Source: Planetary/JLA: Terra Occulta #1 (2002)
Type: Elseworlds
This is the only Planetary story I've ever read, I have to admit (hey, Jerry Ordway art, this Elseworlds fan couldn't resist), but we've seen a lot of this premise over the years: Superheroes take over the world to make it a better place (if you like fascist utopias). I suppose the first sustained use of this idea was Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme, but Wildstorm's Planetary is probably the most extreme. By combining the Planetary universe with the DCU, Warren Ellis gives us a world where most of the superheroes we know have been killed "for the greater good". For example, the Flash was dissected so Planetary could create superfast couriers, Abin Sur was killed on arrival, and Ray Palmer was taken out so his shrinking technology could be appropriated for medical science.
Three heroes were actually CREATED by Planetary's shenanigans, and in Terra Occulta, they're in league to take down the superhuman regime. There's Bruce Wayne, whose family opposed Planetary and were killed for it before his eyes. There's Princess Diana who left Amazon Island just as it was nuked by Planetary. And there's Clark Kent whose parents were murdered so Planetary could steal and retro-engineer the Kryptonian tech in baby Kal's space capsule. They operate under cover of darkness, in satellite blackouts and definitely not in costume.
Over the course of the story, Clark will learn the truth from Bruce "Mr. Blunt" Wayne, and together they'll attack Planetary's moon base. Alas, those guys didn't take over a world full of superheroes without taking a lot of precautions, and Clark is pwned early on, cut off from sunlight and breathable air. Alas...
Ellis' Bruce and Diana are more interesting, but I won't spoil their fates in case I ever go insane and start doing Reign of the Batmen/Wonder Women articles.
Type: Elseworlds
Three heroes were actually CREATED by Planetary's shenanigans, and in Terra Occulta, they're in league to take down the superhuman regime. There's Bruce Wayne, whose family opposed Planetary and were killed for it before his eyes. There's Princess Diana who left Amazon Island just as it was nuked by Planetary. And there's Clark Kent whose parents were murdered so Planetary could steal and retro-engineer the Kryptonian tech in baby Kal's space capsule. They operate under cover of darkness, in satellite blackouts and definitely not in costume.
Comments
The protagonists are, naturally, a lot more likable than they are here. I mean, they're still Warren Ellis characters, but...
(I kid. Mostly.)
Planetary is, I believe, on my Old52 list, so some day...