Justice League Dark Returns One of DC's Most Powerful Forces to Canon
Warning: contains spoilers for Justice League Dark Annual 2021!
Tim Hunter is destined to become the most powerful magical force in the DC Universe, and Justice League Dark Annual 2021, on sale now in print and digital, makes it clear that he's firmly present in the new Infinite Frontier continuity of Earth-0. The character, who has been the focus of the Books of Magic franchise since the 1990s, has waxed and waned in prominence for as long as he's existed, but the new reference suggests he may be moving into the mainstream spotlight sometime soon.
Created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton, Tim Hunter first appeared in 1990's The Books of Magic #1. Over the course of four issues, Hunter, a young boy on the verge of adolescence, learns he is fated to become the most powerful sorcerer in the universe. John Constantine, along with the Phantom Stranger, Doctor Occult and Mister E (collectively referred to as "the Trenchcoat Brigade"), guide the young Hunter on a trip through the magical past, present and future of the DC Universe, educating him on his potential. After the first miniseries ended, Hunter would go on to star in a succession of solo titles, appearing under the now-defunct Vertigo imprint. Since then, Tim has played a bit part in the New 52's Justice League Dark and even starred in a revamped Books of Magic under the Sandman Universe umbrella, but with the dawn of Infinite Frontier this year, it was unclear what elements of his history, if any, remained in DC's core reality. Now, an off-handed reference in Justice League Dark Annual 2021 returns Hunter to the DC Universe. The issue is written by Ram V and Dan Watters, with art by Christopher Mitten, colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr and letters by Rob Leigh.
As the issue begins, the Justice League Dark have convened an emergency session to discuss Merlin and the threat he poses to Earth's magical community. The meeting is crashed by Mister E, Constantine’s associate in the Trenchcoat Brigade. Constantine is aghast, saying Mister E should not be there, and that he was banished to the universe’s end "for bad behavior," referring to an "infanticide" Mister E attempted years before. Mister E attempts to rationalize his actions by comparing the child to a young Hitler before shrugging off any philosophical debates.
The "infanticide" Constantine refers to occurred during Gaiman and Bolton’s original miniseries. In The Books of Magic #4, Mister E takes a young Tim to the future, where he's revealed as the leader of the forces of evil in the final battle of magic. Tim is saved by Death of the Endless, who orders Mister E to physically walk back through time to the modern day, and it's made clear this is just one potential future for Tim. Later series emphasized the idea that while Tim may not become evil, he will almost certainly become Earth's most powerful sorcerer, leading a host of magical forces to try and either kill him or claim him as their own. Currently, Earth’s magic users are facing a threat unlike any other - Merlin, corrupted by Darkseid's father Yuga Khan, is waging war on magic itself - and Tim Hunter could be exactly who they need to stand a chance at stopping him.
While DC has ignored him for long stretches in the past, Tim Hunter is generally treated as a character who will decide the future of magic - his return has enormous ramifications not only for Justice League Dark's quest to stop major threats like Merlin and the Upside-Down Man, but for how magic will be treated in DC Comics' Infinite Frontier.
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