10 Most Epic Movie Crossovers In Comics

Summary

• Movie-based comics, including crossovers, bring rich genre diversity to the industry beyond superhero books.
• Kong on the Planet of the Apes offers a fantasy-adventure clash between two iconic ape franchises.
• Franchise crossovers like Freddy vs Jason vs Ash deliver blood-soaked, epic battles for horror fans.

Since franchises like Planet of the Apes, Predator and Alien have become pop culture sensations, the comic book industry has looked to movies for some of their best titles. With fierce competition between publishers for various licenses, Marvel, DC and a variety of independent publishers have delivered readers some excellent sequels, prequels and more through comics. In fact, some of these stories have outperformed superhero books.

As great as movie-based comics are, they can get even better when readers are treated to a franchise crossover, either between two movie universes or with a superhero property. Ranging from horror and science fiction to action and crime, the industry derives some of its best and richest genre diversity from adapting successful films. With the likes of Star Wars and Terminator still seeing regular comic book releases, these movie-based comic crossovers delivered spectacular blockbuster action.

10 Kong on the Planet of the Apes Brings Beloved Movie Apes Together

Ryan Ferrier, Carlos Magno and Mike Huddleston

Kong on the Planet of the Apes takes place in the aftermath of the original Planet of the Apes movie, with the apes stumbling across the rotting corpse of a giant gorilla — one of Kong’s species. In response, they set off on an expedition to discover the origins of the beast, leading them to one of the last settlements of intelligent human life, Skull Island. Despite the noble intentions of the expedition’s scientists, the ape military decides to instigate war on the humans, so they can take Kong back with them.

Kong on the Planet of the Apes is effectively a remake of the original King Kong movie, with the apes making the same mistake as their human counterparts in 1933. The story reads like a classic fantasy-adventure comic, replete with the island’s monstrous threats and all the hallmarks of a perilous journey across the sea. For readers who want to see two of fiction’s most iconic ape-based franchises clash, this is it.

9 Freddy vs Jason vs Ash is a Horror Icon Free-For-All

Jeff Katz, James Kuhoric and Jason Craig

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash follows the horror grudge match of the century, bringing three cinematic giants to a head for a blood-soaked slasher story. The 2007-2008 miniseries takes place five years after Freddy vs Jason, and follows Ash as he begins work at Crystal Lake S-Mart. With Freddy trapped in Jason’s mind, he manipulates the killer into using the Necronomicon ex Mortis to resurrect him — and murdering some teens along the way. With Ash convinced of a Deadite presence in the area, he goes on the hunt — along with some fellow employees.

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash is packed full of fan service for people who love slashers, and gives Ash one of his greatest stories. As a sequel to three iconic franchises all in one, the miniseries is a must-read for horror fans, and delivers on blood-soaked action in every issue, leading to its epic three-way battle.

8 Django / Zorro Unites Outlaw Heroes of the Old West

Quentin Tarantino and Matt Wagner

After the success of Django Unchained in 2012, Quentin Tarantino joined Matt Wagner to unite the gunslinger bounty hunter with one of the oldest heroes in comics: Zorro. The 2014 miniseries, released through Dynamite and Vertigo, takes place years after the 2012 movie, with Broomhilda now safely settled and Django back on the road. Along the way, he meets Don Diego de la Vega, who takes him under his wing just as Dr. King Schultz did before.

Django / Zorro works as both a continuation of the 2012 Western and a rehash of the 1998 Mask of Zorro movie, again returning Diego to the role of teacher. The pair work together to liberate the oppressed Native Americans of Arizona from a tyrant, and it features some great moments that include Django donning the mask of Zorro.

7 Big Trouble In Little China / Escape From New York is a Love Letter to Kurt Russell and John Carpenter

Greg Pak and Daniel Bayliss

Big Trouble In Little China and Escape From New York represent John Carpenter’s forays into the action genre, as well as the films that made Kurt Russell a household name. In 2016, the characters Snake Plissken and Jack Burton clashed as their respective worlds crossed over, with the latter entering the dystopian future to aid in preventing the president from triggering war.

Big Trouble In Little China/Escape From New York combines the best of its respective heroes and their universes, sending them on an action-packed road trip to save the world. Replete with the respective protagonist’s best foes, the story merges dystopia with the supernatural in a fun story that highlights the pair’s different personalities and how they clash.

6 Marvel ZombiesvsArmy of Darkness Brings Evil Dead‘s Hero to the Marvel Universe

John Layman, Fabiano Neves and June Chung

Since the success of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise, Ash Williams has become a dominant force in independent comics, having crossed over with everyone from President Obama to Red Sonja. In 2007, he made his way to the Marvel Universe — specifically, the world of Marvel Zombies. As the hero navigates the streets of the decaying world, he is set upon by a variety of superheroes in zombie form.

Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness came along at the height of pop culture’s zombie craze — and there was no Marvel property better for Williams. Here, readers get to see one of pop culture’s best zombie-killers carve his way through some of comics’ greatest heroes in a blood-fueled epic.

5 BatmanvsPredator Pits the World’s Greatest Detective Against the Galaxy’s Greatest Hunter

Dave Gibbons, Andy Kubert and Adam Kubert

Batman vs Predator begins with the murder of a Gotham City boxer, prompting the Caped Crusader to launch an investigation in this crossover published by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics in 1991. As a Predator stalks the city streets, killing the best prey it can find, the hero is hot on its trail, leading to an epic brawl — which leaves Bruce Wayne close to death. Donning one of his many suits of mechanized armor, the Dark Knight challenges his enemy one final time.

Batman vs Predator builds up Batman as one of the Yautja’s best adversaries, and is strongly evocative of The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley). The story refrains from giving Batman excessive plot armor, instead making clear that the stakes are very real — and this Elseworlds Batman isn’t invulnerable. It should also be noted that this series will likely appeal much more to fans of the 1990s sequel than the original survivalist movie.

4 Transformers vsTerminator is a Robot Slugfest That ’80s Kids Will Love

David Mariotte, John Barber, Tom Waltz and Alex Milne

As two of the biggest robot-oriented franchises in media, seeing a clash between the Transformers and the Terminator was inevitable. In 2020, readers were given exactly that in a story that revised both James Cameron’s 1984 Terminator movie and the G1 Transformers cartoon series. The story follows the efforts of a T-800 to save Sarah Connor and lead the resistance against a Decepticon-controlled Skynet.

Transformers vs Terminator is an excellent reimagining of both franchise’s origin points, and concludes with all-out machine warfare. The miniseries proved the two universes to be one of the better crossover fits, with Megatron’s hunger for world domination and the question of malevolent machine intelligence playing into the story. Aided by Optimus Prime, Sarah and the T-800 battle their way to a future free of machine control.

3 Green LanternvsAliens

Ron Marz and Dwayne Turner

Following his run on the Green Lantern series, Ron Marz returned to the Green Lantern Corps with artist Dwayne Turner, in a story from 2000 that had them go up against a horde of Xenomorphs. After Hal Jordan moves the monsters to Mogo, Kyle Rayner returns years later, leading a squad of Lanterns on a rescue mission following the crash-landing of a starship. As they move through the wreckage, they’re set upon by a new generation of aliens.

Green Lantern vs Aliens does a great job of showing how versatile the Corps’ adventures can be, proving to be an excellent match-up between space-based adventure and cosmic terror. As members of Rayner’s squad begin to fall, it’s down to the young Green Lantern to fight his way out and prevent the spread of the Xenomorphs.

2 Predator vs Judge Dredd Would Be a Great Schwarzenegger/Stallone Vehicle

John Wagner and Enrique Alcatena

The Predator has fought a number of Marvel and DC heroes, but the best hunt comes when a dying Yautja makes its way to Mega City One. Naturally, in its attempt to find the ultimate prey for a glorious death, the creature sets his sights on Judge Dredd and his fellow street cops. Aided by the psychic descendant of Dutch Schaeffer, Dredd and Anderson determine that their enemy is dying, and just wants to go out in a blaze of glory.

Predator vs Judge Dredd was published in 1997 and is a fun continuation of the first movie, continuing Dutch’s legacy as Dredd leads into his final fight with his enemy. The miniseries features some excellent combat sequences, and proves Mega City One to be the perfect hunting ground for the Yautja — and that Dredd makes for their best prey.

1 Superman / Aliens II: The God War Gives the Man of Steel His Ultimate Challenge

Chuck Dixon, Kevin Nowlan and Jon Bogdanove

Superman has crossed over into a variety of movie universes in his past, including his team-up with Batman against Aliens and Predators. However, by far the most epic of these came in Superman/Aliens II: The God War, the 2003 sequel to the 1996 miniseries, Superman/Aliens. The second face-off follows the Man of Steel teaming up with the New Gods to fight Darkseid’s army of Xenomorph/Parademon hybrids.

True to its name, The God War is non-stop action as Superman, Orion, Big Barda and other heroes of New Genesis take the fight to Darkseid’s monstrous new minions. Featuring some of the most spectacular art sequences of the 2000s, the story sees the Man of Steel embroiled in non-stop combat, fighting his way to Darkseid to end the macabre attack from Aliens‘ Xenomorphs.