Elseworlds is the publicationimprint forAmerican comic books produced byDC Comics for stories that take place outside theDC Universecanon.^[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 firstElseworlds publication.^[1]

The title page of "Superman, Cartoon Hero!"^[2] (a slightly retooled reprint of 1942's "Superman, Matinee Idol")^[3] stated that the story was "Our first imaginary story", and continued to say: "In 1942, a series of Superman shorts started showing throughout the U.S.! So, with tongue firmly in cheek, the DC team turned out this story of what might have happened ifLois Lane had decided to see... Superman, Cartoon Hero!" The story opens with Lois determined to learn Superman's secret identity and going to the theater to see theMax FleischerSuperman short "The Mad Scientist" in hopes of seeing the animated Man of Steel reveal his secret identity. In addition to other things, when the opening credits roll and state that the cartoons are based on DC Comics, Lois Lane states that she has never heard ofDC Comics.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 asSuperman on the movie screen.^[4]

InAction 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 theComics Buyer's Guide columnAsk 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 featuredalternate histories of characters, such as "The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman Blue!".^{[citation needed]} There, readers saw possible pasts that could have happened, but did not happen. One such story has Superman being raised by apes in imitation ofTarzan, an idea that would be recycled into a laterElseworlds tale where Tarzan and Superman were switched at birth. Possible present times were shown, such as one story whereJonathan and Martha Kent, touched by pity, adopt a recently orphanedBruce 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 theGotham Gazette instead of living inMetropolis, andBatman 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 withLex 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 asClark Kent revealing to Lois Lane his secret identity and marrying her. Futures that "perhaps never will" happen were also examined, such as the permanent death of Superman.Imaginary Stories appeared often enough that some comics – such asSuperman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #15 (February 1960), the cover of which appears to depict Superman marrying Lois Lane – had to assure readers that their contents were not "imaginary". The cover ofLois Lane #59 (August 1965), by contrast, promised that its depiction of Lois as the romantic rival ofLara,Jor-El's girlfriend and future mother of Superman, was "real--not imaginary!".

A fewImaginary Stories appeared in other DC publications. Batman editorJack Schiff supervised stories in which the Dark Knight starts a family or loses his identity, though these were revealed at the end of the story to be stories written byAlfred.^[6][7] Schiff's stories were notable for the first appearance of theoriginal Bruce Wayne Junior.^{[citation needed]} Writer/editorRobert Kanigher supervisedWonder Woman's own series ofImaginary Stories calledImpossible Tales which featured the same principle.^{[citation needed]} There, Wonder Woman appeared along with her younger selves,Wonder Girl andWonder Tot. The majority ofImaginary Stories were published in various Superman comics under the guidance of Superman editorMort 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 asJulius Schwartz rarely used theImaginary Stories concept.^{[citation needed]}

Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" two-part story inSuperman #423 andAction Comics #583 in 1986 was the last Pre-Crisis story to use theImaginary Stories label.^{[citation needed]}

The firstElseworlds title wasGotham by Gaslight (1989), written byBrian Augustyn and drawn byMike Mignola, which featured aVictorian Age version of thesuperhero Batman huntingJack the Ripper, who had come toGotham City. The title was not originally published as anElseworlds comic, but its success led to the creation of theElseworlds imprint and this title was retroactively declared the firstElseworlds story.^[8] The first book to feature theElseworlds logo wasBatman: Holy Terror in 1991.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, theElseworlds imprint was used as the theme for theannual edition comic books of that summer.^{[citation needed]}

DC sporadically published variousElseworlds titles from 1989 to 2003. In August 2003, editorMike Carlin mentioned that DC had scaled back the production ofElseworlds books in order to "put the luster back on them".^[9] Several titles that were announced asElseworlds books prior to this, such asSuperman & Batman: Generations IV andTheTeen Titans Swingin' Elseworlds Special, were cancelled.^{[citation needed]} The plannedTeen Titans tale was released in January 2008 as theTeen Titans Lost Annual.^[10]

In September 2009,Dan DiDio revealed the return of theElseworlds 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 onlyElseworlds story released under the initiative was the three-issue miniseriesSuperman: 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 byAndy Diggle andLeandro Fernández
• Batman the Barbarian by Greg Smallwood
• Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter byJay Kristoff and Tirso Cons
• Green Lantern: Dark by Tate Brombal andWerther Dell'Edera
• Batman: Nightfire by Clay and Seth Mann
• DC vs. Vampires: World War V byMatthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt

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

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

A newMultiverse was introduced at the conclusion of the52 weekly series that includes alternate worlds that were previously seen in variousElseworlds titles.^[15]

"Elseworlds" was the title for the fifth crossover in theArrowverse franchise, which aired from December 9 to 11, 2018, onThe CW. The crossover was told across episodes ofThe Flash,Arrow andSupergirl and introducedBatwoman,Gotham City,Nora Fries, andLois Lane to the Arrowverse.^[16]

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 everyElseworlds comic book

• DC Black Label - DC Comics's current imprint for artist deviations
• What If – Marvel Comics' similar comic book line
• Intercompany crossover
• List ofElseworlds publications

• Elseworlds at the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from March 2015
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015
• Elseworlds
• Comics about parallel universes
• Continuity (fiction)
• DC Comics imprints
• DC Comics dimensions