Last week, geek vlogger and critic Bob Chipman ran anepisode of his Screw Attack Show Trust in Bob about whether or not it’s time to revampBatman’s origin in some way. I’m
not sure I totally agree but he did raise a lot of good points about Batman’s
wealth being a pretty easy answer to Gotham’s woes as well as the skeevy nature
of Batman’s origin being rich enough to beat people senseless and damaged
enough to not get called out on it by anyone. However, I’m not here to debate the merits of Batman
vigilante vs. Batman philanthropists, especially because Chris Sim alreadymade all the points I would make in favor Batman. Instead, the whole conversation got me thinking about a
little know Elseworld adaptation of the character.
An Elseworld is a DC Comics imprint where “heroes are taken
from their usual settings and put into strange situations and places- some that
have existed, and others that can’t, couldn’t, or shouldn’t exist.” They’re essentially a way to tell stories
with characters without having to worry about continuity with a lot of notable
installments like Gotham By Gaslight
or JSA: The Liberty Files. Most of the time Elseworlds comics tend
to revolve around Batman and that’s thanks to one man: Doug Moench.
