Elseworlds

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Elseworlds logo

Elseworlds is the publication

canon.[1] Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that deviate from the established continuity of DC's regular comics. The "Elseworlds" name was trademarked in 1989, the same year as the first Elseworlds publication.[1]

History

Imaginary Stories

The title page of "Superman, Cartoon Hero!"

Clark Kent then wonders if the people there are clairvoyant. In the final panel, Clark Kent exchanges a knowing wink with the image of himself as Superman on the movie screen.[4]

In Action Comics #60 (May 1943), "Lois Lane – Superwoman!" told the story of Lois gaining superpowers from a transfusion of Superman's blood; while this is explicitly a dream sequence, it has been called "a forerunner of what would be known as 'Imaginary Stories'".[5]

Craig Shutt, author of the Comics Buyer's Guide column Ask Mr. Silver Age, states that true imaginary stories differed from stories that were dreams and hoaxes.[citation needed] Dreams and hoaxes were "gyps" on account of "not having happened", whilst true imaginary stories were canonical at least unto themselves. Also, since they were "just" imaginary and thus had no bearing on the characters' regular stories, imaginary stories could show things like people dying and the victory of evil.[citation needed] In the optimistic and hopeful Silver Age of Comics, such stories usually would not be told; this was hinted with writers telling readers how such an Imaginary Story often reassured the readers that it did not really happen.[citation needed]

Most of these Imaginary Stories featured

Bruce Wayne and raise him along with their own son, Clark. Thus, the present shows Superman and Batman as brothers, with Clark protecting Gotham and working for the Gotham Gazette instead of living in Metropolis, and Batman inviting his foster parents, the Kents, to live with him in Wayne Manor. In keeping with the fact that imaginary stories allowed for much grimmer stories than usual, the story ended with Lex Luthor
killing the Kents and Batman trying to murder him in revenge.

This Super-Wedding is REAL!
The marriage is not a HOAX!
The bride and groom are not ROBOTS!
This romance is not a DREAM of LOIS LANE or SUPERMAN!

— Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #15 (Feb. 1960)

Possible futures that "could very well happen" were explored, such as

's girlfriend and future mother of Superman, was "real--not imaginary!".

A few Imaginary Stories appeared in other DC publications. Batman editor

Wonder Tot. However, the majority of Imaginary Stories were published in various Superman comics under the guidance of Superman editor Mort Weisinger, the "King of Imaginary Stories".[citation needed] This was in part because, according to Shutt, Weisinger aimed for younger readers instead of older ones.[citation needed] Later editors such as Julius Schwartz rarely used the Imaginary Stories concept.[citation needed
]

Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" two-part story in Superman #423 and Action Comics #583 in 1986 was the last Pre-Crisis story to use the Imaginary Stories label.[citation needed]

Elseworlds imprint

The first Elseworlds title was

Victorian Age version of the superhero Batman hunting Jack the Ripper, who had come to Gotham City. The title was not originally published as an Elseworlds comic, but its success led to the creation of the Elseworlds imprint and this title was retroactively declared the first Elseworlds story.[8] The first book to feature the Elseworlds logo was Batman: Holy Terror in 1991.[citation needed] In 1994, the Elseworlds imprint was used as the theme for the annual edition comic books of that summer.[citation needed
]

DC sporadically published various Elseworlds titles from 1989 to 2003. In August 2003, editor Mike Carlin mentioned that DC had scaled back the production of Elseworlds books in order to "put the luster back on them".[9] Several titles that were announced as Elseworlds books prior to this, such as Superman & Batman: Generations IV and The Teen Titans Swingin' Elseworlds Special, were cancelled.[citation needed] The planned Teen Titans tale was released in January 2008 as the Teen Titans Lost Annual.[10]

In September 2009, Dan DiDio revealed the return of the Elseworlds imprint as a series of Prestige Format books, with the approach of taking the basic concepts and origins of DC characters and twisting them in various ways.[11] The only Elseworlds story released under the initiative was the three-issue miniseries Superman: The Last Family of Krypton, published from August to October 2010, which told the story of baby Kal-El reaching Earth with his mother and father and how the world handles the emergence of a superpowered family.[12]

After a 14-year absence, DC relaunched the imprint in 2024 with six titles confirmed:[13]

  • Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age by Andy Diggle and Leandro Fernandez
  • Batman the Barbarian by Greg Smallwood
  • Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter by Jay Kristoff and Tirso Cons
  • Green Lantern: Dark by Tate Brombal and Werther Dell’Edera
  • Batman: Nightfire by Clay and Seth Mann
  • DC vs. Vampires: World War V by Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt

Relationship to DC continuity

Although the Elseworlds imprint was created to feature stories separate from DC continuity, concepts from various Elseworlds stories were incorporated into DC continuity at various times.

The Kingdom miniseries in 1999 brought the 1996 Kingdom Come miniseries into DC continuity as part of a series of alternate timelines known as Hypertime, which included some of the alternate worlds depicted in various Elseworlds titles.[14]

A new Multiverse was introduced at the conclusion of the 52 weekly series that includes alternate worlds that were previously seen in various Elseworlds titles.[15]

In other media

The Elseworlds name was used as the title for the fifth crossover in the Arrowverse franchise, which aired from December 9 to December 11, 2018 on The CW. The crossover was told across episodes of The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl and introduced Batwoman, Gotham City, Nora Fries, and Lois Lane to the Arrowverse.[16]

Quotes

In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places—some that have existed, or might have existed, and others that can't, couldn't or shouldn't exist. The result: stories that make characters who are as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow.

— Introduction at the beginning of every Elseworlds comic book

See also

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  2. ^ Superman #183 (January 1966)
  3. ^ Superman #19 (Nov.–Dec. 1942)
  4. ^ Superman #183 (Jan. 1966)
  5. .
  6. ^ Batman #131 (April 1960)
  7. ^ Batman #135 (Oct. 1960)
  8. ^ "Batman: Gotham by Gaslight Comics". IGN. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Michael Patrick (2008-08-10). "CHICAGO DAY 2: New 'Challengers of the Unknown', Richard Corben Monthly Announced, DC Teams with Aspen". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  10. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (2008-01-09). "Teen Titans: The Lost Annual Review". IGN. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  11. ^ Rogers, Vaneta (2009-09-14). "20 Answers & 1 Question with Dan Didio". Newsarama. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Superman: The Last Family of Krypton". IGN. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  13. ^ McMillan, Graeme (2023-10-12). "DC revives the fan-favorite Elseworlds imprint in 2024". Popverse. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  14. ^ The Kingdom #2 (Feb. 1999)
  15. ^ 52 Week Fifty-Two (May 2007)
  16. ^ Mitovitch, Matt Webb (September 26, 2018). "Arrowverse Crossover Theme Is 'Elseworlds', Casts Multiverse Observer". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.

External links