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 Super Visors

 

This team comes directly from the comment section of this blog, right down to the name.  I forget actually who was discussing it, but I wrote down the idea for a team of visor-wearing heroes and it it was so silly that it stuck with me.  I finally decided to tackle it..

The Incredibles enter The Spider-Verse

 

I saw Spider-Man: No Way Home yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was great to see villains from the other Spider-Man franchises return to challenge the MCU's Peter Parker.  The first half doesn't have a lot of action and some characters make some pretty stupid decisions, but all of that is forgiven as it sets up an incredible second half.  I can only imagine how much more I would have enjoyed the movie if so many plot points had not been revealed in advance by a scoop hungry internet.  The best part of the movie for me were the final few minutes, I love where Spider-Man is left and I really look forward to where he goes in the movies from here.

Plastic Man and The Incredibles

So, what is the deal with Plastic Man's goggles?  For decades, I figured that they were stuck onto him as part of his condition. I never saw him without them after all.  However, lately, I have been seeing depictions of him without them on - could he remove them this whole time?  For that matter, these days he has a new costume for his adventures with The Terrifics, which I wasn't sure was possible either.  Maybe his powers work differently than I always thought.

The Expansion Team in: "Stretching Out The Roster!"

I've gotten a kick out of having The Elongated Man join The Flash on the CW.  Hartley Sawyer does well in the role, and certainly has the looks to play Ralph Dibny (wish he had red hair though).  The stretching effects aren't used enough to my liking but have looked pretty good for the most part.  The last episode where he developed a Clayface-like ability to completely mimic anyone's appearance, including their voice was a bit much, though - he has never been able to do that in the comics.

This is the third appearance of The Expansion Team - they were last seen battling the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man in STF #1490, and first got together back in STF #934...

Spider-Woman and Wonder Girl in "Twin Targets!"

DC Comics had been doing legacy and spin-off heroes for years, but it was still a relatively new thing for Marvel when characters like She-Hulk and Spider-Woman hit the stands.  I think Marvel was wise to have the still be quite distinct from the heroes that inspired them, and not just in gender.  Jennifer Walters retained her normal intelligence as She-Hulk and enjoyed the transformation, which was very different from Bruce Banner.  Spider-Woman had very little to do with Spider-Man at all, indeed they only crossed paths a few times.  She carved out her own path without having to become just an offshoot of an existing hero.

Spider-Woman and Wonder Girl first discovered their familial relationship back in STF #831...

Batman and The Incredibles

The teaser for The Incredibles 2 has been released, and I am very happy that this movie is finally being made.  I figured that the setting would jump ahead a few years in time, but it looks like things will take off shortly after the end of the last film, with the family just realizing that baby Jack Jack has powers of his own.  I don't mind if that is the case because there is plenty of material to be mined there.  It will also be interesting to see what spin the film takes on superheroes this time around, considering they have become the dominant cinematic genre in the years since the first Incredibles was released.

Doctor Light and Spider-Man

I remember really liking the new heroic Doctor Light that rose out of the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and expecting big things for the character.  Unfortunately, she never really seemed to find a home.  I remember her showing up briefly in a few Justice League story lines, but I always thought that she was deserving of more attention.  It was cool to see a version of her in live action on The Flash, and hopefully that is a sign of bigger things to come for her in the comic world down the line.

The Impossibles and The Incredibles

I only remember watching The Impossibles a few times as a kid.  I recall liking what I saw though, they had power sets that I had not seen on other cartoons and I was a sucker for anything super-hero related.  It was not until many years later looking back upon the property that I realized they were loosely based on The Three Stooges!

Frozone and Iceman

The Incredibles is the latest Pixar film slated to have a sequel.  The first film is such a gem, I hope that great care is taken with the second installment, so as to enhance the franchise, rather than tarnish it.  I have faith in the studio, though - their sequels for Toy Story and Monsters Inc. were a lot of fun for me.  The only one that I did not care for was Cars 2. I hope that the new film will have allowed the family to grow, so that we can see where they are a few years after the events of the first movie.  A larger role for Frozone would be welcome as well, he was cool to watch but didn't have much screen time the first time around.

Elasti-Girl and Elastigirl

The Incredibles is one of my favorite Pixar films, and that is saying a lot because I pretty much like them all.  A sequel has finally been announced. and I hope that they can meet the high standards of the first installment.  Pixar has a decent track record for sequels - Sure, Cars 2 was not as great as their usual fare, but I thoroughly enjoyed the follow ups to Toy Story and Monsters, Inc.  I am curious as to how much further down the road the Incredibles sequel will pick the story up.  Will they consider the real world time that has passed, or tell a tale that takes place only a short time after the events of the first film?

The Fantastic Four and The Incredibles

Given the power sets and the family aspect, it's clear to see that The Fantastic Four was a major inspiration for The Incredibles, so it would definitely be fun to see the two teams meet. Pixar seems to be open to sequels with Toy Story, Monsters inc., Cars and Finding Nemo receiving follow up installments, so I hope they finally give The Incredibles another cinematic outing.  I would love to see what director Brad Bird has in mind for the next chapter in their story.  The FF are currently in line for a cinematic reboot, but too little has been released yet for me to determine whether they will be improving on the previous franchise or straying further from the original concept.

Marvel Girl and Batgirl

I have wanted to make a cover that features both characters by Marcio Takara for a while now.  I love his fluid style and the way his figures look constantly in motion.  He has worked on titles like The Flash and Blue Beetle, and hopefully we will see lots more from him in the future.