Green Arrow and Daredevil & Black Widow

Presenting the conclusion to yesterday's tale....

The one Marvel hero that I really want to cross over from the movies to Netflix is Black Widow.  I loved the era when she shared Daredevil's comic with him and think it would be very cool to see a live action version.

Green Arrow crossed paths with these two in STF #1666, and had a solo adventure with DD in STF #590...

Black Canary Vs. The Punisher

I was Glad to see Jon Bernthal's Punisher make an appearance at the end of the trailer for Netflix' upcoming Defenders series.  I can't wait to see all of the characters they have introduced on their shows meet and interact - having Frank Castle involved in some way will ensure that there will be plenty of conflict, even if they all have a common enemy.

This is only Part One of a Two-Part Epic, so make sure you come back tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion!

Spider-Man and Supergirl (The Movie!)

The movie Supergirl did not receive the critical acclaim of the first two Superman films, but there are some positive aspects to it.  Helen Slater was engaging as Supergirl and I quite like the opening twenty minutes or so (on the extended edition) before she gets to Earth.  Some of the flying sequences are really done well.  With less campy villains, more action in the third act and a proper appearance by Christopher Reeve, the film might have been a much larger hit.

Supergirl and Spidey once shared a more traditional comic adventure on the blog....

Deadman and Iron Man

With all the starts and stops in the DC movie plans, it was good to hear that Justice League Dark is still on the roster from news out of Comicon.  It will be great - and long overdue - to see Deadman in live action.  Meanwhile, on the Marvel side, the villains of the upcoming Captain Marvel will be The Skrulls, which opens up lots of possibilities.  Could one of the heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe secretly be a Skrull in disguise?  This might be a way to replace someone like Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Evans if they leave their roles.

Starfire and Storm

I am interested to see how Starfire will be portrayed on the upcoming Titans live action series.  There have been a lot of different characterizations in the comics and animation, and I hope that they strike the right balance.  She should be a little naive about Earth culture, but not to the point of coming off as an idiot.  She should be portrayed as a beautiful free spirit, but never as easy or slutty either. She has to know how to summon her warrior side as well.  George Perez and Marv Wolfman knew what they were doing, the producers need only to look at their take on the character.

The Ugly Bunch

Ever since Ban Grimm was transformed into a rock creature but maintained his heart, determination and humor as The Thing, I have always been attracted to non-human looking comic characters.  I think the fact that their appearances are so extreme allows readers of all kinds to somehow identify with them in a way they might not with a standard good-looking superhero. Plus, the just look really cool!

The formation of this team was gradual - Kilowog met Wonder Wart-Hog in STF #511... who then wete joined by Metamorpho and Warlock in the next issue...   Kilowog met Beta Ray Bill in STF #1059... and Death's Head joins them all this very issue!

Image Hosting Sites - Any Recommendations?

So, Photobucket, which hosts the images that I use on this blog, has changed its terms of service.  They will now only offer Third Party Hosting (which allows me to post images here) with their highest level membership.  Right now, I use their "Plus 20" plan, which is perfect for me - after seven years I am still using under 2% of my memory - and reasonable at $40/year.

But now they want me to upgrade to the "Plus 500" plan, which has 25 times more storage (which I will never use) at a cost of $400/year.  That's right, they are charging ten times more, or all the images disappear from the blog.  Thankfully, since I am on one of the "Plus" plans, my Third Party Hosting is grandfathered in until the end of my current subscription, several months away, so the blog is safe for now ( a lot of folks found out about this by waking up to find their websites ruined).

So, I am asking af anyone knows of any other image hosting sites out there that are more reasonable. I don't really want to have to re-post 2500 images, but I hate having to give in to Photobucket's ransomware, either, so i would be nice to have other options.

Robotman Vs. The Wrecking Crew

The New Thor: Ragnarok trailer gave us our best look yet at Hela and The Executioner, and they look great alongside Valkyrie, Loki, the Grandmaster and Surtur.  Part of me still longs to see Thor's more Earth-bound antagonists, The Wreckng Crew.  Their enchanted weapons and numbers make them a threat to the Thunder God, and their personalities and motivations are decidedly different from the foes he has face thus far on the big screen.  I don't know if a fourth Thor movie will even happen, but if it does, I hope they get their chance.

Legion of Super-Heroes Vs. M.O.D.O.K.

With the popularity of franchises like Harry Potter, Divergent and The Hunger Games, I am surprised DC has not attempted a live action Legion of Superheroes movie or TV series.  Teenagers with amazing abilities and powers seem to be all the rage these days.  Perhaps they are too expensive for a TV budget and the movie side wants to perfect their Superman before presenting any spin offs.

Justice League of America and Justice Machine

The new Justice League trailer has been released and it looks like they are addressing a lot of the issues that folks have had with DCEU films up until Wonder Woman.  It definitely has a lighter tone and brighter visual palette.  I am still not sold on the Flash costume, but the rest look pretty good to me.  The action looks amazing, hopefully they will have a solid story to give it all heart and meaning.

Machine Man Vs. Plastic Man

One is a man that behaves like a cartoon and the other is a machine that acts like a man, definitely an odd couple, but I think it would be a kick to see them interacting with one another.  I was interested to see Plastic Man featured as an upcoming member in promotional art for a new Outsiders series that someone snapped at Comicon.  Not only because he will be teammates with the similarly powered Metamorpho, but because he was sporting a new costume.  I didn't know he could do that, he's had the same look for decades.

Aquaman & Mera and Stingray

Images of Amber Heard as Mera from Justice League and Aquaman have surfaced, and she looks just about perfect.  Jason Mamoa's Aquaman second costume has bees seen as well, and it's looking pretty cool too, closer to the classic orange and green look.  I can't wait to see them in action, especially Mera using her water-controlling abilities.

Stingray had a solo adventure with Aquaman in STF #1612, and they are both members of The Agents of the Abyss... He also had a solo outing with Mera in STF #856...

Green Arrow and Green Hornet in: "Hunting the Hatter!"

The second, villainous Richard Dragon is rumored to be the main antagonist for the upcoming season of Arrow, and It will be interesting to see how that plays out if true.  Sinde Adrian Chase was revealed to be Prometheus, and not Vigilante, like in the comics, that character is still in play, and I hope we see more of him as well (and eventually learn his true identity)

Green Arrow and Green Hornet first met in a back up story in STF #500, and later shared and adventure in STF #772...

Challengers of the Unknown and Mister Fantastic

No offense to Sue, Ben and Johnny, but I think that this is a team much more suited to Reed Richards' personality than the FF.  He always considered himself more of an explorer than a superhero, anyway.   Family is important to him, but maybe he would be a more effective leader if he didn't always have to worry about putting them into jeopardy at work.

Ghost Rider and Tintin

I spoke of Stephen Spielberg yesterday, and it reminded me that we haven't heard of any movement on a sequel to Tintin, which is too bad.  I had understood that Peter Jackson would be directing the second installment, with Spielberg and Jackson collaborating on a third, but I haven't read any updates in a long time.  I hope there are more to come though, I love the Tintin books and the first film was a great representation.

Green Lantern Corps and The Hulk

I have always wondered why Stephen Spielberg never tried his hand at a superhero movie,  He's worked in so many other genres, isn't against directing adapted material and is a master of using special effects to their best potential, so I think he would be a great fit.  The upcoming Green Lantern Corps film would be a perfect project for his amazing talents.

The Hulk has Crossed Paths with Green Lantern Before - They first met in STF #108...  Green Arrow was along for the ride in STF #919... She-Hulk and Kilwog joined them in STF #759...  and their evil personas clashed in STF #1681...

Batman is Captain Universe

I understand that Matt Reeves has decided to not use the Ben Affleck/Geoff Johns script for his upcoming batman movie, and go in a new direction.  This film has had so many starts and stops, I hope all goes well once it finally gets rolling.  I do like that he says that he intends to focus on the detective aspects of the character, something that I feel has been underused in Batman's cinematic outings thus far.  Reeves is getting strong reviews for War for the Planet of the Apes, so that's a good sign as well.

Kamandi and Agents of Atlas

I really enjoyed Agents of Atlas, in the Marvel Universe, but I haven't seen them used in years.  With the casting of Randall Park as Jimmy Woo in the upcoming Ant-Man and The Wasp, though, I have some hope that they will return.  Having Agent Woo in the mix opens the door for the rest of the Agents of Atlas to appear in the movies down the line - and there's no faster way for Marvel to raise your profile in the comics than to be portrayed on the big screen.

Power Girl and Valkyrie

I'd love to see these two heroines share an adventure together.  While they have the power of characters like Superman and Thor, their personalities  are decidedly different.  Impulsive, quick tempered and ready to battle at a moments notice, they are also loyal to their allies until the bitter end. I'm not sure if they would find fast friends in one another or if they would clash, but it would be a fun read.

Cyborg Vs. Ultron in : Murderous Malware!"

Watching how emotive Spidey's mask was in Spider-Man: Homecoming, I wish something similar had been done with Ultron in the last Avengers film.  The design of his face to allow for James Spader's expressions to come through was a letdown for me.  I like that the iconic design was used for his robot army, but I wanted to see it on the main villain himself!

These Two first clashed in STF #1747...

The Cat Vs. Cheetah

New rumors are stating that the Wonder Woman sequel will be a Cold War adventure, set in the 1980's.  This is an interesting way to go.  I do hope that it doesn't rule out the possibility of her most iconic foe, Cheetah, showing up in a major way.  I'd love to finally see Barbara Minerva as a live action antagonist.

The Cat and Cheetah first tangled in STF #633...

Calvin & Hobbes Exit The House of Mystery

My father never really understood my fascination with comics growing up, but comic strips were another thing.  He enjoyed strips like For Better or For Worse, Robotman, Mother Goose and Grimm and especially Calvin and Hobbes.  It was nice to have  something that we could both enjoy despite the difference in our ages.  And hey, now that I am showing him and my Mom my favorite superhero flicks for movie nights, he's even coming around to what I loved about comic books.

The Defenders and Death

Over the years, there has been talk of getting an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's groundbreaking Sandman series, or at least a film focusing on Death of The Endless.  So far, though,  nothing has materialized yet.  The sprawling Sandman epic is understandably very tough to translate into a movie (they really should try for a TV series to fit everything in), but I still feel that Death: The High Cost of Living could make for a very cool flick.

Captain America and The Teen Titans

It's interesting to note that Speedy made it to animation years before Green Arrow did.  The battling bowman made his one and only appearance on The Super Friends in a 1973 episode.  His sidekick beat him to the punch though, appearing as one of the Teen Titans in 3 back up features for the Superman/Aquaman Hour, which ran from 1967 to 1968 .

Hawkman and Nova

The Nova Corps have been established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe through the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, so I am hoping that we'll get to see Richard Rider on the big screen in the future.  A film where Rider is already an established hero and has to show newcomer Sam Alexander the ropes would be a cool way to go.

Green Lantern and Dr. Who

I was expecting to see Dr. Who regenerate into another form by the end of last week's season finale, since Peter Capaldi is sadly leaving the role, but surprisingly it did not happen.  After refusing to regenerate, we are left with a cliffhanger as the first Doctor showed up mysteriously.  On top of that, the current Companion, Bill, seems to have been written out of the show as well - which is too bad, I liked her a lot.  I guess we will have to wait until the next Christmas Special to see what's in store for the future.

Iron Man and The Outsiders

I enjoyed The Outsiders on their own, but they never seemed to work as well for me as a team without Batman leading them.  Later incarnations had Nightwing and others out in front, which was OK, but none of them had any real staying power.  This was one group that had the perfect line up from their incarnation, it's too bad the original crew didn't stay together longer.

Red Wolf and Jonah Hex in: "Home of the Brave!"

It was cool to see Jonah Hex show up on Justice League Action this week.  The show has really grown on me, and I love the odd character combinations that they come up with for each episode.  In addition to Hex, this week featured Batman, Cyborg and Space Cabby battling Kanjar Ro!  I still wish the show was longer, but as long as they keep up these kind of offbeat team-ups, I'll keep watching.

Hex and Red Wolf first met in STF #1641...

Captain America and Hourman

It looks as though Sam Wilson is returning to his Falcon identity in the comics, leading the path clear for Steve Rogers to once again assume the mantle once this huge "Cap as a sleeper Hydra Agent" Secret Empire event is completed.  It will be nice to see him restored to the title.  I don't mind storylines like this, they happened when I was a kid as well - the difference is, they would only take an issue or two to play out, not 12-18 months, as is the norm these days.

ROM and Starman

I have enjoyed all of DC's different incarnations of Starman, and the Prince Gavyn version was one of my favorites.  As far as I know, there's no hero currently using the title in the DCU (although there is Stargirl, who currently wields the Cosmic Rod), but that could change with the return of the original JSA.  I can't imagine they will want to leave such an iconic name on the shelf for too long.

Man-Bat and Spider-Man in: "Carrion, My Wayward Son!"

Spider-Man: Homecoming is almost upon us, and I am very encouraged by the reviews I have seen thus far.  Many ar calling it the best Spidey flick yet, at least on par with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, which is high praise.  Tom Holland is being singled out as a highlight and I am looking forward to seeing him flesh out his take on Peter Parker.

Man-Bat and Spider-Man First Crossed Paths in STF #111...

Halo and Firestar

I never quite figured out why Firestar was Anjelica Jones on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends when I was a kid.  From what I saw, she looked identical to John Romita Sr's Mary Jane Watson.  Was there a last-minute change or was the similarity in appearance just a coincidence?  At any rate, I am glad they chose not to give the comic book version of MJ any super powers (although they have come close a few times).