Superhero Cinephiles

Professor Sy Islam is back for a discussion of another MCU TV series. In this episode, we focus on Ms. Marvel, discussing the importance of this character for representation, how she's served to bring new, young fans into Marvel, the changes from the comics, expanding people's knowledge of history and culture through stories like these, and so much more. 

This week, Perry is joined by old friend and author Mark Bousquet and they dive into Batman Forever. And while it's not a particularly good movie, it's easily the horniest Batman movie ever made. Plus, Mark has an interesting theory that puts the entire film into a completely different lens. Doesn't necessarily make it better, but it certainly led to a really interesting discussion.

The Punisher has had a number of false starts in adaptations and in this episode, we discuss the 2004 attempt starring Tom Jane and John Travolta. Anthony Desiato of the Digging For Kryptonite podcast returns to the show to talk about a character quite different from his usual fare and there's a lot of good to be found in this film, but also plenty to criticize.

In this episode, we revisit another forgotten superhero movie from the early aughts. Nic Baldwin of the In Love With Movies podcast is the guest to revisit this little-known film starring Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson. It's got some moments, but it's unfortunately not the same kind of unrefined gem that the similar Push was.

Demond Thompson of the Demond Does and Disputed podcasts returns to discuss the largely forgotten Spawn film from 1997. We talk a little about the comics, Martin Sheen being really out of place, the bad CGI, and how the best thing about this movie is John Leguizamo's take on Clown. 

Before Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn directed another superhero film called Super. In this episode, Perry and guest Amit Srivastava dive into this 2010 film starring Rainn Wilson, Elliot Page, and Kevin Bacon. If you're expecting Gunn's usual level of quality, this may not be quite the film for you, but it led to an interesting discussion.

We're back with the second part of our Fantastic Double Feature! Kelen Conley is here again, and this week we're revisiting Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which is the best FF movie to date...although that's not saying much. We discuss the things that really work in this movie, how Doom is still the greatest weakness, and why the Galactus cloud actually made sense (for the time).

Kelen "B-Hyphen" Conley returns for another double feature. And this time out, we're looking back on the Tim Story Fantastic Four films that introduced Chris Evans to most Marvel fans. There's a lot more good in this movie than people remember, even if it is hampered by some poor writing and at least one very spectacular miscast. 

This week, we're stretching the definition of a superhero movie a bit, but it's based on a DC/Vertigo comic book, so we're going to allow it. Ariel Ortiz of the Undercast Company podcast network makes her debut on the show to talk about The Losers, featuring many future MCU alums like Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana, and Idris Elba.

Will Short of the Days Past Tooncast is back again to talk The Dark Knight Rises, the long-anticipated and ultimately anti-climatic conclusion to Nolan's famed Dark Knight Trilogy. We discuss the comic book influences in the movies, gush over Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, speculate about Nolan's affinity for weird voices, and so much more.

After a long absence, Adam Lance Garcia returns to the show and this time, we're diving deep into the first season of HBO Max's Peacemaker! We talk about what has set this show apart from others, how COVID limitations actually ended up helping the series, the way the show addresses so many different themes, and we've got a lot of great things to say about James Gunn and John Cena.

Kae Wilson from the Call Us Casters podcast sits down with Perry to discuss Hellboy II: The Golden Army. An original story written by Gulliermo del Toro, it's a movie that unfortunately didn't do as well as the first Hellboy film and ultimately resulted in an incomplete trilogy. We revisit Ron Perlman's excellent performance, Doug Jones stepping up to take on the voice of Abe Sapien, and how this movie proves del Toro needs to make a steampunk film.

This week, Perry is joined by Steven Honeycutt of the Reptilian Media YouTube Channel to discuss 1994's The Shadow. We discuss some of the things that hold up with this movie and have some differing views, but overall come to the conclusion that this film feels like a missed opportunity.

Our regular DC animation guest, Stacy Dooks, is back to discuss one of Perry's favorite of the DC animated films—Batman: The Dark Knight Returns! We discuss the legacy of the comic, the wrong lessons people have taken from it, and how the film improves on a lot of aspects of the comic.

We're doing another dive into the DC Original Animated Universe. DC fangirl Kenisha Liu makes her debut on the show to discuss Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. Overall an enjoyable film with some pretty questionable decisions made. Find out what we liked and how we thought it could have been better.

This week, we're looking at a virtually unknown film and that's 2018's Freaks. Pete Abeyta of the Middle Class Film Class Podcast joins Perry to discuss this excellent film that's a textbook example of how you can do a whole lot on a very limited budget. 

Will Short of the Days Past Tooncast returns and this time, Perry's making him watch Once Upon a Deadpool when he knows almost nothing about the character and hasn't even seen the Deadpool or Deadpool 2. We discuss Ryan Reynolds' interactions, the smart way Fox got everyone to pay for the same movie twice, and the great intercuts with Fred Savage.

Though it was a flop in theaters, The Iron Giant from 1999 has become a cult classic in the years since and introduced many to both director Brad Bird and Vin Diesel. David Weinberger of the Shonen Flop Podcast joins Perry to discuss the reasons why this movie continues to remain popular. But it's not all praise, we also find more than a few areas of improvement.

Before the MCU showed how Captain America can be done right, other studios showed us how to do it wrong. Writer Geoffrey Golden is the guest this week to discuss Albert Pyun's 1990 Captain America film starring the son of JD Salinger. We discuss the terrible costumes, the strange choices (including the very bizarre change of the Red Skull from German to Italian), and about Cap's carjacking super power.

You don't get to the MCU without first going through Spider-Man 2. In this episode, Derick McDuff of the Underrated podcast joins to have a look back at what is still considered one of the best superhero movies ever. We talk about what still holds up really well, like Peter Parker balancing his personal life with his web-slinging, the standout performances from Molina and Franco, and some things that don't hold up, like the treatment of Mary Jane. Also, we discuss some of the tropes this film helped cement that still appear in superhero movies to this day.

In this episode, we look at the most maligned of the MCU films, 2013's Thor: The Dark World. Valandil Mann of the Vytamin Dice podcast makes his debut on the show for a look back at what many consider the MCU's lowest point. But despite the poor story and thin characterization, we've got some things that are still worth watching, especially in light of this movie's influence on Avengers: Endgame.

It's Morbin' Time! Recurring guest John Bracich is back again, this time to talk about the morbiest sensation that's morbed the entire internet into a morbing mob of morbsters! Of course, we could only be talking about Morbius and...

...okay look, we can't keep this up. Just listen to us talk about this awful movie.

After the Fantastic Four films but before Captain America, Chris Evans starred in another superhero film called Push that most people (including Perry) never even knew about. Matthew Bliss of the Dead Drop Podcast is here to talk about this underrated superhero film and why he feels it's worth another look (or even a first look if you've never seen it). 

A few episodes ago, we discussed Spider-Man: No Way Home, so now we're backtracking a little bit to discuss its predecessor—Spider-Man: Far From Home. Fellow podcaster WaysteLAN is the guest to talk about why he thinks it's the best Spider-Man movie yet, whereas Perry has some critiques that hold it back. Nevertheless, there's a lot to like in this movie.

Professor Sy Islam, co-author of Leaders Assemble! Leadership in the MCU, is back in this episode for a deep dive on Disney+'s Moon Knight limited series! Perry brings the background knowledge of the comics, while Sy approaches this from the perspective of someone who only has a casual familiarity with Moon Knight, and they come back with different takes on the series.

SPOILER WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If you care about spoilers, then watch the film before listening.

Will Short of the Days Past Tooncast is back in this episode for a discussion of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness! We talk about some of the comics background for Strange and the Scarlet Witch, how great it is seeing Sam Raimi return to superhero films with a movie that completely fits his style, the different cameos, and on the negative side, we've got some criticisms for the movie, too. 

Fellow superhero fiction author and podcaster Henry "Young" Shel is our guest this week to talk about Justice League: War, the direct-to-video animated film adaptation of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's inaugural Justice League story-arc. Henry explains why this is his favorite of the DC animated films, while Perry brings some context from the comics.

SPOILER ALERT: This episode includes spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home. If you haven't seen it and don't want to be spoiled, please make sure you watch the movie before listening to this episode.

Comic writer and novelist Morgan Quaid makes his debut on the show to discuss the live-action version of Spider-Verse with Spider-Man: No Way Home. We talk about the wonderful cast, the thrill of seeing the three live-action Spider-Men onscreen together, and then get into some of the story problems the performances do a great job of covering up.

Sam Raimi has just returned to the world of directing superhero movies, so this is the perfect time to take a look back on his first foray—1990's Darkman! Indie comic creator Fish Lee is the guest this week to talk about his work in the industry, his upcoming project Greenzone: Life in the Blocks, and then we dive into all things Darkman. We discuss the sheer wealth of talent in this film, with then-future stars like Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand, the chaos behind the scenes, and how well this film holds up over thirty years later!

Regular guest Adam Lance Garcia is back again to discuss a movie that he and Perry used to argue about years ago, and that's Man of Steel. Over time, both of their views have shifted slightly. Listen to see what they think of it almost ten years after its release.

Perry's long said that Iron Man 3 is the only MCU film he dislikes, and now he's going to have that challenged. Professors Sy Islam and Gordon Schmidt are the guests in this episode to talk about their book, Leaders Assemble: Leadership in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and also for an in-depth discussion about Iron Man 3. We discuss the legacy of the controversial Mandarin portrayal in the wake of Shang-Chi, Tony Stark's characterization in the MCU, and Shane Black's role as a director.

Demond Thompson of the Demond Does and Disputed podcasts makes his long-discussed return to the show for a chat about Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. We talk about the controversy surrounding the film's initial release, the Batman Beyond series in general, and other related Bat-topics.

In this episode, we visit the rare Marvel property that Perry has no real familiarity with. Patrick Lagua of the Krakoan Exports and E For Evolution podcasts returns for a discussion of Eternals, while also providing some related information on the comics. We talk about the few things in the movie that work really well...and then everything else.

For the hundredth episode, I'd like to hear from the listeners. Please submit any questions about the show or superhero cinema, comments, your favorite moments or episodes of the show to date, things you'd like to see on the show in the future, or anything else related to superhero movies and TV. You can leave a voice message to be played on the show, or use one of the links to send text for me to read.

Thanks again for all your support. I couldn't have kept this show going without you.

Pulp author John Bruening is back to discuss another pulp hero. In this episode, we look at 1998's The Mask of Zorro directed by Martin Campbell. We talk about everything this film gets right, especially the wonderful performances from Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

John Bracich is back to discuss one of the biggest movies sweeping the world right now—The Batman! We talk about how it works on so many levels, how great it is to finally see the detective side of Batman represented in a live-action film, Perry's biggest contention with the movie, and where things could go moving forward with Battinson and co. WARNING: This episode does contain spoilers. So if you haven't seen The Batman yet, make sure you do so before you listen.