Comics Pros Call For Marvel/DC Crossover to Save the Industry After Shutdown

As the comics industry is put on pause, many comics professionals are pitching a possible crossover between industry giants DC and Marvel Comics to save things after the coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown.

Legendary comics writer Gail Simone was the first to propose the idea of the comics giants joining forces. The comics and animation writer pitched some crossover ideas, writing on Twitter,

"You could have:

Vision/Mr. Miracle by Tom King.
Thor/Wonder Woman by Donny Cates.
Superman/Spider-man by Brian Michael Bendis.

What other crossovers would you like to see, and by which creative teams?"

She also started the hashtag #PleaseMarvelDC, which other creatives soon took up.


"If we do a DC/Marvel crossover I'd like to write Batman vs. Every Marvel Hero." Scott Snyder

"I call Kamandi/Devil Dinosaur." Christos Gage

"Venom and Batman. Thor and Superman. Silver Surfer and Green Lantern." Donny Cates

Eisner Award-winning DC artist Mitch Gerads claimed this stake by writing, "Captain Marvel/Captain Marvel."

"I'd love to Black Panther/Vixen. Machine Man/Metamorpho. Iron Fist/Lady Shiva. Captain Marvel/Shazam. Rocket Raccoon/Lobo. Ghost Rider/DemonSavage," Avengers writer Patrick Zircher wrote.

"I thought about it. If the stars aligned and I could write a DC/Marvel crossover, I’d probably write Harley Quinn and Deadpool taking down Darkseid and Thanos. I'd also do X-Man vs Justice League, the greatest GOAT teams." Tom Taylor

While I don't know if this can revive the comic industry, these writers are enthusiastic and have some great ideas, and I enjoy some of them and hope they work out.


Let me throw in my ideas:
- Kingpin vs Lex Luthor (clash of the corporate capitalists)
- War Machine vs Steel (black people with armor)
- Superman vs Sentry
- Namor vs Aquaman (and Mera vs Namora)
- Catwoman vs Black Cat
- Great Ten (a Chinese superhero team) vs Shang-Chi
- Atom vs Ant-Man
- Green Lanterns vs Guardians of the Galaxy
- Shazam vs Power Pack (kid heroes fight)

 

Well what do they have to lose at this point? They might as well go ahead and do it.

 

There were some possible teases and hints about an upcoming crossover within some comics.

In last year's Doomsday Clock, Dr. Manhattan sees into the future and learns about a Secret Crisis in 2030, with references to Thor and Hulk.

From recent Thor #2:

 

Yeah, but those could just be little fun teases, not meant to be taken seriously. Though, it’s been so long since the last crossover, the world could use a little cheering up right now.

 

There was also a cameo by Superman and Wonder Woman in a Lockjaw comic in which he was having a fight across multiple universes.

In any case, it'd be cool to see the two comics universes crossover again.

 

I'm not really a huge fan of the company-crossovers. The originals were cool as a novelty, but mostly, I like stories about characters. And you never get that in a crossover. There can be no moment that changes a character, has them grow, or affects them in any meaningful way. So all you have left is, "Who would win: Superman or Goku?" And that has never been interesting to me.

And Gail Simone suggested Vision/Mister Miracle? Way to miss the point of both stories, Simone. That is a fucking awful idea. But it kind of demonstrates what I'm talking about. You take two great stories that were actually ABOUT something. If you combine them, what would you get? A big, flaming bag of nothing.

 

They need choose the right writers for this new crossover works.

 

The Punisher Kills the Batman Rogues Gallery by Garth Ennis

I'd be down for another Superman/Spider-Man crossover written by Bendis and would definitely prefer over a Wonder Woman/Thor crossover over one with Marvel's Captain Marvel.

 

Should Disney and Warner make a deal and a partnership ?

 

I wouldn't want one with the current crop of writers and it would likely end up in someone like Bendis's hands.

 

Yeah, the only crossover I really would have liked (All-Star Squadron/Invaders) is decades too late to get, thanks to the creators you'd need being too old now to produce it.

Even something like X-Men/LSH, which at one time might have been cool, would now be meaningless because it would be a crossover between versions of the characters I have little to no investment or interest in.

 

Would this be a canon crossover or part of the crossoververse? (world were marvel and dc and other heroes live in the same world!)

 

I may be wrong but I think Roy Thomas and Ordway both have produced work lately. I think they may still be able to put out a good Invaders/All Star Squadron but would probably require some lead time.

 

The last couple things I'd read of Thomas' were not encouraging. But looking it up, it seems he and Ordway did an Invaders one-shot last year, so maybe? I'll check it out.

 

The Hulk Beats Superman In This Unused Artwork From 1996's MARVEL VS. DC Crossover Event

Hulk wins.


Superman wins.


I'm glad they did two for each hero.

 

Well who won was up to a reader vote, so I'm betting there was a lot of alternate pages.

 

There's a pretty round number to show my belief in how high are chances for this kind of crossover ending any good or worthwhile with the current executive teams for both companies.

Go figure.

 

Most of their ideas sound incredibly shallow and soulless.

If they could do something really meta and get down to the soul of writing and purpose in having hero stories, while also celebrating the history, similar to what Grant Morrison did with animal man, or something like that, I’d be interested.

 

For me, it would be very hard to top "JLA/Avengers", aside from having more rec3nt versions of characters play. I mean, they even Batman VS Batroc the Leaper...with Batman actually complimenting how tough of a fighter Batroc was.Jay Garrick pucnching out The Red Skull! Doctor Doom on the Source Wall.

The one good thing about another crossover, even a sorry one, would be It'd increase the chances a lot of the past ones being reprinted and available on digital.

 

I’d be more interested in new individual character crossovers rather than something like JLA/Avengers since another team-up in that style after the original would come off as retread.