Why the Fantastic Four Is the Right Crossover for Gargoyles
When Dynamite and Marvel announced that Gargoyles would be crossing paths with Marvel’s First Family, the Fantastic Four, the fan chatter was immediate and predictable:
“Why not the Ninja Turtles?” (which makes me want to put my head through a wall, because Disney doesn’t own TMNT).
I’ll admit, I never wanted a crossover. Gargoyles is strong enough to stand on its own. It doesn’t need Marvel characters to validate it. But once this was announced, I found myself salivating at the idea — and not reluctantly. Suddenly, I could see exactly why this works.
Thematic Symmetry: Clan Meets Family
At the heart of Gargoyles is the idea of clan: warriors bound not just by blood, but by loyalty, trust, and shared history. They are misunderstood, hunted, feared, yet sustained by their bond.
At the heart of the Fantastic Four is the idea of family: Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben — the prototype Marvel “super-family.” Their stories are never just about fighting cosmic villains; they’re about holding together through tragedy and change, and affirming that what they have in one another makes them extraordinary.
Clan and family. Two sides of the same coin. This crossover doesn’t feel forced—it feels like destiny.
Diablo and Demona: An Inspired Pairing
When I heard Diablo would be involved, tied to Demona, it clicked. Diablo isn’t Doom, Magneto, or Galactus. He’s not a marquee villain. He’s an alchemist, a manipulator of matter and mind.
Demona thrives on manipulation. She is immortal, cunning, and never satisfied with brute force when she can twist others to her will. Pairing her with Diablo doesn’t just give him credibility — it creates an alliance that’s more dangerous than either villain could be alone. Science and sorcery, human alchemy and gargoyle cunning. Suddenly, a C-lister becomes a genuine threat. That’s good crossover storytelling.
The X-Men parallel Gargoyles in obvious ways: both are hated and feared. But that’s precisely the problem. Pairing them together risks collapsing Gargoyles into just “another mutant metaphor.”
The gargoyles’ tragedy is rooted in mythology, history, and cultural displacement — not the mutant gene. The X-Men’s sprawling soap opera would drown out what makes the gargoyles unique.
On the surface, the gothic firebrand and the gothic gargoyles look like a match. But Ghost Rider’s stories are about damnation and judgment — one cursed loner with a skull on fire. That’s too narrow a narrative for the richness of Gargoyles. You might get one cool issue of hellfire spectacle, but nothing with long-term resonance.
Why Not the Ninja Turtles?
Aside from licensing (Disney doesn’t own them), the tonal mismatch is glaring. Gargoyles is operatic tragedy. TMNT is parody and absurdity. Smashing them together would be like staging Macbeth and having the Muppets walk in halfway through.
Could it be funny? Sure. Could it be good? Doubtful.
Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room: The Avengers. They’re Marvel’s biggest team, the most bankable brand. Wouldn’t it make sense to pair Gargoyles with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?
The Avengers are a pantheon. They’re gods, billionaires, super-soldiers, assassins, Hulks. Their stories are about saving the entire planet from extinction-level threats. Drop the gargoyles into that setting and they become small, almost quaint. Worse — they become irrelevant.
What makes Gargoyles compelling is that their fight is personal. They protect a single castle, a single city, their clan. They don’t need to save the universe — they need to survive the night. That intimacy of scale is obliterated when you bring in Carol Danvers or Thor. Instead of a meeting of equals, it becomes a cameo.
The Fantastic Four, by contrast, are explorers and adventurers who are also, at their core, just a family trying to hold it together. That dynamic allows the gargoyles to interact on equal footing. Not as junior partners, not as guest stars, but as peers.
Spider-Man is the most natural first thought when fans hear “Marvel crossover.” He’s Marvel’s crown jewel, their most iconic New Yorker, and one of the few superheroes who shares Gargoyles’ home turf in a very grounded way. On paper, the overlap is enticing.
There’s also the undeniable Weisman factor. Greg Weisman produced The Spectacular Spider-Man, which many (myself included) consider not only the definitive Spider-Man adaptation, but one of the greatest superhero shows of all time. That series demonstrated Weisman's mastery of Peter Parker’s world, just as Gargoyles demonstrated his mastery of gothic tragedy and serialized storytelling. To imagine him weaving those mythologies together feels tantalizing.
And then there’s history. At the Gathering of the Gargoyles conventions, Weisman staged radio plays that crossed the two worlds over in a playful, non-canon fashion. The results were funny, energetic, and surprisingly natural. The tone clicked, the characters bounced off one another, and fans left the room buzzing about the possibilities. That’s not just hypothetical — it’s proof of concept.
So yes, of all the “Why not ___?” suggestions, Spider-Man arguably has the most potential. He is beloved, his voice has already been channeled through Weisman, and the precedent for a crossover already exists.
But here’s the rub: the obvious choice isn’t always the best choice.
Spider-Man works as a guest star. He can swing in, banter with Brooklyn, clash with Elisa’s pragmatism, maybe even commiserate with Goliath over responsibility. But the gravitational pull of his world — the rogues’ gallery, the Parker luck, the tone of his personal struggles — would inevitably overshadow the gargoyles. The danger isn’t that Spider-Man wouldn’t fit. It’s that he’d fit too well, and the crossover would collapse into a Spider-Man story with gargoyle cameos.
The Fantastic Four, by contrast, don’t subsume Gargoyles. They mirror it. They bring a thematic resonance — family to clan — that creates balance rather than hierarchy. With the FF, the gargoyles stand as equals. With Spider-Man, they risk becoming side characters in his endless web.
So while Spider-Man might be the obvious crossover choice, that doesn’t make him the right one. And that distinction matters.
Why the Fantastic Four Is the Right Choice
The Fantastic Four bring out the best in Gargoyles because they reflect them. Both groups are about survival in a hostile world. Both wrestle with legacy, responsibility, and the meaning of “home.”
And unlike the Avengers, Spider-Man, or the X-Men, the Fantastic Four don’t overshadow the gargoyles — they harmonize with them. It’s not about being the most marketable crossover. It’s about resonance.
That’s why I, who never wanted a crossover, suddenly find myself eager to see what comes next. Because this pairing isn’t just good branding — it’s good storytelling.
