Green Arrow and Captain America in: "Batroc & The Behemoth!"

 

Following up from yesterday's Golden Age style cover, here I present a Bronze Age adventure between Cap and Ollie. It took some tinkering to remove Spider-Man from the original image - Here's a look at the behind the scenes progress:

Katana and Iron Fist in "The Sacred Temple!"

 

Katana and Iron Fist have fought together before on the blog.  They battled Davos in STF #1997, and first the killers of K'un L'un in STF #3104. This time, they seem to have run afoul of the Foreground Sword Guys!

Blue Beetle Vs. The Lizard

 

I finally checked out the Blue Beetle movie, and I thought it was OK.  I probably would have been more impressed with it 10-15 years ago, but at this point I felt like I had seen most of the story beats done before in other superhero flicks.  The very generic villains did not help.  I did like Jaime and his family though, and some of the effects were fun to watch, especially with the Bug ship.  I liked the nods to Ted Kord, but wonder if the mid-credits scene concerning him will ever be followed up on.  Blue Beetle is supposed to be one of the few characters that well be crossing over into James Gunn's new DCU though, so I suppose there is a chance.  Maybe in the proposed Booster Gold series?

Nova and Raven

 

Raven has a demonic, conquering father to contend with, so she might be more prepared for a battle with Thanos than most.  He seems susceptible to appeals to his emotions, and her soul self might give him some difficulty.  Of course, Psimon influencing him as well would be an issue - let's hope Nova recovers in time to lend a hand.

Coming tomorrow: STF #3900!

The Champions Vs. The Justice League of America

 

For this Anniversary Issue, I thought I would go for a full length free for all featuring two of my favorite teams.  I'm surely not alone in my love for the JLA.  The Champions, in this their first incarnation, never quite hit it big, but I always got a kick out of the oddball line up that they had.  A super-spy, a Demigod, a possessed stuntman and a trio of mutants filled out their ranks, and I enjoyed seeing these disparate heroes find a way to work together. 

Martian Manhunter Vs. King Ghidorah

 

With the CW Supergirl series completed, and Zack Snyder's Justice League already released, have we seen the last of a live action Martian Manhunter for a while?  While it's been cool to see him on the screen, I still do not think that the character has been completely done justice yet, so I'd love to see him return in the DCEU at some point.  With the right actor I can see him being a fan favorite.

Aquaman Vs. Annihilus

 

Now that I think about it, Aquaman might fare better in space than a lot of heroes.  His body can withstand the intense cold and pressure of the deep oceans after all.  Still, he would have an uphill battle against Annihilus, who is quite at home on an outer space environment.  It would be an interesting battle.

I am happy to use an image of Annihilus here by John Buscema, a man who taught so many of us how to draw comics the Marvel way... Here's a Conan page by him I was lucky enough to pick up several years ago:

Howard the Duck and The Flash

 

Speculation but possible SPOILERS for the FLASH movie follow:

From set footage and cryptic comments by actors, the villain for the upcoming Flash movie is becoming clear and it's kind of a surprising one.  I had assumed The Reverse Flash would be involved somehow, but it looks like they are going in a slightly different direction by having Barry Allen dealing with a duplicate of himself.  We have seen the stand-in sharing scenes, dressed to look identical to Ezra Miller (except with yellow lining on his sneaker rather than the Red that Miller is wearing, hmmm...).  I'm not sure how I feel about this - I am not a big fan of Miller in the title role, so two of him doesn't really help things in my eyes.  Still, this is all speculation, we probably won't get any concrete answers until the DC Fandome presentation in a few months.

Aquaman and Doc Savage

 

The Aquaman sequel finally seems to be getting underway, and now has an official title:  Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.  I'm not sure what to make of that, it doesn't say much about the plot and frankly is kind of generic. Still, with James Wan directing once again, I have confidence that we will get an entertaining film.  I think that it will be hitting theaters not very long after Marvel introduces Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, so the cinematic battle of underwater worlds will truly be on!  Here's hoping the dueling Atlantises will elevate both films.

Captain America and The Flash in: The Malevolent Return of Mopee!"

 

Mopee was a magical Imp supposedly responsible for granting Barry Allen his speed powers in a story so immediately rejected by Silver Age readers that he was barely ever mentioned again.  I was surprised when adding the labels to this post, that I had already featured Mopee once on this blog, way back in 2010, and had completely forgotten about it.  I guess that's another tale of his that's been erased from memory!

Captain America and The Flash previously shared an adventure in STF #726...

New Teen Titans Vs. The Avengers

 

I finally watched the first two seasons of Titans, and I can't say I am a big fan of the series.  Some of the costumes look good - Hawk and Dove, Deathstroke, the Robins and the CGI Trigon come to mind.  The characterizations is where the show falls apart for me.  Every character is depressed and way overly violent in their crimefighting interactions.  Dove should not be as bloodthirsty as Hawk!  Gar Logan only changes into a tiger and then eats people? and what's with all the F bombs?  It's the series' favorite word, used frequently by every character, even ones who it is wholly inappropriate for like Bruce Wayne, Kory or Raven.  There's some cool power usage (I like how Jericho's abilities were realized), and by the end, it feels like the team wants to move away from their violent tendencies, but these episodes were tough to get through for a fan of the 80's comics.

These two teams first met in STF #1250...

Challengers of the Unknown Vs. Kang

 

I was very happy to hear the casting of John  Majors as Kang for the MCU.  He's been well reviewed in Lovecraft Country.  Although I haven't seen that show yet, I enjoyed his performance in Da 5 Bloods.  I have been waiting for Kang to show up since the first Avengers movie, and I can't wait to see the time travelling villain brought to life.  Even cooler, he will make his debut in Ant-Man 3, which is sure to make that the biggest film of the trilogy.  Will his involvement pave the way for the Fantastic Four to make their debut as well?

Lieutenant Sulu and Karate Kid

Like many fans, my favorite Star Trek movie is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but I will always have a soft spot for IV: The Voyage Home.  One reason it stood out for me was obviously the humor, but I also really enjoyed that the whole cast was given a lot to do, rather than Kirk, Spock and Bones having all the fun.  It was nice to see Sulu, Uhura, Scotty and Chekov going off on missions of their own. 

Nightwing Vs. Bullseye

Daredevil's third and final season on Netflix did a great job of presenting Bullseye.  His action scenes were great, and I felt that his marksmanship skills were showcased very well.  I do wish that he had  worn his own costume, but between it being an origin story for him, and his using the Daredevil outfit, there really wasn't an opportunity to do so.  His final scene had a hint of a costume, but alas season four was not meant to be.

Hellcat and Vixen

I had been hoping to see Patsy Walker suit up as Hellcat at some point on Netflix' Jessica Jones, since the last season had her gaining powers.  With the cancellations of both Luke Cage and Iron Fist, I am expecting the third season of Jessica Jones to be the last, so they have one more chance.  These shows seem to take their sweet time getting characters into comic-accurate outfits, though - so I am not holding my breath.

Aquaman & Mera and Marrina

I have been catching up on some comics I have missed in digital form, and I am currently reading Geoff Johns' New 52 Aquaman run.  I really like what I have seen so far.  Johns tackles a lot of the misconceptions about the character head on, in a fun and exciting way.  Aquaman's classic costume has rarely looked better than it does here, with Ivan Reis' amazing depiction. Mera get to really show off her abilities as well, it's a truly fun read.

Jack of Hearts Vs. The Royal Flush Gang

I have always really liked The Royal Flush Gang.  I find it cool that the team has gone through so many incarnations, from the old West to present day, often with mysterious leaders/benefactors pulling the strings.  Plus, the family aspect to the group adds a different dynamic than most villainous gatherings.  The DC animated shows did some really interesting things with them as well.

Galactus Vs. The Legion of Super-Heroes

I like the possibilities that this match up presents.  I can see galactus still bein a force to be reckoned with in the Legionnaire's time period.  I'm sure that Colossal Boy would want first crack at him, but it would take the combined might of the team backed up by Brainiac 5's smarts to bring him down.  As for who the big G might choose as a new herald from the group, that's easy.  Dawnstar's tracking abilities would make her a perfect candidate.

Galactus first faced the LSH in STF #1487...

Justice League of America and Sub-Mariner

I've been getting a real kick out of Justice League Action.  I like the character design and how the writers dig deep into DC's long history.  I do wish that the episodes were longer than fifteen minutes each, though - they always seem to end just when i am really getting into the story.

Aquaman and Namor have a bit of history on the blog - They took different sides during wartime in  Issue #1105...

they faced the sea's wrath back in Issue #751...

and starred in my very first STF two-parter in Issue #3 and Issue #4.

Vixen Vs. Kraven the Hunter

I was glad to see Vixen back in the JLA line up with the debut of the new Justice League of America #1.  She was the best addition from the Detroit-era League and works well in a team setting.  I am also enjoying her live action appearances on DC's Legends of Tomorrow - one of the best realized heroes on TV.