The second half of Batman and Deadpool’s crossover has come, and if you thought the first collision was something, you’re absolutely going to love this one. It was only two months ago that the Dark Knight and the Merc with a Mouth met in Deadpool/Batman, Marvel and DC’s first crossover in two decades. And while that comic was certainly fun, the follow-up crossover, Batman/Deadpool, goes a little bit harder. From deep dives into comic book history to hilarious metafictional commentary (not to mention all the additional team-ups), this crossover hit every single mark it needed to.
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Batman/Deadpool unites two A-list names, Grant Morrison and Dan Mora, to tell the main story, but like the previous crossover, it features a murderer’s row of talents to bring these crossovers to life. Tom Taylor, Scott Snyder, Mariko Tamaki, G. Willow Wilson, Hayden Sherman, Bruno Redondo, and more all work together to pair Marvel and DC Comics icons in charming, shorter stories that add to the sense of wonder this special anthology gives off. Marvel and DC set the bar high when they announced this crossover, and I’m happy to say that Deadpool/Batman more than clears people’s expectations.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
| PROS | CONS |
| Comedic fourth wall-breaking | Backups are a little short |
| Plenty of variety for fans | New readers might miss deeper references |
DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool #1 is a Hilarious, Metafictional Masterpiece
The main story, “The Cosmic Kiss Caper” dives straight into the action. One minute, Batman is searching for a powerful, reality-altering relic, and the next, he’s fighting rubber-hose cartoon ninjas side-by-side with a man he can’t shake the feeling has to be a Deathstroke variant. During all the chaos, Batman and Deadpool discover the criminal at the center of this crossover is Cassandra Nova, who’s manipulated Bruce to track down the Quantum Keyboard, a cosmic object wielded by a suspiciously familiar villain known as the Writer (that’s right, ’90s comics fans, Grant Morrison has made an in-universe cameo again).
But that’s not all, as Deadpool/Batman features four additional big crossovers for the Big Two. James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder, and Hayden Sherman’s story sees Constantine seek out Doctor Strange when magic worlds collide. Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo have Nightwing and Laura Kinney discuss the weight of being superhero legacies. Mariko Tamaki and Amanda Conner put Hulk and Harley Quinn through a fun, hot dog-centric romp. And G. Willow Wilson and Denys Cowan have Ms. Marvel and Static spark a new friendship in a heartwarming tale. Each story goes for a different vibe, but they’re all fun.
DC and Marvel’s Latest Crossover is an Amazing Tribute to the Big Two
As a Grant Morrison stan, I can’t pretend I wasn’t most pleased by the main feature. Morrison (and Mora, for that matter) clearly poured every ounce of their creative talent into this story. There are esoteric comic book references, excellent fourth wall-breaking, and amazing character work in the main story, something I feel we didn’t get as much of with the previous Deadpool and Batman story. Morrison and Mora don’t sleepwalk through the main story here and as someone who knows both creators are capable of top-tier work, I’m happy to say Batman and Deadpool’s adventure utterly enthralled me.
Now I’m not such a Morrison stan that I can’t also appreciate the backups. The creative teams involved were all solid choices. From Hayden Sherman bringing their magic touch to the Strange/Constantine story to G. Willow Wilson crafting an intriguing connection between Static and Ms. Marvel, every story had something going for it. But weirdly, I feel that ended up hurting the backups. There are so many interesting ideas, but not enough time to explore them. Seriously, we only get a small look at a potential Ghost Rider/Swamp Thing fight. I wanted to see more of that!
All that said, I think this book is exactly what I wanted when Marvel and DC Comics announced their new collaboration. It would have been easy to mash characters together and call it a day, but that is not what Morrison, Mora, and every creator who contributed to this special did. There is serious appreciation for the characters, the tropes of superhero comics, the novel appeal of crossovers, and every story feels like a love letter to its featured characters. These stories are all wildly different, but they all strangely have the same heart at their center.
Thankfully, this isn’t the end for Marvel and DC’s crossovers, since it’s already been confirmed that Superman and Spider-Man will be teaming up next year. And while I’m sure they’ll tap some big-name talents to bring those specials to life, they’ve got their work cut out for them to beat this crossover. Batman/Deadpool #1 is an amazing book that serves as a hilarious, meta tribute to DC and Marvel history, and I’ve got no doubt in my mind that it’s going to go down as one of the best superhero crossover comics, period.
What did you think about DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool #1? Leave a comment below or tell us how you feel on the ComicBook Forum!
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