DC Universe Not Shutting Down! Becomes DC Universe Infinite

DC’s streaming comics, movie and TV show streaming service is evolving in January. The app currently known as DC Universe will be changing to DC Universe Infinite, a comic book-focused streaming service.

The plan is for the updated streaming service to have 24,000 comics available at launch, a roughly 10% increase on the current library. Comics and original graphic novels will be available through DCU Infinite within six months of publication, much faster than the current one year lag time. And DC’s successful digital-first series like Injustice: Year Zero and Batman: Gotham Knights will be available sooner. There’s also a plan for exclusive content created just for DCU Infinite.

“Our fans love the platform’s robust library of comic books and, with the transformation, we will not disappoint,” said DC Publisher and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee. “I’m excited to share that not only will DC Universe Infinite members still be able to read all of the great comics that they’ve enjoyed but new issues are debuting on the platform quicker than before, digital first exclusives are being created, and the members-only events will begin as soon as possible. There has never been a better time to be a DC fan!”

The only potential downside is that video content will be leaving. DC Universe originals like Titans, Harley Quinn (which just picked up a season 3 renewal), Doom Patrol, and Young Justice are headed solely to HBO Max, while Stargirl is now a CW exclusive as of its second season. Their library of classic video content is also leaving the streamer for HBO Max, although as of this writing it’s unclear whether it will be as comprehensive as what has been available (DC Universe has been home to obscure gems like the 1970s Shazam! TV series, the 1980s Superboy show, and the 1990s version of The Flash as well as countless animated series).

The updated comics app also comes with exclusive member access to fan events and special offers at the DC shop at an annual membership price of $74.99. This sets DCU Infinite roughly on par with Marvel’s counterpart, Marvel Unlimited – it’s slightly more expensive than Marvel’s vanilla annual subscription, but with some of the perks of MU’s premium level at a much cheaper rate than the highest level. And the special deal for current DCU subscribers that nets a discounted HBO Max subscription for $4.99 a month has been extended through the end of October.

DC Universe’s fate was the source of much worry among subscribers who have come to count on the app’s vast back catalogue as a way of retreating from the onslaught of horror that the modern world has become. It’s a vast and varied back catalogue, but with parent company AT&T funneling DCU’s most innovative and exciting television programming to their flagship streamer, HBO Max (like the excellent Harley Quinn and the inexplicably amazing Doom Patrol), there was a concern that the outstanding comics catalogue might be left by the wayside.

Those concerns turned out to be (thankfully) unfounded, so I don’t have to rush through the Five Years Later era of the Legion of Super-Heroes.