Post-COIE, Earth-One gets no love.

[Buried Alien]

During the Silver and Bronze Age of Comics spanning the 1950s to the 1980s, Earth-One was the DC Multiverse's primary universe. Earth-One was the universe where the most iconic, most widely recognized versions of DC's characters resided and had their adventures for thirty years.

After CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, all of the Multiverse's worlds, including Earth-One, were folded into a new, Post-COIE DC Earth-DCU. This Earth-DCU probably most resembled Earth-One of the five final universes to be destroyed in the Crisis (the others being Earth-Two, Earth-4, Earth-S, and Earth-X), but was still distinct from Earth-One (i.e. the Superman and Wonder Woman of Earth-DCU were similar to, but also very different from the Superman and Wonder Woman of Earth-One), and this point was emphasized in INFINITE CRISIS last year. Despite some initial confusion, Alexander Luthor recognized that the Earth that emerged after the first Crisis was not Earth-One, and never was. That leaves the question...what ever happened to Earth-One?

When Alexander Luthor attempted to re-create the Multiverse in INFINITE CRISIS, a number of the previously destroyed universes briefly re-emerged....Earth-Two, Earth-S, etc. The world that Alex and the others assumed to be Earth-One, however, was nothing of the sort. When the Earth-Two Wonder Woman returned briefly to speak with her younger counterpart in INFINITE CRISIS, the older Diana was speaking to the Diana of Earth-DCU...the one first written about by George Perez in 1987, not the Earth-One Wonder Woman who was destroyed at the end of COIE (what happened to the memory of that Earth-One Wonder Woman?). When Kal-L fought Kal-El in INFINITE CRISIS, he seemed to be aware that this Kal-El was *not* the Kal-El whose cousin Supergirl died during the first Crisis, and who had teamed up with him so many times before in the past.

In the WHO'S WHO series published back in 1986, entries were included for the Golden Age (Earth-Two) and Modern Age (Post-COIE) versions of the characters, but the Silver/Bronze Age (Earth-One) versions were neglected.

As a fan who grew up with Earth-One DC, it's a little sad to see Earth-One always getting the short end of the stick even when DC goes out of its way to acknowledge its Pre-COIE history.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[The Shadow]

In the WHO'S WHO series published back in 1986, entries were included for the Golden Age (Earth-Two) and Modern Age (Post-COIE) versions of the characters, but the Silver/Bronze Age (Earth-One) versions were neglected.

huh.

I always thought they were the same characters.

As a fan who grew up with Earth-One DC, it's a little sad to see Earth-One always getting the short end of the stick even when DC goes out of its way to acknowledge its Pre-COIE history.

And that's why DC should NEVER mention Crisis again. It should be an edict from on high that there is only ONE VERSION... the one being published.

I'm not saying that's a perfect solution but it would sure clear up a lot of confusion if only ONE Batman, ONE Superman and ONE Wonder Woman existed.

[JKCarrier]

huh.

I always thought they were the same characters.

Some of them are awfully close. Others, like Batman, have significant differences in their backgrounds. And the ones that got "hard reboots" like Superman and Wonder Woman are drastically different.

[PretenderNX01]

The happier Silver Age Supergirl made an appearance in a Superman/Batman story where she was featured alongside Linda Danvers, Power Girl, Cir-El and the new Kara Zor-El.

But I think thats about the only time they've mentioned or hinted recently in story that there was ever another "Kara Zorl-El" Supergirl. But I guess they're's no denying the new Kara isn't the old Earth 1 Kara. Different costume, different attitude, different origin.

I guess I assumed that Earth 1 was remade into the current Earth DCU and the other Earths were destroyed. So in the Crisis the other Earths returned but Earth 1 had been remolded and couldn't. If that makes any sense.

I also wonder what Earth does Birthright Superman come from and which Earth does Man of Steel Superman come from?

[Mulett]

Despite some initial confusion, Alexander Luthor recognized that the Earth that emerged after the first Crisis was not Earth-One, and never was. That leaves the question...what ever happened to Earth-One? When Alexander Luthor attempted to re-create the Multiverse in INFINITE CRISIS, a number of the previously destroyed universes briefly re-emerged....Earth-Two, Earth-S, etc. The world that Alex and the others assumed to be Earth-One, however, was nothing of the sort. Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Hi Buried! I think you are quite right, this is a very confusing issue. My take on what happened when all the earths seperated in Infinite Crisis is this (please note this is just an opinion!);

I think Alexander Luthor was right when he commented about the single Earth left after the original Crisis. He said earth-1 appeared to be the main template of the post-crisis earth, with elements of other earths folded in. I know he later contradicted this comment, but - in all honesty - that is pretty much what the post-COIE Earth was.

So, during the sequence in Infinite Crisis where the parallel earths began to re-appear (drawn, it seems, from the 'main' earth) heroes started vanishing from the 'main' earth and re-appearing on their own.

All the heroes, that is, apart from the earth-1 heroes who stayed put. This is because (I think) once the elements of all the other parallel earths were removed from the 'main' earth, what was left was earth-1. Indeed, I think the characters even started referring to the main earth as earth-1.

The current Wonder Woman isthe earth-1 Wonder Woman. She survived the Crisis itself, and was set to take her place as the Wonder Woman on the post-COIE Earth. However, in the final stages of the battle with the anti-monitor, she was hit by an energy beam and sent back through her own personal timeline. She was effectively removed from continuity (and, indeed, the post-COIE earth's history). That said, I have always considered the current Diana to be the earth-1 Wonder Woman who simply had to lead her life over again.

Supergirl is a bit more complicated. I think it just depends on whether you think a character is only the same person as the pre-COIE character if they were at the battle at the beginning of time - and so transferred onto the post-COIE with their memories of the multiverse in place (for a short period at least). The likes of (for instance) Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, and the Joker and Alfred, were not at the dawn of time. So does this mean they are not the earth-1 characters?

For me, Supergirl is as much the earth-1 Supergirl as Superman is the earth-1 Superman. Her life has simply been re-booted in the way post-COIE Superman's was. And, in the re-boot, she is living her life decades later than she did pre-Crisis.

That's just my opinion.

One thing that has never been sorted out, however, is why earth-2 was the only parallel earth to re-appear empty. Where were the billions of earth-2 inhabitants? I can't help but think that's linked in to suggestions that at least one more parallel earth will re-appear in the DCU eventually.

[Agentum]

I must say that i think having a earth 1 too is confusing today.
I guess it merged with with other earth to the DCU we had after the last crisis.

If every retcon of every character started a new world we would have a lot of them going:-)

And they borrows a lot from silverage today so in some sense earth 1 is still getting some love:-)

[glennsim]

It could be said that since Alex thought the current Earth was Earth 1, he didn't make an effort to bring back Earth 1. At the point where he realized it wasn't, it was too late to add that Earth to the list of Earths he was bringing back...

Not sure if that's helpful at all...

[TommyV]

I also wonder what Earth does Birthright Superman come from and which Earth does Man of Steel Superman come from?

I think "Birthright" is supposed to be the "New Earth" (post IC) origin - I know it came out well before IC, but I remember Johns or somebody saying that Birthright would make sense after IC.

[Jack]

I'd say that Earth 1 was the base for the Post-Crisis Earth, but after having bits and pieces of other worlds retroactively folded into it, it became completely different, essentially an Earth 1.5. So when the worlds were separated, those elements left Earth 1.5 before being folded back in all over again, creating New Earth.

So Post-Crisis Superman was Earth 1 Superman corrupted by elements from other Earths. As were Batman and Wonder Woman and everyone else. Feel free to take that literally as an explanation for their non-E2ish actions.