Marvel’s Spider-Man isn’t the only major comic book superhero with distinct alternate versions that populate the multiverse. As far as the Distinguished Competition, both the world’s finest heroes, Batman and Superman, have endless alternate versions that have popped up across countless comics and graphic novels. The different versions of the Dark Knight Detective may very well be some of the most popular in comics, with an alternate reality take on Batman sitting pretty as the best-selling comic for over a year now. To that end, it’s only a matter of time before an AU Batman becomes the backbone of a TV series, and there are some perfect candidates for it.
5) Jurassic League Batman
The pages of The Jurassic League introduce one of the most exciting multiverse worlds that makes you wonder why it was never considered before, as it’s simply dinosaur versions of classic heroes. In the series, Bat Walker is an allosaurus that wears a Batman-like visage and protects the jungles of Growltham City, encountering the evil Dilophosaurus, Jokerzard. He even has a tiny human sidekick and stone batarangs. The comic series is only seven issues total, but the universe of Jurassic League and a prehistoric, scaly Batman is a TV show pitch that needs almost nothing else to sell it. In a world where Primal is one of the best shows to come out of Adult Swim in years, a similar series with a dinosaur Batman seems perfect.
4) Owlman of Earth-3
One of the most famous alternate versions of Batman…doesn’t actually use the Bat-motifs at all. Earth-3 is best known as the alternate reality in the DCU where the heroes are evil and the villains are good, meaning the Justice League is known as the Crime Syndicate, and their version of Batman is Owlman. Boasting a similar origin story, where Thomas Wayne, Jr. is the only surviving member of his family after an encounter with a gunman in an alley (which also takes the life of his brother, Bruce), this instills in him a belief in conquering the night of Gotham and using fear to terrorize.
The Batman mythology is so well-known and distinct across pop culture that a series that takes the hero and lore we know, and flips it on its head with a heroic version of villains, evil versions of heroes, and some, like The Joker, who walk the line between the two while still standing in opposition to Owlman. It’s easy to see why a major company wouldn’t want an evil version of their most popular hero to be the star of a show, but audiences have proven they love not only Batman, but also antiheroes on TV.
3) The Atomic Knights of Justice
Hailing from Earth-17, a world ruined by nuclear arms and has since become a desolate wasteland, the Batman who works with the Atomic Knights of Justice (which also includes variants of Adam Strange, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman) to protect Novamerika from the threats of mutants, monsters, and mad scientists. The team is on the search for an artifact called the Cosmic Grail to defeat Darkseid.
Featuring shades of both Fallout but also clear influence by Stephen King’s The Dark Tower (the titular tower is directly mentioned by Batman in the pages of The Multiversity), this take on Batman is very different from the hero that fans expect to see. Armed with thermal hand canons and a grim determination, where his entire persona has become “Batman” with no human counterpart, it’s a post-apocalyptic Batman that needs further exploration, especially in a world where Fallout is one of the biggest shows.
2) Gotham by Gaslight
One of the most famous alternate versions of Batman, Gotham By Gaslight, has been a fan-favorite since it premiered over thirty years ago. Set against the backdrop of Victorian London, the initial story set in this world was a Batman vs Jack the Ripper story, a narrative that’s strong enough to carry a full season of television alone before you even get into the different versions of notable Batman characters like a steampunk Mister Freeze. The period setting for Gotham by Gaslight makes it immediately distinct from anything else DC (or even Marvel) is doing, including Spider-Noir. This alternate universe remains popular enough that DC continues to tell stories in this world to this day, giving a TV series a clear blueprint to build on.
1) Flashpoint Batman
Perhaps the most popular version of an alternate reality Batman, the Flashpoint universe is one where a slight change to your favorite heroes has created very different versions. Here, Bruce Wayne was gunned down in Crime Alley by Joe Chill, and as a result, his father, Thomas Wayne, takes up the Batman mantle to not only eliminate criminals with deadly force but also later try to destroy his universe entirely to bring his son back to life.
The Flashpoint universe is a great bedrock for a TV series, with Martha Wayne becoming its version of The Joker, having been driven mad in a different direction by Bruce’s death, but also the tyrannical Emperor Aquaman, caught in an endless war with Queen Diana and her Amazonian army, plus a version of Shazam that’s actually six kids working together to become one hero. The possibilities are endless, and there’s a reason this alternate DC Earth has been one of their most popular over the past fifteen years.
