The X-Men Vs. Batman's Villains

 

I feel that this would be an interesting series of match-ups, worthy of 100 pages.  Do you think the children of the atom have what it takes to defeat Gotham's most infamous foes? 

Here's a look at the full size versions of this issue's features: 

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...

Wonder Woman and The Champions

 

Bees have always creeped me out. I can only imagine how much worse giant mechanical bees would be.  Hopefully this would tunr out to be a buzzworthy issue.

X-Men and The Creeper

 

Goodness knows that the Professor has a few skeletons in his closet. I'm not sure the Children of the Atom would take to kindly to Jack Ryder snooping into their headmaster, and that conflict would make for and exciting tale.

Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends and Static

 

I remember seeing that cool giant fire monster during the opening credits sequence of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends.  Alas, he only appeared for a few moments in one episode, taken out easily by Firestar and guest star Sunfire - and he was certainly nowhere near as large as he was depicted during that credits cameo.  

OMAC and The X-Men in: "Yesterday Begins Tomorrow!"

 

Scott Summers is correct, OMAC is indeed back - he first sought the help of the X-Men back in STF #3089.  It looks like it is time for them to finish the job that they started in that tale. All depicted by Jack "King" Kirby, naturally!

The Spectre and X-Factor

 

Jean Grey went from an innocent young mutant to arguably the X-Men's most powerful member.  She committed some terrible acts while under the influence of the Phoenix Force, however. Would the spirit of vengeance find her responsible for those deeds?  Finding out might make for an interesting issue.

The X-Men Vs. Amazo

 

Marvel seems to want to slow down and reassess after their Phase Four projects were not met with as much critical and commercial success as their previous phases.  I'm guessing that will push back the advent of  the X-Men in the MCU even further.  That's just for any new versions, though - in addition to Hugh Jackman in Deadpool 3, rumors persist that other members of the Fox X-Men films will be back for one last multiversal hurrah, most likely in one of the next Avengers movies.

Amazing Man and Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends

 

Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends was a favorite show of mine, but I have to admit it was kind of frustrating.  After an initial run of episodes, it went into repeats for a good long time.  New episodes after that seemed to be quite few and far between.  It seemed every time the show came on it was that same "Swarm" episode!  I'm glad that these days I can just go on Disney+ and just pick out which episode I want to watch.

The X-Men and Kamandi

 

Continued from yesterday's cover, we see that Kamandi's visit has taken quite a dramatic turn.  Will we see this line-up of X-Men when they finally make their MCU debut?  I'm not sure that Marvel is interested in doing a First Class type movie, but I know I would love to see it.  We'll see what the status of mutants is after Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is released, I guess. 

Kamandi and The X-Men

 Presenting Part One of a Two-Part Epic!  Kamandi was a character that I liked every time I saw him in guest appearances, but I only ever read a couple of issues of his own series.  Is it worth seeking out? Make sure you stop by again tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion! 

X-Factor Vs. Solomon Grundy

 

I remember thinking the premise to X-Factor was a little odd.  The original X-Men disguised themselves as mutant hunters in order to secretly help mutants, it didn't make a lot of sense to me.  They didn't stick with that set up for too long, fortunately. 

Glad to use a Solomon Grundy image here by the very talented Scott Kolins here.  I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of original pages by him (Flash #200 inked by Doug Hazlewood and Thing: Freakshow inked by Andy Lanning): 

Iceman Vs. Mr. Freeze

 

Like many, I rank "Heart of Ice" as one of the very best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series.  The new, tragic origin for Mister Freeze gave him a motivation and gravitas that the villain never had before.  He came off cool but somewhat goofy in the comics and the Batman TV show, but with this episode, he rose to the top tier of the Dark Knight's rogues gallery.  Fortunately, the comics followed suit and adapted his animated history for stories going forward.

Superman and X-Factor

 

I am always glad to feature the artwork of Walt Simonson.  I remember being impressed with his work on Manhunter, which was unlike any artwork I had seen before.  Like many though, it was his run on Thor that really got me to take notice and become a gig fan.  I met him briefly at a convention several years back and he was very nice and enthusiastic about comics.  He was kind enough to do a quick sketch (with his trademark dinosaur shaped signature) for me:

X-Men Vs. Infinity, Inc.

 

Infinity Inc. was a well designed team, I really liked all of their costumes.  Well, maybe except for Nuklon's headwear - Come on, buddy - you have have a mohawk or a headband, but not both.  Pick a lane.

X-Men Vs. Solomon Grundy / Daredevil and Dr. Fate

 

It will be interesting to see if Solomon Grundy gets a larger role in the second season of Stargirl.  I do remember one of his less lethal rebirths led him to assisting Infinity, Inc. in the comics for a while, maybe they could go that route.  I guess it all depends on the CGI budget!

Solomon Grundy previously tormented the X-Men in STF #2997...

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!

The X-Men and Captain Comet

 

With the casting for Kamala Khan set, The MCU seems ready to dive into the world of Inhumans.  The Eternals is on the horizon as well, yet another secret race of super powered individuals on Earth.  This is all very cool, but does pose a problem for when Marvel wants to introduce the X-Men.  Will they be able to differentiate mutants from all of the other groups of superheroes out there?  Why would they be shunned by a world that is already so used to metahumans?

Coming tomorrow: STF #3100!

OMAC and The X-Men

 

One of the great things about Batman: The Brave and the Bold was that it included so many characters from every corner of the DC Universe, many that had never been seen in other media before.  OMAC was one such case, and his appearance was cool and fun.  I'd love to see an animated DC Kirbyverse series, with rotating features like OMAC, Kamandi, Mister Miracle and more.

The Defenders and Superman in: "Crime in a Bottle!"

 

I was hoping that the DC Fandome event would shed some more light on the future of Superman in the movies.  There was some speculation that an announcement of The Man of Steel's involvement in Black Adam or even a solo sequel would be made, but alas no mention of such things.  DC Fandome continues this coming weekend, though It looks to be focusing more on the TV, print and gaming aspects of DC Comics.  Henry Cavill keeps teasing that he id not done with the role, but I'd like to know some more specifics as to what that will mean.

Superman met an earlier version of The Defenders in STF #2849...