Hellboy and Lobo

 

Lobo doesn't really get along with a lot of characters, but I think that he might not mind working with Hellboy.  The last Czarnian always welcomes a good fight and Hellboy knows where all the best monsters are hidden.  I can definitely see the two of them cutting a wide path through the nether realm.

Justice League of America and Doctor Strange

 

Cat Blanchett's Hela is probably my favorite Marvel villain to appear thus far.  Her performance was spot on and she looked amazing and comics accurate in her various costumes.  I especially appreciated that they did not shy away from Jack Kirby's extravagant helmet design.  I'd love to see the her return down the line, although I am guessing that's tougher to do with such a powerful character.  

Stripesy and Dum Dum Dugan

 

Not only are these two of my favorite supporting characters, they both share the same last name, so why not have them share an adventure together?  I'm looking forward to the return of Pat Dugan on the upcoming second season of Stargirl.  Dum Dum Dugan may not be returning to the MCU unless they present another period piece... or feature the Zombified Version that runs with the new Howling Commandos!

Starman Vs. Iron Man in: "Knight Terrors!"

This marks the third adventure between Starman and Iron Man - They joined Black Widow and Black Canary in STF #2491 and first appeared together in STF #2190... there's something I like about putting these two heroes together.  Maybe it's the juxtaposition of cosmic based abilities and science based weaponry... or maybe just because I think they look cool together.

Darth Vader and Galactus

 

The last time these two appeared together, way back in STF #40, Vader had begun working for Galactus.  I thought that it might be interesting to flip that dynamic for a second meeting between the two. I'm very interested to see how Darth Vader is handled in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series.  I'm glad that Hayden Christiansen will get another crack at the role of Anakin Skywalker, hopefully he'll be given better dialogue to work with this time around!

Huntress and Mockingbird

 

Continued from yesterday's cover, we see that Clint Barton's time in The House of Mystery has perhaps had some lasting effects... Regular visitors to this blog will know that Hawkeye and Huntress are siblings on Earth-STF, and I figured that is was high time that Helena shared an adventure with her sister-in-law.  I'd like for Bobbi Morse to show up in the Disney+ Hawkeye series, but I think a version of the character appearing on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may rule that out, since apparently Kevin Feige was not a fan of that series.

Hawkeye in the House of Mystery

 

I saw that Can and Abel have been cast for the upcoming Netflix series, and I an glad that they will be a part of the mix.  DC's most famous horror hosts have entertained readers for years, and it's high time they received a live action treatment!  I'm not familiar with actors Sanjeev Bhaskar and Asim Chaudhry, but I hope they do the roles justice with equal amounts of mystery, darkness, and humor.

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

Blade and Green Arrow & Black Canary

 

Thank you to Blog visitor Wolfhammer for suggesting a Blade/Green Arrow pairing.  It's a pretty natural one that I am surprised I had not done before.  I figured that I would let Black Canary join in on the fesivities.  As much as I like both her and GA as solo characters, I think they work the best when they are together.  It always bothered me that writers seemed determined to break them apart in the comics.

Moon Knight and The Elongated Man in: "Fracas on Fat Tuesday!"

 

The MK/EM team returns!  This is the eighth meeting of STF's greatest crimefighting team:

MK's desperate treatment for Ralph was conducted in STF #3169... Concern about Eclipso's lasting effect on Ralph arose in STF #3098, Ralph fell under Eclipso's influence in STF #2908, They faced an angry underworld in STF #2831,  Psycho Pirate turned them against each other in STF #2732, Ralph came to the rescue in STF #2518, and they first started working together in STF #2169...

Master of Kung Fu Vs. Storm Shadow

 

News about Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been somewhat sparse.  Other than some casting and a bare outline of the plot (and a few unconfirmed rumors), next to nothing solid has leaked about the production.  I saw one distant photo of Simu Liu and Awkwafina shooting a scene and a blurry long distance shot of a movie set, but little else.  That's not a bad thing, I feel like I already know too much about the upcoming Black Widow.  It's nice to go see a movie with no preconceived notions as to what is going to happen.  We'll get a trailer or teaser in the next few months, hopefully nothing too spoilery.

Blue Beetle Vs. Dark Phoenix

Blue & Gold, a proposed buddy superhero movie starring Blue Beetle and Booster Gold was one of the many potential DC movies that was mentioned once and then never again.  Marvel has buddy show Falcon and the Winter Soldier as well as a She-Hulk show with comedic elements coming up, so maybe the suits at Warner Brothers should reconsider the concept for an HBO Max ongoing series instead. Just as long as the heroes are presented as capable - Ted and Booster can still be funny while still being effective heroes.

Challengers of the Unknown Vs. The Hulk

 

Pavement sure had some strange properties in the comics I read as a kid.  Characters like The Hulk, Superman and The Thing would often pull stunts like the one above, whipping a sidewalk like it was a towel.  Another move was to roll the street up and wrap your opponents in it.  These were always visually impressive displays, if not always scientifically sound.

Swamp Thing Vs. The Punisher

 

The recent Swamp Thing series was imperfect - the pacing was pretty slow and some of the performances veered over to the cheesy side - but I still don't believe it deserved to be cancelled so abruptly.  Swamp Thing himself was realized well and the show seemed to be finding its footing and building to some interesting storylines by the final episode.  The sets have been destroyed and talent as moved on to other projects, so the show will not be returning.  Swamp Thing may well be a part of the upcoming HBO Max Justice League Dark series, it will be interesting to see if it will be a new iteration of the muck monster or a continuation of the previous show.

Superman and Donald Duck

 

As far as Disney characters went, I thought that Mickey Mouse had the best adventures, Goofy was the funniest and Donald Duck was the most relatable.  Nothing he tried ever went according to plan, he had tons of energy and felt every emotion to the ultimate degree, not unlike me as a child.  How could I not root for the guy?

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.

The Creeper Vs. The Prowler

One of the many aspects of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that I really enjoyed was the use of The Prowler, a cool character that I did not expect to show up in a movie.  The way he was depicted made him even cooler, I loved the way the animators moved him around on the screen.  Rumor has it that for the upcoming sequel, Spidey villain C-lister The Spot will be a main antagonist.   He is a very fun character visually, and I hope he does indeed appear because I'm betting that there will be some great and inventive action scenes using his unique power set.

Thanks to STF visitor Wolfhammer for suggesting this team up!

Black Lightning Vs. Aliens

 

It will be interesting to see what Disney/Marvel does with the Aliens and Predator properties now that they have the rights.  I imagine we will see more crossovers between the two monster franchises and Marvel heroes.  Will they stick to one-shots and mini-series, or will they perhaps be fully integrated into the Marvel Universe?  That might be a bit much.

Toro and Robin

 

If memory serves, one of the reasons Dick Grayson chose Robin as his superhero handle was in honor of the legendary tales of Robin Hood.  I wonder then, why he wasn't given a bow and arrow to use?  Green Arrow would not be created for another year at least, so it would have still been a novel idea.  Maybe they just  didn't want kids to emulate the young hero by trying out the weapons themselves?  Batarangs were harder to come by I suppose.

Robin previously met Toro as part of the Young Allies in STF #197, and a very early Lost Brave and the Bold cover... 

Wonder Woman and Spider-Man in: "Aunt May's Other Life!"

 

Nothing makes my feel my age like the fact that the cinematic Aunt May is now portrayed by someone just a few years older than me.  Don't get me wrong, Marisa Tomei is pleasant to watch, but I'm used to the frail elderly Aunt from the comics.  Rosemary Harris from the first Spider-Man trilogy was like the character had walked right off of the page, still one of the best comic book movie castings ever, in my opinion.

Wonder Woman and Spidey first crossed paths in STF #572...

Jocasta Vs. Amazo

 

Jocasta has a great design and interesting origin and in my opinion is always a welcome addition to any Avengers line up. I'm not sure whether she's hanging with them these days or spending time with Machine Man as she often does.  It's high time she got the spotlight a mini-series of her own.  She's spent decades as a supporting character, let's see how she does as a lead.