Today marks the release of Generations Forged #1, a DC mini-event that helps recontextualize the “metaverse” from Before Watchmen, which gave way to the “omniverse” in Dark Nights: Death Metal. How? Well, it introduces the “linearverse,” and if you’re getting lost already, you can be forgiven…but at least this particular version will be easy to remember because it’s, frankly, so simple. Reminiscent of former DC publisher Dan DiDio’s oft-repeated philosophy that “everything counts,” Generations Forged #1 contends that the Batman from 1939 and the one currently walking around in modern comics are the same guy, just like every DC superhero (and villain) is the same as they’ve ever been.