Justice League of America and Doc Savage

 

Between that signature haircut, the bulging muscles and the beautifully painted paperback covers, Doc Savage seemed like a superhero to me growing up.  I think he would he would have been right at home in a JLA adventure.

Doc Savage and Jonny Quest

 

This is another pairing that feels long overdue to me.  Two adventurers that regularly face off against pulp-inspired villains would be bound to cross paths at one point or another. It would certainly make for an exciting story, or episode of a cartoon.

The Bondsmen in: "Operation: Doomfall!"

 

This cover marks the fifth appearance of The Bondsmen.  Their live action movie was featured in STF #3170, They found themselves in a beastly situation in STF #3050, They had to temporarily replace one of their own in STF #880 and were first introduced in STF #564...

It took a bit of cleaning up of Latveria before I could add in our heroes on this cover.  Here's a peek at the process: 

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.

Doc Savage and The Question

 

The Question was utilized so well in the Justice league Unlimited that I am still surprised that we have never seen a live action version of the character.  He does seem like a great candidate for an HBO Max series.  I can see his investigations taking viewers into some interesting and less often seen corners of the DCU.

Iron Man and Doc Savage

 For a while as a kid I thought that Doc Savage was  simply another Marvel superhero.  The first time I became aware of him was from his appearances in Marvel Two-In-One and  Giant-Size Spider-Man, after all.  I later realized he had a long history of pulp novels before Marvel temporarily acquired the rights to use him.  It would have been cool to see him stick around a bit longer and mett some other heroes from the MCU.

The Bondsmen (The Movie!)

 

The passing of Sean Connery had many of us revisiting his classic Bond movies.  He still hasn't been topped in the role in my opinion.  It's crazy to think that we will be seeing Michael Keaton and Harrison Ford resuming their iconic roles as Batman and Indiana Jones in the next couple of years.

This cover marks the fourth appearance of The Bondsmen.  They found themselves in a beastly situation in STF #3050, They had to temporarily replace one of their own in STF #880 and were first introduced in STF #564...

The Bondsmen in: "Beast Mode!"

 

This cover marks the third appearance of The Bondsmen.  They were first introduced in STF #564, and had to temporarily replace one of their own in STF #880... I just realized that Doc Savage is the only member of this team that has not regularly appeared on the big screen.  Why Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hasn't taken a crack at bringing him to the movies, I do not know, it seems it would be a natural fit!

Doc Savage and OMAC

There have been some mention about Doc Savage headed to the big screen over the years, but nothing ever really seems to pick up any steam.  I remember Arnold Schwarzenegger being mentioned for the role years ago, and more recently The Rock has been suggested to take it on.  Alas, Ron Ely remains the only live action Doc Savage that I know of.  If handled properly, it could be a great cross between superhero movies and Indiana Jones-style cliffhangers.

Doc Savage and Buffy Vs. Aliens

I thought I would go for a three-way crossover this time, with action stars from different decades.  An alien queen is nothing to trifle with, but I think that the combined skills of the Man of Bronze and Vampire Slayer could put up a decent fight.  It would be cool to see at least, either in print or live action.

Superman and Doc Savage

I remember being let down by Superman III when I was a kid.  The inclusion of Richard Pryor was a head scratcher, and his scenes seem to belong in a completely different movie.  I wondered why they didn't use Brainiac if they were going with a computerized villain.  The real disappointment was the special effects, which looked pretty cheap compared to the first two films - it didn't help that I had just seen Return of the Jedi the same weekend.  Still, the movie is not a complete loss.  I quite like Annette O'Toole's turn as Lana Lang and the rekindled romance with Clark.  The Superman goes evil segment was well done too, especially the great Superman/Clark battle in the scrap yard. Better effects, Less Gus Gorman and Brainiac for the villain could have made this a third big success for the franchise.

Doc Savage and The Phantom

If action films have taught me anything, it is to steer clear of rope bridges.  I have seen many flicks where characters try to cross a rope bridge of one kind or another, and it always leads to disaster.  If the thing doesn't break apart on its own when they are half way through, someone else will deliberately destroy it - they never stay intact!  While some people may scream for their heroes not to go downstairs in horror flicks, I yell at the screen telling the heroes to stay away from rope bridges in action movies!

Doc Savage and The Shadow

As far as I know, these two pulp heroes have never crossed paths, which is a little surprising.  They seem as though they would work together well in in a story.  STF Patron Ken Roskos pointed out in a previous comments section that they both had the same publisher back in the 40's so it could have happened

Doc Savage and Conan

I recently watched the original Conan The Barbarian movie to see how well it held up since my first viewing.  While it certainly shows its age there's a few too many montage scenes, I had a a lot of fun revisiting it.  Arnold in his youth, James Earl Jones, giant snakes, swordfights and scantily clad women - it's no wonder my 13 year old self was drawn to this film.

Doc Savage Vs. Vandal Savage

When longtime Lost Issues visitor Isaac suggested this match up yesterday, I had to smack my head for never thinking of it myself. Obviously, many story possibilities present themselves when one considers the shared surname. This one was going to nag at me until I gave it a shot, so I decided to just go ahead and create a cover right away.  Thanks for the idea, Isaac!

Doc Savage and The Human Torch

I am still very wary of the new Fantastic Four reboot that's about to hit theaters, but one thing that I think they got right visually is the look of the Human Torch flamed on and in action.  There's been endless debate about Michael B. Jordan's casting as Johnny Storm, but I don't think anyone can deny that the Human Torch battle scenes look pretty authentic - from the quick glimpses we have seen thus far, at least.   Wish I felt the same way about The Thing's appearance.  Put some pants on, Ben!

Doc Savage and Hellboy

 With all the talk lately about how and if to continue the Indiana Jones franchise - do they keep an aging Harrison Ford in the role or will audiences accept a new actor to take on the iconic hat and whip - a different solution comes to mind.  Why not let Indy rest when Harrison Ford is done playing him and instead focus on a new Doc Savage movie series?  That could fill the gap left by featuring another pulp hero in a period setting that travels the world encountering artifacts, opposition and deadly deathtraps.

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.

Dr. Fate and Doc Savage

Doc Savage already serves as sort of a bridge between comic companies.  I remember Marvel having the rights to the character in the 70's, where Doc had his own series and even met with Spider-Man and The Thing.  DC later got control of the rights and we saw Doc meet up with Batman eventually.  I like to think of it all as one long continuity.

Spider-Man and Doc Savage

One the cooler stories from Marvel Two-In-One was when The Thing teamed with Doc Savage.  I knew Marvel had publishing rights to the character at the time, but it was still unexpected to see the Man of Bronze cross into the mainstream Marvel universe.  I had hoped that there would be a similar appearance with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up, but it never came to be.