History of the DC Universe

History of the DC Universe
The cover to the History of the DC Universe trade paperback. Art by Alex Ross.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Format	Limited series
Publication date	1986
Number of issues	2
Main character(s)	Harbinger
Creative team
Writer(s)	Marv Wolfman
Penciller(s)	George Pérez
Inker(s)	Karl Kesel
Colorist(s)	Tom Ziuko
Creator(s)	Marv Wolfman George Pérez
Editor(s)	Mike Gold
Collected editions
History of the DC Universe

History of the DC Universe is a two-issue comic book limited series created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, and published by DC Comics following the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

History of the DC Universe was an attempt to summarize the new history of the DC Universe to establish what was canonical after Crisis reformed the multiverse into a single universe. In the original planning of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the History would have formed the final two issues, following the destruction of the Multiverse at the Beginning of Time, but this was changed. History of the DC Universe had been one of the working titles for Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The loose plotline of the series involves the character Harbinger chronicling the past, present, and future of the post-Crisis DC Universe. The history is mostly told through one- and two-page splash pages, accompanied by brief prose. At the end of the series, Harbinger places the history in a capsule and launches it into space. In the subsequent series Millennium, this history is intercepted by the Manhunters and used against Earth's superheroes.

The Next Men characters made a prototypical appearance as "Freaks" in a lithography plate that was published within the History of the DC Universe Portfolio in 1986. Writer/artist John Byrne had originally pitched the series to DC Comics, but the series never surfaced there. With some changes, Byrne changed the concept to fit in with his work on the graphic novel 2112, to become the John Byrne's Next Men series. Two characters from the "Freaks" artwork somewhat retained their physical looks and became the lead characters of the Next Men series: heroine Jasmine and villain Aldus Hilltop.