Marvel Comics and DC Comics have been competitors for years, but that hasn’t stopped them joining forces on occasion to pit their characters against each other, or have them team up against threats to both worlds. Despite some fans taking the debate as to whether Marvel or DC are better a little too seriously these days, many of the same creators have worked for both companies and there’s absolutely no reason to choose one over the other, aside from affordability. I mean, who can buy every comic that comes out from both comics giant each and every month?
Over the years, creators working for both companies have made sneaky references to their stories in their respective Marvel and DC tales, creating subtle crossovers for fans to pick up on, such as BEYOND THE BORDER (which I’ll cover soon), Mantis jumping between universes or even the Avengers facing Justice League knock-offs in the Squadron Supreme, while the JLA battle Avengers parodies, the Champions of Angor.
Marvel and DC had their first official crossover in the 1976 Superman vs the Amazing Spider-Man one-shot. Subsequent crossovers would be sparse, but the 1990s brought a whole slew of them! Most meetings would be seen as fun out-of-continuity stories, but the mainstream Marvel Universe (Earth-616) collided with the New Earth (post-Crisis) versions of DC’s heroes in the DC VERSUS MARVEL (1995-1996) event in which fans got to decide the outcome of the battles between a handful of heroes.
Following the four-part, highly-anticipated meeting between the Avengers and the JLA, there wasn’t another official Marvel/DC crossover until 2025. And it looks like there’s more to come! And, if Brainiac‘s to be believed, something called the ‘Crisis Gauntlet’ will threaten both universes…
Must Reads: Story arcs marked with a ✔ are must-read stories from this time period, along with any key related stories and often-forgotten tales that are worth a read.
Chronology: Every Marvel/DC crossover from this period is included in chronological order, laying out their timeline rather than just the order the issues were released.
WildStorm: Marvel’s clashes with WildStorm will be covered in a separate reading order.
First appearances: The stated character debuts generally refer to the version of that character from their specific alternate universe (e.g. if an issue lists the first appearance of Batman, it’s going to the that reality’s version of Batman, rather than the original).
Spoilers: The issue/story overviews may include spoilers, so be warned!
- Batman & Captain America #1
- Darkseid vs Galactus: The Hunger #1
- Almanaque do O Globo Juvenil 1964c
- Superman vs the Amazing Spider-Man (1976) #1
- Pow! Biff! Pops! (1978) #1
- Marvel Treasury Edition (1974) #28: Superman and Spider-Man
- DC Special Series #27: Batman vs The Incredible Hulk
- Thor/Shazam #1 (Marvel Infinity Comics Exclusive)
- Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1
- Batman/Punisher #1
- Punisher/Batman #1
- Spider-Man and Batman (1996) #1
- Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1
- DC Vs Marvel #1
- Marvel vs DC #2-3
- Generation Hex #1
- Super-Soldier: Man of War #1
- Doctor Strange Fate #1
- Super Soldier #1
- X-Patrol #1
- Bullets and Bracelets #1
- Spider-Boy #1 (1996)
- Bruce Wayne, Agent of SHIELD #1
- Bat-Thing #1
- Amazon #1 (1996)
- Legends of the Dark Claw #1
- Assassins (1996) #1
- Magneto and the Metal Men #1
- JLX #1
- Lobo the Duck #1
- Spider-Boy Team-Up #1
- Challengers of the Fantastic #1
- Exciting X-Patrol #1
- Dark Claw Adventures #1
- Speed Demon (1996) #1
- Infestation 2 Team-Up (2012) #1 (IDW)
- Thorion of the New Asgods #1
- Iron Lantern #1
- Magnetic Men featuring Magneto #1
- JLX Unleashed #1
- DC Vs Marvel #4
- Silver Surfer/Superman #1
- DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4
- Daredevil and Batman (1997) #1
- Batman and Spider-Man (1997) #1
- Unlimited Access #1
- Green Lantern (1990) #87
- Unlimited Access #2-4
- Superman/Fantastic Four #1
- Incredible Hulk vs Superman #1
- Batman/Daredevil: King of New York #1
- JLA/Avengers #1
- Avengers/JLA #2
- JLA/Avengers #3
- Avengers/JLA #4
- Deadpool/Batman #1
- Batman/Deadpool #1
- Flash/Fantastic Four #1 (DC Universe Infinite Exclusive)
- Superman/Spider-Man #1
- It’s Jeff/Aquaman #1 (Marvel Infinity Comics Exclusive)
- Supergirl/Blade #1 (DC Universe Infinite Exclusive)
- Spider-Man/Superman #1
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances |
| ✔ | Batman & Captain America #1 (1996) On Earth-3839, at the end of World War II, Captain America and Bucky join forces with Batman & Robin when the Joker is revealed to be working with the Red Skull to steal a nuclear device; the plot is thwarted, but Captain America is encased in ice and discovered 20 years later by the new Batman and Robin (a grown-up Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne Jr). 1st appearance: Batman/Bruce Wayne, Bucky/James Barnes, Captain America/Steve Rogers, James Gordon, Joker, Alfred Pennyworth, Robin/Batman/Richard Grayson, Robin/Bruce Wayne Jr, Gotham City, Earth-3839/Earth 38 (Superman & Batman: Generations) |
| ✔ | Darkseid vs Galactus: The Hunger #1 (1995) On Earth-7642, Galactus’ new Herald – the Silver Surfer – leads his master to Apokolips which forces Darkseid to rise up and defend his world; Orion leaves New Genesis to join the fight and save his father, clashing with the Surfer; Galactus ultimately realises there’s no life within Apokolips for him to consume and leaves to find a more suitable world to sate his hunger; this tale reveals the origin of Earth-7642. 1st appearance: Galactus/Galen, Orion, Silver Surfer/Norrin Radd, Apokolips, New Genesis |
| ✔ | Spider-Man/Superman #1 [2/9] (2026) On an alternate Earth, in the 1930s, Superman saves Lex Luthor from a bullet from the Spider; Superman needs Lex alive for a bigger purpose! 1st appearance: J Jonah Jameson, the Spider/‘Spider-Man Noir’/Peter Parker, Superman/Clark Kent |
| Almanaque do O Globo Juvenil 1964c (1964, Rio Gráfica e Editora) The first ever Marvel/DC crossover that so few know about! On Earth-7642, Captain Marvel (Billy Batson) teams up with the Human Torch (Jim Hammond) against the Python. | |
| Chamada Geral #1 (1970, Editora Brasil-América Limitada) On a variation of Earth-7642, Aqualad, Aquaman, Atom, Batman, Captain America, Sharon Carter, Daredevil, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Lois Lane, Jonathan & Martha Kent, Kid Flash, Robin, Superboy, Supergirl, Superman, Thor, Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman join Flash Gordon, Lothar, Mandrake the Magician, Peter Pan, Buck Rogers, Snow White, Tarzan, Tom & Jerry, Zorro and others in the 25th anniversary celebration of Editora Brasil-América Limitada. |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances |
| ✔ | Superman vs the Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1976) Following their recent arrests, Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus escape prison and form an alliance; disguised as Superman, Lex Luthor kidnaps Mary Jane Watson, causing Spider-Man to go after the real Superman; but Superman calms Spidey down and the pair head to the Injustice Gang’s satellite to apprehend their true foes. 1st appearance: Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius, J Jonah Jameson, Lex Luthor, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Superman/Clark Kent, Mary Jane Watson, Metropolis, Earth-7642/Earth-Crossover |
| Spider-Man/Superman #1 [3/9] (2026) On Earth-7642, Lana Lang and Gwen Stacy hang out and talk about their respective close pals – Clark Kent and Peter Parker – who are nice guys but with big secrets! 1st appearance: Lana Lang, Sandman/William Baker (cameo), Gwen Stacey (full) | |
| ✔ | Spider-Man/Superman #1 [9/9] (2026) On Earth-7642, after the death of Gwen Stacey, Superman offers Spider-Man words of comfort. |
| Pow! Biff! Pops! #1 (1978) Featuring Captain America, the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Namor the Sub-Mariner, Spider-Man team up with Batman, Superman, Robin and Wonder Woman to rescue musicians kidnapped by Thaddeus Hamit; this unofficially takes place on Earth-7642. Note: This unofficial one-shot by young Kurt Busiek, Christopher Bing, Scott McCloud and Richard Howell was sold at a performance of the Boston Pops Orchestra; Marvel and DC both gave their permission for the comic to be produced and sold at the event. | |
| ✔ | Marvel Treasury Edition #28: Superman and Spider-Man (1981) On Earth-7642, Superman and Spider-Man confront the Hulk when he rampages through Metropolis under Doctor Doom’s control; it’s all part of Doom’s plan to free the Parasite; Doom tricks Wonder Woman into attacking Spider-Man then takes the chance to capture all four heroes; Parasite turns against Doom, giving Spider-Man the chance to break Superman free and defeat the villains. 1st appearance: Doctor Doom/Victor von Doom, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Parasite/Maxwell Jensen, Wonder Woman/Diana Prince, Kryptonite |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances |
| ✔ | DC Special Series #27: Batman vs The Incredible Hulk (1981) On Earth-7642, the Shaper of Worlds offers the Joker his greatest wish if he helps the Shaper restore his powers with an experimental Gamma-Gun; Joker attacks Wayne Research in Gotham City where Bruce Banner has managed to get a job under a false name; Banner soon transforms into the Hulk and the Joker convinces him Batman is his true enemy; Joker escapes with the gun and uses it to restore the Shaper, though it doesn’t last; the Shaper realises he needs the Hulk’s power to restore him, so he tricks Batman into helping him bring the Green Goliath to the Shaper; draining the Hulk’s power, the Shaper grants the Joker his wish to become king of the world; the Joker is horrified by the twisted world his subconscious has created and accidentally gives up his power, allowing Batman and Hulk to defeat him. 1st appearance: Batman/Bruce Wayne, Joker, Shaper of Worlds, Gotham City |
| Thor/Shazam #1 (2025, Marvel Infinity Comics Exclusive) On Earth-7642, Dr Donald Blake finds himself in the Rock of Eternity where he meets Mamaragan’s champion, Captain Marvel; magical shenanigans leave them alternating between their respective Thor and Billy Batson personas when Mister Mind attacks in a monstrous ‘humanoid’ form, until Captain Marvel proves himself worthy of wielding Mjolnir and the two heroes defeat Mind. 1st appearance: Donald Blake, Captain Marvel/Billy Batson, Mister Mind/Maxivermis Mind, Seven Deadly Sins, Thor, the Wizard/Mamaragan Note: The version of Captain Marvel and Thor appear to be their 1980s incarnations, while Mamaragan is clearly the post-New 52/Prime Earth version of the character, making placement in the Earth-7642 difficult. | |
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1 (1982) On Earth-7642, Parademons take the Teen Titans captive; Deathstroke defeats and captures the X-Men; Darkseid uses the X-Men’s memories to resurrect the Dark Phoenix and use her to transform Earth into New Apokolips; the X-Men and the Titans use Metron’s chair to travel back to Earth and disrupt his plans; Dark Phoenix turns against Darkseid and drags him to the Source Wall to become part of it. 1st appearance: Dark Phoenix/’Jean Grey’, Darkseid, Deathstroke/Slade Wilson, Teen Titans (Changeling/Garfield Logan, Cyborg/Victor Stone, Kid Flash/Wally West, Raven, Robin/Dick Grayson, Starfire/Koriand’r, Wonder Girl/Donna Troy), X-Men (Colossus/Piotr Rasputin, Cyclops/Dark Phoenix/Scott Summers, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Professor X/Charles Xavier, Sprite/Kitty Pryde, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/Logan) |
| Conan, İlkel Zamanların Yenilmez Savaşçısı #57 (1983) While travelling through time, Conan encounters Superman. Note: This is an issue of the Turkish comic ‘Conan, Invincible Warrior of the Primordial Times‘ | |
| ✔ | Superman/Spider-Man #1 [3/8] (2026) Superboy-Prime of Earth-Prime drops into Earth-7642 grabs Spider-Man and uses his Spider-Sense to help him find the perfect moments to punch through reality and offer the web-slinger up as a replacement to the High Evolutionary so he can buy his escape! Spidey convinces Superboy-Prime to help him defeat the High Evolutionary in the hope they’ll escape together. 1st appearance: High Evolutionary/Herbert Wyndham (Earth-7642) |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event/Crossover |
| ✔ | Batman/Punisher #1 (1994) Punisher/Batman #1 (1994) On Earth-7642, the Punisher and the new Batman (Jean-Paul Valley) cross paths while both searching for Jigsaw; Punisher and Batman clash but join forces to save Gotham City; the Joker helps Jigsaw escape and plots with him to become Gotham’s new crimelords; the Punisher and the original Batman pursue them both, but fall out over the Punisher’s methods; Batman defeats the Punisher and puts a stop to the Joker’s plan. 1st appearance: Batman/Jean-Paul Valley, Jigsaw/Billy Russo, Punisher/Frank Castle, Robin/Tim Drake | DEADLY KNIGHTS |
| ✔ | Spider-Man/Superman #1 [4/9] (2026) On Earth-7642, the Thing recounts how Saturn Queen of the Legion of Super-Villains gave Mysterio a Red Lantern Power Battery which causes an all-out war between the heroes and villains; Captain America, Green Lantern, She-Hulk, Stargirl, Superman and the Thing join forces to turn the tide! 1st appearance: Bizarro, Blob/Fred J Dukes (cameo), Cloak/Tyrone Johnson (cameo), Dagger/Tandy Bowen (cameo), Eclipso/Kaala (cameo), Legion of Super-Heroes (cameo – Blok, Chlorophyll Kid/Ral Benem, Colossal Boy/Gim Allon, Comet Queen/Grava, Cosmic Boy/Rokk Krinn, Dawnstar, Fire Lad/Staq Mavien, Lightning Lass/Ayla Ranzz, Mon-El/Lar Gand, Polar Boy/Brek Bannin, Rainbow Girl/Don Aandraison, Saturn Girl/Imra Ardeen, Stone Boy/Dag Wentim, Ultra Boy/Jo Nah, Wildfire/Drake Burroughs), Lizard/Curt Conners (cameo), Saturn Queen/Eve Aries, She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters, Spider-Man/Miles Morales (cameo), Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew (cameo), Star-God/John Jameson, Superboy/Conner Kent (cameo), Red Lantern Power Battery | |
| ✔ | Spider-Man and Batman #1 (1996) On Earth-7642, an experimental procedure appears to cure Carnage and the Joker of their insanity; the Carnage Symbiote removes the chip controlling Cletus Kasady’s behaviour and does the same for the Joker; Batman and Spider-Man join forces when the two villains are unleashed on the world together; the villains are defeated, though Spider-Man comes close to killing the Joker. 1st appearance: Carnage/Cletus Kasady | |
| ✔ | Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1 (1996) DC Vs Marvel #1 (1996) Marvel vs DC #2-3 (1996) On Earth-616, the Silver Surfer battles the Cyborg Superman and Parallax while Terrax and Thanos emerge on New Earth and face the new Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner); the mingling of universes results in both universe overlapping and reality being altered; heroes from Earth-616 (the mainstream Marvel Universe) battle heroes from New Earth (the mainstream DC Universe) until the two realities completely merge to become the Amalgam Universe. 1st appearance: Access/Axel Asher, Amazon/Ororo of Themyscira, Brothers, Dark Claw/Logan Wayne, Deadeye/William Lawton, Doctor Doomsday/Victor von Doom, Doctor StrangeFate/Charles Xavier, Lethal/Sergei Minerva, Nightcreeper/Kurt Ryder, Spider-Boy/Peter Ross, Super Soldier/Clark Kent, Wraith/Todd LeBeau, Amalgam Universe/Earth-9602/Earth-496/Earth 1996 | DC VERSUS MARVEL |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event/Crossover |
| Generation Hex #1 (1997) Earth-9602/Earth 1996 is revealed to have its own history with mutant heroes in the old west. 1st appearance: Generation Hex, Razormen, Bat Trask | RETURN TO THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS | |
| ✔ | Super-Soldier: Man of War #1 (1997) The Super Soldier emerges in World War II. 1st appearance: All-Star Winners Squadron, Major Zemo | RETURN TO THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS |
| ✔ | Doctor StrangeFate #1 (1996) Super Soldier #1 (1996) X-Patrol #1 (1996) Bullets and Bracelets #1 (1996) Spider-Boy #1 (1996) Bruce Wayne, Agent of SHIELD #1 (1996) The man called Access holds the key to the Marvel and DC Universes being restored, so Doctor StrangeFate makes a failed attempt to eliminate him; we meet a number of heroes from the web-shooting clone called Spider-Boy to the mutant team X-Patrol. 1st appearance: Betty Brant, Computo, Dr Otto Octavius, Green Skull/Lex Luthor, Rex Leech, New York Special Crimes Unit (Borooklyn Barnes, Roxy Leech, Sam Makoa, Flash Thompson), Punisher/Trevor Castle, SHIELD/ Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, Bruce Wayne, X-Patrol (Beastling/Hank Logan, Niles Cable, Dial HUSK/Paige Guthrie, Elasti-Girl/Janet van Dyne, Ferro Man/Piotr Rasputin, Shatterstarfire/Koriand’ru), Project Cadmus | THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS |
| Bat-Thing #1 (1997) The Bat-Thing terrorises New Gotham City. 1st appearance: Bat-Thing | RETURN TO THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event/Crossover |
| ✔ | Amazon #1 (1996) Legends of the Dark Claw #1 (1996) Assassins #1 (1996) Magneto and the Metal Men #1 (1996) JLX #1 (1996) On Earth-9602/Earth 1996, solo heroes like the Dark Claw and Amazon fight to protect the world around them while teams like the JLX and Magneto and the Metal Men handle much larger threats. 1st appearance: Catsei/Elektra Kyle, Dare the Terminator/Slade Murdock, Diana of ThemiscyraJLX/Justice League X-Men (Apollo/Ray Summers, Firebird/Beatriz Grey, Aqua-Mariner/Arthur McKenzie, Mercury/Pietro Allen, Mister X/J’onn J’onzz, Runaway), Judgment League Avengers (Angelhawk/Warren Hall, Canary/Dinah Barton, Captain Marvel/William Mar-Vell, Goliath/Oliver Queen, Hawkeye Clinton Archer), Magneto/Erik Magnus, Magnetic Men (Antimony/Deborah Walker, Bismuth/Snapper Jones, Cobalt/Lucius Richmond, Iron/John Henry Steel, Nickel/Lance Vale), Will Magnus, Sparrow/Jubilation Lee | THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS |
| ✔ | Lobo the Duck #1 (1997) Spider-Boy Team-Up #1 (1997) Challengers of the Fantastic #1 (1997) Exciting X-Patrol #1 (1997) Dark Claw Adventures #1 (1997) Spider-Boy travels to the future, Dark Claw’s past comes back to haunt him and the Challengers of the Fantastic gain superpowers. 1st appearance: Brother Brood/Sebastian Brood, Doctor Bongface, Galactiac/Galan Dox, Gold Kidney-Lady, Impossible Dawg, Jericho/Niles Cable/Niles Dayspring, Lady Talia, Kang the Time-Conqueror, Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099, Lobo the Duck, Silver Racer/William Lincoln, Spider-Boy/Mig-El Gand, Terra-X/Terra Murdock | RETURN TO THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS |
| Speed Demon #1 (1996) Blaze Allen becomes the demonic speedster Speed Demon. 1st appearance: Speed Demon/Blaze Allen, Speed Demon/Kid Demon/Wally West, Uata the Guardian | THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS | |
| Infestation 2 Team-Up #1 (2012, IDW) Archibald the Alien and Bat-Boy end up in what is unmistakably the Amalgam Universe – though this obviously is an unofficial appearance. | INFESTATION 2 |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event/Crossover |
| ✔ | Thorion of the New Asgods #1 (1997) Iron Lantern #1 (1997) Magnetic Men featuring Magneto #1 (1997) JLX Unleashed #1 (1997) The Judgement League Avengers butt heads with the Justice League X-Men; more solo heroes and super-teams emerge to fight the villains of the Amalgam Universe. 1st appearance: Fin Fang Flame, Hellfire League of Injustice, Iron Lantern/Hal Stark, HECTOR, L’ok D’saad, Madame Sapphire/Peper Ferris, Mandarinestro, Sinister Society (Vance Cosmic, Black Vulture, Chemodam, Deathborg, Kultron, Quasimodox, Soniklaw), Thorion/Celestial | RETURN TO THE AMALGAM AGE OF COMICS |
| Deadpool/Batman #1 [7/7] (2025) On Earth-9602/Earth 1996, the mutant bounty hunter Logo kills Kultron before hopping on his Weapon XXX cycle and leaving a warning for Super Soldier. 1st appearance: Kultron, Logo, Obituary Bar | ||
| ✔ | DC Vs Marvel #4 (1996) Access restores the DC and Marvel Universes; only Access, Batman and Captain America remember the events they experienced. | DC VERSUS MARVEL |
| ✔ | Silver Surfer/Superman #1 (1997) On New Earth, the Impossible Man and Mister Mxyzptlk swap opponents, with Impy making Superman believe he’s returned to Krypton and Mxyzptlk trapping the Silver Surfer on Earth-616 in a miniature Metropolis; Impossible Man soon joins forces with Superman and the Silver Surfer in stopping Mister Mxyzptlk when his goals are revealed to be too malicious for the shapeshifting Poppupian. |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event/Crossover |
| ✔ | DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4 (1996-1997) On Earth-616, Doctor StrangeFate of the Amalgam Universe hides within Doctor Strange’s subconscious; battling Access in his efforts to restore the Amalgam Universe, Doctor StrangeFate creates new Amalgams; Doctor Strange finds a way to restore the Earth-9602. 1st appearance: Caitlin Fitzgerald | |
| ✔ | Daredevil and Batman #1 (1997) On Earth-7642, Two-Face implants Mister Hyde with an experimental microchip; despite their differences, Daredevil and Batman join forces long enough to save Hyde’s life and put an end to Two-Face’s plans. 1st appearance: Daredevil/Matt Murdock, Mister Hyde/Calvin Zabo, Two-Face/Harvey Dent | |
| ✔ | Batman and Spider-Man #1 (1997) Unlimited Access #1 (pp.1-8) (1997) Access continues to prevent the Marvel and DC Universe from merging and secretly helps resolve a team up with Spider-Man and Batman on Earth-7642 when the Kingpin forms an alliance with Ra”s Al Ghul; heroes from both multiverses start switching worlds again. 1st appearance: Kingpin/Wilson Fisk, Ra’s al Ghul | UNLIMITED ACCESS |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event/Crossover |
| Green Lantern #87 (1997) Access jumps to New Earth in search of Kyle Rayner, but he’s off-planet | ||
| ✔ | Unlimited Access #1 (pp.9-22) (1997) Unlmited Access #2-4 (1998) Heroes from both multiverses continue to switch worlds and create new Amalgams when Darkseid of New Earth manipulates Access’ evil future self. 1st appearance: Access (Earth-98321), Brotherhood of Evil Gods, Redwing/Warren Drake, Spider-Clones, X-League | UNLIMITED ACCESS |
| Spider-Man/Superman #1 [5/9] (2026) On Earth-7642, the Hobgoblin steals Steel’s Steel Dust invention which he uses to make himself invisible; but the Dust disrupts Hobbie’s Glider and a hammer from Thor finishes the job. 1st appearance: Hobgoblin/Roderick Kingsley, Steel/John Henry Irons | ||
| ✔ | Superman/Fantastic Four #1 (1999) Superman travels to Earth-616 when he learns Galactus was responsible for the destruction of Krypton; he seeks out the Fantastic Four’s advice; Cyborg Superman applies to become Galactus’ latest Herald only for Superman to take the role; the Fantastic Four free Superman from his servitude to Galactus and learns the cosmic devouerer didn’t consume Krypton. |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event/Crossover |
| ✔ | Incredible Hulk vs Superman #1 (1999) On Earth-7642, Superman recalls the first time he met the Hulk (which precedes his first run-in with Spider-Man); in the Hulk’s early days, Lex Luthor tried to manipulate Hulk into defeating Superman for him. | |
| ✔ | Batman/Daredevil: King of New York #1 (2000) On Earth-7642, Batman interferes in Daredevil’s long-running sting operation, leading to a fight between the two crime-fighters; they join forces again when the Scarecrow tries to take the Kingpin’s place as the crimelord of New York. 1st appearance: Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Scarecrow/Jonathan Crane | |
| ✔ | Deadpool/Batman #1 [4/7] (2025) On Earth-7642, Daredevil and Green Arrow are chased through Hell’s Kitchen by the Hand, the League of Shadows and Count Vertigo. 1st appearance: Count Vertigo/Werner Zytle, Green Arrow/Oliver Queen, League of Shadows | |
| ✔ | JLA/Avengers #1 (2003) Avengers/JLA #2 (2003) JLA/Avengers #3 (2003) Avengers/JLA #4 (2004) The Avengers of Earth-616 clash with the Justice League of America of New Earth when Krona and the Grandmaster test the teams against each other for a wager; they’re coerced into tracking down 12 items of power between their two universes; Krona betrays the Grandmaster and tries to merge the universes; the Avengers and JLA form an alliance, defeat Krona and save both universes from destruction. | JLA/AVENGERS |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances |
| Batman/Deadpool 1 [4/5] (2025) On Earth-7642, the Hulk chases a robotic RAT into a toxic waste planet; Harley Quinn gives chase and helps Hulk fight off toxically-animated killer hot dogs. 1st appearance: Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel, ‘RAT’/’Robot Alien Thingy’ | |
| ✔ | Batman/Deadpool 1 [2/5] (2025) John Constantine crosses from Earth Prime to Earth-616 to steal the Eye of Agamotto from Doctor Strange; but his efforts to end the war between Mephisto and Neron – a war that spills out of two Hells, pitting Ghost Rider against the Swamp Thing – can’t be ended by Constantine alone; Strange steps in to help Constantine save all magic across both planes. |
| Flash/Fantastic Four #1 (DC Universe Infinite Exclusive) On Earth-7642, Gorilla Grodd controls the Flash‘s mind, using him as a pawn to break into the Baxter Building and steal Mister Fantastic‘s mental amplifier tech; Grodd switches control from Barry Allen to various members of the FF until the combined might of the heroes – as well as Jay Garrick, Impulse and Wally West – defeat him. 1st appearance: Abra Kadabra/Citizen Abra, Doctor Elemental/Professor Hughes, Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Susan Richards, Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm), Flash/Barry Allen, Flash/Jay Garrick, Gorilla Grodd, Impulse/Bart Allen, Professor Zoom/Reverse-Flash/Eobard Thawne, the Rogues (Captain Boomerang/George ‘Digger’ Harkness, Captain Cold/Leonard Snart, Heat Wave/Mick Rory) | |
| Batman/Deadpool #1 [1/5] (2025) Eternity of Earth-616 and Kismet of Earth-0 meet at the Singularities Bar, allowing Cassandra Nova to jump to Earth-0 and manipulate Batman into seeking out the Quantum Keyboard; the Time Variance Authority hire Deadpool to beat Batman to it; but Batman and Deadpool face alternate versions of themselves – including Dark Claw and Deadbat of the Amalgam Universe – until they learn they’re all working at the whims of the mysterious Writer who controls everything. 1st appearance: Deadbat (Amalgam Universe/Earth-9602/Earth-496/Earth 1996), Victor Gover (Prime Earth/Earth-0), Kismet/Ahti (Prime Earth/Earth-0), Writer/Grant Morrison (unknown Earth) Note: This story is set circa the equivalent of the Earth-0 period of the DC Universe, between the reintroduction of the multiverse in ‘Dark Nights: Death Metal’, going some way to explaining why Batman and Deadpool don’t seem to recognise each other when they next meet. | |
| Spider-Man/Superman #1 [1/9] (2026) On Earth-7642, Spider-Man and Superman are trapped under rubble with a Kryptonite-spewing Pumpkin Bomb; they escape, but are surrounded by villains… and Superman becomes the host for the Venom Symbiote; the heroes discover each other’s identities and find out what makes them tick! 1st appearance: Electro/Max Dillon (cameo), Gwen Stacey (cameo), Taskmaster/Anthony Masters (cameo) | |
| ✔ | Batman/Deadpool 1 [3/5] (2025) On Earth-7642, Laura & Gabby Kinney’s visit to Gotham takes a dark turn when Gabby is kidnapped by Killer Croc; unable to find Batman, Laura – in her Wolverine guise – locates Nightwing and heads into the sewers where they rescue Gabby and her pet wolverine, Jonathan the Unstoppable. 1st appearance: Jonathan the Unstoppable, Killer Croc/Waylon Jones, Scout/Gabby Kinney, Wolverine/Laura Kinney |
| Deadpool/Batman #1 [3/7] (2025) On Earth-7642, Krypto plays an intense game of volleyball with Jeff the Land Shark. 1st appearance: Jeff the Land Shark, Krypto | |
| ✔ | Deadpool/Batman #1 [1/7] (2025) Deadpool of Earth-616 is transported to Prime Earth to kill Batman on the Joker‘s behalf. |
| ✔ | Deadpool/Batman #1 [5/7] (2025) On Earth-7642, Rocket Racoon is seconded from the Guardians of the Galaxy to the Green Lantern Corps. 1st appearance: Green Lantern/Parallax/Hal Jordan, Guardians of the Universe, Nova/Richard Rider, Parallax Entity, Salaak, Thaal Sinestro, Thanos |
| Batman/Deadpool 1 [5/5] (2025) On Earth-7642, Static rushes to New Jersey in the hope of meeting Ms Marvel when the city is attacked by a giant mutated sewer monster. 1st appearance: Jean Hawkins, Robert Hawkins, Muneeba Khan, Yusuf Khan, Ms Marvel/Kamala Khan, Static/Virgil Hawkins | |
| Superman/Spider-Man #1 [7/8] (2026) On Earth-7642, J Jonah Jameson and Lois Lane debate bias on Jack Ryder’s show. Jonah’s unaware Spider-Man and Superman are in the room with him! 1st appearance: Jack Ryder |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances |
| ✔ | Superman/Spider-Man #1 [1/8] (2026) On Earth-7642, Doctor Octopus – revealed to be alive – is offered a chance to prove his genius to the galaxy by Brainiac! Doc Ock steals ‘Fast Neutron’ tech from STAR Labs, along with the Kryptonite used to power it. Brainiac needs help exporting an alien mind virus into another vessel – namely the people of Metropolis! Spider-Man faces Brainiac who’s protecting the broadcast device on Earth, while Superman battles Doctor Octopus and his synthetic-Kryptonite tentacle upgrades aboard Brainiac’s Skull Ship. 1st appearance: Dr Jenet Klyburn, STAR Labs |
| ✔ | Superman/Spider-Man #1 [2/8] (2026) On Earth-7642, reporter Lois Lane and model Mary Jane Watson reveal they’re each other’s biggest fans while Spider-Man stops the bus they’re on from falling into the Golden Gate Strait! Superman tackles the Sentinel that caused it, with help from Gambit. MJ and Lois swap war stories. |
| ✔ | Superman/Spider-Man #1 [6/8] (2026) On Earth-7642, Spider-Man and Superman compare notes on the men who raised them, unaware that Jonathan Kent and Ben Parker rescued two kids swept away by a storm in Smallville, years earlier. 1st appearance: Jonathan Kent, Ben Parker (full) |
| It’s Jeff/Aquaman #1 On Earth-7642, Aquaman and Titanus help Jeff the Land Shark reduce Ken the Kaiju in size by using magic cakes. 1st appearance: Ken the Kaiju, Titanus | |
| ✔ | Supergirl/Blade #1 Mojo complies with the algorithm to offer his audience a romance story by plucking Blade (of Earth-616) and Supergirl (of Prime Earth) from their respective universes; Supergirl is weakened with Kryptonite, so Blade kills vampires who are out for her blood; Blade’s abilities cure Supergirl and allow them both to shut Mojo down! |
| Spider-Man/Superman #1 [6/9] (2026) On Earth-7642, Ghost-Spider comes to Metropolis to get Superman’s autograph; instead, she meets Supergirl who was hoping Spider-Man would be in town; things get competitive when they take on Livewire together. 1st appearance: Ghost-Spider/Gwen Stacy, Livewire/Leslie Willis, Supergirl/Kara Zor-El | |
| Spider-Man/Superman #1 [7/9] (2026) On Earth-7642, Spider-Man (Miles Morales) finds Superman struggling with the combined forces of Brainiac and Dormammu; somehow, Superman finds time to give Spider-Man some advice before they both join forces to take on the two villains in a fight we don’t see. 1st appearance: Dormammu, Spider-Man/Miles Morales | |
| Spider-Man/Superman #1 [8/9] (2026) On Earth-7642, Darkseid has taken Odin prisoner and used him to depower Thor; now, Jane Foster has been transformed into Thor by Mjolnir and must team up with Wonder Woman to free Earth from Darkseid’s Symbiote-infected Parademons! 1st appearance: Odin Borson, Thor/Jane Foster | |
| ✔ | Superman/Spider-Man #1 [5/8] (2026) On Earth-7642 (or, more likely, a divergent version of that reality), Jimmy Olsen’s new boss, J Jonah Jameson, orders him to get new photos of Spider-Man! Jimmy mistakes Carnage for Spidey and it costs him dearly. |
| ✔ | Deadpool/Batman #1 [2/7] (2025) On an unspecified Earth, Wonder Woman recalls her lengthy history fighting alongside Captain America. 1st appearance: Captain America/Steve Rogers, Wonder Woman/Diana Prince |
| Deadpool/Batman #1 [6/7] (2025) On an unspecified Earth, Old Man Logan faces off against the returning Dark Knight, Batman. 1st appearance: Batman/Bruce Wayne, Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett | |
| ✔ | Superman/Spider-Man #1 [4/8] (2026) On Earth-7642 circa 2039, a future incarnation of Spider-Man from 2099 swings around Gotham City, sabotaging sinister corporations like LexCorp and Alchemax who’ll one-day fund Doom. A time-lost Superboy who’s fought alongside the Legion of Super-Heroes and the Batman (Terry McGinnis) of another future agree to take Spidey into space to face the combined Lex Luthor/Brainiac at the Source Wall! 1st appearance: Batman/‘Batman Beyond’/Terry McGinnis (Earth-7642), Spider-Man/‘Spider-Man 2099’/Miguel O’Hara (Earth-7642) |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| DC Versus Marvel Omnibus | Batman & Captain America #1 Batman and Spider-Man #1 Batman/Daredevil: King of New York #1 Batman/Punisher #1 Daredevil and Batman #1 Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger #1 DC Special Series #27: Batman vs The Incredible Hulk Green Lantern/Silver Surfer #1 Incredible Hulk vs Superman #1 Marvel Treasury Edition #28: Superman and Spider-Man Punisher/Batman #1 Silver Surfer/Superman #1 Spider-Man and Batman #1 Superman/Fantastic Four #1 Superman vs the Amazing Spider-Man #1 Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1 |
| DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus | Amazon #1 Assassins #1 Bat Thing #1 Bruce Wayne Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 Bullets and Bracelets #1 Challengers of the Fantastic #1 Dark Claw Adventures #1 DC Versus Marvel #1-4 DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4 Doctor StrangeFate #1 Exciting X-Patrol #1 Generation Hex #1 Iron Lantern #1 JLX Unleashed #1 Legends of the Dark Claw #1 Lobo the Duck #1 Magnetic Men featuring Magneto #1 Speed Demon #1 Spider-Boy #1 Spider-Boy Team-Up #1 Super Soldier #1 Super Soldier: Man of War #1 Thorion of New Asgods #1 Unlimited Access #1-4 X-Patrol #1 |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Marvel/DC Crossover Classics vol.1 | DC Special Series #27: Batman vs The Incredible Hulk Marvel Treasury Edition #28: Superman and Spider-Man Superman vs The Amazing Spider-Man #1 Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1 |
| Marvel/DC Crossover Classics vol.2 | Batman & Captain America #1 Batman/Punisher #1 Punisher/Batman #1 Silver Surfer/Superman #1 |
| Marvel/DC Crossover Classics vol.3 | Daredevil and Batman #1 Gen13/Fantastic Four #1 Generation X/Gen 13 #1 Incredible Hulk vs Superman #1 Spider-Man and Batman #1 Team X/Team 7 #1 |
| Marvel/DC Crossover Classics vol.4 | Batman and Spider-Man #1 Darkseid vs Galactus: The Hunger #1 Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1 Superman/Fantastic Four #1 |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| DC Versus Marvel Comics | DC Versus Marvel #1, 4 Marvel Versus DC #2-3 |
| The Amalgam Age of Comics: The DC Collection | Amazon #1 Assassins #1 Doctor StrangeFate #1 JLX #1 Legends of the Dark Claw #1 Super Soldier #1 |
| The Amalgam Age of Comics: The Marvel Collection | Bruce Wayne Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 Bullets and Bracelets #1 Magneto and the Magnetic Men #1 Speed Demon #1 Spider-Boy #1 X-Patrol #1 |
| Return to the Amalgam Age of Comics: The DC Comics Collection | Bat Thing #1 Dark Claw Adventures #1 Generation Hex #1 JLX Unleashed #1 Lobo the Duck #1 Super Soldier: Man of War #1 |
| Return to the Amalgam Age of Comics: The Marvel Collection | Challengers of the Fantastic #1 Exciting X-Patrol #1 Iron Lantern #1 Magnetic Men featuring Magneto #1 Spider-Boy Team-Up #1 Thorion of New Asgods #1 |
| JLA/Avengers JLA/Avengers Collected Edition Slipcase | JLA/Avengers #1, 3 Avengers/JLA #2, 4 |
| DC/Marvel: The Cosmic Kiss Caper & Other Stories | Batman/Deadpool #1 Flash/Fantastic Four #1 Supergirl/Blade #1 Superman/Spider- Man #1 |
| Marvel/DC: The Dead Of Knight & Other Stories | Deadpool/Batman #1 It’s Jeff/Aquaman #1 Spider-Man/Superman #1, Thor/Shazam! #1 |
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2023
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