The Team-Up Saga

Team-up comic books are nothing new but I have a few opinions of team-ups I want to get off my chest. There are different types of team up books: On going series, mini-series, or one-shots and can either have a team of several characters, a pair of the same characters or rotating characters in the book. I just want to talk mainly about books that pertain to two characters here though. We've seen team-ups with two heroes, heroes teaming up with villains and even team-ups that cross publishing lines. All these books can be very interesting and fun reads but sometimes it seems very cheesy and predictable. One of the most reoccurring themes in most team-ups is two heroes meeting for the first time and fighting then coming together to fight a common enemy or threat. Some times it seems like writers just throw two random characters together for the intrigue or maybe they are just trying to hard. Some team-ups should never happen. Yes team-ups can be tricky to write but if done correctly, these books can be a huge success. We need team-up comics sometimes to mix things up or draw interest but they have to be done properly.

Now I know that team up books have been going on for a long time but recently there has been some talk on the Internet and social media that have made me want to talk about it. I don't know if it's because of the newly announced Batman/ Superman movie or some of the new team-up books or some of the highly praised one-shots that have caused all the buzz but people have voiced their opinions.  Let's face it, team-ups aren't going away but that's okay, most are really great and fun to read.

There have been some epic team-ups over the years and some that keep reoccurring. Some team-ups we will never get to see again or at least any time soon, for instance, the classic DC/ Marvel team ups. Fans will never forget the Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk or Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man. These were some rare crossovers that we may never see again for many reasons but mostly because of the competitive industry.

But with such amazing team-ups also comes some equally bad team-ups. To see a list of some epic failed attempts at some team-up books then follow the link. You will get a good laugh. The Quick's Bunny and Superman?   http://www.weirdworm.com/10-absurd-comic-book-crossovers/

The comic book industry has tried so many different team-ups and some were, let's say, not so great and some that work and continue to work well. One team-up that will always be popular and sell well is Batman and Superman team-up. They had an ongoing series of 84 books and 5 annuals from 2003-2011 and recently started a new ongoing title. This team-up works in so many ways. One reason is because they are two totally different heroes. Superman has so much power and different abilities and Batman is a "normal man" who has trained his whole life to be who he is. This team-up also works because these two characters are two of the most famous characters in comics and have been around for so long. Also DC has an interesting team-up coming soon, Superman and Wonder Woman. This team-up will be very interesting because of their new relationship and the fact that they both are so powerful they have a hard time relating to most people.

One big reason team-ups have been talked about a lot recently I think is because of one of the best team-up comic I've ever read. (Don't crush me I'm still fairly new to comics) That praise goes out to The Flash Annual #2 written by Brian Buccellato. I've not been reading Brian's work very long but he's been doing a great job with The Flash series but this annual was on a different level. This book was a team-up with The Flash and Green Lantern. What made this so great for me was this started by showing how Barry Allen and Hal Jordan meet for the first time in a flash back. Then it went on showing them working together for a common cause in a more present day setting. I'm not going to talk in detail about it but definitely check it out!! You don't need to be reading The Flash regularly to read this one but I have a feeling you will be wanting to after.
I'm not a big Green Lantern fan but I would love to see a team-up with Green Lantern and The Flash happen in an ongoing series.

Brian proved that this team-up can work very well. You have two heroes with totally different powers, Green Lantern being able to go off into space and create virtually anything with his ring and The Flash has the speed force and all that comes with that. They also both have very different personalities but we know that they are friends and the comradely will be fun to read about. Maybe on reason this may not happen soon is because of where both are in their solo books and would mess up continuity. Hal has been off planet for awhile and not even in the Justice League right now and Barry could probably get away with another ongoing series but we don't need anything messing up what is going on now. I think one thing DC could do is make it a "Chronicles" series that is based on past adventures they had together. Show the building of their friendship and learning to trust each other. Brian Buccellato would write this so well I think and after hearing the praise all over the internet, I think a lot of people would buy a Green Lantern and The Flash team up book. I know I would!!

Another team-up book I would love to see a new take on is Captain America and Iron Man. These guys have had their own team-up series together before but I think a fresh and modern take on these two together would be a very fun read. I like this idea because Captain America is such a leader and everything he does is with purpose and precision and Iron Man more flies by the seat of his pants so to speak. We've seen them beat the mess out of each other and fight on different sides in Civil War so a team-up would be interesting.

Marvel also used to have a Power Man and Iron Fist team-up series that was very popular and I think they should relaunch this series. They would need to change it to Luke Cage and Iron Fist but they could take on some treats that are less main stream and a little more "dirty".
Team-up books are always interesting no matter how successful they are or how much they fail. No matter how odd or predictable a team-up my be it's fun to see what writers come up with. As long as these team-ups are done well, anything is possible. Maybe we won't get some team-ups I want to see but as long as we get other great team-ups I will be happy.