Bullet point sketch for my Batman Chronology Timeline
This synthesis has been sourced from extensive readings to arrive at compromises between contradicting information. Rather than list all my citations, for the sake of simplicity, I have stated events + a few issues that might prove of interest to readers. I am presently working toward a fully cited month by month chronology which will be posted to my AO3. (<- Click there to go to my profile).
And oh, yeah, I post fics on AO3, so feel free to check them out. 👍
Batman Year One: stories published in 1937-41 / temporally compressed Golden Age revamped stories like Batman: Year One (Bruce should be 25 in January, turning 26 later, but you may choose to reduce this number if you wish). Batman Shaman.
Batman Year Two: stories published in 1941-5 / temporally compressed Golden Age revamped stories like BM: Year 2 + BM: Gothic + the start of The Long Halloween.
Batman Year Three: stories published in 1945-9 / temporarily compressed Golden Age revamped stories like BM: Venom + TLH.
Batman Year Four: stories published in 1950-54 / temporally compressed Golden Age revamped stories like Long Halloween: Dark Victory introducing Dick in July at the age of 12. At the very end, we see the start of Robin: Year One/start of Batman + Robin Year One.
Batman Year Five: stories published in 1955-9. [I start Dickie’s tenure with the chronologically relative introduction of Earth-1 Dick Grayson in ~1955, who is the one who survives the Crisis on Infinite Earths whilst Earth-2 Dick dies. As a result, he isn't synthesised with any alternate universe counterparts] / temporally compressed Silver Age stories + the 1st full year of Dick being Robin. [Batman #416 (Year 11) claims 19 year old Nightwing had spent 6 years as Robin, backdating his tenure to when he was 13]. R: Y1 + B+R: Y1 continue.
In the Post-Crisis continuity, the Fab Five (Teen Titans) meet around here, with 13 year old Dick naming items in the Arrowcave in Green Arrow v3 #17 + becoming best friends with Donna when they were both 13 (New Teen Titans Vol 2 #89).
Batman Year Six: stories published in 1960-5 / temporally compressed Silver Age stories + revamped stories + lots of crossovers/team books like the JLA. Can you tell I don't really care about the Silver Age?
Batman Year Seven: stories published in 1966-1971 / temporally compressed Silver Age stories, including team books like the bulk of the Fab Five Teen Titans adventures, (Babs) Batgirl Il's introduction, Batman: Son of the Demon + Damian’s conception/birth in late December, though he’s treated as 1 from his birth.
Batman Year Eight: temporally compressed early Bronze Age stories published across the New Look era to the early to mid 1970s + many of Batman's solo stories published later (e.g. in LOTDK) but with an undefined chronological placement / Sep: Dick goes to college (Batman v1 #217 (1969)) after a run of ‘67-8 issues that cover his final year at High School. Eg. He runs for Junior Class Presidency in Batman v1 #202 (June 1968) which supports my theory that he skips grades + is 17 for most of the time he spends at college.
Firing retcon: see my dedicated post.
Batman Year Nine: Bronze Age stories from 1972-ish to 1980 + many of Batman's solo stories published later (e.g. in LOTDK) with an undefined chronological placement / early Summer: Dick drops out of college (Batman v1 #330 (Dec 1980). He has many more arguments with Bruce as per the aforementioned issue + its attached arc by Wolfman. December: the New Teen Titans form (The New Teen Titans v1 (1980-4) opening arc).
Batman Year Ten: stories published 1980-4 + revamped late Bronze Age stories. In Jan/Feb of Y10, Vic turns 19 + Kory is also 19 [as per NTT v1 #20, a flashback issue to the winter right after the Titans form]. Dick is treated as younger than these two, but not by much. Terra debuts at almost 16 in Fall [NTT v1 #28] whilst Dick's at Gotham U. Dick tells Bruce that he’s 19 in NTT v1 #37, most likely set in Dec of Y10 since it carries right into NTT v1 #38 where Dick tells Terra that she’s proved herself over the last few weeks, indicating not much time has passed since she became a member of the team. This makes sense with Dick having a November birthday pre-crisis.
^ either Jason meets Bruce on the November anniversary of his parents' deaths in Batman Year Nine or the June anniversary of his parents' deaths in Batman Year Ten. It makes sense for him to join in November then spend 6 months training (bringing up to June). But either way, Jason meets him at 12 (Detective Comics v1 #524 (1983)) whilst Dick is 18.
Batman Year Eleven: stories published 1984-6 + revamped stories published later but set during this time. Most significantly, Judas Contract in January + Crisis on Infinite Earths in July/August. In between this I should note: Donna is 19 at her wedding in Spring of Year 11 (as per Tales of the Teen Titans #50). Dick is always treated as being the same age as her.
The first Post-Crisis event (Legends) happens in September. This is relevant for introducing Wonder Woman -- an event which happened "about 2 years" before Wonder Woman v2 #63 (1992), set in Year 13. Dick canonically turns 20 on Tamaran (Secret Origins vol 2 #13 / New Teen Titans vol 2 #18 (April 1987)). I place the Cult sometime here in late October/November, to account for Starlin's Batman acting like he does. Jason teams up with the Titans + goes to Switzerland with them in December (basing this on a reference to a November conference). He’ll need to sneak out of the post-Cult paranoid Batman’s sight come January Y12 (the anniversary of Titans vs. Brother Blood + when Jason saves Arella).
As a brief age update: Dick is 20. Babs is 25. Jason is 14. Damian turns 5 at the very end of the year + hasn’t yet met Talia.
Batman Year Twelve: stories published 1986-90. Starlin's Batman run continues. Cosmic Odyssey happens in March. AASHOSE + TKJ + ADITF (Jason is 14) happen in April. May = ADITF emotional fallout, Blind Justice. May/June = NTT #55 + then Batman Year Three. A Lonely Place of Dying happens in late July, just after Tim has turned 13. Jason comes back to life in October, at the same time as the Joker returning in Batman #450-1 + Dark Knight Dark City. Spooky things were afoot. December: Rite of Passage + Identity Crisis (Tim's mom is buried on Xmas Eve). Dick turns 21 toward the end of the year since in Deathstroke the Terminator Annual #1 (July 1992), Dick is 21; he must have been 21 on the Titan’s 3rd anniversary (New Titans #71) in early December.
In the background, Helena debuts at 20-21 (Huntress Year One (2008), overwriting her Huntress v1 (1989-90) story in terms of content + ages (she was originally in her late 20s here), usurping its place in the overall chronology. It leads to Batman linking her up with Justice League International/Europe.
As a brief age update: Tim is 13. Dick is 21. Babs is 26. Hel B is 21. Cass is 15. Jason is (by his birthdate) also 15, but physically he's 14 (since he’s dead for 6 months (Batman Annual #25 (2006) + Lost Days (2010) + resurrect as 14 years + 8 months old in October, meaning he ends the year at 14 years + 10 months physically. Lived experience remains what it was at the point of his death. Steph is 14. Damian turns 6 at the very end of the year + hasn’t yet met Talia.
Batman Year Thirteen: stories published 1990-6 / Tim turns 14 (Robin II #1 (1991)). Steph supposedly debuts at 15 (Secret Origins 80-Page Giant #1) in Detective Comics #647 (1992). But for her age going forth (pre-NML + in War Games) in the mainline series to make any sense, this is impossible + must be discarded. She’s 14 + will turn 15 later this year. JPV goes from 20 to 21 before he saves Batman in Batman: Sword of Azrael #4, taking place right before Knightfall [as per No Man's Land Secret Files & Origins] After this, Summer/Early Fall = the Knightfall Saga (1992-4), lasting a certain number of months. <- I’m still working on the exact chronology for this b/c it involves ignoring a lot of seasonal references incompatible with other comics. Late Fall/Early Winter will also see Underworld Unleashed, Contagion, Legacy, + Final Night as memorable events.
As a brief age update: Tim is 14. Dick is 22. Babs is 27. Hel B is 22. JPV is 21. Cass is 16. Jason is (by his birthdate) also 16, but physically he's 15. Steph is 15. Damian turns 7 at the very end of the year + hasn’t yet met Talia.
Batman Year Fourteen: stories published 1995-2001 (yeah, there's overlap here to deal with) / everything after Legacy/Final Night to Cataclysm, which has to come pretty early (Feb) for the rest of the year to make sense. Steph is 15 in Robin v3 (1993-2009) #59, which happens two issues after she announces she's pregnant. She turns 16 much later after this, for her past/future ages to make sense. You might say when narrating this issue, she was 16 counting back the ages / years + went ‘oh, that was a year ago, so I was 15’, momentarily forgetting that she debuted before her 15th birthday.
Then a somewhat condensed Cataclysm, Brotherhood of the Fist, Aftershocks aka Road to No Man's Land taken place. Young Justice + Birds of Prey get started as team books before No Man's Land proper begins in say, April. Cass is 17 years old here (Batgirl v1 (2000) #1). Donna states that she’s 23 in Titans (1999) #4 which is set sometime around the start of NML.
Sometime in Summer (late July?), the Superman Y2K Brainiac Event occurs at the same time that NML ends. Ignore the references to NYE as calendar synergy + impossible to reconcile with in-text references to pregnancies/ages/time passing. The New Gotham era begins. Jean-Paul celebrates a birthday here in Azrael: Agent of the Bat (1998-2003) #66. Presumably his overdue 22nd that couldn't celebrated during NML, since Dick calls him “kid”, meaning he has to be a year younger than Dick who's 23 at this point, + Bruce refers to his mother escaping the cult 22 years ago in #66. [JPV will later misremember this figure as 23 years ago in #67.] No Man’s Land Secret Files & Origins (1999) confirms that Azrael saved Batman’s life when he was 21 (in Batman: Sword of Azrael (1992), technically set before Knightfall).
Meanwhile, Luthor's campaign for the Presidency accelerates as the vote deadline approaches. We pass through numerous events (Sins of Youth, Hunt for Oracle, Emperor Joker, Officer Down, Joker's Last Laugh, + increasingly depressed Bruce). Cry for Blood (2000) confirms that Helena is currently 23 (b/c her parents were killed when she was 8 + that is explicitly stated to be 15 years ago). Cass remains 17 for the rest of Year 14 since Babs refers to her as 17 in Batgirl v1 (2000) #23 (published Dec 2001) concurrently to Batman v1 #598 (Dec 2001) + Nightwing v2 #64 (Dec 2001) — which each hinge on being set in the Christmas Holiday Season in December. Furthermore, all these issues are published the month before Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive (2002) explicitly begins in January.
As a brief age update: Tim is 15. Dick is 23. Babs is 28. Hel B is 23. JPV is 22. Cass is 17. Jason is (by his birthdate) also 17, but physically he's 16. Lived experience is more like 15. Steph is 16. Damian turns 8 at the very end of the year + hasn’t yet met Talia.
Batman Fifteen: stories published 2001-5/6 / Lex Luthor ascends to the US Presidency + Bruce Wayne Murderer begins. Cass turns 18 (Batgirl v1 #37 (April 2003)). Eventually, every single issue published between BWM/F, + Tim's 16th birthday in late July (Robin #120, 2004) + War Games (which begins on August 16th (Jason’s 18th birthday, TEC #790) + concentrates around 3 days of bloodshed in Late August) will fit into 7-8 months. During February (?)’s Our Worlds at War event, we receive mention in WW v2 #171 (Aug 2001) that Cassie became Wonder Girl a “year + a half” ago, something which occurred in WW v2 #105 (Jan 1996), aka around the end of Y13/start of Y14 — just over a year ago.
Batman: Death and the Maidens (2004) occurs within Batman: Hush (likely set in Spring Y15), + ends with Talia getting brainwashed by Nyssa. It is only when Damian is 8 (as per Batman & Robin v1 (2009-11) #12) that he meets Talia for the first time. This is brainwashed Talia, b/c pre-brainwashed Talia believed she had given him up for adoption (Batman: Son of the Demon (1987).)
Steph is cited as 16 during “last summer’s” WG Saga (Batman: Secret Files & Origins Allies (2005)). The gang war lasts 3 days in Late August + she dies at the end. She will turn 17 off-page later. To preserve Steph being in the school year above Tim by birthdate yet also 16 when she 'died', you must say she turned 17 on August 31st but died just before then. UTRH kicks off a little while after WG + lasts itself about ~1.5 months (taking us from the second week of September to late October. I reckon the finale happens on Oct 31st).
See here my detailed breakdown of Dick's timeline between Blockbuster's death in Mid-August + Blüdhaven getting nuked in October.
As a brief age update: Tim is 16. Dick is 24. Babs is 29. Hel B is 24. JPV is 23. Cass is 18. Jason is (by his birthdate) also 18, but physically he's 17. Lived experience is more like 16. Steph is 17. Damian is 9.
Batman Year Sixteen: stories published 2006-7 + stories retconned into the 52 weeks post-IC period.
Ignore the seasons shown in 52 or its adjuncts, there is literally nothing I can do to make that work with the Batman chronology. Importantly, time resumes in late October/early November with the One Year Later arcs. Infinite Crisis has to happen in late October to grant us November + half of December in which to place the 2006-7-era which take place before Damian debuts at 10 in Batman + Son. This is important b/c he has to quickly turn 10 off-page shortly before in mid/late December for the sake of future birthdays.
Batman and Son happens before the year concludes.
As a brief age update: Tim is 17. Dick is 25. Babs is 30. Hel B is 25. JPV is 24. Cass is 19. Jason is (by his birthdate) also 19, but physically he's 18. Lived experience is more like 17. Steph has turned 18 before September 1st + in secret returns to Gotham (starting her first year at college). Damian is 10!!
Batman Year Seventeen: stories published 2007-2011 + 2011-2, bridging Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul, Batman R.I.P., Final Crisis, Battle for the Cowl, + the Batman Reborn era (across which Tim remains 17, even though he should turn 18 in July…). Steph is one grade above Tim (she’s in her first year of college in Batgirl v3 #1 (2009) + he would have been a senior had he not dropped out (Red Robin #17). She’ll turn 19 in the summer break after her first year at college has ended.
Damian is still 10 when the N52 begins. Suppose he turns 11 after Christmas + ignore the references to him being 10 which persist across the N52 as being impossible to reconcile with anything, especially his Rebirth age as you’ll soon see…
END OF ‘POST-CRISIS’ / N52 OPENING ARC AGES (had they not been either erased or de-aged):
Tim is 18. Dick is 26. Babs is 31. Hel B / JPV = 26-25 respectively. Cass is 20. Jason is (by his birthdate) also 20, but physically he's 19. Lived experience is more like 18. Steph is 19 + Damian is 11.
Batman Year Eighteen: stories published 2012-2016 // all the Bat stories from the N52 fit between the Christmas shown in various N52 Bat book opening arcs + the winter seen at the start of Rebirth. Various members of the family are physically de-aged + their memories stolen such that they think they are that age.
Remember their pre-2011 ages however, b/c their memories will be restored + so they will slowly come to consider themselves their prior ages again. Damian ages an extra year due to time spent off-planet (Apokolips), so although he should finish this year at 12, he finishes it by turning 13. [Teen Titans (2016) #1].
Batman Year Nineteen: stories published 2016-2019
Batman Year Twenty: stories published 2019-2024
^ I haven't touched Rebirth in years, so I need to figure out the exact moments at which one Bat Year shifts into another. But for now, it seems like 2016-2024 can be fitted into 2 years, so take this as it is.
Final Lived Experience (assuming all memories are restored) Ages:
Babs 34 (in 24 year old body)
Dick 29 (in 23 year old body)
Hel B 29 + JPV 28 (IDK physical for sure, but probably the same as Dick.)
Cass 23 (21 physical.)
Jason 21 (21 physical.)
Steph 22 (probably 20 physically.)
Tim 21 (19 physical.)
Damian should be 15, body + soul. Thank you Damian.
EXTRA RELEVANT POSTS on TIMELINES:
The Canon 80s Bat Timeline
Jaybin's Pre-Crisis Timeline
Jason's Canon Age between his death and Under the Red Hood.
Current Bat Ages as of Now (Spring-Summer 2025 comics)
Detailed, definitive in-universe chronology for Green Arrow (2001-7) up to Infinite Crisis. Jason + Mia are only 6 months apart physically, + Seeing Red was a mock battle between two 18 year olds.
