The Best Fights From The Epic 1996 Marvel Vs. DC Crossover (& Who Won)
Few comics have ever been more ambitious than the 1996 "Marvel Versus DC" event. The comic book featured two cosmic juggernauts threatening the existence of the DC and Marvel Universes, leading them to pit the greatest heroes against one another to decide the fate of their worlds. Reluctantly, the heroes battle against each other, creating several fights that seemed impossible before Marvel and DC agreed to the crossover.
In the four-issue series from Ron Marz, Peter David, Dan Jurgens, and Claudio Castellini, multiple match-ups between DC and Marvel heroes unfolded, with five of the eleven battles being decided by fan voting. While readers chose the winners of fights between the likes of Lobo and Wolverine, Storm and Wonder Woman, and Superman and the Hulk, the creative team selected the victors of match-ups between Thor and Shazam, Flash and Quicksilver, and Elektra and Catwoman.
However, four fights (which were all decided by fans) ended up standing out above the others in "Marvel Versus DC."
Wolverine vs. Lobo
The first was a fight between Wolverine and Lobo. The two violent characters went up against one another in a match-up between two powerful brawlers with pride on the line.
While Lobo was in the middle of sipping on an alcoholic beverage on an alien world, Logan was teleported to the same intergalactic bar, leading to immediate fireworks. Wolverine lunged at the Czarian with his claws, with Lobo responding with his chain and hook. The bounty hunter took direct disrespect to Wolverine coming to one of his favorite spots to relax and have a drink. The X-Men hero informed Lobo he didn't have a choice in the matter while calling the bar a dump.
During the fight, Lobo believed he got the upper hand by stabbing Wolverine in the chest with his hook. However, the adamantium-clawed mutant quickly pulled the weapon out of his chest and let his opponent know his healing factor allowed him to take even deadlier blows.
Wolverine knocked Lobo to the ground, and even with the DC alien talking serious trash, including taking jabs at Logan's short stature, the Marvel hero defeated him. Wolverine emerged from the fight largely unscathed and celebrated his victory by smoking a cigar. Ultimately, despite both Lobo and Wolverine being practically unkillable, the latter's quickness, ferocity, and claws proved too much for his likely inebriated opponent.
Winner: Wolverine
Wonder Woman vs. Storm
In a matchup between a literal God and an Omega Level Mutant, Wonder Woman vs. Storm ended up being one of the most badass fights between heroes.
In the crossover, Wonder Woman proved herself worthy after lifting Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. Realizing her pending fight with Storm wouldn't be fair with the enchanted weapon, Diana Prince ditched the hammer and her new powers. The fight ended up being a showcase for Storm's incredible mutant abilities, with Wonder Woman being a relatively easy opponent for Ororo Monroe. Storm achieved the win by creating a thunder and lightning storm and frying Wonder Woman with several powerful attacks, and the storm ended up frying the DC hero and leading to her defeat.
While Storm taking out one of the Trinity and pillars of the DC Universe might seem like a (quite literally) shocking outcome, her winning the fight highlighted the incredible upper limit of her powers. The result wasn't an indictment on Wonder Woman's fighting skills. It's likely the DC hero would have earned victory if she kept Thor's hammer, but Wonder Woman wanted to keep the fight as fair as possible. Even so, Storm's victory is well-deserved.
Winner: Storm
Superman vs. Hulk
In Metropolis, the Superman of the '90s ran into the Incredible Hulk after the pair worked together to stop Mentallo. After being transported to the Grand Canyon, where no innocent bystanders could be hurt in their battle of pure strength, the two heroes landed some serious haymakers against one another.
After hitting the Hulk with a punch that would kill most heroes, Superman learned that his heat vision could potentially subdue the Jade Giant. However, the blast of energy only further angers the Hulk. After a slugfest between Kal-El and Hulk, Superman extends the last of his strength to knock Hulk into a mountain and take out his opponent.
Like some of the outcomes from the "DC Versus Marvel" crossover, Superman's victory was decided by readers, and it's hard to argue with the result. Superman is just a more well-rounded, powerful hero than the Hulk. It's why he was also victorious in their later encounter in the one-shot, "The Incredible Hulk vs. Superman." If measured solely by strength, there is definitely an argument for the Hulk to come out victorious, but one-on-one, the Man of Steel reigns supreme. The battle between A-list heroes showed why.
Winner: Superman
Batman vs. Captain America
Batman and Captain America's fight in the crossover pitted DC's master tactician against Marvel's most notable soldier.
The pair of heroes take their brawl to the sewers and quickly realize they are fighting on the same side, with Captain America noting the cosmic circumstances are the only reason they were duking it out. Steve Rogers commended Batman and told him that in another scenario, he could see them as partners.
The battle continued for hours, with neither Batman nor Captain America relenting. Finally, both heroes realize somebody has to win the fight since billions of lives are on the line in their respective universes — leading to a final showdown where Captain America is swept up by water.
Batman is officially declared the winner while saving the Marvel hero from drowning. Being the great heroes they are, Cap and The Dark Knight immediately put aside their fight and decide to work together to stop the cosmic threats to their universes.
Winner: Batman
The best of the rest of the fights
The "DC Versus Marvel" crossover featured several more fights.
The creative team chose the winner of multiple fights: Aquaman and Namor's underwater battle ended with the DC hero crushing Marvel's ruler of Atlantis with a whale. Thor defeated Shazam in a close lightning-filled match-up. The Flash beat his fellow speedster Quicksilver despite his opponent not fighting fair. Robin and Jubilee's romantic back-and-forth ended with Batman's sidekick coming out on top. Silver Surfer and Green Lantern's cosmic battle featured the defeat of Kyle Rayner.
In the other fan-voted fight between Spider-Man and Superboy, the web-slinger earned a victory against his fellow teen hero, tying up the clone of Superman and knocking him out with a powerful dose of electricity.
In the end, both fan voting and the writers behind "DC Versus Marvel" appeared to make the right decisions when it came to the winners of each fight. While some, like Captain America vs. Batman and Storm vs. Wonder Woman, could have gone either way, the rare DC/Marvel crossover gave fans exactly what they wanted when it came to pitting some of the most recognizable characters against one another with a clear victor named.