The DC Universe has been spawned from over seventy years of comics, all in the same continuity, from Detective Comics (named after its flagship title, which mostly stars Batman).

Way back when, someone thought it'd be a good idea for all the various SuperHero characters created at DC to share the same world. This led to a massive headache for those who had to keep it all straight.

Generally speaking, TheDCU is set apart (from the MarvelUniverse, anyway) by a marginally more lighthearted tone, a congenial "community" of superheroes, clear-cut division between heroes and villains, and a general populace that is more or less trusting of its caped watchmen. How true this situation is has gone up and down over the decades.

For instance, the closest that the The DCU comes to the the MarvelCivilWar is ''DC Universe: Decisions'' where the much of the superhero community gets involved in an election campaign while investigating a nonpartisan assassination plot. The political conflict is kept largely civil outside Hal Jordan Green Lantern and Green Arrow's usual brawling (which Black Canary promptly breaks up). Meanwhile, Batman gets involved only as Bruce Wayne, Wonder Woman, keeping her distance as a diplomat, gives careful phrased public agreement with her favoured candidate while Superman makes a point of keeping strictly neutral with his vote as Clark Kent kept strictly confidential.

When TheDCU appears on TV or in the movies, it is often cut up to fit its format. If a series follows only one superhero, none of the others are mentioned. Other places and people may be named to catch the comic-savvy (see ContinuityNod). This used to be due to licensing issues, although intra-company since Warner Bros. has owned or controlled DC Comics since the late 60s. Thus, almost all DC projects are done by one Time Warner company or another.

Comics fans are very concerned about continuity, by and large. To them, any non-comics DCU events are considered non-{{canon}}, and with good reason.

See Also: MarvelUniverse

The defining characteristics of TheDCU:
* CityOfAdventure: To each hero his own.
** WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Perhaps each hero has his own city because he can't locate anyone else's.
** This is being averted in modern days, where it's been established that Gotham is in New Jersey and Metropolis is in Delaware. Not sure about the others, though.
* ContinuityNod
* ContinuitySnarl: To the extent that at times it feels like the whole purpose of DC's output is trying to resolve its own continuity problems.
* CrisisCrossover
* CrossoverCosmology
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: People who say "DC Comics" are really saying "Detective Comics Comics".
* {{Elseworld}}: The TropeNamer. During the '90s and early '00s, DC's {{Elseworld}}s imprint showcased a great many "what if" tales that carried on the tradition of SilverAge "imaginary stories"; the best-known was ''KingdomCome''. Since TheMultiverse was brought back, many of these have become full-fledged {{Alternate Universe}}s.
* EasilyConqueredWorld: Alien invasions Tuesday, underground monsters Thursday, and evil masterminds on Friday.
* LeotardOfPower
* TheMultiverse: TheDCU has a long tradition, recently revived, of having numerous alternate universes.
** The {{Wildstorm}} universe has nominally been part of the DC Multiverse since the company was bought by DC, though crossovers are rare.
** ''KingdomCome'' and ''TangentComics'' are works detailing specific {{Alternate Universe}}s.
** Occasionally mention will be made of the [[VertigoComics Vertigo Universe]], but Vertigo's recurring characters (TheSandman, SwampThing, {{Lucifer}}, etc.) really take place in their own little corners of TheDCU that [[ExiledFromContinuity no longer interact with the rest of the universe]] due to ExecutiveMeddling.
* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: The aforementioned [[CityOfAdventure Cities Of Adventure]].
* PresentDay: Mostly. TimeTravel is common, as are series set in TheWildWest, WorldWarII, or TheFuture.
* UnderwearOfPower: TropeMaker, really. (Although they are technically exercise trunks, not underwear.)
* ShoutOut
* SuperHero: Of course.

Comics series and characters set in TheDCU:
* AnimalMan
* {{Aquaman}}
* Comicbook/{{Batman}}
* BlueBeetle
* BoosterGold
* CrisisOnInfiniteEarths
* FinalCrisis
* {{Flash}}
* GreenLantern
* IdentityCrisis
* InfiniteCrisis
* JusticeLeagueOfAmerica
* JusticeSocietyOfAmerica
* KingdomCome
* TheLegionOfSuperHeroes
* {{Lucifer}}, prior to receiving his own series
* MartianManhunter
* TheCreeper
* ThePhantomStranger
* TheSandman
* SecretSix
* {{Shazam}}
* Comicbook/{{Starman}}
* {{Supergirl}}
* Comicbook/{{Superman}}
* TangentComics
* Comicbook/TeenTitans
* WonderWoman

TV series set in (parts of) TheDCU:

Comicbook/{{Superman}}-based (mostly in Metropolis, but given ol' Kal-El's range all bets are off):
* ''TheAdventuresOfSuperman''
* ''TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman''
* ''TheAdventuresOfSuperboy''
* ''LoisAndClark''
* ''SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''
* ''{{Smallville}}'' (Obviously, not set in Metropolis.)
* ''KryptoTheSuperdog''

Comicbook/{{Batman}}-based (in Gotham City, with rare field trips):
* ''{{Batman}}''
* ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''
* ''BatmanBeyond''
* ''BirdsOfPrey'' (short-lived series focusing on "Batman Family" members)
* ''GothamGirls'' (2002 Catwoman-centric cartoon series)
* ''TheBatman''
* ''BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''

JusticeLeagueOfAmerica-based:
* ''{{Superfriends}}'' (Along with its many sequels and permutations.)
* ''Legends of the Superheroes'' (A short-lived 1970s series which attempted to bring the campy style of ''{{Batman}}'' to the JLA, and failed miserably.)
* ''Justice League of America'', a failed PilotMovie based around the post-''Justice League International'' incarnation of the team.
* ''JusticeLeague'' (Crawling with minor and obscure heroes and villains, especially in the ''Unlimited'' seasons.)

Other single characters:
* Catwoman
** Widely-panned 2004 movie, with few links to either the comics or other movie versions.
* {{Flash}}
** ''TheFlash'', 1990-91 series with John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen.
* GreenLantern
* {{Supergirl}}
** 1984 movie
* BlueBeetle

Other comic series:
* ''{{Hellblazer}}'', though it drifts in and out of continuity with the DCU proper.
** ''Constantine'', a 2005 movie with heavy AdaptationDecay.
* ''TheSandman''

Other TV series:
* ''{{Aquaman}}'' (Failed {{pilot}})
** Although a successful 1960s cartoon was why he was included in the SuperFriends to begin with.
* ''WonderWoman''
* ''{{Shazam}}!'' (Not actually the hero's name. His name is Captain Marvel. The wizard who gave Billy Batson his powers ''is'' named Shazam. However, no series using the character can use the "Captain Marvel" name because MarvelComics has its own character with that name and regularly publishes comic book series with that name. He was featured in a 1974 live-action series, 1981 cartoon (both produced by {{Filmation}}), and a planned 2008 cartoon.))
* ''SwampThing'' (1990 live action series, 1991 cartoon, plus movies made in 1982 and 1989)
* ''StaticShock'' (Originally a Milestone title)
* ''{{Isis}}'' (Originally by virtue of crossovers with ''{{Shazam}}'', though DC [[CanonImmigrant did eventually publish a short-lived Isis comic book]]. More recently, they've added a DCU version of the character as Black Adam's consort and, eventually, wife, though [[spoiler:they killed her off not long after. She's now alive again though]].)

Other team shows:
* ''TeenTitans'' The last season is full of the same mix, albeit focusing on the ''TT'' and ''Doom Patrol'' characters. This may or may not also be in continuity with the DCAU below, despite its very different look and style, and fan debates over this continue as the WordOfGod has been lacking, instead giving what amounts to the continuity version of a ShipTease.
* ''LegionOfSuperHeroes''

A subset of {{The DCU}} is the [[{{DCAU}} DC Animated Universe]] (AKA the "Timmverse" or the "Diniverse"), consisting of ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and every other series that takes place in the same universe. It has its own {{canon}}, with more than one CrossOver between series, and is best known for its distinctive artstyle, based on the works of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. This universe has ended with the final season of ''[[JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]''. However, there will be additional original video productions by the same team, such as an adaptation of the famous ''Teen Titans'' story, "The Judas Contract."

Series in the DCAU:
* ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''
* ''SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''
* ''BatmanBeyond''
* ''TheZetaProject''
* ''StaticShock''
* ''JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited''

DC and WarnerBrothers recently began a new series of animated movies, released straight to DVD, called DC Universe Original Animated Movies. Mostly they focus on individual characters, including some, like WonderWoman, who have never had their own animated series.

* ''{{Superman}}: [[TheDeathOfSuperman Doomsday]]''
* ''JusticeLeagueTheNewFrontier''
* ''{{Batman}}: Gotham Knight''
* ''WonderWoman''
* ''GreenLantern: First Flight''
* ''{{Superman}}/{{Batman}}: Public Enemies''

Upcoming projects include:

* ''Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths''

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