I was vaguely aware of the ‘Incursions’ storyline, and heard how it’s leading into the Summer event so I got up to date via youtube videos. Couple of thoughts:
I wonder if Marvel contacted DC at any point to propose the idea of having one final crossover…Since DC has had multiple Red Sky reboots already…anything that happens to their heroes can be written off easily, and since the Marvel Universe is ending, there’s a lot of leeway on their side also. There would also be room to give a shout-out to Starlin’s Dreadstar universe. AND I wonder if the New Universe will be mentioned.
Have the Marvel heroes contacted any of the Big Wigs* about this? And how come the Big Wigs are letting fairly low-powered heroes sort all of this out on their own??
*Molecule Man, Beyonder, Galactus, Eternity, any of the Elders of the Universe. Silver Surfer…etc…etc…
The reality of the industry isn’t the same as it was when they were doing crossovers every once in a while. They’re not so friendly any more, and both are owned by huge media conglomerates, which would make negotiations even more of a pain in the ass than usual. (Especially after Roger Rabbit, which ended up causing huge headaches for Disney (one of the huge media conglomerates in question).)
What MIGHT happen during Marvel and DC’s current Big Events (Secret Wars and Convergence, which is also about a multiversal pileup), depending on who’s working on them, none of which I know offhand, is unofficial crossovers - the writers and/or artists slip in little cameos by thinly veiled versions of the other company’s characters during scenes where they can get away with it (maybe even using some of their existing analogues).
Barbarian - I can’t remember the details offhand, but basically, the demands WB (the other big media conglomerate that would be involved here) made in order to give permission to use their characters, and the rights issues caused by sharing Roger with Amblin caused Disney to declare they’ll never do something so intimately with other companies again.
Disney’s management has changed significantly since then, so they might not be so absolutist about it - and they might loosen more for the comics branch where it’s a bit more traditional - but it’s very likely they’ll be cautious about it, probably to the point it’s not worth bringing it up.
True enough, but, ironically I suspect that’s more likely to make them tighten the strings on working with other companies when they can help it - they shouldn’t need to be wining and dining someone else to get permission to use their own character. Realities of Marvel’s pre-Disney licensing have forced it on them in this case, but it’s pretty close to the Roger Rabbit/Amblin situation that initially caused the declaration in the first place.
Not that a crossover is likely to complicate issues with existing characters (although it might if it was part of SW/Convergence, due to the nature of those events), but, it would complicate any new characters created for the crossover, so it’s either a complication for the lawyers to wrangle over for ages, or an arbitrary restriction to impose on the writers, neither of which is likely worth it.
I can only guess that someone makes a last second saving throw (The Beyonder?) and is able to create Battleworld out of the collapsing multiverse.
But between beating Black Priests, Mapmakers, whoever the big baddie is…sure seems like a lot of ground to cover before we actually get to Secret Wars.
