Steve Does Comics

The first Marvel / DC crossover since Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1 , twelve years earlier. This time around we meet the Punisher ( Frank Castle ) of Earth-7642 as his war on crime brings him to Gotham City . His hunt for Jigsaw will attract the attention of Batman ( John-Paul Valley , formerly known as Azrael ). He returns to Gotham sometime later and clashed with the original Batman ( Bruce Wayne ) and the infamous Joker . This return to Earth-7642 (Marvel's crossover universe - where continuity is essentially the same, but the crossover stories don't effect the mainstream universe) heralded a slew of Marvel/DC crossovers set outside of regular continuity (for Marvel, at least) until both mainstream universe literally clashed in MARVEL VERSUS DC a year later. There are some truly odd story-telling choices in this one. I had to double-check it was written by Denny O'Neil . The Punisher of Earth-7642 is much the same as his Earth-616 counterpart, but emba...

After the popularity of THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS titles that were released as a part of MARVEL VERSUS DC , Marvel and DC combined forces again one year later to produce another twelve one-shots taking place in the Amalgam Universe  ( Earth-9602 ). Some are complete stories and others are left on cliffhangers we'll never see resolved. This time, readers would see combined versions of Generation X & Jonah Hex ( Generation Hex ), Man-Thing & Man-Bat ( Bat-Thing ), Howard the Duck & Lobo ( Lobo the Duck ), Thor & Orion ( Thorion ) and Iron Man & Green Lantern ( Iron Lantern ), as well as a host of amalgamated supporting characters and villains. We'd also see more tales starring amalgamated characters we'd already met, such as Super-Soldier ( Captain America & Superman ), Spider-Boy ( Spider-Man & Superboy ), X-Patrol ( X-Force  & X-Men & Teen Titans &  Doom Patrol ), Dark Claw ( Wolverin e & Batman ), the Magneti...

Since he was given the power to manipulate realities as Access (during MARVEL VERSUS DC ), Axel Asher has been discreetly fixing cross-overs between universes to prevent the return of the Brothers . But his powers are about to change and an unexpected enemy is about to raise his head as various timelines from the Marvel Universe and DC Universe collide again... Batman & Spider-Man #1 (tie-in) Unlimited Access #1 Green Lantern #87 (tie-in) Unlimited Access #2-4 Batman & Spider-Man #1  (tie-in) Wilson Fisk , the Kingpin of Crime , and his business dealings with Ra's al Ghul  turns sour when Fisk learns of al Ghul's plan to wipe out New York. He coerces Fisk to continue to work for them to gain a cure for his wife's cancer. Batman and Spider-Man of Earth-7642 (aka, Earth-Crossover ) shut Ra's al Ghul's operation down when their secret ally is revealed to be Fisk, himself. Talia al Ghul secretly sends the cure to Vanessa Fisk and Ra's disappears o...

Some people consider this tale to be outside of regular continuity, some figure it's all part of the overall story for both universes. Either way, Marvel Comics and DC Comics were on good enough terms in 1996 that they were able to clash in a big way.  The two universes collided and it was announced that only one would survive. Inevitably, it would all be decided by a series of tournaments between the champions of each Earth (as voted for by the comic-buying public). But another, unexpected element entered the mix. These concept of two universes being smooshed together would end up being more literal than we ever thought. In the middle of it all, the Amalgam Universe was introduced, combing characters and teams from both inverses into new concepts for just one issue each. THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS issues are technically part of the MARVEL VERSUS DC story, but both stories can be read separately. If you're new to comics, stick to the four issue 'versus' issues, but d...