10 Times Pro Wrestling Appeared In Marvel & DC Comics

Because there are loads of comic book creators who are fans of pro wrestling and there are loads of wrestlers who are comic book fans, there are loads of crossover between the two mediums. One need look no further than WWE, which has boasted no shortage of wrestlers sporting comic book-themed cosplay gear over the past decade. But what about the other way?

Because pro wrestling and superhero stories both focus on battles between good and evil, there are loads of instances of pro wrestling being featured in Marvel and DC Comics, the two top publishers of cape comics. Let’s take a look at 10 times pro wrestling showed up in books published by both companies.

Spider-Man’s Origin Includes Pro Wrestling

Peter Parker Was Out To Make A Hundred Bucks

Wrestling fans likely know all about Macho Man Randy Savage’s appearance in the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man film as Bonesaw McGraw, the wrestler Peter Parker battles in his first outing as Spider-Man. But that origin is totally accurate to the comics — in Spider-Man’s first-ever appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, Parker (post radioactive spider-bite) tries his hand at pro wrestling, seeing a chance to win $100 by lasting three minutes in the ring with a wrestler named Crusher Hogan. Spider-Man, of course, trounces Hogan, and the young hero’s ego begins to swell.

Crusher Hogan Got His Own Spotlight Story

It Was Co-Written By Raven

Lasting from 2001 to 2003, Spider-Man’s Tangled Web was a unique anthology series that allowed creators to write one-off stories about Spidey’s corner of the Marvel Universe, sometimes focusing on minor characters. Issue #14 of this series focused on the aforementioned Crusher Hogan in a special issue co-written by Brian Azzarello and ECW and WCW star Raven. Titled “The Last Shoot,” this one-shot story follows how Hogan developed his gimmick as a guy who fights novices for real — up to the moment Spider-Man enters the ring.

Batman Wrestled With Bane In Batman ‘66

The Comic Reimagined Bane In The Adam West Era

The early 2010s saw a renewed interest among fans in the campy 1966-1968 Batman live action series, so DC capitalized on the return of a long-dormant Batmania with a throwback comic in Batman ‘66. Decades of comics being published since the TV show’s cancellation meant that the creators could come up with fun takes on popular characters that never made it to the show, including Bane.

Bane was infamously played by a wrestler in Batman & Robin, but was never a wrestler himself despite the obvious luchador mask. In Batman ‘66, however, Bane is introduced as a wrestler with The Riddler as his manager. Before long, Batman ends up staging a run-in on the match and fights the big man himself.

UCWF Features Super-Powered Wrestlers

The Fantastic Four’s rocky, hulking Thing dresses like a wrestler most of the time so it’s only natural that he’d step into the squared circle. During The Thing’s early 1980s solo series, Ben Grimm sees an ad for the newly formed Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, which strives to show off superhuman grapplers, and decides to try out, eventually defeating Demolition Dunphy to become the new world champion. As the storyline continues, the UCWF ends up having its own version of a steroid scandal, but has made appearances in other Marvel books in the decades since.

The Grapplers Are An All-Female Band Of Wrestlers

The Grapplers Are Heels In The Marvel Universe

Before Unlimited Class, Marvel introduced a whole faction of female wrestlers — coincidently, also with The Thing’s involvement. It happened in the pages of Marvel Two-In-One, a comic in which The Thing teams up with a different Marvel superhero every issue, as powerhouse supporting character Thundra ends up training as a wrestler and takes on The Grapplers, a quartet of heels with names like Titania and Screaming Mimi who became criminals when they weren’t getting paid as much as the male wrestlers.

Ikaris Of The Eternals Adopted A Wrestler Identity

Ikaris Took On A Deviant In Madison Square Garden

Fans who only know The Eternals from their divisive foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe likely have no idea that one of these superpowered immortals was a wrestler at one point. Ikaris, the leader of The Eternals, poses as a wrestler named “Iceberg” Ike Harris, taking on a wrestler named Enigmo in a Plexiglass Cage Match in Madison Square Garden. However, it’s quickly revealed that the beastly Enigmo is actually Cataphrax, one of the Deviants — the enemies of the Eternals.

El Muerto Is A Supernatural Luchador In The Spider-Man Comics

Bad Bunny Was Going To Play El Muerto In A Movie

Crusher Hogan isn’t the only wrestler in Spider-Man’s orbit. In 2006, the series Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man introduced El Muerto, a luchador with an enchanted mask that gives the wearer super strength. The El Muerto introduced in 2006 was only the latest in a line of wrestlers to wear the mask, with this one challenging Spider-Man to a match in an attempt to unmask him.

But that’s not the only wrestling-related aspect of the character. As part of Sony’s myriad attempts to exploit their rights to Spider-Man characters, in 2022 the studio announced an El Muerto movie starring musician Bad Bunny in the title role, though the former WWE 24/7 Champion appears to have dropped out of the film.

The Comic Focused On Minor Hero D-Man

In the years since his first appearance in The Thing, four-time UCWF champion Demolition Dunphy ended up becoming a superhero himself, adopting the moniker Demolition Man, or D-Man for short. While this minor character never starred in his own solo series, D-Man ended up getting a special spotlight in a 2016 issue of Captain America, returning to the ring for a charity show to take on a wrestler named Battlestar, who D-Man mistreated in his egotistical, Hogan-esque period at the top of the sport. Of course, the former rivals ultimately team up to stop the shady promoter from stealing all the charity money.

The Flash Accidentally Got Involved With Wrestling Across The Multiverse

While DC Comics doesn’t get involved with pro wrestling as much as Marvel, the home of Superman and Batman did introduce a clever, extremely DC take on the sport in The Flash. In the issue, Wally West discovers Wrestling Across the Multiverse, only to realize the destructive alien grapplers are fighting on Earth. After getting involved via a literal run-in, The Flash and top WAM star Omega-Bam-Man team up and put away the duo of the Klaramaran Klee Pan and Maul from WildC.A.T.s to become the new WAM Tag Team Champions.

The Hulk Beats Up Hogan

Marvel Comics Lampooned The Hulkster Himself

Back in the 1990s, as Hulk Hogan became WWE’s top star, Hogan and WWE had to sign a licensing agreement with Marvel Comics due to the use of the word “Hulk.” However, that didn’t stop Marvel from having a little fun at Hogan’s expense. A story in the anthology series Marvel Comic Presents featured a story where The Hulk stepped into the ring to challenge a Hogan-esque wrestler who was calling himself The Hulk. Of course, the irradiated giant made short work of the parodic Hulkster, chucking his human opponent straight through the ceiling of the arena.