Rare story & concept art behind a Marvel vs. WCW comic book that almost happened

We all know that Marvel Cinematic Universe or the MCU has revolutionized the way we look at superhero films nowadays. From the franchise's insanely successful 'Avengers: Infinity War' to the next upcoming Avengers movie in 2019, Marvel never ceases to amaze by appearing in major headlines each & every week.

However, thanks to WCWWorldwide.com's Bryan Barrera for unearthing exclusive details on this rare story, we now know that there was a pitched idea/plans for a WCW vs. MARVEL comic book that almost came to fruition.

Barrera managed to catch up with a man named Ruben Diaz, who works as a Video Producer, Director & Editor for CHIKARA Pro Wrestling. So without any further ado, let's get right into the details of this story...

The original WCW vs. MARVEL comic book pitch

Rare Marvel vs. WCW Concept Art: Sting vs. Spiderman- By J.J. Kirby — Rare Marvel vs. WCW Concept Art: Sting vs. Spiderman (1) - By J.J. Kirby

Ruben Diaz was the editor of this WCW vs. MARVEL Comic Book project. He was a part of the original pitch too. The rough timeline that it took for him to work on the pitch was between 1998-2000.

Creating a mini comic-book included with the WCW Slam Force Toyline was as far as they got. Marvel Games Executive Director Bill Rosemann was responsible for writing it, while Comic Book Artist Michael Ryan was the one who did the art.

The Premise? It was all about WCW Characters fighting against Supernatural Threats. Sounds quite convenient, doesn't it?

American Comic Book artist Adam Pollina (known for Marvel Comics' X-Force Comic Book) drew concept art for 'Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The Incredible Hulk', as shown below:

Rare Marvel vs. WCW Concept Art: Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The Incredible Hulk- By Adam Polina — Rare Marvel vs. WCW Concept Art: Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The Incredible Hulk- By Adam Pollina

Click on to the next slide for some more RARE concept art regarding this project & as well as the reason why the idea was never picked up...

Reasons why the idea was never picked up

Rare Marvel vs. WCW Concept Art: Goldberg With Superpowers! - By J.J. Kirby

Ruben Diaz notes that a full-fledged comic book could have been a success if the WCW S.L.A.M Force Toyline had taken off.

Another reason could be that WCW's landscape was less mythical as compared to WWF/WWE. This might have concerned WCW's authority of involving their wrestlers in a fantastical crossover like this one.

Other than that, maybe their approach towards the idea just didn't fit correctly. WCW didn't hire a different publisher to approach the same idea in the future. This shows that the comics didn't work well within the brand when it comes to the overall image of their product.

Rare Marvel vs. WCW Concept Art: Sting vs. Spiderman (2) - By J.J. Kirby

However, there is no significant, concrete reason as to why WCW didn't want to pursue this idea. The reasons listed above are nothing but Diaz's personal opinions & speculation on this subject.

One can only contemplate as to what could have materialized if WCW indeed decided to pursue a WCW vs. Marvel Comic-Book deal. Let's see the possibilities of potential crossovers regarding this idea in the next slide.

Potential crossovers we could have witnessed

Rare Marvel vs. WCW Concept Art: Bret Hart vs. Captain America - By Chris Batista

As you can make out from the concept art above, we all could have witnessed a potential Captain America vs. Bret Hart show-down!

While there are no concept art pictures available for several other ideas, Diaz did mention that they had made spec scripts to show how his team would handle all the characters.

One of the ideas from the spec scripts included Chris Benoit meeting up with Wolverine! Who doesn't want to see Chris Benoit/Wolverine team up together in order to fend off supernatural threats?!

As seen in previous slides, Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The Incredible Hulk & Sting vs. Spiderman was also in the works.

Rare Marvel vs. WCW Concept Art: Sting vs. Spiderman (3) - By J.J. Kirby

Golberg was also slated to be one of the titular WCW characters to be featured in the comic. Which Marvel character would you have liked to see go one-on-one against Goldberg?

Kevin Nash was featured in the mini-comic cover for the WCW S.L.A.M Force Toyline. Which Marvel character would you pair with/put against Kevin Nash?

If only this deal would have materialized, many wrestling fans would be revisiting those comics right now in today's day & age of the modern 'Superhero frenzy'.

Which fantasy Marvel vs. WCW matchups/team-ups would you have liked to see occur? Sound off in the comments section below!