Ellie and company, along with Madman and the Paybacks, find unexpected help in a strange place in Crossover #4, by writer Donny Cates, artist Geoff Shaw, colorist Dee Cunniffe, and letterer John J. Hill. Cates and company add more wrinkles to the whole story, making things even more impressive than they already were.

In the Paybacks’ van, Madman tells Ava what happened to her parents. However, before she can get too excited about finding them, Doctor Blaqk tells them that it would be impossible for him to break through the dome again- superpowers weaken the longer they’re outside the dome. Elle asks what if her parents are still wandering in the dome, but Madman tells them there is a portal that goes back to the comic world. One that opens periodically and disgorges heroes and villains to keep the battle going. Doctor Blaqk has no idea how to break through the dome again with his weakened powers, but Otto has an idea. Meanwhile, Ryan’s father, drunk, beats a man dressed as a superhero in his basement, taking out his frustration. The heroes make their way to the National Event Memorial And Museum Center, where artifacts from the superheroes are stored. Madman is able to sense an object of great power before encountering an older woman from the comic world… and security guards. Madman is able to take them all down with his trusty yo-yo, and the woman introduces herself as Deanna, taking them to a weapon very familiar to Cates’ fans. Meanwhile, the government prepares its response to the whole situation, Project Amalgam.

There’s something that is so quietly brilliant about Crossover. Cates keeps upping the stakes with every issue, but it keeps making sense. For example, Doctor Blaqk’s admission that the more time spent in the real world, the less someone’s superpowers work makes perfect sense since the rules of the real world, the rules of physics, are quite different than the fictional ones. Or the reveal of the portal that keeps bringing new heroes, villains, and monsters to the dome is a way to keep things going and interesting- no one knows what or who is coming through next, and that adds an extra element of danger to the whole thing. The National Event Memorial And Museum Center is also something that would definitely happen in the real world if the Crossover was real… and it looks like the Hall of Justice to boot. All of these little story elements flesh out the world and give clues about what might happen next.

Crossover is also about, well, Crossover and Cates fits another one in this issue. It’s a wonderful moment and one that is hard but not impossible to see coming. Much like with the introduction of the Paybacks into the mix, it’s a tad bit shameless, but Cates includes a quick excerpt from the source material to get readers unfamiliar with it up to speed, and it also makes a whole lot of sense for it to be in this story. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of the whole thing and how it will play into what comes next. The last page of the book, the one that introduces Project Amalgam, has the greatest Easter Egg in the history of comics in it- Combo Man. Basically, Combo Man was part of an ad campaign for Combos that ran in ‘90s Marvel comic books, and he was an amalgam of different Marvel heroes. It’s such a deep cut, and it’s delightful.

Shaw continues to do a great job. Crossover walks a tightrope because it has to give the impression that every fictional comic universe is represented but needs to keep things just vague enough not to get sued. Shaw accomplishes this with aplomb over and over again, especially in this issue. The best page, though, is the one where Madman takes out the security guards with his yo-yo. It’s just a great-looking page that captures the energy of the moment perfectly.

Crossover #4 is a great book. It does a lot of world-building but keeps things exciting, and the end just keeps throwing more and more at the reader. Cates, Shaw, and the rest are doing a marvelous job of making this feel like a giant crossover between the comic universes, even though that would be so very illegal (Disney is known for being very litigious). Everything about Crossover is amazing, and this book keeps showing readers why that is.

Grade: A