The Toyman invades Toy Story

 

Toy Story 5 seems like another huge hit for the franchise, both critically and commercially.  I'm looking forward to checking out the next adventure of Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang.  This cover comes about from a suggestion by Marc Tyler Nobleman, comics' historian and Patron of this Blog.  Thanks, Marc!

Doc Samson and 4 Famous Co-Stars

 I'd like to be a fly on the wall for this therapy session.  Hopefully they all find some inner peace.  

Doc Samson first met Batman in one of my very first covers, an MS Paint effort from the first few days of the blog...

The Thing and The Incredibles

 

I was glad to hear that a third Incredibles movie is in the works.  I wonder what the plot will like like and if they will age the characters at all this time around. I love the first two film so I am optimistic.  Ben Grimm previously met The Incredibles with the rest of The Fantastic Four back in STF #556...

The Green Lantern Corps and The Incredibles

 

I quite enjoyed the CGI Green Lantern and Beware the Batman series from several years back. The characters designs were done well and there were some truly impressive action sequences.  Some of the backgrounds could have been a little more detailed - lots of scenes taking place in giant empty rooms with maybe a single desk in them - but other than that the animation was pretty solid.  Hopefully, we'll see some more superhero shows in that format.

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.

The Micronauts and Buzz Lightyear

 

The announced Buzz Lightyear solo movie, Lightyear, sounds like an interesting project.  Rather than being a story featuring the Tim Allen-voiced Buzz that we know from the great Toy Story series, the movie will tell the origin tale of the "real life" Buzz that the toy was later based upon. Chris Evans will lend his voice to the lead role, and it should be a fun outer space adventure.  I have only seen one piece of concept art but it looked cool, a Pixar-style Buzz, but clearly not a toy.

Dash and The Flash

 

I thoroughly enjoyed both Incredibles movies and would welcome another one.  If there is another outing, It might be fun to age up the characters a bit to see where they are a few years down the road from the events of the first two installments.  It's almost been seventeen years since the Parrs were introduced, there's no reason they can't grow older just a little bit.

The Magnificent Misters

When Bob Greenwade, a Patron of this Blog, suggested bringing back the trio of Misters from way back in STF #78 and adding in Mr. Majestic, I thought it was a good idea.  I decided to go one step further and add in Mister Miracle to make it a full team.  Let's just hope that The Expansion Team and The Roustabouts don't mind having their members poached for this self-loving assemblage!

Buzz Lightyear and Asterix

Like many, I felt that Toy Story 3 closed out the series perfectly, and wasn't sure that there was a need for another sequel.  I was happy to find out the Toy Story 4 was just as enjoyable as the rest.  I re-watched the first three installments to get ready for it and I was amazed at how the quality of the animation keeps improving. If I had one complaint with the movie, it's that Buzz kind of got sidelined and didn't have as strong of a sub-plot as Woody. 

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.

C-3PO and Wall-E

I am a giant fan of the Pixar movies.  I am always impressed with the quality of the writing, character design and animation.  I think they have a great track record, I have enjoyed pretty much everything that has come out of the studio, even some of their sequels which weren't huge hits - they never seem to phone it in.  Wall-E is one of my favorites, especially the dialogue-free first half of the film.  It was amazing how much they made me care about these simply designed robots through their unspoken interactions.

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.

The Saturn 6

Just because you are tasked with protecting the cosmos, it doesn't mean that you can't do it with an enjoyment of the job and a healthy dose of humor.  That's the idea behind this team.  I think the biggest challenge that they might face is determining who to lead the group - they all seem to be the type that are more comfortable with handing out orders rather than following them.

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?

Buzz Lightyear and ROM

I am a huge fan of all three Toy Story movies. They have amazing animation telling stories with comedy, heart and great characters that speak to the kid in me and hit some great nostalgia buttons.  Plus, the movies have not let up in quality even after the third installment, something that very few franchises can claim.  I'm not sure where they will go from here, or even if they should go anywhere, as the last film ended on such a perfect note.  I have faith in Pixar though, and if they decide to bring Buzz, Woody and the gang out for another tale, I would give it a chance.

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.

Mr. Terrific, Mr. Fantastic and Mr. Incredible

I put this one together as a goof, but now that I look at the three of these guys together, it occurs to me that they would make for a formidable team!  I love all of the Pixar films, and  The Incredibles is one of the best, hopefully Director Brad Bird will give us a sequel one day.  Mr. Fantastic will get a second chance at cinematic life if for no other reason to retain Fantastic Four movie rights, it seems - hopefully the stretching effects will be a little better realized this time around.  The solo Mr. Terrific title was one of the first cancellations from the New DCU.  That's too bad, because I like the Michael Holt character.  Perhaps he can find another place to shine in the upcoming Earth 2 series.