Crossovers have always been a staple of comic books. Whether they become friends or enemies, there has always been something fun and exciting about having one’s favorite characters from different franchises break the corporate barrier and come together to have epic adventures. As one of the quintessential teams of Marvel Comics, Earth’s mightiest heroes, the Avengers, have found themselves at the center of plenty of crossovers. Many of which had them meet some of the most iconic heroes and villains in pop culture. And when you take characters and ideas from different worlds and smash them together, you are bound to get some crazy and unique stories that are out of this world.
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These are five times the Avengers have come face-to-face with characters from other popular franchises, resulting in equally bizarre and epic stories that pushed the envelope of what could be done in a crossover.
5) Godzilla: King of the Monsters
In the late ‘70s, Marvel Comics published Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which ran for 24 issues and saw Japan’s most iconic giant monster wreaking havoc across the United States. Throughout the comic’s run, heroes like the Fantastic Four and the prehistoric duo Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur tried their best to fight Godzilla, but they were no match for the atomic monster. Godzilla’s rampage was eventually halted in the series’ final issue as the Avengers assembled to take down the titanic terror. Godzilla proved himself to be more than a match for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, as even Thor found himself struggling to prevent the beast from knocking over the Empire State Building. While the Avengers were ultimately victorious, this would not be the last time they faced the king of the monsters: on June 18th of this year, the first issue of Godzilla vs. Avengers was published for the rematch of the century.
4) Attack on Avengers
Godzilla wasn’t the only giant monster from Japan that the Avengers have faced off against. In the short story “Attack on Avengers,” published in the magazine Brutus, the Marvel Universe found itself the target of an invasion by the monstrous titans from the hit manga and anime Attack on Titan. The story is only eight pages long and begins amid the battle as the Avengers fight iconic titans, such as the Armored Titan and the Female Titan. Heroes like Spider-Man and Iron Man do their best to avoid the titan’s attacks by exploiting their weak spots. In contrast, other heroes, like the Hulk and Thor, overwhelmed the invaders with their superior strength. Unlike other crossovers on this list, however, this story has no conclusion. Instead, it ends on a cliffhanger as the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive to join in the fight against the titans.
3) New Avengers/Transformers
In 2007, the Avengers met and teamed up with the Autobots to defeat the evil Decepticons. While initially, the Avengers attack the Autobots, assuming that they are evil, the two sides quickly become allies when they realize they share the same goal of stopping Megatron from taking over the world. In one of their stranger plans, the Decepticons abducted Spider-Man in the hopes of harnessing his radioactive blood to make themselves stronger. Just the idea of Transformers and the Avengers is already wild enough on its own, but the series has many other memorable moments, including Iron Man bringing in his Transformer-sized suit to fight the Decepticons and Dr. Doom teaming up with Megatron.
2) Aliens Vs. Avengers
In one of the darkest and most insane crossovers of the last decade, the four-issue mini-series Aliens Vs. Avengers shows a world ravaged by the xenomorphs from the Alien film franchise. Set years after the initial invasion and conquest of the xenomorph swarm, the few surviving superhumans must find a way to escape Earth and fight the alien menace. Some of the last heroes of humanity include Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Miles Morales, and Captain Marvel, who must fight a desperate battle for survival. Part of what makes this story truly bizarre is the extreme adaptations the xenomorphs undergo to pose a serious threat to the Avengers, including developing immunity to magic. Adding to the craziness of this entire crossover story arc, the story also features the blending of xenomorph and mutant DNA, Mr. Sinister creating a facehugger gun, and a xenomorph Venom.
1) Amalgam Comics
While other crossovers have characters from different franchises just meet each other, the short-run imprint titled Amalgam Comics created an entirely new universe based on the characters of Marvel and DC. The story centered around the merging of the Marvel and DC Universes, creating an all-new world of fused heroes and villains. These included Superman and Captain America fusing to become the Super Soldier, Batman and Wolverine combining to become Dark Claw, and many more. Even the Avengers merged with the Justice League to become the JLA (Judgement League Avengers). Many of these amalgamated characters had their own short comic runs featuring fun and unique stories that explored the endless possibilities a universe like this could entail. And while this universe hasn’t been seen in decades, it still stands out among fans as one of the most ambitious and crazy crossover events in comic book history.
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Image courtesy of Warner
