It’s time to map the DC Universe! In June, I’ll be joining with Near Mint Condition to launch the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 2nd Annual Poll! This post explains every DC Universe Event omnibus that does NOT exist – from Crisis on Infinite Earths to Absolute Power – all of which will appear as options on the 2025 poll.
Through the end of May I’ll be covering DC entire publishing history by mapping missing omnibus volumes to fill in every gap in your DC oversize shelf! That’s all leading to the kickoff of the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 2nd Annual Poll on Near Mint Condition the first week of June.
If you’re not sure of what to vote for, stick around for a list of books vetted by a gang of the biggest mapping nerds on the internet with explanations from yours truly – keeper of the most-definitive guides to collected editions on the planet.
Or, if you don’t care about omnibuses, just use this post to learn about DC history and find some great comics to read!
This post covers the following speculated omnibus volumes:
- DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – The 1980s
- DC Events: Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985 – 1986) [Vol. 1 of 2?]
- DC Events: Legends, The Complete Omnibus (1986 – 1987)
- DC Events: Invasion! The Complete Omnibus (1988 – 1989)
- DC Events: Millennium, The Complete Omnibus (1988) [could include New Guardians]
- DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – The 1990s
- DC Events: Armageddon 2001, The Complete Omnibus (1991 – 1992) [Includes Alien Agenda & Armageddon: Inferno]
- DC Events: Eclipso: The Darkness Within, The Complete Omnibus (1992 – 1994) [Includes all of Eclipso 1992]
- DC Events: Bloodlines, The Complete Omnibus (1993)
- DC Events: The Elseworlds Annuals (1994)
- DC Events: Bloodlines Aftermath – The New DC Heroes (1994 – 1995) [includes Anima, Argus, Bloodpack, Gunfire, Loose Cannon, & Psyba-Rats]
- DC Events: Underworld Unleashed, The Complete Omnibus (1995)
- DC Events: The Year One Annuals (1995)
- DC Events: Final Night, The Complete Omnibus (1996)
- DC Events: Legends of the Dead Earth (1996)
- DC Events: The Pulp Heroes Annuals (1997)
- DC Events: Genesis, The Complete Omnibus (1997)
- DC Events: Day of Judgment, The Complete Omnibus (1999)
- DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – The 2000s
- DC Events: The Silver Age by Mark Waid (2000)
- Superman: Our Worlds at War Vol. 2 (2001) [AKA End of the Triangle Era]
- DC Events: Joker, Last Laugh, The Complete Omnibus (2001 – 2002)
- DC Events: Infinite Crisis Companion (2005 – 2006) [tie-ins from ongoing titles]
- DC Events: Infinite Crisis Aftermath Omnibus (2006 – 2008) [Aftermath series and Infinity Inc.]
- DC Events: One Year Later (2006) [follows Infinite Crisis]
- DC Events: Countdown to Final Crisis (2007 – 2008) [could be Vol. 1 if it includes Countdown minis]
- DC Events: Final Crisis Aftermath Omnibus (2009 – 2010)
- DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – New 52 (2011 – 2016)
- Futures End, The New 52 Omnibus (2014 – 2015) [collects the weekly series]
- DC Events: Convergence, Vol. 1 (of 2) (2015)
- DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – Rebirth to Present Day
- DC Events: Heroes in Crisis, The Complete Omnibus (2018 – 2019)
- DC Events: Year of the Villain, The Complete Omnibus (2019 – 2020)
- DC Events: Future State, The Complete Omnibus (2021)
- DC Events: Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (2022)
- Titans: Titans (2023) & Beast World by Tom Taylor (2023 – 2024)
- DC Events: Absolute Power (2024)
Remember: These titles and mappings are a suggestion of how DC could assemble these books. Your vote on the poll is a vote in favor of DC creating a book with that title or covering that period, NOT an endorsement of a specific map. Maps are presented as a proof of concept and to help you build your personal reading list.
Want to check out all of the other voting options for the 2025 Tigereyes Poll? Check out my 2025 Tigereyes poll options overview page that explains the poll, how to vote, and every title that will appear – including links to all of the posts in this series.
Intensely researched posts like this one are made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis. For less than the cost of a single comic issue a month you can fuel my in-depth comics coverage, plus gain access to dozens of exclusive collecting guides & reading orders – including all of the Crushing Comics Guide to DC Comics.
DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – The 1980s
DC Events: Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985 – 1986) [Vol. 1 of 2?]
Despite Crisis appearing in many paperbacks, Absolutes, Deluxe Editions, and box sets, it has never had a proper omnibus release!
I think that would likely be a two volume set that would collect the following:
This would primarily collect Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) #1-12 and History of the DC Universe (1986) #1-2, which was most-recently 494 pages in a Deluxe Hardcover.
The contents of Companion Vol. 1 were 504 pages: DC Comics Presents #78, All-Star Squadron #50-60, The Fury of Firestorm #41-42, and Green Lantern #194-198
The contents of Companion Vol. 2 were 536 pages: Detective Comics #558, DC Comics Presents #86, Swamp Thing #44, Losers Special #1, Legends of the DCU: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, Infinity Inc. #18-25 & Annual 1, Justice League of America #244-245, and New Teen Titans #13-14
The contents of Companion Vol. 3 were 528 pages: Amethyst #13, Omega Men #31 (& material from #33), Blue Devil #17-18, Wonder Woman #327-329, Swamp Thing #46, Legion of Super-Heroes #16 & #18, Superman #413-415, DC Comics Presents #87-88, & 94-95, Justice League of America (1960) Annual 3 (and, maybe also pages from Superman and Batman: World’s Funnest #1)
That accounts for 2062 pages of comics – a perfect amount for two omnibus volumes. The only real question is where they would be split in half! It’s not quite as simple as cutting the event in half, because tie-ins are not equally distributed across the event (or in a correct reading order across those Deluxe Editions). A first volume could break anywhere from Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) #4-6. The recent DC Finest volume broke at issue #4, but it’s a much shorter collection with fewer tie-ins.
DC Events: Legends, The Complete Omnibus (1986 – 1987)
Legends (1986) was DC’s first Post-Crisis event in the 1980s. They used it to introduce Darkseid to Post-Crisis continuity and to re-establish the relationships between many heroes after Crisis.
The main event series was just six issues, but each issue had between one and eight tie-in issues to follow it. In some instances, these issues were in the first handful of post-Crisis issues from a title – or, in the case of Batman, are even used to define when his title flipped to Post-Crisis! It also launched several books in the resulting status quo, including Suicide Squad, Shazam, Justice League, and The Flash.
While these main event series was collected in Suicide Squad by John Ostrander Vol. 1, that didn’t have any of the event tie-ins.
In total, this could collect Legends (1986) #1-6, Action Comics #586, Adventures of Superman #426, Batman #401, Blue Beetle (1987) #9-10, Cosmic Boy #1-4, Detective Comics #568, Firestorm – The Nuclear Man #55-56, Green Lantern Corps #207, Legion Of Super-Heroes (1984) #36, Justice League of America #258-260, Secret Origins #10 & 14, Superman (1987) #3, The Warlord (1976) #114-115. See the Guide to DC Universe Events – Legends for a suggested reading order.
DC Events: Millennium, The Complete Omnibus (1988) [could include New Guardians]
The previous Guardians of the Universe depart our dimension, leaving the Earth to establish a new council – and the Manhunters are happy to take advantage of that situation to try to disrupt the balance of power on Earth and throughout the universe.
This event took the organization of Legends and pushed it even further. Each of the eight issues of the core Millennium (1988) series was released weekly, with the tie-ins to each issue bearing “Week #” banner on their covers to make it easy to know what to buy to follow along. That was a major innovation at a time that both Marvel and DC were only a few years into their line-wide events!
In total, this could collect Millennium (1988) #1-8, Action Comics #596, Adventures of Superman #436-437, Batman #415, Blue Beetle (1987) #20-21, Booster Gold #24-25, Captain Atom #11, Detective Comics #582, Firestorm #67-68, Flash #7-9, Infinity Inc. #46-47, Green Lantern Corps #220-221, Legion of Super-Heroes (1984) #42-43, Justice League International #9-10, Outsiders #27-28, Secret Origins #22-23, The Spectre (1987) #10-11, Suicide Squad #9, Superman #13-14, Teen Titans Spotlight (1986) #18-19, Wonder Woman #12-13, Young All-Stars #8-9. See Guide to DC Universe Events – Millennium for a full reading order.
DC Events: Invasion! The Complete Omnibus (1988 – 1989)
Earth continued to be the focus of universal ire in Invasion! (1988), when a coalition of hostile alien races decided to invade our planet to try to neutralize our many meta-humans.
Invasion! (1988) changed the formula of DC Events – the main event book was just three, 80-page, perfect-bound comics.
In total, this could collect Invasion! (1988) #1-3, Adventures of Superman #449-450, Animal Man #6-7, Blasters Special #1, Captain Atom #24-25, Checkmate! #11-12, Daily Planet #1, Detective Comics #595, The Doom Patrol #17-18, Firestorm #80-81, The Flash #20-22, Justice League Europe #1, Justice League International #22-23, L.E.G.I.O.N. ’89 #1, Manhunter (1988) #8-9, The New Guardians #6-7, The Power of the Atom #7-8, The Spectre (1987) #22-24, Starman (1988) #5-6, Suicide Squad #22-23, Superman #26-27, Swamp Thing #80-81 (and material from #96-98), and Wonder Woman #24-26 (and material from Annual 1). See Guide to DC Universe Events – Invasion! for a suggested reading order.
DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – The 1990s
DC Events: Armageddon 2001, The Complete Omnibus (1991 – 1992) [Includes Alien Agenda & Armageddon: Inferno]
Armageddon 2001 was the first of DC’s “Annuals Crossovers.” DC borrowed from Marvel’s approach to events like Evolutionary War and Atlantis Attacks, which ran through their summer annuals so they wouldn’t disrupt the ongoing arcs of their titles. However, DC slightly refined the approach, bookending the annuals with a two-issue mini-series to act as an alpha and omega to the event.
This annuals crossover event event begins in a potential future ruled by Monarch, a cruel despot and former hero. Waverider travels back in time to try to learn which hero becomes Monarch by peering into each of their individual futures. That means much of this event is comprised of what are effectively “What If?” stories of potential futures.
In total, this could collect Armageddon 2001 (1991) #1-2, Action Comics Annual 3 & 670, Adventures Of Superman Annual 3, Batman Annual 15, Detective Comics Annual 4, The Flash Annual 4, Hawk and Dove Annual 2, Hawkworld Annual 2, Justice League America Annual 5, Justice League Europe Annual 2, L.E.G.I.O.N. ’91 Annual 2, The New Titans Annual 7, Superman Annual 3 & 61, Armageddon: The Alien Agenda (1991) #1-4, and Armageddon: Inferno (1992) #1. See Guide to DC Universe Events – Armageddon 2001 for a suggested reading order.
DC Events: Eclipso: The Darkness Within, The Complete Omnibus (1992 – 1994) [Includes all of Eclipso 1992]
Another of DC’s “Annuals Crossovers” events in the same model as Armageddon 2001. Yet, unlike Armageddon, this story was very much in continuity as it built Eclipso into a major villain of the Post-Crisis era. This event lead directly to an ongoing series for Eclipso, which could also be collected here in full!
In total, this could collect Eclipso: The Darkness Within (1992) #1-2, Action Comics Annual 4, Adventures of Superman Annual 4, Batman Annual 16, Deathstroke: The Terminator Annual 1, The Demon Annual 1, Detective Comics Annual 5, The Flash Annual 5, Green Arrow Annual 5, Green Lantern (1990) Annual 1, Hawkworld Annual 3, Justice League America Annual 6, Justice League Europe Annual 3, L.E.G.I.O.N. ’92 Annual 3, The New Titans (1988) Annual 8, Robin (1993) Annual 1, Superman (1987) Annual 4, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual 1, Wonder Woman Annual 3, plus Valor (1992) #1 and Eclipso (1992) #1-18 & Annual 1. See Guide to DC Universe Events – Eclipso: The Darkness Within for a full reading order.
DC Events: Bloodlines, The Complete Omnibus (1993 – 1995)
Bloodlines once again found aliens invading Earth, which was DC’s go-to concept for major event crossovers! This time, it was an alien race that wanted to feed on humanity, but sometimes that feeding process would create new superheroes!
This story spun off the new comics Blood Pack, Psyba-Rats, Hitman, Anima, Loose Cannon, Argus, and Gunfire.
In total, this could collect Bloodbath (1993) #1-2, Action Comics Annual 5, Adventures of Superman Annual 5, Batman Annual 17, Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight Annual 3, Batman: Shadow of The Bat Annual 1, Deathstroke Annual 2, Demon Annual 2, Detective Comics Annual 6, Eclipso Annual 5, Flash Annual 6, Green Arrow Annual 6, Green Lantern (1990) Annual 2, Hawkman Annual 1, Justice League America Annual 7, Justice League International Annual 4, L.E.G.I.O.N. Annual 4, Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) Annual 4, Lobo (1993) Annual 1, New Titans (1988) Annual 9, Robin (1993) Annual 2, Superman (1987) Annual 5, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual 2, and Team Titans (1992) Annual 1. See Guide to DC Universe Events – Bloodlines for a full reading order.
DC Events: Bloodlines Aftermath – The New DC Heroes (1994 – 1995) [includes Anima, Argus, Bloodpack, Gunfire, Loose Cannon, & Psyba-Rats]
This omnibus would gather six short-lived series of the new heroes that spun out of Bloodlines, which together ad up to 47 issues!
That excludes a seventh hero and series, Hitman, whose series was long-running enough to merit its own omnibus line.
This would collect Argus (1995) #1-6, Anima (1994) #1-15 & 0, Bloodpack (1995) #1-4 (and Showcase ’94 stories), Gunfire (1994) #1-13 & 0, [Razorsharp and the] Psyba-Rats (1995) #1-3, Loose Cannon (1995) #1-4.
DC Events: The Elseworlds Annuals (1994)
This event was not a single story, but a series of individual Elseworlds tales in every 1994 DC Annual! Since these stories were not in continuity for their characters, many of them have not been collected alongside character- or creator-centric collections from this period.
This would collect Action Comics Annual 6, Adventures of Superman Annual 6 & Superboy (1994) Annual 1 [a two-part story], Batman Annual 18, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual 4, Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual 2, Catwoman (1993) Annual 1, Deathstroke The Terminator Annual 3, Detective Comics Annual 7, Flash Annual 7, Green Lantern (1990) Annual 3, Justice League America Annual 8, Justice League International Annual 5, L.E.G.I.O.N. Annual 5, Legionnaires Annual 1, Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) Annual 5, Lobo (1993) Annual 2, New Titans (1988) Annual 10, Robin (1993) Annual 3, Steel (1994) Annual 1, Superman Annual 6, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual 3, and Team Titans (1992) Annual 2.
DC Events: The Year One Annuals (1995)
After the success of the 1994 Elseworlds Annuals, DC continued with the idea of a theme for all of their annuals. This time, the annuals took advantage of the recent Zero Hour event to present “Year One” stories of early, definitive adventures for each of their heroes.
This would collect Action Comics Annual 7, Adventures of Superman Annual 7, Aquaman (1994) Annual 1, Azrael Annual 1, Batman Annual 19, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual 5, Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual 3, Catwoman (1993) Annual 2, Deathstroke the Terminator Annual 4, Detective Comics Annual 8, Doomsday Annual 1, Flash Annual 8, Green Arrow Annual 7, Green Lantern (1990) Annual 4, Guy Gardner: Warrior Annual 1, Hawkman Annual 2, Justice League America Annual 9, Legionnaires Annual 2, Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) Annual 6, Lobo (1993) Annual 3, New Titans (1988) Annual 11, Ray Annual 1, Robin (1993) Annual 4, Shadowdragon Annual 1, Steel (1994) Annual 2, Sovereign Seven Annual 1 [DC may not have the rights to reprint this], Spectre (1992) Annual 1, Superboy (1994) Annual 2, Superman Annual 7, Superman: Man of Steel Annual 4, Wonder Woman Annual 4.
DC Events: Underworld Unleashed, The Complete Omnibus (1995)
Following the success of Zero Hour as a line-wide event touching regular issues of every title, in 1995 DC rolled out an even larger linewide crossover! Underworld Unleashed saw Neron, a new ruler in Hell, tempting the villains (and a few of the heroes) of the DC Universe to make a deal for their greatest desires in exchange for unleashing Hell on Earth.
This would collect Underworld Unleashed (1995) #1-3, Underworld Unleashed: Batman, Devil’s Asylum #1, Underworld Unleashed: Apokolips, Dark Uprising #1, Underworld Unleashed: Patterns of Fear #1, Underworld Unleashed: Abyss #1, Hell’s Sentinel #1, Aquaman #14, Azrael #10, Manhunter #12, Damage #18-19, Guy Gardner: Warrior #36-37, Extreme Justice #10-11, Flash #107, Primal Force #13, Spectre #35-36, Starman #12-16, Robin #23-24, Hawkman #26-27, Justice League America #105-106, R.E.B.E.L.S. ’95 #13- 14, Steel #21, Green Lantern #68-69, Green Arrow #102-103, Impulse #8, Detective Comics #691-692, Ray #18-19, Fate #13-14, Adventures of Superman #530, Superman: Man of Tomorrow #3, Batman #525, Catwoman #27, Deathstroke the Terminator #53, Justice League Task Force #30, Legion of Super-Heroes #75, Legionnaires #32, Lobo #22, Showcase ’95 #12, and Superboy #22.
DC Events: Legends of the Dead Earth (1996)
DC returned to an Elseworld theme for their 1996 annuals, this time telling a series of individual stories within a single Elseworlds setting.
This would collect Action Comics Annual 8, Adventures of Superman Annual 8, Aquaman (1994) Annual 2, Azrael Annual 2, Batman Annual 20, Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual 4, Catwoman (1993) Annual 3, Detective Comics Annual 9, Flash Annual 9, Green Lantern (1990) Annual 5, Guy Gardner: Warrior Annual 2, Impulse Annual 1, Justice League America Annual 10, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual 6, Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) Annual 7, Legionnaires Annual 3, Power of Shazam Annual 1, Robin (1993) Annual 5, Sovereign Seven Annual 2, Starman (1994) Annual 1, Superboy (1994) Annual 3, Supergirl (1996) Annual 1, Superman Annual 8, Superman: Man of Steel Annual 5, and Wonder Woman Annual 5.
DC Events: Final Night, The Complete Omnibus (1996)
In this event, a Galactus-level entity arrives in our solar system to consume our sun – and Earth’s heroes can’t seem to do anything to stop it!
This would collect Final Night (1996) Preview AKA #0 & 1-4, Action Comics (1938) #727, Adventures of Superman (1987) #540, Aquaman (1994) #26, Batman (1940) #536-537, Detective Comics (1937) #703, The Flash (1987) #119, Green Arrow (1988) #114, Green Lantern (1990) #80-81, Hitman (1996) #8, Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) #86, Parallax: Emerald Night (1996) #1, The Power of SHAZAM! (1995) #20, Robin (1993) #35, Sovereign Seven (1995) #16 [DC might not have the rights to reprint this], The Spectre (1992) #47, Superboy (1994) #33, Supergirl (1996) #3-4, Superman (1987) #117, Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #62, Takion (1996) #6. See Guide to DC Universe Events – Final Night for a suggested reading order.
DC Events: Genesis, The Complete Omnibus (1997)
John Byrne spun this event out of his run on Wonder Woman in an attempt to define the origins of DC’s many gods and godlike entities.
This would collect Genesis (1997) Preview & #1-4, Adventures of Superman #551, Aquaman (1994) #37, Azrael #34, Batman #547, Green Lantern (1990) #91, Impulse #30, Jack Kirby’s Fourth World #8, Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) #97, Lobo (1993) #44, Power of Shazam! #31, Resurrection Man #6, Robin (1993) #46, Starman (1994) #35, Sovereign Seven #27 [DC may not have the rights to reprint this], Spectre (1992) #58, Steel (1994) #43, Superboy and the Ravers (1996) #14, Supergirl (1996) #14, Superman (1987) #128, Superman: Man of Steel #72, Teen Titans (1996) #13, Young Heroes in Love #5, Wonder Woman (1987) #126, and Xero #6. See Guide to DC Universe Events – Genesis for a suggested reading order.
DC Events: The Pulp Heroes Annuals (1997)
DC continued their ongoing theme of Elseworlds annuals with a series of unconnected tales told in the style of noir pulp fiction.
This would collect Action Comics Annual 9, Adventures of Superman Annual 9, Aquaman (1994) Annual 3, Azrael Annual 3, Batman Annual 21, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual 7, Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual 5, Catwoman (1993) Annual 4, Detective Comics Annual 10, Flash (1987) Annual 10, Green Lantern (1990) Annual 6, Hitman Annual 1, Impulse Annual 2, JLA Annual 1, Nightwing (1996) Annual 1, Robin (1993) Annual 6, Starman (1994) Annual 2, Superboy (1994) Annual 4, Supergirl (1996) Annual 2, Superman Annual 9, Superman: Man of Steel Annual 6, Teen Titans (1996) Annual 1, Wonder Woman (1987) Annual 6.
DC Events: Day of Judgment, The Complete Omnibus (1999)
This was effectively an event entirely for Etrigan and The Spectre, which resulted in a major change of status quo for The Spectre connected to a hero who hadn’t been seen in the the latter half of the 90s!
This would collect Day of Judgment (1999) #1-5, Day of Judgment Secret Files and Origins (1999) #1, Anarky (1999) #7, Aquaman (1994) #61, Azrael: Agent of the Bat (1998) #58, Batman: Day of Judgment (1999) #1, Green Lantern (1990) #118, Hourman (1999) #8, Impulse (1995) #54, JLA (1997) #35, Martian Manhunter (1998) #12, Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. (1999) #4, Superboy (1994) #68, Supergirl (1996) #38, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow (1995) #15, The Titans (1999) #9, Young Justice (1998) #14, and a later epilogue in Impulse (1995) #61. See Guide to DC Universe Events – Genesis for a suggested reading order.
DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – The 2000s
DC’s events in the 2000s are already well-collected, thanks to some massive books containing tie-ins to Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, and Blackest Night. We’re left with just a few more event books to complete this decade of major DC stories.
DC Events: The Silver Age by Mark Waid (2000)
Collects 12 one-shots: Silver Age. Silver Age: Justice League of America, Silver Age: Challengers of the Unknown, Silver Age: Teen Titans, Silver Age: Dial H for Hero, Silver Age: Flash, Silver Age: Doom Patrol, Silver Age: The Brave and the Bold, Silver Age: Green Lantern, Silver Age: Showcase, Silver Age: 80-Page Giant, Silver Age: Secret Files & Origins (contains some prequel material)
Superman: Our Worlds at War Vol. 2 (2001) [AKA End of the Triangle Era]
This book is clearly already on DC’s future schedule, since the labeled the first book explicitly as a Volume 1. How soon it might arrive is another story entirely!
This would primarily collect Action Comics (1938) #781-782, Adventures of Superman (1987) #594-595, Impulse (1995) #77, JLA: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Superboy (1994) #91, Supergirl (1996) #59, Superman (1987) #172-173, Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #116-117, Wonder Woman (1987) #172-173, World’s Finest: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Young Justice (1998) #36, and Superman: Our Worlds At War Secret Files (2001) #1.
That’s just 21 issues! To that, I think it would add two sets of additional material.
First, it would collect the remaining eight “Our Worlds at War” one-shots, some of which are abandoned by their own omnibus lines: The Flash: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Harley Quinn: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, JSA: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Nightwing: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Wonder Woman: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1
Then, I think I think it would extend to the end of the Triangle Era by adding another 13 issues: Adventures of Superman (1987) #596-598, Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #118-120, Action Comics (1938) #783-785, Superman (1987) #174-176.
DC Events: Joker, Last Laugh, The Complete Omnibus (2001 – 2002)
Joker learns he has a terminal condition, so he decides to break out of prison so he poison the entire world and go out laughing.
In total, this would collect Joker: Last Laugh (2001), Joker: Last Laugh Secret Files [and Origins] (2001) #1, Action Comics #784, Adventures of Superman #597, Azrael: Agent of the Bat #83, Batgirl #21, Batman #596, Batman: Gotham Knights #22, Birds of Prey #36, Detective Comics #763, The Flash (1987) #179, Green Lantern (1990) #143, Harley Quinn #13, Impulse #79, JLA #59, JSA #29, Nightwing (1996) #62, Orion #19, Robin (1993) #95, The Spectre (2001) #10, Superboy (1994) #93, Supergirl (1994) #63, Superman (1987) #175, Superman: Man of Steel #119, The Titans (1999) #34, Wonder Woman (1987) #175, and Young Justice #38. See Guide to DC Universe Events – Joker: Last Laugh for a suggested reading order.
DC Events: Infinite Crisis Companion (2005 – 2006) [tie-ins from ongoing titles]
This could collect all of the tie-ins to Infinite Crisis, including Batman #646-650, Firestorm #19-22, Gotham Central #37-40 (an arc for Renee Montoya that plays out atop events of Infinite Crisis), JLA #115-125, JSA #77-82, JSA Classified #1-4, Nightwing (1996) #116-117, Outsiders #29-33, Robin (1993) #146-147, Superman titles (in the order Superman #226, Action Comics #836, Adventures of Superman #649) Teen Titans (2003) #29-32, Annual 1, & 33, Wonder Woman #221-226.
Then, it could continue to Aftermath issues, including Green Arrow #54-59, Superman/Batman #26, Superman #712, and maybe even Captain Atom: Armageddon #1-9 – though there are other books that might fit better into, including the next one.
DC Events: Infinite Crisis Aftermath Omnibus (2006 – 2008) [Aftermath series and Infinity Inc.]
While all of Infinite Crisis itself is already collected in one hulking omnibus, some of its spinoff mini-series and one-shots don’t have an obvious home.
This would collect Infinite Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven (2006) #1-6, Infinite Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre (2006) #1-3, DCU: Brave New World (2006) #1, and Infinity Inc. (2007) #1-12. Captain Atom: Armageddon #1-9 was also an aftermath series and could fit here.
DC Events: One Year Later (2006) [follows Infinite Crisis]
This book was requested by voters, although I don’t particularly see the purpose of it – it collects a number of unrelated “One Year Later” material from across the DC line that could all be contained in other omnibuses.
This could collect “One Year Later” stories, including Action Comics #837-840, Superman #650-653, Detective Comics #817-820, Batman #651-654, Wonder Woman (2006) #1-4, Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40-42, Birds of Prey #92-94, Blood of the Demon #13-15, Catwoman #53-55, Firestorm #23-25, Green Arrow #60-62, Green Lantern #10-12, Hawkgirl #50-52, JSA #83-85, JSA Classified #10-12, Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #16, Manhunter #20, Nightwing 118-120, Outsiders #34-36, Robin #148-151, Supergirl #7, Teen Titans #34-36
DC Events: Countdown to Final Crisis (2007 – 2008) [could be Vol. 1 if it includes Countdown minis]
This would be a hulking book even without stretching to collect extra material, as it would need to collect a full year of weekly Countdown to Final Crisis (2007) issues. Then there’s the question of if it should also collect the various mini-series and one-shots that led to the event, which add up to another 30+ issues depending on how inclusive you want to be.
That means we could split this into two volumes, since Countdown to Final Crisis (2007) would likely be collected on its own. However, since this is its first year on the poll and the mapping is ambiguous, we’re sticking with just one title.
Countdown to Final Crisis (2007) #51-1, Countdown: Arena #1-4, Countdown to Adventure #1-8, Countdown to Mystery #1-8, Countdown Presents: Lord Havok & the Extremists #1-6; Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer Crime Society #1; Gotham by Gaslight #1; Red Rain #1; Red Son #1; and possible also Superwoman/Batwoman #1; Wildstorm #1, Captain Carrot and the Final Ark #1-3, Outsiders: Five of a Kind Nightwing/Boomerang #1; Katana/Shazam #2; Martian Manhunter/Thunder #3; Metamorpho/Aquaman #4; Wonder Woman/Grace #5; Countdown Special: Eclipso #1; Jimmy Olsen #1; Kamandi #1; OMAC #1; The Atom #1-2; The Flash #1; The New Gods #1; Action Comics #852-854; The All New Atom #14-15; Detective Comics #837; Supergirl #21-22; Superman #665; Teen Titans #47
DC Events: Final Crisis Aftermath Omnibus (2009 – 2010)
Similar to Infinite Crisis, we already have a massive all-in Final Crisis omnibus to collect the actual event, but not to gather the mini-series spinning out of the event.
This would collect Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! (2009) #1-6, Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape (2009) #1-6, Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink (2009) #1-6, Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance (2009) #1-6, The Red Circle: Inferno (2009) #1, The Red Circle: The Hangman (2009) #1, The Red Circle: The Shield (2009) #1, The Red Circle: The Web (2009) #1, and Milestone Forever (2010) #1-2.
DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – New 52 (2011 – 2016)
The five years of New 52 was incredibly light on linewide events. Instead, the first two years focused on annual theme months (#0 month and Villains one-shots), and the final years focused on slightly out-of-continuity events (Futures End and Convergence). That means there is really only one major, linewide crossover event in this entire era!
Futures End, The New 52 Omnibus (2014 – 2015)
This would collect the weekly series The New 52: Futures End (2014) #0-48.
DC Events: Convergence, Vol. 1 (of 2) (2015) Convergence (2015)
Convergence was a tricky, not-quite-in-continuity event that interrupted the entire DC line to give DC’s editorial team time to relocate from New York to California. It spanned Convergence (2015) #0-8 and 40 tie-ins series, each with two issues.
That’s 89 issues to collect across two omnibuses! The question is: how do we do it? While the 40 mini-series can be grouped into different periods of DC continuity, they mostly stand on their own.
Would this be collected in two halves – with Convergence (2015) #0-3 and half the mini-series in one book and the remainder in the next? Or, would it be grouped with series with the biggest heroes who relate the most-closely to the event in a main book, and the more tertiary ones in a companion?
I don’t have the answers, but it’s clear that this event will need a pair of omnibuses no matter how you slice it!
DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping – Rebirth to Present Day
DC Event: Heroes in Crisis, The Complete Omnibus (2018 – 2019)
This would collect Heroes in Crisis (2018) #1-9 and tie-ins from Batman (2016) #64-65, The Flash (2016) #64-65 & Annual 2, and Green Arrow (2016) #45 & 48-50.
DC Event: Year of the Villain, The Complete Omnibus (2019 – 2020)
Year of the Villain was a year-long plot in Justice League with many accompanying one-shots and tie-ins.
This would primarily collect Justice League (2018) #25-39 and all of the Year of the Villain tie-in one-shots and mini-series – DC’s Year of the Villain Special (2019) #1, Harley Quinn’s Villain of the Year (2019) #1, The Joker: Year of the Villain (2019) #1, Year of the Villain: Black Adam (2019) #1, Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen (2019) #1-4, Year of the Villain: Lex Luthor (2019) #1, Year of the Villain: Ocean Master (2019) #1, Year of the Villain: Sinestro (2019) #1, Year of the Villain: The Riddler (2019) #1, stories of “The Infected” (from Batman/Superman #1-6, Hawkman (2018) #18, Supergirl (2016) #36, The Infected: Deathbringer (2019) #1, The Infected: King Shazam! (2019) #1, The Infected: Scarab (2019) #1, and, The Infected: The Commissioner (2019) #1).
That’s 33 issues – already a fine size of omnibus! However, many DC series also included full arcs of tie-ins, adding another 80+ issues! However, many of them were more a part of the ongoing story of their series than of this event – like “City of Bane” in Tom King’s Batman (2016). I’d be more tempted to include The Batman Who Laughs (2018) #1-7, also by Scott Snyder and which connects to this event.
DC Events: Future State, The Complete Omnibus (2021)
This would collect all 25 “Future State” mini-series from the start of 2021, all of which were two issues with the exception of Future State: Dark Detective #1-4, Future State: The Next Batman #1-4, and Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex #1-3.
That makes for a 55 issue omnibus of this glimpse at potential near futures of the DC Universe.
DC Events: Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (2022)
This would collect the main issues of this event plus all of its prelude material and some tie-ins.
First, it would collect 14 prelude issues from Infinite Frontier (2021) #0-6, Justice League Incarnate (2021) #1-5, Justice League (2018) #75, Free Comic Book Day 2022: Dark Crisis – Special Edition #0, and Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis (2022) #1.
(We could even add Flash Forward (2019) #1-6 as a prelude to the prelude, though that might be a little too esoteric to make for a cohesive read.)
Then, it would collect 22 issues of the main event from Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (2022) #1-7, Dark Crisis: Big Bang (2022) #1, Dark Crisis: The Dark Army (2022) #1, Dark Crisis: The Deadly Green (2022) #1, Dark Crisis: War Zone (2022) #1, the Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League one shots (Batman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman), Dark Crisis: Young Justice (2022) #1-6.
Finally, we could also optionally add 9 additional issues of tie-ins from Aquamen (2022) #1-6, The Flash (2016) #783-786, I Am Batman #15, and Superman: Kal-El Returns Special #1.
Titans: Titans (2023) & Beast World by Tom Taylor (2023 – 2024)
This would collect all of Tom Taylor’s run on Titans (2023), which concluded at the start of DC All-In, plus the entirety of the “Beast World” crossover – which was really just an arc of Titans exploded to be an event.
This would collect Tales of the Titans (2023) #1-4, Nightwing (2016) #101-106, Titans (2023) #1-15, Knight Terrors: Titans (2023) #1-2, and all of Beast World.
Beast World consisted of Titans: Beast World (2023) #1-6, Beast World Tour: Metropolis (2023) #1 [focused on Superman family characters], Titans: Beast World Tour: Gotham (2023) #1 [focused on Bat-Family characters], Titans: Beast World Tour: Central City (2023) #1 [a unified tale focused on the entire Flash family by Flash’s current writer Si Spurrier], Titans: Beast World Tour: Atlantis (2023) #1 [focused on Aquaman & Atlantis], Titans: Beast World Tour: Star City (2023) #1 [focused on the Arrow family, including Black Canary), Nightwing (2016) #109-110 and Action Comics (1938 / 2016) #1060.
DC Events: Absolute Power (2024)
This would collect a core of 17 event issues from Free Comic Book Day 2024: Absolute Power Special Edition, Absolute Power: Origins (2024) #1-3, Absolute Power: Ground Zero (2024) #1 & Absolute Power (2024) #1-4, Absolute Power: Task Force VII (2024) #1-7, Absolute Power: Super Son (2024) #1
It would also include 15 tie-ins from Batman (2016) #150-152, Green Lantern (2023) #13-15, Superman (2023) #16-18, Wonder Woman (2023) #11-13, and Green Arrow (2023) #14-16
It would very likely add the 7 “Countdown” issues from Suicide Squad: Dream Team #1-4, Green Arrow (2023) #12-13, and The Flash (2023) #10
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