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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Any time there's a crossover in, say, [[Comic Books]] there's a risk that one team or hero will overshadow the other, questioning the competence or effectiveness of the other."''
|'''Linkara''', ''[[History of Power Rangers|History of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy]]''}}
Who doesn't love [[Crossover|character team-ups]]? Be it in comic books, cartoons, literature, TV or other media, putting two heroes (or villains!) together can make for exciting stories. However, care should go into this "matchmaking", since not every team up is thematically appropriate or compatible power-wise. If the creative teams go ahead with the team up anyway (the pull of [[Wolverine Publicity]] and [[Money, Dear Boy]] are ''strong''), the result is a Story Breaker Team-Up.
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The above can get complicated if one hero (like the [[Punisher]] above) routinely deals with his "[[Rogues Gallery]]" by [[Kill'Em All|killing them on sight]], while the other [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|firmly refuses to kill]] or [[Actual Pacifist|doesn't even fight at all]] (like [[Archie Comics]] above). If the relative pacifist has favor, the militant hero will be [[Inverse Law of Utility and Lethality|severely]] [[Non-Lethal Warfare|nerfed]]; whereas if the militant one is shown right, it may risk invalidating the other's morals or making them seem irrelevant.
Similarly, another potential problem is their [[Super Weight|relative power]]. If one is vastly more powerful, the other will become [[The Load]], so one or both character may have to undergo [[Power Creep, Power Seep]] to avoid one being [[Overshadowed
Another factor is the seriousness of the setting and the temperament of the character. Teaming up a highly [[Genre Savvy]] character, or competent person from a world where everything is [[Like Reality Unless Noted]], with a [[Genre Blind]] one in a cliche bound world won't end well, nor would the reverse be kind. In a similar vein, putting a stand up comedian in a show about international politics or similar won't usually go over well but oddly, [[The Straight Man|the reverse]] [[Rule of Funny|probably isn't the case]].
Last but not least is the content of the featured series. If you've got a series [[Rated "M" for Money]] teaming up with a far less violent series, the former will most likely be [[
Because of these issues, avoiding this trope may require that [[Superman Stays Out of Gotham]] for no adequately explained reason.
{{examples}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
▲== Comic Books ==
* Whenever [[Superman]] is involved in a crossover, he has to be weakened or somehow disabled for the plot to work.
** Actually there have been plenty of good Superman team-ups, mostly in his own crossover series ''[[DC Comics Presents]]''. The best ones simply [[Plot Tailored to
** ''[[
** In his second intercompany crossover with [[Spider-Man]], Spidey saves the day with his Spider-Sense (while Supes is busy holding a massive explosive gizmo together with his bare hands).
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20060409001039/http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics41.html There was also the time he met the Quik Bunny.]
* Yes, the above ''[[Archie]] meets [[The Punisher]]'' cover is real. But it's probably easy to guess that it was mostly [[Played for Laughs]]. Somehow, It's [[Better Than It Sounds]].
* Likewise, ''Eminem/Punisher''. [http://comics.ign.com/articles/979/979917p1.html Yes], [[Eminem]].
* A comic book actually featured a character from ''[[The Guiding Light]]'' who had become a superhero, team up with [[Spider-Man]] and ''[[Iron Man]]'', inspired by an episode where she gained [[How Unscientific|superpowers from an accident involving Halloween decorations.]]
* Various ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' and ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'' crossover has this as PLAGUE, considering the later's incarnation of eponymous Gundams is plain [[Game Breaker]] compared to the former. Common joke amongst those crossovers are Setsuna complaining that G-Project unit doesn't deserve the title of Gundam.▼
▲== Fan Fiction ==
* A few ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' fanfics make jokes about how ''[[
▲* Various ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' and ''[[Gundam 00]]'' crossover has this as PLAGUE, considering the later's incarnation of eponymous Gundams is plain [[Game Breaker]] compared to the former. Common joke amongst those crossovers are Setsuna complaining that G-Project unit doesn't deserve the title of Gundam.
** This is actually very common in ''[[
▲* A few ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' fanfics make jokes about how ''[[Dragonball]]'' characters take out the angels with ease.
*** On a similar note is an old ''DBZ'' fanfic where the Briefs family is targeted by a serial killer. Yes, a normal human serial killer. It's not
▲** This is actually very common in [[Dragonball]] crossover fics. While the [[Dragonball]] universe is not the most powerful by any means, many inexperienced fanfic writers would cross it over with fiction that was ''significently'' weaker. This was most common in the nineties, as the really well-known animes ([[Ranma One Half]], [[Sailor Moon]], [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]) were leagues beneath the [[Dragonball]] universe, while universes that could compete with or even ''dominate'' [[Dragonball]] ([[Tenchi Muyo]], [[Saint Seiya]], [[Marvel Comics]]) were unknown or underutilised.
* The ''[[
▲*** On a similar note is an old DBZ fanfic where the Briefs family is targeted by a serial killer. Yes, a normal human serial killer. It's not BAD, but the author would need enough [[Hand Wave|handwaves]] to fly to get it to work fully, and he only does several.
** Other commonalities have to be made to make stories fit in, too. ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure Blue Moon
▲* The ''[[Pretty Cure Fan Fic Features (Fanfic)|Pretty Cure Fan Fic Features]]'', due to crossing over a ''ton'' of stories on varying points of the Scale, tend to do this. If ''[[Pretty Cure Perfume Preppy (Fanfic)|Perfume Preppy]]'' is in a feature with a bunch of casts from series that are as child-friendly as [[Pretty Cure|the source material]], no mention will be made of its various [[Family-Unfriendly Death|Family Unfriendly Deaths]] and rather disgusting moments like {{spoiler|Ashley's cannibalistic mass murder spree}}. If ''[[Pretty Cure Heavy Metal (Fanfic)|Heavy Metal]]'' is in there too, since it's even less child-friendly, the other fics in the pile will be made [[Darker and Edgier]].
▲** Other commonalities have to be made to make stories fit in, too. ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure Blue Moon (Fanfic)|Blue Moon]]'' features a two-Cure team who are part of a [[Five-Man Band]] with their [[Secret Keeper|Secret Keepers]], and also a [[Dark Magical Girl]] who plays a less major role: most other stories relegate all [[Muggles]] to the position of [[Those Two Guys]] and make the [[Dark Magical Girl]] super-important. Crossovers with ''Blue Moon'' thus remove Hoshi, Yukari and Mia entirely while playing up the role of {{spoiler|Emiru}}.
* ''[[A Dark Knight Over Sin City]]'' has a mild example. [[Batman]] and his rogues operate on a slightly different level than the [[Sin City]] characters. The [[Anti-Hero|anti-heroes]] and villains in Sin City still serve important roles in the plot but when it comes to, say, explaining Scarecrow's weapons or Joker's toxin, they resort to [[Buffy-Speak]].
* While on it, between 2003 and 2007 there were many crossovers between ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Harry Potter]]''. While many of them were very well written, they were extremely prone to this trope, in both directions: If early seasons of ''BTVS'' were depicted, then a team of one physical fighter (Buffy), one slow (and then weak) witch (Willow) and two [[Badass Normal]]
* Jack Black on ''[[Community]]'', as a parody of ''[[Remember the New Guy?]]'', turned into this. He upsets the group dynamic with his weird schtick eventually forcing Jeff to drag him out of the Study Room kicking and screaming.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* The ''[[Samurai Sentai Shinkenger]]'' story arc of ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]''. Since [[Kamen Rider
▲* Jack Black on ''[[Community]]'', as a parody of ''[[Remember the New Guy]]'', turned into this. He upsets the group dynamic with his weird schtick eventually forcing Jeff to drag him out of the Study Room kicking and screaming.
▲* The ''[[Samurai Sentai Shinkenger]]'' story arc of ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]''. Since [[Kamen Rider|Kamen Riders]] do not deal with giant monsters on a regular basis whereas ''[[Super Sentai]]'' does and the crossover occurs in a ''Kamen Rider'' show, the arc was written to feature an original [[Monster of the Week]] who became an anomaly of sorts thanks to the intrusion of ''Decade'''s cast and thus could not [[Make My Monster Grow|grow]] unlike his brethren.
* Parodied on an episode of ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'', with the superhero team of BMX Bandit and Angel Summoner. BMX Bandit can ride a BMX ''really'' well, while Angel Summoner can summon and control a horde of invisible celestial superbeings. [[Sarcasm Mode|Oddly]], BMX Bandit feels he doesn't add much to the team.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* The players can cause this in any given table role playing game, almost all of which begin with a team-up of brand new characters. The GM can deal with conflicting power levels by enforcing balance. The players may come to the table with different assumptions about what the genre's conventions are. They may play characters with vastly different ethical stances that simply can't reconcile. They may come with vastly different levels of knowledge of the rules of the game and different tolerances for bending those rules. They may be the only [[The Real Loonie|Loony]] in a group which quickly tires of their antics or the only [[The Real Man|Real Man]] when everyone else is in deep immersion gaming. Preventing these differences both in and out of character from becoming a
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[
* To a minor extent, ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]. Brawl'' and [[Metal Gear|Snake]]. An M-rated character battles heroes who are perfectly OK for the entire family? Wave goodbye to his realistic firearms. He gets to keep explosive arms, though.
** Samus is a sci-fi bounty hunter in [[Power Armor]] with an [[Arm Cannon]]. Ness has a bat. Snake doesn't get anything that is too far removed from real world arms. Jigglypuff makes do with cuteness. Link has a sword and a bow. Respectively, they come from dystopian [[Space Opera]], comedic [[Cosmic Horror]], action-espionage [[Magical Realism]], whatever genre Pokemon is, and [[High Fantasy]]. The whole game is a
* While Banpresto usually handles this trope quite well, ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' has had a few offenders in the past. What immediately comes to mind is ''[[Super Robot Wars Judgment]]'', where the plot of ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' is handled the exact same way despite the crossover drastically altering the circumstances. The most [[Egregious]] case is {{spoiler|Mu La Flaga's [[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}, even though the various [[Super Robot
** The first appearances of a series tend to stick closer to canon. Later ones get more wiggling room. Compare ''SEED'''s appearance in ''[[Super Robot Wars W]]'': {{spoiler|Mu lives. And so do a lot of other ''SEED'' characters}}.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* It's a minor [[Running Gag]] in ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]'' that Molly likes writing [[Crack Fic|crack]] crossover fanfics, such as [[The Brothers Karamazov]] meet [[Harold and The Purple Crayon]], [[
* [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/09/05 This] [[Penny Arcade]] comic.
{{quote|
''Superman'': The plan is that I will solve everything, by myself, because I'm an invincible, immortal alien with unlimited power. If there's anything bad, I'll just pick it up and throw it into the sun. }}
== [[Web Original]] ==▼
* ''Pooh's Adventures'' runs on this trope. The main character, [[Winnie the Pooh]], crosses over with people like [[Batman]], the ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', the ''[[
▲== Web Original ==
▲* ''Pooh's Adventures'' runs on this trope. The main character, [[Winnie the Pooh]], crosses over with people like [[Batman]], the ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', the ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'', and many others dipping into either a very high [[Super Weight]] (even for a stuffed animal) or the [[Darker and Edgier|darkest part of town]], or even both. Then there's the allies Pooh has, although not a lot of them could affect the plot, some ''do'' with just a few super powers.
* The animations [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FywMOuMqNuI "The Dark Knight Meets Superman"] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeT1t0lQn5Q&feature=fvwrel "The Dark Knight Meets Superman Part 2"] do this intentionally for parody. First [[Superman]] visits Gotham City during the events of ''[[The Dark Knight]]''. "Hey, bat-bro, I hope it's not a big deal, but while you were talking there, I went ahead and stopped crime. Like, all of it." Then this version of Batman stands in for Superman in Metropolis alongside the [[Justice League]]. It doesn't go that well.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
* One episode of ''[[Batman:
▲== Western Animation ==
▲* One episode of ''[[Batman the Brave And The Bold (Animation)|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'' had this trope inverted, Batman is transported to 1880s England, where he "teams up" with [[Sherlock Holmes]] and outclasses him in most ways. While Sherlock is no slouch (and discovers and reaches the villain's hideout before Batman), Batman fights better, can make [[Bat Deduction|Bat Deductions]] with less information, and can handle the clearly supernatural Gentleman Ghost while Holmes is made a victim.
** Although the fact that Holmes beat Batman at anything [[Fridge Brilliance|speaks volumes,]] as Batman has both more experience with supernatural phenomena, and information, knowledge and training from over a century ahead of Sherlock's time.
** And again with "The Super-Batman of Planet X!", where Batman is stranded on a strange, alien planet and teams up with the local near-identical Batman to foil crime. Then it turns out that thanks to the planet's atmosphere Batman becomes a [[Flying Brick]], much to the local Batman-X's chagrin. That is, until the [[Kryptonite Is Everywhere|commonly occurring]] mineral ''[[Weaksauce Weakness|Quartz]]'' renders him worse than powerless and allows Batman-X to save the day.
* ''[[Scooby-Doo|The New
* ''[[Batman:
* ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' uses this effect intentionally in many of its sketches. As the series page puts it:
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Crossover Index]]
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