DC's Elseworlds was once a strong imprint at the publisher, where prominent writers and artists would tell out-of-canon stories. These included Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. A common theme of the imprint was to explore past eras, other works of fiction and unusual combinations of genres and heroes. Fans fondly remember them as some of the best comic books available.
Although stories like Gotham by Gaslight, Red Rain and Kingdom Come often get the most praise and attention, the imprint carried dozens of stories. Many of these comics never got the recognition they deserved, with fans gravitating towards the more mainstream stories like Killing Joke. There is a virtual treasure trove of excellent Elseworlds tales for fans that push the limits of imagination with their favorite heroes.
10 Superman At Earth's End Gets More Hate Than It Deserves
Superman: At Earth's End was an Elseworlds story that followed an older Superman in the aftermath of an apocalypse. He travels to the ruins of Gotham City, where monstrous bats stalk the streets and prey on the young survivors, under the thumb of cloned Hitler twins.
By no means is Superman: At Earth's End an excellent comic. Rather, it's a case of a story that has been written off as unsalvageable. However, there are plenty of fans who would enjoy the comic's tone and over-the-top 90s action edginess coupled with an "Old Man Superman" adventure.
9 Leatherwing Saw A Swashbuckling Batman On The High Seas
Although many of the most popular Elseworlds stories are original graphic novels, these stories used to form the stories for annuals too. In Detective Comics Annual #7, Leatherwing, Chuck Dixon and Enrique Alcatena brought fans a seafaring Batman who brought justice to the waves.
Thanks to the likes of Pirates of the Caribbean, the era of piracy and adventure has a strong fan base. However, Leatherwing has aged as a done-in-one and forgettable one-shot, despite being a solid story. The annual format instead of the one-shot graphic novel undoubtedly hurt the story's longevity.
8 Justice Riders Took DC's Heroes To The Western Frontier
Justice Riders lived up well to the spirit of Elseworlds by placing DC's heroes in the world of the Wild West. It re-imagined Diana Prince as the lone law woman of the West as she recruited local heroes to aid her in a quest to battle the super villain who destroyed her town.
Justice Riders (Chuck Dixon, J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray) teamed western versions of Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Flash and Hawkman. The story is an excellent journey through the western version of the DC universe with an eye for frontier justice.
7 Batman: Two Faces Combined Gotham With Jekyll And Hyde
In Batman: Two Faces, Batman's story was retold in Victorian England, playing on the Robert Louis Stevenson book, Jekyll and Hyde. In this world, while Batman was hunting for Two Face, he created a formula that would separate the villain's evil and good - but tested it on himself.
Batman: Two Faces (Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning) was a classic hero-turned-villain tale that left Batman in a moral quagmire as his Joker personality wrought havoc. The Joker/Batman rivalry is one of the most famous in comics, and this tale brought an impossible spin to it.
6 Batman/Demon A Tragedy Saw Etrigan In Control Of The Dark Knight
Batman/Demon: A Tragedy depicted a version of Batman cursed with the Demon, Etrigan. In this story, Batman tried to solve the brutal murders of his own rogues gallery by a demonic bat creature. As his investigation draws on, he begins to realize the threat is close to home.
Batman/Demon: A Tragedy lives up to its name, throwing The Dark Knight into a situation where he must contemplate the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of others. Written by Alan Grant, signature writer of Etrigan, it combined two of DC's darkest figures into one tragic story.
5 Batman/Hellboy/Starman United Three Great Heroes To Battle Supernatural Nazis
Batman/Hellboy/Starman has surprisingly fallen into obscurity with many fans, despite combining three of the greatest heroes in comics. The miniseries by James Robinson and Mike Mignola is one of the better Elseworlds comics as well as one of the better 90s crossover comics.
The series sees Hellboy, Batman and Starman team up to battle resurgent supernatural Nazis who are intent on resurrecting an Elder God. It was a great combination of DC's universe, Hellboy and classic Lovecraftian horror to present fans with an epic superhero adventure.
4 Superman: War Of The Worlds Was A Great Spin On The Sci-Fi Classic
In Superman: War of the Worlds, the world's greatest superhero was thrust into the classic H.G. Wells alien invasion story. There are few images as iconic as alien tripods attacking cities or the House of El sigil. This series unites both in one epic action/science fiction story.
Superman: War of the Worlds was the perfect combination of hero and setting, with the Kryptonian hero fending off an alien invasion. Superman has a proud history of battling aliens and seeing him fend off the most infamous alien invasion in fiction is a true treat for fans.
3 Elseworld's Finest Put A Pulp Spin On The Best Friendship In Comics
Elseworld's Finest took the DC universe and reimagined back into a classic Golden Age story that was more of an adventure tale than a superhero comic. It gave fans a radically reinvented version of Batman and Superman that have little resemblance to their canonical versions.
Elseworld's Finest by John Francis Moore, Kieron Dwyer and Hilary Barta sees Batman and Superman aid Lana Lang in the search for her father. Their mission leads them to the sorcerer Ra's al Ghul, with a little help from Lex Luthor. The series works especially well for fans of the likes of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
2 Batman/Tarzan: Claws Of The Catwoman Took Batman Into Tarzan's Jungles
Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman took Batman back to his Golden Age roots and had him team up with Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan. It saw Tarzan and Batman approached by the princess of a hidden African city in need of help against a ruthless plundering archeologist.
As Tarzan and Batman made their way through the jungle, they battled the villainous Two Face, native warriors and the jungle's most dangerous animals. The story is a peak adventure tale that held true to the lore of both Batman and Tarzan.
1 Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham Went Full Lovecraft
In Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham, Batman was reimagined as a Golden Age pulp hero who is followed by a dark evil from an Arctic expedition back to Gotham. When the cosmic evil is unleashed on his city, The Dark Knight must save its people from the creatures.
The Doom That Came to Gotham (Mike Mignola, Richard Pace, Troy Nixey and Dennis Janke) is everything an Elseworlds tale should be. It combined the cosmic horror of Lovecraft, the pulpy tone of the Golden Age and some adventure too. Not only is this story underrated, it's one of the greatest Elseworlds of all time.