Warning: Spoilers for DC All In Special #1Over the years, theDC Universe’sfuture has been explored numerous times in comics.Booster Goldoften shares glimpses of the time he hails from and illustrates how the Justice League’s impact will remain in his idyllic future for many centuries on. However, a recent development has rewritten history, and Darkseid is at the epicenter of this alteration to the fabric of time. As a result, there isn’t a clear answer to how the DC Universe ends anymore.
The “Alpha” story ofDC All In Special#1 by Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder, Daniel Sampere, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain, Alejandro Sánchez, and Steve Wands follows the Justice League as they reform, bigger and better than ever.Superman invites Booster Gold to jointheir ranks, but things soon take a turn for the worse as Darkseid strikes the League and deals a harsh blow to DC’s established timeline. A blank Justice League membership card gets corrupted by Darkseid, and Skeets says to Booster:“The future has changed.”
This corruption may not seem important, but it changes everything for DC’s heroes. The membership card isa symbol of the way the DC Universe ends in the distant future. Now, it’s been converted into a doorway toDarkseid’s Absolute Universe. With this alteration, everything DC’s heroes thought they knew about their fate has been called into question.
It’s Official: Booster Gold’s Future No Longer Exists
Darkseid Alters the Timeline of the DC Universe
TheJustice League membership cardthat Booster Gold watches get transformed is significant because it’s what he calls a “touchstone item,” which areobjects he remembers from his future that are universal constants throughout time. He lists off a few, includingGreen Lantern rings, and they’re all iconic items from DC’s canon. They, along with the blank Justice League card, represent key moments in the timeline. The museum in which they’re preserved honors the heroes they come from and memorializes them long after they’re gone. As long as the card is intact, so too is this future.
DC’s Most Important Hero Names the 1 Justice Leaguer He’ll Never Respect
The DC Universe’s REAL MVP is claiming his spot as the Justice League’s most important hero while also throwing shade at a fellow teammate.
BecauseDarkseid has corruptedthe Justice League membership card, Booster Gold’s future is no longer set in stone. The card doesn’t resemble the touchstone item fromBooster Gold’s timeanymore, instead emanating Darkseid’s energy. The Hall of Heroes can’t house that card in its original state if it’s been transformed by Darkseid, and that transformation has consequences that reverberate throughout DC’s timeline. As Skeets informs Booster, they can’t go back home due to the changes that have taken place - meaning thatthe future Booster Gold originates from, where the Justice League are revered as legends, is gone for good.
For the First Time, the DC Universe’s Fate Is Unknown
The Future of DC Superheroes Hangs in the Balance
Superman mentions in this issue that he finds comfort in Booster Gold being a time traveler, since it reminds him that there will still be heroes in the future. That comfort is lost with the revelation that the future has changed. Normally, the DC Universe’s timeline culminates in the formation of theLegion of Super-Heroesin the 31st century to honor past heroes, but that ending might have just been retconned.Booster no longer has a future to return to,so it’s plausible that the Legion will cease to exist as well. The Legion’s status is uncertain, and the Justice League isn’t in a much better position.
The Legion of Super-Heroes first appeared in a story from 1958’sAdventure Comics#247 by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.
The Justice League’s legacy carrying on into the future is not guaranteed after Darkseid’s intervention, which makes it impossible to predict what lies ahead. The membership card is a haunting sign that what was once a fixed point in time can be undone in the blink of an eye, and it remains to be seen how exactly this will affect the timeline. With the fate of theDC Universeup in air,Booster Goldmust now watch events unfold without the security of knowing how the story ends.
