Savage Dragon Vs. Despero

 

Despero's deadly return in the pages of Justice League America was a shock to read, given his new, more brutal depiction juxtaposed against the League's bwa-ha-ha era. Even his fin seemed to have changed position on his head, coming straight for you instead of side to side as it was in the Silver Age.  A showdown with the Savage Dragon was destined to heppen.

Captain America and Savage Dragon

 

It will be interesting to see where the Marvel Cinematic Universe ends up after the Russo Brothers close up the Multiverse Saga with their two upcoming Avengers movies.  Will Steve Rogers be back in the role of Cap through some multiversal shenanigans? Would he stick around if so? I'm guessing a lot will depend on how well Captain America: Brave New World performs at the box office with Sam Wilson in the title role.

Spider-Man and The Ray

 

Spider-Man goes with just about anyone, and I like it when he meets other heroes close to his age.  I think he and Ray Terrill would get along for the most part - unless a situation like the one depicted above were to arise.

How to Train Your Savage Dragon

 

I have been meaning to use characters from How to Train Your Dragon on a cover.  When Ian Harac, a Patron of this Blog, suggested pairing Toothless and Hiccup up with The Savage Dragon, it struck me as a fun idea.  Thanks, Ian!

Aquaman and The Defenders

 

Aquaman last battled Attuma in STF #2828

Aquaman and Namor have also a bit of history on this blog.  They last met trying battling Mer-Mutates in STF #2270, tried to avert war in Issue #1105, faced the sea's wrath back in Issue #751 and starred in my very first STF two-parter in Issue #3 and Issue #4.

Venom becomes Dr. Fate

 

Doctor Fate has one of the most classic helmets in comics, and to me it's perfect. Of course, Hollywood decided they had to put their stamp upon it.  I don't know who approved the asymmetrical, eyehole-free, dented up design of Fate's helmet for the Black Adam movie, but I think it's a visual misfire in an attempt to make it look cooler.  Combine that with The Rock making zero effort to duplicate the iconic hairstyle and pointed ears of the titular character and I see a movie that doesn't seem to care much for fidelity to the source material. I hope to be pleasantly surprised, but the trailers have made me less interested in the movie rather than more.

Venom and Green Lantern

 

I can still remember reading an issue of The Comic's Buyers' Guide and seeing plans for a new all-black Spider-Man suit.  I didn't think Marvel would stick with such a drastic change for more than an issue or two, but had to admit the new costume as illustrated by Rick Leonardi looked pretty cool.  Little did I realize what it would lead to. To think that Jim Shooter purchased the design off of a fan for a few hundred bucks!

Bug vs. Annihilus

I was glad to see Forager the Bug get some time in the spotlight in the character's recent Mike Allred-Illustrated mini-series. I remember his role in Cosmic Odyssey decades ago, and I always wondered why more was not done with the New God.  Let's hope its not another 30 years before he gets an opportunity to shine again.

Code: Red in: "Mars Needs Gingers!"

The De-Gingering of DC continues.  Lightning Lad is the latest character to lose his red hair.  What do they have against us gingers?  They are always killing them off or changing their appearance to non-gingers.  When a ginger character makes the leap to movies or TV, the red hair seems like the first thing to go.  It's enough to make a guy feel unwanted.

Code: Red first appeared in STF #1293...

Jack O'Lantern and Shamrock

I remember thinking that Shamrock was the coolest character introduced in Marvel's Contest of Champions mini-series.  I thought that the power of amazing good luck was very unique and a lot could be done with it.  Unfortunately, none of the new heroes introduced made much of a splash.  Later on, Domino hit the scene with good luck power of her own, making poor Shamrock redundant.  I still like her though and hope that she hasn't been forgotten completely.

Sub-Mariner Vs. Popeye

I'm wondering where The Sub-Mariner will first show up now that Marvel has the rights to use him in the movies.  Aquaman will beat him to the punch ans far as a solo underwater hero film is concerned so maybe they will go in another direction and he will show up alongside the Fantastic Four.  The whole Reed/Sue/Namor love triangle angle would be perfect for some onscreen drama to add to the action scenes.  Of course that means the need to introduce the FF first!

Steel and Nova

The big screen may still not be ready for Steel again even though many years have passed since the Shaquille O'Neal led film - but there's no reason he should not show up on TV's Supergirl.  That might be the perfect place to redeem John Henry Irons in the eyes of non comic book fans.  With Cadmus and the DEO, there are plenty of places that he could fit in.

Black Canary Vs. The Punisher

I was Glad to see Jon Bernthal's Punisher make an appearance at the end of the trailer for Netflix' upcoming Defenders series.  I can't wait to see all of the characters they have introduced on their shows meet and interact - having Frank Castle involved in some way will ensure that there will be plenty of conflict, even if they all have a common enemy.

This is only Part One of a Two-Part Epic, so make sure you come back tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion!

Batman is Captain Universe

I understand that Matt Reeves has decided to not use the Ben Affleck/Geoff Johns script for his upcoming batman movie, and go in a new direction.  This film has had so many starts and stops, I hope all goes well once it finally gets rolling.  I do like that he says that he intends to focus on the detective aspects of the character, something that I feel has been underused in Batman's cinematic outings thus far.  Reeves is getting strong reviews for War for the Planet of the Apes, so that's a good sign as well.

Savage Dragon and The Hulk

This is a team up that I am amazed has not happened yet.  While these two characters are both big, green and strong, that's where the similarities end, and it would be cool to see them laying the smack down side-by-side.  Erik Larsen has a great history with both Marvel and Image and I'd love to see him working on a project that brings those two comic universes together.

Robotman Vs. Iron Man (Part Two)

Continued from yesterday's cover, we see that once again, Tony Stark has been less than forthcoming with one of his allies.  Let's hope that Tony finds some redemption by the end of Captain America: Civil War.  He did not come off well in Avengers: Age of Ultron. acting fairly recklessly despite his great intellect. Stark's attempts to become a better man have been the centerpiece to his character arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe began, and he deserves to finally be able to complete that journey.

Black Lightning and Havok

I was glad to read recently of a conversation between Black Lightning creator Tony Isabella and executives at DC Comics regarding the treatment he and his character have gotten in the past and going forward.   It sounded like a first step, but hopefully it will lead to bigger and better things for Jefferson Pierce.  I'd love to see him finally break through to live action. it would be cool to see him show up on Arrow or even in the movies.

Savage Dragon and Wolverine

Despite his height and handsome features, Hugh Jackman has won over most comic fans with his multiple portrayals of Logan.  He isn't done with the character with new installments of X-Men and Wolverine on the horizon, but even he has begun talking about retiring the role and passing the torch on to a younger actor.  I hope that when that day eventually comes, we will see a shorter, scruffier version that is closer in appearance to Wolverine's comic book look.

I have often been asked about what my personal favorite STF covers are.  I'll be presenting them as just one of the special features included in the STF 1000th Issue Spectacular, coming in one week!

The Emerald Elite

I've had a few request for a color-themed team, and I felt that green was the best way to go.  There are a lot of green-skinned heroes out there, and I think the reason for that probably comes down to aesthetics - they just looks so cool!  At any rate, I'd love to see how the above group of heroes would interact with one another, given their varied personalities.  They certainly would not be lacking in power, that's for sure.

Savage Dragon Vs. Daredevil

This week the news hit that Marvel has finally regained the film rights to Daredevil.  I am eager to see where they go with the property.  They could go with a cinematic reboot, or perhaps a TV series - Daredevil and most of his rogues are street level enough to pull off on a television budget.  Whatever route they choose, it will be interesting to see who lands in the role of Matt Murdock.  My choice is still Joel Edgertion from Zero Dark Thirty and Warrior.