Hamilton Fans Need to See DC's Mind-Blowing Epilogue for Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr might be the villain of the musical Hamilton, but according to DC Comics, he had a very different life involving aliens and space.
It might seem like an unlikely pair, but the Founding Father Aaron Burr isn't just a central character in the hit musical Hamilton, he's also made an impact in the DC Comics universe. This can be found in a backup story to an old issue of The Flash, starring the Green Lantern.
The hit musical Hamilton, which was created by Lin-Manuel Miranda and premiered in 2015, sets up Aaron Burr as the main antagonist of Alexander Hamilton's story. In the role originated by Leslie Odom Jr., Burr is a lot more reserved and calculating compared to Hamilton's boisterous and loudmouthed behavior. Burr believes sitting back on his heels will offer him more opportunities, but he grows bitter that Hamilton finds more success than him even though he's often rude and abrasive. Their feud culminates in a duel, which results in Hamilton's death.
Although the musical doesn't go into the rest of Burr's life, the battered politician became something of a pariah following Hamilton's death and he never quite redeemed himself in the political arena. However, in the DC Comics story "The Man of Destiny" from The Flash #231, written by Denny O'Neil with at by Dick Dillin and Tex Blaisdell, Burr has quite a different life than what history would have you believe. According to this story, right before his duel with Hamilton, Burr was abducted by aliens searching the universe for a leader who could help repair the chaos on their home planet. The aliens also created a clone of Burr that was sent back to Earth in his place. It was this clone that lived out the rest of Burr's life while the real Aaron Burr helped bring order to the alien world.
This Green Lantern story was written in 1974, so it is very interesting to see the shift in how Burr is depicted then compared to how he appears in a musical written in the present day. The aliens’ technology, which sought out a leader to help their planet, didn't choose a more well-known figure such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or even Alexander Hamilton. It chose Aaron Burr. This might be because of Burr's popularity at the time or it could be because he had a relatively minor impact compared to some of the other more well-known Founding Fathers.
Another interesting note about this story is the timing at which Burr was abducted. Up until the moment he killed Hamilton, Burr had a relatively successful political career. He fought in the Revolutionary War and even rose to the prominence of the vice presidency. But in reality, after he killed Hamilton, his life took a turn for the worst. It's almost fitting that right before the duel is the moment the real Burr was swapped out for the clone. It's almost as if the clone was ill-equipped to lead Burr's life and led it to ruin. Either way, it would definitely be strange if Hamilton concluded Aaron Burr's story the same way it is depicted in this wild and crazy DC Comics story.