The Ultimate Crossover - Mobile Edition

Phil's Bubble
The Ultimate Crossover
By Philip Schweier
Aug 4, 2005 - 12:59

Someone asked me how Superman would’ve handled the recent terrorist attacks in London. How often have we watched some tragedy unfold on television, and later think to ourselves, “If only Superman were real.” Maybe an entire submarine full of Russian sailors wouldn’t have perished in the North Sea. Maybe the devastation of the World Trade Center wouldn’t have played out like it did. Maybe the death toll of the tsunami disaster in Asia wouldn’t have been so high.

Wouldn’t it be great if super-heroes existed in our world? Well, think about it. A man channels a devastating personal tragedy into an effective battle against crime. Is that Batman, or John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted?

Walsh’s appearance in the pages of DC’s Outsiders only contributes to the blurring of our world and that of the super-heroes. So what if he doesn’t wear a mask and cape? It wouldn’t be the first time comics have straddled the line between reality and fantasy.

Marvel publisher Stan Lee and Saturday Night Live’s Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time-Players were featured in Marvel Two-In-One #74. Stan Lee was hosting SNL, with Peter Parker in the audience, while the Silver Samurai prowls backstage in search of an artifact mistakenly delivered to John Belushi.

Played mostly for laughs, it features appearances by the more famous SNL alumni – Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Bill Murray – as well as those who seem to have dropped off the TV radar – though Garret Morris and Laraine Newman both provided voices for the animated Justice League and Batman series.

While arguably one of the most prominent portrayals of Stan Lee in the pages of his comics, he certainly was no stranger to showing up in the pages of his own comics. His staff has often depicted him at a hot dog stand, eventually becoming an in-joke in the Marvel offices. In the first X-Men movie, Stan continued this tradition in a beach scene.

Marvel and DC staffers have often been featured in the comics they publish. Artists Jack Kirby and Gil Kane were known to borrow the faces of their co-workers as extras. It undoubtedly common for artists to do, and there are many friends and family members of today's illustrators who can often find themselves sitting next to Peter Parker on the subway, or fleeing in fear from invading alien hordes.

More recently, Alex Ross’ “Marvels” mini-series featured some of the most well-known faces of the 1960s. In attendance at the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards were the Beatles, Dick Van Dyke, and Jackie Kennedy.

The 1970s were rampant with instances where the comic book world overlapped with ours. Boxing champion Muhammad Ali took on the Man of Steel in a special tabloid story written and drawn by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams. DC editor Julius Schwartz hit on the idea during a visit by Muhammad Ali to New York City in 1976, at a time when the Superman vs. Spider-Man tabloid was on the stands.

Though hailed as the fight of the century, the real battle came in making the event happen. After two months of haggling with the contentious Don King, a deal was struck, but still needed the approval of Ali’s manager Herbert Muhammad. According to a 1978 “publishorial” by DC publisher Jenette Kahn, his terms were simple: complete approval on everything. Illustrated by comics star Neal Adams, the tabloid went on to become a much sought-after collectible to comics and boxing fans alike.

Also in the mid-1970s, DC writers Elliot S! Maggin and Cary Bates journeyed to Earth-1 and Earth-2 respectively in Justice League of America #123-124. Featuring the annual JLA/JSA team-up, when they returned to tell of their adventure, editor Schwartz refused to buy their story of inter-dimensional travel.

But Schwartz was no stranger to crossing over to DC’s multiple

Earths. Earth Prime – supposedly the dimension in which we live, where super-heroes are fiction – was first featured in Flash #179, in which Barry Allen used a cosmic treadmill to bridge the gap between his world and ours. With the help of his editor, Julie Schwartz, he was able to return to his home.

Schwartz made over 60 cameo appearances in assorted DC titles. Often he is merely a face in the crowd, but sometimes, as in the case of Superman #411, he is a featured character.

In honor of his 70th birthday, Elliot S! Maggin and Curt Swan developed a tale entitled “The Last Earth Prime Story,” depicting Schwartz’s career in science fiction and comics. Production director Bob Rozakis arranged to have it inserted into the printing schedule, and the issue was published behind Schwartz’s back.

The story, published on the eve of DC's infamous Crisis on the Infinite Earths, was entitled "The Last Earth Prime Story," and heralded the end of an era as Schwartz neared his eventual retirement.

Even though it interrupted a multi-part Luthor story, in Schwartz’s autobiography, “Man of Two Worlds,” he ranks it as one of the major highlights of his more than fifty years in comics.

Swan, who drew the Man of Steel’s adventures for a generation, also flew with Superman in what may or may not have been a dream sequence in 1983’s Superman Annual #9.

Many people, from presidents to people known only to a handful have shared panels with some of comics most popular heroes and villans. While we can lament the fact that our favorite super-heroes may not exist in our world, it can be comforting to know that we exist in theirs. •

Praise and adulation? Scorn and ridicule? Email me at philip@comicbookbin.com