Jack O'Lantern and Union Jack

 

Two full-masked heroes from across the pond, both named Jack?  I'm surprised it took me so long to get them together.  Neither of them have made all that many appearances over the years, but I have always enjoyed when they have been featured.

Planetary and Planet Terry

 

When I read this suggestion by Bill Delaney, for some reason it just made me chuckle.  While the two comics had similar sounding names, Planetary and Planet Terry were decidedly different from one another. I wasn't sure if they would go together but I had to give it a shot.  Thanks for the inspiration, Bill!

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.  

The Creeper and The Beast in: "Party Crashers!"

 

I paired these two together back in STF #1086, and I thought it was time they made a return appearance together.  Being able to use George Perez artwork for both was an added incentive.

Green Lantern and Captain America in "With Liberty and Justice for Oa!"

 

So the GLC show bring prepared for HBO Max and featuring Alan Scott and Guy Gardner is being scrapped in favor of a John Stewart-centric series.  OK, we'll see if that one actually gets off the ground.  In the meantime, what of Hal Jordan?  Will he appear on the big screen again?  Was the Ryan Reynolds movie so reviled that the character has lost his shot at live action for good?

Cap and Hal Jordan battled Arnim Zola and Sinestro in STF #2862.   Cap met the Alan Scott GL in STF #372 and then again in STF #719...

Jessica Jones and Sherlock Holmes

 

I haven't heard any confirmation other than the fact that Kevin Feige stated he enjoyed Krysten Ritter in the role of Jessica Jones, but I hope that the rumors are true that she could be among those returning from the Marvel Netflix shows to join the MCU.  She could definitely show up in Echo or a new Disney+ Daredevil series (although those two may be one and the same show with a last minute change of title, according to other rumors).  Now that Tony Stark is gone, the MCU definitely needs someone with a dry wit like Jessica to poke holes in the A-List heroes.

Jakita Wagner and Nightcrawler

 

Planetary is a comics series that I have to pull out and read again.  I takes a trip through many different genres with interesting characters and wide screen visuals   Much of the credit goes to artist John Cassiday.  I was lucky enough to pick up some original art by him several years back, One from Planetary and a two-page spread from X-Men/Alpha Flight:

Batman, Angel and Colossus

These two X-Men never realized their full potential in the Fox X-movies.  I'm looking forward to seeing what direction they go in when they eventually join the MCU.

Batman met Colossus in a B&B: The Lost Issues cover from 2010, and met Angel in a B&B: The Lost Issues cover from 2011...

Black Panther Vs. Bane

Much like the concerns about Robert Pattinson's physique for his upcoming role as Batman, here has been some online discussion about Chadwick Boseman's current appearance.  Recent social media posts have shown him to having apparently lost weight and looking quite different than he did as the Black Panther.  Maybe it's for another role, or maybe that's just his normal look between projects.  Given the delays in Hollywood filming there's probably plenty of time to work out and bulk up before shooting on the sequel begins, so I don't think there's much cause for alarm at this point.

Black Canary and Misty Knight

I really enjoyed Simone Missick in the role of Misty Knight on Netflix' Luke Cage series.  It's too bad that we really only got one scene of her and Colleen Wing in action together.  I was looking forward to the creation of Knightwing Investigations, but that's just one more plot thread from the Netflix Marvel shows that was never fulfilled.  Hopefully down the line we'll see the characters again in the MCU (if not the actors and actresses).

Justice Society Vs. Alpha Flight (And More!)

Wow, hard to believe we are at STF #2800 already (cover #3310 overall) - time flies!

While the Justice League may have missed the mark in their big screen attempt, the Justice Society is ready for their chance at live action.  They are going to be featured in as supporting players and in flashback scenes on the upcoming Stargirl series, which looks fun based on the trailer.  Then there's the Black Adam movie, which also promises to feature a number of JSA members as well. It'll be interesting to see which characters make the cut for both projects.

Al Pratt and Puck would later work together. as told in STF #720...

Red Star and Colossus

The X-Men films seem to be embracing the 80's era line up, and so I was disappointed that Colossus has not been added back into the mix,  I guess he is being reserved for the Deadpool sequel perhaps.  Hopefully Cable's arrival as new straight man won't diminish Piotr Rasputin's contributions too much.

 Colossus encountered Red Star once before, on a very early MS Paint B&B cover...

Amanda Waller in The Marvel Universe

I was looking forward to seeing Amanda Waller in Suicide Squad, but like Superman, DC seems to have gone darker than I preferred with the cinematic version of one of their print heroes.  I know that Waller is tough as nails and will go to extremes to further her goals, but even so, I thought it was a step top far to see her kill a group of her own men just to keep secrets.  That just made her look like a cold blooded killer, which I never felt she was in the comics.

Cyclops and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I liked that the X-Men finally embraced more comic-centric costumes at the end of X-Men: Apocalype, and look forward to their next outing where they will have them for the full movie. I'd like to see Cyclops or Storm take more of a leadership role, as in the comics - Mystique giving the orders to the X-Men doesn't really work for me.

Phantom Stranger and The Shadow (Part Two)

Continued from yesterday's cover, we see what The Phantom Stranger has been after all along.  It's cool to see The Shadow in the movies and comics, and I have enjoyed both.  For me though, I will always be most fond of the classic radio dramas featuring the character.  They bring me back to camping trips with my family, and I have always loved the (now mostly lost) art form of the radio play.  The Shadow, Mystery Theater, X-Minus One and many other programs really knew how to stimulate the theater of the mind.

Captains Marvel

I can understand why they finally made the change, but I still think it's too bad that the original Captain Marvel no longer goes by that name and now calls himself Shazam.  If they had to change the name, I always preferred something like Captain Thunder. At any rate, on this blog Billy Batson's superheroic persona will always be Captain Marvel.

Flash Gordon and Luke Skywalker

Like the main characters in the comedy Ted, I was a big fan of the Flash Gordon movie - first for all the cool trippy visuals and Queen soundtrack, and later for the campy quality of the whole production.  So, it's no surprise that I loved all the humor derived from the movie, and the scenes with Sam J. Jones really cracked me up.  I'm glad he was a such a good sport and rolled with the films over the top attitude.

Luke Skywalker Vs. Aliens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is steadily making its way to becoming the highest grossing film of all time, and I did my part by attending an opening night screening.  I had a blast, it was great seeing the familiar faces from 1977 back in action once more.  I wasn't expecting that I would enjoy the new characters so much though, I thought they were all compelling and will look forward to seeing more of them in the future.  Some have said that JJ Abrams repeated too many plot points from A New Hope, but that was  not as big of an  issue for me.  The cantina scene was fine, I am sure that Han and Chewie visited more than one bar in their escapades.  I thought having a Stormtrooper disguised as a Rebel was a pretty clever spin on the Rebels disguised as Stormtroopers from the first film.  Yes, BB-8 was another cute droid hiding secret information, but he was so cool to watch, I didn't mind at all.  I will say that a third Death Star type weapon was pushing it a bit though.  My only real issue was that I wanted more Luke Skywalker (which I discussed in an earlier post), but I have confidence that he will have a lot more to do the next time around - at least I really hope so!

Hourman and Jack Bauer

I was very happy to hear that the TV series 24 was making a return appearance this year,  and it did not disappoint.  Sure, it was way over the top, but that's what I always loved about the show.  Kiefer Sutherland and William Devane chewed the scenery quite nicely and the addition of Yvonne Strahovsky  was a welcome one.  The ending left the story of Jack Bauer open, so hopefully we haven't seen the last of him.

Stargirl and Captain America in "Freedom Will Ring..."

I haven't checked in with Stargirl since the New 52 reboot, but it seems like she has been getting plenty of exposure in the Justice League titles.  I really liked the legacy aspect of the character, and how she had ties to heroes like Starman, Stripesy and the Star-Spangled Kid.  With the loss of the original Earth Two characters, I wonder how much of that history is still intact in the present continuity.

Cap first met Stargirl in STF #501...