Dan Slott Pushed For A Spider-Man/Doctor Who Crossover And Was Told 'No'

[Rift]

Hey Slott, next time, you should pitch an X-Men/Doctor Who crossover. Hellion would be the perfect foil for the Doctor AND the Master. And he already has robot hands, ao he'd make a good Cyberman or Dalek, as well.

[WebLurker]

Sigh.

The reason I've pretty much stayed off message boards for the last decade is this kinda stuff.
End of the day, the project didn't get done and I worked on other things instead.
As a project that never happened, the version of it that lives on with me is the "perfect" version-- everything it could have been.
As a project that never happened, the version that you're choosing to see seems to be the "worst case scenario".

True, I do have my biases and the lack of context as to what the exact plan was had it gone forward.

The Spider-Man/Doctor Who crossover was something that everyone around it felt passionately about. This includes people on Marvel Editorial who wanted to edit it-- and a number of Marvel artists whose take was, "I have to be the one to draw that!"
Something I've learned from doing this for close to 30 years, when everyone on the project feels that way, you wind up with something good-- if not great.

And I can 100% guarantee you that people who were deeply invested in Spider-Man, when hearing the story pitches, thought it did work from the Spider-Man side of the equation. The project wasn't a love letter to Doctor Who, or a love letter to Spider-Man, it was very much a love letter to the very weird and wonderful intersection where both characters could meet. It was about finding creative ways to blend things that were unique to Spider-Man with thing that were unique to Doctor Who. If you took either character out or tried to swap a different one in, none of the stories worked. And there's nothing in here that could have been cannibalized for either Spider-Man stories OR Doctor Who stories for a different project. The concepts were that unique to the intersection of both characters.

Guess I still don't see why the two are a good mix, but fair enough if people involved liked the pitch in and of itself.

I don't think it's a surprise that I feel differently on the matter. I love the episodes with Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, Rosa Parks, Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth... all of 'em. I think they had a lot more depth and fun than you're giving them credit for.

Star Trek and Star Wars were always my thing and, somehow, Doctor Who seemed lacking in substance to me somehow. Not sure how to explain it, but there it is. (Also, Doctor Who's lack of continuity kinda bugs me, although, with Star Trek now using the same model, I'm trying to learn to get over those kind of things.

And if you don't think Doctor Who is "that great in the first place", it's weird to me that you'd take such an opinionated stand on this.

Well, I am very opinionated on Spider-Man.

Like I said before, there were many parties at Marvel that were keen on the project too.

I get what you're saying. I do. To me the franchise crossover is the novelty of it. But if you want mileage out of it, if you want interesting story fodder, you want there to be more contrast than one-to-one similarity.

Okay. Guess I think having logic to the crossover to being with makes for a better foundation for storytelling, but fair enough that it depends on the approach. Heck, I did like that Transformers/Star Trek crossover mini by IDW (sequel, please) that, on paper had no connection beyond "two classic sci-fi cartoons of days past."

Okay, since it's a story I brought up in the interview...
Would you have a problem with a character (The Doctor) who frequently has adventures in the present-- adventures where the inciting incident is a scientist having one of their experiments getting away from them-- coming to OUR time and discovering the Curt Connors' Lizard experiments had been transforming him into a hybrid between humanity and the reptilian Silurians, who live near our Earth's core?
Could you see how that could lead to an adventure that was staying VERY true to BOTH the Doctor's adventures AND Spider-Man's adventures?

Maybe? Hard to judge an elevator pitch. I can follow the logic of Lizard and Doctor Who lizard aliens.

This is the kind of message board response for why I really don't even see the point of visiting here, let alone posting here.
It's this kind of "Well, I wouldn't like it, so NOBODY should have it. And I think that's the way to go" attitude that permeates these boards.
Again, there were people at Marvel who wanted to do it. There were financial and political reasons for Marvel not to do it. And that's why it never came about. Not because people weren't passionate about it, wanted to do it, or thought it would be fun-- because there were people who strongly felt that way, both at Marvel and the BBC...Anyway... As I am often reminded (and why I really haven't dropped by here in ages), these boards aren't for me. They ARE for readers to vent and spar and get their feelings out there. And the last things you guys need is a comic book creator popping by to explain themself. Now THAT'S a crossover that should be avoided for everyone's peace of mind.

Well, we can't judge what was never made. So, while I can't say that the concept clicks with me, it would be unfair to say that it would never work either.

Peace.

[Matt Rat]

Doctor Who seemed lacking in substance to me somehow

Peace.

Depends on which story you're watching

[Lukmendes]

I would argue that if it doesn't work from that side, then it's time to consider whether the idea should be pursued in the first place.

It depends, what may sound like a "bad" idea can work with proper execution, so while in theory a crossover with Doctor Who sounds grossly unfitting for Spidey, it can work with the proper execution.

I mean ****, in Immortal Hulk it was retconned that some random Super Satan is what powers up the Hulks, Hulk himself was more or less science based, but now has this connection with cosmic ****, and it works, better than it should, even if it initially sounds like a bad idea.

On the Spider-Man franchise itself, we have Venom, who for a long time, was seen as one of Spidey's most iconic villains (And it probably still is around some parts of the fanbase, even after his solo movie), originally he was an alien suit from Secret Wars, itself a step away from Spidey's usual adventures, and while he serves little importance to it (Which's mostly how it goes when he shows up in crossovers anyways), it affected him in a huge way, by making a random alien suit affect his life this badly (And no one else got such a huge consequence from Secret Wars).

While adaptations remove the Secret Wars part of it, they almost always make Venom an alien, even if it's an alien that randomly got in a ship, and while we do have the version of Venom on Ultimate that was created on Earth and is even connected with Spider-Man more directly by being an attempt at making an anti-suit cancer (Which makes me wonder how in the **** hell they failed that badly at doing that and instead made a cannibal), other adaptations mostly don't use that, even though Ultimate is a huge influence in how Spidey's adaptations are made, they mostly make Venom an alien.

He was in a spaceship in Avengers: Infinity War. That film adapted elements of Jim Starlin's Thanos saga, which included a crossover in which Spider-Man helped the Avengers fight Thanos in space.

In the original his appearances are glorified cameos anyways, he just gets worried about MJ, thinks he may not return from the battle, then dies, and then gets resurrected lol.

Then again, it'd be weird if he got too much attention in the original, most heroes are glorified extras, Infinity Gauntlet was at its heart a Thanos/Warlock story, though a few of them get to be more than glorified extras who get killed by Thanos at least, but again, characters like Strange are the exception, not the rule.

Too bad he didn't pitch it 30 years ago. Marvel of course used to have the Doctor Who comic book rights, from 1979 until they sold Marvel UK to Panini in the 90s. Panini still publishes Doctor Who Magazine to this day. Slott needs a TARDIS to get that idea published now!

Was Slott even a comic writer 30 years ago to have been able to pitch it back when Marvel had Doctor Who yet? Lol.

Hey Slott, next time, you should pitch an X-Men/Doctor Who crossover. Hellion would be the perfect foil for the Doctor AND the Master. And he already has robot hands, ao he'd make a good Cyberman or Dalek, as well.

Y'know I'm surprised more people besides Kevin haven't replied with confusion over your posts around here .

Then again, DarthFury78 shows up once in a while saying a random female should team-up with Spidey, so I guess someone asking about Hellion stands out less lol.

Okay. Guess I think having logic to the crossover to being with makes for a better foundation for storytelling, but fair enough that it depends on the approach. Heck, I did like that Transformers/Star Trek crossover mini by IDW (sequel, please) that, on paper had no connection beyond "two classic sci-fi cartoons of days past."

That Batman/Ninja Turtle crossover movie is better than it should too lol.

I also hear that the crossover comic about Justice League and Power Rangers is pretty fun as well.

[Ursalink]

With the existence of the Spider-verse and the Master Weaver, I don't see the point of Spider-Man making a crossover with Doctor Who, honestly.

[Huntsman Spider]

It depends, what may sound like a "bad" idea can work with proper execution, so while in theory a crossover with Doctor Who sounds grossly unfitting for Spidey, it can work with the proper execution.

I mean ****, in Immortal Hulk it was retconned that some random Super Satan is what powers up the Hulks, Hulk himself was more or less science based, but now has this connection with cosmic ****, and it works, better than it should, even if it initially sounds like a bad idea.

On the Spider-Man franchise itself, we have Venom, who for a long time, was seen as one of Spidey's most iconic villains (And it probably still is around some parts of the fanbase, even after his solo movie), originally he was an alien suit from Secret Wars, itself a step away from Spidey's usual adventures, and while he serves little importance to it (Which's mostly how it goes when he shows up in crossovers anyways), it affected him in a huge way, by making a random alien suit affect his life this badly (And no one else got such a huge consequence from Secret Wars).

While adaptations remove the Secret Wars part of it, they almost always make Venom an alien, even if it's an alien that randomly got in a ship, and while we do have the version of Venom on Ultimate that was created on Earth and is even connected with Spider-Man more directly by being an attempt at making an anti-suit cancer (Which makes me wonder how in the **** hell they failed that badly at doing that and instead made a cannibal), other adaptations mostly don't use that, even though Ultimate is a huge influence in how Spidey's adaptations are made, they mostly make Venom an alien.



In the original his appearances are glorified cameos anyways, he just gets worried about MJ, thinks he may not return from the battle, then dies, and then gets resurrected lol.

Then again, it'd be weird if he got too much attention in the original, most heroes are glorified extras, Infinity Gauntlet was at its heart a Thanos/Warlock story, though a few of them get to be more than glorified extras who get killed by Thanos at least, but again, characters like Strange are the exception, not the rule.



Was Slott even a comic writer 30 years ago to have been able to pitch it back when Marvel had Doctor Who yet? Lol.



Y'know I'm surprised more people besides Kevin haven't replied with confusion over your posts around here .

Then again, DarthFury78 shows up once in a while saying a random female should team-up with Spidey, so I guess someone asking about Hellion stands out less lol.



That Batman/Ninja Turtle crossover movie is better than it should too lol.

I also hear that the crossover comic about Justice League and Power Rangers is pretty fun as well.

It was. I'm still waiting on a sequel to follow up on that epilogue. As for Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that was based on an actual crossover comic series from a few years back. And Power Rangers crossed over with TMNT, too, with Shredder stealing the Green Ranger's morpher and using it to become the Ranger Shredder (as I'd call him) after the Green Ranger tried to infiltrate the Foot Clan to save an old friend of his and got discovered.

[Ursalink]

It was. I'm still waiting on a sequel to follow up on that epilogue. As for Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that was based on an actual crossover comic series from a few years back. And Power Rangers crossed over with TMNT, too, with Shredder stealing the Green Ranger's morpher and using it to become the Ranger Shredder (as I'd call him) after the Green Ranger tried to infiltrate the Foot Clan to save an old friend of his and got discovered.

Those were fun stories to read.

I have to say, however, that the Power Rangers would work much better on the Marvel Universe; because the Marvel Universe has a lot of experience with giant monsters and using mechs to fight them. And the same goes to the Ninja Turtles, because they live in New York, just like most of Marvel's heroes. Spider-Man even has a trace of most of all four turtles (Leonardo - responsability, Donatello - intelligence, Michaelangelo - attitude, Raphael - inner anger and self blaming).

[Huntsman Spider]

Those were fun stories to read.

I have to say, however, that the Power Rangers would work much better on the Marvel Universe; because the Marvel Universe has a lot of experience with giant monsters and using mechs to fight them. And the same goes to the Ninja Turtles, because they live in New York, just like most of Marvel's heroes. Spider-Man even has a trace of most of all four turtles (Leonardo - responsability, Donatello - intelligence, Michaelangelo - attitude, Raphael - inner anger and self blaming).

Oh, definitely. Come to think of it, Marvel was publishing MMPR comics back in the 90s when the series was first airing and then Disney owned the Power Rangers franchise before buying Marvel. Missed opportunity there.

[Triniking1234]

Spider-Man with Doctor Who sounds weird.

Maybe:
- Captain Britain
- Fantastic Four
- Captain Marvel

[Matt Rat]

Oh, definitely. Come to think of it, Marvel was publishing MMPR comics back in the 90s when the series was first airing

Slott wrote some of those early MMPR comics, he would also include a parody PR team in a mini-series for the Archie TMNT line.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

You know what the funny part is? I'm watching Morbius right now, and it feels like every Doctor actor is contracted to play a villain role in a comic based property:

• John Hurt is evil president in V for Vendetta
• Peter Capaldi as The Thinker in The Suicide Squad
• David Tennant is Zebediah Kilgrave, not called Purple Man in Jessica Jones
• Matt Smith as evil counterpart of hero in Morbius

And this thread title reminds me that Andrew Garfield appeared in one episode of the Doctor before he played Spider-Man.

I'm up for this crossover.

[Huntsman Spider]

Spider-Man with Doctor Who sounds weird.

Maybe:
- Captain Britain
- Fantastic Four
- Captain Marvel

Funny enough, all three of those have also teamed up with Spider-Man, and the first one was even his roommate in their civilian alter egos for a while.

Slott wrote some of those early MMPR comics, he would also include a parody PR team in a mini-series for the Archie TMNT line.

Interesting.

You know what the funny part is? I'm watching Morbius right now, and it feels like every Doctor actor is contracted to play a villain role in a comic based property:

• John Hurt is evil president in V for Vendetta
• Peter Capaldi as The Thinker in The Suicide Squad
• David Tennant is Zebediah Kilgrave, not called Purple Man in Jessica Jones
• Matt Smith as evil counterpart of hero in Morbius

And this thread title reminds me that Andrew Garfield appeared in one episode of the Doctor before he played Spider-Man.

I'm up for this crossover.

I should mention that Tennant's character in Jessica Jones, the version of Killgrave he played . . . well, his real name in-series was Kevin Thompson and he made the choice to call himself Kilgrave. That aside, this would be an interesting crossover to pull off.

[Spider-Chan]

You know what the funny part is? I'm watching Morbius right now, and it feels like every Doctor actor is contracted to play a villain role in a comic based property:

• John Hurt is evil president in V for Vendetta
• Peter Capaldi as The Thinker in The Suicide Squad
• David Tennant is Zebediah Kilgrave, not called Purple Man in Jessica Jones
• Matt Smith as evil counterpart of hero in Morbius

And this thread title reminds me that Andrew Garfield appeared in one episode of the Doctor before he played Spider-Man.

I'm up for this crossover.

Don't forget this classic.

[Frontier]

Talking about Doctor Who and it's already Morbin' Time .

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

I should mention that Tennant's character in Jessica Jones, the version of Killgrave he played . . . well, his real name in-series was Kevin Thompson and he made the choice to call himself Kilgrave. That aside, this would be an interesting crossover to pull off.

I forgot that about him, haven't seen that season since I first finished it in 2015.
I watched season 1 of Iron Fist more times than I did Jessica Jones.

Don't forget this classic.

I haven't followed The Doctor to remember it, but this is an interesting thing to note.