Greetings from the Odinson,
A History of Marvel/DC Crossovers
When it comes to the super hero genre, it cannot even be argued who the Top Dogs are. Marvel and DC, or the Big Two, as they have become known, have been the flagship companies when it comes to super hero sci-fi/action/adventure and drama. They are the Coke and Pepsi, the Beatles and Rolling Stones of the comic book industry. They both have their iconic characters, their timeless tales, and their legendary stables of creators, but every now and then, even that is not enough, and the Big Two, to the delight of fans everywhere, unite for a historical crossover event.
Now, the publically (or officially) accepted first time this occurred is in 1976 in the pages of Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man. Touted as “The Battle of the Century,” this classic treasury features the Big Two’s two flagship heroes locked in mortal combat against each other and against their greatest foes. But, was this the very first time the Big Two crossed over? In fact, there were at least two crossovers between the Big Two before this fateful first meeting of the Man of Steel and your friendly neighborhood web-swinger.
In December and January of 1972-1973, Justice League of America #103, Amazing Adventures #16, and Thor #207 tell a rousing in-continuity, intersecting tale of macabre and magical coincidences. Worlds collide as heroes, villains, and real-life creators of the DCU and Marvel U converge on the Annual Rutland Halloween Parade in Vermont. It’s an uncredited and cleverly veiled crossover but a crossover nonetheless, and almost universally recognized as the first of its kind.
But, as Yoda once said, “There is another.”
While, the Rutland Halloween trilogy is widely known, the Odinson recently came to know about yet another uncredited DC/Marvel crossover that pre-dates the official Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man event. In 1971, writer Steve Skeates, co-creator of Hawk and Dove, found his run on Aquaman coming to an end, and the story he had begun in Aquaman #56 was not yet finished. So, three years later, in the pages of Sub-Mariner #72, the wily writer finished his story and snuck by editors one of the earliest crossovers between Marvel and DC in Comics History. This makes the Aquaman/Sub-Mariner Crossover a very unique back issue treasure and yet another interesting chapter in the history of our beloved medium.
The early 1980s saw three more high profile crossovers between the Big Two. Superman and Spider-Man sees the two comic book icons uniting to take down Doctor Doom and the power-syphoning Parasite. Batman vs. the Incredible Hulk features the Caped Crusader pulling off a miracle and scoring a win over the strongest creature to ever walk the earth. And, The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans sees the two most popular super teams of the 80s uniting to take on the combined might of Darkseid and the Dark Phoenix, and it introduced a DCU staple, the enigmatic Source Wall. For years, the Big Two toyed with the idea of pitting Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against the World’s Greatest Super Heroes with the mighty George Perez on art duty. But alas, editorial disagreements saw this ultimate crossover fall to the wayside, for now. It would be over a decade before the Big Two would play nice again, but when the Marvel/DC Crossover event returned to stands, it came back in a big, big way!
However, before the big event could proceed, it needed a couple of warm-up acts. This came in the form of Spider-Man and Batman and Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliance. The first of these two seminal crossovers has the Dark Knight Detective teaming up with the spectacular arachnid to take on the combined insanity of Carnage and the Joker! In the second crossover, the neophyte Lantern Kyle Rayner must unite with the Sentinel of the Spaceways to stop a cosmic catastrophe concocted by the machinations of the Mad Titan, Thanos, and the deranged Parallax. They are easily two of the best Marvel/DC crossovers ever produced, and they laid the groundwork for what came next
Marvel vs. DC debuted in the spring of 1996 and hit the salivating fans like a runaway freight train. No more debates by editors, creators, and fans. “Who would win?” would be settled once and for all and it would be done the democratic way. Fans voted and we all finally found out once and for all who is stronger – Hulk or Superman, who is tougher – Wolverine or Lobo, who is cooler – Spider-Man of Superboy…? And so on. What took this already remarkable event to the next level was that not only did the Marvel and DC Universes crossover, they merged, and thus was born the Amalgam Universe.
The Amalgam U treated us to a comic book realm unlike any other ever seen before, or since. What if Marvel and DC were one single entity? What would that look like? Well, you would get heroes like Dark Claw, a mix of Batman and Wolverine, Super-Soldier, a mix of Superman and Captain America, the Amazon, a mix of Wonder Woman and Storm, Thorion (do I really have to explain), and so on. One of the coolest amalgams had to be Doctor Strangefate, a mash up of Doctor Strange, Dr. Fate, and Professor X.
The 1990s saw a barrage of quality DC/Marvel mash-ups. Frank Castle met two versions of the Dark Knight in the pages of Batman/Punisher and Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights. In Batman and Captain America we see the Caped Crusader and the Sentinel of Liberty bashing Nazi scum. And, The Incredible Hulk vs. Superman saw an out-of-continuity heavyweight bout between the companies’ two heaviest hitters. There has been Silver Surfer/Superman, Batman and Daredevil, and Superman and the Fantastic Four, but one of the All-Time best ones has to be Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger. However, the good times were not meant to last and the chummy partnership the Big Two had shared over the better part of the decade would soon come to an end. But, fortunately for us, they saved the best for last.
JLA/Avengers debuted in the fall of 2003. It was a crossover event twenty years in the making and quite frankly, one the fans, and the artist, never thought was going to happen. This is the pinnacle of what a Marvel/DC crossover can offer. The two biggest and best super teams in the history of comic books uniting to take on a threat on a universal scale. Writer Kurt Busiek honors and respects the histories and traditions of both franchises and stays absolutely true to the characters that make them up. And, what else can be said about the beautiful artwork and visual storytelling of industry legend George Perez that has not already been said before? The first thirty years of his career with seminal runs on Justice League of America, New Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, and the Avengers, was preparation for this, his magnum opus. Sadly, JLA/Avengers closed the door on the era of Marvel/DC crossovers.
Ever feel like a good treasure hunt? With a keen eye, comic fans can track down some other hidden crossover gems that have been secreted away within the pages of Marvel and DC Comics over the years. In the pages of Thor #341, you may notice the mighty Odinson literally bump into a certain mild-manner reporter and his sassy reporter gal pal. In Legion of Super Heroes #320, you may see the appearances by a couple of members of a certain band of mutant heroes. And, in Quasar #17, a familiar blonde haired, scarlet clad speedster arrives in a “flash” of lightning on the scene to win a race amongst the fastest beings in the universe.
A cool idea for a Marvel/DC crossover would be for them to trade iconic characters. How awesome would be to see Spider-Man in the DCU for six months and Batman in the Marvel Universe for that same amount time?
Whether sanctioned tales like Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man or a hidden gem like Aquaman/Sub-Mariner, the Marvel/DC Crossover is a fine tradition the Odinson hopes will one day make a comeback. If you happen to find or know of any more secret crossovers between the Big Two hidden away in the treasure troves of back issues, please let me know about them.
This is Odinson bidding thee farewell
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