Amalgam Comics
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Amalgam Comics was a metafictional American comic book publisher, and part of a collaboration between Marvel Comics and DC Comics, in which the two comic book publishers merged their characters to create new ones (e.g., DC Comics' Batman and Marvel's Wolverine became the Amalgam character Dark Claw). These characters first appeared in a series of twelve comic books which were published in 1996, between issues 3 and 4 of the Marvel vs. DC miniseries. A second set (of another twelve comic books) followed a year later.
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 designated the Amalgam Universe as Earth-9602.
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[edit] Fictional origin
The two comic universes came together when the incarnations of their respective universes (referred to as "the Brothers") became aware of each other after aeons of slumber. To prevent the Brothers from destroying each other, characters from each universe battled to determine which universe would survive; several of the matches were determined by online voting. Axel Asher, a character created for the event (co-owned by Marvel and DC), served as a gate keeper who became stuck while traveling between both Universes.
When the fights concluded (including controversial victories by Wolverine, Batman and Storm over Lobo, Captain America and Wonder Woman respectively), neither universe was willing to go. To prevent total destruction, the Spectre and the Living Tribunal created a merged universe, in which only Axel Asher and Dr. Strangefate knew the truth. Each struggled against the other to reverse or preserve the change.
Eventually, Axel Asher, now called Access, managed to separate the Brothers with the help of Amalgam's heroes; before the merge had taken place, he had planted 'shards' of the universe in Batman and Captain America, and, once he discovered Dark Claw and Super-Soldier, he used those shards to give the Spectre and the Tribunal the power to restore the universes. Batman, Captain America and Access were thus able to make the Brothers realise that their conflict was pointless, and all went back to normal.
[edit] Amalgam characters
During the event, pairs of Marvel and DC characters or teams were merged into single characters. Usually they had something in common to start with (for example, the Jack Kirby creations the Fantastic Four and Challengers of the Unknown, or water-themed heroes Namor the Sub-Mariner and Aquaman), or their names or themes allowed for clever combinations (such as Superman and Captain America's amalgamation, Super Soldier, a reference to the Super Soldier serum that created Captain America; Bat-Thing, an amalgamation of Man-Bat and Man-Thing; or Shatterstarfire, the amalgamation of Shatterstar and Starfire).
[edit] Publication history
For two months, Marvel and DC published Amalgam Comics. During the publication of Amalgam Comics, the companies treated it as if it had always existed, giving it a fictional history stretching back to the Golden Age of Comics, as well as retcons and reboots, such as the Secret Crisis of the Infinity Hour (an amalgam of Secret Wars, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinity Gauntlet and Zero Hour), including an Amalgam version of the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, with Super-Soldier holding his sidekick's body. The books even went so far as to have letter pages with readers talking about stories they had read for years from the company line.
[edit] Amalgam books
The first Amalgam event occurred near the end of the Marvel vs. DC crossover event in 1996. The first twelve Amalgam titles were released in a single week, temporarily replacing both publishers' regular releases. Half the comics in the event were published by Marvel and half by DC. A year later, the stunt was repeated, but without the crossover as background. Later, both publishers collected their issues into trade paperback collections.
In the 24 Amalgam Comics printed, one-third of those printed included letter-columns by fictitious fans to give a larger background to the stories and to help give hints of what might happen in the next issue. The "fans'" hometowns were usually fusions of existing American cities.
[edit] 1996 - DC Comics
[edit] Amazon
Amazon #1, written and drawn by John Byrne, combines DC's Wonder Woman and Marvel's Storm. Amazon returns in 1997's JLX Unleashed.
[edit] Assassins
Assassins #1, written by Dan Chichester and illustrated by Scott McDaniel, combines characters from Daredevil and the Batman family books. Its main characters are the two assassins Catsai (Elektra and Catwoman) and Dare The Terminator (Daredevil and Deathstroke), who team up to take on the Big Question (Kingpin and Riddler).
[edit] Doctor Strangefate
Written by Ron Marz with art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Kevin Nowlan. A powerful mystic created from a combination of Marvel's Dr. Strange and Charles Xavier, and DC's Dr. Fate. His comic also featured the character Access and highlights his adventures in between issues of the Marvel vs. DC miniseries.
- NOTE: This book was also reprinted in the DC vs. Marvel trade paperback due to its part in the overall story.
[edit] JLX
Written by Gerard Jones and Mark Waid, with art by Howard Porter and John Dell. Those members of the Judgement League Avengers (Justice League and Avengers) whose powers are mutant in origin turn against their teammates and, forming their own team, leave to find Atlantis. The JLX returned in another title in the 1997 series of Amalgam comics.
[edit] Legends Of The Dark Claw
Written by Larry Hama with art by Jim Balent and Ray McCarthy. Dark Claw (Wolverine and Batman) and Sparrow (Jubilee and Robin) take on Hyena (Sabretooth and Joker). Dark Claw returned in another title in 1997.
[edit] Super Soldier
Super Soldier #1 was written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. It stars the Super-Soldier (an amalgam of Superman and Captain America), who fights the Green Skull (a combination of Superman's arch nemesis Lex Luthor and Captain America's Red Skull) and his robot Ultra-Metallo (Ultron and Metallo).
The character also appeared in JLX as a member of the JLA, and also appeared a year later in Super Soldier: Man Of War and as part of the Judgment League Avengers (a combination of the Justice League and the Avengers) in JLX Unleashed. Along with Dark Claw, he is considered one of the central characters in the Amalgam Universe.
[edit] 1996 - Marvel Comics
[edit] Bruce Wayne, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D
Written by Chuck Dixon and with art by Cary Nord and Mark Pennington, this title reimagines Bruce Wayne as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (like the Marvel character Nick Fury), joined by a number of characters each based on either a Batman or Nick Fury supporting character or villain, such as Moonwing (Nightwing and Moon Knight).
[edit] Bullets & Bracelets
Bullets & Bracelets #1 was published in April 1996, written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Gary Frank. It stars Diana Prince (the daughter of Queen Hippolyta and foster sister of Princess Ororo, herself an amalgam of DC's Wonder Woman and Marvel's Storm) and Trevor Castle (an amalgam of Marvel's Punisher Frank Castle and DC's Steve Trevor) who fight Thanoseid (an amalgam of DC's Darkseid and Marvel's Thanos). It is later explained that the two are the parents of the New God Kanto.
[edit] Magneto & The Magnetic Men
Writing by Gerard Jones and art by Jeff Matsuda and Art Thibert. The story concerns the Amalgam version of Magneto accompanied by the Brotherhood of Mutants as magnetic versions of the Metal Men. Together they face Magneto's brother who is a version of DC's Dr. Will Magnus. These characters returned with another title in 1997.
[edit] Speed Demon
Written by Howard Mackie and James Felder with art by Salvador Larroca and Al Milgrom. The story concerns a composite of Ghost Rider, the Flash and Etrigan
[edit] Spider-Boy
Writing and art by Karl Kesel, Mike Wieringo and Gary Martin. A combination of Spider-Man and Superboy, he is a clone whose gravity powers enable him to mimic the wall-crawling abilities of a spider. This character returned in another Spider-Boy title in 1997.
[edit] X-Patrol
A combination of Marvel's X-Force and DC's Doom Patrol. The group is brought together by mysterious cyborg time-traveller Niles Cable, a combination of X-Force founder Cable and Doom Patrol founder Dr. Niles Caulder, to alter history and prevent the apocalyptic future in which he was born. Their first mission is to thwart a scheme by Doctor Doomsday (a combination of Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom and Superman villain Doomsday), who has discovered the existence of the Marvel and DC Universes and intends to draw their heroes and villains into the Amalgam Universe for use as his minions. At the end of the mission, Niles Cable is surprised to realize that something has happened that his knowledge of the future did not prepare him for: he has received a spinal injury that renders him paraplegic (just as Niles Caulder of the Doom Patrol was).
[edit] 1997 - DC Comics
[edit] Bat-Thing
Main Article: Bat-Thing
Written by Larry Hama, with art by Rodolfo Damaggio and Bill Sienkiewicz. The Bat-Thing is an amalgam of Marvel's Man-Thing and DC's Man-Bat.
[edit] Dark Claw Adventures
Writing and art by Ty Templeton and Rick Burchett. The "Animated Series" version of the Dark Claw comic, with an art style that mirrored Batman: The Animated Series and a title that referenced the Batman Adventures comic. The Dark Claw Animated Series is said to be created by "Bruce Dini" and "Paul Timm" (Reversal of Bruce Timm and Paul Dini).
[edit] Generation Hex
A combination of Marvel's Generation X and DC's western comic Jonah Hex as well as an assortment of other western titles. The protagonists struggle to stay ahead of and survive a large group of steam-driven robots dedicated to killing them all. The main character, Jono, also confronts bad memories, recalling how a small town they are now nearby did not help his family when needed. Written by Peter Milligan with art by Adam Pollina.
[edit] JLX Unleashed
The second outing of the JLX sees them joined by Amazon. Credited to Priest, Jiminez and Rodriguez.
[edit] Lobo The Duck
A Lobo and Howard the Duck amalgamation, by Al Grant, Val Semeiks and Ray Kryssing.
[edit] Super Soldier : Man Of War
Story and art by Dave Gibbons, Mark Waid and Jimmy Palmiotti. This comic presented Super Soldier in the style of Golden Age WWII comics.
[edit] 1997 - Marvel Comics
[edit] Challengers of the Fantastic
Written by Karl Kesel with art by Tom Grummett and Al Vey. This title was a fusion of Marvel's Fantastic Four and DC's Challengers of the Unknown.The members were scientist Reed "Prof" Richards, SHIELD agent Susan "Ace" Storm, her daredevil brother Johnny "Red" Storm and fighting senator Ben "Rocky" Grimm. Their enemies included Doctor Doomsday (Doctor Doom and Doomsday) and Galactiac (Galactus and Brainiac).
[edit] Exciting X-Patrol
The second outing of the X-Patrol, written by Barbara Kesel with art by Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary. The team fought against Brother Brood, based on Marvel's Brood and DC's Brother Blood.
[edit] Iron Lantern
Written by Kurt Busiek, with pencils by Paul Smith, this comic features an amalgamation of Hal Jordan, (Green Lantern) and Tony Stark (Iron Man).
[edit] Magnetic Men Featuring Magneto
Written by Tom Peyer with art by Barry Kitson and Dan Panosian. The book also features Mister Mastermind (Mastermind and Mister Mind), Quasimodox (Quasimodo and Modok), Chemodam (Chemo and Modam) and the Sinister Society (Sinister Six and Secret Society), representing various special metals from both universes; the members and their associated metals include: Kultron (Kobra and Ultron—Adamantium), Soniklaw (Sonar and Klaw—Vibranium), Black Vulture (Black Condor and Vulture—Nth Metal), Deathborg (Deathlok and Cyborg—Promethium), Vance Cosmic (Vance Astro and Cosmic Boy—Inertron).
[edit] Spider-Boy Team-Up
Written by "R.K. Sternsel" (an amalgam of the names of Roger Stern and Karl Kesel) with art by Ladronn and Juan Vlasco. The second outing of Spider-Boy. The title is based on Marvel Team-Up, which frequently featured Spider-Man. In this comic, Spider-Boy teams up with characters based on Marvel and DC comics based in the far future and/or outer space, including DC's Legion of Super-Heroes and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and 2099-era heroes, creating the 'Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099'.
[edit] Thorion Of The New Asgods
By Keith Giffen and John Romita Jr. Based on Marvel's Thor and Orion from Jack Kirby's New Gods.
[edit] Metafictional stories
During the Amalgam Comics run, several metafictional comics and storylines were mentioned in relation to the Amalgam Comics characters, though they were never published as actual comics, they helped to give background knowledge of existing characters. All historical information below (e.g., publication dates) is untrue, part of the metafictional history.
Action and Suspense Comics: The first of the metafictional Amalgam Comics beginning in the First World War with Sgt. Rock (Amalgam Comics), and was later integrated into the All-Star Winners Comics at the outbreak of World War II. The series lasted until 1917 with 50 comics being produced before they were recycled for the war effort. An infusion of Action Comics and Tales of Suspense.
All-Star Winners Comics: The Golden Age comic-books of the All-Star Winners Squadron and, presumably, the Young Commandos. The series lasted between 1941 and 1942, ending with Super Soldier Action. It was in these comics that American Belle, The Whiz and Human Lantern debuted along with Brooklyn Barnes. It is an infusion of All Star Comics (A DC imprint) and All-Winners Comics
Amalgam 2099: Mentioned in Spider-Boy Team Up #1, and an Amalgam Comics equivalent of Marvel 2099, featuring the Legion of Galactic Guardians and briefly Spider-Boy.
Bonghunters Special: A Lobo the Duck special featuring Doctor Bongface.
Dare the Terminator: The series featured Dare The Terminator and Catsai before their adventure in Assassins #1, as well as The Big Question. The series ran for under 200 issues before it was integrated into the Assassins series. Outstanding events include the teaming-up of Catsai and Dare in Issue #168 against Tombstone the Ravager, Dare losing her eye in a fight against Deadeye in Issue #13 and her experimentation by The Big Question in Issue #3.
Dark Claw: The Murder Gag: The only known Graphic Novel to exist in Amalgam Comics continuity. It featured Bruce Wayne (Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.) travelling to New Gotham City and teaming up with Dark Claw to stop Hyena. It also saw the end of Jason Todd as Moonwing. The Amalgam equivalent of The Killing Joke.
Elsewhat If: An alternate-reality storyline that looked at different ways that Amalgam Comics characters may have changed, including Dark Claw. This combines elements of Elseworlds of DC Comics and What If? (comics) of Marvel Comics.
Giant-Sized Bat-Thing: Bat-Thing continues his tales in this series, with Lobo the Duck as a backup feature.
Marine Mystery: The Golden Age comic featuring the debut of Aqua Mariner.
Mighty Amazons: Featuring the Amalgam Comics equivalent of Wonder Woman, Shatterstarfire briefly appeared in this series in Issue #34 before moving onto the X-Patrol in X-Patrol #1.
My Great Astonishment: One of the Silver Age series featuring the Challengers of the Fantastic. It was in this series that Tino Lumpkin became a Challenger. The name combines My Greatest Adventure with Tales to Astonish.
Showcase of Suspense: A series featuring Iron Lantern. Issues included:
- Issue #1 - The death of Rhomann Sur and the emergence of Iron Lantern
- Issue #27 - The Coming of 5700, featuring Iron Lantern 5700
- Issue #75 - A battle with Madame Sapphire
- Issue #84 - The Other Iron Lantern, debut of Green Guardsman.
Other unnumbered issues that involved a fight with Great White and a team-up with Aqua Mariner against .H.E.C.T.O.R.. It is a collaboration of Showcase (A DC imprint) and Tales of Suspense of Marvel.
Sleuth Comics: The debut of Dark Claw in Issue #27. This is an Amalgam Comics equivalent of Detective Comics, where Batman first appeared.
Strange Tales of the Unexpected: The Silver Age imprint that featured the debut of Challengers of the Fantastic and the Un-People, whose member Dream Crystal fell in love with Johnny "Red" Storm. Sections of these tales were reprinted in Challengers of the Fantastic #1. An amalgam of Marvel's Strange Tales and DC's Tales of the Unexpected
Strange Tales of War: A spy-thriller series introducing Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Amalgam Comics world. An amalgam of Strange Tales and DC's Weird War Tales.
Tales to Astonish: Some of the earlier comics featuring Thorion and the New Asgods. Borrows the title from the Marvel series of the same name.
Radiotower Comics: An imprint with ties to the Challengers of the Fantastic. The main heroes in the imprint were the Thunder Crusaders, whose membership included the superheroes No-Fly and Dynashield. The imprint is named after Tower Comics; the characters are amalgams of Tower's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and the Mighty Crusaders, at the time being published under the DC imprint !mpact.
Tales of Strangefate: The debuts of Dr. Strangefate, Jade Nova, White Witch, and Skulk. Villains in the series included Mephistanus and Baron Wotan, who were later mentioned in Dr. Strangefate #1. The title is another play on Strange Tales.
[edit] Post-Amalgam
Between the two rounds of Amalgam Comics, the two publishers released a second crossover, DC/Marvel: All Access. A third mini-series, Unlimited Access, followed the second round. Both crossovers featured additional Amalgam characters.
[edit] External links
- Jonathan Woodward's Who's Who: Handbook of the Amalgam Universe
- Amalgam Comics fan site
- Amalgam Comics: The Timeline Continues
- The Amalgam Home Page
