When Elseworlds Go Bad

Back in the '90s, when the first Crisis had wiped out all those parallel worlds, DC felt the need to create a new format that would allow creators to make non-canonical works featuring DC characters. Thus, Elseworlds was born.

And while it led to a lot of pretty good books like Batman: Red Rain, or Superman: Red Son and the like, it didn't also work out to well.

To support that statement, I give you Elliot S! Maggin's Batman, The Blue, The Grey, and the Bat from 1993.
You see, Elseworlds is really about asking questions like, "What if there was no Superman?" or "What if Batman were also Green Lantern?" In this case, the question is "What if Batman was a personal agent of Abraham Lincoln sent to protect the Comstock Lode during the Civil War?"



Not really the sort of thing that Batman typically does...but compared to what comes after, it makes perfect sense.

So , anyway, Batman accepts this mission, because, after all, who can say no to the man with the stovepipe hat? But since this is a Batman story, clearly he will need an era-appropriate Robin:


Excellent, and now we'll need an era=appropriate Batman villain:



Huh...just some typical Confederate general...well, that's...ah...

Anyway, Batman arrives at Nevada and meets...and there's no easy way of saying this...Batman has an expository chat with Mark Twain of all people:


And this is where the book really starts going off the rails. Now, including Mark Twain as a supporting character in your book is fine, I guess, because it firmly establishes the time period, and if he were the only historical figure to be used in this way...

Okay, okay, but as long as we stop the madness there, the book can still be saved...

Well, fuck....

Okay, okay, so in this universe, several historical figures have all decided to team up with Batman in order to stop the Confederate army. It's a pretty weird set up, but I can't imagine things getting any more bizarre:

First of all, that's a pretty lame use of "Dark Knight." Second of all, everything else in that panel.

And it goes on like that, including the part where Mark Twain and Wild Bill Hickok must team up in order to save the Union:


And that's when the French invaded:


But then Kit Carson rides in to save the day, the war, and the Union. Nevada is admitted as a state and everyone lives happily ever after.

Except for Abraham Lincoln...

...and Bill Hickok.