Brian Michael Bendis took to Twitter to answer a fan’s question. Unfortunately, he may have just made things more confusing.The question came from Twitter user @twoheadednerd, who brought to Bendis’ attention some confusion regarding the timeline of Supergirl’s appearance in Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium.The issue has Supergirl speaking with the vigilante Rose & Thorn, whose Rose personality has been in control for decades. The layout of the pages are meant to be surprising. They first appear to be in the modern day, but Supergirl is notably older and the world appears futuristic. Many fans thought the story may be taking place in the Legion of Super-Heroes' far-future era, and turned to the writer himself to determine how the book's timeline is laid out.
“Solid question.†Bendis replied on Twitter, “In script I said to Jim that it’s about 80 years from now. The idea is we open the #LegionOfSuperHeroesmillenium We think it’s today and then you turn the page and see Supergirl and you realize oh it’s not today. Then everything follows a chronological order.â€
Of course, as many fans were quick to point out, the 80-year projection is what makes this troublesome. The pages that confused fans were scenes involving Rose & Thorn, whose Thorn persona has now come back to the forefront, encountering Terry McGinnis’ Batman. The page is preceded with the notation “And then...â€, implying it’s the next event in Rose & Thorn’s life. However, this version of Batman, seen in Batman Beyond, is set anywhere from 20-50 years in the future, meaning his story would have to take place before the President Supergirl panels for the timeline to make sense.
The same fans who mentioned the timing error have also been quick to point out that it could just be an example of another timeline in the vast DC Multiverse, one where Terry McGinnis exists decades later than he originally did. But this theory also doesn’t match up with the official solicitation for Millennium, which bills it as a story that “connects all of DC’s future timelines†for the first time, implying it takes place in the Prime Earth timeline.
Bendis himself has not commented further on the timeline confusion regarding Millennium. If there is an in-story explanation, fans may just have to wait for Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #2 to be released on Oct. 2.
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