Magnus: Robot Fighter meets C-3PO and R2D2

The latest trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker features an ominous moment where it appears that C-3PO is saying goodbye to his allies for the last time.  If they must kill of the beloved droid, I hope that he at least sacrifices himself in a heroic manner.  I'm still mad at the way they had Admiral Ackbar go out like a punk in The Last Jedi.

The Addams Family in The House of Mystery

I have not seen the most recent Addams Family theatrical release, but I am interested to check it out.  It looks like it was made to appeal to a younger audience, which is fine.  The draw for me is that I really appreciate the designs of the animated characters.  They look very close to the cartoons of Chas Addams, where the creepy and kooky family got their start.  I appreciate it when adaptations stick so close to the source material.

All-Star Squadron and Thunderbolts

Here are two teams perfect for a streaming series treatment.  Sure, I'd love to see both on the big screen, but they probably aren't considered high profile enough to get that chance.  The stories of second string heroes having to protect the home front during wartime or a group of villains masquerading as heroes and the effect that has on them have a lot of potential.  I can see both having success in a long form serial format.

Tarzan and Jonny Quest

These two properties were among my favorite non-superhero cartoons when I was a kid.  Both had limited production values, with heavy re-use of stock footage and music cues.  Still, the strength of the characters and the exotic locations and situations were enough to keep me coming back.  It would have been great to see their animated worlds collide.

Daredevil and Blue Beetle in: "Upgrading the Underworld!"

I got a kick out of seeing Stilt-Man's stilts in The Gladiator's workshop in an episode of Netflix' Daredevil.  He's one of those great comic villains that have a cool look and gimmick, but would be very hard to pull off seriously in live action.  Still, they found a way to bring Arnim Zola to the screen, so maybe we'll get an honest to goodness Stilt Man appearance on the big screen one day.

These two had a Silver Age adventure in STF #1947...

Daredevil met the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle (though they were in new identities) in STF #2461...

The Avengers Vs. The Secret Society of Super-Villains in: "The One That Got Away!"

I loved team comics when I was a kid, and Justice League of America was my favorite.  My favorite issues of those were the yearly JLA/JSA team-ups, and my favorites of those was the three part tale where both teams tackle a Secret Society made up of Super-Villains from Earth One and Earth Two.  I was the perfect age for it and George Perez made everyone look great (I'm sure most will recognize his part of this cover).  It made me a fan of villains that I had never paid much attention to before like Ragdoll, Signal Man and especially the Psycho-Pirate.

These two teams first clashed back in STF #312...

Tintin and Captain America

The original plans for the Tintin movies was that Steven Spielberg would direct one, Peter Jackson would direct the second, and they would collaborate on a third.  Unfortunately , I have not heard much since the first one was released.  I personally loved the movie and am eager to see more.  I don't know that the box office was very impressive for it though - perhaps that's why the sequels are on hold (hopefully not for good).

Phantom Stranger enters The Twilight Zone

I have always considered The Phantom Stranger to be the Rod Serling of the DC Universe, with his tendency to show up at moments of crisis or pivotal decisions for various characters.  Rather than being an overly proactive presence, he prefers to steer heroes in the right direction, but ultimately they still have to be the masters of their own destinies.

Thank you to Marc Tyler Nobleman, comics' historian and Patron of this blog, for suggesting this team-up!

Black Widow and Mademoiselle Marie

I was surprised to learn that the upcoming Black Widow solo film is tentatively planned to be the first of a trilogy.  It looks like having her character killed off has not slowed her down much!  I can see it working, as there's plenty of stories to explore in her past. How cool would it be to use one of the sequels to introduce Daredevil into the MCU proper?  I used to love him and Black Widow as a team and couple.

Iron Man and Red Tornado (Part Two)

Continued from yesterday's cover, we see the thrilling conclusion to our story...

Between the various MCU movies, audiences have been able to see many iterations of Iron Man's armor on the big screen.  The suit he wore in Avengers: Endgame came close, but I still wish we had gotten a version of his classic 70's-80's look (the one right below his logo on the above cover) at some point.  Maybe if we get a Secret Wars movie down the road, Rhodey can don that particular suit, just as he did in the comic book version of that crossover story.

Iron Man and Red Tornado (Part One)

I was hoping that we would get more appearances from Red Tornado after his introduction on Supergirl during that show's first season.  Alas, apart from a cameo of an Elseworlds version of Reddy, he has not been seen since.  Hopefully he will show up in the Crisis on Infinite Earths event (and if so, hopefully he fares better than in the comic book version of that tale!)

This is only Part One of a Two-Part Epic, so make sure you come back for the thrilling conclusion tomorrow!

Happy Halloween!

Have a great Halloween night!

Evil Ernie and Bert

Happy Halloween!

I always liked Bert as a kid.  He seemed like a kindred soul, a little nerdy in his love for collecting paper clips.  I also remember my little mind being blown away when I saw his full body as he was doing "The Pigeon" dance on an episode of Sesame Street.  Pretty impressive Muppetry, I must say!

Spider-Man and Robin (Part Two)

Continued from yesterday's cover (be sure to check it out for links to other Spidey-Robin adventures), we see the thrilling conclusion to our story.

I always knew that Mysterio would make a great cinematic villain and Spider-Man: Far From Home proved me right.  I am hoping the casting of Paul Dano as the Riddler in Matt Reeves' Batman movie will finally do the character justice.  Sure, Frank Gorshin's manic take was classic, and Jim Carrey had his moments, but neither depicted a genius that I could really see giving The Dark Knight a challenge.  I am hoping Dano's interpretation is closer to more modern depictions of the villain.

Spider-Man and Robin (Part One)

Spidey and Robin have had a bit of history on the blog - They first met back in my B&B: The Lost Issues days... They used the Spider-Signal in STF #2417... Batgirl joined them for an adventure in STF #938... They met when Dick Grayson became Nightwing in STF #87...  and Spidey even helped train Tim Drake to take over the Robin role in STF #838... they met when Robin was in the original Teen Titans in STF #619... and again in the New Teen Titans in STF #767...  not to mention when their successors met up in STF#529  and continued their adventure in STF #530... and they aren't done yet!  Be sure to catch the exciting conclusion to this tale tomorrow!

Zorro and El Kabong

I have been seeing more and more artwork by Francesco Frankavilla in the past few years, and I am really impressed by it.  He has an instantly recognizable style that is as effective in black and white as it is in color, due to his inking skills and mastery of light and shadow.  It's a style all his own that still evokes two of my all time favorite comic artists - Alex Toth and Joe Kubert.  I first discovered him as a cover artist, but soon learned that his interiors are great as well.

Static Vs. Electro in: "Shock of Ages!"

I liked that the Milestone Characters crossed over into the DC Universe for a number of years, it was cool to see team ups like Static and Black Lightning.  Also cool was that Static also crossed over into the DCU in the animated world.  Static Shock was a great cartoon already, then they had appearances by Batman, the Justice League and more.  Static even showed up in Justice League Unlimited and later Young Justice.  For a crossover fan like me, it was great to see those kinds of connections.

These two first tangled in STF #2314...

The Defenders Vs. The Fatal Five

This story serves as a prequel to STF #2710.  If you were wondering just how The Fatal Five got stuck in the present, well here you go! I definitely think that this would be a great match-up. With The Five having the edge in numbers and The Defenders the edge in raw power.  It would be close!

Harry Potter and Tim Hunter

Like a lot of comics fans, I thought, "Hey, that looks familiar..." when the Harry Potter books and movies became a smash hit.  I read and enjoyed The Books of Magic which introduced Tim Hunter years before, and it certainly seemed like an inspiration for the new wizard in training.

Thank you to David Welsh, a Patron of this blog, for suggesting this magical meet up!

The Atom Vs. Galactus

I have often wondered why the depiction of The Atom on DC's Legends of Tomorrow is so off from what we know from the comics.  He's got a clunky suit of armor rather than the sleek outfit we see above, and he hardly uses it to shrink anymore.  Yes, he is a technical genius but his personality is a lot more goofy that what we are used to as well.  It all started to makes sense when I understood that the writers actually wanted to use Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle - but couldn't, and went with Ray Palmer instead.  It seems like they just went ahead and wrote for Ted anyway, just changing the names around.

Galactus first faced the JLA way back in STF #117...