Nightwing and Night Nurse

 

Rosario Dawson as Night Nurse is the latest character is the latest character rumored to be making the leap from the Netflix shows to the mainstream MCU in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day.  The film already seems packed, but with guest stars like The Punisher and The Hulk, I can see where there would be a need for her services.  Time will tell if this later rumor pans out.

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:

Nightwing and Puck

 

Nightwing previously faced off against The Ringmaster with The Roustabouts in STF #2410, and with Nightcrawler way back in STF #68...

The Micronauts and Nightwing & Flamebird

 

This is just the kind of crazy circumstance that I would expect to see  in a story about The Bottle City of Kandor.  I'd think The Micronauts would be right at home there, there must be a good reason that they want out.

New Teen Titans and Doctor Doom

 Victor Von Doom can be quote discourteous, and Koriand'r is not someone that you want to get on the wrong side of.  Yeah, I can see this scenario taking place!  But what would the fallout be? 

The Roustabouts (Vs. Arcade!)

 

For the fifth appearance of The Roustabouts, I figured that it was time for an entire team free for all.  Who better to turn this team of circus heroes against one another than Arcade?

Nightwing Vs. Sandman in: "Beach Brawl!"

 

Sure, The Sandman has taken steps to become a reformed criminal - but nobody told Nightwing that!  This is a rematch between these two.  They first clashed back in STF #3447, and Dick Grayson also faced Flint Marko along with the rest of the Sinister Six in STF #3738...

The Roustabouts in: "Satan at the Circus!"

 

For this, the fourth appearance of The Roustabouts, I thought I would raise the stakes a little.  Let's see how the Brawlers Under the Big Top fare against Mephistopheles himself!  It's a good thing that half of their members have extensive experience battling demonic entities.

Nightwing and Mockingbird

 

Out of all of DC's heroes, I think Nightwing would make a great recruit for S.H.I.E.L.D.  He's got the skills that Batman taught him, and is comfortable working within a team as well.  He's even worked in law enforcement before, so this might be a natural step.

Nightwing and Gambit

 

When Robert Jackson, a Patron of this blog, suggested this pairing, I was surprised that I had not gotten to it yet, it really does seem like a natural.  So, thank you, Robert!  There's lots of speculation as to who will play each character on the big screen, but I think it will be some time before we see either.  Dick Grayson needs at least one movie as Robin before changing his super-heroic identity if they want to do his story justice, and while Gambit is cool, he certainly should not be among the first group of X-Men introduced (though I do like the suggestion of Austin Butler for the role).  

The Punisher and Nightwing

 

This is another cover in which the final product makes it look like a relatively simple one.  Just plop The Punisher in behind Nightwing, right?  There was a bit more prep work before I could get to that stage though.  Here's a peek behind the process:

Nightwing & Flamebird and Power Man & Iron Fist

 

I thought that it was time to have a meeting between the coolest crimefighting pairs of the Silver and Bronze ages.  Sure the stories may now appear too quaint or the costumes too bright and bold to pull off in a modern setting, but I always got a kick out of reading about all of these guys. 

The Sinister Six Vs. Nightwing

 

There was talk of a Nightwing movie in the works for a while, but I don't know if that project is alive anymore.  Perhaps if Batgirl is a hit with audiences, Warner Bros will take another look at the property.  Will there be a mention of Dick Grayson in that movie?  With Michael Keaton's Batman due to show up there, we might get a clue as to what the boy wonder's cinematic future holds.

Nightwing Vs. Electro

It was cool to see Jamie Foxx get another chance to play Electro, especially with the redesign that he was given.  The nerdy, obsessed with Spider-Man version from his original appearance was a little too close to the Jim Carrey Riddler origin from Batman Forever for my taste.  Even better than the attitude change was the updated look that he received.  I loved how the energy crackling around him would form the classic star-shaped helmet when he let loose with his powers - a great way to get that tough to pull off design in there.

Nightwing and Cloak & Dagger

 

The second season of Stargirl started out a little slowly, but finished off strong.  I was especially impressed with how well realized Eclipso was, both visually and how he was utilized as a season-long menace.  It definitely seemed like the show's budget may have been trimmed from the first season to the second, but Eclipso's sequences were always done well.  The post credits scene featuring a popular Infinity Inc. character showing up was cool too, and suggests interesting possibilities for Season Three.

Nightwing Vs. Sandman

 

I'm not sure what Flint Marko's status is these days, but I hope he has not reverted to his evil ways.  I always liked him as a reformed villain.  The issue of Marvel Two-In-One where this is dealt with as he shares a beer with Ben Grimm is a favorite of mine.  I am always happy to use the amazing artwork of Mike Zeck on this blog.  Here's a sketch I picked up years ago that he did for  the Batman: Ten Nights of The Beast TPB cover: 

Nightwing & Flamebird and Nomad

 

Nightwing & Flamebird was such a fun concept in the Silver Age.  The fact that Superman would still fight crime in a place that nullified his powers just showed how heroic he truly was, not to mention that ist showed that he picked up a lot of pointers from his adventures with Batman and Robin.  Then he let Jimmy Olsen join in on the action, solidifying his title of Superman's Pal.  The costumes were pretty cool, too!

New Teen Titans Vs. The Avengers

 

I finally watched the first two seasons of Titans, and I can't say I am a big fan of the series.  Some of the costumes look good - Hawk and Dove, Deathstroke, the Robins and the CGI Trigon come to mind.  The characterizations is where the show falls apart for me.  Every character is depressed and way overly violent in their crimefighting interactions.  Dove should not be as bloodthirsty as Hawk!  Gar Logan only changes into a tiger and then eats people? and what's with all the F bombs?  It's the series' favorite word, used frequently by every character, even ones who it is wholly inappropriate for like Bruce Wayne, Kory or Raven.  There's some cool power usage (I like how Jericho's abilities were realized), and by the end, it feels like the team wants to move away from their violent tendencies, but these episodes were tough to get through for a fan of the 80's comics.

These two teams first met in STF #1250...

The Falcon and Nightwing

There was talk of a Nightwing movie for a while, but I haven't heard anything about that in ages.  I think the problem is that Batman in the movies keeps getting re-set.  We never get around to introducing Robin, let alone allowing him to graduate into his second super-heroic identity.  I understand that's been a major plot point of the Titans series on DC's streaming service.  I'll have to check that out one of these days.

Nightwing Vs. Sabretooth

This was a very tricky cover to create, but I was happy with the way it came out.  I remember when the original cover from New Teen Titans #19 with Nightwing having been laid low by Donna Troy first came out and I was blown away by the image.  I've long wanted to put my own STF spin on it, and I am glad I finally got around to doing so.