Marvel's Birds of Prey

If Marvel were to have an all female book ala Birds of Prey, what would the cast look like?  I know Marvel has the Lady Liberators, but I don't really care for the name and I'm not even totally sure what the concept is.

And that is important, why would an all-female team exist?  I saw this topic on a message board and it looked to me like some respondents were just listing their favourite female characters.  There needs to be a reason for these people to come together as a team, and why these characters in particular are the best fit. 

Therefore, for my all female Marvel team, let's go with the concept of a group of women who want to do things smarter; they want to target the source of the problem, not the symptoms.  In the super-powered Marvel universe this will still lead to fight scenes, don't worry action lovers, but it will also provide a platform to air a women's perspective on things.

So who wants to change the world for the better but also isn't afraid to throw down if things go south?  Here are my picks.

Team Leader: The Invisible Woman
Sue Richards is a pretty busy lady.  She is a mother of two very exceptional children (four if you count the antics of Ben and Johnny) and is a full time member of the Fantastic Four.  However, her husband is the undisputed leader of the team, and it can be difficult to try set your own direction for the group when the smartest man in the world is calling the shots.  I would view this team as something "just for Sue", where she can get away from the family and pursue her own agenda without Reed being there to influence what the team does.

Tech Support: Shadowcat
Kitty Pryde and the Invisible Woman just seem to be a really good fit, and I could see Kitty actually looking up to Sue.  Kitty would rather use her brains than her fists any day, and therefore I think she could be a pretty good fit.

The Rookie: Lightspeed
Lightspeed has been added recently to the cast of Avengers Academy, but I really think it's important to have that younger perspective on the team.  Without a character like Lightspeed, like it or not the "inexperienced" role is going to fall to Kitty, which I absolutely do not think is right.  It's been insinuated by a fellow teammate that Lightspeed is homosexual...could make things a little uncomfortable for her on a team of all women.

The Muscle: Big Bertha
I know that the obvious choice is She-Hulk, but that's just too obvious.  I'd like to see Bertha venturing into adventures without her teammates to see how she does.  And while Bertha is comfortable the way she is around her goofball teammates, does she still feel that way when on a more serious team of beautiful women?  She is a model in her civilian identity, but by stepping out onto a larger stage will she end up having issues with her superhero appearance?  Body image is a very real issue for girls and women that could really be explored here.  Or go the other route, and show Big Bertha being completely comfortable in her own skin.  Either way, it can be explored.

The Agitator: Emma Frost
Emma rubs a lot of people the wrong way, as opposed to when she was a stripped at the Hellfire club (Bazinga).  Kitty really doesn't like her, and I can't imagine the rest are huge fans of hers.  Emma is on the team for similar reasons to Sue, as Cyclops is undoubtedly the alpha male of his team of X-Men.  Unlike Sue, however, Emma is arrogant enough to think this venture is doomed to fail without her involvement.  And I will admit, Emma helps boost the star power in the book for the readers.

Intelligence: Sharon Carter
Sharon isn't really a superhero, but her resume is pretty impeccable as an agent of SHIELD.  If this team of proactive superheroines wants to tackle certain problems at the knees being forewarned is going to important, and Sharon in an intelligence expert.

The Difference Maker: Firestar
The New Warriors, when they were first created, didn't have a lot of direction.  As the series progressed though they developed an informal mission statement of changing the world for the better, which is exactly what this team is trying to do.  I can see Firestar taking on a sort of mentorship role with Lightspeed, and it doesn't hurt that she is a former Avenger.  I think I'd go with a Firestar who is perhaps a little too over eager at times, but still respecting that she is a veteran superhero.

I'm still trying to think of a name for this group...any suggestions?

Crossovers Too Awesome to Happen

Like most fans out there, I love a good inter-company crossover.  There is something really exciting about seeing favourite characters that cannot interact normally on the same page.  Sure, we've had some duds like Marvel vs DC, which was ambitious but any comic that shows Wolverine beating Lobo gets a big thumbs down from me, but we've also had some gems like X-men/Teen Titans and JLA/Avengers.

The crossovers I've mentioned were all big cosmic end-of-all-existence type stories, which certainly have their place.  But I've always enjoyed the quieter moments when these characters meet, like the Avengers and the JLA working together modifying one of Aquaman's aquatic vehicles for dimensional travel.  I still maintain one of the best inter-company crossovers ever was Superman/Gen13.  I have passing knowledge of Gen13 but honestly do not know a ton about the characters, which was probably one reason I picked up this crossover, to learn more about them.  The mini-series did not disappoint, as it was a completely character-driven story; the heroes did not fight each other once, and I couldn't have cared less.

It is in that vein that I'd love to see the following crossovers, but since there wouldn't be enough explosions and cosmic peril I doubt they would ever see print.

Thor and Wonder Woman - Rather than tell a tale of the Amazons versus the Asgardians, I would explore a sort of diplomatic exchange, where Asgard sends a delegation to Themyscira and vice versa.  Can you imagine the shenanigans the Warriors Three would get up to on an island filled with only women, especially Fandral?  I'm sure Artemis would love to do some training with the Valkyries.  And in the end if you need a big battle, I'm sure that Loki and Ares (DC) could come up with some delicously diabolical plot to foil.

Justice League International (Giffen/Dematteis) and the Great Lakes Avengers - This would simply be comic gold, playing these teams up together.  I could easily see a card tournament breaking out when these teams get together, with the loser having to accept G'Nort onto their roster!

Captain Marvel and Power Pack - Power Pack is a group of kids trying to make it as superheroes in an adult world.  Captain Marvel is a kid who can transform into an adult.  I think the potential for a really fun and poignant all ages tale is here just waiting to be exploited.

Iron Man and Batman vs Lex Luthor - I don't want to see these guys slug it out in suits of armour, I want to see a board room battle royale.  I'd love to see a corporate espionage style of tale that sees LuthorCorp trying a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, with Batman coming to Iron Man's aid.

Edwin Jarvis and Alfred Pennyworth - We've had the Justice League battle it out with the Avengers, but now I'd love to see these two gentlemen's gentlemen sit down for a spot of tea to swap war stories.  This would have been a great back-up feature to JLA/Avengers.

I could go on and on regarding this subject, but what about you?  What crossovers have you always wanted to see?