Starman and Space Ghost

 

A couple of cosmos inspired heroes stumbling upon a mystery on the Transformers homeworld is just the kind of set up to catch my attention when perusing the new comics rack. I think this one would have definitely made it into the buy pile.

The Atom and Black Goliath

 

These two would certainly eventually run into one another on the battlefield, if not in a laboratory setting.  It's only natural that they would cross paths, and I'm betting that they would work very well together.

Spider-Woman and The Fly

 

Spiders and flies may not usually work well together, but these two may be an exception.  I do think that their costumes look pretty good side by side.

Hourman and Colossus

 

For the second part of this two-part tale, we see that Professor X' treatment for Doctor Fate did indeed have some unexpected consequences.  Those of you that made the Dr. Strangefate connection were on to something. But hey, if it can lead to cool things like Hourman participating in a fast ball special, can the change be all that bad?

Robin and The New Mutants

 

I remember being excited about the arrival of the New Mutants.  As crazy as it sounds now, a spinoff ongoing comic from The Uncanny X-Men was a new thing, and I could get on the ground floor.  Well, not exactly the ground floor.  I remember being frustrated that their debut was made in a graphic novel, only available in comic shops.  It would be years before I got my hands on that first chapter.

Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. in: "Sivana's Pet Sentinel!"

 

The first trailer for the Disney+ Ms. Marvel series has been released, and it looks fun.  The show seems to be targeting a slightly younger demographic, sort of a John Hughes-type high school comedy mixed with the MCU.  That approach has worked for the Spider-Man movies, so it should do well here.  Her powers seem to be altered from the comics, I'm guessing so as not to be too similar to Mr. Fantastic.  

Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. first met in STF #3034...

Moon Knight and The Elongated Man (Vs. The Joker!)

 

This marks the 11th appearance of The MK-EM Team.  Thank you for humoring my presenting this pairing from time to time.  It's a little self indulgent but for some reason I get a kick out of seeing them together.  

We saw a few glimpses of the Moon Knight show at a recent Disney presentations, and while quick, they looked quite promising to me.  Hopefully we will get a trailer soon now that we are into 2022.  

Moon Knight and the Joker previously clashed in STF #2021...

Shuri and Hawkgirl

 Continued from yesterday's cover, we see that our two heroines are ready to take the lead in this case.

It sounds like we will will be seeing Shuri (and possibly also M'Baku) donning a panther costume of her own in the sequel to continue the work that T'Challa began as Black Panther.  That made for an enjoyable story arc in the comics, and it will be interesting to see how the Marvel movies handle it, since this is a more permanent situation.

The Flash and The Liberty Legion

The 10-issue run of Justice Society of America by Len Strazewski and Mike Parobeck is one of the absolute gems of the 1990's.  I was thoroughly enjoying it when it was abruptly cancelled, for some odd editorial reason.  I remember being disappointed, and from the way I have read others opine about the series, I was not alone.  At least the issues have been collected in TPB and on Comixology for new fans to discover.

I recall thinking the Liberty Legion was a cool team when I met them in the pages of Marvel Premiere and Marvel Two-In-One, but alas, they didn't make many more appearances over the years so they never got the chance to catch on.

Elongated Man and Invisible Girl

I see that The Invisible Woman is currently the star of her own self-titled mini-series.  It's amazing to me that is has taken this long for her to get a solo book.  Growing up, I always considered her to be the premiere female superhero in the Marvel Universe.  Plus, she has a great power set, arguably making her the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four.  Hopefully once the FF head back to the big screen, her profile will rise even more.

Green Lantern and The Avengers in: "Grundy's Guardian!"

Writer Scott Snyder is bringing Alan Scott and the rest of the original members of the Justice Society back to mainstream DC continuity in the upcoming Justice League: Doom War arc.  It looks as though they will be a version of the team in their prime, as the story will feature characters from different time periods coming together.  There are strong hints that an ongoing series will follow, that will be set during this early days of comics' first superhero team.  Their return has been a long time coming and I have enjoyed Snyder's work on other titles, so I am looking forward to what he has planned.

Doctor Mid-Nite and Ghost Rider

Marvel never did get around to using Ghost Rider on their Netflix shows, which means there's nothing preventing them from bringing him back elsewhere.  He's another character that would do well on the Disney/Marvel streaming service.  Maybe even a Midnight Sons series featuring Johnny Blaze alongside some other of Marvel's occult characters like Man-Thing, Son of Satan and Blade.

Elongated Man and Ms. Marvel

I was very glad that Elongated Man not only ended up surviving at the end of the last season of The Flash, but he has been announced as a regular on the show for another year.I have enjoyed Hartley Sawyer's performance in the role and the effects have been decent for a TV budget.  Here's hoping a Sue Dibny (to be) will also be added to the show, so we can see some Nick & Nora-type detective action.

The Expansion Team in: "Stretching Out The Roster!"

I've gotten a kick out of having The Elongated Man join The Flash on the CW.  Hartley Sawyer does well in the role, and certainly has the looks to play Ralph Dibny (wish he had red hair though).  The stretching effects aren't used enough to my liking but have looked pretty good for the most part.  The last episode where he developed a Clayface-like ability to completely mimic anyone's appearance, including their voice was a bit much, though - he has never been able to do that in the comics.

This is the third appearance of The Expansion Team - they were last seen battling the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man in STF #1490, and first got together back in STF #934...

Elongated Man and The Silver Surfer

I've really enjoyed what Dan Slott and Mike Allred have done with The Silver Surfer.  I was a little curious about what the addition of Earth-Woman Dawn Greenwood would mean for his travels, and I must say that she has been a welcome part of his new adventures.  I like how he sees and learns about  humanity through her just as he broadens her horizons with his abilities and their exploration of the universe.  I love the personality that the Surfer's Board even seems to have now.  These are fun, exciting and thought provoking comics.

This is only Part One of a Two-Part Epic - make sure to come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!

Expansion Team

When you include the Brave and the Bold and Marvel Two-In-One Lost Issues, this marks my 2000th Cover!  Thanks for all the support, especially from Patrons of the blog, for helping it to continue!

I remember seeing the original Ghostbusters in the movie theater and loving the final act with the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man.  Not only was it a hilarious yet imposing visual, I had no idea any such scene was going to take place.   If the movie had been released these days, there's no way the massive moment would have been kept a secret from audiences.  Either online spoilers or a toy tie in that gives too much away, or even the movie's own trailer would somehow ruin the surprise.  I can only imagine how much more cool that big moment in the Captain America: Civil War airport fight would have been if I wasn't already completely expecting it by the time the movie opened.

The Expansion Team first got together back in STF #934...

Power Girl and She-Hulk

The first season of Supergirl ended with the title character looking surprised at the unseen passenger of a rocket.  Was it Krypto, Superman, her mother, or someone else?  Some have speculated that this could be the introduction of Power Girl into the series, which could be interesting as well.  For a character that has been cosplayed so much, it is surprising that we still have not seen an official live action version yet.

Wildcat and The Fox

It sounds like DC has listened to some of it's older fans and certain elements of the DCU will be returning with the upcoming Rebirth event, including the classic Justice Society members.  The new title is still going to be called Earth 2 though, so I have a feeling the original JSA'ers are going to somehow be woven in with the New 52 versions, rather than getting a spotlight all to themselves.  Whatever happens, it will be good to see characters like Ted Grant have a place to call home once again.

Justice Society of America and the Thing in "Raising the Stakes!"

I was a huge fan of the artwork of Mike Parobeck.  I first noticed his work on comics related to Batman: The Animated Series.  He was able to combine the Bruce Timm designs with his own style sense for some of my most fondly remembered Batman tales.  I also followed his work on titles like El Diablo and The Fly, but my favorite art from him was on the great Justice Society series that brought those classic characters out of limbo.  Sadly, that series last only ten issues.  Sadder still, Parobeck himself passed away not long after.  He was an amazing talent that was taken far too soon.