DC just announced Dawn of the DCU, a new editorial era for its comics starting in 2023 after the conclusion of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Justice League has been restored, the Infinite Earths are back, and the Omniverse has been reshaped – but what exactly does that mean?
Although Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths doesn't end until issue #7 releases in December, making it impossible for us to fully understand what's to come, the variant covers released so far by DC may reveal something unexpected and now seemingly significant...
The return of the Batman-Superman-Green Lantern fusion who appeared in Batman/Superman: World's Finest #4 (set in the DCU's past), written by Mark Waid, drawn by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, and lettered by Aditya Bidikar.
While it's possible these Dark Crisis variants drawn by Felipe Massafera and Tony Daniel, seen here, don't indicate anything for Dawn of the DCU, there are two of them, so it seems likely the character (who still hasn't been named, though we vote for Green SuperBat) will return in the present-day timeline. In Daniel's cover, seen above, he's explicitly shown fighting Deathstroke, whose Dark Army battles the remaining heroes on Earth-0/Prime in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.
DC is referring to this battle as the beginning of 'the final war,' although it also says the Great Darkness has been defeated. Does Green SuperBat have something to do with it all?
In World's Finest #4, the Devil Nezha – who's currently the Big Bad Evil Guy in Batman vs. Robin – possesses Hal Jordan, AKA Green Lantern. To defeat their teammate and friend, Superman and Batman have to find a way to remove Hal's ring, which is the source of his power.
Together, they concentrate hard enough to accomplish this goal – but as the ring is removed, it's actually drawn toward both Supes and the Dark Knight. Thanks to Nezha's uber-powerful magic, the ring then fuses the two characters, creating a new kind of hero altogether.
With the Justice League now restored in the current timeline, all three of these heroes will once again be on the frontlines in the 'final war.' The devil Nezha's magic helped fuse them once before and could do so again since he's been freed by Damian Wayne in the just-launched Batman vs. Robin event limited series by Waid.
DC hasn't indicated whether BvR takes place before or after the events of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, though we suspect it follows... which means the devil Nezha could play a part in the battle with Deadstroke's Dark Army, as well as the coming 'final war' in Dawn of the DCU.
If that's the case, we may see the return of Green SuperBat. In World's Finest, the magic fusing Batman and Superman, with Hal's GL ring, eventually wears off. So if they do come together again, they likely won't stay that way for long.
But it might pose an interesting problem to solve if they did, especially since Nezha's magic is even more powerful now than it was when our heroes first put him down.
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 will be available December 20. Stay tuned to Newsarama for DC's full December solicitations, coming later this month.
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