Missed Potential in Merged Earths?

You know what I've always wanted to see? More crossovers between Infinity Inc and the Teen Titans. It's something that always upset me a little about the Multiverse-turned-Universe, there were constant implausible adult cross-dimensional interactions, but we never got to see anything of the kids.

It always seemed like there'd be an interesting cross-perspective there. Infinity Inc and the Titans are vastly different teams. With vastly different styles. Maybe that means crossing over would be impossible. Still, I'd have liked something.

Even in the Universe, the only real second generation crossovers I can think of are Jade and Dinah Lance.

It seems weird to me, because there'd be really interesting ideological details to imagine. Not to mention that the existance of both teams on one world adds an interesting complexity to the Infinity Inc people.

Which came first? II or Titans? If it was II, what led them into a different direction than the Titans went? If it was the Titan team, why didn't the II people join them instead of making their own? I think there are a lot of interesting possible explanations for this: ideological difficulties, power difficulties, both teams unable to deal with the other's leadership style.

Would they have been allies? Rivals? Or in such different leagues that it never came up? This is the sort of New Earth thing, I'd really like to explore...we know how the big things, the big teams interrelate, but how does the minutia work?

There is such interesting potential in the blended universe that hasn't yet been explored.

Like with Sanderson Hawkins and Dick Grayson. I've always wanted some sort of crossover between them. I mean, when it comes down to it, they come from a very similar core idea. They're both originally Golden Agers (1940 and 1941), they're both child sidekicks to grittier heroes. Neither had powers. Both served as living symbols of hope and brightness through their costumes and identities. Both were light-hearted, cheerful wise-crackers there to brighten their heroes up while helping them kick criminal butt, and acting as sounding boards for their detective partners' brilliance. Robin was a more physical, openly cheerful sort of character, Sandy was more acerbic and tended to be better with the mental contributions.

I think it would be really interesting on that meta-level to see them interact now. Sure, they're no longer contemporaries, but that just makes it more interesting to explore the characters.

They're even the same age (give or take a few decades in stasis) which would add to the whole dynamic. Having them team up on an adventure would be interesting and a lot of fun!

Not to mention that, for whatever reason, we've never really gotten to see Sand interact much with people his own age. I'm hoping that the new line-up of Rick, Jessie, and apparently Maxine Hunkel, who all seem to be of comparative ages, would remedy this a little. Still, I'd love to see something where he gets to team up

Unfortunately, there would be a big risk to this whole thing. At their best, the characters would be able to shine in different ways. Dick's superior physical ability, Sandy's sharper detective instincts, Dick's socially adept charm, Sandy's bland adaptability, Dick's training (I imagine Bruce was rougher as an instructor than Wes), Sandy's powers. There are a lot of ways this could go well.

Of course, there are a lot of ways it could fuck up too. Especially with Dick's character in the mess he's been in for such a long time. Dick's various personal turmoils have battered the character down to the point that he's even his leadership abilities. His fighting ability seems to be shot, at the moment at least, going by his abyssmal performace OYL. It might be a very big mistake to pair him up with the JSA's ex-chairman in an adventure.

I have to admit, once I get past my initial "Wouldn't this be *cool*?!" reaction, my first thought imagining a crossover is:

"Bruce doesn't love me! Woe!"
"...okay. Um...Wes turned me into a sand monster by accident? It's okay now though..."
"... Fine, you win, damnit."

Which actually makes me snicker, but probably wouldn't be the best idea for a comic.

Still, there's other crossover potential. One thing I'd always have liked to see remedied is that we really never got to see Sand interact with people his own age. There was a bit of Team camaraderie with Al and that mess with Kendra, but really, that doesn't count. He's in a weird position in the JSA, age wise. He's too old to be terribly close to Courtney and Jakeem, too young to really fit with Alan, Jay, Ted or Carter, and his particular set of experiences set him apart from Pieter or Michael, both of whom only became heroes in their adulthood.

The new lineup looks promising. Rick Tyler's there, Jessie Chambers, Maxine Hunkel. They look about the same age, which should be interesting. But I still think there's a lot of missed crossover potential. (Surely Kyle could be roped into a team-up. Come on! King of Tears, Empire of Tears, something could be done with that! Or...hee. Roy. I don't know what they'd do exactly, but I think a Sand and Roy team-up could very well be comedy gold!)

On the plus side though, Jessie was a Titan first. Perhaps she will end up something of a bridge between younger generations. That'd be cool! Earth 2 and Earth 1 are merged yet again and I'd really like to see that played with a bit more.