For as long as there's been superhero comics, there's always been a....somewhat healthy competition between the giants of the industry, DC and Marvel. (The same is said of their respective legions of fans.) Yet there also exists a center, a minority of the comics faithful who take neither side, but rather embrace both--in addition to the other publishers putting out great reading material. (I myself am an IDW devotee.) Counting myself among this center, and having grown up enjoying animated shows based on characters from both of the Big Two, I absolutely love it when they're able to mend their fences--albeit temporarily--to let their characters crossover. It's because of this that my favorite story of either DC or Marvel is 2003's JLA/Avengers. The story is closely followed by my second favorite of their combined efforts: 1982's The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans, written by Chris Claremont, pencilled by Walt Simonson, and inked by Terry Austin.
Unfortunately for fans eager to see if lightning could strike twice, plans for a sequel--written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, and pitting the two teams against Brother Blood and the Hellfire Club--fell through, leaving this to be the last DC/Marvel collaboration until 1994's Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire.
When @BawbScharf tried out his idea for a fancast tournament and invited me to join, I was given (along with @Mumbix) the Teen Titans as my challenge. Initially, I sent him an entry that didn't actually qualify, forcing me to go back to the drawing board. Now, I've decided to dust that idea off (much like @TheRose and his Ghostbusters idea) and present it here as a Christmas gift to all of you. What idea did I have up my sleeve originally? First, a bit of context:
Arguably, DC Comics-based animation ruled most of the airwaves during the 2000's, with one of the biggest hits being Teen Titans (2003-06).
Unlike it's current successor Teen Titans Go!, this cartoon was a show known for its action and story--as well as its sense of humor.
So, to ask that most classic of Marvel questions, What If...? As in, what if...DC and Marvel put aside their differences in order to produce the first DC/Marvel crossover in TV animation, with the story in question being one of their most popular crossover comics, The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans, done via one of DC/Warner Bros.' most popular cartoons outside the DC Animated Universe?
I believe that had this been made, it would've been a bona fide hit like the comic it was based on. Teen Titans had just started airing while X-Men: Evolution was on the way out, and it wouldn't be until 2009 that Marvel's merry mutants would grace the airwaves again. Any way to keep the team in the public eye (aside from the movies) would have been welcome, and this special would've received the warmest of welcomes. Here's how I'd see it pulled off:
#Plot
The space tyrant Darkseid's latest attempt at harnessing the power of the Source causes him to recreate the Phoenix Force to aid him in his efforts. Along with hiring the mercenary assassin Slade, Darkseid sends his Parademons to seek and capture Phoenix's former teammates in the X-Men, but mistakenly go after the Teen Titans. One Titan, Starfire, knows of the threat the Phoenix poses and warns her team, only for them to fall captive to the Parademons, while Slade finds and captures the real X-Men. Both teams must unite in order to stop two powerful cosmic forces from joining together, lest the entire universe fall.
#Setup
-Takes place in the universe of the 2003 Teen Titans cartoon series.
-Hypothetical year of premiere is 2005, between the third and fourth seasons....
-....Which would retroactively make it the first Teen Titans TV movie, a year before Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo debuted.
#Voice director
Andrea Romano--the voiceover maestro when it comes to all things DC-based animation.
#Writer(s)
Marv Wolfman and Dwayne McDuffie--both legendary writers in comics and television (with the Titans cartoon among their filmographies), with especially Wolfman having been involved with one of the most legendary comic book runs in New Teen Titans with artist George Perez.
*Special consultant: Chris Claremont, writer of the original story.
#Director
Michael Chang--he directed a lot of the series' episodes, which gives him a good track record.
#Voice Cast
+The Teen Titans--pretty simple here, reprisals by the main cast of the TV show.
-Scott Menville as Robin/Dick Grayson
-Hynden Walch as Starfire/Koriand'r
-Khary Payton as Cyborg/Vic Stone
-Tara Strong as Raven/'Rachel Roth'
-Greg Cipes as Beast Boy/Garfield Logan
*Guest Titans
-Michael Rosenbaum as Kid Flash/Wally West
-Rachael MacFarlane as Wonder Girl/Donna Troy
*These two characters were part of the original story, and their inclusion would give us the full compliment of the Wolfman/Perez-era (pre-Terra) Titans lineup. Rosenbaum's Kid Flash already appeared in the cartoon series, while Wonder Girl only appeared in the tie-in comic book Teen Titans Go!. (Unrelated to the current cartoon series.) MacFarlane's lent her voice to a few DC-based cartoons over the years, and I felt she'd work for a Donna appearing in this version of the DCU.
+The X-Men
-Cam Clarke as Professor X/Charles Xavier
Retroactively anticipating his later turn as the character for Marvel Anime: X-Men, he gives the Prof a very sagely voice that just oozes wisdom and knowledge.
-Josh Keaton as Cyclops/Scott Summers
Fittingly, 2005 (my hypothetical premiere date) was when Keaton voiced the character for the X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse video game, and he does work for a younger version of the team's field leader.
-Sheryl Lee Ralph as Storm/Ororo Munroe
Given her involvement in a few of the major hit DC cartoons of the time--namely Static Shock and Justice League--it's a wonder that she didn't voice a character on Teen Titans. I sought to 'remedy' that, and felt that she'd bring a strong and compassionate voice to the X-Men's resident wind-rider.
-John DiMaggio as Wolverine/Logan
Just as he was later an unconventional choice for the Joker in Batman: Under the Red Hood, retroactively earlier he'd be a pretty unconventional choice for Logan, but he'd still be able to nail the signature tics of one of the most famous X-Men. Trust me when I say that DiMaggio's the best at what he does, and what he does is perfect voices for surly, hair-trigger brawlers. (Plus, it helps that he lent his voice to a few characters on Teen Titans as well.)
-Dee Baker as Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner
Baker is a voiceover virtuoso who played the character in the video games X-Men Legends, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. He's quite capable of hitting all of Kurt's trademark character beats, no sweat. Plus, he's also voiced numerous characters on the Teen Titans cartoon.
-Tom Welling as Colossus/Piotr Rasputin
This casting was a bit of a thing for me to juggle, considering Colossus is my favorite X-Men character. Then it hit me--a good thing about most DC-based cartoons is that every now and then, they pull in an actor or two from a DC live-action project to lend their voice to one of the animated shows. For my hypothetical animated DC/Marvel crossover, I wanted to do the same, and decided to bring in the small screen Superman of the era and in a twist cast him as one of Marvel's merry mutants. With a Russian accent, I think Welling would be fine as the gentle giant of the X-Men.
-Lacey Chabert as Sprite/Kitty Pryde
Chabert's voiceover resume includes a lot of spunky and brave characters, and Kitty Pryde, team rookie of the X-Men, would be no different.
+Supporting Characters
-Robert Picardo as Metron
Occasionally, you see guest actors lend their pipes to two or three DC shows within the same timeframe. Picardo, who at the time of this hypothetical TV movie voiced Amazo and Blackhawk on Justice League, would do well to channel a bit of his Doctor character from Star Trek: Voyager when playing the New Gods' seeker of knowledge.
+Villains
-Ron Perlman as Slade (bka Deathstroke the Terminator)
Another reprisal from the cartoon. Romano really struck gold with this casting back then.
-Leonard Nimoy as Darkseid
Hearing Nimoy as Darkseid was something I pictured at first, and then it just clicked. Think of his Galvatron from The Transformers: The Movie (1986) and you'd see why he'd be a perfect voice for the lord of Apokolips.
-Juliet Landau as Dark Phoenix/"Jean Grey"
Given her long association with DC animation, and combined with her later portrayals of the Little Sisters in the Bioshock video games, Landau would have a good voice for a being overcome by its own power and little humanity within.
-Brad Garrett as Ravok the Ravager
Need a bigger-than-life, deep tough guy voice for a character like Ravok? Garrett's the man for the job. Biggest example(s)? Lobo in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League, and Trypticon in the original Transformers series.
-Dee Baker as the Parademons
Baker's talent also extends into all sorts of creature noises, so whatever he comes up with for the Parademons, given the tone of the Titans cartoon, it'd be a good combo of funny and terrifying. Design-wise, to avoid confusion with the DCAU shows airing during the same time period, I'd have the Parademons take after their look from the 1984 Super Powers Collection toys.
Happy Holidays folks, and a Festivus for the rest of us! But I'm not going to be done just yet. Before this year is out, there's just one more surprise for all of you--stay tuned for The Spectacular Spider-Man, season three!
And now, ladies and gentlemen--hey hey, it's THE MONKEES: