DC Cinematic universe sucks. Period.
Gawking Geeks
If you are here even after reading the above excerpt then this is for you. We are not gonna debate that how awful DC Cinematic Universe is, that is indisputable. I mean, Batman holding a gun? Are you freaking kidding me? It seems Warner Bros threw the comics out of their window while creating the cinematic universe. Getting back to the topic, we all know how awesome DC Animated Movie Universe is and this article will guide you on how you can watch DC Animated Movie Universe in Chronological order. The present timeline is based on The NEW 52 DCAMU. In 2011 DC decided to relaunch its entire superhero universe and NEW 52 DCAMU was born as a result.
Spoiler Warning: Everything you read from now on could be a potential spoiler. Skip the explanatory content to stay safe.
DC Animated Movie Universe Timeline
1: Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
Barry Allen who is known as “The Flash” accidentally summons the speed force and goes back in time to save his mother. Finding himself in another timeline where his mother is alive but his powers are gone, he tries to contact the Justice League then discovered was never formed. The movie shows an all-out war of Atlantians and Amazonians hell-bent on killing each other after Wonder Woman kills Aquaman’s wife. Thomas Wayne takes up the mantle of “The Batman” after his son Bruce Wayne and wife are killed in an alley, familiar?
2: Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019)
Princess Diana of Amazon meets Steve Trevor, a US fighter pilot and everything changes. She takes up the mantle of Wonder Woman and leaves Themyscira to save the world of men, Wonder Woman will do everything in her power to save a troubled young girl who has fallen in with a deadly organization known only as Villainy, Inc!
3: Justice League: War (2014)
Justice League War is technically the first movie in the new 52 Justice League Animated movie universe. It shows how the members of the league meet each other for the first time to defeat “Lord Darkseid” and his Parademons. The event takes place in the new 52 universes formed shortly after the Flashpoint. The movie also shows how Victory Stone became Cyborg with a deep connection between him and Shazam.
4: Son of Batman (2014)
Batman takes home his newly discovered son Damian. Talia al Ghul is the daughter of Ra’as al Ghul who once slipped a little something in Bruce Wayne’s drink to conceive Damian. Trained by the League of Shadows, Damian is an unruly kid who has his father resolve.
5: Nightwing and Robin (2015)
A 45 seconds movie. The above video is no trailer but the actual Nightwing and Robin movie. Batman asks Damian and Dick to handle Scarecrow. This movie also gives us the first appearance of Talons, enforcing members of a secret society dominant in the 7th movie in our list.
6: Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
7: Batman vs. Robin (2015)
Secret Society of Owl’s plans to take over the world. Talon, the chief enforcer of the society finds out a way to manipulate Robin into betraying Batman and joining the secret society. Damian is struggling with the rules made by his father a soon starts to believe his destiny lies with Talon and society.
8: Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
Batwoman appears and Batman vanishes from the streets of Gotham. Nightwing is asked by the super-butler Alfred to take up the mantle of Batman. Damian arrives in Gotham as he learns the news of his father missing. Together they team up to find Batman and fight crime in his absence.
9: Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)
Raven’s father, the old God Trigon finds his way back to earth. Damian is sent to work with the Teen Titans after his volatile attitude disrupts a Justice League mission. The Titans are led by Starfire who tries to teach Robin the importance of team-work. He establishes a special relationship with his newly found team and falls in love with Raven.
10: Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay (2018)
Amanda Waller creates Task Force X to retrieve a mystical object. The Suicide Squad is comprised of Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost, and Copperhead to defeat the Immortal Vandal Savage.
11: Justice League Dark (2017)
Magic takes over and the Justice League feels helpless. Batman heads out to find John Constantine. Zatanna asks Constantine for his help. Jason Blood aka Demon Etrigan, Deadman, Swamp Thing and Batman form up a team to defeat this darkness.
Gone Gone the form of man, arise the demon Etrigan.
Jason blood
12: Constantine: City of Demons (2018)
A decade after a tragic mistake, family man Chas and occult detective John Constantine set out to cure Chas’s daughter Trish of a mysterious supernatural coma. With the help of the enigmatic Nightmare Nurse, the influential Queen of Angels, and brutal Aztec God Mictlantecuhtli, the pair just might have a chance at outsmarting the demon Beroul to save Trish’s soul. In a world of shadows and dark magic, not everything is what it seems, and there’s always a price to pay.
The path to redemption is never easy, if Constantine is to succeed he must navigate through the dark urban underbelly of Los Angeles, outwit the most cunning spawns of hell, and come face to face with arch-nemesis Nergal—all while battling his own inner demons!
13: Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)
Nightwing returns to Teen Titans which is currently led by Starfire. A new teenage girl who goes by Tara Markov joins the team. Beast Boy, Raven, Blue Beetle accepts her as their own but Robin’s trust settings are a bit low. Deathstroke appears, helping the ancient villain Brother Blood.
14: The Death and Return of Superman (2019)
Doomsday arrives on earth and his wave of destruction leaves the Justice League cornered. Our big gun Superman somehow manages to kill Doomsday but succumbs to his wounds. Chaos takes over in a world without Superman and several new supermen present themselves as possible new successors. Superboy, Eradicator, Steel and Cyborg Superman fight each other for the right to become the new Superman.
This movie is an over two-hour unabridged and seamless animated feature of The Death of Superman (2018) and Reign of Supermen (2019). We strongly recommend you watch the seamless one.
15: Batman Hush (2019)
A super-villain named Hush has emerged from the shadows who has even outsmarted The Joker. Hell-bent on destroying Batman, he even manages to turn Superman against Batman. Looks like Hush has been bathing in The Lazarous Pit lately. Quite literally. Trust us you will find too much Batman-ness in this movie.
16: Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)
Lord Darkseid has invaded many worlds and is planning a full-scale invasion of Earth. Justice League decides to take the war to him. A bold plan to eliminate Darkseid is made and the League travels to Apokolips(home planet of Darkseid) to neutralize him and his Parademons. Our heroes are met with Paradooms instead of Parademons, and the interesting about Paradooms is that they are Parademons fused with Doomsday DNA. Remember that ugly monster who killed Superman in the Death of Superman? Yeah right!
This is the movie, which requires you to watch every other movie on the list and also have an understanding of the DC comic universe as everything has not been explained in the new 52 universe movies.
The New 52 universe has a few more gems in the Justice League timeline but it all happened in an alternate reality. Although they do not fit the given timeline, we strongly recommend you to watch them. Here is the list:
- Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)
- Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
- Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
- Batman Gotham By Gaslight (2018)
- Batman Ninja (2018)
- Justice League: Fatal Five (2019)
- Superman Red Son (2020)
The Rebirth Timeline
Diamond Comics and Warner Bros also released Superman: Man of Tomorrow in 2020. The film chronicles the early life of Clark Kent; before he became to be known as Superman. Most probably Man of Tomorrow would have taken a second or third spot on our list if it was a part of the new 52 DCAMU. Technically this movie is the first movie of the Rebirth timeline.
In the second quarter of 2021, DC released Justice Society: World War II. It revolves mostly around Flash and him breaking the barriers of the “Speed Force” where he finds himself in an alternate universe as usual. The plot is shot in Nazi Germany where Justice Society is fighting Hitler’s army.
DC also released Batman: Long Halloween this month directed by none other than Chris Palmer himself. The movie is divided into two parts and is based on the Batman: The Long Haloween comic. Here are the official trailers released by DC.
For all, we know Justice League: War is the movie that resets all timelines and consolidates them into one. That’s it, folks. When you have finished watching Apokolips war please come back and read this finishing quote by Etrigan again because at first you read it and then you feel it.
And so it ends. My race is run. I regret nothing. It was fun.
Etrigan