Steel and Bucky

 

Nothing like a gripping tale of intrigue told from behind enemy lines.  It might be interesting to see how Bucky works with another type of super soldier.

Black Panther and Jonny Quest

 

For a brief moment, the classic Jonny Quest cartoons showed up on HBO Max.  I only got about five episodes in before they were pulled off of the service.  Hopefully they will return or show up somewhere else that I can check out the rest.  It was great seeing them again after all these years.

Mr. Terrific and Storm

 

I saw and quite enjoyed the new Superman movie.  I liked how it truly embraced its comic book roots, it felt like reading a Silver or Bronze age issue.  I wasn't crazy about the major change to Superman's Kryptonian origin, though.  Mr. Terrific was definitely a standout.  Edi Gathegi's performance was great and his actions scenes were a blast to watch.  Definite spinoff material there!

The Quarrymen in: "Rock and Rule!"

 

I'm surprised that it took me until the fourth appearance of The Quarrymen to pit them against Terrax.  It seems like a natural confrontation, and I am betting that this former herald of Galactus will give them a run for their money.

The Vision, Frankenstein Jr. and Red Tornado

 

This is the first time that either has met Frankenstein Jr., but The Vision and red Tornado have crossed paths before in The Lost Issues - They battled The Construct in STF #2054, They investigated "who stole humanity?" back in Issue #1272 , merged programming Issue #971 and first met in an early MS Paint cover in Issue #44

Star Trek and The Herculoids

 

Would have loved to have seen this crossover for real.  Especially when they both had their own cartoon shows.  That would have made for a mind-blowing Saturday morning!

Doctor Strange and The Terrifics

 

I don't keep up with many titles these days, opting to trade wait if something gets really great reviews.  One series I did pick up in total was The Terrifics.  A great cast of characters involved in old school comic action is what the title provided, and it was a fun read.  It's too bad the series was canceled, but with the rumors that James Gunn is looking to bring them to the big screen as part of the DCU, hopefully they will get another chance down the line.

Captain Marvel Jr. and Ms. Marvel in: "Squid Game!"

 

This is the third adventure these two have shared together.  They were last seen battling Sivana's Sentinel in STF #3626, and first met in STF #3034... Let's hope that this Squid Game is not as lethal as the one I watched on Netflix.

Jonny Quest and Superman

 

Kandor was an interesting concept.  A miniaturized city in a bottle that Superman could have non-powered adventures in provided plenty of story ideas.  My only problem with it was that it really made it hard to still think of Kal-El as the last son of Krypton.  Supergirl and the Phantom Zone villains were one thing, but now there was an entire city of Kryptonians still alive and thriving? So much for the being sole survivor of a doomed planet! Perhaps that issue was dealt with at some point. At any rate, I didn't let it bother me too much, because I enjoyed the stories that took place there.

Superman and Jonny Quest first met in STF #3369...

Coming tomorrow: STF #4200!

Hawkeye & Huntress Vs. Black Bolt and Black Canary

 It looks like STF's most famous brother-sister act (here making their 11th appearance on the blog) has gotten  on the wrong side of one of Helena's Birds of Prey teammates.  Apparently Black Bolt and Black Canary have kept in touch since their performance together way back in STF #88. 

Mr. Terrific and Sherlock Holmes

 

Robert Downey Jr. is done with his time in the MCU, and I'm going to guess there won't be a sequel to Doctor Dolittle any time soon.  I'm hoping his freed up schedule gives him time to join Jude Law for a third outing as Sherlock Holmes.  I've read that there is some interest in making another film, but I haven't seen anything definite about it yet.  Hopefully, that will change soon - The success of the Knives Out movies show that audiences are still ready to embrace a well written mystery.

ROM and Space Ghost

 

ROM had a great comic book tie in back in the day - so why didn't the toy become more popular than it was?  I think one major mistake was not looking to what Marvel was doing for inspiration in expanding the line.  Pretty much all you could get was ROM himself, I saw no other Spaceknights on the shelves next to him, let alone vehicles and accessories.  An even bigger issue was that you could not even purchase a toy Dire Wraith for him to battle with.  What good was that cool weapon of his if you couldn't blast his arch enemies?  That was truly a lost opportunity.

Space Ghost Vs. Sinestro

 

I'm still hoping to see something new done with Space Ghost on the big or small screen.  Space Ghost: Coats to Coast was fun, but I am ready for a more serious depiction of the space faring adventurer.  DC's excellent Future Quest miniseries a few years back was a perfect template for a shared Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe.  I'd love to see some step taken to translate that to the movies or perhaps some new animated shows.  These characters are too cool to be left on the shelf.

The Magnificent Misters

When Bob Greenwade, a Patron of this Blog, suggested bringing back the trio of Misters from way back in STF #78 and adding in Mr. Majestic, I thought it was a good idea.  I decided to go one step further and add in Mister Miracle to make it a full team.  Let's just hope that The Expansion Team and The Roustabouts don't mind having their members poached for this self-loving assemblage!

Captain Marvel and Thor (Vs. Ulik & King Kull!)

Probably the biggest surprise Marvel announcement at Comicon was that Natalie Portman will be returning as Jane Foster in Thor:  Love and Thunder - and will even possess the Power of Thor in that film, reflecting some of the recent comics.  I enjoyed what director Taika Waititi did with Thor: Ragnarok (except for unceremoniously killing off the Warriors Three), so I look forward to seeing what the next chapter holds.  I really was hoping for Beta Ray Bill, though!

Thor and Captain Marvel have met in the past on the blog.  The Marvel Family got a boost from the God of Thunder in STF #1958...  Thor and Captain Marvel  clashed in STF #990 and they first crossed paths in STF #120... Thor and The Avengers met the whole Marvel Family in STF #1518...

Mary Marvel and Invisible Girl

I liked this redesign of Susan Storm's outfit by Paul Ryan.  Some other costume changes she has had over the years did not really work for the character, but this one was a nice update that I would have liked to have seen hang around longer.  Mary Marvel's change to a white version of her costume was OK, but I have to say that nothing beats her classic look.

Hercules and Mary Marvel

Shazam! has finished filming and now the movie is in the visual effects stage, so hopefully there will be enough completed to show us some footage soon.  The film promises to finally have some lighter fare in contrast to the heavy goings-on that we have seen in the DCEU thus far, so I have hope that it will mark a turning point and strike a positive chord with audiences.

Hoppy the Marvel Bunny and Usagi Yojimbo

One thing that I liked about CC Beck's Shazam Family stories was the blurred line between super heroics and more cartoony funny animal comics.  His whimsical yet exciting tone had room for characters like Tawky Tawny, Mr. Mind and Hoppy in addition to more traditional supporting characters and villains.  Sure, there were some cartoony characters like Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite, Itty, Zook and the rest in the DC titles, but they never quite fit in as well for me as the Shazam characters did.

Expansion Team

When you include the Brave and the Bold and Marvel Two-In-One Lost Issues, this marks my 2000th Cover!  Thanks for all the support, especially from Patrons of the blog, for helping it to continue!

I remember seeing the original Ghostbusters in the movie theater and loving the final act with the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man.  Not only was it a hilarious yet imposing visual, I had no idea any such scene was going to take place.   If the movie had been released these days, there's no way the massive moment would have been kept a secret from audiences.  Either online spoilers or a toy tie in that gives too much away, or even the movie's own trailer would somehow ruin the surprise.  I can only imagine how much more cool that big moment in the Captain America: Civil War airport fight would have been if I wasn't already completely expecting it by the time the movie opened.

The Expansion Team first got together back in STF #934...

Concrete and Aquaman

I still hope that one day we will see Paul Chadwick's Concrete on the big screen.  There is so much potential there, through the unique visuals offered by Concrete's perspective on the world and the story lines that follow a decidedly different path than the usual super powered comic book character.  Get a great voice to go with a CGI Concrete and it could be very cool - heck, I'd even like an all animated version if Pixar took the property on.