Line #60 Main/RedSkiesCrossover


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5	->''"At any rate, we have here the current form of Marvel crossover taken to its logical extreme -- an event where anything can qualify as a crossover, just as long as it ''isn't'' in continuity. There's pretty much nowhere further to go from there, unless you're going to do a crossover called ''Shit Happens''."''
6	-->-- [[http://www.housetoastonish.com/?p=3113 Paul O'Brien]] on ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015''
7
8	When a comic slaps a big, visible "CrisisCrossover" logo on the cover, but has only a token ShoutOut to the Big Event that only peripherally affects the plot of the issue in question, that's a Red Skies Crossover. In some cases, the extent of the crossover is as nothing more than a ContinuityNod.
9
10	The name's taken from the original Crisis Crossover, ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''. Almost every comic in Franchise/TheDCU was involved, but in many cases, the "involvement" was just characters looking up and wondering why the skies were red before moving on with whatever they were actually doing.
11
12	Since then, most Crisis Crossovers have had at least a few. For example, in ''[[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Infinite Crisis]]'', a squad of blue cyborgs would rampage through a few panels and then fly off, leaving the characters (and the reader) wondering what the heck that was before going on with the story.
13
14	This, generally, is good for the book it appears in, getting it the extra readers from the crossover without having to derail its storyline because of it, but bad for the crossover overall, through dilution of the brand.
15
16	See also WolverinePublicity, {{Metaplot}}, and CrossThrough. RedSkyTakeWarning is when the red sky is actual cause for concern within the story itself.
17
18	In the television world, this is sometimes referred to as a crossover theme night.
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20	----
21	!!Examples:
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23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
26	* ''Manga/BurnTheWitch2018'' is set in the same world as Creator/TiteKubo's flagship work ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', but the only cross-reference between the two is a brief view of a sign identifying Reverse London as "Soul Society West Division", which was just repaired and is promptly blown up all over again.
27	* Since ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' and ''Manga/XxxHolic''[='=]s stories are somehow running in parallel, and occasionally [[CrisisCrossover interconnect]] with each other, it is no surprise that during both of the movies, there is a scene where the characters from ''TRC'' are talking to Yuuko via cute-little-magical-pet. However, the scene only has relevance to the ''TRC'' movie plot. For people watching the ''[=XxxHOLiC=]'' movie, it's just an [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment irrelevant scene]].
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Comic Books]]
31	* In the original ''ComicBook/Inferno1988'' crossover, one of the first that Creator/MarvelComics did involving all series in their universe, most crossover issues not directly connected to the [[ComicBook/XMen X-titles]] featured minor content at best, or at worst, totally contradictory writing to the actual central story. One of the more significant tie-ins not directly related to the main story was in ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', as the team had just dissolved in #297. Issue #298 gave us an entire issue of Edwin Jarvis fighting off demonic creatures in Manhattan, and issues #299-300 dealt with a new team being formed to rescue Franklin Richards from N'astirh. It seems odd that once they got Franklin back, the new Avengers didn't do anything further to fight the demons, though their priority was to get Franklin home, and Reed and Sue were living on Long Island at the time (as they'd retired from the ComicBook/FantasticFour at the time), so it's at least possible that by the time the team got back to Manhattan, the X-Men and X-Factor had already wrapped things up. Oddly enough, ComicBook/{{Excalibur}}, despite having a main ''Inferno'' header on its tie-in issue covers (unlike ''Avengers'' which had a corner tab indicating its lesser tie-in status), didn't have any impact on the main story, and only served to strand the team in New York for a bit with ComicBook/CaptainBritain's [[AmplifierArtifact suit]] trashed.
32	* Averted when the Casket of Ancient Winters was opened during ''ComicBook/TheSurturSaga'' in ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'', many other Marvel titles were smacked with impossible blizzards on top of what they are dealing with at the time. Usually, the characters had little or no knowledge of what exactly was going on in ''Thor'', but on the other hand, none of them were bannered as crossovers - it was just a nod for people reading ''Thor''.
33	* Subverted during ''The ComicBook/{{OMAC}} Project'', a mini-CrisisCrossover that helped set the stage for ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. One of the key plot points for both crossovers -- Franchise/WonderWoman killing Max Lord to break his mind control over ComicBook/{{Superman}} -- took place in Wonder Woman's own title. Despite [[Creator/DCComics DC]] hyping the issue, most believed that it would merely be a Red Skies Crossover. Instead, the only reference to the event during the main MiniSeries was an incomplete {{flashback}}. Readers truly did need to read ''Wonder Woman'' to get the full story, which annoyed many fans. The Wonder Woman issue in question ''was'' included in the trade paperback collection of ''The O.M.A.C. Project'', as well as DC's ''Countdown to Infinite Crisis'' one-shot.
34	* ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' had many tie-in issues in which either an O.M.A.C. appeared out of nowhere to fight the main character or a few pages were devoted to ComicBook/TheSpectre destroying something.
35	* ''ComicBook/ActsOfVengeance'' was a CrossOver where Marvel heroes were facing assaults on their lives by villains usually associated with heroes other than themselves. The true storyline was occurring in ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', the heroes there being the primary targets of ComicBook/{{Loki}}. The only real lasting consequence of the crossover was that the [[ComicBook/IronMan Mandarin]] was involved in ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} being [[RaceLift turned into an Asian assassin]]. There were moments such as ComicBook/SpiderMan receiving the ComicBook/CaptainUniverse powers, and ComicBook/{{Magneto}} burying the ComicBook/RedSkull alive, but little else of consequence.
36	* ''ComicBook/CableAndDeadpool'' did a really small CrossOver with ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' that lasted one issue (they were conveniently out of the universe during most of it). It was so small that if you go back and read the trade you probably won't even realize it was part of ''House of M''.
37	* There was an event where a Franchise/{{Predator}} took on characters from Dark Horse's ''ComicBook/ComicsGreatestWorld'' line. Apparently the writers of ''Ghost'' didn't really want to spend much time with this, so they just included a couple panels with a Predator jumping out, after which the heroine [[IntangibleMan phased her gun through its face plate]] and fired, killing it instantly. She then simply returned to her own plotline with no further thought given to the strange alien.
38	* Lampshaded during DC's ''ComicBook/JokersLastLaugh'' storyline, where ComicBook/TheJoker, after "jokerizing" most of the worlds villains and cutting them loose on the planet, begins complaining that the sky is perfectly clear and normal, and that he's going to have to "kick it up a notch" in order to achieve the desired sky effect. The crossover also had some traditional Red Skies Crossovers. Pretty much the only tie-ins that were actually important to the main story were written by ''Last Laugh'' writer Chuck Dixon (''ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Robin\|1993}}'', ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'', ''ComicBook/{{JLA\|1997}}''). Most of the other tie-ins were simply "Jokerized villain goes off to tangle with the hero of whatever book this is".
39	* While ''Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns'' was important to the ''next'' crossover, ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', it didn't have a damn thing to do with ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''.
40	* ''Final Crisis: [[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes Legion of 3 Worlds]]'' is also totally unrelated to ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''. For one thing, almost all of the story takes place ''a thousand years after the crisis.'' While a few lines are thrown in to make characters aware of the event, to them it's literally ancient history, and not terribly relevant to them. Indeed, the story originally was meant to be a stand-alone, only labeled a crossover at the last minute to increase sales.
41	* ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' spread out over nearly every corner of the DC Universe, including a number of Red Skies Crossovers:
42	** The final issue of the ''Solomon Grundy'' miniseries carried a ''Blackest Night'' banner, but the alleged crossover only occurred on the last page.
43	** Between ''Blackest Night'' #6 and #7, fully ''twenty-seven books'' tied in to it. While the characters ''did'' usually spend most of the issue (or more than one) fighting heroes, villains and/or supporting cast members who had come back from the dead, very few of the stories overlapped with the main storyline in any meaningful way.
44	* The ''ComicBook/AvengersDisassembled'' event was a really blatant example -- Marvel stuck the "Disassembled" banner on every title they possibly could. The biggest stretches were ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' (ComicBook/CaptainAmerica happens to appear) and ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' (the Avengers are busy and can't help with the problem), but even important Avengers like Cap and Iron Man had only-barely-related stories in their solo books.
45	* All the original ''ComicBook/SecretWars1984'' crossovers simply consisted of a few panels of the character disappearing and reappearing from the miniseries, [[UnbuiltTrope because the pattern for how to tie a crossover series into a character's own book hadn't been set yet]].
46	* For the ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' crossover, the titles displaying the Crossover's logo were separated into two types, with directly affected titles branded "Onslaught: Phase (1, 2, or 3, depending on the month)" while the more Red Sky types were billed as "Onslaught: Impact (1, 2, 3)". Most of the "Impact" issues featured the heroes facing Onslaught-controlled Sentinels. Unfortunately, even that was too much for poor old Spider-Man, who was in the middle of a ContinuitySnarl of his own. Two of his "Impact" issues don't even feature sentinels, being a by-the-books Scorpion story, and flashback to an early relationship that was never mentioned before or since.
47	* Averted following Creator/DCComics' ''Legends'' series as a direct reaction to criticism of the Red Skies Crossovers in ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''. Several books spun directly from the events of ''Legends'', but ''Justice League'', and ''Suicide Squad'' purposely avoided labels like "From the Pages of ''Legends''".
48	* Inverted with Creator/DCComics' CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/{{Genesis}}'', to the point where the "main" series in the crossover was incomprehensible due to major elements occurring in other books. The bulk of the actual storyline was in ''ComicBook/NewGods'' and ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'', but with ''Genesis'' itself referring to major events only in editor's notes.
49	** Marvel's ''Maximum Security'' was similar, but the main mini-series was just gappy instead of incomprehensible.
50	** Some series did refer to ''Genesis'' in a way that played this straight. In ''ComicBook/{{Starman}}'' the heroes' powers suddenly and fail at a pivotal moment for reasons not explained in the series itself.
51	* Subverted three times in ''ComicBook/{{Hitman\|1993}}'' during the ''[[BatFamilyCrossover Cataclysm]]'', ''ComicBook/DCOneMillion'', and ''ComicBook/FinalNight'' events.
52	** Lampshaded during ''Cataclysm'', as Gotham's massive earthquake occurred during a story arc in ''Hitman''. The main characters woke up one morning and realized their hometown of Gotham City had been leveled and cut off from the rest of the country. For the rest of the event's duration, the cast was either living in the ruins of Gotham or had conveniently escaped it for the duration of the arc.
53	** The crossover with ''DC One Million'' satirized the entire crossover concept, which held that every ongoing series at the time had an influence on the Franchise/DCUniverse over 800 centuries later. Including ''Hitman'', a series about a small-time thug with low-level super powers. In the ''Hitman'' crossover, Tommy is brought to the future by fanboys. He roundly insults them all for wasting their time and ability on bothering with him. He also has time to [[TakeThat hilariously kill]] Gunfire, a fellow creation from the AudienceAlienatingEra crossover ''ComicBook/{{Bloodlines\|DCComics}}''.
54	** The ''ComicBook/FinalNight'' crossover followed an exceptionally depressing arc for Tommy. [[FromBadToWorse And then the sun went out.]] The tie-in involved Tommy and his friends brooding over how this might be the CrisisCrossover that finally kills them all, and discussed their closest brushes with death.
55	* Many ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'' tie-ins were Red Skies Crossovers. ''Titans'' and ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' featured resurrected characters in their casts, but otherwise had little to do with the overall storyline. ''Green Lantern Corps'' had nothing to do with ''Brightest Day'' outside of dealing with a small amount of ''Blackest Night'' fallout, despite the banner, and ''Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors'' was launched as a Brightest Day title, but had only an offhand reference to Guy Gardner's breakup with Ice to justify it.
56	* Creator/EclipseComics, to celebrate their tenth anniversary, had a mega-crossover called ''Total Eclipse''. It involved, among other things, a total eclipse occurring in every title they published. Some of the tie-ins involved that eclipse alone.
57	* At first the ''Franchise/GreenLantern ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime'' crossover issue seemed to be one, with the whole comic dealing with Kyle Rayner's recent tragedy and his first meeting with the Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott who gives him a primer about the Green Lantern legacy and about the Silver Age Green Lantern Hal Jordan, who at that time has recently gone crazy, has destroyed the whole Green Lantern Corps, and has disappeared. Alan then informs Kyle that he may be called in to help stop Hal the next time he shows up. It seemed that the only connection to the crossover was the last page where ComicBook/{{Superman}} and [[ComicBook/NewGods Metron]] arrive seeking his help. [[spoiler:But later on, it apparently can be regarded as a subversion of this trope when it is revealed near the end that Hal Jordan himself is the BigBad of the Crisis event, and since the Green Lantern issue is [[{{Foreshadowing}} the only comic in the crossover that has really brought him up]] before TheReveal.]]
58	* Not a Crisis crossover, but a crossover nonetheless: in the second ''ComicBook/HouseOfMystery'' annual, there's a series of Creator/VertigoComics short stories linked by the presence of the same ghoulish trick-or-treaters. While the rest actually feature them, the ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' story merely has John Constantine walk by them at the beginning, going into a plot that has nothing to do with them.
59	* ''[[ComicBook/IronMan Invincible Iron Man]]'' #503 was branded as a ''ComicBook/FearItself'' tie-in but only had ''Fear Itself''-related content at the end. Most of the book wrapped up the story that had been running at that point.
60	** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'s own tie-in also only had a plot marginally related to the overarching story, in which he tried to cash in on it all by decorating an ordinary sledgehammer to make it look like one of those that fell from the sky and dropping it in front of lame Spider-Man foe The Walrus, just so 'Pool can beat him up later and grab the glory for himself, though it requires trickery on his part due to the hammer turning out to belong to a race of werewolves and Walrus easily saw through Deadpool's {{Paper Thin Disguise}}s. The worldwide calamity caused by the Worthy is completely sidelined for three issues (the only thing that happens is Kuurth - Juggernaut - breaking through a house in the first issue, for a grand total of one page), and [[WolverinePublicity Deadpool did his plot-relevant stuff in the X-Force tie-ins published at the same time]].
61	* ''ComicBook/{{Robin\|1993}}'' #52 is labelled as Part 7 of the ''ComicBook/BatmanCataclysm'' crossover on the cover, but most of it is the conclusion to a totally unrelated story arc; it only ties into "Cataclysm" at the end for a grand total of 5 panels. Even the crossover's paperback collection only included the last four pages. However, issue #53 is much more integral.
62	* ComicBook/{{New 52}}: In ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' #6, there is a one panel tie-in with ''ComicBook/Stormwatch2011'' #6 where Amanda Waller is looking at a TV screen and stating that the sky is falling.
63	** The ''Zero Year'' storyline running in Scott Snyder's ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' was going to be self-contained, but has since been announced to be receiving tie-ins - aside from the pre-requisite [[BatFamilyCrossover Bat Family titles]], it's also receiving tie-ins to ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' & ''Franchise/TheFlash'', none of which are necessary to the primary story.
64	* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' #129 was labeled as an ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'' tie-in, even though the story had nothing to do with it. The only panels which "tied in" with Ultimatum were the final ones, where it started raining (the weather event which preceded the tidal wave which hit New York).
65	* The first issue of the ''Cataclysm: Ultimate Spider-Man'' mini-series tie-in for the event ''[[ComicBook/CataclysmTheUltimatesLastStand Cataclysm]]'' followed the story of ''Ultimate Comics Spider-Man'' instead, and tied in with Cataclysm only in the two final pages, a double spread of Galactus arriving in New Jersey.
66	* Most of the ''ComicBook/OriginalSin'' tie-ins were actually related to at least one major plot element (the explosion of one of the Watcher's eyes unleashing a wave of secrets across New York), but the tie-ins for ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' and ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' were completely unrelated. Both stories did gel with the central theme of secrets being revealed, but neither one had any ties to the Watcher or the conspiracy involving ComicBook/NickFury.
67	* Doctor Strange's second battle with Shuma-Gorath caused destruction throughout the universe and many dimensions, which was referenced vaguely in a few other ongoing comics at the time, such as ''Fantastic Four''.
68	* Marvel's ''Realm of Kings'' event involved all ongoing cosmic series, as well as three miniseries. The idea of the event was to show how the major cosmic players of the Marvel Universe dealt with the main PlotDevice (a fault in time and space caused by the events of ''ComicBook/WarOfKings''). However, ''Realm of Kings: Son of Hulk'' focused solely on the title character's own story and only showed the fault on the last three pages of the final issue. Other than those pages, it had absolutely no connection to the main story.
69	* Around the time of the "Funeral for a Friend" portion of ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'', including the lead-up to ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'', many of DC's heroes were wearing armbands in memory of Superman.
70	* The ''ComicBook/MicronautsIDW'' and ''ComicBook/RomIDW'' tie-ins to ''ComicBook/FirstStrike'', while important to setting up ''Rom and the Micronauts'', didn't have a single damn thing relating to ''First Strike''[='=]s Transformer genocide storyline beyond taking place during the same timespan; the sole thing even remotely resembling a tie-in is the Micronauts stating that the Dire Wraiths have more unopposed leeway to execute their evil plans on Earth because every other major player on Earth has high stakes in play off-world on Cybertron.
71	* ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'''s tie-in to ''ComicBook/Revolution2016'' zigzags this one: Most of the story is just the Scavengers running into an incompetent member of GI Joe named [=MP3=] and a Dire Wraith named [=CONS4EVA=] in a story that serves to take the mickey out of crossovers. However, Misfire chases a rampaging Grimlock to Dallas where Grimlock sadly presents a sword of his to Misfire which has the names of the Dinobots carved into it which makes Misfire happy as Grimlock is recovering a real memory which is further confirmed when Misfire says "Never been so happy to lose a bet with myself", to which Grimlock smirks and says "Loser". [[spoiler: In addition, in the final issue, as the Scavengers, Nickel and Grimlock fly off to Troja Major, Crankcase calls up [=CONS4EVA=] and asks how quickly he can get to Troja Major]]. The first cover even Lampshades this as it's just Crankcase and Misfire having lunch with several characters from Revolution and the story is called "Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again!"
72	* ''International Iron Man'' #4 was labelled as a ''ComicBook/CivilWarII'' tie-in. The only connection to the event in the entire issue was a news broadcast in the background of a flashback scene reporting on the events of the first half of ''Civil War II'' #1.
73	* ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' and ''ComicBook/TheTransformersUnicron'' has an interesting example. Neither book crosses with the other, though characters note that TheStarsAreGoingOut across the universe. Events in both storylines are separately contributing to this and both sides remain oblivious to each other. More Than Meets the Eye's 50th issue starts with Optimus Prime, Jetfire, Starscream, Rattrap, Fortress Maximus, Red Alert, Wheeljack, Windblade and the Scavengers watching several of the crew member's messages which are last rites and when Optimus wants to mount a rescue, Jetfire tells him the message was sent three weeks ago... (As to why the Lost Light isn't responding, Getaway is in charge).
74	* The second StoryArc of ''ComicBook/ThePulse'' has ComicBook/JessicaJones and ComicBook/LukeCage get caught in the crossfire of the ''ComicBook/{{Secret War\|2004}}'' series. Little about it is explained (and [[UnreliableExpositor what explanation we do get comes from a Hydra officer]]), as the couple are far too busy just trying to survive the week.
75	* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica:'' The tie-in issue to ''Infinity War'' plays it straight and averts this one. Over in that event, the Magus had created evil dopplegangers of various heroes, including Cap. His doppleganger shows up to attack Cap, is killed, and treated as nothing more than a bizarre annoyance that momentarily slows down Cap's attempt to cure being turned into a werewolf. Meanwhile, an amnesiac D-Man is also attacked by his own doppleganger, which actually does move his own subplot along.
76	* ''ComicBook/{{Pathfinder\|DynamiteComics}}: Runescars'' takes place in the city-state of Korvosa in parallel with the early part of the ''Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path''. The party collides with both the Order of the Nail Hellknights and Queen Ileosa Arabasti's [[AmazonBrigade Grey Maidens]], but the story doesn't directly deal with the budding revolution that is the main subject of the ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' tabletop campaign.
77	* ''ComicBook/GIJoeAndTheTransformers'' (a crossover between ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'' and ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'') zigzags this as it was referenced in the Transformers Marvel Comics (In ''Gone But Not Forgotten!'', Shockwave tells Soundwave to tell Cobra that the Decepticon's moving base was going to be closer to Cobra Island) but was ignored entirely in GI Joe which made for disjointed storytelling as several [=COBRA=] members are in different positions in the crossover and GI Joe comic. Then, in 1993, the GI Joe comic was used to launch ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2 and after that, Larry Hama dumped the Transformers and continued with his usual plots...but a couple of issues of the Transformers: Generation 2 comic had GI Joe and COBRA interacting with the Transformers!
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Fan Works]]
81	* Many Blog/AskAPony blogs recognized the climax of ''Ask King Sombra'' by having their protagonists look to the north and see the pillar of light from the climax.
82	* In the ''Coreline'' story ''Fanfic/CorelineInvasionOfPortland'', the skies over Portland turn red during the demonic invasion from another Coreline tale: ''The Shikigami Ranger and the Monster Mashers''. One of the characters in the story, an alt of Supergirl from the Pre-''Crisis On Infinite Earths'' multiverse, lampshades the trope.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
86	* Examples from the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
87	** In ''Film/IronMan2'', we see news footage of the Hulk's university fight from ''Film/{{The Incredible Hulk\|2008}}'' on a monitor. In the same movie, Nick Fury mentions a strange event in the Southwest and later, Agent Coulson mentions having to go to New Mexico for a mission. TheStinger reveals Coulson coming upon the hammer from ''Film/{{Thor}}''.
88	** In ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'', a mid-credits scene shows Scott in the Quantum Realm harvesting energy. Meanwhile, in his home dimension, [[spoiler:the Pym family suddenly disintegrates]] (thus rendering the whole movie a case of ShootTheShaggyDog). Those who have seen ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' would recognize what just happened.
89	** The post credits scene of ''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'' has Eddie Brock and Venom [[spoiler: getting accidentally teleported into the MCU at the very end of the events of ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', right when J. Jonah Jameson outs Spider-Man as Peter Parker and accuses him of murdering Mysterio, with Venom wanting to pick a fight with Spider-Man. The mid-credits scene of ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' instead shows that they spent the entire events of the movie getting slammed at a bar in Mexico while being caught up on the events of the MCU up until then, and as soon as Eddie decides to go to New York to look for Spider-Man both he and Venom are unceremoniously sent back to their own universe by Dr. Strange. [[SequelHook However, a sliver of Venom is left behind…]]]]
90	* ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection'' took place while the Dominion War was in full swing on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', but very deliberately kept the war offscreen and only referenced it in dialogue a few times — usually about how the war is straining the Federation's resources and ability to keep its allies together. Picard grumbles about the ''Enterprise'' being stuck on diplomatic duties, and villain Ru'afo references the war as being evidence that the Federation is old and dying; also, the Son'a are said to produce Ketracel White, a drug essential to Dominion soldiers. Screenwriter Michael Piller explained that he didn't want to alienate audience members who didn't watch the show. Another reason was that some countries still hadn't caught up to where ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' was in the US and Canada, so hence they kept references small to prevent major spoilers.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
94	* ABC heavily promoted an episode of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as being a tie-in with the then recently-released ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''. It consisted of a single scene at the beginning of the episode where the team clean up debris from the film's climactic fight before moving on to a wholly unrelated plot (albeit one that ties into general Asgardian mythology). Averted by other episodes that dealt with movie events; the ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' tie-in did in fact have major ramifications on the series, while ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' and ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' each had some effects on the plot but the episodes also weren't advertised as major tie-ins to begin with.
95	* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':
96	** The CW proudly advertised a crossover between every show across the entire week as part of the "Series/{{Invasion\|2016}}" Arc. ''Series/{{Supergirl\|2015}}'' however, being set on a different Earth from the other shows, was an entirely normal episode with Barry Allen only appearing at the end to recruit her. She ''did'' go on to play a large role in the crossover, but her show was barely involved.
97	** The ''Series/Elseworlds2018'' crossover heavily involved the casts of ''Arrow'', ''Flash'', and ''Supergirl'', but no one from ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' (except [[ButtMonkey Gary]]) was even mentioned. In the ''Legends'' solo episode, we find out that everyone else did call them for help, but the Legends blew them off because a time travel mishap had turned them all into jerks. At the end of the season, this gets referenced again when [[ItMakesSenseInContext the Legends dress up as Supergirl, Green Arrow, and the Flash to advertise a theme park that will save the world]].
98	--->'''Zari''': Uh, guys, I-I feel like that would've worked a little bit better with the ''real'' Trinity...\
99	'''Sara''': Yeah, well, I asked, and they said ''[pointedly turns to Nate]'' "Hard pass."\
100	'''Nate''': ''[resigned]'' We should've done the crossover.
101	** And then we get the big one, ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'', which runs through all five major series -- ''Arrow'', ''Flash'', ''Supergirl'', ''Legends of Tomorrow'' and the brand new ''Series/{{Batwoman\|2019}}'', drags in ''Series/BlackLightning2018'' (due to that show being filmed in Atlanta, only Jefferson appears elsewhere during the crossover) and drags in just about every possible television series and movie it can possibly fit in, up to and including ''Series/Batman1966''.
102	--->'''Earth-66 Dick Grayson:''' Holy Crimson Skies of Death!
103	** Speaking of ''Crisis'', while the Legends were involved, they had a noticeably smaller impact than the rest of the cast. Sara and Ray were main characters throughout the crossover, but Sara mentions that she promised the rest of the crew "no more crossovers." A version of Rory from another universe shows up, but the main Rory, Ava, and Nate don't show up until the last episode, which is officially a ''Legends'' episode. Charlie doesn't show up at all, although the aftermath of the Crisis later becomes a major part of her character arc. Nate and Ava in particular are annoyed that the other teams ''kidnapped'' their captain.
104	--->'''Nate:''' This is a classic crossover move. We tell 'em we're too busy, they commit a felony.\
105	'''Ava:''' ''[nods in annoyed agreement]''
106	** The ''Series/BlackLightning2018'' [[Recap/BlackLightning2018S3E9EarthCrisis tie-in episode]] is also only peripherally related to ''Crisis'', with little to do with the crossover apart from the red skies themselves and them causing Jennifer to lose control of her powers and bounce back and forth between a few different universes. [[spoiler:While Black Lightning's Earth is also destroyed by the Anti-Monitor's antimatter wave and Jefferson is rescued from oblivion to help in the rest of ''Crisis'', this occurs at the very end of the episode]].
107	** And as far as the non-CW properties themselves, the majority of their appearances are single scenes at best, typically a quick cameo of them reacting to the Multiversal disaster (which much like the comic event that named the trope is the skies turning red) without any interaction with other universe characters. Smallville's Clark Kent does share the scene with others in his single scene, albeit a several minute long one, but the only characters that have an extended appearance are classic Superman (played by Creator/BrandonRouth, who was already in the crossover as Ray Palmer) and Earth-99's Bruce Wayne (played by animated series's VA Creator/KevinConroy in his first live-action appearance) who are both the major focus of the 2nd episode and Superman also appears in the 3rd.
108	* ''Series/{{Buffy\|The Vampire Slayer}}'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}'' both cameoed in each other's season premieres. ...kind of. In "[[Recap/AngelS01E01CityOf City of...]]", a despondent Angel calls someone, then hangs up as soon as she answers. She doesn't identify herself, but it's Creator/SarahMichelleGellar on the other end. Buffy's side of the call is shown in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E1TheFreshman The Freshman]]".
109	** In ''Buffy''[='s=] last season, The First dispatches her people (The Bringers) across the globe to eradicate the entire Slayer line. By "[[Recap/AngelS04E13Salvage Salvage]]", Faith was cooling off in prison for a few years, but after an attempt on her life by a bribed inmate (a ''very'' rare Buffy/Angel crossover in the final years) she manages to break free. You wouldn't think it anything but a common jailhouse shanking, if not for the lingering shot of a Bringer knife.
110	* A shooting star passed through the Stewart family house on ''Series/HannahMontana'', the Tipton Hotel on ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'', and the White House on ''Series/CoryInTheHouse''.
111	** In addition, there was a crossover called "That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana" and while the first two parts involve all three shows, the Hannah Montana one just has the Tipton hotel and Maddie at the start. [[spoiler: She comes back at the end, though]].
112	* On one night, NBC attempted a CrossThrough of its Thursday sitcoms with "Blackout Thursday". ''Series/MadAboutYou'', the first sitcom of the night, featured the characters causing a citywide blackout by trying to get free cable TV. The following episodes of ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and ''Series/MadmanOfThePeople'', also featured the characters dealing with a New York blackout. While the characters didn't explicitly cross over, it was implied that they shared the same universe.[[note]]A link had already been created between ''Mad About You'' and ''Friends'', each of which had a character played by Lisa Kudrow. They were confirmed to be twin sisters.[[/note]] ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' was the only missing link in the Cross Through chain. The script for that week had already been written before the idea was announced, and the ''Seinfeld'' writers refused to change it to include a blackout.
113	* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': When the holographic Doctor from Voyager was transferred to a ship in the Alpha Quadrant (which was empty), he activated the ship's own hologram. The [=EMH2=] mentioned that the ship was engaged in a conflict of the [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Dominion War]], and the Romulans were refusing to help. "The what?"
114	* Creator/{{Syfy}} decided to establish a SharedUniverse for ''Series/{{Eureka}}'', ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' and ''Series/{{Alphas}}''. Nothing noteworthy was ever done with this, beyond a handful of (ultimately insignificant) crossovers.
115	** ''Alphas'' is about superhuman paranormal abilities. ''Warehouse 13'' has multiple agents with such powers, but they send a relatively minor, and perfectly normal character for the crossover for one scene to investigate if an artifact is involved.
116	** The futuristic super science of Eureka is never pitted against the magic (or [[SchizoTech steampunk super science]]) of the Warehouse. When Warehouse agent Claudia shows up in Eureka, the plot has nothing to do with an artifact though she does take the device that instigated it as a souvenir. The Warehouse 13 and Eureka crossovers are more notable for a chunk of the actors from Eureka having [[YouLookFamiliar guest starred as characters of the week]] in season one of Warehouse 13.
117	** It's especially blatant with the ''Alphas'' character. A perfectly normal doctor who never mentions the events of one show to the characters of another, viewers genuinely wondered if it was just actor re-use before we heard her name. Nothing would change if another character had been used; world-building is nice, but nothing was done with her beyond there being one minor character who occasionally popped up in other shows so we could say "Hey, it's that person from that other thing."
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Video Games]]
121	* The events of ''VideoGame/Persona3DancingInMoonlight'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5DancingInStarlight'' are the result of the game’s respective Velvet Room attendants betting on which of their guests is the better dancer (after getting into an argument over whose team would have done the events of ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight'' better), and having them compete. While both games make references to the presence of another team, the two teams never actually meet, save for a brief text conversation between Fuuka and Futaba.
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:Web Video]]
125	* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'': When Linkara attempts to escape his review of ''Lunatik #1'', he is captured three months later just outside Molossia. It's not stated outright, but since Linkara takes part in [[WebVideo/{{Kickassia}} the Nostalgia Critic's invasion of the micronation]], that's why he was there.
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Western Animation]]
129	* The [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents delayed]] and much hyped ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' and ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' three-part crossover ended up this. There were some shared characters, but the only thing that tied the stories together was that the main cast for each was trapped in their houses by a hurricane, and the leads of the three shows meet up in the very last minute of ''American Dad''[='=]s episode.
130	* Creator/CartoonNetwork's 2007 ''Invaded'' event featured a group of aliens having encounters with the inhabitants of WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends, [[WesternAnimation/EdEddnEddy the cul-de-sac crew]], the student body of [[WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey Charles Darwin Middle School]], the campers of [[WesternAnimation/CampLazlo Camp Kidney]], and [[WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy Grim, Billy, and Mandy]], who, unsurprisingly, are the ones to ultimately defeat the aliens. Each episode was wholly self-contained, with the only crossover moments being small references to the previous part, such as the ''My Gym Partner's A Monkey'' installment having a newspaper article showing a picture of the Eds, and the same aliens that appeared in ''Camp Lazlo'' arriving in ''Grim'' to begin the invasion proper. At most, there was an alternate [[TheStinger credits scene]] for the ''Billy and Mandy'' episode showing kidnapped characters from the previous shows.
131	[[/folder]]

Context Main / RedSkiesCrossover