Justice Society of America Vs. Apocalypse

 

This bad guy has been around for centuries, who's to say he wouldn't have vexed the JSA at some point?  Definitely fodder for an oversized issue!

Spider-Man and Black Canary

 

This is another example of a cover that required a bunch of de-cluttering before I could add in any new elements. Here's a look at the behind the scenes progress: 

 

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. 

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.

Green Lantern & The Flash and The Defenders

 

Another pair of JLA members with a classic Marvel team again today, like on yesterday's cover. This time I feature the GL/Flash team, which made more sense to me as a kid than GL/Green Arrow.  You could always count on an action packed tale when Barry and Hal got together.

Power Man and Elongated Man

 

Elongated Man's back-up tales that would appear in Detective Comics and other titles were among some of my favorites. The mini mysteries they presented were perfectly suited for the shorter page count and I liked the chemistry between the Dibny's.  We need more of the Stretchable Sleuth!

The Warriors Three Vs. The Demons Three

 

One of the first major missteps from Marvel for me took place in Thor: Ragnarok. While I liked the movie and loved Cate Blanchett as Hela, seeing them almost instantly slaughtered by her did not sit well with me.  They are great characters in the comics and they deserved better.  Bob Greenwade, regular commenter and Patron of this Blog, suggested that I pit them up against The Demons Three and I have to admit, that would make for a fun tale.  Thanks, Bob!

The Defenders Vs. Abnegezar, Rath & Ghast and Neron

 

The Defenders seemed to spend as much time or more battling demons and supernatural threats as they did traditional super-villains.  It might be interesting to see how they would fare against the denizens of DC's underworld.

Iron Man and The Flash (Times Two!)

 

Time for a double dose of these heroes!

The Flash and Iron Man have shared adventures on the blog before - They were last seen together in STF #2962, they faced a moving violation in STF #2546, and had a two-part tale that began in STF #1164 and concluded with their future counterparts in STF #1165...

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.

The Wasp and The Flash

 

There were many factors that went into the underperformance of The Flash, but the character itself was not one of them.  Let's hope that we don't have a situation like with Hal Jordan, who was taken out of all movie plans for over a decade due to his movie not hitting the mark.  I'm guessing it will take until Justice League: New Frontier is released before we see a new Barry Allen (or Wally West?).

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...

The Micronauts and Red Tornado

 Continuing the tale begun on yesterday's cover, we see which one of Firestorm's allies had been compromised.  I've liked seeing Ronnie and Reddy together ever since they shared a story in the early issues of Fury of Firestorm, I enjoy their camaraderie and their costumes go together well.  

Brother Voodoo and The Flash

Joe Giella, whose inks are featured in the cover above, passed away last week, and he leaves behind a storied career. I remember seeing his name on the credits of so many of the Marvel and DC tales in my youth, stories that went on to be the building blocks for their entire respective universes. May he rest in peace and with the knowledge that he helped bring so much enjoyment to the fans over the years.

 

Thor and Elongated Man

 

There may have been characters that I thought were cooler, but the superhero I most identified with as a kid had to be Elongated Man.  He loved having his powers and didn't want to keep his identity a secret. He had red hair and loved a good mystery.  He never became quite as popular as some of the others he shared adventures with.  I even had a brother named Ralph.  I hope James Gunn likes Ralph Dibny too and that he finds a place for him in the DCU.

Nova and Captain Kirk

 

I've been looking for more Star Trek content to watch, but the new shows on Paramount+ have not really grabbed me.  I did find a great substitute though - The Orville: New Horizons on Hulu.  I enjoyed The Orville when it appeared on Fox a few years back, but this new iteration of the series is even better.  The cast is largely the same, but there are three big differences: Longer episodes, a clearly bigger budget and the humor is dialed way down, making it more of a straight sci fi show.  I highly recommend it.

Guy Gardner and Nova

 

Every time I see Sean William Scott on a commercial for the new show Welcome to Flatch, I think of what a missed opportunity it is that he has not been cast as Guy Gardner for the in-development Green Lantern Corps series on HBO Max.  I just think he has the perfect look for the role and has proven himself adept at  action and comedy in his previous work.  Finn Wittrock is the one who has actually landed the role, an actor that I am not familiar with.  Let's hope he brings DC comics' favorite lovable jerk to effectively to life.

Marvel Girl and Elongated Man

 

I'm all for comic book action and angst, but a good story also has to include some mysteries to be solved.  That's why it was so nice to see The Batman featuring so much detective work and also one of the reasons I've always liked Ralph Dibny.  His back-up stories always had him solving crime-related conundrums and were a joy to read.  I highly recommend picking up a copy of Showcase Presents: The Elongated Man if you can still find it in print.

Apocalypse Vs. 4 Famous Co-Stars

 

This cover not only marks the 10th appearance of the Hawkeye/Huntress team, but also the 12th appearance of the Moon Knight/Elongated Man team.  I figured it was time for these two pairings to team up their partnerships. As I mentioned in an earlier comments section, STF #3600 will feature the first time that two team groups created for this blog will be clashing with each other.  After so many covers, Earth-STF continuity is beginning to fold in upon itself!

Daredevil meets The Flash & The Atom

 

There are a bunch of different artists on this one.  Al Pratt here is by Jerry Ordway & Mike Machlan - Ordway's renditions of the JSA members are always a treat to see, as is his art on anything.  Here's a couple more pieces of his original art that I was lucky enough to pick up several years back (from Green Lantern: Secret Files and Zero Hour):