The DC Universe is home to many impressive and unique characters. The writers and artists use these characters to tell creative and powerful stories, but they have to always remember to keep within the confines of the main continuity. Otherwise, readers around the world will start picking them apart. Still, that didn't stop writers from imagining new scenarios for the DC characters to find themselves in. That's when DC came up with a brilliant idea: take the classic characters and put them in various, self-contained stories that existed within the larger Multiverse. That's how the DC "Elseworlds" comic line were created. All under one brand, each entry in the "Elseworlds" saga contains a variation of a popular character, be it in an alternate reality or a different period in history, and imagines certain events under a new lens.

Due to how self-contained these stories were, the "Elseworlds" comics have become some of the best tales around, having the same impact as any other respectable comic book, but with an interesting twist each time. This made it so that the writers and artists would only go as far as their imaginations would allow them, so there would never be any reason to stop making new "Elseworlds" stories for people to enjoy. With these different versions of popular characters, some of the "Elseworlds" versions are much more powerful than their Prime Earth counterparts. Because of how strong they are, we're ranking the most powerful DC "Elseworlds" heroes and villains. Let's look at some new realities.

22 BAT-NINJA

Seeing Batman in a Japanese setting is extremely fitting. The character has many principles and fighting styles that are reminiscent of samurai and ninjas. Making him a warrior from that era is a no-brainer.

In the Narrow Path story, Batman is a ninja who is tasked with protecting a house of people. Armored soldiers come to fight him, but he holds them off for a while. He does eventually lose his life in combat, but he put on one heck of a show.

21 BATGIRL (ELSEWORLD'S FINEST)

In Elseworld's Finest, it wasn't Thomas and Martha Wayne who were caught in the alley with Joe Chill -- it was Barbara and Jim Gordon. They were both gunned down, leaving the orphaned Barbara Gordon Jr. to be taken in by the Waynes.

After that, Barbara goes down the same path Bruce Wayne was famous for. She donned a highly technological suit and cleaned up the streets of Gotham using brutal and tyrannical methods. She was also helped by her rich and generous friend, Bruce Wayne.

20 BATMAN (SUPER SEVEN)

In the Super Seven storyline, an army of aliens invaded Earth and caused a lot of damage. As a result, the public hated metahumans and superheroes, forcing them to stay in retirement. Batman was one of the heroes who refused to back down and continued the fight against the aliens.

The reason he was able to still operate and not get caught is that he was extremely efficient. He never left any victim alive and left no trace of his presence. There was no way to track or guess where this version of the Dark Knight would strike next.

19 ROBIN 3000

Robin 3000 tells the story of a Batman and Robin operating nearly one thousand years into the future. When a deadly gang starts to threaten the city, they get the drop on the Dynamic Duo. Batman loses his life in battle, leaving Robin to fight the good fight by himself.

Fortunately, Robin is more than up to the task, having all of the appropriate gear and courage to bring down the villains that cost him his mentor. Being from the future, this Robin had to fight deadlier foes than any Boy Wonder in the present day would have to face.

18 JOKER (THE NAIL)

The Nail tells the story of a world where John and Martha Kent get a nail in their truck so that they would never be at the crash site when the baby Kal-El landed on Earth. This creates a snowball effect that changes the course of history.

When the Joker starts threatening Gotham City, he gets his hands on some energy gauntlets that make him nearly unstoppable. Not only does he free all of the Arkham inmates in a matter of seconds, but he proceeds to attack and end both Robin and Batgirl.

17 ZOD (JSA: THE LIBERTY FILE)

General Zod has always been one of the most dangerous Kryptonians, but JSA: The Liberty File takes it to a whole new level. As a child, he was already revealed to be a sociopath, which prompted Krypton to imprison him in the Phantom Zone. Eventually, he got free and crashed on Earth, where he was taken in by the US government.

He was trained to do secret missions for them under the guise of Superman. He would thrash whom he pleased all for the good of the mission, eventually losing his life in the heat of battle.

16 LEX LUTHOR (CREATED EQUAL)

JSA: Created Equal imagines a world where a vicious plague came to Earth and wiped out all of the men that lived there. Only two men remained after all of the destruction: Superman and Lex Luthor. The former survived because of his Kryptonian DNA and the latter survived by hiding himself in his metal suit.

After coming out to the world, Lex Luthor decided that he was going to enslave the Amazonians as well as Superman's child to try and take over the world, prompting the Man of Steel to have to fight his own kid.

15 DEADMAN (KINGDOM COME)

Deadman was once a trapeze artist who was given a chance to do some good in death by becoming a supernatural superhero. In Kingdom Come though, Deadman is taken to the next level.

Instead of having his normal appearance, Deadman is now a skeleton as a result of either becoming insane or fully accepting his demise. Either way, this change in the character results in greater powers and a more dangerous individual. Those who gazed upon the Deadman knew not to trifle with him.

14 DRACULA (RED RAIN)

Dracula in Red Rain

Dracula is commonly known as a well-kept but creepy man with fangs and a taste for blood. In Batman and Dracula: Red Rain though, Dracula has turned completely into a bat monster. Making his way to Gotham, he and his children fed on the homeless and covered their tracks by slashing their throats.

Eventually, Batman was on their trail and came face to face with Dracula. Their battle was intense, but Dracula had the clear advantage and even defeated the Dark Knight. The only way Batman could win was with a way to even the odds.

13 BATMAN (RED RAIN)

The only thing scarier than a Dracula that has completely turned into a monster is a Batman that turns into a vampire. During the final fight with Dracula, the Lord of Vampires sinks his teeth into the Dark Knight just before being killed. The day is won, but Batman became a blood sucker.

Batman was unable to control the bloodlust after he turned. Not only did he end up drinking the Joker's blood without hesitation, but he laid waste to all of the villains in Gotham City, feeding and killing with less restraint than Dracula.

12 DOOMSDAY (RIDDLE OF THE BEAST)

What happens when you cross the DC Universe with The Lord of the Rings? You get Riddle of the Beast. In this story, Robin is the unlikely hero who has to put a team together to take down a creature known as the beast.

Along the way, he happens upon a portal that is guarded by the ogre Doomsday. The problem here is that Doomsday is not only extremely powerful, but he also hungers for human flesh. He ate Zatara and was about to eat Zatanna as well had Robin not stepped in.

11 CAPTAIN MARVEL (KINGDOM COME)

In Kingdom Come, Lex Luthor had a grip over the world. He went so far that he even convinced Billy Batson (with a little help from some worms), Captain Marvel, that all metahumans were a curse and that even he had a darkness inside of him. Because of this, Captain Marvel fought the other superheroes and even started one of the greatest metahuman wars of all time.

Captain Marvel even gave Superman a run for his money. However, when there was a bomb that threatened all life, Billy came to his senses and sacrificed himself in order to save the world.

10 WONDER WOMAN (KINGDOM COME)

The metahumans were in a tough spot in Kingdom Come. The world was in shambles and the public was convinced that superheroes weren't the best thing for the planet. Because of this, the world became much more violent. Unfortunately, this had a drastic effect on Wonder Woman, who also became violent herself.

She became so detached and vicious that the Amazonians stripped her of her "ambassador" title, meaning that she had to have done some serious acts to get herself in that situation.

9 ORION (DARK SIDE)

Orion, in the Superman: Dark Side story, was the son of Darkseid who was traded to be raised by Highfather. He had immense power and became one of the New Gods as a result, but he eventually figured out who he truly was.

While he was conflicted for a while, he eventually used his impressive powers to fight his biological father and free the universe from the tyranny of Apokolips. He would later help usher in an era of peace in the galaxy.

8 VANDAL SAVAGE (DARK KNIGHT DYNASTY)

Vandal Savage is an immortal warrior who has hopes of controlling the world. In Batman: Dark Knight Dynasty, he would fight an ancient version of Batman and his friends. Savage would win almost every time. Because of this, the Dark Knight clan would war with Savage for thousands of years, going through multiple periods in history.

It wasn't until the future that the Dark Knight Dynasty was finally able to defeat Savage and save the world, but it was a moment that was literally thousands of years in the making.

7 RED SON

Superman: Red Son tells the story of the Man of Steel if he had crash landed in the Soviet Union. He fought to uphold the Communist law and wanted to create a utopia for the people there. Eventually, Superman would become so revered that he was able to take over leadership of the union.

As he began to lead his people into a peaceful time, the Union was battled by the United States under President Lex Luthor. Superman then had to use his leadership and superpowers in order to lead an entire country into victory.

6 BIZARRO (RED SON)

In order to fight the Superman of the Soviet Union, President Lex Luthor had to create his own Superman. Through some rigorous experimentation, he created Bizarro, a United States version of Superman. He then sent his creation to fight the Man of Steel in a battle to the death.

Their battle was intense and loud. The heavens shook under their might. The fight was so great that it even caused a nuclear missile to launch. After that, Bizarro chose to give his life for the world by stopping the nuke but losing his life in the process.

5 ETRIGAN (THE DOOM THAT CAME TO GOTHAM)

H.P. Lovecraft's work inspired a lot of stories that would come years later. One of those is Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham. The Dark Knight accidentally awakens a supernatural event in '20s-era Gotham City, the baddest of which being Etrigan the Demon.

Not only was this version of Etrigan much creepier (based on the Lovecraft style), but he had command over all kinds of creatures and people, ready to burn Gotham to ashes. There was almost no hope in sight for the Caped Crusader.

4 ETRIGAN (A TRAGEDY)

Batman / Demon A Tragedy the demon bares teeth

Etrigan in Batman/Demon: A Tragedy is a far cry from his original interpretation that you probably wouldn't even recognize him. Being a bat demon in Hell, he was cast out because he was "too evil." Let that sink in for a moment.

Unable to return to Hell, he needed a human host: Bruce Wayne. Anytime Bruce would be asleep, Etrigan would awake and satisfy his thirst for blood by killing all of the guilty people in Gotham City. It was a horror like no other, and a life Wayne was doomed to live for eternity.

3 MAGOG (KINGDOM COME)

Magog in Kingdom Come

Magog was a new kind of superhero that popped up in Kingdom Come. He wasn't necessarily powerful due to his abilities, but more so how he impacted the rest of the world. He was willing to do what no other hero was at the time: kill a supervillain. As a matter of fact, he slayed the Joker without hesitation.

Instead of condemning him, the world welcomed this type of hero and he was allowed to operate. Unfortunately, he got so carried away that he caused a nuclear blast in Kansas.