Hawkeye Vs. Grendel

I was first introduced to Matt Wagner's Grendel through a couple of crossovers with Batman.  Those are some great stories and their worlds seem to work well together.  I have always liked the look of the Grendel mask and how the identity was taken on by multiple characters.

Xena and Trinity

Here are two of may favorite butt-kicking heroines.  I am hoping that Gal Gadot will take inspiration from both of the when considering her performance as Wonder Woman.  Xena's self titled TV series is what convinced me that a Wonder Woman film could work, and I will never forget Trinity's introduction in The Matrix.  I had never seen fight choreography depicted like that on film.

Sgt. Rock and Rogue Trooper

I must confess to not knowing a whole lot about Rogue Trooper, but from what I have learned, he is a pretty cool character.  Created in the pages of 2000 AD by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons, Rogue Trooper fights on an alternate world against a Traitor General with the help of three allies in the from of biochips mounted on his equipment.  Sounds like a guy who could keep up with the likes of Easy Company's grizzled leader!

Swamp Thing and Morbius

Swamp Thing is one of the coolest character in comics, but has really gotten cheesy treatments when it comes to movies and TV.  His first film was low budget and very hokey, but at least it tried to take itself somewhat seriously.  The sequel tried to go for a more tongue in cheek route, and wasn't any more successful at translating the character to live action.  Somehow those films led to a short lived TV series, which was just crazy bad... but I couldn't look away.  One episode had Swamp Thing hiding in a kid's closet and almost being found by his mom for nearly the whole 22 minutes.  Worst of all had to be the Swamp Thing animated series, complete with them song to the tune of "Wild Thing".  Yeesh.  C'mon, Warner Brothers - special effects are at a place now where we can finally have a truly cool Swamp Thing film experience!

Stargirl and Captain Marvel

Ever since The Death of Captain Marvel, Marvel has wondered what to do with the name of their fallen hero, and it has gone through several characters.  Monica Rambeau, Genis Vell, and others have taken on the title, but nobody ever seemed to hold on to the name for very long.  Finally, Carol Danvers was promoted from Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel, while passing on her moniker to a new young heroine.  This I think is my favorite solution so far, it just feels right.

The Joker Vs. The Green Goblin

I remember back in the day when Tim Burton's Batman movie was first announced all the speculation as to who would play The Joker.  Ray Liotta was mentioned, and that would have been interesting.  Jack Nicholson's casting gave the film an extra level of respect and I liked what he did with the role.  Still, he never looked right for the part and I had another choice at the time:  James Woods.  He was tall and lean and was known for playing psychos and high-intensity characters.  I would have loved to have seen him as the clown prince of crime.

Hawkman Vs. The Vulture

Even though I had some major problems with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3, I still was interested to see what he had in store for the fourth installment of his take on the franchise.  The rumor was that John Malkovich was set to portray The Vulture, and that could have been very cool.  We do see a set of what look to be Vulture wings in Osborne's labe in the Trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, so it looks like Malkovich may just get another chance in a sequel or the Sinister Six film.

The New Teen Titans and X-Men: First Class

Recent interviews with Simon Kinberg, writer of the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past have hinted at some possible ramifications of the time-altering film. He explains that along with DoFP, The Phoenix Saga is his other favorite X-Men story from the comics, and he was disappointed that the story was not served well when it was combined with the "mutant cure" plot for the third film.  Might this new film reset the pieces enough that a proper telling of the X-Men's greatest story line ever is a possibility?

Doctor Doom and The Demon

Given Victor Von Doom's affinity for medieval architecture and dark magic, I think that he would would be a good match for Etrigan.  Whether they were battling one another or joining forces, you just know that a tale featuring them together would be a Hell of a good romp.  I would have loved to have seen Jack Kirby take a crack at it.

The Avengers Vs. The Crime Syndicate

I featured the JLA against one of the Avengers' villains yesterday, so it's only fair that to reverse that idea today.  I have always liked that the Crime Syndicate were not just evil versions of the Justice League members, they were from a whole parallel universe where everything was flipped on its head.  Writers like Grant Morrison really had fun with the concept of that alternate reality. Based on the most recent line-wide event, it looks like they are right in the center of the current goings on in the DCU these days.

Justice League of America Vs. Terminus

I have always loved giant bad guys.  Galactus, Chemo, Starro, Fin Fang Foom, The Sentinels, even the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man... it always made for a cool visual to see my favorite heroes up against a Godzilla-sized opponent. I think that John Byrne's creation Terminus was a nice addition to the ranks of colossal villains.

Superman and Captain Marvel (...Where Monsters Dwell!)

One of the lessons I learned from reading How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan lee and John Buscema was to select the most dynamic poses to depict action on the printed page.  Gil Kane was an artist who really illustrated this point for me.  whatever his characters were doing, there was an unmistakable sense of power that his figures provided.  It's no wonder that he became my all time favorite Marvel cover artist.

The Huntress and The Black Widow

Scarlett Johanssen's Black Widow is an interesting case.  The super-spy has been fleshed out onscreen as a supporting character in three separate superhero franchises, becoming as big a star as the heroes that have had their own self-titled movies.  Can a Black Widow solo film be far behind?  I imagine she would have some cool guest stars of her own if such a film comes to pass.  Or will she be relegated to supporting star in a Nick Fury film first?

Galactus Vs. Infinity, Inc.

I remember being frustrated when Infinity Inc., first came out.  The new characters were introduced in the pages of All-Star Squadron, and I was looking forward to following their adventures in their own title, especially since Jerry Ordway would be handling the art duties.  Unfortunately for me, the series was in DC's "New Format" and was only sold at comics shops, not on the newsstand.  I didn't live near any such shops at the time, so it would be years before I was able to check out the series. It's too bad that the new characters created for it have all been wiped out with DC's "New 52" reboot.

Green Lantern and Iron Man in "Exterminated!"

Here's another in my series of Iron Man/GL covers.  I usually have them at odds so this time around I thought I would have them working together against a common foe.  I like the idea of these two together - Test pilot granted the most powerful weapon in the universe and billionaire genius who builds the ultimate armor.  I just feel that these two strong personalities would butt heads even when they have to join forces.

Ghost Rider and Blue Devil

These two guys were both performers who received powers and an altered appearance as a result of getting mixed up with demons from the underworld, then decided to use those new abilities for good.  Their personalities are quite different despite these similarities, and that would make for an interesting pairing, I think.

The Union Suit Squad

A red union suit with a blue towel tied around it, topped off with signature head gear? These guys already looked like they were part of the same team anyway, so I decided to make it official!  I'm not sure about how much crime they would actually prevent, but it would still be fun to see them all mix it up together.

Robin and Bucky

It really is crazy how writer  Ed Brubaker took what could have been seen as just a huge gimmick - reviving Bucky Barnes, one of the few Marvel characters allowed to "stay" dead - and turned it into one of the greatest Captain America story lines ever.  Just a few years later, we get to see a movie based on those comics, and it is one of the best superhero films to date.  I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next with The Winter Soldier in his print and film incarnations.

Booster Gold and X-Factor

I remember being very excited when X-Factor was first announced.  X-Men spin-offs were still an uncommon thing in those days, and here was one that promised to unite the original team!  It was a strange book, though.  They had a wonky set up - "we'll disguise ourselves as mutant hunters in order to secretly protect them", and then they changed Angel to Archangel and Beast back to his human form, neither of which I was too crazy about.  Still, it was always enjoyable to see the first five together.  I do remember the Walt Simonson run of the title fondly.

The Flash and Doctor Strange

Often Marvel movies will have subtle Easter eggs hinting at future projects, and there was clearly one unambiguous one in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  When a list of people that HYDRA considers to be a threat is mentioned, Stephen Strange is name-checked.  I am sure that is not something that was inserted lightly, so I consider it to be the first true confirmation of a Doctor Strange film, something I have heard rumored for years.  Now let's start hearing about some Directors and actors....

Quicksilver and The Reverse Flash

The mid-credits extra scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier gave us our first official look at Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch from the upcoming Avengers: The Age of Ultron, referred to by Baron Strucker as "the twins".  The quick glimpse we got of them was indeed a tease and did not show much.  Wanda was looking spaced out as she levitated some objects and Pietro was smacking himself against the sides of his cell at super speed.  It looked cool, but I really want to see what his speed abilities look like when he really gets room to move.  I am sure that Joss Whedon will come up with some cool visuals.

Stay tuned tomorrow for part three tomorrow!

Captain America and The Flash

Well, I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and I thought it was great.  I would put it right with Avengers and the first Iron Man as the best of the Marvel Films - and it may just be the best one, we'll see how it holds up to repeated viewings.  The action scenes were great and we finally saw the full extent of Cap's abilities. His relationship with Sam Wilson was a highlight of the film for me, and I loved every second of The Falcon in action. Black Widow and Nick Fury were had their best roles of their Marvel movie tenure here as well. Plus, the villains were all great - The Winter Soldier seemed as if he was ripped from the pages of the comic, Batroc actually came off looking cool, we got so see the evolution of Crossbones, Redford was great to see in a huge production again, and best of all (spoiler) - I loved the appearance of Arnim Zola, and how they pulled off such a crazy character from the comics.  I hope we see more of him.  After the disappointments of the last Thor and Iron Man films, Marvel has rebounded in a big way!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the second chapter of this 3-part epic!

Superman and Man-Thing

Superman's team ups with Swamp Thing in DC Comics Presents were cool issues (one co-starring Solomong Grundy and the other written by Alan Moore), so I think it might make for a fun tale to see him paired up with Marvel's resident muck-monster. For some reason I like the idea of them fighting side by side over some kind of battle between the two.

The Atom and The Micronauts

I was watching Toy Hunter on The Travel Channel the other day, and they came across some Micronauts.  It really brought me back to my youth.  I had Acroyear and my brother had Biotron, and we had others as well - those were some of the coolest action figures ever made.  Too bad they never had an animated tie-in - we might be watching live action Micronauts movies these days!

Cheech & Chong and Jay & Silent Bob

This was a suggestion in the comments section and and I just had to give it a shot.  I haven't revisited the Cheech and Chong films so I don't know how well they hold up, but I remember liking them as a kid.  I think it is cool that Kevin Smith has been able to take the characters that he and Jason Mewes played in his breakout film, Clerks, and spin them off into other genres.  Hmmm, maybe I should have thrown Bill & Ted in there as well.

Hawkgirl Vs. Hawkeye

I am looking forward to Jeremy Renner's return as Hawkeye in Avengers: The Age of Ultron.  He was sidelined for most of the first film, so Joss Whedon has promised to beef up his role the next time around.  Hopefully we will see some really cool trick arrows and some of the brash attitude he displays in the comics.

Wonder Woman and Thor

I think these two would be a natural for a story together.  They each come from an amazing hidden society where their parent is the ruler.  They are founding members of the greatest superhero teams on Earth where they are among the strongest members, due to their physical strength as well as their signature weapons.  It would be a blast to see them share an adventure.

The Atom and Puck

I was always usually one of the shorter guys in the crowd so I liked that both of these characters were able to dish out justice even if they weren't quite as tall as your usual superhero.  Of course Wolverine was known for his short stature as well, a point that was missed by Hollywood.  At least they haven't given the comic character a height increase to match him up more closely with Hugh Jackman.

Green Lantern and Captain America in "Picking a Bone with Al Capone"

I haven't even seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier yet, and I have already seen images of Chris Evans in costume for Cap's follow up appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron.  The shots are blurry and from a distance, but from what I can see, it is my favorite look yet - a good blending of the suit from the first film and the more modern one shown in commercials for the current movie.  Best of all, they fixed the wonky helmet from the first Avengers film - no more covered up ears!

These two first met in STF #372

The Punisher and Deathstroke

Deathstroke has successfully transitioned from a Teen Titans foe to a line-wide villain. It has been cool to see him mix it up with different heroes over the years.  I have been enjoying Manu Bennett's portrayal of Slade Wilson on Arrow.  He really depicts the menacing and single minded nature of the character well.