HUGE Announcements from San Diego Comic Con!

SDCC 2026 Breakdown: Big Comic Wins, MCU Fatigue, & Ewing Leaves Venom!

​SDCC 2026 is officially wrapped, and we’re breaking down all the news. The MCU panel didn't do much for us (even with Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider and Black Panther 3), but the actual comic reveals were incredible across the board.

​DC is expanding the Absolute Universe with Black Canary, Cyborg, and Scott Snyder's Batman Beyond, plus we're getting Deniz Camp on Shadow of the Bat and Vixen's first solo series. We also dive into the Energon Universe updates. 

But the biggest news of all? Al Ewing is finally stepping off Venom with Charles Soule taking over (Paul has literally never been happier).

​We break down our top picks, what missed the mark, and where the industry is heading. Drop a comment and let us know what took the crown for you at SDCC this year!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Hello everybody, my name is Paul. And my name is Clay. And you're listening to Beyond the Pool This Podcast. Hello, everybody. We are doing so. I thought, wait, this is coming out early.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

This is coming out early. Two days early. What? This is on like Tuesday. I know. Two episodes back to back? In what? In one week? In one week? Was that supposed to happen? No, it wasn't.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

So real quick. So we we had an episode released last Friday. Um, if you did not know, uh, that was supposed to release the Friday before that, but somebody left that like I I work in Knoxville, so I went to Knoxville to work, and I got up early to do to edit the show, and I went, oh, the show is on the SD card in my house, an hour and a half away from here. So I was like, okay, well, I guess I'm not bringing that. I'm not Clayton, you're gonna have to wait a week. So we I got it edited, and then when I finally got back home, I got it edited, got everything situated, and then I posted the wrong episode. Brother, I'd be tripping all over myself.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

You know, it it's hilarious because I was waiting for you to edit it, and you're like, hey, I'm gonna edit it. I took a caffeine pill, I am pumped, I am excited, and you're like, bro, uh, I forgot the SD card.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

I was like, dude, no, literally, when I had the realization, I literally like had my I had set everything up and I sat down and I went, oh like it was like Peter Griffin, like, oh like with his knee. I I so yeah, I uh that sucked. And I was like, oh, this is you know what? And then and then Clayton fired me, and then he called me like an hour later. He's like, I can't edit this without you, you're hired again. And I went, oh boy, and he's like, but you're gonna get it next time I see you.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

So when he came over to record today, I beat him up real quick.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Yeah, and his wife fed me his grape. I have a full belly and scars everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

No, hey, it happens, but we all we all make mistakes, so no big deal. But if you checked out that last episode, we appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Yeah, and if you did check out that last episode, we did say that our next episode was gonna be a review on Spider-Man Brand New Day. But clearly it's not because wait, is it? It's not even out yet.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

We're we just showing so Venom was in it.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

It it happened, it happened.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

I'm gonna laugh if we come back when we do our review.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Dude, if he's actually in, I'll be like, I hate myself. I hate everything. It's all your guys' fault for making those claims and going too crazy. Uh no, but we uh we're we're not doing brand new day because it's not out yet. It comes out this Thursday, but we are gonna do an episode because I I called Clayton and I was like, dude, there is so much Comic Con stuff coming out. We should probably do an episode talking about everything. So we are doing a Comic Con review episode talking about everything that came out during and before Comic Con because there was a few things that released the week of Comic Con.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

Which is so so different from what they normally do.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

That is very weird.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Never seen that before.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Nope.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Yep. We got a doomsday trailer before Comic Con and a Clayface trailer. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

One of those was really good. The other one was mediocre.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Yeah, yeah. To be to continue. I wonder which one is. It's weird, you know. If you've listened to the show, I think you probably got some insight on that.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

But uh you ready just to jump right into it? Let's just get into it. All right, so the biggest thing I think to come out of San Diego Comic Con this year was Ryan Gosling was announced to be the new ghost rider.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Which is awesome. I keep seeing videos about how the interviewer guy set that up. He's like, Oh, I made this happen. Oh, it's me. Yeah, I did it. And I'm like, okay, we get it.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

I don't I don't know how I feel. I'm gonna know how you feel about that. I I so I've not seen Project Hail Mary. Okay. Um, I didn't see what was that stunt man or whatever he did.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

I think uh he did Fall Guy? No. Fall Fall Guy.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

I think it's Fall Guy. Well, he's like a stunt driver, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

I think it's Fall Guy, yeah. Because Free Guy is the one with Ryan Reynolds. Okay, okay, then it is Fall Guy. So you've seen Drive? I have not seen Drive Drive is really good. Okay. He is fantastic in Drive. Have you seen he's pretty good in Barbie, not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Alright, this podcast is over. We didn't even make it about 10 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

I'll take uh I'm just kidding, and and that's enough.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Paul breaks out in song right now. I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

I could. I could I could totally just bust it out. I've got the I need the sweatshirt. Give me your nerve card. Okay. Oh, I left it at home.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

But I I I don't know, because like I I know he's a great actor, and like I know he's slated to come up in Star Wars Starfighter, I think is I think so. Yeah. Um I know he's a great actor. Um, however, the reason I feel iffy on it is just because A, I don't I don't really care about Ghostwriter, and I never have, and that's probably because when the first Ghostwriter came out with Nicolas Cage, my dad took me and that terrified me to the point I couldn't sleep that night.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

When how old were you? I I wasn't that old.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Okay, I didn't watch that when I was I didn't watch that till I was like I think the first time I watched it, I might have been 10 years old, maybe. I thought it was pretty sick. I was like, this is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

2007, so I was eight years old. Okay, well, and that terrified me.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

I think I wat yeah, because I remember there's the shot with uh Blackheart where his mouth gets really long, and I was like, what in the what uh there's also the scene where like Nicolas Cage is like transforming for the first time and he's like freaking out.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Yeah, um I think that's a good movie. That that I have to go back and rewatch it, but I did a while back, it's good. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

I need to do it again, but it's it was a while back that I watched it.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

So so I guess that's why I'm a little iffy. Okay. Um I I think you could do a great job. I think where I'm just kind of in such a anti-Marvel mood, I guess. Like I'm not happy with anything Marvel's done. It was hard for me to get like super excited for this. And I know like apparently Rising Gosling has read a lot of comics. He's the one who pitched this whole idea to Kevin Feige. Um, so I'm glad to see the passion because when they bring that passion, like the project usually ends up being good.

SPEAKER_02 6:15

Right.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Like the guy who plays Seng Chi, uh Simu Liu, I think is how you say his name, he was the one who was super excited and it was passionate about the character. And I thought Shang Chi was really good.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Um but when the actor has no interest in playing the character, like Brie Larson, yeah, um, then like it's just not as good. So not I'm not against it by any means. Don't don't take it this way.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

But just not as excited as everybody else.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

I get that. I get it. I'm I'm pretty excited, honestly. I because um I hadn't seen a lot of Ryan Gosling movies. I know he's in the notebook, which I never seen in. I s I have seen that. Um wow. You've seen that, but you haven't seen Drive Paddy.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Speaking of that, have you ever seen the Jimmy Fallon skit from um when they re did like The Revenge of the Sith? And he Jimmy Fallon, I think it's Jimmy Fallon, he's playing Anakin, and he's like, Did uh did Padme tell Padme tell you that I like the notebook? Because I don't. I'm really good at backflips, Obi-Wan.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

I have not seen that. Oh, it's hilarious. I don't like the notebook. It's it's my stepmom's favorite movie, and uh actually for Mother's Day I got it. I got like I didn't have a good gift for her. Yeah, I found it on VHS and I was in a big VHS kick at the moment, so I bought it for her for like a dollar. She didn't like it. She's like, why would I watch it on this stupid black cassette tape when I can just put the DVD in? Actually, I can just stream it. Who even needs DVDs? Oh, those are lame. Physical media, blah, garbage, garbage. Uh, but no, he was he's in that. I haven't seen that. I haven't seen Project Hail Mary, but I need to really badly. I do too. Um, I seen Barbie. That was kind of one of my first big exposures to Ryan Gosling. Uh, but Drive, I watched it when I was at the airport coming back from Las Vegas, and it was such a good movie. Okay. And it was weird because, like, you know, I'm I was seeing him as Ken. Right. Right, which is this big jokey, like, ugh, like, I'm the I'm the man that I need to be character to like this badass, right? So, like, I think it could be good. Okay. I think he could be a good ghostwriter because like in in Drive, there's a lot of serious moments. Okay. And I don't know, because he he's it's kind of got that Tom Holland syndrome a little bit where because remember how Tom Holland was like, if I could because there'd be interviews, hey, if you could play anybody in the MCU, who would it be? And he'd say he said Spider-Man. Right. Uh Ghost Rider was Ryan Gosling's answer. Because people would ask him a bunch. So I'm willing to give it a shot. I think who do you think he is? Do you think he's gonna be um Johnny Blaze? Do you think he's gonna wait?

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Yeah, because there's Johnny Blaze, Robbie Reyes, Robbie Reyes. I don't think they'll do Robbie Reyes because the They did that in the show. Yes, and he's also Hispanic and Ryan Gosling. I think it'll be Johnny Blaze, but isn't there another one? I could I think there's another one.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

I would I would really like to see uh Ronnie Reyes.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

Yeah, Robbie Reyes?

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Robbie or Robbie Reyes, yeah. I would I would like to see the Ronnie. Ronnie Reyes, because he's my favorite ghostwriter. Uh yeah, Robbie would I don't know. I like the car look and I like the that look. And I could I after seeing Drive, like I feel like that could be a good fit for him. But okay. I think it'd be Johnny Blaze. I'd like to see that because they've not done any ghostwriter stuff, surprisingly, in the MCU.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

No, they haven't. The other one was Danny Ketch. He is Johnny Blaze's long-lost younger brother who became the 1990s ghostwriter and used a mystic chain and rode the motorcycle, just like Johnny Blaze. Okay. And Robbie Reyes has the muscle car.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Right, right. Well, it seems like, I mean, because the the title card for the movie looked very like old school ghostwriter look. So I'm thinking that that may be Johnny.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

I think it'll be Johnny.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

It'd have to be Johnny.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Uh uh, I think he could do a good job. I I I just I honestly think it's just because of the way I feel about Marvel.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

I get that. No, I get it.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

I I just I need more. Give me more. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

They're gonna have to they're gonna have to surprise us because their the their their content have they they've been putting out just hasn't been hidden.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

How do you feel about Sean Levy being the director? What has he done? Deadpool. Deadpool and uh Wolverine. Uh I don't know beyond that. Um but that's what the good old internet is.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Honestly, honestly, um if it's I don't think it should be funny. It shouldn't have that Deadpool comedic touch at all. Um but the action scenes in those movies are very good. Especially the ones in like Deadpool and Wolverine, all of those action fight scenes are really, really well done. The music is chosen really well. Um when you hear hell's bells and Deadpool and Wolverine fight, that's one of the coolest fight scenes ever. The carved fight scene is cool, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:58

So I mean I think that's he's also doing Star Wars Starfighter, actually, ironically.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Oh, really? And that's what Ryan Godsang's in, isn't it? Okay, well then that that I guess there's a connection that works good. I think it'd be good.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

I I he did Real Steel.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

All right, he's one of the Oh, okay. Yep, you got me. You sold me. That's it. Yep, Real Steel peak.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Real Steel is the greatest movie to have ever been made.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

It it it's good. It's good. I I watched um Over the Top for my other podcast, and the whole time all I kept thinking of was Real Steel. Because it's like about you know, it's like like the father and the son, they kind of hate each other, and then like the father starts to kind of like the kid, and then the kid's cool, and then they get along, and then they're friends by the end of the movie. Then they're actually related by the end, you know. Their ties have been bonded. Um, I don't know. I think if I think I'm I I'm I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So the next big news was Black Panther 3.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

This one shocked me a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

I I the well, rumors had been circulating online for a while that this is the direction they were gonna go. You remember, I think it was last year, there was a time where some concept art supposedly leaked for in-game or not in-game, Doomsday and Secret Wars. And a lot of people said it's not real, some people said it was real. And one of those concept art was um was a new Black Panther. And obviously the actor hadn't been decided, so he had a mask, but the suit was totally different from T'Challa and Shuri. So I I think now that this has been announced with this new actor, I think his name is what, David Johnson?

SPEAKER_00 12:30

I think so.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Um He's gonna be T'Challa's son and all growing up. Why why did this one shock you?

SPEAKER_00 12:40

I per I I love I have a little bit of a hot take with Black Panther. Okay. It's it's a hot take. Uh but I don't mean any disrespect by it. I I wish that they didn't kill him in the movie. I hate like I understand Chadwick, like he is Black Panther, right? You know, and he he's done a great job. But I think as a person and as an actor, he he would want that character to live on. Because like people people see Black Panther, of course it would be a new face. But at the same time, because at first when I first saw this, I didn't realize it was his son. I thought they were recasting him.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

And I was like, oh, they're actually recasting Black Panther.

SPEAKER_03 13:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Because what I kind of would have I wish that they would have just not done the sequel and just been like, hey, let's push that because Chadwick's death is too new. Because that shocked me. That was that came out of nowhere.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Well, it yeah, it he hit it from a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

He hit it from yeah, very yeah, which it it I don't know. I just I I don't like that they killed the character off in the movie because it's just like I don't know, like let Black Panther live on through other characters. I don't know. Is that is that too much is that too is that too controversial? I'm not trying to be con I'm just that's just my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

No, I I think that's a fair opinion to have. Um, because I I think you're right. I think Chadwick Bozeman would have probably definitely wanted the character to live on, especially seeing uh how much um it meant to people. Uh and just like how excited that was. It was almost like that year, I think it was 2017 when 2018 when Black Paper came out. Okay, I think it was 2018. 2017, 2018, that phase of the MCU was like I I don't want to say peak, but it kind of was because Spider-Man, yeah, um, Thor Ragnarok, Infinity War was like over the horizon.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Right. You know, we could see it coming, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

And and that's when everybody was the most hype for Marvel.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

And I I I think you're right. I think he would have wanted it to live on. Now, I didn't not like Black Panther 2. I I that's a double negative. Okay, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

I I didn't like it either. I uh wait, you I liked it, but I didn't like it. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

It's it's mixed for me. Um I liked it because I thought in a way they honored him, but in another way, I feel like it wasn't a necessary movie.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

That's the the you know, because it was Black Panther 2 was in their slated release schedule and I think because when he died, they pushed it, if I'm if I'm not wrong. I think they should have just put pushed it way farther. Because honestly, my my thing, right, is that Black Panther, like the sequel, it felt like a movie. First of all, it kind of sucked that first scene when he's like, he's dying he because he got an illness or something, right?

SPEAKER_01 15:31

In real life?

SPEAKER_00 15:32

In the in the movie.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Oh, well, in the movie, I thought wasn't it the heart-shaped herb that they eat? Wasn't he since uh they m they explained that since Kilmoger had burned down all the heart-shaped herbs, the Black Panther needs to constantly consume that? And since he wasn't able to I thought he had a disease or something. I thought it was because of the heart, the the herb. He wasn't able to keep consuming the herb.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Maybe. I don't know. I I my thing was though, is that it just it the whole movie felt like that scene was kind of just like hard to watch because it's like I feel like I'm watching Chadwick die. Like I feel like I'm actually watching the actor die.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

And on top of that, it's like this the whole movie, if you're looking at it from a comic book perspective and a nerd perspective, the whole movie felt rewritten because of his death. Like it feels like they had a story that was really like investing, and they had to change everything for the sake of his death. Right. You know, and it's like at that point, just push it. Don't even, don't even try it. Don't even try to work around it. Just just let let you know let him rest.

SPEAKER_02 16:37

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Let let that push that back and figure out something else.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

I don't know. I mean, personally, I wish they would have just recast and just kind of like honored that recast in his image and honored Black Panther in his image.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

I don't know though. That's just my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

So according to Google, he dies from an unspecified secret illness. However, the most popular fan theory says um that Killmonger's destruction of the heart-shaped herb in the first movie left him without a way to maintain the superhuman biology tied to the plant, though this is not officially confirmed.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

So we're not neither one of us are really wrong.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

But for the third movie, um, I'm interested to see how his son takes on the mantle. Yes. I'm wondering if it's gonna be like a build-up thing or if it's gonna be because his son was never that was just kind of like a thing they threw into the sequel. And it kind of felt like that was like their like, hey, here's here's our new Black Panther, right?

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Right, here's our way to open the door for the future.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

Right. And um, I'm excited, like he I I'm excited to see him take on Black Panther. Um, I don't have a lot of expectations for this.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

I don't either.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Did they say anything?

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Is there any like I don't think there's any plot or anything revealed? Ryan Kugler is confirmed to be the director again. Okay. He's the guy who did the first two. Okay. Um here here is what I would like to see, but we'll never see it. Did you ever watch the old like 2000 animated Ultimates movies?

SPEAKER_00 18:01

I think so.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Okay, and the second one um features Black Panther. I would like to see something like that because I think they did that really well. But that's it could be a hot take. I don't know how well those movies did, how popular they were. I watched that's what I grew up on, right? And that's what I really liked about Black Panther. I'd like to see them do something like that, like an alien invasion, and he's kind of almost like young and brash, and then by the end of the movie, he's kind of found his role as King and Black Panther. I'd like to see something like that.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Also, something I just realized none of the Avengers have uh uh talked about his death in the universe.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

No one no one has recognized it.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

No one yeah, he's he's kind of just died and then no one's just really thought about it. Right. Which which again, that's kind of the problem with the with the you know what I mean? It's just it it's not I don't feel like it's connected well to everything.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

No, it's not.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Uh because if Tony dies, then that gets mentioned everywhere, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:58

Because that's like the yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

But but T'Challa dies and we get nothing.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

But T'Challa was there for Civil War, he was there for Infinity War. I mean, he was there for for these movies, yeah. And just his death is only felt in Wakanda. Um so I f I feel you there.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

Yeah, I don't know. I I I'm I'm interested to see where this goes. Again, I did I didn't like the second one, it just it felt too like there's too much going on because they're doing Shuri, you know, the original Black Panther's dead, Shuri's the new Black Panther, the entire country of Wakanda's trying to like deal with this. You have Namor doing his thing, Ironheart doing her thing, and it it's just a lot. It's a lot going on in a movie trying to just like it's it feels like it's trying to replatform. And also, I I I'm almost positive that didn't the main actor for Black Panther, didn't she the girl who plays sure, yeah, didn't she say that she was like qu leaving acting to focus on religion? Yeah, so then why is she back?

SPEAKER_01 19:57

I it might be her way, she's not gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Maybe she's kinda contracted, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know. I just I I because I remember when I heard that, I was like, okay, so I guess we're just doing away with Black Panther completely, which sucks because I I like the that movie. That's still one of my favorite movies.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

But see, one thing that I would Black Panther is not the only black character that Marvel has. No. If if Marvel wants to have a a black prominent character, machine movie. Well, they made Roadie a scroll.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Oh, I forgot about that. I I blocked that out. Thank you. I I choose not to believe that. There's no way that's they that can't be canon.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Thank you, Brad Winterbaum. Wait.

unknown 20:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

Oh the new guy in charge of Marvel? No! Oh no, he's the new guy over the comic books. Oh no. Yeah, he's in charge of uh yeah. Curse you, Brad Winterbaum!

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Get me more Spider-Man! But good Spider-Man, but uh good Spider-Man, please. But like Storm?

SPEAKER_00 20:55

Storm would be awesome. Storm would be cool. Did you see her interview? She had an interview on Who, Halle Berry? I think so. On either Fallon or Kimmel. Okay. I think it was Jimmy Fallon.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

And she she she told she literally said um that she was not in Avengers Doomsday.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

And there is a reason why she is. Ask Chris Hemsworth. He knows the answer. And the next night, Chris Hemworth was on, and he said that to him. She or Jimmy Fallon said that to him, and he was like, Yeah. So I I I wonder, I don't know if she's in it. Maybe she her character's dead. Maybe Doom killed her already. Maybe they killed her with CGI. AI killed her. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:35

I could see so here this leads into our next point is the Avenger Doomsday stuff. I could see in Secret Wars, I I could see like most of the X Men dying in Doomsday, and then like Storm. Because Wolverine's not confirmed for this movie.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

He's not? Deadpool's not either. Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:53

So I could see in Secret Wars they show up. And um they might be as Surprise cameo in Doomsday, they might be in Doomsday. There's just not been anything confirmed.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

And I would understand why not to confirm Deadpool yet. Because they don't want the movie to have that comedy yet.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

Uh, because they're really going for a certain tone here. And uh Deadpool would kind of mess that up. Yeah. But I think he would could work in Secret Wars.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Yeah. Um I wonder if the horse is gonna die. Because Deadpool. Why am I holding Thor?

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Why am I holding Thor? Uh but speaking of Avengers, Doomsday.

SPEAKER_00 22:33

Yes. So funny enough, actually, uh when I was out of town, uh huh, I had saw a uh I had saw a post somebody made, and you you guys have heard of our episode. We've talked about their marketing strategy and how it sucks. Uh because Avengers, everything that Avengers, the movie's done, has been like, okay, here's this this person will return in Doomsday trailer. Okay, well, our next piece of marketing is this uh this wall art at Disney of Doctor Doom. That was the first look that we ever got at Doctor Doom. Yep. Our second look was the same image on a box of 12 days of socks. Um, not kidding. That's not a joke. Um, and then what else do we get? Then they they released the advertisement for mural. The mural. Yeah, they did the mural, and then they did the the Fantastic Four thing uh where Sue says, what'd she say? Isn't it something like they're talking about their dinner plans every night at seven they sit down for dinner and then it cuts. Yeah. And then it's it shows uh it's it sounds like Sue and Reed talking, and I don't it's like uh she says it was like Doom's ego or something, like he he'll destroy everything.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

I she says something along those effects.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

She says something insinuating that something is undefeatable almost or something's like uh unstoppable that's coming. Right. And I had saw a post on Instagram that day where somebody was like, This is this is the most fantastic marketing ever, they're killing it. And I left a comment and I was like, you know what? We're so close to this movie, and they haven't dropped a trailer, they haven't dropped anything. Like, this marketing sucks. Like, this is not how you market a Marvel movie. I'm sorry it's not. I put my phone down, I got in the shower, I got out of the shower. There's the trailer was, and I was like, Come on, man, come on. So I thought that was worth mentioning because I was like, you gotta be kidding me.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Well, you sent you you text me, hey, they released the trailer. So I was on the phone with my wife, and I was like, hey, hold on, let me call you right back.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

Uh let me call you right back.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

And so I turned it on, watched it, and I was like, What did you think about it?

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Is it gonna be Pete Clayton? Are you super excited for this movie? Are you did you already pre-order your tickets for the Infinity Vision screening of this film?

SPEAKER_01 24:42

No.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Why not? Um I bought my tickets.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

Did you really? No. Um, well, this movie is from from the trailer that we got, is basically Thor saying, Hey, everybody, there is this threat, and I can't stop him alone, so I need the Avengers. And he shows up in Avengers Tower, and there's just the Thunderbolts basically, Sam Wilson's team, yeah, and the Fantastic Four. And have you seen the memes where it's like, Alright, I need all the best Avengers to defeat Doom? Let's really the worst Avengers, yeah. People who can shoot guns and stab people. Yep. Oh no. I've got my axe. Yeah. Um and then like there's nothing in this trailer to really hype us. Um, it's mostly just things, it's basically things that we've already seen before.

SPEAKER_03 25:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:40

It's also cameo galore. Oh, you you the X-Men are here, the Fantastic Four are here, Sam Wilson's Avengers are here, the Thunderbolts are here. Yep. And aren't you excited? That's it. Shane Chi fights Gambit. That was cool. That was probably the coolest part of the trailer.

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Um, it's also cool. Doom is kind of cool. Um, he seems like he's not like uh you hear him talk in the trailer. Right. Um, it is Robert Downey Jr., but it definitely sounds like a like it doesn't sound like Iron Man or nothing like that. Um there's one shot that actually was like, oh, that's interesting. Um, where Thor has his uh Stormbreaker, Stormbreaker, and he jumps up and does do his super sick lightning slam and Doom blocks it with two fingers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:25

Did you notice there's like magic around him when Doom does that?

SPEAKER_00 26:28

No, I did not notice.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Yeah, there's there's like magic around his hand when he's holding it. Oh interesting. Um and and then the final shot we get of the trailer is Thor's like, no, it's impossible. And he has Mule Near in one hand, and Steve Rogers is standing there, and the hammer comes to him and he holds it and he smiles, and that's kind of it.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

And uh people have been theorizing that it's not Steve Rogers, that is Hydra Cat. And Paul, I'm telling you right now on this show, if that is Hydra Cat, I will do something. I don't know what I'm gonna do. I might walk out of the theater, I might throw my popcorn at the person sitting in front of me. I might yell.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

I I might never know if your car might kiss a tree. Yeah, my car might kiss a tree.

SPEAKER_01 27:09

Um, but I will do something because that is ridiculous. Now, why would it be HydroCap?

SPEAKER_00 27:16

I've seen all those theories. Is it because of like people saying that like, oh, time travel is not without consequences? I which is weird because in Endgame they they pretty much establish that hey, like that's not how time travel works because it's still in the future and it's you know the future is the past and the past is the future, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Right, whatever Hulk says.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

Um, I I don't know how that could possibly be Hydro Cap. A lot of theories have said that um it's like doom and he needs an end into the Avengers uh to so dis uh what is that disunity? Um he he's so he sends in Hydro Cap from a parallel universe.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

But that sucks. Like, why is he using hydra because Hydra feels like it's lesser than him, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

You know what I mean? Yeah, but I don't know. And then some people being like, well, this Steve Rogers has long hair and a beard, but when you first see him in the other trailer, he is clean shaven and has short hair. And that's Hydro Cap. But also, it's just like they've been doing with Venom. Oh, Venom's in this, Venom's in this. But I I what what a big load of disrespect it would be to put Hydro Cap in. That is the most controversial, most annoying, dumbest Captain America plot line there is.

SPEAKER_00 28:30

I know that the fire's lit. It is lighting. I mean let it out, Diggson. Let it out, Diggson. Like Cyclops.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

Um, but why? Like and at that point, you're juggling too many plot lines in Doomsday. Yeah, you've already got so many problems that you have to because they've not hyped up Doom. Doom was, and have you seen the theories about that? They don't even know if that's actually Doom at the end of Fantastic Four.

SPEAKER_00 29:00

Yeah, people are theorizing that could have been one of his Doom His Latverian witches.

SPEAKER_01 29:04

Latvarian witches, yeah. Uh which we'll talk about that in just a second. But um, I mean it it just feels like a disrespect to Captain America. Um, the only good thing that Hydra Cap did was show his strategic Steve Rogers' strategic mind. And I think what a disrespect to Endgame.

SPEAKER_03 29:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Uh, because it showed that Cap is worthy to pick up the hammer that they had been building up since Age of Ultron. And then for them to do that in in Doomsday for a villain version of Steve Rogers to pick up the hammer feels like such a spit in the face in that powerful moment that was in Endgame.

SPEAKER_02 29:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:41

So I pray that that is not Hydra Cap.

SPEAKER_00 29:46

It my thing is like I agree, because the problem is that like Cap's story ended the exact way it should have. He went back in time, he stayed there to be with um Betty. Peggy, sorry. God, look at me. I'm awful with my name said. No. Betty Brandt uh and Captain America. Uh which she's like a teenager in this universe back then. She probably wasn't even born back then, actually. Um yeah, so Steve and Peggy, you know, they have their their get together, and that is how his story should have ended. Them already bringing him back already felt like a whoa whoa whoa. Like that ended. You know what I mean? Like, let's let's steal because like we've got all these new heroes. We had Churia's Black Panther, we have Spider-Man, who's a who could be a pivotal leader of the Avengers, we have the Thunderbolts, we have um, you know, the Sentry. Like, you know, we have Hulk. Yeah, you know, we have a lot of characters that we can utilize, but it feels like they're not, you know, and we have the Fantastic Four, but they're from whatever universe they are, right? Which, you know, I still I still need to buy that on DVD. I don't have it on DVD. I really like that movie.

SPEAKER_01 30:52

You don't, I don't, and the Fas Fantastic Four, my favorite superhero team ever. You're just wrong. You're just wrong.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

No, I'm kidding. I have all the figures and everything. Really? I love that movie. It's so good.

SPEAKER_01 31:03

No, it's not. But anyways. Um, but anyways.

SPEAKER_00 31:10

Go ahead. Yes. Don't look under the table, please.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

Um, but anyways, so the we also got a second trailer, though not officially.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

It got leaked from from Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

Yes. Um, and that one is the one that we should have got.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

I agree. That trailer looked way better. It looked so much better.

SPEAKER_01 31:32

So do you want to explain what happens in that trailer?

SPEAKER_00 31:34

You you go for that one because it I'm it's a little bit You probably paid attention more than I did. Yes. Because I was paying attention to the guy like hiding the camera when the people walked by. And they walked by shit.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

So there for that one, you kind of see a little bit of a different side. You still see Thor trying to assemble the Avengers to stop this threat. You still see a lot of scenes that we got in the first trailer. Um, but this one you also see a little bit more of the Fantastic Four. You see Reed talking to Doom, saying, Reed, or or Doom, what did you do? Or Victor, what did you do? He doesn't call him Doom, Victor, what did you do? And and Doom says something like you all live stolen lives. And and they kind of have a back and forth. Sue says something along the lines of like Victor can't not be stopped. He is uh powerful once he gets going, yada yada yada. Um there's uh like I said, a lot of uh similar scenes. I think that's the big things, but it's a it's a much different.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

It was a more it was a more story-driven trailer.

SPEAKER_01 32:37

You see uh Magneto, he has you can see him better, he has like long hair. Yeah. Um I think you see him and Charles kind of like look at each other. Yeah. Um I think you see Cyclops.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

You see, there's a lot of Cyclops in the that trailer, like yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

So I think that one would have been a better one to get the hype up.

SPEAKER_00 32:57

Unfortunately, no Toby Maguire in the Iron Spider suit.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

Oh so that's the other thing that came out of this was that that Avengers poster that says Avengers, um, people are saying that was at Comic-Con. And it's the mural, it's basically the mural that we got before, with a few exceptions. Um and in this one, in the A is Toby Maguire's Iron Spider.

SPEAKER_00 33:22

Which is that's not there's no way. Like they're not gonna show that. You know what I mean? Like they're not gonna first first of all, they're not gonna show that. If that is in the movie, they're not gonna show that, period. They're just not going to. Second of all, getting Toby Maguire Spider-Man for this is just like Secret Wars, sure. If you're gonna do the big multiverse finale fight, whatever, Secret Wars, sure. This, I don't see it.

SPEAKER_01 33:47

There was something I saw the other day, and I don't know how true this is, um, but supposedly the script for Doomsday got leaked. And the rumor is if this is if this leak is true, you start out on Toby Maguire's universe, and the I think it's the X-Men are trying to um stop or they're trying to they're battling it out because if you know about secret wars, like there's these incursions and these war multi multiverses are crashing in on each other. Right. And the rumor is that Toby's fighting um the X-Men in the Iron Spider suit, right? Which makes no sense. Um, and I hate the idea. I sound like the oldest old fart ever.

SPEAKER_00 34:33

You sound like me with venom.

SPEAKER_01 34:34

I hate the idea of Toby McGuire Spider-Man and the Iron Spider. I I cannot stand it.

SPEAKER_00 34:40

I mean, here's my thing, right? I I would be okay with it. Um, but it doesn't make sense literally because there is no Iron Man in that eager. Yeah, he's like, the Avengers, who's that? Why would he have an Iron Spider suit?

SPEAKER_01 34:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:54

And who's gonna give it to him? Iron Man, he's dead.

SPEAKER_01 34:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:56

Unless unless Iron Man's daughter's doing something, which is another character that they've just obscurely pushed off to the side and forgot about.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

You know, and Pepper. They've pushed her to the side too. I don't know. I don't I don't think it's legit. Like I don't think so. Um there like here's the this is literally like this looks like someone made it. Right. I mean, it looks good, but with AI and everything nowadays, you can't like I don't I don't trust anything.

SPEAKER_01 35:19

Yeah, but I I hope to goodness because that's that's been the rumor, you know, the rumor about the hot toy being Toby McGuire in the spy Iron Spider suit, remember? Yeah. Um so I I don't know. I hope it's I hope it's not true. Can I get over it? Sure. Will I get over Hydro Cap? Never. I I honestly, Paul, I'm telling you, if it's Hydro Cap, I don't know if I'll watch Secret Wars. I don't know if I'll ever watch an MCU movie again. If it's Hydro Cap. Really? I'm I'm telling you. I hate that story so much.

SPEAKER_00 35:47

I used to put it in his box when we when we worked at the comedy store. Every time I'd get it, I'd put it in his comic box with Fish Police.

SPEAKER_01 35:53

It is you're gonna get me on a rant. This is that that storyline is the biggest disgrace to Steve Rogers that has ever happened in his almost nine 90 years of existence. Wow. Um But we won't go there because that's this episode is not about Hydro Game.

SPEAKER_00 36:08

Well, but I mean if he's in Doomsday, which it could be, you it could be now what if they kill him? What if he's in it? I mean, because technically you could look at it from an alternate universe standpoint, because pretty much it this is all about the multiverse now.

SPEAKER_02 36:20

Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:21

And the multiverse is full of infinite possibilities, including Toby McGuire in an iron spider suit, and including Spider-Man in a black suit, Spider-Man suit, and including, you know, I don't know I don't know, man.

SPEAKER_01 36:31

It's just I You know, I I think we were talking earlier, well, we were talking the other day because Kevin Feige here at Hall H was being interviewed, and they said, like, how do you feel about how people are saying there's no introduction to Doctor Doom? And uh while there was there was a build-up to Thanos, and he's like, Well, I remember back in my day when um there were memes about Thanos sitting in a chair and how Thanos just didn't do anything all the time, and there really was no actual build-up to Thanos because Thanos just sat in a chair, he said, Fine, I'll do it myself. He yells at Ronan on his screen, and then that's it. And he's like, With Doctor Doom, uh we're gonna get that build-up in Doomsday, and that's what we're really excited to tell. Well, I that's not the same thing, you know. And where was I going with this?

SPEAKER_00 37:18

Steve Rogers, the multiverse.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

Oh, okay, okay. So, but even then, I I think that it's just you still have to stick with your characters and what you've established. You can't just say, Oh, well, this is the multiverse and just thrash everything.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

Right. Well, and also, I mean, I I I can agree to that to a sense because it's like, sure, Infinity War was the big introduction to Thanos and who he was. But by the time you got to Infinity War, you had some knowledge. Because also, people started doing their own research, people started doing their own digging, people started like, you know, you had all the movies, you had the little cameos, but at the same time, like the infinity stones were built, right? The infinity stones weren't just like introduced in the movie, right?

SPEAKER_03 37:59

Right?

SPEAKER_00 37:59

They were built. They there was one in every movie.

SPEAKER_03 38:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:02

Like it I mean, up until doomsday, you know, except for the Soul Stone. That's the only one that we didn't know about, you know, and even that one was a plot to us because it was Red Skull.

SPEAKER_04 38:09

Right.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

So you have these, these, these build-up introductions, and it's not about just building up the villain either, it's about build building up the heroes. Because by the time we got to Infinity War, we knew in-depth details of every hero that was on that screen, every single one of them. There was not a single hero that was in those movies that we were like, who is this guy?

SPEAKER_02 38:31

Right.

SPEAKER_00 38:31

Right now, now the same can't be said for Doomsday. And also considering that a lot more people are skeptical over Doomsday because it wasn't supposed to be Avengers Doomsday. It's supposed to be Avengers King Dynasty. Right. And, you know, Jonathan Mayer, right? Major. Yeah. Jonathan Major, he, you know, beat his wife or whatever and got arrested. Right. And, you know, literally because of that, like, they got rid of the whole thing. And then it's just and then last minute they said, Hey, uh, we're not doing that anymore. We're doing Doomsday, and here's Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. Accept it. Yeah. Right. And so I think that's where the skepticism's coming from, is because you had a plan, you've been building up to that plan that you had previously, and you just got rid of it for this.

SPEAKER_02 39:13

Right.

SPEAKER_00 39:13

And there haven't been anything that's come like any of the Marvel movies, uh, Thunderbolts, I don't know about Spider-Man, it's not out yet, but it's not directly tied into Avengers at the moment. Um, unless there's a post-credit scene, but the the main story itself does not tie into Avengers Doomsday. Everything that has come out between like that announcement, nothing's led to Doomsday, except for Fantastic Four, which could be the closest, but even then it's like we don't even know who they are. We don't know what like if it's an alternate dimension that they live in or what because their universe is futuristically in the past for weird, you know what I mean? Yeah. So I don't know. It that that's my big thing, is that sure, you don't have to build up your character. You need to build up your every you need to build up your heroes at least. Yeah, those aren't built up. Doom is not built up at all, and then on top of it, your plan changed. So all of us Marvel fans are sitting here going, Well, what's the plan now? Because your old plan isn't the the same plan it was.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

Well, it's it's a bad look too when you have to re-release your last Avengers movie with alternate scenes just to tie into your future movie because your plans changed.

SPEAKER_03 40:20

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 40:21

And that's exactly what they're doing is Avengers Endgame Encore. Yep. Which is gonna be released with bonus scenes, what, like 15 minutes of new bonus scenes?

SPEAKER_00 40:29

I think so. Yeah, it's gonna have uh a longer intro and then a longer I'm sure it'll have a post-credit scene or two that'll that but apparently these extra scenes tie directly into Doomsday. Are you gonna go watch it? Honestly, I didn't plan on it. I don't know. I mean, it would be fun to see in game again.

SPEAKER_01 40:50

But also like I'll never be able to watch Endgame again with the same hype that I had going into it the first time.

SPEAKER_00 40:55

Yeah, no, that hype for the first time was just immeasurable. Yeah. Now, if I had done a complete MCU rewatch and they had announced that, sure. Yeah, like I'll go see it.

SPEAKER_01 41:04

You know, but at this point, the MCU is so big, you basically have to start now to get caught up in the M to do an entire MCU rewatch. Were we 37 films in? I think so, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

It's a lot.

SPEAKER_01 41:17

And then you've got all the series, yeah, all the TV shows and the series and Haley Atwell's coming back as uh as uh Captain Carter. I thought she died.

SPEAKER_00 41:26

She died in uh I guess there's another universe where she's alive. Another universe where she's alive. That's the great thing about the multiverse, guys, is it's infinite. You can pull whatever you need from wherever you need it. Yeah, so we'll see that. Kobe McGuire and Iron Spider Sue, there's a different universe that has him in it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:44

Um I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 41:46

I'm still leery. I mean, I'm I'm gonna go see Doomsday. I'll watch Doomsday.

SPEAKER_01 41:50

I don't know if I'll go opening day like I did with Endgame and Infinity War.

SPEAKER_00 41:54

Right. What do you now? What do you think about uh the Infinity Vision? And what do you think about the fact that they're selling tickets right now? They're already selling tickets five months in advance.

SPEAKER_01 42:04

Um well, Infinity Vision is just money.

SPEAKER_00 42:08

We need money, please. Go see well well, you know why they're doing that, right?

SPEAKER_01 42:12

It's called it's IMAX, right?

SPEAKER_00 42:14

Or no, it's not IMAX. Um, so this this is a pretty dumb release strategy. Uh Avengers Doomsday and Dune part three are releasing on the same day.

SPEAKER_03 42:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:25

And because of that, uh Dune has booked the rights to IMAX theaters. So Infinity War or uh Doomsday needs needs their thing. Right. So they're like, oh well go see it in Infinity Vision, which is just a normal screen. It's really just a normal screen. It's not no, there's nothing special about it. It's it's a it is a marketing label that they put on it for the sake of getting people to be like, oh, like the screen is a little bit bigger. But it is, you know, it's not IMAX for first of all, iMacs is its own IMAX's. Have you ever been to an IMAX before?

SPEAKER_01 42:55

I've been to an IMAX before. What did you see in IMAX? I think uh I think I watched um uh Days of Future X-Men Days of Future Pass. I think when it it was still IMAX was still pretty new back when that came out, but I think that's what I watched in IMAX. I've watched I've watched something because the for the longest time where we lived, the only iMacs theater was what, like Knoxville and Nashville. I'm pretty sure I went in Nashville to go watch it with my dad.

SPEAKER_03 43:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:17

Um when it came out. But now we have one here. Oh very nice. I know. I I'm I'm regretting so we've already got our tickets for Brand New Day, and I'm regretting not getting tickets to the IMAX one.

SPEAKER_00 43:28

Is there iMac? Is there seats in IMAX? I mean, it's not filmed on IMAX.

SPEAKER_01 43:33

No, but I still think it'd be cool to see.

SPEAKER_00 43:34

It's still be nice to see in the IMAX theater. Um yeah, I don't know. I uh my thing is is that like first of all, the Infinity Vision people pointed that out very quickly that that was just a fraud. Right. Like, oh you guys are just making you guys are just making the crap up to make people come see it. Right. Like it but also that's your bad. You shouldn't have released this the same time as Dune. Yeah. Yeah, y'all should have reached out and been like, hey, let's do something different because we our films are gonna, you know. Like we're gonna fight each other and I don't wanna do that. Right. You know what I mean? It's just you know, it's courtesy.

SPEAKER_01 44:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:04

Um, which honestly, uh hot take about Dune, I don't like any of the movies. They are very all of them have disappointed me really bad. I've not seen any of them, so at least really wanted to watch them, and we sat and watched them, and I was like, these are kind of not good. And I was like, they're good, it's just they're long and they just drag. And she's like, Yeah, I agree. And then the final climactic piece doesn't really fit that drag that's been built.

SPEAKER_01 44:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 44:26

You know what I mean? Yeah, you have high expectations, and then you're not really met with those.

SPEAKER_01 44:30

They released a video game that looks pretty fun though.

SPEAKER_00 44:32

The video game looks cool, the big open world game. That looks sick.

SPEAKER_01 44:35

I'd play that.

SPEAKER_00 44:36

I would play that too.

SPEAKER_01 44:37

So one last note on Avengers Doomsday, and then we'll get into some comic news. Uh Kevin Feige said that uh they are all about honoring the comics, and they want to honor the comics. Uh how do you feel about Paul? Is the MCU honoring comics?

SPEAKER_00 44:52

You know, I unfortunately I think the MCU, well, to a degree, the MCU movies have honored the comics. And I think that it is okay to for a movie to have its own interpretation and changes to a comic because you don't want to read, you know, you like the comic, but you also want to get a little something different out of the movie, right? Even though, like me, when I was talking about Absolute Batman's show, yeah, like, oh, this should be beat for beat. Like, every fan wants that, but then when you get new stuff, you're excited about that too. But I think the are we talking about the the the shout out to Yes, uh, what's his name? C. Bolski. C. B Sabolski, who is bye bye, he's getting out of here. Bye, C B Sabolski, go to Japan or wherever you are.

SPEAKER_01 45:37

Yeah, he's going to Japan. Steven Wacker is taking over, editor in comics, and Steven Wacker will report directly to Brad Winterbaum as Marvel Comics moves from New York City for the first time in 90 years to Burbank, California.

SPEAKER_00 45:51

Which is where the MCU studio is. The very same lot. Yep, the same place. So they're all just gonna do so so when you read your comics, it's gonna be the movie exactly. Yeah. So you're gonna get to watch the movie and read it. Congratulations. You get to do something twice.

SPEAKER_01 46:04

We did a post on on Marvel moving because they announced that, what, last week, a week or two? Uh I think so, yeah. And uh some of the comments have been like, yay, I can't wait for my comics to be a marketing ad for the movies. Glad to see Marvel's new marketing department's doing well.

SPEAKER_00 46:21

Well, they're already doing that. I mean, they already like they put Kang in everything whenever that was about to happen, and now they're putting Doom in everything, and you know, next thing you know, they're gonna put Venom in everything.

SPEAKER_01 46:32

Yeah, we'll we'll get to that.

SPEAKER_00 46:34

We'll get to that. We'll get to that. I'm very excited.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

Yeah, I don't know. I I definitely think that the MCU has done some honoring to the comics, but I think the MCU and the comics have now become like one and the same. The one and the same, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:48

And I and I think like them sorry, I interrupted you, but like I think them shouting out C.B. Sabolski, they because they shouted him out on the Comic Con panel, and I get it. He has been an editor, he has been the editor for a lot of good books, but here recently it's not adding up because it's like, dude, these news this new stuff that you're you're letting go with Spider-Man, with Venom, with all those comics that are out right now, like you what are you doing? Like, why are why are you know what I mean? Like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 47:15

No, uh, absolutely. Um, and and I don't know. There's a lot of questions there. Doomsday is a questionable hype. Um, I think a lot of people have best described it, the state of Marvel comics and the MCU as cautiously optimistic.

SPEAKER_00 47:32

That's a good way to describe it.

SPEAKER_01 47:33

And that's kind of how I feel.

SPEAKER_00 47:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:34

You could be good, yeah, but with my I don't know, who knows?

SPEAKER_00 47:37

And I'm excited for Spider-Man. You know, the closer we get, the the clips we're getting for it look really good. Oh yeah. They they look good, the the web swinging looks really good, the costume looks amazing. Again, I don't think Venom's gonna be in it. I could be wrong, you know. I'm I'm never I don't I'm at the point I'm never wrong. I'm I'm never wrong. I never freeze. Um, but I I you know honestly, like I'm at the point with Marvel comics that I don't believe anything that I see anymore. Like whenever they announced Toby and Andrew, like when that was rumored, I I didn't believe anything I saw. I thought it was all fake. So I just I'm I'm like that with everything until I'm in the movie and I see it and I go, oh dang it.

SPEAKER_04 48:14

You're right.

SPEAKER_00 48:14

Yeah, you know, so I'm I'm also optimistic about Doomsday. I'll go see it. I'm very excited for Spider-Man. I'm got my tickets, ready to get my popcorn bucket.

SPEAKER_01 48:22

We we both have tickets on Thursday. Ironically, so this is funny because we scheduled our tickets separately because you were going down to Knoxville. I'm staying an hour and a half away, and um and we texted each other and said, Hey, we're gonna I'm gonna go watch Spider-Man on Thursday the 30th. And you know, and I was like, hey, me too. Yeah. And and then we didn't talk about like what time or anything until today. Yeah. And I said, Hey, by the way, what time are you going to go watch Spider-Man? You said 12, of course. And I said, That's so crazy because I'm going at 12:30.

SPEAKER_00 48:53

I'm gonna get I'm gonna get to see it when you start watching your previews. I'm gonna start watching the movie.

SPEAKER_01 48:59

Um but I am excited. The only thing that I have seen about Brandon Day that gives me any pause is the it is the director, Daniel Desson Craig, I think is Yes, I think so, yeah. Um they were interviewing him and said, What Spider-Man comics have meant the most in your life? And he's like, Oh, um the classics. And you're like, What does that mean?

SPEAKER_00 49:21

Yeah, what does that mean? What does that mean? What do you elaborate, please?

SPEAKER_01 49:25

He said, Well, we recreated a lot of comic covers like uh Amazing Fantasy and some of those.

SPEAKER_00 49:31

Right.

SPEAKER_01 49:31

And that's how he said it.

SPEAKER_00 49:32

I was like, Oh, brother, oh no. I think it'll be okay. I think it'll be. I mean, I'm I'm not worried about it too much, you know. Like, I think they're just trying to limit. I'm still really curious on Sadie Sink's character and kind of what that's gonna be because I I'm hoping. Have you seen that thing where people are like, look, look, in the picture that they they posted of her, she's wearing gray jeans. Oh my gosh, she's Jean Gray. Have you seen? And I'm like, I I I can't find a gun quick enough to shoot myself with.

SPEAKER_01 49:58

Did you see the ad that they released like a week ago with with Sadie Sink? And she's like, I'm Sadie Sink, and I am so glad to confirm that I am playing a character.

SPEAKER_00 50:10

Did you see the one that she posted like a day or two? It might have been today or tomorrow. She posted one where she literally drops the phone. Wait, today or yesterday. My bad. My bad. She she's on her phone and she goes, I am playing, and then her phone drops, and I'm like, Oh, Kevin Foggy turned to turn the actor button off.

SPEAKER_01 50:24

Kevin Foggy has that sniper rifle.

SPEAKER_00 50:28

Yeah. No, no, no, Zadie. You can't say you can't say you're Gene Gray yet.

SPEAKER_01 50:33

I I I don't know. I think it's Gene.

SPEAKER_00 50:35

You think it is? I hope it's not. I hope it's gonna be someone else.

SPEAKER_01 50:37

But I hope it's somebody else, but I think it's Gene.

SPEAKER_00 50:40

It it would more than it would it makes more sense for it to be Gene Gray.

SPEAKER_01 50:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:44

So I guess we'll see. But um, I'm pumped. I'm excited. It can't come out quick enough. I'm very, very excited.

SPEAKER_01 50:50

I w uh that's that's I I took the whole day off of work.

SPEAKER_00 50:53

Oh, I did too. Uh because yeah, I'm ready. Um I didn't tell my job that, but it's okay. I can kind of just not work.

SPEAKER_01 51:00

I didn't either, but my job doesn't need a reason why I can take off.

SPEAKER_00 51:03

Well, my yeah, our uh my mine's flexible, so as long as I just work my hours, that's all that matters. So, you know.

SPEAKER_01 51:09

They listen, like our bosses listen and they're like, oh, oh, is that what you think?

SPEAKER_00 51:14

Hey, Clayton and Paul, we need you at work. You guys are fired. Yeah, you guys are fired. It's like I get to go see the movie, yay!

SPEAKER_01 51:21

No one can stop me! Um, but now we've got some comic news, and this far more excited me than any of the movie stuff.

SPEAKER_00 51:29

I feel like our review so far has been just like Marvel movies are coming out, and I'm very excited about Doomsday. Actually, I'm really that's just that's what I feel like we've been. Now that we're like, yay, comic book stuff, even though that's also been kind of iffy.

SPEAKER_01 51:43

Yeah, some of it.

SPEAKER_00 51:44

It has been iffy. It may be better, it may be absolutely great.

SPEAKER_01 51:50

So, first one I want to talk about, and I'm just gonna touch on it real quick because I know you are eager to get to the next one. So, Marvel, I think comics-wise, has been poopy doo-doo. I have talked about that already. Yes. Yes, um, but I am actually actually excited for this series they announced, Indiana Jones and the Sword of Pandemonium.

SPEAKER_00 52:11

Is question Okay, is Dan Slot writing it? No, you know, that surprised me because that was uh when he got off a sorry, this random tangent. When Dan Slot got off a Spider-Man and they were trying to find him a new book, he kept saying he wanted to write Fantastic Four or Indiana Jones. And Marvel kept saying, We're not doing those books, quit asking. And then they eventually caved and did Fantastic Four.

SPEAKER_01 52:31

I didn't know that. Yeah, um no, it is Jason Aaron who wrote Thor. He's writing Absolute Superman right now.

SPEAKER_02 52:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 52:38

Um, I think he'll be great. The artist is Aaron Cooter, uh, I think that's how you say his name. Um, this is set between Raiders of the Lost Ark. Um and I guess because because Indian Jones is out of order, because Temple of Doom takes place before Raiders. It takes place after Raiders, I think between that and Last Crusade. And it it just has a really interesting premise. I love Indiana Jones, and I'm just glad to be getting some more content. Uh hopefully it's good. Hopefully there are no uh well, they're not aliens, they're interdimensional beings. Right, according to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, yeah, uh, because you know they got into it about that. I did not. I think it was Steven Spielberg. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Yes, because uh Steven Spielberg said they're they he wanted them to be aliens. George Lucas, I I think I might have it backwards, but I think it's Steven Spielberg wanted them to be aliens, and George Lucas said, No, I don't want aliens. So they went back and forth on the script forever, and finally Steven Spielberg said, What if they're not aliens? What if they're interdimensional beings? And George Lucas is like, Okay, I can get behind that.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

And it's like clearly lifting off in the flying saucer. They have alien heads and crystal skulls and and dial the destiny.

SPEAKER_01 53:54

Uh the beginning was great, the ending was not so great. Um, so I'm eager for good Indian Jones content. Yeah, uh, because I loved Indian Jones growing up. Yeah. So I'm excited. I'm definitely picking this one up when it comes out. I think it comes out in December, November, December, somewhere like that. That's not too far away.

SPEAKER_00 54:12

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:12

So I'll pick that up.

SPEAKER_00 54:14

I um I don't know. I'm that's that that makes sense because considering, first of all, considering you know, Steven Spielger just did an alien film. And second of all, uh George Lucas just openly uh spoke that he supports AI. Did you hear about that? I did.

SPEAKER_01 54:30

That sucks. He said uh that sucks bad. He said rejecting AI is like rejecting the the car over the horse. Or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 54:39

It's but it's uh again, as we've said, AI can be helpful. It's a good organizational tool, you know. Like it's been great sometimes, like when I've edit been editing stuff for like movies, it'll actually go through and balance all the audio and stuff, right? But we still use people, it doesn't replace anybody. That's that's the job of AI. Whenever I do research on Google and it's like, hey, here's all the information, that's great. Yeah, but again, let's not get it in, you know what I mean? You know, we got something else to talk about.

SPEAKER_01 55:07

No, we don't. But so the next thing on our notes is absolutely okay.

SPEAKER_00 55:11

Right, yeah, yeah, that that's a great book. Let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 55:14

So um okay we are we are saddened to share today.

SPEAKER_00 55:19

This is the clouds have parted, the thunder has rolled away, the light has shined into the world, and and Al Ewing is leaving Venom! Oh my god, he's gone! He's gone, he's gone. I'm so glad. So, Marvel announced, so first of all, real quick, last time we recorded, I'm so excited to finally have good Venom news. I'm so glad. Uh, for those of you who've been listening for a long time, I have hated this run. I have, with every fiber of my being, have hated all new venom. I did not like his previous run. I ro I liked like the first bit of it, but then when Dark Web happened, it just took this really crazy left turn that just did not work. And on top of it, it just like the book has not been good. Like he has ruined my character, and you know, if you've listened to this show, every time we talk about all new venom, you just hear me hate it and rant on it. I've finally gotten to the point where I'm just like, I don't care anymore. Um, but on our last episode, I mentioned, you know, I said Comic Con is coming up this week, and I made a deal with everybody. I made a deal. I said, you know, if Al Ewing is still writing Venom after Queen and Black, I'm gonna give it to Queen and Black. And when Queen and Black is over, and all of that's came out, if he's still writing the book, I'm done. I'm hopping off. I'm finally taking it off the pool and being done with it. And I that was my promise that I made. You did?

SPEAKER_01 56:49

And you even went as far as to say, God strike me down.

SPEAKER_00 56:54

God strike me down. Uh but uh I but also last time we recorded, I had said, you know, Comic Con's coming up. I'm sure they're gonna announce what's next for Venom because they'll they have a Spider-Man panel, so and Venom's now on the Spider-Man team. So I was like, okay, well, they're probably gonna announce that. And I said, I guess if they announce it here that it's gonna keep going, I'll just go ahead and hop off now. That was what I had said. And again, the clouds parted and and Venom, praise the Lord! He's gone. He's leaving the book and Venom number one, written by Charles Sowell and uh illustrated by Tommaso Bichani? I think so. I don't know how to I I forgive me if I'm pronouncing that wrong, but we are getting a uh we're getting a new book. We're getting a new number one, and the description on this new number one, and I'm gonna talk really slowly until I can pull it up ever so slightly, is this. Okay, sorry. I'm very excited. If you can't tell, I'm really excited to I I told Clayton, I was like, I've never been more excited to talk about this on the show.

SPEAKER_01 58:01

I uh he is so excited that I almost said, just record an episode without me so you can just talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 58:06

And I was like, no, no, it's okay. Oh, they are venom! Eddie Brock and Venom are reunited. Uh, and it feels so good. After years apart, once again, they are Venom. And Eddie is not going to let this opportunity go to waste. He is determined to be the ultimate host for the symbiote and be the hero he knows he can be. And he's not gonna let any other superheroes say otherwise. So, uh, you know, uh, this is by Charles Sowell, who wrote Daredevil Star Wars. Um Darth Vader. Darth Vader, yeah. And honestly, like, we're we're going back, and I get it, we're going back to the status quo of like, oh, like Eddie Brock's back to being Venom, and they're gonna be the hero that they've destined to be. But we we talked about it. Yeah. And honestly, I don't know how they could they could do this otherwise. I don't see any other way that they can go back to Eddie Brock Venom without just going back to Ground Zero because Al really drugged this into the earth. I mean, he literally like, I mean, Mary Jane is Venom and changing her design, and Hella as Queen in Black and Null as the god of light. Like, literally everything has been flipped backwards.

SPEAKER_01 59:16

When this got announced, you use the analogy of um Al Ewing took a sledgehammer and destroyed the house. Yes. And now the only way to rebuild the house is you have to start from the foundation up. That's that's literally what you said.

SPEAKER_00 59:29

He he took a nuke and he put it inside the the oven, and he carefully and slowly walked out of the house, got in a cab and drove off, and the house went boom and blew up the entire block. And the only way to fix it is by putting dirt back in the hole and starting over. So again, I I guess this kind of spoils the end of Queen in Black. So I guess MJ and Venom are gonna be split. Um, which again, there's some other stuff on that, which we'll cover here in just a minute. Um, so MJ and Venom are gonna be split, and the symbiote is gonna go back to Eddie Brock, who it rightfully belongs to, and we're gonna get a Venom story. The cover looks great. It does. The title they went back to the regular Venom title, not that stupid, like gold, perfectly knight and shining armor title, whatever, whatever that is. I'm just I'm glad we're back. You know what I mean? Like it it feels so good to be back. And I and you know, they're emphasizing the like they are venom because like this is what venom is. The MJ thing, like, that's not venom. This is venom. And and uh Charles Sowell, if you're listening, you're probably not. I hope and pray that you just give this character the treatment he deserves because all of us venom fans are jumping up and down right now because we we want this back.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:40

You so you sent me that, and I told Gavrella my wife, and I said, Hey, Paul's gonna be happy. She said, Why? I said, Because Al Yoing's leaving Venom, and she just busted up laughing because she knows, yeah, everybody knows that you just can't stand. I've been very open about this.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:57

Just because, like, it it got to a point where I was just like, This can't keep happening. Like, what is like how is Marvel gonna continuously okay this? Right. Because it's at the point where it's like this is not okay anymore. Like, Hydro Cap, like you hate Hydro Cap. This is my Hydro Cap, you know?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:14

Because it's it what it is, is it it's a defilement of the character. Yeah, oh for sure. It takes everything that the characters have ever stood for, who they represent, everything, and it's just like what if we just destroy all that, yeah, and just spit on it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:28

And also, like I have nothing against MJ, right? Like, I I think that there is a good story to tell with her being the host of the symbiote. Right. But Al missed the mark, he missed it big time. And again, I don't know if that's him, I don't know if it's editorial. I'm blaming both. Um, I'm blaming him because if it was him, if it he could hop off of this at any time.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:52

Like, I don't think any of these guys are contracted for how many books they have to write.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:55

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:56

You know, because if the book doesn't do good, it it it just they cut it off. Yeah. So I mean, with this being an ongoing title forever now, because we're almost at issue 250 something. I don't know what we're at. 262 is 262 is the last issue. Okay. So there are gonna be um it came out actually, uh, it wasn't Al Al hasn't said anything. Al has been completely silent, hasn't said a word about any of this. Um they asked, like, uh there was a person on Instagram who said, hey, like, is is this gonna be the end of your run? Is Queen in Black gonna be the end? To the artist. To the art. And well, the artist replied and he said, Um, I th is Carlos Gomez, yeah. He replied saying, uh 262 is our last dated issue. So Venom 262 will be the last of Valuing's run, and I'm I'm glad we're at the end of the tunnel. I can see the light, it's beautiful, I can feel the vitamin D soaking in my skin, and we're back.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:49

Um the artist Tommaso Banchi Um has said uh was work kind of teased that he was working on Venom back in May.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:02

Um I sent you that post. He said he he shared that on May 27th. So there were teases that they were working on this back in May. Yeah. The whole time you're complaining.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:11

Um but but you're not the only one who has had complaints about this run. Um and when this got announced, I checked League of Comic Geeks, where we check our our there's a community there, but there's also where you log your comics. Right. And uh everybody was celebrating. I think there was like 500 celebrations, and then there's that one guy who's like, but I kind of liked Al Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:33

Yeah, there's always because like I'm in a Venom Discord server. Yeah. Uh we are Venom Maniacs. Woohoo! Uh uh in that server, there's one guy who's like super like, oh, this is this book is great, like this is so good. Well, if you don't like it, you haven't read it. Uh type beat. And I honestly I'm just like, everybody's like celebrating and posting emojis and like LFG, let's effing go. You know, we're all like super happy that it's over because I mean this has been four years. Yeah. 2022 is when he started writing his run. And again, at first it wasn't bad, but it just it kept getting off beat and it slowly got off track, and now it's just driving in, it's a train track driving in the dirt.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:09

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:09

You know, it's it's completely off the rails. Now the train's in the ocean, uh, where it where it belongs, sunken, forgotten, and left to be. Uh, but hey, I'm a real Venom fan. I stuck it till the end. I held through and it sucked. It was painful and I hated it. Um, but Venom gets its relaunch. Hopefully it's gonna be good, hopefully it's gonna be exciting. Um, but MJ's going somewhere, and that's our next book to tie in with this little arc that's going somewhere. Do you want to talk about it?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:40

Or do you want to take any of this? I'll take it over. So Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane was announced.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:45

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:46

And she's going back to be a movie producer. Um and then the the description of this series is starting out with, oh, Mary Jane is back and she is going to be a movie producer in LA, starting like Watson Productions or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:05

And uh then it's like, but when something along the lines of when she runs into trouble, she has to pull out a little bit of help from her old friend Venom.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:14

It's actually she's running into the the the best actor villain of all time, the chameleon, who can play any character. Is she really? Yeah, it's chameleon. That's the villain of the series. Um yeah, I'm curious because apparently Venom left her some kind of a gift. Um, I guess for being such a great host. Hope boy, it's probably the Ernak. The Carnage, the you know, Ernak Carnage spelt backwards. Um I could see that.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:38

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:38

Because in that in that um cover, she's got the little heart hands and there's symbiote like coming off of it.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:44

Yeah, so I don't know. Honestly, like Marvel's doing whatever they can to keep MJ going. They're trying really hard.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:51

Keeping her separated from Spider Man.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:52

Keeping her separated, keeping her on her own. But nobody, nobody wants this.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:56

No, and and I like Russell Dodderman's art, but do you Did you see the cover, the variant cover for this book? Where it's Mary Jane, she's laying on her stomach and she's playing with the Spider-Man action figure. And for whatever really weird reason, her feet are like extremely exaggerated in that cover. And I'm like, this is an official comic book cover. It's by Russell Dodderman.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:18

Um I'm looking it up right now.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:21

It is kind of it's it's weird. It's her feet are like up behind her head. Whoa! Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:29

I see. Oh yeah, those are some feetsies. Um she looks good though. I mean, like that's a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:34

Like the face and like everything and then her feet are just like there.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:38

The feet are, yeah, the feet's a little much. Um I get it though. She's just being a little girly. She's you know, she's posing her action figure though. That's a Marvel Legends figure. Some guys are looking at this going, oh, look at them. Oh but look at the nice Tootsies in the background. Oh boy, they look so soft. Oh, and then I'm like, that's totally a Marvel Legends figure. Definitely. I know that articulation.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:11

I don't I don't know. Like so Spotify automatically generates episode chapters, and so this chapter is gonna be called Mary Jane Speed. Mary Jane Speed. Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:27

Oh hi guys, welcome back to Foot Talk. And today we're talking about Mark Mark Jane Speed on the variant cover. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:38

The main cover. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. The main cover is J. Scott Campbell, and a lot of people have complained about the faces. Um Peter looks weird. Yeah. Very two-dimensional. J. Scott Campbell, I actually don't mind his art. Um, he follows us, and I hope he listens. And uh, if you do, J. Scott Campbell, we love your work.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:57

Uh so this is no disrespect at all. But the Peter face does look a little odd.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:01

The Peter face looks a little off. Um, I'm curious to see what Tony's engagement, if they're gonna try to do that again, because try to do the M well because I know you know she worked for Sark Industries, so I'm wondering how that's gonna go, but also like why is I guess honestly, theory. Okay. I wonder if this little piece of the symbiote that's left with her is there to keep her alive. I could see that. And Venom's like, well, I'm dipping, and I'm gonna leave this little bit with you. The little bit left of Al Young's run, run, can you can have that booger. Yeah. And that will keep you alive. And I'm gonna go over here and do things with my my new friend, old friend Eddie Brock, and you go do your thing by.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:44

Yeah, this is right away.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:46

This is and then there's the guy going, everybody need any extra talk your movie set.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:56

Forget Sydney Sweeney. I want Mary Jane Watson. Um, yeah, I could see that because you've told me that the symbiote is what keeps um her alive now. Um like it's been retcon to where the host and the symbiote have to be together, otherwise they die.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:15

Well, well, but this one is because of her her jackpot powers. They failed and it started to kill her, and the symbiote was already dying because it didn't have a host, because that's what the movies do, and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:27

Yeah. So really dumb. Um, but this is also supposed to be the 60 60 year anniversary of MJ. Uh and so it's supposed to be a celebration of her. So, what better way to celebrate her than to, for the 500th time, send her to be a movie actor?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:42

Funny enough, I uh I made a comment, someone made a post about it, and I was like, oh, cool, an MJ series that'll probably be canceled by issue 10. And they went and someone else commented, replied back, and said it's only a five-party miniseries. And I was like, Oh, so they pre-canceled it. How cool. They weren't wasting any time on that one.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:00

We are so confident this book is gonna do great that uh it's five issues.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:04

Well, no, I'm not I'm not trying to bash the book. It could be really good. I just my thing is that I Marvel just does they won't they they refuse to do the the obvious choice, right? Like the most obvious, like elephant, like the biggest, fattest, chunkiest elephant in the room.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:21

If only there was a sign, the Roland sign behind them.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:25

Yeah, MJ, Peter, Hart. Like that like they're just like, hmm. I wonder if you turn this light off. It's so bright. You know? Yeah, but I I don't know. I just I I can't. It's so baffling that they just they keep ignoring it. And it's like they will give us anything and everything. Like, we got MJ being venom before we got them being married again.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:46

Yeah, there like there is rumors, however, and this is internet rumors. How true it is, I don't know. So take this with a grain of salt. But there have been several of our followers who have been messaging us or commenting on our posts saying that there is rumors at Marvel right now that Jay uh J. Michael Strazinski and John Romita Jr. are gonna come together to do a retcon of one more day, or a brand new day. Uh or it it's one more day.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:15

Um so there it's rumors. I don't know how true it is.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:21

Now, is this the the one more day that we talked about before where they specifically said they weren't gonna get them married?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:28

Well, Joe Cosada was the one who said that he wants to do that.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:35

Okay. And he is um he's the one who says he wants to do a sequel to it, where they're not gonna marry it. Right. But the rumors are that J Scott J. Michael Strazinski, who wrote the original Spider-Man series earlier around that time. Yeah, um, and John Romita Jr. is gonna do the art for it and they're gonna wreck on it. So there's different, there's conflicting things kind of out there right now. Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:58

That would be really cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:00

I would take it. And especially since Ramita is supposed to be retiring at Amazing Fantasy or Amazing Spider-Man 1000.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:07

Yeah, Amazing Fantasy 1000.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:08

We had that uh even though there's not been an Amazing Fantasy book since like the sending. Um so I don't know. I would love to see it. Um I would love to see Ramita's send off since Ramita was the artist for the the marriage issue. Oh, I would love to see Ramita be his last issue be them getting married again.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:32

Here's my thing, too, right? Yeah, do you know, like just think about it, right? And everybody listening, really just like open your mind to this. And Marvel, if you're listening, really listen to what I'm about to say. Do you know how much money that book would make if they got remarried? It would the amount of dough that they would be raking in would be record-breaking.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:55

It would it would be b it would be bigger than absolute batman.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:59

Honestly, yeah, for sure. And again, why aren't y'all doing it? I like I get it. I get you don't want Peter to grow. I understand that like this is this is your big moneymaker, but also like just just live in the moment. Tell these stories, don't keep telling the same like we we've grown up with kids Spider-Man. We want to be reading adult Spider-Man.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:20

And there's nothing that says you can't have, let's say, in the main title, Peter and and MJ married, and then have like a a different series that's set when Peter was younger, you know, in his early days of Spider-Man. Sure, we've had that five thousand times already, but if that's the story, if you want that story for younger audiences, sure. But for those of us who grew up with it, you almost gave it to us in Ultimates and then you dropped the ball.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:43

Yeah, you did. Um very badly.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:46

And I don't know. Um I do honestly, I agree with you. Like, does Marvel not like money?

SPEAKER_00 1:13:54

I mean, they do. They just they just don't want to make the the decision that they know that they're gonna have to make. I I know what I have to do, I just don't know if I have the strength to do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:02

Turns around and runs the other direction.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:04

The Marvel turns around and stabs you. Stabs the Spider-Man fan.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:08

No, Dodina Jr. You got stabbed.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:10

Um, I would I would I hope that's true. I don't believe it will be. I'm just gonna I'm just gonna, you know, but I I hope it is because honestly, that would be great. And again, if you didn't listen to the last episode, one of my hot takes is that I really liked One More Day as a story. I don't like the outcome of One More Day. I like it as a story. Like it is a good beginning, middle, and end story. When you read it, you're like, whoa, that had you know, it it's good. If they undid it, right? Like let's say that let's say that story came out, I would say, I love one more day, because it's good for what it is, but then we get back to where we were. Right. With the anticipation that things go back to normal, it's a good story. Yes. When they don't, that's where it sucks.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:49

Well, I think that's I think that should have been the intention. Like, hey, we're gonna undo their marriage, but hang in there um, as comic fans, we're not gonna make you wait 20 years like we actually have. We're gonna make you wait five years, maybe. They will get back together, you just gotta stick with us.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:05

Well, like superior. I mean, Peter died. Yeah, and he was dead for gosh knows how many years, but the only thing that was left to him was his subconscious. Like, that's what they should have done with the marriage.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:16

I don't know. That that's my opinion. I hate like I I'm I'm glad that Venom is on his own path. I hope we get Venom stuff. I hope we get some of the old school King and Black stuff. I hope we keep those storylines. I don't think they will. I think it's too far in the past to be reconsidered. Yeah. I could be wrong. Um, because I don't know where Dylan's at. I don't know what he's doing. Or sleeper or his toxin or any of them. Um, but I'm glad to see that Venom is is coming back to some form of normalcy. And then MJ, I don't really care what she does. Just you know what? Just either marry Spider-Man or get away from me. Like literally, like those are your two options. That's all you got.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:54

Um, but I will say one last thing on Venom, real quick. Charles Soule wrote one of the best comic series I have ever read in my entire life, Darth Vader from 2017.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:03

Um, if he brings that A game to Venom, I will I will pick up Venom and I will stick with Venom until he is off. Because I'm telling you, those 25 issues of Vader are some of the most epic, mind-blowing, I mean top top 10 comics, probably for me.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:22

Well, and and like I've not read any of his stuff, actually. I don't think I've ever read any of his stuff. But um, the artist on this book, it's they got a good artist. Yeah, this is gonna be sick. Like, that's gonna be a good look for Venom. The cover art's great.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:35

The variant where like all those people are kind of like handy. Is that his artwork? I don't think that's his artwork, but that that variant alone is like that's creepy.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:42

That's another thing, is that like since Al's been on the book, I've quit buying variants for Venom. I don't even like worry about cover, I just buy one cover and just stick with it, and that's all I like. I when I was on Donnie Kate's run, I bought every cover for the issue. I was spending so much money. Um, even on the like King in Black and all that, I bought all the covers for it. So like I'm I'm a little worried again for my wallet. My wallet's a little worried. I'll never forget.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:08

I I want to say it was your birthday. It might if I is either your birthday or Christmas one year. And I said, Yeah, I'm gonna buy Paul's stuff for him, and I want you to, you know, hold it back and just give it to him when he gets here. And Derek, our comic shop owner, is like, okay, are you sure? I said, Yeah, yeah, I'm happy to. Pulls out a stack and he hands it to me, and he's like, That's like um $80. I'm like, Well, I love Paul, I'll do it. But I'm like, brother, why have you not been in to pick up your stuff?

SPEAKER_00 1:17:37

That's that's just one week. Yeah, I bought like I would like because you know, there was like eight, like, well not eight, that's that's drastic. There was like, I mean, five variant covers per issue. I was buying five copies of every issue. I don't know if I'll go that crazy. I might, but I don't know. I'm gonna give it some time. I'm not gonna jump into the like I'm I wanna jump into this fully like excited, you know what I mean? But like, like, you know, it's just like it's like the addiction is finally back, and it's like, oh my gosh. Like, you know, you know what I mean? I don't know. It's just like it's like the it's it's like I've I've wanted to jump, I've wanted to eat this cake for so long, but this cake has been full of bugs and and mold, and now they put a clean cake in front of me, and I'm like, oh my gosh. Merub Drain. Your fruit looks so good, Mary Jane. So anything else you want to say about Venom? That's all I got, man. We're back. Venom is back. We are Venom. I'm so excited. I brought my Marvel Legends uh Venom Rivals figure just to celebrate. I'm so excited. We're back. We're back, baby.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:42

All right, so after Venom, after Friendly Neighborhood and Mary Jane, we also got announced that there's going to be an absolute black canary one-shot issue coming out. Um, this is going to be set because Absolute Green Arrow was only supposed to be six issues. But because of the success of the book, they've shot it up to a 12-issue series.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:00

Whoa, okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:01

So Absolute Black Canary is going to be a one-shot that takes place between issues six and seven while they transition.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:07

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:08

No. No, no, no, no. Not six and eight. No, no, no. Six and eight?

SPEAKER_03 1:19:13

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:17

Have you been reading Absolute Green Arrow?

SPEAKER_00 1:19:19

Mm-mm. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:20

I read issue one. I thought it was good.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:21

Is it good? It well, there's a the Absolute Batman that got messed up. It has a clip in the it has like a couple pages of it in the back, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_03 1:19:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:29

Okay. I need to read that. I haven't I just I just didn't. They had the the writer was actually at uh Nirvana Comics. Yeah, he was doing a signing up there. Uh I didn't go because I just didn't care.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:39

But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:40

It's it's good. I only read issue one. Issue two is on uh DC Infinite now. I just not got around to reading it. Absolute by Canary's cool. She's like a former MMA fighter who has become a bodyguard who's now trying to solve this mystery.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:53

Um so it could be good. Okay. I guess. Yeah. Um let's go out of order of our notes real quick. Okay. And I'm gonna talk about a few other series that are just kind of small, and then we'll get to some more big ones, okay? Okay. Okay, so uh one thing that kind of also got announced um was the first ever Vixen ongoing series. Um don't know if you know much about Vixen. Yeah, I'm not reading. She's the character who um can like channel animal animal spirits and she like has the powers. Uh apparently DC has never given her her own solo series, so that they're doing that. Uh there as far as I know, there's no official launch date. Static Shock is getting his own comic as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:35

That's cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:36

Uh that'd be cool. I like the cartoon. Yeah. Um, I don't know if I'll pick it up, but still pretty cool. Uh Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death got announced. Um, it is written uh as a horror story set in the Wild Wild West. Ooh, okay. So that could be interesting.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:53

Give me some Red Dead vibes. Yeah. Do you remember the haunted house in Red Dead?

SPEAKER_01 1:20:57

I haven't played Red Dead in years.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:00

Oh, there was this haunted house that was really scary. You go in there and you'd hear voices and stuff. It was so scary. Really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:04

So I remember, so my dad is originally from Texas. Uh, and I remember we went down there when I was a kid once, and you know, Red Dead is rated R.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:11

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:12

And or rated M.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:14

And uh I went down there and I'm telling on my dad right now. Um, but we went down there and he let he said, I'll let you play this game. I I mean I was young, dude. I was like kindergarten, and he's like, I'll let you play this game. Don't ever tell anybody that I let you play this. And I said, Okay. And I'm like just riding around on a horse, just shooting people and stuff. And I'm like, this is awesome. So that was the last time I progressed.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:42

First taste of rock star games. Mine was GTA 5.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:46

Oh, this is awesome. GTA's next.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:51

Oh, that shoe store looks inviting. Let's go in there. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:59

But um, so that was Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death, James Heron's The Demon. Uh, that is about Etrigan the Demon. Um, are you familiar with Etrigen? I'm not familiar with that either. Ettrigan is the um, did you ever watch Justice League, the uh Justice League Unlimited and all those cartoons?

SPEAKER_00 1:22:17

I never watched Unlimited. I I I've I would watch a little bit of it.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:21

You're a fake fan. What? Yeah, get out of here, man. Okay. I'm moving but um okay, so Etrigen is a demon. Uh he uh speaks in like rhymes. Um interesting concept. It's another horror story. He's fighting the hordes of hell. Um Edrigon is also like from Camelot. Um, so could be interesting. Okay. Um and uh I don't know. Will I read it? Probably not, but still cool concept. Still still exciting. Um one last thing that I'll mention, and then we'll start getting into or two things I'll mention, and then we'll start getting into the big stuff. Absolute cyborg, the atom, and the teen titans. Uh Jeff Lemur, the writer of Absolute Flash, um, has confirmed that they are coming in issue 20.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:10

I saw the uh uh pictures for Cyborg. He looks pretty sick. Yeah, big big robotic arm. Big robotic arm. He's he's very voiding, you know. Like, yeah, very cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:19

So could be interesting. The atom looks normal, so I don't know what's gonna be special about him.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:24

When he when he transforms, it's just gonna be like you know just gets Vec nud from stranger things.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:34

Um and Teen Titans will be cool to see in the absolute universe. Yeah, um, because it'll be a different Teen Titans, obviously, but which one of the Robins?

SPEAKER_00 1:23:43

Well, at this point they're all in giant mechs, so that Teen Titans is just a giant, it's just it's just it's just Voltron.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:50

I wonder how Beast Boy will look like. Beast Boy could be cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:53

Raven?

SPEAKER_01 1:23:54

Raven? Raven was teased in uh absolute superman. Really? I think it was absolute superman.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:59

Does she look cool?

SPEAKER_01 1:24:00

Um, she's got her four demon eyes.

unknown 1:24:02

Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:03

I'll have to find the picture and I'll show you after the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:05

Okay. Um that's the thing is Teen Titans has been kind of like clouded by Teen Titans Go.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:11

So I I anytime I think of Teen Titans, I think of the cartoon, and I'm like, ooh.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:17

Um and the time they shouted out Spider-Man, and I was like, what?

SPEAKER_01 1:24:22

Or the time they had Zack Snyder on the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:25

Yeah. Yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:26

Parrot kids, ask your parents where babies come from. Uh one last thing. Shadow of the Bat uh is an ongoing that was announced that is written by um Dennis Camp and Javier Rodriguez, who did Absolute Martian Manhunter. Do I care? No, because I didn't like Absolute Martian Manhunter.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:47

The Bat was the that just came out recently, didn't it? Are they doing so is that a sequel? Oh yeah, oh that's gonna be ongoing. Okay. It's an ongoing, yes. Okay, okay, okay. Because that was that the oh wait, I'm thinking of the gargoyle.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:57

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:57

That's what I'm thinking of. My bad. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:59

Um so could be cool. Um will I read it? No, because I didn't care much for absolute Martian Manhunter.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:05

So if you like, if you liked Absolute Martian Manhunter, that's great. That is we're gonna agree to disagree. That's not what this episode's about. Yep. No, it's not. Um but let's get to some of the good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:16

Let's get to it wouldn't be Comic Con without Absolute Batman Beyond. No, it would. We got some good stuff. We have some kind of iffy stuff. Really? Okay. Yes. The uh the figures. Oh, yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:42

Okay, so what do you want to get into first?

SPEAKER_00 1:25:44

Let's talk about the comics first.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:45

Okay, so first, they announced absolute Batman Beyond. Ark M.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:52

Um, this looks really cool. This is gonna be a story about uh Pig, Professor Pig, um, and his ties being uh one of Joker's right-hand man right hand right hand men um and kind of more looks into the side.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:05

Now is this a this is a look at the other arcs. This isn't just arc m anymore.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:10

So this is this is the other arc. So is this what? Is this a miniseries?

SPEAKER_01 1:26:14

I think this is a one-shot, like the arc M station.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:16

Okay, cool, cool, cool. Yeah, which it looks really cool. So I guess I guess it's gonna be interesting to see how the other arc because I kind of forgot you you you're focused on arc M, and I'm kind of curious if the all the other arcs have a ginormous, like larger, connected purpose. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:31

Um, I I've I I've always thought Professor Pig is like the taskmaster of DC. He's just like there, he's super annoying, and he just needs to get punched in the face a couple times. Yeah. And then moved on. But absolute Professor Pig could be really interesting. Yeah. Like he could be because he's always been like, I'm gonna make you beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:52

Yeah. And just feet. Like he does in the yeah, yeah, in the the Arkham Knight. Arkham Knight, yeah, yeah. Or is it Arkham Knight? It's Arkham Knight, yeah, yeah. Those bodies that are all over the city that you have to like find the music. Oh yeah. Um that scared the crap out of me when I first played it. Really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:11

I okay, so I'm Manbad. I recently replaced Oh, Manbad.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:15

Man bad terror shocked me.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:18

All I'm doing is swinging around the city. I'm just trying to have fun. Um, I recently replayed all the Arkham games probably a year ago. I guess it was a year ago. And um I I couldn't figure out like I'm like, who is this gonna lead to with the music and the bodies? I'm like, I have no idea. So I literally like my whole purpose in just replaying the game was I just need to find out who this is. Yeah, and it's Professor Pig. I'm like, dude, I just want to beat the crap out of this guy.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:47

And he's like laying on the table and you slam your hand into him and break the table. Yeah, that was such a cool fight.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:53

So I think this could be an interesting uh one shot. Um, Professor Pig, I hope it just gets to the crap bit. But they could go super dark.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:01

They yeah and on the design? Yeah, yeah. He's a very gory, he can't he can't he has potential to be a very gory character. Um I would personally like to see how um I would like to see a darker story with him. I would like to see kind of a more I would like to see a cleaner Professor Pick. Which this seems to be that because he's like slim. He's very slim, he's got the suit. I mean, or he could just be just like completely messy behind closed doors. Right. You know, which I'm which I'm fine either way.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:32

Um I'm excited. This is interesting. I'm excited to see more about the world. Because I think that's what people want the most out of Batman, uh, absolute Absolute Batman right now is to see more of what the world has in store.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:42

Yeah, yeah, and there's a lot. And um, when I first saw this, I just kind of skimmed the headlines and all I saw was absolute Batman Beyond. I'm like, this is really early to do absolute Batman Beyond. Yeah, um, which would be really cool to see, but then I saw Ark M. I was like, uh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:58

Oh, I see. I makes sense. Absolute Batman Beyond is just like super skinny.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:03

Yeah, even the cover is like black and red. So that's what even more made me think, like, oh, this is Batman Beyond. Like I will pick up every single issue. Crap, yeah. Yeah, what was this? Yeah, but I I'm I'll definitely pick this up.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:15

Um, even though I was disappointed with the last issue of Absolute Batman, like I said in our last episode, I don't think one or two bat issues is going to deter me from this.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:23

No, I don't think so either. And the Ark M uh the Arkham one shot was a great one shot. That was one of my favorite ones. So, like honestly, like if they can continue that with this, is it is it the same artist and writer?

SPEAKER_01 1:29:34

Well, I think it's Scott Snyder, but I don't know who the the artist is. Okay, okay. Um speaking of Absolute Batman, um, the Absolute Batman annual by Dan Daniel Warren Johnson won award for best one-shot uh story, one the Eisner.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:49

Eisner, yep, it did won an Eisner, which is really cool. Yeah, um he he he uh made a quick statement on on stage and skedaddled off of there.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:57

He was it was hilarious because I love Daniel Warren Johnson's like work, and he just gets up there and he's like, Yeah, I think uh I think you guys know why I wrote this story, and um times are tough, but at least we have comics. All right, thanks.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:12

I'm done. Deuces, yep. Um, which is rightfully deserved. That was a very good issue. Yeah, um, it's not my favorite issue, but I think really I thought you loved Daniel. I love it, but it's not my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:23

Like, I I liked Arkham better personally.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:25

Arkham had it depends. Uh okay, so it depends on what you're looking for in the story. Like, because they're they're telling two different stories with two different messages. Right, right, right. And and like if you're looking for a good standalone absolute Batman, then I would say read the annual.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:43

No, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:43

But if you're looking for a book that like encapsulates what the absolute universe is and like the twist that we're constantly getting, read Arkham.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:51

I think that's why I liked Arkham better, was because the shock factor of it was so much more like when when um uh Amadeus Arkham's mom shoots all the kids point blank right there. Like that is one of the most shocking things I've ever read in my life. Um which again, the angel's good, it's just I think I there's other books that I like, other issues that I liked better. And it's hard, it's hard, they're all really, really good. Yeah, they are.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:13

And and Scott Snyder has he also won an award, absolute Batman won an award for best ongoing series.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:20

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:21

And uh in his acceptance speech for the Eisner, he said pretty much like, Hey, I didn't think DC was gonna let me go as crazy as they have let me.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:30

Uh and I am super thankful that they've just let me take the ball and just run with it.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:33

And let me pretty much do whatever. And you see that, like you said in the RKM. Like, I have never read a comic book where like in the first five pages the mom just shoots the kids. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:42

Me neither. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:44

That's insane.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:45

So um also another well-deserved Eisner.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:49

So speaking of absolute Batman, we also have something that I am this is the big announcement that I'm personally excited about.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:55

I'm excited about this too, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:57

It's called Batman of Two Worlds Special. And it is written by Scott Snyder, and and Nick Dragado will do the art. And then you have Matt Fraction, and who will do, and his artist is Jorge Jimenez.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:10

Uh that is so what we what this special is, is absolute Batman and Batman of Earth Prime. It is not a crossover, they're not crossing over into their own other universe. What this is, is both Batman, Batman are faced with the same problem, the same crime, same mystery, whatever. They each have to solve it in their own way. And it's basically just an issue to show you the the difference between how these Batmen think and how they operate.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:39

And I'm so excited for it.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:40

I think it's gonna be really cool. Cool. Now, do you know if it's gonna be like the same story? Like, here's the absolute Batman story, here's the regular Batman story, or is it gonna be like one page is like this is absolute Batman, this is the regular Batman on like each side. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:32:53

I don't know how it's gonna be set up. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:54

I wonder how it's gonna be laid out.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:56

Yeah, uh, I could see it could be really cool. Like you it's it's a front back cover. Yeah, yeah. I could see like you read it one way and then you can see it. And then you flip it over and read it the other. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:05

Did they have a date for that?

SPEAKER_01 1:33:06

Uh yes, it's in September, which that's another thing that's not that far, yeah. No, it's two months away. Yeah, uh well, a month away, really, because uh July's but that's already on.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:15

We should probably yeah, put your orders in there, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:33:18

But yeah, um but it comes out for uh Batman Day in September. Okay, I think it's September 19th, something like that. Yeah, yeah. And um I I I'm super excited to read that. Yeah, because I think it'll be really cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:30

It's a one-shot, so it's just yeah, it's just it's just a fun it's it's cool gonna be cool to see how regular Batman is compared to Absolute Batman. Right. So um that'll be really exciting. I'm I'm definitely gonna pick it up. I'm gonna pre-order it probably.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:43

I I think what I'll be excited to see too is like the robins. Because absolute Batman won't have Robins. And I don't know if they're gonna include the Robins in the main DC universe, but Damien, um Damien Wayne is is the Robin right now because Tim Drake retired, Dick Grayson's Nightwing, Jason Todd is Red Hood. Damien's the only one left.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:02

Um, so I'll be curious to see if he interacts at all. I wonder, I don't know. And that would be cool to see, like, because that's what Absolute Batman doesn't have. He's not a dad, he has no partners because he's kicked Harley to the curb. He's um kicked his mom and his buddies, yeah. Yeah, all his buddies to the curb. So um, I don't know. I I think it'll be cool. That's what I'm scared.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:24

Kicked his kicked his mom to the curb. We still don't know if she's alive, yeah. She's she's she got like the bullet with a gun went off, and that's all we got.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:31

Yeah, and that was several issues. That was a while.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:33

That was before Poison Ivy. Or during Poison Ivy.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:37

So um we also got a look at the issue 25 covers, which is absolutely insanely amazing.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:44

Now they have one for all three absolute issues. Uh they have one for Wonder Woman too. Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:50

Yes. So um Absolute Wonder Woman's is there I think they're wraparound covers.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:57

Um, and Absolute Wonder Woman's is her mom is holding her, and you see a lot of the faces of the people she's interacted with in like shadows. And then on the other side, it's like present-day Diana, and she's fighting Absolute Cheetah, who's like she's a giant cheetah monster, and she's got like flesh just like hanging off of her. Yeah. Dang, that sounds sick. Oh man. And then Absolute Supermans looks really good because Steele uh has a new suit who's also getting a mini-series that we just totally forgot to mention. Um, Absolute Brainiac, Absolute Lex Luthor, uh, they're on the cover, and then Absolute Batman is just pretty much a look back at everything that we've had so far.

SPEAKER_00 1:35:38

Yeah. Yeah. And uh it's which it's really cool because it's got it's got all the care, it's got scenes. There's certain scenes like where the Batmobile is like up in the air. Uh Catwoman, her helmet visor is the reflection of the photograph of all of them as kids. You know she's crying. Is she? Mm-hmm. She's crying on that cover. Wait, hang on. I got that saved. It's in my camera. Hang on. Give me this is beautiful. She is crying. She's crying. Oh man. Oh, that's sad. Is that book still coming out? Absolute Catwoman?

SPEAKER_01 1:36:08

I think so. I haven't read it. I haven't. Absolute Cassandra DeCain is is in that too.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:12

I bought the first issue, but I haven't heard anything since. Joker looks really cool on the cover.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:16

Joker looks good.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:17

Um, yeah. I'm I'm very excited about that.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:19

His mom's on that cover.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:20

Yeah, his mom's on there with the Court of Owl behind her. So I'm wondering, I I I think she's alive.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:24

I think she's alive too.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:25

Do we know if that's gonna be a jumbo issue? Yeah. For 20 issue 25?

SPEAKER_01 1:36:28

I would imagine so.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:29

I'd hope so.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:30

For 25. I mean, and you know, I was just kind of side tangent here. I was talking to somebody earlier and they're like, well, Scott Snyder has 50 issues planned. We know like Joker's the big bad guy. Yeah. Right? Uh and Scott Snyder said basically like the first 50 issues are year one Batman.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:47

And so he this person I was talking to said, um, so who's going to be the main villain after 50? And they're like, Hugo Strange, maybe?

SPEAKER_00 1:36:59

Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:59

And I'm like, that could be interesting. And I actually thought maybe that was Hugo Strange on issue 25.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:05

Yeah. But it's Clayface. It's Clayface in the top right corner. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which that's coming next. I'm very excited about that. That's in two weeks? So it is in two weeks, yeah. Uh wait, there's something going literally, oh yeah, I forgot me and Elisa are actually gonna go to Chattanooga to go see the Odyssey into the aquarium and to the comic book store. Oh, yeah. And I was like, oh, because I think we were planning on going on that Wednesday, and I went, of course that's the Wednesday that Absolute Batman comes out. Yeah. So that'll be cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:31

Infinity Flux.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:32

Infinity Flux, we're gonna go. Yeah, we're gonna go down there.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:34

So am I gonna take the day off and tag along third way?

SPEAKER_00 1:37:37

Oh, what you and Gabriella road trip to come see the Odyssey with us.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:41

I I wouldn't be there the theater.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:43

It actually has a 70 70 millimeter uh uh fork or 70 millimeter IMAX cinema camera.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:49

It is the hotel we stayed at when we went down, yeah, it's right across the street from that movie theater. Like crazy. I mean, literally like three steps in your there.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:58

We're we're going just for the day. Like we're gonna go down there and do like the aquarium, do the movie, and then go to the comic store and then just come back.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:05

I'm telling you, dude, Infinity Flux is the coolest competition. How much money am I gonna spend there? Um, I spent 200.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:14

Oh crap, I'm screwed. I'm cooked, chat.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:17

There they've got CGC books. If you come back with an amazing fantasy 15.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:21

Dude, I brother. I spent 6,000 on one thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:26

Yeah, it was worth it though.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:29

It was worth every penny. Um all 6,000 pennies. Is that wait? That's not right. 600,000 pennies. Yeah, there you go. Is that right? Yeah, no. A thousand pennies is a hundred pennies is a dollar.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:44

If you if you're a math nerd, comment on this episode and also get a live.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:50

Comment on this episode, tell us how many pennies is is six thousand dollars, and then go get a life after you do that.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:56

Touch grass.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:57

Yeah, go read absolute Batman, loser. I'm kidding. We're kidding. It's all jokes.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:02

No, we're not.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:04

Okay. But yeah, I'm very excited about absolute Batman. We do have the figures. Oh, yes. Um, so we finally got a look at there are a bunch of figures coming out. Oh, yeah. There are, I mean, like, at least, at least like ten. At least, anyway, at least. So we have we have uh we have a lot. We have the McFarlane figure. So uh the McFarlane Toys figure. We have a McFarlane Toys statue of cover one. We have a Blockies figure. Do you know what the Blockies are? I think so. It's like the uh it's the ones that you you pull the little pieces out and you you build it. Which those are cool. I bought the Marvel Rivals Venom, and it's actually a fun build.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:50

Venom something that's that I bought.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:52

Yeah, it's crazy. It's not not Al Ewing's Venom, I can tell you that. Um, but I bought that. That was really cool. Um, they're also coming out with a SH Fig Arts, I think. Uh absolute Batman. There's I don't know if it's there's another one, and he's like he's big buffy, and he's really he looks really cool. Um the Hot Toys, which still looks really good. Um I think that might be all.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:13

Well, speaking of figures, while we're just talking about this, Geiger is also getting a McFarlane McFarlane figure.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:19

Really? That's cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:20

And guess what? It glows in the dark. Oh we get oh it's gonna glow in the dark when I turn my light on. I'm gonna buy it and put it like right in front of our bed.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:30

So like you're gonna wake up in the middle of the night. You're gonna look like the kid from Monster's Inc. Like, like looking at the edge of your bed.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:37

It's Aurora's nightlight.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:39

Dude, funny enough, I have so many Funko Pops that are glow in the dark, and sometimes when I go to bed, that'll be like glowing, and I'm just like, what is that? Like I forget that they glow, and I'm like, why is that? What's that? Am I tripping? I see green. I know I see that green right there.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:52

You have so many Funko Pops that glow in the dark, it's like a spotlight shining on you.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:58

But I turned the lights off, it's still bright. Um, but uh one small controversial figure, um, which is the Absolute Batman by McFarlane Toys. It's their normal DC un multiverse, DC Universe line. Um it is a gold figure, which means it's gonna be it's a it looks really good. The picture looks good, so it's of absolute Batman. He has the axe, he has the chainsaws that go under his arms, he has the mask that he wears when he fights Boys and Ivy. Um I think he comes with some more except uh a couple of different hands and stuff like that. The only problem is there's two problems with this figure. The first one is that the figure is uh it is a gold series figure, which means it's probably going to be a little bit expensive. Um so it'll probably be maybe anywhere from $30 to $50. And then on top of it, it is a Walmart exclusive. So the only place you can get it is that the the place that carries every toy ever, Walmart. That's a joke. They don't carry anything. You ever go to the toy section at Walmart? It's bare, it looks like a desert. Like when you go back there, the dune music starts playing. You're like walking around like, oh my gosh, there's nothing back here. Sandworm! Oh sandwich. Oh wait, wait, that's just laying down the street. Yeah, you have to like go through the the aisle, like shimmying all the way down, and by the time there's already some kid that got the figure, um then you have to fight them. But uh, but um yeah, so that that's a little disappointing because this is one of the most anticipated, most wanted figures out there, and he's making it a little bit pricier, which I don't think that's a problem. I think the problem is that it's an exclusive, yeah, which then makes the price of the figure double when scalpers get a hold of it and then they resell it for $90.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:39

You know, um, along the same lines is that um a lot of transformer figures were announced at Comic Con this uh this weekend, and um I've makes me think back to one of the comments when I had a Transformer hot take post. And one of the comments said, uh, none of these are hot takes. If you want to have a real transformer hot takes, then uh justify the price of figures.

SPEAKER_00 1:43:03

That's a good comment. I like that justify the price of figures. Well, I still have lobbyed from when I was a kid, so I don't need to buy any more of those. I have the figures that don't transform, that they're just like action figures. I love those growing up because the ones that transform when I'd play with them, the pieces would fall off, and it would just like I'd be like, I'd leave them and just like then Bumblebee would just be bumble.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:30

I would uh it when I'd play action figures with my brother, we would play, and then I'd be like, Hold on, Optimus Prime is transforming, hold on.

SPEAKER_00 1:43:38

Yeah, and you'd have to get the instructions, and you're like, hang on, okay, okay, and then you drive for a second, you're like, okay, wait, hang on again. Like now he's he's he's you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:51

Um, but yeah, I I I the price I could justify. Yeah, you know, price, okay, whatever. I can get it.

SPEAKER_00 1:43:57

Well it comes with some stuff.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:58

I mean, it does come, it's cool, and it's it's a big figure, yeah. It's not just your average little dude. Um but uh the the Walmart exclusive, if I was a bigger action figure collector, I would probably be a little bit more annoyed. And I think you probably are a little annoyed. Yeah. Um but um it could be a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:21

It could be.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:22

It maybe people might pick it up and be like, hey, what is absolute Batman? Why is this dude six feet tall and four hundred pounds?

SPEAKER_02 1:44:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:30

Um could be could be a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:33

But I have a feeling most people who buy McFarland figures anyways, are just dudes like you and me who just want to play with action figures as an adult.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:41

Right. Yeah. Which is what I do every day. Yeah, right. I might I don't know. I think it's just like as an adult, like when you're when well when we were teenagers, you know, we were like hunting, like that was the thing. It's like you're chasing the the thrill. Right. And it's like I found the figure, it's exclusive, and yeah, you can only get it here and it's limited edition, and blah, blah, blah. But now as like an adult, I'm just like, I just want the damn thing. Right. Just give it to me. I don't want to go looking for it or pay double. Just let just just make enough so I can just buy it and go home. But so you can't order on McFarland.com anyways? I don't know if you can on McFarlane.com. I know it'll probably pop up on Walmart.com. Yeah. Um, which will probably be what I do. I'll probably just pre-order it.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:20

If it just doesn't get sold out. Because some of those pre-orders just they just go so fast.

SPEAKER_00 1:45:24

They do, they go really fast. But um especially on like sites like Walmart, like if it's on McFarlane's site, right? I don't think like Hot Toys, for example. When you when you pre-order a Hot Toys figure, they don't usually sell out because they're taking down how many they need to make. Oh, and then they make like you know, maybe 20 extra. And then when it sells out, that means okay, well, they filled all the orders and then they've sold what was left. Right. You know what I mean? So like so like it it's like a made-to-order thing, but when you're selling on like a site like Walmart, it's not really made to order. They're like, okay, we have to have a set number. Right. So the set number is 60,000. Cool. Okay, they're gone already. Yeah. You know, if you want it, go buy it from Joe. He works at the flea market. Yeah, he has he has three of them and they're $90 a piece. Good luck.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:10

Okay. Well, are you gonna get one?

SPEAKER_00 1:46:12

I'm gonna try. I I would like to.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:13

Um are you gonna get all three? Superman and Wonder Woman too? Um, or just Batman?

SPEAKER_00 1:46:18

Just Batman. I I I thought I I really want the hot toy. The hot toy looks really, but man, it's expensive. It's like $400. Um I don't know. I I might uh if if if for some reason the like I don't know, there's a lot of absolute Batman figures coming out to choose from. So if for some reason the McFarland figure doesn't just because you know some of those figures are hit or miss, if it just doesn't, you know, if it doesn't just scratch the itch, then I'll just buy another figure from another company. Because at that point, it's like, you know what, I just want an absolute Batman figure. That's all I want. I don't care who makes it, I just want one.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:51

Yeah. Okay. So anything else on Absolute Batman?

SPEAKER_00 1:46:55

I think that wraps Absolute Batman because you know, we got we got an absolute good time coming up here soon. Very excited. A lot of stuff talk about.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:01

So I have a few things that excite me. Um Robert Kirkman has announced that they definitely have long-term plans for Transformers, G.I. Joe, Void Rivals, and ROM Space Night. Uh he says he never he does not want more than four titles. Yeah, sorry. He did the little There's a there's a panel from Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers run before Robert Kirkman took over, where Cliff Jumpers, like everybody's fighting the Decepticons, and Cliff Jumpers just in the background, like just like flipping them.

SPEAKER_00 1:47:29

During middle fingers up.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:31

Um but he said that they have long-term plans and that uh they are still working on it. They never want to go over four titles because they just don't want to overdo it.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:39

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:39

Um I think Mask is in there too, but Rom was just a uh he's gonna be joining Void Rivals. But anyways, he doesn't want to go over four titles because he doesn't want to overdo it.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:48

Um and that um they are plans for a big crossover in the future.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:53

So we're on year three of this, so I think that's just exciting to hear that they're not stopping anytime soon. Um there is also the announcement that the 40th anniversary of Transformers the movie, the animated one from 1986, okay, uh, will be re-released in theaters in September.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:10

Ooh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:11

There will be never before scenes in this movie. Oh, okay. Um, so that'll be cool to see. Um that's not to tie into anything big. Uh huh. It's not any Avengers on in-game encore. Yeah. It's just Infinity Vision.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:24

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's just what we call regular, uh regular theater reviewing experience.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:29

It is just hey, here's the movie, here's things that we've never released before. 40th anniversary, hey, sorry for killing Optimus Prime and ruining your childhood. It's literally called the Transformers Transformers, the movie The Apology Tour, because it's the first time they killed Optimus Prime.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:47

That's awesome. That's so cool. We're sorry for ruining your childhood. We'll do it again. Michael Bay will do it again later.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:55

All right, one last thing, image comics related, is that Geiger and Redcoat, uh, two Ghost Machine titles are finally getting crossover with some surprise characters, and it is called the Radioactive Revolution. And uh I'm super excited for it. Geiger has been building up to it. Redcoat, I recently finished, it was okay, but Geiger's incredible. Yeah. Um, trying to get you to read that and transform.

SPEAKER_00 1:49:20

I did pick up or I borrowed your trade, and I'm I'm I haven't started reading it yet, but I'm I'm going to I've just got all of your I'm just trying to get all your trades and collect them all. You have all of my comics. Just tell Gabriella to read my ultimate Spider-Man. I'm I'm trying. Hey Gabrielle, I know you're listening to this. Uh you have you you do not know what you're in for. You think you know Spider Man, you do not read it.

SPEAKER_01 1:49:43

Please again, in case you don't know, all that my wife borrow Ultimate Spider Man. Because I said she needs one series to hook her into comics. And Paul said it's Ultimate Spider Man. The original.

SPEAKER_00 1:49:54

Yeah, the original.

SPEAKER_01 1:49:55

And this was Thanksgiving last year.

SPEAKER_00 1:49:59

Oh man, it

SPEAKER_01 1:50:00

Was wasn't it was and because we were talking about it at Thanksgiving. Dang. And you let us borrow it. And it's it's what it's m what got me into Spider-Man.

SPEAKER_02 1:50:09

Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:10

So she has read the first issue of the trade, and she's like, Well, um, I already know what happened, so I don't really need to read the rest of the trade. No, no, you don't and and Paul Paul is like, No, you don't understand. He's like, What happened? She's like, Well, he gets bit by a spider. She he falls in love and he gets powers.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:31

You're on the right track, but no. So yeah, we who does he fall in love with, huh? How many girls is it? Hmm?

SPEAKER_01 1:50:39

All of them?

SPEAKER_00 1:50:40

There's what, three or four in the entire series? Ooh, girl drama. Ooh, how many villains are there? Ooh, boy drama.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:46

Man, I want to how many people die?

SPEAKER_00 1:50:48

Ooh, a lot.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:49

I I want to call her right now and just be like, hey, I need you to come on the show for five seconds.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:54

No, it's okay. It's okay. Uh, you know, the FOMO of not reading Spider-Man will hit her eventually. I know it's coming because it's already hit me.

SPEAKER_01 1:51:04

All right, so that is San Diego Comic-Con 2026.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:08

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:51:08

Had a lot of good stuff, a lot of good stuff. Super exciting. I I am I'm a comic nerd. I'm more excited for the comic stuff than the MCU stuff. I am too.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:17

I'm very excited for Venom to come back. I'm very excited for all the new absolute Batman stuff coming out. Um, things are looking up for me, champ. Things are looking up.

SPEAKER_01 1:51:27

Tomorrow they announce like one more day is getting retconned, and you're like, is there anything greater in this universe?

SPEAKER_00 1:51:34

They're like, well, MJ's gonna be back in the Venom book. Oh yeah, Al Ewing has one more story to tell.

unknown 1:51:42

No!

SPEAKER_04 1:51:43

Get him away!

SPEAKER_00 1:51:44

I'm gonna start like I'm gonna start like having PTSD. Like, no, wait, uh oh, who am I thinking of? I'm thinking of a scene from a movie. Um I forgot already. I can't see. I was thinking of a I was thinking of some scene from a movie where someone like in a hospital and they're like, get him away from me, and the person's like backing up. It's from some superhero movie. I just can't think of what it is. It's whatever, it's not a big deal.

SPEAKER_01 1:52:06

Um I could see them announcing that Al Ewing takes over Amazing Spider-Man. What if Al Ewing takes over Amazing Spider-Man but he gets Peter Parker and Mary Jane back together?

SPEAKER_00 1:52:16

Honestly, he he clearly that's the thing. He clearly wants to write Spider-Man because when he was writing Venom, he was just making that the Spider-Man book. Right. Because you know, that's when he made Venom. That another one of those little arcs was when Venom turned into Spider-Man Venom or whatever, which that's getting its own solo series. The Amazing Venom is what they're calling it, and I'm not getting it.

SPEAKER_01 1:52:38

Nope.

SPEAKER_00 1:52:38

I'm not reading that garbage.

SPEAKER_01 1:52:40

Well anyways, we went off on a little small little tangent.

SPEAKER_00 1:52:44

Sorry, sorry, you know me, back in the I can't stay away from the Venom the Venom talk. Um, but you know who else can't stay away from trouble? Who? Uh I forgot his name. Clayface. Clayface can't stay away from trouble. That's why he's a Batman villain, and that's why they're making a movie about him because he gets involved with the mafia and he gets his face all chopped up.

SPEAKER_01 1:53:04

It looks good. The trail clayface trailer dropped.

SPEAKER_00 1:53:07

Yep, go ahead. No, uh the clayface trailer dropped, and it looks awesome. We got to see more about the about everything that's going on, less of a treat teaser trailer, more of a story trailer. Um his I'm assuming girlfriend is a part of this chemical testing clay type material stuff that you know his face is absolutely messed up. Like these guys, these mafia guys absolutely destroy his face, which for him is his bread and butter. And he's an actor. So, you know, uh, we see in the trailer that uh he's like, I want to volunteer for human trials, and she's like, I I do I don't know if you want to do this. We've never done this before. And he's like, Nothing can be worse than what they've already done to me. Famous last words. Yeah. Uh she injects it's a giant venom. Yeah, that's what I'm saying about venom. Yeah, nothing can be worse than what's already happened. I'm gonna be venom and it's not gonna be fun. Um, but uh, we see her inject his face with this giant purple needle with this like purple fluid going in there. He's on the floor convulsing, like he's having a seizure, and his face is molding, and and he looks normal. And we see normal. He's like, I f I feel great. And you know, we we see more of the trailer, and we see that he's um kind of he's starting to have problems with his clay, with his new clay treatment. His eyes are are starting to to melt shut where he's on an airplane and and they're like, Oh, like he he looks to the left and there's an old lady who sees his eyes connecting, sort of. Yeah, um, it's almost like skin strings are connecting from his eyelids, and he gets up and runs to the bathroom while the flight attendants are like, Hey, uh, you gotta sit down, there's turbulence. Uh, and he grabs his like hygiene bag and goes in the bathroom and takes out a pair of scissors where he's gonna try to cut his eyes open, and there's turbulence. So I don't know what that can mean, but oh, I'm already getting we're both cringing, it's really gross. Uh dude, you you take some of this.

SPEAKER_01 1:54:59

Uh well, I I only watch the trailer once because the the trailer um it makes you feel something. It's gross. It is like that scene where he takes out the scissors and like he brings it up to his eye to cut that. Like, it's just oh you you feel it.

SPEAKER_00 1:55:14

You feel it. That's gonna suck being in the theater. That's gonna be a hard scene to watch.

SPEAKER_01 1:55:17

Yeah, you s I mean you see shit scenes from there of him just like wrestling with this bot his body basically melting. Like you see more of the bathtub scene where he like wipes his face and his whole body's melting.

SPEAKER_00 1:55:28

His his legs just look giant, like giant clay map. It looks like we're starting to see final clay face. You know what I mean? Like we're see seeing his body kind of just have to let go of this, you know, weight of keeping itself together.

SPEAKER_01 1:55:42

Um and there's a final shot in the trailer, you kind of see a big monster of clay rise up from the back, and you see his girlfriend or whatever looking up. Yeah, and that's it.

SPEAKER_00 1:55:53

And that's all you see. We don't actually get to see clay face, which is such I'm so glad they're doing that. Yeah. I hope they don't show him at all until we actually see the movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:56:02

You know what I mean? Like I'm fine with not seeing him until we see the, you know, I'm totally fine with that.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:06

So how do you feel about this movie, Paul? Are you excited? I'm very excited.

SPEAKER_00 1:56:11

Yeah, I think this is gonna be one of the big hits of the year, honestly. Out of out of the, you know, we've had a lot of good movies. We've had, you know, uh the backrooms come out, uh uh Obsession, The Odyssey, it was fantastic. Spider-Man comes out this week, that's hopefully gonna be a big hit. Yeah, um, and finally, you know, we have Clayface coming out in October, and that's I'm excited for Spider-Man because it's it's a week away. You know what I mean? I'm like, ooh, and then we're getting away. It's not a week away, it's it's less than three days away. Um, but then Clayface is gonna be my next big excitement because that movie looks really good. Um I just I I'm I'm nervous about the body horror because like I'm nervous about because the even the the director said that there was a lot of shots that they filmed that it was hard for them to re-watch it to make sure it was good for the for it. So it's gonna have a lot of clinching, like moments, you know. We're gonna be like, uh, like you know. I said I'd go with you to go watch it, so we will. We're gonna go see it together. I'm excited, I'm very excited.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:07

I and that's one thing that when when when we talked about the clayface trailer initially, I said this is what DC's doing better than Marvel. Not only are they capitalizing on the big horror push that there is with backrooms and obsession right now, right? But they are also um they're also ha putting out trailers that make you feel something. Oh, yeah. With the Doomsday trailer, it was just like, oh, here's another cameo, here's another cameo. Yep, hey, you haven't seen these guys in a while. Aren't you glad to see them?

SPEAKER_00 1:57:34

Well, it's like this is like a a story, you know, like it it feels like we're we're not just like not every superhero movie needs to be this event with like, oh, like Spider-Man, look, look, Punisher's in it, and look Hulk's in it, and Sadie Sink's in it, like, but is this like this is just this is a guy trying to figure himself out. Yeah, you know what I mean? And that's that's that's that's what I I just want like I like the big stuff, I like the big epic events, but I also want something down to earth and something grounded and scary. And a character like Clayface is a perfect movie to do a horror movie on. Yes. So I'm I'm beyond excited for it.

SPEAKER_01 1:58:09

I'm I'm I'm excited too, though I don't like horror and body horror is like but I'm gonna watch it because it I it made me feel something. Whether that wasn't a good feeling, but it was a feeling that I like, hey, you have hooked me.

SPEAKER_03 1:58:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:58:25

Um I'm interested in the story you are going to tell. So I'll I'm I'm going. Yeah. I'm you're gonna get me in the seats.

SPEAKER_00 1:58:32

We're gonna go and we're gonna have popcorn. We're gonna have our clay faced popcorn bucket. It's just gonna be a big, we're gonna make it ourselves. I'm just gonna buy a big old thing of clay and just that's gonna be our bucket, and that's gonna be it.

SPEAKER_01 1:58:43

Um, but I don't know. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_00 1:58:46

I'm excited. I I I you know I it's probably gonna be I'm honestly once that movie's done and over with, because also that's the same month we're getting the new Venom blotch, we're getting Clayface, by the time that's over, it's gonna be like, okay, all that's left is Doomsday.

SPEAKER_01 1:59:00

Yeah, yeah. I think DC really needs this movie to succeed. Not that I I've not seen Supergirl yet, but after the the trashing that Supergirl got, how people are kind of frustrated with the lanterns, which comes out this month in August, um, and there's there's not enough green. I think people are kind of they're not to the state of Marvel yet, but they're just like, hey DC, you guys could be so much better. I think Clayface is their opportunity to show we are different from Marvel because we're telling different types of stories than just your generic superhero fans. Right, right. And uh I think DC needs this to succeed.

SPEAKER_03 1:59:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:59:38

Um, I mean I'll still watch Superman next year because I love Superman. Um I'll watch Batman part two uh and then wait another 20 years for part three.

SPEAKER_00 1:59:47

But yeah, whenever we get that. Yeah. I also think uh one thing on lanterns, okay. I think lanterns is I think they're trying to draw people away. I think sorry. What do you mean? Let me rephrase it. Okay. I think they're trying to make it look dull and they're trying to make it look not appealing. I think that is their goal. Because I think when it comes out, they're gonna it's gonna just it's gonna have this surprising shock transition. Like I think there's gonna be some really epic fight scenes. I think so. Green lantern scenes, that's when the color pops. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like it's just and it's like you know, they're showing all this dullness to be like, do you really think that we would fully go through with this? Yeah, and then they could. I'm not a big Green Lantern person, so they could. My one of my buddies, he's super excited about it. So we'll see. I probably won't watch it just because I'm not a Green Lantern guy. But I I'm maybe I'm I'll watch it.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:34

I'm I'm gonna watch it. Yeah, um, Green Lantern has some really good comics. Um because I mean, really, it it feels like how many stories can you really tell about a guy with a ring that does things? Yeah, but he's got some there's some good ones out there, and um I think it could be good. Is it gonna be perfect? No, but I think it'll be good. Yeah, lanterns, I think clayface is gonna be great. Um, I will watch Supergirl when it comes to HBO.

SPEAKER_03 2:00:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:58

Um, whether it's gonna be good. I think Superman 2 is gonna be phenomenal, and I think Batman Part 2 is gonna be incredible too. Oh, for sure. Um, I still have not watched the first one, but I'm excited for the second one. It's so good. Um, but yeah, so that's Clayface. That is San Diego Comic-Con. That is everything, Paul.

SPEAKER_00 2:01:18

That is our big surprise episode. So um thank you guys so much for listening. Uh, here in again in the next like week or two weeks from now, we're gonna be doing our Spider-Man brand new day review. So keep an eye out for that. That's actually gonna be the next episode coming next. So uh this just kind of popped up when we realized that there was a lot coming out with Comic Con. So um, but thank you guys so huh. We have one last announcement. What?

SPEAKER_01 2:01:39

Uh we are, and we talked about it last episode. Uh huh. We are going to do a retro review. Yes. Coming soon. We're not gonna spoil what that story is yet. Um let's just say it's going to be amazing.

SPEAKER_00 2:01:51

Yes, it's gonna be down. Yeah. Swinging.

SPEAKER_01 2:01:56

So all right. Well, come on, baby.

SPEAKER_00 2:02:00

That's not the story. It's we're reviewing Venom.

SPEAKER_01 2:02:03

What?

SPEAKER_00 2:02:04

All new Venom. That's retro. It came out a month ago.

SPEAKER_01 2:02:07

Yeah. But that that episode will come out soon.

SPEAKER_00 2:02:10

Yeah, we're gonna do, we're gonna do some, we're we've got our Spider-Noir review coming. Um, I'm still I'm catching up, I'm still getting through it. Um, we're gonna do some retro reviews, and this we're gonna do this one, like this is gonna be our first, but we're gonna do more because we've actually talked like, hey, this would be cool to review, and this would be fun to review, and like, what about this and what about this? So we have a lot of old stuff that we would really like to look back on and reflect. And that'll be something good to come out on our less busy pool weeks because we don't really have a lot, and especially, you know, with all of our books transitioning into whatever the news things are gonna be, you know, we got we got time. So um, but again, thank you guys so much for listening. My name is Paul. And my name's Clayton. And you've been listening to Beyond the Poolist.