The Top 10 Greatest Batman Crossovers of All Time

Batman can only team up with fellow DC heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash so many times before it starts to get a little old. Sometimes, we need a story that shakes things up and removes the barriers between pop culture universes. That’s how we’ve gotten some truly classic and downright weird comic book crossovers over the decades.

From obvious team-ups like Batman/Spider-Man and Batman/The Shadow to more unusual fare like Batman/Elmer Fudd, these are the best (as well as some of the weirdest) Batman crossovers of all time. Note that we’re focused only on the stories where Batman himself is the main player, not Justice League-centric crossovers like Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong.

10. Spider-Man and Batman

As arguably the two biggest superheroes in the world, it’s inevitable that Batman and Spider-Man would cross paths at some point. If anything, it’s surprising that Marvel and DC waited until 1995 to make that pairing happen. But Spider-Man and Batman was certainly worth the wait. This crossover zeroes in on the similarities between the two heroes and their respective tragic pasts, while also making the sensible choice to pit them against the tag team psychopathic duo of Joker and Carnage.

Spider-Man and Batman’s greatest strength is that it’s built by two decorated Spider-Man veterans - Kraven’s Last Hunt writer J./M. DeMatteis and prolific Amazing Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley. The result is a book that feels like a natural extension of the ‘90s Spider-Man comics (minus all the Clone Saga nonsense).

Buy DC vs. Marvel Omnibus on Amazon.

9. Spawn/Batman

As two dark vigilantes with billowing capes and huge fanbases, Spawn and Batman are another natural choice to pair together. To date, there have been three crossovers between the two franchises (including the very recent Batman/Spawn), but we’re giving the nod to the original. That’s because the first crossover boasts the most impressive creative team, joining The Dark Knight Returns writer Frank Miller with Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. That creative pedigree makes for a fun and suitably dark team-up adventure.

Buy Batman/Spawn: The Classic Collection on Amazon.

8. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Since their 2011 reboot at IDW, the Ninja Turtles have gone on to star in a great many crossovers. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remains one of the best, thanks to the strong pairing of Batman veteran James Tynion IV and artist Freddie E. Williams II.

This crossover makes for a very entertaining meeting between two worlds, making the most of the clash of personalities between the Batman family and the Turtles. Plus, who among us hasn’t wondered if Batman could take Shredder in a one-on-one duel? Tynion and Williams also find real emotional weight in forging a bond between the Dark Knight and the Heroes in a Half Shell.

The original crossover proved successful enough for DC and IDW to reteam on two direct sequels (plus a separate crossover based on the animated versions of the characters). This crossover even spawned a 2019 animated movie, which is also well worth watching.

Buy Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 (2025 Edition) on Amazon.

7. First Wave

In many ways, the original Golden Age incarnation of Batman is a very different character from what would follow. It’s that version of Batman that shines in this unique and entertaining crossover series. Written by 100 Bullets’ Brian Azzarello and drawn by Identity Crisis’ Rags Morales, First Wave combines a number of iconic pulp heroes into one universe. Here, the Caped Crusader (uncharacteristically toting a pair of guns) rubs elbows with everyone from Doc Savage to The Spirit to Rima the Jungle Girl. The series is a lot of fun, and we only wish the so-called Pulpverse had become a permanent part of DC’s multiversal lineup.

Buy First Wave on Amazon.

6. Batman/The Shadow: The Murder Geniuses

It’s safe to say that without The Shadow there would be no Batman. Pairing the two dark avengers of the night is only logical, and we’re glad this series does such a great job of pitting the two together. Batman/The Shadow opens as the Dark Knight investigates the latest murder in Gotham City, only for the prime suspect to be Lamont Cranston, a man thought to have perished 50 years prior. That’s just the start of a whirlwind team-up.

As with so many books on this list, Batman/The Shadow is all about the creative team - writers Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando and artist Riley Rossmo. Sadly, that full team didn’t return for the follow-up series The Shadow/Batman, but the sequel is still an enjoyable read in its own right.

Buy Batman/The Shadow: The Murder Geniuses on Amazon.

5. Batman Versus Predator

Even as the movie series floundered, the Predator franchise found a second life in comics during the ‘90s. That includes no fewer than three crossovers between the Dark Knight and the universe’s greatest hunter. For our money, the first is still the one to beat, as it features a terrific story by Watchmen’s Dave Gibbons and art by a pre-X-Men Andy and Adam Kubert.

Batman Versus Predator boasts a simple but very winning premise. A Yautja is running amok in Gotham, and Batman is forced to follow his bloody trail. The creators conjure up a terrific sense of atmosphere, and ultimately do a far better job of capitalizing on the idea of a Predator hunting in a bustling American metropolis than Predator 2.

Buy Batman vs. Predator on Amazon.

4. Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham

Batman and Judge Dredd both have a deep commitment to upholding the law and maintaining order in their respective dystopian cities. One would think they’d get along famously. But not so much it turns out, as the first Batman/Judge Dredd crossover shows us. When Judge Death breaches the barriers between dimensions and forms an alliance with Scarecrow, these two costumed heroes will have to put aside their differences for the greater good. And boy do they have some differences…

DC and 2000 AD collaborated on three Batman/Judge Dredd crossovers in the ‘90s, but here again, our money is on the original. It’s really hard to top the appeal of having Dredd co-creator John Wagner involved, along with the surreal, brutal, and downright psychedelic artwork of Simon Bisley. This may just be the best-looking Batman crossover of all time.

Buy The Batman/Judge Dredd Collection on Amazon.

3. Batman/Grendel

Grendel isn’t necessarily the most famous character Batman has crossed paths with over the years, but it’s a pairing that just makes inherent sense. Matt Wagner’s Grendel saga is a meditation on violence and vengeance, two themes central to Batman’s world. And given that Wagner has worked with the Dark Knight solo plenty of times over the years, these characters together become two great tastes that taste great together.

Both the original 1993 crossover and its 1996 sequel are well worth reading. The first pits Batman against the original Grendel Hunter Rose, as the two clash in both the streets and Gotham’s polite society. The sequel shifts focus to Rose’s futuristic successor Grendel-Prime. Both stories are good enough to make you wish Grendel was a permanent part of Batman’s rogues gallery.

Buy Batman/Grendel: Devil’s Riddle on Amazon.

2. Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth

Warren Ellis and the late, great John Cassaday joined forces for one of DC’s greatest comics ever in the sprawling sci-fi epic Planetary. That series wound up spawning crossovers with both The Authority and the Justice League, but it’s the Batman crossover that truly stands out (in part because it’s the only one of the three to feature the entire creative team from the main series).

In Planetary/Batman, the cantankerous Elijah Snow and his team arrive in a Batman-less Gotham City on the trail of a mysterious killer. Soon, the barriers between worlds are breached, leading to encounters with a great many versions of the Caped Crusader. Half the fun of this crossover is in how it celebrates all eras of Batman’s history, from the classic Golden Age to the campy Silver Age to the brooding avenger of The Dark Knight Returns. This crossover is basically just an extended installment of the main series with a healthy dose of Batman thrown in, and that’s enough to result in one of the best Batman crossovers of all time.

Buy Batman/Planetary: The Deluxe Edition on Amazon.

1. Batman/Elmer Fudd Special

As it happens, the best Batman crossover is also the most bizarre. Batman/Elmer Fudd Special is part of a larger line of mash-ups combining heroes of the DCU with iconic Looney Tunes characters. It’s also far and away the best, mining more out of the goofy premise than we could have ever imagined. This is one of the only comics to ever score a 10 in our IGN review.

The brilliance of Batman/Elmer Fudd is that it plays the pairing completely straight (which, in turn, leads to some truly hilarious moments). This is a 100% serious vision of Batman and Gotham City, one in which Elmer Fudd is cast as a tragic killer not unlike Marv from Sin City. The speech impediment is still there, but the character is pure fury and pathos.

Writer Tom King and artist Lee Weeks wind up wringing a huge amount of emotion and depth out of this sad and wistful yet still hilarious crossover. They’re a great team when they work with Batman alone (as evidenced by their recurring collaboration on DC’s 2016 Batman series), but somehow the addition of Elmer Fudd takes everything up a notch.

Buy Batman by Tom King and Lee Weeks on Amazon.

What’s your favorite Batman crossover? Vote in our poll and let us know in the comments below.

For more Batman fun, check out the top 10 Batman costumes of all time and the top 27 Batman comics and graphic novels.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.