The Crossover Wars Begin Again As DC & Marvel Announce ‘Batman/Deadpool’

After 21 years, DC Comics and Marvel Comics are finally reteaming to bring together two of their biggest characters and some of their greatest creators in a single event.

Announced at Entertainment Weekly, the two biggest publishers in comics have announced a pair of sibling one shots to be released this fall- Deadpool/Batman from Marvel Comics in September and Batman/Deadpool from DC Comics in November. This event marks the first time the two largest publishers in American comics have collaborated on a new crossover story since JLA/Avengers in 2003-2004. Despite frequent collaborations since the late 1970’s, the two publishers famously refused to collaborate again over personal grudges between their top editors.

Fans began to speculate if this would be the end result after the publishers called a truce in the wake of superstar artist George Perez’s cancer diagnosis, reprinting JLA/Avengers for the first time since the original collection to benefit Perez and help pay his medical bills. Not long after, they reteamed for a set of omnibii reprinting the entirety of the crossovers between them, and finally earlier this year at the ComicsPRO event, execs from both companies revealed these one-shots were in the works.

As for this release, the Marvel side of the event- Deadpool/Batman– will be written by Marvel superstar Zeb Wells with art by comics legend Greg Capullo. This one-shot finds the Merc with the Mouth hired for a job in Gotham. However, he finds himself soon catching the attention of the World’s Greatest Detective.

Then in November, DC releases Batman/Deadpool reteaming writer Grant Morrison and artist Dan Mora. This marks Morrison’s first work at the Big Two since Superman & the Authority in 2021. Details on this special’s story will be revealed at a later date.

Even better, both specials will come with special back-up stories from some of the biggest names in comics, teaming up heroes from across universes. The creative teams and characters will be announced soon as well. And this is also not the only crossover the publishers have planned with more coming in 2026.

So I have complicated thoughts here. 

I love these cross-company crossovers. They’re one of my favorite things to back issue dive for. Batman himself probably has more cross-company crossovers than any other character combined as well. What surprises me is that Deadpool is the Marvel side of it, especially considering one of Marvel’s bigger characters- Wolverine- has never met Batman, despite being mashed-up with the caped crusader in the Amalgam event. That seems like a more natural fit for the Dark Knight, while Deadpool’s obvious best fit- Harley Quinn- is nowhere to be seen here.

That said, these are four absolutely fantastic creators. While Wells hasn’t ever written either lead, he’s known for strong character based stories with a humorous undertone. Capullo helped visually redefine Batman in 2011, and was one of the earliest artists to draw Deadpool after the character’s creation. Morrison is a legend, writing some of the most popular Batman stories in the character’s history. Pairing them with Mora- one of DC’s best artists- is thrilling, after the duo collaborated in the annual Klaus fantasy adventures.

“After writing Amazing Spider-Man for 60 issues, I told Marvel I needed a break,” Wells tells EW in a statement via email. “Marvel told me I could do that or I could write a comic starring Deadpool and Batman with the best Batman artist of our generation. I no longer needed a break. In Batman we’ve found someone who has even less time for Deadpool’s antics than Wolverine, but a city-wide threat from the Joker makes strange bedfellows (literally, if Deadpool had his way). It’s been a blast letting Deadpool loose in Gotham City and watching what happens.”

Capullo feels similarly. “Am I dreaming? This crossover is likely to be the high point of my career…and, I’ve had a great career,” the artist adds via email. “Some of my earliest work (many years ago) was on X-Force, so Deadpool and I go way back. More recently, I spent 10-plus years drawing Batman at DC. The idea that I get to do a crossover event with Deadpool and Batman…If I am dreaming, please don’t wake me!”

“I don’t do many comics these days but there was no way I could turn down the chance to work with Dan Mora again, one of my all-time favorite artistic collaborators — and definitely no way I could turn down Batman and Deadpool!” Morrison says in a statement. “Expect 4th wall-busting mayhem, owls, blood, blades, and at least one giant typewriter!”

Mora also writes over email, “This is more than I ever imagined I could do in my career, and it is a huge honor to be part of this crossover: it doesn’t happen too often, and I am a huge Deadpool fan! When I first worked with Grant, I didn’t know what to expect, but it was an incredible team-up. I always hoped to work with Grant again, and working on Batman/Deadpool is like a dream come true. Grant and I working together on this once-in-a-lifetime project is going to be such a fun experience.”

Check out both covers, and watch for more information about both one-shots soon from DC Comics and Marvel Comics.