The Post-Crisis Superman and Inter-Company Crossovers: A TVCU Timeline

Technically, for the sake of this timeline, I will be combining several continuities into one canon.  With this post I will be incorporating the "post-Crisis" canon, the "post Zero Hour" canon, the "Post Infinite Crisis/New Earth/Earth-0" canon, and the post Crisis version of Crossover Earth.

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC rebooted Superman's canon.  Very little that came before still happened.  This was a new timeline.  Though Superman had been operating for a few years in this timeline, those stories were told in flashbacks over time.  Zero Hour provided a soft reboot of the DCU that had very little effect on Superman.  Superman:  Birthright came out before Infinite Crisis and Supergirl (Kara) reappeared just before Infinite Crisis, both retconning some post-Crisis era stories, mainly negating a lot of John Byrne's mythology that started with Man of Steel.  Infinite Crisis rewrote a bit of Superman's past again, but was still a bit of a soft reboot.  Most intercompany crossovers happened on a Crossover Earth where all the comic book company characters coexisted and were not part of the main canons, but they mostly took place in the Post Crisis era, and involved the Post Crisis version of Superman.  So I will be covering here the Superman comic book crossovers that mostly took place between 1986 to 2011.  If I do cover the New 52 and Rebirth, it will be in a separate post.

And yes, I'm jumping from Golden Age to Modern Age.  I will get to the silver age, probably in the next post.  Fear not.

COMIC BOOK CROSSOVER UNIVERSE

Superman (Clark Kent)--This is the son of Jor-EL. He is represented in the TVCU by Post-Crisis Superman stories. Obviously, though, not all of those stories can count in TVCU canon.

In 1998 DC Comics incorporated a scientific theory called Hypertime into its canon, and in 2006 got rid of it. DC's version had all these timelines constantly fluctuating and weaving in and out, merging and unmerging. The reason was so that they could say every story happened somewhere. I have also adapted the Hypertime concept. My version is different. Basically, I blame it on time travelers. Every time a time traveler goes into the past, he or she creates a divergent timeline. Think of it as a river with a fork. One timeline now takes two directions. One is the main TVCU, and the other is the divergent timeline. Two futures stemming from one past. Though my version is different, my reason is the same. Everything exists. Every version of Superman has it's own home in its own TVCU divergent Hypertimeline. This also accounts for remakes of movies, reboots of series, and stories where zombies or apes or vampires or robots or mutants become dominant in the world.

1938--Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939), Sandman Mystery Theater #1-4 (Aug.–Nov. 1993)--SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE--Plagued by dreams, Wesley Dodds becomes the Sandman. In his first major case, he solves a series of murders committed by an unknown killer called the Tarantula. At the same time, he meets Dian Belmont. NOTES: Before the Sandman Mystery Theatre series, Secret Origins #7 (1986) established the date of the Sandman's debut as June 10, 1939. Since the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the debuts of several heroes (including the Sandman, the Flash and Hourman) have been moved earlier to fill the void left by the elimination of the Golden Age Superman and Batman. The Sandman's first published appearance was in New York World's Fair Comics #1, released April 30, 1939, although the story in Adventure Comics #40, which was published in early June 1939, preceded it chronologically (and was probably written first). Dian Belmont's first appearance was in Adventure Comics #47 (February 1940). The Tarantula in Sandman Mystery Theatre story bears little resemblance to the villain of Adventure Comics #40, which was reprinted in Justice League of America #94 (1972).

THE YOUNG ALL-STARS # 12 “‘M’ IS FOR ‘MONSTERS’” (DC COMICS)

Release Date: May 1988 (Setting is May 1942)
Series: Young All-Stars
Horror Crosses: Creature Commandos; King Kong
Non-Horror Crosses: All-Star Squadron; TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite; Aarn Munro; Hawkman (Golden Age); Robotman (Golden Age); Miss America; Justice Society of America; Superman (Golden Age); The War that Time Forgot; Wildcat; Metropolis; G.I. Robot; R.U.R.
The Story: Deathbolt attacks Project M to steal a T-Rex and place the Ultra-Humanite’s brain in it.
Notes: King Kong’s remains are seen at Project M. Project M is from the Creature Commandos series, which has been brought in via a New Adventures of Frankenstein tale by Donald F. Glut. This story does not bring in the entire Young All-Stars series or DC Comics line.  The Utlra-Humanite was introduced in the golden age Superman series. Most people only know Luthor and Zod as Superman's foes.  


JLA: Year One 

Feb. 1960--Justice League of America #9 (Feb. 1962), Justice League of America #200 (Mar. 1982), Secret Origins v.2 #32 (11.88), 52 #51 (Apr. 2007)--JLA: Year One--Aquaman, Batman, Black Canary, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman and Wonder Woman defeat the alien Appellax creatures. This is Black Canary II's public debut. NOTES: The JLA's post-Crisis origin was retold in Secret Origins #32, substituting Black Canary for Wonder Woman and omitting Batman; Superman did not join thereafter. In post-Infinite Crisis continuity, the Big Three were added back into this origin in Justice League of America v.2 #0 and 52 #51 (Apr. 2007). The latter story also confirmed Black Canary as an eighth founder. The JSA Sourcebook claims Canary's debut preceded Flash and Green Lantern, which seems unlikely.

11 Years Ago

Summer 1963--THE INCREDIBLE HULK VS. SUPERMAN: DOUBLE LIVES--Superman travels to New Mexico to investigate the reported sightings of a rampaging monster, and finds the Hulk.

10 Years Ago

1972--Sandman issue #54--From Loki Carbis: The Endless in Crossover Universes: Reading the "The Devil You Say" article got me thinking about the Sandman family of characters, and it occurred to me that a simple solution exists for their presence in many many stories without doing violence to any of them (or dragging too much universal baggage with them). In issue #54 of Sandman, the Sandman appears to Prez Rickard (a DC character) and offers him access to a range of "other Americas" - i.e. alternate timelines. This strongly implies that the Endless have the power to traverse the entire multiverse, allowing them to appear in the WNU, the TVCU, or anywhere else you care to name without needing to drag in all their crossovers from the DC Universe (e.g. Superman and Batman were both at a funeral held in the Dreaming in one issue, and so on). While some further work may be necessary to work out which particular universe a given appearance takes place in, this at least means that they can turn up anywhere and still have the crossover count. What do you guys think?

5 Years Ago

August 25, 1987--Booster Gold # 23--Lex Luthor knows James Bond.  



SECRET ORIGINS # 27 “A SYMPHONY OF SHADOWS: THE SECRET ORIGINS OF ZATARA AND ZATANNA” (DC COMICS)

Release Date: June 1988 (Contemporary Setting, along with numerous flashbacks from ancient times up to the 1960s)

Series: Zatara; Zatanna
Horror Crosses: Doctor Fate; Faust; Hellblazer; Doctor Occult; Sargon the Sorcerer; Spectre; Deadman; Phantom Stranger
Non-Horror Crosses: She; Justice League of America; Super Friends; All-Star Squadron; Justice Society of America; Hawkman (silver age); Batman (silver age); Atom (silver age); Green Lantern (silver age); Elongated Man; Hawkman (golden age); Starman (golden age); Flash (golden age); Green Lantern (golden age); Atom (golden age); Sandman (golden age); Johnny Thunder (golden age); Superman (silver age); Flash (silver age); Green Arrow (silver age)
The Story: Felix Faust captures Zatanna, and as they discuss his motivations, we are told not only the origins of Zatara and Zatanna, but also of Doctor Mist and Felix Faust.
Notes: This was meant to be the post crisis revised origins of Zatara and Zatanna. However, from pre-crisis to post-crisis, the canon of those characters didn’t really change, and this story really just expands on the older origin without altering it. This story also features the origins of Doctor Mist and Felix Faust, tying the four’s histories together. In the original version of the story, proposed by Jean Marc Lofficier, Wotan was meant to be the main villain. Wotan is from mythology, but this was the version who was an enemy of Doctor Fate. DC had it changed to Felix Faust, an enemy of the Justice League of America. This story conflates Felix Faust with the original Faust. This story reveals that when Zatanna was young, she had an affair with John Constantine. The flashbacks show Zatara as a member of the All-Star Squadron. Zatanna is shown in flashbacks to have worked with many members of the (DC) supernatural community. Doctor Mist is a member of the Global Guardians, first appearing in the Super Friends comic book, but he is based on a character from H. Rider Haggard’s Wisdom’s Daughter. There is a flashback to Zatanna’s original quest storyline. The Justice Society are shown in flashback to the storyline in which they are brought before congress and forced to retire, leading to the end of the golden age of heroes. Zatanna is also shown in flashback as a member of the Justice League of America.

3 Years Ago

1993--ICON--From Salvatore Cucinotta: Just found an odd crossover with Doctor Who of all things. The Milestone comic series "Icon" is probably best known for its label as the "Black Superman", but it's a lot more than that, writer Dwayne McDuffie made it that way. Good stuff. I've finally had a chance to read it, and in issue #26, Icon returns to earth after testifying on behalf of earth, to battle the alien death-obsessed psychopath calling itself "Oblivion". He arrives on earth thanks to a "Transmat", a teleportation technology that first appeared in "Doctor Who", though here, it's a company. Looks like a pretty legitimate crossover to me, as much as any crossover with "Doctor Who" is. Here, specifically, Transmat is referred to as a company ("Thank you for traveling Transmat", but it can easily be thought of as a brand name that overtook the market (IE: Bandaids vs. Adhesive Medical Strips).

2 Years Ago

SUPERMAN/ALIENS # 1 - 3 (DC AND DARK HORSE COMICS)

Release Date: July - September 1995 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Superman (modern age/Post-Crisis); Alien

The Story: Superman finds a ship in space from Krypton. The last survivors of Argo City had managed to escape before Krypton’s destruction, but they had been overtaken by Aliens, and now only the young girl Kara has survived. Superman and Kara fight to survive in a Red Sun environment, in which the Man of Steel is slowly losing his powers.

Notes: This Kara is not Superman's cousin Kara, but another Kara.

9-11.96--JL: Midsummer's Nightmare #1-3--Dr. Destiny returns, empowered by Know Man (1st app. #3); Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter join together to defeat them. (#3) NOTE: This series implies that a Justice League of some sort currently exists.

1996--FINAL NIGHT--A Sun Eater tries to eat our sun. This leads to several days of cold weather (in the TVCU. This happened in the summer, so all the shows didn't cover it.) Superman, whose powers were reduced by the lack of sunlight, is aided by a version of the Legion of Super-Heroes from an alternate future. They go to see Luthor in order to get use of the same ship Superman had to borrow the previous year for the events of Superman/Aliens, which he directly references. Note the entirety of Final Night is not TVCU canon, but this Superman crossover absolutely counts. I should say that the ending in which Hal Jordan sacrifices his life counts still, as much of the Green Lantern saga (1940 to present) is in the TVCU. There are lots of TVCU Green Lantern crossovers.

1 Year Ago

1.97--JLA #1--NEW WORLD ORDER TPB: THE HYPERCLAN SAGA--1st app. the Hyperclan (White Martians): A-Mortal, Armek, Fluxus, Primaid, Protex, Tronix, Zenturion and Zum, who raise the ancient Martian city of Z'onn Z'orr in Antarctica. They execute the villain Judgment . Metamorpho is rendered "inert" in saving Icemaiden, Nuklon & Obsidian when the Refuge "dies" and crashes to Earth. NOTE: Superman's hair should have been drawn short in this story arc.

September 1997--SAVAGE DRAGON # 41--”The Wedding”--First, I know very little about Savage Dragon, but it's clear he exists in the TVCU or at the very least, the divergent timeline of the Comic Book Crossover Universe. So here is what the TVCU Crew had to say about this issue in the Facebook Crossovers Forum:

Ivan Ronald Schabloski Erik did get quite a few cameos in there, both legit and otherwise.

Matt Hickman My favorite is that BARBARIC some how got wedding invitations to the land of OZ

Ivan Ronald Schabloski I can believe Jack Pumpkinhead was invited easier than I can believe the SINISTER SIX!

Ivan Ronald Schabloski Which reminds me; who's the redhead next to Popeye?

Matt Hickman this is the end of the issue what happens is Barbaric gets Ricochet knocked up. But since they just formed The Special Operations Strikeforce to replace Youngblood who's missing and presumed following the events of Mars Attacks Image their handlers demand a quickie wedding. Barbaric wants a big hero wedding just like [quote] "Reed and Sue". Ricochet reminds him that almost destroyed New York. He goes ahead anyhow and invites a bunch of heroes he's never even met. So then a group of the dumber villains attack the wedding. There's a big battle. Ricochet yells at everyone for ruining her wedding so they stop fighting and that’s why all the heroes and villains are sitting together. They don't want to face Ricochet's wrath. Oh, and that's Nova Kane, the girlfriend of E-Man..

Ivan Ronald Schabloski Thanks. I recognized E-Man, but not Nova Kane.

Matt Hickman Marge Simpson is also in the Crowd. I like to think Bart was invited because he's the hero known as Bartman and brought his family along. I also like to think this means Homer punched out Doc Ock.

Ivan Ronald Schabloski Punching out Doc Ock may be a bit much for Homer, but okay. Personally, I imagine that, since the Hulk is standing very close to the other Sinister Six, ol' Mean Green is probably responsible for Octavius missing the ceremony, given the way Erik Larsen handled them.

Matt Hickman Ock is with the rest of the Six in his white suit. Here, the ones Erik used from Return of the Sinister Six attacking the Wedding, was probably Ock’s idea, like the time he attacked the Avengers headquarters during the Infinity War with his own Masters of Evil.

And then I found this from the Savage Dragon Wiki: Josh Eichorn: Has pictures of Princess Diana that he’s willing to let go for a damn fair price considering what he went through to get them.

HEROES

The Special Operations Strikeforce - Level One (First Appearance)

- Dragon (Joins)

- Barbaric (Joins)

- Dart (Joins)

- The Kid Avenger (Joins)

- Rapture (Joins)

- Ricochet (Joins)

- Rock (Joins)

- Smasher (Joins)

- SuperPatriot (Joins)

The Special Operations Strikeforce - Level Two (First Appearance)

- Crusher (Joins)

- GoldBrick (Joins)

- Morose (Joins)

- Radical (Joins)

- The Shrew (Joins)

The Special Operations Strikeforce - Level Three (First Appearance)

- Beast Boy (Joins)

- Feezle (Joins)

- Horridus (Joins)

- Lethal (Joins)

- Widow (Joins)

- Sgt. Marvel (First Appearance)

- Tiger (First Appearance)

Liberty & Justice

Mighty Man II

Vanguard

GUEST HEROES

Destroyer Duck

Leonard the Duck

Iron Hawk

Moonspider

Prism

Hot Led Ink

WildStar

HotWire

SkyLark

Antarctic

DNAgents

- Surge

- Amber

- Rainbow

- Sham

- Tank

Kitchen Sink

Zot

Alpha Productions

E-Man

Nova Kane

Teddy Q

AC Comics

FemForce

- Ms. Victory

- Blue Bucketeer

- She-Cat

- Tara

Sentinels of Liberty

- Captain Paragon

- Scarlet Scorpion

WildStorm

StormWatch

- Fahrenheit

- Fuji

- HellStrike

The Wildcats

- Lord Emp

- Spartan

- Grifter

- Maul

- Void

- Voodoo

- WarBlade

- Zealot

Mirage

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

- Leonardo

- Donatello

- Raphael

- Michelangelo

Cartoon Books

Fone Bone

Thorn Harvestar

Ted the Bug

Aardvark-Vanaheim

Cerebus

Bob Burden Studios

Flaming Carrot

Legend

Hellboy

Madman

Monkeyman & O'Brien

Avant-Guarde

Immortal Two

-Gabrielle

-Gaijin

Awesome

Kaboom

Maximum

Mr. Spook

Big Bang

Megaton

Ultra Girl

Knight Watchman

Ultiman

Thunder Girl

Shadowline

ShadowHawk II

Harris

Vampirella

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

Angel Murphy

Stephenson

Hawkins

Wally

VILLAINS

The Vicious Circle

- Armm (First Appearance)

- Bagman

- Bud Ugly

- Neutron Bob

- Roughneck

- Tech

GUEST VILLAINS

The Industrial Accidents

- Bush-Man

- Munchie

- Poly Morphus

- Stallion

- Switchblade

- Tina Tuna

Cartoon Books

The Rat Creature

UNOFFICIAL GUEST STARS

Cartoons

Marge Simpson

Popeye

DC

Batman

Captain Marvel

Robin

Superman

Marvel

The Fantastic Four

- Mister Fantastic

- The Human Torch II

- The Invisible Woman

- The Thing

The Sinister Six

- Doctor Octopus

- Electro

- The Hobgoblin II

- Mysterio

- The Sandman

- The Vulture

Captain America

Daredevil

The Hulk

Peter Parker

Wolverine

Oz

Jack Pumpkinhead

The Scarecrow

The Tin Woodsman

Real World

Elton John

President Bill Clinton

SUMMARY

President Clinton finally gets to meet one of his greatest idols in the form of SuperPatriot as he welcomes him and the rest of the newly formed Special Operations Strikeforce to the White House. It is pointed out to him that it is Dragon that is running the team, not SuperPatriot. Hawkins attempts to introduce Dragon to Clinton but he is not interested, preferring to witness the President getting verbally abused by SuperPatriot over the actions of the government to Third World nations.

Hawkins grows frustrated with Dragon but is cheered up when Barbaric expressed a huge interest in being marketed as a celebrity. Barbaric is enthusiastic about being a brand name just like the members of Youngblood were, despite Dragon’s adamant stance against such actions. He also notes that the extra money would really help when Ricochet and he have their unborn child. Hawkins is horrified by the prospect of trying to market two youngsters with a child born out of wedlock and advises him to get married before Ricochet’s bump starts to show.

At the S.O.S. compound, an angry Rapture confronts Dragon over the inclusion of Jennifer Murphy within the team. She accuses her ex-boyfriend of recruiting her solely to upset her but this theory is rejected outright. Dragon points out that they are no longer together and he can do anything he desires but also Rapture and Smasher will not even be working together anytime soon as they are on completely different teams at the moment.

Barbaric makes a desperate proposal of marriage to Ricochet and is relieved when she accepts. He then gives Hawkins a signal that their plan is in motion and they can now start preparing a toy deal. Barbaric goes to see Dragon and interrupts a training session between him and Smasher. He asks that Dragon be his best man and states that SuperPatriot is going to be giving Ricochet away at the altar.

As he is getting his haircut changed to improve his image, Barbaric is confronted by Ricochet after she discovers the identities of some of the people he has invited to their wedding. A huge number of heroes have been invited as Barbaric wants to recreate other famous weddings between superheroes. It is pointed out that those events always ended in disaster and he agrees to rein it in, despite having taken out a full page advert in a newspaper for their ceremony.

The day of the wedding finally arrives and Dragon joins Barbaric in welcoming the wedding guests which consist of all kinds of superheroes. Hellboy is amongst the crowd and he gets to talking with Dragon about government work, offering the chance for Dragon to move over to the B.P.R.D. so that he can avoid the spandex costume situation.

As the ceremony is about to commence, a number of villains carry out an assault but the sheer number of heroes present causes it to be a fairly one-sided affair. Ricochet screams for the violence to end as it is ruining her special day and all of the combatants soon stand down. The priest finally gets to carry out the ceremony and Barbaric and Ricochet are soon married.

Ricochet throws her flowers which are caught by Smasher before Barbaric removers her garter belt. As he and Ricochet tease with one another about their wedding night, the garter is thrown out towards the male guests. It ends up landing atop Dragon’s fin, something that hardly amuses him.

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11.98--DC One Million #1--DC ONE MILLION--The Justice Legion A: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Starman, Hourman and Flash John Fox travel back in time to invite the JLA to the 853rd Century, where the original Superman is to return from seclusion. When the JLA are sent to the future, the "Hourman virus" begins infecting the planet. It was planted in Hourman by Solaris, the evil living sun, as a means of prompting his own creation. Montevideo, Uruguay is destroyed by Vandal Savage's rogue Rocket Red unit. NOTE: Flash John Fox first appeared in the Flash 50th Anniversary Special (1990). This Wonder Woman resembles Power Princess of the Squadron Supreme.

SPIDER-MAN: THE GATHERING OF THE SINISTER SIX (NOVEL BY ADAM-TROY CASTRO)

Release Date: March 1, 1999

Series: Spider-Man

Animated Series Crosses: Scooby-Doo!; Jackie Chan Adventures; Carmen Sandiego

Other Crosses: Invaders; Captain America; Human Torch (golden age); Sub-Mariner; Casablanca; Hulk; Terry and the Pirates; Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal; Fargo; Trading Places/Coming to America; The Great Race; North by Northwest; Indiana Jones; Marathon Man; Smilin’ Jack; Iron Man; Sherlock Holmes; Die Hard; Fu Manchu; James Bond; Superman; Law & Order; Ellery Queen; Batman; Usual Suspects; Unbreakable; Maltese Falcon; NYPD Blue

The Story: A new Sinister Six is formed.

Notes: Because of the appearance of the Mystery, Inc team, and not as 40-somethings, this must be the team from the newer animated films that started with Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. This film series continues with all the previous animated series as canon. In Zombie Island, the gang are all adults, post college. Velma has a Master’s degree. The team had split up and in Zombie Island are reunited. So the “kids” here are now in the mid-20s, in a time period that is contemporary with release dates based on pop culture and technology. And why not place that series in the Comic Book Crossover Universe timeline? Thus,Spider-Man: Gathering of the Sinister Six should be placed in that main Comic BookCrossover Universe timeline. This then brings the Jackie Chan Adventures and Carmen Sandiego into the Comic Book Crossover Universe. Though this novel was written for the Marvel Universe, the inclusion of of Superman allows us to also place it in the Comic Book Crossover Universe. The Spider-Man of the Comic Book Crossover Universe is similar to his Marvel Universe counterpart, but they have not had exactly the same life and adventures. Similarly,all the other listed crosses from outside animation are not exactly the same as their original sources, but are merely Comic Book Crossover Universe counterparts.

1999--SUPERMAN VS. THE TERMINATOR: DEATH TO THE FUTURE--Sarah and John Connor have been travelling the nation hiding from Terminators. When in Metropolis, the mother and son are attacked by a Terminator who teleports in from the year 2032. This is noticed by Superman (Clark Kent) who flies in and ends up teleported to the future. There he finds a future of the Terminators, and discovers John Henry Irons (Steel) still alive and part of the resistance. In the present, Sarah is aided by Lois Lane (they're married now), Supergirl, and Superboy. (See notes.) Meanwhile, "Cyborg Superman" gives information to the Terminators on how to create upgraded Terminators to fight Superman, and Lex Luthor reveals that he helped fund Skynet under the belief that should it get activated, he would be able to control it. NOTES: TERMINATOR--THIS IS PART OF THE TIMELINE THAT FOLLOWS THE FIRST TWO MOVIES. THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES IS PART OF THE TVCU 2. THE THIRD FILM ISN'T REALLY CANON OUTSIDE THE "TERMINATOR CINEMATIC UNIVERSE". THE FINAL MOVIE IS CANON WITH ALL THE TIMELINES. SUPERMAN--SUPERMAN AND TEAM SUPERMAN, AS WELL AS THE SUPERMAN VILLAINS, ARE ALL PART OF THE POST CRISIS CANON THOUGH FOR OUR PURPOSES THIS TAKES PLACE IN THE COMIC BOOK CROSSOVER UNIVERSE, WHICH SOME WOULD REFER TO AS THE POST-CRISIS VERSION OF CROSSOVER EARTH.

SUPERMAN VS. PREDATOR (DC AND DARK HORSE COMICS)

Release Date: 2000 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Superman (modern age/Post-Crisis); Predator

The Story: When a Predator lands his ship in Central America, Superman investigates, only to fall victim to a power draining virus. Meanwhile, the Predator sees Superman as a worthy opponent.

Notes: This takes place in the Comic Book Crossover Universe, aka the post crisis Crossover Earth.

GREEN LANTERN VERSUS ALIENS # 1 - 4 (DARK HORSE AND DC COMICS)

Release Date: September - December 2000 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Green Lantern; Alien

Non-Horror Crosses: Superman

The Story: Kyle Rayner, who has replaced Hal Jordan as Green Lantern of space sector 2814 (which includes his homeworld Earth) joins former members of the Green Lantern Corps in taking on a swarm of xenomorphs found in sector 1522 after a Coluan vessel crashes there.

Notes: Green Lantern also has a cross with the Quantum Archangel, a Lovecraftian Doctor Who novel. Hal Jordan was Green Lantern from 1959 to 1994, though note comic book time counts in this reality. When Coast City was destroyed by villains, he went mad and destroyed the Corps, and became a villain himself. Kyle Rayner then was given the only remaining power ring. There are a lot more details to that story, but for our purposes in the Comic Book Crossover Universe, that’s all we need to know. Incidentally, DC has also decided that the details of that story aren’t relevant anymore, and have retroactively removed them (and then re-added them, sort of). Kyle Rayner has also fought the Predators as a member of the Justice League in JLA versus Predator. The planet Colu is the homeworld of Brainiac, one of Superman’s greatest foes.

JLA VERSUS PREDATOR (DC AND DARK HORSE COMICS)

Release Date: December 20, 2000 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: JLA; Predator

Non-Horror Crosses: Superman (Modern Age/Post-Crisis); Batman (Modern Age/Post Crisis); Green Lantern; Martian Manhunter; Plastic Man; The Flash; The Atom; Aquaman; Wonder Woman (Modern Age/Post Crisis); Legion of Super-Heroes

The Story: The Justice League find themselves challenged by Predators who are altered to have the same powers and abilities (and equipment) as the Earth heroes.

Notes: This story is a follow up to the previous encounters between Superman and Batman and the Predators. The Justice League here is not the same team from the “silver age“ of heroes. That team disbanded in the 1980s (not accounting for the sliding timeline), and this team was recently formed. The incarnation in this story consists of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Plastic Man, the Flash, the Atom, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman. The Green Lantern here is Kyle Rayner, who has also fought the Alien xenomorphs. The Flash here is Wally West. The alien Dominators also appear in this story, who originated as villains in the Legion of Super-Heroes.



2001--Superman/Gen13--When Fairchild gets amnesia, she believes she is Superman's cousin Supergirl.

SUPERMAN/ALIENS 2: GOD WAR (DARK HORSE AND DC COMICS)

Release Date: May - December 2002 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Superman (Modern Age/Post-Crisis); Alien

Non-Crosses: Jack Kirby’s Fourth World

The Story: When a ship of Aliens enters the space of Apokolips, Darkseid plans on using them in his war against New Genesis.

Notes: This cross does not bring in every Superman story and especially does not bring in every DC comics story. But just wait until I write the Comic Book Crossover Encyclopedia, coming around 2022.

January to February 2005--The Superman/Darkness crossover--From John D Lindsey Jr : The Superman/Darkness crossover made a big deal about the Mafia having trouble setting up shop in Metropolis specifically because of the Superman, so some of them probably just go there for the lack of competition and the (mistaken) idea that Big Blue probably isn't all he's cracked up to be.

SUPERMAN AND BATMAN VERSUS ALIENS AND PREDATOR (DARK HORSE AND DC COMICS)

Release Date: January 8 - February 14, 2007 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Superman (Modern Age/Post-Crisis); Batman (Modern Age/Post-Crisis); Alien; Predator

The Story: When a mountain climbing crew disappears in the Andes, the World’s Finest team investigates and finds Predators whose ship has been stuck there since the Ice Age.

Notes: This is a sequel to the previous Superman and Batman crosses with Aliens and Predator in the Comic Book Crossover Universe.

One Year Later

ACTION COMICS # 858 - 863 “SUPERMAN AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES” (DC COMICS)

Release Date: Late December 2007 - May 2008 (Setting is Contemporary and 3008)
Series: Superman (New Earth)
Animated Series Crosses: Futurama
Other Crosses: Legion of Super-Heroes
The Story: The Legion summon Superman to the 31st century in order to gain his assistance. The Earth’s sun has turned red, which makes Superman powerless. A villain called Earth-Man has formed the Justice League of Earth, and has turned Earth xenophobic by convincing them that Superman had really been a human who protected Earth from alien threats. Thus, the Legion have become outlaws.
Notes: As many aliens are being rounded up for detention centers in major cities throughout Earth, one question must be asked. Why not Zoidberg? That’s right. Doctor Zoidberg, who works at Planet Express in New New York, is among the aliens being rounded up. And it makes sense. Futurama is also set 1000 years in the future, taking place contemporary with the adventures of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Superman involved here is the version that existed in the DC continuity that followed Infinite Crisis but preceded the next reboot in Flashpoint. This five year period was said to take place in the DC multiverse known as the 52, on Earth-0, aka New Earth. The Legion of Super-Heroes here is more complicated. It’s the same version of the Legion that existed in the silver age, and early post-crisis stories, recently having been revealed as still existing, but with minor continuity changes to reflect Superman’s altered history. Following Flashpoint, in the New 52, this version of the Legion will still exist, but with once more a few alterations to reflect Superman’s ever changing canon. However, a lot of what I just said should be ignored completely when discussing the Comic Book Crossover Universe. Since this is a cross with Futurama, even if this story takes place on New Earth or Prime Earth of the DC Multiverse, it likely also happened in the Comic Book Crossover Universe. That would mean that this story involved the Comic Book Crossover Universe Superman. That can work. The New Earth Superman brought back the concept that young Superman had been a member of the Legion, thus tying back into the silver age continuity and canon.

October 2009--POWER GIRL # 4--"Girls' Night Out"--From James Bojaciuk: The main cast of Big Bang Theory accosts Power Girl at a movie theatre. Big Bang Theory is probably in the TVCU, as in one episode they bought a time machine from the 1960 Time Machine movie that apparently worked (and then they were attacked by morlocks--in what might've been a dream sequence). That said, even if Big Bang Theory *is* in, this would be the AU Power Girl that Dennis wrote about in some of his articles. (From me: I disagree a bit with James. I believe this to be the cousin of the golden age Superman, who also came from Krypton, but arrives much later in 1976. Following the Crisis, Kara temporarily believed herself to be from ancient Atlantis, the granddaughter of Arion, but by the point of this story, her original memories were restored.)

CROSSOVERS BETWEEN THE POST CRISIS DCU AND OTHER REALITIES

[This section is different in that it's not shared universe crossovers within the TVCU, but crosssovers between the Superman of the Post-Crisis DCU and other realities. Like the above section, this one is also incomplete. If you have a cool Superman crossover you think should be added, say so in the comments section below.] 1 Year Ago

Circa 1996?--MORE BLOOD--"Fool's Paradise"--The Destroyer, Remo Williams, teams up with Batman. There is also a reference to the Question and Richard Dragon. I'm placing this in 1996. The book came out in 2014, but Remo Williams is not immortal. Also, there is a reference to Batman having kryptonite in his cave in case Superman needed to be taken out. I'm guessing this takes place after Superman gave the kryptonite to Batman but before the red kryptonite got used on Superman in JLA. So this is about half-way between those storylines. I also don't think this could take place in the New 52. Superman giving Batman the kryptonite as a contingency was a very post-Crisis era storyline.
June to August 1997--The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo--From John D Lindsey Jr: In The Superman/Madman Hullaballoo, by Mike Allred, Mr. Pink from Reservoir Dogs (drawn to look just like Steve Buscemi) turns up and briefly gets infused with Superman's power. The comic is a cross-dimensional crossover between Superman's world and Madman's world, but Mr. Pink is native to Supes' world. Of course, one has to question the wisdom of any gangster that would even bother to set up shop in Metropolis…

SUPERMAN & BUGS BUNNY # 1 - 4 (DC COMICS)

Release Date: July - October 2000

Series: Superman (Post-Crisis); Bugs Bunny

Animated Series Crosses: Looney Tunes; Porky Pig; Road Runner; Speedy Gonzales; Tweety and Sylvester; Foghorn Leghorn; Daffy Duck; Pepe Le Pew; One Froggy Evening

Other Crosses: JLA; Martian Manhunter; Flash; Batman (Post-Crisis); Wonder Woman (Post-Crisis); Plastic Man; Green Lantern; Aquaman (Post-Crisis); Green Arrow

The Story: While Mr. Mxyzptlk is being sent back to his 5th dimension from the DC Universe, he encounters the Dodo, who is returning to Wackyland from the Looniverse. The two conspire to team-up and merge the universe of Superman and his Justice League with that of the Looney Tunes. The Justice League and Looney Tunes work together to save both worlds.

Notes: When this was published, it was official canon for both the DC Universe and Looney Tunes. DC was operating under the Hypertime concept where the main DC Universe was the central timeline and other realities were part of Hypertime. This series first used the term ”Looniverse” to describe the reality of the Looney Tunes. In 2001, an unreleased Tiny Toon Adventures video game would also use the term, cementing it as official canon. A lot of useful information comes from this series. We learn that DC Comics are published as fiction in the Looniverse. We learn that Looney Tunes shorts set in historical settings actually feature the ancestors of the Looney Tunes characters. We learn that both Speedy Gonzales and the Road Runner are faster than the Flash even when he uses the Speed Force. When the story ends, everyone returns to their proper settings, except for the Dodo and Michigan J. Frog, who both stay in the DC Universe! Michigan would die in 2005, and had been working for the WB Network as mascot since 1995, so there are two possibilities. Either his stay in the DCU didn’t last long, or else he actually had migrated to the DCU much earlier, perhaps in 1994’s reality altering Zero Hour event, and his work for the WB had been in the DC Universe all along! In 2011, this version of the DC Universe (and Hypertime) allegedly ceased to exist, but DC continued to publish Looney Tunes comics, which continued to fit with the Looney Tunes canon of the Looniverse, which at this point you may have figured we have been calling the Cartoon Universe. Recently, the universe in which the Superman and Justice League of this team-up existed has been shown to still exist as part of the New 52 multiverse, with other DC titles, like Looney Tunes, said to exist “beyond the 52”. So it seems like from DC’s perspective, this story could still have happened. And it doesn’t make sense for us to consider our Cartoon Universe version to not be the same Looniverse. My theory is that the Looniverse of this story was indeed the Cartoon Universe, of the greater Cartoon Multiverse, a multiverse that exists “beyond the 52” in a larger “megaverse” and “omniverse”. So Bugs and pals in this case interacted with one of the universes of DC’s New 52 multiverse.

THUNDERCATS/SUPERMAN (WILDSTORM/DC COMICS)

Release Date: January 2004

Series: Thundercats; Superman (Post-Crisis)

The Story: Mumm-Ra learns that a second Eye of Thundera exists in another dimension. More specifically, it is in a museum in Metropolis, home of Superman. The Thundercats end up in Metropolis and encounter Superman. Eventually they work together after the usual fight due to misunderstanding.

Notes: The Thundercats come from an alternate dimension. More specifically, they travel from a hypertimlineline called “Third Earth” to the Central Timeline of the DC Universe. For our purposes, we don’t have to modify this. It’s been demonstrated that the DC Hypertime and Cartoon Multiverse Hypertime may be the same. Its interesting to note that the Thundercats are fictional toys and cartoons within the DCU just as they are in the real world. Also, even though we hear them speaking English in the cartoon, in fact it’s revealed they are speaking a different alien language. It is this language barrier that contributes to the initial misunderstanding and fight when the Thundercats encounter Superman. This is not the Cartoon Universe Superman, but rather his alternate reality doppelganger from what was the mainstream DC Universe in the “post-crisis” era that ran from 1986 to 2011. This version of the DC Universe was thought destroyed but DC’s Convergence series has recently revealed that the former DC Universe of that era still existed and can be accessed via a place called Vanishing Point, that exists outside of time and space, and was once the headquarters of the Linear Men.

THE NEW 52


December 30, 2015--SUPERMAN: LOIS & CLARK--A while into the New 52, it turned out the pre-Flashpoint Superman survived and was now living in the new DC Universe. He has his own fortress, where he still keeps many things, including, apparently, THE IRON GIANT!


HYPERTIME/ELSEWORLDS

ANTIMATTER UNIVERSE: The Elder Gods are a race of cold, alien, and evil intelligences that exist in the non-spacetime of swirling antimatter "outside" our universe. Possibly dwarfing even Unicron in terms of power, their limitless abilities are checked only by their inscrutable motivations and indifference to the affairs of lesser egregores that grow in the warm and wet hothouse of time and space we so arrogantly call "reality". This is also where the Timelord Omega was exiled. DC used Crisis on Infinite Earths to simplify its complex continuity and multiverse into a single narrative set on a single universe, not counting the antimatter universe which was integral to the story of how the Green Lantern villain Sinestro acquired his powers. Editorial mandate initially meant stories featuring the Crime Syndicate were entirely unavailable to writers, but DC later attempted to reintroduce the Crime Syndicate without the setting of Earth-Three in 1992's Justice League Quarterly #8, which featured a group of aliens from the planet Qward (the antimatter counterpart of Oa) who functioned as "more powerful" Justice League analogues. This first attempt at bringing back the Crime Syndicate did not stick, and the principal concept behind Earth-Three would be revisited in Grant Morrison's JLA: Earth 2. Morrison recast much of Earth-Three's history as that of the Antimatter Universe's own version of Earth, which is home to the Crime Syndicate of America. He makes notable departures to this formula however, by presenting this world as the product of an alternate history and by reimagining various Crime Syndicate members (for example, by recasting Owlman as Batman's brother Thomas Wayne, and by recasting Ultraman not as the alien Kal-El but a human astronaut who acquires Kryptonian abilities). At the end of JLA: Earth-2, Amerika had launched a nuclear strike on London, against Britain's independence movement. In Superman/Batman Annual #1, three members of this Crime Syndicate of Amerika—Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman—appear on the main DC Earth, along with an unnamed antimatter doppelganger of Deathstroke (whose behavior, including humorous breaking of the fourth wall, and powers are exactly the same as Marvel Comics' Deathstroke parody Deadpool) hired to protect Bruce Wayne. The story supposedly takes place as the first time Superman and Batman figure out each other's identities and matches Batman, Superman, and Deathstroke against their respective antimatter selves. It should be noted, however, that the story is being told by Mr. Mxyzptlk, and may therefore be completely untrue. In the final issue of the 52-issue weekly series 52 in 2007, a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 parallel realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-3". As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects of the pre-Crisis Earth-Three. The Earth-3 concept was not heavily explored after this, but does figure in a couple of issues of 52's follow-up weekly series, Countdown to Final Crisis (2007–8). The name of the new Earth-3 team is revealed to be the Crime Society of America. The Crime Society are considered to be evil versions of the heroes of Earth-2, acting as a new Golden Age counterpart to the Antimatter Earth. A hero known as the Jokester operates in this universe, as later do the Riddler, Three-Face (Evelyn Dent), and Duela Dent. In Countdown #31 the version of Zatanna (Annataz Arataz) from this world was used by Superman-Prime to keep Mister Mxyzptlk in check. Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-Three. Despite the return of the DC Multiverse and the creation of a new Earth-3, the Antimatter Earth still exists in Qward, acting as an inverted microcosm of New Earth. The pre-established Crime Syndicate of Amerika from the Antimatter Universe were then featured heavily in Trinity, DC's third year-long weekly series.

Earth-96--Elseworlds--Older versions of the Post-Crisis heroes. A future timeline, in which Superman has been retired for ten years, following events which severed his ties to humanity. In order to deal with a new, often lawless generation of heroes, Superman reforms the Justice League, a gathering of power which concerns a non-powered group of humans led by Lex Luthor. He later settles down with Wonder Woman and they have a son. Named in Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths (2006). First appeared in Kingdom Come #1 (May 1996).

Looniverse--This is the universe of cartoons that do not fit in the Television Crossover Universe. The name was first used in the Superman/Bugs Bunny comic book mini-series to describe the reality of Bugs Bunny. It was also used in an unreleased Tiny Toon Adventures video game.

TVCU-2

TVCU-2--This is my go-to place to put remakes and reboots. I also place here Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I would also place here the four Batman movies from the Burton/Schumacher era. I used to place the 90s Flash here, but that's actually been shown to be Earth-90, the same universe as Smallville, as of the Arrowverse Elseworlds crossover, and this would also be the location of the unaired Justice League Pilot. Basically, this is 1990s DC on screen era. I had previously conflated the TVCU-2 with the Comic Book Crossover Universe where modern age comic book crossovers take place, but I have decided that is the separate universe in the main part of this post.

 

The 52--A new Multiverse was revealed at the end of the 52 weekly limited series. Unlike the original Multiverse, which was composed of an infinite number of alternate universes, this Multiverse is composed of a predetermined number of alternate universes, which were originally referred to as New Earth and Earths 1 through 51, although erroneously in Tangent: Superman's Reign #1, New Earth is referred to as Earth-1; however, in Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1, New Earth is instead designated Earth-0. Dan Didio has since explicitly denied that New Earth is Earth-1. The alternate universes were originally identical to New Earth and contained the same history and people until Mister Mind "devoured" portions of each Earth’s history, creating new, distinct Earths with their own histories and people, such as the Nazi-themed version of the Justice League that exists in Earth-10. Each of the alternate universes have their own parallel dimensions, divergent timelines, microverses, etc., branching off them. The Guardians of the Universe serve as protectors of the new Multiverse. Each universe within the Multiverse is separated by a Source Wall, behind which Anti-Life keeps the universes apart. The Bleed permeates the Anti-Life in unpredictable places behind the Source Wall, allowing for transport between the universes. The destruction of New Earth would set off a chain reaction that would destroy the other fifty-one alternate universes at the same time, leaving only the Antimatter Universe in existence. As a consequence of Alexander Luthor's attempts to recreate the Multiverse, fifty-two new Monitors were created to oversee the fifty-two universes created afterwards. The Monitors seek to protect the Multiverse from people who crossover from one alternate universe to another, through the Bleed or through innate ability, who the Monitors have labeled "anomalies". A partial list of some of the alternate universes that make up the new Multiverse was revealed in late November 2007.

I know that there are many more.  This is just a sampling.  If you've got a crossover that I didn't include, feel free to mention it in the comments section.  Note again that this post was specifically for the post-Crisis era, 1986 - 2011, and is only for comic book shared universe crossovers.  So for instance, Superman/Fantastic Four doesn't count because that's the DCU Superman meeting the Marvel Universe FF, and pop culture references don't count, for instance, on Roswell, when a character says he knows Superman.