The Invaders and The Haunted Tank

 

I've lamented the lack of a live-action Invaders in the MCU before, and now come to think of it - I'm not sure there's ever been an appearance of the team in animation either.  DC has managed to feature the JSA here and there, it's too bad that Marvel has never shown these WWII heroes in cartoon form.  Or have they somewhere and I missed it?

Sgt. Fury and The Haunted Tank

 

The fact that DC Animation is finally releasing a period piece Justice Society movie has me hopeful that we will finally see some more of DC Comic's war stars show up either in that or a future project.  Imagine a animated wartime tale featuring Sgt. Rock & Easy Company, The Haunted Tank, The Unknown Soldier, Mademoiselle Marie, The Losers and so on.  I'm not sure how commercially viable it would be, but I would definitely check it out!

Justice League Dark and Spirits of Vengeance (and more!)

Justice League Dark is one of those DC properties that I keep hearing is being developed for the big screen, but nothing ever seems to come of the plans.  Perhaps if the upcoming Swamp Thing series on DC's streaming service is a hit, there will be renewed interest to finally get the wheels rolling.  DC has been working with directors with a background in horror for some of their other films, and this would be a perfect opportunity for them to do so again.  There have been a few different line ups of the team over the years, and I would hope that Deadman, Zatanna, Swamp Thing and The Demon would make the cut for a cinematic outing.  I love The Spectre as well, but he's maybe too powerful... so I say give him a solo movie of his own!

Captain Kirk and The Haunted Tank

"City on the Edge Of Forever", where Kirk and Spock are sent back to Earth in the 1930's to fix the timeline only to have their mission complicated by the love of Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), is one of my favorite Star Trek episodes.  I also quite like Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home where Kirk and the crew travel to the 80's to acquire some whales.  How cool would it be to see Kirk back in the thick of World War II with some of DC's war stars, putting his military knowledge to use?

The Haunted Tank and The Hulk

The Marvel cinematic Hulk has been undergoing some changes.  In Thor: Ragnarok, it was revealed that he remained in Hulk form for over 2 years, and then in Avengers: Infinity War (SPOILERS past this point...……), we see the opposite playing out, with Banner in on the action and The Hulk refusing to emerge after getting smacked down by Thanos.  Are the Russo Brothers leading towards a merged Hulk in the next Avengers movie, with all the strength and intelligence of both of his sides working together?

Captain America and The Haunted Tank

I'm looking forward to seeing the first trailer for Captain America: Civil War.  The movie looks like it will be jam-packed.  Cap Vs. Iron Man in a film echoing one of Marvel Comic's biggest events, featuring tons of other Avengers as well as the resolution to the search for Bucky and the debuts of  Spider-Man and The Black Panther? Sounds like way too much to cram into a movie that is still supposed to be about Captain America - but I was so impressed with what the Russo Brothers did with The Winter Soldier that I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The Haunted Tank and Tank Girl

I picked up a couple of Haunted Tank Showcase volumes just for the Joe Kubert art, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the stories.  I was never a huge war comic reader as a kid, so all of the stories were new to me.  The tales are action packed and filled with last minute escapes and sage advice from the ghost that guards the tank - great stuff!

The Thing and The Haunted Tank

For some reason whenever I do these team-ups with The Thing and a WWII hero, it just seems right. Maybe that's because of Ben's military history or his regular Joe personality, I'm not sure. At any rate, this is a pairing I would love to see. The Haunted Tank already has a fantastical element added to the realistic wartime backdrop, so the addition of a man made or rock wouldn't be too much of a stretch, right?

Batman and The Haunted Tank

I remember seeing ads for The Haunted Tank as a kid but it was never a series that I sought out. It was only a recently when I purchased the Showcase collection for the amazing Joe Kubert art that I really began to appreciate this little gem of a concept. Confederate Soldier J.E.B. stuart lends ghostly guidance to his namesake in World War Two. This mini-tank navigates impossible odds and perilous encounters and it makes for the ultimate underdog story with a great never give up attitude. I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed these tales. I especially loved the recurring sound effect that The Haunted Tank made - Clankity clank! Clankity clank!

This is one of those covers that came out much better than I had anticipated. I had an idea for a ghostly Batman guiding the tank and was very lucky to find the perfect image. Even though this is a relatively early effort, it is still one of my top ten favorite covers.