The Thing and Power Girl in: "M.O.D.O.K. and Awe!"

 

Of all of the failures of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the depiction of M.O.D.O.K. was the biggest offence for me.  His appearance, his identity, his origin and personality were so far off from the comics character that I wondered why they even bothered to include him.  I refuse to believe that his look was the best that Marvel could have come up with - I understand he has a somewhat goofy look, but there had to be a better way to realize the character on screen.

Ben Grimm and Karen Starr first appeared together back in a MTIO cover from 2011...

Burger Masters in: "When Hoards the Hamburglar!"

 

A lot of times when I present a STF Team, it's with the intention of bringing them back for more cover appearances.  Burger Masters was one that I considered a one-off, but I liked the group and I thought I found a suitable antagonist for them to face, so I thought that I would give them a sophomore outing.  The hungry group first appeared back in STF #350.

Rocket Raccoon and Hawkman

 

Here's another cover to got with the "two random heroes join forces to battle a monster" theme that Bob Greenwade has picked up on in the comments. I hadn't made these with a connected story in line, but I see how one could easily form.  Given the arena setting here, perhaps the Grandmaster is behind all of these monstrous shenanigans.

Power Man & Iron Fist Vs. Darkseid

 

I remember back in the late 90's when I was working on my big DC/Marvel crossover  story that featured Darkseid and Dr. Doom as the villain (the pencils for which are included on my 2000th STF post).  I really just did it for my own enjoyment and rarely ever showed anyone the pages.  There was one time when I brought a date over and thought she might be interested to see what I had done.  She looked over the pages, rolled her eyes and said, "You spelled Apocalypse wrong".  I pulled out my copy of Who's Who in the DC Universe to show her that I hadn't, but she remained unimpressed. Needless to say, that relationship did not last.

Mr. Terrific and The Spirit

 

When I was a kid, I had plenty of super hero images decorating my room.  They were all of Marvel and DC characters, because that's pretty much all I read at that point.  There was one exception though - a mini-poster of The Spirit kicking in a door.  While I wasn't familiar with the character yet, there was so much energy in the Will Eisner image that I loved looking at it.  Eventually I got my eyes on some Spirit stories and appreciated the character even more.

Han Solo and Space Ghost

 

Han Solo eventually grudgingly accepted the concept of The Force, but I wonder how he would react if he found himself having to fight side by side with a space-faring superhero.  I'm guessing that Han might wonder what space Ghost's motives would be, but as long as they had a common enemy to pursue they would make for a formidable team.

Captain Marvel and She-Hulk

 

I loved the era when Worlds' Finest became a dollar book with a bunch of rotating back up features to go with the regular Superman/Batman team ups.  Probably my favorite was the Shazam back-ups that featured artwork by the great Don Newton.  I've seen the Shazam characters depicted in a very cartoony style as well as realistic and gritty - but in these tales I think that Newton really struck the perfect balance.  Captain Marvel and his supporting cast and villains all looked great. 

Iron Man and Dynamo

 

I recently watched a couple of episodes of Iron Man from the Marvel Super-Heroes cartoons that first ran in 1966, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I know the animation was considered crude even for back then, but whatever it lacks is made up by the fact that the artwork from the actual comics was used to bring it to life.  The breakneck pacing of those early comic tales really made them perfect for this Saturday morning format.

Indiana Jones and Sub-Mariner

 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the latest big budget movie this year to underperform.  While it seems to be better regarded than the last Indy outing, I have seen only middling reviews.  I am definitely interested in the opening sequence featuring a de-aged Indiana Jones, though.  I'll have to check it out when it eventually hits Disney+ and see how it sits with me.

Firestorm and Beta Ray Bill

 

I've been waiting for Beta Ray Bill to show up in the MCU for a decade, but other than an Easter egg statue, he has yet to be seen.  With the underperformance of Thor: Love and Thunder and Chris Hemsworth's desire to slow down his acting career, who knows when or if we will get another installment?  Hopefully even if Thor himself is out of the picture for a while, BRB can still find a place to appear in the MCU.

Doctor Strange and Swamp Thing in: "Unchecked Growth!"

 

There have been some rumors that Bill Skarsgaard is up for the role of Alec Holland/Swamp Thing in the new DCU movies.  I'm only familiar with his work in the It movies, but he was pretty good in those.  We'll see if we get any official announcements regarding casting soon.

Doctor Strange and Swamp Thing were last together facing demons in STF #941 and first met in STF #227...

The New Warriors and Infinity, Inc. (and more!)

 

I like making these Anniversary Issues as homages to the 100-Page Giants that I devoured as a kid.  Sometimes, though, I really have to shrink some of the images to fit the confines of the cover.  So here, I will show you larger versions for all of the individual stories included above:

The Invaders and The Trinity

 When Richard Graef suggested having this pair of heroic trios share an adventure together, I thought that it would be the perfect way for the WW/Cap romance to celebrate the 4th of July (in their 30th appearance on the blog).  Thanks, Richard!  I hope all of the American visitors to this blog are having a nice holiday with family and friends today!

Coming tomorrow: STF #4100!

Doctor Doom on the Planet of the Apes

 

I remember the early 70's when Apes were everywhere.  My brothers and I would watch the Planet of the Apes TV series and we had lunch boxes, trading cards action figures and more dedicated to the post apocalyptic franchise. Something about that monkey world really grabbed my young imagination.

Blue Beetle and The Punisher

 Here's another unlikely pairing.  I can't really seen these two working together unless presented with a scenario like the one above.  It might be interesting to see how their different attitudes and crimefighting styles clash when they find themselves battling side by side.  

How you can help to support Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues

 Do you enjoy following Super-team family: The Lost Issues?  Do you hope it keeps going?  Here's your chance to do just that!

It is time once again for my once a year reminder about how you can help out - while this blog is a labor of love for me, it remains a one-man operation and can be quite time consuming to keep up on a daily basis, while trying to maintain or improve the quality. 

The blog will of course always be free, but if you would like to help support it, there are a couple of ways to do so - by by making a one time contribution by clicking on the "Donate" button at the bottom of this page, or by becoming a Patron at Patreon.  While I take suggestions from anyone, Patrons of course will get special consideration.

I truly appreciate everyone who takes the time to check out my covers, and those who participate in the comments sections, whether on the blog itself, the Facebook Fan Page or my Twitter Feed.  I always enjoy hearing feedback.

I've passed 4100 STF covers (with another 510 B&B and MTIO covers) so far, and this past year was especially exciting with the blog receiving a a nice inclusion in Twomorrows' The Team-Up Companion.  I look forward to sharing some of the fun covers that are coming up.   Thanks for stopping by for your daily dose of team up fun!

Nova and The Creeper

 

I recently saw a request to pair these two together due to them having similar last names.  The names are only phonetically the same, but I thought it would still be cool to see them in an adventure side by side. Add in one malicious mechanical menace and a story starts to form...

Animal Man and Machine Man

 

Just from their names, these two clearly don't have a lot in common.  That's of course until they come face to face with a monstrosity that perverts both of their abilities.  It would be a fun battle to see go down.  

Space Cabbie and Man-Wolf

 

These two characters may have never hit the big time, but I always got a kick out of each of them.  It might be fun to watch them share an adventure together. Sure, maybe this issue would have collected dust on the spinner rack, but I'd probably have to pick it up, if just out of curiosity.

Green Lantern and Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot

 

Hopefully the failure of The Flash won't slow down DCU properties in development like the MAX Lanterns series, but I suspect it will.  DC's already had one unsuccessful attempt to get the world of Green Lantern into live action so they really have to get it right when they try again.  Announcements on that show have gone quite, however. I'm thinking that James Gunn probably wants to make  sure that Superman: Legacy is as good as it can be before concentration on expanding the universe outward from there, which is as it should be.