DC Comics revolutionized the alternate universe in fiction. The DC Multiverse became one of the most important aspects of the publisher, but as the years went on, it was believed that the multiverse was a problem for new fans. However, even after Crisis on Infinite Earths made a singular DC Earth, fans would soon get another chance to see alternate reality takes on their favorite heroes because of Elseworlds. Elseworlds comics were usually one-shots or miniseries that took place on Earths where things were very different. Gotham by Gaslight kicked off the Elseworlds imprint, and since then, DC fans have been treated to some awesome versions of the greatest heroes in comics.
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Many of the best DC stories of all time are Elseworlds stories, and a big reason for that is the awesome variants that readers have been introduced to. These alternate versions of DC favorites grabbed fans’ imagination and have never let go. These ten Elseworlds alternate are the best of them, giving readers stories that show their favorite characters in new ways.
10) Vampire Batman
Batman: Red Rain is one of many Elseworlds Batman tales — he’s by far the character with the most Elseworlds stories. Red Rain saw Batman dealing with Dracula. Batman did his best against the vampire lord, but eventually had no other choice but to become a vampire himself to beat Dracula. This version of Batman would return in Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist, where he lost control of his vampiric thirst, forcing his former allies to band together against him. Evil Batman isn’t exactly a novel idea — we’ve had multiple evil versions of Batman shoved down our throats over the years — but Vampire Batman takes the basics of Batman and delightfully twists them.
9) The Ultra-Humanite/Mr. America from The Golden Age
The Justice Society is the first and best superteam, and has been the subject of some amazing Elseworlds books. The best of them is The Golden Age, which tells the story of DC’s Golden Age heroes after WWII. Basically, every character that’s in this book is awesome, but the best of them is the Ultra-Humanite. The Ultra-Humanite was the greatest DC villain of the Golden Age, and The Golden Age shows why.
The story starts with him in the body of Mr. America, a fact that we don’t find out until later in the book. The Ultra-Humanite, in the body of Dolores Winters, worked with the Nazis in Germany. At the end of the war, Mr. America was captured by the Nazis, and the Ultra-Humanite took over his body. Back in the US after the war, he took credit for killing Hitler and enacted a plan that would put him in the government and pave the way for the return of Adolf Hitler as Dyna-Man. This is the coolest Ultra-Humanite ever, and one of the best Elseworlds villains ever.
8) Manhunter from The Golden Age
The Golden Age focuses on many DC heroes — Alan Scott, Hourman, Captain Triumph, Johnny Quick, Liberty Belle, Starman, and more — but the best character is a forgotten DC hero — Paul Kirk, the Manhunter. Manhunter was a non-powered hero, allowing him to invade Germany (which was impossible for powered heroes thanks to the Spear of Destiny), and worked with Mr. America to destabilize the Nazis from within.
Manhunter discovered that Ultra-Humanite was swapping bodies with Mr. America and tried to stop it, but was injured and had to escape by jumping out of the German castle he had infiltrated. He lost his memory and was able to get back to the US, slowly but surely getting his memory back and helping the heroes see the snake in their midst. Manhunter ended the threat of the Ultra-Humanite, pushing him out a window to his death. Manhunter would end up in Kenya, where he disappeared from the world forever.
7) The Owl
Another amazing Justice Society Elseworlds story is JSA: The Liberty Files, a late ’90s masterpiece that introduced readers to the Bat (Batman), the Clock (Hourman), and the Owl (Doctor Mid-Nite I). The Owl is easily the best version of Charles McNider. McNider was a Golden Age hero who was blind, but had perfect vision in the dark, using “blackout bombs” to allow him to see at any time. He was an expert hand-to-hand fighter, and worked with the Clock and the Bat in WWII. He helped in the battle against the Joker, who was an agent of the Nazis in The Liberty Files, and a Nazi raised Martian Manhunter. The Owl didn’t survive the battle, but he was an awesome version of a hero that never really shined in the modern age.
6) The Clock
While Batman is a part of the cast of JSA: The Liberty Files (and its sequels The Unholy Three and The Whistling Skull), he’s not actually the star. That’s the Clock, an alternate reality version of Rex Tyler. Rex was a chemist who invented the drug Miraclo, which gave him superhuman strength and durability for an hour at a time. He ended up joining the war against the Nazis with the Bat and the Owl, and was the muscle of their little team.
He was a key to defeating the Joker, as well as Superman, who was a Nazi controlled Martian Manhunter. Eventually, an American Superman ended up being Zod, with the Clock giving his all to defeat him, joining this universe’s version of the Justice Society as one of its foremost members in The Whistling Skull. The Clock is such a fun character to read, anchoring the chapters of this three-part epic about the greatest Golden Age heroes of them all.
5) Kingdom Come Superman
Kingdom Come is a top-notch DC story. This mid-’90s classic took place in an alternate future where Superman left the superhero community as the new, violent generation was coming up. He’d eventually get pulled back into things after a disaster caused by the rogue metahuman heroes of the new generation, reforming the Justice League. Of course, his return is a huge problem, and he loses his ideals in the battle against evil before taking back his old position of moral leadership.
Kingdom Come Superman is the best “dark” Superman. He loses his way as a hero but finds it again, and uses his ideals instead of his fists to save the day. Kingdom Come Superman would eventually join the mainline DC Universe in Justice Society of America (Vol. 2) in the mid-’00s, and he was just as awesome as he always was. He’s even made an appearance in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest in the modern era. He’s truly a super man.
4) Jimmy Olsen from JLA: The Nail
JLA: The Nail is one of ’90s DC’s greatest stories. It takes place on an Earth where a nail in the tire stopped the Kents from finding baby Kal-El. This meant that Jimmy Olsen never met Clark Kent. Olsen would end working for Lex Luthor, after years of superhero adventures with the Justice League in Jimmy’s various superpowered guises from the Silver Age, as a PR person, but that wasn’t all — Luthor experimented on him, melding Kryptonian DNA found in Kal-El’s empty rocket.
Jimmy gained Kryptonian powers and took control of Luthor and his organization, enacting a plan that would allow him to destroy the Justice League and take over the world. Eventually, the Justice League learns the truth about Jimmy, and he wrecks the team with powers none of them can match. However, the fight ends up on an Amish farm in Kansas, where a strapping farm boy survives a blast from Olsen’s heat vision — Kal-El, who Kimmy had been looking for to help him take over the planet because of their Kryptonian superiority. The two battle it out, but the unstable nature of the human/Kryptonian hybrid DNA dooms Jimmy. As he dies, he tells Kal that they could have been best friends. This is one of the strangest Jimmys we’ve ever seen, and it works beautifully for JLA: The Nail.
3) The Justice League from JLA: The Nail
The Justice League in JLA: The Nail is so good that I couldn’t pick just one member. In a world without Superman, the Justice League got together to defend the Earth, with members Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkgirl, and the Atom. The story does a brilliant job of laying out who these new versions of our Silver Age Justice League favorites are. Each of them gets something awesome to do, and they’re amazing in action. This is one of the coolest versions of the Justice League in Elseworlds comics.
2) Superman from Superman: Red Son
Superman: Red Son has some problems, but its version of Superman isn’t one of them. Instead of being raised in the US by the Kents, this story sees Superman land in Soviet territory, where he eventually comes to the attention of Josef Stalin, who raises Superman as his own. This Superman becomes the weapon the Soviet Union uses to cow the world and become the top power. Taking over after Stalin is killed by one of his illegitimate sons, Superman takes over as premier and creates a somewhat benevolent totalitarian state. Evil Superman has become a played-out trope, but back when Red Son came out, it was a novel idea. This was a completely different version of Superman, which is entirely the point of Elseworlds comics.
1) Batman from Gotham by Gaslight
Sometimes, the first is the best. Gotham by Gaslight introduced readers to Elseworlds, starring a steampunk Batman going after Jack the Ripper. There’s just something awesome about the idea of a steampunk Batman, and this story did a remarkable job with the concept. There are a lot of great alternate Batmen, but this is the only one that birthed an entire comic imprint. He’s recently returned in two new series — Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age and Gotham by Gaslight: A League for Justice — and is as amazing as ever.
What are your favorite Elseworlds versions of DC characters? Sound off in the comments below.
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