Elongated Man and Moon Knight (Vs. Mr. Universe!)

 

For the 15th appearance of the MK/EM Team, I figured I would put  them up against STF's greatest villain, Mr. Universe (making his 13th appearance).  Maybe they will be the two heroes to finally put this menace down for good!

Ghost Rider Vs. Skeletor (Round Two!)

 

These two first clashed in STF #2959, and I thought that is would be fun to revisit this rivalry. I'm not sure what I think about Jared Leto as Skeletor in the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie. He is a talented actor, but I did not care for his take on The Joker.  Hopefully his interpretation of this villain is more well received.

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:

Ghost Rider and Lobo

 

There's been lots of rumors swirling about Jason Mamoa playing Lobo in James' Gunns new DCU movie plans.  This is really what should have been done in the first place, he's a perfect fit for the character and basically infused that personality onto Arthur Curry anyway. Some say that there will be confusion with him going from Aquaman to a new comic character, but I think that audiences have seen enough actors play multiple superhero roles in the past that they can roll with it.

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!

Power Girl and She-Hulk (Vs. The Psycho Pirate)

 

I'm looking forward to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney+.  There were some complaints about dodgy CGI in the trailer, but I've seen updated footage that allays those fears, I think it will look fine.  Still, I do wonder why they couldn't just paint Tatiana Maslany green and give her a wig and some small props at least for the close up shots.  It seems that would be cheaper and simpler, but perhaps it would be too hard to match it up to the CGI shots they do use if they went that way.

Power Girl and She-Hulk first met in STF #1482...

Judge Dredd and Jonah Hex (Part Two)

 

Presenting the second half of the two-part tale!

Judge Dredd seems like a character that would be perfect for animation, and I am surprised we haven't seen a series or movie in that style for the world famous lawman.  I did a search and it looks like there are a few fan made animated shorts out there, I'll have to check them out.  There were reports out a year or so ago about an animated Dredd series in development, possibly headed to Netflix, but who knows if anything will come of that, given the fact that they are slashing their animation division and canceling lots of upcoming projects (including Jeff Smith's Bone, grrrr).

Moon Knight and Rose & The Thorn in: "The Darkest Impulse!"

 

Rose is of course referring to when these two heroes first crossed paths way back in STF #268...

The trailer for the Disney+ Moon Knight series looked pretty cool.  I was surprised at the accent that Oscar Isaac was using in the role, but I guess that's a good way to distinguish between his different personalities.  The quick bits of action were pretty impressive, they did a great job of translating his outfit to live action.  I can't wait to see Werewolf by Night and what other supernatural elements or characters that may be introduced in the series.

Black Canary Vs. Bullseye

The first images and set photos from Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) have been released, and I can't say I am impressed with what I am seeing.  Quinn herself looks OK, but Black Canary, Huntress and Black Mask are unrecognizable.  It doesn't seem liked DC is learning anything form the success of Wonder Woman and Aquaman, which more closely embraced their comic book roots. Frankly this looks like a cheap TV series so far, hopefully as more is released I will be proven wrong.

This is only Part One of a Two-Part tale, so make sure you come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!

Dr. Fate Vs. Ghost Rider

The two Ghost Rider movies starring Nicholas Cage are both extremely cheesy with weak villains and lots of over-acting.  Even so, whenever I stumble upon one of the action sequences on TV while channel flipping, I have to stop and watch it.  It's a testament to the awesome design of the character and his vehicles.  Even in a sub-par product, he is very cool to watch do his thing.

These two first crossed paths way back in STF #233...

Sabretooth Vs. Catwoman

I always liked Adrienne Barbeau as the voice of Catwoman on Batman: The Animated Series.  She certainly has the looks to play a live action version - imagine what could have been if there had been a Batman TV show in the late 70's-early 80's.

Deathlok and Jonah Hex

This cover comes from discussion in the comments section for this blog.  Michael Jones came up with this pairing, and Susan Hillwig suggested the use of this particular Hex image.  What can I say, when they're right, they're right - it would be a fun story!  Thanks, Michael and Susan!

The Creeper and Moon Knight

You have to be at least a little nuts to dress in a costume and go out to fight crime, so it's always appealing to me when a hero is at home with that aspect of their personalities.  The Creeper is one such character, and I got a kick out of the joy with which he approached his dual life.

Batman and Moon Knight in "Knight Moves"

This is a tale that I could actually see happening if these two characters ever actually got together.  Batman likes the costume-swap-to-confuse-your-enemies maneuver, he and Superman used to use it all the time.  Marc Spector has always had difficulty managing multiple personalities, though - so it's a plan that is bound to backfire when he gets involved.  Will Bruce Wayne be able to knock some sense back into him?  The answer is only 60 cents away!

Ghost Rider and Evel Knievel

I haven't seen Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance yet but I think I will get out of it what I did from the first Ghost Rider flick - a thin plot and hokey performances with some cool looking Ghost Rider effects to make things a bit more palatable.  Hopefully the second film has a better villain, that's what really did the first one in for me.  Evel Knievel held a special  fascination for me as a kid.  I remember watching his jumps on TV and thinking he was about the closest thing to a real-life superhero that there was.  I also used to love the Evel Knievel toy bike that you could crank up and perform stunts with.