DC Comics brought the multiverse concept to superheroes comics in 1961’s The Flash #123, revealing that their Golden Age heroes were from Earth-Two. This opened the floodgates for DC, as Justice League of America (Vol. 1) would give readers the first “Crisis” stories, starting with “Crisis on Earth-One”. Every year, the League and the Justice Society would have crossovers, with heroes from other companies that DC had acquired getting their own Earths. These classic multiverse stories are one of the best parts of old school DC, but it wouldn’t last. The multiverse was ended, but readers would still get alternate universe stories until its return in 2007.
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As far as it goes, for me, the modern age of comics started in 1985 (because I’m old), a demarcation line between the classic multiverse stories and the modern. Over the last 41 years, readers have gotten amazing tales from across the multiverse, whether they be Elseworlds or stories set in the new multiverse. These are the ten best modern multiversal DC stories, classics that we will be talking about for decades.
10) JSA: The Liberty File
The Justice Society are DC’s most legendary team, but since their return to prominence in the late ’90s, they’ve had surprisingly few multiverse stories. However, in the year 2000, they got one of the best Elseworlds stories ever. JSA: The Liberty File, by Dan Jolley and Tony Harris, took readers back to World War II, as OSS agents the Bat, the Clock, and the Owl are sent to discover a secret German super weapon, all while battling their agent Jack the Grin. This is a brilliant two-issue story and it led to two awesome sequels. This story never got the credit it deserved even back in the day (I didn’t get it until ’05, at a comic store in Indianapolis I went to while at Star Wars Celebration III so I could read The OMAC Project #1 the day it came out and it was the first time I had seen it), but is excellent.
9) A Tale of the Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
DC’s Elseworlds stories are amazing, taking the place of the infinite Earths of the past. The first Elseworlds was the fantastic A Tale of the Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, by Bryan Augustyn, Mike Mignola, and P. Craig Russell. This story took place on an Earth where Batman was from Victorian England and dealt with him hunting down Jack the Ripper. This book is one of the most important alternate universe stories in DC history, with it recently getting a series of sequels. This story is an all-timer, kicking off new DC mutliverse stories after we thought we’d never get anymore.
8) 52
52 is the most ambitious book of the ’00s, from DC or Marvel. This weekly series, written by Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Keith Giffen, with art breakdowns by Giffen and finishes by an army of artists, focused on the B-list heroes after Infinite Crisis (which isn’t on this list because it is only technically a multiverse story; very little of it takes place on alternate Earths) and led to the return of the multiverse, ending with a battle against a threat that no one would have guessed in the first issue. This book never gets old, a phenomenal tale that blows nearly everything else out of the water.
7) JLA: The Nail
JLA: The Nail, by writer/artist Alan Davis, is the greatest Elseworlds story starring the Justice League. This one takes place on an Earth where a nail in a tire stops the Kents from finding young Kal-El. In the present day, the Justice League have to deal with Lex Luthor and his anti-metahuman mayoral victory in Metropolis, as a secret enemy with powers unlike anything they ever the League ever faced moves through the shadows. This story has a great classic feel, with Davis really nailing it on every page and giving readers amazing versions of DC greats. The reveal of the true villain is insane and the big surprise at the end… well, that would be telling. Just get a copy and find out.
6) JLA: Earth-2
JLA: Earth-2, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, was a one-shot from the Morrison run with the team and it reintroduced the Crime Syndicate. When a plane crashes that’s not quite right, the League discovers an alternate Earth where evil always wins and their fiendish counterparts, who control their world. They can’t help but try to help the people of that Earth, but things take a terrible turn with the Syndicate gets the same idea. Morrison and Quitely are an amazing team and this book will impress anyone who reads it. Morrison does a rather novel Crime Syndicate story, bringing back one of the best groups of League villains ever.
5) Kingdom Come
Kingdom Come is a legendary ’90s book and the best Elseworlds comic of the decade of extreme. Mark Waid and Alex Ross wanted to tell a story about classic heroism and how it was still cool despite years of grim and gritty comics. Taking place in a future where Superman had retired after the death of Lois Lane, a disaster caused by the violent legacy heroes who took over for Kal-El’s generation see him come out of retirement, bringing his generation with him. However, shadowy forces array against him and his friends, endangering everything. This story is perfect in just about every way and if you haven’t read it, you definitely need to. I’ll wait.
4) Dark Crisis: World Without a Justice League – Superman
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths has a bad reputation, but I’ve always felt it was way better than it gets credit for, mostly because I read every tie-in. However, the best of them is easily Dark Crisis: World Without a Justice League – Superman #1, by Tom King and Chris Burnham, with an Aquaman backup from Brandon Peterson and Fico Ossio. This book takes place on an Earth created to drain Superman’s power for Pariah’s dark scheme, dealing with him raising Jon. This story is beautiful and poignant, all about a father doing his best for his son, with an ending that will surprise you. The Aquaman backup is merely good, but the main story is sensational.
3) Final Crisis
Final Crisis, by Grant Morrison, J.G. Jones, Carlos Pacheco (RIP, king), and Doug Mahnke, is not the best event comic ever, but it is my favorite. A lot of people hate this story, but the final crisis of the Monitors is one of the coolest comics you’ll ever read. The story is all about the heroes of the Earth dealing with Darkseid’s final attack on reality, one made all the more dangerous by the Anti-Life Equation. Meanwhile, the Monitors are having their own problems, ones that could doom the heroes even if they win against the God of Evil. This book is as complex as they come but it’s more than worth it. Buy the collected edition, which collects everything you need to love this story, and prepare to be astonished. It’s infinitely re-readable, revealing more of its secrets every time you read it.
2) The Multiversity
Another entry, another Grant Morrison multiverse story. Morrison is the greatest DC writer of the modern age and the publisher trusted them to define its new multiverse for them. The Multiversity, by Morrison and Ivan Reis, Chris Sprouse, Ben Olivier, Frank Quitely, Jim Lee, Doug Mahnke, Karl Story, and Cameron Stewart, was announced after Final Crisis, but wouldn’t hit until 2014. The book is two bookend issues, with seven one-shots set on different Earths. The Multiversity: Pax Romana and The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures are two of the greatest single issue stories you’ll ever read, and the rest of the book is almost as amazing.
1) Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is the best event comic ever. I don’t make the rules, but I enforce them. This 12-issue classic from Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Dick Giordano, and Jerry Ordway told the story of the end of multiverse, paying homage to the length and breadth of DC history up to that point. The battle against the Anti-Monitor has become legendary, a tale that the publisher has kept coming back to over and over again. There’s a reason for that: it truly is an amazing work. Every event comic after this one has tried to be it and all of them have failed.
What’s your favorite modern multiversal DC story? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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