Hello friends!
In my opinion, DC One Million is the greatest company line crossover ever done.
A few years ago I created a topic about my personal DC One Million Reading Order.
It didn’t have “everything”, though, and this time I wanted to include everything I could. I think it’s still missing a few cameos, appearances, so please shout out what I missed and I’ll include.
There might be spoilers. Feel free to skip the descriptions on why things are placed where, and just trust that this is a pretty sweet order.
Pre-One Million
You can’t just jump into One Million without some back story. Actually, you can because it’s that damn good. But it’s infinitely better when you have previous knowledge of the main players.
Vandal Savage is one of the two main antagonists in DC One Million. He has appeared all over the place, but the following comics are a good warm up for his dastardly deeds.
Justice Society of America # 1-8
Year One is also a good read to get you ready for…
JLA
DC One Million isn’t just a crossover. It’s also the middle chapters to Grant Morrison’s JLA run. I got you, though!
JLA: A Midsummer’s Nightmare # 1-3
JLA: Secret Files “Secret Origin”
Aztek: The Ultimate Man # 1-10 - this has nothing to do with One Million at all but essential to the overall JLA Morrison run.
JLA: Paradise Lost # 1-3 - not written by Morrison but it’s a direct sequel to JLA # 6-7, and leads into JLA # 16.
JLA # 10-15 - if you don’t want to read the entire Morrison run, cool cool but read this because it introduces the Hour-Man of the 853rd Century!
JLA # 16-23 - The epilogue to 23 leads directly into DC One Million.
John Fox is the Flash of the 853rd Century and his adventures go as follows
The Flash 80 Page Giant # 1 “Split Seconds”
Resurrection Man plays an important role in DC One Million and here are his stories leading up to the event.
Chronos plays a very small but pivotal role in the crossover. His series is short but sweet if you’re so inclined.
At this point you’re familiar with one of the villains, the main heroes of the story, and some essential side characters. It’s time for
The Main Event
I could just give you the order without explanation. But the order is justified with reason so why not just give the reason.
1M = 1,000,000
Chronos # 1M - a prelude taking place in the 853rd Century, two years before the events of the crossover
Lobo # 1M - there is a reference to Superman living in the sun, and since the core events of the crossover are not referenced, this is regarded as another prelude
Azrael # 1M - you might be inclined to read this along with Catwoman 1M since it seems AZ 1M interrupts that storyline. But I can’t reconcile the storyline in Catwoman 1M with the cameos in AZ 1M. It doesn’t make sense. Therefore, this must be a completely different adventure featuring the 853rd Century Robin and Catwoman, and must be taken as a prelude. More on this later.
After these issues, we have some decisions to make. Do we follow our time lost JLA to the future or do we stay in the present with the Justice Legion A? Since the climactic ending of issue 2 saw Vandal Savage about to destroy several major cities around the world in the present, let’s stay in the present.
The Present
Impulse # 1M
Superman: Man of Steel # 1M
Superman # 1M
Impulse, John Fox, and Superman 853 have to try to stop Vandal Savage from his worldwide terrorism!
Batman: Shadow of the Bat # 1M
Nightwing # 1M
Detective Comics # 1M
While Impulse and Superman 853 deal with the Rocket Reds, the 853rd Century Batman meets the present day Robin and Nightwing.
Starman # 1M
JLA # 1M
DC One Million # 3
Starman 853 meets Ted Knight. We finally leave the present as The Huntress believes she’s figured out the answer to all our troubles.
The Futu- No wait, Interlude
The next three issues do take place in the future but not part of the core storyline. And they’re a little hard to place. Let’s get to it.
Hitman # 1M - There are references about the core storyline so this can take place any time between DC One Million # 1 and 4. Since we just had to deal with a whole bunch of seriousness, let’s place it here as a light breather and also as not to interrupt the main story in the future going forward.
Young Justice # 1M
Superboy # 1M
This is where it gets tricky. Stay with me. Young Justice 1M takes place in the future and is before Superboy 1M as the Superboy issue references the Young Justice issue. Superboy 1M also partly takes place between the last few pages of Superman 1M in our present. Technically you could read Young Justice 1M after DC One Million # 1, and then read Superboy 1M after Superman 1M, and that would be just dandy. I choose to place it here as a fun interlude with Hitman 1M, and also because I really wanted to keep the present and future storylines separate as best I could.
The Future
Waaaaaay back in DC One Million # 1, this happened.
Six Justice Leaguers are vroomed to the 853rd Century. These are there stories. Dun dun!!
Batman # 1M
Catwoman # 1M
Robin # 1M
We start with Batman as that’s where we left off in DC One Million # 1. Let’s talk about Azrael 1M real quick. Considering The Toy Wonder suggested using Catwoman 853 in return of her sentence being served in Catwoman 1M, it’s reasonable to assume she has helped in cases before in return for reduced sentencing, which is what we see in AZ 1M. You can try to reconcile AZ 1M and Catwoman 1M as taking place concurrently if you want, but no.
Wonder Woman # 1M
Aquaman # 1M
The King and the Princess meet their challenges head on!
The Power of Shazam # 1M
The Flash # 1M
We’ll meet the Captain Marvel of the 853rd Century, then Captain Marvel will meet the Flash.
Green Lantern # 1M
Martian Manhunter # 1M
Green Lantern faces his challenge, and then meets a familiar friend.
Action Comics # 1M
Adventures of Superman # 1M
Green Arrow # 1M
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow # 1
Superman arrives to face his challenge in Action 1M. Meets Mitch Shelley of the future in Adventures 1M. Green Arrow 1M fits right between Adventures 1M and Man of Tomorrow 1M as Connor Hawke has visions of the future. Then Man of Tomorrow 1M leads into DC One Million # 4, while we follow Mitch Shelley into
Resurrection Man # 1M - Mitch Shelley vs Vandal Savage! Leads directly into DC One Million # 4.
The end! Kinda.
The following issues were difficult to place as they have little to no bearing on the core storyline and some don’t even mention the events of the crossover. So we will just read them after as a swell companion piece.
Young Heroes in Love # 1M - takes place shortly before the celebration of Superman’s return from the sun.
Chase # 1M - stand alone story, no references to core story. Could be read anywhere really so put it here.
The Creeper # 1M - Irrelevant to core storyline, Creeper 853 goes back in time to our present.
Supergirl # 1M - Irrelevant to core storyline, though Supergirl 853 will make cameos in Young Justice # 21 and Supergirl # 80 in the future.
Legionnaires # 1M
Legion of Superheroes # 1M
This Legion story spans 2000 years, concluding 1000 years after the events of DC One Million
We have now officially read the entire event. Finally don…
Post One Million
You didn’t think we were done did you? If you enjoyed DC One Million, then check out the following titles for more related storylines.
JLA # 24-41 - As I’ve said before, DC One Million was just a few middle chapters to Grant’s run on JLA. Read the rest starting here.
JLA: Earth 2 - JLA vs Crime Syndicate. Also written by Grant Morrison. Relevant because Justice Legion faces the Crime Syndicate later on.
JLA in Crisis! Secret Files and Origins # 1- A tale featuring Wally West and Hourman of the 853rd Century; Tour the 853rd Century “Lost Pages” (not on DCU)
Resurrection Man # 19-27 - Follow the adventures of Mitch Shelley as he paves his future towards DC One Million.
Arsenal # 1-4
JLA/Titans # 1-3
The Titans # 1-14
Arsenal vs Vandal Savage! Then a new Titans team is reborn! Then Titans vs Vandal Savage!
Young Justice # 1-55 - As stated before, issue 21 features a cameo by Supergirl 853. The final page of the final issue 55 features a cameo by the Young Justice of the 853rd Century
Martian Manhunter # 0-36 - Issue 1 happens directly after the One Million event as Green Lantern struggles with the message he has to give J’onn from future J’onn. Issue 11 is directly related to One Million. And Green Lantern tells J’onn the message in issue 36.
The Flash # 145-150 - John Fox joins the Flash in the “Chain Lightning” storyline
DC One Million 80 Page Giant # 1M - Showcase of stories in the 853rd Century.
JLA 80 Page Giant # 2 “Tour of Duty” - Short story featuring Justice Legion A (not on DCU)
JLA Secret Files # 3 “Things to Come” - Short story featuring Justice Legion A (not on DCU)
Hourman # 1-25 - Ongoing series featuring Hourman 853 and the JLA’s former mascot, Snapper Carr
Booster Gold # 1M - Booster Gold meets his 853rd Century counterpart Peter Platinum in the first few pages.
Superman/Batman # 79-80 - The 853rd Century World’s Finest vs Epoch!
Convergence - Crime Syndicate # 1-2 - The Syndicate vs the Justice Legion!
DC Nuclear Winter Special # 1 - “Memory Hearth” - Future J’onn and Superman 853 reminisce
Electric Warriors # 1-6 - Superman Prime guest stars in issues 5 and 6
Justice League # 30-39 - The Justice Legion assists the present day Justice League in “Justice/Doom War”
Future State: Suicide Squad # 1-2 - Actually it’s the B story, “Future State: Black Adam” that features the Justice Legion A.
Batman: Urban Legends # 7 “The Batman with No Name” - features Batman 853 and Robin, the Toy Wonder
All Star Superman # 1-12 - We all have our own takes and theories. I subscribe to the idea that this is the story of Superman Prime before we see him in DC One Million. Whether you agree or not, this story is still loosely related to DC One Million, and quite possibly the greatest Superman ever told. Written by Grant Morrison.
Okay friends, I guess that about wraps it up except
Cameos
The following are a list of cameos made by Justice Legion A
World’s Funnest - Mr. Mxy and Bat-Mite destroy the 853rd Century in a cameo
Batman # 700 - Cameo by Batman 853 and Robin, the Toy Wonder
Justice League # 1 - Justice Legion A cameo
Wonder Woman # 53 - Cameo by Wonder Woman of the 853rd Century
The Flash # 761 - In the 853rd Century, John Fox tells his new sidekick a story of the past
Generations Shattered # 1 - Minor cameos
I…I think we’re done. Enjoy.
(and tell me what I missed!)