In the long and storied history of comic books, there have been certain periods in which characters owned by one company have teamed up with or fought against characters from an entirely different publisher. This is known as an 'inter-company crossover'. The logic behind these stories is easy to see. If Superman sells a lot of comics for DC, and Spider-Man sells a whole bunch of comics for Marvel, then surely combining the two heroes in one blockbuster story will be a licence to print money! Of course, the mechanics of a crossover involve two competing companies in a fairly small industry putting aside any differences and agreeing to mix their prized assets in the spirit of partnership, which often is easier said than done. These days, the inter-company crossover event is almost non-existent between DC and Marvel, but still happens quite a bit amongst the smaller publishers like Dynamite Entertainment and IDW Publishing. in 2011, DC did partner with IDW for a Star Trek/Legion Of Superheroes miniseries and Batman has been used in stories with Wildstorm characters like Deathblow but considering DC actually owned Wildstorm from 1999 until it's demise in 2010, this doesn't really count. The most high profile and successful example of Marvel and DC collaborating was JLA/Avengers in 2003, but this is the exception rather than the rule. However, there was a time, especially in the 1990's, when DC and Marvel as well as Dark Horse Comics teamed up on a consistent basis to tell special tales featuring their primary characters. Being DC's most popular character, it's no surprise that The Dark Knight featured in a whole host of these stories, meeting various heroes and villains from other comic book universes and even the iconic monsters from established Hollywood movie franchises. These are eight Batman crossovers that may surprise you.
