So today is the first time in 20 years that DC and marvel have collaborated to do a crossover. I have seen people get super excited over the new Deadpool/Batman event that is releasing this soon.

As I talk to people about their excitement I inevitably come back to the question of some of the crossovers that have come out previously. Most remember the classic ’90s crossover that allowed fans to vote on the winners of five major bouts between DC and marvel superheroes. Some even remember the classic teen Titans and X-Men crossover written by the legendary Chris Claremont. But the one that always seems to surprise everyone is when I asked them did you ever read the JLA/Avengers crossover? AND MOST DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT?!!!

Now to really put in perspective what I’m about to say I should let you know that I have recently had the opportunity to reread all of DC’s crossovers thanks to the release of two omnibus this year. The DC marvel collection and the DC marvel amalgam age of comics collection. These two massive books contain every single crossover DC and marvel have produced and the amalgam comics in which they blended all their heroes together back in the 90s. All that is except for one. And I would argue anyone to prove it is the best one.

Released on September 2003 this four-part crossover brought together Marvel’s two big teams in a massive universe shaking crossover. It was written by the very talented Kurt Busiek an artist legend George Perez. Two creators who had years of experience working on both teams and had just recently worked together on one of the most famous avengers runs. And let me tell you they clearly showed how much they loved both universes.

The story is a grand crossover event pitting the Justice League of America (JLA) of the DC Universe against the Avengers of the Marvel Universe, orchestrated by two immensely powerful cosmic beings:

The Instigators: Krona, an exiled Oan from the DC Universe, who travels the multiverse destroying realities in his quest to find the secret of creation (what was before the Big Bang); and The Grandmaster, an Elder of the Marvel Universe, who proposes a cosmic game to save his universe from Krona’s destructive search.

The Game: The two entities agree to a contest where the champions from their respective universes—the Avengers and the JLA—must compete to retrieve twelve powerful artifacts, six from each universe, that have been scattered across both realities. In a twist, Krona demands the champions be swapped, meaning the JLA will fight for the Grandmaster, and the Avengers will fight for Krona.

Initial Conflicts:

The teams travel to the opposite universe and are immediately struck by the differences. The JLA is shocked by the Marvel Earth’s generally chaotic state and the public’s distrust of heroes (especially the Flash when he encounters an anti-mutant mob).

The Avengers are surprised by the DC Earth’s clean, futuristic cities and the civic hero-worship afforded to the JLA, leading them (particularly Captain America) to suspect the JLA are authoritarian figures or “fascists.”

This mutual suspicion leads to various misunderstandings and iconic skirmishes as the heroes race to collect the artifacts, with the teams clashing in places like the Savage Land and the JLA Watchtower.

The Merging Reality: When the game ends in a 6-6 tie, Krona refuses to accept the result. He uses the gathered artifacts to force the two universes to merge into a single, incompatible reality. This causes massive chronal and geographical chaos; the teams now exist in a shared, unstable history where they’ve supposedly been allies for years, yet the world around them is breaking apart and people’s memories and identities are constantly shifting.

The Resolution: The heroes realize the truth and reconcile their differences. Guided by the spectral form of Krona and the Phantom Stranger, they find the Grandmaster, who reveals Krona’s true, catastrophic plan: to accelerate the merging and cause a new Big Bang, finally forcing the secret of creation from the universal avatars he’s imprisoned.

The Final Battle: Captain America is unanimously elected to lead a massive, combined army composed of every single hero who has ever been a member of the Justice League or the Avengers. They assault Krona’s base, fighting an ever-shifting army of all their past villains.

The Outcome: The heroes succeed in freeing the universal avatars, which, with the help of the Spectre (Hal Jordan at the time), separate and restore the two universes to their correct, individual timelines. Krona is defeated and implodes into a cosmic egg, which is stored in the JLA Watchtower for observation. The teams part as allies, having gained a profound respect for each other and their respective realities.