What kind of Elseworlds do you think DC should create now that the universe is infinite again? I thought it might be interesting to see a world where DC’s “fictional” characters were real. A earth where Silverblade, Nathaniel Dusk, Zoot Sputnik, Atomic Skull, Grey Ghost and other characters that are fictional in the DCU proper exist on their own world. Maybe have some Dial H heroes too.
Hmm. In the spirit of the goofy 90s Elseworlds tales, here are some options:
- Joe Chill feels guilt over killing the Waynes and becomes Batman as penance.
- Bruce Wayne is taken in by Joe Chill and becomes a Bat-themed mobster.
- Kal-El lands in rural Japan and becomes a spiky-haired superhero in Tokyo.
- Kal-El lands in rural Australia and becomes a Crocodile Dundee-style hero.
- Kal-El crash-lands into Ace Chemicals and becomes a superpowered Joker.
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I always thought it would be neat to have a world where Bruce Wayne got proper counseling after his parents’ death, and never became Batman – though he still invested heavily in his community, and went on to bankroll the Justice League.
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See 2002’s JLA: SHOGUN OF STEEL.
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I dunno. Not quite Dragon Ball enough…
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Jay Garrick had run a long race in the forties as the Flash some would say his time was up…BUT!
Superman was still Flying around and pretending to be meek and mild Clark Kent
Bruce Wayne was still swinging from rooftop to rooftop as Batman and he wasn’t showing any signs of losing his skill
Diana was always an immortal Amazon so she’s not going anywhere any time real soon.
Why not keep Jay as the Flash…some would say, “How?”
well Jay’s a research Chemist who’s spent years fighting crime so eventually he’d turn to police Science (no need to create a new character just evolve the job description)
Jay finds that since he and the others stepped down in the past few years his speed has been ebbing away probably the formula that gave him his speed was wearing off (after all all chemical effects wear off from time to time, some even quicker than others. Jays powers only lasted what? fifteen years? So Jay decides to try and re-create his powers.
He’s working late in the lab one night, there’s a thunderstorm and as it happened with Barry, so now it happens to Jay the Lightning strikes his chemical rack and douses him with the electrified chemicals. (as with barry, Jay only sees a messed up lab and worse, his research notes into the old formula destroyed Jay grouses about the lost time and the apparent lack of regaining his powers until he goes outside.
in stead of trying to catch a cab Jay finds himself seeing a purse-snatcher running away from a screaming woman. Jay tries to run after the punk and is astonished to find himself possessed of even greater speed than he had before. careful to conceal his identity with his blurring face trick, Jay deposits the felon in jail and then races home to tell Joan. Joan’s ecstatic about Jay’s renewed powers but she stops him from pulling the old costume out of mothballs Joan says that it’s a new time and Jay needs to keep in time with rest of the world and that his old costume needs an updating as well.
At first, Jay merely adds a silver mask to his tights instead of the hat and pulls up the boots but Joan says that the red and blue look is so well associated with Superman that people will think it’s Superman doing Jays deeds and that the Flash should be distinctively recognizable even if he’s a barely glimpsed “Blur”
Jay takes this into consideration and finally settles on the more well known Yellow and red suit of the Flash with the same cowl and lightning wing tipped earpieces etc…
Jay resumes his career as the Flash with all the trappings that made Barry famous.
A year later, Joan introduces Jay to her sister’s son Wally West
(how’s that for a ret-con? Mary West’s maiden name is Williams …)
Wally of course is president of the Flash Fan Club back home and as it occurred original so it does here, Wally is struck by Lightning in Jays Lab and is made the Sidekick to the Flash BLUR!!!
(Hey, if it was good enough for Clark in Smallville…lol)
of course History follows it’s course Professor Zoom makes Jays life miserable and kills Joan…of course we learn Joan’s actually a time-displaced from the 30th century and her parents save her by implanting her soul into a new body later on. but in the meantime, Jay Starts Dating Joan’s cousin Iris West…(had to sneak her in somewhere! but as they’re about to get married Zoom reappears and Jay kills him rather than lose his new bride. Jay goes on Trial is eventually acquitted and retires to the future leaving Wally With an updated version of the costume in a true passing of the torch!
Jay is of course kidnapped by the anti-monitor and dies saving the multi-verse Wally becomes the new Flash. (for a time!)
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I’ve seen some popularity with Reverse Batfamily. By that I mean Damian is the oldest and Dick is the youngest and etc. It would be interesting to see how dynamics change with not just the Batman characters, but with other DC characters as well.
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1970s DC
The son of a teacher and firefighter Bruce Wayne’s parents murder drives him to police work and Gotham PD. Modeled on Gene Hackman’s Popeye Doyle from the French Connection Detective Wayne is a barely contained force of retribution working under his mentor and step father Capt. Jim Gordon. Along with his young partner Renee Montoya, who brushes off the advances of Officer Grayson and others, Wayne confronts a new and deadly drug hitting the streets and driving its users insane.
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1970s DC
In a world of intercontinental ballistic missiles and super power proxy wars, Paradise Island’s centuries old isolationism is no longer an option. Her public image is as an ambassador of peace to the United Nations, but Diana Prince is a secretly a warrior dedicated to securing safety for her people no matter who gets in her way.
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1970s Dc
Eben and Sarah were hard scrabble Kansas farmers. That is until oil was discovered on their land in 1923. Though the Kents were the largest landowners in the West and one of the riches families in the country, John and Martha taught their adopted son the value of an honest day’s hard work. As an investigative reporter for Kent News Syndicated, Clark and his intrepid partner Lois Lane uncovered the corruption and crime behind the facade of Metropolis’ famous skyline. But, when that trail leads to the highest office in the land and it’s wealthiest families, Clark would have to decide if reporting the news was enough.
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Okay, I’m having way too much fun with my 1970s DC Elseworld. I’m going to start another thread to build more and invite others to contribute. Thanks for the start of something I’m enjoying.
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I would like to see Tales From The Dark Multiverse continue but also for Elseworlds to be brought back so happy things can happen too. Not that I have ideas for those.
In Year One, Bruce doesn’t catch Gordon’s baby in time and Gordon snaps and becomes the first super villain.
This isn’t my idea, but Joker shoots Jim Gordon instead of Barbara.
The white martians take out the JLA and other heroes have to step up but much later on when their plot is well under way.
Batman’s plans in Tower of Babel are effective and the members of the JLA die. His guilt drives him to . . . something.
I’m always up for some of the classics. Bruce is raised by (blank), Kal’s ship lands in (blank) (Themiscyra?), (blank) gets a Green Lantern ring.
Hal succeeds in Zero Year.
I would love some maxi-series to really flesh out stories instead of the traditional one shots.
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Kal landing in Themiscyra would be great. Hippolyta saves Kal as he crash-lands in the water a la Steve Trevor, then gets raised alongside Diana and they enter Man’s World as this Kryptonian/Amazonian power couple.
Or they could cut the story short and after Kal crashes on the island, the Amazons see it’s a little boy in the rocket and they kill him with their enchanted weapons 
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In the mid to late 1800s a series of would be world conquerors or mad scientists seemed to threaten the world every few years with their underwater submarines or flying airships or forbidden genetic experiments. It was only by the sheerest luck that they were defeated. Darwin Jones knew luck would eventually run out unless humanity came up with a type of Science Police Force to counter the threat. He eventually convinced multimillionaire Bruce Wayne to use his political connections and fortune to help him establish such an organization in the early twentieth century. It was led by Barry Allen and some of the most brilliant and creative minds of the times but was never officially sanctioned by any government so it was able to use extraordinary
measures against its opponents. However Darwin Jones obsession may be turning him into the very thing he hates and there are those who begin to think he is now the threat.
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Instead of finding Tom Hagan on the streets of NYC when he was a kid, Sonny Corleone finds baby Kal-el. He takes him home and the kid grows up to be a “super consigliere” for the Corleone Crime Family. With the aid of his incredible powers, the family takes over complete control of New York City by the late 1930s. Naturally, the only force capable of standing up to them is The Justice Society of America. An all-out war for the soul of NYC ensues. And then World War II breaks out. To be continued…
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In my fantasy world of else worlds I would love to see a star trek DC universe. Basically super heroes working with the Federation. Justice League on a star ship. Ok, that would never happen,so…
- Cyber punk version of the dc universe
- all Atlantian version of everything. A world without land.
- a video game version with level ups and respawning ECT.
- all robot versions of everyone except the robots which would be the only humans.
Everyone else in this post had such great ideas. I figured I would chime in with some maybe not so great ones.
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A Stjepan Sejic-verse.
Harleen was exceptional.
Give him his own universe with free hands to do any interpretation he wants with any characters he wants.
I’ll be here for it.
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Or they could cut the story short and after Kal crashes on the island, the Amazons see it’s a little boy in the rocket and they kill him with their enchanted weapons
@Batman0803 I should not have laughed but that was exactly what I was thinking.
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- The Legion of Superheroes reinterpreted in a pulp/noir-ish setting. The Legion of Science Heroes.
- A high fantasy Elseworld, but, instead of the quasi-medieval Europe fantasy default, goes for more of an Eberron-esque “dungeonpunk” flavor.
- Based on the Sins of Youth storyline from Young Justice, but the changes end up being permanent.
- A Justice Underground story showcasing some of the heroic versions of Prime-Universe villains in the Anti-Matter Universe.
- Pro-wrestling Elseworld. Don’t judge me.
- Another round of stories from the Just Imagine If Stan Lee Created The DC Universe world.
- An Elseworld following the style and tropes of the Hong Kong action film genre.
- A Batman/Hamlet mashup.
- Assorted RPG setting mashups. Exalted Justice League. Deadlands Teen Titans. Shadowrun Legion of Superheroes. That sort of thing. Sorry, but I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to do x character using these rules in this setting over the years.
- An Elseworld where someone stops Talia from raping Batman. Sorry.
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