Teen Titans Vs. The Green Goblin

 

One cool thing about the persistent rumors of previous Spider-Man franchise movie villains returning for Spider-Man: No Way Home, is that we will most likely get to see upgraded looks for all of them.  I really hope that Willem DaFoe's Green Goblin makes an appearance.  He was perfect in the role, but I always felt they could have done a better job with his costume.  The unmoving helmet hindered his performance and there wasn't any purple in there!

Thank you to Dave Anderson for suggesting this match up!

The Phantom and Swamp Thing

 

With his connection to The Green, Swamp Thing can appear virtually anywhere on Earth.  I figure some sort of environmental crisis in Bengali could draw him to The Phantom's home. Will he be mistaken for being the cause of the country's troubles?  Where does the story go from there?  The answers are just 60 cents away!

Ghost Rider and Doctor Fate in: "Grudge Match!"

 

Black Adam has completed shooting, so hopefully we will start seeing some promotional material for it, at least as far as to how all the characters will look in the film.  I have a feeling that there may be some special effects that go into bringing Doctor Fate to life, so it may still be a while before we see how he will be visualized.

This rivalry started a while ago.  The imprisonment that Ghost Rider speaks of here took place way back in STF #233. Dr. Fate didn't get along much better with Danny Ketch in STF #2391...

A Shout Out from Back Issue!

 What a thrill to be paging through the latest issue of the greatest comic collecting magazine ever, Back Issue (issue #129)  and seeing this blog receive a kind mention from Editor Michael Eury!  I was having a frustrating morning and this suddenly made it a great day!  Make sure you check out Back Issue and all the awesome comics related books and magazines they have to offer at TwoMorrows Publishing!

Steel Vs. Magneto

 

I've been quite enjoying Superman and Lois on the CW, it's a step above their usual superhero fare.  One of the more pleasant surprises has been the inclusion of John Henry Irons.  I've been waiting for years for someone besides Shaquille O'Neal to bring the character to life, and this interpretation does not disappoint.  While he does operate in a suit of armor, he still isn't fully Steel yet on the show.  Hopefully future episodes will show that journey.

Moon Knight and The Elongated Man in: "Don't Deny the Reaper!"

 

This marks the 10th appearance of The MK/EM Team...

Moon Knight is one upcoming Disney+ series that I really have no idea about what it is going to be like.  There have been so many different takes on the hero in the comics that it's hard to say what angle they will go with.  Oscar Isaac is a great actor (he was my pick to play Hawkman), so I am sure he is up to whatever is asked of him in the role.  Ethan Hawke is set to play the main antagonist, but it hasn't been announced just which villain that will be, so I don't know what to expect there either.  Hopefully we'll get more of an idea as to how the series will take shape soon.

Orion and Machine Man

 

I've finally gotten around to watching Game of Thrones, and all of the castles, battles and family drama have me convinced that maybe a New Gods HBO Max series would be the way to go.  A movie would be cool, but so much of the story would have to be glossed over or left out completely even with a long running time.  A nice ten episode run would allow for Jack Kirby's characters and concepts to really shine.

Robin in The Marvel Universe

 

Loki was a fun series on Disney+.  I actually think it could haven been tightened up a bit, there was a lot of talking between the scattered action scenes.  Still, it was always interesting to see Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson interacting with one another.  My favorite episode was the one with all of the multiple Lokis, including Alligator Loki and Richard E. Grant doing a wonderful take on Classic Loki.  Plus we got to see cameos by Throg and the Thanos Copter!  The final episode with Jonathan Majors chewing the scenery was an intriguing introduction to Kang, but I am looking forward to Majors' take on a more sinister variant of the villain in future appearances.  The series didn't wrap up as neatly as I was expecting, but that's no big surprise since there is a season two on the way.

Animal Man and Roger Rabbit

This cover poses an interesting question - would Buddy Baker be able to mimic the abilities of a toon?  I don't know if his powers extend that far, but it would be fun to find out!

 

The Avengers and Captain Marvel (Vs. Sivana!)

 

A lot of people loved Mark Strong as Sivana in the Shazam! movie.  While he made an effective villain, he seemed more like Lex Luthor with a scar on his eye to me.  I missed the short, ugly, maniacal classic Sivana from the comics.  I mean, he didn't even call Cap the "big red cheese" once!

The Avengers previously met Captain Marvel back in STF #259, and clashed with the whole Marvel Family in STF #1518...

The Atom and He-Man

 

Sword of the Atom was an interesting turn in the life of Ray Palmer.  On one hand, the mini-series seemed like a 90-degree change in the types of tales I was used to reading about the Mighty Mite, but on the other, it was illustrated by classic Atom artist Gil Kane, lending it an extra layer of legitimacy.  

I am always happy to use the artwork of the amazing Ron Wilson, who did the He-Man image here.  I was lucky enough to pick up a page penciled and inked by him several years ago:

Union Jack and Green Lantern

 I put these two characters together because in my opinion they are two of the coolest looking World War II superheroes.  Green Lantern mixes green, red, brown and purple and somehow makes it work.  I've seen a few different costumes based on the British flag, but Union Jack's is the most effective. They do look pretty sharp fighting side by side.

Batman Vs. Carnage

 

I love the casting of Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady in Venom: There Will Be Carnage.  The first movie had the usually nuanced actor Tom Hardy chewing the scenery, so I can only imagine what Harrelson will do with his performance considering the fact that Carnage has an even more over the top personality than Venom does.  Throw in director Andy Serkis, known to be quite the risk taker in performances himself, and you have the recipe for a fun, crazy flick!

Metamorpho and Speed Racer in: "A Double Date in Daytona!"

 

He may have permanent C-Lister status, but Metamorpho has always been at or near the top of my favorite superhero list (It shifts from time to time but usually includes Batman, The Thing, The Spectre, Elongated Man, The Beast, Deadman, Spider-Man and of course, Rex Mason).  His appearance and power set have kept him from ever making a live action appearance, but I have to believe that movie magic both practical and CGI is at a place where it would be possible to convincingly bring him to live action.  If there's concern about his marketability, then just make a Batman and the Outsiders movie!

Metamorpho and Speed Racer first met in STF 1946...

Justice League of America and The Falcon

 

Now that Sam Wilson is the official Captain America of the MCU, it has been announced that his story will continue in a new movie.  Marvel seems to have a lot on their plate and are only just now getting to some of the movies and shows that were pushed back by the pandemic, so it's probably going to be a while before we hear anything more about that project, though.  If the action is as good as in the final episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it should be a fun movie whenever it comes out.

Black Canary and Mantis

 

Mantis is the comics is an incredible martial artist - I'd like to see that a little more in the movies.  Maybe in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.  the MCU version will have picked up some new moves.  I have to admit though, I got a kick out of seeing Pom Klementieff posing like a praying mantis as she went into battle.

Black Canary here is by Trevor Von Eeden and Vince Colletta.  Von Eeden's work is always great, and in my opinion his Green Arrow is the best that character has ever looked.  I was lucky to be able to pick up a World's Finest page featuring a Von Eeden emerald archer many years back:

Green Goblin Vs. Catwoman

 

The last episode of Loki featured the rebirth of the Marvel Multiverse, leading into the upcoming Doctor Strange and Spider-Man sequels. Not a huge surprise, as one of those has Multiverse in the title and the other has been long rumored to include characters from previous Fox Spider-Man movies.  Will Willem Dafoe return as the Green Goblin?  He's made some coy comments, but I haven't read anything concrete about his inclusion.  Hopefully a teaser trailer will be released soon and we can get an official idea as to exactly what  multiversal shenanigans will be be going on.

Legion of Super-Heroes and Eternity

 

The Marvel Universe has some truly powerful and mind blowing characters - Galactus, The Supreme Intelligence and so on.  I think one of the most amazing concepts has to be Eternity.  The leader of the abstract entities known as the Cosmic Powers of the Marvel Universe is basically the living embodiment of all that exists.  That something so great in scale could actually have conversations and interact with other characters always seemed a little far fetched and crazy - in a good way!  When comics think big, they think really big, and this is one part of the MCU that I always thought was cool, even if it didn't make a lot of sense to me.

Adam Strange and Star Trek in: "The Rann-Romulus War!"

 

It's too bad plans for a 4th Star Trek movie with the new crew fell apart.  The rumored plot had Chris Hemsworth returning as Kirk's father in a time travel tale, which sounds like it could have been a lot of fun.  Reportedly, actor's salaries and schedules got in the way, not to mention the tragic passing of a cast member and script disagreements.  There may be a chance that the project starts up again, but I think maybe that starship has sailed.

Adam shared and animated adventure with the crew of The Enterprise in STF #2056...

The Spectre and The Silver Surfer

 

 

With Marvel getting ready to introduce The Fantastic Four and their roster of related characters and HBO Max looking to explore the Justice league Dark side of the DCU, I wonder which of these two we will see in a movie first?  The Surfer was one aspect that the Fox FF movies got right, so Marvel is probably thinking of a way not to repeat his previous introduction - I still think a solo movie might be the way to go.  The Spectre kind of had a cameo on the short lived Constantine series, but he truly has not made a proper live action debut.  Frankly, my preference would be for him to get his own feature as well!

These two previously met in STF #2600...

Deadman and The Watcher

 

Marvel has released the trailer to its next Disney+ Show - What If?  While the animation style will take a little getting used to, the stories it promises to tell sound like a lot of fun.  There are Tony Stark meeting Erik Killmonger, T'Challa becoming Starlord, Agent Carter taking on Captain America's shield, Marvel Zombies and more - we even saw Howard the Duck in there.  Jeffrey Wright has a great voice for The Watcher, hopefully he'll get to play the character in live action eventually as well.

All-Star Squadron and Sub-Mariner in: "Target: Namor!"

I still hope that we'll see Namor with the classic green speedo look when he make his debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but I'm guessing that he will mostly wear something closer to the costume above - which I always thought was pretty cool as well.  

Sub-Mariner first faced of against The Squadron in STF #890...  He also share a couple of more cooperative adventures with the Golden Age Hawkman, first in STF #208, and later in STF #1896...

Blue Beetles and The Beatles

 

looking back at the career of The Beatles, it surprises me that they were together as a band for only just about a decade.  It feels like it should be more, given their impact on rock & roll music.  Maybe that's because their sound evolved with each new album.  Their constant innovation had to be an inspiration to bands that followed.

Spider-Man and Starman in: "Storming the Spider-Guild!"

 

Black Widow will be released at long last today. I've heard only middling reviews so it might be one Marvel film that I wait a couple of months to see when it hits Disney+ for free.  One thing I am very curious about is if the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer will run in front of it, as has been rumored.  I have been trying to avoid spoilers for that upcoming film, but I'll definitely want to see the first official footage from it.  I guess we will find out whether it makes its debut soon!

Spider-Man met the original Starman in STF #1479...

Power Girl and Power Man in: "Fire in the Night!"

 

As cool as it will be to see what looks to be a variant Supergirl that may be Superman's daughter in The Flash, it does seem like another missed opportunity to at long last bring Power Girl to live action.  They've avoided using her on the WB TV Supergirl show, and she is nowhere to be seen in the DCEU.  When will Karen Starr finally get her shot? 

This marks the 11th appearance of The Power Couple on this blog...

Captain America and The Seven Soldiers of Victory

 

I'm looking forward to the new season of Stargirl.  The trailer teased Jade, Jakeem Thunder & T-Bolt and the Shade, I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes.  I hope that we will learn more about the exploits of the original Seven Soldiers of Victory, and that Sir Justin will suit up for some present day action.

Wonder Woman and Black Fury

 

When, Mr. V, a patron of this blog, suggested this team up, I had to look up Black Fury - then I saw the connection.  He was known as The Wonder Horse, a wild stallion that traveled around and got into adventures.  Sounds like a fun idea for a series. Thanks, Mr. V!

Expansion Team in: "Who Killed Stretch Armstrong?"

 

I've had more than one request for this group to meet Stretch Armstrong... sadly it looks like it's not for an initiation issue!

This is the fifth appearance of The Expansion Team - Their cartoon series debuted in STF #3130,  Elastigirl joined the team in STF #2130, they battled the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man in STF #1490, and first got together back in STF #934...

Superman's Pal, Jonny Quest

 

I am happy to combine the artwork of two greats for this cover.  Doug Wildey is an artist that I was aware of, but began to truly appreciate when looking for Jonny Quest images for this blog.  I have been a huge Steve Rude fan for many years.  So  much so, that I commissioned three sketches from him, and purchased up a page of his from Spider-Man: Lifeline:

Robin and Tigra

 There have been rumors that a Nightwing movie is not off the table.  It seems odd to me not to have a Robin first that graduates into being Nightwing, but Warner Bros seems to like jumping around in DC continuity, so I'm not that surprised that they would skip that chapter of Dick Grayson's journey.  We'll see if anything develops beyond the talking stages.

Fantastic Four and The Demon

 

The Demon felt a lot like a Marvel character to me, so it's not hard to imagine a story like this taking place in the first few years of The Fantastic Four.  It would have been a thing of beauty to see Kirby illustrate and co-plot such a tale with Stan Lee providing dialogue for Etrigan!

The Super Friends meet Dynomutt

 

My heart would have skipped a beat if I had seen this team up on TV back in the 70's.  I know that Dynomutt and Blue Falcon were somewhat more comedic spins on superheroes, but I tool them very seriously as a kid.  They fell under the Hanna-Barbera umbrella so this crossover could have been done.  DC's done a bunch of comic books teaming their roster of heroes with the HB characters, but I haven't seen this one yet.