elseworlds
"Elseworlds" is DC's classification for those storylines, issues, and graphic novels that occur outside of the actual DC Continuity. This is their way of examining the way characters may act outside of their normal circumstances. It is possibly comparable to Marvel's "What if...?" series.
JLA: Riddle of the beast
This graphic novel places some familiar faces in the Tolkien-esque setting to fight an ultimate evil for the right to live in peace. This unnamed world has lived in restlessness for years after a cataclysmis war ravaged the land. This story follows Robin Drake (the story's counterpart to Tim Drake, the current sidekick of Batman), as he tries to rally allies in defense of a coming onslaught. It features reimagines depictions of Aquaman as an actual merman, more bestial forms of Hawkman and Hawkwoman, a Batman deranged by the loss of his former partner and friend, and a sickly child king named Kal-El, who's only remembrance of his family's former glory is the mysterious green crystal which he wears around his neck.
The story is very dark and brooding, with some rather graphic battle scenes. It examines each character's personality more than their actual powers, how strong personalities inevitably lead to disagreement and conflict, but also how cooperation and forgiveness can lead to ultimate victory.
JLA: The Nail
"For the want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the kinght was lost, for want of a knight the battle was lost. So it was a kingdom was lost- all for the want of a nail." The Nail examines what the DC Universe would look like without one key character: Superman. The premise of the mini-series was that just single nail giving Kent and Martha Clark a flat tire one fateful morning could have had dire consequences on the world.
Superman has long been considered the focal point of the DC Universe, his ultimate power is only surpassed by his ultimate sense of right-and-wrong. He is the moral compass other superheroes gauge themselves by and a friendly face to a populace surrounded by super-powered uncontrollable individuals.
The Nail shows the strained relations between super-powered individuals and the world at large when neither side has a common mediator to look to for guidance or advice.
Kingdom Come
Violence and morality in comic books have long been a conern of parenting groups and conservatives. As time has progressed, so have comic books. Superheroes no longer simply thwart bank robbers and rescue damsels in distress. But as the crimes become more complicated, how should the heroes we read change their own sense of right and wrong? Kingdom Come examines some of the questions.
It examines a world in which the general public, tired of the "goody-two-shoes" image of old-guard superheroes such as Superman and Green Lantern, has turned to a more agressive style of hero. But when these super-"heroes" place themselves above the law, who can hold them accountable? And what responsibility is there to those heroes that simply turned and walked away when society told them they were no longer needed?