Machine Man and The Demon

 

Kirby was as great at designing monstrous creatures as he was at designing futuristic mechanics.  A story that combined both really gave him a chance to show off his talents.

The Flash and Machine Man

 

Now even The Flash's job is being taken over by AI?  I hope that souped up skateboard is fast enough to match his pace!

Robo Force in: "No Home On Krakoa!"

 

For this, the 10th appearance of Robo Force, I thought I would place them somewhere wholly incompatible with their robotic bodies.  It would be interesting to see what landed them there and how they will react to the living island.

Animal Man and Machine Man in: "Man To Man Defense!"

 

These two heroes first appeared together in STF #4095, and I thought I would bring them back together.  The FGG (Foreground Gun Guys) are back, and someone has to take them down, after all!

Machine Man and Green Arrow & Black Canary

 

One of the things that I hope to see in James Gunn's DCU is the relationship between Green Arrow and Black Canary.  Arrow touched upon it, but that series was much more interested in the archer's feelings for Felicity Smoak.  I think that Gunn is a fan of the characters, so hopefully he has some plans up his sleeve.

G.I. Robot and Machine Man

 

Out of all of the cast of the upcoming Creature Commandos series, G.I. Robot is the one that I am the most curious about.  I really hope that James Gunn does the classic war comics character justice. I'm equally curious as to how Sean Gunn will perform the robotic voice.

Robo Force in: "Under Siege!"

 

This marks the ninth appearance of Robo Force on this blog, and this cover required a little prep work before adding in the images of our heroes in peril.  There was some background repair and extension required, as well as cleaning up the coloring since I couldn't find a crisp digital image of this splash page.  Here's a look at the behind the scenes progress:

Justice League of America and Machine Man

 

The JLA was known to be a team that is inclusive to robots, so I think they would welcome Aaron Stack with open arms.  That is, if  he is able to find out who replaced them!  I think that this could make for a fun tale.

Wonder Woman and Machine Man

 

So what is the main reason behind the "no men on Themyscira" rule?  Is it simple because the Amazons truly distrust men that much?  Is there some kind of ancient prophesy or curse they are trying to keep at bay?  Or are they just being arbitrarily exclusionary? 

Animal Man and Machine Man

 

Just from their names, these two clearly don't have a lot in common.  That's of course until they come face to face with a monstrosity that perverts both of their abilities.  It would be a fun battle to see go down.  

Machine Man and Robotman in: "Restoration Project!"

The final episodes of Doom Patrol should air on MAX soon, and it will be interesting to see how everything wraps up in the series.  Cliff Steele has been put through a lot, so I hope he finds some sort of happy ending.  Let's hope it isn't too long before the team appears in the new DCU.

Machine Man met the original Robotman in STF #2001...

Machine Man and Captain Atom

 

Time for an all-Ditko cover.  Neither of these guys has received so much as a mention in the Marvel and DC cinematic universes.  I wonder which will be featured in live action first?  I think that both of them could be pretty impressive visually on the big screen.

Machine Man and The Creeper in: The Mechanics of Madness"

 

Fort this Steve Ditko-illustrated compo, I thought I would go for a truly oddball pairing.  These two could not be more different in terms of appearance, attitude and abilities - but that's just what would make it an interesting team up to me.

These two heroes previously met in STF #3526...

Darth Vader Vs. Machine Man

 

It's funny how your perspective changes when watching a movie that you have seen over and over for years.  When I was a kid viewing Star Wars, I liked the buildup scenes on Tatooine - But like Luke, I couldn't wait for the characters to get off planet and into the rebellion against The Empire.  I just watched the movie again recently, and my thoughts were all about just how does moisture farming work anyway?  I tried to look around to find clues on Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's property.  Maybe the occupation will be explored further on Obi-Wan Kenobi when it hits Disney+.

Machine Man and The Creeper

 

This is the kind of oddball pairing that really gets me interested.  They are two of my favorite C-List heroes with almost nothing in common besides their pursuit of justice.  Add in artwork by the legendary Steve Ditko to tie the whole tale together, and you have a done-in-one comic that would be tough to pass up - well, for me anyway!

Orion and Machine Man

 

I've finally gotten around to watching Game of Thrones, and all of the castles, battles and family drama have me convinced that maybe a New Gods HBO Max series would be the way to go.  A movie would be cool, but so much of the story would have to be glossed over or left out completely even with a long running time.  A nice ten episode run would allow for Jack Kirby's characters and concepts to really shine.

Robo Force in: "Who Shot R2D2?"

 

Remember "Who Shot JR?"  I didn't even watch Dallas and I had to find out who did it.  It was a pretty big pop culture moment back in those pre-internet days - maybe because there was no way for the conclusion to be spoiled!

This is Robo Force's eighth appearance on the blog - They first became a team back in STF #150...  they battled Ultron in STF #202... they almost lost one of their own in STF #1450... they faced off against Brainiac in STF #1850...  they battled Magnus: Robot Fighter in STF #2090... a rival group was introduced in STF #2450... and that group had an adventure all their own in STF #2570...

Machine Man and Captain Atom

 

One blank spot in my comics reading career has been Charlton Comics.  I like the characters from Charlton that eventually were purchased by DC and many of my favorite creators (Steve Ditko, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano and more) did work for the company.  So far I have only checked out The Phantom from when he was published by Charlton, and I quite enjoyed those.  I'll have to seek out some other collected editions from their library.

Machine Man and Cyborg in: "The Extinction Algorithm!"

 

I'm not sure what The Vision's status will be following Wanda/Vision on Disney+, but whatever becomes of him, the MCU definitely has room for another robotic character.  I say it's time to bring in Machine Man!  He has the same appeal as Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation - an artificial man that longs to understand what it is like to be a real one.

Machine Man and Cyborg previously met in STF #2725...

Machine Man and Cyborg

Machine Man is at the top of my list of Marvel characters that I really want to see on the big screen.  I'd prefer him in his original version, as used on this cover, rather than the more human look he adopted in Nextwave.  Now that The Vision has been destroyed (we'll see if he truly returns in Wanda/Vision), Aaron Stack could take on the role of a robot discovering humanity.