Wait, Did DC Really Just Wipe the DCAU From Existence?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three.

In a shocking development, the final entry in Warner Bros. Animation’s Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy seemingly obliterates the DC Animated Universe. But does Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three really erase the DCAU, or is this a fake-out?

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The DCAU’s Fate in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three, Explained

As Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three barrels towards its conclusion, an armada of Anti-Monitor variants goes on an Earth-killing spree. Among their targets is Earth-12, the home of the DCAU’s heroes and villains. This includes Kevin Conroy’s Batman and Mark Hamill’s Joker, who trade blows as an anti-matter wave bears down on them.

The Joker taunts Batman about the irony of them spending the end of the world together; however, the Dark Knight defiantly declares that he’s going out exactly the way he wants to: being Batman. It’s a poignant farewell to these iterations of Batman and Joker, all the more so because it’s Conroy and Hamill’s final time voicing them (Hamill retired from the part after Conroy’s death in 2022).

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That’s not the last of Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three‘s DCAU cameos, either. After Batman and Joker are blipped from existence, the action cuts to the Justice League’s satellite HQ, the Watchtower. Superman, Batman, Aquaman, and the rest of the team are all present, but the real focus is on Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. The crime-fighting couple share one final kiss as the Anti-Monitors complete their annihilation of Earth-12.

And that’s it, the DCAU is gone forever; Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three really did erase it! Well, kinda. The Crisis trilogy is set in the “Tomorrowverse” canon, and its multiverse (including its alternate Earths) exists separately from other animated continuities. So technically, a DCAU died, but not necessarily the DCAU.

Are Any Other Major DC Realities Destroyed in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three?

Yep, Earth-508 and Earth-2003 also bite the dust. They’re the Earths where 1973’s Super Friends and 2003’s Teen Titans take place, respectively. But again, these are the “Tomorrowverse” versions of Earth-508 and Earth-2003; the OG iterations are still safe and sound.

Even so, trashing three of DC’s most fondly regarded cartoon canons was a bold move, something screenwriter Jim Krieg acknowledged in a recent Screen Rant interview. Krieg also explained how he settled on the Earths that Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three would destroy. He unpacked the staging of each Earth’s demise—including why some heroes (such as the Titans) don’t appear on-screen—as well.

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“It was really tricky, we knew we had to do [Justice League Unlimited],” he said. “We knew that it was a great opportunity to do Batman: The Animated Series. The challenge was, ‘Well, how do we do Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go?’ Because those characters, the design is so drastically different from the more straightforward, human body type that we’re used to in these other universes. We just showed the tower [from Teen Titans] […] There were [Earths] we just weren’t able to do and I wish we could have but it was time and money. That’s the weird equation of making these movies.”

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three is available now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and Digital.