Top 10 Crossovers in Superhero Movies and Shows
#10: “Flash vs. Arrow” & “The Brave and the Bold”
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“The Flash” (2014-) & “Arrow” (2012-20) While not the first crossover between these two shows, these two episodes mark the first of the interconnected franchise’s annual crossover events. In “Flash vs. Arrow,” Barry Allen and Oliver Queen butt heads, first over their styles of heroism, and then when Barry is infected with rage. “The Brave and the Bold,” meanwhile, sees the Flash and his team help Arrow and company take down Captain Boomerang and stop a bomb plot. Although both episodes can be enjoyed separately, the throughline between them rewards watching them together and the burgeoning friendship between Barry and Oliver is great to watch.
#9: “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Iron Fist,” & “Marvel’s Luke Cage”
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“The Defenders” (2017) A crossover miniseries between every Netflix Marvel show, “The Defenders” sees Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist collaborate to take on the Hand, a secret criminal organization. Seeing these heroes team up, and conflict with each other, makes for a great team up, as most of the MCU crossovers tend to feature larger than life heroes, so a more street level crossover is a nice change of pace. Although there are some pacing issues, and the villains could use some more development, “The Defenders” remains an entertaining crossover we’d defend any day.
#8: Thor & Hulk
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“Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) Thor’s 3rd solo film isn’t entirely solo. When the god of thunder is stranded and captured on Sakaar, he discovers that the Hulk has been living there as Grandmaster’s champion. Their reunion is exactly as awesome as we’d all hoped, and it’s a major highlight of an already wild and hysterical movie. The pair of hotheaded fools engage in an incredible fight and a hilarious heart to heart, while Thor’s dynamic with Bruce Banner is also great. As a bonus, Hulk’s also helps Thor save the people of Asgard at a crucial moment. The sometimes angry green giant was the perfect spice to kick “Ragnarok” up a notch.
#7: “Agent Carter” & “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (2013-20) Given that both these Marvel shows aired on ABC, there were a few crossover moments between them. Although Agent Peggy Carter herself made a few cameos in season 2 flashbacks, the biggest crossover between them occurred in the show’s final season with the appearance of Daniel Sousa. The show’s leading man fits right in with the S.H.I.E.L.D. team, whose time traveling adventures let them bring him along for more adventures. His man out of time schtick never gets old, and his burgeoning romance with Daisy Johnson/Quake is the ship we didn’t know we needed! Our only complaint is that Sousa only got to join the crew in the last season!
#6: “Forever Red”
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“Power Rangers Wild Force” (2002) Yeah, the Power Rangers are superheroes too. For the franchise’s 10th anniversary, this episode features a crossover with a collection of Red Rangers from a variety of seasons. All of them team up to take on the Machine Empire and they fight on the moon. As ridiculous as it is awesome, “Forever Red” may be opaque to anyone unfamiliar with “Power Rangers,” but for diehard fans, it’s chock full of references from throughout the franchise, and even some others! Are those “Big Bad Beetleborgs” costumes we spy? Regardless, “Forever Red” is a crossover “Power Rangers” fans will remember forever.
#5: “Crisis on Earth-X”
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“Arrowverse” (2012-) The Arrowverse loves to come together in a crisis - and in a wedding. However, when the Flash’s wedding is crashed by Nazis from another universe, things get crazy! Featuring characters from four of the Arrowverse’s shows at the time, not to mention cameos, references, and fascist doppelgangers, “Crisis on Earth-X” delivers big time, with massive action sequences and spectacle galore! It also has lasting consequences for the storylines of multiple shows, with multiple couples getting married and a major character death. Although not the biggest crossover the Arrowverse has ever done, “Crisis on Earth-X” still marks quite the occasion.
#4: The Justice League
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“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” (2021) We prefer the Snyder Cut, and so should you! The Justice League is formed to battle Steppenwolf, to avert a dark future. So many famous heroes appearing together on the big screen alone is pretty great, but this version really went the extra mile in a lot of ways. Not only is the runtime much longer, but there’s more development for characters like Cyborg, as well as more crossover cameos that were cut, like Martian Manhunter. “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” may be a little too long for some people, 4 hours is a big commitment, but if you have the time, you’ll find a splendid superhero crossover.
#3: Three Live-Action Spider-Men, Their Biggest Foes , & Dr. Strange
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021) “Spider-Man” crossovers are always a win in our books, and “No Way Home” swung its way into the all-time greats. The MCU’s Peter Parker’s attempts to avoid responsibility with some ill-advised help from Doctor Strange has some disastrous, albeit awesome consequences, when villains from parallel worlds show up. To defeat them, he has to team up with Spider-Men played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garflield. The 3 Peters bounce off each other perfectly, the villains are all fantastic, there are great callbacks, as well as MCU Peter (finally) learning about responsibility, though at great cost. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is amazing, spectacular, and a bunch of other Spidey descriptors!
#2: Too Many MCU Heroes to Count
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“Avengers: Endgame” (2019) The finale to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga will go down in history as one of the biggest superhero movie crossovers to date! Not only does it feature the Avengers engaging in a time travel heist to save half the universe, but, along with all the callbacks to previous movies, heartfelt emotional moments, and heartbreaking tragedy. “Endgame” also features just about every major character from the MCU at the time! And practically every named hero gets time to shine onscreen at some point during that epic final battle! Years later, we still get chills everytime we think of what happened when so many Marvel icons assembled.
#1: “Crisis on Infinite Earths”
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“Arrowverse” (2012-) & DC Entertainment All the Arrowverse heroes teaming up to stop the destruction of reality by the Anti-Monitor is epic enough on its own! But “Crisis on Infinite Earths” is stacked to the brim with callbacks, cameos, and references to basically every DC movie and show from the last half century! The DCEU, the ‘60s “Batman” series, the ‘90s “Flash” show, “Smallville,” “Superman Returns,” “Batman: The Animated Series,” “Super Friends” - you name it, they’ve got it here! “Crisis on Infinite Earths” matches game changing, reality-altering stakes with the best superhero fan service ever put on screen! Any fan of the genre is going to find something to love and appreciate with this titanic crossover!
