Thursday, Apr. 23 2009 @ 5:00AM
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Most of us (especially on this site) watch so many TV shows and movies and read so many comic books that thousands of fictional characters all live in harmony within our busy brains. Deep in the recesses of our minds, Han Solo and Indiana Jones drink Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters while sitting together at Mel's Diner and watching Lynn Minmay on the boob tube. Sadly, these fictional worlds tend to remain perennially separate from each other in the outside world, mostly due to the wonders of copyright law and expensive licensing costs. However, these hurdles have been overcome once a blue moon and the universes breached. These are the ten best crossovers ever witnessed by the modern nerd. They are often flawed spectacles, but so unique and mind-blowing that it really doesn't matter.
10) Sealab 2021, "Murphy Murph and the Feng Shui Bunch"
Sealab 2021 included occasional nods to its Adult Swim sister show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but the most awesome occasion was when a battle between Marco and an interior decorator turned out to be a video game being played by Meatwad and Master Shake.
9) Archie Meets the Punisher
This crossover is so amazing just for the fact that it even happened. Placing Marvel Comic's most violent character in the saccharine, all-American world of Archie Andrews was nothing but sheer genius. The Punisher goes hunting for a drug dealer in Riverdale who happens to be a dead ringer for Archie. Thankfully, Frank made a deal with the government to use non-lethal means in this arrest or else this could have been the last Archie comic. That would have been one hell of an ending to Archie's long history, though!
8) The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones
Hanna-Barbera's two famous cartoon families, the prehistoric Flintstones and the futuristic Jetsons, finally met up in this 1987 TV movie thanks to time travel antics. The cool part about this movie was that each set of characters got to spend time in the other family's natural setting, adding up to some entertaining culture shock moments, like when George's anti-gravity belt proved useful in helping Fred and Barney's boss cheat at picnic field games in an effort to save Fred and Barney's jobs. The Jetsons, the Flinstones and the Rubbles became fast friends. And Fred and George, ironically, proved to be better at each other's jobs than they were at their own!
7) Transformers, "Only Human"
The Transformers and G.I. Joe, Hasbro's juggernaut kids' properties, have met each other several times in the comic books, especially in recent years. But most fans wondered what would happen if the two cartoon versions met each other, and it never happened in a full-blown way. While there were a few subtle links between the shows, the coolest and most surprising crossover happened in the third season Transformers episode "Only Human." A handful of Autobots were captured by a crime lord and their minds transferred into human-like bodies, thank to the technology of "Old Snake," who ran some kind of terrorist organization in the past. The Autobots of course foiled the crime lord's plans to blow up Autobot City with bombs placed in their bodies by reclaiming and returning to said bodies. Old Snake, as he wandered off, mused that terrorists just weren't made like they used to be and began to yell, "Cobraaaa!!!!" before lapsing into a coughing fit. We knew what he meant, though, and it was awesome that Cobra Commander was still lurking around in the "futuristic" world of 2006, and by extension had always been there, along with G.I. Joe.
6) Freddy vs. Jason (vs. Ash)
Fans had clamored for a face-off between serial slashers Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger ever since Freddy's clawed glove was seen grabbing Jason's hockey mask and dragging it down into hell in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday in 1993. It took a decade for it to actually happen in the film Freddy vs. Jason. Maybe the movie didn't live up to fans' expectations, but it's still cool as hell and surreal to see these two horror icons duking it out on-screen. And the ending was ambiguous enough to please fans of either character. There was an excellent follow-up comic book series that threw Ash from the Evil Dead movies into the mix, as Freddy attempts to use the Necronomicon to make him more powerful than ever. Ash comes out on top, which is fine, since he may be the only character that can defeat Jason AND Freddy and leave fans happy about it. It's too bad this didn't get made into an actual movie, but a comic book sequel is in the works...
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Tags: Adult Swim, Aliens, Archie, DC, Disney, G.I. Joe, Giant monsters, Looney Tunes, Marvel, Predator, Transformers
63 comments
Comments
kwed said:
always wanted to see that GI Joe/Transformers crossover. Nice.
googum said:
My personal fave? Robocop vs. Terminator. Frank Miller and Walt Simonson, the Terminators engaging in serious time-travel dickery, Robo struggling to remain human, and a ton of fun.
St. Michael said:
I remember being skeptical about Freddy vs. Jason - I couldn't see how they could interact, what with Freddy having no body and Jason having (effectively) no mind. But I have to admit, they did quite a nice job with it.
cummins said:
Great list. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of the Archie Meets Punisher book. It's hilarious and has a great story.
Strict said:
Dark Horse also did an Alien vs. Predator vs. Terminator limited series. Talk about getting your peanut butter in your chocolate and then making a peanut butter chocolate martini out of it.
On D.C. vs. Marvel it was fun but Wolverine beating Lobo is often pointed out as silly. But since it went to a fan vote Wolverine would have probably beat Superman and the Hulk put together with one claw tied behind his back, especially back when this series was made. I did love Hulk sucker punching Superman in their battle though. The aspect of the crossover I didn’t like was the disparity in art splitting the duties between the two companies. On one page you’d have epic and action packed panels of cosmic chaos and on the next the same characters would be stiff as a board. Still a good time overall though.
varrior said:
Dude, no love for Robocop vs. Terminator? Come on.
Seriously though, can't agree more about the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Take every Victorian-era novel and combine it into one thing, and voila. Damn well done too.
bort said:
Couple of honorable mentions - even though there are too many comic crossovers to list, the first one I ever saw blew my 8 year old mind - X-Men and Star Trek! The Enterprise had to fight the Brood and the Shi'ar and Nurse Chapel asked for Dr. McCoy, and both Bones and Beast responded! So stupid, but so amazing!
Another classic example is Frankenstein meets the Wolfman, which threw Universal monsters together to duke it out. They followed it up with House of Frankenstein and threw in Dracula, Boris Karlof as a mad scientist, and his hunchback sidekick for a total Monster Mash!
Aaron said:
I was disappointed by DC vs. Marvel, just because of the silliness that happened due to the fan vote - although Amalgam was pretty cool. If I had to include the definitive crossover moment between Marvel and DC, I would have chosen the JLA/Avengers crossover miniseries. Just because there are few geek images that are cooler than seeing Superman wielding Mjolnir and Captain America's shield.
syted said:
Not being an overly big comic book fan, i was non the less completely wet when Image, Darkhorse and TopCow released Overkill. Witchblade, Aliens, Darkness and Predator crossover :D Didn't make much sense at all plot wise, but a special scene with Jackie in the Predator ship left its mark...
Bill said:
Cobra Commander should be in all crossovers.
White Devil said:
Just a note on the Godzilla V King King. In the Japanese version of the film Godzilla comes out the victor.
chad said:
nice list. can not believe Aliens vs Predator and Freddy vs Jason were not higher on the list. and liked seeing that transformers Gijoe crossover again for they do state that snake is cobra commander from the start of the ep. too bad some of the companies on the list will no longer work together for more crossovers
Don said:
What about Scooby Doo meets the Harlem Globetrotters?
Adam said:
Where's the episode of X-Files where Richard Belzer shows up as Detective Munch?
Kevvin said:
White Devil, that's an urban legend. You can rea dmore about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_vs._Godzilla#Dual_ending_myth
Dorkus Malorkus said:
In terms of "Roger Rabbit," I thought Daffy Duck vs. Donald Duck on dueling pianos was pretty epic. Also because it reaaaaallly kind of sounds like Donald uses a certain racial slur in referring to Daffy.
Dorkus Malorkus said:
hydra said:
What, no super robot wars? That's one of the biggest cross-over franchises ever.
Erwin said:
What about Aliens/Stormwatch?
It was awesome because it was within continuity and paved the way for the Authority!
Also I´d like to mention the Planetary/Batman crosover, in which the Planetary has encounters with several different versions of the Batman.
Jim said:
I am still salty Wolverine aced Lobo... Lobo killed a whole planet for crissakes...
DreadZone said:
The coolest crossover ever? Hasn't happened yet. In a scenario created by a friend of mine (was he sober at the time? The answer is lost in the mists of history...)twenty years ago or so: The Misfits, having failed at every attempt to rid themselves of Jem and the Holograms, turn to Black Magic.Pizzazz casts a spell to summon up malevolent demons that she can command to destroy her enemies---but instead gets monsters from the earth's core: The Inhumanoids! The loathsome fiends wreak havok at a Jem concert, and all looks lost. In a final act of desperation Jem's annoying sister Kimber makes a phone call to her new boyfriend: a young military man whose buddies call him "Quick Kick".
Of course he rushes to her rescue---and brings along the entire G.I.Joe team as backup!There you have it: the greatest crossover that never quite came about. What? It could still happen....
Stephen said:
I still like how Roger Rabbit gets the Donald v Daffy scene out there early, so you THINK that's as big as things are going to get... and then, an hour later, there's Bugs and Mickey on-screen. Doesn't work as well as the Donald / Daffy scene because Mickey is still pretty bland compared to Donald (they could have built a whole feature of Daffy v Donald), but it was still amazing to see at the time.
bort said:
I can't believe no one has mentioned Super Smash Bros. yet!
Chelsea said:
Adam, that X-Files ep was amazing. I remember laughing so hard when Munch showed up and treated Mulder like an absolute nutball.
Speaking of X-Files crossovers, the episode that crossed the show with Cops ("X-Cops," go figure) was really great and funny.
BPAkira said:
I applaud you and this list for finally bringing to light the f*cking amazing-ness that Who Framed Roger Rabbit Is? It blows my mind every time I think about those two giant cartoon companies actually allowing their IP to be used like that. In the past, I've tried to convey the amazement that this was created, but no one ever seems to get it. So, thank you once again.
also
http://www.adrants.com/2009/04/mastercard-trots-priceless-icons-back.php
pretty cool, too
sammon1013 said:
X-Files / Cops is in my top5 of that series.... just the sheer ludichristmasness that comes out of it.
But they need to do a Cops vs Dog the bounty hunter crossover.... who can catch the most bounties in a day.
hell even add the mounty from the WWE, cause he always get his man
bigdonkey1 said:
Totally agree with bort. no smash bros is a travesty.
brawl is the equivilent of the league of extrodinary gentlemen but in video game form.
honestly lost some respect for the site not having that in there :(
vansinne said:
Zatoichi Meets The One Armed Swordsman! Blind masseur/ronin swordsman Zatoichi fought against, and alongside with Wang Yu's iconic fighter. Zatoichi also faced off against Yojimbo in another movie in the same series.
snackcake said:
Another vote for RoboCop vs The Terminator here. All awesome.
sammon1013 said:
my issue with smash brothers is that it is just primarilly nintendo characters (ok snake and a few others) but really no belmonts? no street fighter? no mega man (or rock man)? thats not a killer crossover, thats nintendo piling up characters and not being willing to pay outside the box for what could have been the greatest fighting game ever
Hachiko said:
Ummmmm.....
X-Men vs. Street Fighter?
Marvel vs. Capcom?
SNK vs. Capcom?
I got another one for you, can't remember the episode number, but I was a big fan of the dark cartoon Spiral Zone. In one episode, one of the good guys offers a sick kid in the hospital a Pound Puppy.
How's that for an odd crossover? Maybe not cool, but is Archie meets Punisher really cool? No, it's unique. The issue of The 'Nam with Punisher was cool, there's a difference.
Kevin said:
Yeah, this list was focused on non-interactive fiction (aside from readers voting in DC vs. Marvel). Video game crossovers could be a whole other list *Idea!*
icko said:
c'mon...no marvel vs capcom
Joshie said:
I got one that you surely forgot...Cartoon All-Stars To the Rescue. Comeon, where else are going to get Michelangelo, Bugs Bunny, and Garfield all talking about smack? Awesome stuff...
astrokender said:
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a miracle that would never happen in this day and age.
And, I'm going anime here to say that Dragonball Z and One Piece (Cross Epoch) was one of the greatest crossovers of all time. They even have an animated short adventure/battle (against Enel, of all villians) together in the Going Merry attraction in Japan. Also, the game Shonen Jump All Stars is just pure gold and it makes me cry that we'll probably never see the franchise here.
Jeremy said:
Great list but I don't think the League is worthy of being anywhere near the top spot. I absolutely love the League but for me it's more like the most satisfying crossover than the coolest. I consider myself very well read and I love all the characters involved but the bottom line is that they're ridiculously old skool. They don't pack quite the same punch as friggin' Buggs and Mickey!
I loved the Marvel/DC team-up just because the "upsets" were all Marvel guys kicking ass which just goes to prove that while DC has the history Marvel has the more interesting characters that compel fans to vote. Although, I am disappointed that the crossover happened when Ben Reilly was Spidey. I loves me some Clone Saga (don't hate) but he's still just an immitation. I guess that's why they paired him with Superboy but come on. Superboy is so lame. I know they matched people up based on powers but Spider-man is Marvel's flagship character. He deserves so much better than Superboy.
Can we give honorable mention to the terrible Power Rangers In Space/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation team-up? That was so bad it was good. Every list on Topless Robot should feature a mention of that team-up.
JeremyA said:
There were a lot of cool Aliens and Predator crossovers, such as Aliens v. Superman and Predator v. Batman. Good stuff.
liquidhalcyon said:
What about Moore's Spawn/Wild C.A.T.S crossover?
That blew my mind when it first came out.
Mitchell Craig said:
Jeremy: sometimes there is no school like the old school. Hence, my appreciation that League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is the Number One Coolest Crossover of All Time.
As for crossovers you didn't mention (but could form an auxillary list), how about The Simpsons episode "The Springfield Files", in which Homer's UFO encounter brings Mulder and Scully to town?
Devonian said:
"What, no super robot wars? That's one of the biggest cross-over franchises ever."
THIS. FUCKING THIS.
Ira said:
What, no love for the Fables comics?
LBD "Nytetrayn" said:
Another vote for Robocop vs. Terminator here. That should be a movie itself.
Also: He-man/Superman.
Batman and Superman in World's Finest was good, too.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Archie/Usagi Yojimbo/Savage Dragon?
youmee400 said:
I enjoy Bambi vs Godzilla far more than King Kong vs Godzilla although I suppose it wasn't an offical cross-over
Snoodle said:
Oh how I wish someone with talent would remake The League of Extraordinary Gentleman....
smashpro1 said:
@Joshie, Are you telling me Michelangelo didn't smoke up every day?
Brion said:
Kudos to TR for putting TLOEG as the number one crossover! Seriously one of the best comics...ever!
Reverend Ender said:
Well, I gotta agree, Robocop vs Terminator was pretty awesome. Man, when he sicks the Ed209s on the terminator, that was sweet! However,
Batman & Superman vs Aliens & Predator = meh
Aliens vs Predator vs Terminator = garbage
Batman vs Predator = awesome
Superman vs Predator = meh
Green Lantern vs Aliens = garbage
Coolness aside, I'm pretty sure Superboy would beat Spiderman easily, but I've seen lesser foes defeat Green Lantern, so I can buy Silver Surfer winning, and he probably IS more powerful.
I always enjoyed Scooby Doo meets Batman and Robin and Alex Trebek on X-Files.
Hartz said:
No Zatoichi vs. Yojimbo?? Blasphemy!
pumpkinguts said:
excellent list
Jaburo base said:
One more for Robocop vs Terminator
Missy Lynn said:
Oooh, that X-Files/Cops one is pretty much one of the best episodes ever.
What about Space Jam? I mean, come on, it's Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes.
LBD "Nytetrayn" said:
TransFormers/Star Wars could have been awesome... a lost contingent of Autobots and Decepticons who find themselves in a galaxy far, far away (likely a long time ago, at that), and scanning new forms that are Star Wars vehicles...
But no, we just get mechs made to look like already-existing Star Wars characters.
LBD "Nytetrayn" said:
Oh, and re-reading the opening paragraph... there actually was a sort of Star Wars/Indiana Jones crossover with Han Solo in one of the comics. OOC, though, if I recall.
Papasab said:
What, no "insert my idea here"? I have literally no ability to just sit back and enjoy a humorous entry in an entertainment blog!!! How dare you not read my mind and have "insert my favorite thing here" on this list?!?! You Rat Bastard!!!
Asat said:
Doctor Who versus Predator versus Daria. I'd watch that.
Matt said:
Kudos for whoever mentioned Robocop vs. Terminator. AVP was a natural, but RvT was a little tougher to tie the two universes together, and it's probably one of the last decent things Frank Miller worked on.
Also, Donald and Daffy was a way WAY better crossover then Bugs and Mickey. The dueling pianos scene? Priceless.
Kevin said:
LBD, the Indiana Jones/Star Wars crossover is cool but a little too disturbing. It was in an issue of Star Wars Tales. It starts off with Han and Chewie landing in a forest on an unknown world, where the two get attacked by natives and Han is killed by an arrow. Years later, Indiana Jones and Short Round are tracking down Bigfoot, who we infer was a grieving Chewbacca who never left, and come across the abandoned Millenium Falcon. Indy finds Han's skeleton and leaves soon after, as something about it totally gave him the willies.
Rob said:
Kevin — are you kidding? That Star Wars/Indiana Jones thing was the stupidest comic I've ever read. It was legendary in the Wizard offices for being the worst fan fiction that ever made it to print.
Kevin said:
I thought it was clever and amusing, but was in no way meant to be taken seriously. Just a piece of meta fiction. Star Wars Tales does that kinda thing now and then.
klinteastwood said:
nice list...the Batman vs Predator crossover was pretty cool as well
Ryoga said:
Kingdom Hearts anyone?
How about Punisher, Link, Darth Vader, and Yoda in Soul Calibur? I was wondering who the next "guest stars" would be... Batman? Blanka? Sephiroth? George W. Bush?
Kurono K said:
Kingdom Hearts really should've been on this list, if not topped it.
Also, Marvel VS DC was absolute trash. The only thing it got right was having it be Batman and Captain America end up saving the day.
But seriously, christ. It was terrible. DC made the thing though, which maybe explains why.
pokfreaks said:
i want Chucky VS Jack Skeleton :D
