Guardians of the Galaxy and Firestorm

 

It's nice to see that Firestorm is heading up his own comic series again.  From what I have read though, it seems like a decidedly different take.  The new title seems to be leaning into more of a horror vibe with the Firestorm powers becoming sentient or something?  I'm not sure, I've only seen a few previews.  Has anyone had a chance to check it out?

THE STF 5000th ISSUE CELEBRATION!

Welcome to the 5000th issue of STF: The Lost issues!  Many of the covers presented here have not only crossed over characters from different companies, but from different timelines as well.  There has been speculation that these encounters were the result of an ongoing war between a pair of time tyrants.  As you can see above, the rumors are true!

When you count the B&B and MTIO covers that preceded STF, I have posted 5510 covers so far.  Needless to say, I have never used AI to create them and never and I never will - all I need is Photoshop and the inspiration and encouragement from visitors to this blog!

Time for some Special Features!  First up, let's take a look at larger versions of the stories presented here:

An All-New Saturday Morning Line-Up!  I'd definitely get up early to catch these STF-Inspired shows:

Now for some STF-Related merchandise.  There have been some cool playsets for comic book fans, but what would have been great was one that combined the two greatest superhero teams:

Or How about a Playset featuring one of STF's oldest teams - Robo-Force?

STF: The Lost Issues generally features pre-existing characters, but I have created a few for the blog.  Here are Action Figures for a couple of them.  First up, from a trio of Dick Tracy/Rocketeer team ups, is that unfortunate informant that everyone in the underworld wants to off - Rats McTattler!

And what young fan of STF: The Lost Issues wouldn't want an action figure of its greatest recurring villain - Mr. Universe!

Time to kick back with a classic board game - How about one featuring the two most popular characters from DC and Marvel?

And for younger kids, here's a Colorforms Set that combines heroes from DC and Marvel:

And with that, we close out another Mega-Anniversary Issue.  Thank you to all of the visitors over the years, especially the Patrons, who have help keep this blog running for over 15years of daily covers! If you would like to support the blog you can join them here.  Make sure you come back tomorrow and every day, there are lots more covers coming - featuring surprising new team ups, new and returning teams, characters making their STF Debuts, and more!   

Metal Men and The Guardians of the Galaxy

 

James Gunn seems to gravitate towards teams of oddball characters, so I think that  The Metal Men are definite candidates for inclusion in his DCU.  You could make a Pixar-style animated movie with them or even a live action film with todays special effects.  I hope they show up somewhere.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Superboy

 

Superman (formerly Superman: Legacy) has officially begun filming. It will be interesting to see how the Man of Steel's status as Earth's premiere hero will be presented, given that it doesn't look like he will have been the first costumed crimefighter in operation, never mind having a previous career as Superboy.  This seems like a passion project for Director and Writer James Gunn, so I will remain cautiously optimistic about how it all turns out.  

Guardians of the Galaxy Vs. Despero

 

Despero's return in the pages of Justice League really took me by surprise. It had been a few years and I had gotten used to the more humorous take on DC's premiere team - and then comes the Despero arc.  What was once a standard Silver Age alien villain came back in a way that was anything but humorous!  It was a welcome change for me, I was ready for some more serous action - and boy did he deliver!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vs. Starro

 

Continued from yesterday's cover, we see just which JLA villain that the Guardians had set their sights on.  James Gunn has given us versions of all of these characters as supporting characters in his movies for Marvel and DC.  It might have been fun to see them go up against each other on the big screen.  Just as long as the conclusion to the battle isn't as disgusting as the one depicted in The Suicide Squad.  Yuck!

Justice League of America and Guardians of the Galaxy in "Cross-Time Favor!"

 

Another Two-Part Epic begins here! I have not heard any word on whether the Original Guardians of the Galaxy will show up again in James Gunn's third volume of the movie series, but since it will be his last outing for Marvel, I hope he finds a way to include them.  Now, which JLA enemy have they shown up on this cover to help defeat?  Make sure you come back tomorrow to find out!

These two teams also shared an adventure back in STF #2018...

Camelot 3000 and Guardians of the Galaxy

 

I can imagine a tale that combines a rag-tag team of space pirates with the futuristic Knights of the Round Table would be filled with lots of cool action and character moments.  Camelot 3000 remains a favorite of mine, largely in part to Brian Bolland's amazing artwork.  I consider my self very lucky to have been able to pick up an original sketch by Bolland several years back, since he works mostly digitally these days:

Guardians of the Galaxy and Starfire

 

I think Starfire would be right at home with the Guardians of the Galaxy.  A princess bred for battle and at odds with her own people?  Sounds a bit like another character that will join a later iteration of the team.  Koriand'r really shines and gets to cut loose in an outer space environment, and we didn't get to see enough of that when she was with the Titans.

Super Friends and Guardians of the Galaxy

 

As a kid I thought that The Wonder Twins were an improvement over Wendy and Marvin, who seemed pretty useless on The Super Friends.  At least they had powers and could join in on the action.  Still, if they had to have more teens on the team, I would have preferred they used established DC characters like Wondergirl, Aqualad or Kid Flash.

The Spectre and Guardians of the Galaxy

I was saddened to hear that Denny O'Neil passed away this week.  Most associate him with his groundbreaking work on Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow, but he wrote for many characters from Marvel and DC (even one crazy issue of the Spectre's first series).  His contributions were many, such as the classic Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali and a long list of characters that he created, including Air Wave, Bronze Tiger, Madame Web, Ra's Al Ghul and Talia, Killraven, Richard Dragon, John Stewart, Lady Deathstrike, Azrael, Leslie Thompkins and on an on.  He will be missed but never forgotten.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Green Lantern in: "Cosmic Consequences!"

Even with the announcement of  a Green Lantern Corps series, I am not sold yet on getting a subscription to HBO Max.  I'm hoping that the common speculation turns out to be true - that the DC Universe streaming service will shut down, will all of its content moving over to the HBO Streaming channel, along with the rest of Warner Brothers' properties.  It makes sense to have everything under one digital roof, and would make purchasing yet another monthly service more reasonable.

The Guardians of the Galaxy met Hal Jordan's Guardians of the Universe in STF #1189,  Hal met some later Guardians in STF #2604, and the future Guardians of the Galaxy met the GLC in a three parter that concluded in STF #2735...

Green Lantern Corps and Guardians of the Galaxy

Continuing from Part One and Part Two of our story, we reach the epic conclusion!

I wonder what Rocket Racoon's relationship will be like with the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy when the third movie arrives.  Did his time without them in the five years that they were snapped out of existence change him at all?  Certainly it must have made him appreciate them more.  What was he up to the whole time?  I hope to see some of this addressed and it's not just a reset to what has gone before.

Colossal Boy and Guardians of the Galaxy

The Legion of Super-Heroes seems to be making a return in the comics, this time under the pen of Brian Michael Bendis.  I haven't checked it out, but it seems like Jon Kent will be the Superboy of this incarnation.  I'll order it digitally in trade if reviews are good. My one concern is that while I like Bendis and he often comes up with cool concepts, I find that he tends to make most of his characters speak in the same "voice" - that could be a problem in with a team that has as large a cast as the LSH does.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Green Lantern

The Hulks took multiple attempts to get right in live action.  The same is true with The Punisher and Daredevil, and even the Fantastic Four will eventually get another shot.  This makes it all the more frustrating that we haven't heard any news about a new Green Lantern or Green Lantern Corps movie for so long.  I think plenty of time has passed since the Ryan Reynolds GL movie and general audiences would be willing to give another iteration of the ring slinger a chance.  I suppose taking their time to get a quality production together is important though, after what happened with Hellboy, so DC's probably treading very carefully.  Hopefully we will hear of some momentum on the project soon.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Kirk

I loved when the Original Guardians of the Galaxy showed up in the second movie in the franchise, and I hope we will get to see more of them in the future.  The third film already sounds pretty full, but it would be nice to see them show up again - this time in action and not just a cameo.  It's probably a long shot, but I can hope!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vs. The Anti-Monitor

OK, if by some chance you haven't seen it and haven't had it spoiled for you yet - here there be SPOILERS for Avengers: Infinity War...

I loved the movie, even if I was a little annoyed by the cliffhanger ending, when we were led to believe that there wouldn't be one. You have to give the Russo Brothers credit for being able to balance to many characters so well, giving almost everyone a moment to shine.  They also balanced the humor, action and drama very deftly.  In some of Marvel's more recent attempts, the humor undercut the tension an bit too much for my taste, but here it was done just right. Gamora's death was the big shocker for me, I didn't expect it at all, even though story wise it was probably inevitable.  I think it will stick, too - as will all the deaths before the SNAP!  Zoe Saldana will be OK - she has two other space epic franchises with Star Trek and Avatar, after all - and her absence will make for great drama in the third Guardians of the Galaxy film.  There may be some hope for The Vision to return as the seeds were planted there with Shuri's attempts to save him.  As for those who turned to ash after the SNAP!, I think the question is about how they return rather than if, considering how many are slated to appear in already announced sequels.  I am sure I will enjoy this movie a lot more once the follow-up Avengers movie is released.  As it stands, it's a great half of a story.

All-Star Squadron and Guardians of the Galaxy (And More!)

This anniversary issue's tales all have their roots in earlier STF stories - Per Degaton started time-travelling in STF #2111...  The Surfer and Starfire tied the knot in STF #397, but were already facing difficulties in STF #398...  Thanos crossed the GLC in STF #1546 and Hal Jordan in STF #516...  and Adam Strange first met Captain Universe in STF #865, and first assisted The Federation in STF #2056.  

Guardians of the Galaxy and Justice League of America

How long is it before we see a Justice League Detroit grouping on TV?  Between Supergirl, The Flash and Arrow, all of the characters will have been introduced by the end of  the current season - except for Aquaman who is busy breaking into the movies these days. In fact, I say Let the Atom take his place and replace Legends of Tomorrow with a JLDetroit show to call their own!

The New Teen Titans and Guardians of the Galaxy

I'd love to see a story featuring these two teams.  I could see Robin and Star-Lord clashing over leadership styles, Starfire and Gamora sparring and  enjoying every minute of it, Rocket not amused at Changelings ability to mimic him, and so on.  Sure, there could be some villains in the mix, but the personal interactions are what would make this fun to read for me.