The Warriors Three and Superman

 

It's time for another all-Kirby classic!  The Warriors Three got the short end of the stick in the MCU, but who says they can't battle on here in the pages of STF?

Zatara Vs. Loki

 

I am guessing that Loki will play a pivotal role in Avengers: Doomsday.  Not only because of Tom Hiddleston's popularity in the role, but also because of where we last saw the character.  Loki was placed in charge of keeping all of the timelines intact, and I'm betting that that will play a factor in whatever multiversal shenanigans Doom is planning. Who knows - with the movie delayed we now have a lot more time to speculate.

Deadman and Thor (Vs. Loki!)

 

Deadman and Thor first appeared together way back in STF #90, an MS Paint cover from 2012, so it was high time to revisit this pairing.  Adding in Loki as the villain and Jack Kirby as the artist only sweetens the deal. 

Superman and Throg

 

We say Throg the Thor Frog make a cameo in the first season of Loki.  Now that the Disney+ series is set to return, I really hope we get a chance to see him again.  Let's see him break loose from his bottle trap and pull off some mini-Mojlnir stunts! I know that I would certainly be entertained.

Throg met the Man of Steel along with some other JLA members back in STF #557...

Shazzan and Thor

 

I quite  liked Thor: Ragnarok, and felt that it's injection of color and humor into the franchise struck a nice balance in that film.  Unfortunately, Director Taika Waititi was not able to balance out his follow up, Thor: Love and Thunder quite as well in my opinion.  The humor was far too broad this time around, with Thor going from a character with some funny traits to a complete buffoon.  Natalie Portman is a talented actress, but her attempts at comedy fell flat for me, and clashed with her terminal cancer sub-plot.  It's not a terrible movie, and there are some fun action sequences and a great mid-credits scene - but it felt like it could have used one more pass in the editing stage before sending it to theaters.

Robin in The Marvel Universe

 

Loki was a fun series on Disney+.  I actually think it could haven been tightened up a bit, there was a lot of talking between the scattered action scenes.  Still, it was always interesting to see Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson interacting with one another.  My favorite episode was the one with all of the multiple Lokis, including Alligator Loki and Richard E. Grant doing a wonderful take on Classic Loki.  Plus we got to see cameos by Throg and the Thanos Copter!  The final episode with Jonathan Majors chewing the scenery was an intriguing introduction to Kang, but I am looking forward to Majors' take on a more sinister variant of the villain in future appearances.  The series didn't wrap up as neatly as I was expecting, but that's no big surprise since there is a season two on the way.

Johnny Thunder and Thor

 

There were definitely some teases for Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt to make an appearance on the next season of Stargirl.  There's the magic pink pen that was included among the JSA artifacts that Courtney discovered, and younger brother Mike has name dropped his friend Jakeem.  Hopefully we will see him show up, and the TV effects budget will be enough to effectively bring Badhnesia's most famous genie to life.

Doctor Fate Vs. Loki in: "Exiled... on Earth!"

It will be interesting to see where Loki goes in his solo Disney+ series.  Will he seek redemption for his past deeds or revert to his villainous ways?  How will he use the Tesseract which he now possesses? And just how many timelines or alternate realities will he visit? There seem to be plenty of opportunities for a fun tale to be told.

These two first battled in STF #2101...

Zatanna Vs. Loki

There's one thing from the Marvel Phase Four announcements that I haven't seen anyone bring up yet.  When they did the presentation for the Loki series on Disney+, I found the logo they used for the show to be very interesting. Each letter in the villain's name has a vastly different look and font than the others.  This is a strong indication to me that we can expect many different iterations of the character to appear on the series.  Maybe this is where audiences will first begin to explore the multiverse, setting up the next Dr. Strange movie.

The Mask Vs. Loki

This would make for a fun - and close - match up.  With Loki, nothing is ever as it seems and you never know what magical trick he has up his sleeve next.  The Mask can match his unpredictability, though, and has the power to back that up with.  It might come down to who is more ruthless, which would give the God of Mischief the evil edge.

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.

Ragman and Thor

Even though he is not an exact replica from the comics, I have enjoyed seeing Ragman in action on the current season of Arrow.  The effects they use for his living suit are effective, if a little bit fleeting - I often find myself rewinding to see what just happened.  Again, not perfect, but it is still very cool to see characters like Ragman and Wild Dog get some exposure beyond the comics.

Martian Manhunter Vs. Loki

What a joy it was to see J'Onn J'Onzz and Superman in action side-by side on Supergirl.  I was like a moment right out of DC Comics Presents, and one I never thought I would see in live action.  With Mon El, Miss Martian and The Guardian about to make appearances this season looks to be a lot of fun.

This is only Part One of a Three-Part Epic!  Stay tuned for Part Two coming tomorrow!

This is not the first time that The Martian Manhunter has encountered Asgardians - He protected the Rainbow Bridge in STF #1289 and faced a deadly prophecy in STF #936...

Batman and Thor in "Taking Back Asgard!"

With carnage the likes of which was produced in issue #416, you just know the heavy hitters would be called in to clean up the mess.  And who better to illustrate the tale than Art Adams?  I first saw Adams' artwork gracing Marvel and DC titles in the late 80's and his style which merged a cartoonish whimsy with intricate detail was unlike anything I had seen before, and perfect for depicting super-heroic exploits.

Loki and the Joker

These are two arch nemeses that love to sow chaos, but do so in very different manners.  Loki is extremely methodical in his plans, carefully manipulating events to suit his evil ends.  The Joker on the other hand prefers to throw a grenade of unpredictability into an organized system and bask in the reaction.  I can't imagine an alliance between them would end well for any parties involved.

This combination is too explosive for a single issue, and the consequences of this tale will be dealt with on tomorrow's cover...

Green Lantern Vs. Thor

Ah, Thor battling with his helmet on and Green Lantern looking like a hero and not a disco dancer, two things I am still waiting to see on the big screen.  Thor: The Dark World looks to be fun, but I don't think his iconic helmet will even get the 5 second cameo it had in the first one, a decision that just annoys me.  After the failure of Green Lantern, a sequel is highly unlikely and we will probably have to wait for a JLA movie to see GL again - which might not even be Hal Jordan.  Hopefully they will have revamped his costume then, with a properly shaped mask and much less dependence on pulsating, glowing lines.