The Goon and Swamp Thing

 

The Goon is another property that seemed ready to make the leap to animation some years back, but I haven't heard much about since.  I know a short animation test was created that made the rounds and I remember it looing pretty cool.  Perhaps the comic wasn't high enough profile and the project was discontinued, or perhaps the wheels of production are moving glacially slow and there's still a chance we will see it someday - I'm hoping the latter is the case.

Machine Man and The Creeper

 

This is the kind of oddball pairing that really gets me interested.  They are two of my favorite C-List heroes with almost nothing in common besides their pursuit of justice.  Add in artwork by the legendary Steve Ditko to tie the whole tale together, and you have a done-in-one comic that would be tough to pass up - well, for me anyway!

Metal Men Vs. The U-Foes in: "Reverse Engineering!"

 

The Metal Men first clashed with the U-Foes in STF #3101... and I liked the match up enough that I felt that it warranted a re-match.  I am once again reading rumors of a Metal Men movie in the works, but this time it looks like the plan is for an animated film rather than live action, as previously announced.  I have a little more confidence that the feature will actually be made if that is the case.

The Powerpuff Girls and The Hulk

 

It seems like the ill-conceived live action Powerpuff Girls series is in some trouble.  A pilot was filmed, but rejected and sent to be reworked after backlash from those who had seen it.  Then Chloe Bennett, who was playing Blossom left the production altogether.  Will the CW still continue to pursue this project or take the hints that this just isn't going to work out?

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.

Doctor Mid-Nite Vs. Mysterio

 

The scene in Spider-Man: Far From Home where Spidey is fully immersed in Mysterio's illusions is one of the coolest on screen comic book moments that I have seen.  The constantly changing dream-like environment with giant looming Mysterio tormenting Peter Parker immediately brought me back to so many cool sequences from the villains appearances in the comics.  I haven't heard that the character is among the returning villains for Spider-Man: No Way Home - but I wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised. 

Domino and The Black Racer

 

Domino was a character that was getting popular just as I was getting out of the X-Men titles as they were getting a bit too convoluted for me. I knew that she had good luck abilities similar to Shamrock and Longshot, but not much else. I'm not sure how accurate the depiction in Deadpool 2 was, but I enjoyed Zazie Beetz' performance and her powers were visualized very well - I hope' she'll be back when Deadpool comes to the MCU. 

Microforce (The Animated Series!)

 

Microforce first appeared in STF #1690... and I thought that this team would be a candidate for another cartoon adaptation.  There's been rumors of an Atom film being prepared by Warner Bros.  I'd love to see it if only to see how DC will handle a shrinking superhero story differently than Marvel's Ant-Man movies.

Snake Plissken Vs. Predator

 

Thank you to Mike Shirley, a Patron of this blog, for suggesting this match up! It really does seem like a natural for a man known for getting out of inhospitable places to go up against a hunter that won't stop until he lands his prey.  Let's just hope that Dutch gave Snake a few pointers on this particular threat, I think he may need them!

Wonder Woman and Valkyrie in: "Corruption of the Amazon!"

 

Valkyrie always seemed to me to be the closest equivalent to Wonder Woman in the Marvel Universe (aside from the obvious homage, Power Princess of course), so I thought that she should have a bigger presence.  Now that she's a popular character in the MCU (well a Valkyrie at least, I'm not sure if she's officially Brunnhilde or not), perhaps that will change.

Wonder Woman previously met Valkyrie in STF #1357...  

I was glad to use a WW image by the truly talented Jai Lee here.  I was lucky enough to pick up a Wolverine sketch by him several years back:

The Sentry and Captain Marvel

 

Thanks to Tom Brennan, a Patron of this Blog, for suggesting this match up! I had been meaning to use the Sentry again, and Captain Marvel is certainly more than a suitable adversary for him.

I am always glad to use artwork by the amazing Jerry Ordway.  I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of pages by him several years back (inks by Mark McKenna and Paul Ryan): 

Static and Spider-Man

 

I haven't heard much about the Static movie since it was announced, but I am definitely looking forward to it.  Michael B. Jordan will be producing alongside Denys Cowan and Reginald Hudlin, so it has a lot of talent behind it already.  Hopefully we will hear about a director and casting soon.

The X-Men and Kamandi

 

Continued from yesterday's cover, we see that Kamandi's visit has taken quite a dramatic turn.  Will we see this line-up of X-Men when they finally make their MCU debut?  I'm not sure that Marvel is interested in doing a First Class type movie, but I know I would love to see it.  We'll see what the status of mutants is after Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is released, I guess. 

Kamandi and The X-Men

 Presenting Part One of a Two-Part Epic!  Kamandi was a character that I liked every time I saw him in guest appearances, but I only ever read a couple of issues of his own series.  Is it worth seeking out? Make sure you stop by again tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion! 

The Thing and 4 Famous Co-Stars!

 

You know what I'm thankful for today?  All of the awesome visitors who make time to stop by and check out these covers.  I am especially thankful to those who leave comments and let me know what they think. 

I've had a few requests for a Thing-led poker night cover, and I finally got around to it here.  I had fun deciding who Ben Grimm might include.  He already had a poker buddy in Lando Calrissian from STF #1943, and back in my MTIO: The Lost Issues days he met Jonah Hex, Wildcat and Hellboy... I'd love to be a fly on the wall for this game.

Hawkeye and The Huntress in: "Breakthrough!"

 

Presenting the ninth appearance of the Hawkeye/Huntress brother-sister act. If you have been following their adventures here, you'll know that they have been piecing together missing parts of their childhood, and it looks like their hard work is about to pay off. The Hawkeye Disney+ show starts today, I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Happy to use Brett Breeding artwork here.  He is responsible for my favorite piece of art that I ever commissioned:

Batman and Captain Caveman

 

One of the cool things about seeing different artists' interpretations of Batman is how they each choose to depict the Bat-Cave.  It's still the coolest superhero HQ in my mind, and I'm sure its fun for each new illustrator to put their own spin on it.  I'm looking forward to whatever version we will be getting in next year's The Batman movie. 

X-Factor Vs. Solomon Grundy

 

I remember thinking the premise to X-Factor was a little odd.  The original X-Men disguised themselves as mutant hunters in order to secretly help mutants, it didn't make a lot of sense to me.  They didn't stick with that set up for too long, fortunately. 

Glad to use a Solomon Grundy image here by the very talented Scott Kolins here.  I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of original pages by him (Flash #200 inked by Doug Hazlewood and Thing: Freakshow inked by Andy Lanning): 

Star Sapphire Vs. Doctor Spectrum (Part Two)

 

Continuing yesterday's battle, it looks like Carol Ferris has the upper hand.  I still hope to see the Squadron Supreme appear in the MCU some day.  I loved their arc on the animated Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and it would be even cooler to see them in live action.  Thanks again to Blog Patron Ken Roskos for suggesting this match up. 

Doctor Spectrum Vs. Star Sapphire (Part One)

 

Presenting Part One of a Two Part Epic!  Thank you to Ken Roskos, a Patron of this Blog, for suggesting this match-up.  It's too bad we never got to see Blake Lively transform into Star Sapphire in a Green Lantern sequel. Oh well, maybe the villainess will appear in the HBO Max GLC series. Come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!