At a time when crossovers between the heroes and villains of the Marvel and DC Universes were fairly commonplace, 1996's Silver Surfer/Superman by George Pérez and Ron Lim, saw two of the most powerful and most noble heroes in either universe come together to make a surprising but well-suited duo.
This crossover found both titular heroes thrust into unfamiliar surroundings with no warning. While Silver Surfer, the lone intergalactic traveler of the cosmos, was traveling through space he found himself suddenly transported to a city he had never seen before. Simultaneously, Superman, while performing a routine patrol of his home city of Metropolis, was whisked away to the last place he ever expected to see: his home planet of Krypton.
The Silver Surfer found himself in a dire situation: he suddenly began to lose control of his awesome Power Cosmic. As he fought to prevent himself from causing damage to the city, a horde of flying robots descended on him, attacking on sight. In his evasion of the robots, Silver Surfer heard one identify itself as a product of LexCorp. In an attempt to flee the planet, the Silver Surfer instead flew through a giant dome of glass instead of the open sky.
Meanwhile, Superman was also under attack. A cadre of Kryptonian soldiers opened fire on the Man of Steel, but before they could truly damage him, a blazing wall of fire appeared suddenly and incinerated them all. Descending from the sky to battle Superman was a formidable alien being, the Fantastic Four villain known as the Super-Skrull.
As Superman battled Super-Skrull, bystanders were placed in harm's way. Not wanting to harm innocents, the Skrull ceased his attack. Meanwhile, the Silver Surfer realized that the city below had been miniaturized and placed inside of a glass bottle. He was attacked by unfamiliar beings once again, and when the lives of innocents were once again threatened, a bizarre-looking purple and green humanoid appeared, obviously distressed that bystanders were in danger.
Superman was able to figure out who was responsible for the reality-bending escapade he found himself caught in: the mischievous imp from the 5th Dimension, Mister Mxyzptlk. The Silver Surfer was also able to deduce the culprit behind his own bizarre adventure: a similar being from the planet Poppup, Impossible Man. With their plans discovered Impossible Man and Mister Mxyzptlk reveal the truth behind their scheming.
While dimension-hopping one day, Impossible Man stumbled across Mister Mxyzptlk. The Superman villain was less than enthusiastic about meeting Impossible Man, but the two found common ground in their love of playing games. Their game was simple: they would hop into the other's universe and play a trick on the most powerful hero they could find. Naturally, Superman and Silver Surfer were the first picks for the two imps. The first imp to be caught playing their game would be declared the loser.
With their game revealed and Impossible Man considering himself the winner, it seemed as if the game was over. However, Mister Mxyzpltk contested Impossible Man's claim, with the two getting into a heated argument that led to a ridiculous fight. Both Impossible Man and Mister Mxyzpltk began to transform into replicas of every hero and villain they could think of from their universes: Wolverine vs Wonder Woman; Cyclops vs Batman; Thanos vs Plastic Man. The battle would probably have gone forever until Silver Surfer intervened and convinced Mister Mxyzpltk to cease fighting.
As Superman and Silver Surfer stood side by side in the depths of space ready to return to their respective homes, they looked at each other as kindred spirits. Both men are aliens who were forced to leave their home planets and were subsequently led to Earth. Both possess powers and strengths most commonly relegated to those considered gods.
While it's difficult to say who would win in a fight, neither Superman nor the Silver Surfer would take part in any fight they didn't have to. Silver Surfer/Superman wisely forgoes the traditional crossover formula that sees superheroes fight before teaming up in favor of a more natural interaction that speaks to the non-violent, humanistic core of both characters.