As revealed by Bleeding Cool analysis, this would also see Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent born around this time and so age them significantly, as well as spread what had been a truncated timeline in the New 52, out across the decades. One example of the changes this would make would be giving each Robin a decade or more with Batman, before moving on. This is part of the 'everything happened, everything matters' mantra that was going to put everything published into DC Comics history, somewhere, rather than previous Crises and reboots which were more likely to cut things out. And, spread out across four generations- with a new Fifth Generation looking at what happened when the big names stepped down and their legacy continues with other characters – would allow creators to tell stories across their entire lives, as one can do with the likes of James Bond, Sherlock Holmes or Robin Hood. The opportunity to do both Year One and Old Man stories. And then to go further beyond…

But now I am told that major changes are coming in. First, the dates, the specified years' timespans laid out in the DC Timeline are no longer being as tied down. Creators are rewriting and redrawing as a result. The 5G books are all still happening, as are the Generation one-shots – but they may now be placed in a different context.

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There's been a lot of noise of late that, apparently, Warners/AT&T is going to close the comics publishing side of DC Comics if the planned 5G publishing plan is not a success. I heard it around a month to ago, but it didn't strike me as anything special, or notable. Because I heard the same about the DC Timeline. About Warners and Metal, New Age Of DC Heroes, Doomsday Clock. About Rebirth, Before Watchmen, DC You and New 52. And Blackest Night and etc etc etc. For one reason or another Warner Bros has often been going to close DC Comics because it costs too much – for decades, it just never comes to anything. There is nothing about the current mouthing off that is any different to what came before. It is true, it has always been true, that if the comics line loses a lot of money, it would be closed. However the comics line has been in profit internally at Warners for a decade, comics remain at the centre of their business strategy, and the last two years especially have made a lot of people a lot of money.

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