10 Missed Opportunities in DC/Marvel Crossovers, Ranked (Including the Clashes Fans Still Dream About)

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Team-ups have always been popular in superhero comics, dating back to the very beginning. Fans loved seeing heroes from different series interact, leading to early examples like the Justice Society of America and crossovers between Batman and Superman. This trend continued in the mid-20th century with groups like Marvel’s Invaders. Over the last fifty years, these team-ups have evolved into large-scale events, with Marvel and DC Comics regularly creating massive stories where heroes from across their universes unite to face threats too big for any single hero or team. Today, these crossover events are more successful and profitable than ever before.

As a big comic fan, I’ve noticed crossovers can be really hit or miss lately. Some are amazing, but others just leave you feeling like they could have been SO much better. It seems like almost every big event has something that feels…off, you know? Like a missed chance to really make it special. Sometimes the whole event just falls flat – like DC or Marvel dropped the ball. I’ve been thinking about ten specific crossovers that just didn’t quite work, and honestly, they’ve left a bad taste in a lot of fans’ mouths. They just didn’t make a lot of sense, and it’s frustrating when a big event doesn’t live up to its potential.

10) Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths

I’ve always enjoyed *Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths*, but it didn’t quite live up to its potential. Instead of taking the ‘Crisis’ name in a fresh direction, DC created a typical crossover event. While there were some interesting concepts, the story ultimately fell into the familiar trope of a character attempting to restore the old multiverse. It could have explored the Great Darkness or even a revenge story involving Pariah, but it ended up feeling repetitive. This has led many fans to overlook the story’s strengths and focus instead on its weaknesses, even though I believe there *are* good parts.

9) The End of the Krakoa Era

The Krakoa era of X-Men comics was largely successful, but its conclusion, “Fall of X,” was widely disliked. While not entirely without merit, the storyline felt underwhelming. The main issue was Marvel’s decision to shorten it. The popularity of the *X-Men ’97* animated series led them to believe fans preferred a simpler, more traditional X-Men setup, so they cut six months from the planned story. This forced the writers to condense their already-developed plots, resulting in a rushed ending that didn’t live up to the high quality of the era’s beginning. The Krakoa era deserved a strong finish, but ultimately received one that felt hurried and disappointing.

8) Flashpoint

While many know *Flashpoint* as the start of the New 52, it’s often forgotten that the story wasn’t originally planned as it happened. To understand this, we need to look back at *The Flash: Rebirth*. Barry Allen returned in *Final Crisis* #2, and *The Flash: Rebirth* featured a conflict with the Reverse Flash (who technically came back even earlier in *Blackest Night*, but appeared earlier in the timeline). The series ended by hinting at *Flashpoint*, suggesting it would center on Reverse Flash altering the past, but the final version of *Flashpoint* turned out differently. We’ll never know the original plan for *Flashpoint*, which is unfortunate, as the published version isn’t particularly strong.

7) The X-Men and the Shi’Ar Working Together in Infinity

Jonathan Hickman’s *Infinity* storyline marks the middle point of his *Avengers/New Avengers* run. The plot centers around the Builders, one of the oldest races in the Marvel Universe, deciding to wipe out everything amidst a series of dimensional incursions. The Avengers team up with several alien races – the Kree, Shi’Ar, Skrull, Annihilation Wave, and Spartax – to fight back. While marketed as a large-scale crossover event, the story largely stayed within the *Avengers* comics, which was a missed chance to involve other teams, particularly the X-Men and the Shi’Ar Empire. Since the X-Men initially brought the Shi’Ar into the conflict, it would have been compelling to see them interact again. Ironically, Wolverine was an Avenger at the time and had previously teamed up with the Shi’Ar in *Avengers* (Vol. 5), but he and the X-Men were sidelined by the Black Order and excluded from the main storyline. This felt like a mistake that could have led to a more impactful story.

6) Infinite Crisis‘s Aftermath

Infinite Crisis is a landmark DC comic, widely considered one of the best event series of the 2000s – only surpassed, in my opinion, by Final Crisis. As a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths, it brought the DC Universe together to battle the schemes of Alexander Luthor from Earth-Three and Superboy-Prime. I consider the comic itself to be almost perfect, and wouldn’t alter a thing about it. However, the way DC handled things *after* Infinite Crisis is where the problems began. The intention was to reshape the modern DC Universe to resemble the older, pre-Crisis era, but that vision never fully materialized. It seems DC hesitated to make the sweeping changes they initially planned, likely due to the popularity of the post-Crisis universe. On a personal note, I would have liked to see Earth-Two Superman survive a bit longer, perhaps joining the Justice Society in an attempt to revive Earth-Two Lois Lane. The fallout from Infinite Crisis didn’t live up to its potential, ultimately paving the way for the New 52 relaunch.

5) Secret Wars (2015) Rebooting the Marvel Universe

The 2015 Secret Wars event was a fantastic crossover, and many consider it one of the best Marvel has ever produced – perhaps even the best. Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic crafted an epic story, particularly a standout for Doctor Doom, that lived up to the grand scale Hickman had been building in his previous work on Fantastic Four and The Avengers. The story culminated in a recreation of the Marvel Multiverse, but it could have gone even further with a full reboot of the comic universe. While a reboot wasn’t necessarily needed, it would have been a bold and potentially brilliant move. Hickman actually did some retconning within the story itself, altering events from his earlier Avengers/New Avengers run. Overall, Secret Wars is a truly excellent story, but I believe Marvel missed a significant opportunity by not fully rebooting the universe afterward.

4) Countdown to Final Crisis

I’m a huge fan of *Final Crisis*. I believe Grant Morrison is the best superhero writer of all time, and their work on that series perfectly captured the essence of superheroes. However, the lead-up to *Final Crisis*, specifically *Countdown to Final Crisis*, was a letdown. While *Superman Beyond 3-D* being excluded was also an issue, *Countdown* was the bigger problem. Following the huge success of the weekly series *52*, fans hoped *Countdown* would deliver a similar experience. Unfortunately, three key differences held it back. First, the creative team wasn’t as strong. *52* benefited from the talents of Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Greg Rucka, and Keith Giffen – Giffen’s work breaking down every issue was particularly impressive. While *Countdown* had some good creators, they didn’t reach that same level. Second, DC’s Dan DiDio exerted more editorial control, limiting the creators’ freedom compared to *52*. Finally, Morrison kept their plans for *Final Crisis* closely guarded, leaving the *Countdown* team in the dark about what they were building towards. If any of these factors had been different, *Countdown* – and ultimately the road to *Final Crisis* – could have been much stronger.

3) The Deaths from Fear Itself

Despite a promising start with popular creators Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen, *Fear Itself* didn’t live up to expectations. Coming after a string of incredibly successful Marvel events, this Thor-centered story had an interesting idea: corrupted Asgardian hammers turning heroes evil, Sin becoming the new Red Skull, and Thor battling the God of Fear. However, the comic ultimately felt like a standard, unremarkable event. While it featured the apparent deaths of Bucky and Captain America (later revealed to be a Life Model Decoy) and Thor, these moments lacked lasting impact. Marvel failed to capitalize on the potential of these deaths, which was a significant missed opportunity.

2) Brightest Day‘s Aftermath

The *Blackest Night* storyline was a fantastic event that concluded a long-running plot in the Green Lantern comics, which had been developing since 2007. While the battle against the Black Lantern Corps ended with a dozen heroes and villains mysteriously resurrected – their purpose later explored in the *Brightest Day* series – that series itself was a real highlight. Written by Geoff Johns and Pete Tomasi, with art by Ivan Reis and Fernando Pasarin, *Brightest Day* featured compelling characters and culminated in the return of Swamp Thing and John Constantine. It felt like DC Comics was on the verge of a fresh, exciting new direction. Unfortunately, the *Flashpoint* event and the subsequent New 52 reboot erased all of that progress. DC prioritized a sales boost over continuing these strong storylines, discarding a lot of potential. It was a major disappointment for fans, and we’ll always wonder what might have been.

1) The New and Mighty Avengers Finally Facing Off in Secret Invasion

Following the events of *Civil War*, the Avengers split into two groups: the New Avengers, with members like Luke Cage, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange, and the Mighty Avengers, featuring Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow. Marvel hinted at conflicts between these teams, but they never actually fought. Later, during *Secret Invasion*, both groups ended up in the Savage Land investigating Skrull activity. They briefly clashed, but the fight was quickly interrupted by a mass of heroes and villains claiming to have been captured, and then, fittingly for the Savage Land, dinosaurs! Ultimately, the two Avengers teams never had a proper showdown, which was a significant missed opportunity for a compelling story.

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2025-09-15 20:47