world as Superman three years before "Superman" (so 2022 or so). Presumably, Clark Kent had already started working at the Daily Planet and unearthed his Fortress of Solitude by then. (Both have happened by "Superman.") Naturally, Superman catches the world's attention, especially that of envious billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who resolves to destroy him. Around this time, the wealthy Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) also begins bankrolling a team of superheroes known unofficially as the "Justice Gang" — Michael Holt/Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion).

"The Suicide Squad" also shows the DCU is filled with colorful characters and already established superheroes/super-villains.

Again, though, since the movie was developed as part of the DCEU, take this worldbuilding with a grain of salt. Now that Gunn has the keys to the kingdom, he might not want to be restrained by some offhand remarks in "The Suicide Squad."

According to Waller, the super-mercenary Bloodsport (Idris Elba) was locked up in Belle Reve prison because he shot Superman with a Kryptonite bullet. When Gunn wrote that line, it was almost certainly referring to Cavill's Superman. But now, can you retroactively say it was Corenswet's Superman who Bloodsport shot? Kryptonite does appear in "Superman" (apparently, there's currently none left on Earth) but the movie doesn't mention Bloodsport one way or another. For any further information, defer to Schrödinger's Cat.

The same could be said of Harley Quinn talking about how bad her taste in men is. That's clearly a reference to the Joker, but there's no indication so far if/when Gunn's DCU will feature the Joker... or if Robbie's Harley is even coming back. So, put a pin in where the Joker and Harley's history fits into the DCU.

In "The Suicide Squad" itself, the pro-U.S. government of the island nation Corto Maltese is overthrown by nationalistic General Silva Luna (Juan Diego Botto). To prevent the new government from getting its hands on "Operation: Starfish," Waller assembles two Suicide Squads.

Team A (Rick Flag, Harley, Captain Boomerang, Blackguard, Mongal, Savant, Javelin, T.D.K., and Weasel) is assembled as a distraction; they're ambushed and almost all killed by the Corto Maltese military. Harley is also taken captive by the Corto Maltese government to be Luna's bride (she kills him), while Flag is rescued by anti-government rebels. Weasel also survives drowning and runs off into Corto Maltese to be recaptured later.

Team B is the real Task Force X sent into Corto Maltese to get the job done. The team includes Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone), and Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian).

Team B rescues Flag (but not before accidentally killing almost all of the rebels) and Harley (though, really, she escapes on her own) and captures the Thinker to get them into Jotunheim. Peacemaker reveals that Waller gave him a secret assignment: destroying evidence of the U.S. government's wrongdoing (i.e. sending and abetting dissidents to be brainwashed or killed by Starro). Flag wants to release the information to the public; Peacemaker kills him, but Bloodsport in turn (seemingly) kills Peacemaker.

Starro breaks loose, killing the Thinker and intending to make Corto Maltese its own kingdom. The remaining Suicide Squad disobey Waller's orders and unite to take down Starro; they succeed, mostly because Ratcatcher calls upon an enormous swarm of rats, but Polka-Dot Man does not survive.

With Starro and the Corto Maltese dictatorship destroyed, rebel leader Sol Saria (Alice Braga) declares the country will now have free elections. Rather than whistleblowing like Flag intended, the Suicide Squad use the Project: Starfish evidence as blackmail on Waller to ensure their freedom and survival.

In the aftermath of the Corto Maltese incident, Waller's forces rescue Peacemaker, whose condition stabilizes. To replace the really, truly dead Flag, Waller recruits his once-retired father, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo). Waller is also forbidden from turning human criminals into Suicide Squads, which she bypasses by putting Flag in charge of nonhuman criminals. Enter the Creature Commandos (aka Task Force M).

The Themysciran witch Circe (Anya Chalotra) assembles an army of anti-feminists, the Sons of Themyscira, to invade the Eastern European nation Pokolistan. Circe particularly wants to kill the country's Princess Ilana Rostovic (Maria Bakalova), so Waller sends in Flag and Task Force M to protect her.

The team manages to defeat Circe fairly quickly (by episode 3), but she counters that she's trying to save the world. Brought back to Belle Reve, Circe shows Waller a premonition she had where Princess Rostovic brutally conquers the world and slays all the superheroes. Skewered on pikes in Waller's vision of this dark future are Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Peacemaker, Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Supergirl (Milly Alcock), Swamp Thing, and more. So yes, all of these heroes are currently active in the DCU when "Creature Commandos" begins.

Does this mean that "Creature Commandos" is actually set after "Superman"? Probably not, because Rick Flag Sr. also shows up in "Superman," meaning he's already out of retirement. "Superman" begins with Clark already an active superhero, so Waller recognizing him in "Creature Commandos" makes sense.

However, "Creature Commandos" also features an appearance by Batman villain Clayface (Alan Tudyk), in keeping with the villain having a spin-off film set in the DCU planned. Clayface is depicted as a well-established super-villain in "Creature Commandos." If the "Clayface" movie depicts his origin, then you can classify that as taking place before "Creature Commandos."

Waller's vision makes her redeploy Task Force M back into Pokolistan. There's a double deception where it appears that Clayface (who posed as a professor of ancient Greek history) was working with Circe to trick Waller. In actuality, Clayface was hired by Rostovic as a red herring. She is as evil as Circe claimed with designs on world conquest. After Rostovic kills Nina, the Bride kills Rostovic.

Waller and Flag, apparently satisfied Task Force M is a good idea, keep the surviving team (the Bride, Phosphorus, G. I. Robot, and Weasel) together with some new members: the vampire Nosferata, the mummy Khalis, and King Shark.

At some point during Clark's three years as Superman, he meets his Kryptonian cousin, Kara Zor-El/Supergirl. Kara often visits planets with red suns (which nullify her powers and immunity to alcohol) and leaves her dog Krypto with Clark.

Lex, observing Superman from the shadows, recovers a strand of Superman's hair from a battle and uses it to grow a clone of the hero: Ultraman. He also turns the former soldier Angela Spice (María Gabriela de Faría) into a metahuman, the Engineer, who can reshape her body thanks to nanites in her bloodstream. Lex, who has created a pocket universe traversable through portals across the world, additionally sets up a prison and anti-Superman internet troll farm within this pocket world. He then begins encouraging the president of Boravia to invade the neighboring land of Jarhanpur, knowing Superman will intervene and he can use this to turn the public against him.

About four months before "Superman," Clarks starts dating his Daily Planet coworker, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). Then about three months after that, when Boravia launches its invasion of Jarhanpur, Superman intervenes and sends the Boravian army packing (no casualties).

Luthor then sends Ultraman into the field, disguised as armored metahuman "The Hammer of Boravia," who is the first villain to outright defeat Superman. But when Luthor pitches his anti-Superman force to the Pentagon, it's not sold. So, he invades the Fortress of Solitude (bypassing a DNA lock with Ultraman's cloned genes), kidnaps Krypto, and steals Jor-El's last message. Decoding it, Luthor broadcasts the truth to the world: Superman's parents intended him to conquer the planet, not save it.

A stunned Superman becomes public enemy no. 1. He surrenders himself to be locked up in Luthor's pocket dimension, guarded by Rex Mason/Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), who can turn his body into different elements like Kryptonite.

Lois and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) piece together Lex's scheme just as Boravia is about to relaunch its invasion with Superman out of the picture. Lois and Mister Terrific rescue Superman, Krypto, Metamorpho, and the latter's son Joey from the pocket dimension. Lex, determined to destroy Superman and punish the world that worships him, lets the Pocket Dimension rift grow big enough to engulf Metropolis in response.

Superman, rejuvenated by a pep talk from his Pa, defeats Lex and Ultraman, while the Justice Gang (with new member Metamorpho) stop the Boravian invasion. Lois, Jimmy, and the Daily Planet staff then publish a story exposing Luthor's plans, landing him a spot in Belle Reve.

The crisis abated, Superman rests at the repaired Fortress of Solitude. Kara stops by to pick up Krypto, while Clark has accepted Earth as his one and only home.

"Superman" is now playing in theaters.