Mightor and Captain Caveman Vs. Godzilla

I was surprised that Godzilla: King of the Monsters was not a bigger hit with critics or at the box office.  The trailers for it looked great, and everything that I wanted from the first film but did not get.  Even so, I hear that even if the plot and the humans underwhelmed but the actual monster battles are epic.  That's all I really want out of the movie though, so I am still inclined to pick up a copy for my home collection.

Firestorm and The Beast

Firestorm was one of the first superhero characters that I was able to follow from the very beginning, so I have always had a soft spot for him.  I loved the student/mentor relationship between Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein - while one had control of immense power, the other had the know how to use it.  Only by working together could Firestorm operate at the peak of his abilities.  Plus, what a cool costume design.  He's one of the few characters to pull off the puffy sleeve look!

Metamorpho Vs. Wolverine

So, Marvel wants to give the X-Men a rest for a while before introducing them into the MCU,  I'm sure they are also eager to use Wolverine, one of their most popular characters.  The solution to me is simple.  Introduce Logan and the concept of mutants in an Alpha Flight movie!  He started out on that team anyway, right?  Then they could move on to a Wolverine / Hulk fight, another key moment from the beginning of his comics career.  That's what I'd do, anyway!

Jessica Jones and Casey Jones

I enjoyed Jessica Jones on Netflix, especially the first season.  I also got a real kick out of her interaction with the other heroes on Defenders.  Krysten Ritter did a great job in interpreting the character.  The second and third seasons weren't as strong, although I did enjoy Patsy Walker's transition into a vigilante of her own - until the resolution of that story arc which I would have liked to have seen present her in a more positive light. 

Katana Vs. Storm Shadow

Katana is an interesting character.  Since her debut in Brave and the Bold #200, I've always tried to keep track of her.  Once she left The Outsiders, she seemed to move around as a supporting player in various teams, with plenty of costume changes.  I was cool to see her in live action in Suicide Squad, but unfortunately she was given very little to do there.  I never did get around to reading her short lived solo comics series.  I'd like to see her working alongside Halo again, I really enjoyed their big sister/little sister relationship from the Batman and The Outsiders days.

Northstar Joins Infinity, Inc.

With the Justice Society ready to  make their return to comics and DC continuity, I am hoping that Infinity Inc. can find some love as well.  There are too many good characters on that team to let them flounder about in limbo.  Maybe a title that deals with both teams and their familial relations could be cool.

Joker & Harley Quinn Vs. Man-Thing

The trailer for the animated Harley Quinn show was released at Comicon, and it looks like a lot of fun. I was surprised to see how many other DC characters were included in it, and I thought that Kaley Cuoco did a good job at voicing Harley.  I wish I was as optimistic about Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), but I have not been very impressed with what I have seen from that movie so far.  Hopefully a full trailer will change my mind once one is released.

Dr. Fate and the Silver Surfer in: "Twist of Fate!"

Marvel has announced its Phase Four plans with no mention  of The Silver Surfer.  Kevin Feige did mention that Fantastic Four is in the works, but that will be in Phase Five, at least a couple of years away.  My hope is that they mix things up though, and that the Surfer is either introduced in a film of his own or as part of a Defenders team with Dr. Strange, Hulk, Valkyrie and an also newly introduced Namor.  Then they can build to the arrival of Galactus, where they can bring in the Fantastic Four in a big team up movie.

These two first met in STF #2030...

Captain Marvel and Thor (Vs. Ulik & King Kull!)

Probably the biggest surprise Marvel announcement at Comicon was that Natalie Portman will be returning as Jane Foster in Thor:  Love and Thunder - and will even possess the Power of Thor in that film, reflecting some of the recent comics.  I enjoyed what director Taika Waititi did with Thor: Ragnarok (except for unceremoniously killing off the Warriors Three), so I look forward to seeing what the next chapter holds.  I really was hoping for Beta Ray Bill, though!

Thor and Captain Marvel have met in the past on the blog.  The Marvel Family got a boost from the God of Thunder in STF #1958...  Thor and Captain Marvel  clashed in STF #990 and they first crossed paths in STF #120... Thor and The Avengers met the whole Marvel Family in STF #1518...

Taskmaster Vs. Bane

Taskmaster has been announced as the main villain in the upcoming Black Widow solo film.  There had been speculation for weeks, but now it has been confirmed at Comicon.  This is good news, because he is a great villain with a unique power set that should result in some exciting fight sequences.  Production art indicates that he will have a costume very close to the comics (minus the cape).

Jesse Quick and Quicksilver

I always got a kick out of Quicksilver's attitude.  It was a nice contrast to the usual nice guy hero to have someone who, while still a good guy, could be kind of snotty at times.  I did wonder what Crystal of the Inhumans ever saw in him, though!  I quite liked the eventual explanation that the world seemed to move in slow motion to him, so he is always feeling impatient.  That made sense to me and also made him a little more of a sympathetic character, rather than just a jerk.

The Question and Dick Tracy

Is Vic Sage around in the comics any more?  The last time I was aware of him was when he was killed off and replaced with Renee Montoya as the new Question.  Still, we have had The New 52, Convergence, and Rebirth events since then (not to mention the ongoing Doomsday Clock), so there have been plenty of places for him to make a return.  Has he, though?  I haven't seen many headlines about either Question in a while.

Shade the Changing Man and Grimjack

Here's a cover featuring a couple of characters that I need to get to know better.  Grimjack always looked cool to me, and I enjoy the writing and art team of John Ostrander and Tim Truman, but I never got a chance to check out any of the comics, what's his best adventure?.  I've read very little of Shade, I think only when he was a member of Suicide Squad.  Is this new version  the same character that Ditko created in the 70's?

A big thank you to Bob Sanders for supporting the blog and suggesting this team-up!

The X-Men and Amanda Waller

I am very interested in what James Gunn will be doing with The Suicide Squad.  As some actors and characters will be returning from the first cinematic outing, it can't really be seen as a reboot, even though it is said that he will be going in his own direction.  One aspect that I really hope he addresses is the depiction of Amanda Waller.  She is a tough as nails character, willing to go to extreme ends to achieve her goals - but the first film went even further and made her into a cold blooded killer, which did not sit well with me.  Hopefully, Gunn will find some way to fix that.

Superman and Ghost Rider

I understand that the upcoming Hulu Ghost Rider series will be featuring the newer Robbie Reyes version of the character.  I liked him on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., so I'll give it a watch.  Still, I hope that the show dives deep into the Ghost Rider mythos and we get to see appearances by Johnny Blaze and Dan Ketch as well.  Heck, let's even get the old time western version in there!

The IMProbables

There were plenty of characters to fill up this team with, I could probably have had twice the number of members.  I wonder why it is such a common theme - diminutive sidekicks or antagonists with amazing magical abilities.  One would think it was for marketing purposes, but I haven't seen many toys or stuffed animals featuring these imps over the years so there must be another reason.

Adam Strange and Doctor Strange in: "Strange Atonement!"

I'm still waiting for Adam Strange on Krypton to in some way resemble the Adam Strange from the comics.  Hopefully it won't be one of those cases where on the final episode he puts on a jetpack and that's all we get.  Krypton's Lobo didn't quite work for me, although he did have a few good moments.  The voice seemed off and I would have preferred a physically larger actor in the role.

This is the third appearance of the Strange boys on the blog.  They were last seen trying to escape from Limbo in STF #2146, and they were first revealed to be brothers in STF #370...

The Teen Titans Vs. Sub-Mariner

It looks like Marvel Studios will have the biggest presentation at next week's Comicon.  We will finally hear some of what they have planned for Phase Four of their cinematic universe.  Dare I hope that Namor is in the mix somewhere?  Titans will also be having a presentation for their second season on DC's streaming service, hopefully there will be some footage of new members joining the team (or the series at least).

Regular followers of this blog may remember that Namorita joined the Teen Titans in STF #1714...

Jonah Hex and Werewolf by Night

Does Marvel Studios own the rights to Marvel's horror characters like Werewolf By Night, The Living Mummy and Satana?  I can just see them going ahead and adding them (and public domain charactes like Frankenstein's Monster or Dracula) to the MCU.  Universal's attempt at copying the Marvel movie formula with a series of connected films starring the classic monsters, Dark Universe, has not gained much traction.  What if Marvel could pull it off instead?

Spider-Woman and Hawkwoman

Jessica Drew is long overdue to join the MCU.  There are plenty of ways to introduce her, given her ties to S.H.I.E.L.D. and  her thematic similarities to Spider-Man.  She's even been wearing a far more movie-friendly costume in the comics for the past few years.  She had her own cartoon in the 80's, surely some of the viewers of that show are now adults in the movie business that would be happy to work on her live action adventures.