Cannonball and Stargirl

 

The dating scene these days can seem as daunting as taking on a super-villain, that's for sure.  Let's hope these two young heroes can navigate it without too much heartbreak.

Justice League of America and Captain America

 

Captain America first encountered the JLA way back in STF #250..., an early MS Paint effort.  It looks like his investigation there took a dark turn, leading to this long-overdue sequel!

Clark Kent and The Watcher

 

I remember being amused that there were sometimes back-up stories featuring "The Private Life of Clark Kent!"  I guess Superman was so popular that not only his supporting cast but also his non-costumed secret identity got to have solo features.  The stories were fun though, and the writers were usually able to sneak some super-heroics in there despite Clark remaining in civilian clothes.

Hawk & Dove and Spider-Woman

 

I've been hoping to see a live action Spider-Woman for years.  I thought that the upcoming Madame Web movie might fulfill that wish.  The first trailer for the Sony movie has dropped, and there are no shortage of spider-powered women in there.  I'm nor sure if any of them are Jessica Drew, though.  I guess we'll have to keep on waiting.

Captain America and Karate Kid

 Concluding this three-part epic, we now see why Cap had to seek out the LSH's greatest combatant.  I remember as a kid thinking it was odd that out of all the Legionnaires, Karate Kid was the first to have his own solo title.  I guess DC was trying to cash in on the martial arts craze in the 70's and just used whoever they had that fit the bill.

Nova and The Creeper

 

I recently saw a request to pair these two together due to them having similar last names.  The names are only phonetically the same, but I thought it would still be cool to see them in an adventure side by side. Add in one malicious mechanical menace and a story starts to form...

Spider-Man Vs. The Joker in: "Who's Laughing Now?"

 

I thought that I would do a follow up to the first Spidey/Joker back in STF #3917.  I wondered there how The Joker would react to a hero that's even better at wisecracking than he is.  Well, maybe he would lean into it and try to make a protégé out of Peter... which leads us to this cover.

The Shroud Vs. Doctor Light

 

The Shroud seemed like another Marvel Batman knock off to me when he first appeared, but he has managed to carve out his own identity.  I always enjoy the concept of a hero embedding himself with villains and biding their time for the perfect time to strike.  I've lost track of him recently, The last time I remember reading about him he was a little off his rocker in the pages of Daredevil.

Demon and Power Man & Iron Fist

 

Power Man and Iron Fist outfits from the 70's and 80's may seem silly and dated to some, but since those were the looks they had when I was discovering comics, I'll always like them.  I hope that when the Heroes for Hire show up in the MCU, they'll at least have a nod to their classic appearances.  They looked fine on the Neflix shows, but I think they could have been a little more comics accurate.

Sub-Mariner and Arion: Lord of Atlantis

 

The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever teaser trailer was released at Comicon, and it looks great - I have every confidence that director Ryan Coogler will deliver another impressive movie.  My only complaint is how Namor looks.  I get the switch from an Atlantean aesthetic to an ancient Mayan one, to differentiate the character from Aquaman - but where is the signature haircut?  What's up with the full beard and mustache and the big distracting peg through his nose?  Other than pointy ears, they made no attempt to have Tenoch Huerta look anything like the classic comic character. First we get a bald Black Adam and now this - even Iron Man has never had his classic widows' peak helmet design! Hollywood really must not like that look.

This cover comes about from a suggestion by Brian C., a Patron of this blog.  Thanks Brian!

Chaselon Vs. The Hulk

 

The Green Lantern movie was such a disappointment that Warner Bros. seems afraid to ever use Hal Jordan again.  The HBO Max GL Corps show seems to be moving at a glacial pace, announced years ago with only a few casting announcements since.  Warner Bros. is on the brink of being under new management when Discovery fully takes over.  I say, scrap everything and put all of your resources into a Chaselon feature film!  The sentient crystal with robotic limbs and a mohawk is the clear choice to make the DCEU's premier Green Lantern. I mean that's what I would do if I was in charge... which may explain why I'm not.

Warlord and Tarzan

 

I'm kind of surprised I hadn't featured this pairing before, but better late than never!  It also gives me the opportunity to feature the artwork of the very talented Mike Grell.  I enjoyed his work on Green Arrow back in the day, and I was glad to be able to pick up a sketch by him:

Jimmy Olsen and Wolfsbane

 

They're both redheads that have been known to turn into wolves, so I think that these two would definitely find some common ground.  I always like Rahne Sinclair, especially in her earlier appearances.  Later efforts to make her a little more edgy didn't really work for me.

I am always glad to use the amazing art of Bob McLeod on this blog.  Here's a page I picked up by him and inker Tom Palmer several years back: 

Deathlok Joins Star Wars

 

This was a team up that I hadn't considered before but once I started to put together, began to really to make sense.  Luther Manning fits right in with the world of Star Wars.

I am always happy to use an image by the amazing Dave Cockrum.  I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of pieces by him several years ago:  

Concrete and Ant-Man

 

Paul Chadwick's Concrete is one of those comics that is great to loan out to readers who aren't into traditional superhero fare.  The stories are thought provoking, the characters are very well defined and the artwork is absolutely gorgeous.  I was lucky enough to pick up a sketch by Paul Chadwick several years back: 

Doom Patrol and The Beast

 

The Sentinels are are always fun to see, but I have to admit the do seem to be pretty impractical.  I mean, I can see the use for mutant hunting robots if that's your thing, but I never really understood why they were built to be so giant.  If they are trying to capture mutants, that's hardly a stealthy design - I imagine they are pretty easy to see coming.

Doom Patrol and The Hulk

I liked this version of The Doom Patrol, even if the newer members didn't have as much of a "freak" element to them.  I thought that Joshua Clay, Tempest, was a cool character with an interesting power set.  I don't really remember seeing him anywhere in the DCU after Grant Morrison took over the title.  Was he killed off, de-powered, or just forgotten about?

Guardians of the Galaxy and Green Lantern in: "Cosmic Consequences!"

Even with the announcement of  a Green Lantern Corps series, I am not sold yet on getting a subscription to HBO Max.  I'm hoping that the common speculation turns out to be true - that the DC Universe streaming service will shut down, will all of its content moving over to the HBO Streaming channel, along with the rest of Warner Brothers' properties.  It makes sense to have everything under one digital roof, and would make purchasing yet another monthly service more reasonable.

The Guardians of the Galaxy met Hal Jordan's Guardians of the Universe in STF #1189,  Hal met some later Guardians in STF #2604, and the future Guardians of the Galaxy met the GLC in a three parter that concluded in STF #2735...

Fire and Sunspot

Sunspot is one of the coolest looking mutants.  His design when powered up is simple yet very effective - a solid black center with no highlights surrounded by an aura of crackling energy.  You can really get a sense of his power just by looking at him.

Fire and Sunspot were first revealed to be siblings in STF #2484...

Fire and The New Mutants

Word on the New Mutants movie is that it is that it has been plagued with difficulties since the beginning.  Delays, reshoots, budget issues and indecision over the tone of the film have all seemingly taken their toll.  I remember seeing some kind of teaser a good while ago, and to be frank, if it wasn't labeled as a New Mutants movie, I would not have known that's what it was supposed to be.  Now the rumor is that it will either go straight to a streaming service or not be released at all.  It's too bad, I loved the series in its first few years and would love to see a faithful adaptation one day.