DC Universe Online Storyline

The backstory of DC Universe Online is presented through a series of FMV trailers and the DC Universe Online Legends comicbook series.

Alternate Future
Encountering an Exobyte breaking into one of his secret labs, Lex Luthor meets and makes a pact with Brainiac to destroy Superman. Sharing his data and resources with the galactic conqueror to steal and mimic the abilities of the world’s heroes and villains, Luthor waged war against the hero populace.

The constant years of battle forced Superman into exile in the sun’s core to recharge his powers while Earth’s remaining champions launched a final campaign against Luthor’s forces in the ruins of Metropolis. The battle saw the deaths of Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, Green Arrow, Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman, and, after entering the battle when Wonder Woman was killed, Superman was also killed.

Following Superman’s death, Brainiac commenced his invasion of the planet, doublecrossing Luthor and activating the Eradicator robots that Luthor helped to develop. Against the overwhelming army of Eradicators, Earth’s heroes and villains teamed together for survival while Luthor himself pulled together a group of survivors from these resistance groups to form a counterattack against Brainiac. Sometime later, sheltered within Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, Luthor and Fracture fight off Brainiac’s Eradicators while Batman attempts to open a portal to the past for Fracture to deliver the stolen Exobytes. However, while Batman is busy confronting a group of Eradicators who had managed to break into the fortress, Luthor kills Fracture and takes the Exobytes for himself, entering the portal and igniting the fortress’s self destruct codes while doing so.

Present Time
In a surprise attack, Brainiac invades the space around Earth and begins bottling and digitizing buildings in both Metropolis and Gotham City. Unable to hold back his forces due to their small number, the heroes of Earth find themselves strained as the planet’s villains also attempt to take advantage of the chaos by making their own bids for power.

Arriving from an alternate future, Future Lex Luthor takes his cause to Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman aboard the JLA Watchtower, telling the story of the war between heroes and villains in his timeline and of Brainiac’s betrayal. He ignites the Exobyte canister on Earth, releasing the Exobytes to infect countless civilians on Earth, turning them Metahuman with the powers of Magic, Tech and Metahuman abilities to confront Brainiac’s current invasion and shore up the numbers of heroes and villains to counter his potential second invasion as seen in his future.

Fight for the Light DLC
As the battle between the Green Lantern Corps and the Sinestro Corps comes to a head, both factions begin deputizing New Heroes and New Villains to bolster their ranks. Meanwhile, the Red Lantern Corps arrives to feed off the hatred caused by the chaos on Earth.

In an attempt to cease the fighting, P.E.N.I.S(Push eternity nexis involvement service) attempts to create emotional power dampners to control the raging emotional spectrum only to have the reverse effect occur and cause destruction as the corps' infighting spreads to Coast City.

It is eventually revealed that the source of the fluctuating power rings is due to Brainiac's attempt to tap into the corps' power sources; creating his own Power Batteries within the P.E.N.I.S in Metropolis.

Lightning Strikes DLC
As the chaos continues, worm hole vortexes begin appearing in both Metropolis and Gotham City, from which creatures known as Paradox Reapers begin appearing in an attempt to consume the current timeline. With the greatest concentration of reapers and vortexes appearing in Central City, it is revealed that someone has traveled into the past in an attempt to alter the history of the Flash (Barry Allen). Employing a group of New Heroes, the Flash uses the Cosmic Treadmill to send the group back in time to stop the instigator before time is rewritten.

Battle for Earth DLC
The battle against Brainiac peaks as the tyrant attempts to claim the Flame of Change from Themyscira, with both Circe and Wonder Woman uniting their forces to stop him.

Meanwhile, Batman notes new activity in the southern districts of Gotham City and learns of Brainiac's forces massing within and around the bottled buildings. From there he learns of Brainiac's ultimate plan to drill into the core of the planet and access the center of the Multiverse to change it into his own design. Both heroes and villains amass together in a final confrontation to stop the tyrant, however, as the villain falls, Future Lex Luthor enacts his own plan to access the Multiversal core and gain unlimited power. Meanwhile, Future Batman, having survived Luthor's earlier betrayal, also arrives to stop him.

Joker's Last Laugh DLC
Growing irritated with the alliances between heroes and villains, the Joker gains the access codes to the hero and villain Safe Houses, the JLA Watchtower and the Hall of Doom and "shares" them with all members of the conflict. The temptation to shut down the headquarters of the opposing forces proving too much, heroes and villains begin fighting each other in an attempt to shut down and/or invade the opposing force's lairs.