Issue 67 - Miles Morales

01/22/20 • 60 min

Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling

It's our Season 4 Premiere! We swing into the Ultimate Marvel Universe to look at MILES MORALES! It's no pressure being the next Spider-Man, right? Plus we announce changes to our Patreon, and Doc talks WCW (it makes sense in context). Listen now!

Intro
- Welcome back for Season 4
- Discord & YouTube channels to watch/listen live
- Announce changes to Patreon – monthly trade reviews exclusive to $ level
- Mental Health Avengers coming soon!
- Weekly shout-out to Bang Average Movie Podcast – Nathan & Tyler talk about movies. Nathan has a film studies degree, Tyler doesn’t. It comes out in the wash. Good movies, bad movies, they cover it all. Pretty funny – humor focused, so don’t expect serious in-depth analysis
- Review read – CitrusSunshine on Apple - “I’m not that big of a comics fan, but this podcast is really good. I like that they have in universe and out of universe treatment. Often there are tips and thoughts that are applicable to my life. “
Background (07:18)
- Miles Morales created by Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli in Ultimate Fallout #4 (August 2011)
- Miles was created to replace Peter Parker in Ultimate Universe, after Peter’s death – opted to create a minority character to reflect diversity of Marvel readers – look was influenced by Donald Glover
- Miles born to black father and Puerto Rican mother
- Similarly to Peter Parker, Miles was bitten by spider – the spider was infused with formula based on Peter’s blood – the spider crawled inside the duffel bag of the Prowler, a villain later revealed to be Miles’ uncle Aaron – when Miles went to his uncle’s house, the spider crawled out and bit him
- Does not use his powers until he sees Spider-Man die thanks to Green Goblin – takes up the mantle, although initially shunned by public because he’s wearing a copy of Peter’s suit, and is yelled at that it’s in bad taste
- Recruited by SHIELD – Uncle discovers he’s Spider-Man, and they battle – Aaron’s weapons malfunction and explode, killing him
- Venom symbiote takes over the scientist who created the spider that bit him, and attacks Miles’ father, who he believes is Spider-Man – in the ensuing battle, the doctor is killed, along with Miles’ mother – Miles quits heroics
- Returns as Spider-Man, and his father learns the truth – disowns him – later returns and reveals he and Aaron used to be undercover agents working for SHIELD
- Reveals his identity to his girlfriend Katie Bishop, who in turn reveals she and her parents are agents of Hydra
- Secret Wars – the Ultimate and 616 Universes are merged, and Miles brought into the mainstream universe – his mother is restored in the process, thanks to Molecule Man – now patrols NYC as Spider-Man alongside Peter Parker
- Civil War II – Ulysses, an Inhuman with precognitive abilities, foresees Miles killing Captain America – this sets off conflict, although the murder does not occur
- Now a member of Champions – upcoming storyline called Outlawed will ban teenage heroes, and Miles will be big part of it
Issues (13:35)
- Legacy character – struggles with mantle initially, especially after public reacts poorly
- Much like Peter initially, teen hero carries with it own set of problems (22:30)
- Difficulty of keeping family separated – doesn’t work well for him
Break
- Plugs for Play Comics & Into the Knight
Treatment (40:57)
- In-universe
- Out of universe (44:24)
Skit (51:22)
Ending (57:27)
- Next episodes – Medusa, Mental Health Avengers, Bane, Political terrorism, Tick
- Review giveaway

References:

Childish Gambino - Anthony (08:15)
Molecule Man episode - Doc (11:45)
Al Ewing NYCC Interview - Anthony (13:12)
Viktor Frankl - Doc (21:13)
Up to eleven - Doc (29:28)
Psychiatry in Comics episode - Anthony (29:40)
WCW - "Where t...

Intro
- Welcome back for Season 4
- Discord & YouTube channels to watch/listen live
- Announce changes to Patreon – monthly trade reviews exclusive to $ level
- Mental Health Avengers coming soon!
- Weekly shout-out to Bang Average Movie Podcast – Nathan & Tyler talk about movies. Nathan has a film studies degree, Tyler doesn’t. It comes out in the wash. Good movies, bad movies, they cover it all. Pretty funny – humor focused, so don’t expect serious in-depth analysis
- Review read – CitrusSunshine on Apple - “I’m not that big of a comics fan, but this podcast is really good. I like that they have in universe and out of universe treatment. Often there are tips and thoughts that are applicable to my life. “
Background (07:18)
- Miles Morales created by Brian Michael Bendis & Sara Pichelli in Ultimate Fallout #4 (August 2011)
- Miles was created to replace Peter Parker in Ultimate Universe, after Peter’s death – opted to create a minority character to reflect diversity of Marvel readers – look was influenced by Donald Glover
- Miles born to black father and Puerto Rican mother
- Similarly to Peter Parker, Miles was bitten by spider – the spider was infused with formula based on Peter’s blood – the spider crawled inside the duffel bag of the Prowler, a villain later revealed to be Miles’ uncle Aaron – when Miles went to his uncle’s house, the spider crawled out and bit him
- Does not use his powers until he sees Spider-Man die thanks to Green Goblin – takes up the mantle, although initially shunned by public because he’s wearing a copy of Peter’s suit, and is yelled at that it’s in bad taste
- Recruited by SHIELD – Uncle discovers he’s Spider-Man, and they battle – Aaron’s weapons malfunction and explode, killing him
- Venom symbiote takes over the scientist who created the spider that bit him, and attacks Miles’ father, who he believes is Spider-Man – in the ensuing battle, the doctor is killed, along with Miles’ mother – Miles quits heroics
- Returns as Spider-Man, and his father learns the truth – disowns him – later returns and reveals he and Aaron used to be undercover agents working for SHIELD
- Reveals his identity to his girlfriend Katie Bishop, who in turn reveals she and her parents are agents of Hydra
- Secret Wars – the Ultimate and 616 Universes are merged, and Miles brought into the mainstream universe – his mother is restored in the process, thanks to Molecule Man – now patrols NYC as Spider-Man alongside Peter Parker
- Civil War II – Ulysses, an Inhuman with precognitive abilities, foresees Miles killing Captain America – this sets off conflict, although the murder does not occur
- Now a member of Champions – upcoming storyline called Outlawed will ban teenage heroes, and Miles will be big part of it
Issues (13:35)
- Legacy character – struggles with mantle initially, especially after public reacts poorly
- Much like Peter initially, teen hero carries with it own set of problems (22:30)
- Difficulty of keeping family separated – doesn’t work well for him
Break
- Plugs for Play Comics & Into the Knight
Treatment (40:57)
- In-universe
- Out of universe (44:24)
Skit (51:22)
Ending (57:27)
- Next episodes – Medusa, Mental Health Avengers, Bane, Political terrorism, Tick
- Review giveaway

References:

Childish Gambino - Anthony (08:15)
Molecule Man episode - Doc (11:45)
Al Ewing NYCC Interview - Anthony (13:12)
Viktor Frankl - Doc (21:13)
Up to eleven - Doc (29:28)
Psychiatry in Comics episode - Anthony (29:40)
WCW - "Where t...

Previous Episode

Issue 66(6) - Robbie Reyes

It's Christmastime in Hell - Anthony & Doc travel to East LA to chat about ROBBIE REYES! He may be the newest character we've done, but he has no shortage of problems. If you think your family is rough, you ain't heard nothing yet - listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

Intro
- Reminder for sticker giveaway
- Review read: Chad Brockbrader - “Such a great listen, stacking layers on the foundations of characters I THOUGHT I knew like the back of my hand”
- Shoutout to 10ish Pod – Nick & Brandon cover a different topic each week, covering the top 10-ish of that list, in real time, as only one of them knows what the list is while the other one is in the dark – educational, hilarious, and NSFW – 10ishpod.com
Background (03:43)
- Robbie Reyes created by Felipe Smith & Tradd Moore in All New Ghost Rider #1 (March 2014) – one of the newest characters we’ve done
- Robbie is a high school student working as a mechanic while taking care of his disabled brother Gabe
- He borrows a car from his shop and uses it in a street race, unaware the car not only contains pills created by Calvin Zabo, aka Mr. Hyde, but that the car is possessed by a demonic spirit
- Mercs shoot Robbie to retrieve the pills, and he is revived by the spirit in the car
- The spirit is Eli Morrow, a satanic serial killer later revealed to be Robbie’s uncle – Eli pushed Robbie’s mother down the stairs, making him responsible for Gabe’s disabilities
- Robbie first uses the power to win races and earn money to take care of Gabe, but Eli grows tired of his power being “wasted”, so he takes over Gabe in an attempt to kill a Russian mobster – Robbie fights the spirit, kills the mobster, and bonds with Eli’s spirit – agrees to only kill people with evil souls
- Later joined the Avengers – just finished a story arc called “Challenge of the Ghost Riders” where Robbie calls upon the Avengers and other Ghost Riders to help him exorcise Eli’s spirit
Issues (8:38)
- Family – Ruby notes that a recurring theme among the Ghost Riders is family – Robbie and Gabe, Danny and his mom, Johnny and his issues – idea that giving all to the family becomes too much
- On that note, relationship with Gabe prevents him from having a typical adolescence – responsibility foisted upon him at a young age (20:15)
- Thrill-seeking leads to rash decisions – that’s how he ended up on the possessed car in the first place (29:15)
Break (39:47)
- Plugs for Perfect Package Podcast and Inner Demons
Treatment (41:06)
- In-universe
- Out of universe
Skit (58:46)
Ending
- Thank you's

References:

Howard Mackie interview - Anthony (9:04)
Raised by Narcissists - Anthony (17:53)
"I Second That Emotion" - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - Anthony (69:38)

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Next Episode

Issue 68 - Medusa

It's a hair-raising episode, as Anthony & Doc look at Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans! Heavy is the head that wears the crown, especially when it's covered in prehensile hair! How does she want to break away from her husband, Black Bolt? All this, plus a special guest voice - Anna from Freudian Sips as Medusa! Listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

Intro
- Mental Health Avengers
- Review read – Cinemondo Podcast “A unique perspective on the Super Hero genre. Refreshing and fun discussion that goes deep into the psychology of the superheroes you know and love. Fascinating listen!“
- Shoutout to Cinemondo – Kathy, Mark, and Burke review genre films – all 3 work in the industry, so they know what they’re talking about, and have some fascinating guests on the show
Background (04:06)
- Medusa, full name Medusalith Amaquelin-Boltagon, created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four #36 (March 1965)
- Originally a member of the “Frightful Four”, enemies of the Fantastic Four, who had her under mind control until Professor Xavier helped break her free
- Later revealed that she is a member of the Inhumans, mutated by the Terrigen Mists to provide their race with extraordinary powers – hers is prehensile hair
- Fell in love with her distant cousin Black Bolt, and they married to become king & queen of the Inhumans
- Temporarily joined the Fantastic Four as a replacement for Sue Richards
- Gave birth to a son, Ahura, who became the Judy Winslow of the Marvel Universe
- Has to fight off the advances of Black Bolt’s brother, Maximus the Mad, on numerous occasions
- Due to Black Bolt’s powers, she serves as interpreter, a role she chafes at
- She takes over as leader of the Inhumans upon Black Bolt’s death in “Realm of Kings”, and replaces Black Bolt in the Illuminati for a time
- Helped rebuild Attilan during the Inhumanity storyline when the Terrigen Bomb exploded, creating thousands of new Inhumans
- When Black Bolt was revealed to be alive, she attacked him for setting off the Terrigen Bomb and then abandoning her
- She then had an affair with Johnny Storm, until Black Bolt returned and apologized to her
- Abdicated the throne during the Inhumans vs. X-Men arc, wanting to establish a democracy among the Inhumans – also destroyed the Terrigen cloud in order to save mutants
- As a result of that act, her hair began falling out, similar to her dying – she takes Primagen, which restores her hair and health
Issues (10:52)
- Does not always appreciate having to speak for her husband – feels that she doesn’t have voice of her own
- Difficulty at times in dealing with leadership role as queen – has left or abdicated the throne a few times (18:58)
- Difficulty with losing hair – serves as major part of her identity (27:40)
Break (34:04)
- Plugs for AnxZenity and We’re All Mad Here
Treatment (35:46)
- In-universe
- Out of universe (40:00)
Skit (44:58)
- Featuring Anna from Freudian Sips as Medusa
Ending (50:23)
- Next episodes - Mental Health Avengers, Bane, Political Terrorism, The Tick
- Review giveaway
- Joker: Endgame review on Patreon