Crossovers in comic books are so common that they’re practically routine. Heroes are teaming up with other heroes, cartoon characters are falling into other worlds, or cosmic threats are joining multiple continuities together. Part of this is because the limits of what one can do in a comic are limited only by the author and artist’s imaginations. Still, it’s always a surprise when two wildly different properties come together in a medium such as comics.
It can make for a genuinely bizarre read to see crossovers that push the boundaries of plausibility. Those are the specific type of comics that bring together heroes, villains, and even real people of varying tones and genres, often under less than logical circumstances.
King Kong and Planet of the Apes
This 2017 series brings together two franchises that have nothing to do with each other apart from having apes as the central characters. This story takes place between the first two Planet of the Apes movies, beginning with a chase underway for Taylor undertaken by the gorilla army and Dr. Zaius.
But the story takes a dramatic turn when they not only come across the Statue of Liberty but the corpse of an ancient giant gorilla - a member of Kong’s species. Bringing along Zira and Cornelius for the ride, Zaius travels to Skull Island, wherein they find another Kong alive. In an attempt to prove ape supremacy, the apes decide to bring Kong home, wherein tragic events ensue.
Mars Attacks the Transformers
The popular trading card series and science fiction comedy film Mars Attacks had a series of comic book crossovers in the early 2010s, meeting the likes of Ghostbusters and Popeye. But a combination that made little sense and perfect sense was when they attacked the Transformers. Beginning post-battle with the Decepticons, both sides of the Cybertronian war suddenly find themselves under attack by invading Martians.
Megatron attempts to assert himself before the aliens shrink him (much to Starscream’s amusement). Then, finally, both sides decide to team up to defeat the aliens—before Megatron immediately makes clear this union won’t last.
Spider-Man Meets Ren and Stimpy
A Marvel superhero crossing over with two of the wildest characters in Nickelodeon history doesn’t seem like an obvious fit. Still, to this comic’s credit, it is fully aware of that fact. As Spider-Man explains, he’s filling in for Powdered Toast Man because the latter is controlled by a supervillain and must defeat him in battle. It happens.
Powdered Toast Man even proves himself to be a surprisingly physical match (and may even be stronger). After the main story’s over, Ren and Stimpy dress up as Wolverine and The Punisher as they thank Spidey for coming along (largely to boost their sales).
Godzilla Vs. Barkley
Godzilla has fought many titans throughout his reign as king of the monsters. In this comic, he faces his most formidable opponent yet; NBA superstar Charles Barkley. Upon seeing Godzilla rampage his way onto the scene, Barkley is urged by a small boy to take on the king. He magically grows to a giant size and takes on the irradiated lizard in a basketball match.
What makes this even funnier is that Barkley quickly proves himself to be a match for the titan, easily beating him in the game. Godzilla now must continually practice, even having to wear giant sneakers and shoot a million layups. He’s faced many ridiculous monsters before, but this defeat was delightfully absurd.
Suicide Squad and the Banana Splits
One is a team of supervillains engaging in black ops missions. The other is a bubble-gum pop rock band from the '60s comprised of talking animals. The story begins when, en route to a concert, the splits are mistaken for metahumans and are arrested. Luckily, Amanda Waller is ready to give them their only way out—through recruitment for a mission with Task Force X.
As the story unfolds, they find themselves facing evil robot children, Harley finds she can understand Snorky, and the story ends with the team attending the Splits’ concert. Now they’ve got a new sound straight out of Belle Reeve.
Batman/Elmer Fudd
DC and Looney Tunes have crossed over with each other many times, mostly in comics intended for children. But there have been times when these classic characters are re-interpreted to fit in with the larger universe in a more grounded way.
Batman/Elmer Fudd begins in a bar populated with humanized and dangerous versions of various Looney Tunes characters, run by Porky. Then, through a bit of manipulation from low-life Bugs the Bunny, hitman Elmer Fudd decides to make Bruce Wayne his next target. Despite the somewhat goofy set-up, the story's tone remains dark, brooding, and always taking itself seriously.
Green Lantern and KFC’s Colonel Sanders
The Emerald Knight has teamed with many heroes over his career, but fast food founders/mascots are a whole other deal. In the aptly-named KFC: Across the Universe, Colonel Sanders reveals he has used the help of the Green Lantern Corps to expand his range of customers across the galaxy.
But he and Hal Jordan soon discover that Orange Lantern Larfleeze has stolen nearly every chicken sandwich sent into space, and it’s up to the two of them to stop him. Seeing real-life fast food icon Colonel Sanders becoming a temporary Green Lantern is genuinely something to behold.
Archie Vs. Predator
Archie is perhaps the most wholesome face one can find in comics. Hanging with friends, caught up in a silly love triangle, and surviving alien massacres. Of course, that last part technically counts, thanks to this delightfully crazy mash-up.
It begins when a Predator launches an attack on Archie and his friends while on vacation, then proceeds to follow them home to start a massacre on Riverdale. The classic Archie comic style is present throughout, making for a jarring experience to see so many of his supporting cast get horrifically murdered.