Justice League of America Vs. Ego The Living Planet

 

It looks as though most of what we saw on the Peacemaker HBO Max series will remain canon for the new DCU - with one noticeable exception.  The Justice League does not exist yet, so the scene where they show up at the end of the series has no longer officially happened.  Will it be addressed in some way during the second season, or simply ignored?  It will be interesting to see how it is (or isn't) handled.

The Rocketeer meets Batman and Robin

 

The Rocketeer and Batman first shared an adventure on one of my earliest B&B covers, back in 2010. A crude effort, to be sure, so I thought that it was time to feature them together again.  Throwing Robin into the mix would be a welcome addition.  He might give Cliff Secord someone to relate to. 

Galactus Vs. The Authority

 

Next year we will be seeing Galactus and The Authority in the big screen.  Well, Only the Engineer is slated to show up in Superman, but I am sure that seed will be planted for the entire Authority team, as they have an upcoming announced movie of their own.  Galactus as a concept has been seen in the movies before, but Fantastic Four: First Steps will at last bring the character to live action.  Let's hope everyone is done justice.

Hawkman & Hawkgirl and Power Pack

 

The first image of Aldis Hodge as Hawkman has been released and I have mixed feelings about it.  On the one hand, I love the huge size of the wings and I can't deny that the suit is comics-accurate - But of all of Hawkman's various looks over the years, they decided to go with that one?  I remember when the garish red and gold outfits with the metallic wings were introduced for Hawkman and Hawkwoman - and I also remember them being ridiculed and rejected by the fans, which is why they didn't stick around for very long.  It's a head scratcher that they were used for inspiration.  At least give him feather wings and green pants!

Hawkman and Hawkgirl here are by Bryan Hitch and Ed Benes, respectively.  I was lucky enough to pick up original pages by both of the talented artists several years back: 

The Avengers and The Omega Men

 

I really thought that the Omega Men were going to be the next big thing when they were introduced.  They were launched out of the red hot New teen Titans, after all.  Despite their roster of cool characters, they never really caught on, though - even in later revival attempts.  Maybe starting out as a direct only title hurt their chances of finding a wider audience?  I know I was still only getting my comics from the newsstand when their series was first published.

Wonder Woman and Captain Britain

Wonder Woman 1984 has been pushed back yet again, now slated to open on Christmas Day.  A holiday theatrical release worked well for Aquaman, so maybe that's not a bad strategy.  There is another big movie opening up in that time frame, the new version of Dune, but I think that WW is the bigger draw for audiences.

 

Captain Britain and Sherlock Holmes

It looks like Robert Downey Jr.'s first big post-Iron Man project will be Dolittle.  It seems like something meant for younger viewers, so the trailers have not really interested me.  Downey has also mentioned the possibility of a third Sherlock Holmes film, which is a project I'd like to see.  He's no Jeremy Brett or even Benedict Cumberbatch in the role, but I still enjoyed his take and I always welcome more Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

Black Panther and The Justice League of America in: "Wakanda's Most Wanted!"

It will be interesting to see where Black Panther goes in the movies after the events of Avengers: Endgame. 

SPOILERS FOLLOW... 

With his missing for five years, what will his standing as King of Wakanda be?  Certainly new leadership was formed in his absence.  And speaking of leadership, he seems to be at the top of the list to lead The Avengers going forward, given his financial resources, diplomatic abilities, and sister's technical know-how. There are lots of story possibilities.

Black Panther first met the JLA in STF #195...

Cyborg Vs. the U-Foes

Cyborg will be appearing with the upcoming Doom Patrol series, but from what I have seen so far, it looks like a store bought Halloween costume, with only his head piece visible.  I thought that his Justice League look was way overproduced - oddly designed CGI made it look like crumpled tinfoil to me - but this new look seems under-produced.  Hopefully when his full appearance is revealed, he will be closer to the comics' version.

Coming tomorrow: STF #2500!

The Joker Vs. The Punisher

There are very few Marvel heroes, or even anti-heroes, that are as no-nonsense in attitude as The Punisher.  For that reason I would love the see him forced to work together with The Joker.  They did actually meet at part of the John Romita Jr. illustrated Batman Vs. The Punisher special, but they had the Dark Knight to referee in that case.  Let's see what kind of fireworks would happen with just the two of them on their own!

Blind Justice

I have paired Daredevil and Doctor Mid-Nite together a couple of times, in STF #805, and way back in STF #7, and I decided that the Blind Justice concept could be expanded to an entire team.  I only wish that I could have figured out how to get Rutger Hauer's character from the movie Blind Fury in there, I remember loving that one!

Spider-Man and Martian Manhunter

The Trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has been released, and it looks like a lot of fun.  I know that some have been clamoring for Miles Morales to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but for me it still seems to soon when they have just established their teenage Peter Parker.  This animated spin-off seems like a perfect solution.  From the Spider-Gwen cameo at the end of the trailer, it looks like we can expect to see some other spider-iterations to show up in it as well.

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!

Robotman & Red Tornado Vs. Ultron

There are few villains that I have wanted to see on the big screen more than Ultron, so I was very happy when I heard them name of the Avengers sequel.  The casting of James Spader was inspired, and the behind-the-scenes footage revealing at least part of his robotic design has me feeling optimistic.  Still, I will have to be patient, knowing that his scenes will likely include a lot of CGI, It will probably still be quite a while before we see any actual footage of Ultron in action.

The Superman Family and The Fantastic Four

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday today close by the ones the love the most.  I truly appreciate everyone who takes the time to check out the blog, it is a labor of love and it has made me happy to see it grow in popularity over the past year.  I especially appreciate those visitors who leave feedback - positive, negative or neutral.  It can be hard to tell what is working or not on here and I am always interested in reading reactions.  Thanks for all the cool suggestions too - and the patience in waiting for me to get around to them.  I have a bunch of reader request covers coming up and I hope they will be worth the wait.  So, stay tuned!  There are hundreds more covers coming and 2013 will see the switch from MS Paint to Photoshop as my cover-creating program, so we're just getting started! Merry Christmas!

The Thing and The Authority

I really loved the first couple of years of The Authority. I don't think I had ever seen comics told in such a widescreen, cinematic style before. The concepts were huge and the artists were fantastic. The first few runs on that series made for a very tough act to follow and while I have given most of the Authority relaunches a try, nothing has really come close to the original stories by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch and then Mark Millar and Frank Quitely.