DC Comics has a very long and expansive history of successful crossovers with other universes and franchises. Among the highlights were an excellent run of Dark Horse crossovers, as well as stories that threw DC heroes into the universes of blockbuster movies.
With so many great stories behind them, it's hard for some fans to narrow down their favorites, especially when they factor in movies. Whether that includes the Green Lantern Corps battling Xenomorphs or Batman teaming up with Tarzan to solve a mystery of the African jungles, DC has had an excellent track record of combining their own superheroes with other popular franchises.
10 The Green Lantern Corps Find Themselves In The Planet Of The Apes
In the DC Comics/Boom! Studios crossover Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern (Robbie Thompson & Barnaby Bagenda), the Green Lanterns came up against the iconic sci-fi world of the apes. With the intelligent apes in control of some lantern rings, the Corps find themselves up against a worthy adversary.
Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern cleverly begins in the backdrop of the original Planet of the Apes film, with Cornelius investigating the disappearance of Taylor. Taking the story in an exciting direction, Cornelius finds a Green Lantern ring and activates it, drawing the attention of the Green Lantern Corps.
9 Star Trek's Run In With The Green Lantern Corps Was A Great Match
Fans of science fiction would love Star Trek/Green Lantern, written by Mike Johnson with art by Angel Hernandez. Starfleet's Enterprise running into Oa's Green Lantern Corps makes for nothing short of a great adventure in the DC/Boom! Studios crossover.
The Green Lantern Corps and Kirk's Starfleet crew share goals of maintaining galactic peace and freedom. Combing the two teams' respective strengths in police work and scientific exploration, Star Trek/Green Lantern weaves fresh dynamics into both franchises.
8 Batman And Catwoman Enter The World Of Tarzan
During the 1990s, Dark Horse Comics had control of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan property. While many of those books were excellent, the best 1990s Tarzan story featured a crossover with Gotham's Dark Knight, who traveled to Africa in Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman (Ron Marz & Igor Kordey).
The miniseries provided some great Indiana Jones-style adventurism, crafted an intriguing villain, and featured a fun team-up between Batman and Tarzan. With a re-imagined Two-Face villain and a new spin on Catwoman and Batman's original 1930's setting, the story delivered readers a classic adventure book.
7 Spawn And Batman Make A Formidable Team
In 1994, Todd McFarlane and Frank Miller, followed by Alan Grant, Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench and Klaus Janson, brought fans a much wanted team-up between Spawn and Batman. The two crossovers — Spawn/Batman and Batman/Spawn: War Devil — delivered the best of both characters' universes and lore, and their shared gritty street-level heroics paired well together.
Beginning with a story featuring an army of cyborgs created by an evil corporation, Batman and Spawn were forced to team up to beat the villains. The second story followed the two as they worked to solve the infamous Roanoke colony mystery and featured a demonic twist.
6 Batman's Crossovers With Judge Dredd Deliver Legendary Action
To date, Batman and Judge Dredd have teamed up in four separate stories. The best of these was the Battle Royale inspired The Ultimate Riddle (Grant, Wagner & Critchlow), that portrayed Judge Dredd and Batman being sent to another world to battle an ensemble of alien warriors.
Whether it's their first team up, an assassination attempt by Ventriloquist, the Battle Royale, or a fight with Joker, Batman and Judge Dredd's various team-ups never disappoint. Additionally, the contrasting methods used by the two veteran crime fighters sprinkle tension into their dynamic.
5 The DC Universe Battling Predators Never Disappoints
Whether it's in the pages of Batman Vs Predator, Batman & Superman Vs Alien & Predator or JLA Vs Predator, these crossovers have proven a solid hit. One of the best stories remains the graphic novel one-shot JLA Vs Predator (John Ostrander & Graham Nolan), where the Justice League assembles in the Watchtower to discuss an approaching threat.
Upon arrival, the infamous predators set about fighting the Justice League, forcing the team to split up and pursue the alien hunters across Earth. Pitting the universe's greatest hunters against its best heroes delivers a non-stop thrill ride readers won't soon forget.
4 The Green Lantern Corps Took On Xenomorph Aliens
In Green Lantern vs Aliens (Ron Marz, Rick Leonardi & Mike Perkins), Kyle Rayner led a group of Green Lanterns in a fight for survival after finding themselves among a Xenomorph colony. Beginning with a flashback that reveals Hal Jordan's encounter with the aliens, the tension never drops.
After the GLC answer a distress call on a crashed vessel, the terrifying aliens besiege them and slowly wear the Lanterns down. The horrifying rescue mission story made for one of the best DC team-ups and did a great job capturing the classic horror associated with the Alien movies.
3 The Justice League's Crossover With Jeff Lemire's Black Hammer Was Epic
Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, and Dave Stewart's Black Hammer series has turned into a cult hit among comic book fans. Many already consider Lemire's Black Hammer a modern day classic, despite only being created in 2016. As such, it's received several spin-off series.
In a 2019 multiversal crossover that combined the best traits of all involved, Black Hammer characters Abraham Slam, Colonel Weird, Barbalien and more clashed with the DC Comics universe. For fans of both franchises and comic book epics, Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice! gave them everything they were looking for.
2 Batman And Starman Teamed Up With Hellboy To Battle Nazis
In Batman/Hellboy/Starman (James Robinson & Mike Mignola), Batman and Starman met up with Hellboy and joined him in one of his BPRD investigations. With the Nazis posing a threat once again, the heroes teamed up on a mission to battle the evil threat and beat them once and for all.
However, when they discover the Nazis have use of magic and intend to awaken a Lovecraftian Elder God, the mission takes an unexpected turn. With the original Starman held captive, Nazis wielding magic, and the impending arrival of a cosmic terror, Batman/Hellboy/Starman remains for a must-read comic for fans of the three characters.
1 The JLA Meeting The Avengers Remains The Most Important Crossover In Comics
The most important crossover in comic book history portrayed the iconic meeting between the Justice League and Marvel's Avengers. Not only did fans get to see their favorite heroes from both worlds interact, but they got to witness an epic clash they'd remember for years..
JLA/Avengers, written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by George Perez, followed the two teams of heroes after the Oan guardian Kronos and Marvel's Grandmaster pit them against each other. Featuring epic showdowns between franchise icons, the crossover showcased the similarities and differences between both the teams and their respective universes.