DC Comics has a wealth of comic books that carry their respective legacies across generations' worth of fans. Their pantheon of superheroes and supervillains are among the most iconic in the medium and brought with them catalogs of compelling stories.
Fans of DC on Reddit shared some of their favorite plot twists within the publisher's various comics, spanning a diverse list of characters and major crossover events. Heroes like Batman naturally welcome this, as he is the "World's Greatest Detective," but other acclaimed classics like Infinite Crisis and Watchmen also kept fans on the edge.
Superman: Red Son
The Man of Steel is one of DC's best superheroes, as well as one of the most iconic in general. Superman has become synonymous with the word "superhero," and is celebrated as a shining example of what humanity could be at its best. However, Mark Millar's Superman: Red Son gave him an alternate, darker origin.
This version of Superman lands in Ukraine and is claimed by the Soviet Union, and Redditor TheCatbus_stops_here said they enjoyed the ending that gave "history of Luthor's descendants and the changes to the family name which eventually showed us the family's final descendant." It's a complex and well fleshed-out story, ending in a sci-fi twist that ends up making this world's Superman a descendant of Lex and Lois Luthor.
Watchmen
Aside from DC Comics' most recognizable characters, Alan Moore's Watchmen is frequently regarded as one of the best comic books ever written. The political-dystopian, alternate-history story was an engrossing and grim deconstruction of the superhero genre. It portrays deeply dangerous "heroes" and how they can be easily manipulated for corruption.
Redditor Ntkoessel listed Ozymandias/Adrian Veidt's reveal of "him being the Comedian’s killer" as one of their favorite twists. The reveal further illustrated the delusions of grandeur and dangerously misguided logic of these superheroes. Veidt killed the Comedian after the latter discovered his plan to stage an alien invasion and murder half of New York's population, all in an attempt to unite them against nuclear war.
JLA: Tower Of Babel
Batman is canonically one of the DC universe's most intelligent heroes, but he can also be one of the most paranoid. Those elements of the brooding superhero are exploited by his nemesis Ra's al Ghul in Tower of Babel. The same Redditor cited the core premise of this JLA story arc and "Batman’s contingency plans" as one of DC's most shocking reveals.
The Caped Crusader concocted plans to defeat each member of the Justice League should extreme circumstances result in them being compromised. It's an impressive, strategic plan under normal circumstances, but Ra's al Ghul is one of the villains that know Bruce and his paranoia best.
Brightest Day
In a sprawling, year-long crossover comic book arc, Brightest Day sees the aftermath of Blackest Night where 12 dead heroes and villains are mysteriously brought back to life. The story focuses on these 12 as they try to uncover the mystery behind their resurrections, but it also contained some surprise re-introductions of characters into the mainline DCU.
Redditor MarcReyes said, "Swamp Thing and Constantine's return to main DCU at the end of Brightest Day" was among their favorite twists. Both of these supernatural-leaning characters were initially outside of mainline DC continuity, with Swamp Thing having been conceived for standalone timelines.
Batman: The Long Halloween
The Long Halloween is often praised as the superhero's best story, partially for emphasizing the "World's Greatest Detective" element by giving Batman one of his greatest mystery cases. The conflict of the story was a mysterious murderer dubbed the "Holiday Killer" targeting of Gotham City's crime family during organized crime's waning days of power.
Redditor YodaInTheAttic said the "main killer... turns out to be someone we thought died" was another surprising turn of events. The killer being Alberto Falcone, the son of the top-tier mob boss, was an excellent murder-mystery plot revelation.
Grant Morrison's Batman Run
While some may have issues with how Grant Morrison makes plot points convoluted at times, fans generally praise the veteran writer's elaborate use and deep knowledge of the Dark Knight's mythos. His entire run came together to be an expansive saga, putting together some of Batman's best comic arcs from the 2000s.
Redditor ICSL enjoyed the entirety of his tenure and its "twists and turns," but noted that the "identity of Oberon Sexton sticks out in my memory in particular." He was a British novelist specializing in the "true crime" genre but was quickly killed by the Joker, who went to Gotham while assuming the former's identity.
The Flash Rebirth Annual
The Flash during the Rebirth relaunch gave fans an entertaining twist. During this relaunch story, Iris West seemingly killed Eobard Thawne -- the Reverse-Flash -- in the 25th century. However, a mysterious hooded "judge" sends the supervillain Renegades team back in time to arrest her.
Redditor TheGreenSpeedster cited that "Hunter Zolomon being revealed as The Judge in Flash Annual #1" was their favorite twist. Hunter Zolomon, ironically, is the second person to don the Reverse-Flash persona and looks to incite war among the Flashes.
Infinite Crisis
DC's Infinite Crisis crossover arc was another landmark story in the publisher's mythos, opening with the mainline universe crumbling. The Justice League Watchtower is in shambles, a variety of threats are assaulting the planet, and the legendary Trinity of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman are feuding.
Redditor mugenhunt recalls the surprising conclusion to the arc's first issue as excitingly memorable, saying it "Took EVERYONE by surprise. Last time I can think that a plot twist like that didn't get spoiled ahead of time." This refers to the narrators of the issue being Superman, Alexander Luthor, Superboy, and Lois breaking the barrier separating their reality from the mainline trio's to try and help their Earth.
Superman: Ruin Revealed
Greg Rucka's run on Adventures of Superman contained the Ruin Revealed arc, where the plot focused on a villain named Ruin out to destroy everything and everyone that the Man of Tomorrow loves. The key piece of intrigue before the reveal is that Ruin is someone who Superman loves.
The aforementioned Redditor MarcReyes also lists this as one of their favorite plot twists, as Ruin's identity was discovered to be Emil Hamilton. He was once a longtime friend of Superman but has turned on the hero, believing him to be an unchecked threat to the planet.
Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps. Special
The Anti-Monitor is a classic cosmic supervillain that plagued the Justice League back in the 1980s during the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover arc. He had long thought to have been destroyed but ultimately made his return in the conclusion of the Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps. Special one-shot comic in the late 2000s.
Redditor MarcReyes also listed this issue as a favorite, with the villainous Sinestro revealed at the end to have been readying the Corps. under the leadership of the Anti-Monitor. The near-indomitable being is the darker brother of the Monitor, seeking the destruction of the universe through his control over the Antimatter Universe.