15 Wildest Character Reinventions from DC’s Tangent Universe

In 1997, DC Comics released a slew of one-shots introducing readers to the Tangent Universe. The Tangent Universe, or “Tangent Comics,” was populated by radically different versions of some of DC’s biggest icons. The Tangent characters lived on an alternate Earth (later cataloged as Earth-9) where the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated to war, and New Atlantis is one of the planet’s biggest cities. Every character in the Tangent Universe was a complete, “from the ground up” reimagining, and here are the 15 wildest.

15 The Doom Patrol

First Appeared: Tangent Comics: Doom Patrol #1

In the Tangent Universe, the Doom Patrol was a far cry from the “World’s Strangest Heroes,” and instead were a team of heroes from the future, who had been sent back in time to prevent a devastating tragedy. Tangent’s version of the Doom Patrol was led by Doctor Diedre Dey, whose prophecies of impending doom earned her the nickname “Doomsday.” Joining the team were new versions of Firehawk and Star Sapphire. Tangent’s Doom Patrol fought hard to prevent their hellish future from coming to pass, only to inadvertently cause it instead.

Related: 10 Weirdest Heroes Ever to Join the Doom Patrol

First Appeared: Tangent Comics: Metal Men #1

When it came time to create a Tangent version of the beloved cult team, the Metal Men, DC went in a completely opposite direction, recasting them as a team of hardened military commandos. A key plot point in the Tangent Universe was that the Soviet Union never fell, and continued to fight against the United States. The Metal Men were sent behind enemy lines to retrieve the Red Tornado, here recast as a deadly nerve gas. Among the Metal Men’s members were Hawkman and Black Lightning, none of whom resemble their DCU counterparts.

13 The Sea Devils

First Appeared: Tangent Comics: Sea Devils #1

Reinventions in the Tangent Universe were not just limited to DC’s biggest franchises, as smaller, lesser-known properties like the Sea Devils were also rebooted. As a result of a nuclear war, most of the American southeast was decimated, and years later, a race of humanoid sea creatures emerged, calling themselves the Sea Devils. Ruled by a Sea Devil calling himself the Ocean Master, they lived in a castle built upon the ruins of Macon, Georgia. Humans and Sea Devils existed in a constant state of fear and mistrust, particularly in the city of New Atlantis.

12 The Spectre

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: Secret Six #1

In the DC Universe, the Spectre is the embodiment of God’s wrath, and often fights demons and magic users, but Tangent’s take on the character went in a completely different direction. On Earth-9, the Spectre is a high-tech, teenage thief named Taylor Pike, who gained the ability to turn intangible after a lab accident. However, the Spectre will give up a life of crime after meeting the Secret Six, who were a team of superheroes in the Tangent Universe. Taylor would serve the team with distinction, and was instrumental in helping defeat the SuperMan.

11 Manhunter

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: Secret Six #1

There have been more than a few DC characters bearing the name Manhunter, all of them deadly, but they have nothing on the Tangent version of the character. On Earth-9, Czechoslovakia became a front in the Third World War, and Manhunter emerged from the chaos on a mission of violence and revenge. Tangent’s Manhunter was a woman, presaging Kate Spencer’s version by a few years. Accompanied by her cybernetic dog Pooch, Manhunter cuts a path of terror and retribution across the Tangent Universe, fighting alongside the Secret Six before meeting her end at the SuperMan’s hands.

10 Wonder Woman

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: Wonder Woman #1

DC’s first wave of Tangent titles in 1997 were so well received, the publisher decided to release a second wave, this time turning their attention towards more well-known characters such as Wonder Woman. In the Tangent Universe, Wonder Woman is still an outsider, but instead of hailing from Paradise Island, she is not even from Earth. Originating in a world locked in a perpetual war between the sexes, Wonder Woman was created to be a tool of peace, but was exiled for her troubles. Tangent’s version of Wonder Woman is one of the most powerful characters on Earth-9, capable of altering reality with a thought.

9 Plastic Man

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: Secret Six #1

In the 1990s, nearly every superhero team had a “big” character, a muscle-bound brute who loomed over the rest, and in the Tangent Universe, that someone was Plastic Man. A being composed of plastic, Gunther Ganz was a member of the Secret Six, alongside the Spectre and the Flash. This incarnation of Plastic Man shares some of the powers of the original, but with a twist. He can also project his mind onto other elements, but at great risk to himself. Tangent’s Plastic Man was one of the Secret Six’s most powerful members, and played a huge role in taking the SuperMan down.

8 The Flash

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: The Flash #1

Tangent’s version of the Flash is Lia Nelson, a young woman, composed entirely of light. The daughter of two of Earth’s first deep space astronauts, the Flash could control light, which afforded her a wide range of abilities, including the ability to bend light and assume any shape she wishes. A celebrity on her own Earth, this version of the Flash would serve with the Secret Six, and fight against the SuperMan. She later jumps to Earth-0 and joins Earth’s version of Superman’s newly reformed incarnation of the Authority.

7 Green Lantern

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: Green Lantern #1

Another DC icon who received a major overhaul, the Tangent Universe’s version of Green Lantern, was an occult character, similar to the Phantom Stranger, right down to a lack of a definitive origin. With her trademark green lamp and long flowing cloak, Tangent’s Green Lantern took readers to the darkest parts of that universe. During 2005’s Infinite Crisis, Tangent’s Green Lantern returned, alongside other characters from the imprint. Her lamp washed ashore on New Earth, allowing the Tangent characters to cross over and interact with DC’s prime heroes.

Related: 15 Best Lantern Corps Powers Green Lanterns Don’t Have

6 Nightwing

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: Nightwing #1

On New Earth, Nightwing is one of its greatest and most inspirational heroes, but the name takes on a whole new connotation in the Tangent Universe. Here, Nightwing is not a person, but instead a clandestine group created by John F. Kennedy in the wake of the emergence of superheroes on Earth-9. Nightwing’s mandate was to observe superhuman activity, but over time the group became darker and more sinister. Seeing themselves as all that stands between America and total annihilation, Nightwing helped create a vast surveillance state. The SuperMan would put an end to Nightwing’s activities.

5 The Joker

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: Joker #1

Of the many reinventions in the Tangent Universe, their incarnation of the Joker may be the most extreme. Unlike her Earth-0 counterpart, this Joker was an anarchist superhero based in New Atlantis. Fed up with the current state of her world, the Joker is hunted by Agent John Keel, who becomes obsessed with unlocking her secret origin. And just as Earth-0’s Joker has proven to be slippery and elusive, so was Tangent’s, as it was revealed at the end of Tangent Comics: Joker #1 she was actually three different people, all of whom took up the role.

4 The Atom

First Appearance: Tangent Comics; Atom #1

On Earth-0, Superman is the greatest hero and the one others look up to, but in the Tangent Universe, that honor goes to the Atom. Not only is the Atom Earth-9’s premiere champion, but he is also a third-generation hero. His grandfather helped in the Cuban Missile Crisis, and his father carried on the heroic legacy until he met his end at the hands of a team of villains. HIs son, the third Atom, would return to seek revenge upon them. His mission satisfied, the Atom would then turn his attention to the SuperMan, helping bring the tyrant down once and for all.

3 Darkseid (DarkSide)

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: Tales of the Green Lantern #1

In the DC Universe, there is no evil greater than Darkseid, the Lord of Apokolips, but the Tangent Universe took the character in a completely new direction–all that remained was the evil nature. On Earth-9, Darkseid (here known as “Darkside”) was a female war criminal, and a villain of the Manhunter, who believed her responsible for killing her family. While she may have lacked the power of the Earth-0 Darkseid, this new incarnation was still quite formidable, possessing a mystical orb that allowed her to raise the dead.

2 Batman

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: Batman #1

In the Tangent Universe, Batman is still a grim avenger of the night, but with some unique and cool twists. A former knight in the court of King Arthur, Sir William betrayed his liege and was cursed by Merlin to never leave his castle. William lived a solitary life, but eventually discovered he could project his spirit into a suit of armor. He then patrols the streets of London as Batman, striking fear into the hearts of evildoers, much like his Earth-0 counterpart. This version of Batman would later travel to Earth-0 and meet Bruce Wayne.

1 The SuperMan

First Appearance: Tangent Comics: The Superman #1

One of the most radical reinventions in the Tangent Universe, the SuperMan would emerge as Earth’s biggest threat. Born Harvey Dent, the SuperMan was the result of experiments by Nightwing in the 1970s. Dent unlocks vast mental powers, such as telepathy and telekinesis. Once a great hero, the Superman went off the rails. His world had been left reeling from one crisis after another, and he decided that his powers would make him an ideal leader. Taking control of Earth-9, he begins oppressing its heroes, necessitating them to come to Earth-0 to seek help. In time, the Tangent Superman grew to threaten the entire multiverse.

Outside the Flash and OMAC, the Tangent characters have not made any recent appearances, but with 1990s nostalgia at an all-time high, it is only a matter of time before DC brings back the SuperMan, Joker and the rest.