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[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/SupermanBatman https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/superbat.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Er... the [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Big Blue]] [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Dark]] [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Boy Scout]] [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Knight Detective]] Returns?]]
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A Motif Merger is a stylistic 'beat' sometimes used during a crossover. It's when both 'sides' have certain things that are their trademarks, and (during the crossover) there's a symbolic moment where the two motifs are either swapped or combined.

Particularly done with characters whose insignia is superficially similar in some way, although as the above example shows this doesn't have to be the case. Can lead to a NotSoDifferentRemark if done with characters who play vastly different roles in their original narratives: intentional or otherwise. Very easily leads to UnfortunateImplications if the characters whose symbols get combined come from works that are dramatically different on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. FanDumb is likely to lead to people reading more into this than is actually there, especially when the two franchises are very well established and have massive fanbases.

A leading cause of EpilepticTrees, particularly of the [[JustForFun/GrandUnifiedTimeline "all franchises are connected"]] variety. AllYourPowersCombined may come with a Motif Merger.

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!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* Tet, PhysicalGod of Games in ''Literature/NoGameNoLife'', merges various game icons into her/his design, among them symbols of poker and chess. (S)he also has a die as an earring.
* Nanoha and Fate from ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' have a feather and lightning motif respectively in their {{Transformation Sequence}}s. Naturally, their adoptive daughter Vivio has both of them during her first TransformationSequence in ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* The page illustration is the logo for Creator/DCComics' ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'' series, Superman's shield logo inside Batman's bat logo.
* The logo for ''ComicBook/Trinity2008'' combined Franchise/{{Superman}}, Franchise/{{Batman}}, and Franchise/WonderWoman's symbols.
* Devils Due's ''ComicBook/GIJoeVsTheTransformers'' used [[https://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/archive/6/6f/20190404213154%21Cobra_Decepticon_symbol.png a mash-up]] between the Cobra and Decepticon symbols in advertisements, but not in the actual comic (except to separate issues in the collected edition).
* ''ComicBook/ArchieMeetsThePunisher'' features ComicBook/ThePunisher's skull-logo crossed with ComicBook/{{Archie|Comics}}'s facial features.
* The logo for the Creator/MarvelComics event ''ComicBook/{{Empyre}}'' has the trademark 4 logo of the ComicBook/FantasticFour emblazoned on top of the trademark A logo of ComicBook/TheAvengers.
* ''Hearts of Darkness'', a limited series from 1991 starring ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, ComicBook/ThePunisher and ComicBook/GhostRider, featured the Punisher's skull logo with claw marks, and flames coming out of the top.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1904676?view_full_work=true Restitution]]'', [[spoiler:Lash]] (a redeemed FallenAngel) merges her hourglass sigil with an infinity sign, symbolizing her reconciliation with God.
* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'': After being appointed as Kiri's ambassador to Konoha, [[spoiler:Haku]] wears two forehead protectors to symbolize his loyalty to both villages. It's unclear if he is the first person to do this, but by the time of the epilogue it has become an official practice for any ambassador to wear the symbols of both the village they represent and the village they're staying in.
* ''Fanfic/UndocumentedFeatures'': After becoming a Transformer, Martin Rose uses an Autobot logo superimposed over a Wedge Defense Force logo on his clothing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* The exact logo at the top of the page also appears in-universe in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies'' [[spoiler: on the chest of a giant robot that Toyman, Japanese wunderkind Hiro Okamura, built to destroy a Kryptonite asteroid that would hit Earth. Cut him some slack: he designed it when he was seven.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* The movie ''Film/FreddyVsJason'' had a moment of mixing icons: a slow pan down from tree level, coming down onto a sign reading "Elm Street", while the soundtrack played the ''Friday the 13th'' "ki-ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma-ma" leitmotif.
* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'''s logo [[MythologyGag is the logo]] for DC's ComicBook/SupermanBatman series, albeit with more of an influence from the Superman logo from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks and the Batman logo from ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''.
* A more literal example comes from ''Franchise/IndianaJones''. When John Williams made two drafts for Indy's theme, one grand and regal and the other more subdued. Spielberg liked the grand one a lot and it became [[https://youtu.be/-bTpp8PQSog?t=6 the iconic theme]], but upon his suggestion, the subdued one was used for [[https://youtu.be/-bTpp8PQSog?t=37 the middle portion]].
* The individual packaging for the Toys/MarvelLegends figures of ''Film/TheMarvels2023'' characters Captain Marvel, Photon and Ms. Marvel has their respective insignias merged into a single one on the top.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'': During the alternate history arc, one of the first signs that D-Day isn't happening as it should be is that the defenders appear to be a new country consisting of France and Germany, as shown by their flag showing the French tricolor and the Imperial German eagle (that, and Adolf Hitler is just a military chauffeur). They also aren't around long enough to know whether the Holocaust happened in this timeline either.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* The shows ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' and ''Series/LawAndOrder'' , which had distinctive ways of sequeing from one scene to another[[note]](''Homicide'' had smash cuts and a sort of industrial whooshing noise, ''L&O'' cut to black with its trademark 'glun-glung' noise, followed by text explaining the time and place of the next scene as it faded in.)[[/note]], crossed over once. During the crossover, the scenes in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity (''L&O's'' turf) were filmed with ''Homicide's'' transitions, and those in UsefulNotes/{{Baltimore}} (''Homicide's'' setting) had ''L&O's'' transitions. (That is: Cut to black, glun-glung, text: "Baltimore Homicide Division, 10:30 AM.", fade in.)
* Quite common in ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' teamups, with the team's logos merging. For example, ''Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger'' vs ''Series/EngineSentaiGoOnger'' ends with the Geki triple-claw emblem on top of the Go-onger "G" speedometer.
* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':
** Arrowverse crossovers will often switch up the title cards and commercial-break scene wipes of the series involved. For instance, in the first two part crossover between ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' and ''Series/TheFlash2014'', "Flash vs. Arrow" had one of Ollie's arrows take the place of Barry's lightning bolt, and the reverse happened in "The Brave and the Bold".
** Appears in-universe in ''Series/Elseworlds2018''. After Amazo scans the heroes, the House of El's S-shield appears on its chest, followed by an arrowhead and the Flash's lightning bolt.
* ''Franchise/KamenRider'', starting with ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'', has begun exploiting the SwissArmyHero trope so that during crossover movies and other special occasions, the Riders will gain special alternate forms that mimic the powers and appearance of other Riders. The crossover between ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' and ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'' provides a special example: Zero-One's finishing moves all involve PaintingTheMedium with the finisher name, which Zi-O joins in on using his own motif when they defeat the crossover's villain.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' has an in-universe example with the [[https://www.ditl.org/Images/Gengrafix/banAlliance.jpg logo of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance]] being a combo of the [[https://www.ditl.org/Images/Gengrafix/banKlingon2.jpg Klingon Empire symbol]] and the [[https://www.ditl.org/Images/Gengrafix/banCardassian.jpg Cardassian Union logo]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Sometimes two wrestlers forming a tag team will have their respective {{theme tune}}s and entrances "mashed up". Examples: Luger & Smith, the Allied Powers; Kane and Hurricane Helms as [=HurriKane=], or the Corporate Ministry (The Undertaker's "Ministry of Darkness" and Vince [=McMahon=]'s "Corporation" stables, merged) using a remix of the Corporation's theme in the style of the Ministry's theme.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The [[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering Guilds of Ravnica]] all have their own sigils, that are, abstractly, combinations of the mana symbols for their colors. For example, Selesnya's symbol, combines white's sun with green's tree to make a mostly circular tree with sunbeams coming out of it, while Rakdos's is a flaming skull.
** The ''War of the Spark'' set, seeing Ravnica as a whole unite against the threat of Nicol Bolas and his army, sees a cycle of five "Bond" cards featuring members of two guilds that share a color (one ally pair, one enemy pair) cooperating. Each one's art features a glowing sigil combining the two guilds' sigils into one--for example, Bond of Passion's sigil shows the Gruul's burning tree with the Boros fist in its center.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'': Mephiles has a sinister-sounding piano {{leitmotif}} (with a techno remix as his boss fight music). Iblis is accompanied by a bombastic, orchestral score. When the two fuse together to form the TrueFinalBoss Solaris, the phase 1 boss music is Mephiles' leitmotif, performed by Iblis' bombastic orchestra.
* The standalone version of ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic & Knuckles]]'' featured a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_%26_Knuckles#/media/File:Sonic_&_Knuckles_cover.jpg stylized logo with both title characters' faces together in silhouette]].
* The DS version of ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames Mario & Sonic At The Winter Olympic Games]]'' has [[VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Blizland]], half of which represents [[Franchise/SonictheHedgehog Dr. Eggman's]] [[EternalEngine factories]] while the other half represents [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bowser's]] [[LethalLavaLand Castle]].
* In ''VideoGame/AngryBirds Franchise/StarWars'', the Alliance Starbird incorporates the omnipresent slingshot that the birds use, while a pig's snout is added to the Imperial crest.
* ''VideoGame/FreeSpace 2'' borrows the style for an early short video discussion backstory, showing the Galactic Terran Alliance and Parliamentary Vasudan Empire emblems merging into the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance emblem. In general, the GTVA emblem counts as this trope just as much as the Union Flag does, being a combination of the symbols most representing the Terran and Vasudan peoples.
* A variant in ''Franchise/BlazBlue'': every character has a special "crest" that represents them (you can see them when they perform their LimitBreak or FinishingMove). One certain character's crest is a combination of two others'. [[spoiler:It's the Black Beast's, whose crest is a combination of Ragna and Nu-13's.]]
* ''Franchise/DragonAge'': The Inquisition symbol combines the "Eye in a Sunburst" of the Seekers of Truth and the "FlamingSword" of the Templar Order. Justified as both factions derived from the original Inquisition and apparently adopted their preferred aspect of the logo when they broke off.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* InUniverse in ''Webcomic/MadameOutlaw''. In the first chapter, the family crests of the Dumont ("D") and Montesquieu ("M") families are merged into one with a "D-M" design to signify the marriage of Estelle Dumont and Thaddeus Montesquieu.
* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': For their [[PowerTattoo Sigils]], the members of Team Alchemical have the triangular symbols used for the [[ElementalPowers four classical elements]] in old world UsefulNotes/{{alchemy}}. Their [[ElementNumberFive fifth member]] Alchemical Aether, however, has a unique symbol made up of two interlocking triangles that combine all four of her teammates' Sigils into one.
* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' has circumstances that force Reynard to become [[MesACrowd Annies']] {{Familiar}}. When the process completes, the symbol that represents Annie and the symbol that represents himself [[https://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=2158 are melded together]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows'' does his [[CouchGag "playing the reviewed song" intro]] whenever crossing over with other reviewers from ''That Guy With The Glasses''. For example, he plays [[WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown Film Brain]]'s "Ready to Roll" over the BMB opening sequence, "It Wasn't Me" after he and WebVideo/TheRapCritic accept to review the song, and [[Music/BritneySpears "I'm Not a Girl Not Yet a Woman"]] when he and WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick review ''Film/Crossroads2002'' (though the Chick decides to join him at the piano).
* For WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob's crossover with ''WebVideo/BrowsHeldHigh'', the Snob's theme plays over Oancitizen's opening sequence.
* ''WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown'' crossovers at times mix images of the guest reviewer in the intro, as well as a {{Portmantitle}} ("[[WebVideo/BrowsHeldHigh Brows Beat Down]]", "[[WebVideo/MikeJ Shameful Sequels Beatdown]]", "Bad Movie Beatdown [[Creator/AllisonPregler Presents]]").
* This is how the Meta symbol in ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' was formed, out of the symbols of all the other AI's which are most of the Greek alphabet.
* ''Blog/AskTwixieGenies'': After Twilight moves into Trixie's bottle, the symbol on it shifts from Trixie's cutie mark to a subtle combination of Trixie's and Twilight's marks. This appears to be a magical feature of genie bottles; later on, when Trixie is taken from the bottle, the symbol shifts to Twilight's cutie mark.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The crossover between ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' and ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'', ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10GeneratorRexHeroesUnited Heroes United]]'', had Ben 10's Omnitrix at the center of Rex's gear logo.
* Similar to the above, the [[Recap/CodenameKidsNextDoorSpecialTheGrimAdventuresOfTheKND crossover]] between ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' and ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' combines elements from both openings for its own. Such as Billy, Mandy, and Grim getting into position for the title, as well as Sector V having bone-to-flesh transformation sequences. It even mixes the names of the shows' respective creators, thus giving us "'''created by mr. atoms and maxwell warburton'''".
* The Hexside school uniform in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' has different colored sleeves and leggings depending on what track a student is taking. When Principal Bump begins allowing the study of multiple tracks at the same time, students who chose to do so have the uniform changed to display every corresponding color ([[TheRedMage Luz]] in particular having each limb be a different color).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E22InMargeWeTrust "In Marge We Trust"]] has an InUniverse example. Homer discovers that a Japanese dish detergent has a mascot named Mr. Sparkle who looks eerily similar to him. When he investigates, he eventually finds out that the Mr. Sparkle company was formed by the merger of two companies, a fishworks and a heavy manufacturer; they combined their logos (a grinning fish and a lightbulb), which resulted in Mr. Sparkle, revealing that the whole thing was a crazy coincidence.
-->'''Bart:''' There's your answer, fishbulb.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** Nearly every Gem has a {{leitmotif}}, and when two [[FusionDance Fuse together]], the result has a theme that has elements of both components'. This is also used to form most Fusions' [[WeaponSpecialization weapon of choice]]. Opal, for instance, has a theme that turns Pearl's elegant piano wild, and makes Amethyst's off beats straight. Her weapon is a bow, with Pearl's spear acting as the grip and handle and Amethyst's whip as the string.
** "Lars of the Stars" features a custom SpaceFighter called the "Star Skipper" whose cockpit is marked with the Crystal Gem's star behind the ship creator's own personal logo, a skull with a slash across one eye.
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': In "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E16To18WorldsFinest World's Finest]]" (which is a crossover with ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''), the BatSignal (Batman's emblem) is broadcast onto the globe on top of the Daily Planet building (Superman's).
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersEarthSpark'': Cybertronians allied with G.H.O.S.T. wear a new insignia that's their old faction insignia merged with that of the organization, though the G.H.O.S.T. elements dominate the insignia instead of the two being equally prominent.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Quite common with national flags and coats of arms. The Union Jack was originally (in 1606) a combination of the flags of England and Scotland. In 1801, the Irish parliament was dissolved and the Kingdom of Ireland merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain, so "St Patrick's saltire" (the red X) was added to create the current form of the flag.[[note]]It was originally the flag of an Anglo-British knightly order, the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick, created by George III in 1783. (The Irish parliament had simply used the pre-1801 Union Jack.) For that reason it is generally not recognised as a national symbol in Ireland today. Attempts to use it in [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles Northern Ireland]] as a cross-community symbol have generally met with failure.[[/note]] [[AndZoidberg Wales]] is notably ''not'' represented on the flag, as it was brought into legal union with England under Henry VIII in the 16th century, before "national flags" came into existence.
* The Australian Coat of Arms includes a shield divided into six with the arms of each of the states on it. Originally they developed a unique federal arms, but they subsequently developed a new set including the arms of each state, inspired by...
* Canada's royal arms of the time (around 1910), which included the arms of each province. This however was terribly cluttered; Canada had at that point nine provinces, which was deemed to be too complicated to be useful. The Canadians then adopted the first form of their modern arms by taking the British royal arms, switching the extra England quarter with royal French fleurs-de-lys, adding three maple leaves on white in the base, and having the lion and the unicorn carry flagpoles bearing the Union Jack and a blue flag with fleurs-de-lys, respectively.[[note]]Among other changes; also, the "compartment", i.e. the "land" the supporters are standing on, contains intertwined roses (for England), thistles (for Scotland), shamrocks (for Ireland), and lilies (for France); the lion in the crest carries a maple leaf; and in the contemporary version, the mantling (the fiddly bits around the shield) is maple-shaped. The arms as a whole are arguably SigilSpam, since they contain ''six lions'' (three in the England quarter, one in the Scotland quarter, one as a supporter, and the aforementioned one carrying a maple leaf in the crest).[[/note]]
* Following UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses, [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Henry VII]] created the Tudor Rose, which was the White Rose of the House of York within the Red Rose of the House of Lancaster, representing the merging of the two houses (His mother was of the House of Lancaster and his wife was of the House of York).
[[/folder]]
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