In
superhero comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
s, a team-up is a
fictional crossover where two or more superheroes or superhero teams who usually do not appear together work together on a shared goal.
Overview
The first team-up between characters published in different comics from the same publisher was published in 1940 by the
MLJ Comics. ''Pep Comics'' #4, by Harry Shorten and Irv Novick, featured a story with the
Shield
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...
, which was continued in ''Top Notch Comics'' #5, by Will Harr and
Edd Ashe. In that comic, the Shield met the
Wizard.
Timely Comics
Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...
would follow, with a team-up between
Sub-Mariner and
Human Torch
The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a ...
.
National Comics Publications took the team-up concept one step further and created the
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...
, the first superhero group, composed of superheroes who starred their own comic books.
The team-up was an important
worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task f ...
narrative device, one that allowed for the creation of a
shared universe
A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, char ...
concept.
Select comics with team-ups
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A+X''
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Avenging Spider-Man
''Avenging Spider-Man'' is the title of an American comic book series published monthly by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. The events in the story take place in the primary continuity of the main ...
''
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The Brave and the Bold''
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DC Comics Presents''
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Generations''
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Marvel Team-Up
''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man ...
''
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Marvel Two-in-One''
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Superman/Batman
''Superman/Batman'' is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular superheroes: Superman and Batman. ''Superman/Batman'' premiered in August 2003, an update of the previous series, '' World' ...
''
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World's Finest Comics''
In other media
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Batman: The Brave and the Bold''
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Ultimate Spider-Man (TV series)
''Ultimate Spider-Man'' (titled ''Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors'' for the third season and ''Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister Six'' for its final season) is an American superhero animated television series broadcast on the cable network ...
''
References
Comics terminology
{{comics-stub