After years of their films competing, Marvel and DC Comics are collaborating once again on a new crossover project. During the ComicsPro retailer expo, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, C.B. Cebulski, and DC’s Editor-in-Chief, Marie Javins, announced this upcoming event, which is expected to launch later this year. Although no artwork or creative teams were disclosed, Heidi MacDonald from ComicsBeat reported that the collaboration will feature two one-shot comics titled “Marvel/DC” and “DC/Marvel.”
Historically, Marvel and DC have collaborated multiple times. Their early collaborations in the 1970s and 80s included one-shots like Spider-Man versus Superman and Teen Titans versus the X-Men. In the late 1990s, the crossover events “DC Versus Marvel” and the “Amalgam Age” series saw characters from both universes face off in battles determined by reader votes. The Amalgam series uniquely merged characters from both publishers into new personas, such as Dark Claw, a blend of Wolverine and Batman, within a universe later designated as Earth-9602 by Marvel and Earth-496 by DC.
In 2003, George Pérez and Kurt Busiek orchestrated another crossover in “JLA/Avengers,” a project originally approved in 1979. This series depicted the heroes of Marvel and DC working to protect each other’s worlds, though each team initially viewed the others as ineffectual guardians. In recent years, these classic crossovers have been reprinted, possibly laying the groundwork for the forthcoming collaboration.
Further updates on “Marvel/DC” and “DC/Marvel” will be provided as more information becomes available.
