I believe that all DC's continuity still exists. That may sound controversial (and it could just be the way my brain works), but I genuinely believe in that statement. I have followed the adventures of various comic book heroes for years and have gone back and read and researched stories from before, during and after the first Crisis on Infinite Earths and still believe that those stories also count. I believe that just as time is depicted as being a fluid changeable series of random events, so too is the continuity and stories of all the DC heroes. In fact, I see the characters following the time-line in their universe in much the same way as we do as readers. I see it as a straight line in many respects. For example, all of the pre-crisis stories such as Superman fighting Lex Luthor on Lexor and the Flash traversing between parallel universes happened. Then the Crisis on Infinite Earths took place and the Anti-Monitor began his diabolical quest for infinite power by destroying the multiverse. When the universe was reformed, continuity was 'reset'. The series were all relaunched in a shared universe and carried on. Now, I count that event as a story that existed in the same world. The Anti-Monitor is mentioned on the Daily Planet (see Infinite Crisis - tip of the hat or not, its still there) and the Crisis happened. Therefore I choose to believe that the stories happened before the world changing events of the crisis modified the existing universe. After this event the same universe moved forward with a new series of stories. I believe that this also occurred during Zero Hour, Millennium, Final Crisis and Flashpoint. In fact, Flashpoint is a great example of the type of universe that I am trying to describe.
*Spoilers ahead* During Flashpoint Barry Allen (The Flash) travels back in time to save his mother from being killed and inadvertently recreates the time-line. Everyone was present but in a different fashion. For example Aquaman and Wonder Woman were at War, Superman had been captured by the Government and Bruce Wayne had been killed as a child leaving his father Thomas to become Batman. At the end of the story, after a climatic battle between Amazons, Atlanteans and the Reverse Flash, Barry Allen travels back through time and after an emotional scene with his mother restores the time-line. To a degree... What Barry had done within the story, with the intervention of the new character Pandora, was strengthen the time-line. We know this to be a reboot but the characters don't. And i simply see this as a case of: 'The time-line was one way and all of these stories counted, then a universe changing event happened and this is how the time-line is now'. By using this method it has allowed me to enjoy the new universe and the subtle differences without being fixated on why it doesn't necessarily make 100% sense. Blackest Night? Happened. Morrison's Batman run? Happened. Geoff Johns' Brainiac story? Happened. Identity Crisis? Happened. You can see where I am going with this. I can understand why people are upset with the reboot. But I can't see the substance in statements such as 'the stories I have read don't count now'. They do count. Even if you don't buy into my own personal explanation of reconciliation, surely you must be able to step away and say to myself 'did I enjoy this story?'. If so, count it! I have to say that I have enjoyed the new 52 and own 14 of the released collected editions and have a lot of them on subscription. This hasn't meant that I threw away my old graphic novels or haven't re-read them! In summary, yes some of the characters have changed. Some for the better (Wonder Woman) and some for the worse (I'm sorry, I don't like new Superboy, I preferred the old Connor) but that doesn't mean that I have to ignore years of stories. I still read and re-read pre-52 DC and the enjoyment hasn't lessened at all for me. I hope that after reading this article, someone can discover the joy of the old universe and look forward to the new stories waiting to be told. I believe that all DC's continuity still exists.