Top 10 Best DC Comics Plot Twists
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Nick Miller
Not even the World's Greatest Detective would see these ones coming! For this list we'll be looking at the greatest plot twists in DC Comics. Do you have a favorite twist? Let us know in the comments!
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These twists and turns kept us turning page after page. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today, we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 DC Comics plot twists.
For this list, we’re looking at the biggest surprises We’ll be spoiling pivotal moments of all our entries, so viewer beware!
2004’s “Identity Crisis” mini-series was an adult-oriented whodunnit that sought to uncover the murderer of Sue Dibny, wife of the Elongated Man. The controversial story involves a brutal murder and a past sexual assault, making it not the lightest DC affair, but there’s little doubt it was effective in unraveling its core mystery in a satisfying way. The reveal of the murderer was jolting, as it was revealed Jean Loring, the former wife of Ray Palmer, had a mental break and accidentally killed Sue in an elaborate plot to win her ex-husband back. The story itself earns a fair share of criticism, but the way the big reveal takes place secures its spot on our list.
This more recent plot twist deals with some of the fallout of DC’s Rebirth event. After a mysterious figure going under the name Mr. Oz begins kidnapping various figures across the DC universe, many fans speculated the character was none other than “Watchmen” villain Ozymandias. It was well known by that point that Alan Moore’s classic characters would be making their way to the core DC world in some form, and this seemed to be an obvious one. That’s why it was a huge surprise when Oz was revealed to be Jor-El, Superman’s Kryptonian father.
Barry Allen’s death in 1985’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” is one of comics longest lasting and most impactful hero deaths. Barry sacrifices himself to save the world from the Anti-Monitor, and Wally West graduated from Kid Flash to become the new Flash. Only a few years after his death, Barry seems to return out of nowhere, becoming Flash again and stealing Wally’s thunder. This new Barry is eventually discovered to be Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash, which is a shock unto itself, but the real tragedy is that Barry was still dead. He would eventually be brought back, but 23 years is a long time for one of the company’s most popular heroes to stay in the ground.
Alec Holland was a normal scientist before an attack on his Louisiana lab resulted in his transformation into Swamp Thing. Or so he thought. Shortly into Alan Moore’s legendary run on the series, an autopsy on the recently-destroyed being shows that Swamp Thing isn’t Alec Holland at all. Holland was killed in the lab accident, and Swamp Thing is plant matter that believes it is Alec Holland. That had to be a pretty big shocker for Swamp Thing when he regenerated and found out the news. Even better than just being a quality twist, this plot decision introduced a new layer of philosophy into Swamp Thing’s character; one that persists to this day.
Marv Wolfman’s excellent 80s New Teen Titans series begins with Raven gathering the team to fight an impending evil. It is first revealed that Raven has subtly been manipulating the team to join up to fight Trigon. Despite their uneasiness with Raven, when Trigon arrives the team fights with her to stop him. It was a shock when it was revealed to readers that Raven was the daughter of the great demon, but the Titans didn’t even bat an eye when they were told. I guess nothing can shock you when you’re a young team of superheroes who’ve already seen it all.
After being introduced as an ally two years prior, the character Terra was well on her way to becoming a full-fledged member of the team before she revealed herself to be a spy for Slade Wilson, AKA Deathstroke the Terminator. It was a carefully-laid long-term plot hook that paid off, giving way to one of the Titans’ greatest stories. Robin learns of the betrayal from Slade’s ex-wife, who drops the bombshell along with a quick rundown of the mercenary’s history, before Dick adopts the mantle of Nightwing and goes off to save his captured friends.
This year-long story came to a conclusion with a shocking misdirection: the story’s true villain wasn’t Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend Thomas Elliot but was, in fact, The Riddler. The infamous trickster set the events of the series into play by deducing Bruce Wayne’s identity and helping Doctor Elliot to get back at his old friend. The story’s epilogue sees Batman confront Edward Nygma in Arkham, threatening that he’ll tell Ra’s al Ghul that Riddler used his Lazarus Pit if the Riddler decides to reveal Batman’s identity. The story even hints at another twist coming in the future concerning the resurrection of a certain sidekick...
When a violent new vigilante appears in Gotham City, Batman and Nightwing attempt to stop them, and soon grow suspicious of the Red Hood’s familiar tactics. In a brutal and impactful scene that sees the hooded vigilante beat the Joker with a crowbar, the Red Hood is revealed to be Jason Todd, the former Robin who was murdered by the Clown Prince of Crime in 1988’s “A Death in the Family.” To see Jason alive again was a surprise enough for readers, but when Bruce’s suspicions are confirmed, the two have a tense confrontation in the rain that ranks as one of the most emotional moments for the normally stoic Dark Knight.
When Barry Allen wakes up powerless and discovers he’s in an alternate reality where his mother is still alive, the Justice League never formed, and Thomas Wayne became Batman after his young son was murdered, he has to uncover what happened to make things this way. Initially believing the timestream was altered by Reverse Flash, Thawne eventually reveals to Barry that he was the cause of the time stream changing when he traveled back in time to save his mother from his arch enemy. After defeating Thawne with the help of Thomas Wayne, Barry is able to fix the time stream, which led to DC’s New 52.
From 1986 to 1987, DC published this twelve-issue series written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons that had a profound effect on the comic book industry. Rorschach's long investigation into the identity of the "mask killer" culminates with the discovery that thought-to-be-ally Adrian Veidt is the killer. Veidt reveals his plan to fake an alien invasion that will kill half the people in New York City in order to unite a world on the brink of catastrophic war. Oh, and just in case the surviving heroes wanted to do anything to stop it, Veidt informs them it’s too late, and that his plan has already been completed.
For this list, we’re looking at the biggest surprises We’ll be spoiling pivotal moments of all our entries, so viewer beware!
#10: Who Killed Sue Dibny?
2004’s “Identity Crisis” mini-series was an adult-oriented whodunnit that sought to uncover the murderer of Sue Dibny, wife of the Elongated Man. The controversial story involves a brutal murder and a past sexual assault, making it not the lightest DC affair, but there’s little doubt it was effective in unraveling its core mystery in a satisfying way. The reveal of the murderer was jolting, as it was revealed Jean Loring, the former wife of Ray Palmer, had a mental break and accidentally killed Sue in an elaborate plot to win her ex-husband back. The story itself earns a fair share of criticism, but the way the big reveal takes place secures its spot on our list.
#9: The Identity of Oz
This more recent plot twist deals with some of the fallout of DC’s Rebirth event. After a mysterious figure going under the name Mr. Oz begins kidnapping various figures across the DC universe, many fans speculated the character was none other than “Watchmen” villain Ozymandias. It was well known by that point that Alan Moore’s classic characters would be making their way to the core DC world in some form, and this seemed to be an obvious one. That’s why it was a huge surprise when Oz was revealed to be Jor-El, Superman’s Kryptonian father.
#8: It’s Barry! Or Is It?
Barry Allen’s death in 1985’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” is one of comics longest lasting and most impactful hero deaths. Barry sacrifices himself to save the world from the Anti-Monitor, and Wally West graduated from Kid Flash to become the new Flash. Only a few years after his death, Barry seems to return out of nowhere, becoming Flash again and stealing Wally’s thunder. This new Barry is eventually discovered to be Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash, which is a shock unto itself, but the real tragedy is that Barry was still dead. He would eventually be brought back, but 23 years is a long time for one of the company’s most popular heroes to stay in the ground.
#7: Swamp Thing’s Revelation
Alec Holland was a normal scientist before an attack on his Louisiana lab resulted in his transformation into Swamp Thing. Or so he thought. Shortly into Alan Moore’s legendary run on the series, an autopsy on the recently-destroyed being shows that Swamp Thing isn’t Alec Holland at all. Holland was killed in the lab accident, and Swamp Thing is plant matter that believes it is Alec Holland. That had to be a pretty big shocker for Swamp Thing when he regenerated and found out the news. Even better than just being a quality twist, this plot decision introduced a new layer of philosophy into Swamp Thing’s character; one that persists to this day.
#6: Raven’s Father
Marv Wolfman’s excellent 80s New Teen Titans series begins with Raven gathering the team to fight an impending evil. It is first revealed that Raven has subtly been manipulating the team to join up to fight Trigon. Despite their uneasiness with Raven, when Trigon arrives the team fights with her to stop him. It was a shock when it was revealed to readers that Raven was the daughter of the great demon, but the Titans didn’t even bat an eye when they were told. I guess nothing can shock you when you’re a young team of superheroes who’ve already seen it all.
#5: Terra’s Betrayal
After being introduced as an ally two years prior, the character Terra was well on her way to becoming a full-fledged member of the team before she revealed herself to be a spy for Slade Wilson, AKA Deathstroke the Terminator. It was a carefully-laid long-term plot hook that paid off, giving way to one of the Titans’ greatest stories. Robin learns of the betrayal from Slade’s ex-wife, who drops the bombshell along with a quick rundown of the mercenary’s history, before Dick adopts the mantle of Nightwing and goes off to save his captured friends.
#4: The True Villain of “Hush”
This year-long story came to a conclusion with a shocking misdirection: the story’s true villain wasn’t Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend Thomas Elliot but was, in fact, The Riddler. The infamous trickster set the events of the series into play by deducing Bruce Wayne’s identity and helping Doctor Elliot to get back at his old friend. The story’s epilogue sees Batman confront Edward Nygma in Arkham, threatening that he’ll tell Ra’s al Ghul that Riddler used his Lazarus Pit if the Riddler decides to reveal Batman’s identity. The story even hints at another twist coming in the future concerning the resurrection of a certain sidekick...
#3: The Red Hood
When a violent new vigilante appears in Gotham City, Batman and Nightwing attempt to stop them, and soon grow suspicious of the Red Hood’s familiar tactics. In a brutal and impactful scene that sees the hooded vigilante beat the Joker with a crowbar, the Red Hood is revealed to be Jason Todd, the former Robin who was murdered by the Clown Prince of Crime in 1988’s “A Death in the Family.” To see Jason alive again was a surprise enough for readers, but when Bruce’s suspicions are confirmed, the two have a tense confrontation in the rain that ranks as one of the most emotional moments for the normally stoic Dark Knight.
#2: Barry Caused “Flashpoint”
When Barry Allen wakes up powerless and discovers he’s in an alternate reality where his mother is still alive, the Justice League never formed, and Thomas Wayne became Batman after his young son was murdered, he has to uncover what happened to make things this way. Initially believing the timestream was altered by Reverse Flash, Thawne eventually reveals to Barry that he was the cause of the time stream changing when he traveled back in time to save his mother from his arch enemy. After defeating Thawne with the help of Thomas Wayne, Barry is able to fix the time stream, which led to DC’s New 52.
#1: Watchmen’s Climax
From 1986 to 1987, DC published this twelve-issue series written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons that had a profound effect on the comic book industry. Rorschach's long investigation into the identity of the "mask killer" culminates with the discovery that thought-to-be-ally Adrian Veidt is the killer. Veidt reveals his plan to fake an alien invasion that will kill half the people in New York City in order to unite a world on the brink of catastrophic war. Oh, and just in case the surviving heroes wanted to do anything to stop it, Veidt informs them it’s too late, and that his plan has already been completed.
