Superhero moviesand TV shows are fond of weaving confoundingly complicated timelines, creating many continuities that are simply hard to understand. Superhero media has never been more popular, with a multitude of cartoons, TV shows, and movies taking inspiration from the pages of iconic comic books. Though thebest superhero moviesand TV shows stand alone, the advent of shared universes has led to these adaptations becoming just as messy as the comics with their canon.
In particular, many superhero adaptations have recently gotten into the time-honored comics tradition of stories spanning multiple universes and parallel dimensions. The confusing and often convoluted timelines these types of stories result in has given way to a whole new specific brand of superhero movie fatigue,multiverse fatigue. Beloved though they may be, there’s no denying that certain long-running superhero universes are quite difficult to keep tabs on.
10The DCEU Timeline
Wasn’t quite able to stick the landing
The DCEU was one of the most ill-fated superhero universes in recent memory. Beginning in 2013 withMan of Steel, the film series attempted to provide a generally darker and edgier alternative to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though later films backpedaled into more lighthearted territory. By the time the franchise came to an anti-climactic close withAquaman: The Lost Kingdom, the timeline had become quite messy indeed.
For the most part, the DCEU was relatively straightforward until the possibility of multiple timelines was introduced inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Batman getting visions of an entire nightmare reality in which a tyrannical Superman takes over the Earth. The confusing lore of the universe grew denser withJustice League, which suggested that this reality may still be unfolding in parallel to the central story. ButThe Flashis when the film franchise truly jumped the timeline shark, attempting to bring every DC movie project together in a shared multiverse.
9Fox’s X-Men Movie Timeline
Constantly caught between two worlds
TheFoxX-Menmovie timelineremained relatively straightforward for some time, going in an even sequential order before taking a sidebar to examine Wolverine’s origins. The timeline trickery truly began withX-Men: First Class, a prequel that introduced an entirely new cast to play the younger versions of Professor X and Magneto. The new origin story proved to be so popular that Fox was given no choice but to attempt to merge the two parallel realities together in the time-traveling antics ofX-Men: Days of Future Past.
Even with the time-travel elements, the films wouldn’t become truly confusing until the introduction of a new cast of actors playing characters from the original three films, such as Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, and Mystique. It quickly became difficult to determine how the new and old cast related to one another, whether they were the same characters at different points in time or a new reboot of the franchise entirely.Loganhandwaved these differences by mythologizing the X-Men’s escapades as in-universe stories, making matters even more complicated.
8The Arrowverse
Soap opera drama mixed with superhero sci-fi
Spanning across a whopping 37 seasons throughout six different TV shows, the CW’s Arrowverse might just be the single most expansive live-action superhero continuity of all time. Named after the franchise’s premiere show,Arrow, the shared universe of CW shows became more and more close-knit as crossover events and parallel reality-hopping storylines merged their way across the series. The first immediate glaring challenge to making sense of it all is knowing which seasons of which shows happen in what order.
Even with that complex formula figured out, the Arrowverse further muddles its timeline with the adaptation of the infamousCrisis on Infinite Earthscrossover event from the original DC Comics. Few storylines are a bigger stress test of how much knowledge from different sources audiences are expected to remember from a single franchise. Even more confusing is the presence of outliers likeSuperman & Lois, which take place in their own parallel reality despite its characters showing up in such crossover events.
7The MCU Multiverse Timeline
Attempts to rope in every movie under the Marvel banner
Once again, like the superhero movie franchises to come before and after it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe began as a simple point A to point B series of events, even if it was one that had many moving parts. The series first dabbled in complicating matters further than that with the introduction of time travel inAvengers: Endgame, which first explored multiple timelines. From then on out, the MCU has moved into the controversial Multiverse Saga, making the sequence of events far less intuitive to make sense of.
At its current stage, the MCU has relied heavily on multiple universes to derive action, which can make things particularly complex thanks to the introduction of concepts like anchor beings and sacred timelines. That’s not even to mention the events ofLoki, which completely redefines how such a multiverse works. With thecameos ofDeadpool & Wolverine, the MCU has now decided that essentially every movie with the Marvel banner fits into its timeline somehow.
6The Tomorrowverse Timeline
A short-lived franchise confusing all the way through
One of the most recent and short-lived cinematic franchises adapting a famous superhero universe, the Tomorrowverse quickly became a nightmare of continuity management. Named after the first film in the series,Superman: Man of Tomorrow, the Tomorrowverse attempted to revitalize DC’s animated movie fare with a brand-new cinematic universe from scratch. It wasn’t long before the franchise lost itself in a tangled web of multiverses and timelines, not shying away from the most difficult to parse comic book storytelling.
The troubles with keeping things straight first arose with time travel segments inJustice Society: World War IIandLegion of Super-Heroes, which hopped around the future and past while still seemingly maintaining separate continual storylines for both. But the true culprit behind the series' messiness was yet another adaptation of theCrisis on Infinite Earthsstoryline, this time culminating in a dense three-part trilogy that remains difficult to make sense of. These films attempt to rope in almost every animated DC TV show ever, much to the chagrin of casual viewers.
5The DCAMU Timeline
Began and ended on confusing notes
One of the many animated DC universes the Tomorrowverse attempted to heavily integrate was its predecessor movie series, the DC Animated Movie Universe. The timeline of the DCAMU seemingly culminates in the wisecracking, cynical sorcerer John Constantine, making the transition into the next iteration of the franchise, stowing away into the Tomorrowverse to complicate matters further for both. Granted, themovies of the DCAMUat least have a long period of straightforward storytelling, with a special emphasis on Batman-centric films.
It’s at the very beginning and end of the franchise that keeping track of the story becomes so difficult. The DCAMU begins with an adaptation of the DC comics crossover eventFlashpoint, a similarly confusing consolidation of multiple chaotic timelines. The final film in the franchise,Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, ends with yet another universe reset at the hands of The Flash, turning what could have been a straightforward end to a self-contained story into an open-ended continuity nightmare.
4The Burtonverse Timeline
Simultaneously are and aren’t in the same universe
A difficult quadrilogy to make sense of, the original Tim Burton Batman movies vary quite wildly from one another both in terms of tone and story. Tim Burton’sBatmanin 1989 set a new standard for superhero movie blockbusters, going a long way to popularize the genre. BothBatmanandBatman Returnsare easy to consolidate as a single continuity, starring Michael Keaton as Batman in a universe with the same gloomy sensibilities.
However,Batman Forever’s recast of The Dark Knight came with some strange quandaries regarding its place in the series, doubly so after Batman got a new face again in the followingBatman & Robin.The tone, setting, and small plot details of these films feel so different from the Burton movies that it’s hard to see them as one continuous series, though recurring supporting characters like Michael Gough’s Alfred and Pat Hingle’s Commissioner Gordon seem to tie them together. Few movie series are as hard to reconcile as the these four Batman films are.
3The Marvel Animated Series Timeline
Raises some questions using character ages as a benchmark
Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was ever conceived, a TV continuity was firmly established with theMarvel animated TV show timeline. Most famous forX-Men: The Animated Series, this franchise also includesSpider-Man: The Animated Seriesand similarly self-titled shows headlined by Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, and The Incredible Hulk. All of these cartoons are charmingly 90s, but they present more than a few problems with making sense of a timeline.
For one, all the normal issues are present when it comes to determining each season’s place in the timeline. So many continuity errors between the different shows abounded that at one point, Marvel leadership went back on its word and attempted to split this universe into two distinct timelines, though some showrunners publicly disagree. Details like Jubilee’s age inX-Men: The Animated Serieshave made establishing a canon order of events murky at best.
2The DCU Timeline
Is already off to something of a rough start
Despite the fact that the franchise has yet to release an official movie, the newly-formed DCU is already off to a confusing start in terms of continuity. After the dissolution of the DCEU, Warner Bros. commissioned superhero movie veteran James Gunn to form a new compelling cinematic universe out of the ashes. While only a single feature under this project under this banner,Creature Commandos, has been released at the time of writing, the DCU has already gotten into trouble with its canon due to public statements.
Most of these issues arise with James Gunn’s pick-and-choose method of determining what portions of his previous work using DC characters count as already canon in the DCU. For instance, all ofPeacemakerseason 1 has been confirmed as taking place in the DCU barring the gag appearance of the DCEU’s Justice League. BetweenThe Suicide Squad, Blue Beetle,and other simultaneous but unrelated “Elseworlds” DC projects likeThe Batmanthat might come into the fold later, the DCU is already off to a confusing start.
1The Umbrella Academy
Thrives in time travel and universe hopping
Stepping away from Marvel and DC for a moment, even entirely independent superhero comic adaptations can quickly become messy labyrinths of continuity. EnterThe Umbrella Academy, a Netflix series based off the works of Gerard Way ofMy Chemical Romancefame. The story centers on an adopted family of mysterious virgin-born children with superpowers as they come back together following the death of their eccentric billionaire father, unraveling the many mysteries of his and their pasts.
The Umbrella Academyquickly veers into the realm of parallel universes and time travel thanks to the powers of Five, who has lived for decades only to end up in a child’s body. At one point, the family is scattered across multiple years in the 60s, branching the already complex timeline into a tangled web of multiple streams of time at different intervals. With a extra-chronological organization pulling the strings similar to the MCU’s TVA,The Umbrella Academyis onesuperheroseries that relies on its audience to keep up.
