DC's Greatest Imaginary Stories: 11 Tales You Never Expected to See!

DC's Greatest Imaginary Stories

by Otto Binder, Bill Finger, Jerry Siegel

DC Comics collects some of the best imaginary stories featuring Superman, Supergirl, Batman, and the Flash from 1946-1967! Featuring an introduction by Comics Buyer's Guide's Craig Shutt, and a new Brian Bolland cover!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Superheroes, Dc Comics, Science Fiction, Comic Book

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Otto Oscar Binder. Used these alternate names: Eando Binder (together with his brother Earl Binder -E and O Binder-), John Coleridge, Gordon A. Giles, Will Garth, Ian Francis Turek, Ione Frances Turek and Otto O. Binder.

Reviews

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the Golden and Silver Age, most DC comics reset back to normal. Continuity existed, but on a very basic level that allowed villains to recall their last encounter. At the end of the day, you reset to Status Quo. No one got married, no one important died.

That's why Imaginary Stories were so powerful. While the results of the stories were said to be "imaginary" as far as impacting continuity, it was in Imaginary stories that readers got a chances to see actual plot changes and shake ups of the Status Quo or to imagine how things might be different. I'm going to divide my review of the stories by character:

Captain Marvel: This story from 1946 was actually from Fawcett for Captain Marvel (now known as Shazam, I guess) and it's a terrifying little tale as Captain Marvel encounters atomic war and for once Earth's mightiest mortal is essentially powerless to stop it. In one scene, he saves a woman from the blast only for her to die from the radiation. Powerful stuff and well-drawn and written.

Flash: The Flash tale included in here is a tad dumb. The Flash debated not wearing a mask as the Golden Age version hadn't (opting for a helmet that hid his hair. However, he had a daydream where that went wrong and it changed his mind. Really? Somebody spent 7 pages writing that?

Supergirl/Jimmy Olsen: As is typical for Jimmy Olsen tales, this is a comedy of errors. Supergirl gets amnesia, meets Jimmy Olsen and falls in love with him as her secret identity and then becomes convinced he has to woo him as Supergirl. Okay, but not great.

Batman: The Second Life of Batman (1959) asks what would have happened if Bruce's parents hadn't been killed. The results are somewhat dull. The second, "Batman's New Secret Identity" is a tale "by Alfred" imagining that Batman's secret identity is revealed so he established another one (for some reason instead of just being Batman all the time.) Despite the bad premise, the story plays out to be a solid adventure.

Superman has got the mother lode of imaginary stories and they're here and they are amazing. "Mr. and Mrs. Clark (Superman) Kent" is from Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane and is light comedy imagining what if she got her wish of marrying Superman by marrying Clark Kent. "The Death of Superman" from 1961 tells the tale of Superman's demise and it tells it with pathos and a lot of emotion even though its imaginary. "The Amazing Story of Superman Red and Superman Blue" is the type of story that would have ended the comic as Superman splits into two equally good halves, turns Earth into a Utopia free of evil, resolves all his relationship issues, and ends crime as we know it, and Lex Luthor even gets his hair back. It's wish fulfillment and the type of story that would end the comic and the DC Universe, but for happy endings you can't beat it.

"The Three Wives of Superman" takes a look at if Superman decided to marry and the resulting string of tragedies that occurred. Although, he could have prevented some of it by not proposing to his Second Wife Lana in the middle of her wedding to Lex Luthor thus leading Luthor to become evil again, but nobody's perfect. Finally, there's "The Fantastic Story of Superman's Sons" which avoids getting into the Lois/Lana debate by always keeping "mother" grayed out and we're introduced to sons "Kal El II" and "Jor El II." Kal doesn't have superpowers, while Jor El does leading to a friction and the boy's quest to find his place in the world. Again, a very emotionally satisfying tale.

The final tale features Superman and Batman in, "Superman and Batman-Brothers" from 1964. The story's premise was somewhat weak as inexplicably authorities in Gotham decided to give an orphaned Bruce Wayne to the Kents. However, it gets interesting with Clark observing Young Bruce at school and even feeling a bit jealous. The end does feel weak, but it's still worthwhile.

Overall, this is a nice book with some of the greatest imaginary stories (particularly the Superman ones) showing you SIlver Age heroes in a different way. While Marvel's What If and DC's new Elseworlds have surpassed these stories for complexity and variety, the ones in this book are still classics worth reading.

[Daniel Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes this is about as intellectually challenging as I can stand.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming reminder of the comics of yesteryear, but would leave many a jaded youngster shaking their head. As in all things, could use more Batman.

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were two things that struck me about this collection . . . . wait, THREE things that struck me about this collection from DC.

1. This is, historically, where DC's Elseworlds tales begins.
2. The whole Superman Red/Superman Blue concept originates here (maybe some of you better read DC folks will have already known that, but it caught me off guard)
3. Most of the art duties in this collection are handled by Curt Swann.

So, if you're not interested in Curt Swann's art, OR Golden/Silver Age comics, then this is not for you. However, if you are, this is a pretty neat novelty collection. Especially for the Superman Red/Superman Blue stuff in my opinion. All the sudden a good part of my 90's childhood makes sense.

I personally love the Curt Swann art and can totally see his influence on Dave Gibbons style. Especially when Superman is moving at super speed.

Like a lot of other DC collections, this is pretty neat for the person who is interested in comic history, but it is going to be SUPER crappy to anyone who only likes modern comics. I guess all I'm really trying to say is . . . Don't go just gifting it to any comic book fan. Make sure they like golden age stuff first.

[S.E. Martens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love DC's classic imaginary stories! That being said, there are so many more I wish had been included here. This collection could easily have been twice as long. I also find it annoying that art from certain stories is used on the title/contents pages but those stories are not actually reprinted. Stories are also referenced in the introduction and not included which is always a pet peeve of mine in these anthologies (and really, they should've included one Wonder Woman story.) Also, I wish they had reprinted the cover art for some of the stories they included.

Anyways, here is what we actually have:

The Atomic War (1946)
The oldest story in the collection, this Captain Marvel (Shazam) story from 1946 is a PSA about the horrors of nuclear war. Interesting piece.

The Second Life of Batman (1959)
I'll be frank: I found this one dull. The premise "what would happen if Bruce's parents hadn't been killed by crooks?" is one that's been revisited in more interesting ways. In this version he still just becomes Batman. There's not much point.

Mr. and Mrs. Clark (Superman) Kent (1960)
This was the first in a series of imaginary stories and I wish they'd included a few more of them, because not much happens in this one. We get to see Lois (finally) happily married to Clark/Superman, but all she does is feel miserable that she can't tell anyone.

The Death of Superman (1961)
This is a really interesting one. I'm sort of surprised it wasn't included in the Lex Luthor: a Celebration of 75 Years collection. Glad to have a reprint of it here - what if Lex Luthor reformed and used his science skills to benefit humanity? And became friends with Superman? I mean, the title itself is kind of a massive spoiler, but yeah, it doesn't end well.

Jimmy Olsen Marries Supergirl (1961)
This is a really cute one. Linda gets amnesia after being exposed to red kryptonite and marries Jimmy Olsen. Later, she recovers and worries that if she reveals her secret identity as Supergirl the shock will be too much for him. But she wants to tell him - so she concocts a zany scheme to make him fall in love with Supergirl. It doesn't make a lot of sense but it is fun.

The Origin of Flash's Masked Identity (1962)
Maybe just because I've never really been a Flash fan but I didn't see the point of this story at all. If he didn't have a mask he might be slightly inconvenienced by admirers. Oh . . . okay.

Batman's New Secret Identity (1962)
This one is much more fun than The Second Life of Batman and frankly, they could have just included this one. When his secret identity is revealed, Batman decides he has to retire his Bruce Wayne persona and set up a new life for himself as a taxi driver. Robin gets sent off to boarding school and Batman teams up with Batwoman (cue the jealousy.)

The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue (1963)
Okay, I know it has zero stakes and zero drama but I kind of love this story for the sheer randomness of it. We open with everyone at the Daily Planet getting a raise except for Clark. Then Superman is summoned by Supergirl because the Kryptonians in the bottle city of Kandor want to berate him with a list of all the things he's failed to accomplish. Ouch. In order to complete his tasks, Superman decides to use a brain modification machine that splits him into two different versions of himself - both of which are good and both of which are a hundred times more intelligent than the original. He restores Krypton, eradicates all crime, reforms Lex Luthor, creates a new home for the mermaids, and marries both Lois and Lana.

The Three Wives of Superman (1964)
I love this story. It makes the entire collection worth having to get a reprint of this absolutely unhinged tale of Superman marrying Lois, then Lana, then Lori, as each girl is brutally killed off. Is it terrible that I find this so damn funny? Also, Lex would have reformed but Superman crashed his wedding and stole his fiancé on their wedding day - just usurping the whole ceremony - yeah, I might snap too.

The Fantastic Story of Superman's Sons (1964)
Superman has twin sons - one inherits his superpowers, the other does not. Interesting in that it reminds me of the premise of the most recent live action Superman show (Superman & Lois.) Little Jor-El is a little jerk who teases his brother but Superman attempts to fix this in the worst ways - by dropping little Kal-El off on a distant world where he'll also have powers, not thinking he'll be homesick. Then Superman decides to test an elixir on little Kal - shockingly it has negative side-effects. Superman's kind of a terrible father, huh? Nevertheless, this greatly amused me. Eventually, Superman decides to just dump both his kids in the bottle city, where neither will have superpowers.

Superman and Batman - Brothers (1967)
What if Bruce Wayne was also adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent? I was surprised by how much I genuinely enjoyed this one - it does some very interesting things with the premise. For instance, when they're kids, Clark is jealous of Bruce - who doesn't need to hold back his strength/intelligence - so there's friction between them.

All in all, this is a mixed-bag of Imaginary Stories but I'm really glad to have reprints of some of these, especially The Death of Superman, The Three Wives of Superman and Superman and Batman - Brothers in my collection!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curt Swan was a genius. On the Jack Kirby level, but he's not recognized as such these days. And that's a pity. He's perhaps the greatest of all the comic book artists. Also her is the stunningly good Kurt Schaffenberger. I loved this collection.

[Zoidberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories may or may not have happened! Among the best: superman red and superman blue!

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the DC comic world, an “imaginary tale” is one that is inconsistent with the regular plotlines of the characters. They are stories where Lois Lane and Superman can get married and have children, Lex Luthor can go straight and be a hero, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are actual brothers and Captain Marvel is unable to stop a nuclear holocaust where all countries with nuclear weapons use them.
The imaginary tales are events where the writers at DC were able to jump wildly outside the box and carry out events that the readership expressed an interest in seeing. All without altering the fundamental behaviors of the characters. This makes the stories a bit more interesting and the greater freedom makes the dialog better than what is often formulaic in the regular stories.
As a follower of the comics for decades, I always enjoyed the “imaginary” tales, for they were so unpredictable. Because there were no limits, it was possible that any of the characters would perish, vanish or otherwise suffer serious complications. The title is correct, these are some of the best “imaginary” tales ever published by DC.