Buffy Crossovers Mark 2: Secondary Crossovers
A while back I posted an article detailing the 22 Buffy Crossovers found on Buffy and in Buffy's expanded media. Today's post is an expansion on that, dealing with things that have crossed over with those 22 programs/characters that have crossed over with Buffy.
In short, Secondary Crossovers.
There are, however, some things I do not cover. Ms. Harkness and Captain America being pure comic book characters do not get crossover instance recognition with the rest of the Marvel Universe. That's just a cheat. Ms Harkness, also, sadly, has no other media references. I will, however, list the cross-company crossovers Captain America has had (where it's just Captain America and not, say, the Avengers).
Neil Gaiman's Sandman (and Doctor Who, to an extent) pose a different problem. These are characters who travel across dimensions with frightening regularlity. So, we don't know where a crossover between these two takes place. Thus Sandman crossovers are ignored. Doctor Who crossovers are also kept to a minimum.
Though, all comic book crossovers and references to a future timeline are openly suspect. As Doc. Brown said "The Future is always changing!"
The H.P. Lovecraft Mythology:
- Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem -An investigator at the beginning of the story is named after the one who found the Cult of Cthulhu in the Missouri backwoods in H. P. Lovecraft’s original story Call of Cthulhu
- The Real Ghostbusters - “Collect Call of Kathulhu” and “Russian About” feature Cthulhu, the Old Ones, The Star Spawn of Cthulhu and the Necronomicon.
- Doctor Who Novel White Darkness features the Necronomicon and Cthonic entities being raised in Haiti.In the novel All Consuming Fire, as well as encountering Sherlock Holmes, The Doctor confronts more lovecraftian beings. This novel claims that Cthulhu himself was encountered in the above novel, though this was not the author’s original intent. Also in the All Consuming Fire are Lord John Roxton of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, Inspector Cribb and Fu Manchu’s Si Fan organization. Professor Challenger and Kolchak the Nightstalker are mentioned as well.
- A crossover with Evil Dead/Army of Darkness occurs in the limited series Army of Darkness vs. Re-Animator. Not to mention the use of (a) Necronomicon within the films themselves.
- The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy has a lovely little episode entitled “The Prank Call of Cthulhu” and another episode, “Big Trouble in Billy’s Basement” featuring Yog-Sothoth and a parody of Ash from Evil Dead/Army of Darkness.
- Digimon Tamers has several subtle Lovecraft nods, until two researchers from Miskatonic University arrive to try and explain the phenomena towards the season finale. Other seasons of Digimon (Digimon Adventure 1 and 2) included Lovecraft references, but they were explicitly mentioned as being extra-dimensional.
- The Italian zombie movie City of the Living Dead is set in Dunwich.
- The Italian horror film The Beyond features the book of Eibon.
- The Tobe Hoper film Mortuary is set in Arkham.
- A Cthulhu-like creature appears in Castlevainia: Symphony of Night, its name (Cthulhu) was switched with another entity called Malachai to avoid copyright problems.
- The PC Game The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes features an investigation regarding several disappearances regarding the Cult of Cthulhu.
- Shadows over Backer Street is a collection of stories combining Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft’s lore. There are also several other stories tying Holmes to the Mythos.
- The Alone in the Dark video games features many Lovecraftian themes, including creature use Shub-Niggurath and Deep Ones.
- Steven King’s novels have various Lovecraft subtle nods and references (in It, The Dark Tower series and Jerusalem’s Lot).
- Futurama has, in “A Biclops Built for Two” the appearance of a Yithian (Identified on the DVD Commentary).
- Mike Mignola penned and inked a Lovecraftian take on the entire Batman rogues gallery.
- The Necronomicon appears in the video game Max Payne.
- Like many things, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 1, 2 and the Black Dossier all feature Lovecraft.
- To Mars and Providenceconnects the Lovecraft mythology and H.G. Wells War of the Worlds.
- The pulp-novel adventures of Harry Houdini features Lovecraftian elements to it.
- Adventurer/occultist John Kirowan (written by Robert E. Howard, a good friend of Lovecraft) encounters the Necronomicon, Unspeakable Cults, and classic mythos entities, and receives aid from Solomon Kane in the story Children of the Night. Mythos entities also appear in his work Dig Me No Grave.
- August Derleth’s character Solar Pons encounters the Mythos.
- Bertie Wooster and his butler Jeeves encounter the mythos horrors in the short story Scream for Jeeves.
- The short story Big Fish at first appears to be an Anno Dracula crossover, but a closer inspection reveals that only parallel characters appear here. So, non Anno parallels of the Anno characters can be crossed over.
- The final adventure of The Avenger recorded by Kenneth Roberston, The Demon Island, features the Necronomicon.
- In Black as a Pit, Pole to Pole, the original Frankenstein Monster travels underground from the North Pole to the South Pole, emerging near the Mountains of Madness. The story also connects Edgar Alan Poe’s Author Gordon Pym, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Pelucidar novels. Almost all of which are within League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
- Vampirella once stopped a ritual murder that invoked the Outer Gods including Azathoth in a story entitled “Hungry Ghosts”. Her feline counterpart Pantha is also present.
- Even Godzilla got in on the act in the young adult novel Godzilla at World’s End by Marc Cerasini where Miskatonic University is name-checked regarding an Antarctic expedition. Recasting some stranger Godzilla foes as the products of Elder Thing technology, and having King Ghidorah act as a lesser Great Old One and Mothra as an Elder God are only some of the benefits.
- The Comic story Hallows Eve features X-Files agents Mulder and Scully visit Miskatonic University in Arkham, Mass.
There are doubtlessly many others.
The Alien Series: Because of the future setting and the many meetings they have had, few of these crossovers can be taken with any semblance of factuality in regards to the Buffyverse.
- The corporation Weyland-Yutani is used in many subtle crossover references.
o It appears in Firefly, briefly on a turret’s HUD in the premier episode. Though Fray has many futureterms that are used in Firefly.
o It appears in Red Dwarf emblazoned on a crashed ship in the episode “Psirens”
- And, of course, the Aliens vs. Predator series of comics games and Films.
o Let’s not mention Alien vs. Predator vs. Terminator or, for that matter, Frank Miller’s Robocop vs. Terminator.
- The Xenomorphs have had comic book crossovers with: Batman, Witchblade/The Darkness, Green Lantern, Judge Dredd, Superman and WildCATS.
Buckaroo Banzai:
- The 24th Phantom has an enemy refer to the criminal empire of Hanoi Xan in terms of power and extent in an episode of Phantom 2040. It is likely that this is simply a disguise name for Fu Manchu.
- Team Banzai finds themselves deeply entrenched in the Battletech universe, a 31st century possible future.
- Is connected to the cult film Big Trouble in Little China through the DVD extras. Specifically, Billy Travers has his marriage annulled with Felicia Vasquez, who is last seen with Jack Burton.
- Burckaroo Banzai’s phrase of choice, “No Matter Where You Go, There You Are” is on the dedication plaque for Captain Hikaru Sulu of the USS Excelsior in Star Trek V: the Undiscovered Country.
- Interestingly, the episode Up the Long Ladder of Star Trek: the Next Generation has even MORE references to Buckaroo Banzai. Including: a DY-500 ship from 2123, the Mariposa, having a Yoyodine pulse fusion engine; and, on a display of ships launched in the 22st Century, a S.S. BUCKAROO BANZAIcaptained by John Worfin, heading to Planet 10, Dimension 8.
- More quotage from Banzai occurs in Star Trek: Voyager, where a Wells class time-ship has the dedication plaque: “The reason for time is so everything doesn’t happen at once.”
- DC Comics Doc Savage comic books (which ran only a short time), features wall graffiti of various bands, including Buckaroo Banzai (though, the name “And the Hong Kong Cavaliers” was omitted). The graffiti appears in Issue #3, Vol. 2. In Vol. 2#6 (part of the same story) The Shadow appears. The story is entitled, “The Discord Makers”.
Hellboy:
- The Hellboy has crossed over with several characters, usually in comic book form: The Ghost of Arcadia, Savage Dragon and Painkiller Jane.
- The Batman/Starman/Hellboy crossover also features a big nod to Lovecraft, so gets inclusion without question. The Starman crossover featured both Jack and Ted Knight. The Modern and Golden Age Starman, respectfully.
- The novels have other crossover references, but I do not have easy access to them at the moment.
Evil Dead/Army of Darkness:
- The Necronomicon of this series appeared in Jason Goes to Hell.
- It also appeared in Pumpkinhead.
- The comics incarnation has encountered Darkman, The Cthulhu Mythos, Dracula (specifically the one that also fought the Magdalena, Lara Croft, the Witchblade and the Darkness) and his allied monsters from the limited series Monster War which featured such minions as Wolf-Men, Frankenstein (though, not really a minion) and Mr. Hyde. His Dracula encounter also introduced a new spawn of Dracula, Eva: Daughter of the Dragon.
- Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash comic series takes place directly after Freddy vs. Jason.
- Army of Darkness vs. Marvel Zombies takes place in a different dimension, and thus, is not considered a legitimate crossover (but it was still fun). The upcoming Xena crossover will also likely take this rout.
Dracula: It should be mentioned that the only real way to account for all the different interpretations of Dracula is through the “Soul Clone” Hypothesis. Essentially, there is one true Dracula (dubbed “Dracula Prime”) and he makes mystical copies of himself which he sends out to do his bidding…or, if they’re mistakes, he lets them wander around aimlessly. And even then, there are some that, generally, can be discounted for a larger crossover universe (Anno Dracula, for instance). So, beyond what was already mentioned, here are a few more:
- The Castelvainia series
- Hellsing
- Vampire Hunter D takes place in a post-apocalyptic future 10 thousand years in the future involving Dracula’s Son.
- The other major Universal Monsters (Universal Frankenstein and The Wolfman) in various encounters, and, of course, Abbott and Costello.
- The strange film Billy the Kid vs. Dracula should be mentioned for the sheer oddity of it.
- The film The Monster Squad harkens back to the Universal days of horror in a loving way, unlike Van Helsing, but we shall not speak of that film, even if it also has Mr. Hyde, forcing the entry.
- In Tomb of Dracula, the lord of vampires battled Blade, Dr. Strange, Werewolf by Night, and Spider-man. We don’t really talk about the other Marvelites he met outside of his core cast. We really don’t.
- In Castle of the Undeadand other Marvel magazines he encounters Solomon Kane.
- Dracula vs. Zorro comic needs no further explanation. Dracula sets up a society of Vampire Women, which, speculatively, could have appeared in El Santo contra las Vampiras (El Santo vs. the Vampire Women) and From Dusk Till Dawn.
- Revenge of Dracula features a subtle tie-in through the character Dr. Strickland to the novel Vengeance of She. In the She (who must be obeyed) series.
- Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula is also self explanatory. There’s another Holmes reference in Mina: the Dracula Story Continues and its sequels. Also, to note, everyone knows that Doyle is Holmes editor and Literary Agent. Sherlock battled Dracula again in The Tangled Skein and the Singular Case of the Anemic Heir. And teamed up with him in The Holmes-Dracula File and Séance for a Vampire.
- The novel, Return of the Wolfman features the Universal Dracula, fighting a descendent of the original Wolfman, Laurence Steward Talbot. This Larry Talbot would later seek a cure from Freakazoid but for now, battled the machinations of Dracula. The Frankenstein monster used in this story is not the original, but the Universal Film version. Murdere Lugendre, the voodoo black sorcerer from White Zombie is mentioned. As are the events of The Deadly Mantis and The Monolith Monsters, Man Made Monster, the monstrous Gillman (IE: The Creature from the Black Lagoon) and possibly The Mad Monster. A Wilfred Glendon III, descendant of the Werewolf of London appears as does Dr. Mornay (who is revealed to be a descendant of Dr. Moreau) appears in Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. A Dr. Frank Griffin (from the universal film The Invisible Agent) is mentioned through various notes. The Mummy Kharis,the second, silent, Universal Mummy of The Mummy’s Ghost, The Mummy’s Tomb and The Mummy’s Curse, is mentioned. His source of life is the sacred Tana Leaves. His cousin, Klairis is encountered in Abbott and Costello meet the Mummy. Sequel to book which mentions Dracula is The Devil’s Brood and the Devil’s Night has appearances of characters or events from The Bride of Frankenstein, Universal’s Dracula’s Daughter, The Invisible Ray, The Black Cat and The Invisible Man’s Revenge.
- The Frankenstein Lives Again novel series is similar to the above, but going with mostly the ‘original’ creatures. This series also includes The Lost World in the mix. A book from The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor appears, as does a museum from the author’s own The Mummy’s Kiss.
- In The Vampire Affair the Men from UNCLE battle Dracula.
- A Kaiju, Draculas, appears in The Ultraman Who Returned, and gets a giant silver cross shoved through his monstrous heart.
- Indiana Jones encounters Dracula in an episode of Young Indiana Jones, Transylvania, January 1918.
- In Ghosts of Dracula, Harry Houdini aids the count in escaping the thrall of phony séances in his quest to find his lost love, Lucy Westenra.
Doctor Who: Here are only a few listed, but I am sure there are more. But, as with Alien, they should be taken with a grain of salt.
- In the episode of the original series dubbed The Highlander, the Doctor and his companions witness events that would later be related in Doctor Syn and the High Seas.
- In the novel Verdigris, Joe Grant reminisces about her friend Tara King of The Avengers.
- The doctor, in comics has encountered the European Marvel character Death’s Head.
- There are, of course, the Doctor Who Spin Offs, Touchwood, K-9 And Company and Sarah Jane Adventures.
- Let’s not forget the reference to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The film even includes a background mention of the prison planet Shada from one of Douglas Adam’s un-made Doctor Who stories.
Highlander:
- In Ransom for Richard Redstonevague allusions are made to James Bond and his superior, M in the late 70s. This is, of course, from the TV series continuity.
- It’s spinoff of the TV series, Highlander: the Raven.
The X-Files:
- Spinoffs include The Lone Gunmen and Millennium (the later thanks to a crossover episode, and fictional author Jose Chung).
- Their infamous (and awesome) crossover with COPS is one of the oddest of crossovers.
- Their meeting of Detective Munch brings in Homicide: Life on the Street, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and their related programs.
- Their Simpsons crossover shouldn’t be seen as taking place in the larger crossover universe (unless you really, REALLY want to try and explain how the series would look in the Buffyverse).
- An aborted crossover eventually lead to a full Picket Fences crossover of sheer strangeness.
- Strange Luck name-checks Fox Mulder and the X-Files later deals with a similar set of circumstances to the ones within the series.
- Morley Cigarettes are the brand of choice in both the X-Files and Special Unit 2.
- In Daemonicus ectoplasm and a snide comment about the Ghostbusters appear.
- The Star Trek and Star Trek: Deep Space 9 novels: Preservers and The Fall of Terok Nor detail how the X-Files aliens (called Reticulans) visited the earth in the 20th century for the purpose of various genetic experimentations. The references are veiled, but together, are very interesting. They also talk about alien beings called Preservers who manipulated earth’s development during the 20th century and even earlier. Possible analogue to the Powers that Be?
The Man from UNCLE:
- Please Don’t Eat the Daisies has a strange, cute little crossover with this spy series.
- The Girl from Uncle spinoff.
- H.G. Wells Invisible Man is nodded through another Griffin experimenting in Invisibility in the 11th novel, The Invisibility Affair.
- The Dagger Affair novel speculates that THRUSH has its origins with Professor James Moriarty’s criminal empire.
- In The Rainbow Affair, our infamous agents encounter Simon Templar (The Saint), Fu Manchu, Dr. Palfrey and Z5, Nayland Smith, Sherlock Holmes (under the Pseudonym William Escott), The Avengers (Emma Peel and John Steed), Agatha Christy’s Miss Marple. James Bond is also mentioned. The Avengers are later confirmed in The Power Cube Affair.
- In The Utopia Affair, Rusterman’s Restaurant (which is owned by Nero Wolf) is mentioned.
- In The Hollow Crown Affair, the agents find themselves in Collinsport, Maine. The setting of Dark Shadows. References to the show abound.
- In the final Novel, T.H.E. Cat and Derek Flint appear (or are referenced).
Sherlock Holmes: One of literatures perennial characters. Here are a few of his appearances with other characters. Here are but a few:
- He solved the Ripper murders.
- Once received the titular Maltese Falcon as a gift in The Madness of Colonel Warburton.
- Holmes is featured prominently in the comic series Planetary, but so much of that doesn’t mesh with the other crossovers, I’ll just leave it at that (it is a comic after all). I will, however, mention the amusing part where Dracula springs at Elijah Snow from behind Sherlock Holmes. Elijah freezes Dracula solid, and then kicks him in the crotch.
- Sherlock Holmes has butted heads with the gentleman thief Arisen Lupin in at least two instances (Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late and a direct vs.).
- He appears in flashback within Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
- Conan Edogawa, better known as Detective Conan states he was born on the date Sherlock Holmes ‘met his end’ at Reichenbach falls.
- In The Richmond Enigma, he investigates the disappearance of H.G. Wells Time Traveler in The Time Machine.
- Mycroft Holmes and Inspector Lestrade encounter a Predator killing people in London. People believe it is Springheel Jack.
- The Case of the Fateful Retainer has references to the character M. August Didier.
- The fictional adventures of Harry Houdini include meeting with Holmes on several occasions.
- The Case of the Detective’s Smile has Alice Lidell confide in the detective the fantastic experiences she had within a strange world dubbed Wonderland. If you think that is weird, Holmes is later transported to Oz.
- The young Lord Peter Wimsey once consulted the detective to find his lost kitten.
- Like many Englanders of the time, he found himself embroiled in the events of H.G. Wells War of the Worlds. He does so in the novel Sherlock Holmes War of the Worlds and fights alongside Lord John Roxton and Professor Edwin Challenger, of Doyle’s The Lost World. For further details on the Martian invasion of England, see The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 2 which recounts the expulsion of the Sarmaks from Mars by its own and some of earth’s more wondrous children. Also of suggestion is War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches (featuring John Carter (of E.R.B.’s Barsoom series) and Mowgli (of The Jungle Book) among others). There is also Holmes and Moriarty dealing with The Second War of the Worlds.
- Holmes has teamed up with the obscure comic character The Rook (a time traveler) among others (mostly already mentioned) against Robur the Conqueror (a Jules Verne villain).
- Sherlock Holmes also battled Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
- In Ten Years Beyond Baker Street Holmes matches wits against Fu Manchu.
- In Son of Tarzan a hotel proprietor is spoken of, in regards to solving a mystery, that he should have consulted Sherlock Holmes, had he knew of him. Holmes in The Politician, the Lighthouse and the Trained Cormorant says he witnessed Tarzan (though he did not know it at the time) being raised by great apes.
- The Adventure of the Peerless Peer includes Tarzan, The Shadow (name substitution), German Spy Von Bork, G-8 (name substitution), Dr. Gideon Fell, and Henry Merrivale in an adventure to return to King Solomon’s Mines.
- The mad monk Rasputin is said to have been the son of James Moriarty in some stories.
- Sherlock, in his retirement, also encountered Miss Marple.
- In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes makes remarks about C. August Dupin and M. Lecoq.
- References to Holmes, Horatio Hornblower and Pygmalion occur in The Infernal Device.
- In The Magicians Nephew that Sherlock Holmes still lives on Baker’s Street at the time of its settings. Connecting this all to The Chronicles of Narnia as a very strange, happy Hell Dimension (though one that’s not particularly friendly towards Witches).
- Sherlock Holmes during the “Great Hiatus”, matches wits with the Phantom of the Opera.
- Irene Adler is a classic Holmes character, later; another Irene Adler is hinted to be the original within the X-Men comics.
- In one of the best comic issues, the 50th Anniversary of Detective Comics, the great detective guides detectives Ralph Dibney (the Elongated Man), Slam Bradley and the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin into acting against a rather sad great-grandson of Moriarty’s. He later gives his blessing to Another Moriarty’s descendent (one who hopes to redeem the family name) in his marriage to Mary Watson. One hopes that Its not Mary Jane Watson (though the time period the comic was published in was pretty close to Peter Parker’s own marriage), or that Peter Parker was actually a descendent of Moriarty’s. Though, the Mary Watson here had blond hair. The 1945 comic Batman and Robin in Scotland Yardhave the original dynamic duo battling Moriarty. So, PROBLEMS! (Best solved by multiple, generational Batmen). Batman also encounters him in the 1958 story (via ghostly apparition) Hell is for Heroes.
- The episode Elementary, my dear Winston of The Real Ghostbusters features Holmes and Moriarty as literary constructs. Aired two years after the above comic was published.
- Moriarty appears in The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, where he takes credit for being Captain Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Island of Dr. Moreau are also referenced in connection to Holmes as he battles Fu Manchu in The Musgrave Version.
- Jack Speed refers to Doc Savage coming out of retirement, Sherlock Holmes, Mac Bolan, Superman, Remo Williams and Batman.
- In Star Trek V: the Undiscovered Country, Spock implies that he is a descendent of Sherlock Holmes.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:
- First and foremost is League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
- In Tooth and Nail arc of a Tarzan comic series, Hyde battles the Ape Lord.
- Like other monsters he encountered Abbott and Costello.
Lord of the Rings:
- The last novel of C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy, That Hideous Strength says that Merlin’s magic differs from that of renaissance sorcerers such as Prospero (of Shakespeare’s The Tempest), that it comes from Numinor (the Tolkeinian Atlantis). As far as I am aware, there are no other Lord of the Rings Crossovers. But given the obvious religious overtones of the work, it should be taken as highly exaggerated, if at all.
Forbidden Planet:
- Robby the Robot is an Icon of cinema. He appears in the Gremlins (after George Pal’s Time Machine).
- The Id Monster is a classic monster since the film appeared. Similar creatures have appeared on The Chronicle, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Godzilla: The Series and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Ghostbusters:
- The (Real) Ghostbusters battled an evolved version of the Headless Horseman with references to the original work.
- The episode Troll Bridge of the Real Ghostbusters features a subtle reference to the film Them! As a real event.
- The series spawned from Ghostbusters include The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters.
Love Hina:
- Has a crossover with Magical Teacher Negima in that both share a Kendo School where Motoko Aoyama trains/teaches.
Captain America: Not listed are Super-Company Crisis Crossovers that all interconnect in some way.
- Captain America has met, during his Wartime escapades, the original Batman and Robin-and the story sets the seeds for generational Batmen.
- Captain America has also encountered The Green Hornet and Kato in a miniseries called Sting of the Green Hornet. Also referenced or appearing in this series are such wondrous folk as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, The Shadow and his biographer (and “agent”) Walter Gibson, Colonel Nick Fury, and finally Namor the Submariner is referenced, though not by name.
In short, Secondary Crossovers.
There are, however, some things I do not cover. Ms. Harkness and Captain America being pure comic book characters do not get crossover instance recognition with the rest of the Marvel Universe. That's just a cheat. Ms Harkness, also, sadly, has no other media references. I will, however, list the cross-company crossovers Captain America has had (where it's just Captain America and not, say, the Avengers).
Neil Gaiman's Sandman (and Doctor Who, to an extent) pose a different problem. These are characters who travel across dimensions with frightening regularlity. So, we don't know where a crossover between these two takes place. Thus Sandman crossovers are ignored. Doctor Who crossovers are also kept to a minimum.
Though, all comic book crossovers and references to a future timeline are openly suspect. As Doc. Brown said "The Future is always changing!"
The H.P. Lovecraft Mythology:
- Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem -An investigator at the beginning of the story is named after the one who found the Cult of Cthulhu in the Missouri backwoods in H. P. Lovecraft’s original story Call of Cthulhu
- The Real Ghostbusters - “Collect Call of Kathulhu” and “Russian About” feature Cthulhu, the Old Ones, The Star Spawn of Cthulhu and the Necronomicon.
- Doctor Who Novel White Darkness features the Necronomicon and Cthonic entities being raised in Haiti.In the novel All Consuming Fire, as well as encountering Sherlock Holmes, The Doctor confronts more lovecraftian beings. This novel claims that Cthulhu himself was encountered in the above novel, though this was not the author’s original intent. Also in the All Consuming Fire are Lord John Roxton of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, Inspector Cribb and Fu Manchu’s Si Fan organization. Professor Challenger and Kolchak the Nightstalker are mentioned as well.
- A crossover with Evil Dead/Army of Darkness occurs in the limited series Army of Darkness vs. Re-Animator. Not to mention the use of (a) Necronomicon within the films themselves.
- The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy has a lovely little episode entitled “The Prank Call of Cthulhu” and another episode, “Big Trouble in Billy’s Basement” featuring Yog-Sothoth and a parody of Ash from Evil Dead/Army of Darkness.
- Digimon Tamers has several subtle Lovecraft nods, until two researchers from Miskatonic University arrive to try and explain the phenomena towards the season finale. Other seasons of Digimon (Digimon Adventure 1 and 2) included Lovecraft references, but they were explicitly mentioned as being extra-dimensional.
- The Italian zombie movie City of the Living Dead is set in Dunwich.
- The Italian horror film The Beyond features the book of Eibon.
- The Tobe Hoper film Mortuary is set in Arkham.
- A Cthulhu-like creature appears in Castlevainia: Symphony of Night, its name (Cthulhu) was switched with another entity called Malachai to avoid copyright problems.
- The PC Game The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes features an investigation regarding several disappearances regarding the Cult of Cthulhu.
- Shadows over Backer Street is a collection of stories combining Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft’s lore. There are also several other stories tying Holmes to the Mythos.
- The Alone in the Dark video games features many Lovecraftian themes, including creature use Shub-Niggurath and Deep Ones.
- Steven King’s novels have various Lovecraft subtle nods and references (in It, The Dark Tower series and Jerusalem’s Lot).
- Futurama has, in “A Biclops Built for Two” the appearance of a Yithian (Identified on the DVD Commentary).
- Mike Mignola penned and inked a Lovecraftian take on the entire Batman rogues gallery.
- The Necronomicon appears in the video game Max Payne.
- Like many things, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 1, 2 and the Black Dossier all feature Lovecraft.
- To Mars and Providenceconnects the Lovecraft mythology and H.G. Wells War of the Worlds.
- The pulp-novel adventures of Harry Houdini features Lovecraftian elements to it.
- Adventurer/occultist John Kirowan (written by Robert E. Howard, a good friend of Lovecraft) encounters the Necronomicon, Unspeakable Cults, and classic mythos entities, and receives aid from Solomon Kane in the story Children of the Night. Mythos entities also appear in his work Dig Me No Grave.
- August Derleth’s character Solar Pons encounters the Mythos.
- Bertie Wooster and his butler Jeeves encounter the mythos horrors in the short story Scream for Jeeves.
- The short story Big Fish at first appears to be an Anno Dracula crossover, but a closer inspection reveals that only parallel characters appear here. So, non Anno parallels of the Anno characters can be crossed over.
- The final adventure of The Avenger recorded by Kenneth Roberston, The Demon Island, features the Necronomicon.
- In Black as a Pit, Pole to Pole, the original Frankenstein Monster travels underground from the North Pole to the South Pole, emerging near the Mountains of Madness. The story also connects Edgar Alan Poe’s Author Gordon Pym, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Pelucidar novels. Almost all of which are within League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
- Vampirella once stopped a ritual murder that invoked the Outer Gods including Azathoth in a story entitled “Hungry Ghosts”. Her feline counterpart Pantha is also present.
- Even Godzilla got in on the act in the young adult novel Godzilla at World’s End by Marc Cerasini where Miskatonic University is name-checked regarding an Antarctic expedition. Recasting some stranger Godzilla foes as the products of Elder Thing technology, and having King Ghidorah act as a lesser Great Old One and Mothra as an Elder God are only some of the benefits.
- The Comic story Hallows Eve features X-Files agents Mulder and Scully visit Miskatonic University in Arkham, Mass.
There are doubtlessly many others.
The Alien Series: Because of the future setting and the many meetings they have had, few of these crossovers can be taken with any semblance of factuality in regards to the Buffyverse.
- The corporation Weyland-Yutani is used in many subtle crossover references.
o It appears in Firefly, briefly on a turret’s HUD in the premier episode. Though Fray has many futureterms that are used in Firefly.
o It appears in Red Dwarf emblazoned on a crashed ship in the episode “Psirens”
- And, of course, the Aliens vs. Predator series of comics games and Films.
o Let’s not mention Alien vs. Predator vs. Terminator or, for that matter, Frank Miller’s Robocop vs. Terminator.
- The Xenomorphs have had comic book crossovers with: Batman, Witchblade/The Darkness, Green Lantern, Judge Dredd, Superman and WildCATS.
Buckaroo Banzai:
- The 24th Phantom has an enemy refer to the criminal empire of Hanoi Xan in terms of power and extent in an episode of Phantom 2040. It is likely that this is simply a disguise name for Fu Manchu.
- Team Banzai finds themselves deeply entrenched in the Battletech universe, a 31st century possible future.
- Is connected to the cult film Big Trouble in Little China through the DVD extras. Specifically, Billy Travers has his marriage annulled with Felicia Vasquez, who is last seen with Jack Burton.
- Burckaroo Banzai’s phrase of choice, “No Matter Where You Go, There You Are” is on the dedication plaque for Captain Hikaru Sulu of the USS Excelsior in Star Trek V: the Undiscovered Country.
- Interestingly, the episode Up the Long Ladder of Star Trek: the Next Generation has even MORE references to Buckaroo Banzai. Including: a DY-500 ship from 2123, the Mariposa, having a Yoyodine pulse fusion engine; and, on a display of ships launched in the 22st Century, a S.S. BUCKAROO BANZAIcaptained by John Worfin, heading to Planet 10, Dimension 8.
- More quotage from Banzai occurs in Star Trek: Voyager, where a Wells class time-ship has the dedication plaque: “The reason for time is so everything doesn’t happen at once.”
- DC Comics Doc Savage comic books (which ran only a short time), features wall graffiti of various bands, including Buckaroo Banzai (though, the name “And the Hong Kong Cavaliers” was omitted). The graffiti appears in Issue #3, Vol. 2. In Vol. 2#6 (part of the same story) The Shadow appears. The story is entitled, “The Discord Makers”.
Hellboy:
- The Hellboy has crossed over with several characters, usually in comic book form: The Ghost of Arcadia, Savage Dragon and Painkiller Jane.
- The Batman/Starman/Hellboy crossover also features a big nod to Lovecraft, so gets inclusion without question. The Starman crossover featured both Jack and Ted Knight. The Modern and Golden Age Starman, respectfully.
- The novels have other crossover references, but I do not have easy access to them at the moment.
Evil Dead/Army of Darkness:
- The Necronomicon of this series appeared in Jason Goes to Hell.
- It also appeared in Pumpkinhead.
- The comics incarnation has encountered Darkman, The Cthulhu Mythos, Dracula (specifically the one that also fought the Magdalena, Lara Croft, the Witchblade and the Darkness) and his allied monsters from the limited series Monster War which featured such minions as Wolf-Men, Frankenstein (though, not really a minion) and Mr. Hyde. His Dracula encounter also introduced a new spawn of Dracula, Eva: Daughter of the Dragon.
- Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash comic series takes place directly after Freddy vs. Jason.
- Army of Darkness vs. Marvel Zombies takes place in a different dimension, and thus, is not considered a legitimate crossover (but it was still fun). The upcoming Xena crossover will also likely take this rout.
Dracula: It should be mentioned that the only real way to account for all the different interpretations of Dracula is through the “Soul Clone” Hypothesis. Essentially, there is one true Dracula (dubbed “Dracula Prime”) and he makes mystical copies of himself which he sends out to do his bidding…or, if they’re mistakes, he lets them wander around aimlessly. And even then, there are some that, generally, can be discounted for a larger crossover universe (Anno Dracula, for instance). So, beyond what was already mentioned, here are a few more:
- The Castelvainia series
- Hellsing
- Vampire Hunter D takes place in a post-apocalyptic future 10 thousand years in the future involving Dracula’s Son.
- The other major Universal Monsters (Universal Frankenstein and The Wolfman) in various encounters, and, of course, Abbott and Costello.
- The strange film Billy the Kid vs. Dracula should be mentioned for the sheer oddity of it.
- The film The Monster Squad harkens back to the Universal days of horror in a loving way, unlike Van Helsing, but we shall not speak of that film, even if it also has Mr. Hyde, forcing the entry.
- In Tomb of Dracula, the lord of vampires battled Blade, Dr. Strange, Werewolf by Night, and Spider-man. We don’t really talk about the other Marvelites he met outside of his core cast. We really don’t.
- In Castle of the Undeadand other Marvel magazines he encounters Solomon Kane.
- Dracula vs. Zorro comic needs no further explanation. Dracula sets up a society of Vampire Women, which, speculatively, could have appeared in El Santo contra las Vampiras (El Santo vs. the Vampire Women) and From Dusk Till Dawn.
- Revenge of Dracula features a subtle tie-in through the character Dr. Strickland to the novel Vengeance of She. In the She (who must be obeyed) series.
- Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula is also self explanatory. There’s another Holmes reference in Mina: the Dracula Story Continues and its sequels. Also, to note, everyone knows that Doyle is Holmes editor and Literary Agent. Sherlock battled Dracula again in The Tangled Skein and the Singular Case of the Anemic Heir. And teamed up with him in The Holmes-Dracula File and Séance for a Vampire.
- The novel, Return of the Wolfman features the Universal Dracula, fighting a descendent of the original Wolfman, Laurence Steward Talbot. This Larry Talbot would later seek a cure from Freakazoid but for now, battled the machinations of Dracula. The Frankenstein monster used in this story is not the original, but the Universal Film version. Murdere Lugendre, the voodoo black sorcerer from White Zombie is mentioned. As are the events of The Deadly Mantis and The Monolith Monsters, Man Made Monster, the monstrous Gillman (IE: The Creature from the Black Lagoon) and possibly The Mad Monster. A Wilfred Glendon III, descendant of the Werewolf of London appears as does Dr. Mornay (who is revealed to be a descendant of Dr. Moreau) appears in Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. A Dr. Frank Griffin (from the universal film The Invisible Agent) is mentioned through various notes. The Mummy Kharis,the second, silent, Universal Mummy of The Mummy’s Ghost, The Mummy’s Tomb and The Mummy’s Curse, is mentioned. His source of life is the sacred Tana Leaves. His cousin, Klairis is encountered in Abbott and Costello meet the Mummy. Sequel to book which mentions Dracula is The Devil’s Brood and the Devil’s Night has appearances of characters or events from The Bride of Frankenstein, Universal’s Dracula’s Daughter, The Invisible Ray, The Black Cat and The Invisible Man’s Revenge.
- The Frankenstein Lives Again novel series is similar to the above, but going with mostly the ‘original’ creatures. This series also includes The Lost World in the mix. A book from The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor appears, as does a museum from the author’s own The Mummy’s Kiss.
- In The Vampire Affair the Men from UNCLE battle Dracula.
- A Kaiju, Draculas, appears in The Ultraman Who Returned, and gets a giant silver cross shoved through his monstrous heart.
- Indiana Jones encounters Dracula in an episode of Young Indiana Jones, Transylvania, January 1918.
- In Ghosts of Dracula, Harry Houdini aids the count in escaping the thrall of phony séances in his quest to find his lost love, Lucy Westenra.
Doctor Who: Here are only a few listed, but I am sure there are more. But, as with Alien, they should be taken with a grain of salt.
- In the episode of the original series dubbed The Highlander, the Doctor and his companions witness events that would later be related in Doctor Syn and the High Seas.
- In the novel Verdigris, Joe Grant reminisces about her friend Tara King of The Avengers.
- The doctor, in comics has encountered the European Marvel character Death’s Head.
- There are, of course, the Doctor Who Spin Offs, Touchwood, K-9 And Company and Sarah Jane Adventures.
- Let’s not forget the reference to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The film even includes a background mention of the prison planet Shada from one of Douglas Adam’s un-made Doctor Who stories.
Highlander:
- In Ransom for Richard Redstonevague allusions are made to James Bond and his superior, M in the late 70s. This is, of course, from the TV series continuity.
- It’s spinoff of the TV series, Highlander: the Raven.
The X-Files:
- Spinoffs include The Lone Gunmen and Millennium (the later thanks to a crossover episode, and fictional author Jose Chung).
- Their infamous (and awesome) crossover with COPS is one of the oddest of crossovers.
- Their meeting of Detective Munch brings in Homicide: Life on the Street, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and their related programs.
- Their Simpsons crossover shouldn’t be seen as taking place in the larger crossover universe (unless you really, REALLY want to try and explain how the series would look in the Buffyverse).
- An aborted crossover eventually lead to a full Picket Fences crossover of sheer strangeness.
- Strange Luck name-checks Fox Mulder and the X-Files later deals with a similar set of circumstances to the ones within the series.
- Morley Cigarettes are the brand of choice in both the X-Files and Special Unit 2.
- In Daemonicus ectoplasm and a snide comment about the Ghostbusters appear.
- The Star Trek and Star Trek: Deep Space 9 novels: Preservers and The Fall of Terok Nor detail how the X-Files aliens (called Reticulans) visited the earth in the 20th century for the purpose of various genetic experimentations. The references are veiled, but together, are very interesting. They also talk about alien beings called Preservers who manipulated earth’s development during the 20th century and even earlier. Possible analogue to the Powers that Be?
The Man from UNCLE:
- Please Don’t Eat the Daisies has a strange, cute little crossover with this spy series.
- The Girl from Uncle spinoff.
- H.G. Wells Invisible Man is nodded through another Griffin experimenting in Invisibility in the 11th novel, The Invisibility Affair.
- The Dagger Affair novel speculates that THRUSH has its origins with Professor James Moriarty’s criminal empire.
- In The Rainbow Affair, our infamous agents encounter Simon Templar (The Saint), Fu Manchu, Dr. Palfrey and Z5, Nayland Smith, Sherlock Holmes (under the Pseudonym William Escott), The Avengers (Emma Peel and John Steed), Agatha Christy’s Miss Marple. James Bond is also mentioned. The Avengers are later confirmed in The Power Cube Affair.
- In The Utopia Affair, Rusterman’s Restaurant (which is owned by Nero Wolf) is mentioned.
- In The Hollow Crown Affair, the agents find themselves in Collinsport, Maine. The setting of Dark Shadows. References to the show abound.
- In the final Novel, T.H.E. Cat and Derek Flint appear (or are referenced).
Sherlock Holmes: One of literatures perennial characters. Here are a few of his appearances with other characters. Here are but a few:
- He solved the Ripper murders.
- Once received the titular Maltese Falcon as a gift in The Madness of Colonel Warburton.
- Holmes is featured prominently in the comic series Planetary, but so much of that doesn’t mesh with the other crossovers, I’ll just leave it at that (it is a comic after all). I will, however, mention the amusing part where Dracula springs at Elijah Snow from behind Sherlock Holmes. Elijah freezes Dracula solid, and then kicks him in the crotch.
- Sherlock Holmes has butted heads with the gentleman thief Arisen Lupin in at least two instances (Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late and a direct vs.).
- He appears in flashback within Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
- Conan Edogawa, better known as Detective Conan states he was born on the date Sherlock Holmes ‘met his end’ at Reichenbach falls.
- In The Richmond Enigma, he investigates the disappearance of H.G. Wells Time Traveler in The Time Machine.
- Mycroft Holmes and Inspector Lestrade encounter a Predator killing people in London. People believe it is Springheel Jack.
- The Case of the Fateful Retainer has references to the character M. August Didier.
- The fictional adventures of Harry Houdini include meeting with Holmes on several occasions.
- The Case of the Detective’s Smile has Alice Lidell confide in the detective the fantastic experiences she had within a strange world dubbed Wonderland. If you think that is weird, Holmes is later transported to Oz.
- The young Lord Peter Wimsey once consulted the detective to find his lost kitten.
- Like many Englanders of the time, he found himself embroiled in the events of H.G. Wells War of the Worlds. He does so in the novel Sherlock Holmes War of the Worlds and fights alongside Lord John Roxton and Professor Edwin Challenger, of Doyle’s The Lost World. For further details on the Martian invasion of England, see The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 2 which recounts the expulsion of the Sarmaks from Mars by its own and some of earth’s more wondrous children. Also of suggestion is War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches (featuring John Carter (of E.R.B.’s Barsoom series) and Mowgli (of The Jungle Book) among others). There is also Holmes and Moriarty dealing with The Second War of the Worlds.
- Holmes has teamed up with the obscure comic character The Rook (a time traveler) among others (mostly already mentioned) against Robur the Conqueror (a Jules Verne villain).
- Sherlock Holmes also battled Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
- In Ten Years Beyond Baker Street Holmes matches wits against Fu Manchu.
- In Son of Tarzan a hotel proprietor is spoken of, in regards to solving a mystery, that he should have consulted Sherlock Holmes, had he knew of him. Holmes in The Politician, the Lighthouse and the Trained Cormorant says he witnessed Tarzan (though he did not know it at the time) being raised by great apes.
- The Adventure of the Peerless Peer includes Tarzan, The Shadow (name substitution), German Spy Von Bork, G-8 (name substitution), Dr. Gideon Fell, and Henry Merrivale in an adventure to return to King Solomon’s Mines.
- The mad monk Rasputin is said to have been the son of James Moriarty in some stories.
- Sherlock, in his retirement, also encountered Miss Marple.
- In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes makes remarks about C. August Dupin and M. Lecoq.
- References to Holmes, Horatio Hornblower and Pygmalion occur in The Infernal Device.
- In The Magicians Nephew that Sherlock Holmes still lives on Baker’s Street at the time of its settings. Connecting this all to The Chronicles of Narnia as a very strange, happy Hell Dimension (though one that’s not particularly friendly towards Witches).
- Sherlock Holmes during the “Great Hiatus”, matches wits with the Phantom of the Opera.
- Irene Adler is a classic Holmes character, later; another Irene Adler is hinted to be the original within the X-Men comics.
- In one of the best comic issues, the 50th Anniversary of Detective Comics, the great detective guides detectives Ralph Dibney (the Elongated Man), Slam Bradley and the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin into acting against a rather sad great-grandson of Moriarty’s. He later gives his blessing to Another Moriarty’s descendent (one who hopes to redeem the family name) in his marriage to Mary Watson. One hopes that Its not Mary Jane Watson (though the time period the comic was published in was pretty close to Peter Parker’s own marriage), or that Peter Parker was actually a descendent of Moriarty’s. Though, the Mary Watson here had blond hair. The 1945 comic Batman and Robin in Scotland Yardhave the original dynamic duo battling Moriarty. So, PROBLEMS! (Best solved by multiple, generational Batmen). Batman also encounters him in the 1958 story (via ghostly apparition) Hell is for Heroes.
- The episode Elementary, my dear Winston of The Real Ghostbusters features Holmes and Moriarty as literary constructs. Aired two years after the above comic was published.
- Moriarty appears in The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, where he takes credit for being Captain Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Island of Dr. Moreau are also referenced in connection to Holmes as he battles Fu Manchu in The Musgrave Version.
- Jack Speed refers to Doc Savage coming out of retirement, Sherlock Holmes, Mac Bolan, Superman, Remo Williams and Batman.
- In Star Trek V: the Undiscovered Country, Spock implies that he is a descendent of Sherlock Holmes.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:
- First and foremost is League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
- In Tooth and Nail arc of a Tarzan comic series, Hyde battles the Ape Lord.
- Like other monsters he encountered Abbott and Costello.
Lord of the Rings:
- The last novel of C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy, That Hideous Strength says that Merlin’s magic differs from that of renaissance sorcerers such as Prospero (of Shakespeare’s The Tempest), that it comes from Numinor (the Tolkeinian Atlantis). As far as I am aware, there are no other Lord of the Rings Crossovers. But given the obvious religious overtones of the work, it should be taken as highly exaggerated, if at all.
Forbidden Planet:
- Robby the Robot is an Icon of cinema. He appears in the Gremlins (after George Pal’s Time Machine).
- The Id Monster is a classic monster since the film appeared. Similar creatures have appeared on The Chronicle, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Godzilla: The Series and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Ghostbusters:
- The (Real) Ghostbusters battled an evolved version of the Headless Horseman with references to the original work.
- The episode Troll Bridge of the Real Ghostbusters features a subtle reference to the film Them! As a real event.
- The series spawned from Ghostbusters include The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters.
Love Hina:
- Has a crossover with Magical Teacher Negima in that both share a Kendo School where Motoko Aoyama trains/teaches.
Captain America: Not listed are Super-Company Crisis Crossovers that all interconnect in some way.
- Captain America has met, during his Wartime escapades, the original Batman and Robin-and the story sets the seeds for generational Batmen.
- Captain America has also encountered The Green Hornet and Kato in a miniseries called Sting of the Green Hornet. Also referenced or appearing in this series are such wondrous folk as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, The Shadow and his biographer (and “agent”) Walter Gibson, Colonel Nick Fury, and finally Namor the Submariner is referenced, though not by name.