The Complete Timeline Of The DCEU

Thanks to comic book legend Jack Kirby - the "King," himself - the central antagonist of the DC Extended Universe is Apokolips' ruler with an iron fist, Darkseid. Created back when Kirby jumped ship from Marvel over to its distinguished competition in the early 1970s, Darkseid was a vital cog in the creator's "Fourth World" saga. While he may not be as iconic as the Joker or as popular as Lex Luthor, Darkseid has become an integral part of the DC landscape over the decades, as he has essentially been made into the Justice League's chief villain.

As such, where else would the DCEU start? Zack Snyder's Justice League shows the big bad invading the Earth in 3000 BCE with legions of heroes coming together to stop him from doing so. Teasing the Green Lantern Corps in the flashback scene was a bit of a slap in the face to dedicated fans of the Emerald Knight, but Darkseid's incursion proved to be one of the truly exhilarating moments in the DCEU thus far.

During the opening scenes of Black Adam, we learn that it was Teth-Adam's son, Hurut, who was initially bestowed with the magical powers by the mystical Council of Wizards. Later on in the film, it is revealed that agents of the evil King Ahk-Ton brutally murdered both Hurut and Teth-Adam's wife. Before passing away, Hurut grants his wounded father with his incredible powers. 

In a fit of rage fueled by the death of his loved ones, the formerly enslaved Teth-Adam goes on a rampage and unleashes the Seven Deadly Sins. Doing so nearly destroys all of Kahndaq and wipes out millions of people in the process. The Council of Wizards, quite upset with Teth-Adam over this massacre, plans to lock him away for good. Before they can do so, he slaughters them all except for the wizard Shazam, who succeeds in entombing him for thousands of years.

It's incredible that it took DC and Warner Bros. until 2017 to bring Wonder Woman to the big screen. She's a member of the Trinity, for goodness sakes! Lynda Carter made her a big deal all the way back in the 1970s! Anyway, Diana's DCEU story begins in earnest when Steve Trevor accidentally finds himself on the shores of the mythical island of Themyscira in 1917.

Diana is then introduced to the world of humankind, completes her mission to stop both a power-hungry German general as well as Ares, the God of War, and falls in love with Steve just in time for him to perish in the service of saving countless lives. Heartbroken by the loss of Steve, Diana lives among humanity in secret for decades, waiting to be broken from her apathetic stupor and become a hero again.

Have you heard about WWII? Of course you have. It is only the deadliest conflict in the entirety of human history, and that really is saying something. In the fictional timeline of the DCEU, a horde of Third Reich scientists fled to the fictional island of Corto Maltese to seek asylum. Upon being granted refuge, the Nazis continued their outlandish experimentation in a continuing program known as "Project Jotunheim."

A massive structure, itself named Jotunheim, was built to house the endless experimentation. The Corto Maltese government eventually betrayed the Nazis and did away with them, leaving Jotunheim intact for its own uses. Years later, Jotunheim would become home to another secretive project: "Project Starfish."

In all fairness to Thaddeus Sivana, the winter of 1974 would completely alter the trajectory of his life - and not for the better. Some might argue he only became the villain of 2019's Shazam! because of the events of the fateful evening he was snatched by the titular wizard and shown a world he would never forget. While riding in the car with his father, Thaddeus was magically summoned by Shazam to see if the boy was a suitable candidate to become the wizard's champion.

Unfortunately for the boy, he was almost immediately tempted by the Seven Deadly Sins of Men and was shuttled back to the backseat of his father's car by Shazam. Thaddeus then flipped out and caused his father to crash, leaving the man crippled in the process. Cue a lifelong obsession with all things magic and an eventual turn to malevolence for young Thaddeus.

Everyone knows Krypton explodes. It is a fundamental part of the Superman origin story. The whole reason Kal-El becomes Clark Kent is due to his father sending him to Earth just before the baby's home planet explodes. This has been essential to the Man of Steel mythos for nearly a hundred years, and it will continue to be so as long as Superman stories are told. The DCEU retelling of Clark's origin from 2013's Man of Steel spends more time on Krypton than one would initially expect.

Viewers get to see Jor-El be a bit of an action hero as he struggles to stand in the way of General Zod and sends his infant son to Earth. Alas, the inevitable happens: Krypton is destroyed, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van perish, and the young Kal-El is shuttled off to his adopted home of Earth. Oh, and Zod is sent to the Phantom Zone. That's important, as well.