The 10 Weirdest And Best Batman Crossovers In DC History
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Because a man dressed as a bat just isn't weird enough on its own.
The Caped Crusader has had some zany adventures over the years, including more than a handful of crazy crossovers. Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
DC movies seem to be growing funnier and more light-hearted with each new entry, as we saw in Shazam! and Aquaman. That might change with the slate of new R-rated DC superhero movies on the way, but on the animated side, the superhero giant is fully embracing the weird and bonkers, like the recently released Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Batman has always been a bit of the odd man out in the Justice League, as he not only lacks any powers, but also isn't interested in working with a team. Maybe this is the reason he's always finding himself in the strangest situations, teaming up with weird beings like the Ninja Turtles. More than anything, it's a testament to Batman that he is still relatively sane after all these crazy crossovers. Here are the ten best Batman team-ups.
10. Batman/Aliens
This one isn't so much a team-up as it is a fight to the death. Remember how impossible it was for those marines to fight the Xenomorphs? Try being Batman and having to take them on without firing a single shot because of your moral code, something he manages to do because he is still Batman.
What makes this comic-book crossover is that there's a scene where Batman dreams of his parents' deaths, but instead of a robber, it is a pair of facehuggers that kill them both, which is the best retconning of his origin story ever. And because normal Xenomorphs aren't enough, the first crossover has Batman fight an Alien/crocodile hybrid. The sequel gets even crazier as scientists make aliens from Xenomorph DNA mixed with samples of the blood from Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow and Poison Ivy. Talk about a rogues' gallery.
9. Batman versus Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd isn't a very forgiving guy, and he is as likely to stop and talk things over as the Dark Knight of Gotham. This is why seeing these two fight is so entertaining. They've done it four times over the years.
Of course, they eventually have to team up and hunt down some criminals. But the reason you read this story is to see Batman fight Dredd's ruthless sense of justice when he wants to put the Bat in jail for vigilantism. Since we don't seem to be able to get a sequel to Karl Urban's Dredd, the logical step forward is to adapt this crossover into Matt Reeves' Batman.
8. Batman and Spawn
The '90s was all about the dark anti-heroes, so of course Batman would eventually meet Spawn. Frank Miller and Todd McFarlane gave us one of the darkest (literally and figuratively) crossovers, which involves someone decapitating people and using their heads to power robots. The plot is certainly weird and very '90s, but that is secondary to the legendary meeting in the foreground.
Batman repeatedly insulting Spawn and Spawn thinking Batman is a dumb egomaniac is fun to see, and McFarlane's art will make you wish we could see more of these two maniacs together, especially more Batman stabbing Spawn's face with a batarang.
7. Batman '66 Meets A Whole Bunch of People
Fine, I'm including a whole bunch of crossovers under one, but Batman from the '60s had a fair amount of weird team-ups. Among them, he met the Man from U.N.C.L.E. and a fantastic team-up with The Green Hornet. But the most fun of them all is Batman meeting Archie and his friends at Riverdale. Because the comic is based on Adam West's version of Batman, this is as silly as it can get, as Joker hypnotizes all the adults in Riverdale, and Batman ends up having to ask teenagers for help. Can we make this happen, The CW?
6. Justice League gets Mighty Morphin
This one isn't strictly a Batman crossover as it involves not only the Justice League, but also Brainiac! And Zords! When Lord Zedd teams up with Brainiac and sends the Power Rangers to another dimension, they end up meeting the Justice League and having to fight Rita and her monsters.
Despite this comic being too short and not taking the time to have our characters sit down and talk, there's plenty of fantastic action and hilarious moments, such as the Black Ranger commenting on how Batman looks like a villain and is unable to smile. Also, the Pink Ranger makes fun of Green Arrow's boxing glove arrow. It is delightful.
5. Batman fights Predator
Batman has fought Predator a whole bunch of times, mostly because the concept is so rad it's impossible not to be intrigued. When a Predator lands in Gotham, Batman has to stop it before too many people get killed.
The Dark Knight resorts to all sorts of new gadgets, including a fantastic mech suit like the one from Dark Knight Returns, and even Alfred gets in the battle by shooting a Predator with an old rifle. Andy Kubert makes the mech suit the coolest-looking battle armor this side of Metropolis, and Batman getting his ass kicked almost as hard as he did against Bane makes for a formidable battle and a very fun comic.
4. Batman meets Hellboy
Mike Mignola didn't draw as many Batman comics as he should have, but they're always fantastic. Pairing Mignola's hellspawn creation with the Caped Crusader resulted in a gangbusters crossover that involves Batman asking Hellboy for help in fighting Nazis in Gotham. Add in Starman and some sharp dialogue and you get one hell (heh) of a comic-book crossover that flows so well it easily reads as part of the canon for either character. Oh, and a Cthulhu-like creature also shows up!
3. Batman Asks Where Scooby-Doo is
It totally makes sense that the best teenage detectives with a talking dog would meet the Caped Crusader, first in a TV episode in the original show (with Adam West reprising the role) and recently in a Brave and the Bold movie where Batman invited the Mystery, Inc. gang into a secret society of detectives that includes The Question and even Detective Chimp.
The plot is nonsensical and the jokes are super campy and goofy, but Batman joking around with Shaggy and Scooby is so charming it's impossible to resist. The movie also gives some of the classic Scooby-Doo gags a DC spin, including a fantastic mashup of both shows' music themes.
2. Batman Finds Out The Secret Of The Ooze
The fact that the movie based on this comic book inspired this entire thing should give you a clue on how good a Batman/TMNT meet-up is. The best Batman crossovers pair him up with characters that are similar to him in some way, or are direct opposites of him. The turtles are sort of both, they're as formidable in battle, but way goofier and actually like working as a team.
The contrast between Batman's serious nature and dislike for teamwork and the goofiness and fun-natured, pizza-eating turtles will crack you up, and seeing them all work together to fight Shredder translated into a story made to be adapted into a movie (and it was!).
1. Batman And Elmer Fudd Hunt Wabbits
There are weird Batman team-ups, and then there's Batman/Elmer Fudd. Part of a company-wide DC/Looney Tunes crossover, this one is easily the best, and the one most deserving of a sequel, which came out as Batman 67.
Not only are Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, and even a Mohawk-wearing Tasmanian Devil turned into actual human beings, but Bugs Bunny is a bucktoothed hitman who tricks Elmer Fudd into hunting down Batman. The story is as absurd as it gets, but it is played completely straight, to the point where it actually makes you dislike Bugs and feel sorry for Fudd, who seems like a dangerous hunter capable of hurting the Bat. Elmer Fudd Is also given some Rorschach-like narration and says dialogue like "This is a hawd pwace for hawd men," which will make you think twice about wabbit season. The art looks straight out of the '50s, and the dialogue makes the whole thing feel as gritty as the best hard-boiled detective movies.