10 Best Elseworlds Batman Movies That Take the Dark Knight to New Places

“Elseworlds” is a term for DC stories that take place outside the main canon. Set in alternate universes, these stories tend to deviate from the established continuity set in either the comics or the movies. The idea began as early as the 1940s, with a notable story playing out in Action Comics #60, where Lois Lane gains superpowers from a transfusion of Superman’s blood. However, the first official Elseworlds imprint title was the 1989 one-shot, Gotham by Gaslight, which featured a Victorian Age version of Batman hunting the notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper in Gotham City.

For the movies, James Gunn stated that, from now on, all stories that take place outside the main DC Universe can be tucked under the “Elseworlds” banner. These include Matt Reeves’ The Batman film series and Todd Phillips’ Joker film series. However, several official “Elseworlds’ movies have been made before, many of them revolving around Batman.

These 10 films are worth watching for any DC fans, considering the strange places that they take the Caped Crusader.

‘Batman: The Dark Knight Returns’ (2012 – 2013)

Who would have imagined that RoboCop could become Batman? Haha. In the two-part saga, The Dark Knight Returns, veteran actor Peter Weller (better known for playing the famous cyborg) portrays a 56-year-old retired version of the Caped Crusader forced to wear the costume again after a gang known as The Mutants starts terrorizing Gotham City. He also faces a revived Joker, who had been catatonic in Arkham Asylum since Wayne’s retirement, and a no-nonsense Superman, who now works for the government.

Age Is Just a Number

Set in the 1980s and scored by veteran DC composer Christopher Drake, The Dark Knight Returns impresses by blending fiction with real-world affairs. President Ronald Reagan even makes an appearance, injecting a heady political dose into the proceedings. Here, Harvey Dent also opts for plastic surgery and repairs his face (why didn’t he do that all these years?). You’ll love the fights between Batman and Superman — better than what Zack Snyder presented to us — despite these being older versions of the respective characters.

‘Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham’ (2023)

H. P. Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle: The Doom That Came to Sarnath lends its elements to this Batman movie, which sees the Caped Crusader return to Gotham after a 20-year absence. Evil forces have taken over Gotham City, turning familiar Rogues Gallery members into grotesque versions of themselves. How will Batman stop them in The Doom That Came Before Gotham?

He’s Gonna Need a Bible and a Cross

Set in the 1920s, this terrifying animated gem combines neat action sequences with horror tropes to great effect. David Giuntoli brings his down-home charm to the role of Bruce Wayne, and Brian George holds his own as Alfred Pennyworth. Be sure to keep the kids away. Only adults and Lovecraft fans will get a kick out of this marvelous film.

‘Batman Ninja’ (2018)

Produced in Japan, Batman Ninja doesn’t fall under the official canon. The film opens with Batman fighting Gorilla Grodd at Arkham Asylum, only for him to be pulled into Grodd’s time displacement machine and transported to feudal Japan. There, he takes on alternate versions of his enemies, Joker, Penguin, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy, who have colonized different territories and are now ruling as warlords.

No Batwings and Fancy Computers

It’s fun watching Batman rely on martial arts rather than his usual tech. The battles featuring mechs and samurai are also meticulously handled. Overall, director Takashi Okazaki (the creator of Afro Samurai), tells an affecting period story while portraying a nation in transformation. He expertly switches up the chronology from scene to scene, forcing audiences to infer when the main action is unfolding. And don’t worry about the other usual suspects. Wait till you see Batman riding a horse-driven Batmobile.

‘Justice League: Gods and Monsters’ (2015)

Events in Justice League: Gods and Monsters play out in an alternate universe, where Dr. Kirk Langstrom is Batman, General Zod’s son, Hernan Guerra, is Superman, and Bekka is Wonder Woman. The trio operates as the Justice League and maintains law and order using brutal force. After a series of murder accusations, they find themselves on the lam.

The Worst Kind of Justice League

Confusing on many occasions, Gods and Monsters still holds the viewer’s attention and invests us deeply in the unlikeable characters. You’ll hate everyone, but you’ll at least acknowledge the inclusivity (Superman was raised by Mexican immigrants). Though never an easy watch, the sprawling tale, tapping on themes of despair, guilt, healing, and redemption, is an astonishing achievement. Kudos to Dexter’s Michael C. Hall, who does a tremendous job voicing Dr. Kirk Langstrom.

‘Superman: Red Son’ (2020)

Sorry America! The ship carrying Baby Kal-El landed in the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War instead of Kansas. Now we have a Man of Steel that reports to the Kremlin. But he has ambitions of his own. He kills Joseph Stalin and becomes the new ruler, aiming to spread Communist ideas across the world. Who will stop him in Superman: Red Son? Definitely not Batman. He is a terrorist who even ends up committing suicide.

Uncomfortably Dark

A cerebral, eerily labyrinthine elaboration of Mark Miller’s ruminative comic series of the same name, the atmospheric Red Son is the furthest thing imaginable from normal superhero movies. It’s much closer to Joker in tone. As always, director Sam Liu cautiously modulates the action to a hypnotic crawl, resulting in scenarios that are equally sublime and chilling, especially once Superman and Batman confront each other and the former threatens to lobotomize the latter. Apart from presenting the most evil versions of Superman, the film sufficiently serves politics buffs. From the Warsaw Pact to the Berlin Wall, no major detail of the Cold War is left out.

‘Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League’ (2025)

Events in the sequel, Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League picks up a day after Batman came back from Feudal Japan. He discovers that the world has completely changed and Japan no longer exists. Neither does the Justice League. Worse still, yakuza members are pouring in from Hinomoto (Japan from a parallel universe) using an interdimensional rift that only those who have previously time-traveled can see.

The Mother of All Battles

Exploring nature loss, crime, and time-travel, Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League is a breathtaking film with a powerful undercurrent of science fiction. Yakuza League members are mainly alternate versions of Justice League members, so be prepared to curse out at “Kuraku, The Man of Steel”, an evil version of Superman who operates like a mob boss. Hopefully, there’ll be yet another installment of the “Batman Ninja” story.

‘Batman: Gotham by Gaslight’ (2018)

In Victorian-era Gotham, Bruce Wayne fights crime as Batman. His latest headache is Jack the Ripper, a serial killer preying on women. Soon, suspicion falls on Wayne himself, resulting in his arrest. With the help of Alfred and Selina Kyle, he breaks out of jail and continues his investigation. Hugo Strange and other Rogues Gallery members also emerge as suspects, but they are innocent. Who really is Jack in Gotham by Gaslight?

Sherlock Wayne

Never have we seen Wayne work so surreptitiously but tirelessly to thwart a criminal’s efforts and still struggle to succeed. Those who like Wayne in his detective persona (as was the case in Matt Reeves’ The Batman) will love him in Gotham by Gaslight. There are obvious influences from the 1944 film The Lodger and Erik Larson’s book The Devil in the White City, as well as a Gilligan’s Island episode in which the sitcom’s characters take on roles from Victorian-era British fiction. Most importantly, the twist will have you pressing your temples in disbelief.

‘Injustice’ (2021)

Superman loses it after the Joker tricks him into killing a pregnant Lois Lane. Grief-stricken, he becomes more like Manchester Black, slaughtering every criminal he comes across. Unwilling to tolerate this, Batman starts a resistance against Superman, throwing the Justice League into a Civil War as some heroes oppose Superman and others back him. How will the chaos in Injustice end?

Superman Has Gone Nuts

Few superhero films equal this breathless, violently realized Elseworlds installment — which, like most outstanding conflict movies, is also able to tell an affecting and inspirational human story. Clever, twisty, and highly evocative, Injustice will wow you more than Dawn of Justice and give you the same thrills Marvel fans got while watching Captain America: Civil War. Even better, there are video games covering the same story.

‘Batman: Soul of the Dragon’ (2020)

Set in the 1970s, Soul of the Dragon sees Bruce Wayne join forces with martial artists Richard Dragon (voiced by Mark Dacascos), Lady Shiva (voiced by Kelly Hu), and Bronze Tiger (voiced by Michael Jai White) to deal with a mystical threat from their past. All of them once trained under O-Sensei, protecting a portal to the demonic serpent god Nāga. Now a cult is planning to let this evil loose.

It’s Kickin’ Time

Once again, director Sam Liu fuses supernatural elements with superhero lore — and makes it work. What begins as a normal martial arts-themed film soon takes a sobering turn as various characters find their lives in danger. The decision to include beloved martial arts actors like Dacascos and Jai White in the voice cast is brilliant, although it makes us wish this were a live-action film. For Jai White, this is his second DC outing, following The Dark Knight, where he portrayed a crime boss.

‘Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires’ (2025)

We are back in the 16th-century Aztec Empire in Aztec Batman. For the young noble Yohualli Coatl, life has taken a dark turn after Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés killed his father, the village elder Toltecatzin. Eager to avenge and prevent more heinous acts, he trains in the temple of the bat god Tzinacan and becomes a masked warrior known as Batman.

Like Zorro

Assured and sparkling, sinuously paced and buoyantly voiced, Aztec Batman is a moving superhero movie with a zesty Latin heart. There’s plenty to love about the film, including its accurate depiction of Aztec culture and the beautiful score that incorporates elements of Danny Elfman’s theme from Tim Burton’s Batman. You won’t believe it. The Joker starts out as a priest before turning evil.