The Avengers and Infinity Inc. (And More!)

 

Mr. Universe returns for his 12th appearance as STF's greatest villain, and this time he is super-charged enough that it will take two teams to beat him.  Fortunately, this issue is 100 pages, so there will still be plenty of room left for some fun back-up tales!

My goodness, are we really on the march towards STF #5000?

Here are some larger views of this issue's individual stories:

Justice League of America Vs. The Super-Adaptoid

 

I had to remove The Avengers as well as some other items before I could add in the JLA on this cover.  Here's a look at the behind the scenes progress: 

Hyperion and Martian Manhunter

 

I wonder if Ed McGuiness was a fan of the Masters of the Universe toy line.  I ask that because the muscular figures that he illustrates definitely remind me of the look of He-Man and his crew.  That's not a complaint - McGuiness's artistic skill and knowledge of anatomy allows him to effectively present his exaggerated style, which works well for superhero stories.

Justice League of America and The Sentry

 

Thunderbolts* has received better reviews than most of the recent Marvel output, but the box office numbers have not seemed to reflect that.  I'll catch it on Disney+ down the road.  I hear that The Sentry isn't in it all that much, but that his scenes are pretty cool. I look forward to checking to movie out.

Justice League of America Vs. Ego The Living Planet

 

It looks as though most of what we saw on the Peacemaker HBO Max series will remain canon for the new DCU - with one noticeable exception.  The Justice League does not exist yet, so the scene where they show up at the end of the series has no longer officially happened.  Will it be addressed in some way during the second season, or simply ignored?  It will be interesting to see how it is (or isn't) handled.

Martian Manhunter and the Hulk in: "The Vengeful and the Verdant!"

 

I first presented a meeting between these two back in STF #1088. I saw the chance to feature Kirby artwork, and decided that it was high time for them to share a cover again.  This time around, it would be cool to see them join forces against a common foe.

Justice League of America Vs. Apocalypse (Round 2)

 

That is a pretty formidable line up of Horsemen, even for Apocalypse.  Let's hope that the element of surprise is enough to help J'onn J'onzz turn the tide - at least until reinforcements arrive.  The JLA first face Apocalypse in STF #1664...

Martian Manhunter and The Avengers

 

This all-Kirby classic required some prep work before I could add in J'onn J'onzz.  Here's a look at the behind the scenes process:

Martian Manhunter and Captain America

 

I think that these two buccaneer booted battlers would work well together.  They are both considered to be the heart of soul of their respective teams and are each adept field commanders.  One is a man out of time and the other is a man torn from his world so they could bond in that way as well.

Martian Manhunter and Devil Dinosaur

 

Time for another all- Kirby confection. Are J'onn J'onzz' telepathic abilities enough to get these two to stop fighting and join forces? I don't know but it would be fun to watch him try.

John Carter and The Martian Manhunter

 

Here's a long overdue revisit.  J'onn J'onzz first encountered John Carter way back in STF #38, over a decade ago when this was still an MS Paint blog.  the John Carter movie may never get a sequel, but there's no reason that this tale shouldn't!

Martian Manhunter and The X-Files

 

There has been talk of an X-Files revival in the works.  I hope it's a continuation and not a reboot, I don't have much interest in seeing new actors portraying Mulder and Scully.  A new set of agents in a current day X-Files department could work though.  Let's hope they actually have some answers and closure to the cases they investigate though - The first show left way too many things unresolved.

Martian Manhunter and Mr. Fantastic

 

Marvel's D23 promotion featured little new information on the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, just confirming Matt Shakman as director. There have been some rumors still swirling about. Jodie Comer has reportedly been cast as Sue Storm, we'll see if that pans out.  Will John Krasinski be giving us another (hopefully far more competent) version of Reed Richards, or has another actor been tapped for the role?  What about Ben and Johnny? Looks like we'll be waiting a little longer for the answers.

Martian Manhunter Vs. Gladiator

 

I was happy to use an image of J'Onn J'Onzz by John Romita Jr. here, I quite like his depiction.  I was lucky to be ably to pick up a couple of JR JR original pages several years back (inks by Klaus Janson and Christopher Ivy):

Martian Manhunter Vs. King Ghidorah

 

With the CW Supergirl series completed, and Zack Snyder's Justice League already released, have we seen the last of a live action Martian Manhunter for a while?  While it's been cool to see him on the screen, I still do not think that the character has been completely done justice yet, so I'd love to see him return in the DCEU at some point.  With the right actor I can see him being a fan favorite.

Wonder Man and Martian Manhunter

Oh, that's gonna leave a mark. I'd be up for a Wonder Man Disney+ show starring Nathan Fillion - what say you?  He was fun in The Suicide Squad but deserves a bigger spotlight.

Wonder man here is by the legendary Gene Colan and Scorch is by the amazing Ed McGuiness - I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up a sketch by each of them several years back:

Hyperion Vs. Martian Manhunter

 

Sure, he was a Superman Knock-off, but there were a couple of reasons that I always liked Hyperion.  First, he was a riff on the Man of Steel when it was still a relatively unique idea - in the decades since his debut, I've lost count of all the Superman analogues out there.  Then there was a more personal reason - I was glad that such a powerful character had red hair like me!  Of course, if he ever makes it into the MCU, that's probably the first characteristic that will be jettisoned!

Spider-Man and the Justice League of America in: "A League of His Own!"

 

Bob Greenwade, a Patron of this blog, requested the return of the Spider Signal, and I thought that it would also be a good opportunity for the JLA to make up for snubbing Spider-Man's petition to join the team way back in STF #57.  The Spider-Signal was first introduced in STF #2378, and made a return in STF #2417...

Rumor has it that Alfred Molina will be reprising Doctor Octopus alongside Jamie Foxx' Electro in the next Spider-Man Movie.  Can Thomas Haden Church as Sandman be far behind?

Gumby and The Martian Manhunter

 

I watched the new animated Superman: The Man of Tomorrow, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that The Martian Manhunter plays such a large role in it. In addition to telling the Story of Superman's heroic debut, it established that J'onn J'onzz had already been operating on Earth in secret.  Lobo is also thrown into the mix - a character that never did much for me in the comics, but works well in this story.

Thanks to Mike Shirley, a Patron of this Blog, for suggesting this green hued pairing!

Martian Manhunter in the Marvel Universe

I keep reading that the one event that would bring the Russo Brothers back to the directing table for Marvel is an adaptation of Secret Wars.  I'm assuming they are referring to the first maxi-series that went by that name.  That would be epic, but clearly it can't happen for a while.  First the MCU has to introduce the X-Men and The Fantastic Four, not to mention villains like Dr. Doom, Galactus, Magneto,  more Spidey rogues, and so on.  Plus, Captain America was a big player in that series, will The Falcon take over his role?  Rhodey was in the Iron Man armor, so they won't have to resurrect Tony Stark at least.