MARVEL VS. DC - The Ultimate Comic Book Crossover

In this video, Owen explains the history of the 1996 comic book, DC vs. Marvel, how this epic crossover came to be and the real story behind the Amalgam Comics universe.
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▶ Special thanks to @NerdSyncProductions and @patrickhwillems for providing additional voiceover.
▶ Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
2:09 - Decades in the Making
6:45 - A Battle For the Ages
11:14 - Amalgam Comics
15:25 - Conclusion
18:50 - Outro
▶ Music Used:
Music from freetousemusic.com
‘Waiting’ by ‘Lukrembo’
/ waiting
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/ sugiwa-memories
#Marvel #DC #ComicBooks

[@OwenLikesComics]

▶ If you enjoyed this video, consider supporting Owen Likes Comics on Patreon: www.patreon.com/owenlikescomics

[@zero28ism]

The fact that DC writers "teased" a future crossover with marvel in Doomsday clock but that couldn't happen stills saddens me. It would be amazing to see another crossover

[@nightblockprimecraft9284]

And then there’s Thor herald of galactic which teases the dc universe

[@zero28ism]

@@nightblockprimecraft9284 when did that one come out?

[@joshuaforde1043]

Not writers. Just Geoff Johns, the writer of the story. A few years back he was DC Ent. President and CCO and he was friendly with Kevin Feige. Since then, Feige became more powerful at Marvel. Even getting influence over the comics division. But Johns is no longer with DC since he and Whedon fucked up Justice League.

[@mayotango1317]

@@joshuaforde1043 Only Whedon try to save Justice League movie from the edgy crap of Snyder.

[@SSJerry]

@@mayotango1317 Funny how that movie is only appreciated when it comes to the Snyder Cut though lol

[@bpo1975]

DC VS. MARVEL was a lot of fun but JLA/AVENGERS is still the gold standard of what an epic intercompany crossover should be.

[@taofist]

Hear hear!!!

[@madbug1965]

That series definitely showed how much more powerful the DC heroes are than the Marvel heroes.

[@hineschris9934]

I love the stories that act like the characters have always existed in the same universe and just haven't acknowledged each other yet. Spiderman and Batman: Disordered Minds is a personal favorite

[@owensreviews625]

Man, how cool would it be if Marvel and DC announced that they would be bringing back Amalgam Comics. That would literally break the internet.

[@modmaker7617]

A simple Marvel/DC movie crossover would break the internet more.

[@nunouno001]

It would be awesome! Good luck getting Disney and WarnerMedia to green light the project when they hate each other.

[@duckmurai]

I believe Marvel had recently done this with Infinity Warps. Where they fuse 2 Marvel heroes into one. Sure. no DC heroes involved. But it's the same concept of Amalgam Comics.

[@xavierwalko4175]

With how much of a trainwreak the MCU has become, maybe lol

[@outpostalpha]

I had a copy of the trade collection of DC vs. Marvel as a kid and I was OBSESSED with it. Nice to see it getting some attention all these years later.

[@tomthespaceknerd5396]

Same. I still have my copy. But as a kid it just seemed amazing. Nowadays I can see it a bit more critically but it's still an extremely fun ride and was my initial gateway to DC after being a rigid Marvel fanboy for several years.

[@marcobarreto3847]

I wish they made a fighting game of the two companies. That would be sick AF! People would loose their heads over it haha

[@OwenLikesComics]

A Marvel vs. DC fighting game would be fun!

[@evandavid2816]

@@OwenLikesComics Imagine if at the end of the next Injustice game (if there is one) a dimensional portal opens up, but instead of a Boom Tube, it's one of Doctor Strange's, and a battered and weary Silver Surfer and/or Spider-Man comes through saying '...We need your help...Galactus is coming for both our worlds...', yes...? (Of course, we need to have an Injustice 3 game guest-starring He-Man and the Thundercats first, but I digress...!).

[@marcobarreto3847]

@@OwenLikesComics Just imagine all the costumes for each of them, pulled directly from the comics, movies and other video games 👌

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

Netherworld studios should do a dc vs marvel Capcom should do marvel va dc

[@statesminds]

Immediately what I thought!

[@jamesmoss3424]

That was a big event in comic books back in the 90's.😀👍

[@tjcarr8097]

I remember getting everyone involved in my school to vote on the outcome of the matchups in this crossover! We literally predicted the outcome solely based on popularity!

[@OwenLikesComics]

That's really cool, it must have been really exciting being a kid when this was coming out!

[@user-pq6mr6op3p]

Bullshit

[@themangoman9315]

It's going to happen again mark my words crossovers make money, dc and marvel would be crazy not to do it

[@nunouno001]

Yes, once Disney and WarnerMedia agree to green light the project. Good luck with that.

[@themangoman9315]

@@nunouno001 true

[@wiseguy3675]

@@nunouno001 If the movies ever begin to slump like the comics did in the mid 90's, and they both become desperate enough, a mediator, like James Gunn maybe, could bring them together.

[@StudioInkblot]

The reason it might not happen is they have to split production costs and profits, as well as the fact that neither company would own it outright

[@nightblockprimecraft9284]

Are you aware of the planned transformer x DC crossover that got scrapped because of the new 52? It’s interesting that they paired with dc given the various crossovers with marvel due to the comics’ origins

[@evandavid2816]

Yeah, too bad this never happened...Green Lantern Optimus Prime would have been awesome, yes...?!

[@nightblockprimecraft9284]

@@evandavid2816 Megatron killing superman and invisible jet being a seeker? Count me down.

[@omarsalem1219]

We Got robbed of seeing batman and prowl work together for The sake of the new 52?! Exuse Me I need to go break something

[@nightblockprimecraft9284]

@@omarsalem1219 be like prowl and flip a table

[@CthulhuChow]

dude, cover the canceled Alex Ross Star Wars/DC crossover. i got to see the original art displayed at a local museum and it was glorious!

[@Magnus1964]

I picked up a lot of the crossovers between the two companies, and enjoyed most of them. I was saddened by Joe Quesada putting an end to those in order to revive a rivalry that never really existed. The creators tended to be friends, and that didn’t change if they left one company to work for the other. DC & Marvel fans aren’t exactly the Sharks & the Jets…

[@j10ant]

I appreciate the restraint shown in not mentioning the bizarre crop top costume Thor is admirable. It’s certainly more bizarre than any of the amalgam characters.

[@OwenLikesComics]

No words of mine could do it justice, honestly. It speaks for itself.

[@xavierwalko4175]

@@OwenLikesComics That or it could be a future video...

[@kenm.a.d.7196]

Man imagine if we could get something like this with the Cinematic Universes

[@silence_dais]

I'm still sad that Amalgam never really got explored and probably never will outside of fanfiction unless one company buys out the other which is still not a guarantee. The only other way would be writers from both companies pulling a sanctioned version of Image where they can play with the Amalgam universe without needing to do another huge event every time and that is a pipe dream.

[@MattDraper]

Yelling "FUSION!" and pointing my fingers to the side to try and make an amalgam with Owen.

[@OwenLikesComics]

What would our Amalgamated name be?

[@evandavid2816]

@@OwenLikesComics How about Matt Likes Comics, or is that too simple...?

[@leninmccarthy5654]

I enjoyed this vid but I was expecting it be about the Avengers vs JLA story, I'd almost forgotten about this story! I'm surprised DC vs Marvel was more popular and better remembered than Avengers vs JLA as I thought the latter was far superior!

[@fernando2236]

Dude I got all 4 issues, that story was amazing

[@JohnSydney225]

It's probably because this was flat out "DC vs Marvel/Marvel vs DC" compared to "JLA/Avengers" since the former gives people the impression that this is the entire universe of both companies while the ladder is just the big teams of both companies.

[@davidhalstead402]

Great video, I hope you do another on JLA/Avengers which is arguably a better Marvel and DC crossover which is a little less well known.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Definitely, I'd be more than happy to cover it if people want me to!

[@SuhaylKhatib]

I would love it!

[@Akuma07]

Please do!

[@foboman2003]

Finally someone who aknowledges it.

[@the_well-known_stranger2275]

@@OwenLikesComics please do

[@zthemartian616]

That Martian Manhunter and Firestorm vs Thing and Human Torch fight was never shown sadly lol

[@ItsWinterProductions]

The trade paperback of this was one of the first comic books I ever got. It was a great introduction to the worlds of Marvel and DC and got me invested in many of their characters. I'd say this is one of my favourite comic books of all time for that

[@TheChrisHype]

The Amalgam Universe still, to this day, is one of the coolest concepts I have ever seen done in comic books. It’s so simple, yet creative at the same time. I wish this would be something of an annual event that would be revisited between Marvel and DC.

[@juliagoodwin9510]

I love this comic, especially since it helped get me into comics. Really wish there was more Marvel/DC crossovers, too bad business rivalry keeps getting in the way...

[@SpoonDude]

This is a really fun event. A lot of it is super dumb but hey that's part of the fun. Also looking back at this in modern day, it's fun to see the 90s versions of the characters clash, especially Ben Reilly as Spider-man being paired with Superman's clone Superboy. Also, aside from maybe Spidey, Marvel's top seller was the X-men back then so it's not surprising 2/3rds of the DC trinity were amalgamated with X-men. I imagine if they did amalgam in modern times (however unlikely a new DC/Marvel crossover is), the trinity would probably be merged with Cap along with Thor and Ironman.

[@frogmouth2]

Pairing up the guy gets his powers from lighting with the guy who controls lighting… real fair matchups guys.

[@omegabeyond5390]

The semi-crossover that happened within the pages of Multiversity was pretty great. The Avengers' stand ins accomplished the same thrill of seeing those characters interact without drawing too much away from the main narrative and focus on the DC characters.

[@ericjohnson9623]

Even as a kid, I remember being baffled Spider-Man was paired up (in both the fight and Amalgam mash-up) with Superboy. I like Connor on Young Justice and all, but even at the height of his fame, no way was he ever going to be a match against Spidey in a fan poll. They weren't even conceptually very similar characters, Peter/Ben were both much older than Connor and while Ben shared the clone thing in common with him, Ben was supposed to have been the real Spidey at this time. I didn't really understand the Ben Reilly thing as a kid and now that I am more familiar with Spidey life, I guess I get WHY a little more but I still feel like he should have been paired off with Batman or The Flash or someone closer to his popularity level. Also, how much more proof do you need that 90s was the Age of Mutants than Storm (and don't get me wrong I love Storm) beat *Wonder Woman* in a fan popularity poll? After Halle Berry's okay performance in the movies and Gal Gadot becoming this generation's Lynda Carter, I can't imagine that happening again. At least not till the MCU introduces Ororo... ;)

[@mannyfresh03]

Idk them being clones of more recognizable characters is enough for me. I also don’t think Ben was all that popular since they ended up killing him off

[@MisterGravelrama]

Interesting that Iron Man wasn't one of the main choices back then. It really shows how much the MCU boosted his stock over the last decade plus.

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

The battles were very lopsided due to how the characters were presented at that time. A mortal Thor vs CM. Harpoon Aquaman vs Namor. Kyle vs SS. Ben Reilly vs Superboy. And immortal Lobo vs Bone Claw Wolverine.

[@magnificentmarc707]

This was an epic Crossover, I enjoyed it a lot.

[@gsentinel4821]

Claudio Castellini's pencils made the other artists on this project (including Jergins) look like rank amateurs - they should have commissioned him to pencil the entire series - Castellini's highlights in the series were Spiderman vs Superboy and Hulk vs Superman - EPIC.

[@sadib100]

15:24 This story wasn't 15 years ago. It was 25.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Dear lord, what even is time anymore?

[@zemox2534]

I miss the Friendly competition between DC and Marvel comics.

[@BlackLaval]

The ultimate comic crossover is, I believe, Avengers vs JLA. That was a way better story than the empty flare of Marvel vs. DC.

[@duckmurai]

Hope to see you doing JLA/ Avengers as well

[@CoreUsGaming]

Thanks for recapping this Owen! A moment in time for sure! 🙌🏾

[@davidsalinas6393]

That Catwoman vs Elelktra was such a set up 😭 so nasty for that

[@cauegouveia]

Great video! There are also 2 other Marvel Vs DC series, and they are much more concise and with more breathing room for each character. Both give Access (the new hero) more space to guide the narrative (the third one even uses time travel and put the original JLA against the original Avengers. Please, make some videos about those too.

[@Nickz666]

I seen that pic of Darkclaw back when I was in high school and disregarded it as a fan made thing. This is wild.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

I know many mock the 90s era of comics but for one shining moment, we got a 4 issue run( before Perez fantastic A/JL comic) of Marvel taking on DC! It was fun, exciting and the Almagam fusion was excellebt! To this day, this run still gives me goosebumps!

[@shanelorrison5224]

RIP Mark Gruenwald

[@brendynb2367]

Hey happy thanksgiving man. Great video as always. Best comic videos out there

[@OwenLikesComics]

Thanks Brendan!

[@valysheev]

I need to get my hands on alot of these

[@user-mo3cd6jh2e]

You're in luck. They're making an omnibus.

[@ronb113]

Great video! I know DC vs Marvel gets a bad rap, but I’ve always had fun reading it.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nigelflood7074]

A dream Amalgam comics project would be to see an amalgam version of DC's Kingdom Come & Marvel's Earth X

[@YoItsMatt]

I could swear I’d heard there was an Amalgam Comics animated feature in the works at one point… no word on the legitimacy tho. Either way great vid, always love seeing content about this!

[@shadowvessel]

THIS was my favorite incarnation of DC and Marvel. I think the biggest problem was the Wolverine vs Lobo fight. A perfect example of "let the writers do their job" Lol

[@grrayfox2300]

Storm beating Wonder Woman was the most laughable for me

[@chriscampanozzi6516]

Very interesting. Thanks for the information.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Glad you enjoyed it, Chris!

[@deadpoolnerd]

I so wish amalgam comics was at least either a yearly event or special. Because it created so many fun characters out of it. So it'd be fun to see the more up to date heros or new heros amalgamated together.

[@evandavid2816]

Great job Owen, always loved this series, as for me it sort of captured both universes at their last pre-Hollywood peak if that makes sense, even if that meant that a few too many dodgy 90s costumes were undeservedly preserved for posterity...especially Thor's...!!! The Amalgam and Access sequel comics surrounding it were a lot of fun too - always surprised me that they never did a proper Batman/Wolverine crossover back in the day, as you'd have thought that would be an excuse to print money, but I guess they figured that Dark Claw couldn't be topped, eh...?! PS: Pretty please, do cover JLA/Avengers at some point, yes...?

[@joshheralal8758]

I wish the Big 2 would do something like this again.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Same here!

[@nunouno001]

They’d love to do another crossover. The problem is that Disney and Warner Bros hate each other and would never allow it.

[@jonmcinnis1645]

@@nunouno001 agree. And One word rights problems.

[@ivanguerrero8490]

You missed covering the two Access miniseries. There were a whole bunch of new Amalgams that appeared in those issues.

[@KenDAKL4ever]

This series had two sequels: All Access and Unlimited Access in case y'all don't know. You got to see JLA vs The X-Men, Superman and Spider-Man vs Venom and Batman confronting Dr. Strange, which played out like a great issue of The Brave and the Bold.

[@isuriadireja91]

aww...i still remember when this miniseries coming out. how i eagerly waited for each issue coming out. the cover of issue 2's just so epic.

[@SPIDERAVENGER616]

Imagine this comic being adapted on the big screen with both the mcu and dceu!

[@jaxsquier]

How come no one talks about JLA/Avengers?

[@Kevin_turner]

I remember reading this when I was a kid. I would love to see an animation on this story line. It would sell and make both companies $$$

[@mobyt.3900]

good stuff, let me add to the chorus for the JLA/Avengers crossover, Kurt Busiek and George Perez, man are you kidding me?

[@PrivateAccountXSG]

I think Marvel sales were actually quite good at this time, on the heels of the Clone Saga being critically terrible, but still selling like mad. DC was feeling the spectator bust by that time however, and could use the sales boost. Marvel was basically just happy to do the project, so it got green lit.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Marvel's fortunate definitely got worse after the series finished (filing for bankruptcy that December), and while they were faring better than DC, there was still a big benefit for them to do the crossover.

[@codernerd7076]

Talking about that clone sage who at marvel thought it was a good idea to make Spider-man's clone the main Spider-Man in the current series 😰

[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

I'm a little disappointed he didn't talked about the two followup limited series, "All Access" (published by DC) and "Unlimited Access" (published by Marvel).

[@Will-pg4bh]

Got the graphic novel of this for my tenth birthday! What a year that was

[@varis0843]

I'm sure we've all realised they now both exist as part of each others multiverse.

[@ArachKing]

They both exist in the wider Omniverse, but DC and Marvel have always had their own separate Multiverses.

[@sirenloud]

This takes me back I could even smell the comic book store

[@nigelflood7074]

Marvel and DC need to do another cross over , I miss Amalgam Comics they where such fun comics

[@mattchew6426]

I enjoyed the crossover and I own the comics as well as the graphic novel. It happened at a time when fan service was the main selling point, and both companies needed the sales. I still occasionally reread the Amalgam comics when I get bored...

[@TevyaSmolka]

I still maintained another marvel vs Dc comics crossover would be awesome because damn its been a very very long time since we had a marvel vs dc crossover and it drives me marvel and DC won't do another crossover.

[@squarepickle]

This wasn't 15 years ago, it was 25 years ago. Lol.

[@DrPluton]

I love crossover comics. I recently read the 2017 Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover from IDW and enjoyed it.

[@pious83]

0:25 That Namor face is haunting.... Personally, my favourite part of this project wasn't the crossover itself but the Amalgam Comics. I even bought the collected trades a couple of years ago. The worst part of it has to be Access though. Plot device characters have never really appealed to me.

[@Actorclown]

I have some of those Amalgam comics. Dark Claw is awesome. What are your thoughts on the JLA vs Avengers mini-series that came out in 2003. I love that one even more than Marvel vs DC.

[@OwenLikesComics]

JLA vs. Avengers is really good!

[@robertespley248]

That image of Superman weilding Mjolnir and Cap's shield was one of the main highlights in the series for me..... That and Hawkeye "hitting on " Black Canary 😀

[@stormhawk31]

Bought ALL of these when they came out, and EVERYTHING related, as long as they were doing it. It was terrible and WONDERFUL. I miss my collection.

[@Fireflash83]

I done some much art work from this book when I found it with the 51 and 52 series . And obsidian age story arch .. 😎

[@apersonwhomayormaynotexist9868]

The two cosmic brothers are meant to be the actual companies of DC and Marvel, right? Two giants, locked in combat, who have control over the respective universes, who cease their fighting and come together to pit their champions against each other, and who in the end cease their fighting, congratulating the other. It's the story of this event, and very meta overall

[@melvinbagby4221]

Batman didn't 'outsmart' Captain America in that story. Cap was defeated by fan votes, and even then it was bad luck. Had it gone the other way around, Batman would have lost by bad luck.

[@seankkg]

Thor's costume was wild at that time.

[@59rlmccormack]

Crossovers are the rage, no matter where you look.

[@ZeroAnalogy]

I watch too many nerd KZbin channels. I recognized both Scott's and Patrick's voice acting. Later verified after fully reading description.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Scott and Patrick are both great, and it's always a pleasure to have them involved in a video.

[@miche9611]

Nice, but you forgot to mention the most epic confrontation: Thanos Vs. Darkseid.

[@thepeanutgallery6100]

I used to have all of the DC vs Marvel books and all of the Amalgam books as well I loved all of them I wished I still had them.😩 Darkclaw will always be my favorite.

[@davehandelman2832]

Wolverine beating Lobo was disgusting.

[@emperorsean1]

Could never happen today sadly

[@douglasmcintosh464]

What would be great would be seeing a new villain that causes these two to intertwine and like the big team ups there are good guys v good guys but it would mainly be the good heroes fighting together in a justice avengers. and having darksied and thanos team up would be beyond bad ass

[@statesminds]

This was some Dragon Ball Super shit lol. The Amalgam universe seemed awesome looking

[@anerysium]

I remember picking issues 2 and 3 of this series when this was new. Back then I was hyped by this crossover. However the more times I read this series the more I find myself not that invested in it, probably the fact it was a glorified popularity contest rather than a great crossover story. It could have been better I guess and years later we got JLA / Avengers which was a better crossover in my opinion. I hope this gets tackled in this channel and very few has covered this series.

[@kingrix]

My favorite Marvel character is Storm, and my favorite DC character is Wonder Woman... Amazon was EVERYTHING I didn't know I wanted.

[@AnshumanKumar007]

Honestly, if they made a DC vs Marvel movie, we would all just fucking lose it.

[@jonmcinnis1645]

Anshuman Kumar if a Marvel and DC crossover movie ever happen I imagine this post credit scene Here it is The Marvel and DC characters are relaxing in the Watchtower then suddenly a portal opens and comes out is a gray and white bunny and a black mouse wearing red shorts and yellow shoes The gray and white bunny:What’s up doc? The black mouse:hot Diggity dog hello there! The Marvel and DC characters(confused expressions):who the hell are y’all? The gray and white bunny:I’m Bugs Bunny The black mouse:I’m Mickey Mouse Cuts to black

[@gakabler]

Imagine if they tried to put this up on the big screen in live action!

[@haileyshannon7548]

Superman in a a black uniform with a mullet saying "Slammin'" sums up the 90s comics perfectly! An animated movie adaptation of this story would be amazing, but I highly doubt it would happen nowadays!

[@TT812166]

Will you do avengers vs jla?

[@sarfootball]

Please make a video on Avengers vs Justice league comics I heard it was awesome......

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

I miss the extreme 90’s.

[@GleeChan]

I always thought it was off that Storm beat Wonder Woman, and Batman beat Captain America. Kinda think they messed that one up... so if I were to guess those had to be fan votes. Batman, yes, have defeated super powered beings, but Cap is a thinking man like Batman is. So I add that with Caps super strength it gives him the advantage. Also... Wonder Woman's power scale is WAY higher than Storms, especially when you account she had freaking Thor's hammer. So yeah, that one REALLY makes no sense.

[@damienlarson4145]

Will you cover JLA/Avengers someday?

[@ivane5110]

Even though I was disappointed in this mini-series since they weren't the heroes I'd grown up with or (in Marvel's case) had too much of a different vibe, the Amalgam Universe characters and the ones shown in All Access later really captured my imagination (which is saying a lot because I gave up on DC & Marvel mid-80's). I would have loved to see Bryne, Perez, Ordaway, etc get a shot at these characters.

[@sethleoric2598]

JLA/Avengers is legitimately the best crossover ive ever seen or read. Mostly because the writer/s remembered the lore of both universes and included all the juicy bits.

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

My disappointment with this series is what led me to do my combo reality. Sometimes, the obvious is the way to go.

[@nicwinsteadart5330]

The Amalgam Comics look like the "copyright freindly" comic characters TV and Movies could use without being sued.

[@bashengatheblackmanta7003]

I would have like them to create an alternate universe where they take some character /concepts /places from dc & marvel and put them in one universe as if these characters always exist in the same universe(with the retcon needed). They could have axis create this universe for himself to live in. But that will never happen

[@ybdrip3594]

Are you gonna do fantastic four life story?

[@OwenLikesComics]

I still need to finish reading it, but potentially.

[@blackermarket123]

Fan voting kills it. Storm beats Wonder Woman? Wolverine beats LOBO? I mean, I get it--especially as this was when X-Men were king, but smh tbh. JLA/Avengers is way better.