Elseworlds and the conclusion of myth

In his pitch for the unproduced comics Twilight of the Superheroes, Alan Moore discusses the idea of comics not attaining true modern myth or legend status due to having to be open ended. That because the stories are continued every month, there really isn’t room for closure so the myth never has a conclusion. He compares it to the myths and legends of Robin Hood, King Arthur, and Davy Crockett. “You cannot apply it to most comic book characters because, in order to meet the commercial demands of a continuing series, they can never have a resolution. Indeed, they find it difficult to embrace any of the changes in life that the passage of time brings about for these very same reasons, making them finally less than fully human as well as falling far short of true myth”.

An example Moore uses of a comic doing this right is Frank Miller’s the Dark Knight Returns (1986). Given Moore wrote his pitch in 1987 and before the Elseworld imprint was invented or Miller created the Dark Knight Strikes Again (2001)or Dark Knight III the Master Race (2017), using Dark Knight Returns is more than ideal. It is set in a possible future where Batman had retired for years, before coming back and eventually “dying” in a fight with Superman. Bringing a satisfying conclusion to the Batman mythos. Had Dark Knight Returns been published post Gotham by Gaslight (1989) then perhaps we would refer to it as an Elseworld story for how much it has in common with alternate reality stories.

I believe a reason why Elseworld stories can be so satisfying is because, much like how Moore describes Dark Knight Returns, they provide a conclusion to a story for the most part. In Superman: Red Son (2003), Superman’s rocket lands in the Ukraine rather than Kansas. He grows up to be Russia’s hero rather than Americas, he eventually becomes a dictator and controls Russia, before ‘dying’ protecting the Earth from Brainiac. In the Batman & Dracula trilogy, Dracula invades Gotham, Batman becomes a vampire to stop him and the other vampires, he eventually dies when he’s no longer needed. JLA Act of God, the Justice League suddenly lose their powers and have to adapt to an ordinary life. Some eventually accept their new role, with Clark and Diana having a son at the end.

Regardless of their quality, Elseworld stories do provide something that main continuity can’t give you. Closure and a complete myth. Perhaps the best example would be the fantastic Kingdom Come (1996), which takes a lot of ques from Moore’s Twilight of the Superheroes. In universe, the heroes we know have already disappeared into myth and legend, before coming back for an epic battle. At the end, they are once again seen as myths and legends, with Clark and Diana about to have a child, with Bruce as godfather, giving rise to another generation of heroes. Despite the fact that it does take influence from Moore’s work, it’s possible that he would have seen Kingdom Come as the ultimate example of a complete mythology with DC Superheroes.

Bibliography:

• Miller, F. (1986) The Dark Knight Returns. DC Comics: Burbank
• Moore, A. (1987) Twilight of the Superheroes: The Interminable Ramble. [Online] Archive. Available from: https://archive.org/stream/TwilightOfTheSuperheroes/TwilightOfTheSuperheroes_djvu.txt [Last accessed: 31.08.2019]
• Augustyn, B. & Mignola, M. (1989) Gotham by Gaslight. DC Comics: Burbank.
• Moench, D. & Jones, K. (1991) Batman & Dracula: Red Rain. DC Comics: Burbank
• Moench, D. & Jones, K. (1994) Batman: Bloodstorm. DC Comics: Burbank
• Waid, M. & Ross, A. (1996) Kingdom Come. DC Comics: Burbank.
• Moench, D. & Jones, K. (1998) Batman: Crimson Mist. DC Comics: Burbank.
• Miller, F. (2001) Dark Knight Strikes Again. DC Comics: Burbank.
• Moench, D. & Ross, D. (2001) JLA: Act of God. DC Comics: Burbank.
• Millar, M. & Johnson, D. (2003) Superman: Red Son. DC Comics: Burbank.
• Miller, F. & Azzarello, B. (2017) Dark Knight III: The Master Race. DC Comics: Burbank.