Lois Lane and The Wasp (And More Stories!)

 

For this Anniversary Issue, I figured it was time for a Ladies' Night cover.  Here's a closer look at the stories featured within:

 

Human Torch and Firebrand

 

This is a meeting that is certainly overdue on this blog. It would be cool to see the hottest heroes of the All-Star Squadron and the Invaders in action together.

Insect Queen Vs. Annihilus

 

Uh oh!  I bet that mild-mannered Clark Kent doesn't look all that bad now, Lana! Her power set was always a bit icky to me, but she doesn't deserve this!

Wolverine and Ragman

 

No mention of Logan/Wolverine casting for Marvel's upcoming new era of X-Men has been made, and it's assumed that the character will no be part of the cast to begin with.  It will be interesting to see when and where the character is eventually reintroduced.  I just hope he's short when he finally debuts.

The Forgotten Heroes and The Watcher

 

Sad to say, most of these heroes are still somewhat forgotten.  Growing up, I enjoyed reading their adventures whenever I would come across them.  There were a few Animal man short cartoons about a decade ago and Rick Flag has appeared in the DCU, but I'm still waiting for the rest to find their way out of the comics pages. Cave Carson's rope is attached to a spaceship, in case you're wondering.

Batman and Speed Racer in "The Mechanics!"

 

Ah, the Whirly-Bat.  It looked so cool but seemed so dangerous.  What if Batman stood up before the propellers were off?  And doesn't his flapping cape aver get caught in the blades?  It was like an accident waiting to happen.  Batman and Speed Racer previously met on the blog way back in 2010, one of my earliest covers...

Metamorpho and 3-D Man

 

Uh oh!  It looks like The Grandmaster and Mr. Mxyzptlk are back for another round of their superhero championship!  Who will with this round of The Infinity Wager?

Expansion Team in: "Whatever Lengths Necessary!"

 

Presenting the sixth appearance of the Expansion Team!  I was very happy to hear that Incredibles 3 is in production, it will be great to see more Elasti-Girl action.  Reed Richards will be back in Avengers Doomsday, but the trailer shows that he still has that stupid mustache.  Either shave it or grow a beard to go with it, Pedro Pascal!

The Beast & Wonder Man Vs. The Brotherhood of Evil

 Of all of the X-Men returning for Avengers: Doomsday, I am looking forward to seeing The Beast the most.  He was cool in X3, but we didn't get to see him in nearly enough action scenes.  Hopefully that will be remedied in this new appearance.

Sasquatch Vs. Green Arrow & Black Canary

 

Ollie had better have a couple of extra sets of ski poles in that quiver, it looks like he and Dinah are going to need them!  Let's hope Walter regains his senses and joins them in taking his manipulator down!

X-Men and The Justice League of America in "Crisis on Battleworld!"

 

Now we found out where the missing heroes from yesterday's cover have been.  This marks the third clash between these two teams.  They first met in STF #700, and then again in STF #2259...

Here's a larger look at today's individual stories: 

Cyclops and The Elongated Man

 

Just where did the teammates of these four famous co-stars disappear to?  That answer will have to wait until tomorrow, when STF #5200 hits the stands!

Professor X and Racer X

 

For some reason, C-list villain Doctor Double-X has had some requests for an appearance on the blog.  The choice of heroes to face off against him seemed obvious to me.  This issue probably would not have flown off of the stands, but I think I would have been curious enough to want to read it.

Metamorpho Vs. The Super Skrull - Round Three!

 While the new Superman movie wasn't a smash hit, I'm glad that folks seem to have enjoyed the latest take on the character.  And hey, the movie introduced Metamorpho to a much larger audience, so that's cool!

These two first battled in STF #4761, and then again in STF #4807...

Kid Flash Vs. Speed Demon

 

Between all of the time travel shenanigans, multiversal adventures and company-wide reboots, I'm not quite sure what the back story of the new Wally West is.  I'm glad they kept his costume so close to the original red & yellow version, one of the best designs in comics. 

She-Hulk Vs. Maxima

 

Apparently, Maxima will make her big screen debut in Man of Tomorrow.  I always enjoyed the character from the Superman comics and I think that it will be a fun role to play for whatever actress lands the part. Who do you think would do the part justice?

New Mutants Vs. Darkseid

 

Looks like the New Mutants are in a tough spot.  It's too bad they didn't bring Magma along with them, she would have been a big help in this locale!

Stingray Vs. Black Manta in: "Wake The Death Dealer!"

 

Well, it's no wonder that these two keep finding themselves at odds!  Their head-concealing get ups really don't allow for much in the way of facial cues, so I have to imagine that leads to a lot of misunderstanding.

Stingray first battled Black Manta in STF #3452...

The Flash and Monkeyman & O'Brien

 

Apes and comic books have been intertwined for as long as I can remember.  For my money, nobody illustrates primate action better than Art Adams.  That's just one reason that his Monkeyman & O'Brien stories are such a fun read.

Green Lantern and Photon in: "Overcharged!"

 

Photon can wield and control light and energy, so it would be interesting to see her get a direct infusion from the Central Power Battery.  What effect would it have on her, though?

Green Lantern and Photon first met in STF #4019...