When the world’s greatest detective also has claws and a healing factor, he becomes Dark Claw. A crossover within a crossover, this series from Marvel and DC Comics imagines a place where the best parts of Batman and Wolverine are combined into one. Enter the Amalgam Universe: superhero mash-up factory.  

In 1996, the two industry leaders came together for a collaboration that would pit each stable of heroes against the other. Over four mega-issues that spanned multiple years, there was an epic battle between cosmic, heroic, and metafictional forces. For a moment, in the middle of all that, the two sides of the coin became one and formed their own, Amalgam Universe. Twenty-four issues came out, each focusing on different characters. Besides Dark Claw, other mash-ups included the Super-Soldier (Superman meets Captain America), Doctor Strangefate (had to be done), and the JLX (a multi-hero collision of the Justice League and the X-Men).

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In his debut issue - Legends of the Dark Claw by Larry Hama and Jim Balent -Dark Claw is out hunting the Hyena, (a Joker/Sabertooth hybrid), while Carol Danvers/Huntress breaks into the downtown mansion belonging to “Logan”, a Canadian orphan turned millionaire artist. While Hyena gets away, Dark Claw comes home to catch Huntress in the act. Because of their history, Dark Claw takes her down into his secret lair, the Burrow. There, they find Sparrow (Robin/Jubilee), hard at work decoding a message sent by Hyena through the Gotham Gazette. He’s planning on poisoning the president on Air Force One. The three rush out to save the day. 

When Dark Claw comes back in his second one-shot - Dark Claw Adventures, by Ty Templeton and Rick Burchett - he reminds readers right at the top that even though he’s got Wolverine’s claws, he refuses to be a killer. But then Cyber-Ninja Assassins show up to ambush him while he’s undercover as “Patch Malone” (Wolverine with an eye patch, doing his best Matches Malone impression). Sparrow shows up in the Clawmobile to bail him out just in time, but both of them know that Lady Talia is back for more revenge on behalf of her murdered father, Ra’s a-Pocalypse (all of this is 100% real). 

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It doesn’t look like Dark Claw will ever make another appearance, the Amalgam Universe was even torn apart in the conclusion of that event, but it was more than just fun while it lasted. First, it showed an essential sense of humor and camaraderie between two companies that aren’t always happy to work together. It was also a successful experiment in creativity. Everyone who worked on this was a professional, but creating a world with all of these constraints and still putting a smile on a reader’s face, is impressive. Each page is filled with imagination. And, who knows? No good idea ever goes away forever, so maybe we'll see the Amalgram Universe return one day.

Next - Kitty Pryde is Marvel's Version of BATMAN (Actually)