What was DC's Best Organized Crossover?

[David Walton]

I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on which DC crossover was the best organized. Which DC crossover (regardless of story quality) had the most consistent, coherent vision across all the crossover chapters--the one that made you think the editors had a flow chart and made all the parts accountable to the whole?

[Blueferret]

I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on which DC crossover was the best organized. Which DC crossover (regardless of story quality) had the most consistent, coherent vision across all the crossover chapters--the one that made you think the editors had a flow chart and made all the parts accountable to the whole?

Crisis and Legends, IMO. Of course they were actual stories rather than the bulletpoints for other books that crossovers seems to have become.

[David Walton]

Crisis and Legends, IMO. Of course they were actual stories rather than the bulletpoints for other books that crossovers seems to have become.


I understand Legends but I'm curious why Crisis? I wasn't a DC reader at the time but my understanding is that the crossover chapters were chaotic and that the pre-Crisis and post-Crisis stories got their wires crossed, with some post-Crisis stories occurring in a pre-Crisis setting even after 1985.

[Herr Mike]

Yeah but it happened in the good old days so it was actually perfect.

[Augusto]

I understand Legends but I'm curious why Crisis? I wasn't a DC reader at the time but my understanding is that the crossover chapters were chaotic and that the pre-Crisis and post-Crisis stories got their wires crossed, with some post-Crisis stories occurring in a pre-Crisis setting even after 1985.

Crossover chapters, most of the times, were the regular series acknowledging the current Crisis, but they don't add nothing big to the Crisis, that's why you can read COIE tpb without the crossovers.
And a great lot of pre-crisis stories do fit in post crisis as long as they don't have multiverse involvment. But it was before Infinite Crisis.
http://www.yelims.com/IPB/Invision-Board-France-234.gif

[Nakomah]

Has to be Crisis on Infinite Earths! It started it all and even though there were a few bumps in the road, it really had a coherent goal from all ends of the DC- verse. The problems came later when writers attempted to change the status quo of the "new" DC-Verse.

[ducklord]

Crisis on Infinite Earths was, all things considered, remarkably well-organized, especially considering that it was the first time that DC'd ever tried to pull off something like that. Of course, a lot of the crossovers were only peripherally involved (red skies and dinosaurs, whee!), but the ones that really sunk their teeth into it (like, say, Swamp Thing) were very very cool.

Aside from that, I'll give nods to a couple other crossovers that haven't been mentioned yet:

For my money, DC 1,000,000 had the tightest plotting of the summer crossovers, likely owing in no small part to the firm hand of Grant Morrison and the "easiness" of the crossover (for the non-JLA characters, writers were basically allowed to write whatever the heck they wanted to for a month).

I'll also give props to the much-maligned Millennium. Yeah, there were some insane misfires (everyone in Smallville's a Manhunter sleeper agent?), some painful stereotypes, and an ending that completely nullified that point of the freakin' story, but the crossovers wove in and out of the main series with a precision that was darned impressive.

Still thinks Extrano could be a breakout character,
Mike

[Shellhead]

I'll also give props to the much-maligned Millennium. Yeah, there were some insane misfires (everyone in Smallville's a Manhunter sleeper agent?), some painful stereotypes, and an ending that completely nullified that point of the freakin' story, but the crossovers wove in and out of the main series with a precision that was darned impressive.


I was thinking Millennium, too, along with Crisis and Legends. I was very disappointed by the outcome of Millennium, but it was tightly organized and everything came out right on schedule.

[titanfan]

Yeah Crisis didn't get screwed up until afterwards.

I also liked:

Invasion! (Small crossover that had a coherent storyline and had a big impact on the DCU with the introduction of metahumans)

Final Night - Worked because it was a less ambitious, it was basically a Sun Eater coming to Earth and how the heroes would prevent it. The main storyline was pretty well written.

DCU One Million - For the most part the main story took place in JLA and I think Morrison plotted all of the other titles for that month, one reason I think it worked.

[brundlefly]

Agree with both 'original recipe' Crisis and DC 1,000,000. I'll add Final Night, which worked because it was tight in scope and didn't get too bloated or sprawl into too many issues and other titles (the core book itself was just a 4-issue mini), imo. Probably listing it also because I liked the two ramifications that came out of its ending (Hal Jordan/Parallax redeems himself as a hero by sacrificing himself to reignite the sun; Lex Luthor uses his scientific genius to help solve the Sun-Eater crisis, and then uses that benevolent action to get cleared of all the criminal charges stemming from the "Fall of Metropolis.") Final Night also had that cool crossover into Hitman where Tommy and his boys hole up at Noonan's to wait out the end of the world while the JLA and friends try to reignite the sun.

[Jack Zodiac]

Hands down, DC 1,000,000. Still their greatest crossover ever.

[Tanjint]

1,000,000. One of my least fave Morrison stories but it felt like one big story and it's still pretty damn good and has some cool aspects (not enough Batman, but what there was was cool. The golden superman and Lois of the future was oddly majestic and cool)

-T

[DDM]

Crisis On Infinite Earths

[siberia77]

Invasion for genuine menace and Armageddon (with waverider) for great stories and a compelling mystery (until they had to change the baddie at the last minute obviously!)

[edogawa1983]

the countdown to Infinite Crisis were done very well, I have to say if Infinite Crisis the mini series itself didn't drop the ball, the whole event would be viewed an epic crossover events.

[the4thpip]

The Janus Directive.

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/3577/400/3577_4_015.jpg


http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/3385/400/3385_4_27.jpg

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/3385/400/3385_4_30.jpg

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/3349/400/3349_4_30.jpg

[Nakomah]

I guess the main question is are we talking company crossover size or just a few titles? Janus directive was awesome (Original suicide squad - best series ever!) but not how I would define a Comapny-wide crossover and I believe that is what this question is asking.
Great choice though!!!

[the-wolf]

The Janus Directive.

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/3577/400/3577_4_015.jpg


http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/3385/400/3385_4_27.jpg

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/3385/400/3385_4_30.jpg

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/3349/400/3349_4_30.jpg

No fair. That was gonna be mine. I'm just glad other people actually remember this story. Classic 80's IMO. Mature with solid art and just a good read without taking itself so seriously at the same time.

And, of course, the crossover itself was very well done. Nice and tight without bringing too many titles into it.

[the-wolf]

Oh. And I love that version of Manhunter.

[Upgrayedd]

I would have to agree with Invasion. It introduced the Meta Gene and gave us that great Hitman series.

[thehod]

I would have to agree with Invasion. It introduced the Meta Gene and gave us that great Hitman series.

Actually, it didn't.

Hitman spun out of the gawdawful Bloodlines crossover, which most people tend to forget, and not with good reason.

But yes, Invasion was one of the better handled crossovers.

[Upgrayedd]

Oooh year that is correct. I love this site, even when you are wrong people are nice enough not to make you feel stupid. Bloodlines, wow, that was bad. I may be wrong but I wish Superboy Prime would punch history and make the events of Invasion produce Hitmans origin.

[josh straightedge]

I'd go with 1,000,000 just for the Hitman issue. Amazing!