Shanna and Rima

 

This is a pairing that I am surprised I am only getting to now.  I mean, I was a big Tarzan fan as a kid, so a female version of the character naturally held appeal for me as well.  Even better if they had ties to the superhero worlds that I was fascinated with. Rima was on Super Friends and Sheena operated out of The Savage Land, a well traveled Marvel locale.  And what's better than a gorgeously illustrated scantily clad queen of the jungle - well, two of them, of course!

Warlock and Adam Strange in: "Splitting Adams!"

 

With Black Widow's release date being pushed back to a year after its original spot, all of Marvel's movie slate has been delayed as well.  Now comes word that James Gunn will be writing and possibly directing some episodes for a new HBO Max series spinning of of The Suicide Squad and starring John Cena's Peacemaker - so it sounds like he will be busy with DC characters for a while longer.  When will Guardian's of the Galaxy Vol. 3 get underway?  Audiences have waited a long time for that Adam Warlock post credits scene from Vol. 2 to pay off, and it looks like we are going to have to keep waiting for a few more years.

Adam Strange and Warlock first met way back in STF #79...

Brother Voodoo and The Creeper

 

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is set to begin filming soon, and we have not heard anything about casting for Brother Voodoo or Clea.  I had heard that both would be introduced in the film, but then came the addition of The Scarlet Witch and the whole multiverse angle - not to mention the continuation of Baron Mordo's plot line.  Hopefully there will be room to include everything without the movie getting too cluttered.

The Avengers and Death

 

Has anyone had a chance to listen to the recently produced Sandman Audio Drama?  I've heard some other DC Comics audio dramas before like Kingdom Come and Death and Return of Superman, and I was impressed with how well they were done.  This one seems to have an impressive cast, including Kat Dennings as Death, James MacAvoy as Dream, Taron Edgerton as Constantine, Andy Serkis as Mattherw and Neil Gaiman himself as the narrator.  I'm going to have to get a copy to listen to at night.

Old Man Logan and Baby Yoda

 

I was amazed to find out that The Mandalorian on Disney+ is shot entirely on a sound stage.  The huge, domed virtual set that uses video game engine technology was developed using Producer/Director Jon Favreau's experience on movies like The Jungle Book and The Lion King, and it is incredibly effective.  So much so that I fully expect other filmmakers to follow suit with similar set ups of their own in future productions, and I am eager to see where the technology goes next.

Super Friends and Guardians of the Galaxy

 

As a kid I thought that The Wonder Twins were an improvement over Wendy and Marvin, who seemed pretty useless on The Super Friends.  At least they had powers and could join in on the action.  Still, if they had to have more teens on the team, I would have preferred they used established DC characters like Wondergirl, Aqualad or Kid Flash.

The Rocketeer and Captain America

 

The Rocketeer remains for me to be one of the most re-watchable superhero movies ever made.  One big reason is the absolutely beautiful score by composer James Horner.  Horner created many great soundtracks (Titanic, Braveheart, Avatar, Aliens, Legends of the Fall and on and on), but The Rocketeer's is my favorite.  You can tell how well regarded it is by the fact that it is often used as a temp track for trailers of movies that do not have their own scores completed yet.

The Rocketeer met Cap along with the res of The Invaders back in STF #2206...

The Punisher and Manhunter in: "The Last Gang War!"

 

The Manhunter back-ups in Detective Comics by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson were unlike anything I had seen in comics at the time.  Here was an update to a Golden Age character that truly went in its own direction.  They were definitely my first exposure to the amazing artistic talents of Simonson, he gave the tales a unique look through his signature style and use of innovative page layouts.  DC has honored those stories by allowing Paul Kirk to remain dead (a rarity for comics)!  The Manhunter concept has been brought back time and again, with new characters assuming the mantle, but nothing has stuck a chord with readers quite as much as those original back-up stories.

These two previously met in STF #1402...

Man-Bat Vs. The Lizard (Round Two!)

 

When Bob Greenwade, a patron of this blog, suggested this battle, I figured it was a strong enough match up to demand  a second appearance - so here it is! Thanks, Bob!  They first tangled in STF #2606.  I have to say that I'd be rooting for Man-Bat in this fight.  While both character started out as respected scientists that were altered by self administered experimentation, Kirk Langstrom  always seemed like the more redeemable of the two to me.

Machine Man and Cyborg in: "The Extinction Algorithm!"

 

I'm not sure what The Vision's status will be following Wanda/Vision on Disney+, but whatever becomes of him, the MCU definitely has room for another robotic character.  I say it's time to bring in Machine Man!  He has the same appeal as Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation - an artificial man that longs to understand what it is like to be a real one.

Machine Man and Cyborg previously met in STF #2725...

Wonder Woman and Captain Britain

Wonder Woman 1984 has been pushed back yet again, now slated to open on Christmas Day.  A holiday theatrical release worked well for Aquaman, so maybe that's not a bad strategy.  There is another big movie opening up in that time frame, the new version of Dune, but I think that WW is the bigger draw for audiences.

 

Gumby and The Martian Manhunter

 

I watched the new animated Superman: The Man of Tomorrow, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that The Martian Manhunter plays such a large role in it. In addition to telling the Story of Superman's heroic debut, it established that J'onn J'onzz had already been operating on Earth in secret.  Lobo is also thrown into the mix - a character that never did much for me in the comics, but works well in this story.

Thanks to Mike Shirley, a Patron of this Blog, for suggesting this green hued pairing!

Ragman and The Falcon

 

As much fun as it might have been to pretend to be a hero like Batman or Iron Man, with unlimited resources to aid in your battle against crime, I have to say as a kid I identified a lot more with characters like Ragman.  Here was a guy who had almost nothing and operated out of a junk yard, but that didn't stop him from trying to do the right thing.  As someone with limited means, it was nice to know that not all heroes were millionaire playboys.

The Atom Vs. The Vision

 

Uh oh - it looks like once The Vision rid himself of the Manhunter Virus, he made himself vulnerable to an internal attack from Professot Ivo! I think he needs to invest in some better malware protection!  It's a good thing that Ray Palmer is willing to evaluate and repair Marvel's robotic characters.... even if he has to do it the hard way!

Johnny Thunder and Thor

 

There were definitely some teases for Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt to make an appearance on the next season of Stargirl.  There's the magic pink pen that was included among the JSA artifacts that Courtney discovered, and younger brother Mike has name dropped his friend Jakeem.  Hopefully we will see him show up, and the TV effects budget will be enough to effectively bring Badhnesia's most famous genie to life.

Hawkman and Iron Man in: "Mission to Venus!"

 

You have to love that the spacecraft used to travel to Venus is basically a big lightbulb!  Hopefully these two will be able to withstand an attack by a land octopus and Venusian bird of prey!  Ah, the Golden Age!

This is the third team-up on this blog between these two - they previously met in STF #2828,  and then again in STF #2301...

The Defenders and Superman in: "Crime in a Bottle!"

 

I was hoping that the DC Fandome event would shed some more light on the future of Superman in the movies.  There was some speculation that an announcement of The Man of Steel's involvement in Black Adam or even a solo sequel would be made, but alas no mention of such things.  DC Fandome continues this coming weekend, though It looks to be focusing more on the TV, print and gaming aspects of DC Comics.  Henry Cavill keeps teasing that he id not done with the role, but I'd like to know some more specifics as to what that will mean.

Superman met an earlier version of The Defenders in STF #2849...

Hellboy Vs. Darkseid

 

I have to admit, I wasn't always a big Darkseid fan.  I was not hugely into Jack Kirby's Fourth World tales as a kid, and the biggest impact that the ruler of Apokolips had for me was his appearances taking on The Legion of Super Heroes in the Great Darkness Saga.  What really got me interested was Superman: The Animated Series.  Through the extended story arc there and then continuing in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited,  I finally understood what the big deal was.  It will be interesting to see how he is handled on The Snyder Cut of the Justice League movie.

G.I. Robot and War Machine

 

Robert Downey Jr. recently reiterated that his time as Tony Stark is indeed done, and he is not even planning to return for voice overs.  Does Don Cheadle still have movies on his contract?  This could be a good opportunity for War Machine  and James Rhodes to be more fleshed out in the movies as he will be the premiere Armored hero in the MCU going forward.

Sub-Mariner and Batman & Robin

 

It's been a constant rumor that Namor would be introduced as an antagonist in the Black Panther sequel, focusing on relations between the advanced societies of Wakanda and Atlantis.  With the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, nothing is certain as to how the story will move forward now.  When you factor in the delays already caused by productions shutting down, it looks like it will probably be quite a bit longer before we see the Avenging Son make his live action debut.

Batman and The Sub-Mariner met a couple of times back in my Brave and the Bold: The Lost Issues days - once in 2010, and then again in 2011...