I already ran this Memory Monday panel once before, but then I accidentally overwrote it. And so, once again, I present this panel, in which Lex Luthor explains the DC Multiverse.
One panel.
One friggin’ panel.
In 1985, DC wiped out its Multiverse in an effort to “simplify” its continuity. This kicked off literally decades of reboots, deboots, and re-reboots, up to and including the recent “New 52” initiative. And why did DC make this choice in 1985? Well, because they claimed that the concept of the Multiverse was “too complicated” for readers. Never mind that the multiple universes had existed in stories for decades at that point. Or that the idea had appeared on such complicated, complex fare as the Super Friends and G.I. Joe cartoons, apparently without befuddling those shows’ audiences. Oh, no — DC was convinced that no one could get it.
Even though the concept was, in reality, so simple that it could be explained in ONE PANEL.
Comics. Sometimes, they break your heart.
(From DC Comics Presents Annual #1, 1982. Written by Marv Wolfman. Art by Rich Buckler and Dave Hunt.)