Publication history of Marvel comics crossover events

Throughout its history of publication, Marvel Comics has produced many crossover stories combining characters from different series of comics. The following is s list of crossover events involving superheros and characters from different series.

Events

Golden Age

Event	Date	Developments
Namor vs the Original Human Torch	1940	Namor and the Torch battle it out and cement the idea of a shared continuity of the Marvel universe. (Marvel Mystery Comics #8-10, June–August 1940)
All-Winners Squad	1946	A short lived creation, this team was composed of Captain America, Bucky, The Original Human Torch, Toro, Sub-Mariner, The Whizzer, and Miss America (All Winners Comics #19, #21; Fall-Winter 1946).

1960s

Event	Date	Developments
Emergence of the Avengers	1963	Iron Man, Thor, Ant Man, the Wasp and Hulk assemble for the first time in an effort to stop Loki (The Avengers #1, September 1963).
Reed Richards and Susan Storm's Wedding	1965	On the wedding day of Reed Richards and Susan Storm, Doctor Doom and an assembly of super villains (consisting of Attuma, Awesome Android, Beetle, Black Knight, Cobra, Diablo, Electro, Enchantress, Executioner, Grey Gargoyle, Human Top, some HYDRA agents, Kang the Conqueror, Mandarin, Melter, Mister Hyde, Mole Man, Porcupine, Puppet Master, Red Ghost and his Super Apes, Super-Skrull, and Unicorn) crash the wedding but are defeated by every super hero who was attending the wedding. This is the first time that almost every super character in the Marvel Universe at the time were gathered into one book (Fantastic Four Annual #3, November 1965).

1970s

Event	Date	Developments
Emergence of The Defenders	1971	The Defenders are first organized, originally led by Dr. Strange and including The Hulk, Namor, and the Silver Surfer (Marvel Feature #1, December 1971).
Giant-Size X-Men	1975	Professor X assembles a new team to rescue the original X-Men. First appearance of Storm, Colossus, Thunderbird and Nightcrawler. Wolverine, Sunfire, and Banshee joins the X-Men (Giant Size X-Men #1, May 1975).
Phoenix Saga	1976	Jean Grey returns from a mission in space, being exposed to the deadly radiation of a solar flare, and briefly attaining her ultimate potential as a telepath and telekinetic. In this moment, Jean became a being of pure thought, and then reformed herself upon return to Earth with the new costume, identity and power of "Phoenix"
The Korvac Saga	1978	The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy track down a mysterious threat from the future (The Avengers #167-168, #170-177, January–February, April–December 1978).

1980s

Event	Date	Developments
The Dark Phoenix Saga	1980	Jean Grey is tricked by Mastermind and Emma Frost of the Hellfire Club into killing a psychic image of Cyclops. This causes Jean to lose control and become the being: Dark Phoenix.
Contest of Champions	1982	The Grandmaster and Death manipulate the heroes of Earth in a game to decide the fate of The Collector (Contest of Champions #1–3 June 1982).
Jaspers' Warp	1982–1984	The story is a multiverse-spanning tale, which introduced a number of new characters and concepts into the Marvel Universe."Jaspers' Warp", also known as "Crooked World", featured primarily the character Captain Britain.
Secret Wars	1984–1985	The Beyonder kidnaps selected heroes and villains of Earth to battle on a planet of his creation. Spider-Man finds his Symbiote costume. Doctor Doom steal the powers of the Beyonder, becoming almost god-like in the process, but is ultimately defeated by the present heroes (Secret Wars #1-12, May 1984-April 1985).
Secret Wars II	1985–1986	The Beyonder heads to Earth in a bid to understand humanity, creating a human form for himself in the process.
Mutant Massacre	1986	It primarily involved the superhero teams the X-Men, X-Factor and the New Mutants. Power Pack, Thor, and Daredevil crossed over for an issue in their own comic books.
Kraven's Last Hunt	1987	The final battle between Kraven the Hunter and Spider-Man (Story arc begins in Web of Spider-Man #31 and concludes in The Spectacular Spider-Man #132, October–November 1987.)
Fall of the Mutants	1988	The X-Men are slain in Dallas during a cataclysmic battle against the Adversary. Cypher (of the New Mutants) dies battling the Ani-Mator. X-Factor (the original X-Men) battles Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen (The New Mutants #59-61, The Uncanny X-Men #225-227, X-Factor #24-26, Captain America #339, Daredevil #252, Fantastic Four #312, The Incredible Hulk #340, Power Pack #35, starting January 1988).
The Evolutionary War	1988	The High Evolutionary unleashes attacks all over the world to guide the way of human evolution (Eleven part crossover starting in X-Factor Annual #3,including The Punisher Annual #1, The Uncanny X-Men Annual #12 and concluding in The Avengers Annual #17, September 1988).
Inferno	1988–1989	Demons from Limbo invade earth.
Atlantis Attacks	1989	Under the influence of Set the Serpent God, the Atlanteans launch a massive assault on the surface world.
Acts of Vengeance	1989–1990	Loki unites Doctor Doom, Magneto, Kingpin, Mandarin, Wizard, and Red Skull in a plot to use lesser enemies to defeat the superheroes that aren't their usual enemies. (Story arc begins in Avengers Spotlight #26, December1989).

1990s

Event	Date	Developments
Days of Future Present	1990	The Story centered around the appearance of an adult version of the powerful mutant Franklin Richards, it is a sequel to the popular "Days of Future Past" story arc from Uncanny X-Men #141-142 (January–February 1981).
X-Tinction Agenda	1990–1991	The New Mutants and the X-Men are kidnapped and taken to Genosha, which culminates in their escape; the Genoshan government is overthrown (Story arc begins in The Uncanny X-Men #270, November 1990).
Muir Island Saga	1991	The "Muir Island Saga" is a five-part Marvel Comics crossover event involving the X-Men and X-Factor, published in 1991. It was written by Chris Claremont and Fabian Nicieza.
The Infinity Gauntlet	1991	Thanos uses the power of the Infinity Gems to become Supreme Being (The Infinity Gauntlet #1-6, July–December 1991).
Operation: Galactic Storm	1992	The Avengers become involved in a war between the Kree and the Shi'ar (Captain America #398-401, Avengers West Coast #80-82, Quasar #32-36, Wonder Man #7-9, Avengers #345-347, Iron Man #278-279, Thor#445-446).
Infinity War	1992	Magus, Adam Warlock's "Evil Side", creates evil doppelgangers of Earth's heroes to gain ultimate power.
X-Cutioner's Song	1992–1993	Stryfe arrives in the present to take vengeance against Cable & the X-Men by capturing his parents Cyclops and Jean Grey. The Legacy Virus is released during its epilogue (story arc begins in The Uncanny X-Men #294, November 1992).
Maximum Carnage	1993	The Carnage Family massacres downtown New York only to have Spider-Man and Venom in their way (story arc begins in Spider-Man Unlimited #1, May 1993).
Infinity Crusade	1993	Goddess, Adam Warlock's "Good Side", recruits an army of heroes to fight her holy war. Thanos and Adam Warlock unite to stop her.
Fatal Attractions	1993	Magneto returns more powerful and determined than ever, ripping the adamantium from Wolverine's bones and enraging Professor X. Colossus defects to Magneto's side (story arc begins in X-Factor #92, July 1993).
Bloodties	1993	It details the fallout from Charles Xavier's infamous mindwipe of Magneto and Magneto's ultimate defeat.
Child's Play	1994	"Child's Play" is a 1994 Marvel Comics crossover featuring the New Warriors, X-Force, and the Upstarts. It is also the first time Karma reunites with the New Mutants since she left the team in New Mutants #54 (1987).
Phalanx Covenant	1994	The Phalanx race attacks Earth. Generation X is founded in its aftermath.
Clone Saga	1994–1996	The clone of Spider-Man, who was long thought dead, returns. His creator, the Jackal, also returns to wreak havoc in Spider-Man's personal life. Norman Osborne returns as the mastermind of this series of events (story arc begins in Web of Spider-Man #117).
Age of Apocalypse	1995–1996	Legion travels back in time to kill Magneto, but accidentally kills his own father, Charles Xavier, creating a dystopian alternative timeline in which Apocalypse rules the world (story arc commences in X-Men: Alpha, February 1995).
Planet of the Symbiotes	1995	The story centers on the invasion of Earth by an army of symbiotes and the efforts of Venom, Spider-Man, and Scarlet Spider to stop them.
Onslaught Saga	1996	The seed was planted when Xavier mind-wiped Magneto during Fatal Attractions, and he was born by the time warp of the Age of Apocalypse. Onslaught has arrived and defeating him results in the apparent "deaths" of many superheroes (X-Men #53, June 1996, Onslaught: X-Men Special, August 1996, Onslaught: Marvel Universe, October 1996).
Heroes Reborn	1996–1997	The heroes who died during the Onslaught saga return from a Limbo created by Franklin Richards (Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4, November 1997).
Operation: Zero Tolerance	1997	The story followed from the "Onslaught Saga" and focused on individuals, including Bastion and Henry Peter Gyrich, within the United States government and their attempts to use their positions to hunt down all mutants across the country.
Identity Crisis	1998	When Spider-Man was wanted for murder and he had a 5 million bounty on his head, he decided it would be best if he stopped being Spider-Man, and so created 4 new identities.
The Final Chapter	1998	Believing he has acquired the gift of power, Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin once again, scheming to mutate humanity with a DNA bomb he is developing.The storyline immediately followed events from "The Gathering of Five" arc, and the opening chapter deals with the five summoned by Osborn acquiring their "gifts"
The Hunt for Xavier	1998–1999	The X-Men attempt to find the location of Professor Xavier, who has been missing ever since the authorities arrested him in the wake of the Onslaught disaster.

2000s

Event	Date	Developments
The Twelve	2000	Apocalypse emerges once more, along with a mysterious prophecy of 12 powerful mutants capable of destroying him.The story carries on into the Ages of Apocalypse arc.
Ages of Apocalypse	2000	"The Ages of Apocalypse" is a series of sub-chapters to Marvel Comics' "The Twelve" saga, wherein En Sabah Nur finds himself trapped in the body of Scott Summers (Cyclops of X-Men) after a failed attempt to possess Nate Grey.
Maximum Security	2000–2001	Fed up with Earth's interference in intergalactic affairs, the starfaring alien community quarantines the Sol System and turns Earth into a prison for the universe's worst criminals.
Eve of Destruction	2001	A cure for the Legacy Virus has been released, providing Magneto with a brand new army of healthy mutants ready to wage a final battle against humanity.
Infinity Abyss	2002	Mad partial-clones of Thanos try to destroy the universe.
Secret War	2004–2005	Nick Fury brainwashes several heroes in secret to start a secret war against Latveria, who he believes has been selling high-tech weaponry to super villains (Secret War #1-#5, Secret War: From the Files of Nick Fury (2005)).
Avengers Disassembled	2004	Scarlet Witch goes insane and kills or incapacitates the current Avenger-roster, bringing to an end the Avengers as we knew them (main story-arc in Avengers #500-503, Avengers Finale, September–December 2004.). Meanwhile Thor brings about the end of Asgard (Thor #80-85, 2004).
House of M	2005	The Scarlet Witch alters reality, creating a world in which mutants are in charge but ultimately resulting in the population of the world's mutants brought to near extinction (main story arc in House of M #1-8).
The Other	2005–2006	Spider-Man goes through a mysterious, life-changing event after facing the super villain Morlun (story arc begins in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1, December 2005).
Decimation	2006	It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.
Annihilation	2006–2007	Silver Surfer, Super-Skrull, Nova, and Ronan face the Annihilation Wave.
Planet Hulk	2006–2007	It dealt primarily with the Marvel heroes' decision to send the Hulk away, his acclimation to and conquest of the planet where he landed, and his efforts to return to Earth to take his revenge.It led directly to the World War Hulk crossover, and inspired the Son of Hulk series.
Civil War The Initiative	2006–2007 2007-2008	Heroes are divided when the U.S. government passes the Super-human Registration Act. Captain America seeks freedom, while Iron Man seeks to institute the 50 State Initiative (main story arc in Civil War #1-7, July 2006-January 2007). Major events in the saga include Peter Parker's revealing his identity to the public (Civil War #2, August 2006) and Captain America's death (Captain America #25 (2007)). An epilogue to Marvel's Civil War event, the storyline promotes newly launched series such as the Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, and Omega Flight, as well as the Warren Ellis reinvention of Thunderbolts.
Silent War	2007	It is a sequel to House of M and Son of M, detailing the war between the Inhumans and rest of humanity after the mutant Quicksilver stole the Terrigen Mists from Attilan.
The Death of Captain America	2007–2008	In the aftermath of the fabled hero's assassination, Agent 13, Bucky Barnes, the Falcon, Black Widow, and Iron Man come together again in a desperate attempt to keep his dream alive. But the collapse of Steve Rogers' dream was merely the first step in the wicked machinations of the Red Skull, who is determined to see the death of America follow soon after the death of the Captain. As the Skull's master plan kicks into motion, and chaos begins to take hold of the United States, only one man stands in its way - but is he up to the task? Freed from the psychosis that transformed him into the relentless mercenary known as the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes is called on to live up to the dream in ways he never imagined.Collects Captain America #25-42.
Endangered Species	2007	The storyline, following up on the events of "House of M" and "Decimation", focuses on the Beast and explains why some mutants have retained their superpowers.
World War Hulk	2007	Following his exile into space (New Avengers: Illuminati One-Shot, 2006), The Hulk returns to Earth to exact revenge on those responsible (World War Hulk #1, August 2007).
Annihilation: Conquest	2007–2008	After the devastation of the wake of the Annihilation Wave, Nova, Starlord, Wraith, & a new Quasar (Phyla-Vell) lead a group of cosmic heroes against the Phalanx, who threaten to conquer and annihilate all of Kree space.
Messiah Complex	2007–2008	When the first new mutant since M-Day is suddenly born, the X-Men, Purifiers and Mister Sinister go after it.
Die by the Sword	2007	Psylocke's reunion with her brother, Captain Britain, takes a turn for the worse when the diabolic minds of several of Excalibur's greatest foes decide that one world is not enough to conquer. The Exiles and Excalibur must join forces to save crosstime before all of creation is destroyed!.The story served as a conclusion to both Exiles vol. 1 and New Excalibur, though Captain Britain and some of New Excalibur continue on in Captain Britain and MI: 13, part of the Secret Invasion crossover event.Exiles was later restarted as New Exiles.
One More Day	2007–2008	Spider-Man accepts a devilish choice to rewrite his own history in order to save Aunt May while sacrificing the greatest love of his life in the process (The Amazing Spider-Man #544, November 2007).
Divided We Stand	2008	The story deals with several characters trying to adapt to the X-Men's disbandment.
Secret Invasion	2008	A stealthy invasion by the Skrull race has gone unnoticed for years, but there is an even more secret purpose behind it (main story arc in Secret Invasion #1-8, June 2008-January 2009).
Manifest Destiny	2008–2009	This story deals with the change in the X-Men when they shift their headquarters from Westchester to San Francisco. This will be followed by "X-Infernus", the sequel to "Inferno".
Dark Reign	2009	In the aftermath of Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn grows to new heights of power as a beloved public figure taking over S.H.I.E.L.D. (re-christening the organization as H.A.M.M.E.R.), forming the Cabal, and founding the Dark Avengers (story arc begins in "Secret Invasion: Dark Reign", 2008 and "Secret Invasion #8", January 2009; Dark Avengers first appear in "New Avengers #50", 2009 and "Dark Avengers #1", 2009).
War of Kings	2009	Vulcan is rapidly expanding the Shi'ar Empire, while Black Bolt and the Inhumans become leaders of the Kree empire following the events of Secret Invasion, and a cosmic war begins, drawing in Nova, Darkhawk, the Starjammers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Messiah War	2009	Learning that Bishop was after Cable and the first mutant born since House of M, Cyclops had Beast develop time travelling devices so Cyclops could send his secret wetworks team, X-Force (consisting of Wolverine, Warpath, X-23, Domino, Vanisher, Archangel and Elixir) into the future after Bishop, hoping that they'll end the threat once and for all and the future of mutant kind will be safe in the hands of his son.
Utopia	2009	California has become a troublesome state in the USA. The mutant riots lead to the entire area of San Francisco being put into martial law, and brings the rise of the "Dark X-Men."
Nation X	2009–2010	A mutant nation has been created on Utopia, off the coast of California.
Necrosha	2009–2010	The once Black Queen of the Hellfire Club brings forth a new Inner Circle of deadly mutants as well as a new threat to the entire mutant population as she sets her plan into motion of becoming a goddess.
Gauntlet & Grim Hunt	2009–2010	Each of Spider-Man's old enemies are attacking him under the orders of Kraven the Hunter's family.Following the events in "The Gauntlet," Kraven the Hunter's family comes after Spider-Man in a plot to revive Kraven.
Fall of the Hulks	2009–2010	The smartest minds in the Marvel Universe are being captured by a group known only as the Intelligencia which is a collection of some of the smartest supervillains in the Marvel canon.

2010s

Event	Date	Developments
Realm of Kings	2010	The follow-up to War of Kings.
Siege Heroic Age	2010 2010	In the aftermath of Dark Reign, Norman Osborn invades Asgard. With the Superhuman Registration Act abolished,a major change in the status quo of the Marvel Universe begins.
Doomwar	2010	Black Panther, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Deadpool wage war on the Latverian dictator Doctor Doom in an attempt to finally bring his empire down once and for all.
Second Coming	2010	"Second Coming" was the final part of a trilogy of stories that began with Messiah Complex and continued in Messiah War. Intended as a conclusion to Cable's efforts to save Hope from Bishop, who has hunted the so called Mutant Messiah since her birth; the series also builds on the Utopia, Nation X and Necrosha storylines of 2009 in the X-Men books.The story centers on the return of Cable and Hope Summers to the present day and Bastion's final campaign to destroy the X-Men
The Thanos Imperative	2010	Thanos has returned from the dead, which prompts an important question: "What does this mean for the entire universe?"
World War Hulks	2010	The follow-up to Fall of the Hulks. The plan of the Intelligencia is put in action plus the identities of the Red Hulk and Red She-Hulk are finally revealed.
Curse of the Mutants	2010	Vampires from around the globe descend on San Francisco to claim the city as their own causing the X-Men and Blade to team up to stop them.
Wolverine Goes to Hell	2010–2011	Someone's out to destroy Logan - permanently - and they may have succeeded. But if Wolverine's soul is in hell, how is his body terrorizing those closest to him? .Daken:Dark Wolverine,X-23 and Wolverine Vol 4 are launched with this story.
Shadowland	2010	A prison/temple is constructed on the ruins of a Hell's Kitchen building, destroyed (along with numerous lives) by Bullseye during the Dark Reign event. Murdock returns to Hell's Kitchen from Japan and seeks to utilise the Hand as a force for justice; however, Murdock is not the same person anymore.
Chaos War	2010–2011	The Chaos King Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the living embodiment of the void before time and space began, has chosen to annihilate all reality and to return the Marvel Universe back to its state of primordial darkness, thus launching a massive assault on Earth to wipe out all of existence with an army of thousands of alien deities at his back. This forces the remaining heroes, gods and cosmic beings, rallied by a restored Hercules, to join forces in a last desperate effort to stop him.
Three	2010–2011	Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, risks his life to save Ben Grimm (The Thing) and the Richard kids. Marks the end of the Fantastic Four, and the beginning of the Future Foundation. Fantastic Four #588, FF#1
Age of X	2011	The reality as changed, the Earth-616 was replaced by a world where the X-Men never came to be, the mutant-kind has been hunted to extinction, the few remaining mutants band together to make their last stand.
Onslaught Unleashed	2011	It seems Onslaught has returned as a threat of the Marvel Universe once more, this time with a connection to Nomad. No telling what trouble he will create for both the teenage would be heroes of The Young Allies, and Steve Rogers' Secret Avengers
Fear Itself Shattered Heroes	2011 2011-2012	The Asgardian God of Fear is sowing fear and doubt among Marvel's Superheroes to use it against them. Aftermath of Fear Itself.
Spider-Island	2011	The Jackal has given to every New Yorker spider-like powers, even heroes and villains.
Schism Regenesis	2011 2011-2012	After a mutant-triggered international incident, anti-mutant hatred hits new heights. It's at this moment, when the mutant race needs most to stand together, that a split begins that will tear apart the very foundation of the X-Men. Torn apart by the events of "X-Men: Schism," Mutants have split into two distinct factions, with Cyclops leading Utopia while Wolverine heads back to the X-Men's roots in Westchester. Now, the X-Men are going through a complete restructuring and "Regenesis."
Avengers vs. X-Men	2012	Aftermath of the mini series Avengers: X-Sanction, which brings back Cable to the Marvel Universe ahead of the Phoenix Force which has been discovered heading directly for Earth.

Ultimate Marvel

Event	Date	Developments
Ultimate Six	2003–2004	Eletro, Kraven, Doc Oc, Sandman, and Spider-Man's archnemesis, the Green Goblin are incarcerated by the Ultimates. Hank Pym (Giant Man/Ant Man) attempts to rehabilitate them. Ultimately, this doesn't go well. They escape and force Spider-Man to launch an attack upon the white house.
Ultimate Galactus Trilogy	2004–2006	The story chronicles the coming of Gah Lak Tus!
Ultimate X4	2005–2006	Cerebro has been stolen - and the trail points directly at the government's premier think tank, the Baxter Building! The X-Men aren't happy about it - and the Baxter Building's most famous residents, the Fantastic Four, aren't happy about an angry team of mutants showing up on their doorstep!
Ultimatum	2008–2009	The story deals with Magneto's attempts to destroy the world following the apparent deaths of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in Ultimates 3.Following the Ultimatum storyline, each Ultimate title was given a Requiem follow-up series or one-shot, dealing with the status each book's characters in the aftermath of Ultimatum.
Doomsday	2010–2011	The story mainly focuses on what remains of the Fantastic Four after Ultimatum, specifically dealing with an unknown threat (revealed later) trying to alter the entire Ultimate Universe, in the process causing a significant amount of destruction.
Death of Spider-Man	2011	The story details the death of Spider-Man.It also crosses over with Avengers vs New Ultimates.After this the entire Ultimate line was relaunched with Ultimate Comics Universe Reborn tagline. The titles relaunched were Ultimate Comics: X-Men, Ultimate Comics: Ultimates, and Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, with Ultimate Comics: Fallout and Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye being released as mini-series.