Marvel/DC Crossovers

Over the years Marvel and DC have combined their powers many times to give up some intense, fun and wild crossover events. Some have been with each company's major teams and some have been with individual characters, and some I know you didn’t even know existed. So in this latest article series we will be talking about all of the Marvel and DC crossovers in existence.

JLA/Avengers:

Definitely not the first crossover between the big two but one of the most iconic, JLA/Avengers and Avengers/JLA so that each team got top billing was a 4 issue limited series published in 2003-2004. This story was originally thought up between the two companies in 1979 and was to be written by Gerry Conway and George Perez. The original plot was to be a time travel story involving the Lord of Time and Kang the Conqueror. They began work in 1981 and was supposed to be published in ‘83 but there were some editorial disputes that held up publication and Jim Shooter killed the story. This cancellation also led to the cancellation of an already planned sequel between the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans.

A new agreement was reached in 2002, with a new story headed by Kurt Busiek and George Perez. This story focuses on Krona versus the Grandmaster who proposes a challenge with the Avengers fighting on behalf of Krona and the Justice League fighting for the Grandmaster. Each team must gather items of power to save their universe. And when visiting each other's universe are shocked by the conditions there. This story does a really great job of showing just how opposite each company handles their superheroes. Of the crossovers that came after it I feel like this first one is a bit forgotten and overlooked though it remains one of the best. Both teams stay true to their characterizations and the way that they interact is very interesting in that it shows the similarities and differences between the teams really well.

Spider-Man/Batman:

Titled Spiderman and Batman Disordered Minds, this crossover was released in 1995 and written by J.M. DeMatties. It features just about every character even vaguely important to either of the title characters. And as anticipated it is about as internal and introspective as comics get. It literally starts with each other characters waking up from nightmares about the death of their loved ones causing them to reflect on their role as superheroes.

The story is very true to both heroes and uses both Carnage and Joker to bring out the traits that are the most core to each of these men. Spidey just wants to help and Bruce is a pain in the ass about that. I love this crossover because it does use the villains that are most closely tied to our heroes and the ones that arguably challenge them the most. Carnage and Joker are also fun to watch interact because Carnage is pretty much uncontrolled chaos and The Joker tends to be very calculated chaos. This gives the reader a really great look into how both heroes handle their villains and makes for some very entertaining antagonist interactions.

Both of these stories are great reads but only one of them is still really talked about. So if you are a Batman or Spiderman fan I highly recommend their crossover story. More than that, if you are a fan of both companies you should really explore their crossover events because it is a great reminder as to why both are such powerhouses and why it is so easy to love both of them.