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Infinity Crisis

As a story that began as a crossover between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Arrowverse before ballooning into a Massive Multiplayer Crossover this was bound to happen.
  • The first story begins as a straight crossover between the MCU and the Arrowverse. But then the Justice League of the DCEU appears.
  • Of Kryptonians and Queens is a shock because it brings in characters from the very much non-superhero series Merlin (2008).
  • Miles Morales appearing in New Charges isn't that surprising. Having him be a resident of the Arrowverse is a bit more of a shock.
  • Legacy of Lightning is a bit of a surprise for bringing in the world of Smallville when it seemed that only the current live action shows of DC were on the board.
  • Powers and Marvels brings in the Power Rangers which is a bit shocking given that they aren't the type of superheroes you would expect to show up in something like this. And it's much the same for the Ninja Turtles in In Hand and Foot.
    • It's safe to say very few readers expected Squirrel Girl to pop into In Hand and Foot.
    • As if that wasn't enough unexpected appearances, Darkwing Duck appears in the final chapter.
    • To top it all off, "Zheng Zu" is really Shang Tsung whose entire work with the Hand has been in the service of Shao Khan.
  • Counterpart Conferences does this quite a bit.
    • After a string of stories that are based in live action properties or at least connect to comic books somehow it's a surprise to have The Thundercats and The Masters of the Universe show up as the first animated series to be made part of the setting.
    • Seeing the DCAU appear was a shock given that the focused seemed to be staying on live action works for DC.
    • It's certainly a surprise to see Alice (Batwoman (2019)) with the alternate versions of Harley Quinn (justified as the Harleys naturally assumed the blonde psychopath running around Gotham was another version of them).
    • Seeing Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman appear as well is certainly a surprise as well, especially since her debut premiered a week after the chapter that she first appears in.
  • An Adventure of a Multiversal Crisis sees Petey the Cat, the currently former villain from the Dog Man series (a spin-off of Captain Underpants) playing a role in the story. Granted, this is in a universe following a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen mold, but his source material is still pretty far removed from most of the other characters, who are mostly based on well known British literature and their more recent incarnations.
    • A later chapter also introduces a relatively obscure variation of a more familiar character; Doctor Ogron, an Ogron augmented with the memory and genetics of the Doctor from the Big Finish Doctor Who audio "Planet of the Ogrons".
    • Chapter Seven sees Narn mention several threats to the Multiverse, one of which is Lord Vyce, who is a recurring villain from the story segments of Atop the Fourth Wall, a comic book review series.
  • Test Tube Troubles introduces the relatives of several, practically unknown heroes and villains, like Gabriela Sepulveda, sister of Gabriel Sepulveda/Defensor, Angus O'Connell, son of Ulysses Solomon Archer and Taryn O'Connell, and the children of Miles Warren, Angar the Screamer, Plantman, Chemistro and Ghazi Rashid. Plus, the antagonist of the story is Gorgolla the Living Gargoyle.
  • After previous stories in this series depicted the Thirteenth Doctor taking a role in events, Skysurfin' Surprise includes a twist when the Seventh Doctor shows up to investigate events in that reality.
    • Seventh Doctor aside, Skysurfer Strike Force itself is not exactly a well-known cartoon series.
    • And then the Eighth Doctor showed up in Batman Family.
  • Distant Cousins not only features another appearance by the Thirteenth Doctor, but also sees her accompanied by Yelena Belova of Earth-199999 on a visit to Earth-38.
  • Chapter 10 of Infinity Crisis: Glimpses features an unexpected look at an alternate world where Betty Brant (based on the version in the MCU) is Spider-Girl, inspired by one of Marvel's earliest What If? storylines.
  • Infinity Crisis Aftermath: An Avenging Christmas briefly features Clarence Odbody in his first reappearance since the fifth chapter of Tales of the Beyond. Though given that it's a Christmas one-shot, it is an appropriate place for him.
    • It also features the First and Eleventh Doctors revealing that they are also tracking the Skrulls and related threats.
  • Celestial Navigation introduced the Eternals, Dane Whitman, Namor and Kate Bishop, so it was quite unexpected when Hercules and the Olympians started showing up and kidnapping the Eternals.
  • Infinity Crisis Aftermath: The Last Archer adds the Fugitive Doctor into the mix with her saving several characters from the antimatter wave.
  • Fathers and Daughters opens with several heroes attempting to meet with Clea and while some of them are certainly lesser known than the others, one of them particularly stands out; The Brazilian Capitã Brasil, who is based on Captain Brazil, a one-shot Canon Foreigner from The Super Hero Squad Show who has yet to be integrated into any other Marvel continuity.
    • The inclusion of Molly Fitzgerald/Shamrock is also a surprise, as she's fairly obscure and widely seen as something of a walking stereotype. Especially since her past actions are very relevant to the plot.
  • Infinity Crisis Aftermath: Spirits and Timey-Wimey Mischief sees Doctor Sheng, a character who only appears in one of the sequel comics to The Legend of Korra as the right hand woman to another antagonist, play a central role as a villain.
  • National Stride introduces the Earth-38 version of Red, White, and Blue, three obscure Golden Age war comic heroes who've never appeared in any comic of DC's Post-Crisis.
  • On top of introducing another Doctor Who villain other than the Master, Infinity Crisis: Return of the Rani sees the Rani commanding Putties from Power Rangers, Lash of the Inhumans, and an evil version of Sailor Mercury from Sailor Moon to kill the villains from Street Sharks of all cartoons.
  • In Road Trip: Storybrooke, while the reader was anticipating Amora's presence, it's still a surprise to see Agatha Harkness present (initially posing as the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe). Especially since in her previous appearance in Therapy Session, she seemed to be going after Wanda.
  • In Women of Wonder, while the addition of Donna Troy is only somewhat of a surprise, it's more of a shock to see John Constantine make an appearance as a native of Earth-51.
  • Chapter 9 of Another Side of the Glimpses introduced a lot of franchises, but the most noteworthy introduced were South Park and Star Wars Legends. The latter especially surprising because it was mentioned several times as being fictional in several universes in the main Infinity Crisis stories.
    • Something noteworthy to add is that a lot of characters appearing or being mentioned in The Pighead' spin-offs have, due to her self-admitted niche tastes & references, the tendancy to cross the line between "unexpected characters" (Earth-1991 having characters from all the Sonic the Hedgehog continuities instead of just the movie continuity, Bowsette, the acknowledgement of The Homestuck Epilogues...) and straight-up "who are even those people?" (Chuchel & Kekel, the main characters from The Hex...).
  • Since History Lesson-51 is largely focused on explaining the new, altered Truer to the Text timeline of Earth-51, the inclusion of various DC heroes and villains (even more obscure ones such as Luminus) aren't too surprising. What is very surprising is the brief cameo scene that sees the Earth-199999 Avengers fighting alongside the normally D-list heroes Buford Hollis/Razorback and Ulysses Solomon Archer against a super-powered bear explicitly inspired by the upcoming film Cocaine Bear!
  • Given that Infinity Crisis Aftermath: Detective Work is focused on the second generation of Spider-Friends on Earth-8107, it's fairly surprising to see it also serve as the introduction of Highlander to the IC Multiverse in the form of a still living Juan Sanchez-Villalobos Ramirez. According to Word of God, his Heroic Sacrifice in Highlander II caused him to end up on Earth-8107.
  • In Cult of the Daleks, the Daleks are stated to have successfully invaded multiple Earths. Most are the worlds are stated to be those of slightly more obscure "Saturday Morning" cartoons from the late 1980s and early 1990s like SilverHawks, Mummies Alive!, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, and Denver the Last Dinosaur ...But it also includes the world of Larry Crowne, a Romantic Comedy film released in 2011 that has absolutely no fantastical genre fiction elements whatsoever!
  • Christmas Remembrance introduces a brand-new Doctor. But this Doctor is not an incarnation that most are already familiar with. This new incarnation is inspired by concept art from a scrapped Doctor Who animated series Nelvana and the BBC were developing in the 1990s. Even more surprising? One of his companions is Kahhori, who debuted shortly before Christmas Rememberance was released. The story also introduces Doctor Zero and the Shadowline universe, a very obscure line of comics released by Marvel in the late 1980s.

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