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The relationship between Milestone Comics and DC Comics is an interesting one. When Milestone launched its comics line in 1993, DC Comics acted as their distributor. Although they were published by DC Comics, the characters themselves were not part of the DC Universe, and it would be some time before they would crossover. According to Milestone co-founder Dwayne McDuffie, who passed away in 2011, this was their way of making sure their creative rights were protected.

“We could never work the deal out,” Static co-creator Dwayne McDuffie says during a panel at San Diego Comic Con 2009. “The biggest problem, and the reason that Milestone wasn’t integrated into the DCU was a business reason. There wasn’t a business structure that allowed Milestone to control the stuff creatively and be in the DCU. So, until we could figure out a way to do that, we created our own separate thing.”

The Milestone characters would eventually crossover with DC in the 1994 limited series Worlds Collide. The characters were then integrated into the mainstream DC Universe in 2008, allowing them to interact with the DC heroes on a more permanent basis. While it’s cool to see the Dakotaverse heroes alongside the DC heroes, I think it’s a good thing the lawyers stalled things, as it allowed the Milestone characters to stand on their own and find their own voice.

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