What do you think?
Rate this book
Superman & Batman: Generations #Alternate Histories
Superman/Batman: Alternate Histories
These ELSEWORLDS tales places heroes in strange times and places--some that have existed and others that might yet. This volume includes stories in which: Superman sides with the British during the Revolutionary War; Batman sails the seas as the dread pirate Leatherwing; The armored hero Steel faces a vicious slavemaster on a Civil War-era plantation. Graphic novel format.
224 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
1 person is currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
John Byrne
2,955 books359 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 22, 2020
It's a good change away from the boring continuity.
August 25, 2021
These were fun stories taking our heroes to alternate times and places.
First is the ballad of Leatherwing the pirate. He sails on the Spanish Main, a masked man who robs the Spanish galleons for the English King James. He needs to keep his identity a secret. But the Laughing Man, another pirate captain, has found a way to steal all of Leatherwing’s riches. He requires help from the beautiful Capitana Felina who was once a countess but now a pirate.
The second is Byrne’s alternate Superman story. This time, Gar-El a power-hungry Kryptonian, ends on Earth, in England in 1768. At first, he agrees to serve George III. A couple of years later, certain colonists are trying to get independence, but Gar-El prevents that. Then the story moves to Gar-El’s great-great-great etc. grandson Kal-El. By that time, Gar-El has made himself the sovereign of all Earth. A peaceful empire where he and his army ruthlessly crackdown on everyone who even speaks against him. Kal-El doesn’t care for that and tries to find a way to help the humans.
The third is the best of the bunch, set on a slave plantation during the Civil War. John Henry is the childhood friend of his master’s son, Arthur. While John Henry would like to study, Arthur hates it and blames John Henry for the little misfortunes in his life. Arthur lives up to become a cruel master who tries to break John Henry’s independent spirit.
The last one is ”Citizen Wayne”. It starts when the lifeless bodies of district attorney Harvey Dent and newspaper owner Bruce Wayne are found. Both wearing strange costumes. A young assistant DA investigates both Dent, who was passionate about the law and ridding Gotham of crime boss Maroni, and Wayne who owned a lot of businesses but chose to crusade against criminals on the pages of his newspaper. The DA questions aged Martha Wayne and a couple of more familiar people such as the former commissioner Gordon who is now in a wheelchair because of a crippling incident.
I tend to enjoy alternate universes and these were all good.
First is the ballad of Leatherwing the pirate. He sails on the Spanish Main, a masked man who robs the Spanish galleons for the English King James. He needs to keep his identity a secret. But the Laughing Man, another pirate captain, has found a way to steal all of Leatherwing’s riches. He requires help from the beautiful Capitana Felina who was once a countess but now a pirate.
The second is Byrne’s alternate Superman story. This time, Gar-El a power-hungry Kryptonian, ends on Earth, in England in 1768. At first, he agrees to serve George III. A couple of years later, certain colonists are trying to get independence, but Gar-El prevents that. Then the story moves to Gar-El’s great-great-great etc. grandson Kal-El. By that time, Gar-El has made himself the sovereign of all Earth. A peaceful empire where he and his army ruthlessly crackdown on everyone who even speaks against him. Kal-El doesn’t care for that and tries to find a way to help the humans.
The third is the best of the bunch, set on a slave plantation during the Civil War. John Henry is the childhood friend of his master’s son, Arthur. While John Henry would like to study, Arthur hates it and blames John Henry for the little misfortunes in his life. Arthur lives up to become a cruel master who tries to break John Henry’s independent spirit.
The last one is ”Citizen Wayne”. It starts when the lifeless bodies of district attorney Harvey Dent and newspaper owner Bruce Wayne are found. Both wearing strange costumes. A young assistant DA investigates both Dent, who was passionate about the law and ridding Gotham of crime boss Maroni, and Wayne who owned a lot of businesses but chose to crusade against criminals on the pages of his newspaper. The DA questions aged Martha Wayne and a couple of more familiar people such as the former commissioner Gordon who is now in a wheelchair because of a crippling incident.
I tend to enjoy alternate universes and these were all good.
October 3, 2022
Early graphic novels count as a book, I asked the librarian, it counts.
This book just seemed heavy with its own importance. Large sweeping visuals, classic call backs, gratuitous violence, seems a book hopped up on its own importance.
This book for some reason screams early 80s... maybe its the paper or the artwork, just classic 80s comics. Some of the editorial choices are weird, like one giving up a dictatorship because he realized how cold he was being. Like.... a definition of dictatorship. Also some of the juxtapositions don't work. We have gas engines, but dirt roads, semi modern rifles but powdered wigs, a voice activated door and corsets. No idea.
Batman as a pirate works as does John Henry as Steel, but that also seemed a gratuitous way for presumably white writers to explore some Harry Turtledove type stuff....
The others are intriguing as Elseworlds but rather weak than other stories that have come out. Like Superman:Red Son asks the age old questions " what if Superman had not landed in the middle of the United States ". This one asked that but it was his grandfather in colonial England and the colonies. And it.... just doesn't work.
Decent escapist reading. Decent Elseworlds.
This book just seemed heavy with its own importance. Large sweeping visuals, classic call backs, gratuitous violence, seems a book hopped up on its own importance.
This book for some reason screams early 80s... maybe its the paper or the artwork, just classic 80s comics. Some of the editorial choices are weird, like one giving up a dictatorship because he realized how cold he was being. Like.... a definition of dictatorship. Also some of the juxtapositions don't work. We have gas engines, but dirt roads, semi modern rifles but powdered wigs, a voice activated door and corsets. No idea.
Batman as a pirate works as does John Henry as Steel, but that also seemed a gratuitous way for presumably white writers to explore some Harry Turtledove type stuff....
The others are intriguing as Elseworlds but rather weak than other stories that have come out. Like Superman:Red Son asks the age old questions " what if Superman had not landed in the middle of the United States ". This one asked that but it was his grandfather in colonial England and the colonies. And it.... just doesn't work.
Decent escapist reading. Decent Elseworlds.
November 15, 2020
A collection of four Elseworlds stories.
One sees Batman recast as the 18th Century pirate Leatherwing whilst another, set in the 1920s/30s, has Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent fighting over the mantle of the Bat. There's a tale of an alternate America where Kal-El helps to overthrow his grandfather who seized control of the country in 1770s and an alternate origin for Steel set amid the horror and cruelty of a slave plantation in the 1860s.
DC's Elseworlds stories have a tendency to have a clever 'what if...?' premise but not actually much substance beyond that. The stories on offer here are definitely more insightful than some others I've read but, due to their short length, still all feel underdeveloped.
However, no-one could argue against the power of a story which sees John Henry Irons rising through tragedy to build himself a suit of righteous armour and throw off the oppression of those who've kept him and his family enslaved. With some serious alternate history issues there's the danger of trivialising them through the introduction of superheroes, but here it feels justified.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com/ *
One sees Batman recast as the 18th Century pirate Leatherwing whilst another, set in the 1920s/30s, has Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent fighting over the mantle of the Bat. There's a tale of an alternate America where Kal-El helps to overthrow his grandfather who seized control of the country in 1770s and an alternate origin for Steel set amid the horror and cruelty of a slave plantation in the 1860s.
DC's Elseworlds stories have a tendency to have a clever 'what if...?' premise but not actually much substance beyond that. The stories on offer here are definitely more insightful than some others I've read but, due to their short length, still all feel underdeveloped.
However, no-one could argue against the power of a story which sees John Henry Irons rising through tragedy to build himself a suit of righteous armour and throw off the oppression of those who've kept him and his family enslaved. With some serious alternate history issues there's the danger of trivialising them through the introduction of superheroes, but here it feels justified.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com/ *
June 25, 2017
4 stars overall, though some were much better than others. The two Batman stories were, predictably, my favorite. Especially since the first story was basically Batman as a pirate. YES. (even if the romance in that one was ridiculous, haha)
May 6, 2025
DC Comics collects a series of Annuals that fall in line with their epic Elseworlds Universes. This caught my eye after a simple browsing in the library, but once I saw the title, I knew I was ready to read this. But even I couldn't imagine how good this would turn out. It's four stories that imagine what it would have been like if a particular question was asked and answered for the Superman and Batman histories.
Leatherwing. Starting this off is the adventures of the pirate lord known as Leatherwing. It was the time of high seas, conquistadors, privateers, and pirates out to pillage for gold and fortunes in the New World. In this story, Batman is an avenger who becomes a dashing hero out to stop the ruthless pirates of the time. With his trusty sidekick Robin as Redblade, fighting the Joker as the Laughing Man, to romancing the beautiful thief Catwoman as Felina. This was an impressive story, certainly worth revisiting years later in the Return of Bruce Wayne storyline.
Legacy. The story of the Kryptonian known as the Royal Warlock. In this universe, Krypton was destroyed 200 years before it was supposed to, with Superman's descendant, Gar-El, barely managing to escape as he seeks a habitable world with a form of government that allows him to expand his power. He is hailed as a mighty warlord in the 18th-century British Empire. Having obtained and maintained power by destroying the American Revolution, Gar-El lives proudly as the ruler of the world, but a new revolution arises, headed by his humanoid descendants Jor-El and Kal-El. This was saddening in many ways, but well written.
Crucible of Freedom. The story of the slave who became a champion for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. In this universe, John Henry, a slave born in the antebellum South, endures the hardships of the institution of slavery. Having been whipped, shamed, and threatened his whole life, but that ends when his great muscles and mind have him spend time with his master, once a good friend and now a violent bigot, creates a suit of armor that can help him survive the War Between the States. But John Henry uses the suit himself to free his people. I shed a tear at the end of this great story.
Citizen Wayne. The story of Batman, aka Harvey Dent. A universe in which Thomas Wayne had died when he successfully took two bullets that were meant for himself and his wife created a world where Bruce didn't grow up without a mother and would not make a promise to both slain parents to fight for them. Martha Wayne became embittered at her husband's death, making it clear that she would not lose her son to the same crime by making him stick to his books and safety. But crime grows in Gotham, and a hero named Batman arises after Harvey Dent is brutally maimed by Salvatore Maroni, only instead of becoming Two-Face, he takes on the mantle of the Bat until his friend Bruce reminds him what he is doing is wrong, as they come face to face in a tragic conclusion.
EXCELLENT! I do love these Elseworlds stories. I do enjoy the idea that it's primarily characters from the Superman and Batman Universes, but I would love to have it done with more characters. Still, the idea of Batman as a swashbuckler fits, given the inspiration of Zorro, to the Kryptonian with little to no knowledge about humanity that his ancestor in another universe was needed, a glorious anti-slavery story, and how Bruce had to lose both parents to seek justice was phenomenal.
Leatherwing. Starting this off is the adventures of the pirate lord known as Leatherwing. It was the time of high seas, conquistadors, privateers, and pirates out to pillage for gold and fortunes in the New World. In this story, Batman is an avenger who becomes a dashing hero out to stop the ruthless pirates of the time. With his trusty sidekick Robin as Redblade, fighting the Joker as the Laughing Man, to romancing the beautiful thief Catwoman as Felina. This was an impressive story, certainly worth revisiting years later in the Return of Bruce Wayne storyline.
Legacy. The story of the Kryptonian known as the Royal Warlock. In this universe, Krypton was destroyed 200 years before it was supposed to, with Superman's descendant, Gar-El, barely managing to escape as he seeks a habitable world with a form of government that allows him to expand his power. He is hailed as a mighty warlord in the 18th-century British Empire. Having obtained and maintained power by destroying the American Revolution, Gar-El lives proudly as the ruler of the world, but a new revolution arises, headed by his humanoid descendants Jor-El and Kal-El. This was saddening in many ways, but well written.
Crucible of Freedom. The story of the slave who became a champion for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. In this universe, John Henry, a slave born in the antebellum South, endures the hardships of the institution of slavery. Having been whipped, shamed, and threatened his whole life, but that ends when his great muscles and mind have him spend time with his master, once a good friend and now a violent bigot, creates a suit of armor that can help him survive the War Between the States. But John Henry uses the suit himself to free his people. I shed a tear at the end of this great story.
Citizen Wayne. The story of Batman, aka Harvey Dent. A universe in which Thomas Wayne had died when he successfully took two bullets that were meant for himself and his wife created a world where Bruce didn't grow up without a mother and would not make a promise to both slain parents to fight for them. Martha Wayne became embittered at her husband's death, making it clear that she would not lose her son to the same crime by making him stick to his books and safety. But crime grows in Gotham, and a hero named Batman arises after Harvey Dent is brutally maimed by Salvatore Maroni, only instead of becoming Two-Face, he takes on the mantle of the Bat until his friend Bruce reminds him what he is doing is wrong, as they come face to face in a tragic conclusion.
EXCELLENT! I do love these Elseworlds stories. I do enjoy the idea that it's primarily characters from the Superman and Batman Universes, but I would love to have it done with more characters. Still, the idea of Batman as a swashbuckler fits, given the inspiration of Zorro, to the Kryptonian with little to no knowledge about humanity that his ancestor in another universe was needed, a glorious anti-slavery story, and how Bruce had to lose both parents to seek justice was phenomenal.
September 22, 2014
A fun collection of Elseworlds stories involving Superman and Batman. Some were better than others (really, "Leatherwing" about Batman and Co. as pirates was the stand out piece and the one with Superman during the Revolutionary War was pretty weak) but overall a decent way to while away the time.
October 30, 2016
This is a really unique collection of alternate histories for Batman, Superman, and Steel. Batman had two while the others had one. I am not sure which was my fav fav but the pirate Batman stuck out the most.
January 23, 2013
I like the Batman as pirate story..the others, not as much
April 8, 2016
I'm a big fan of Elseworld stories and this one is no different. Fun fun fun.
June 19, 2014
Some great alternate stories,and some not so great ones.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews