“Elseworlds” is a time period for DC tales that happen outdoors the principle canon. Set in alternate universes, these tales are likely to deviate from the established continuity set in both the comics or the flicks. The thought started as early because the Forties, with a notable story enjoying out in Motion Comics #60, the place Lois Lane positive aspects superpowers from a transfusion of Superman’s blood. Nonetheless, the primary official Elseworlds imprint title was the 1989 one-shot, Gotham by Gaslight, which featured a Victorian Age model of Batman searching the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper in Gotham Metropolis.
For the flicks, James Gunn said that, any further, all tales that happen outdoors the principle DC Universe might be tucked below the “Elseworlds” banner. These embody Matt Reeves’ The Batman movie sequence and Todd Phillips’ Joker movie sequence. Nonetheless, a number of official “Elseworlds’ films have been made earlier than, a lot of them revolving round Batman.
These 10 movies are value awaiting any DC followers, contemplating the unusual locations that they take the Caped Crusader.
‘Batman: The Darkish Knight Returns’ (2012 – 2013)
Who would have imagined that RoboCop may grow to be Batman? Haha. Within the two-part saga, The Darkish Knight Returns, veteran actor Peter Weller (higher recognized for enjoying the well-known cyborg) portrays a 56-year-old retired model of the Caped Crusader pressured to put on the costume once more after a gang often called The Mutants begins terrorizing Gotham Metropolis. He additionally faces a revived Joker, who had been catatonic in Arkham Asylum since Wayne’s retirement, and a no-nonsense Superman, who now works for the federal government.
Age Is Only a Quantity
Set within the Nineteen Eighties and scored by veteran DC composer Christopher Drake, The Darkish Knight Returns impresses by mixing fiction with real-world affairs. President Ronald Reagan even makes an look, injecting a heady political dose into the proceedings. Right here, Harvey Dent additionally opts for cosmetic surgery and repairs his face (why didn’t he do that every one these years?). You’ll love the fights between Batman and Superman — higher than what Zack Snyder introduced to us — regardless of these being older variations of the respective characters.
‘Batman: The Doom That Got here to Gotham’ (2023)
H. P. Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle: The Doom That Got here to Sarnath lends its parts to this Batman film, which sees the Caped Crusader return to Gotham after a 20-year absence. Evil forces have taken over Gotham Metropolis, turning acquainted Rogues Gallery members into grotesque variations of themselves. How will Batman cease them in The Doom That Got here Earlier than Gotham?
He’s Gonna Want a Bible and a Cross
Set within the Nineteen Twenties, this terrifying animated gem combines neat motion sequences with horror tropes to nice impact. David Giuntoli brings his down-home allure to the function of Bruce Wayne, and Brian George holds his personal as Alfred Pennyworth. Remember to preserve the youngsters away. Solely adults and Lovecraft followers will get a kick out of this marvelous movie.
‘Batman Ninja’ (2018)
Produced in Japan, Batman Ninja doesn’t fall below the official canon. The movie opens with Batman preventing Gorilla Grodd at Arkham Asylum, just for him to be pulled into Grodd’s time displacement machine and transported to feudal Japan. There, he takes on alternate variations of his enemies, Joker, Penguin, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy, who’ve colonized totally different territories and are actually ruling as warlords.
No Batwings and Fancy Computer systems
It’s enjoyable watching Batman depend on martial arts quite than his regular tech. The battles that includes mechs and samurai are additionally meticulously dealt with. Total, director Takashi Okazaki (the creator of Afro Samurai), tells an affecting interval story whereas portraying a nation in transformation. He expertly switches up the chronology from scene to scene, forcing audiences to deduce when the principle motion is unfolding. And don’t fear concerning the different regular suspects. Wait until you see Batman driving a horse-driven Batmobile.
‘Justice League: Gods and Monsters’ (2015)
Occasions in Justice League: Gods and Monsters play out in an alternate universe, the place Dr. Kirk Langstrom is Batman, Normal Zod’s son, Hernan Guerra, is Superman, and Bekka is Surprise Girl. The trio operates because the Justice League and maintains regulation and order utilizing brutal power. After a sequence of homicide accusations, they discover themselves on the lam.
The Worst Form of Justice League
Complicated on many events, Gods and Monsters nonetheless holds the viewer’s consideration and invests us deeply within the unlikeable characters. You’ll hate everybody, however you’ll not less than acknowledge the inclusivity (Superman was raised by Mexican immigrants). Although by no means a straightforward watch, the sprawling story, tapping on themes of despair, guilt, therapeutic, and redemption, is an astonishing achievement. Kudos to Dexter’s Michael C. Corridor, who does an amazing job voicing Dr. Kirk Langstrom.
‘Superman: Pink Son’ (2020)
Sorry America! The ship carrying Child Kal-El landed within the Soviet Union on the top of the Chilly Conflict as a substitute of Kansas. Now now we have a Man of Metal that stories to the Kremlin. However he has ambitions of his personal. He kills Joseph Stalin and turns into the brand new ruler, aiming to unfold Communist concepts the world over. Who will cease him in Superman: Pink Son? Positively not Batman. He’s a terrorist who even finally ends up committing suicide.
Uncomfortably Darkish
A cerebral, eerily labyrinthine elaboration of Mark Miller’s ruminative comedian sequence of the identical identify, the atmospheric Pink Son is the furthest factor possible from regular superhero films. It’s a lot nearer to Joker in tone. As all the time, director Sam Liu cautiously modulates the motion to a hypnotic crawl, leading to situations which might be equally elegant and chilling, particularly as soon as Superman and Batman confront one another and the previous threatens to lobotomize the latter. Aside from presenting essentially the most evil variations of Superman, the movie sufficiently serves politics buffs. From the Warsaw Pact to the Berlin Wall, no main element of the Chilly Conflict is unnoticed.
‘Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League’ (2025)
Occasions within the sequel, Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League picks up a day after Batman got here again from Feudal Japan. He discovers that the world has utterly modified and Japan not exists. Neither does the Justice League. Worse nonetheless, yakuza members are pouring in from Hinomoto (Japan from a parallel universe) utilizing an interdimensional rift that solely those that have beforehand time-traveled can see.
The Mom of All Battles
Exploring nature loss, crime, and time-travel, Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League is a wide ranging movie with a robust undercurrent of science fiction. Yakuza League members are primarily alternate variations of Justice League members, so be ready to curse out at “Kuraku, The Man of Metal”, an evil model of Superman who operates like a mob boss. Hopefully, there’ll be yet one more installment of the “Batman Ninja” story.
‘Batman: Gotham by Gaslight’ (2018)
In Victorian-era Gotham, Bruce Wayne fights crime as Batman. His newest headache is Jack the Ripper, a serial killer preying on ladies. Quickly, suspicion falls on Wayne himself, leading to his arrest. With the assistance of Alfred and Selina Kyle, he breaks out of jail and continues his investigation. Hugo Unusual and different Rogues Gallery members additionally emerge as suspects, however they’re harmless. Who actually is Jack in Gotham by Gaslight?
Sherlock Wayne
By no means have we seen Wayne work so surreptitiously however tirelessly to thwart a felony’s efforts and nonetheless battle to succeed. Those that like Wayne in his detective persona (as was the case in Matt Reeves’ The Batman) will love him in Gotham by Gaslight. There are apparent influences from the 1944 movie The Lodger and Erik Larson’s guide The Satan within the White Metropolis, in addition to a Gilligan’s Island episode by which the sitcom’s characters tackle roles from Victorian-era British fiction. Most significantly, the twist could have you urgent your temples in disbelief.
‘Injustice’ (2021)
Superman loses it after the Joker methods him into killing a pregnant Lois Lane. Grief-stricken, he turns into extra like Manchester Black, slaughtering each felony he comes throughout. Unwilling to tolerate this, Batman begins a resistance towards Superman, throwing the Justice League right into a Civil Conflict as some heroes oppose Superman and others again him. How will the chaos in Injustice finish?
Superman Has Gone Nuts
Few superhero movies equal this breathless, violently realized Elseworlds installment — which, like most excellent battle films, can also be capable of inform an affecting and inspirational human story. Intelligent, twisty, and extremely evocative, Injustice will wow you greater than Daybreak of Justice and provide the identical thrills Marvel followers received whereas watching Captain America: Civil Conflict. Even higher, there are video video games protecting the identical story.
‘Batman: Soul of the Dragon’ (2020)
Set within the Nineteen Seventies, Soul of the Dragon sees Bruce Wayne be part of forces with martial artists Richard Dragon (voiced by Mark Dacascos), Girl Shiva (voiced by Kelly Hu), and Bronze Tiger (voiced by Michael Jai White) to take care of a mystical risk from their previous. All of them as soon as educated below O-Sensei, defending a portal to the demonic serpent god Nāga. Now a cult is planning to let this evil unfastened.
It’s Kickin’ Time
As soon as once more, director Sam Liu fuses supernatural parts with superhero lore — and makes it work. What begins as a traditional martial arts-themed movie quickly takes a sobering flip as numerous characters discover their lives at risk. The choice to incorporate beloved martial arts actors like Dacascos and Jai White within the voice forged is good, though it makes us want this had been a live-action movie. For Jai White, that is his second DC outing, following The Darkish Knight, the place he portrayed against the law boss.
‘Aztec Batman: Conflict of Empires’ (2025)
We’re again within the Sixteenth-century Aztec Empire in Aztec Batman. For the younger noble Yohualli Coatl, life has taken a darkish flip after Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés killed his father, the village elder Toltecatzin. Wanting to avenge and forestall extra heinous acts, he trains within the temple of the bat god Tzinacan and turns into a masked warrior often called Batman.
Like Zorro
Assured and glowing, sinuously paced and buoyantly voiced, Aztec Batman is a shifting superhero film with a zesty Latin coronary heart. There’s a lot to like concerning the movie, together with its correct depiction of Aztec tradition and the attractive rating that includes parts of Danny Elfman’s theme from Tim Burton’s Batman. You will not imagine it. The Joker begins out as a priest earlier than turning evil.
- Launch Date
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September 18, 2025
- Runtime
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87 Minutes
- Director
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Juan Jose Meza-Leon
- Writers
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Invoice Finger, Bob Kane, Juan Jose Meza-Leon, Alfredo Mendoza
- Producers
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Aaron Berger, Fernando de Fuentes Sainz, Jose C. Garcia de Letona
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Horacio García Rojas
Yohualli Coatl (voice)
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Álvaro Morte
Hernán Cortés (voice)
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Omar Chaparro
Yoka (voice)
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José Carlos Illanes
Pedro de Alvarado (voice)
