New 52 Batman Timeline

[bat39]

I'd first constructed this timeline on the old DC Message Boards...but since then, there's been a bit more info about Batman continuity in the new 52. My timeline is from Bruce's perspective, and covers his entire life. Some of it is based on the flashbacks and chronological references revealed in the books, but some of it is speculation on my part. Anyway, here goes-

32 years ago: Bruce Wayne is born
22 years ago: Thomas and Martha Wayne are murdered; Bruce investigates the Court of Owls for the first time
c. 14-15 years ago: Jim Gordon joins the GCPD, tracks down the serial killer Wesley Mathis; a teenage Bruce follows the case
14 years ago: Bruce Wayne embarks on his worldwide odyssey
11 years ago: Bruce meets Talia al Ghul on his travels, and Damien is conceived
9 years ago: Jim Gordon's wife Barbara Sr. leaves her family
c.7-8 years ago: Bruce works with Henri Ducard and his son Morgan and leaves after his disagreement with them; Morgan becomes NoBody
c. 7 years ago: Bruce returns to Gotham and becomes Batman; he is initially considered an 'urban myth'
6 years ago: Batman first encounters the Joker; other costume 'super-villains' follow shortly
5 years ago: Batman co-founds the Justice and is now a publicly known 'superhero'; Dick Grayson becomes Robin
4 years ago: Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl; Batman first encounters Talia's father Ras al Ghul (?); undergoes the 'isolation experiment' at Simon Hurt's hands
3 years ago: Barbara is paralyzed by the Joker; Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing and helps train the new Robin, Jason Todd
2 years ago: Jason Todd 'dies', but is resurrected and begins his training with the All Caste; Tim Drake becomes the third Robin; Bane breaks Batman's back
1 year ago: Jason returns as 'Red Hood' and confronts Batman and Nightwing; Bruce's son Damien 'emerges'; Bruce is lost in time; Dick becomes Batman and Damien becomes Robin; Tim becomes Red Robin
Past year: Bruce returns to the present and forms Batman Inc; Barbara undergoes treatment to regain the use of her legs; Dick (as Batman) encounters James Jr.

[Mr. Holmes]

You do realize you have better thought out the supposed timeline than DC has. I don't think you're going to benefit from overthinking this.

[CagedLeo730]

You do realize you have better thought out the supposed timeline than DC has. I don't think you're going to benefit from overthinking this.

The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. Just because DC is not showing their cards doesn't mean they don't have cards at all. That being said I doubt that DC has such a strict timeliness since they don't want to close off too many story possibilities.

[bat39]

The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. Just because DC is not showing their cards doesn't mean they don't have cards at all. That being said I doubt that DC has such a strict timeliness since they don't want to close off too many story possibilities.

Agreed. Scott Snyder for instance claimed in one of the interviews that he did have a rough timeline in mind for all the Bat-family members, and which events happened when.

[Mr. Holmes]

The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. Just because DC is not showing their cards doesn't mean they don't have cards at all. That being said I doubt that DC has such a strict timeliness since they don't want to close off too many story possibilities.

I'm not saying anything different.

[MajorHoy]

Agreed. Scott Snyder for instance claimed in one of the interviews that he did have a rough timeline in mind for all the Bat-family members, and which events happened when.

Snyder may have one . . . but do any of the other various Bat-book writers or editors? :confused:

[JaHawk2009]

Snyder may have one . . . but do any of the other various Bat-book writers or editors? :confused:

Maybe not, but Snyder is writing the flagship series and seems to be collaborating cloesely with Kyle Higgins, the writer of what is arguably the second most important side-book in the Bat-family after B&R, so I'm not *that* worried tbh.

[jgiannantoni05]

Damian wasn't conceived before Batman. Snyder, when he talked about his timeline, had Bruce in his early 30s and had a roughly ten year Batman career to put Damian's conception at the beginning of it, not before it. Snyder said 10 yrs was picked to be just enough to cover Damian and the Robins.

[CagedLeo730]

Damian wasn't conceived before Batman. Snyder, when he talked about his timeline, had Bruce in his early 30s and had a roughly ten year Batman career to put Damian's conception at the beginning of it, not before it. Snyder said 10 yrs was picked to be just enough to cover Damian and the Robins.

Batman may have had a 10 year career but the Robins started about 5 years ago. Dick's parents dying happened 5 years ago according to the Nightwing ongoing.

[CagedLeo730]

Snyder may have one . . . but do any of the other various Bat-book writers or editors? :confused:

Snyder and Marts have been planning the Court of Owls since last year, so I'm sure they have a good handle on it. They also gave a lot of leeway for the tie-ins to happen "naturally". So I think the Bat office has everything in order. Can't say the same about the other lines.

[MajorHoy]

Snyder and Marts have been planning the Court of Owls since last year, so I'm sure they have a good handle on it. They also gave a lot of leeway for the tie-ins to happen "naturally". So I think the Bat office has everything in order. Can't say the same about the other lines.

You do realize that Marts has been the editor for the three other Bruce books?

[bat39]

Damian wasn't conceived before Batman. Snyder, when he talked about his timeline, had Bruce in his early 30s and had a roughly ten year Batman career to put Damian's conception at the beginning of it, not before it. Snyder said 10 yrs was picked to be just enough to cover Damian and the Robins.

Would you have a link to this interview by any chance? The interview I read a long time ago just had Snyder saying he HAD a timeline...no specifics.

Nothing would please me more than Batman having a ten year timeline...but the evidence seems to point against it; with Dick Grayson becoming Robin five years ago, and the Joker showing up only six years ago. Batman having a ten year timeline is pretty counter-productive if the Robins STILL have to be squeezed into the last five years.

About the Damien thing...well, its pretty obvious that his conception couldn't have happened as it originally did...so what's wrong in the new version having Damien's conception pre-date Bruce becoming Batman.

[Officersmile1466]

The timeline MAKES SENSE but it still seems so bizarre so much can be crammed into so little time. How old was Dick when his parents died? Like 14?

[foxandwall]

The timeline MAKES SENSE but it still seems so bizarre so much can be crammed into so little time. How old was Dick when his parents died? Like 14?
16 years old.

[fedup23]

Its like a Robin assembly line..the tights don't even have time to cool off.

[StDumas]

That is a little disturbing.

[bat39]

Its like a Robin assembly line..the tights don't even have time to cool off.

Well the way I see it, Dick was Robin for about 2 years. Then he became Nightwing and Jason became Robin. Jason was Robin for anywhere between 6 months to a year (I know there was a reference to him being around for 2 years which just doesn't make sense IMO). Then he died and Tim became Robin for anywhere between a year and 18 months (depending on how long Jason had), and finally Damien's been there for a year.

In fact, this shows the somewhat skewed nature of the timeline...everything that happened since Bruce's 'death' to the present has taken around a year (same as the pre-FP timeline and arguably quiet close to real-time as well) so Damien's been Robin for a year...and yet, Dick Grayson's entire career as Robin (DECADES worth of stories, and at least 5-6 years in the pre-FP timeline) has been shortened to a mere two years (possibly even less).

[TZDEKA]

I don't think Damian needs to have been Robin for a year. In fact, I thought it's been said that Dick was Batman for six months in this new timeline, though I don't know the source for that. If you want to use his stated age from before and after Flashpoint, he was ten during Morrison's Batman and Robin and he's still said to be ten in Tomasi's Batman and Robin. So yeah, IMO Damian has probably only been Robin for less than a year. The broad strokes of what's happened during his time as Robin, Morrison's run in particular which seems to be the main thing that retains relevance in the new 52, can pretty easily be fit in less than a year I'd think.

[MajorHoy]

Its like a Robin assembly line..the tights don't even have time to cool off.

I wonder what Dr. Wertham would do with a concept like that. :eek:

[MajorHoy]

I don't think Damian needs to have been Robin for a year. In fact, I thought it's been said that Dick was Batman for six months in this new timeline, though I don't know the source for that.

In Nightwing 1, the reference by Dick was ". . . for almost a year, I've been filling in as Batman while Bruce was . . . away". If they had meant six months, I think the reference would have been more like "for half a year" instead of "almost a year".

[Mundungus]

I've decided that a timeline is not necessary. Everything and nothing happened prior to the present depending on the needs of the story.

[bkey313]

I likes Morrisons timeline of 15 years. That why Dick was Robin for six years. Nightwing for six. Batman for two. Jason was Robin for a year. Tim six or seven years as Robin. Two as RedRobin. Damian as Robin two years. This way all of there time as Robin fits the Bat timeline.

[hanotsri]

Screw Flashpoint and the "New 52." I am reading the current series (even if it seems a bit off to me) like nothing happened with those events.

[Master X]

Ummm...bkey, I'm pretty sure that timeline was never Morrisons.

Old versus new. Old first up to Flashpoint. NU after.

Dick Grayson// DCU: Doesn't Bruce take him as a ward in Year 3? (?) I assume he started pretty much after that as Robin. How long he was Robin, unsure, but at least 5 years. Nightwing time is easy to work out. Just add Jason and Tim's tenure as normal Robin's together. About 5 years then, more depending on how much longer Jason was really Robin (I'm basing it as 1 year here). Just under a year as Batman. DCNU: If Jason has been back 1.5 years and was Robin for 2, that puts us 3.5 years back in the 5 year timeline. Dick started 5 years ago. He gets 1.5 years as Robin. 2 1/2, almost 3 as Nightwing. Just under a year as Batman.

Bruce Wayne// DCU: Usually we have him get 7 years of training with people assuming he starts at 18 (after school) thus making him 25 when he becomes Batman. Morrison brought his starting age down to 22-23 with the obvious fact Bruce is NOT going to wait until he's 18 before going off to train. He was alone for 2-3 years at which point Dick joined. Dick's been around for at least 11 years (5 or more as Robin, 5 or more as Nightwing, 1 year as Batman). So just add those together. The minimum Bruce was Batman is 13-14 years. This brings his age to 35-37. It's possibly longer though since Morrison hinted Bruce was 40 in an issue, which may hint at a longer Dick/Robin Jason/Robin tenure as mentioned lower down. DCNU: We know he's been around at least 5 years (duh) and more than likely over 6 (Joker's been around at least 6 years), and if Year One is even slightly canon, we know he didn't fight Joker his first year so that brings us put to the minimum of 7 years as Batman. Anymore time as batman at this moment is pure speculation.

Jason Todd// DCU: Was Robin 6-12 months. DCNU: 2 years. It's been stated, accept it. I hate it too.

Tim Drake// DCU: He starts at 14, right? He's 18/19 when the series ends, with just under a year as Red Robin, meaning he was normal Robin for 3-4 years. DCNU: Jason was still Robin until 3.5 years into the 5 year timeline. Bruce was away from the beginning of year 4. That leaves him about 6 month as Robin, just under a year as Red Robin.

Damien// DCU: Was Robin just under a year. DCNU: Was Robin just under a year.

Using this you can work out Cass/Steph's time too. Barabara's/Oracle's too. Note this does not include past times like when Bruce got his spine broke and various brief Robin/Batgirl mantle passovers to other characters.

[MajorHoy]

. . . Jason Todd// DCU: Was Robin 6-12 months. DCNU: 2 years. It's been stated, accept it. I hate it too.

Wait . . . Jason was Robin for two out of the five available years? Is that more insanity from Red Hood and the Sweathogs? :confused:

(And does your info/guesstimates leave any downtime between the different Robins, or does it assume that within a week after Dick leaving Jason takes over, then within a week of Jason's death (he did still "die", didn't he?), Tim takes over? :eek: )

[Master X]

^ I only wish these where guesses. These are literally almost exact based on the info DC has given us. Also, yes, these do ignore time between Robins as this would cut their time down even further. I'd assume no more than a few weeks pass by between Robins. Also, their time as Robins include their training time as well. If you give him the same training time as pre-dcnu, then Tim was basically Robin for a month or two. I mean, he was mega-trained due to what happened to Jason, and since he had no prior training (that I can remember)it was necessary. Tim's time as Robin in the dcnu doesn't even make sense. No prior training? And Batman just lets him out with him fighting crime, jumping from rooftop to rooftop obviously within days/weeks of getting the job? Tim's time as Robin barely gives him a chance to train. Even jerk Batman would't risk his life like that. The only way it could possibly work is if the entire Robin cycle isn't "one leaves, one joins" but now "multiple Robins". Maybe Tim was around during Jason's last months as Robin? Who knows.

[Enjoypolydor]

I just use the timeline I and just about everyone else had in their heads just before Flashpoint, which worked just fine. DC messed up by trying to make the characters seem younger by being around for a shorter time and by trying to hang on to all their old continuity at the same time. If they want to hang on to all the old continuity sure, then I'm not going to adjust any timelines down to 5-10 years or however much they say it is.

[Mr. Holmes]

I just use the timeline I and just about everyone else had in their heads just before Flashpoint, which worked just fine. DC messed up by trying to make the characters seem younger by being around for a shorter time and by trying to hang on to all their old continuity at the same time. If they want to hang on to all the old continuity sure, then I'm not going to adjust any timelines down to 5-10 years or however much they say it is.

Pretty much this. You could also use the Young Justice timeline, and give them a 10 year timeline instead of 5.

[bat39]

That's the one chronological reference I'd prefer to ignore, and there's a pretty valid reason for doing so. As I recall, ROY is the one who says Jason spent two years training with Batman...so Roy could have been mistaken or could have exaggerated the time Jason spent.

I think one possibility for Jason could be that maybe during Dick's second (and final) year in the cowl, it was already starting to get evident to Bruce that Dick was getting tired of being the sidekick and planning to move on. Then he encounters Jason and possibly thinks he could be a suitable replacement for Dick when Dick finally moves on. So he and Dick probably start training Jason while Dick was still Robin, maybe for around six months or so (probably lesser). Then Dick gives up being Robin and Jason takes on the mantle, and is Robin for a little under a year. End result is that Jason has trained with Bruce for a little over a year. Especially if this was spread over two calendar years (e.g. if he started training in 2007 and died in 2008 for instance), then it might be easy for someone like Roy, who likely doesn't know the intricate details of Bruce's history with Jason, to think Jason was with Bruce for 2 years...

But Tim being around and training while Jason was Robin makes zero sense...unless Tim's origin and motivation for becoming Robin has been RADICALLY altered.

[Master X]

^But that's the point, isn't it? Even if Jason's time as Robin IS less than currently stated, that still doesn't help Tim, it gives Dick more time is all, since we know when Jason died/stopped being Robin so Tim could take over. The only things that would make this fit is; he was being trained by Bruce/Jason during Jason's final months, or Tim had been secretly training after he first saw a Robin (Dick) with the future hopes of finding out who Batman is and becoming the next Robin. Otherwise Bruce is sending a kid out who has zero training, and after what just happened to jason is just beyond unlikely.

[TZDEKA]

This is why we just look at it in a vague way like DC itself is. I highly doubt Jason or Tim were in training while their predecessor was acting as Robin, in particular it makes no sense with Tim unless Batman's clairvoyant and he knew Jason's days were numbered.

[MajorHoy]

^But that's the point, isn't it? Even if Jason's time as Robin IS less than currently stated, that still doesn't help Tim, it gives Dick more time is all, since we know when Jason died/stopped being Robin so Tim could take over. The only things that would make this fit is; he was being trained by Bruce/Jason during Jason's final months, or Tim had been secretly training after he first saw a Robin (Dick) with the future hopes of finding out who Batman is and becoming the next Robin. Otherwise Bruce is sending a kid out who has zero training, and after what just happened to jason is just beyond unlikely.

But in the pre-DCnU version, Tim didn't want to be Robin originally; he was trying to convince Dick to go back to being Robin to help Bruce compensate for the grief / anger that was so obvious in Batman after Jason was gone.

[Master X]

Vague way? If that is what DC truly intends then they they have to stop with all these very specific times/years they feel the need to give us. They complain that fans look into things too much, but then clearly give info out that makes it easy to work things out in detail and find all the holes. One reference in Nightwing is clearly one of these. "5 years ago" instead of "years ago".

Other post. Maybe so, but he did become Robin and underwent ridiculous amounts of training because of what happened to Jason. In the new timeline their simply isn't enough time, and presumably he had no prior training. Unless of course Jason's revival took place months to a year after he died in the DCNU instead of right away as assumed. While that would clearly give Tim more time as Robin, it would push Jason's 2 year tenure back even further, eating even more of Dick'\s time as Robin up.