Moon Knight Vs. Solomon Grundy

 

Moon Knight is no stranger to battling supernatural adversaries, so this match up seems right up his alley to me.  Who comes out as the victor here?  I guess it all depends on what incarnation of Grundy we are dealing with.

Green Arrow and The Wasp

 

Oliver Queen has seen his fortunes come and go, so I can see him hobnobbing with jet setter Janet Van Dyne at some point.  When the venue they are attending is compromised by the likes of HYDRA, you know that action would be sure to ensue!

The Thing on The Planet of the Apes

 

This is a crossover that I am surprised I never got to back in my Marvel Two-In-One: The Lost Issues days.  So I am happy to finally include it on the blog.  I'm also happy to combine the amazing painted art work of Daniel Acuna and Earl Norem.

Deathstroke Vs. The Falcon

 

The were lots of rumors about a Ben Affleck-starring Batman movie which would have featured the Dark Knight up against Deathstroke.  Those plans seem to have gone away now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are in charge of the DCU.  That's OK with me - I much prefer to see Deathstroke as a foil for Dick Grayson and the New Teen Titans anyway.  Still, it seems like this new DCU is skipping right to Damien Wayne (& Nightwing possibly), so who knows if we will ever get a proper Titans movie anyway?

Doctor Strange and Adam Strange in: "Strange New World!"

 

This marks the sixth appearance of The Strange Brothers.  They were last seen escaping Hell in STF #3163, they faced their wicked uncle in STF #2801, They were forced to do penance in STF #2649, they were trying to escape from Limbo in STF #2146, and they were first revealed to be brothers in STF #370...

Wolverine Vs. Man-Bat

 

Do you prefer Man-Bat as a full on villain, conflicted bad guy, or as a straight up ally to Batman and others?  I like him as basically good, but misunderstood and struggling to maintain the balance between his human and savage side.  For that reason, I can see him being somewhat of a Kindred Spirit to someone like Logan.

The Flash and Brother Voodoo

 

I was disappointed that Brother Voodoo did not make an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Maybe it's for the best, most of the guest stars didn't fare too well! Still, Marvel seems to be opening up its more occult side with what we saw in the movie and with characters like Werewolf by Night on the way.  Hopefully, Jericho Drumm will find an appropriate project to make his debut in.

Red Tornado and Jocasta

 

I have always thought that Jocasta has a lot of potential as a character.  I love her design and origin as a bride to Ultron with the brain patterns of Janet Van Dyne.  It's always cool to see her show up and I hope she finds her way into the MCU one of these days.

War Machine and Bulletman

 

Looks like War Machine is finally going to find his way back to his own era after battling the villain that sent him to WWII... regular STF: The Lost Issues visitors know that James Rhodes has been spending time in the past with Sgt. Rock, as depicted in STF #1613 and again in STF #1827, and that he also had a detour with G.I. Robot in STF #3070... I'd say that he has more than earned his ticket home.

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?

Brother Voodoo and The Creeper

 

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is set to begin filming soon, and we have not heard anything about casting for Brother Voodoo or Clea.  I had heard that both would be introduced in the film, but then came the addition of The Scarlet Witch and the whole multiverse angle - not to mention the continuation of Baron Mordo's plot line.  Hopefully there will be room to include everything without the movie getting too cluttered.

The Winter Soldier and James Bond

Production on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier for Disney+ seems to be well underway, with lots of set photos surfacing.  The streaming service set a high bar with The Mandalorian, so I hope the Marvel shows will be of similar quality.  I'm looking forward to seeing how USAgent is integrated as well as whether rumors of Baron Zemo setting up a team of Thunderbolts is true.

The Phantom and Hellcat in: "Phantom in Training!"

Billy Zane was great as The Phantom in the criminally underrated 90's film.  I was always disappointed that movie did not do well enough to warrant sequels, I would have loved to have seen follow up installments.  I did get a big kick (and laugh) out of Zane's cameo on Amazon Prime's new streaming show The Boys recently.

Kit and Patsy walker were first revealed to be cousins in STF #2548...

Captain America and Plastic Man

So, what's the deal with Plastic Man's goggles?  I had always assumed that like the rest of his costume, they were a permanent part of him as part of his condition - I had never seen him without them on.  But lately, I have seen a few artists depicting him without the goggles or at least lifting them up -  so has he been able to remove them this whole time or is that a new development?

Katana and Sunfire

When I was a kid I was surprised that Sunfire didn't have a higher profile in the comics.  he had a whole episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends dedicated to him, after all!  I guess there are a lot of fire-based heroes and villains and perhaps that's why he kind of got lost in the mix.

The Ray and Cyclops

Joe Queseda may be synonymous with Marvel Comics these days but I first took note of him in a mini series updating classic hero The Ray for modern readers.  I liked his artistic style and made a point to check out his future work.  I like the new version of the Ray too, and it's too bed he never became I bigger star.  I even enjoyed his later membership in an updated Freedom Fighters and I hope we haven't seen the last of him.

Captain America and Uncle Sam

It's crazy with Captain America reaching an all time high level of popularity through his film appearances that Marvel seems to be determined to keep him out of his costume.  After the events of the comic book Civil War, he was killed off, to be replaced by Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier.  He finally regained his mantle, but did not hold onto it all that long.  These days, Sam Wilson/The Falcon has stepped into the role.  Not a bad idea, but he should have chosen to go with either the wings or the shield - using both just seems so wonky to me.  With Steve Rogers heading up another huge summer film next year, will he be able to assume the title of Captain America again in time for the premiere?  Or will that film spell the end for Steve as Cap on screen as well?

The Bondsmen Return!

Of these four, I'd have to think that Doc Savage is the best suited to take over for Batman, but it would be interesting to see any of them assume the mantle.

Nick Fury has just gone through some major changes due to the end of  Marvel's Original Sin event.

 *** Spoilers ***

With the death of Uatu, Fury has become a Watcher-type character called The Unseen.  I don't get it when comic companies combine two cool characters to create one new one - it never seems to work.  This move kind of feels like the Hal Jordan Spectre all over again.

Spider-Man and Star Trek in "Showdown in the Spider-Nebula"

Now this is a team up I would have loved to have seen back in the day.  Where was the imagination?  I am sure that Nicholas Hammond had room in his schedule for a time-bending crossover with TV's greatest sci-fi heroes.  Shatner and the Web-Slinger?  Count me in.

The Fantastic Four and Green Lantern (Vs. Doctor Doom)

The Fantastic Four have had a lot of costume changes and for the most part, they have worked.  I was unsure at first about the white uniforms they used here (while Johnny was "temporarily" dead), but they grew on me.  Currently the FF are sporting red colored uniforms, which just does not look right to my eye.  Maybe for The Human Torch red is a good look, but I don't like it for the rest of the team.  It especially doesn't work against the thing's orange rocky hide.  I don't mind the design, just the color - change it to blue and they would look great!