History Main / StoryBreakerTeamUp

Last but not least is the content of the featured series. If you've got a series RatedMForMoney teaming up with a far less violent series, the former will most likely be {{bowdlerise}}d for the crossover so as to not clash aesthetically and/or upset the owners of the less violent series.

* This is a very common occurrence in ''Manga/DragonBall'' crossover fics; while the ''Dragon Ball'' universe is not the most powerful by any means, it is still a very powerful universe. As a result, many inexperienced fanfic writers would cross it over with fictional universes whose characters were ''significantly'' weaker. This was most common in the nineties, as the really well-known anime (''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'', ''Anime/SailorMoon'', ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'') were leagues beneath the power levels in the ''Manga/DragonBall'' universe, while universes that could compete with or even ''dominate'' ''Manga/DragonBall'' (''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', Creator/MarvelComics) were unknown or underutilised. This has gotten even worse with the sequels introducing even more powerful characters, techniques ,and transformations.

* ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'': [[DeusExitMachina The movie keeps finding reasons not to have Superman around]]. First he's dead, then he's disoriented from being resurrected, then he's just goofing off with Lois and Martha. As soon as he ''does'' join the battle, though, the reasoning immediately becomes clear -- [[BigBad Steppenwolf]] is no match for Superman, despite being able to fight off every other member of the league simultaneously.

-->Most sketches involve [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot "mashups"]], a collision of two pop-cultural items (one innocent, and the other "mature") degenerating into chaos, like [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario and Luigi]] travelling to [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City]], WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead joining the WesternAnimation/TeenTitans, the Scooby-Doo team encountering [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]], or ''TheSmurfs'' doing their version of the movie ''Film/{{Se7en}}'' (Yes, all of these, even the last one, are actual sketches from the show).

* ''VideoGame/{{MGCM}}'': The collaboration event with ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'' is quite surprising, as ''The Quintessential Quintuplets'' is a casual light-hearted RomanticComedy about a tutor with his quintuplet students, while ''MGCM'' is an {{Urban|Fantasy}} ScienceFantasy about DemonSlaying {{magical girl warrior}}s. It's got lots of FanService, and some DarkerAndEdgier moments that edge into MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction.

* ''VideoGame/{{MGCM}}'': The collaboration event with ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'' is quite surprising, as ''The Quintessential Quintuplets'' is a casual light-hearted RomanticComedy about a tutor with his quintuplet students, while MGCM is an {{Urban|Fantasy}} ScienceFantasy about DemonSlaying {{magical girl warrior}}s. It's got lots of FanService, and some DarkerAndEdgier moments that edge into MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction.

* This is a very common occurrence in ''Manga/DragonBall'' crossover fics; while the ''Dragon Ball'' universe is not the most powerful by any means, it is still a very powerful universe. As a result, many inexperienced fanfic writers would cross it over with fictional universes whose characters were ''significantly'' weaker. This was most common in the nineties, as the really well-known anime (''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'', ''Anime/SailorMoon'', ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'') were leagues beneath the power levels in the ''Manga/DragonBall'' universe, while universes that could compete with or even ''dominate'' ''Manga/DragonBall'' (''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', Creator/MarvelComics) were unknown or underutilised. This has gotten even worse with the sequels introducing even more powerful characters.

* This is a very common occurrence in ''Manga/DragonBall'' crossover fics; while the ''Dragon Ball'' universe is not the most powerful by any means, it is still very top tier. As a result, many inexperienced fanfic writers would cross it over with fictional universes whose characters were ''significantly'' weaker. This was most common in the nineties, as the really well-known anime (''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'', ''Anime/SailorMoon'', ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'') were leagues beneath the power levels in the ''Manga/DragonBall'' universe, while universes that could compete with or even ''dominate'' ''Manga/DragonBall'' (''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', Creator/MarvelComics) were unknown or underutilised. This has gotten even worse with the sequels introducing even more powerful characters.

* This is a very common occurrence in ''Manga/DragonBall'' crossover fics; while the ''Dragon Ball'' universe is not the most powerful by any means, many inexperienced fanfic writers would cross it over with fictional universes whose characters were ''significantly'' weaker. This was most common in the nineties, as the really well-known anime (''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'', ''Anime/SailorMoon'', ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'') were leagues beneath the power levels in the ''Manga/DragonBall'' universe, while universes that could compete with or even ''dominate'' ''Manga/DragonBall'' (''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', Creator/MarvelComics) were unknown or underutilised.

* A comic book actually featured a character from ''Series/GuidingLight'' who had become a superhero, team up with Franchise/SpiderMan and ''Franchise/IronMan'', inspired by an episode where she gained [[HowUnscientific superpowers from an accident involving Halloween decorations.]]

* While [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Shirou Emiya]] appears in Fanfic/JusticeSocietyOfJapan, the fic is explicitly stated to take place before the fifth grail war, as the presence of Saber or Shirou mastering Unlimited Blade Works [[StoryBreakerPower would break the story's balance like a pinata]].

* In ''Fanfic/OpeningDangerousGates'', Lucy of ''Manga/FairyTail'' gains the ability to summon characters from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. The story establishes that even minor Bleach characters can solo all but the most top-tier Fairy Tail characters. To keep a balance, the story follows the Fairy Tail rule that a summoner is drained of magic proportional to the summoned being's strength and the summoned being returns to their world when the summoner's magic runs out. Also, just like Celestial Spirits, the Bleach characters cannot survive in Fiore indefinitely.

The above can get complicated if one hero (like ComicBook/ThePunisher above) routinely deals with his "RoguesGallery" by [[GottaKillThemAll killing them on sight]], while the other [[ThouShaltNotKill firmly refuses to kill]] or [[NonActionGuy doesn't even fight at all]] (like Franchise/{{Archie|Comics}} above)[[note]]In [[ComicBook/ArchieMeetsThePunisher the crossover that provides the page image]], the Punisher makes a deal with the government that requires him to ''apprehend'' the suspect instead of killing him, and it's only because of Andrews' innocence that he allows his quarry to live[[/note]]. If the relative pacifist has favor, the militant hero will be [[InverseLawOfUtilityAndLethality severely]] [[NonLethalWarfare nerfed]]; whereas if the militant one is shown right, it may risk invalidating the other's morals or making them seem irrelevant.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewScoobyDooMovies'' in which Mystery, Inc. teamed with people like Franchise/{{Batman}}, Series/TheAddamsFamily and Film/TheThreeStooges.

* Various ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' crossover has this as PLAGUE, considering the latter's incarnation of eponymous Gundams is plain GameBreaker compared to the former. Common joke amongst those crossovers are Setsuna complaining that G-Project unit doesn't deserve the title of Gundam.
* A few ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' fanfics make jokes about how ''Manga/DragonBall'' characters take out the angels with ease.
** This is actually very common in ''Manga/DragonBall'' crossover fics. While the ''Manga/DragonBall'' universe is not the most powerful by any means, many inexperienced fanfic writers would cross it over with fictional universes that were ''significantly'' weaker. This was most common in the nineties, as the really well-known anime (''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'', ''Anime/SailorMoon'', ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'') were leagues beneath the power levels in the ''Manga/DragonBall'' universe, while universes that could compete with or even ''dominate'' ''Manga/DragonBall'' (''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', Creator/MarvelComics) were unknown or underutilised.
*** On a similar note is an old DBZ fanfic where the Briefs family is targeted by a serial killer. Yes, a normal human serial killer. It's not BAD, but the author would need hundreds of {{Handwave}}s to fly to get it to work fully, and he only does several.
*** Additionally, in any "DBZ vs" hate fic, Goku is willing to slaughter people, even like, entire planets! Notable because Goku's reluctance to kill would otherwise be the main balancing issue.

* While [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Shirou Emiya]] appears in Fanfic/JusticeSocietyOfJapan, the fic is explicitly stated to take place before the fifth grail war, as the presence of Saber or Shirou mastering Unlimited Blade Works would break the story's balance like a pinata.

* Oddly averted with crossovers between (animeverse) ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', and ''Anime/{{Bakugan}}'', which often ignore that canonically, the power levels of the three are very far apart.

* Occurs repeatedly in ''LightNovel/ISavedTooManyGirlsAndCausedTheApocalypse''. After getting sucked into multiple stories at the same time (starting with SummonEverymanHero and SpaceOpera), the protagonist frequently abuses resources from one story to solve problems in another (such as shooting the [[EvilOverlord Demon King]] with a DisintegratorRay, and {{teleport|ation}}ing the [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield Sword in the Stone]] out of its resting place).

* Some of Comicbook/ThePunisher's adventures in the mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse feature him loading his gun with rubber bullets out of respect for his temporary partner's sensibilities. Others take the conflict between his deadly force policy and theirs and make a plot point of it, such as the TV adaptation of ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'' which made him an outright antagonist, albeit a [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-meaning]] one. And a few crossovers deal with it simply by picking a villain who's NighInvulnerable so the Punisher's guns [[FiveRoundsRapid aren't up to the task anyway]].

* Addressed when Franchise/SpiderMan teams up with the original cast of Series/SaturdayNightLive. Spidey does all the heroing, while the comedians have the less spectacular (but still vital) task of keeping the audience from realizing anything's wrong.

* ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur IV]]'' features {{Guest Fighter}}s from ''Franchise/StarWars'' -- specifically Yoda, Darth Vader, and [[VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashed Galen Marek]] (referred to as "The Apprentice"). The problems are obvious; if their lightsabers worked the way they should then every character in the game would be [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe sliced in half]] after the first hit. Instead, they're basically glorified clubs used to whack the opponents until they're knocked out.

* Some of Comicbook/ThePunisher's adventures in the mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse feature him loading his gun with rubber bullets out of respect for his temporary partner's sensibilities. Others take the conflict between his deadly force policy and theirs and make a plot point of it, such as the TV adaptation of ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'' which made him an outright antagonist, albeit a [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-meaning]] one.

Another factor is the seriousness of the setting and the temperament of the character. Teaming up a highly GenreSavvy character, or competent person from a world where everything is LikeRealityUnlessNoted, with a {{Genre Blind|ness}} one in a cliche bound world won't end well, nor would the reverse be kind. In a similar vein, putting a stand up comedian in a show about international politics or similar won't usually go over well but oddly, [[TheStraightMan the reverse]] [[RuleOfFunny probably isn't the case]].

* Yes, the above ''ComicBook/ArchieMeetsThePunisher'' cover is real. But it's probably easy to guess that it was mostly PlayedForLaughs. If you were wondering, the plot involves the Punisher hunting a criminal with a marked resemblance to Archie... who happens to be hiding in Riverdale. The original pitch had Archie hiring The Punisher to avenge the murder of his parents. It didn't have the right tonal balance, to say the least.

* ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'': The movie keeps finding reasons not to have Superman around. First he's dead, then he's disoriented from being resurrected, then he's just goofing off with Lois and Martha. As soon as he ''does'' join the battle, though, the reasoning immediately becomes clear -- [[BigBad Steppenwolf]] is no match for Superman, despite being able to fight off every other member of the league simultaneously.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' has the [[Franchise/WinniethePooh 100 Acre Wood]] world, which is devoid of heartless and the worst conflict that arises is Pooh getting stuck in a hole in the wall.
** The franchise in general is this too, bringing together characters from the Franchise/FinalFantasy games and the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon (along with a few outside of canon). For the most part, the two have pretty separate audiences and fanbases, Final Fantasy going for teenagers and young adults while Disney aims for everyone else. Final Fantasy characters also run distinctly more toward the cynical end of the scale than most of the Disney franchises, which necessitated the Final Fantasy characters lighten up--though on the Disney end, that most of the Disney universes were facing a [[ApocalypseHow far darker, bleaker problem]] than their characters are used to (or, in cases like Winnie the Pooh and the WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians, cannot even comprehend) is a major element in the plot.

* To a minor extent, ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'' and [[VideoGame/MetalGear Snake]]. An M-rated character battles heroes who are perfectly OK for the entire family? Wave goodbye to his realistic firearms. He gets to keep explosive arms, though.
** Ironically, [[VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} Bayonetta]] gets to keep ''her'' guns... though she still gets heavily censored and has to keep her clothes on.

* The plot of ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' involves time being rewritten and past and present to be in the same place resulting in two Sonics, one modern, one classic. Problem is Sonic has gained a few powers and skills since the old days, resulting in modern Sonic easily outperforming his classic counterpart. The plot gets around this by having both Sonics have their own stages and bosses. Still it can feel a little patronizing when Classic Sonic has bosses and stages that Modern Sonic could easily defeat, and Classic Sonic could not do anything if he went up against Modern Sonic's bosses.
** In fact, given that only the "Classic Era" has bosses from Classic games, Classic Sonic only has 1 boss fight and 1 rival fight (not counting the Time Eater since both Sonics fight that in their super forms) in the entire game, Death Egg Robot (3DS version has Big Arm instead) and Metal Sonic. The rest of the bosses and rivals are fought by Modern Sonic.

'''Superman:''' The plan is that I will solve everything, by myself, because I'm an invincible, immortal alien with unlimited power. If there's anything bad, I'll just pick it up and throw it into the sun.

->''"Any time there's a crossover in, say, Comic Books there's a risk that one team or hero will overshadow the other, questioning the competence or effectiveness of the other."''
-->-- '''Linkara''', ''[[WebVideo/HistoryOfPowerRangers History of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy]]''

** The franchise in general is this too, bringing together characters from the Franchise/FinalFantasy games and the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon (along with a few outside of canon). For the most part, the two have pretty separate audiences and fanbases, Final Fantasy going for teenagers and young adults while Disney aims for everyone else. Final Fantasy characters also run distinctly more toward the cynical end of the scale than most of the Disney franchises, which necessitated the Final Fantasy characters lighten up--though on the Disney end, that most of the Disney universes were facing a [[ApocalypseHow far darker, bleaker problem]] than their characters are used to (or, in cases like Winnie the Pooh and the Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians, cannot even comprehend) is a major element in the plot.

* A rather common way in single franchise but not directly connected crossover fics to get around what happened to the villains in one side of a story is to have it take place after their story is over. Which leaves one side with fully experienced characters with endgame gear while the other side just started out. Some double up with equipment and powers that the other side never get to compensate.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' has the [[Franchise/WinniethePooh 100 Acre Wood]] world, which is devoid of heartless and the worst conflict that arises is Pooh getting stuck in a hole in the wall.

* Some of Comicbook/ThePunisher's adventures in the mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse feature him loading his gun with rubber bullets out of respect for his temporary partner's sensibilities. Others take the conflict between his deadly force policy and theirs and make a plot point of it, such as the TV adaptation of ''Series/{{Daredevil}}'' which made him an outright antagonist, albeit a [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-meaning]] one.

** This is actually very common in ''Manga/DragonBall'' crossover fics. While the ''Manga/DragonBall'' universe is not the most powerful by any means, many inexperienced fanfic writers would cross it over with fictional universes that were ''significantly'' weaker. This was most common in the nineties, as the really well-known anime (''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'', ''Anime/SailorMoon'', Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'') were leagues beneath the power levels in the ''Manga/DragonBall'' universe, while universes that could compete with or even ''dominate'' ''Manga/DragonBall'' (''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', Creator/MarvelComics) were unknown or underutilised.

* The Creator/AdamWest ''Series/{{Batman}}'' show had a crossover with ''Series/TheGreenHornet'', despite the fact that the former is very silly and the latter is quite serious. This is proof that [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools tropes are not bad]] - it's considered one of the best TV crossovers ever made.

* The Creator/AdamWest ''Series/{{Batman}}'' show had a crossover with ''Series/TheGreenHornet'', despite the fact that the former is very silly and the latter is quite serious. This is proof that [[TropesAreTools tropes are not bad]] - it's considered one of the best TV crossovers ever made.