DC Vs. Marvel - Wikipedia

Comic book miniseries crossover This article is about the 1996 crossover event. For other crossover events between DC Comics and Marvel Comics, see Publication history of Marvel Comics crossover events and Publication history of DC Comics crossover events.

DC vs. Marvel
Cover of DC versus Marvel Comics #1, art by Dan Jurgens
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics Marvel Comics[1]
Format	Limited series
Publication date	February – May 1996
No. of issues	4
Main characters	Access Spectre Living Tribunal DC Universe Marvel Universe
Creative team
Written by	Ron Marz Peter David
Pencillers	Dan Jurgens Claudio Castellini
Collected editions
DC versus Marvel Comics	ISBN 1-56389-294-4

DC vs. Marvel (issues #2–3 titled Marvel vs. DC) is a comic book miniseries intercompany crossover published by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from February to May 1996. Each company would publish two issues of the miniseries, thus the title difference between issues #1 and 4 as DC vs. Marvel Comics from DC and issues #2–3 from Marvel as Marvel Comics vs. DC. The miniseries was written by Ron Marz and Peter David, with art by Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini.[2]

The special crossover miniseries pitted Marvel Comics superheroes against their DC counterparts in battle. The outcome of each battle was determined by reader ballot, which were distributed in advance to comic book stores.[2]

An omnibus edition of DC vs. Marvel was released in October 2024.[3]

Plot

[edit]

Two god-like brothers who personify the DC and Marvel Universes each become aware of the other's existence and challenge one another to a series of duels involving each universe's respective superheroes. The losing universe would cease to exist. The story had an "out of universe" component in that the outcomes of the primary battles were determined by the readers' votes.[4]

Numerous smaller story-driven skirmishes occur throughout the miniseries, not counted with the primary duels meant to determine the outcome between the brothers.[5]

There were 11 battles fought between the two universes.

The result of the following six battles were determined by the miniseries' creative team:

• Aquaman (DC) vs. Namor the Sub-Mariner (Marvel). Aquaman won by summoning a whale to leap out of the water and land on top of Namor. Since Namor is pinned and unable to move, he is declared the loser.
• Elektra (Marvel) vs. Catwoman (DC). Elektra won by cutting off Catwoman's whip as she hung from a girder on a building under construction, but Catwoman survived by falling into a dumpster filled with sand.
• The Flash (DC) vs. Quicksilver (Marvel). The Flash won by using superior speed.
• Robin (DC) vs. Jubilee (Marvel). Robin won by using his cape as a decoy and then tying up Jubilee.
• The Silver Surfer (Marvel) vs. Green Lantern (DC). The Silver Surfer won when both collided with each other and released a huge explosion which knocked out Green Lantern, but left the Silver Surfer unfazed.
• Thor (Marvel) vs. Captain Marvel (DC). Thor won when Captain Marvel was forced to change back to his alter ego of Billy Batson. Billy tried to change back, but Thor used Mjolnir to intercept the lightning bolt that would have transformed him back into Captain Marvel; the resulting impact knocked Billy out and sent Thor's hammer flying off into the distance.[6]

The result of the following five battles were determined by the readers' votes:

• Superman (DC) vs. the Hulk (Marvel). After exchanging punches and a burst of heat vision, Superman defeated the Hulk.
• Spider-Man (Marvel) vs. Superboy (DC). With the advantage of his spider-sense, Spider-Man won by tying up Superboy with impact webbing and electrocuting him with high voltage, knocking him out.[7]
• Batman (DC) vs. Captain America (Marvel). The match ultimately ends in Batman's victory, though both are evenly matched after hours of combat, until a sudden flushing of the sewer knocks Captain America off balance as Batman manages to strike him with a batarang. Batman rescues Captain America from certain death by drowning, but Captain America's unconsciousness from nearly drowning causes him to lose.
• Wolverine (Marvel) vs. Lobo (DC). Wolverine beats up Lobo in a brutal barfight, which was largely off-panel.
• Storm (Marvel) vs. Wonder Woman (DC). After Wonder Woman drops Thor's hammer in order to allow the fight to happen as it was intended to, Storm won the battle after repeatedly hitting Wonder Woman with lightning after a brief melee encounter.

Although the final victor of the battles is Marvel, the new character of Access, a man capable of traversing between the two universes, infuses Batman and Captain America each with fragments of their respective universes before the Spectre and the Living Tribunal attempt to create a compromise by fusing the two universes together. This resulted in the creation of the Amalgam Universe, which sees various amalgamated versions of the heroes and villains acting as though they have been in existence for years.

Access is eventually able to find the Dark Claw and Super-Soldier – versions of Batman and Captain America who have been amalgamated with Wolverine and Superman, respectively – and use the fragments of the two original universes in them to restore them to normal. As the Brothers engage in direct battle, the Spectre and the Living Tribunal attempt to stop the conflict, but Batman and Captain America convince Access to take them to the conflict as well. Reading the minds of Batman and Captain America as they try to stop the fight, the Brothers realize that the two men are essentially the Brothers in miniature; each one unique among their worlds, but with no interest in the conflict that the Brothers have engaged in. Realizing the pointlessness of the conflict, the Brothers withdraw and congratulate each other.

Trading cards

[edit]

To promote the event, SkyBox released a series of trading cards. The cards expanded the number of fights in comparison to the miniseries, including battles between villains, and were praised for their artwork, which was thought to be of a high standard.[8]

The DC versus Marvel Comics trading card set contained 100 base cards, with base card #100 being a checklist.[9] The remaining 99 base cards were divided into four types: Hero, Villain, Rival and Battles. There were also four subsets of chase cards: 18 Impact cards, 12 Holo F/X cards, two Mirage cards and four Amalgam Preview cards.[10]

Collected editions

[edit]

After its completion, the miniseries was collected into a trade paperback titled DC versus Marvel Comics (collects the miniseries and Doctor Strangefate #1; 192 pages; September 1996; ISBN 1-56389-294-4).

The miniseries was collected with the other past DC/Marvel crossovers in an omnibus edition titled DC versus Marvel Omnibus in 2024.

See also

[edit]

• Amalgam Comics
• List of Amalgam Comics characters
• List of Amalgam Comics publications
• Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century (March 1976) – The first modern superhero intercompany crossover. In the story, Superman and Spider-Man must stop a world domination/destruction plot hatched in tandem by their respective arch-nemeses, Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus.
  • Superman and Spider-Man (July 1981)
• The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans (1982) – A one-shot intercompany crossover, features the two companies' teams of superheroes, Marvel's X-Men, and DC's New Teen Titans. In the story, the X-Men and the New Teen Titans team-up against the New God Darkseid, aided by Metron, attempting to harness the power of the Phoenix Force.
• JLA/Avengers (September 2003 to March 2004) – A four issue intercompany crossover miniseries, features the two companies' teams of superheroes, DC Comics' Justice League of America and Marvel's Avengers. The crossover is officially canon for both companies and the cosmic egg has appeared in DC's Trinity and in Marvel's Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.[11]

References

[edit]

1. ^ "Marvel, DC Are About To Rumble!". Chicago Tribune. October 10, 1995. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021.
2. ^ a b Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1990s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Written by Peter David and Ron Marz with art by Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini, this four-issue miniseries event consisted of five major battles voted on in advance by reader ballot distributed to comic stores.
3. ^ Smith, Sam (February 13, 2024). "DC and Marvel Collide in an Epic Team-Up for the First Time in Decades". CBR. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
4. ^ "DC Vs Marvel – Universe-Shattering Comic Book Crossovers". UGO.com. January 19, 2011. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
5. ^ "Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: DC versus Marvel". January 19, 2011. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2006.
6. ^ Mollo, Drew (October 11, 2021). "DC's Shazam Stood No Chance Against Marvel's Thor". Screen Rant.
7. ^ McGuire, Liam (April 17, 2020). "When Spider-Man Fought Superboy, Who Actually Won?". Screen Rant.
8. ^ Pereira, Sergio (May 12, 2021). "DC Versus Marvel Crossover Comics: The Event That No One Talks About". Fortress of Solitude. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
9. ^ "1995 Fleer DC vs. Marvel Comics Non-Sport Checklist". www.tcdb.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
10. ^ "1995 Fleer DC vs. Marvel Comics Non-Sport - Inserts and Related Sets". www.tcdb.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
11. ^ Scott, Sam (December 3, 2019). "Was Justice League vs. Avengers Technically Canon?". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 28, 2020.

v t e DC Comics crossover event publication history
1980s	"Crisis on Infinite Earths" (April 1985) "Legends" (November 1986) "Millennium" (January 1988) "Invasion!" (January 1989) "The Janus Directive" (May 1989)
1990s	"Armageddon 2001" (May 1991) "War of the Gods" (September 1991) "Eclipso: The Darkness Within" (July 1992) "The Death of Superman" (October 1992) "Bloodlines" (1993) "The Children's Crusade" (December 1993) "Worlds Collide" (July 1994) "End of an Era" (August 1994) "Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!" (September 1994) "Underworld Unleashed" (November 1995) "DC vs. Marvel" (April 1996) "The Final Night" (November 1996) "Genesis" (October 1997) "DC One Million" (November 1998) "Day of Judgment" (November 1999) "JLApe: Gorilla Warfare!" (1999)
2000s	"Our Worlds at War" (August 2001) "Joker: Last Laugh" (December 2001) "JLA/Avengers" (September 2003) "Identity Crisis" (June 2004) "Infinite Crisis" (December 2005) "Amazons Attack!" (March 2007) "Sinestro Corps War" (August 2007) "Final Crisis" (July 2008) "Blackest Night" (June 2009)
2010s	"Brightest Day" (May 2010) "Reign of Doomsday" (January 2011) "Flashpoint" (May 2011) "The Culling" (November 2011) "Batman: Night of the Owls" (April 2012) "Death of the Family" (October 2012) "H'El on Earth" (October 2012) "Throne of Atlantis" (November 2012) "Wrath of the First Lantern" (February 2013) "Batman: Zero Year" (June 2013) "Trinity War" (July 2013) "Forever Evil" (September 2013) "Forever Evil: Blight" (October 2013) "The New 52: Futures End" (September 2014) "Convergence" (April 2015) "Darkseid War" (June 2015) "The Button" (April 2017) "Dark Nights: Metal" (June 2017) "The Lazarus Contract" (July 2017) "Doomsday Clock" (November 2017) "Milk Wars" (March 2018) "Heroes in Crisis" (September 2018) "The Terminus Agenda" (March 2019) "Year of the Villain" (May 2019)
2020s	"Dark Nights: Death Metal" (June 2020) "Joker War" (September 2020) "Generations" (September 2020) "Endless Winter" (December 2020) "Future State" (January 2021) "Infinite Frontier" (June 2021) "Fear State" (August 2021) "War for Earth-3" (March 2022) "Shadow War" (April 2022) "Dark Crisis" (May 2022) "The New Golden Age" (November 2022) "Lazarus Planet" (January 2023) "Knight Terrors" (July 2023) "Gotham War" (August 2023) "Titans: Beast World" (November 2023) "House of Brainiac" (April 2024) "Absolute Power" (July 2024) "We are Yesterday" (June 2025) "DC K.O." (October 2025)
Launch lines	DC Universe DC Explosion/DC Implosion (1978) The New 52 (2011–2016) DC Rebirth (2016–2017) The New Age of DC Heroes (2018–2020) New Justice (2018–2021) The Sandman Universe (2018–2024) Infinite Frontier (2021–2023) The New Golden Age (2022–2024) Dawn of DC (2023–2024) DC All In (2024–) Other continuities Hanna-Barbera Beyond (2016–2019) Murphyverse (2017–2023) Milestone Returns (2020–2025) Absolute Universe (2024–)
See also	Intercompany crossovers in comics

v t e Marvel Comics crossover event publication history
1980s	Contest of Champions (June 1982) Secret Wars (May 1984) Secret Wars II (July 1985) Mutant Massacre (October 1986) The Fall of the Mutants (January 1988) The Evolutionary War (1988) Inferno (October 1988) Atlantis Attacks (1989) Acts of Vengeance (December 1989)
1990s	The Infinity Gauntlet (July 1991) Operation: Galactic Storm (March 1992) The Infinity War (June 1992) The Infinity Crusade (June 1993) Age of Apocalypse (January 1995) DC vs. Marvel (April 1996) Onslaught (May 1996) Heroes Reborn (1996)
2000s	Maximum Security (December 2000) JLA/Avengers (Sept. 2003) Secret War (February 2004) Avengers Disassembled (August 2004) Ultimate Nightmare (October 2004) Ultimate Secret (May 2005) House of M (June 2005) Last Hero Standing (August 2005) Decimation (December 2005) Ultimate Extinction (January 2006) Annihilation (March 2006) Civil War (July 2006) Ultimate Power (December 2006) The Initiative (March 2007) World War Hulk (July 2007) Last Planet Standing (July 2007) Annihilation: Conquest (August 2007) Secret Invasion (June 2008) Dark Reign (December 2008) Ultimatum (January 2009) War of Kings (March 2009) Fall of the Hulks (December 2009)
2010s	Realm of Kings (January 2010) Siege (January 2010) Ultimate Comics: Doomsday (January 2010) World War Hulks (February 2010) The Thanos Imperative (July 2010) Shadowland (September 2010) Chaos War (October 2010) Age of X (January 2011) Fear Itself (March 2011) Spider-Island (June 2011) Ultimate Fallout (July 2011) Avengers vs. X-Men (April 2012) Age of Ultron (March 2013) Infinity (August 2013) Inhumanity (December 2013) Original Sin (May 2014) AXIS (October 2014) Spider-Verse (November 2014) The Black Vortex (February 2015) Secret Wars (May 2015) Avengers: Standoff! (March 2016) Civil War II (June 2016) Inhumans vs. X-Men (November 2016) Monsters Unleashed! (January 2017) Secret Empire (May 2017) Damnation (February 2018) Infinity Countdown (February 2018) Infinity Wars (July 2018) Spider-Geddon (October 2018) The War of the Realms (April 2019) Absolute Carnage (August 2019)
2020s	Iron Man 2020 (January 2020) Empyre (April 2020) Outlawed (October 2020) King in Black (December 2020) Heroes Reborn (May 2021) Infinite Destinies (June 2021) Devil's Reign (December 2021) Reckoning War (February 2022) Judgment Day (July 2022) Dark Web (November 2022) Avengers Assemble (November 2022) Sins of Sinister (January 2023) Ultimate Invasion (June 2023) Contest of Chaos (August 2023) Gang War (December 2023) Blood Hunt (May 2024) Venom War (August 2024) One World Under Doom (February 2025) Imperial (June 2025) Age of Revelation (October 2025)
Launch lines	Marvel Universe Civil War: The Initiative (2007–2008) Dark Reign (2008–2009) Heroic Age (2010–2012) Shattered Heroes (2011) Marvel Now! (2012–2015) All-New, All-Different Marvel (2015–2019) ResurrXion (2017) Marvel Legacy (2017–2018) Fresh Start (2018–present) One World Under Doom (2025) Imperial War (2025–present) X-Men Pre-Krakoan Age Revolution (2000) Reload (2004) Decimation (2005–2006) Regenesis (2011) Krakoan Age (2019–2024) Dawn of X (2019–2020) Reign of X (2020–2022) Destiny of X (2022–2023) Fall of X (2023–2024) Post-Krakoan Age From the Ashes (2024–2025) Shadows of Tomorrow (2026) Other continuities New Universe (1986–1989) Sigilverse (2000–2004) Ultimate Marvel (2000–2015) Ultimate Universe (2023–2026)
See also	Intercompany crossovers in comics

v t e Marvel Comics and DC Comics intercompany crossovers
One-shots	Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man (1976) Superman and Spider-Man (1981) The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans (1982) Daredevil/Batman: Eye for an Eye (1997) Deadpool/Batman and Batman/Deadpool (2025)
Miniseries	DC vs. Marvel (1996) JLA/Avengers (2003–2004)
Related articles	Amalgam Comics List of publications List of characters
See also	Publication history of Marvel Comics crossover events Publication history of DC Comics crossover events