The Metal Men Vs. Ultron in: "Robots Reborn!"

 

This is The Metal Men's  Fourth run-in with Ultron.  He was last seen attempting to make a bride of Platinum in STF #4619, He tried to make the team his slaves in STF #3466, and they first met when he was after Doc Magnus in STF #1836. Let's hope they can finally stop him for good this time!

All-Star Squadron Vs. Ultron

 

We've all seen Pym Particles being used for time travel by now - so who's to say that Hank Pym's deadliest creation could not get hold of some for some decades-spanning shenanigans? It might be cool to see how the Squadron reacts to the modern villain crashing their timeline.

Daredevil and Batman in: "Bot Bout!"

 

Batman has met Matt Murdock more than once on this blog, but it dawned on me that he had yet to cross paths with the original Daredevil.  It was time to remedy 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?

Superboy Vs. Ultron

 

This is another cover which required a bit of background tweaking and rebuilding prior to adding in any new elements.  Here is a look at the behind the scenes process:

Lex Luthor Vs. Ultron

 

Lex Luthor has had enough experience with Brainiac that he might just have some contingency plans to deal with the robotic likes of Ultron.  At least he has a big enough ego to try... too bad for him that Ultron can match him in the ego department!

The Synthetic Six (Vs. Ultron)

 

I thought it would be fun to have another outing from this team of once-human heroes.  Who better to face a group with robotic forms than the most evil artificial creation ever - Ultron! The Synthetic Six first appeared in STF #3830...

Metamorpho and Hawkeye

 

After reports of his terrible accident came in, I figured Jeremy Renner 's time as Hawkeye was sadly over.  Footage from a recent interview shows that while he still has a long road to recovery ahead, he had made significant progress.  It looks like he is taking part in rigorous physical therapy to get back up on his feet again.  Let's hope for his sake he makes a full recovery, and maybe for the fans' sake we'll see him join The Avengers for at least one more adventure.

New Teen Titans Vs. Ultron

 

DC comics seems to be going through yet another reboot phase with their new Dawn of DC titles.  Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott will be bringing readers an all new Titans series and the line up will be the one we see above (plus Starfire), meaning that the classic New Teen Titans team will be back together.  I hope that this is a sign of what we can expect to see on the big screen if a Titans film for the DCU gets greenlighted.

Metal Men and Big Guy & Rusty (And More!)

 

For this Anniversary Issue, I thought I would go for an all-robotic theme. Looking at all of these match-ups, I'm not sure which one I would want to read first. Probably the lead feature, especially if it sported George Perez or Geoff Darrow art like the cover image. But, any story with a robot in it is entertaining to me, as they often offer some keen insights into the human condition.

Let the march to STF #4000 begin!

Giant-Man and The Wasp Vs. Brainiac

 

Principal filming has completed on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and I have one major question about the production:  Just who is Bill Murray playing in the movie, anyway?  I'm trying t think of a Marvel character he might be portraying, but I can't come up with anything that convinces me.  My only real guess is that maybe he is playing an older version of Scott Lang that shows up due to some Kang related time travel shenanigans.

The Metal Men vs. Ultron in: "Downloading Depravity!"

 

The Metal Men previously clashed with Ultron in STF #1836...

I enjoyed seeing the ultimate Ultron in the last couple of episodes of What If on Disney+, but one moment had me scratching my head.  SPOILERS for the final episode follow:

When Thanos arrives with the Infinity Stones to collect the final one from Ultron, Ultron uses the mind stone to immediately slice him in half, instantly killing him.  A cool and shocking moment to be sure - but why couldn't The Vision do the same in Avengers: Infinity War with his Mind Stone, instead of trying to destroy it?  I know there was a comment about how the Stones have slightly different properties in different realities, so I suppose that's a loophole.  Still, The Vision could have at least tried to use it in that way against Thanos.

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.

Green Lantern and Ultron

I've read that a deal could not be worked out with Ryan Reynolds to reprise his Green Lantern role in the Justice League Snyder Cut coming out next month.  I'm betting that Zack Snyder still wants to have a new GL cameo though.  Will it still be Hal Jordan, but recast?  Maybe John Stewart will be used instead, or even a fully CGI Lantern like in the Amazon battle scene.  I just want one shot of the complete League together, with a GL and The Martian Manhunter in attendance.

Cyborg Vs. Ultron in : Murderous Malware!"

Watching how emotive Spidey's mask was in Spider-Man: Homecoming, I wish something similar had been done with Ultron in the last Avengers film.  The design of his face to allow for James Spader's expressions to come through was a letdown for me.  I like that the iconic design was used for his robot army, but I wanted to see it on the main villain himself!

These Two first clashed in STF #1747...

The Metal Men Vs. Ultron

This would be a fun battle, not only visually but also seeing how the different personalities of The Metal Men clash against the cold determination of Ultron.  I can imagine him not having much patience with the fact that Doc magnus' creations long to be accepted by humanity rather than join him in trying to conquer it.

Cyborg Vs. Ultron

I really want the DC movies to succeed, but they seem to be impatient about bringing their characters to the big screen in some cases.  The JLA other than Wonder Woman really felt shoehorned into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and having Cyborg as a founding member of the team feels rushed as well.  Now it seems that Black Adam will get a solo film, possibly before he appears in the already announced movie with Shazam.  Marvel seems to have had a lot more patience with the way they have rolled out their characters, and it has clearly worked well for them.

Green Lantern Vs. Ultron

Gil Kane and Sal Buscema - few artists could depict a hero throwing or getting hit by a punch with as much power as they did.  They really knew how to instill the maximum amount of action through body language.

Let's hope that GL can stop Ultron before he wreaks as much havoc on the JLA as he did the last time...  or even the time he put both the JLA and JSA in a tight spot...

Legion of Super-Heroes Vs. Ultron

I can definitely see the Ultron program lasting into the future to wreak havoc on the heroes of tomorrow.  Maybe Ultron would even wind up teaming with or battling Computo in the process. Possibly he could infect Brainiac 5? Whatever direction it took, it would be a fun story to read.

Brainiac Vs. Ultron

I was very excited to see my favorite Avengers villain, Ultron, starring in last summer's blockbuster sequel.  My only fear was that it would mean no Brainiac in a Superman movie for a while to avoid similarities.  Well, I no longer have that reservation, since I don't feel that Ultron was realized as well as he could have been.  The design of his drone robots were a lot closer to his comic book look than Ultron himself and having Tony Stark as his "father" (rather than Hank Pym), passing on a snarky sense of humor did not work for me.  The Ultron arc on the Animated Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes was a more satisfying depiction, in my opinion.  So, I say bring on Brainiac... and get Marv Wolfman or Paul Dini to consult on his personality and appearance!