Pre-Crisis

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Prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths story arc in the mid 1980s, the various characters of the DC Universe (often abbrieviated to DCU) lived on alternate Earths in different dimensions. The Justice League Of America, for instance, could be found on Earth 1; while the Justice Society Of America was located on Earth 2. Not all the Earths had numbers, Captain Marvel and his allies were located on Earth S. Some heroes, such as Superman, were found on a number of Earths in one form or another. The Crisis arc helped to refine the often confusing multiple continuities of the DCU into one arc.

Post-Crisis

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After the Crisis, many characters had their histories retconned to some degree. DC published new versions of the origins of major characters including [[Batman: Year One:char:42224]] and Man of Steel, The. Other characters, like the Flash, were relaunched. This continuity is still used by the DCU, though Infinite Crisis and 52 brought back the idea of multiple Earths.

Vertigo

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Many characters from the DCU, such as Animal Man and Zatanna are also published under DC's Vertigo label. The trade works both ways, for example John Constantine first appeared in Vertigo's Saga of the Swamp Thing but has also appeared in the DCU. The Vertigo Universe's continuity with the DCU is unclear, though it is usually considered seperate as it is intended for a mature audience and may not be appropriate for some of the readers of the DCU.

Sortable DC Character Lists

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• Characters in order of power, check out the DC Power Rankings.

• List of DC Male Characters

• List of DC Female Characters