The Spirit, The Flash and Sonic The Hedgehog

 

Previously on this blog, The Flash has crossed paths with both Sonic (STF #518) and the Spirit (STF #1672).  Bob Greenwade, frequent commenter and Patron of this Blog, suggested that all three share a cover, given their connection to Central City.  It might not be as action packed as you hoped for, Bob, but here you go!

The Spirit and The Hulk

 

Denny Colt is known for getting himself out of tough situations, but he may have met his match here.  Let's hope that he can convince the jade giant to work with him against a common enemy!

Hawkman and The Spirit

 

I have mentioned before on this blog that my favorite cover artists for Marvel and DC are Gil Kane and Nick Cardy, respectively.  If you were to ask me who my favorite cover artist for non-Marvel and DC titles, it would have to be Will Eisner.  His cover scenes were filled with mood, action and great character design.  Plus, his utilization of text and logos as part of the art always made them special.

The Spirit and Jessica Rabbit

 

If Denny Colt has one weakness, it's getting mixed up with beautiful but dangerous women.  Who is more alluring than Roger's better half? I can see Jessica Rabbit leading The Spirit into any number of interesting situations.  

Zatanna and The Spirit

 

When Warner Bros. brought on JJ Abrams to revamp the DCU, he seemed to have big plans for Zatanna.  I heard rumors of her leading up a Justice League Dark team or even being featured in a solo movie of her own.  Nothing much came of the Abrams partnership, and now James Gunn and Peter Safran are heading up the DCU.  I haven't seen him mention Zatanna in his plans yet, but I hope she is in the mix.

The Spirit and Deadpool

 

I'm very curious as to what the next Deadpool movie will look like.  It has been confirmed that the franchise will retain its R rating, but I have to imagine that being under the Disney umbrella will alter the tone at least a little.  I just look forward to whatever MCU heroes he comes in contact with.  I'd love for him to see She Hulk break the fourth wall and what his reaction to that would be.

Plastic Man and The Fantastic Four

I always got a kick out of the Fantasticars.  The first "flying bathtub" model was beautiful in its simplicity, and its non-aerodynamic shape just made Reed seem brilliant enough to keep the thing in the air.  This later design was great too, especially the way it could detach into four separate parts.  The Fantasticars allowed Ben Grimm to show off his piloting skills as well.  Have there ever been any toys made out of them?

The Spirit and Deadman

One of my favorite episodes of Justice League Unlimited is "Dead Reckoning", featuring Deadman. It was the first appearance of the ghostly character in other media, and it did not disappoint.  I loved his animated design and the scene where he uses a gun while inhabiting Batman's body (and Batman's reaction to that).  The best decision was to give Boston Brand a distinct accent, which the voice actors for the various posessed JLAers would use as well, a very effective device.

The Spirit and The Spectre

There are some comic pages that stay with you forever.  One of the most powerful for me wast the final page of The Spectre #9 by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake.  Ostrander had been writing a brilliant story in the series thus far with Jim Corrigan/The Spectre coming to terms with his misdeeds in the past and vulnerabilities.  Upon realizing that a woman he cares deeply for, Amy, cannot be saved despite all of his abilities, he pulls back his hood and we see a distraught Spectre/Corrigan hybrid whispering her name in a full-page shot.  The combination of Ostrander's Story with Mandrake's masterful depiction of the moment made it the most impactful page of an amazing series.

The Flash and The Spirit

This is a pairing that I did not think of immediately, but once the Central City connection was pointed out to me in one of the comment sections on this blog, it suddenly made a lot of sense.  I give a lot of credit to writer Geoff Johns for making Central City a real character in The Flash comics, just as Opal City was in Starman or Gotham is in the Batman titles.

The Spirit and Catwoman

The Spirit always seems to get caught up in the shenanigans of femme fatales, so it would only be natural for him to get involved with Selina Kyle at some point.  I imagine a domino mask would not be exciting enough for her when compared to all of Batman's suits and wonderful toys though - Catwoman would more likely double cross him than try to win his affections.

The Black Widow and The Spirit

The Spirit always did have a knack for letting a beautiful woman get him into trouble...

Of course, his biggest trouble will be getting audiences to forget his poorly received movie so he can get another chance one of these days.  Will Eisner's artwork and inventive use of the comic page is what always stood out to me about the character, so I'd love to see an animated version that could really highlight those aspects.

Dick Tracy and The Spirit

These two seem like a very natural pairing and neither would seem that out of place if included in one of the other's tales.  Each have had their fair share of dealings with ghoulish villains, femme fatales and daring escapes in their classic adventures.  I can only imagine that a story featuring them both would packed with film noir style goodness.

Superman and The Spirit

The Spirit had his chance at live action, and given the lackluster response, it will probably be some time before he is given that opportunity again.  I think an animated series might be a better way to go, since his stories were so informed by Will Eisner's visual experimentation.  I'd love to see something in the vein of the classic Fleischer Superman cartoons, with their stylish art deco look.

Plastic Man and Howard the Duck

These two characters each seem to work best when their stories embrace the absurdities of life, so I imagine that a tale featuring them together would be filled with plenty of crazy antics and plot twists.  Comics are getting a bit too grim and serious for my tastes these days, so I hope these guys return soon to bring some of the fun back.

The Shadow and The Spirit

Here are a couple of pulp characters that have not had an easy time making the transition to live action.  The Spirit was an artistic triumph on the printed page by Will Eisner, but trying to recapture the inventive visuals on the big screen resulted in a campy bomb.  The Shadow was not nearly as big a misstep, but it certainly had it's cheesy moments and could have done the character a lot more justice.  I would have preferred something a little more moody, as my introduction to Lamont Cranston's alter ego was from listening to the classic radio dramas that he was featured in.

The Thing and the Spirit

I had always heard about The Spirit but never read any of his adventures until I had already been a comic book fan for decades. It was kind of like the first time that I watched Citizen Kane and saw all of the scenes that other filmmakers were clearly inspired by. Will Eisner was the same way with The Spirit - endlessly inventive and expanding the medium in ways that so many creators who followed would be influenced by. It's such a shame that the recent Spirit movie was so poorly executed. The character deserved much better and I hope that folks won't bee too reluctant to sample his print adventures based on what was presented on the silver screen.