The Marvel/DC Collection: Crossover Classics, Vol. I

Crossover Collections #1

by Gerry Conway, Chris Claremont

DC Comics and Marvel Comics join forces and let their legendary charaters interact and work together in a series featuring such familiar favorites as Batman, the Silver Surfer, Captain America, and Superman.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Dc Comics, X Men, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Gerard Francis Conway (Gerard F. Conway) is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics' vigilante the Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. At DC Comics, he is known for co-creating the superhero Firestorm and others, and for writing the Justice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-day intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lost treasure - Darkseid + Dark Phoenix + Deathstroke! Really wish Marvel and DC would start crossovers again; would love to see a Deadpool/Deathstroke crossover! And I am pretty sure Superman is 'worthy' enough to lift Mjöllnir (given his record of only using his power for the good of others). Ok - sorry - I am starting to 'geek' out - will stop now!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had my eye out for this for like 20 years. It popped up on Shopgoodwill and no one else bid on it so I got it for $8 plus ridiculous postage.

So this collects both Superman & Spider-Man crossovers, plus Batman & The Hulk, plus X-Men & Teen Titans. The second Superman/Spider-Man was my least favorite of the four. X-Men & Teen Titans was the most ambitious. The first Superman & Spider-Man and Batman & The Hulk were both pretty good. They're fun comics but don't expect anything earth-shattering.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second crossover between Marvel and DC! I enjoyed this story more as it started right away, it didn’t break up the beginning to introduce each of the characters. I loved the fact that so many classic elements were used from the two respective comics; sometimes using them to better the story and other times to sort of make fun of those classic tropes. Something else I really loved was that there were more characters! It made the world feel bigger and more complete. Also I thought it was hilarious when they addressed the fact that Spider-Man and Wonder Woman are both located in New York but they had never crossed paths before! I am so excited to see more of these crossovers!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best things about this cross company crossover is that they didn't make a big, convoluted deal about the processes required to bring them together. Cyborg makes a passing comment about them having not run into each other, and Starfire links them all through the Dark Phoenix's penchant for planet eating. There's also none of that obnoxious need for everyone to start fighting the moment they get together, recognizing that there are far greater enemies to deal with.

As for the Dark Phoenix story? Ah poor Jean. Forever bound to this creature. It addressed some of those issues and most importantly, recognized where the creature ended and Jean began -- and ended. I think this might have been her first resurrection? It's not canon, but it was reasonably well handled and makes me wonder if Greg Pak referenced this a little bit when he wrote X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find it very hard to rate this. First off I’m not a huge fan of Superman (or spider man but I like him more than Superman) and that was over half this large comic collection. I found the Batman / hulk and the Teen titan / X men much more interesting. But the idea of these two large comic groups doing a crossover like this is SO FUN. The potential is huge and to actually follow through with it. Especially since now a days I could never see it happening, and that alone makes me rate this higher.

[Andrew Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here are my ratings for each of the stories within:

Superman Vs The Amazing Spider-Man: 4/5
Superman and Spider-Man: 5/5
Batman Vs The Incredible Hulk: 5/5
The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans: 5/5

[Tony Calder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1982, during the period of the late 70s and the 80s when there were a number of crossovers between Marvel and DC. Those crossovers had varying ways of bringing the heroes of two different universes together, some, like this one, didn't bother and just wrote a story where they both existed. Although the Avengers are mentioned (once), this universe is primarily the DC Universe with the X-Men and Dark Phoenix added.

Not entirely surprisingly, the X-Men are the more dominant hero group, although not by much. Claremont was writing the X-Men at the time, and it was probably the biggest selling superhero comic at the time. And he does a good job with the Titans, none of them act out of character (although uncredited, I expect Marv Wolfman was consulting). On the face of it, even the X-Men and the Titans combined shouldn't be a match for Dark Phoenix and Darkseid, but superhero comics are filled with tales of the heroes triumphing over far more powerful villains, and nothing happens that really forces a suspension of disbelief.

Although Walt Simonson does his usual high quality job on the artwork (along with the rest of the art team), I expect X-Men fans would have enjoyed seeing George Perez's take on the group - his work on the Titans at the time was really pushing him towards the top of fan-favourite superhero artists.

This is one of the best of the DC / Marvel crossovers. A pity we never got to see Darkseid v Galactus :)

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century

DC and Marvel present Superman and Spider-Man

Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk

The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans #1

[Paul Griggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superhero team up of the grand tradition taking a bold move in ignoring the cross company roots and therefore setting itself in a world apart from the mainstream Marvel and DC continuities. Great fun.

[Yianni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this comic crossover. This is also the first 80s comic that I have fully read. Such a good read. Can't wait to find others similar to this comic. Its very cool of the Author to know everything about each of the characters that reside in each other as a Team :).

[Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great use of heroes from both Marvel and DC with a story by Claremont - hard to lose here.

[Diana Yo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was awesome!

[Fernando Gálvez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los X-Men y los Jóvenes Titanes, los equipos de héroes más populares y de mayor venta de Marvel y DC se juntan en una sola historia que tiene varios momentos emotivos, de acción y, curiosamente Claremont, su guionista, logra ser parejo al momento de caracterizar a los personajes de ambos lados. Tenía preocupación de que le diera mayor beneficio a sus mutantes al no haber trabajado nunca con los Titanes pero fue todo lo contrario. También da la impresión que en momentos es Walter Simonson, su ilustrador, lleva el mando en el desarrollo de esta aventura que no ha perdido, desde que fue publicada en 1982, lo principal: que sea entretenida.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keep your expectations low and this will be very, very solid.

Most of the fun is the weird assumption that they've always shared a universe.

It's neat to see the heroes bump into each other but almost all the interesting action is given over to the villains. Lex Luthor here is a terrible character. He's just a maniac. The Shaper of Worlds is an awfully strange choice.

[Your_Average_Magical_Girls_Fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best inter-company crossovers EVER. No bullshit retcon, just pure action. The love relation between Dark Phoenix and Darkseid makes more sense that it would seem at first, and Claremont perfectly understands how The Teen Titans think and act (I'm looking at you, Starfire). If you're into one or both of these groups is a must, if you're not...just read it.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's still magic in seeing these characters come together, even decades after the initial publication of these stories. That said, this collection is going to likely feel pretty dated to the modern comics reader. Things get pretty convoluted in places. Nevertheless, a collection such as this is a must for fans of mainstream superheroes.

[Landen Celano · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories aren’t breaking any new ground beyond the very concept of the crossover, but a) they are handled with care and passion in a way I wouldn’t expect from modern comics, and b) it’s a good microdose of nostalgia. 5 stars for the warm and fuzzies.

[Jon Shanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writers and artists seamlessly sewing together characters from Marvel & DC in a really fun collection of stories. Simple as that.

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are four stories in this graphic collection.

1) It was produced by DC, though Marvel had a lot of editorial imput, but the story uses DC personnel and feels more DC than Marvel. That is what is good about it, basically, though that claim goes against common wisdom. The story is marred by the Marvel bad habit of having two heroes fight as soon as they meet, but the story is generally alright and Ross Andru's depth perception art serves the story well. It is fun. 3 stars.

2) This is so bronze age Marvel. The Jim Shooter script is overwritten, the story has too many elements to be satisfying, and the art by the usually great John Buscema is not suited to this story. The musical inkers do not help. All the stories in this collection were originally published in a much larger format. Andru's open style reproduces well in the smaller trim size of this book, but Buscema's art is cramped, cramped, cramped, and you are stuck with that here. 2 stars.

3) Another DC production and an improvement over the second story, but there are just too many fights and too many repetitive scenes. The ending is just weird. Logical given all that came before, but I could not wait for it to end. Len Wein has never been my favorite writer, and that is a factor. 2 stars.

4) I am not a fan of Chris Claremont's scripts, either, and he is the author of this collaboration produced by Marvel. You know Claremont: Jean Gray dies and is resurrected, then dies and is resurrected, then dies and is resurrected again. Wake me when somebody else writes the X-MEN. She is resurrected here one more time in this story. Snore. Oh, the story is alright for a while if you tolerate Claremont's excesses, but by the end I was skipping a lot of the dialog just to get it over. 1 star.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a fun volume. Like all collections not all the stories are on the same level. Some are better than others. Part of the fun comes from this being a case study of sorts that examines that change of style of popular comics that took place from 1970's into the 1980's. You will notice less text and larger pieces of art.

"Superman vs Spiderman" was the first story in the collection. I enjoyed the scenes made from the villains. The interaction between Superman and Spiderman felt special and could work well in a movie (that will never happen). All the text and narration made the story felt choppy, but the story never dragged.

"Superman and Spiderman" did not feel as special as it seemed to be just another hero team up. The highlight of the story was Superman's interactions with Dr. Doom. I could read more stories with these two characters. I thought the art in this story was the best in the collection.

"Batman vs the Hulk" was a crazy ride to say the least. The plot was filled with so many twists and turns that my head popped off my neck. The charachter of the Joker provided the greatest amount of enjoyment. The story is just so unbelievable you just have to turn off your brain, but it does have its moments of fun.

"The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans" was a simple story of two groups joining forces. If you were not familiar with either group this would be a nice introduction to the characters and the relationships inside each group.

[David Chmelik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This contains the only DC-Marvel crossovers before DC's 'Crisis on Infinite Earths,' so it is the only one I am interested in. It has a crossover of Superman (and perhaps Wonder Woman) with Spiderman & Hulk, and The New Teen Titans with X-men. Some of the crossovers might be from the '70s (Bronze Age), within my favourite comic art period of the mid-50's (Silver Age beginning) to early 80s (Modern Age) before computer graphics was used in comics and the inking and hand colouring just kept getting more detailed.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spiderman and Superman (from 1976); Batman and the Incredible Hulk (from 1981) and Uncanny X-Men and the New teen titans (from 2001) as Marvel and DC have a set of crossovers. Fighting bad guys, dealing with real life stuff and occasionally trying to get the girl (though some of the female characters induce a lot of eye-rolling!)

Its fun stuff for what it is and what is best about these characters features a lot.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four stories, each of different quality. The first is a fun story in the Silver Age vein that makes almost no sense when you think about it. The second is more logical, but is horribly overwritten and not nearly enough fun. The third is certainly different, and I give points for throwing out the formula and trying something new, but I don't think it works very well. The last story is a perfect example of its time, with wonderful X-Men and Titans work. All the stories have beautiful art.

[Mike McDevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

What fun! Clark Kent working for Jonah Jameson and not knuckling under to ol' JJJ's bullying. Lois Lane hitting on Peter Parker. Battle of the bizarre as Joker teams up with Shaper of Worlds. Kitty Pryde sitting in Metron's Moebius chair! Great collection from those halcyon days when the distance between Metropolis and the Avenger's Mansion was only a simple bus ride.

[scribble · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s something so complementary in Peter’s every-person and witty way of being with Kal-El’s otherworldly background. This crossover too, as was their first one, was incredibly entertaining, both in terms of the heroes’ and the villains’ dialogues and drives, etc. And this time around we got Hulk and Wonder Woman as well!

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had lots of good moments, but overall it isnt nearly as cool as you'd want it to be. The first Superman/Spider-man team-up was solid and so was Teen Titans & X-Men. Definitely flawed, but worth it just to see things like Superman fighting Hulk & Spider-man hitting on Wonder Woman.

[Mert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dc ve Marvel evreninin, tanrıları tarafından öne sürülen bir gerekçeyle birbiri içine girdikleri, iki evrenin kahramanlarının birbirleriyle kıyasıya kapışmasıyla devam eden, ilgi çekici ve büyük bir event olmasına rağmen benim çok sevemediğim çizgi roman crossover serisi.

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[Nino]

rated it

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was always your dream as a kid for the Marvel and the DC superheroes to get together. Finally the dream came true in a series of comic stories. Excellent stories. Very recommended