X-Men and Madam Xanadu

 

Perhaps if the X-Men paid a visit to Madam Xanadu, they could have avoided a lot of drama ahead of them.  Or would her readings just cause them to find drama on another path?  It does seem to follow them around.

White Tiger and Batman

 

This is a team up that I am surprised that I never got around to when I began this blog as The Brave and the Bold: The Lost Issues.  I always liked The White Tiger as a character and it was high time I remedied that omission.

Metamorpho and Hellboy

 

These two always seemed to have similar personalities to me, so I suspect that they would work well together. Hellboy is always coming across strange looking beings with fantastical powers, so joining forces with Rex Mason would just be another day on the job for him.

Spider-Man on the Planet of the Apes

I recently watched the original Planet of The Apes again, and it was as fun as I remembered.  Even for someone who can't speak for half of the film, Charlton Heston has a ton of screen presence.  The soundtrack really stood out to me as well, it really sets the tone and I am glad that composers of the new movies used it for inspiration.  The experience took me back to my youth, watching the film in wide-eyed amazement with my brothers.

Indiana Jones and The Human Torch

Are all Human Torches off-limits for Marvel to use in their movies, or is it just Johnny Storm?  We see a Jim Hammond-type robot at the World's Fair in Captain America: The First Avenger after all.  I always kind of preferred the original Torch anyway.  I'd love to see him in full blazing action, maybe in an untold adventure from Cap's WWII years.

Sub-Mariner and Tarzan

I recently picked up a copy of Telling Stories: The Comic Book Art of Frank Frazetta, and I was amazed at the scope of his capabilities.  I was aware of his work with fantasy characters, but he did just about everything - humor, romance, war, noir, science-fiction - and did it all amazingly well.  My only wish is that he had done more work for the Marvel and DC heroes that I grew up with,  Still, he has a phenomenal body of work and I recommend the book to any fan of the art form.

The Green Hornet and The Kingpin

I was sorry to hear of the passing of TV's Green Hornet, Van Williams this week.  It's been a tough few years with the loss of a lot of our childhood heroes, saying goodby to Yvonne Craig and Leonard Nimoy among others. At least through their iconic performances, their memories will live on for a long long time to come.

Make sure to come back tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion!

The Wasp and Insect Queen

Like many readers I always kind of preferred Lana Lang over Lois Lane as a love interest for Superman.  Maybe it was because she treated him nice even when he was in his Clark Kent guise, whereas Lois could often be cruel and dismissive.  I'm not sure how much she has to do with the Supermine line of comics these days, now that his time as Superboy has been written out of continuity.

Spider-Man and Jimmy Olsen

I finally caught The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on Blu-Ray and while there are moments of great potential in there, the film seemed to be a wasted opportunity for the most part.  There were things I liked a lot - the new costume is the best live action Spidey suit to date, Gwen's fate was handled nicely, and the special effects looked great for the most part.  The story, however, was a mess and seemed to repeat past mistakes of other films.  Electro looked like Mr. Freeze and had the same back story as The Riddler, giving his whole arc a Joel Schumaker vibe.  The Green Goblin was a boring retread with an even worse costume than the first two times, and the Rhino was barely there with a way-over the top performance from the usually reliable Paul Giamatti.  On top of all of that, too much time is spent on the mystery of Peter's parents, which after two movies I still don't care about.  I hope that some real reevaluation is done before bringing The Amazing Spider-Man 3 to life.

Raven and Professor X

Raven is one of the coolest female characters created by DC, but it doesn't seem like they really know what to do with her these days.  Her original allies - Starfire, Dick Grayson, Wally West, Cyborg and Donna Troy have been changed or altered so much that they no longer interact with her in the current continuity, and that's too bad because I had enjoyed those relationships.  She gained new fans with the Teen Titans animated series, but unfortunately no character resembling the Raven from TV can be found in the comics today.  Raven's New 52 costume redesign is one of the most head scratching looks they have come up with.  Why mess with a classic?

Iceman and Robin

Iceman was a fun character to play as when I was a young kid.  My ankles never handled ice skates too well, but I didn't mind because I could slide along the ice just like Bobby Drake... not to mention create and hurl snowballs!  The New England winters gave me all the props I needed.

Batman and The Iron Giant

I remember being early for some event and going to see The Iron Giant in the theaters to kill some time.  I was very glad that I made that decision because it turned out to be one of my favorite movies ever.  Filled with great character design, beautiful animation and a story brimming over with humor and heart, it has earned its title as a modern day classic.  This was due in no small part to the work of director Brad Bird, who went on to join Pixar and bring us such gems as Ratatouille and The Incredibles.  Bird's next project is Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and it will be interesting to see if he can bring the same level of excellence to a live action project.