DC Just Officially Launched Its New Animated Universe

DC has a new animated universe for the first time in years, and it is perfect for the future of the franchise. When it comes to superhero adaptations, shared universes are just the way to go. While standalone movies and TV shows will forever have a place for them in franchises like Marvel and DC, shared universes allow the characters’ full potential to be realized.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe famously showed that through its first Avengers movie, which was a showcase of how interconnected stories made individual superheroes stronger and established a franchise bond, becoming as close to the actual comics as possible. DC has had many shared universes, with James Gunn’s new DC Universe being its latest high-profile franchise, including movies, shows, animation, video games, and more.

Before it, the DCEU movie franchise, which was largely shaped by director Zack Snyder’s darker vision for DC’s characters, and the Arrowverse on The CW, showed how the comic book giant could explore its characters in live-action. In animation, the last dedicated TV shared universe was the iconic DC Animated Universe (DCAU), and its perfect successor might have just been launched.

My Adventures with Superman season 3 debuted on HBO Max on June 14 and is currently airing new episodes weekly. The animated DC series’ second episode, “Mobile Suit Toyman,” just introduced a major DC hero. That character is set to go on to lead their own DC spinoff, starting a dedicated shared universe after years.

Green Lantern Cements DC’s New Animated Universe

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for My Adventures with Superman season 3, episode 2.My Adventures with Superman season 3, episode 2, marked the debut of Jessica Cruz, DC’s female human Green Lantern. The character had a brief role in the Superman series, showing up during Supergirl’s interview. In the show, a teenage version of Jessica, still powerless, asks the Girl of Steel about her bravery, being clearly inspired by Supergirl, teasing her own journey as a hero in the upcoming spinoff series My Adventures with Green Lantern. DC’s new animated version of Jessica Cruz is voiced by Disney royalty, as Moana star Auliʻi Cravalho takes on the role.

In My Adventures with Green Lantern, a Power Ring will make its way to Jessica as Earth ends up seeing the arrival of debris from an ancient space war, brings alien villains to the planet. Despite only being a teenager, Jessica Cruz will be charged with leading a new version of the Green Lantern Corps, which should bring a modern and vibrant take on Green Lantern’s mythos to life on the small screen. Based on what My Adventures with Superman has done with characters like Supergirl, Deathstroke, Lex Luthor, Superman himself, and more, DC’s new animated shared universe is brimming with potential.

DC’s New Animated Universe Can Go On For Several Years

The animated franchise has an easy setup for new shows, as “My Adventures with” any hero makes for an easy title that creates an infinite amount of possible showcases for DC characters. While Superman is one of DC’s most recognizable superheroes next to Batman and Wonder Woman, it is interesting to see that the comic book giant chose to focus on the Jessica Cruz version of Green Lantern instead of one of the more popular takes on the superhero. This opens the door for characters like The Flash and Aquaman to be explored with surprising players like Bart Allen and Jackson Hyde, for instance.

For now, only My Adventures with Green Lantern is in the works as a spinoff to Jack Quaid’s animated Superman series. That said, much like how Supergirl, Superboy, Jessica Cruz, and more have debuted in My Adventures with Superman, there is a high chance that the upcoming Green Lantern series might feature other DC heroes, perhaps even introducing the main character of a possible third show in the new DC animated franchise. Now that the shared universe has been formally launched, DC can keep it running for years alongside Gunn’s DCU.