Over the years there have been many Marvel crossovers. When these events happen, fans take notice and their opinions help to enshrine them as an event worth reading or not.
Crossovers range from vast cosmic events engulfing the whole Marvel Universe to small scale guest appearances as the superheros form new and larger teams,
The best Marvel crossover events usually start in one comic book and then cascade to affect events in other comic book runs while transitioning between issues of different heros and teams.
Crossovers are not limited to Marvel alone. DC Universe also has their own lengthy list of crossovers.
In the past there has been a few MarvelDC crossover events as well.
The last MarvelDC crossover called DC versus Marvel Comics / Marvel Comics versus DC happened back in 1996.
There have been recent murmurings for a new DC-Marvel crossover 2020 match-up with the 25th anniversary fast approaching.
A DCMarvel crossover 2020 event is unlikely, however Marvel crossovers with other companies do happen.
While we all wait to see if a MarvelDC crossover may be in the works for 2021, the Marvel crossover series on this list are limited to the Marvel Universe only.
Below you will find 17 of the best Marvel crossovers and events:
17) X-Cutioner’s Song (1992)
Stryfe strikes! First, Cable dives headfirst into his own explosive limited series as secrets from his past are revealed! Then, when Professor X is attacked – and Cable is the prime suspect – X-Factor and the X-Men hunt down X-Force! Mr. Sinister, the Horsemen of Apocalypse and the Mutant Liberation Front are all embroiled in the epic confl ict, as Cable’s archenemy Stryfe orchestrates his vengeance on the world! Can the combined X-teams rescue Cyclops and Jean Grey? Will Apocalypse save Professor X’s life? And what is the shocking connection between Stryfe and Cable? In the battle’s aftermath, X-Force must decide their own fate. It’s time for new costumes, new purpose…and a new direction!
COLLECTING: VOL. 2: CABLE: BLOOD & METAL 1-2, UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) 294-296, X-FACTOR (1986) 84-86, X-MEN (1991) 14-16, X-FORCE (1991) 16-19, STRYFE’S STRIKE FILE 1, NEW WARRIORS (1990) 31
16) The X-Tinction Agenda (1990)
The biggest and best adventures of Marvel’s mighty mutants – these are the X-Men Milestones! The X-Men, New Mutants and X-Factor are targeted for X-Tinction! To rescue a friend, the X-Men must invade the mutant-enslaving island nation of Genosha – but the Genoshans’ memories are long, and their revenge will be terrifying! As the Magistrates strike, X-Factor and the New Mutants are drawn into the conflict…and soon discover old foe Cameron Hodge powered up and pulling the strings! The three X-teams are kidnapped, brainwashed, stripped of their powers, forced into combat – and at least one among them will die! Can the powerless X-Men triumph over the military might of an entire nation? And
when the dust settles on this classic crossover, will the X-universe be changed forever?
COLLECTING: UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) 235-238, 270-272; NEW MUTANTS (1983) 95-97; X-FACTOR (1986) 60-62
15) Original Sin (2014)
Who shot the Watcher? Uatu, the mysterious space-god who’s been watching mankind from the moon for as long as we can remember…is dead. Thus begins the greatest murder mystery in Marvel history! As Nick Fury leads the heroes of the Marvel Universe in an investigati on, other forces are marshaling and other questi ons are arising. Why is Black Panther gathering a secret team of his own, including Emma Frost, the Punisher and Dr. Strange? Who is the Unseen? What was stolen from the Watcher’s lair? Fury’s cosmic manhunt leads to the far corners of the universe and beyond, but just when the Avengers think they’ve cornered their murderer…everything explodes, unleashing the Marvel Universe’s greatest secrets and rocking the heroes to their core! What did the Watcher see? What was the Original Sin?
COLLECTING: Point One 1 (Watcher story), Original Sin 0-8, Original Sins 1-5, Original Sin Annual 1, Original Sin: Secret Avengers Infinite Comic 1-2
14) Onslaught Saga (1996)
The biggest and best adventures of Marvel’s mighty mutants – these are the X-Men Milestones! And this event rocked not only the X-titles, but the entire Marvel Universe! For months, the force of nature known only as Onslaught has struck from the shadows – but when the X-Men discover Onslaught’s startling true identity, the villain’s plan kicks into high gear! Determined to punish mankind for a litany of sins, Onslaught laid siege to the X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic Four and more – kicking off a cataclysmic conflict destined to deprive a world of its most revered icons! Earth’s greatest heroes face their ultimate enemy in an explosive saga that transformed the Marvel Universe!
COLLECTING: Uncanny X-Men (1981) 333-337, X-Men (1991) 53-57, Onslaught: X-Men (1996), Onslaught: Marvel Universe (1996), Onslaught: Epilogue (1996), Avengers (1963) 401, Fantastic Four (1961) 415, Wolverine (1988) 104, Cable (1993) 35
13) Fear Itself (2011)
The event of 2011 where Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen rocked the Marvel Universe like it hasn’t been rocked since Civil War! As Odin and the Asgardians leave the Earth to fend for itself, the Avengers and the world’s remaining heroes battle the unstoppable tide of terror! And then – the Serpent’s Hammers fall! Who shall rise up and join the Serpent as the Worthy, living avatars of his evil? And how can the Avengers respond…to fear itself?
Collects Fear Itself: Book of the Skull & Fear Itself 1-7
12) X-Men: Second Coming (2010)
The biggest and best adventures of Marvel’s mighty mutants – these are the X-Men Milestones! Mutants have never had it worse. The mutant population is down to a mere 181. In the last year, only one mutant has been born – the girl called Hope, believed to be the “Mutant Messiah” who will reignite the species. Hope was raised in the future by Cable, and now the two have returned! But the Human League is bent on eradicating Earth’s final mutants – and they see Hope’s death as the final nail in the coffin. As Bastion and his allies unleash a merciless all-out assault on the X-Men, everything rests on Hope’s shoulders. Will this be mutantkind’s end?
COLLECTING: SECOND COMING: PREPARE (2009), SECOND COMING (2010) 1-2, UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) 523-525, NEW MUTANTS (2009) 12-14, X-MEN LEGACY (2008) 235-237, X-FORCE (2008) 26-28
11) X-Men: Messiah Complex (2007)
The biggest and best adventures of Marvel’s mighty mutants – these are the X-Men Milestones! With no more mutants being born, the future of Homo superior has never looked bleaker. At the seeming end of their evolutionary cycle, a miracle arrives – in the form of the first child born with the X-gene since the tragic events of M-Day! But this sudden source of hope spawns a bloody, violent – and tragic – conflict for control over the baby girl’s fate. It is a battle in which every mutant on the planet has a stake. The fight is on! Messiah Complex mines the rich tapestry of X-Men history for a dizzying thrill ride of suspense that sets a new course for the future of mutantkind!
COLLECTING: X-MEN: MESSIAH COMPLEX ONE-SHOT (2007), UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) 492-494, X-MEN (1991) 205-207, NEW X-MEN (2004) 44-46, X-FACTOR (2005) 25-27
10) Siege (2010)
Norman Osborn has one obstacle left between him and world domination…Asgard! Will he take control and become all-powerful? Can the Marvel heroes trust each other long enough to stop him? What will be left when the dust settles?
Collects Siege (2010) #1-4 & Siege: Cabal
9) Avengers Disassembled (2004)
The powerhouse team of Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch take on Earth’s Mightest Heroes! It begins with the return of a team member thought dead – and by the time it’s over, everything you know about the Avengers will have changed! The event that rocked the entirety of the Marvel Universe and set the stage for New Avengers is presented here for the first time as a deluxe, oversize hardcover with all-new extras!
Collects Avengers #500-503 and Avengers Finale
8) Infinity (2013)
To save the world from ever-greater dangers, the Avengers got bigger. Yet when the oldest race in the universe marks Earth for destruction, it’s time for Captain America to think grander still. As the most powerful Avengers team ever assembled heads into space to join an intergalactic alliance against the ancient Builders, an old enemy deems their home unprotected. Thanos, the Mad Titan, unleashes his forces on Earth in the latest chapter of his endless quest for death. But even a world without Avengers has its defenders. Among them, the secret cabal of history-shapers known as the Illuminati – a group riven with internal confl ict already confronting another planet-ending crisis. As Earth’s Mightiest Heroes wage war on multiple fronts, their battle for Infinity threatens to descend into Inhumanity.
COLLECTING: INFINITY 1-6, NEW AVENGERS 7-12,AVENGERS 14-23
7) Avengers VS X-Men (2012)
The Avengers and the X-Men — the two most popular super-hero teams in history — go to war! And in AVX: Vs., experience the larger-than-life battles too big for any other comic to contain! Iron Man vs. Magneto! Spider-Man vs. Colossus! Captain America vs. Gambit! And more!
Collects Avengers Vs X-Men #0-12, AVX: Vs #1-6, Infinite Comics #1, #6 & #10
6) Spider-Verse (2014)
When the evil Inheritors begin exterminating spider-characters throughout the Multiverse, every single Spider-Man ever is needed to save the day! An interdimensional Spider-Army gathers to fight Morlun and his deadly family, but none of them is safe as the Prophecy comes to fruition! What will this brutal war for survival mean for Peter Parker and the rest of the spiders? Starring the Superior Spider-Man, the Ultimate Universe’s Miles Morales and Jessica Drew, Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Woman, Silk, Kaine, Scarlet Spider, MC2’s Spider-Girl, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man 1602, Spider-Ham, Spider-Monkey, Lady Spider, Spider-Punk, Spider-UK, a spider-powered Gwen Stacy…and hundreds more, from the beloved to the obscure!
Collecting: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2014) #7-15, SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #32-33, SPIDER-VERSE #1-2, SPIDER-VERSE TEAM-UP #1-3, SCARLET SPIDERS #1-3, SPIDER-WOMAN (2014) #1-4, SPIDER-MAN 2099 (2014) #6-8 and material from FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2014 (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) #1
5) Secret Invasion (2008)
The shape-shifting Skrulls have been infiltrating the Earth for years, replacing many of Marvel’s heroes with impostors, setting the stage for an all-out invasion.
Collects Secret Invasion (2008) #1-8
4) World War Hulk (2007)
Hulk versus the world, in an epic story of anger unbound! Exiled by his so-called friends, the Hulk has raged, bled and conquered on the alien planet Sakaar. Now, he returns to Earth to wreak terrible vengeance on Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Doctor Strange and Black Bolt -and anyone else who gets in the way! Madder than ever, stronger than ever, and accompanied by his monstrous Warbound allies, this time the Hulk may just tear this stupid planet in half!
COLLECTING: WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE: WORLD BREAKER, WORLD WAR HULK 1-5, INCREDIBLE HULK (2000) 106-111, IRON MAN (2005) 19-20, AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE 4-5, IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN 10, WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN 1-3, GHOST RIDER (2006) 12-13, HEROES FOR HIRE (2006) 11-15, PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL (2007) 12, WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS 1-4, WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE 1-6, WORLD WAR HULK: AFTERSMASH ONE-SHOT, WWH AFTERSMASH: DAMAGE CONTROL 1-3, WWH AFTERSMASH: WARBOUND 1-5, PLANET HULK SAGA
3) House of M (2005)
The Marvel event of the decade is here! The Avengers and the X-Men are faced with a common foe that becomes their greatest threat: Wanda Maximoff! The Scarlet Witch is out of control, and the fate of the entire world is in her hands. Will Magneto help his daughter or use her powers to his own benefit? Starring the Astonishing X-Men and the New Avengers! You know how sometimes you hear the phrase: and nothing will ever be the same again? Well, this time believe it, buster! Nothing will ever be the same again!
Collects House of M #1-8
2) Secret Wars (1984)
Drawn from Earth across the stars, the Marvel Universe’s greatest villains and heroes are set against one another by the mysterious and unbelievably powerful Beyonder, with the winner promised the ultimate prize. But as battle lines are drawn, new alliances forged and old enemies clash, one among them is not willing to settle for anything less than godhood. Can even the combined might of the Avengers, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men prevent Dr. Doom from becoming the most powerful being in the universe?
Collecting MARVEL SUPER HEROES SECRET WARS #1-12
1) The Infinity Gauntlet (1991)
Death has released Thanos from her cold embrace, and he plans to repay her by murdering half the universe! But even as the Mad Titan gathers the six Infinity Gems from across the galaxy, assembling them into the Infinity Gauntlet and gaining truly godlike powers, a host of heroes gather to oppose him – including the Silver Surfer, Adam Warlock, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Doctor Strange and the Hulk! Even with Doctor Doom, Galactus and the universe’s cosmic powers aiding them, can Marvel’s mightiest possibly prevail against Thanos the all-powerful? The fan-favorite cosmic event is collected in its entirety!
COLLECTING: SILVER SURFER (1987) 34-38, 40, 44-60; THANOS QUEST (1990) 1-2; INFINITY GAUNTLET 1-6; CLOAK & DAGGER (1988) 18; SPIDER-MAN (1990) 17; INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) 383-385; DOCTOR STRANGE, SORCERER SUPREME (1988) 31-36; QUASAR (1989) 26-27; SLEEPWALKER (1991) 7
17 Best Marvel Crossovers and Events?
What are your thoughts on some the most popular and best selling Marvel crossovers? Do you think the current X of Swords crossover event will become a fan favorite?
If you are interested in reading the current X-Men X of Swords crossover event be sure to check out my X of Swords Reading Order: The Ultimate Guide.
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Happy Reading!
