The Greatest Crossover Events in Comic Book History

Last week saw the omnibus release of Secret Wars, the latest Marvel’s mega-crossover event. Almost a decade in the making, it sees a (kinda) new Marvel Universe born from the ashes of Battleworld, a planet containing chunks of just about every bit of the publisher’s long history. As comic fans, we have…let’s say strong feelings about these types of crossovers. When they work, they can be absolutely brilliant—huge stories told on a massive canvas, with a limitless special effects budget. When they don’t well, the less said the better.
It’s always a gamble, but we keep coming back for more. Here, for your consideration, are our picks for the best galaxy-smashing mega-events from across comic book history.

Crisis on Infinite Earths, by Marv Wolfman and George Perez (1985-1986)
Everything that fans love and hate about the modern DC universe was born here, making it the both the most controversial and most consequential crossover on this list. For decades, DC had been playing around with the idea of parallel universes, juggling a lineup of comics beset with the inevitable continuity problems that arise when you’ve got a linup of superheroes pushing 50. Rather than wave it all away, the Powers That Be decided to build a story out of it: the evil Anti-Monitor is wiping out entire universes, and the last five remaining parallel Earths are forced to make a final stand before all of existence is wiped out. Essentially, all of the different versions of DC’s heroes came together to save one final, rebooted universe. Following the series, there were to be no more alternate versions of characters, nor traveling between parallel Earths. The series also was a fond farewell to a few major (and several minor) characters. Fans are still debating whether the changes were worthwhile, but they stuck for a long time. The book also signaled the beginning of a more compulsive era in mainstream comics, wherein no detail is too small to obsess over. One thing that few would argue: the series features some career-best art from the legendary George Perez.

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, by Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck, and Bob Layton (1984)
No, not the Secret Wars that’s out this month. We’re talking about the original Secret Wars, the one that kicked off the modern era of major comics crossover events, beating DC and Crisis to the punch in 1984. The 12-part series was a mercenary endeavor that proved surprisingly popular and enduring. Jim Shooter, the writer and (at the time) editor-in-chief of Marvel, was looking to leverage Marvel’s heroes into a line of toys from Mattel. Not a very promising beginning, but the simplicity of the core concept proved to be an advantage: a cosmically powered being, The Beyonder, becomes so intrigued by the heroes of the Marvel universe that he creates Battleworld, an arena planet where the heroes are pitted against the villains. It’s really just an excuse for the good guys and the baddies to throw down, but it boasts a purity of intent and a sense of fun that make it incredibly entertaining. It isn’t without consequence, either: the black symbiotic suit that Spider-Man finds on Battleworld will plaque him for years to come.

52, by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and Mark Waid (2006)
Spinning out of the somewhat messy Infinite Crisis, 52 was a year-long mega-event that ran weekly, beginning in 2006. Following that earlier crossover (itself a direct sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths), DC’s entire line of comics leapt forward a year, during which Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were entirely out of the picture. 52 filled in the missing time, one week at a time. It’s superhero-comics -as-serialized-drama (aka soap opera), with a huge ensemble of (mostly) B-list heroes and villains. Though there are plenty of threads running into and out of the series, it also works incredibly well as a self-contained story. Since many of the stars aren’t your traditional leads, there’s a real sense that anything can happen. The all-star creative team, including Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, and Keith Giffen, doesn’t hurt one bit.

Armor Hunters, by Robert Venditti, Matt Kindt, and Joshua Dysart (2014)
Though the company, and most of its characters, have been around for 20-plus years, the modern Valiant universe was only launched in 2012. Nevertheless, their crossover game has been strong, and already,several major events have brought together an ever-expanding roster of heroes, anti-heroes, and villains to wreak mayhem. Armor Hunters is the biggest so far, and stars the very first Valiant hero: Aric, the Visigoth warrior who captures the X-O Manowar battlesuit from his alien captors before returning to Earth in the present day. The series focuses on an alien race dedicated to the eradication of the Manowar armor because of the massive threat that it, and others of its kind, pose to the galaxy. Even though other Valiant characters come into play during the defense of Earth, the focus on Aric keeps the story suitably epic, yet personal.

Civil War, by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, and Dexter Vines (2006-2007)
The first crossover to become a movie, the consequences of this 2006 event continue impact Marvel’s comic universe. Following a disastrous superhero intervention that all but destroys the town of Stamford, Connecticut, the federal government imposes the Superhero Registration Act, which forces heroes to register as law enforcement. Old friends Iron Man and Captain America quickly turn on each other when Tony supports the act as strongly as Steve opposes it, seeing it as authoritarian. Other heroes line up behind one or the other, fightinh for either security or freedom. Heroes have a history of turning on each other, and the SRA was as good an excuse as any. The book led to a darker era for Marvel, and informs not only the upcoming Captain America: Civil War film, but also Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which sees Ben Affleck’s Batman looking to contain the potential threat of Krypton’s last son.

The Sinestro Corps War, by Geoff Johns, Dave Gibbons, and Peter Tomasi (2007)
It’s carnage in the Green Lantern Corps as arch-villain Sinestro gathers together the most absurdly over-powered bad guys in the DC Universe, among them the Anti-Monitor, Parallax, and not one, but two evil versions of Superman. Writer Geoff Johns had, by the time of this crossover, built the story Green Lantern Corps into a massive sci-fi epic with an elaborate mythology and a large ensemble cast. It all comes together in a galaxy-spanning throw-down, with action that travels from Oa to Earth, with a brief stopover at San Diego Comic-Con. Despite sticking closely to the Green Lantern family of characters, the scope is enormous, and it adds a ton of new ideas and characters to the DC Universe.

Annihilation, by Keith Giffen (2006)
While the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink school of crossover comics has its own rewards, events focusing on a subset of characters frequently have a greater impact. That is the case with 2006’s Annihilation, a Marvel event focused on space-faring and generally cosmic characters. In the same vein as DC’s Sinestro Corps War, the series calls upon Marvel’s elaborate outer-space mythology to tell the story of the Annihilation Wave and its impact on our heroes. The Nova Corps is the first to go, and the resulting destruction brings characters like Ronan the Accuser, the Silver Surfer, and Drax the Destroyer into play. The story takes all of the disparate threads of Marvel’s non-Earth-based characters and brings them together for destruction on a galactic scale.

Runners-up:
The Marvel/DC crossover JLA/Avengers by Kurt Busiek and George Pérez has a lot of fun bringing together the heroes and villains of both universes in an old-fashioned race for powerful artifacts. IDW’s Infestation brought together many of the company’s wildly different licensed properties (including G.I. Joe, Transformers, Star Trek, and Ghostbusters) to battle a cross-dimensional zombie outbreak. Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis, ostensibly the conclusion to a trilogy that began with Crisis on Infinite Earths, instead veers into incredibly trippy territory (it might be the weirdest major company crossover). Spider-Verse teams-up every spider-related character ever, including Peter Porker (the Spectacular Spider-Ham). It’s every bit as much fun as it sounds. Finally, though they’re both out of print, the two volumes of Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash provide a deeply satisfying, action-packed conclusion to stories that would never have worked in the movies.
What’s your favorite comics crossover?