Since the reintroduction ofDC Comics’multiverse almost 20 years ago, DC has told a lot of stories set in alternate timelines or parallel Earths. One thing that has always been part of the publisher’s legacy, though, is comic books that adapt, supplement, or continue the story of movies and shows based on DC’s own comics. Such comics could make up a whole corner of the multiverse on their own.
Not that many years ago, comic book adaptations of popular movies and TV shows were a staple. Ifa big blockbuster likeStar WarsorIndiana Jonescame to theaters, fans could be sure that somebody was going to adapt it.
Even TV hits likeALF,Muppet BabiesandThe Real Ghostbustershad their own companion comics. Some of those titles still exist, particularly at license-heavy publishers like IDW and Oni Press, but Marvel and DC rarely seem to make them anymore. There are exceptions, though, and in recent years, those exceptions have includedcomic book tie-ins to movies, TV shows, and even video games based on DC properties.
In the Beginning, Superboy and The Flash Showed Tie-In Comics Could Work
It Took Years to Begin Adapting Straight From Other Media
DC has made a number of comic books that arebased specifically on the company’s own TV and film projects. It would be impossible to list all the publisher’s spin-off comics, but a number of historical series are representative of the strong association that DC’s TV and movies have with comics… when DC wants it to be so. For years, the closest DC came to really connecting its live-action projects with its comics was shifting the tone of books likeBatmanto be more like the ’60s TV show.
Comics starring Batman had a lighthearted, even campy tone throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, and not only because of the character’s association with the TV show starring Adam West. Many critics, scholars, and fans interpret Batman’s mid-century shift towards the zany and bright as a reaction to criticism from Frederic Wertham, the author ofSeduction of the Innocent, and his historic crusade against comics and the comic-book industry.
DC made a comic that used the title and general art style from the belovedSuper Friendsanimated series, but the comic didn’t share the same continuity. It wasn’t until 1990 that DC went all-in with its comic spinoffs, which is when fans of theSuperboyTV series got a comic book series to go along with it. That series was important, in part, because, due to theMan of Steelcomic reboot a few years before, there wasn’t aSuperboyin continuity at the time the show was on the air. The following year, DC releasedThe Flash TV Special#1, which told two stories set in the world of John Wesley Shipp’sFlashTV show.
The DC Animated Universe Picked Up the Pace with New Comic Stories
Batman, Superman, and the Justice League All Got Popular Adaptations
The rest of the 1990s was sort-of hit-or-miss for comic adaptations.Batman: The Animated Seriesgot a well-liked comicthat also marked writer Dan Slott’s first work for DC.Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Supermancame to the small screen, but, while WB made novelizations and merchandise for the show, no comic ever materialized. A graphic novel, branded asLois & Clarkand featuring a photo of Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain on the cover, simply reprinted some of the most importantSupermanissues of the ’80s and ’90s, includingMan of Steel#1 and the first appearance of Hank Henshaw.
DC’s attitude toward comic spinoffs changed whenSmallvillecame to an end.
Besides the animated series, DC was still fairly light on comics that continued the stories of live-action media. Adaptations for movies likeSteelandBatman & Robinmay have featured some differences from the movies, but those were from early drafts of the script, not in any interest in expanding the lore of the projects. DC’s attitude toward comic spinoffs changed whenSmallvillecame to an end. The incredibly popular WB series prominently featured the work of comics writer Bryan Q. Miller, who launched aSmallvillespin-off comic book,Smallville Season 11, where fans could finally see that show’s version of Clark suited up in a cape and tights.
DC’s Superhero TV Boom in the 2010s Finally Came to Comics
After Smallville, the DC TV Multiverse Exploded
When it first launched, the CW’sArrowfelt like a real risk: yes, Oliver Queen had connected with audiences onSmallville, but this wasn’t Justin Hartley’s take on Ollie, and the show’s Batman-inspired approach wasn’t much like his version of the character. WhenArrowbecame a hit for the network,the universe started to expand, including with comic book tie-ins, and the Arrowverse was born. AnArrowcomic arrived, withArrow: The Dark ArcherandArrow Season 2.5also filling gaps in the show’s timeline. The stories were ostensibly canonical, although some of them were later wiped out by events in the actual Arrowverse shows.
That became the standard operating procedure for Arrowverse comics, which took place in the shared universe ofArrowand its spinoffs, but only counted as long as they didn’t conflict with the main TV series. After the success ofArrow, DC releasedThe Flash: Season Zero, which took place in the earliest days of the Flash’s career - although it was technically during season one and not a prequel as the title suggests. During that same period, fans gotThe Adventures of Supergirl, which was set on Earth-38, the world of the Arrowverse.
DC Returned to the Past With Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman
Classic Stories Finally Got Their Follow-Ups
For years, fans had hoped for official continuations of stories from the worlds ofBatman(both the 1966 TV show and the 1989 movie), the belovedWonder WomanTV series, andSuperman: The Movie. Once the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Arrowverse exploded onto the scene and superheroes were all the rage in other media, DC finally got on top of those requests, with comics like the seriesBatman ‘66,Superman ‘78,Batman ‘89, andWonder Woman ‘77. These titles also proved valuable outside the comics market, in bookstores and as add-ons for Mondo’s vinyl soundtrack sets.
Superman ‘78allowed Christopher Reeve’s version of the hero to join the DC Universe for the first time.
These comics take place during the classic movies and shows andgive fans a new look at old worlds.Batman ‘89in particular is a fascinating case, since there are a number of aborted ideas from Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s movies that made their way into the pages of the comic.Superman ‘78allowed Christopher Reeve’s version of the hero to join the DC Universe for the first time, enjoying some of the big, silly things you can do with comics that simply were not plausible given the restrictions of movie-making in the 1970s and early ’80s.
The End of DC’s Arrowverse Was an End of an Era - on TV and in Comics
Two Comic Books Gave Arrowverse Fans High-Stakes Adventures
TheArrowverselasted for more than a decade, but after the end ofArrowand the sale of the CW network to Nexstar, it quickly became clear that time was running out for the fan-favorite family of shows. The network’s line-wideCrisis on Infinite Earthsevent brought the end of Oliver Queen’s story, setting up theArrowseries finale, but the finale disappointed longtime fans when Emily Bett Rickards did not return to reprise her role as Felicity Smoak. In-story, it was established that Felicity was helping off-screen, and DC publishedCrisis on Infinite Earths: Paragons Risingto tell that story.
DC’s Arrowverse Is Done, And You Definitely Missed Its Secret Finale
Fans missing the Arrowverse are in luck, as there’s a hidden final chapter in this continuity—one that even die-hard fans may have missed.
Paragons Risinghad the distinction of being the first Arrowverse comic to feature comics-accurate versions of the heroes, and it even at one point crossed over with the 1980sCrisis on Infinite Earthscomic book. Soon after,DC releasedEarth-Prime, the “final event” of the Arrowverse, which was written by staff writers from the shows and teamed characters fromThe Flash,Batwoman,Superman & Lois,Stargirl, andDC’s Legends of Tomorrowagainst Magog, a violent antihero first introduced in the acclaimed DC miniseriesKingdom Comeby Alex Ross and Mark Waid.
DC Comics Launched a Number of Oddball Comic Adaptations
Media Tie-Ins Fans Would Be Hard-Pressed to Find
WithSuperman ReturnsandGreen Lantern,DC abandoned straight movie adaptations for something different: a number of tie-in one-shots focusing on individual characters and filling in blanks in their stories before and during the movies. DC did something similar in 2023 withThe Flash(the movie and not the CW show). In between those two eras, though, there were quite a few “oddball” adaptations that are often forgotten, even by hardcore fans. There were digital-only tie-ins, for example, for bothThe Dark KnightandThe Dark Knight Rises.
WhileThe Dark Knight’s prologue is included on theBatman BeginsDVD and so incredibly easy to find,The Dark Knight Rises’prologue was only ever released on a specific Nokia phone as part of a promotional tie-in.Man of Steelhad a prequel fans could only obtain by buying a movie ticket/DVD combo pack at Walmart stores.Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justicefeatured tie-in mini-comics distributed in cereal boxes - but also a digital-only series viewed through a custom reader powered by buying cans of Dr. Pepper.
InjusticeandFortniteCame to Play in the Comic Book Adaptation World, Too
DC’s Best-Selling Video Games Have Also Come to Comics
In addition to movies and TV, DC has a history of adapting successful video games based on its IP.The long-runningInjustice: Gods Among Uscomic book was so impressivethat it helped catapult writer Tom Taylor to industry success, and it has been cited by fans critical of the game’s story as the best way to handle some of its narrative issues. The success of the title was such that it got a number of spinoffs and tie-ins throughout its run. At the same time, DC has had great success with titles drawn from theBatman: Arkhamfranchise and even aBatman/Fortnitecomic book.
We’re Sorry, But Some DC Comics Heroes Are Too Easy to Hate
The DC Universe has a lot of great superheroes, but for whatever reason, some just can’t help but attract an irrational hatred from fans.
Given the infinite nature of DC’s multiverse (restored after one of its manyCrisiscrossovers and sequels), it stands to reason that any and all of these stories took place within DC’s multiverse, linking everything together, from Lynda Carter and Adam West to Christopher Nolan andFortnite. That’s part of the magic of comics, and it gives fans hope that stories likeLegends of TomorrowandBatwomanwill eventually get theBatman ‘89treatment and have their stories wrapped up in a comic book that will give closure to cliffhangers and dangling plots, all courtesy ofDC Comics.
The mentioned comics, fromSmallville Season 11toInjusticeand everything in between, are available now from DC Comics.
