Best crossover that we don't talk about here

[Siddon]

We all which are liked Acts of Vengance, Infinity Gauntlet, Mutant Massacre, Age of Apocaylpse, Secret War; and which are hated The Crossing, Avengers Dissassembled, Onslaught, Maximum Security, Secret Wars but for this poll which mini's from the forgotten era but what are the thoughts on 10 of the crossovers that where epic in scope but we never talk about and which would you sell to someone to read, and how would you sell it.

By all means feel free to comment on all you have read but some series I didn't put on the list because they where small (Contest of the Champions, Avengers/Defenders War) or they where talked to death (House of M), or they where to new to tell (Annihilation, Civil War), or they where just a little to limited in scope (Clone Saga, X-cutioner's Song, Phalanx Convent).

[mrc1214]

I havent read any that you put on the poll. Which means i guess i have some reading to do. But i would say the Avengers/Defenders war. It was good better than most of the ones that come out now anyway.

[JulianPerez]

How about FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #3, with every single supervillain ever showing up to fight the FF? My favorite part was Thor vs. the Super-Skrull ("Prepare to die at the hands of the galaxy's greatest warrior!") and the first confrontation between the Human Top and Quicksilver?

What about the Steve Englehart-written West Coast Avengers vs. East Coast Avengers War? Now that one was extraordinary, fun, and unpredictable. Plus, it had everything: the Collector, the Grandmaster, the Silver Surfer fighting Korvac (who was funnier and better characterized in one page than he ever was under Shooter), Captain Marvel vs. Iron Man, the incredible way Hawkeye beat She-Hulk, and the ending with Captain America and Hawkeye. Really, really amazing.

Oh, and I don't think Maximum Security is as bad as people say as far as crossovers go. It felt like it was set in the Marvel Universe, was a plausible idea, made use of old space villains, had a great story by "King" Kurt Busiek, and Professor X and the Skrulls...whoa.

[milhouse123321]

Of the list, I've read two:

Atlantis Attacks didn't do too much for me, probably becoz i dont have much interest in Namor and the Atlanteans

and the whole Terminus story was pretty cool

[Jeff-E]

I've read almost all of the crossovers you listed, most when they came out. This is what made this poll harder than most, they were all awesome events. That being said I went with Operation Galactic Storm, gotta love the Kree.

LIVE KREE OR DIE BEEYOTCHES

[Joe Acro]

I picked Inferno. It was such a great culmination of several issues worth of storytelling.

May I ask what was so bad about Secret War? And what was so great about Age of Apocalypse?

[Green Goblin]

I always liked inferno that was a great sinster story and I ddin't mind the stuff with the demons or the goblin queen either and it resloved the plot thread about clossous sister

[mrc1214]

I gotta say Operation Galatic Storm looks pretty cool. I looked up some of the covers and they look pretty cool like Thor vs Gladiator. Ill have to check that out.

[brundlefly]

I picked Inferno. It was such a great culmination of several issues worth of storytelling.

I also went with Inferno. Even some of it's spinoff issues (like the Spidey tie-ins) were fun reads, while the core issues were a great payoff to storylines that had been building for a while in the X-titles, plus it featured a nice cast of villains in Sinister, the Gobin Queen, S'ym, the Maruaders, N'Astirh, and the endless hordes of lesser demons.



May I ask what was so bad about Secret War? And what was so great about Age of Apocalypse?

There sometimes seems to be some confusion as to which Secret War(s) series is being referred to. IMO, the original Secret Wars was a great miniseries, while Secret Wars II: Beyonder Boogaloo and Secret War(s) III: The Revenge of Brian Michael Bendis were both lackluster, anemic followups that just traded on the name of the original series. The second series was too Beyonder-heavy and had way too many tie-in issues. And I don't even know why the third series used the name, except as a blatant marketing/sales ploy, since it had nothing to do with the prior two. It did have some nice artwork, though.

AOA was a great story for what it essentially was (another game of "let's repair the damaged alternate timeline and restore the proper reality!"). I think it suffers a bit from having "not really happened" in comparison to other crossovers that took place in the proper timeline and can be referenced. Only Bishop and Dark Beast have any first-hand recollections of AOA.

[Shellhead]

Of the ones listed, I chose The Evolutionary War, because it had an interesting concept and some decent issues.

Atlantis Attacks also had a good concept, but I've completely forgotten everything except for Attuma kidnapping the seven super-brides. Operation: Galactic Storm could have been amazing, but it was plagued by really inconsistent quality from title to title... the core Avengers issues and the overall plot were very good, as were the Iron Man and Captain America issues, but most of the rest were either poorly drawn or badly written or both. The two follow-ups to Infinity Gauntlet got too greedy in terms of crossover issues and lost focus, although I really loved that fight between Dr. Doom, Kang, Adam Warlock and Magus. I think I read part of Blood and Thunder, but I'm not sure.

By the time Fall of the Mutants and Inferno came along, I was done with the mutant books. Too many characters, too much messy continuity, and too many annoying teenagers. And Subterranean Wars and the Terminus Factor didn't even attract my attention when they came out.

Of the ones not listed in this poll, I agree with mrc1214: the Avengers/Defenders War was the best that Marvel ever did. It was their first big crossover, and was so epic in scope that nearly every major Marvel hero and even several major villains appeared in the dramatic finale in Avengers #118. Steve Englehart was at the top of his game at that time, and he deftly wove the individual issues of Avengers and Defenders together with tight continuity and solid portrayals of all the characters involved. The only disappointment was the workmanlike artwork of Sal Buscema and Bob Brown.

[MakeMineMarvel]

Fall of the Mutants for me. At the time I only really read X-Men and Spider-Man so I missed the majority of these events. Once in a while I would pick up Cap or Hulk but I mainly stayed with the muties and Spidey. I dug the Fall of the Mutants, thought it was fun for the most part. I also really loved the teaser poster for it with all the mutants sprawled over the barren landscape. My favorite part of the poster was that Iceman was way up int the front so I took it tht Iceman wsa one of the most powerful. Whenever Iceman gets his props it makes me do happy dances.

[Joe Acro]

I also went with Inferno. Even some of it's spinoff issues (like the Spidey tie-ins) were fun reads, while the core issues were a great payoff to storylines that had been building for a while in the X-titles, plus it featured a nice cast of villains in Sinister, the Gobin Queen, S'ym, the Maruaders, N'Astirh, and the endless hordes of lesser demons.
From what I've heard the spin-off issue with Daredevil vs. Blackheart is pretty decent.


There sometimes seems to be some confusion as to which Secret War(s) series is being referred to. IMO, the original Secret Wars was a great miniseries, while Secret Wars II: Beyonder Boogaloo and Secret War(s) III: The Revenge of Brian Michael Bendis were both lackluster, anemic followups that just traded on the name of the original series. The second series was too Beyonder-heavy and had way too many tie-in issues. And I don't even know why the third series used the name, except as a blatant marketing/sales ploy, since it had nothing to do with the prior two. It did have some nice artwork, though.
I think Beyond is the true Secret Wars III, but even it seems like a bad idea. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to try for a repeat success.


Only Bishop and Dark Beast have any first-hand recollections of AOA.And even Bishop didn't really experience it. All he has is the glimpse of Xavier almost dying and the other Bishop saving him.

[Mariah]

Um...you're forgetting about the greatest crossover ever: Secret WarsII. Beyonder with permed mullet, how could you go wrong?

[thik_3rd]

probably some dc crossover, seeing as this is a marvel board.

[OdinSon1]

I threw my vote to Blood & Thunder. Based on my name that surprise anyone?

I never bothered to read Secret Wars III. The concept was interesting to me as the issues were supposed to be based on a super-hero smackdown in every one, but the matchups they showed were really IMO uninteresting. Thor vs. Storm? Come on, thats a mismatch of the highest. I didn't want to read the issue and find Storm having the advantage at any point since its clearly illogical. Iron Man vs. Psylocke? I couldn't care less. I thought Iron Man was being mishandled quite a while before this event and it made me stop reading his book, so I figured if I read this I'd only see him get thrashed by Psylocke due to the trend of his luck and it'd just piss me off even further. Plus I hear the Black Widow managed to whoop on quite a few powerhouses which shows just how bad the whole thing was. I like Natasha as a character, but come on, if its not spies/ninjas she's beating on its a bit of a stretch.

Blood & Thunder always was cool to me because it showed what would happen if Thor ever went into a Hulk-like rage. Think Hulk's powerful when he's mad? Whats a god who's defeated the Hulk gonna be like when he's nuts? He's gonna hammer down the Silver Surfer & the Infinity Watch, until finally they need to actually call in Thanos to contain him.

The crossover to me was like an apology to Thor of sorts. The losses to Beta Ray Bill (despite Odin rigging Thor to lose they were still losses), his miniscule involvement in large scale events, having him as Eric Masterson & the frog, this finally showed how powerful Thor could be. He actually beat the Silver Surfer & the Infinity Watch. It took a being the level of Thanos to contain him, and he couldn't do it for good. It was awesome to see.

[Wind-Breaker]

Edit:wrong place

[fishtaco]

Fall of The Mutants, with Inferno as a close second. I love these stories. I also love both Secret Wars I and II. I haven't read Secret War, and I have no intention of doing so. The Secret Wars II Uncanny X-Men tie-ins (#'s 196, 202-203) were amazing. Phoenix reached new heights in these issues. I also really like Evolutionary War, Mutant Massacre, Asgardian Wars, Days of Future Present, Acts of Vengeance, and X-Tinction Agenda.