Captain Marvel and The Doom Patrol

 

I was kind of indifferent about The High Evolutionary when he would show up in a comic.  He was another otherworldly villain with an odd design.  Now that I  have watched him as the main antagonist in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, I see him and think, "Ooh, I really hate that guy!"

Mar-Vell first met the Doom Patrol in STF #4505...

Captain Marvel and Firestorm (Vs. Mr. Universe!)

 

It looks like STF's arch-villain Mr. Universe is back for his 6th appearance - and this time he's gone after a couple of heavy hitters! Mar-Vell first met Firestorm in STF #2747...

There was a lot of tweaking required with this cover - Here's a look at the behind the scenes progress:

Captain Marvel and Swamp Thing

 

There have been some false alarms over the years, but Mar-Vell remains one of the few heroes to die in comics and remain dead, even decades later.  I am glad that the integrity of his story has been kept intact - but I wouldn't mind seeing some new stories featuring him in flashback tales from his prime.  

Doom Patrol and Captain Marvel

 

To think that we could have gotten a scene of the Classic Mar-Vell or a properly realized Supreme Intelligence in the Captain Marvel movie - and we were given a tired looking Annette Bening as a substitute for both.  What a missed opportunity. I do think that Bening is a talented actress, but I have to believe that's not what fans were hoping for.

Captain Marvel and Black Lightning in: "Escape From The Negative Zone!

 

For the conclusion to this three-part tale, we find that leaving The Negative Zone may not be quite as easy as getting there.  Let's hope that our heroes can avoid all the booby traps left by the defeated Annihilus!

Captain Marvel and Black Lightning (Vs. Annihilus!)

 

For Part Two of our Three-Part Epic, we now see which member of The Outsiders the Mar-Vell needed to help complete his mission. Make sure you come back again tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion!

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!

Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel in: "The Clutch of Thanos!"

 

While they appeared together on a whole team of Captain Marvels  in STF #1610, I haven't featured these two as a pair since way back in STF #16,over 11 years ago.  This is truly a belated sequel to that tale, which also featured Thanos.

The Flash and Captain Marvel

 

For a while, these were two of the most famous superheroes ever to be killed off.  The Flash eventually returned to the land of the living, but despite a few teases, Mar-Vell's death has not been reversed.  I think by this point he is safely resting in peace, I'd be surprised to see a true attempt to bring him back now.  That doesn't mean I wouldn't mind some appearances in flashback sequences, though.

Superman and Captain Marvel in: "Crimes of the Kree!"

 

Now that the Snyder-verse has more or less come to a close with The Flash (and its less than stellar box office receipts), James Gunn, Peter Safran and DC can start to get their new DCU underway, beginning with Superman Legacy.  Casting announcements seem imminent, and I've liked some of the names I've heard rumored for Clark, Lois and Lex.  It'll still be some time before we see any footage, but at least Superman and Lois has been renewed on TV for one more season (sadly minus the entire supporting cast) to tide us over.

Superman first met Mar-Vell in STF #736...

Captain Marvel and Doctor Light

 

This cover required a little bit of clean-up work before I could change the wielder of the energy blast.  here's a peek behind the scenes:

Wildcat and Captain Marvel

 

Mar-Vell is clearly referring here to time Wildcat defeated The Champion in the ring, as depicted in STF #2731.  If anything can bring these mis-matched heroes together it's an intergalactic grudge match that must be dealt with.  

Captain Marvel and Batgirl

 

I wonder what's going to become of the Batgirl movie.  First it was going to be going straight to HBO Max, then it was decided it would be a theatrical release.  Commissioner Gordon will be played by JK Simmons, as he was in Zack Snyder's Justice League, with Michael Keaton back as Batman.  Keaton's appearance as Batman in The Flash was supposed to come out beforehand and would have explained how is there, but now that movie has been delayed at least a year due to behind the scenes drama.  Are they just going to release Batgirl anyway, and just hope audiences roll with it - or will it be delayed as  well?

Batgirl ran afoul of Ming the Merciless in STF #3535...

Deadman and Captain Marvel in: "Overtime... in the Afterlife!"

 

Long time STF visitors will know that his story serves as a direct continuation form STF #2181, and it looks like Boston Brand was not kidding about putting Mar-Vell to work. Mar-Vell sort of reminds me of Jack Knight from DC.  Despite their popularity, both characters have been allowed to maintain the powerful endings that were written for them - retirement and death, respectively.  That's a pretty rare thing in comics.

Aquaman in the Marvel Universe

 

For this Anniversary Issue, I thought that it would be fun to spotlight one DC hero that never received the 100-Page Giant treatment back when that format was popular in the 70's.  Such an oversight must be remedied, and this blog is just the place to do it! This marks the first time Aquaman has met these characters, except for The Punisher - they also shared an adventure in STF #1438...

Green Lantern Corps and Captain Marvel in "Get Them to the Guardians!"

 

I am hoping we get some casting news for the HBO Max Green Lantern Corps series soon.  John Stewart and Hal Jordan are being saved for the big screen, so this series will focus on Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz.  I do hope they manage to get some alien GL's in there, despite a lower streaming budget. Chaselon makes everything better.

Mar-Vell previously met the GLC in STF #221...

Katma Tui and Ms. Marvel

Continuing from yesterday's cover, we see that others have joined the fray. 

I spoke yesterday how Marvel's Captain Marvel movie had missed opportunities,and now it's DC's turn.  I'll still never understand why the Green Lantern movie did not focus on Sinestro as the villain rather than the much less interesting (and more goofy looking) Hector Hammond and the Space Fart known as Parallax (did they learn nothing from Fantastic Four: Rise of the Sillver Surfer and their approach to Galactus?)  I much preferred Mark Strong in the role as Sinestro than his take on Sivana in Shazam! (frankly, that felt like a more generic villain and nothing like the short weaselly Sivana that I knew from the comics), and I wish he had gotten the chance to more thoroughly explore the character.

Captain Marvel and Sinestro

I'm still bummed that we will never see this version of Mar-Vell in the Marvel movies  Not using him and reducing his story line down to a few sentences uttered by Annette Bening is one of the few real missteps that the MCU has made to me.  Even if they had to gender-bend the character, I'd still like to have seen at least one scene with a de-aged Bening showing peak Mar-Vell in outer space action

As you can see from the cover above, this is only part One of a Two-Part Epic - so make sure you come back tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion!

Captain Marvel and Firestorm

I like Annette Bening as an actress but using her in place of comic-accurate depictions of both Mar-Vell and The Supreme Intelligence in Captain Marvel was a huge missed opportunity for me. If they had to gender bend Mar-Vell, they could have still at least given us a scene of a de-aged Bening depicting the original Captain Marvel in action in her prime.  And I get the idea that everyone sees The Supreme Intelligence in their own way, but couldn't one person have seen it as a a big giant green floating head with tentacles?  Maybe future installments of the franchise can remedy these fan favorite oversights.

Galactus Vs. The DC Universe (and more!)

I was surprised to see that next year's DC crossover on the CW is going to be Crisis on Infinite Earths.  I have long been waiting for an animated version, but never expected a live action attempt.  Can they do it on a TV budget?  I do think that The Monitor looked pretty cool on this past years' crossover.  If they stretch this over two weeks of episodes of Arrow, The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Black Lightning and Batwoman they could have twelve chapters, just like the epic maxi-series.