Alternative Versions of Superman - Other Alternative Depictions

Other Alternative Depictions

Between 1989 and 2004, DC's Elseworlds imprint was used to showcase unofficial alternative universe stories; before 1989, "imaginary stories" served the same purpose. Since 2004, stories outside of the main DC continuity have carried no particular name or imprint. The examples listed below are just a few of the many alternative versions of Superman depicted in these stories.

• All-Star Superman is from the comic book of the same name. Writer Grant Morrison has said that for all intents and purposes, he is the Silver Age Superman, or at the very least has a backstory similar to that of the Silver Age version, including powers and continuity. For example, Clark Kent first reveals himself during childhood as Superboy, and Jonathan Kent has died (however, in actual Silver/Bronze Age stories, both Jonathan and Martha Kent died by the time Clark is active as Superman).
• Frank Miller's Superman, the Superman of All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, is not the same as the Superman of All-Star Superman. The artist of All-Star Batman, Jim Lee, has stated that he is based on the Golden Age Superman, which is why he is shown running on water instead of flying. However, they make no mention of this in the actual comic. Conversely, Frank Miller's Superman is seen flying in his other comics about Batman. This is notionally the same Superman who will evolve to the jingoistic government agent seen in The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again, at least from Miller's authorial point of view, as there is no official canonical link between the All-Star and Dark Knight continuities as of yet.
• In Superman: The Dark Side (1998) Kal-El's rocket is diverted from Earth to Apokolips, and Superman is raised by Darkseid.
• Superman: True Brit is a humorous re-imagining of Superman in which the ship crashed in England and his career as a superhero is severely limited both by glory-adverse adoptive parents and the scandal-hungry tabloid press.
• Superman: Kal- Kal-El's rocket lands on Earth in the Middle Ages, where he becomes a blacksmith's apprentice in a village ruled by Baron Luthor, who seeks to marry Lady Loisse, daughter of the village's murdered protector Lord Lane. After Kal uses his powers to forge the "silver egg" his parents found him in into a suit of armour for Baron Luthor, he asks for Loisse's hand in marriage as payment, but Luthor - thanks to a Kryptonite gemstone he wears - takes Loisse to his own bed on her wedding night due to an old feudal law, subsequently beating her to death. Using a sword he forged for himself at the same time as he made Luthor's armour - implied to be Excalibur - Kal manages to slay Luthor, but he is severely wounded by Luthor's gemstone in the process.
• Superman: Speeding Bullets has Superman found and adopted by the Waynes and christened Bruce. He sees his foster parents murdered in front of him and grows up to be a superpowered Batman. Earlier imaginary stories, such as the stories of "Bruce (Superman) Wayne" told in Superman (vol. 1) #353, #358 and #363 (1980–1981), also explored the scenario of the infant Kal-El being adopted by the Waynes.
• Superman: Last Son of Earth is a dramatic role reversal for many Superman traditions. In this story, he is Clark Kent, biological son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, who is sent into space to escape the impending destruction of Earth by collision with a space rock. He lands on Krypton and is adopted by Jor-El and Lara as their son, Kal-El, eventually discovering an Oan power ring.
• In Superman: Secret Identity, a teenage boy named Clark Kent in the "real world" (where Superman is a just a comic book character) somehow develops superpowers like those of his namesake. After a brief career as a mysterious, non-costumed "Superboy", Clark dons the fictional character's colors and continues to work in secret as "Superman".
• Superman & Batman: Generations I-III, three limited series which present a unified cohesive history of many elements seen throughout the characters' history, with the characters interacting in real time from the early 20th century onward.
• In Batman: Holy Terror (1991), the body of an alien known simply as "The Green Man" with a similar origin to Superman is shown, and his origin is described during this story.
• The Booster Gold story arc "52 Pick-Up" briefly depicts a Superman in Booster Gold #3, when showing a timeline where Superman was found by Lionel Luthor and raised as Lionel Jr. alongside Lex Luthor. Lex finds out his brother's secret and ends up killing him a year later.
• The Hypertension storyline in Superboy #60-64 (1999) shows an alternative version of Kon-El named Black Zero. Black Zero is a clone of Superman that has successfully grown to adulthood after Superman dies at the hands of Doomsday. For a time, he acts as the new Superman, even calling himself Superman 2. He exhibits both Superman's abilities as well as Superboy's tactile telekinesis. Eventually he turns to evil after coming to believe that clones are being treated unfairly. He first conquers his Earth, then enlists the help of the New God Metron to travel to alternative realities and conquer them as well to protect the clone community. He is defeated by the combined efforts of Kon-El, multiple versions of Superboy and the Challengers of the Unknown. He is lost in Hypertime at the end of the story and hasn't been seen since.
• In the Just Imagine... series, Superman is reimagined as a police officer from Krypton named Salden who is accidentally transported to Earth, and only wishes to go home. He becomes a superhero because he believes Earth's primitive technology is a result of humans squandering their resources fighting crime, corruption, and other ills, and that alleviating these problems will allow humanity to advance to the point of creating a means to send him home. He has superhuman strength and speed, and wears a flying harness. This version was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema.
• Marvel/DC Crossovers - In the majority of Marvel/DC crossovers, Superman is from the same universe as many Marvel characters, as in an Elseworlds story. In JLA/Avengers, which depicts the DC and Marvel Universes being attacked and forcibly combined by Krona, Superman and Captain America are mentally affected by the universal upheaval and become disgusted with each other's methods; Superman views the Marvel Universe's heroes as disgraces who have let their world down through inaction, while Captain America views the Justice League as overlords who oppress the people of their world. The two eventually reconcile and admit that part of the reason they resented the other is that they fear their accusations are right, with Superman being temporarily entrusted with Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer Mjolnir during the final fight against the minions of their greatest foe, Krona.
• JLA: Shogun of Steel (2002), set in feudal Japan, features a Japanese Superman.
• Multiple versions of Superman appeared in Superman/Batman issue #25 "Supermen/Batmen", who come to aid the mainstream Superman. Among them are Bizarro #1; Superman Red; a blond-haired Superman; a Superman depicted as a stereotypical African-American; a Superman with a different style "S" shield resembling the Golden Age Superman's in Action Comics #1; and a black-suited, long-haired Superman from "The Return of Superman".