Posted By Dan Greenfield on Mar 3, 2024 | 14 comments

Hey, why not? The companies are playing nice right now…

The Comics Journal #54: Bill Sienkiewicz and Neal Adams, respectively

By ANTHONY DURSO

I used to love the old Marvel/DC crossovers (Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man is one of my all-time favorite comics). They were a big event at the time and you couldn’t wait for the next one. But eventually I got burned out on them, as they seemed to gravitate toward “Batman and (fill in the blank)” books. So when JLA/Avengers (another all time favorite comic) finally saw the light of day back in 2004 (after a 20-year wait!), I thought it was a perfect send-off to a concept that may have run its course. But now, 20 years later, Marvel and DC are getting together to reprint an omnibus of almost all the old crossovers, leading to fun speculation about future collaborations, as unlikely as that may be.

Dan asked me if I wanted to take a crack at putting together some potential match-ups. I went with the notion that a lot has happened in each respective universe over the last 20 years. There are new characters to work with. Everything doesn’t have to be Batman. But at the same time, nostalgia comes into play. What are some team-ups that could have happened back in the day? If they’re created with a certain tone, there could be some interesting stuff to work with there as well.

So this is a list, not in any particular order, of all of those ideas…

(Special thanks to Ross Pearsall and Super-Team Family… the Lost Issues!)

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The Uncanny X-Men/Legion of Super-Heroes. Since 2004, there’ve been three or four reboots of the Legion and even more reiterations of everyone’s favorite mutant team. So to keep things simple (as simple it can be with such a sprawling cast of characters), let’s turn back time to my favorite era for the two teams: the Bronze Age. In the early 1980s, the X-Men and the Legion of Super-Heroes were arguably at the height of their popularity.

There had been rumblings in the comics fan press of an X-Men/LSH crossover, perhaps helmed by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum. But that never came to be, as an X-Men/New Teen Titans crossover seemed to take over its spot. Although Claremont was still the writer, Walt Simonson got the gig as artist. But think of what could have been. Cockrum had famously left the LSH (and DC) over the return of some original art (from the Legion wedding of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel in Superboy/Legion #200) and headed to Marvel, where he rebooted the X-Men with Len Wein (Giant-Size X-Men #1).

Some of his original concepts for the Legion (Nightcrawler and Storm) ended up traveling with him and became part of the All-New, All-Different X-Men. While on the X-Men, Cockrum co-created (with Chris Claremont) the intergalactic team known as the Imperial Guard, who served as a pastiche for the Legion of Super-Heroes. A crossover between the X-Men and the Legion would undoubtedly have to address this similarity. In addition, I’d have these two teams first battle each other, and then eventually team up to take on the machinations of the Time Trapper and some time-traveling Sentinel robots.

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Spider-Man (Miles Morales)/Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes). Here we have two legacy heroes who share some co-creator DNA in Steve Ditko (via Peter Parker and Ted Kord). Although there was some initial fan-resistance to these two versions when they first appeared (in 2011 and 2006 respectively), they’ve since become fan favorites. In fact, they each headlined movies in 2023 (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Blue Beetle). Now would be the perfect time to capitalize on these two popular heroes, as they team-up to battle street level foes the Prowler and La Dama. Maybe we can even get mentors Peter Parker and Ted Kord to turn up and show some support with a science lab cameo.

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Spider-Man/The Creeper. And speaking of Ditko, how about a  team-up inspired by his Silver Age work? Imagine Daily Bugle photographer Peter Parker crossing paths with talk show host Jack Ryder as their alter egos (Spider-Man and the Creeper) get in each other’s way as they try to stop the Green Goblin and the Joker from starting a gang war.

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Thunderbolts/Suicide Squad. Government bureaucrats General “Thunderbolt” Ross and Amanda Waller cross paths when both of their covert teams of super-villains are accidentally assigned to the same mission. But was it an accident? Or is it an elaborate plot by an unseen nemesis to get both teams to eliminate each other and clear the playing field for something even more sinister? With such a deep bench on both sides, you could have some great matchups. Bullseye vs Deadshot. Elektra vs. Katana. Venom vs. Killer Croc. Taskmaster vs. Captain Boomerang. Rhino vs. King Shark. The White Widow vs. Harley Quinn. The possibilities are endless.

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Ms. Marvel/Stargirl. How about some more legacy heroes? Kamala Khan and Courtney Whitmore could be old-fashioned pen pals (consider it some school assignment) who decide to meet up in New York City during summer break. Initially unaware of each other’s secret identity (Ms. Marvel and Stargirl, respectively), they’re forced to reveal their powers to each other when Skrulls and Starros invade the Big Apple!

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Daredevil/The Flash. Back in the Bronze Age, these two red-garbed heroes were at the top of my list. So for no other reason than that, I’d love to see Matt Murdock and Barry Allen suit up to do battle against two of the greatest rogues galleries EVER! Captain Cold, Heatwave, Mr. Hyde, Cobra, Gladiator, Mirror Master and more! Pure wish fulfillment for 10-year-old me.

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Man-Thing/ Swamp Thing. Man-Thing (first appearance in Savage Tales #1 (May ’71) and Swamp Thing (first appearance in House of Secrets #92, July ’71) debuted at relatively the same time but have never crossed vines. But that all changes when Shuma-Gorath and his agent Anton Arcane join forces to conquer reality. Of course our muck-encrusted monsters get in the way of such plans. But not before they go up against each other, unsure if the other is a friend or foe. Will the Swamp Thing know fear and burn at the Man-Thing’s touch? Or will the former Alec Holland be able to tap into the Green and reach the buried mind of Ted Sallis?

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Moon Knight/Batman. Pretty much since his run as a backup in Hulk! magazine, Moon Knight has been referred to as  “Marvel’s Batman.” They both have super-rich alter egos (Steven Grant and Bruce Wayne, respectively) as well as undercover identities used to infiltrate the underworld (taxicab driver Jake Lockley and low-level criminal “Matches” Malone). Moon Knight also has a third “true” identity, that of mercenary Marc Spector. So, a crossover between the Fist of Khonshu and the Darknight Detective only seems natural.

Kerry Callen

Of course, they’re aided in this adventure by Moon Knight’s helicopter pilot, Frenchie, and Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred (who has field experience as well). Spector’s girlfriend Marlene and Batman’s occasional romantic interest, Talia al Ghul, would also figure into the story. Which makes sense because our heroes will be going up against Bushman (who murdered Marlene’s father) and Ra’s al Ghul (who is Talia’s father). A global escapade that has a James Bondian feel, back in the day it would’ve been great to have had Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz as the creative team, but we’ll settle for Sienkiewicz on the cover art if possible.

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Thor/Wonder Woman.  It’s a shame that Wonder Woman never got her own headlining spot in a Marvel/DC crossover. Instead, she was shoehorned in, along with the Hulk, in Superman and Spider-Man (Marvel Treasury Edition #28, a sequel to the original Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man). In the DC vs. Marvel mini-series, she was put up against Storm of the X-Men (and lost!). So she’s long overdue for the crossover spotlight. Sharing that spotlight should be Thor, Marvel’s Asgardian God of Thunder.

George Perez

With Thor representing Asgard and Wonder Woman as a stand-in for the Greek gods, this epic tale would pit them against the combined efforts of Thor’s half-brother Loki and WW’s long-time nemesis Circe. On the surface, it appears that Loki and Circe are working together to conquer the Nine Realms and beyond, but considering their track record I’m sure there’ll be some backstabbing down the road.

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Guardians of the Galaxy/Green Lantern Corps. What if Thanos tried to create an alternate Infinity Gauntlet using power rings (such as those worn by Green, Red, Orange, Yellow, Violet, and Blue Lanterns) instead of the Infinity Gems? That’s the basis for this cosmic crossover between the Guardians and the Corps. Imagine the swagger of Hal Jordan against that of Starlord. Or Guy Gardner sharing wits with Drax the Destroyer. How about Medphyll vs Groot? Or Ch’p vs Rocket Racoon?!! And things only go from bad to worse, when Thanos learns that there is also a Black Lantern Corps that serves death (aka Nekron)! Can our heroes get it together to fight an army of undead Black Lanterns (including some deceased Marvel characters like Captain Mar-Vell)?

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The Fantastic Four/The New Gods. Can you smell the Kirby Krackle? The Fantastic Four are caught in the middle of a war in the Negative Zone! Blastaar and Annihulus are defending their turf against the invading Darkseid and his Parademons. It seems the ruler of Apokolips discovered the Negative Zone and thinks it may hold the key to the Anti-Life Equation. But never fear, New Genesis sends its own fantastic four (Orion, Lightray, Mister Miracle and Big Barda) to even the odds. It’s a Kirbypalooza!

Simon Williams

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Winter Soldier/Nightwing. Bucky Barnes and Dick Grayson’ s alter egos trade blows and villains as Taskmaster and Deathstroke compete to assassinate a diplomat visiting Bludhaven. Do they have what it takes to put their arch-enemies down before an international incident occurs? Not only do we see the two most famous sidekicks (Bucky to Captain America and Robin to Batman, respectively) team up, but we also get a match-up between two George Perez co-created, VERY similarly garbed, villains that debuted within seven months of each other.

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Deadpool/Harley Quinn. The Merc with a Mouth and the Cupid of Crime together? How can you contain such insanity in one book? The answer is: you don’t. This would just be a wild romp, breaking the fourth wall, as Deadpool and Harley each try to one-up the other in destroying each other’s universe. With lots of in-jokes and meta-references, this could be very similar to World’s Funnest (with Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk), but with the addition of everything the Marvel Universe has to offer. Bwah-ha-ha!

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MORE

— COMICS 101: The Brilliance of 1982’s X-MEN and NEW TEEN TITANS Crossover. Click here.

— SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN: Why BATMAN and SPIDER-MAN Don’t Team Up Very Often. Click here.

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ANTHONY DURSO is the owner of The Toyroom repro and custom packaging company and Retropolis Tees.