Red Tornado and Aunt May

 Poor May Parker is always being written as a frail aunt in distress, it's time she get the chance to be the hero of the story.  Who better to join her in such an adventure than Ma Hunkel?

Robin and The New Warriors

 

This is another cover which required a lot of de-cluttering and extension before I could add in any new elements.  Here is a look at the behind the scenes process: 

The Sentry and Captain Marvel

 

While it has been known that he is a part of the movie for a while, he promotional materials for The Thunderbots* have been pretty much keeping The Sentry under wraps.  Will this be another situation where he only shows up for a few minutes in a climactic battle, or does Marvel just not want to give away it's biggest surprises yet?  I guess we will all find out soon enough.

Scarlet Witch and Mr. Mxyzptlk

 

I've seen Wanda Maximoff put plenty of characters at unease due to the use of her hex powers.  It might be interesting to see the tables turned on her in that regard.  I'd love to see how she reacts to being stuck with Superman's impish adversary.

Skyrocket and Captain America

 

It's a shame that DC Comics has such a cool character in Skyrocket, and nothing is done with her.  The company definitely needs more female heroes that aren't tied to a per-existing male hero, and she is an excellent example of that.  I hope her creator, Kurt Busiek, or some other writer finds a way to properly utilize this hidden gem.

Terra Joins The Thunderbolts

 

Terra's arc in New Teen Titans was one of the best in comics, and her turn was as much of a surprise as it was when The Thunderbolts revealed themselves to be The Masters of Evil in disguise at the end of their first issue. Sadly, Terra's fate was sealed - maybe she would have had a more successful redemption story if she had joined the T-Bolts instead?

Blue Beetle Vs. The Beetle in: "Beetle Battle Two!"

 

Every box office forecast I have seen for Blue Beetle indicates that it expected to be another DC movie dud.  The trailers look ok, I'm not sure why the movie isn't clicking with people.  Perhaps Warner Bros should not have announced a whole rebooted DCU before they were done releasing all the movies from the previous iteration.  James Gunn has indicated that Blue Beetle will be showing up in the new DCU even though his movie is not necessarily connected.  Yeah, I don't really get that either, maybe that's why it hasn't moved the needle.

The Beetle tangled with the Ted Kord Blue Beetle back in STF #2611...

The Vision Vs. Darkseid

 

Marvel has seemed to slow down a bit and plans to space their future projects a little farther apart than they have been lately.  That's probably a good thing in the interest of quality control, but it means that it will probably be quite a time before the promised Disney+ Vision Quest series makes it's debut.  Let's hope it stays on the schedule, It's one of the announced shows that I am most interested in.

Nova and Raven

 

Raven has a demonic, conquering father to contend with, so she might be more prepared for a battle with Thanos than most.  He seems susceptible to appeals to his emotions, and her soul self might give him some difficulty.  Of course, Psimon influencing him as well would be an issue - let's hope Nova recovers in time to lend a hand.

Coming tomorrow: STF #3900!

Moon Knight and The Elongated Man in: "The Tall-Tail Two!"

 

This marks the 13th appearance of the MK/EM Team on the blog, and maybe that unlucky number is an indication of the trouble they'll be facing no that there's a new crazy pairing in town.  Now that I see them together, I think an Elongated Man battle with Stilt-Man would be cool to see.  All that stretching around extended legs is sure to make for some fun visuals.

The Creeper and Doc Samson

 

Have we all forgotten that Doc Samson is part of the MCU.  If William Hurt and Tim Roth could continue their roles after The Incredible Hulk, then way can't Doctor Leonard Samson?  Actually, if he were to get a Gamma infusion like in the comics, this might be a good candidate to recast.  As much as I like Ty Burrell, It might be hard to take the former Phil Dunphy seriously with  a muscular physique and long green hair! 

The Sinister Six Vs. Nightwing

 

There was talk of a Nightwing movie in the works for a while, but I don't know if that project is alive anymore.  Perhaps if Batgirl is a hit with audiences, Warner Bros will take another look at the property.  Will there be a mention of Dick Grayson in that movie?  With Michael Keaton's Batman due to show up there, we might get a clue as to what the boy wonder's cinematic future holds.

Superman and Gargoyle

 

The Discovery/Warner Bros. merger is finally underway and reports are coming out that revitalizing their comic book properties in print and in film it a top priority for the new brass.  Superman was singled out as a character with far too much potential to be squandered the way he has, and that sentiment holds for most of the rest of DC's roster.  It will be interesting what changes we will see in the next few years and if the DCEU can find its own version of Kevin Feige to give it a cohesive vision.

The Vision Vs. Cyborg Superman

 

So far on Superman and Lois, we have seen the introductions of John Henry Irons and The Eradicator.  Jordan is quickly gaining powers to become somewhat of a Superboy as well.  Can it be long before we see some version of a Cyborg Superman on the show?  They do seem to be embracing the Death and Return of Superman era of the comics.  It even looked like we were going to get Doomsday, before they pulled a switch and revealed it was Bizarro inside the suit.

Jocasta and Red Tornado

 

Red Tornado has faced off against Ultron a couple of times before on the bog (Once with his team Robo Force in STF #202, and later with Robotman in STF #783), but it looks like the evil android finally got the upper hand - let's hope that Jocasta can sort things out. Jocasta and Reddy previously met in STF #3142...

I was happy to use a Red Tornado image from the incredibly talented Matt Haley.  I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up an original illustration by him several years back (originally used for a Wizard Magazine Article, I believe):

Cyborg Superman Vs. Ultron

 

Superman and Lois has finished its first season, and it has been a very entertaining show.  I look forward to what they have in store for the future.  With John Henry Irons and The Eradicator already in place, not to mentioned Jordan Kent becoming somewhat of a Superboy as he discovers his powers, all they need to do is introduce Hank Henshaw as the Cyborg Superman, and the show will be able have its own take on Reign of the Supermen.  I hope the producers have something like that in mind.

Adam Strange and Beta Ray Bill

 

Thor: Love and Thunder is supposed to start filming this week, and we still have no confirmation on whether Beta Ray Bill will show up.  It seems like a jam packed movie already with Jane Foster, Gorr The God Butcher, Valkyrie and the Guardians of the Galaxy already in the mix, would there even be room?  I imagine he would be a CGI creation, so his inclusion would be easy to keep under wraps.  Maybe we will be pleasantly surprised.

Raven and Ghost Rider

 Neither Ghost Rider movie was very good.  The villains didn't work for me, the scripts weren't great and the acting was cheesy or over the top.  Yet, for some reason, if I stumble on to one if them while flipping channels, I find myself watching for the action scenes.  There's something so visually cool about a biker with flaming skull and demonic ride administering justice with his chains and penance stare that makes it just a blast to watch, even if it isn't in service of a great film.

Spider-Man and the Justice League of America in: "A League of His Own!"

 

Bob Greenwade, a Patron of this blog, requested the return of the Spider Signal, and I thought that it would also be a good opportunity for the JLA to make up for snubbing Spider-Man's petition to join the team way back in STF #57.  The Spider-Signal was first introduced in STF #2378, and made a return in STF #2417...

Rumor has it that Alfred Molina will be reprising Doctor Octopus alongside Jamie Foxx' Electro in the next Spider-Man Movie.  Can Thomas Haden Church as Sandman be far behind?

Starfire Vs. Darth Vader

 

 

Long time visitors to this blog know that these two have a bit of history, which Darth Vader is referring to here - Starfire first ran afoul of the Empire in STF #397, and was taken hostage by Vader in STF #398... Oh, and her marriage to The Silver Surfer was resolved in STF #2200, if you're curious...