The Flash and Mr. Fantastic

 

I haven't seen the new FF movie yet, but I hear that Pedro Pascal is pretty good as Reed despite the mustache and limited stretching scenes. I was worried about the casting, so that's good to hear.

This cover required some decluttering and background replacement.  Here is a look at the behind the scenes progress: 

Quicksilver Vs. The Rogues

 

Pietro Maximoff has a decidedly different personality than Barry Allen or Wally West.  It would be interesting to watch the interaction between him and the Flash Rogues.  There seems to be at least some respect between them and their usual speedsters, and I's like to see them go a few rounds with the ill-tempered mutant.

Gorilla Grodd on the Planet of the Apes

 

I think that I may have seen this match up suggested in the comments, and it really is a natural one.  I had to look up to see which intelligent ape civilization came first, PotA or Gorilla City.  To my surprise, the comic book version debuted first, in 1959, while Pierre Boulle's Apes novel came out on 1963.  I wonder if Boulle was a comics fan?

Kang and The Legion of Doom

 

Loki ended up its two-season Disney+ arc in such a way that Marvel can easily either continue with Kang as a main villain or move on from him to a different franchise wide antagonist.  I haven't heard of any concrete plans as to what direction the studio will go in, and I imagine we won't until Jonathan Majors' court case is settled one way or another.  

Doctor Doom Vs. The Legion of Doom

 

This is a match up that I have been meaning to get to for a while now, it was just a matter of finding the right images. That's a pretty powerful Legion line up, but if there's anyone who can give them a challenge, it's Victor Von Doom.

Secret Society of Super-Villains and Mephisto (And More!)

 

For this Anniversary Issue, I thought I would go with a theme of villain team-ups.  I was delighted to see Frog-Man appear in the trailer for Disney's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law series. I can't wait to see how he is realized and I love that Marvel is digging deep into their character files for the show.  I can't help but laugh that Frog-Man will show up in the MCU before Mephisto, who remains a no show after multiple rumors.

The Flash and Iron Man in: "Monkey Suit!"

It will be interesting to see how The Mandarin is handled in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.  The bait and switch that Marvel pulled with an actor portraying the villain in Iron Man 2 was one of the few times that fans really had a problem with a choice made for the MCU.  I'm glad there's a second chance to get him done right.

The Flash and Iron Man have shared adventures on the blog before - They were last seen together in STF #2546, and had a two-part tale that began in STF #1164 and concluded with their future counterparts in STF #1165...

The Prowler Joins The Secret Society of Super-Villains

The Prowler was teased with the appearance of Donald Glover as his alter ego Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming.  He was seen to be trying to purchase high tech equipment, so the seeds have been set for a full costumed appearance in the future.  A deleted scene had him mentioning his nephew Miles, so perhaps he will be back in an Ultimate Spider-Man movie down the line instead.

Galactus joins The Secret Society of Super-Villains

While Justice League missed the mark for me, I did like the tease at the end that an Injustice League/Secret Society of Super-Villains type of team will be formed to take them on in the future.  It would be a nice change from the "powerful would be ruler and his army of cannon fodder troops" plot that we have seen a few times now.  If only they weren't being led by Jesse Eisenberg's Luthor... if they're going to recast Batman, can't they recast him as well?

Gorilla Grodd Vs. The Red Skull

Editor Julius Schwarz knew a few things that were bound to provide a spike in sales when they were featured on a comic book cover.  One of those  was the appearance of a gorilla, and darn if that wasn't true. All of DC's mainstays seemed to mix it up with gorillas at some point and I was always eager to read those stories.  So it's no surprise that The Flash got a gorilla arch enemy to call his own.  Grodd's appearances have always been fun and I really hope that he finds his way into the Flash TV show if it goes to series.