Madman and Ant-Man and the Wasp

Continued from yesterday's cover, we see where Madman has gone missing, and who is behind it all.  It's a good thing that Bill Foster's allies are already on the case! Mr. Mind previously tangled with Ant-man & The Wasp in STF #4553 and Ant-Man and Captain Marvel in STF #3901...

Bulletman and Captain America

 

I remember being surprised when I first encountered Bulletman in the comics.  Here he was appearing in a Justice League/Justice Society crossover - and I didn't realize DC had the rights to the character.  Up until then, I had seen him only as an action figure, I thought he was part of the G.I. Joe line. I'm still not sure how he got mixed in with the rest of those Real American Heroes.

The Sentry and Captain Marvel

 

While it has been known that he is a part of the movie for a while, he promotional materials for The Thunderbots* have been pretty much keeping The Sentry under wraps.  Will this be another situation where he only shows up for a few minutes in a climactic battle, or does Marvel just not want to give away it's biggest surprises yet?  I guess we will all find out soon enough.

Iron Man and Captain Marvel (Vs. Black Adam and Radio-Active Man!)

 

Stories in which heroes swap villains have always appealed to me.  Acts of Vengeance remains one of my favorite Marvel crossovers.  I thought that I would go that route for this cover.  Iron Man and Captain Marvel previously met in STF #4588 and shared an adventure with The Avengers in STF #259 and the Avengers and Marvel Family in STF #1518...

Coming tomorrow: STF #4700!

Iron Man and Captain Marvel

 

The similar color schemes make these two heroes look good together.  Captain Marvel has magic based abilities of flight, speed and strength with a nice guy personality and a youthful identity, so he has aspects of Dr. Strange, Thor, Quicksilver, Captain America and Spider-Man all rolled into one - It would be interesting to see Tony Stark's reaction to working with him.

Dick Tracy and Captain Marvel in: "Fisticuffs and Forensics!"

 

Maybe it's the squinty eyes, but these two always seem to fit together, despite the different types of stories that they get involved in. I can definitely see them forming a World's Finest type partnership.  Dick Tracy and Captain Marvel first met on the blog in STF #1322...

Mary Marvel and Spider-Man

 

I used to like how in Marvel Team-Up, Spider-Man would often be put off and unnerved by some of his more dark co-stars, like Ghost Rider.  I think the opposite would be true with someone like Mary Marvel.  Something tells me that Spidey would appreciate her wholesomeness and treat her like a super powered kid sister.

Captain Marvel and Darth Vader

 

Shazam: Fury of the Gods has been delayed yet again.  While Warner Bros/Discovery seems to have finally found their version of Kevin Feige in Dan Lin, they don't seem to know what to do with the DC films already in development under the previous leadership.  I say stop dragging things out and release them already, using the end of The Flash as a hard reboot - then just start over from scratch.

Mary Marvel and Werewolf by Night

 

Mr. Mind was teased in the first Shazam! movie, but I see no signs of him actually showing up in the sequel.   We got a reference to Mr. Tawky Tawny, but I am not holding my breath waiting for him either.  I  miss the whimsy of the early Captain Marvel stories.  I suppose we could get some in a third sequel, but given the continued delays of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Warner Bros. change in direction, and the rapidly aging cast, I have my doubts as to whether that will ever come to be.

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...

Captain Marvel and Deadpool

 

Shazam: Fury of the Gods has finally begun production.  As I suspected, the cast of kids already looks a lot older than in the first film, hopefully that will not be too much of an issue, but it certainly complicates things if they decide to go for a trilogy.  Still no word on a new Deadpool movie, but Marvel and Ryan Reynolds promise it's coming.

I was glad to use a Jeff Smith Captain Marvel here.  Smith is most well known for his amazing Bone series.  I was able to pick up a quick sketch by him many years back: 

Hercules Vs. Captain Marvel

This seems like it would be an obvious bone of contention should these two heroes ever meet.  I imagine it would be a fun issue, as both characters are known as much for their cheerful personalities as they are for their incredible powers. 

Captain Marvel Vs. Thanos

The Big Red Cheese facing off against The Mad Titan!  This would truly be a clash of personality as well as power.  I was glad to hear that a Shazam! sequel is moving forward - That Mr. Mind teaser at the end of the first movie really got me looking forward to a second installment.  Let's hope Asher Angel doesn't have too much of a growth spurt, he already seemed a little old to me to be playing Billy Batson this first time around.

Captain Marvel Vs. the Super Skrull

Will there be a sequel to Shazam?  The film was well received, but did not make a huge dent at the box office in comparison to other superhero movies.  It sounds like Black Adam is underway - perhaps DC is waiting to see how well that film does before committing to a third film that combines both characters.  If that's the case, I can see them having to re-cast Billy Batson since Asher Angel is not getting any younger.

Captain Marvel goes Back to the Future

I recently re-watched the entire Back to the Future trilogy.  The second two installments hold up well and while I have always liked them, I have grown to appreciate them more over the years.  The first installment, however, is in another league entirely.  It's an amazingly well constructed movie, not a wasted scene or throwaway set up to be found, and the humor and performances are top notch.  It's up there with Groundhog Day as one of the greatest comedies of all time, in my opinion.

Thank you to comics historian and Patron of this Blog, Marc Tyler Nobleman, for suggesting this concept and pairing!

Captain Marvel and Thor (Vs. Ulik & King Kull!)

Probably the biggest surprise Marvel announcement at Comicon was that Natalie Portman will be returning as Jane Foster in Thor:  Love and Thunder - and will even possess the Power of Thor in that film, reflecting some of the recent comics.  I enjoyed what director Taika Waititi did with Thor: Ragnarok (except for unceremoniously killing off the Warriors Three), so I look forward to seeing what the next chapter holds.  I really was hoping for Beta Ray Bill, though!

Thor and Captain Marvel have met in the past on the blog.  The Marvel Family got a boost from the God of Thunder in STF #1958...  Thor and Captain Marvel  clashed in STF #990 and they first crossed paths in STF #120... Thor and The Avengers met the whole Marvel Family in STF #1518...

The Marvel Family and The Watcher

As far as I know, The Don Newton-illustrated tales of the Shazam Family that were featured in World's Finest when it was an over-sized Dollar Comic have never been collected.  That's a real shame, because I think is would be a big seller.  The stories are a ton of fun and Newton's artwork was absolutely gorgeous.  There have been many attempts to modernize the look of the world of Shazam over the years, and I feel that those stories were the most successful at that.

Mighty Mouse Vs. Underdog

We had lots of pets growing up.  The best thing about having mice was that they fit perfectly into all of our Weeble Wobble toys.  It was almost like they had little vehicles designed just for them.  I can see why creators like to anthropomorphize them so much, remembering those days.

This cover came about from a suggestion by comics historian and Patron of this blog, Marc Tyler Nobleman.  Thank you, Marc!

The Marvel Family Vs. The Avengers

We've seen The Avengers battling world-conquering megalomaniacs, alien invasions and even each other on the big screen.  While it will be fun seeing them all together against Thanos, I hope for some future installments we can see them square off against another team of super-characters.  The Masters of Evil would be great, or even a dimension-spanning story featuring the Squadron Supreme.

Calvin and Hobbes and Captain Marvel

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was wearing a Black Adam T-shirt at a recent awards show, and it is nice to see him so enthusiastic about the upcoming role in DC's cinematic Shazam!  Unfortunately, his casting is still just about all we know about the long-in development project.  I hope some movement is made on the film soon, DC really needs some more lighthearted fare on the big screen.