Crossover of the Week

Summer 1903

A PIRATE’S LIFE 

Dr. Eric Palmer is brought before Captain Nemo and Robur, who need his help to investigate a murder at the Pirate’s Conference they are hosting, which is held every fifty years, and whose attendees include sea and air pirates. James Gunn and Archibald Haddock escort Palmer to the scene of the crime. The dead man is the Dread Pirate Roberts, who is supposedly over three-hundred-years-old, but part of a succession of men who have used that identity. Others attending the conference include the German Captain Mors and members of the Singh Brotherhood. Palmer asks Gunn about pirate dynasties, and the latter names the Turners and Sala’s band of women. Gunn introduces Palmer to the Nautilus’ first mate, Mister Ishmael. Captain James Hook asks Palmer about his progress on the case. The alleged Dread Pirate Roberts was really Manfred von Warteck, whose family aspires to rival the great criminal brotherhoods of Europe, such as the Black Coats. 

Short story by Travis Hiltz in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 16: Voir Dire, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2020; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 27), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2020. Dr. Eric Palmer is from Paul Féval, fils’ novel Felifax, the Tiger-Man. Captain Nemo and his submarine, the Nautilus, are from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and The Mysterious Island. Robur is from Verne’s Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World. James Gunn is a descendant of Ben Gunn from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Archibald Haddock is from Hergé’s comic The Adventures of Tintin. The Dread Pirate Roberts is from William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. Captain Mors is a German pulp hero. The Singh Brotherhood and Sala’s group, the Sky Band, are from Lee Falk’s comic strip The Phantom. The Turners are from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. Ishmael is from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s comic book The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen portrayed Ishmael as the Nautilus’ first mate. Captain James Hook is from J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Manfred von Warteck is related to Baron Glô von Warteck, the villain of Jean de La Hire’s The Nyctalope vs. Lucifer. The Black Coats are from a series of novels by Paul Féval. 

This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

1857

THE NEXT OMEGA

 An old man seeking a younger fellow who claims to be Doctor Omega remarks, “A Morlock would feel right at home in this neighborhood.” The older man, who is also known as Doctor Omega, carries a robot head in a hatbox that he acquired in the future, in the city of Metropolis. His companion Fred is mentioned. The two Doctors’ carriage is driven by Eugene Papillon. The duo discovers a card bearing the name Maupertuis. The older Omega refers to Lecoq and “that Marple woman.” The Omegas find themselves pursued by robed men that appear to be followers of the Ubasti. The elder Omega tells the younger how a wave of radioactive turbulence separated him and his traveling companions, and asks if he has been to Quinnis in the fourth universe. The apparent Ubasti cultists work for Baron Oscar Maupertuis. Omega refers to a suppressed account by Watson. They are attacked by the robed men, who turn out to actually be Red Lectroids. The younger Omega shows his elder namesake a crystal, which the latter identifies as from Metebelis-Three. The young Omega regains his memory of traveling to the Moon, where he met one of the Lunian Immortals, and realizes that he is really balloonist Antoine Gerpré. Omega recognizes Maupertuis as Ozer, one of many immortals claiming to be the Wandering Jew. Omega departs with Helvetius, his fellow traveler in space and time.

Short story by Travis Hiltz in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 10: Esprit de Corps, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2013; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 16), Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Rivière Blanche, 2015. Doctor Omega is from Arnould Galopin’s novel of the same name, as are Fred and Helvetius. The Lofficiers’ translation and adaptation of Galopin’s book implied that the Doctor was the Crossover Universe counterpart of the time and-space-traveling Doctor from the television series Doctor Who. Quinnis in the fourth universe is mentioned in the Doctor Who serial “The Edge of Destruction,” while Metebelis-Three is from the serials “The Green Death” and “Planet of the Spiders.” The Morlocks are from H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. The robot and the city of Metropolis are from Fritz Lang’s film Metropolis. Doctor Omega visited Metropolis in Hiltz’s story “The Robots of Metropolis” (Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 7: Femmes Fatales, 2011.) Lecoq is Emile Gaboriau’s sleuth. Eugene Papillon is from Gaboriau’s novel Monsieur Lecoq. Baron Maupertuis is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes story “The Adventure of the Reigate Squire”; here, he is conflated with Ozer from Paul Féval’s novel The Wandering Jew’s Daughter. “That Marple woman” is Agatha Christie’s detective Miss Jane Marple. The Cult of Ubasti is from the serial The Return of Chandu, and has also appeared in Hiltz’s stories “The Treasure of the Ubasti” (Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 6: Grand Guignol, 2009) and “In the Caves of the Serpent” (Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 8: Agents Provocateurs, 2011.) The serial was based on the radio series Chandu the Magician, which spawned a spin-off, Omar the Mystic. After being separated from Omega, Fred found himself in the year 1776, where he also encountered Red Lectroids, as seen in Hiltz’s tale “What Lurks in Romney Marsh?” (Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 9: La Vie En Noir, 2012.) The Lunian Immortals and Antoine Gerpré are from Alfred Driou’s book The Adventures of a Parisian Aeronaut in the Unknown Worlds, which has been translated by Brian Stableford for Black Coat Press.

Crossover of the Week

1940

ILSA’S CROSSING

Judex helps Marines Tom Grayson and Frank Corby smuggle Resistance member Ilsa Laszlo out of France. Judex is seeking the papers of a late scientist named Boroff, which are being used by the Nazis to create super-weapons. Grayson mentions War Wheels, while Corby refers to Haverlyte Rays.

            Short story by Travis Hiltz in The Shadow of Judex, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2013; reprinted in French in L’Ombre de Judex, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Rivière Blanche, 2013. Judex is the title character of the classic French film serial. Tom Grayson and Frank Corby are from the serial The Fighting Devil Dogs. Ilsa Laszlo (née Lund) is from the movie Casablanca. Boroff is from the serial S.O.S. Coast Guard. The War Wheel is a weapon faced by DC Comics’ heroic aviator Blackhawk; Captain America and Easy Company also dealt with a War Wheel in Batman/Captain America. Haverlyte is from the serial Officer 444.

Crossover of the Week

1949

SHOWDOWN AT STEAM TOWN

            A man named Leo hitches a ride with two young men named Dean and Sal. Sal says that Dean has problems with his family on his father’s side, and therefore he is tense when meeting people from Britain. They are nearly crushed by a massive creature. They are led to a place called Steam Town by an elderly Native American named Little Beaver. They meet a young woman named Fran Reade, whose grandfather built Steam Town. Little Beaver refers to atomic bomb testing sites such as Los Alamos, White Sands, and Gamma Base. The creature that attacked Leo, Dean, and Sal turns out to be an ant that has grown to gigantic size due to exposure to radiation. Fran helps drive off the ant (as well as another of its kind) with a steam-powered automaton built by her great-grandfather.

            Short story by Travis Hiltz in Night of the Nyctalope, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2012; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 12), Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Rivière Blanche, 2013. Leo is Jean de La Hire’s hero Leo Saint-Clair, aka the Nyctalope. Dean and Sal are Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise from Jack Kerouac’s classic Beat novel On the Road. Win Scott Eckert’s essay “Who’s Going to Take Over the World When I’m Gone? (A Look at the Genealogies of Wold Newton Family Super-Villains and Their Nemeses)” (Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe, Win Scott Eckert, MonkeyBrain Books, 2005) argued that Dean was the great-nephew of Professor Moriarty. As a boy, Little Beaver was the sidekick of the title character of Stephen Slesinger and Fred Harman’s Western comic strip Red Ryder. Fran Reade is the great-granddaughter of dime novel inventor Frank Reade, and the granddaughter of his son Frank Jr, both of whom built steam-men. Gamma Base is from the exploits of Marvel Comics’ the Hulk, although the CU version of the Hulk is much less powerful than his Marvel Universe counterpart, and his rampages are much less destructive. The giant ants are from the movie Them!