It’s undeniable: DC Comics has some of the most confusing continuity in all of pop culture. Characters regularly get deleted, re-invented, or outright replaced with characters of the same name. But now, thanks to the Outsiders, DC is finally addressing this problem with “the lost city of canon.”
The Outsiders have been exploring some of the biggest secrets in the DC Universe. There are tons of areas in the DC Universe that characters rarely get to explore, and this version of the Outsiders was formed specifically to do just that, and now it seems they’re tackling DC’s difficult continuity — especially in July’s Outsiders #9.
OUTSIDERS #9 (2024) | |
|---|---|
| |
Release Date: | July 10th, 2024 |
Writers: | Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly |
Artists: | Robert Carey |
Cover Artist: | Roger Cruz |
Variant Covers: | Steve Beach |
TANGLED IN A TALE OF TWO CITIES! THE LOST CITY OF CANON! The Outsiders’ journey through—and outside of—the multiverse continues! Deep beneath reality, two cities follow diametrically opposed philosophies. One is built from legacy, continuity, and order, and the other is born of innovation, reinvention, and chaos. Between the delicate balance of their narratives sits our story—as well as the key to changing it. To do so could jeopardize the DC Universe as we know it… so who is plotting to do exactly that? | |
As the Outsiders continue exploring the Multiverse and all the dark corners of DC, the team will find themselves where all forgotten characters end up — in the so-called “lost city of canon.” It’s here that the Outsiders will likely find either forgotten characters or even forgotten plot points from stories DC has decided to no longer pursue.
Related
10 Best DC Story Twists That Never Actually Paid Off
DC Comics has over eighty years of stories to follow up on, and in all that time there are some plots that simply never got resolved — like these ten.
The Outsiders Are Entering DC’s Forgotten “Lost City of Canon”
Outsiders #9 Variant Cover by Steve Beach
DC’s continuity has always chaotically shifted, especially since the essential series Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. The Batman and Superman that fans follow today aren’t even the original Batman and Superman that first appeared in the 1930s. The DCU has been made up of one universe and a multiverse at separate points. Crisis on Infinite Earths, for example, destroyed the multiverse and brought everything back to a single Earth, and then Infinite Crisis brought the entire multiverse back. Flashpoint spawned the New 52 reboot. With this constantly shifting universe, it’s no surprise that plenty has been lost to time and reboots.
While it seemed like DC had simply forgotten about major plot points or items, this new “lost city of canon” might be able to address that. It seems that everything that has ever fallen through the cracks of DC’s loose continuity will have ended up in this one city. Whether that be characters, items, or even ideas, isn’t currently known, but it’s going to be the clearest look fans will get at DC’s absurd continuity problems in a long time. In fact, it’s the reverse of the New 52, in that all previous canon elements will finally be accessible — even if for a short time — rather than erased completely.
The Outsiders Are Finally Addressing DC’s Continuity Issues
Outsiders #4 Cover by Roger Cruz
The DC Universe has been through a number of resets over the years as DC has continually tried to make its continuity easier to follow for readers, but this has only ended up making things far more confusing. It seems that DC has given up on trying to make everything fit together, and is instead allowing readers to see where all of those characters and ideas that were never followed up on actually went. This could be one of the most interesting issues that DC Comics has put out in a long time, as there are bound to be tons of elements that readers never thought they’d see again, returning at last thanks to the Outsiders.
Outsiders #9 is available July 10th from DC Comics!
DC Comics
