Superman & Batman: Generations

Superman & Batman: Generations
Superman & Batman: Generations II
Superman & Batman: Generations III

Cover of the trade paperback of Superman & Batman: Generations II. Art by John Byrne.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
Schedule Monthly
Format Limited series
Publication date (I)
January - March 1999
(II)
August - November 2001
(III)
March 2003 - February 2004
Number of issues (I and II)
4
(III)
12
Creative team
Creator(s) John Byrne
Collected editions
Generations ISBN 1-56389-605-2
Generations II ISBN 1563899906

Superman & Batman: Generations is the umbrella title of three Elseworlds comic book limited series published by DC Comics in the United States, written and illustrated by John Byrne. A major concept of the series is the avoidance of so-called comic book time; it places Superman, Batman, and the other members of the DC Universe in a single timeline, showing the characters aging and being replaced by their progeny.

Publication history

Superman & Batman: Generations was published as a four-issue limited series in prestige format from January to April 1999. It was later collected as a trade paperback (ISBN 1-56389-605-2) in 1999.

Superman & Batman: Generations 2, like its predecessor, is a 4-issue prestige format limited series that ran from October 2001 to January 2002; it dealt with other DC heroes in chapters set between the times of the stories in the first series. It was also collected as a trade paperback (ISBN 1-56389-990-6) in 2003.

Superman & Batman: Generations 3 is a twelve part limited series. Unlike the previous two series, it was published in standard format, and ran from March 2003 to February 2004. No trade paperback has been published for this series.

Plot summaries

Generations

Generations follows Superman and Batman from the beginning of their careers to the far future. Each issue contains two stories; each story takes places ten years after the previous one.

Generations 2

The second series, rather than using a decade jump between stories as in the original, takes jumps of 11 years. Starting in 1942, each issue again tells two stories, ending in the year 2019 at the end of the fourth issue. While the first series focused on the Batman and Superman families, the second features other characters from the DC Universe, especially from the Justice Society and Justice League.

Generations 3

Generations 3 starts in the year 1925, with each subsequent issue jumping forward a century, except issues #7 and #8, which both partially dealt with the 26th century and the 19th century. The story features characters from the future timelines of the DC Universe, as well as Jack Kirby's New Gods.

Wayne/Kent family tree

Over the course of the third series, Generations III, a dynasty is created that spans many centuries. Most of this is undone by the story's end.

For clarification:

Batman & Captain America

The Elseworlds Batman & Captain America, co-published with Marvel Comics and written/drawn by John Byrne was released in 1996. The story features Batman & Robin teaming up with Captain America & Bucky to fight the Joker and Red Skull in 1945. The epilogue of the tale features Dick Grayson as Batman and Bruce Jr. as Robin. The duo find the frozen Captain America in the 1960s while searching for Joker Jr. It is from this epilogue that the three Generations series were developed.

References

  1. This story is very similar to the story "Bat-Mite meets Mr. Mxyzptlk" (World's Finest #113, November 1960), right down to Mxyzptlk creating a half-centipede, half warehouse and Batman and Superman fighting a huge, hairy, fire-breathing, land walking, octopus monster.
  2. Superman & Batman: Generations #1, "1949: Family Matters"
  3. Superman & Batman: Generations #3, "1979: Twilight of the Gods"
  4. Superman & Batman: Generations II #4, "2019: Father to the Man"
  5. Superman & Batman: Generations II #4, "2008: This Ancient Evil"
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