As Peacemaker heads into the end game the show takes a slower episode - by Peacemaker standards - to move pieces into place and to establish some emotional moments that will likely pay off in a big way in upcoming episodes. And it's also great, just like every episode of this show has been. 

We have about 25 minutes of news and updates up front, including discussion of how the Flash is an unbearable d-bag. Later on in the show we discuss why Derek cannot remember the name of the television program The Afterparty and why he keeps calling it The Get Together. 

We'll be back next week with the penultimate episode of Peacemaker! Later this week on The Bad Batch we'll have the season finale of The Book of Boba Fett! And later this month we'll be doing Watchmen on Watch Men... and don't worry, we don't intend on dragging the movie.

To hear those shows you'll need to subscribe at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha.

Thanks for listening!

This episode of our show is a whopper! It's got a pretty long intro - we talk about the Amazon Lord of the Rings show trailer and also about the death of Ivan Reitman, which we learned about as we were recording. As a result we may have said a dumb thing or two about his career, for which we hope you will forgive us. 

If you don't want to hear us talk about those things or about the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Moon Knight trailers, skip to 56:40 to get to the main meat of the ep, where we talk about a Peacemaker that tugs on the heartstrings. There is some discussion of recently deceased dogs, so it gets a little maudlin, but I think it's in the spirit of the show itself. 

Thanks for listening. Next week it's the finale! How is it all gonna wrap up? Let's find out together. 

It's a 50th episode extravaganza! It's the finale of season one of Peacemaker! It's a floor wax! It's a dessert topping!

Season one of Peacemaker comes to a bloody end as the 11th Street Kids confront the cow. We talk about the surprising cameo at the end, how James Gunn is seemingly leading the DCEU now,  and whether or not the new Flash movie is going to be any good. 

We'll be taking a short hiatus after this episode, but we will return for Moon Knight in a month! Don't unsubscribe! We'll be back at the same Bat channel, at the same Bat time. 

If you miss us while we're gone, don't worry - we have more podcasts! Check out the weekly Star Wars podcast, The Bad Batch, and the monthly superhero deep dive podcast, Watch Men. The next episode of that hits this week and it's about... Watchmen! Check it out at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha.

Hey,  remember us? It's the Marvelvision boys, and we're back with a new Marvel show! We did a little diversion into Peacemaker and then took a few weeks off, but we have returned and we are ensconced in the old MCU again. 

Or are we? .This is one of the subjects tackled in this week's Marvelvision, about the first episode of Moon Knight. The showrunners have said that they disconnected this show from the larger Marvel Universe, so we shouldn't expect a lot of connections, nods or cameos. That said, we do get at least one Easter Egg relating to the Moon Knight comic book. 

On this ep we talk about the very, very strange debut of this new show, the fact that Moon Knight has no definitive storyline, and the ways that Oscar Isaac is bringing his A-level acting game and his extreme D-level British accent game... and how that could be on purpose?

If you missed us while we were away you should be subscribed to our other show, The Bad Batch, where we discuss Star Wars TV shows every week! That's for $1 subscribers at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha.

If you want to hear us talk about the MCU movies, as well as all the other superhero movies being released these days, subscribe at the $5 level to get Watch Men, our superhero movie deep dive podcast. Our latest episode, about The Batman, is almost five hours long. Next week we'll have an episode about Morbius. We watch so you don't have to! Subscribe right here.

See you here again next week for episode two of Moon Knight. Thanks for listening!

This week we summon the soup as we continue our adventure in the world of Moon Knight, the new MCU show currently on Disney+. 

Moon Knight so far has been pretty darn cool, and it feels very unlike other previous Marvel stuff. This episode in particular leans into some cool horror stuff... that, weirdly enough, echoes imagery seen in this weekend's latest Marvel masterpiece (please read the sarcasm), Morbius.

In this episode of Marvelvision we talk about Marc Spector's different identities and how they work, we enjoy his new suit, and we sing the praises of Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy, as well as loving on Oscar Isaac as per usual.

Want more Marvel from us? Join the Patreon at the $5 or above level to get Watch Men, our monthly superhero deep dive podcast. The latest episode is Morbius, and next month's will be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Click here to join!

This week we have some questions, including why is that guy tugging on Moon Knight's cape and why is Marc Spector asking rando guys in the street about the location of a sarcophagus? And isn't there a website that will let you look at what the stars were like in the past?

But don't take these questions for complaints; Moon Knight episode three continues the show's streak of feeling a lot like a comic book, complete with things happening because they're cool as opposed to logical. And we love that!

It also shows that this program is hard to pin down - this episode feels like a totally different show than the last two. If your main character has split personalities you have the option to have split genres on your show.

We talk Marvel and DC news in the intro, which lasts until 35:17. so if you don't want to hear our witty banter, skip right to there to get the meat of the episode.

We'll be back next week. In the meantime find us at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha where we have two other podcasts: The Bad Batch, a Star Wars TV show podcast for $1 and above subscribers and Watch Men, a longform monthly superhero deep dive podcast for $5 and above subscribers. Check us out!

Are ya ready to bust some tombs? This episode of Moon Knight takes us deep into adventure archeology, one of the great genres and one we see all too rarely. Then it takes a hard left in the final minutes, giving us some surreality we were not expecting. And all of this without a single appearance of Moon Knight!

In the intro we hit the latest comic book movie news, including the continued plight of Ezra Miller, the new Thor: Love and Thunder trailer and more. If that stuff doesn't interest you, skip to 33:52 to get to the main Moon Knight madness.

We shall return next week. In the meantime, check out our other shows at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha - The Bad Batch, a Star Wars TV show podcast available to $1 and above subscribers and Watch Men, a monthly superhero deep dive show for $5 and above subscribers. The last two episodes have been about Morbius and The Batman, and the next will be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Check it out!

This week Moon Knight heads into the endgame with a... clip show?!? Well, not a clip show but a solidly surreal flashback episode that fills in a lot of the gaps in Moon Knight's history and the origin of Marc Spector's split personality.

First we have a bunch of news to go through, including the sad loss of the great Neal Adams. While discussing this we recount an Adams story but get the specifics wrong - it's not Green Arrow who is weirdly racist... it's The Flash!

Here's a link to the true version of the story!

We also talk about live theater and a whole lot more, but jump to 42: 38 if you don't care about that. That'll bring you to the main episode, where two Catholic boys weigh in on Jewish law. 

We will return next week with the finale of Moon Knight, and in the meantime consider getting more of us by joining the Patreon - www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. For $1 a month you get The Bad Batch, our Star Wars TV show podcast, where we're gearing up for the new Kenobi show. For $5 a month you get that podcast and Watch Men, our monthly superhero deep dive podcast. The next episode will be about Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, so don't miss out!

The finale is here! Does Moon Knight make it all work? Is there room for a second season? Did they introduce a new superhero who can show up in team-ups instead of Oscar Isaac?

Plus: Marvel news! The usual digressions! Skip to 27:24 if you don't care about that stuff. But if you do: we love you. 

This show will NOT be going dark until Ms. Marvel. We're gonna talk about some stuff that's slightly outside of the remit of the program, just to keep the fun going, but we'll be staying in the live action superhero TV arena. Next week: The Challenge of the Superheroes!, the insane 1979 live-action DC superhero TV special, one of two produced that year. The second, The Superhero Roast, we'll be doing the week after. 

Great news: you can watch this free on Tubi. See you next week!

And by the way, if you want to hear us talk about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness the only place for that is Watch Men, our monthly superhero deep dive podcast. It's available at the $5 and above levels of the Patreon. Join now at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha!

With no new Marvel shows this week we have pivoted to covering other live action superhero stuff, and for some ungodly reason we chose Legends of the Superheroes, two live action DC Comics specials from network TV in 1979. Featuring the return of Adam West, Burt Ward and Frank Gorshin to their Batman roles, this first special, The Challenge, is a stunningly inane and unfunny hour that also happens to have some of the most comic-accurate versions of the DC characters ever put on film. Therein lies the fascinating dichotomy. 

When the Legion of Doom decides to end the world in one hour the Superfriends have to go out and bumble their way through unbearable sketches, and then Mordru the Merciless rides a Ski-Doo. It's the worst of Old Hollywood meets a whole bunch of absolute nobody actors with a script by people who could have definitely done better. And it's just the first one - we're doing the second special next week!

Both are available free on Tubi, but be aware they have the episodes flipped, so The Challenge is presented as the second episode, when it's actually the first. As if there was going to be continuity to worry about. 

If you're wondering what we thought of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness the one place to find out is Watch Men, our monthly superhero deep dive podcast, available to $5 and above subscribers at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. Check it out - the episodes are loooong. Speaking of long, this lengthy ep has an intro/news that runs to 30:23, in case you feel like skipping all that. 

It's the second of the two 1979 DC superheroes live action specials and this one is... better? Less painful? At least that's what Devin feels - Derek found this one sapping his very will to live. 

In a premise as nonsensical as the jokes, The Roast has Ed McMahan presiding over a roast of the Superfriends - a roast that includes their greatest villains, who show up to do stuff like play doctor and perform song and dance numbers. Plus: Ghetto Man shows up, a concept just as racist as you suspect it to be. 

Next week we're going to give you a peek at what we're doing on our other superhero podcast, Watch Men. We will run the very first episode of that show, where we cover the Snyder Cut of Justice League, and if you like what you hear you may be interested in subscribing at the $5 level to get that show every single month. You can subscribe at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha.

Thanks for listening and we'll be back with a new episode in two weeks, where we'll talk about The Trial of the Incredible Hulk. 

Before Affleck. Before Cox. There was... Rex Smith! Broadway legend, singing star, four times wed, and the first person to play a live action Daredevil. And his suit is pretty much the same bad one as the first season Netflix suit!

David Bruce Banner has been on the run for eleven years, and in this 1989 TV movie he comes to The City, where he gets mixed up in the battle between Daredevil and Wilson Fisk, who is never called Kingpin and who is played by John Rhys-Davies dressed like an evil record exec in a 1985 MTV music video.

Is it bad? You know it! Discussion of the TV movie begins at 30:12, but if you skip to there you'll miss all the superhero news that's fit to talk about!

We will back in a couple of days as this show pivots to covering Ms. Marvel, which debuts June 8th. See you then!

If you listen to our other weekly podcast, The Bad Batch, you know we've been having a hard time with Obi-Wan Kenobi. It's not very good! Which makes the debut of Ms. Marvel all the more wonderful for us - finally something to enjoy on Wednesdays!

This show explodes the "Marvel style" and feels fresh, unique and fun. We love the first episode and have high hopes for what's to come. Plus this episode: COVID hits home! A lengthy digression into what a cool movie the life of Mohammed would make. Thoughts on the Nega-bands and wishing for Rick Jones... and more!

Thanks for listening and we're excited about the next five weeks!

Is it possible that Ms. Marvel  is the best MCU TV show? Two episodes in and the answer so far is yes - but can it keep it up once the plot kicks in?

This week we talk about the episode where Kamala Khan takes her first major step as a superhero, a step clearly influenced by the 1978 Superman. This is the kind of heroism that the MCU has been sorely missing, and it's great to see it here. 

We also talk a lot about news this week, and get a little offtopic as we argue about whether or not it matters that franchises gatekeep their universes, telling bigots to get lost... and whether they actually mean it, or if Disney is just happy to take money from even the hardest core Nazi. Skip to about 48 minutes if you don't care about any of that (told you we talk a lot this week). 

We will return next week with Ms. Marvel episode three. A personal note: in this episode I talk about some stuff going on at home that might delay the release of our next episode. I hope you'll be patient with us!

Thanks for listening, see you again soon. 

This is a crummy day. I feel dumb even uploading this episode today, it's such a crummy day. But the show must go on, and while I hope that you are getting ready for the long fight ahead of us to reclaim bodily autonomy for women, I suspect everybody could use a little distraction from the pain for a bit. Hopefully this episode of Marvelvision can be that for you. 

This week we talk about the latest episode of Ms. Marvel, where Kamala learns some secrets about her history, we get a canon-crammed flashback and our first superhero fight, where Kamala begins to really learn how to use her powers. Three episodes in and this show continues to be terrific - can Marvel run the table with the next three? Here's hoping. 

Thanks for listening, and I hope you're all doing okay. 

COVID can't keep a good podcast down, and it can't keep this one down either!

This week's Ms. Marvel takes a field trip to Pakistan, introduces a new ancient secret society... and possibly leave the door for Ms. Marvel to be an Inhuman after all?

But what about the costume? Is it taking too long to come together, or is the build-up right? And is the prison breakout as bad as we think it is?

We will return next week with episode 5! And we will also be back soon on Watch Men with an episode about Thor: Love and Thunder. If you want to hear us talk about the MCU movies, that is the only podcast where it happens. It's available to $5 and above subscribers at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha!

This week we go really off topic in the intro, talking about everything from haunted houses on TikTok to a lengthy discussion of Amazon Prime's The Boys, as well as a whole bunch of superhero TV and movie news. If none of that interests you, jump right to 37:45 to get to the meat of the episode. 

This week Kamala continues her time travel as we get to know her great-grandparents and the show throws some structural curveballs at us. Plus: are there more hints of Inhumans? 

This weekend Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters, and that means we'll be doing a Watch Men episode about it quite soon. Take this opportunity to subscribe at the $5 and above level so you get to listen to us talk about all the superhero movies getting released, including every MCU film! Click here to join. 

Thanks for listening - see you next week for the finale!

With all the 'end of the world' stakes behind us, Ms. Marvel closes out its season with something much more personal. This week we get some information that presages a HUGE change in the MCU, we get a cameo we all expected, and we get some very sweet and emotional moments with the Khan family. 

Before we talk about that we discuss all kinds of news and stuff, but you can jump to 31:10 if you just don't care to hear us give our bad-brained takes on what's happening in the worlds of superhero cinema and TV. 

We will be taking a week off and then we will return with a special episode talking about The Boys, Amazon's adaptation of the Garth Ennis/Darick Robertson superhero satire. And then we'll be back with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law! 

By the way, want to know what we thought of Thor: Love and Thunder? You'll have to subscribe to our Watch Men podcast to find out. That's our monthly superhero deep dive podcast available to $5 and above subscribers at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha.

Thanks for listening!

Marvel and DC came to SDCC and gave us a bounty of new information... well, Marvel did anyway. Things are a little less fulsome on the DC side, but does that mean an unannounced Fandome is in our future?

Marvel gave us all of Phase Five, a look at the cornerstones of Phase Six AND the name of this three Phase cycle: The Multiverse Saga. We go long on all of these movies, what they could be, what it could all mean, and what we're most excited about. For me it's definitely Namor.

Plus: I share the reason why Marvel has still not announced an X-Men film, and likely won't be announcing one for a hot minute. Plus: we make our best guesses on how the Multiverse Saga will end. Plus: we just go on and on about a 38 year old miniseries, Secret Wars. 

We'll be back next week to chat The Boys, and then after that we'll begin covering She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

If you want to hear us talk about these Phase Five and Six movies when they come out, you have to join the Patreon at a $5 or above level, which will get you access to Watch Men, our monthly superhero deep dive podcast.  The latest episode is about Thor: Love and Thunder! 

This week we go a little long. First we talk about what's happening at Warner Bros Discovery, and in the process almost certainly show how little we know about business. We are not business men! We talk about the cancelation of Batgirl, the plan to have a ten year plan for DC movies, and more.

Then we do an hour on The Boys, Amazon Prime's superhero show. I was resistant to watching, but Derek was in from day one. It's a spoiler-filled discussion, so if you haven't watched the show, you might want to stay away. Or maybe the spoilers will intrigue you!

We will return next week with a discussion of Netflix's Sandman show, and then after that we will be back with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law! Thanks for listening. 

This week we're talking about Netflix's 10 episode adaptation of the DC/Vertigo comic book series Sandman, by Neil Gaiman and a variety of artists (co-created by Sam Keith). This series is sometimes stunningly faithful to the comic, but there are some changes - some subtle, some aesthetic - that stick in our craws. 

We also talk about my tragic history of shoplifting, some comic book movie news and whether or not Derek wants a pet. The main discussion begins at 23:07. 

You may have noticed this episode is dropping on a different day of the week than normal - that's because Marvel is going to be releasing She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Thursdays, which means our whole recording schedule bumps back a day. This episode is the first on our new schedule. 

Thanks for listening! See you next week for She-Hulk!

It's a new show! We're here to talk about the first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law, billed as the first sitcom in the MCU. But is it all that much funnier than a normal MCU thing?

Based on a character who was invented just to avoid someone else having rights to a female Hulk, a character who has become one of the most interesting and fourth-wall breaking characters in Marvel Comics, She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law certainly has a lot of potential. Does the first episode live up to it or leave us wanting more?

Also: we have a scoop on which DC superhero will be appearing in Shazam: Fury of the Gods! Thanks for listening, and we will see you next week.

This episode we get spicy. It's been a minute since we've had an argument where I come off like a real dick, but I went above and beyond this week. It's such an argument that the intro stretches on for AN HOUR, so if you don't want to hear two grown men bicker about studio politics feel free to skip to 58:23. Warning: you will miss me simping hard for Kevin Feige.

If you skip to there you'll get our discussion about the second episode of She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law, or what was really originally much of the first episode.  This is what the first episode should have been - this one really establishes the tone and the characters in a way last week simply did not. And the tone established is one we really like! It's more of a gentle sitcom than an edgy sitcom, and that's a-ok.

We will return next week as we go episode by episode as Disney+ releases this show, and I gotta tell you - this won't be a chore. We're enjoying this one, and especially Tatiana Maslany. 

Can you believe She-Hulk TWERKED???

This is the meteor that has crashed into online discourse this week, and it's the dumbest thing ever. It's a mid-credits joke! And a funny one! In a very funny episode!

In fact this week's She-Hulk feels like the show finding its footing as a lawyer/superhero comedy, and it's jam-packed with jokes and MCU references. In fact, this episode feels like the first one where the show is doing what we wanted this show to do from the beginning, and it's pretty great that we get six more episodes like this (hopefully). 

Plus: news! Boring life updates! All the stuff that makes that Marvelvision magic. 

Thanks for listening!

Well well well, if it isn't the absolute best episode of this show yet. A very funny, very fun She-Hulk finds Shulkie dealing with a douchebag magician and an angry Wong... and a delightful Madisynn.

Also this episode: I have a pretty major scoop about Black Adam and the future of the DC movie universe, and it's so major I'm not sure if it' a spoiler, so if you' don't want to hear the scoop, skip to 23:16.

If you like this, check out our monthly superhero deep dive podcast, Watch Men. It's available to $5 and above subscribers at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha - this month we do Samaritan, the Stallone as a washed-up superhero movie and next month we're doing Black Adam.... and I guess we'll see if my scoop is right!

We're dropping a bonus episode in the feed this week to cover all of the news coming out of D23 over the weekend. This episode is a crossover between two of our podcasts, The Bad Batch - about Star Wars TV shows - and Marvelvision (whose feed this is). Since there wasn't a ton of Star Wars news but there was a ton of Marvel stuff that would feel old by the time we recorded our next Marvelvision, we jammed both shows together. And now you get this!

We go over almost everything that was revealed at D23, and I tell a very embarrassing story about the time I met Harrison Ford. 

There's another episode headed your way this week as She-Hulk continues!

Extreme David Bowie voice: Fashion! 

This week on She-Hulk we get a glimpse inside the world of the MCU's version of Edna from The Incredibles, Luke, a designer who does all the best superhero costumes. While Nikki and Our Beloved Pug find out how to get Jen an appointment with him, She-Hulk tussles with Titania in a court of law. 

All this plus news and observations about the cost of pizza, but if you don't want to hear that stuff skip right to 25:28!

See you again next week, and as always, thanks for listening. 

This week Jen Walters meets her greatest challenge yet: being a bridesmaid at the wedding of an old friend she has largely lost touch with. She-Hulk stops for a (kinda) one-shot episode featuring a B-story starring niche Marvel character Mr. Immortal. 

Before all that Derek tells the tale of why this episode is late - he was locked out of his house! The whole saga is recounted here, as well as some news including info about the next mutant in the MCU, early reactions to Werewolf by Night and more. Skip to 20:52 if you don't want to hear that. 

See you next week as She-Hulk enters the home stretch!

Still no Daredevil, and we have to admit we like the show's moxie in holding him back this long. 

Speaking of holding things back, we have a pretty long intro and news segment this week, wherein I drop some new info about the return of Henry Cavill to the DCEU, including the fact that WB is now developing a new Superman movie for him. 

If you don't care about that, skip to 35:49 to get to the latest episode of She-Hulk, wherein Emil Blonsky returns and he has a whole retinue of D-list Marvel villains with him. But what happens is a pleasant surprise, and also may reflect my own future. 

See you again next week - but will we see Daredevil? He will not see us.

The wait is finally over and The Man Without Fear has fully returned to the MCU (after a cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, of course). Was it worth the wait? Hell yes, and this might end up being the very best episode of She-Hulk thanks to this appearance. In fact, this episode might represent the whole thing coming together as it represents the platonic ideal of what this show can be.

Before that: some news and BS, including what is frankly a story so gross I should not have told it on this podcast. If you want to miss all that, skip to 25:36, where the main episode kicks in.

We will not be back with the next and final episode of She-Hulk... we'll be back even earlier with a special episode about the new Marvel Special Presentation, Werewolf by Night! That's right, you're getting two episodes this week. 

See you in a couple of days!

No, you're not seeing things - Marvelvision is really back with another episode! We're dropping this special ep to talk about the Marvel Special Presentation of Werewolf by Night, a Halloween-y hour long black and white monster mash that introduces the titular Werewolf by Night and the Man-Thing, as well as Elsa Bloodstone. 

But is it any good? Does it hit the marks it is setting for itself? Therein lies the meat of the episode, which you can find after all the news and general buffoonery at 17: 37. 

There is still another Marvelvision in your near future - we'll be covering the finale of She-Hulk, so be sure to keep an eye out for that! Thanks for listening, see you soon.

It's the season finale, and She-Hulk doesn't just break the fourth wall, she fully obliterates it. But does it work? This becomes the bone of contention between your two humble hosts who argue very heavily about that question for like the last 40 minutes of the episode. You've been warned. 

We will return next week with our next Marvel TV show: X-Men: The Animated Series. Yup, in anticipation of next year's X-Men '97 we will be rewatching the 90s X-Men cartoon. It's going to be the show we watch in between new Marvel shows on Disney+, and it currently looks like this will take us through next year (with a stop for the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, one assumes). Join us!

Thanks for listening and see you again next week. 

We are between new MCU TV shows, and that means we have to turn our attention to something a little bit older to fill the time. With the upcoming release of X-Men '97, a sequel to the X-Men: The Animated Series from the 90s, we figured that The Animated Series made a lot of sense for our off-season watch. 

Every week we'll do a new episode of the animated series, taking a break when a new MCU show comes on and then returning to the world of the X-Men when that show ends. 

So it makes sense to start at the start, with the opening two-parter. All of these episodes are available to watch on Disney+ if you want to watch along. Or you can just enjoy us bullshitting about them without watching. It's all up to you!

By the way, if you like this show and want to hear us talking about superhero movies, check out Watch Men, our monthly superhero movie deep dive podcast. It's available only to $5 and above subscribers at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. Join now and hear us talk about Black Adam for almost twice that movie's runtime!

Thanks for listening and we will be back next week with Magneto!

We come to you with an emergency episode to talk about the big news: James Gunn is taking over the DCEU! What does this mean for DC? What does it mean for Supergirl and the Black Superman movie? And, in an incredible bit of timing, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special trailer dropped. We have all that and more in this special episode!

Why are they milking Sabertooth? This is just one of the questions we tackle on this week's episode of X-Men: The Animated Series. Magneto, the most famous X villain, is introduced, and quite wisely the people involved in this Saturday morning cartoon show decided to decouple his origin from the Holocaust. Also: a lot of great scenes of Wolverine being a total pain in the ass.

In the intro we discuss Marvel Snap, the new phone game to which we are both addicted. Also: news, trivia and the revelation that David Zaslav has some balls on him. Skip to 34:46 if you don't like fun things. 

We will return next week with more menacing Magneto! Thanks for listening. 

This week the X-Men once again prove they are absolutely not ready to take on an enemy like Magneto as they repeat the exact same tactical errors they made last episode - but also add on a couple of new ones for good measure. It's an all-trauma ep as we go into the minds of Sabertooth, Storm and Magneto and see what PTSD haunts their broken minds. Also: Derek laughs so hard one of his contact lenses pops out. 

In the intro we have actually a lot of news, including Black Adam's less-than-epic box office, James Gunn's plans for the future of the DCU, the casting for the Wonder Man and Agatha: Coven of Chaos shows and more! If you don't care about all that, or about our discussion of the ways global warming is personally impacting our wardrobes, jump to 38:38.

We will be back next week with more X-Men: The Animated Series, but we are also going to be recording a new episode of Watch Men soon. That's our monthly superhero deep dive podcast, and for November we will be talking at length about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and it should be a good episode as we struggle with the new pronunciation of Namor. It's available only to $5 and above subscribers at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. 

Gotta let you know up front that there is a character in this episode of X-Men who has a fairly racist name. The 20th century was just kinda like that sometimes.

It's not even a particularly good episode! It semi-adapts a great storyline from the comics featuring the Morlocks (many of whom were later brutally slain) but it doesn't have the bonkers je ne sais quoi of the first few eps of the series. That said, this episode is a gold mine of moments that have become modern memes, including the most famous one of all.

We talk news and stuff for the first 18 minutes and 35 seconds, so skip that if you don't want to hear our opinions on all the exciting stuff happening in the world of comic book movies.

By the way - a new Watch Men drops tomorrow, and we will be talking about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, You don't want to miss it! It will be available only to subscribers at the $5 and above levels at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. Join now!

This episode Wolverine and Sabertooth duke it out in the Arctic while making the lives of a bunch of Inuit absolutely miserable. Meanwhile, Gambit, Storm and Jubilee go on vacation to the island nation of Genosha and Gambit doesn't take off his jacket one time.

Before all of that we talk news and other junk, including the latest box office, the shocking return of Bob Iger to Disney and how Black Adam has gone from the disruptor of power in the DC Universe to, according to the Rock, a baby that needs to be nursed.

If you don't care about that stuff skip to 39:07. Next week we will not be doing an X-Men: The Animated Series episode, as we will be doing Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. We will pick up this week's scintillating cliffhanger in two weeks!

As always, thanks for listening! 

It's the most wonderful time of the year - when we get a new Marvel Studios Special Presentation. This time it's The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, a delightful and charming and funny and sweet show that puts the "Christ! What were you thinking!" back into Christmas. 

This week we wax rhapsodic about James Gunn, I reveal what made me cry in the special, and we discuss the man-in-suit qualities of Swole Groot and also what wonderful toddlers Drax and Mantis are. We also do a bunch of news and talk about what comics we're reading, but if you don't care about that stuff, skip to 29:38.

Next week: back to X-Men: The Animated Series! 

Want to hear us talk about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? We did that on Watch Men, our monthly superhero deep dive podcast, which is available to subscribers at the $5 and above level at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha.

Half the X-Men are in serious trouble and the other half of the X-Men are trying to make long distance phone calls! This week the Genosha two-parter concludes as Gambit betrays all of his friends and we get a veritable cornucopia of cameos from the likes of Sunfire, the Blob, Domino and more. 

On the other side of things: we have some Marvel and DC movie and TV news, including new Loki season two tidbits, some new Flash stuff and I reveal what character Marvel is looking to bring in for Avengers: Secret Wars. Also: the joys of Watermelon Sour Patch Kids. If you don't care about any of that stuff, skip to 20:33. 

We will return next week with the next episode of X-Men The Animated Series. Thank you for listening!

This one is a little late - sorry! Lot going on here at the moment, but that's not a great excuse.

At any rate! This week's episode we cover more breaking comic book world news (there's a lot of it all the time these days) and we watch a very strange episode where the X-Men are and are not familiar with the Juggernaut, his history, his powers and how to defeat him. PlusL Colossus shows up to ruminate on how weird Americans are. 

Thanks for your patience and we will see you again next week (on the correct day, I hope!)

Enter... Apokolips! In all his clown make-up glory. 

This week's episode gets us a Rogue origin, the introduction of even more mutants, the anti-climactic resolution of the mystery of Professor X's disappearance and Cable doing a big scare from behind both a book shelf and a door.

Also this week: Devin went to the Avengers Campus at Disneyland and he talks about the experience!

Also this week: a surprise discussion of Yellowstone, one of the wildest shows on TV. 

Thanks for listening! We will be off next week, but if you subscribe at the $5 and above level you'll get to listen to us talk about Batman: Mask of the Phantasm on our show Watch Men! Subscribe at www.patreon.com/cinemsangha.

Here's a special holiday treat for you - a free episode of one of our other podcasts, The Bad Batch! That show is about Star Wars TV shows, but this episode is a special one: I went to Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge and these are my thoughts about the experience. What was supposed to be a very quick 15 minute podcast got much bigger much faster, but that's just because I was excited about the whole thing. 

This is not what a regular episode of The Bad Batch is like, but if you want to hear us talk about Star Wars TV shows like Andor, The Bad Batch and the upcoming Ahsoka, you can do just that by joining the Patreon at the $1 or above level. That's www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. 

A quick note: we recorded this episode before it was revealed that Jeremy Renner had been in a serious accident, which is why we make no mention of it. Our thoughts are with him and his family.

This week on MarvelVision we cover the 10th episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, which introduces the Four Horsemen and also a guy who has a Chia Pet growing on his head or something. Hard to know with this show.

We also cover some news, including the latest James Gunn stuff, and I am deeply impressed by the latest Marvel Comics crossover, AXE: Judgment Day. It's so good I spoil it!

Want to tell us we're wrong about something we said this week? Want to talk to other listeners of this podcast? We have a Discord now! Join the Patreon at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha to get access and to get into the conversation. It's actually quite good. 

Thank you and we will see you again next week!

The animated series tackles one of the most famous X-Men stories of all, a story that has inspired countless imitators and even a movie - Days of Future Past! But they meld the story with another time traveling plot, introducing face-tattooed Bishop to the gang. 

This week we talk about the news out there in comic book movie land, including the latest scuttlebutt about Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and.... how people are mad about the runtime of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania? Yes, how people are mad about the runtime of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. 

If you don't care about the news and the updates about our lives, go to 31:25. But if you do, you'll miss the announcement of my newest podcast, The Force Is With You, a show that will look at the connection between Star Wars and world religions. It's actually fun, and the second episode is about Yoda and a sex cult. It will only be available to subscribers at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha, so get your subscription today and don't miss an episode!

This week we mourn the ways the world has changed, making Quik and Twinkies worse than ever before. We talk about MIdnight Sons, which is essentially an Avengers friendship simulator, and we discuss why it's cool that Ant-Man gets to go from being a between phases palate cleanser to being the big kick-off of Phase Five. And there's some really astonishing trivia this week as well. 

Don't care about that? Skip to 36:16 and listen to us talk about the second part of the animated Days of Future Past saga, including many burp jokes (that the show makes, not us), Wolverine's best lines and how this might have been better if it had been a predestination paradox story. 

Next week: the finale of season one of X-Men: The Animated Series!

We are back! If you don't subscribe to the Patreon (www.patreon.com/cinemasangha) you won't know why this show was dark for two weeks. The short answer is that I had a serious family health crisis. The long answer you'll get in the opening minutes of this show. 

But we are back... without X-Men: The Animated Series. Instead we are dropping an episode talking about the big DCU announcement James Gunn made this week, revealing the early part of his slate for the future of DC movies. And we're excited! A lot of cool stuff, and Derek our resident DC expert helps you understand just why some of this stuff is such great news. 

We will be back next week with an episode of X-Men, but I also want to be up front: the health crisis in my home is not over, and circumstances in the coming weeks may make this show late again. I apologize in advance, but priorities have to be made. I hope you all understand. 

Thanks for sticking with us and we'll see you again next week!

After many weeks away we return to X-Men: The Animated Series, and it’s the season one finale. It’s a big one - how big? So big that Professor X does a suicide bombing mission in a plane full of clearly marked TNT. It’s wild. 

Before that we have a very lengthy news segment. We talk about Marvel’s Midnight Suns, a new Marvel superheroes video game that we both love and that is much weirder than you think it might be. We talk about how It’s ok for ant-man to go big after two movies of smaller, lower stakes films. We argue about how old Doctor Doom should be in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie and whether or not he should still have been Reed Richards’ college roommate. And we spend a bunch of time talking about the idea that there is too much Marvel stuff, an idea not backed by reality and an idea shot down by the incredible diversity at the box office right now. If you don’t care about any of these topics skip to 55:02 to get right to Professor X doing 9/11.

We shall return next week for our 97th episode of this show! We are rapidly approaching 100 - should we do something special to mark the occasion? Let us know what you think. 

Thanks for listening and see you next week!

Scott and Jean get married, and Wolverine is not too happy about it. Also not happy: Morph, who it turns out did not die in series pilot but has been hanging around in the same pair of clothes ever since. All of this happens as anti-mutant hysteria reaches critical levels, and Beast is starting to wonder if he should have stayed in jail. 

In the intro we do lots of news, including The Flash trailer, whether or not there's a Young Avengers project coming to the MCU and reports that, despite the trailers, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is funny after all. Don't care about all  that? Skip to 47:00.

If you want to chat with fellow listeners about this episode and other dorky stuff, join our Patreon, which gives you access to the Discord. It's a fun, nice and hopping place and you can get in at just $1 a month. Head to www.patreon.com/cinemasangha for more info.

Thanks for listening and see you again next week! 

Scott and Jean are married? But are they? Or has the worst happened and they are actually living in sin? Scott will never be the same. This is the episode that introduces Mister Sinister and his, I swear to God, Nasty Boys. It's also the episode that raises the question of what Sinister was doing cruising the park in full costume at night.  Al Pacino, is that you?

We also catch up on our lives, including the crazy weather that's been happening. There's news as well - we hear about the round brown (you gotta listen to find out) and Quantumania's not so great record breaking feat this week. If you don't care about that skip right to 34:22.

By the way, as we approach the 100th episode of this show we are playing with the idea of doing a live episode on the Cinema Sangha Discord. If you want to participate you have to be a subscriber- even as low as one dollar a month! Head to www.patreon.com/cinemasangha to sign up and get access today. 

Thanks for listening!

This week the X-Men are globetrotters, as our storylines take them to Africa, Brazil and Antartica. Morph gets sexy with Wolverine! Rogue throws a boulder at some smoke! Professor X gets snow on his head!

Also: we talk about all the comic book movie news, including speculating about where Shang-Chi will show up next, and also I reveal who I heard Steve Yuen is playing in Thunderbolts. Let's see if I'm right!

If you don't care about that, skip to 37:09.

Next episode is our 100th, and we are going to celebrate with a live show on the Discord (it will be recorded for the feed). You, the listeners, will get to chat with us during the show and ask us any questions you like - but you have to be in the Discord! To do that simply become a subscriber at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha - even $1 a month gets you access to the Discord. 

Thanks for listening and hope to see you on the Discord!

This podcast has somehow hit 100 episodes, believe it or not, and we celebrated by doing a live chat with listeners on our Discord. Where, you ask, is our Discord? Why it's accessible to all subscribers on the Patreon - even those at the $1 level! - and it's a pretty great place where people hang out and chat and, today at least, share pictures of their cute as hell dogs. 

We tried to make this as inclusive as possible, but there are bits where we are laughing at and interacting with comments left live by listeners. It was pretty great, and everybody had a nice time, and we answered a whole bunch of questions . They ranged from questions about us as people to questions about the Marvel movies and comic books in general - just good old fashioned nerd shit. And there are live technical difficulties - you can't get any realer than that!

In fact we had so much fun with this (and with an unrecorded test run where Derek and I argued about Creed III) that I'm thinking of making this a regular feature for subscribers. What are you waiting for? Subscribe today at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha!

Hey, we're back. Remember us? It's been a bit of an unintended break, but we have returned with an episode of X-Men that has no bearing on modern politics at all, one where Russian fascists try to reabsorb old nations from the USSR. Totally unrelatable in 2023. 

But first we have a lot of BSing to do! 49 solid minutes of it! If you don't want to hear us talking news and nonsense, skip right to 49:25 and be spared the life updates and our thoughts on Kevin Feige staying in his office while Victoria Alonso was fired. 

We will be back next week with another episode of the animated adventures of the X-Men - thanks for listening!

Eh you hoser, it's time to head to the Great White North as this episode tackles more of Wolverine's origin. Alpha Flight shows up, and so do some very sad robots. 

We also go very, very long on the intro. Very long. Like, skip to 51: 47 if you don't want all kinds of news and views and to hear Derek get upset about using the soundboard. 

Next week: more X-Men! In the meantime, join the Patreon and vote for which movie we cover next on Watch Men, our monthly superhero deep dive podcast. This month we're offering two options - Bloodshot, a superhero movie, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, not a superhero movie but it has a big Guardians of the Galaxy vibe. Go to www.patreon.com/cinemasangha and join today!

This week I yell at my cat live on mic! In the spirit of transparency in which I try to operate I left it in, as well as Derek disapproving of how I deal with the cat. Are other Marvel podcasts brave enough to do this?

It's a Gambit-centric episode of X-Men, and we don't like Gambit! However, this show is so reliably goofy that we had a great time. Also: I talk about being a sweaty weirdo at the book store, Derek gives COVID updates and we talk about all the news, including the new The Marvels trailer. If you don't care about that, skip to 40:52.

Thanks for listening and we will see you next week!

This episode of X-Men is just us watching Cable watch an episode of X-Men. Very meta! Cable is in a crummy future and must, for some reason, decide whether to stop it from ever happening. The Legacy Virus makes its animated debut, and we go on an extensive side journey through racial slurs for white people.

Plus: news! Although you know you want to hear the list of racial slurs, that's really the selling point of the episode.

We shall be back next week! In the meantime, come join us on the Patreon - www.patreon.com/cinemasangha - and get more podcasts and become a member of our Discord, where a great community has formed. Come hang out!

This week we argue about the TV show Jury Duty and about Adam Driver. News! Views! The usual stuff that, should you want to skip it, ends at 37:17.

The main episode this week is pretty much a repeat of last week - it's the Back to the Future Part II of the X-Men show. But not as good. Plus: Cable passes on his cybernetic arm to his child. 

We shall return next week with more X action. Thanks for listening!

This week the trivia questions almost kill me. They're funnier than the jokes on The Bad Batch! We also talk about a whole bunch of news, including some wild Fantastic Four rumors that people are straight making up. Just pulling right from their bholes.

All of that goes until 40:03, and then we get to the meat of the X-Men episode, which sees Wolverine getting out of a car in a way no person ever has before. More than that, this episode brings in complicated elements of Marvel Comics continuity related to Rogue's origin that it didn't have to, and you gotta respect that. 

Thank you for listening! We shall return next week! 

Hey, this podcast hasn't happened in a minute. What's going on? Well, I'll tell you. This episode is just a catch up, where I talk about some of the very heavy updates in my life over the past two weeks - as well as the beautiful and uplifting updates. We also cover some of the more interesting news that we missed over the past couple of weeks, everything from Marvel to DC to Star Wars. It's not Marvelvision, it's not The Bad Batch, it's just sort of an opportunity for us to reconnect with you. 

Because of the nature of my situation right now - listen to the episode for more detail - I can't promise you we will be back next week. I can only promise you that we will be back, not only because I know you want us back but because I love doing these shows and they're healing and helpful for me.

Thanks for still being here, and we will see you when we see you.

If you've noticed this podcast being non-existent for the past few weeks it's because my beautiful, beloved wife was in the hospital and then, on June 9th, passed away. I was there with her as she drew her last breath and I held her and loved her as she left us. 

Last week we buried her, and I delivered a eulogy. Before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge her, and the loss, and to share with you the words I said that day. This is a sad episode, and if you're not up for that please feel free to skip it. We will be back with our usual bullshit later this week, as we talk about Secret Invasion. 

We've been away for a bit but we have returned with the latest Disney+ MCU show, Secret Invasion. Loosely based on a comic book event, this show finds an old and decrepit Nick Fury dealing with a Skrull invasion of Earth. But what are we dealing with? Is it a gripping spy drama or kind of a boring slog?

Before that we have some news, and we argue vociferously about the state of the studios, we talk about the controversial AI opening of the show and we discuss the latest Marvel Comics event, Ultimate Invasion. If you don't care about any of that stuff and just want to get to the Skrulls, skip to 48:00.

We will be back next week! In the meantime, please consider joining us at the Patreon: www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. You can get more podcasts - hours and hours a month! - but also access to our great and wonderful and growing Discord community. It's a non-toxic space online, believe it or not. 

Do you like dialogue scenes? Because this episode has some good dialogue scenes, including what could be Nick Fury's best scene and best line. 

Before we get to the big reveals about the Skrull invasion, we spend a little time talking about blinds (you know, on windows), the Superman: Legacy casting, and we have some truly bad trivia. Then it's time to argue endlessly about whether or not 2000 could have been killed in the explosions we saw last week. If you want to waste no time getting to the body count argument, skip to 30: 13.

We shall return next week!

Let's get one thing out of the way: my audio isn't great this episode. I tried to adjust it best as possible, but I'm not a podcast engineer. I'm taking steps to make the next episode sound better. 

On to the show - the third episode of Secret Invasion gives us more spy tropes as well as what feels like an honest to God romance between Nick Fury and Talos. Am I shipping them? I'm shipping them!

In the intro we talk about Star Trek for a minute, as well as the low-level news that has been hitting the transom. If you don't care about that stuff, skip to 35:39. 

See you next week!

It's strike time, baby. Hollywood is shutting down and we spend a little bit of time talking about this, and about Disney's Bob Iger and his big fat mouth. We also have some (limited) news, including intriguing casting on James Gunn's Superman: Legacy. If you don't care about all that good stuff skip to 

This week's Secret Invasion has good booze and a middling firefight, but once again we get a bunch of scenes where good actors get to go for it. Plus: are supposed to give a single damn about Emilia Clarke's character?

We shall be back next week as Secret Invasion heads into the homestretch and we are really wondering how the heck they're wrapping this one up. 

Things start coming to a head this week on Secret Invasion, but they also kind of stop making sense. Lotta plans that aren't very coherent and some weird decisions and just some other things that don't hold up under too much scrutiny. But we also get a pretty good shoot-em-up, so maybe it all evens out. Then again, there is also a cameo that absolutely no one on Earth cared about, which isn't a great sign. 

Heads up: after Secret Invasion we are not returning to X-Men: The Animated Series. Not right away, at least. We're going to bridge the gap between now and the debut of Gen V (the spin-off of The Boys) with a new concept: we're going to read Secret Wars II. Yes, the sequel crossover miniseries featuring The Beyonder done up like a disco dude. And we're going to be reading all the tie-in issues as well! 

You can follow along by reading on the Marvel Unlimited app, which is well worth a subscription, or by finding it elsewhere or don't read along and just listen to us talk about it. This is not an ironic bit! We love Secret Wars II and will try and make a case for it over the next few weeks. So next week we wrap Secret Invasion and then after that you'll want to read the following comics: 

Secret Wars II #1
New Mutants #30
Captain America #306
Uncanny X-Men #198
Iron Man #197

The numbering on Marvel comics is a nightmare now, but all of these are 1985 comics and should be volume 1 of each individual series. Get reading and meet us back here in two weeks for that new series!

Well that's a let down. 

The Secret Invasion series wraps up with a whimper, and it didn't have to be this way. There is stuff that happens in this episode that, had it happened in episode three, would have made this series an all-timer.  After this episode the hierarchy of power in the MCU is changed, but will anyone care or ever reference it?

Next week we begin a new project here: a weekly read-along of Secret Wars II, the 1985 comic book miniseries and all of the tie-in comics. That's nine weeks, which should bring us pretty much up to the debut of Gen V, the spin-off of The Boys, which we will tackle next. X-Men: The Animated Series will return... someday.

Until then, thanks for listening and consider becoming a $5 patron at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha as we will be doing two episodes of our $5 and above exclusive podcast, Watch Men: one about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and one about Blue Beetle!

This week we're doing a big pivot. Now that Secret Invasion has finished we have decided to not return to X-Men: The Animated Series just yet. Instead we're going to spend the next few weeks reading Secret Wars II and all of the associate crossovers. Yes, it's a trip back to 1985 to talk about the granddaddy of all crossover event series. Secret Wars II is weird and shaggy and an awful lot of fun, even if it isn't exactly one of the great comic book storylines.

This week we cover:
Secret Wars II #1
New Mutants #30
Captain America #308
Uncanny X-Men #196
Iron Man #197
All of these are available on Marvel Unlimited with a subscription.

These crossovers really run the gamut from making Secret Wars II the main focus to almost totally ignoring the events of the comic. And they run the gamut from great to kind of dull, and also Kitty Pryde says the N word. Seriously.

Thanks for listening! Join the Patreon at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha to get access to our Discord; at the $5 level you'll get our Watch Men podcast - this month we will have two episodes, one about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and one about Blue Beetle. Don't miss them!

When is a crossover not a crossover? When it happens in only one panel of the comic book in question, I'd say. 

This week we follow the Beyonder to New York City, where he bumbles around and learns to poop. Then we get two fantastic Spider-Man crossover comics and a Fantastic Four issue that is, crossover or not, just kind of bad. 

Next week: the Beyonder takes over the world! Here's your homework:

Secret Wars II #3
Avengers #260
Daredevil #223
The Incredible Hulk #312

This week The Beyonder takes over the whole world - but can that satisfy him? We also have a mixed bag of crossover comics; there's Derek's favorite ever issue of The Incredible Hulk and there's an issue of Daredevil that saw Denny O'Neil quit the book. It's a mess, but is it purposefully recalling the temptation of Christ in the desert?

Next week: the Beyonder tries to understand love. We have some crossover action again, but be aware: there is one crossover comic that is hard to find. It's not on the Marvel Unlimited app because it's Rom: Space Knight, which was a licensed book. But fear not, we have a link to where you can read the issue. 

This week's homework: 
Secret Wars II #4
Alpha Flight #28
Avengers #261
Dazzler #40
Rom #72

That Rom comic can be found right here. And if you like it, be aware that Marvel struck a deal with Hasbro and they will be releasing a Rom omnibus in the future! Look out for it. 

The Beyonder goes to pound town this issue as he seeks to understand this crazy little thing called love. What is love and desire? And can he make Dazzler love him? This week sees us having a big argument about Dune Part II moving and the Oscars in general, as well as, believe it or not, a big argument about the existential philosophy of an issue of Rom: Spaceknight. 

Next week the Beyonder gets sad! And we have a handful of crossovers for homework. Your reading for next week:
Secret Wars II #5
Doctor Strange #74
Fantastic Four #285
The Thing #30

That's not so bad, and this time all of them are on Marvel Unlimited! See you in a week, gang. 

This week The Beyonder gets real sad and goes emo with a 13 year old girl, who ends up being a significant recurring character in the X titles! The Avengers pull a Ray Stantz, and Derek wonders if Iman Vellani is scabbing by promoting her new Ms. Marvel comic book. 

Next week's Secret Wars II is much more crossover heavy than some of our recent issues, and one of the comics you need to read is simply unavailable anywhere. With that in mind I have included a link where you can find the issue. 

Your homework: 
Secret Wars II #6
Cloak and Dagger #4
The Micronauts: The New Voyages #16 (read this issue here)
Power Pack #18
Power Man and Iron Fist #121
Thor #363

The Beyonder has turned away from his despair, and now he wants to help people. But this bugs Captain America and Mister Fantastic who yet again  do nothing about the Beyonder but do continue to threaten him. The Marvel cosmic beings show up in this issue, and something happens that finally gets Molecule Man off the couch. 

Plus we have a whole bunch of crossover comics, including a Thor/Power Pack crossover and a Micronauts story that is so wild you just have to read it.

Next week's homework!
Secret Wars II #7
Amazing Spider-Man #273
New Defenders #152
New Mutants #36
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #111
Uncanny X-Men #202

The Beyonder has a lot to think about, and this issue that's pretty much all he does - sit and think. But this guy has an impact on the world even when he's just parking his kiester on a rock in the South Pacific, and first he gathers a crowd of followers and then a group of villains, sent by Mephisto. 

This episode we talk about how Puma should be the star of a Sony movie, what Peter Parker line makes Derek feel seen and how a lifetime of comic reading can really alter the way you perceive the world. 

Homework for next week:
Secret Wars II #8
Amazing Spider-Man #274
Avengers #265
Fantastic Four #288
New Mutants #37
Uncanny X-Men #203

The Beyonder has had enough. This universe, and all of the desire and disconnection he has found here, has driven him to the brink. The only option left to him is to destroy it all so that he can once again be alone. But can Marsha cuck Owen Reese, the Molecule Man, hard enough to save reality?

This week's crossovers include some of the best books we've read in this whole little project. In many ways this issue and the best of the crossovers (not so fast, Fantastic Four) represent the ideal version of what Secret Wars II - and by proxy comic book crossovers - could be. 

Next wee it's the finale, and your homework is simple: 
Secret Wars II #9
Av engers #266

That's it! See you then. 

The cosmic conclusion of the nine part Secret Wars II saga is upon us! This week we have only one crossover, an epilogue with the Avengers, and otherwise this whole episode is going to be about baby killing. Yes, you read that right - baby killing is a main component of this final issue of the superhero crossover comic book series. 

Did you enjoy Secret Wars II as much as we did? Interested in more comic readalongs? Let us know! Join the Patreon to get into the Discord and join the discussion - click here!

Next week: we're back to television with the first episode of Loki season two. After that we may go back to X-Men: The Animated Series or another comic book, depending on how you feel about it. Let us know!

After years we get the second season of Loki, and it starts off with a bang. This episode also starts off with a bang as I tell a tale from my old drinking days when I tried to get into a fight with someone involved with the production of this episode. Who? You'll have to listen!

Also this week: Derek gets to be the one who laughs at a mispronunciation, we remember how much we love Owen Wilson and we wonder if an event at the end of the episode is going to be resolved as obviously as we think it will.

Join the Patreon! Go to www.patreon.com/cinemasangha to support the show and get access to the Discord!

This week it's a twisterooni, as I am the one nitpicking and Derek is the one defending. However we both agree this episode's cold open was designed to make us feel like we missed a whole episode of the show. 

Plus there's news! A bunch of trivia questions whose answers just don't feel right! Plus I reveal the dark reason I won't review the new book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios (I know one of the authors and he's a really good dude and it would be awkward if I didn't like the book).

Thanks for listening! Come join the Patreon for even more shows!

What does everybody want in this show? This week we talk about some muddled motivations and some muddled stakes, but do those things mean the episode isn't enjoyable? Not necessarily!

Also: we're reading MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios and it's giving me memberberries about the days when I was in the scooping game.

Come join the Patreon at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha!

This week's Loki ends on a major cliffhanger, but is the journey to get there worth it? On this episode we try to figure out what the different characters actually want, and what the stakes of the show are - things you would hope the program made clearer!

Before that - a revisit of Infinity War and Endgame leads to discussion about why Phase Four feels so different, excitement-wise, from the first three phases. What's different, and what does the future hold? Plus - we finish reading MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, and have some thoughts!

Thanks for listening and see you again next week. 

Believe it or not this week I'm not complaining. The penultimate episode of Loki season 2 is a lot of fun and has the kind of lovely strangeness that's been missing. It also has the Velvet Underground... and that I complain about, believe it or not. 

Plus: hot takes on that big Variety piece about Marvel Studios, and which parts sound kind of like BS. Who is throwing Nia DaCosta under the bus here? And what does it mean when FX are "out of focus?"

Next week: the season finale! It's probably gonna be big, so join us to hash it all out.

It's the end of Loki... and it's the end of Loki? Big series finale here, with major consequences for the God of Mischief. But does the rest of the season support the finale? Is it possible the last episode of a show can be amazing if the ones before are kind of not great? Find out!

Also: we talk a little bit about The Marvels, saving the main discussion for our podcast Watch Men. You can get that by subscribing at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. Just $5 a month! Somehow that is now the cost of a cup of coffee.

Next week we're trying something different. We enjoyed talking Secret Wars II but the investment in time - some weeks we asked you to read 9 comics! - was too much. So as we wait for Echo to start we're going to read famous first appearances of classic comic characters. First up: Superman in Action Comics #1! That's available free on Comixology and also on the DC Unlimited app. 

Thanks for listening, see you next week!

While we wait for What If...? to start, we decided to do more comic book readalongs. But we learned a lesson from Secret Wars II - we can't ask you guys to read 9 comics a week. So our interim activity will be reading first appearances of famous characters, and what more famous a character to start with than Superman himself, first appearing in 1938's Action Comics #1.

But first: a whole lot of news! Pedro Pascal! We talk about Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (no spoilers)! Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and what that has to do with Fantastic Four! And so much more, inckding how Derek broke his phone.

And when it comes to Superman, we discuss Jerry Siegel's Batman-like origin story, what elements of the Man of Steel were in place from the start, Superman's relationship to Judaism and immigration, and we broach the dangerous topic of "Were Siegel and Shuster geniuses or just two guys with one good idea?"

Next week: the first appearance of Spider-Man! It's Amazing Fantasy #15, which you can read on the Marvel Unlimited app (and which is almost certainly easy to find elsewhere on the world wide web). 

Thanks for listening!

This week we're back to reading comics, and we are continuing our origins project. It's Amazing Fantasy #15, the historic first appearance of Peter Parker, the spectacular Spider-Man!

You can find this comic on Marvel Unlimited or for free on the Kindle app; what's nice is that Marvel has reprinted the whole comic, which includes a bunch of frankly terrible back-up stories... which we also read and talk about!

How does this tale hold up? Did Stan Lee and Steve Ditko get it right the first time? Find out!

By the way - we have merch now! Hit up our merch store where you can buy one of two t-shirt designs, both based on Derek's iconic catchphrase "Aggressively Fine." All sales from the shirts go to Derek, who frankly does not get paid enough for these podcasts. Put some spending money in his pocket!

Click here to check out the merch. 

Welcome to the debut of Batman... or should we say, The Bat-Man. In Detective Comics #27 Bob Kane and Bill Finger introduced a character who would impact the pop culture of the 20th century in ways nobody could have guessed. Hell, reading this entire comic book it becomes clear nobody would have guessed this stuff would still be around in ten years, let alone 80+ years later. 

We attempted to read all of Detective Comics #27, but the length and the general crumminess stymied us! Still, reading some of the other stories helped give some interesting context for just how samey and yet how different Batman is in comparison to these other detectives.

Also: what the hell is wrong with the movies? We go on a long digression and kind of an argument about the way that franchises - especially action franchises - have disappointed at the box office this year. Are we on the cusp of an inflection?

Thanks for listening! Join us on the Discord by becoming a member at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha!

This week it's a look back at the birth of the Marvel Age of Comics, and it's not completely what you might expect. It's weird, silly and not actually the Marvel Universe as we know it. For one thing, the Fantastic Four debut in a fictional city, not New York!

Before that we have some news, and some movie talk - Derek has caught up with Napoleon and The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, while I've been playing Baldur's Gate 3. Find out what we think about these, what we think about Sean Gunn playing Max Lord in Superman: Legacy, and a whole bunch more. 

Next week: All-Star Comics #8, the first appearance of Wonder Woman! Find it on the DC Universe app.

And by the way - we sell stuff now! Check out our web store and buy a shirt, a mug or a horrific sweatshirt. Click here to buy something nice for Christmas (no guarantee it arrives by Christmas).

A Cinema Sangha Special Presentation!

This week we are giving you a free glimpse at one of our other podcasts, The Bad Batch. That's our weekly Star Wars show, and this week we're talking about the new documentary A Disturbance In the Force, about the legendary Star Wars Holiday Special.

It's a pretty terrific documentary that gives you a good sense of the context of early Star Wars, of 1970s TV and just how the hell something as truly awful as the Star Wars Holiday Special even came to be. 

If you like this episode join the Patreon to get more! For just $1 a month you'll get The Bad Batch every week and access to our Discord, where we hang out and talk about movies, TV and all kinds of stuff. But get this - it's not toxic! For real!

Click here to join the Patreon!

Trigger warning: someone farts on mic this episode. 

And if that's not bad enough, my mic was not set properly for the intro of the episode. But don't worry, the bad sound quality only lasts fifty minutes. We talk about all kinds of news and stuff, and also there's a recorded fart, but it sounds very bad. So if you don't want to suffer through it skip to 50:19. 

When we get to All-Star #8 we are faced with a stultifying Justice Society of America book-length epic before diving into Introducing Wonder Woman. Along the way we talk about what a weirdo William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman's creator, was and we examine how very different modern warrior Wonder Woman is from the character's initial origins. 

We'll be covering What If...? in our next few episodes, and then Echo. Meanwhile we will be doing an episode of Watch Men about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, available only to subscribers at the $5 and above level. Click here to subscribe!

This week we are talking about all the episodes of What If...? season two all at once. That's partially because Disney+ dropped em one day after another and partially because I had COVID and we couldn't do this in two parts like we intended. 

Was this a bad season? One of us thinks so! Was this a 'whatever' season with a few good eps and one great episode? One of us thinks so! Is What If...? wasting the entire concept by just doing rehashes and being afraid of killing any characters? Everybody agrees!

Next week: your questions! Come join us on the Discord to leave your questions that we will answer. To join the Discord just become a subscriber at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. Even a buck a month gets you in!

You asked, we answer. This week we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you a special Q&A episode. We asked your for your questions and you came through - so much so that we couldn't answer everyone! The questions range from the silly to the sublime, and if you listen you can find out why I would marry the Red Skull, who Derek's least favorite Flash is and whether we ever intend to do more podcasts on different subjects.

Next week we will be talking about the first two or three episodes of Echo, so don't miss that mature audiences conversation!

This week I finally come clean about my serious case of John Krasinski Derangement Syndrome,  and we speculate about Pedro Pascal's schedule. Then it's on to the first three episodes of Echo, which showed up on Disney+ and Hulu this week. The whole series was released at once, but we're splitting it up because it would be a very, very long episode indeed if we did it all. 

The big takeaway? Neither of us hated this show the way we expected we would. Maybe the most shocking thing - we both agree the show could have used more episodes. When's the last time you heard that about a binge show?

Next week: the last two episodes of Echo season one!

The finale of Echo is here, and the show was better than we expected - but how much better? We do not agree on this particular point, but we do find ourselves in agreement on a lot of elements that we actually did like quite a bit.

And then there is the news - a lot going on in the world of comic book movies, including the groundbreaking news that Superman will have a sense of humor in the upcoming James Gunn film, and if you think that sent a certain segment of fandom into a rage spiral... well, you may be a prophet!

By the way, did you know we have a store, and there is merch in that store? Come visit at this link and get yourself some confusingly branded mugs, shirts, hoodies and more!

Also: join us at the Cinema Sangha Patreon by becoming a $5 a month member and gain access to our monthly superhero deep dive podcast, Watch Men. This month rather than do a movie based on a comic book, we're doing a movie that launched a comic book - Planet of the Apes, which spawned long-lived Marvel and Boom comic runs. That episode should be out this week at some point!

Thanks for listening. See you next week as we discuss Journey Into Mystery #83, the first appearance of The Mighty Thor!

“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”

We all know the Mighty Thor today, thanks to the MCU and of course his appearance with the Incredible Hulk on TV, but how did he start? The latest entry in our Secret Origins series has shown us that many of the most famous comic book characters were born with their fundamental DNA intact. Not so much with the Mighty Thor. 

In fact, in his first appearance Thor is visually recognizable... but that's about it! And maybe his first appearance isn't actually all that good, believe it or not. 

Plus: some Marvel and DC news. Plus: a mysterious piece of bread ends up on my windshield. 

Next week: The Flash #110 (1959), the first appearance of Kid Flash. Available on the DC Universe app, and likely easy to find elsewhere online. 

Thanks for listening!

Comics are for kids. We all know that. But don't kids deserve a little bit more respect? This is the question that hangs over the two stories in The Flash #110, which sees the introduction of Wally West, aka Kid Flash, aka a future Flash. 

Before we get to the origin of this scarlet speedster we got ourselves some news, including pondering about whether they'll keep Israeli superhero Sabra in the new Captain America, which seems like it's going to do a complete reshoot in the coming months. 

Next week: join us as we revisit the first appearance of Captain America himself in Captain America Comics #1! Lets knock out some Ratzis in this comic you can find on the Marvel app and likely for free on a bunch of other services.

Want more? Join us on the Patreon at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha and get more podcasts and hang out on our Discord!

When Captain America throws his mighty shield.... well, he's not throwing his shield yet, but he's already got a 9 year old sidekick who sleeps in bed with him? Yes, this is just one of the revelations coming out of Captain America Comics #1, where Joe Simon and Jack Kirby introduce the Star-Spangled Avenger and his nemesis The Red Skull. 

And there are backup stories, and get this - they're first appearances of major Marvel mythological concepts as well! Pretty impressive for 1941.

Next week: Detective Comics #38, the first appearance of Robin, the Boy Wonder!

The Dynamic Duo is born... and right off the bat there's something a little odd about their relationship. Now, we're not taking Wertham's side on this one but it is really strange for a rich guy to simply abscond with a recently orphaned little boy. 

It's Detective Comics #38, the first appearance of Robin the Boy Wonder, the multi-murdering sidekick to the Dark Knight Detective. And there are backup stories galore, a few of which contain racism!

Before that: the news! The Fantastic Four are cast. Should the movie open in such close proximity to Superman: Legacy? Or can movie theaters support both films?

Next week: we're taking a break. In the meantime, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha at the $5 level so you can get our upcoming podcast where we will discuss Madame Web!

This week we're doing something a little different. We're pulling an episode of Watch Men out from behind the paywall and letting you get a listen to it - free! The episode is about The Marvels, a much-maligned MCU film that we quite liked and that is now on Disney+ and finally picking up some appreciation. What better time to get this back in front of your ear canals?

But don't worry - if you've already heard this we have a solid hours of news and putzing around, so you've got plenty to listen to this week.

If you like what you hear and want to get more of our longform movie discussions, join the Patreon at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha. You get Watch Men at the $5 and above levels! The next episode will break format as we discuss Dune Part II.

This week we're talking about the 96th annual Academy Awards, the first Oscars Derek has watched in over a decade! And he picked a good one to return to, as the night had surprisingly deserving winners, big fun moments and also Godzilla. 

Find out our thoughts on who deserved what they won and which losers should have been winners. Hear us discuss "I'm Just Ken" and also get into an argument about celluloid! This one has it all. 

By the way, join our Patreon at the $5 or above level to get our lengthy podcast about Dune Part Two, which is hitting later today!

As we get ready for X-Men 97 starting next week we take an episode to just catch up with the news, including the latest on Blade, Eternals sequels and the eternal production of Thunderbolts. Plus: they finished Wonder Man?!?

Next week it's all nostalgia all the time as the continuation of the 90s X-Men cartoon hits Disney+. We'll be covering the first two episodes. See you there!

First up, a programming note: we will be swapping the days we release our podcasts. We are going to release Marvelvision on Fridays and move The Bad Batch to Mondays. So expect another episode of Marvelvision this week. 

On this episode: wait, the new X-Men cartoon is good? Like, really good? How did this happen? What miracle has occurred? 

And in the intro: some small news, and I tried smelling salts. Wowza. They're not just in old movies, they're real, and they pack a punch. 

Thanks for listening and see you again in a few days!

This week the X-Men cartoon sorta adapts the crossover event Inferno, and jams it all into about 40 minutes. Is it too rushed? Yes. Does it still mostly rule? Yes.

In the news segment we have thoughts about Spider-Man 4 and the rumored directors. Plus: we talk more about bringing an It's Always Sunny attitude to Fantastic Four. 

Thanks for listening and see you next week!