 Amalgam Comics logo | |
| Parent company | DC Comics Marvel Comics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996; 29 years ago (1996) |
| Defunct | 1997; 28 years ago (1997) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Publication types | Comic books |
| Fiction genres | Superhero fiction |
Amalgam Comics was a collaborative publishing imprint shared byDC Comics andMarvel Comics, in which the two comic book publishers merged their characters into new ones (e.g., the DC Comics characterBatman and the Marvel Comics characterWolverine became the Amalgam Comics character the Dark Claw). These characters first appeared in a series of 12one-shots which were published in April 1996 betweenMarvel Comics versus DC #3 andDC versus Marvel Comics #4, the last two issues of theDC vs. Marvelcrossover event. A second set of 12 one-shots followed one year later in June 1997, but without the crossover event as a background.[1] All 24 of these one-shots took place between the aforementioned issues ofDC vs. Marvel Comics.
Marvel Encyclopedia: Fantastic Four (2004) originally designated the Amalgam Universe asEarth-962 in theMarvel Multiverse,[2] thenThe Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 re-designated it asEarth-9602.[3][4] Page 436 of the bookThe Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia (2015) by Phil Jimenez and John Wells (under the entry "Wallis, Angelica" in the "W" section) designated the Amalgam Universe asEarth-496 in theDC Multiverse.[5] InDark Crisis: Big Bang #1 (February 2023), it was re-designated asEarth 1996.[6]
On two separate occasions – April 1996 and June 1997 – DC and Marvel co-published a total of 24one-shot "first issues" (12 in April 1996 (six by DC and six by Marvel) and 12 in June 1997 (again, six by DC and six by Marvel)) under the imprintAmalgam Comics. The issues were all presented as if the "company" had existed for decades, with stories and editorial comments referring to a fictional history stretching back to theGolden Age of Comic Books, includingretcons andreboots; for example, they referred toSecret Crisis of the Infinity Hour (an amalgamation of Marvel'sMarvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, DC'sCrisis on Infinite Earths, Marvel'sThe Infinity Gauntlet, and DC'sZero Hour: Crisis in Time!, respectively), which featured the well-known cover ofCrisis on Infinite Earths #7, but with Super-Soldier holding the dead body of his teenage sidekick the American Girl (an amalgamation of DC'sSupergirl and Marvel'sCarol Danvers andJames Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes)[7] instead of Superman holding the dead body of Supergirl. Nineteen of the 24 issues included phonyletter columns to provide the illusion of background to the stories, with the fans' hometowns formed by amalgamating the names of existingAmerican cities.[8]
The first Amalgam event occurred near the end of the four-issueDC vs. Marvel crossover event in April 1996. InMarvel Comics versus DC #3, the DC and Marvel Universes were shown being combined into one – the Amalgam Universe – and the Amalgam one-shots were presented as the result of this. The first 12 Amalgam titles were released the following week, delaying both publishers' regular releases by one week. Six of the issues in the event were published by DC and six by Marvel. In June 1997 the process was repeated, but without the crossover event as a background.[8] Later, both publishers collected their respective 12 issues into fourtrade paperback collections.[9] All 24 of the Amalgam one-shots took place betweenMarvel Comics versus DC #3 andDC versus Marvel Comics #4, the last two issues of the crossover event.
Between the two events of Amalgam Comics, the two publishers released a sequel crossover miniseries toDC vs. Marvel #1–4 primarily published by DC,DC/Marvel: All Access #1–4 (Dec. 1996–Feb. 1997 (issues #2 and 3 were both cover dated Jan. 1997)). A second sequel crossover miniseries primarily published by Marvel,Unlimited Access #1–4 (Dec. 1997–March 1998), followed the second event. Both crossover miniseries featured additional Amalgam characters.
The Amalgam universe would later be officially revisited inDeadpool/Batman (Sep. 2025), with the introduction of Logo, an amalgamation of DC'sLobo and Marvel'sWolverine in a backup story. The story also features Kultron and Thanoseid and references Super-Soldier, characters who had made their debut in the original 1996–1997 events.[10]Batman/Deadpool (Nov. 25) also introduced Deadbat, an amalgamation of DC'sBatman and Marvel'sDeadpool, while featuring the return of Dark Claw from the 1996–1997 events.[11]
The two comic book universes came together when the two cosmic beings who were the physical incarnations of their respective universes (referred to as "the Brothers") became aware of each other after eons of slumber. To prevent the Brothers from destroying each other, characters from each universe battled to determine which universe would survive (a real world vote by readers of the series was conducted to determine the outcome of five of the in-comic battles, with three of them favoring the Marvel hero).Access, a new character created specifically for the event and co-owned by both DC and Marvel, served as a gatekeeper who became stuck while traveling between the two universes.
When the battles were finished, neither universe was willing to go. To prevent their total destruction, theSpectre and theLiving Tribunal created anamalgamated universe, in which only Access and Doctor Strangefate (Charles Xavier) (an amalgamation ofDoctor Fate,Doctor Strange andProfessor X) knew the truth about the merge. The two characters fought against each other either to reverse the change (in the case of Access) or to preserve it (in the case of Doctor Strangefate).
Access managed to separate the Brothers with the help of the Amalgam Universe's superheroes; before the merge had taken place, he had planted shards of the two universes insideBatman andCaptain America. Once he discovered the Dark Claw (an amalgamation of Batman andWolverine) and Super-Soldier (an amalgamation ofSuperman and Captain America), he used those shards to give the Spectre and the Living Tribunal the power to restore the two universes. Batman, Captain America and Access were thus able to make the Brothers realize that their conflict was pointless and the two universes were separated once again.[1]
During the crossover event, pairs of DC and Marvel characters were merged into single characters. The same was done with teams and fictional locations.
The 24 one-shots have been reprinted in fourtrade paperbacks:
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