DC Universe News: Entire DC Comics Collection Arrives In April, 'Swamp Thing' Debuts In May, 'Star Girl' First Look & More
WonderCon is happening over in Anaheim, California right now, and the DC Universe subscription service delivered some good news to fans with big announcements about the continued expansion of what's available for $7.99 a month.
Starting in April, DC Universe will make the entire DC Comics digital library available to subscribers. Until now, the selection has been disappointing, but this alone is worth the price of the subscription. And that's not all. DC Universe also announced a release date for their upcoming Swamp Thing series, gave a first look at Stargirl, and revealed when the second season of Titans and the rest of Young Justice: Outsiders will arrive. Get the scoop on the DC Universe updates below.
Entire DC Comics Library on DC Universe
DC Universe will now give subscribers access to over 80 years of DC Comics titles. You can reach back into the world of classic comics from the early days of superheroes, or you can catch up on the biggest story arcs like Crisis on Infinite Earths or Rebirth. They'll all be part of the DC Universe subscription, though it will take some time to add the entire library. So everything won't be available immediately, but "many thousands" will be added constantly
Sam Ades, DC Universe senior vice president and general manager, said:
"From the time DC Universe launched last year, our fans have loved the comic experience and have asked us for just one thing – more! The expansion to thousands of titles in January 2019 was a first step in our goal to deliver on that request, to provide DC Universe members full access to the pantheon of DC's epic Super Hero stories. We're thrilled to respond to our fans yet again with the incredible value of the ultimate DC digital comics library."
However, when it comes to new comics that are currently hitting shelves, they won't be available in DC Universe until 12 months after they were published. So if you want to keep up to date on current runs of comics, you'll still have to buy them yourself. Even so, having access to all those comics for just $7.99 per month is an insane bargain.
Swamp Thing Arrives in May
DC Universe previously gave us a window of when their Swamp Thing series would be coming to the subscription service, but now they've locked down an official May 31, 2019 premiere date for the first episode of Swamp Thing. That's fairly surprising since we haven't even gotten a first official look at the show yet, but maybe they're taking the Netflix route by only teasing new programming about a month before it arrives on the service.
Swamp Thing is executive produced by James Wan. The series based on the DC Comics character will follow follows Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed) as she investigates what appears to be a deadly swamp virus in Louisiana. She soon finds out, however, that the swamp's secrets are even more mystical and terrifying than she thought. That's because fellow scientist Alec Holland (Andy Bean) is about to be overtaken by the swamp and become something monstrous. But maybe he's not quite as scary as he looks.
First Look at Stargirl Series
Well, there you go. That's Courtney Whitmore, aka Stargirl, played by Brec Bassinger. Looking like a mix of Captain America and Captain Marvel. She poses with her Cosmic Staff, and if you pay close attention to the background, you'll get a glimpse of her robot sidekick Stripes, a 15-foot super robot operated by her new stepfather Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson).
Stargirl focuses on Courtney Whitmore as a struggling high schooler who relocates to Blue Valley, Nebraska, after her mother marries Pat Dugan. Eventually, she discovers that this man used to be Stripesy, the sidekick of Justice Society of America member Starman (played by Joel McHale). Courtney ends up borrowing the Cosmic Staff and using it to take on bad guys as Stargirl, paving the way for a new generation of young superheroes like her.
This certainly looks a lot lighter than the darker tone that Titans has been going for, maybe more along the lines of Doom Patrol. We're not sure if it's the kind of series that will convince people to subscribe to DC Universe, but at least it's something different since Stargirl has never been given her own show before.
Titans Season 2 Arrives This Fall
Meanwhile, if the darker side of the DC Universe is your jam, then you'll be happy to hear that the second season of Titans will arrive this fall. Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, and Ryan Potter are all returning as Dick Grayson, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy, respectively. But this time they'll be joined by some new faces.
After the season-ending tease last year, Joshua Orpin will debut as Conner Kent (Superboy), Esai Morales will play Slade Wilson (Deathstroke), Chella Man has been cast as Deathstroke's son Joseph Wilson (Jericho) and Chelsea Zhang will play Rose Wilson (Ravager). So the roster of DC Comics superheroes and villains on Titans is about to get a lot bigger.
Young Justice: Outsiders Returns This Summer
Finally, fans waited so long for the return of Young Justice: Outsiders, and they weren't disappointed when the animated series made a comeback. However, new episodes have been done since January, so they've been patiently waiting for more. Thankfully, they'll get the show back with a mid-season debut set for July 2, 2019.
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DC Universe also made some other small announcements about forthcoming shows, such as the first season of Krypton being available, some upcoming DC Comics animated movies, and more. You can get the full rundown of the rest of the programming headed to the subscription service in their official WonderCon announcement. You can sign up for DC Universe right here.