Star Trek/Green Lantern Corp team-up(IDW/DC)

[JoeZhang]

hum Captain Kirk interacts with a planet that seems to be primitive but actually has high technology on it - I just cannot see that happening. Nor a Star Trek character interacting with people who appear to be alien but are either human or half-human.

 

[Nerys Myk]

ST and superheroes are different animals, catering to equally different plotting demands. This is as silly and out of place as the 1970s, when Marvel shoehorned a bunch of horror characters (Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf By Night, The Monster of Frankenstein, etc.) into their superhero universe with less than spectacular, or even sensible results.

How was that any different than Sgt Fury being part of the "superhero" universe? Or Doctor Strange for that matter. Horror has been a part of superhero comics since superheroes began.With vampires, werewolves and mad scientists among the earliest villains. Even Marvel's western, teen and romance titles/characters are part of the "superhero" universe.

Fury was created as a character serving in WW2--which (a generation earlier) was also occupied by Timely's wartime superheroes designed to fit into the sensibilities of the period. None were alien to the other.

No he was created as "modern" take on WWII. Fury was as much a product of the Sixties as any other Marvel Character. Gabe Jones alone shows a very non-Forties sensibility. Other than Captain America, Fury's book pretty much ignored the Timely heroes.

On the other hand, Star Trek was born from different motivations having nothing to do with the kind of storytelling native to superheroes.

They aren't that far apart. Spock with his telepathy, superior strength and new power each episode is a superhero. Kirk's love life is on par with most Marvel heroes. He's also not that far from Steve Rogers in his speechifying.

Fury and his Commandos not only fought Nazis, but more fantastic elements that were still common--even expected in Marvel stories. However, all things do not mix well: in addition to the misguided Marvel/horror comics from the 70s, look no further than the ST/X-Men crossover--it read like kids pulling parts from one type of action figure, and forcing on one of another scale: doing it just because you can, but it does not work.

What's not fantastical werewolves and vampires? Again horror elements and superheros have been mixing since comics began.

Here's the synopsis for the Batman story in Detective Comics #31

Synopsis:When Batman discovers Julie in a trance, he is advised by a doctor to take her to Hungary, where he faces a living vampire, who wishes to kill the Caped Crusader and feed Julie to his werewolves.

Here's one from Captain America Comics #17

Synopsis:A jealous scientist named Dr. Weirdler learns one of his colleagues has developed a serum that will reanimate dead bodies and is planning on testing it on a recently deceased gorilla. Dr. Weirdler takes the brain of an executed criminal named Killer Kole and places it in the gorilla's body. The experiment doesn't seem to work and the medical students bury the gorilla's body where the grave is struck by lightning and Killer Kole is revived. His goes to the zoo and breaks out a pair of gorillas for his mob and then sets out on a path of vengeance against the three judges who sent him to the chair. Dr. Weirdler informs Cap about the beast terrorizing the city and then takes a knife thrown at Cap to atone for his crime. Cap socks Killer Kole off a highrise and he falls to his doom.

The moment the Spectre sat down at the same table as the Flash the supernatural and the science fictional have existed side by side in comics.

I'm not a fan a the Star Trek/X-Men crossover, but that doesn't mean all such crossovers are going to be bad.