Star Trek and Batman & The Outsiders

 

Is Halo appearing anywhere these days? I've always thought that she was criminally underused.  One reason might be her convoluted backstory.  Hopefully DC will realize her potential one of these days.

Katana Vs. Darth Maul

 

I'm not sure how Tatsu Yamashiro found her way to a galaxy far, far away - but now that's she's here, who wins this battle?  They've both got the skills to wield their unique swords, so it would be close!

Batman and the Outsiders and Power Pack

 

Two great 80's teams, together at last.  I'm not sure if their current predicament is that cause of Kobra or The Serpent Crown, but it would be interesting to find out.

Katana and Valkyrie

 

Katana is better at wielding a sword, but Valkyrie has Asgardian strength to back her up.  This would be an interesting match up.  But just why would Brunnhilde want The Soultaker in the first place?

Katana and Iron Fist in "The Sacred Temple!"

 

Katana and Iron Fist have fought together before on the blog.  They battled Davos in STF #1997, and first the killers of K'un L'un in STF #3104. This time, they seem to have run afoul of the Foreground Sword Guys!

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...

Katana and The Swordsman

 The  Swordsman was introduced in the Disney+ Hawkeye series, and I hope it isn't the last that we will see of him in the MCU. We saw Katana in the DCEU, but she was very underutilized.  Let's hope the character gets more of a chance to shine down the road in the DCU. 

Katana Vs. Lady Deathstrike

 

A mutant with adamantium fingernails versus the wielder of the Soultaker Sword - this would certainly be a battle that would draw some blood. But who would emerge as the ultimate victor?

Psylocke and Katana

 

Psylocke entered the scene just as I was getting out of the X-Men comics, so I never really learned too much about her, other than the fact that her costume looked really uncomfortable to fight crime in. Still, she does seem to be pretty popular and I have received some requests to include her.  I am glad she can finally make her STF debut.

Batman and the Outsiders and Captain Marvel

 Presenting Part One of a Three-Part Epic!  It looks as though Mar-Vell intends to take one of the team far past the boundaries of Gotham - but who will he choose?  Make sure you come back tomorrow for Part Two of this saga to find out!

Daughters of the Dragon and Katana

 

Looks like it's time for another appearance by the FGG.  That's the Foreground Gun Guys, of course.  As had been discussed in the comments, it's a common comics trope that I definitely use from time to time.  Whether they are brandishing six-shooters from the old West, or high tech futuristic weaponry, The FGG will always be there when I need someone for my heroes to face off against.

Katana and Captain America

 

This is another good example of a cover in which I had to de-clutter and extend the background before adding in any new elements.  Here's a peek at the behind the scenes process:

Batman & The Outsiders and Ghost Rider in: "Cult of Vengeance!"

 

Howard Mackie and Javier Saltares' relaunch of Ghost Rider in the 90's really made an impression on me.  I remember being disappointed that the series would not revolve around Johnny Blaze, but the Danny Ketch Ghost Rider design was so cool it was hard to resist.  I especially liked the new look for the motorcycle, with its flaming wheels.  Plus, Johnny joined the series soon enough!

Batman and the Outsiders Vs. Mephisto

 

The Batman has finally been released, and I was thoroughly entertained by it.  (No Spoilers in this review) It's probably the most like a Batman comic of any live action adaptation so far.  Batman is finally a proper detective and the movie is very much a film noir.  The cast was uniformly excellent.  Zoe Kravitz and Colin Farrell are easily my favorite live action versions of Selina Kyle and The Penguin, I look forward to seeing more of both in the movies and on streaming shows.  I wanted more of both Alfred and Commissioner Gordon, but they were also excellently realized, especially in their interactions with Bruce Wayne/Batman.  Paul Dano was very effective as The Riddler, even if the character was a few steps too far away from his comic book counterpart for my taste.  Robert Pattinson himself made for a great Batman, though his Bruce Wayne was missing the bored socialite act - but that is an element that can be explored in future installments, he's still perfecting his dual roles at this point. The fight choreography was very well done, you could actually see what was happening. Gotham looked fantastic and felt like a real place and the score was moody and thrilling.  The Nirvana song worked, but we'll see how much it dates the movie like Prince's contributions to Batman '89 as the years pass.  I didn't mind the 3 hour run time, though that may change with repeated viewings.  I absolutely loved that we got a little bit of Batman voice over narration just like in the comics, and hope we get even more the next time around.  The costume looked better onscreen than I had been expecting, and I look forward to seeing what upgrades he gets the next time around.  I still miss the white eyes, but I don't know if we will ever get them with this ultra grounded version of the character.  In fact, that's my only real quibble with the movie - it is so gritty and down to Earth, that I don't know how any of Batman's more fantastical foes like Man-Bat or Clayface could ever fit in here - let alone connecting it to a larger DCU with Superman and the Justice League and so forth.  Matt Reeves has expressed interest in using Mr. Freeze, though, so maybe this world will broaden its comic book horizons going forward.  Cant wait for it to hit HBO Max in 5 weeks so I can watch it again!

Katana and Blade

 

I realize that pretty much every Marvel movie has been pushed back a year, but its still strange that we have not heard anything about where or when Blade will appear it the MCU.  It seems like the announcement of Mahershala Ali in the role was made ages ago.  No sign of the character appearing in any of the Movies or Disney+ series for the next couple of years, though.  He's too cool of a character to keep under wraps, hopefully we will hear more about Marvel's plans for him soon.

The Thing and Katana

 

One of the reasons that I am so impatient for The Fantastic Four to make their MCU debut is because I always considered Benjamin J. Grimm to be the ambassador of the Marvel Universe (thanks to comics like Marvel Two-In-One).  I am dying to see him interact with the rest of the heroes we've met so far.  Let's have a poker night scene!  Most of all I want to see a live action Thing Vs. Hulk fight!

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!

Katana and Iron Fist in "Killers of K'un Lun!"

 

Karen Fukuhara was very impressive as The Female in the Second season of The Boys on Amazon Prime, both in her dialog-free dramatic moments and her incredible fighting scenes.  So much so that it really highlights how under-used she was as Katana in the first Suicide Squad movie.  I look forward to seeing where her character goes in Season Three of The Boys, and I hope that we haven't seen the last of Katana on the big screen.

Katana and Iron Fist first met in STF #1997...

Wolverine and Katana

There has been talk of a "David Ayer Cut" of the first Suicide Squad film, since much of his original vision was left on the cutting room floor.  Most are curious about the extra scenes featuring The Joker that we saw in promotional materials for the film, but never made it to the final product.  I'm most curious about whether there is more footage of Katana.  She looked great in the movie, but barely got to do anything or be fleshed out as a character.  I'd like to think that she was written with more depth than what we saw in the theatrical cut of the movie.

Ant-Man and Batman and the Outsiders

There had been talk for a while about M.O.D.O.K. getting an animated series on Hulu, but lately I have been hearing that he may actually be making an appearance in the live action MCU - possibly in the third Ant-Man movie.  It would be great if they can find a way to pull off such a crazy looking character.  They found a way to make Arnim Zola work, so anything's possible, I guess!