Spy Smasher and The Black Widow

 

This is a pairing that I have meant to get to for a while.  There was a bit of prep work required before I could add in Spy Smasher, though - here's a look at the behind the scenes progress: 

Man-Bat and Captain America

 

James Gunn's DCU seems to be the place for Batman's more outlandish villains and allies to appear.  We already have Dr. Phosphorous in Creature Commandos and a solo Clayface movie is in the works as well.  I really hope that Man-Bat will finally get his live action debut in a DCU project down the line.

Shazzan and The Thing

 I remember seeing The Fantastic Four sharing the opening credits with Shazzan and other characters on Hanna Barbera's World of Super Adventure, and wishing that they could actually cross over with them in one of the actual cartoons.  The above pairing would have been at the top of my list to see - but just what do you think Ben Grimm would make a wish for?

Hawkman and Spitfire

 

I always liked the cloth mask that the Earth-2 Hawkman wore for a time.  In those days of the yearly JLA/JSA crossovers, it was nice to help this young reader discern the difference between the earth 1 and 2 versions!  Plus, it looked cool in a retro way.

Wonder Woman and Professor X

 

Wonder Woman was born with her abilities, far beyond those even of the mighty Amazons.  Would that make her a mutant, or does the fact that she was made from clay preclude that?  Perhaps The Sentinels are on Themyscira for another reason?  I'd have to at least flip through this one at the comics' rack.

Man-Thing and Hawk & Dove

 

I wonder which of these brothers would get along better with Man-Thing?  Hank shows less outward fear than Don does, but he is also a lot more aggressive.  Their interactions would be fun to watch play out.

Firestorm and The Beast

 

Two of my favorite heroes duking it out with demons for 22 pages would be enough incentive for me to pick up this issue.  Ronnie Raymond works well with intellectual types like Hank McCoy, so I see this as a winning combination.

The Roustabouts (Vs. Arcade!)

 

For the fifth appearance of The Roustabouts, I figured that it was time for an entire team free for all.  Who better to turn this team of circus heroes against one another than Arcade?

Doctor Fate and Clea

 

This cover was tricky to create, as I could not find a text-free version of the Amethyst cover that I wanted to use. Here's a look a the behind the scenes progress: 

Spider-Man and Mr. A

This is another pairing that has been long overdue.  I never read too much of Mr. A, but I was intrigued by his rigid take on life and crime. It would have been interesting to see him confront the wall-crawler, especially if such a meeting was depicted by Steve Ditko.

 

Green Arrow Vs. The Kingpin

 

I'm looking forward to Vincent D'Onofrio's return as Wilson Fisk in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again Disney+ series. That series has undergone a lot of ups and downs, with lots of rewrites and major reshoots - let's hope the final product is on par with the first couple of seasons of the Netflix series.

Dick Tracy Vs. Two-Face

Harvey Dent is of course referring here to the events of STF #2497, where Tracy got the jump on a group of Bat-Villains. Let's see how things work out in a one-on-one confrontation, something that I am guessing they would both prefer for their own reasons.

Black Goliath and Aquaman

 

Black Goliath's costume screams 70's superhero fashion.  Most of the choices would seem crazy today, But I always kind of liked it.  I enjoyed how he kind of seemed to be daring his opponents to punch him in the gut, that showed confidence!

Aurora and Rose & The Thorn

 

These two have each had struggles with multiple personalities, which directly impacted their heroic careers.  It would definitely be interesting to see them share an adventure where they could compare notes.

Darth Vader Vs. Dreadstar

 

Whenever I saw that glowing sword of Dreadstar's, it always kind of reminded me of a Light Saber.  His sword grants him all kinds of special abilities, but how would it fare against the fabled Jedi weapon?  I'd say that it is time to find out!

7 Soldiers of Victory and The Defenders

 

Uh oh! Mr. Universe is back for his 4th appearance and he looks more powerful than ever!  Let's hope the combined might of these two super-teams is enough to put him down for good!

Harley Quinn, Doc Samson and Moonstone

 

Harley Quinn has encountered Doc Samson before on this blog - they first met in STF #1216 and then crossed paths again in STF #2221.  Harley also squared off against Moonstone in STF #3122.  I thought it was time to get all of them together.

Human Torch Vs. Enemy Ace / Unknown Soldier and Miss America

 

With recent rumors of a Sgt. Rock movie featuring Daniel Craig making the rounds, I wonder what other DC Comics' war stars could be featured in such a project.  I'd love to See The Unknown Soldier or Mademoiselle Marie show up, but I'd be satisfied with the rest of Easy Company.  Let's hope this film comes to fruition rather than fade away like the Stephen Spielberg Blackhawk movie plans from a few years ago.

Metal Men and Ultron in: "Indecent Restoration!"

 

This is The Metal Men's third run-in with Ultron.  He was last seen trying to make them his slaves in STF #3466, and they first met when he was after Doc magnus in STF #1836. Can they dare to trust him now?

Devil Dinosaur and Hellboy

 

A big red bruiser with a tail?  Something tells me that Hellboy would feel a bit of kinship with Devil Dinosaur. It would be a hoot to see them share an adventure together.

Daredevil and Black Widow Vs. The Rogues

 How would DD and The Widow fare against a half-dozen of The Flash's greatest adversaries?  This is an Acts of Vengeance style crossover battle that I would have loved to have seen. 

Star Trek Vs. Kang

 

With all of the time travel shenanigans that take place in Star Trek, it's only natural that the crew of The Enterprise would cross paths with Kang the Conquerer.  This would be a confrontation for the ages - literally!

Blade and Blue Devil

 

I can see Blade taking a look at Dan Cassidy's fangs and being a bit suspicious.  It might be fun to see these two share an adventure.  They are both used to dealing with the supernatural, but go at it with completely different attitudes.

Moon Knight and Elongated Man (The Animated Series!)

 

The 14th appearance of the MK/EM Team already?  I'd say this pairing is ready for their cartoon debut!  After all, while both characters have shown up as cameos on different animated shows, neither has really had a chance to shine in that format yet.

Deadman and Man-Thing

 

There's definitely a cool moody mystery tale that could be told with these two. Deadman has been rumored to be in the works for inclusion in the DCU, and I hope to hear more on that soon.  I enjoyed Man-Thing's MCU introduction and hope that we have not seen the last of him there.

Iron Man Vs. Brainiac

 

I am thankful today for all of the visitors to this blog who have sent feedback, comments and suggestions, and I hope that all are having a wonderful day today.  

This is another match up that has been long overdue on this blog.  The intellect of Tony Stark up against the AI evil of Brainiac seems like a natural. Let's hope his run-ins with Ultron have taught the Armored  Avenger a few tricks to use here.

Squadron Supreme Vs. The Anti-Monitor

 

Something tells me that if there were to be a crisis in the Marvel Multiverse, it would star with the Squadron Supreme's Earth. It would be interesting to see if they would have fared any better against the Anti-Monitor's forces than DC's Crime Syndicate did.

Ms. Marvel and Supergirl in: "The Doomsday/Destroyer War!"

 

For the 17th Appearance of The Danvers Twins on this blog, I thought that I would put them up against two of the toughest bruisers in comics. I'm thinking that and action packed issue like this one would have to include some epic splash pages and at least one double page spread.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Spider-Man

 

I mean, they all make New York City their home base of operations, it would only be a matter of time before they ran into each other.  Not that NYC is where this particular story takes place!

Icon Vs. Thanos

 Not only is Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU, now there are rumors that Thanos is poised to make a reappearance in one of the upcoming Avengers sequels.  It's all in the execution, but I do think that repeated attempts to go back to the well of what has worked before can look a bit desperate.  Let's hope that care is taken if this rumor should pan out.

Moon Knight and Starman

 

I'm kind of surprised I haven't had these two meet before, given their names.  The toughest part of this cover was extending Moon knight's Cape.  Here's a look behind the scenes.

Batman Vs. Rambo

 

It would be cool to see these two cinema icons face off.  Both of them are determined, resourceful fighters.  There is of course a difference in opinion regarding the use of firearms.  It would be an explosive movie, to be sure.

Spider-Woman and Vigilante

 

I mainly like seeing these two together because they have a couple of my favorite costumes.  I think there could be an interesting story involving them both, though.  It might be a strained working relationship, but it would be fun to watch play out.

Animal Man Vs. Werewolf By Night

 

Would Animal Man be able to take on the properties of a werewolf?  If so, what kind of effect would that have on his psyche?  It might be interesting to find out!

Ant-Man and The Wasp Vs. Dex-Starr

 

Ant-Man and The Wasp received their Power Rings in STF #3993, and I thought it was time to send them on a mission. What better Green Lantern to join them than the diminutive yet daring Xax?  Let's hope they can keep one step ahead of the ferocious feline Red Lantern!

Superman and Ghostbusters

 

Seeing Ghostbusters and Superman II in the theater as a kid are two of my favorite movie memories. I wanted to find a way to combine those two franchises and the using Phantom Zone villains seemed like the way to do it.

OMAC and Sgt. Fury

 

This is an example of a cover where I had an image that I wanted to use, but which needed to be cleaned up first.  sometimes I can't get a nice clean digital image and elements of the page behind it bleed through, so I have to get to work.  Here's a look at the behind the scenes progress:

Justice League of America Vs. Marvel Villains

 

For this Anniversary Issues, I thought I would go for a full issue throwdown between DC's brightest and Marvel's most vile.  You see the match ups here - do the world's greatest super-heroes stand a chance?

The Punisher Vs. Nexus

 

This is another cover that looks relatively simple, but required a bit of prep work.  I had to remove and replace Nexus's targets prior to adding Frank Castle in.  Here is a look at the behind the scenes progress:

Coming Tomorrow:  STF #4600!

Ms. Marvel and Plastic Man

 

I thought it would be fun to have the original stretching hero cross paths with one of the newer kids on the block.  It might be interesting to see Plas in a mentor role.  He's been given a son in the comics, but that's still a side of him that we haven't seen enough of.

Doctor Fate Vs. Dormammu

 

This cover required a bit of background extension and repair before I could add in Dr. Fate and the JLA Satellite.  Here's a look at the behind the scenes progress:

Hawkman and The Spirit

 

I have mentioned before on this blog that my favorite cover artists for Marvel and DC are Gil Kane and Nick Cardy, respectively.  If you were to ask me who my favorite cover artist for non-Marvel and DC titles, it would have to be Will Eisner.  His cover scenes were filled with mood, action and great character design.  Plus, his utilization of text and logos as part of the art always made them special.

Steel and Captain America

 

This is another team up that I feel has been long overdue.  I can see these two working very well together. I just cut the cord, so I will have to wait to watch the final episodes of Superman and Lois when they show up on Max, but I am hoping for at least one more big action sequence from Steel.

Adam Strange and the Inhumans in: "Tomorrow's Terror... Today!"

 

There's a little too much light pollution where I live, so I don't pull out my telescope to use very often.  When I do, I like to check out Jupiter or Saturn if I can, and looking close up at the Moon is always cool.  It makes me think about the dark side which never faces us - who's to say there isn't a Blue Area over there, just waiting for a team of heroes to call it it their home base?

Adam Strange first met The Inhumans in STF #4372...