Back in the days before Marvel’s more “realistic” super heroes overthrew DC’s dominance in the comics marketplace, DC would sometimes feature what they referred to as “imaginary stories,” which was a rather endearing way of saying the plot pursued an alternative story arc that didn’t fit in the overall fictional continuity of the characters involved. I was always a bit confused, however, by the use of the term “imaginary” to characterize a plot — no matter how alternative — about characters whose stories were imaginary in the first place. I mean, right? Nonetheless, I was often picqued enough by the “what if” aspect of it to plunk down my dime (later, 12 cents). One quite popular recurring “imaginary” storyline explored what might happen if Superman & Lois Lane settled down and had kids.
