CROSSOVER MADNESS

 As I've discussed in detail on the ARCHETYPAL ARCHIVE, it's possible to have a "proto-crossover" in any established icon-universe by having the starring character(s) encounter a new icon intended to be spun off into a new series. I've already discussed this line of thought here (without the same terminology) with regard to spin-offs like MAUDE's first appearance on the ALL IN THE FAMILY TV series.

By the same logic, it's possible for a "debut villain" to exist in a crossover with an established, familiar villain, if the debut villain ended up becoming a regular presence in the hero's series. My oft repeated example has been the debut story for the Spider-foe Green Goblin, who debuted in a teamup with the once-established villain-group The Enforcers.

The debut of Marvel's Wolverine is similar but not identical. From the scanty evidence of that story, one can only surmise that the Canadian crusader was intended to be some sort of hero, albeit a contentious one who takes on both the Hulk and the Hulk's previously established monster-foe The Wendigo. There was no evidence to suggest that, at the time of that story's publication in 1974, that Wolverine was meant to be spun off into any kind of feature, but creator Len Wein could just as easily meant to keep bringing the character back in the pages of INCREDIBLE HULK, as an antagonist to the Green Goliath. (In that status Wolverine would not have been a good match for most other Marvel heroes, who unlike the Hulk would not be proof against Wolvie's claws.) Of course, had Wolverine never appeared again in any other venue, "And Now the Wolverine" would be a null-crossover in which the Wendigo was the only "familiar antagonist."

Nevertheless, whatever Wein's original intent, he altered that intent by giving the one-shot character a new venue within the next year, when Wolverine was one of three previously established characters to join the New X-Men (not counting Cyclops, the one holdover from the Old X-Men). The other two, Banshee and Sunfire, had been kicking around in various Marvel titles for several years, so like Wolverine they brought no stature to the table, only whatever charisma they'd accrued as subordinate icons. Wolverine, having appeared only once before, had the least charisma of the three. but ironically he ended up becoming far more integral to the X-team than the other two. 

All three characters comprise charisma-crossovers only within that initial story, "Deadly Genesis," after which Banshee and Wolverine graduate to a form of collective stature as they continue having X-adventures. Sunfire, who departs the group after "Genesis," is dominantly a guest-star in other features from then on, and so his stature from "Genesis" is extremely minor.

Banshee faded from the group within a few years, but Wolverine became a major Marvel star, accruing stature not only from his membership in a group but also from a long running solo series and from such limited serials as WOLVERINE /HULK, in which the two old opponents were co-equal Primes in that particular crossover.