Why DC Comics eliminated the DC multiverse for years (and Elseworlds) in the early ’00s, according to former DC publisher Dan DiDio

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The year was 2006, and DC was dominating the comic book industry with a maxi-series called 52. Spanning 52 issues, the weekly series was notable for providing a real-time narrative that filled in the gaps between the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline and the launch of the One Year Later initiative.

While most comics had a single writer, 52 used a writers room, borrowing a format that had worked for successful television shows. Readers responded enthusiastically, and the maxi-series was a success.

The problem was they didn’t have an ending. 

During a panel at Tampa Bay Comic Convention, former DC publisher Dan DiDio recalled the pitching process for 52’s ending and how it resulted in the return of the multiverse. 

 “There’s a running joke at DC. They knew how much I hated the multiverse,” DiDio joked. “During the 52 weekly series, I had done a moment where I had tried to motivate the writers in a way that I thought was inspirational. I found out that I really pissed everyone off, to the point that they didn’t want to talk to me again. They were tired, everyone was worn down, we were doing 52, and we were at the back half of the series. I put everyone in a room to figure out the end of the series, and I left the room for 15 minutes, I came back, and they told me they had an ending.”

“I basically said, ‘Bullshit.’ They can’t figure out an ending in 15 minutes. I went in and said, ‘This doesn’t work. You guys are lazy.’ I called them a lot of things I shouldn’t have done. I left the room and said, ‘Come back and give me something good.’ I go back in the room later, and the editor Steve Wacker stops me. He says, ‘Don’t go in there, they’re really pissed at you.’ I said, ‘Why are they pissed? I gave them an inspirational talk.’”

After speaking with Wacker, DiDio met with the creative team, who had an unusual pitch. 

“I go in, and they pitch me the end of 52, which is the return of the multiverse. The reason why they pitched the return of the multiverse is because they knew how much I hated the multiverse. They literally created an ending just to piss me off. What they didn’t expect was for me to say, ‘Yes, let’s do it.’” 

DiDio elaborated on why he wasn’t a fan of the multiverse. 

“I disagree with the multiverse. I think it dilutes the characters and splits the characters apart. I think what happens is we fracture our audience, and make them choose between different versions of the characters to the point that we don’t have a focal point. You weaken your overall line.” 

“That’s why I didn’t like Elseworlds. Everybody was putting all their energy into alternate interpretations of our characters, and all that energy should have been put on the main line, making our characters as exciting as possible.”

While he wasn’t a fan of the multiverse, DiDio saw the value in using 52 to bring it back. To this day, the multiverse is one of the most endearing things about DC Comics, and it’s resulted in some of their greatest stories. It’s a great big DC Universe out there, and thanks to the multiverse, we’ve only just begun to explore it. 

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