Beginning in the late 1980s, DC’s Elseworlds comics captivated readers as it reimagined classic heroes like Batman, Superman and Green Lantern in fresh and original settings. From a Victorian Dark Knight hunting Jack the Ripper to the Man of Steel being raised by Darkseid, the imprint served as the company’s answer to Marvel’s What If…? series. Even today, many readers consider stories like Kingdom Come and Gotham by Gaslight to be among the best stories ever told by DC.
While many of the Elseworlds comics took characters to their best potential, others are simply weird, in terms of their treatment of characters, their chosen inspirations and even story style. Ranging from Batman being placed in the world of a famous musical to Superman being reimagined as a Monty Python skit, the imprint never held back. Though the company is best known for its legendary adventures, the strange, odd stories are just as memorable.
10 Superman At Earth’s End
Tom Veitch and Frank Gomez
After the success of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s Dark Knight Returns, the comic book industry gave other superheroes the “old man” treatment. Where Peter David’s aged Hulk worked well with Maestro, the attempt to explore Superman in his old age in Superman: At Earth’s End became one of the most absurd comics of the ’90s. Set in the post-disaster world of Kamandi, the story follows a weakened Clark Kent as he sets out to prevent the destruction of Gotham.
Superman: At Earth’s End is one of the most over-the-top comics of its decade, replete with a monstrous Bat-Man Bruce Wayne mutant and cloned versions of Adolf Hitler. The story embraces ’90s excess, followed a hard-boiled Superman as he teams up with the grizzled child biker gang of the city’s streets to liberate it from its oppressors.
9 I, Joker
Bob Hall
Batman and Joker have been at the forefront of the best and weirdest comics in DC history, but few are as surreal as I, Joker. The story takes place in a dystopian future Gotham, where fanatics obsessed with the legend of Batman stage ritualistic hunts of people made to resemble his rogues gallery. The story focuses on an innocent person forced to play the role of Joker, who gradually pieces together the memory of his old life and rebels against the regime.
I, Joker is a terrifying take on the dystopian sub-genre, turning the tables on Gotham as those who worship Batman are cast as sadistic killers, and the faux Joker becomes an unlikely hero. In a story that reads like a mash-up of Death Race, Hard Target and an inverted Killing Joke, Batman fans are given a story where they can root for the Joker.
8 JLA: The Island of Dr. Moreau
Roy Thomas and Steve Pugh
Based on the sci-fi/horror novel by HG Wells of the same name, JLA: The Island of Dr. Moreau follows the heroes as they are reimagined as animal-human hybrid heroes. Told from the perspective of Lucas Carr as the ship carrying him docks on the island, the story follows its narrator as he explores the island, eventually finding Moreau performing one of his twisted experiments. At the same time, the team comes to terms with the nature of their existence, questioning their purpose.
JLA: The Island of Dr. Moreau blends classic Justice League action with creature feature science fiction and mystery, as the team are deployed to find Jack the Ripper. Naturally, this version of the serial killer is revealed to be the original creation of Moreau, making the League’s confrontation with him all the more harrowing.
7 L.E.G.I.O.N. Annual #5
Ian Peyer, Auric G. McKone and Scaramanga Faucher
As the original series that told the story of Lobo, L.E.G.I.O.N. contains some of the antihero’s strangest tales. Few issues encapsulate this as well as the fifth annual, part of DC’s Elseworlds event, which reimagines the Main Man as an overly-macho James Bond parody. The story follows “James Lobo” on a mission to find an international criminal, Crystalnight, following the murder of a fellow agent and theft of a Soviet computer program.
“The Spy Who Fragged Me” is followed up by other parody stories, but Lobo’s reimagined status as an international man of mystery is oddly fitting. The issue reads like a satire of overly-macho action heroes, something perfectly on-brand for Keith Giffen’s Main Man.
6 Superman: The Feral Man of Steel
Darren Vincenzo, Frank Fosco and Stan Woch
Superman: The Feral Man of Steel reimagines Superman’s story as that of a fearsome jungle protector raised by wolves after falling from the sky into the heart of 19th century India. Written in the vein of a Rudyard Kipling meets Edgar Rice Burroughs story, the comic follows the efforts of an explorer, Sir Richard Francis Burton, to bring the man to heel.
The Feral Man of Steel delivers a fantastic action/adventure story that, unlike some Elseworlds tales, explores a genuinely different, unique version of Superman’s story. The issue explores the idea of Kal-El’s destiny to become a hero, even if that means defending the jungles of India rather than the streets of Metropolis. That said, something about a Man of Steel wearing a tigerskin costume will never not be strange.
5 Hollywood Knight
Bob Layton
Hollywood Knight tells the story of Byron Wyatt, a Hollywood actor from the 1930s. In this world, Batman is a film character played by Wyatt, who views the on-screen vigilante as a part of him. When a pair of crooks working for rival film studio Arkham Pictures attack the Batman lot, they shoot the actor and leave him for dead, with a stranger, Alfred Penny, saving him. Upon waking up, however, an amnesiac Byron begins to believe that he truly is Bruce Wayne, and begins a mission to bring his attackers to justice.
Hollywood Knight is, despite its strange concept, a great blend of classic noir mystery and the core elements of a Batman story. Here, the origins of the vigilante are made almost more tragic than that of his Prime-Earth counterpart, with the real man being lost to his on-screen persona.
4 Legends of the Dark Knight: Citizen Wayne
Brian Augustyn, Mark Waid, Joe Staton and Horacio Ottolini
Based on iconic movie Citizen Kane, “Citizen Wayne” begins with the discovery of two dead costumed men, including Bruce Wayne. The story of how the tragedy came to pass is told by characters close to Bruce, revealing that a masked avenger in Gotham was actually Harvey Dent, who sought vengeance for Sal Maroni’s attack on him.
“Citizen Wayne” does a great job of flipping the script on Batman, casting Harvey Dent as the masked vigilante and Bruce Wayne as a reluctant hero. From its eccentric character designs to how it reimagines the classic film, the story makes for a great read, casting a different light on Bruce’s devotion to his city.
3 Batman Masque
Mike Grell
Elseworlds’ use of existing stories has been the behind the imprint from the jump, but Batman Masque made for a genuinely unpredictable combination of character and story. Here, Batman is cast in the role of the titular character in Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera. The story follows Laura Avian, a young opera singer who draws the attention of Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent. Where Wayne is a scarred heroic figure who lives a double life as a masked vigilante, Dent turns to evil after being scarred on half his face.
Batman Masque proves to be a surprisingly fitting merger of its respective source materials, with Bruce seamlessly easing into the role of Erik. That being said, the story makes for a simply bizarre concept on paper, and its Gothic tone proves a great fit for the Dark Knight.
2 Superman: True Brit
Kim Johnson, John Cleese, John Byrne and Mark Farmer
Superman: True Brit takes place in a world where, instead of landing in Kansas and being taken in by the Kents, Kal-El is instead found in England, where he grows up as Colin Clark. However, rather than being encouraged into becoming a superhero the way the Kents did, the Clarks instead discourage his abilities, instead wanting him to grow up a regular Englishman.
True Brit’s story isn’t as strange as the creative team behind it, with Monty Python’s John Cleese teaming up with comic book legends like John Byrne. The story reads very much like a skit from Cleese’s Flying Circus, bringing readers non-stop exaggerations and stereotypes of British culture and family life, all of which should be enjoyed in good fun.
1 Superman and Batman: World’s Funnest
Evan Dorkin, Mike Allred, Brian Bolland, Frank Cho, Sephen DeSteefano, Dave Gibbons, Joe Giella, Alex Ross, Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, Ty Templeton, Bruce Timm, Jim Woodring, Glen Murakami, Doug Mahnke, Phil Jimenez, Jay Stephens and Stuart Immonen
Since the 1950s, Batman and Superman have shared in some of the most whimsical, dark and exciting adventures in DC’s history. That partnership was honored in the Elseworlds story World’s Funnest, where their Fifth Dimensional rivals, Mr Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite, wreak havoc on the heroes. Leading readers on a tour of various incarnations of the Caped Crusader and Man of Steel, the story sees the imps deploy absurd hijinks against their enemies, from using a giant banana to trip Flash to turning Robin to swiss cheese.
World’s Funnest lives up to its name, and takes the powers and personalities of Bat-Mite and Mxyzptlk to their fullest potential, showcasing non-stop silliness and the inclusion of a variety of heroes. The story is absurd as it is nostalgic, with a huge assortment of artists bringing their own unique interpretations of the World’s Finest to life, from Frank Miller to Alex Ross.
