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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...
Tags: Adult Swim, Aliens, Archie, DC, Disney, G.I. Joe, Giant monsters, Looney Tunes, Marvel, Predator, Transformers
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