Summary
DC Comics excels at creativity, allowing writers and artists to experiment with familiar concepts from another timeline altogether. The best Elseworld stories in DC Comics allow audiences to be immersed in strange new worlds, where familiar icons likeBatmanare altered in permissible ways to separate from the main canon. If there is one character who has been thrust into Elseworld stories the most, it’sBatman.
The best Batman Elseworld stories are plentiful, and it seems like creators and DC Comics love to present a new world for Batman to play in. Whether it’s as the last knight on Earth, as a vampire, or just a grittier tale with all the familiarities of Gotham City, there is an abundance of Elseworld stories featuring Batman.
8Batman: Year 100
Batman’s Topical Detective Story Within a Cyberpunk Police State
Enter Gotham Cityin the year 2039, where a cyberpunk-esque police state has taken over the city that Batman swore to protect. As the Gotham police continue with their unwarranted arrests and searches, their clash with Federal agents and continuing hunt for Batman is going to end poorly as the world’s greatest detective seeks his own path to solve a murder.
Batman: Year 100is a Batman story that does away with continuity, and instead, relies on telling a detective story in the heart of Gotham City. The addition of cyberpunk technology and authoritarian themes is concerningly topical, makingBatman: Year 100a must-read in 2024.
7Batman: Last Knight on Earth
Bruce Wayne awakens as an inmate of Arkham Asylum, where his entire world is spun around in an effort to confuse what’s real and what’s in his head.When Bruce Wayne escapesthis prison, he finds himself not in Gotham, but a ruined world with an ocean of sand. With nothing but the head of the Joker in a hanging jar to guide him, Batman must uncover what happened to his world and see if he can save it.
It’s always a treat to see the legendary partnership of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo in another Batman book. Their creative collaborations are always celebrated, andLast Knight on Earthis definitely one of their weirdest, but also one of the most endearing. The love for Batman and his world is obvious in this intriguing and creepy Elseworld tale.
6Gotham by Gaslight
A Victorian-era Batman and Gotham City are Plagued by Jack the Ripper
Gotham City and the Batman are thrust into a 19th-century murder mystery.Gotham by Gaslightis a tale of the Batman from another world, one where the Victorian era takes the stage, and Batman’s origins are explored with a unique twist, along with a new villain to spark further intrigue, as Jack the Ripper has come to Gotham.
A re-imagining of Batman and his iconic characters,Gotham by Gaslightset the standard for Elseworld stories. Whilst the plot was nothing exceptional, it still harbors a few surprises that will keep the most hardcore Batman fans on their toes.
5The Doom That Came to Gotham
Batman Grapples With Eldrich Horrors Beyond Comprehension
In the year 1928, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City to become Batman, where he is faced with all manners of terrors that exist beyond space and time. As Batman investigates Eldritch horrors that await him, he’s going to find an army that attempts to feed on Gotham and the world, and onlyBatman can end this horror, but at what cost to his own morality?
Putting the creator ofHellboyhimself, Mike Mignola, on a Batman book that deals with Eldritch horror themes is a recipe for success.The Doom That Came to Gothamis tense and intriguing, and Gotham City blends so well with the era of Lovecraftian horror.
4Batman & Dracula: Red Rain
Batman Battles Vampiric Urges and Lord Dracula Himself
Dracula has come to Gotham City to make it his new dark dominion, where he will prey on the weak and the homeless to feed on them and create an army. If Batman is to save his city, then he must align with the undead, and become something equally unholy himself to defeat Dracula and ensure Gotham doesn’t suffer from an endless and bloody night.
Combining the Gothic worlds of Batman and Bram Stoker’s Dracula seems too good to be true, and the distinction between Batman and Dracula’s philosophies and forces for good and evil helps to make a compelling tale, one where Batman’s code of ethics will be challenged at every sharp turn.
3Batman: White Knight
The Public Turns on Batman When a Cured Joker Shows Them He’s Gotham’s Villain
A familiar, yet different world,White Knighttakes place in a world where Batman is once again apprehending Joker, only this time, there is a cure for his madness.The Joker becomes Jack Napier, and with his sanity in check, he’s able to save Gotham City, and turn it into something that doesn’t need the Joker, and definitely doesn’t need the Batman.
White Knightis an interesting take on the dynamic of Batman and Joker, and it’s a rather deep-rotted statement on how crime and villainy are Batman’s therapy. White Knight also presents some interesting ideas for familiar characters, like the relationship between Joker and Harley Quinn and how toxic that was divulged over the years.
2Batman: Earth One
A New Origin For a Darker and Realistic Caped Crusader
A new origin awaits Bruce Wayne, and the hurdles on the way to becoming Batman have never been fiercer. Gotham City is at its lowest point, and friend and foe are one and the same. As Bruce grapples with the fate that awaits him as Batman, he’s going to have to deal witha disapproving Alfred, corrupt police, and an unquenched thirst for vengeance.
Batman: Earth Oneis yet another reimagining of Bruce’s origin as Batman, and everything about it works. The writing and the art make for an interesting read, andEarth Oneis a gritty starting point for those who want a new Batman with its own continuity.
1The Dark Knight Returns
A Retired and Older Bruce Wayne Becomes the Batman That Gotham City Needs
A dark and depressing future takes hold, and criminal gangs run amok in Gotham City after the Batman was forced to retire. An older and grizzled Bruce Wayne has reached a breaking point after seeing just how far down in the gutter Gotham has fallen, and the Batman returns to a city that doesn’t want him, but it certainly needs him.
The Dark Knight Returnsis a graphic novel that forever changed Batman as a character. Whilst the story can be considered canon, Elseworld, or a potential future for the main Batman, it’s still an Elseworld tale that deals heavy themes. Batman’s potential future as a retired fugitive, pairing against villains that are addicted to him, anda battle of heroeswho have sworn allegiance to the government, makes for one of the best Batman comics of all time.
