the jman sayeth: DC Comic’s Elseworld’s Finest: Supergirl/Batgirl

For today’s article we’ll be taking a trip in the Wayback Machine.  We’ve had some mishaps the last outing or two with the Wayback Machine, but the scienticians who run this thing assure me it’s completely safe.  Still, make sure you pack an extra pair of socks.  Cause no matter what they say, time traveling’s always a bit sticky…

The year was 1998.  NASA announced that the Clementine probe orbiting the Moon had found enough water in polar craters to support a human colony and rocket fueling station, Microsoft released Windows 98 (thanks Wikipedia!) and <your friendly neighborhood jman was a young 27 years old with only one child under his responsibility.

DC Comics released Elseworld’s Finest:  Supergirl/Batgirl written by Barbara Kesel, Matt Haley and Tom Simmons, with Matt Haley and Tom Simmons pulling double duty as penciller/inker, respectively.  The story twists the Superman/Batman/World’s Finest mythos, putting Supergirl/Batgirl front and center.

In this Elseworld’s tale, Jim Gordon dies in front of his daughter, Barbara, taking a bullet while protecting the Wayne’s from Joe Chill’s attack.  The Wayne’s, along with Bruce, adopt Barbara as their own.  I’m pretty sure you can guess where Barbara’s path leads her from there.

In this now altered timeline, Batgirl rules Gotham City with an iron fist.  It’s a walled city, where “paranormals” are not welcomed.  Bruce Wayne, still the millionaire playboy, plays a quasi-Alfred role to her.

Instead of the Justice League, the “paranormals” have formed the Justice Society, with Wonder Woman as their leader, and Lex Luthor the Society’s benefactor.  There’s an unusual mix of Justice League and Justice Society characters in this Elseworld’s Justice Society.  All with different takes on said characters.  A couple I couldn’t put my finger on, but I’m not all that well versed in Justice Society lore, either.

Another twist on the Superman/Batman mythos has Kara Zor-El crash landing in Kansas years prior, rather than Kal-el. Wonder Woman is there to greet Kara and take her under her wing.  Luthor, being the Society’s benefactor, becomes a father figure to her, as well.  Kara eventually dons the Supergirl mantle and becomes part of the Justice Society.

A few other familiar, albeit slightly different, faces turn up in this story.   The Pre52 Emil Hamilton, disgraced by Luthor in this timeline, helps a rather two dimensional Joker reach his goals of stalking down his true love, Batgirl.

And what of Superman/Clark?  Well, he’s glaringly absent from this particular Elseworld’s telling.  Still, though, there’s a nice little twist that will answer your question about who, what, where and maybe how.  Actually, I’m not sure about “how”.

I’m a big fan of “Elseworld” and “What if’s…” stories.  I like different takes/spins on established characters and histories.  As well as stories that mess with time(s) and convention(s).   And Elseworld’s Finest: Supergirl/Batgirl does all those things. Unfortunately, though, it isn’t on comixology.  But, if you can track it down at your local comic shop for a reasonable price, and you’ve caught up on your giant backlog of comics (c’mon, it can’t just be me here), then check out Elseworld’s Finest: Supergirl/Batgirl.

Now…hurry up and get back into the Wayback Machine.  We’ve got to go back to the futu…er, present.  Back to the present (i ain’t getting sued for copyright infringement!)

Don’t forget to check out the new episode of your friendly neighborhood jman’s almost internet famous internet show!

Images courtesy of:

Wayback Machine:  boston.com

Rolling Stone cover:  coedmagazine.com