Star Trek and Batman & The Outsiders

 

Is Halo appearing anywhere these days? I've always thought that she was criminally underused.  One reason might be her convoluted backstory.  Hopefully DC will realize her potential one of these days.

Batman and the Outsiders and Power Pack

 

Two great 80's teams, together at last.  I'm not sure if their current predicament is that cause of Kobra or The Serpent Crown, but it would be interesting to find out.

X-Factor Vs. The Outsiders

 

This is the First time that The Outsiders have met X-Factor, but as the X-Men, these groups have a bit of history on the blog - The Outsiders first tried to tame The Phoenix in STF #3454 and first met her in STF #112, and the one hero able to withstand The Phoenix Force was revealed in STF #2526... The X-Men came to The Outsiders assistance in STF #2595... and both teams had an adventure at The Statue of Liberty in STF #2675...

Dial "H" For Hero and Madrox (as 4 Famous Co-Stars!)

When Comics' Legend Tony Isabella (also a Patron of this blog), suggested a cover featuring Jamie Madrox using his duplicates to create an army of heroes to take on a larger threat, I wasn't sure quite how I would be able to pull it off.  It was such a fun concept that I had to try, though. Four heroes isn't an army, but at least it's a start. Thanks, Tony! 

Geo-Force and The Hulk

The Hulk has had worse offer over the years.  I say go for it.  But what interest would Prince Brion's homeland have with Bruce Banner?  There might be an interesting story to unravel here.

Tintin and Batman and the Outsiders

 

Batman has been called the World's Greatest Detective and Tintin can never pass up a good story, so it wouldn't surprise me to see the young reporter get involved with The Outsiders, especially when there's a mystery to solve.  Tintin previously met Batman in STF #752, and first encountered him way back on a B&B cover from 2010...

Batman and the Outsiders and Captain Marvel

 Presenting Part One of a Three-Part Epic!  It looks as though Mar-Vell intends to take one of the team far past the boundaries of Gotham - but who will he choose?  Make sure you come back tomorrow for Part Two of this saga to find out!

Batman & The Outsiders and Ghost Rider in: "Cult of Vengeance!"

 

Howard Mackie and Javier Saltares' relaunch of Ghost Rider in the 90's really made an impression on me.  I remember being disappointed that the series would not revolve around Johnny Blaze, but the Danny Ketch Ghost Rider design was so cool it was hard to resist.  I especially liked the new look for the motorcycle, with its flaming wheels.  Plus, Johnny joined the series soon enough!

Batman and the Outsiders Vs. Mephisto

 

The Batman has finally been released, and I was thoroughly entertained by it.  (No Spoilers in this review) It's probably the most like a Batman comic of any live action adaptation so far.  Batman is finally a proper detective and the movie is very much a film noir.  The cast was uniformly excellent.  Zoe Kravitz and Colin Farrell are easily my favorite live action versions of Selina Kyle and The Penguin, I look forward to seeing more of both in the movies and on streaming shows.  I wanted more of both Alfred and Commissioner Gordon, but they were also excellently realized, especially in their interactions with Bruce Wayne/Batman.  Paul Dano was very effective as The Riddler, even if the character was a few steps too far away from his comic book counterpart for my taste.  Robert Pattinson himself made for a great Batman, though his Bruce Wayne was missing the bored socialite act - but that is an element that can be explored in future installments, he's still perfecting his dual roles at this point. The fight choreography was very well done, you could actually see what was happening. Gotham looked fantastic and felt like a real place and the score was moody and thrilling.  The Nirvana song worked, but we'll see how much it dates the movie like Prince's contributions to Batman '89 as the years pass.  I didn't mind the 3 hour run time, though that may change with repeated viewings.  I absolutely loved that we got a little bit of Batman voice over narration just like in the comics, and hope we get even more the next time around.  The costume looked better onscreen than I had been expecting, and I look forward to seeing what upgrades he gets the next time around.  I still miss the white eyes, but I don't know if we will ever get them with this ultra grounded version of the character.  In fact, that's my only real quibble with the movie - it is so gritty and down to Earth, that I don't know how any of Batman's more fantastical foes like Man-Bat or Clayface could ever fit in here - let alone connecting it to a larger DCU with Superman and the Justice League and so forth.  Matt Reeves has expressed interest in using Mr. Freeze, though, so maybe this world will broaden its comic book horizons going forward.  Cant wait for it to hit HBO Max in 5 weeks so I can watch it again!

Batman & The Outsiders and Iceman

 

I was not surprised when Iceman was one of the first X-Men to get his own mini-series.  While he may not have been as flashy a character as Nightcrawler or Wolverine, and not even a member of the "All-New" X-Men, he still had gained fans from his appearances on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.  Plus, during the winter months, it was easy for kids to roleplay as him while horsing around in the snow. It was a weird series though!

Ant-Man and Batman and the Outsiders

There had been talk for a while about M.O.D.O.K. getting an animated series on Hulu, but lately I have been hearing that he may actually be making an appearance in the live action MCU - possibly in the third Ant-Man movie.  It would be great if they can find a way to pull off such a crazy looking character.  They found a way to make Arnim Zola work, so anything's possible, I guess!

Batman and The Outsiders Vs. The Masters of Evil

I've heard talk of bringing The Thunderbolts to the MCU, which I am all in favor of.  To properly feature that team though, they really should introduce The Masters of Evil first.  With no new Avengers movie yet on the horizon, I'm not sure where they would show up.  I hope a place is found, because I loved that gathering of foes, especially in the classic Under Siege arc.

Geo-Force and Black Panther in: "Return of the Kings!"

Our Five -Part Epic concludes!  Don't forget to check out Part One ,  Part Two... , Part Three and Part Four to get the complete story!

It will be interesting to see who is eventually cast as Doctor Doom in the MCU.  This is one character that can't get away with removing his mask every other scene, so they are going to need someone with a great vocal presence that doesn't mind having their face obscured. Let's hope we get the most comics-accurate screen Doom yet!

Geo Force Vs. Black Panther in: "Regal Rumble"

It's the clash that this Five-Part saga has been building to from the beginning! Don't forget to check out Part One ,  Part Two... and Part Three... and make sure you come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion to our story!

Where is Geo-Force in the DCU these days?  I don't see him in the latest iteration of The Outsiders.  Has he made through the last few rounds of reboots, or is he another victim of the DC Ginger Curse? I'm guessing that between Doomsday Clock and the Superman identity reveal, another reboot is on the way, so maybe then he'll get another chance (Halo, too).

Geo-Force Vs. Dr. Doom

With all the mentions of Markovia on Black Lightning, I really hope that an appearance by Geo-Force is in the works for that series (Not to mention Halo, Katana and Metamorpho!)

Geo-Force first ran afoul of Doctor Doom along with Batman and the Outsiders in STF #1535...

As the cover states, this is only Part One of a Five-Part Tale - make sure you come back tomorrow for the next exciting chapter!

X-Men and The Outsiders

While the X-Men aren't expected to join the MCU for another few years, there is no shortage of speculation as to how they will be introduced.  Some think that The Scarlet Witch will pull a "reverse House of M" maneuver and create the mutant gene through magic.  Others theorize that they will come from another Earth in the soon to be explored Multiverse.  It will be interesting to see what angle Marvel Studios ultimately decides to take.

These two teams first met in STF #2595...

Batman & The Outsiders and The Phoenix in: "Corruption Interrupted!"

I guess one positive thing about the new Dark Phoenix movie looking more like X-Men: The Last Stand than the comics that the classic story is based upon is that it doesn't completely close the door on a proper retelling by Marvel Studios at some point down the road.  Sure it would be the third cinematic version, but if they follow the comics it won't be anything like audiences have seen before.

The Outsiders first tangled with The Phoenix in STF #112...

Iron Man and The Outsiders

I enjoyed The Outsiders on their own, but they never seemed to work as well for me as a team without Batman leading them.  Later incarnations had Nightwing and others out in front, which was OK, but none of them had any real staying power.  This was one group that had the perfect line up from their incarnation, it's too bad the original crew didn't stay together longer.

The Outsiders and Spider-Man

The recent announcement that Black Lightning will be joining the rest of the DC TV lineup on the WB network has me optimistic that we may see The Outsiders in live action yet.  Katana has already been established on Arrow, as has Stagg Industries, opening the way for Metamorpho.  I don't imagine there would be any conflict in using Halo or Geo-Force, so why not eventually bring Batman's allies together?

7 Soldiers of Victory and The X-Men (& 3 More Tales!)

DC's 100-Page Giants always felt like a "full meal" of a comic to me.  You had the big main course, then a couple of sides featuring lesser used fan favorites and finish up with a tasty golden age reprint.  I would complete my reading fully satisfied every time.