Firestorm and Nick Fury

 

There was a lot of clutter on the original Fury of Firestorm page that I needed to remove before I could add any new elements in.  Here's a look at the behind the scenes progress:

Galactus and Star Trek

 

If there's a group that could successfully negotiate with the World-Devourer, it's got to be Kirk and company, right?  It would be entertaining to see them give it a try, anyway.  Let's hope that Spock has something worthy of trade!

Galactus encountered the Next Generation of Star Trek in STF #4112...

Nova and Captain Kirk

 

I've been looking for more Star Trek content to watch, but the new shows on Paramount+ have not really grabbed me.  I did find a great substitute though - The Orville: New Horizons on Hulu.  I enjoyed The Orville when it appeared on Fox a few years back, but this new iteration of the series is even better.  The cast is largely the same, but there are three big differences: Longer episodes, a clearly bigger budget and the humor is dialed way down, making it more of a straight sci fi show.  I highly recommend it.

Star Trek: TNG, The Watcher and Mr. Mxyzptlk

 

I've been getting a kick out of What If? on Disney+.  The animation style took some getting used to, but now I think it's pretty cool.  My favorite episode so far has been the Dr. Strange-centric one.  Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher is so good that I hope he brings the role to live action in a future movie.  I have a feeling we'll be seeing some of the characters and storyline in this show included in upcoming MCU films.

ROM Vs. Worf

 

It looks as though ROM's recent encounter with Captain Kirk was not the end of his adventures with The Federation.  Michael Dorn is famous for his portrayal of Worf, but these days his voice action work comes readily to mind as well.  I've been hearing his signature voice on cartoons for decades now, including lots of comic characters like Gorgon, Steel, Kalibak, Atrocitus, Kraven, Ronan and Bane. He is always a welcome addition.

Warlock and Lieutenant Uhura

 

I remembered when Warlock was first introduced in The New Mutants, and thinking he was an odd fit for the team.  He quickly became a favorite of mine however.  No other artist has been able to quite capture his alien nature the way that Bill Sienkevitch did.  Art Adams was one that was able to provide a pretty cool interpretation, though, as is seen on this cover. 

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.

Manhunter and Captain Kirk

It's too bad that talks have broken down between Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth to appear as Kirk and Kirk's father in the next cinematic Star Trek film, putting it on indefinite hold.  I have liked the new timeline crew quite a bit (yes, the second movie was way to derivative of Wrath of Khan, but that's on the writers and director, not the cast).  I hope that the behind the scenes finances can work out, because I'd like to see more installments of the franchise.

Captain Kirk and The Haunted Tank

"City on the Edge Of Forever", where Kirk and Spock are sent back to Earth in the 1930's to fix the timeline only to have their mission complicated by the love of Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), is one of my favorite Star Trek episodes.  I also quite like Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home where Kirk and the crew travel to the 80's to acquire some whales.  How cool would it be to see Kirk back in the thick of World War II with some of DC's war stars, putting his military knowledge to use?

Justice Machine and Blue Beetle

DC has acquired characters from other comic companies over the years, but none seemed to integrate as well as the heroes from Charlton comics.  Maybe it was because most of the Charlton creators also worked for DC, or because of DC's willingness to go and include the characters in their own series and as members of team books right away.  Blue Beetle in particular seemed to fir right in - he seemed like he had always been a member of the DCU. and was finally where he belonged.

Han Solo and Star Trek

Filming on the Han Solo film has begun.  I still think it's a tall order to try and recapture Harrison Ford's iconic character with a new actor in the role, but after being so pleasantly surprised with Rogue One, I am willing to keep an open mind.

Kirk probably still has a grudge against Solo after how their partnership ended... and Chewbacca will continue to get involved with The Federation right into the Next Generation...

Speedy Vs. The Hulk

I am liking that Marvel's movies are becoming more and more like the comics in that any character can pop up in another's story.    First it was announced that Captain America: Civil War would be a Cap/Iron Man match up (not to mention appearances by a small army of other Marvel movie heroes, old and new), and now comes word that Thor: Ragnarok will also be starring The Hulk as well as the God of Thunder.  I like the interaction between the two characters and it is going to be cool to see that fleshed out further.

Iron Man Vs. The Iron Giant

C'mon, you can't really blame The Iron Giant here.  All brightly colored and metallic, Tony Stark must look like a nice piece of candy to him.  I imagine that he would realize his error before things went too far and by the end of the story, both characters would receive an upgrade in their hardware by combining their technology.