Jakita Wagner and Nightcrawler

 

Planetary is a comics series that I have to pull out and read again.  I takes a trip through many different genres with interesting characters and wide screen visuals   Much of the credit goes to artist John Cassiday.  I was lucky enough to pick up some original art by him several years back, One from Planetary and a two-page spread from X-Men/Alpha Flight:

Power Girl and Power Man in: "The Demons of Date Night!"

 

There's a new 6-issue mini-series from DC coming out called One Star Squadron.  It will be written by Mark Russell with art by Steve Lieber and will feature Power Girl and a handful of other DC B and C-listers in a Heroes for Hire type situation. I can only imagine what Luke Cage would think of Karen Starr's new gig.  If it gets good reviews, I'll check it out once collected.

This marks the 12th appearance of The Power Couple on this blog.  

Silver Surfer and Thundarr the Barbarian

 

I still think that Keanu Reeves would be a good choice to play The Silver Surfer, but he may think that the role is too similar to the part he played in The Day The Earth Stood Still.  The role will require an actor that can be emotive while stoic, it's all about the voice.  Galactus will most likely largely be a product of CGI, so the performer's voice will be paramount there as well.  I haven't heard a peep about either character actually showing up in the MCU yet, so I'm guessing that Marvel still has a few years to cast these roles.

Blue Devil and Beta Ray Bill

 

If Nathan Fillion doesn't get his wish to portray Wonder Man or Sasquatch for the MCU, perhaps he should go for another DC Comics character.  I think he'd be a great match for Dan Cassidy, AKA Blue Devil.  HBO Max is preparing movies and shows featuring characters from Justice League Dark, so there's certainly a chance for the trident-wielding hero to show up.

The Hulk Vs. Mr. Terrific

 

This is a combination that might be fun to see,  I like the juxtaposition of characters with brains and those that possess raw strength, whether they be at odds or trying to work together.  Since this is a comic, you know you can expect a little bit of both!

Star Trek: TNG, The Watcher and Mr. Mxyzptlk

 

I've been getting a kick out of What If? on Disney+.  The animation style took some getting used to, but now I think it's pretty cool.  My favorite episode so far has been the Dr. Strange-centric one.  Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher is so good that I hope he brings the role to live action in a future movie.  I have a feeling we'll be seeing some of the characters and storyline in this show included in upcoming MCU films.

Robin Vs. Kang in: "Batting 1,000!"

 

Looks like Kang's experiment with Batman from STF #2390 got a little out of hand, and now it's up to the Boy Wonder to make sense of things.  I can't wait to see what shenanigans Kang gets into when he next appears in the MCU.  From the end of the Loki series, it seems that he's already gotten started.

Kang battled the greatest Robin of all in STF #1744...

Crimson Avenger and Iron Man

 

The Crimson Avenger has been featured in photo form on a couple episodes of Stargirl.  Hopefully that means eventually we'll get a flashback featuring him.  I got a real kick out of seeing Johnny Thunder and the Ted Grant Wildcat a few weeks back, and I hope the show keeps including scenes of the old school heroes like that one.

Kitty Pryde and Batman in: "Two Times a Lady!"

Is the world ready for three different Batmen coming to theaters in one year.  The Flash promises to bring back Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck as the Caped Crusader and we'll also get Robert Pattinson in The Batman, exploring the character's early years.  Both Marvel and DC are having a lot of fun with the concept of multiverses, so I think that the general public will be able to roll with the idea of multiple Dark Knight iterations.  I just hope we eventually get our Keaton-led Batman Beyond movie!

Batman and Kitty first met on a B&B: The Lost Issues cover back in 2010...

The New Warriors and The Justice Society of America

 

Judging by the characters recently and about to be introduced, it looks like the MCU is just going to skip right by The New Warriors and go straight to The Young Avengers.  I suppose that is understandable, as Avengers is the marquee name, but I still hope Marvels' 90's teen team eventually get their chance at live action. You just know that Speedball would look cool displaying his abilities.

Captain America and Aquaman

 

An image of Jason Momoa's Stealth Suit from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has been released, and it looks pretty cool to me.  It seems tp be inspired by the blue suit that Aquaman wore in his 1986 mini-series.  That look didn't last very long, but I remember liking it, and I am glad to see a nod to it here.  There's been a shot released of Momoa in the classic Aquaman garb as well, I'm glad that will also be back as it looks great on him.

Blue Beetle and Black Widow

 

I'm looking forward to seeing Xolo Mariduena bring the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle to life in the announced HBO Max movie.  I hope that the legacy aspect of the character is left intact and that we also get to see Ted Kord in there somewhere, perhaps in a mentor role as eventually happened in the comics.  A nod to the original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, would just be icing on the cake!

Thank you to Mike Shirley, a Patron of this Blog, for suggesting this team up!

STF: The Lost Issues! on The Fire and Water Podcast!

I was honored to be a guest of The Irredeemable Shag on The Fire and Water Podcast this past Sunday! We chat about the blog, then discuss our favorite Firestorm team ups of all time. It was a ton of fun and you can check it out here:

Black Panther Vs. Solomon Grundy

 

It looks like Solomon Grundy will be back eventually on Stargirl.  Rick Tyler has been leaving food in the woods for someone, after all.  I'm guessing when he returns, he'll be in a somewhat gentler form and maybe even help out the heroes, as he did back in the Infinity Inc. comic series.  I just hope the budget allows for more than quick glimpses of him this time around.

Sgt. Rock and Tor

There are comic book artists that may have been more influential, like Jack Kirby and Neal Adams, and there's at least one artist that I would call my favorite when I factor in sentimental reasons (Jim Aparo), but if you were to ask my my opinion on who I feel to be the greatest comics illustrator of all time, I don't even have to think about it: Joe Kubert.  I'm always in awe at his work, which never waned through his long career.  All while he was teaching a new generation of artists at his school!

 

Aliens Vs. Jonah Hex

 

Jonah Hex has been to the future and back, so maybe he's heard about the Xenomorphs sometime during his travels.  He's going to need any extra edge he can get if he wants to have a chance in this battle.  Never count Hex out, though - he always finds a way.

The Avengers and The Omega Men

 

I really thought that the Omega Men were going to be the next big thing when they were introduced.  They were launched out of the red hot New teen Titans, after all.  Despite their roster of cool characters, they never really caught on, though - even in later revival attempts.  Maybe starting out as a direct only title hurt their chances of finding a wider audience?  I know I was still only getting my comics from the newsstand when their series was first published.

Red Tornado Vs. Whirlwind

I have to think that Red Tornado will emerge victorious here.  Not only does he have the spirit of a Tornado Champion within him, all he has to do is move slightly over to the side - I mean, Whirlwind's helmet may offer protection, but it looks like it severely hampers peripheral vision! It would still be fun to see though!

 

Justice League of America and Nova

 

The Grey Gargoyle was a cool villain, if only because imagining being turned to stone was a frightening prospect to me as a young comics reader.   I did have one question about his costume, though.  It was cool that he appeared to be made of or at least covered with stone, but the cape confused me.  It appeared to fold and flow like normal cloth.  It seemed to me that it should have been at least somewhat rigid (or not included at all).

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.