Posted by Nicholas Johnson at culturefeast.com

Seeing how I am a self-professed comic geek, I am generally my friends’ go-to source for any and everything comic book related. Currently, the most often asked question that I am getting is: “Why did they make another Incredible Hulk movie? Didn’t they just make one a couple of years ago?”

To answer that question, Marvel (comics) is taking a new direction with their movies. They will not be auctioning off licensing to the highest bidder as was done with Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and Hulk. In doing so, we were subjected Spider-Man with organic webbing, The FF looking like a 2 hour commercial for toys, and the Hulk trying to be cerebral and romantic – Ang Lee style. Also with different studios owning the movies, the fans were never going to see crossover cameos like Tony Stark made in the Incredible Hulk.

The exchange between Gen. Ross and Tony Stark alone is worth the price of the tickets. It is tongue-in-cheek and foreshadowing banter at its finest. Marvel being in charge of how the movies are made is going to mean more fan friendly movies and hopefully more cameos and crossovers.

This got me to thinking and made me think of all of the different crossovers that I, as a self-professed comic geek, would like to see. For the sake of keeping remaining within the realm of “I’d like to see it” and not in the realm of “things that are going to happen”, I’ll avoid the obvious Captain America/Iron Man/Avengers crossovers. For those that don’t know, the Captain America and Iron Man 2 movies are already set for 2010. There’s also a Thor (I say thee hell yeah!) and Avengers movie on the horizon. I’ll stick with what I would like to see and not cross into things that are in the works.

Batman and Superman

For those that read the current comic series, or have read DC comics for a while, then you know how awesome this would be. Just their differences in approach and philosophies could fill 2+ hours of screen time. Also, it would give way for all sorts of cameos from the rest of the DC Universe. Personally, I’d like to see a love triangle form with Wonder Woman, if only for the hours of entertainment that I would get from reading the pissed off fan blogs.

Spider-Man and Daredevil

I can see it now….Spider-Man and The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) are out racing across Manhattan (like all superheroes do on a boring Tuesday night). Spidey aborts when his “spider sense” tingles due to a crime being committed in Hell’s Kitchen. Enter Daredevil….and scene. The Daredevil movie really focused on the fact that DD spends his nights patrolling the streets of Hell’s Kitchen and causing all sorts of havoc within the organized crime world. That is his genre. What is often forgotten is that is also where Spider-Man started. The most recent issues of Amazing Spider-Man have really returned to that. The Spidey vs. Kingpin fight in ASM #542 is one for the ages and could easily have been in Daredevil. So a movie crossover of these two would be nothing short of perfect. This would also be a great way to introduce Luke Cage (Power Man) and Danny Rand (Iron Fist) to the movie-going audience.

The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and Iceman

I know this has a bit of a Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends feel, but think about it. A fire and ice combo. Think of all of the special effects that could go into something like that. Sure it would all have to be CGI, but it would still make for a cool movie going experience. Maybe they could go as far as to make it something of a Mr. & Mrs. Smith type movie of back and forth exchanges. I really think I might be onto something here. There would be all sorts of potential for X-Men and Fantastic Four cameos. Maybe we can get some of Michael Chiklis’ witty Thing/Ben Grimm dialogue via a cell phone or something.

Storm and Catwoman

I know that this one is just way out there, but just think about all of the money a Hollywood studio could save by casting Halle Berry for both roles. You know what? I couldn’t even begin to try to shine up this turd of an idea. This movie would suck so hard that it would probably cause any theater showing it to cave in on itself. On the brightside, the producers could always get the costume designers from Batman & Robin (the turd starring George Clooney) to make some super tight, latex, nippled-out monstrosities to show off Halle’s hot body.

Hulk and Thing

All throughout the history of Marvel Comics, the Hulk and the Thing have mixed it up. Their meetings have always been amongst my favorites. All they do is fight. They are like Tom & Jerry, only if Jerry were the same size as Tom and had similar strength. A few years back a great 4 (or 5) issue mini-series came out. Basically, the Thing and the Hulk fought each other across a barren stretch of the West. At times they would stop at local diners to eat together before getting back to fighting. The movie could center on Bruce Banner calling upon Reed Richards to see if he can assist him in finding a way to rid himself of the Hulk. Of course, something would trigger Bruce into changing to the Hulk. This would mean that the Thing would have to subdue the Hulk until he calmed down.

Of course I don’t see any of these movies ever happening, but a boy can dream…right? I have to have something to get me through until the Dark Knight opens in a little over 2 weeks. After that, it’s going to be a long dry spell until the next good comic book movies premiere. You can thank last year’s writers strike for that. If Tom Hanks and George Clooney don’t pull it together and the actors strike, then it could be even longer. If you’re looking for a silver lining….Marvel and DC only make you wait a month for new issues and they spread them out so that you can read all sorts of comics every week. Oh and Iron Man will be on DVD before you know it.

Searching for the Greatest superhero

Since this is such a huge summer for superhero movies, it makes sense that someone would launch a tournament to determine one hero who rules.

Go to the forum to vote for your favorite superhero of all time.

You might assume the finals will be dominated by Superman, Spider-Man and the like, but don't rule out the power of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the beloved Wolverine.