Phantom Stranger and Thor

A tale of Gods and Monsters to be sure.  It's interesting that the body hopping Ultra-Humanite wound up in such a hairy form, given that he was Superman's original bald headed foe - before Luthor lost his locks.

The Freedom Fighters Vs. The Avengers (100-Page Giant!)

 

Looks like we have another full-issue throwdown on our hands!  Let's hope they can sort out their differences and all get together for a slam bang finale in the last 10 pages!  Here are some closer looks at the stories included in this Anniversary Issue:

Plastic Man and Thor

 

The Avengers: Doomsday teaser featuring Thor presented a somber and determined Thunder God.  Chris Hemsworth has decent comedic chops, but I think Marvel realized that they had been leaning too far in that direction with the character.  It will be good to see a more serious take returning for the Odinson.

Thor Vs. Doomsday

 

This would definitely be an interesting battle. Thor would have a tough go of it, but maybe the fact that Doomsday is certainly not worthy to hold Mjolnir might give him an opportunity to prevail.

Halo and Thor

 

Halo's costume makes her look right at home on the rainbow bridge.  That was enough to suggest a story to me, as I always enjoy using this criminally underrated DC heroine.

Thor and The Yellow Kid

 

I will be interested to see what Thor's role will be in Avengers: Doomsday.  As one of the final standing founding members, I imagine that he would be critical to the plot, but I'm not sure haw much of the film he will appear in.  Another question is whether this movie and the follow up Avengers: Secret Wars will be the cinematic swan song for the God of Thunder - until the inevitable MCU reboot that is!

Superman and Thor in: "The Kryptonian Transfusion!"

 

I haven't had these two together for a while, and I thought it was time to feature them together again.  Superman and Thor have shared other STF adventures:

in Issue #1155, they paid for the sins of their fathers...

in Issue #994, they starred in an all-Kirby classic...

In Issue #949, they battled Amazo and the Taskmaster...

In Issue #155, they were confronted by their fathers...

In Issue #31, they squared off against Mongul...

and they first crossed paths way back in Issue #17.

Thor and The All-Star Squadron

 

It will be interesting to see what kind of role Thor will play in the next Avengers movies, seeing as he is the last remaining of the founding members (I'm not counting The Hulk, who is just green Mark Ruffalo now).  The real question is, will the God of Thunder survive the experience?

Thor and Lois Lane

 

I've liked the quick moments that we have seen of Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, and I am looking forward to seeing her performance in full when Superman is released to theaters.  I have to give a tip of the hat to the costume designers as well.  Her outfits seem definitely inspired by those that Lois wore on Superman: The Animated Series.

The Crimson Avenger and The Avengers in: "The Tragic Vow of Lee Travis!"

 

I felt that this team up idea from comics' historian and Patron of this blog Marc Tyler Nobleman was worthy of a follow up story.  Regular visitors, may remember the Crimson Avengers first encounter with Earth's Mightiest Heroes in STF #3271.  Thanks again for the idea, Marc!

Thor Vs. The Parasite in: "Back For Seconds!"

 The Parasite is of course referring to the events of STF #3711... I figured that such a match up was worthy of another round - so here's a sequel to that tale! Here's hoping The Parasite shows up in a Superman film one of these days.

The Avengers and Kamandi

 

Look, I have the same questions about how Kamandi was able to get the upper hand here that Chronos has.  But that's just what would have made me pick this issue up off of the shelves - just to see what shenanigans that Kang is up to this time around.

Deadman and Thor (Vs. Loki!)

 

Deadman and Thor first appeared together way back in STF #90, an MS Paint cover from 2012, so it was high time to revisit this pairing.  Adding in Loki as the villain and Jack Kirby as the artist only sweetens the deal. 

Thor and The Legion of Super-Heroes

 

Teenage boys can get pretty girl-crazy, so this isn't a bad plan by The Enchantress to overpower these LSHers.  Something tells me that the female members of the Legion aren't going to let this situation stand for long - that is, if they aren't distracted swooning after Thor!

Avengers and The Teen Titans in "Mad March of the Mega-Men!"

 

I've had the Avengers meet The New Teen Titans on the blog - first in STF #1250, and then again in STF #3179, but for this Anniversary Issue, I thought it would be cool if Earth's Mightiest Heroes had an epic adventure with the original Teen Titans team.  With two such powerful teams, I needed to find adversaries that could give them a run for their money, and that's where the classic Kirby monsters come in!

Here are larger images of the individual stories:

Black Lightning and Thor

 

This cover took some prep work before I could add in Black Lightning - here's a look behind the scenes at the process:

Thor and The Metal Men

 

Every so often a creative team tries to update and modernize the Metal Men, sometimes giving them edgy, extreme redesigns.  They always seem to return to their original attitudes and appearances, and for me that is a good thing.  Those nutty robots were perfectly realized right from their first appearance.

The Avengers Vs. Doomsday

 

Doomsday pretty much took out the entire JLA before going one on one with Superman.  Would The Avengers have fared any better?  I'm not sure, but I would definitely want to read about the battle!  I guess it would all depend upon the roster.

Darkseid Vs. 4 Famous Co-Stars

 

It's nice to be able to do an all Walt Simonson cover.  His instantly recognizable signature style conveys epic imagery and powerful action in a way that rivals Jack Kirby, in my opinion.  I was lucky enough to meet him briefly at a convention about 15 years back, and I remember that he was very enthusiastic and kind to me his other fans.

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.