Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Firestorm and Black Goliath
I read with interest that Laurence Fishburne is going to portray Bill Foster in the upcoming Ant-Man and The Wasp. Will he be there in a professional capacity only, or is there a chance that we will see his super-heroic side? Fishburn may be a bit too old an out of shape these days, but Marvel has demonstrated their ability to de-age actors for flashback sequences, so maybe they will surprise us.
Monday, January 15, 2018
Thor Vs. The Composite Superman
Thor: Ragnarok to me felt more like a Guardians of the Galaxy movie than a Thor film, with the emphasis on comedy, colorful visual palette, wacky alien races and classic rock & roll kicking in during the action scenes. It was very enjoyable and well made, but you could definitely feel the influence of James Gunn's movies. The only times where I was really bothered was when the film did not allow some of the heavier moments to sink in before moving on to another joke. Thor lost friends, family, Mjolnir, body parts and his home - but seemed to keep yukking it up the whole way through.
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Batman meets Han Solo & Chewbacca
Star Wars: The Last Jedi seemed to divide fans and critics, and I would have to say that my opinion falls somewhere in the middle. My main issue was that the film felt bloated with some unnecessary elements. The whole Finn/Rose/DJ subplot at the Casino did not work for me and I feel could easily have been jettisoned. I think that the actions of Laura Dern's Holdo character should have been given to Admiral Ackbar, he deserved much better than what he got. While I wish Luke was more proactive, old Jedis becoming hermit loners is in keeping for the series so far. I did like the performances and action sequences (and yes, the Porgs) quite a bit, and I liked Leia's force moment more than most seem to. Hopefully in the next installment the last remaining heroes from the original trilogy - Chewie and the Droids - get a lot more to do.
Labels:
Batman,
Chewbacca,
DC Comics,
Ed Benes,
Han Solo,
Mahmud Asrar,
Star Wars,
Stuart Immonen,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Doctor Fate Vs. Loki
Many are speculating which characters are going to make it out of Avengers: Infinity War alive, given that a lot of contracts will be up and that this marks the end of Marvel's "Phase Two" plans. I'm thinking at least that this will be the swam song for Tom Hiddleston's Loki. He has appeared more than any other villain in the movie series. Plus the teaser trailer hints at him bringing one of the Infinity Gems to Thanos, which I can imagine leads to a confrontation that won't end well for him.
Friday, January 12, 2018
Justice League Vs. Squadron Supreme (Plus 4 More tales!)
What the...? Didn't I just post STF #2000 the other day? Time is certainly flying by! It seems like not that long ago that I was sitting on my bedroom floor reading 100-Page Giants and feeling like I had a whole lifetime ahead of me. Today is my 49th birthday, and I am definitely aware of my age and mortality - but I'm still glad I have this blog and a love for comics and superheroes to help keep me feeling young!
This is the fourth meeting between The League and The Squadron. The were last seen together in a two-parter that began in STF #1425 and concluded in STF #1426.... and they first met way back in STF #205...
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Space:1999 and Spider-Man 2099
Iwas happy to see some Gray Morrow covers when looking for Space: 1999 images. I have always loved his realistic depictions, almost painterly with his pencils and inks - there's no other artist with a style quite like his. I especially enjoy his depictions of women - He did a Zatanna Special and Lois Lane 2-issue mini-series a few decades back that I still remember fondly, those characters have rarely looked better.
Coming tomorrow is STF #2100, so stay tuned!
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
The Hulk Vs. The Marvel Family
I wasn't sure about the casting of Zachary Levy as Captain Marvel for the upcoming Shazam! film, but I am really on board now. He definitely has the looks facially, and recent pictures that I have seen have shown that he is indeed bulking up for the role. Christopher Reeve went through a similar transformation in preparing for the first Superman movie, and that turned out OK. Acting-wise, I think Levy has the chops to portray a kid in an adult's body with the wisdom of Solomon. I have seen Asher Angel act before, and he will make a fine Billy Batson (although maybe a year or two too old if they want to do a bunch of sequels - but first things first).
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
White Tiger and Bronze Tiger
These are two characters that deserve wider recognition, and I'd love to see them branch out into live action. Bronze Tiger did show up on a couple of episodes of Arrow a few years back, but I'd really like to see the character added to the roster of the Suicide Squad sequel (if that film still ends up getting made). White Tiger would be prefect to show up as a supporting character on any of the Netflix Marvel shows.
Monday, January 8, 2018
Black Racer Vs. Quicksilver
Well before characters like Guy Gardner pr USAgent hit the scene, Pietro Maximoff was the first hero I can remember thinking of as kind of a jerk. Sure, there was Namor, but in those days I considered him as much of a villain as a hero. Quicksilver was always clearly on the side of good, fighting alongside The Avengers, Inhumans and X-Men - but there was no getting around his abrasive personality. It was cool to see that not all superheroes had the same cookie cutter type of good guy personality, and it helped with the the group dynamics of the teams he operated with. I did like the explanation later on that he could never fully shut off his speedy perception, so the world always seems in slow motion for him, leading to a state of irritation.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Zorro and Ghost Rider
If you are going to have a color-coded costume be effective in the old West, you really need to complete the look by getting a horse to match. Sure, it may be tough to find all the right accessories, but once you have everything together, the bad guys will think twice before taking on such a stylish opponent.
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Galactus joins The Secret Society of Super-Villains
While Justice League missed the mark for me, I did like the tease at the end that an Injustice League/Secret Society of Super-Villains type of team will be formed to take them on in the future. It would be a nice change from the "powerful would be ruler and his army of cannon fodder troops" plot that we have seen a few times now. If only they weren't being led by Jesse Eisenberg's Luthor... if they're going to recast Batman, can't they recast him as well?
Friday, January 5, 2018
Aquaman & Mera and Marrina
I have been catching up on some comics I have missed in digital form, and I am currently reading Geoff Johns' New 52 Aquaman run. I really like what I have seen so far. Johns tackles a lot of the misconceptions about the character head on, in a fun and exciting way. Aquaman's classic costume has rarely looked better than it does here, with Ivan Reis' amazing depiction. Mera get to really show off her abilities as well, it's a truly fun read.
Labels:
Aquaman,
Chuck Patton,
DC Comics,
John Byrne,
Marrina,
Marvel Comics,
Mera,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Spider-Woman and Wonder Girl in "Twin Targets!"
DC Comics had been doing legacy and spin-off heroes for years, but it was still a relatively new thing for Marvel when characters like She-Hulk and Spider-Woman hit the stands. I think Marvel was wise to have the still be quite distinct from the heroes that inspired them, and not just in gender. Jennifer Walters retained her normal intelligence as She-Hulk and enjoyed the transformation, which was very different from Bruce Banner. Spider-Woman had very little to do with Spider-Man at all, indeed they only crossed paths a few times. She carved out her own path without having to become just an offshoot of an existing hero.
Spider-Woman and Wonder Girl first discovered their familial relationship back in STF #831...
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Doom Patrol and Vision & The Scarlet Witch
I liked the late 80's revival of Doom Patrol, especially the first few issues illustrated by Steve Lightle. The title, like the team it featured, was very unstable. After Lightle's too early departure, a replacement artist was found in Erik Larsen, who's style was markedly different from what had gone before. Just as readers were getting used to the new direction, the book took another big turn when writer Grant Morrison came on board and introduced a host of offbeat characters and concepts. Eventually, it became part of the Vertigo Imprint, and it finally got a bit too weird for my taste and lost me. The Doom Patrol never stay down for long, though. They've been revived multiple times since then and I imagine they will be again.
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Robo Force Vs. Magnus: Robot Fighter
It was only a matter of time before Super-Team Family's premiere team met the one man who would like to disassemble them all. Let's hope that Magnus realizes that not all robots are bad robots!
This is Robo Force's fifth appearance on the blog - they faced off against Brainiac in STF #1850... they almost lost one of their own in STF #1450... they Battled Ultron in STF #202 and first became a team back in STF #150...
Monday, January 1, 2018
Nightwing Vs. Taskmaster
Taskmaster is a character that I would love to see show up in a Marvel movie. His ability to mimic the skills that he sees makes him a viable opponent for many different heroes, so there's plenty of opportunity to use him. The only tricky part is the costume. I don't like it when the movie versions veer too far away from the suits we see on the comics page, but I have to admit his looks like it might be pretty tough to translate to live action.
If you are wondering when Taskmaster learned to fight like Batman, it happened way back in my B&B Lost Issue days, an early MS Paint effort from 2010...
If you are wondering when Taskmaster learned to fight like Batman, it happened way back in my B&B Lost Issue days, an early MS Paint effort from 2010...
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Jack of Hearts Vs. The Royal Flush Gang
I have always really liked The Royal Flush Gang. I find it cool that the team has gone through so many incarnations, from the old West to present day, often with mysterious leaders/benefactors pulling the strings. Plus, the family aspect to the group adds a different dynamic than most villainous gatherings. The DC animated shows did some really interesting things with them as well.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Tintin, Space Ghost and The Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is one of the few characters that came out unscathed in the Fox movies. I thought he looked and sounded great in the second Fantastic Four film, despite being in service to a lackluster plot and answering to a CGI cloud we were told was Galactus. I wonder where The Surfer will appear again now that Marvel has the rights back. A solo film? A guest Star in a future Guardians of the Galaxy film? Or maybe even joining Hulk, Dr. Strange and Sub-Mariner for a proper Defenders team? There are plenty of places to use him, and I hope they don't make us wait too long.
This story serves as a direct follow up to the two-part tale where Tintin met The Watcher, and then had to be tracked down by Green Lantern and Space Ghost... and of course Silver Surfer and Space Ghost have met as well...
Labels:
Alex Toth,
Hanna-Barbera,
Herge,
Marvel Comics,
Mike Allred,
Silver Surfer,
Space Ghost,
Steve Rude,
Tintin
Friday, December 29, 2017
Ms. Marvel and Batgirl
There was a talk of a Joss Whedon-directed solo Batgirl film a while back, but I don't know if that is still in the planning stages. Justice League's sub-par performance, Batman's rotating lead actors and Whedon's personal headlines may have all taken a toll, and I would not be surprised to see DC take a step back before moving ahead with their full slate of film projects. Time will tell if Batgirl survives.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Robocop and The Punisher
I was watching a commentary on Star Wars: Rogue One last night and a comment was made about how Darth Vader moved around with slow deliberate confidence, he was powerful and capable enough that he did not need to run. Robocop strikes me the same way. It's cool to see him slowly and effectively dispatch his opponents. It would just seem wrong to watch him ever break into a full trot.
Labels:
Jim Lee,
Lee Sullivan,
Marvel Comics,
Robocop,
Super-Team Family,
Team Up,
The Punisher
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