Everything is better with dinosaurs, and that includes the DC Universe. There’s something about these giant prehistoric monsters that inspires childlike wonder. When I see the DC heroes battle dinosaurs, it’s like two of my favorite things coming together. What isn’t awesome about Batman setting a trap for a T-Rex, Wonder Woman riding a pterosaur, or even better, an entire Justice League made up of dinos? For all you would-be paleontologists out there, here are six must-read DC stories for dinosaur lovers.
 

Star Spangled War Stories #90 – “Island of Armored Giants”

Set during the height of World War II, a group of United States soldiers find themselves stranded on a South Pacific island inhabited by dinosaurs. One by one, each of the soldiers meet their bitter end until only Larry and Charlie remain. This story, written by Robert Kanigher and penciled by Ross Andru, was partially inspired by the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, The Land That Time Forgot.

“Island of Armored Giants” marks the first official appearance of Dinosaur Island, the DC Universe’s go-to setting for dinosaur adventures. This issue also launched The War That Time Forgot, an ongoing feature that pit the US military against the island’s many creatures. Later issues would introduce G.I. Robot, who recently stole hearts in DC Studios’ Creature Commandos. That’s right, when he isn’t killing Nazis, G.I. Robot also likes to fight dinosaurs.
 

Batman #35 – “Dinosaur Island”

A wealthy tycoon decides to build a dinosaur theme park on a tropical island. Yes, I’m aware that the plot sounds familiar, but this was decades before Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg. In Batman #35, Murray Wilson Hart thinks it would be great promotion if Batman and Robin battled his animatronic dinosaurs…and honestly, he’s not wrong. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t pay to go to a theme park and watch Batman battle dinosaurs. Let’s see Six Flags compete with THAT!

Unfortunately, a crook takes control of the creatures, and the publicity stunt soon turns into a life-or-death situation. How do Batman and Robin stop an army of robot dinosaurs? Water balloons. Look, between the robot dinosaurs and water balloons, it’s like my nine-year-old self wrote this story, and I am completely all right with that. Besides, Batman must have thought this adventure was fun because he kept a robot Tyrannosaurus Rex in his cave as a souvenir. That’s right, in addition to reading like the Jurassic Park and Batman crossover we all wish we had, this tale is also the origin of Batman’s robot dinosaur trophy.
 

Wonder Woman #105 – “Eagle of Space”

In Wonder Woman #105, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor are surprised to find a pterodactyl flying just outside the Earth’s atmosphere. The space dinosaur takes them to Saturn’s moon Titan, which much to Diana and Steve’s surprise is inhabited by dinosaurs and cave people. Wonder Woman reasons that evolution played out differently on Titan, allowing the dinosaurs to stay alive and prevent human civilization from expanding. She then puts all the dinosaurs in a miniature zoo and tells the cave people how their civilization can catch up with Earth’s scientific marvels.

This story’s packed with cool scenes of Diana fighting dinosaurs and overall has a great pulp adventure feel. Interestingly, “Eagle of Space” was written by Robert Kanigher and penciled by Ross Andru, the team behind The War That Time Forgot. This story was released a year prior, and there are lots of similarities between Titan and Dinosaur Island. Perhaps Wonder Woman #105 was their warm-up.
 

The Flash #768 – “Blink of an Eye”

Look, I’m not going to say The Flash #768 is probably the abso-freakin’-coolest Flash comic you’ll ever read, but I’m not going to not say that either.

Due to some Speed Force shenanigans, Wally West has been sent back to the Prehistoric Age, where he’s inhabited the body of a caveman. Not long after arriving, a hungry raptor begins chasing Wally, which normally wouldn’t be a problem…but the raptor has also been infected with Speed Force energy! The deadly dino goes on a high-speed chase through volcanos, the jungle and more, relentlessly pursuing Wally. Yes, a raptor with the speed of the Flash. Tell me that’s not worth the price of admission.

Thankfully Wally has some experience running from dinosaurs.
 

Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #137 – “The Stolen Subway”

A group of dinosaurs from outer space kidnap Lois Lane by using a flying subway car, and if that sentence doesn’t grab you, I don’t know what will. The alien-dinos give us some interesting dinosaur lore (dinolore?), revealing that the prehistoric creatures were actually alien refugees who were sent to colonize Earth. The other intergalactic dinos hadn’t heard from them for 65 million years, so they decided to stop by Earth and see what’s up.

“I’m sorry to tell you that trillions of years before we arrived on Earth—they strangely turned on each other…until your people became extinct,” Lois tells them.

My first reaction was to accuse Lois of gaslighting the dinosaurs, but a quick check in my science books reveals that the asteroid extinction theory wouldn’t be proposed until 1980, six years after this story was published. Either way, the dinosaurs do nothing to fact check Lois’s science faux-facts and return her to Earth to spread an anti-violence message. Lois immediately tells Perry White what occurred, who dismisses it as not newsworthy (?!). What the heck did he wind up running on the front page that day which was more interesting than space dinosaurs?
 

The Jurassic League

The Jurassic League is the limited series that dared to ask, “What if the Justice League were all dinosaurs?” and the answer is glorious. The storyline is set on an alternate Earth that is populated by anthropomorphic dinosaurs, some of which just happen to be DC Super Heroes. Superman is a brachiosaurus, Wonder Woman is a triceratops and Batman is an allosaurus. It’s so inspired. There are plenty of clever moments, like Wonderdon having a pet pterosaur that can turn invisible and the Joker being reimagined as a dilophosaurus that spits Joker venom.

Plus, we also get the Flash as a velociraptor and Darkseid as an ankylosaurus that eats his own minions. And wait until you see this universe’s Robin. I could go on, but I don’t want to spoil any more of the book’s surprises. Just know that this limited series is one of the most creative things that DC has ever done, and that 200 million years from now, it’ll still rank among the coolest comics ever created.
 

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.