Batman in Alternate Realities: The Best of DC's Elseworlds Imprint

For years, DC Comics has explored fascinating, often outrageous alternate realities for its iconic characters through its Elseworlds imprint. These stories, set outside the primary continuity of the DC universe, have allowed beloved characters to embark on unexpected adventures in new settings. Many of the most compelling Elseworlds stories feature alternative versions of Batman.

From the past to the future, and even alternate versions of the present, these stories have stretched the concept of Batman to new, exciting extremes. Now, with the Elseworlds imprint returning and new titles like Batman the Barbarian on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to revisit some of the best Elseworlds versions of Batman. Here are the top 4.

1. Batman: Holy Terror

The first story published under DC's official Elseworlds label was Batman: Holy Terror. In this alternate history, Oliver Cromwell survives instead of dying of malaria, leading to events transforming America into a hyper-Christian society. Thomas and Martha Wayne join a resistance against this dystopian society, leading to their assassinations. Their son Bruce becomes a priest before adopting the Batman mantle. Initially, Holy Terror Batman seeks revenge against his parents' killers, but he soon expands his mission to fight the oppressive society that caused their deaths.

2. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham

In Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham, one of the most iconic Elseworld stories, Batman battles cosmic monsters. Reimagined as a business tycoon, Batman becomes entangled in a conspiracy by Ra's al Ghul and his League of Assassins to awaken the Old God Iog-Sotha. This narrative twist allows the writers to reinvent familiar Batman characters like Poison Ivy as Lovecraftian monsters, resulting in one of the most Gothic horror stories in Batman's history.

3. Batman: Two-Faces

Batman: Two Faces offers a dark reinterpretation of the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story. Bruce Wayne acquires a flower that blossoms beautifully by day but becomes a monstrous weed by night. After the loss of Pamela Isley to Two-Face, Bruce vows to cure the villain. Using a potion derived from the plant, Bruce gains superhuman abilities and fights crime. But a new killer known as the Joker begins a murderous spree, and Batman soon realizes that the potion has created a split personality within him, with the Joker representing his dark side.

4. Batman: Bloodstorm

Perhaps the darkest Elseworlds tale is Batman: Bloodstorm, in which Batman is turned into a vampire. As part of the Batman: The Vampire Trilogy, Bloodstorm depicts Batman's transformation after being infected by a vampire. As a "pure" vampire, Batman retains his humanity by refusing to drink human blood, but he loses this purity after being driven to the Joker. Batman then embarks on a bloody rampage of criminals until he allows Gordon and Alfred to stake him through the heart. Despite his apparent death, the story of the vampiric Batman continues in Red Rain.