DC Vs. Marvel question
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 10:09 am
Does anybody know why or how the Joker recognizes Spider-Man at the beginning of this series?
Presumably from one of the previous DC/Marvel crossovers?
-Jeph!
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DC Vs. Marvel question
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Re: DC Vs. Marvel question
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:21 pm
Re: DC Vs. Marvel question
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 1:53 am
Spider-Man and Joker first encountered one another in Spider-Man and Batman (September, 1995). However this story was written as though Spider-Man and Batman co-existed on the same Earth, whereas Spidey is from Earth-616 (Marvel Earth) and Batman is from DC Earth.
There appear to be three kinds of crossover stories between DC and Marvel:
1/ Dimensional travel. Characters from one universe travel across to another universe. This occurs in Silver Surfer/Superman (1996) and Marvel vs DC #1-4 (1996).
2/ Temporary merger of alternate Earths. A cosmic event of powerful entity causes two universes to briefly merge into a single universe, and characters from both universes co-exist. After the event is over, the universes are often restored to their original forms. This occurs briefly in DC vs Marvel #1-4 and JLA/Avengers #2-3.
3/ Crossover Earth. This is an alternate Earth (referred to as Earth-7642 in the OHMU HC #3) distinct from the DC or Marvel Universes, where dimensional counterparts to both sets of characters co-exist within a single universe. This is separate from the temporary merger of alternate Earths, as it is permanent. This occurs in Superman vs the Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1976) and Batman vs the Incredible Hulk (1982).
The Joker from DC vs Marvel is probably from DC Earth (probably not the Joker from Crossover Earth, seen in Batman vs the Incredible Hulk). He may have encountered Spider-Man on some earlier unrecorded crossover, or perhaps the story Spider-Man and Batman (1995) occurred on a temporary merger of alternate Earths caused by Krona (JLA/Avengers) or the Brothers (DC vs Marvel). Many character encounters involving crossovers between DC and Marvel often result in memory of the events soon fading from their minds. However the Joker often seemingly has an awareness of altered states of reality, such as seen in Emperor Joker, and often speaks across the Fourth Wall. Thus he may be aware of an earlier encounter with Marvel characters whereas they may not.
There appear to be three kinds of crossover stories between DC and Marvel:
1/ Dimensional travel. Characters from one universe travel across to another universe. This occurs in Silver Surfer/Superman (1996) and Marvel vs DC #1-4 (1996).
2/ Temporary merger of alternate Earths. A cosmic event of powerful entity causes two universes to briefly merge into a single universe, and characters from both universes co-exist. After the event is over, the universes are often restored to their original forms. This occurs briefly in DC vs Marvel #1-4 and JLA/Avengers #2-3.
3/ Crossover Earth. This is an alternate Earth (referred to as Earth-7642 in the OHMU HC #3) distinct from the DC or Marvel Universes, where dimensional counterparts to both sets of characters co-exist within a single universe. This is separate from the temporary merger of alternate Earths, as it is permanent. This occurs in Superman vs the Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1976) and Batman vs the Incredible Hulk (1982).
The Joker from DC vs Marvel is probably from DC Earth (probably not the Joker from Crossover Earth, seen in Batman vs the Incredible Hulk). He may have encountered Spider-Man on some earlier unrecorded crossover, or perhaps the story Spider-Man and Batman (1995) occurred on a temporary merger of alternate Earths caused by Krona (JLA/Avengers) or the Brothers (DC vs Marvel). Many character encounters involving crossovers between DC and Marvel often result in memory of the events soon fading from their minds. However the Joker often seemingly has an awareness of altered states of reality, such as seen in Emperor Joker, and often speaks across the Fourth Wall. Thus he may be aware of an earlier encounter with Marvel characters whereas they may not.
Re: DC Vs. Marvel question
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 2:07 am
Or it just could be an in-jokey reference to "Spider-Man/Batman", because the creators of the books aren't as rigidly logical about the precise mechanics of the crossovers as the fans are. 
-Jeph!
-Jeph!