Comic Book Crossovers That Totally Failed

In many ways, crossovers are the backbone of the comic book industry. They help establish interconnected universes, introduce different fandoms to one another, and provide a way to create enduring franchises such as the Avengers and the Justice League. However, there are quite a few comic book crossovers that became immediate flops. Some made absolutely no sense, and others were nothing more than great big advertisements. From Charles Barkley loaning Godzilla a new pair of Nikes to the Punisher gunning down Eminem's posse, here's a list of the comic book crossovers that totally failed.

Modern audiences tend to overlook the Mask as a comic book character, probably because Jim Carrey immortalized the character as a relatively harmless prankster with unlimited magical powers. However, the famous movie was based on a far grislier comic series, one that involved a mask from Loki turning its wearer into a psychotic killer with a warped sense of right and wrong. And considering how much early designs of the Mask seemed to honor the Joker, the concept of a Joker/Mask crossover seemed like a good idea on paper. Instead, it ended up being the nail in the coffin of Mask comics.

The plot wastes no time getting started, with the Joker finding the god-powered mask and going on a crime spree. This provides an excuse for Mask character Lt. Mitch Kellaway to team up with Commissioner Gordon and Batman in order to catch this new incarnation of the Mask. Batman is finally able to stop Joker by appealing to his ego, saying the mask has made the villain unfunny. Thus, Joker relinquishes the mask and is promptly defeated, allowing Kellaway to return the mask to the grave of previous owner and protagonist Stanley Ipkiss.

Unfortunately, the Mask as a comic book character soon hopped into his own grave. Joker/Mask's sales were grim compared to pretty much anything else featuring Batman during the same time period, and it would be nearly 15 years before Dark Horse attempted another Mask comic.

For nerds of a certain age, a Justice League and Power Rangers team-up comic seemed like a no-brainer. After all, there was a lot of buzz for both the live-action Power Rangers reboot, not to mention all the talk about the upcoming Justice League movie. In other words, it seemed like a smart idea to have these super groups team up in comic form.

The story all gets started when the evil Lord Zedd invades the Power Rangers Command Center, and Zordon accidentally zaps Zack into a different dimension (the rest of the Rangers follow him later). And eventually, our mighty morphin heroes meet up with the likes of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, while the comic got decent reviews, the sales were downright abysmal. The collaboration between DC and Boom! Studios was clearly trying to capitalize on both of their audiences, but the effort sadly fizzled.

Of course, it doesn't help that this is a very lopsided team-up. What do we mean by that? Well, when the Avengers and Justice League join forces or butt heads, it's clear they bring a lot of combined firepower to the table via god-like beings such as Superman and Thor. On the other hand, it's a bit embarrassing to see a spandex-covered martial arts dude (like Zack) standing next to the all-powerful Man of Steel. When it's kung fu teenagers versus otherworldly demigods, well, our money is on the Justice League.

Ash Williams, the primary character in the Evil Dead franchise, has had a weird life. He's fought demons in the woods, demons in the past, and even demons in Jacksonville, Florida. So while the venues often change, audiences are pretty familiar with the kinds of foes that Ash has to face. However, the company Space Goat set out to change those expectations by pitting Ash against the Martian invaders made famous by H.G. Wells in his novel War of the Worlds.

The flimsy premise involves a scientist at an Area 51-like place (inventively called Area 54) reading from the Necronomicon near the body of a dead Martian. Naturally, the creature comes back to life, and soon, Ash discovers that H.G. Wells's novel was actually an account of real events. Now, Ash must use his combat prowess and experience to ward off an alien invasion, but while that might sound pretty groovy, audiences were having none of it.

Even in a month filled with weird Evil Dead one-shots from the same company, this comic was at the very bottom. In fact, when the book debuted, it was one of the lowest-selling comics that month. So unless Ash can remember the correct magic words to travel back in time and create a better story, this boomstick adventure will remain deader than an alien on a slab in Area 54.

True, there are a lot of crazy crossovers out there, but most are just lesser versions of Eminem/The Punisher, a one-shot that's one of the nuttiest comics ever created. It all starts when Slim Shady and his posse encounter the Punisher, who's evidently not a fan of rap music as he immediately opens fire on Eminem and his crew. The vigilante even manages to kill a few of them.

Eminem is soon "rescued" by the Punisher's real target, Barracuda, but their newfound friendship doesn't last long. After Eminem knocks out the Punisher, the villain shoots Eminem, and when the rapper wakes up, he's chained to a boat on a frozen lake, along with Frank Castle. As it turns out, Barracuda was actually hired by the Parents Music Council to murder Eminem, but fortunately, the musician magically escapes his chains and runs across the ice to borrow a chainsaw, all while Punisher struggles with Barracuda.

Eminem returns in time to save the day by murdering Barracuda, after which the Punisher promises to confront the Council for hiring the hit man. This allows Eminem to dramatically drift into the sunset as he says, "Do me a favor, and tell 'em Shady sent you." All zaniness aside, the comic was an over-the-top advertisement for Eminem's new album, which probably made a few comic fans feel like they'd been swindled. And while Marvel later courted the hip-hop world with some cover art homages, the company has decided to pass on anymore Marshall Mathers crossovers for the moment.

Over the years, Spider-Man has teamed up with just about everyone. In fact, long before he delighted audiences with his cameo in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man's character was the glue holding the Marvel Team-Up book together. This comic represented an opportunity to introduce Spider-Man fans to characters they weren't as familiar with by letting the new guys hang out with everybody's favorite wall-crawler. That idea was fully in place for nearly 150 issues of the first volume, but there was one weird exception, and it involved Spider-Man teaming up with Saturday Night Live in Marvel Team-Up #74.

The plot for this blatant promo involves Peter Parker and Mary Jane going to an SNL show, which features plenty of classic faces, like John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Gilda Ratner. As for Belushi, he's been given a ring that he can't remove, and it attracts the attention of the X-Men villain Silver Samurai. Even worse, the Samurai has brought along his thugs, but as it turns out, they're really frightened of running into superheroes. (That's kind of unfortunate, considering they work for a supervillain.) Inspired by their fear, Spider-Man helps the cast dress up as heroes to frighten off the villains, and eventually, Silver Samurai and John Belushi (in his own samurai costume) square off.

But even with Spidey's help, Samurai wins and gets the ring, which turns out to have teleportation powers, and then...Silver Samurai just disappears. Ultimately, the comic is a weird period piece that hasn't aged well. As a Spider-Man comic, it's not very engaging. As an SNL comic, it's not very funny. In other words, it's one of those rare instances where Spider-Man couldn't save the day.