Fictional crossover

A fictional crossover occurs when otherwise separated fictional characters, stories, settings, universes, or media meet and interact with each other. For a company, crossovers may exist as a gimmick, a marketing tool, a joke or gag, or to play out a "what if" scenario.

Related Topics:
Fiction - Characters - Stories - Setting - Universes - Media - Interact - Company - Marketing - Joke

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Crossovers of multiple characters owned by one company or published by one publisher, have been used to set an established continuity, where characters can frequently meet within one setting. This is especially true of comic book publishers, as different characters in various Marvel or DC comic books frequently interact with one another since they live in the same "universe". (The X-men, for example, have frequent dealings with another group of Marvel heroes, the Fantastic Four.)

Related Topics:
Published - Publisher - Comic book publishers - Marvel - DC - Comic book - X-men - Fantastic Four

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Crossovers may also be advertised as a guest appearance or cameo appearance, often to promote another work of fiction, sometimes with little contextual or rational explanation.

Related Topics:
Cameo appearance - Context

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A crossover story may try to explain its own reason for the crossover, such as "they live next door" (one example being the casts from Golden Girls and Empty Nest) or "a dimensional rift brought them together." Some crossovers are not explained at all. Some are absurd or simply impossible within the fictional setting, and have to be ignored by the series' respective continuities. Some even make the relations between two or more fictional universes confusing (the best example of this phenomenon involves The Simpsons and Futurama, where each show is fiction in the other.)

Related Topics:
Golden Girls - Empty Nest - Continuities - The Simpsons - Futurama

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Such absurdities turn inevitably surreal when linking together a series of fictional crossovers. For example:

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• Seinfeld character Cosmo Kramer appears in the November 11, 1992 episode of Mad About You.
• Carl Reiner played fictional TV show host Alan Brady in both an episode of Mad About You and in The Dick Van Dyke Show.
• Morey Amsterdam played comedy writer Buddy Sorrell on Dick Van Dyke and in the October 21, 1963 episode of Make Room For Daddy.
• Danny Thomas appeared as character Danny Williams in both Make Room For Daddy and the December 1, 1958 episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
• The character Lucy Ricardo (played by Lucille Ball) from Lucy-Desi Comedy is rescued by Superman (played by George Reeves) in the January 14, 1957 episode of I Love Lucy.

Sometimes a crossover can be merely in mention. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, Dan (whom is already a play on SNK and its Capcom "inspired" characters), mentions "I hate the art of fighting, but he wants to be the king of fighters." The quote is a reference of two fighting game series by SNK.

Related Topics:
Street Fighter Alpha 3 - Dan

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Fictional crossover: General crossovers ►