Starman and Space Ghost

 

A couple of cosmos inspired heroes stumbling upon a mystery on the Transformers homeworld is just the kind of set up to catch my attention when perusing the new comics rack. I think this one would have definitely made it into the buy pile.

Jack of Hearts and Starman

 

These two space-faring heroes my not be as well known as some others, but I always enjoyed their appearances. They have two examples of awesome costumes as well, one simple yet effective, the other complex but cool in its own way.

Moon Knight and Starman

 

I'm kind of surprised I haven't had these two meet before, given their names.  The toughest part of this cover was extending Moon knight's Cape.  Here's a look behind the scenes.

Photon and Starman

 

These two heroes have power sets that I think would go well together.  I can see The Shade being able to give them trouble, though.  It would be a vissually interesting battle to see play out.

Starman Vs. Kang

 

I finally checked out Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and while it was cool to see Kang as the villain, I was hoping for some more time-related shenanigans.  I guess Marvel is saving that for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.  Who knows what effects an ongoing criminal investigation and writers strike will have on that upcoming event, however.  He did look really cool, which is more than I can say for M.O.D.O.K.

Starman joins The Avengers

I think the Prince Gavyn Starman would have fit right in with the Bronze Age Avengers line up here.  I used to like when they would get into cosmic situations with the likes of Mar-Vell or the Guardians of the Galaxy, and his presence would provide a gateway to more epic storylines like those.  

 

Spider-Man and Starman in "The Perilous Partnership of Payton and Parker!"

 

With the strong legacy aspects that Starman has that spread from comics' Golden Age to the distant future, the character seems perfectly suited for a streaming series.  I'd base it on Jack Knight and branch out from there, just as James Robinsons' excellent 90's comic series did.

Spider-Man met Starman in his Prince Gavyn form in STF #3374, and crossed paths with the Ted Knight Starman in STF #1479...

Iron Man and Starman in "Space Siege!"

 

Now that I put these two together, I wonder what took me so long, their color schemes match perfectly.  Of course, Iron Man may only just now be encountering Prince Gavyn, but earlier in his career (and on this blog), but he has met the Ted Knight version on three occasions - They battled each other in STF #3240, They joined Black Widow and Black Canary in STF #2491 and first appeared together in STF #2190... 

Starman and Moondragon / Plastic Man Vs. Juggernaut

 

I heard rumors that Moondragon would be joining the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 a while back, but nothing in the way of a casting announcement for the role has been made.  I hope the character is still part of the mix.  Not only is she interesting in her own right, but as the daughter of Drax the Destroyer, her presence would certainly add to the story potential.

The New Warriors and The Justice Society of America

 

Judging by the characters recently and about to be introduced, it looks like the MCU is just going to skip right by The New Warriors and go straight to The Young Avengers.  I suppose that is understandable, as Avengers is the marquee name, but I still hope Marvels' 90's teen team eventually get their chance at live action. You just know that Speedball would look cool displaying his abilities.

Spider-Man and Starman in: "Storming the Spider-Guild!"

 

Black Widow will be released at long last today. I've heard only middling reviews so it might be one Marvel film that I wait a couple of months to see when it hits Disney+ for free.  One thing I am very curious about is if the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer will run in front of it, as has been rumored.  I have been trying to avoid spoilers for that upcoming film, but I'll definitely want to see the first official footage from it.  I guess we will find out whether it makes its debut soon!

Spider-Man met the original Starman in STF #1479...

Starman Vs. Iron Man in: "Knight Terrors!"

This marks the third adventure between Starman and Iron Man - They joined Black Widow and Black Canary in STF #2491 and first appeared together in STF #2190... there's something I like about putting these two heroes together.  Maybe it's the juxtaposition of cosmic based abilities and science based weaponry... or maybe just because I think they look cool together.

Starman and Nova

 

I enjoyed the Will Payton Starman series.  It was just great old school super-heroics, and with the always reliable Roger Stern on writing chores, it was a fun, if overlooked, series.  The unattractive costume color scheme from the first two years did not help, Starman looked much better once he switched to the red and black version.  He reminded me a little of Richard Rider, so this might be a fun pairing to see.

Fantastic Four and Starman

 

With all of the filming delays due to Covid 19, every movie studios' film slates have been pushed back.  That means that casting announcements have also been delayed.  Before all this craziness started up, I thought for sure we would hear some casting news for Marvel's take on a Fantastic Four movie by now.  Hopefully, now that the gears of the movie industry are slowly beginning to crank again, we will get some announcements soon.  Will they go for the long rumored John Krasinski and Emily Blunt for Reed and Sue, or does Kevin Feige have something else up his sleeve?

Starman previously crossed paths with The Thing back in STF #1564...

Sub-Mariner and Starman

I read this week that the original Justice Society will at last be making their return to comics as part of an upcoming Justice League story, and its about time.  They are about to get some exposure on DC's streaming service as well, as supporting characters in the Stargirl series.  It will be interesting to see Joel McHale's interpretation of Starman.   Let's just hope that the series doesn't get a cancellation announcement after only its first episode, Like Swamp Thing!

Starman and Star-Lord

It looks like Disney pulled a fast one and James Gunn was never really removed from directing Duties on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so his plans to close out the trilogy will be realized.  He has said before that the plot will revolve around Gamora, which raises some interesting questions given the events of Avengers: Infinity War.  Will the story be about mourning her loss, or is this an indication that she will somehow return in Avengers: Endgame?

Starman and Iron Man (W/Black Canary & Black Widow!)

When people ask me my favorite comic of all time, I don't even have to think about it: The Brave and the Bold (1955), which should come as no surprise to those who have followed this blog since the beginning.  It checked all the boxes for me - it prominently featured my favorite artist Jim Aparo and my favorite DC hero, Batman.  Also it was a team-up title which I of course went nuts for.  Before that, it was the try-out comic for many great concepts - The Suicide Squad, Teen Titans and Justice League of America among them. Finally, it presented the return of many a Golden Age hero for new life in the Silver Age like Hawkman, Hourman, Wildcat, Doctor Fate, Green Lantern and the two above. What a series!

Starman and Iron Man first met in STF #2190...

The Thing and Starman in: "Skirmish on Skrullos!"

It looks like Starman is back at DC, at least in his Will Payton form.  Since that version was revealed to be a transformed Prince Gavyn, I wonder if he will be assuming his Jim Starlin-designed look again eventually.  I hope so, I always loved the blue and gold outfit that he sported.

The Thing met the Original Starman in STF #1564 and the Jack Knight Starman way back in my MTIO: The Lost Issues days...

Starman and Quasar

I liked the Will Payton Starman, even if that purple and yellow outfit was hard on the eyes (the switch later on to a red and black version of that design was a huge improvement).  Roger Stern is one of the most dependable superhero writers and his Starman series was no exception.  I thought it was very cool that this version was later connected to the Prince Gavyn Starman by writer James Robinson, cementing the legacy aspect of the heroic name.

Starman and Iron Man

Of DC's Golden Age characters, Starman was one of the most beautifully illustrated.  Artist Jack Burnley had a dynamic, yet realistic style that reminded me of another early comic master, Alex Raymond.  He was also great at covers, I can imagine issues of Adventure Comics with his artwork on the front really stood out in the stands.