Daredevil and Rose & The Thorn

 

Rose & The Thorn was a cool back up series.  It's too bad that the character has slipped through the cracks.  DC needs more heroines that are not just female versions of previously existing male heroes.

Plastic Man and Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu

 

When we last saw Plastic Man on this blog, he was  training Ms. Marvel in STF #4598.  I thought that he might go for a little training himself.  Who better to teach him than the Master of Kung Fu himself.

Plastic Man and Shang-Chi first met in STF #4062...

Black Canary and Ms. Marvel

 

I'm a little surprised that I haven't paired these two blonde heroines together yet.  Something tells me that they would get along well.  Maybe they would even have the makings of a World's Finest type of team.

The Vision, Frankenstein Jr. and Red Tornado

 

This is the first time that either has met Frankenstein Jr., but The Vision and red Tornado have crossed paths before in The Lost Issues - They battled The Construct in STF #2054, They investigated "who stole humanity?" back in Issue #1272 , merged programming Issue #971 and first met in an early MS Paint cover in Issue #44

The Guardian and The Guardian

 

Evert since I had these two appear together in a back up tale for STF # 665, I have received requests for them to get a full issue to themselves.  It took a while, but I finally got around to doing just that.

Metal Men and Ultron in: "Indecent Restoration!"

 

This is The Metal Men's third run-in with Ultron.  He was last seen trying to make them his slaves in STF #3466, and they first met when he was after Doc magnus in STF #1836. Can they dare to trust him now?

Justice League of America Vs. Marvel Villains

 

For this Anniversary Issues, I thought I would go for a full issue throwdown between DC's brightest and Marvel's most vile.  You see the match ups here - do the world's greatest super-heroes stand a chance?

G.I. Robot and Machine Man

 

Out of all of the cast of the upcoming Creature Commandos series, G.I. Robot is the one that I am the most curious about.  I really hope that James Gunn does the classic war comics character justice. I'm equally curious as to how Sean Gunn will perform the robotic voice.

The Falcon and Vixen

 

Their earliest looks might not have stuck around for long, but these two were heroes from the start.  It might be fun to read a tale of them meeting up just as both of their heroic careers were beginning.

Fantastic Four Vs. The Metal Men

 

For this Anniversary Issue, I knew The Fantastic Four would have to be involved.  I figured this would be a good opportunity to present a match-up that I have wanted to get to for a while now and have them share an adventure with The Metal Men. Here's a closer look at the individual stories:

Sub-Mariner and Captain Atom

 

This is another cover that required a bit of prep work on the main background image before I could add the heroes in.  Here's a look at the behind-the-scenes process:

Vigilante and Spider-Man

 

This one was me just experimenting.  I've gotten a kick out of some of the covers I have seen that feature heroes against a solid black background, with only the highlights of their costumes coming through in stark contrast.  I thought I would try to emulate one of those covers here.

Darkseid Vs. Kang

 

These two were set to become the big bads of their respective cinematic universes, but things have not gone as planned.  The end of the DCEU and Snyderverse means that Darkseid will probably be put on the back burner for a while.  Jonathan Majors' legal issues have put everything Kang related into a holding pattern until a verdict on his alleged assault is reached.  It's a good thing we have Braniac and Galactus to pinch hit if necessary.

Blue Beetle and The Punisher

 Here's another unlikely pairing.  I can't really seen these two working together unless presented with a scenario like the one above.  It might be interesting to see how their different attitudes and crimefighting styles clash when they find themselves battling side by side.  

Spider-Man Vs. The Joker in: "Who's Laughing Now?"

 

I thought that I would do a follow up to the first Spidey/Joker back in STF #3917.  I wondered there how The Joker would react to a hero that's even better at wisecracking than he is.  Well, maybe he would lean into it and try to make a protégé out of Peter... which leads us to this cover.

Spider-Man and The Joker

 

I loved the scene in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker where Terry McGinness starts cracking jokes against the Clown Prince of Crime, which enrages him.  It made me think that a similar confrontation with Spider-Man would be fun to watch play out. Spidey is known for using his quick banter and humor to unsettle his opponents, and it would be cool to see the tactic used against The Joker. I remember The Joker appearing in one of the real life Batman/Spidey crossovers, but I forget if we saw a moment like that in it... Maybe I'll have to dig through the old collection to find out.

Doctor Strange Vs. Lex Luthor

 

Like many, I was entertained but slightly disappointed with Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.  There were some fun action scenes but I didn't care for the cannon fodder cameos and wanted much more madness out of the multiverse than we got.  I think Marvel is waiting for Avengers: Secret Wars before they go really crazy with the multiverse stunt casting stuff.  For a much better movie about variants and multiple realities, I highly recommend Everything Everywhere All At Once. That was incredibly creative and interesting, not to mention touching and funny on a much smaller budget.  It's starting to get noticed now that awards season is rolling around, so I am hopeful that more people will discover it.

The Fantastic Four and Wonder Woman

 

In the MCU,  Iron Man is off the table and while Tom Holland just signed on for more movies, Spider-Man will still be a shared character with Sony.  Marvel really needs a new "heart and soul" of their cinematic universe.  For me, that has to be Ben Grimm.  The MCU FF can't get here fast enough, and The Thing's look and characterization are hopefully a top priority for the studio.

Doctor Strange and The Creature Commandos

 

I really enjoyed the Disney+ Werewolf by Night special, but I had to think that once again, Marvel has beaten DC to the punch in bringing the horror corner of its universe to the screen.  The Creature Commandos recently made an fun animated appearance, and I'd love to see a version of them in live action.  Then again, they are just the type of obscure, oddball characters that James Gunn seems to like to work with, so maybe there's a chance now that he's calling the DCU shots.

Spider-Man and the New Teen Titans in: "Carnival Contraband!"

 

When a new team of heroes are introduced, it's always hoped that oat least one new member would become a breakout star.  New Teen Titans introduced us to Cyborg, Raven and Starfire as well as revamping the near-forgotten Beast Boy into Changeling.  All of these new heroes were a hit with fans, not a dud among them.  It really says something about the creativity and talent of Marv Wolfman and George Perez that they were able to create so many lasting characters at one time. 

Spidey previously met The New Teen Titans in STF #767 and the original Teen Titans in STF #619...