Wes's Top 10 Favorite Crossovers

I love crossovers. There’s something special about two popular intellectual properties coming together to appease the fans of both sides. Hopefully soon, I plan to use this blog to write a series of crossover fanfiction stories while simultaneously discussing what it takes to make a great crossover. Before I start that project, I’ve decided to list some of my favorite already existing crossovers for your pleasure. Just a few things to keep in mind before we get started. First and foremost, this is my opinion. A few of your favorite crossovers likely won’t make the list, but that doesn’t make them any less awesome. Second, I’m only counting full blown crossovers and not cameos. Trust me, as much as I’d love to include something like Terminator in Mortal Kombat or that time Batman sang the Jigglypuff song in a Kids WB promo (seriously, that happened) they don’t count. That in mind, let’s get this party started.

10. Silver Surfer/Superman: Pop!

This crossover is awesome, but I stuck it at the bottom of the list because the title can be a little misleading. Make no mistake, Superman and The Silver Surfer both feature in this story and are important to the plot, but they’re not really the main focus and don’t really interact until the very end. Instead, our heroes are more like spectators to the real crossover, the one between the Marvel and DC Universe’s respective interdimensional cosmic tricksters, The Impossible Man and Mr. Mxyzptlk. See, the two cosmic imps met up while dimension hopping and saw one another as kindred spirits. In that spirit, the two made a bet to see who could annoy their respective foes more. As such, Superman finds himself on a planet disguised as Krypton duking it out with The Impossible Man masquerading as The Super Skrull and Silver Surfer finds himself under attack inside a miniaturized version of Metropolis. Now, Impossible Man may be annoying, but he’s only in this for fun and doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt. Mxyzptlk on the other hand has no such sense of restraint. When Impossible man finds out, the two come to blows. What follows is a knock down drag out brawl with the two cosmic tricksters taking the forms of various heroes and villains of their respective universes. The fight has all the epicness of an actual full-scale battle between Marvel and DC and all the maturity of two seven-year-olds clanging their action figures together. It’s actually kind of amazing. This isn’t a particularly long story, but it is a lot of fun. A good kickoff to this countdown.

9. Star Trek The Next Generation/X-Men: Planet X

This one is unique amongst our list as it’s not a film, a TV episode or a Comic Book. It’s actually a novella. The weird part, this is actually the third Star Trek/X-Men crossover to date, and all three of them are in continuity with one another. Crazy right? The first time, The X-Men teamed up with Captain Kirk and Crew to fight a merged entity comprised of the villains Proteus and Gary Mitchell. The second time around, The X-Men joined forces with the Next Generation crew to stop time traveling Marvel super-villain, Kang the Conqueror. This one, easily the best of the three, sees the two teams of heroes encounter a planet whose inhabitants are developing powers in a manner similar to how mutants developed on The X-Men’s world. However, when hostile aliens look to abduct the new mutants in order to exploit them for their own ends, it’s up to the crew of the Enterprise, along with their mutant allies, to save the day. Admittedly, the story for this one isn’t anything to write home about, but it does fit thematically within both universes. However, what I’m here for is the all the little interactions between all these great characters. Geordi forms a friendship Nightcrawler, Colossus seaks the council of Deanna Troi, Data identifies with the X-Men and how they are seen as different and my personal favorite, Worf and Wolverine fight X-Men villains on the Holodeck. However, I need to talk about what I believe to be this book’s book’s biggest contributions to pop culture. See, during the proceedings, Storm notes that Captain Picard bears a passing resemblance to Professor X. Since this came out in 1998, two years before the live action film, I personally theorize that some casting director who happened to be a Trek fan read this and said “Someone get me Patrick Stewart’s number.” The rest, as they say, is history. Speaking of, this is the only time ever we get to see Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier interacting with one another. Mind you, it’s just a holodeck recreation of Professor X, but it’s still the closest we’re ever going to get. That alone makes this awesome!

8. Scooby-Doo & Batman: The Brave & The Bold

I love Scooby-Doo. It’s incredible how a franchise that’s as formulaic as you can get has managed to find ways to keep that formula fresh and entertaining for over fifty years. Obviously, Scooby and the gang teaming up with a guest star is nothing new, hell, this isn’t even the first time they’ve met the caped crusader, but this still pretty awesome, taking place in the same universe as the cartoon series, Batman Brave & The Bold, which, while not my favorite incarnation of the Dark Knight, still had a lot of great moments. After Mystery Incorporated passes a test orchestrated by the caped crusader himself, Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma are invited to join a group comprised of some of the best detectives in the DC Universe, including Martian Manhunter, Plastic Man, Detective Chimp, The Question and Black Canary. The idea is a way for the various detectives to pool their recourses for the cases even they can’t solve on their own. While trying to solve Batman’s only unsolved case, one in which he was unable to save an innocent scientist from a grim fate, Gotham City finds itself haunted by a spectre known as the Crimson Cloak. Batman and the Scooby gang need to solve this mystery before all of Gotham is destroyed. This special is just filled to the brim with fun. There’s some great moments between Batman and the Scooby Gang, my favorite being the bit where they all don the costumes of the various Batman family members. Velma looks a lot like Carrie Kelly in her Robin outfit. The side characters are also pretty fun. I’m normally not a fan of Aquaman being the butt of the joke, but John Dimaggio’s version of the character from Batman Brave & The Bold is absolutely hilarious. The reveal of the villain at the end is satisfying and actually really cool. All in all, a fun little lighthearted romp.

7. Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness

I know what you’re thinking. What the Hell is “Marvel Zombies”? Well, it’s a popular alternate reality in the Marvel Universe in which Earth is hit with a pan-dimensional plague that turns all the heroes into bloodthirsty undead cannibals. It had some cool ideas here and there, but it honestly wasn’t for me. I’m not the biggest fan of zombie media unless they have something awesome involved. Well, this crossover gave me that something awesome: Ash Williams. Who better than the star of the Evil Dead franchise to take on an army of undead super heroes. Ash finds himself dropped into the Marvel Universe to find that the Zombie Apocalypse has already begun, but hasn’t kicked into high gear just yet. Thinking his old foe, the Necromonicon is responsible, Ash teams up with the likes of Spider-Man, The Punisher, Dazzler, Scarlett Witch and even Doctor Doom to combat the coming evil. Far and away, the best part about this crossover is Ash himself. Not only is it cool to see the character made famous by the legendary Bruce Campbell fight zombie superheroes (including a zombie Howard the Duck, because apparently that needed to be a thing), but seeing the more serious Marvel Superheroes interact with the sarcastic jackass like Ash Williams is absolutely hilarious. And really, I’ve pretty much said all you need to know. The story is awesome but there’s not much substance to it. It’s mostly just Ash kicking ass, and that’s all you really need a story like this to be. It does have an absolutely hilarious ending though. Turns out the Necromicon being in the Marvel Universe is purely coincidental and the zombie plague is not the cursed book’s doing. So, in exchange for summoning an army of Deadite to buy Ash time to escape to another dimension, Williams agrees to take the book with him. However, Ash reneges on the deal at the last minute and the sentient book of the dead is doomed to fate where its pages will serve as toilet paper for Zombie Hulk. Good stuff!

6. Star Trek/Green Lantern: Stranger Worlds

Going back to the world of Star Trek, we once again have a direct sequel to a previous crossover. In the first installment, in an alternate DC Universe where the heroes failed to prevent a world ending event known as The Blackest Night, various Green Lantern characters were teleported to an alternate reality (Star Trek’s Kelvin Timeline) as part of a last ditch effort by a dying guardian of the universe to preserve the light of the emotional spectrum. Since the Green Lantern characters had no home to go back to at the end of this crossover, they all had no choice but to stay in the Star Trek Universe. This crossover picks up one year later and all the DC characters have adjusted to their new lives. Where we pick up this crossover, Starfleet engineering has developed weaponized flight rings, using the Lanterns rings as a template, that have now become standard issue for Starfleet Security officers. John Stewart, Guy Gardener and Kilowog are now teaching proper ring use at Starfleet Academy, Hal Jordan is serving aboard the Enterprise, Sinestro has conquered the Klingon Empire and most importantly, Carol Ferris has finally dumped Hal Jordan and is now dating Scotty. Alright! However, when evidence that Oa, the planet from which the Green Lantern’s power originates in the DC Universe may exist in this reality, the race is on between The Enterprise, Sinestro and a newly reawakened Khan having gained the power of the Red Latnerns. What I love about this one is how they actually followed through with how the presence of the Green Lanterns would effect how Starfleet is run at a fundamental level. It’s actually really cool and shows that there was more thought put into this one than your standard crossover. I had a lot of fun with this one I feel it is a worthy entry on this list.

5. Star Trek vs. Transformers

Truth be told, I honestly wasn’t expecting this many Star Trek crossovers to end up on the list when I first got the idea to make this countdown. Oh well, I guess that’s just the way this cookie crumbles. Responding to a distress call from a federation mining colony, Captain Kirk and the crew of the enterprise find themselves under attack by something very strange, vehicles from 20th century Earth, each baring an ominous purple symbol. As you may have guessed, these vehicles are more than meets the eye. Yup, they are the Decepticons. See, as the years passed, the human race mostly forgot about the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons on Earth and the Transformers took to the stars in order to find a new source of Energon. After a crash landing, the two warring factions lay dormant for hundreds of years until awakened by the miners. Now, the war begins anew, only this time, Starfleet and The Klingons have entered the fray. More than that, the Autobots need help from James T. Kirk to activate their secret weapon, a gigantic super-transformer called Fortress Maximus. With Kirk’s mind plugged into the robot, it becomes Fortress Tiberius and takes the form of the Enterprise. This comic is just cool as all hell. I thought the choice to use the animation style of the short-lived Star Trek Animated Series from the early 70’s was an odd one, but it actually works well alongside the Transformers. The Eneterprise Transformer is awesome, and a personal wish fulfillment for yours truly. Now if we could only get one for the Batmobile. The whole affair culminates with Star Scream declaring himself ruler of the Klingon Empire(seems to be a theme) and a massive epic fight between both factions. Awesome!

4. Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man: Worlds Collide

There was a time when Archie’s Mega Man book was the comic I looked forward to most every month. It was awesome seeing a dramatic retelling of some of my favorite video games from back in the day with both great humor and interesting themes. It’s untimely cancellation was a sad day for us all. I never really read the Sonic Comic, but that was only because it was so deep in its own lore that I couldn’t get into it. Regardless, when this crossover event was announced, I was hyped beyond belief. Two legendary blue video game icons finally getting to both duke it out and join forces against their respective enemies. Who could ask for more? Using the Chaos Emeralds, Dr. Ivo Robotnik opens a rift between dimensions, putting him in contact with fellow mad genius, Dr. Albert Wily. Immediately recognizing that they have a lot in common, particularly when it comes to being thwarted by irritating blue do-gooders, the two scientists get to work on a master plan. Together they use the Emeralds to further warp reality and create their own pocket dimension, kidnap Sonic’s friend’s and transform them into Robot Masters and trick Sonic and Mega Man into fighting one another in order to see them both destroyed. This story is nothing short of epic and everything one could expect from a crossover of this magnitude. The fight between Sonic and Mega Man is one of the best true crossover battles I’ve ever seen. It starts in Sonic’s world with Mega Man disoriented by Sonic’s superior speed, but then travels into Mega Man’s world where the Blue Bomber is able to tip the scales with the aid of Rush and his other power ups from the games. It’s truly awesome. The Roboticized versions of Sonic’s friends are also pretty interesting, showing some clever ways to combine the elements from both series. But, by far, the best part of this entire crossover is the evil bromance formed between Doctors Wily and Robotnik. My goodness, these two are hilarious together. I love how they are constantly patting each other on the back one moment and and secretly plotting to stab it the next. The two have a great dynamic and it’s one of my favorite villain team ups in crossover history. An epic tale for two epic blue heroes, and a must read for a fan of either franchise.

3. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

This one was cathartic for me. I grew up with both franchises and continue to love both to this day. What you might not know is that this isn’t the first crossover between the Rangers and the Turtles. No, that was back in 1998 with the Power Rangers in Space episode Shell Shocked. And, well not to put too fine a point on it, but… it SUCKED! The Turtles barely factored into the plot and what little they did feature they were under mind control. A crossover between the two giants of Saturday Morning in the 90’s deserved better. We had to wait more than two decades, but we eventually got better. Green Ranger Tommy Oliver has infiltrated The Foot Clan in order to liberate a childhood friend who’s been brainwashed into joining their ranks. What Tommy doesn’t realize is that Shredder has figured out his true identity and has already put into motion a plan to steal the power of the Green Ranger for himself. Naturally, this brings together the Power Rangers and the Ninja Turtles, who, despite some initial misunderstandings, decide to join forces to defeat The Shredder who, now that he has the Power of the Green Ranger and has formed an alliance with Rita Repulsa, is more powerful than he’s ever been. However, things get even worse when Shredder uses stolen technology to cut off the Ranger’s connection to their power coins. There’s only one choice. While the five teenagers with attitude must use their natural martial arts abilities to free Tommy from the clutches of the foot, The Turtles, along with April O’Neil, must take up the mantle of the Power Rangers. This comic book is more than six-year-old Wes ever could have hoped from a meeting between two of his favorite Superhero teams. Everything is awesome, the character interactions are fantastic, the idea of Shredder as The Green Ranger is a stroke of genius and the fights are a thing of beauty. We even get an honest to goodness Ninja Turtle Megazord. Six-year-old Wes would have eaten this up. Hell, thirty-year-old Wes DID eat this up, and with good reason. I loved every page of this crossover and it all but completely erased the memory of Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (don’t ask). Thanks for giving my inner child what it wanted.

2. JLA/Avengers

I already know that I’m in trouble for not putting this at number one as many consider it the gold standard by which all other crossovers are measured. Trust me when I say, the decision to stick this all-time classic at number two was not an easy one as I do feel it is one of the greats. To me, this was the DC vs. Marvel crossover from 1996 done right. No arbitrary fan votes determining dream matches, no ridiculous metaphysical superbeings, no blood raining from the sky, no Wonder Woman acting like an idiot. Just The Justice League, The Avengers, a common threat to both worlds and plenty of action to go around. Green Lantern Villain Krona, a former Guardian of the Universe obsessed with learning the ultimate truth of how the universe began, has found his way into the Marvel Universe and plans to achieve his goal by finding the one being in this reality who existed before the Big Bang, Galactus, Devourer of Worlds. The Grandmaster, one of the Elders of the Universe (famously portrayed by Jeff Goldblum in Thor: Ragnarok) realizes that if Krona finds what he seeks, it could tear apart the very fabric of the multi-verse itself. So, in an attempt to stall the mad guardian, The Grandmaster proposes a contest. The champions of both Universes will face off in a cosmic scavenger hunt, gathering up items of incredible power from both realities. Along the way, the Justice League and The Avengers but heads quite a bit, particularly over the fundamental differences in how the heroes of their Universes operate. While the Justice League is put off by how the Avengers have seemingly failed to improve their world’s condition, the Avengers are disgusted by how the heroes of the DC Universe appear to be worshipped like gods. When the hunt is over and the Grandmaster wins the bet, Krona turns out to be a sore loser and calls out Galactus anyway, causing reality to destabilize and begin to break down. What follows is one of the greatest moments in comic book history, never mind crossover history. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, who has ever been an Avenger or a member of the Justice League bands together to a full scale assault on Krona’s stronghold, built from the corpse of Galactus, facing a seemingly endless army of villains from both worlds, culminating in the true crowning moment of awesome. A battle damaged but still determined Superman, wielding both Captain America’s shield and Thor’s Hammer, leading the final push against Krona himself. This is what true epics are made of and for yours truly, it’s a personal favorite. There’s a reason I got my trade signed by Artist George Perez. Give it a read if you get a chance.

Before we get to Number One, let’s go over a couple of honorable mentions.

Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man: The first ever crossover between Marvel and DC and it’s actually a lot of fun, especially for something that came out in the 70’s. It was just nice to know that the two rival companies were able to put aside their differences to give the fans what they want.

Batman/Captain America: Yes, this is the story that features Joker confronting The Red Skull and saying the now famous “American Criminal Lunatic” line. The story is great, but outside that moment, it’s nothing to really write home about.

Star Trek The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation Squared: The Crossover that Sci-Fi fans have wanted since the 60’s. Even though it borrows heavily from previous Star Trek stories, it is nonetheless awesome to see The Doctor aboard the USS Enterprise interacting with the likes of Captain Picard and Commander Riker.

Scoobynatural: A fun romp that sees the Winchester Brothers come face to face with the Scooby Gang. However, when the normally fake mystery becomes all too real and all too deadly, it’s time for Sam and Dean to do their thing.

The Subspace Emissary: While it may not have been all it could have been, seeing all the characters from Super Smash brothers join forces in a full-length story, one told expertly, even without dialogue was super cool. Where else are you going to see Diddy Kong and Star Fox team up to fight Rayquaza.

But now, the time has come.

1. Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Is this an epic on the level of JLA/Avengers? Honestly, no. But what it is is a crossover that just seems to get everything right. Ra’s Al Ghul has enlisted the aid of the Shredder to carry out his most insidious plan yet. By combining the mutagen that created the Ninja Turtles in the first place and The Joker’s venom, and distributing the compound to the entire city using a weather machine, Ra’s and Shredder will transform all of Gotham into feral monsters and the city will tear itself apart. It’s up to The Ninja Turtles and the Dark Knihgt to put a stop to things. This film is actually an adaptation of a comic book mini-series from a few years prior, said mini-series being the subject of some of my earliest articles on this blog as it happens. Not only is it a great film on its own, it takes everything that didn’t work about the mini-series and improves upon it drastically. In the comic, the Turtles were from an alternate reality and for some reason, were given a ticking clock to get back, something that only served to convolute the narrative, whereas here, The Turtles share a reality with Batman and the focus stays squarely on the threat of Shredder and R’as. Speaking of, in the Comic, Ra’s Al Ghul didn’t even show up until the fourth issue and even them, felt like he was only there to give Shredder someone to talk to. Here, it’s made clear that he’s the mastermind of the plan from the very beginning and he’s treated with the gravitas that a villain of his caliber deserves. Like in the comic, Shredder and Ra’s employ the strategy of mutating the inmates of Arkham Asylum in order to defeat Batman and The Turtles, but unlike in the comic where the plot point was shoved into the final issue and mutated versions of Batman’s entire rogues gallery are taken down off panel by Splinter of all people, here, it gives us my favorite part of a film, an almost videogame like gauntlet through Arkham where the Turtles and the Bat Family must face off against the various mutated inmates, culminating in a battle with Joker’s horrifying Cobra form. More than just the comparisons between the film and the comic, this production has plenty to offer on its own. I love the character interactions between the characters of the two francises (Batgirl and Donnie becoming BFFs is actually adorable.) The action scenes are some of the best I’ve seen in an animated film and, for animation this kid friendly, this one doesn’t shy away from the violence, and I’m not just talking about blood, though there is plenty of that to go around. Scenes like Ra’s Al Ghul breaking Donatello’s arm or Leo getting exposed to Scarecrow’s fear gas and seeing the withered corpses of his brothers are absolutely brutal. Speaking of, the way Leo wins his fight against Ra’s Al Ghul is easily the greatest moment in any of the crossovers we’ve discussed in this article. I won’t dare spoil it here, but needless to say, it’s amazing. This, in my opinion is a crossover that does everything it needs to do to be awesome and it is my favorite crossover of all time.

And that will do it for now, but keep an eye on this blog as soon, I hope to start sharing with you some of my own crossover ideas. I hope you enjoyed. See you later.