Batman Just Learned Why DC Comics Characters Never Age
SPOILER WARNING for Generations Forged #1!
One big problem with DC Comics is that their characters never seem to age, but Batman just solved it. Some of the publisher’s most popular characters have been around for more than 80 years, and yet many of them only look a couple of years older than they were when they first appeared. While this makes sense for heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman, whose superpowers allow them to live much longer than the average person, other characters like Batman, Catwoman, and the Green Arrow should theoretically age normally. This problem is not specific to DC, as many popular fictional characters - like Bart Simpson and Ash Ketchum (who have both been 10 years old for decades) - have proven themselves resistant to the effects of time, too. While there are plenty of explanations for why time stands still in different works of fiction, Batman just discovered the specific reason this occurs in the DC Universe.
In Generations Shattered #1, writers Dan Jurgens, Robert Venditti, and Andy Schmidt introduce a mysterious chronal storm called “the Goneness” that is erasing DC’s timestream. After receiving a gauntlet-like version of Skeets from a dying Booster Gold, Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth, travels through time, putting together a very unlikely team of heroes to stop the threat. Kamandi’s squad includes a younger version of Booster Gold, a teenage Superman, and even the original 1939 Batman, along with Starfire, Steel, Doctor Light, and Sinestro. Working together, the new team discovers that the villain Dominus is responsible for all of the chaos. After confronting the evildoer, however, the heroes are quickly defeated and sent to various points throughout time.
Jurgens, Venditti, and Schmidt’s tale continues in Generations Forged #1, as the heroes work to reconvene and strategize on how to defeat their common enemy. Eventually, they come up with a plan, taking the fight to Dominus once again. Amidst their daring battle, the heroes end up finding their opponent’s weakness, allowing them to defeat the foe once and for all. This victory restores the timestream saving all who were lost in the Goneness. When the team reunites, they are joined by Waverider, and the older version of Booster Gold, whom Kamandi met at the beginning of his adventure. The two time-travelling heroes explain that everything is back to normal and that they will return the heroes back from whence they came.
During this discussion, Waverider also points out that they all come from “the most unique of universes, where time passes a bit differently... where people age differently. Almost imperceptibly.” While this statement is mostly glossed over by the other heroes, Batman decides to inquire a bit further when Waverider returns him to 1939. Waverider describes the DC Universe as a “Linearverse,” one which gives its residents a much longer lifespan. He then tells Batman, “Your youth and vitality will endure for decades, enabling you to be effective far longer than the universal norm.” With that, the time-traveler parts ways with the Dark Knight.
Using the Linearverse explanation is an interesting and creative way to explain why characters age so slowly. While many other writers tend to avoid the problem altogether, DC tackles it head on with a completely new concept. Now fans have a concrete reason as to why Batman and other heroes and villains continue to appear in prime condition, despite having existed for decades. This also helps to explain how characters can adapt so seamlessly with developments in the real-world, like current events and new technology.
Even though this new revelation helps to explain away a lot of inconsistencies, there are still some mysteries revolving around how time works in the Linearverse. For example, Nightwing has aged significantly since his origins as Batman’s kid sidekick, to the point where he is now a full-grown adult. Does this mean that characters begin aging slower at a certain point in their lives? Whatever the case may be, this new concept will probably hold a lot of importance in the fallout from Dark Nights: Death Metal, wherein all of the stories from DC’s past are relevant once again.