Alt 9602 Extra: X-Men & Teen Titans

Prior to the 1996 DC Versus Marvel event, Marvel and DC had some limited cross-company collaborations in which heroes from each universe met: Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man (1976), Marvel Treasury Edition #28: Superman and Spider-Man (1981), and DC Special Series No. 27: Batman vs the Incredible Hulk (Fall 1981).

One of the more well known issues was 1982's  Marvel and DC Present featuring The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans. Two of the hottest properties at the time joined forces to stop Darkseid from raising Dark Phoenix from the dead and using her to rule Earth. He had none other than Deathstroke the Terminator leading his para-demon army. It is a fun adventure once you get past the absurd premise that the two teams exist in the same universe and somehow never met each other. The bonus is, of course, that this one-shot stars the classic line-ups for both teams:

• X-Men: Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Professor X, Kitty Pryde, Storm, and Wolverine
• Teen Titans: Changling, Cyborg, Kid Flash, Raven ,Robin, Starfire, and Wonder Girl

I am not sure how I got this issue, but I am so glad it is part of the collection. The Teen Titans were perhaps my favorite DC team (and probably still are), so seeing them with the X-Men was a treat.