Don't know if this has been done but instead of Alfred what if Jacob Kane supported Bruce Wayne/Batman's "war on crime"
Don't know if this has been done but instead of Alfred what if Jacob Kane supported Bruce Wayne/Batman's "war on crime"
Batman in some epic battle is mortally wounded. He is able to get back to the cave where he summons Dick, Jason, and Tim (this is a point before Damian was introduced). To the surprise of Dick and Tim Bruce asks Jason to take up the mantle. He tells Dick you have your own life and identity and shouldn't try to be him. The same with Tim in your young yet and need to make your own way and choices. He tells Jason he is the one most like him with the dedication to the mission and that is why he is choosing him. Jason swears to him he will strive to live up to be the man Bruce thinks he can be as Bruce passes away. We then pick up a year latter with jason as the new Batman with Tim still working at his side.
So this is the What if Jason Todd became Batman world.
So, an Earth without him could show us exactly what he influences and the depths to which he affects the day-to-day operations on Earth (maybe elsewhere too?).
I remember reading and enjoying the special issue that had three or four different origins for him, but after Moore used the fallen angel (who chose neither side and was rejected by both during the Fall) for his arc in Swamp Thing, I really latched onto that one. It was much cooler, IMO, than the Galactus 'last survivor of universe that came before this one' origin, or whichever option(s) I can't even remember.
A world without a Specter, or one where the Specter is corrupted, and as a result, the world is a darker place, could be interesting. It could even be a neat meta-justification for why all of the traditional good guys in the Crime Syndicate world are villains, because 'God's Vengeance' in that universe is a dark and twisted thing, and the world is corrupted in turn.
Last edited by Sutekh; 03-05-2024 at 04:30 PM.
Hmmmmm.
I think I would like to see one based on the JLA novels.
I want to see someone do a Fascist Batman who's actually still logical and sane, just unspeakably ruthless and violent, in contrast with the Batman Who Laughs.
Maybe he accepted Ra's offer, married Talia, and uses the Demon organization to wage a "shadow war" on governments that don't answer his wishes, and tries to take out the Justice League stealthily.
Basically, a reverse-Injustice that doesn't pretend that Joker-Batman is the scariest idea.
Like action, adventure, rogues, and outlaws? Like anti-heroes, femme fatales, mysteries and thrillers?
I wrote a book with them. Outlaw’s Shadow: A Sherwood Noir. Robin Hood’s evil counterpart, Guy of Gisbourne, is the main character. Feel free to give it a look: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asi...E2PKBNJFH76GQP
how about a variation of OG Earth 2, in which the JSA and All-Stars never disbanded after WWII... who would carry on, who would retire when, who would still have kids, whose kids would take up the "family business"...
-does Superman even show up here? Maybe in this case, Zor-El was monitoring different planets from Krypton before it exploded and, upon seeing the emergence of the All-Stars, decided to send Kal to a different planet that has no other protectors
-Alan Scott knew Thomas Wayne from his involvement in Gotham Broadcasting Corp, and when the Wayne's were murdered, Scott took a young Bruce under his wing and mentored him - would this Bruce even become Batman at all? maybe he instead becomes a philanthropist, gets involved in politics and provides funding for the crime fighters
-after seeing and meeting other female heroines during her tenure with the JSA/All-Stars, this world's Hippolyta reveals Themiscyra to the world and creates a faction of volunteer Amazons who assist the other heroes, resulting in either no Wonder Woman at all or, conversely, several of them
-when Abin-Sur crashes on Earth, some established heroes catch wind of his craft in the atmosphere and move to be present when it crashes. after seeing Alan use his Starheart abilities, Abin gifts him the GL Corps ring as well, surmising that his experience with similar abilities will reduce his "learning curve". with Alan's life already extended indefinitely by the Starheart, the Corps see no need for him to have a "back-up" - especially once his daughter, Jade, is born with a genetic connection to both the Starheart and the Corps GL Battery. not to say the Corps would never show up on earth, but there wouldn't be a dozen Lanterns on one damn planet like we have now lol
what else would play out differently?
Last edited by Aarkus; 03-06-2024 at 11:59 AM.
That sounds more like a posts crisis earth but inclined to the Golden age. The OG Earth two had a Golden age Superman (Kal-L) Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Wonder Woman (Diana Prince) members of the JSA. There were no Guardians on earth two (No GL Corps, or space Manhunters). And the cousin of Superman was Power Girl (Kara Zor-L).
"Never assign to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity or ignorance."
"Great stories will always return to their original forms"
"Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart; for his purity, by definition, is unassailable." James Baldwin
pretty much
I'm aware of all that, but I'm proposing that those characters weren't around in this timeline, and their Earth-1 counterparts either don't show up, or have a different story, in this reality.
I mean, maybe Zor-El sent Kal to New Genesis and he was raised by Highfather in this reality...
so I'm saying start with a "merged" golden age, but things play out differently because the JSA and All-Stars stick around. other groups splinter off, like say the Freedom Fighters, who continue to support the government in Cold War ops until the 80s... stuff like that
Maybe hes taken in by Adam Strange on Rann
Bruce becomes Green Lantern's sidekick Lantern Boy lol-Alan Scott knew Thomas Wayne from his involvement in Gotham Broadcasting Corp, and when the Wayne's were murdered, Scott took a young Bruce under his wing and mentored him - would this Bruce even become Batman at all? maybe he instead becomes a philanthropist, gets involved in politics and provides funding for the crime fighters
-when Abin-Sur crashes on Earth, some established heroes catch wind of his craft in the atmosphere and move to be present when it crashes. after seeing Alan use his Starheart abilities, Abin gifts him the GL Corps ring as well, surmising that his experience with similar abilities will reduce his "learning curve". with Alan's life already extended indefinitely by the Starheart, the Corps see no need for him to have a "back-up" - especially once his daughter, Jade, is born with a genetic connection to both the Starheart and the Corps GL Battery. not to say the Corps would never show up on earth, but there wouldn't be a dozen Lanterns on one damn planet like we have now lol
If Bruce grows up with Alan's kids I could see them being The Outsiders
Billy Batson grows up and starts an orphanage taken in the modern members of the SHAZAM familywhat else would play out differently?
I like it
good idea also, especially if he still decides to be directly involved in crime fighting despite a different upbringing
also, if Jenny & Todd's mom got proper mental health treatment and was able to co-parent them with Alan, then maybe Todd would also be less unstable
now we're talking
or ideas like this: the Chernobyl incident wound up creating/causing a stable wormhole to some other reality populated mostly by monsters... radiation-proof heroes like Firestorm and Captain Atom now guard it to protect the rest of the planet from anything that comes thru the wormhole...