Cinematic Universe

SSSSMOKIN! SOMEBODY STOP ME! THAT'S A SPICY MEATBALL! And other such things that you undoubtedly heard (and maybe even shouted) thousands of times in the playground in the mid 1990s. Yes, we went there: it's Jim Carrey in Chuck Russell's adaptation of the Dark Horse comic The Mask. In the news, meanwhile, we mostly talk about Spider-Man: Homecoming because, well, it's us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe talks Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Defenders, Cloak and Dagger and a whole bunch more in a bumper news section. Then it's on to last week's comics recommendations: Greg Pak and Aaron Lopresti's Planet Hulk: Anarchy and Kieron Gillen and Kano's Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bit of a change of pace this week, as we look for the first time at a direct-to-DVD animated adaptation, with Sam Liu's 2010 film of Planet Hulk. As well as discussing this specific film's merits, we talk more generally about the genre: do these adaptations generally work? What, if anything, do they offer that a live-action film or the original comic can't? And are there any comics we'd like to see adapted into the format? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big pile of DC-related news heads up this week's minisode, before Joe moves on to the Batman v Superman-inspired recommendations of (obviously) The Dark Knight Returns and (slightly less obviously) Superman & Batman: Generations. But #WhoWillWin in this epic battle between Frank Miller and John Byrne? We promise we won't make you wait two and a half hours to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do we really need to introduce this? It's our Batman v Superman episode: you should know the drill by now. Listen on to find out whether another Zack Snyder film made Seb throw up, or whether the unlikely scenario of Seb and James somehow liking it more than Joe did came to pass. And as usual with new releases, we've done a spoiler-free instant reaction section (recorded in a central London pizza restaurant literally minutes after we got out of the film) before getting into the detailed nitty-gritty, so if you haven't seen the film yet, you can still listen to the first twenty minutes or so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week's Man of Steel-inspired comics reading was made up of two books that Seb has very different feelings about: Mark Waid and Leinil Yu's Birthright and J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis' Earth One volume 1. But did Joe agree on either or both counts? Find out in this week's minisode. There's also the usual roundup of the week's comic book movie news - including the trailer-based appearance of a certain webslinger... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We finally reach The Movie That Literally Made Seb Vomit; but in case you were worried our Man of Steel podcast was going to be two hours of relentless negativity, we've drafted in Rhys Williamson - who actually liked it - to provide some balance alongside Joe and Seb. That's after news discussion around Joseph Gordon-Levitt's departure from Sandman, and Sony's announcement of Venom. And no, the Civil War trailer didn't make it out in time to be covered here, but you'd better believe we'll be talking about that soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inspired by Ghost World, this week's comic book recommendations are both indie titles: Jeff Lemire's Essex County, and Adrian Tomine's Optic Nerve: Sleepwalk and Other Stories. In the news, meanwhile, Joe looks at Finn Jones being cast as Iron Fist, and that seemingly inevitable Gambit delay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A film about two sarcastic, alienated outsiders trying to make sense of the baffling world around them? Can't imagine why that would appeal to us at all. Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes' 2001 masterpiece ends up giving us our longest episode yet - although that's partly because of how long Seb spent talking about DC Rebirth at the start... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe looks back at a big news week, from Deadpool's astonishing box-office take to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's shooting and casting announcements. Then it's on to last week's recommendations, the first volumes of Cable & Deadpool (2004) and Justice League International (1987). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cinematic Universe meets The Merc With A Mouth as Joe, James and guest Amon Warmann discuss the latest cinematic release from Fox's X-Men universe - the R-rated superhero movie, Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Tim Miller. Don't worry if you haven't seen the film - we start off with a fairly hefty spoiler-free discussion so that you can still listen to the podcast even if you haven't seen it yet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To plug the gap before our imminent release-week Deadpool review episode, Joe and James have got together to bring you a special "Deadpool For Dummies" primer episode - including answers to some listener questions! So you'll have no excuse for not knowing who the guy is when you go to see the film on Friday. And once you have done, come back for our main ep! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe was so keen for pun-ishment this week that he accidentally read twelve additional Punisher issues that hadn't actually been recommended to him. As it is, though, he finally got around to checking out Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Welcome Back Frank and Garth Ennis (again) and Dougie Braithwaite's Mother Russia; but you might as well also hear what he heard of the opening arcs of the Garth Ennis (yet again) 2001 ongoing series as well. It's confusing, this comics lark, isn't it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Seb and James have maybe their biggest ever Marvel-vs-DC argument, over two characters they don't even really like that much. Then it's on to a bit of news discussion - including some cheery speculation over Civil War's potential deaths - before moving on to the main event, the 2004 Thomas Jane-starring adaptation of The Punisher. Nobody could argue it's a good film, but is it one we enjoyed watching? The answer, in one of our longest episodes to date, might surprise you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe looks at a busy week of DC news, with THAT Suicide Squad trailer and the first Wonder Woman footage. Then there's a quick stopoff for news on Deadpool and Jessica Jones season 2, before a look at this week's Amazing Spider-Man comics recommendations: Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli's Spider-Men, and Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo's Shed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility. Unfortunately, you won't hear those words in this week's film, as we're looking at Sony's spectacularly unnecessary franchise reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man. Er, we may have just spoiled whether or not we think it's any good. But you should listen anyway. PLUS! Stay tuned to the end of the pod (even if you're the kind of person who normally skips the Pitch) for some Important News about the future of Cinematic Universe! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of our 2015 retrospective, we rattle through a few more categories than in the first half, as we decide which of the films and TV shows we covered last year should win the awards for Best Song, Best Costume, Best Villain, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Worst Film and finally our Best Film of the lot. Plus, we recommend a couple of 2015's best comics that we hadn't already discussed on the pod, and we induct our first name into the Cinematic Universe Hall of Fame. AND there's a chance for you the listener to have your own say in a special category at the end! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the inaugural Cinematic Universe End of Year Awards! In the first half of our two-part special, we look back over all the films and TV shows - whether new or old - that we covered in 2015, and hand out arbitrary awards in a range of categories. This time around you'll hear our thoughts on the best supporting actors and actresses, our favourite heroes, the best relationship/couple, the movies with the best casting choices overall, and the best film that actually came out in 2015 (spoilers: that one's probably not Fantastic Four). We'd love to hear your thoughts on the films we've covered this year - and don't forget to come back next week for the second half, featuring even more awards being dished out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe rounds up a relatively quiet pre-Christmas news period with some chat on Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 rumours and Wonder Woman; before moving on to the Iron Man 2-inspired comics recommendations: Secret Avengers #1-5 by Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato Jr, and Iron Man: The Secret Origin of Tony Stark by Kieron Gillen, Dale Eaglesham, Greg Land and Carlo Pagulayan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a mammoth news section before we even get to the movie this week, with THREE trailers to discuss (Batman vs Superman, Civil War and X-Men: Apocalypse) AND that recent twist in Supergirl. After that, we get back into the MCU with Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2 - is its reputation as the black sheep of the franchise deserved, or is there more to it than it's normally given credit for? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a change to our scheduled programming, Joe, James and special guest Caroline Siede look back at the latest Marvel/Netflix series: Jessica Jones. Does the series live up to our impossibly high expectations of an Alias adaptation? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe's homework in the wake of Kick-Ass was to read one of James' favourite comics ever and one of Seb's favourite comics ever. So let's hope this went well, otherwise he's probably fired. Meanwhile, there have also been a few movie trailers of note that we'd probably better get around to discussing in the news section. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe, Seb and James tackle one of the most controversial superhero movies ever made, in the shape of Matthew Vaughn's 2010 adaptation of Kick-Ass. In the news, there's time for a bit of chat about our initial impressions of Jessica Jones (but don't worry, we don't go spoilery beyond the first episode) as well as the new round of casting news as Wonder Woman enters production, and some rumours about Justice League Dark. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe takes a look at the week in comic book movie and TV news, before launching into his thoughts on last week's Hellboy-inspired comics recommendations: Hellboy volume 3 (The Chained Coffin and Others) and The Umbrella Academy volume 1 (Apocalypse Suite). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe and Seb are joined by special guest Michael Leader of Film4.com to discuss Guillermo del Toro's fondly-regarded 2004 adaptation of Mike Mignola's Hellboy. In a quiet news week, meanwhile, we take the time for a (mostly non-spoilery) chat about what we thought of Supergirl's first couple of episodes, and a picking apart of that first Preacher trailer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a packed news roundup this week, with Wonder Woman and Doctor Strange casting, the Preacher trailer, and some more details on Suicide Squad. Then it's on to the Blade-inspired comics recommendations from last week: Blade: Undead Again and Welcome Back to the House of Mystery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's our first ever Halloween special! So naturally, we're looking at a superhero/horror crossover in the shape of Stephen Norrington's 1998, Wesley Snipes-starring, Blade. Oh, and it's the first major Marvel film of the modern era and its success may have paved the way for the mega-successful Marvel we know now, or something. But is it actually any good? Meanwhile, the guys also take an in-depth look at that Jessica Jones trailer, and James tries to explain who the heck this Legion guy is. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's an X-theme to the news this week, as Joe discusses Fox's Legion and Hellfire TV announcements, and makes the now-usual weekly check-in with the director rumours for Gambit. Then it's on to the X-Men: First Class inspired comics recommendations: the classic 1993 crossover Fatal Attractions, and Dennis Hopeless and Jamie McKelvie's Season One OGN. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Wolverine-centric look at the X-Men movie chronology continues with Matthew Vaughn's 2011 film, X-Men: First Class. And in the news, we look at Marvel's latest release date shuffle, Vin Diesel's Inhumans hints, and casting announcements for Agent Carter and Jessica Jones. Apologies in advance for Joe and Seb's low-quality mics and James' low-quality health. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's news items include new directors for Thor: Ragnarok and The Flash's next big-screen outing, as well as news about the Damage Control, Watchmen and Jessica Jones TV shows. Then Joe reviews our comic - or rather, manga - picks from last week: Ghost in the Shell and Excel Saga. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a step into new territory for the podcast, with our first animated movie - and our first movie based on a Japanese manga. To help Joe get his head around 1995's Ghost in the Shell, James is joined by anime expert Ian Grundy. In the news, meanwhile, we look at the possibility of a Blue Beetle/Booster Gold movie, and the latest on Jessica Jones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a relatively quiet week for comic book movie and TV news, but Joe touches on Gambit's directorial troubles, rumours of a Booster Gold/Blue Beetle movie and some MCU Netflix updates before getting on with last week's Incredible Hulk-inspired comics recommendations - Planet Hulk: Exile by Greg Pak and Carlo Pagulayan, and Damon Lindelof and Leinil Yu's Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cinematic Universe returns to its Marvel namesake to re-examine Louis Leterrier's 2008 film, The Incredible Hulk, which stars Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, and a bunch of other people who subsequently disappeared from the MCU forever. But before that, we look at the latest comic book movie news, including casting news for Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, the Jessica Jones teaser, and Scarlet Witch's potential role in Civil War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe takes a look at the latest comic book movie and TV news, before discussing last week's Howard the Duck-related recommendations: issues #5 through #8 of the original Steve Gerber and Gene Colan run, and then the recent first volume of Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones' 2015 run. He also picked up Skottie Young and Jim Mahfood's Howard the Human. Crikey, anyone would think he liked the movie or something. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Marvel's first ever feature-length live action theatrical movie! What a special event for us to cover. Unfortunately... it's also Howard the Duck. Heaven help us, we actually went through with it. Before that, there's discussion of those spoilery Civil War promo images, and the potential casting of Mads Mikkelsen in Doctor Strange. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe reviews Batman: Year One, Batman #455-457 and Shadow of the Bat #16-18 after Seb and James recommended them at the end of our Batman Begins episode, as well as running down the latest comic book movie news including casting news for Gambit and a new spin-off for Agents of SHIELD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's our first reboot, as Joe, Seb and James look back at Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins. As usual, there's also a roundup of the latest comic book movie and TV news, including 100 Bullets, Powerless and Wolverine 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While the world recovers from Fantastic Four, Joe delves into the comics recommended by James and Matthew last week: Fantastic Four issues #52-60 and #570-575. As usual, there's also a run through the latest comic book movie news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a rare Saturday release for Cinematic Universe, as Joe, James and special guest Matt Turner discuss 2015's most controversial comic book adaptation: Josh Trank's Fantastic Four. As usual with new releases, there's a few minutes of spoiler-free chat if you haven't seen the film yet but just want to get our opinion - then it's on with the in-depth discussion after that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a change to our original schedule (enforced by the Fantastic Four review embargo) this week's Cinematic Universe is another bonus episode, in which Joe, Seb and James look back at the 2009 video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. Are the Arkham games the definitive superhero video game experience - or does such a thing even exist? What other games in the genre would we recommend? And do Seb and James have a game idea of their own they can pitch to Joe? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After our SDCC special last week, it's a quieter one for news this time around, but Joe quickly runs through Rachel McAdams' being linked with Doctor Strange, the Marvel/Netflix "every six months" strategy, and the Spider-Man writers announcement. Then it's on to the Ant-Man-inspired comics recommendations: 1968's Avengers #57-60 by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, and the first volume of Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber's Superior Foes of Spider-Man. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wait, hasn't SDCC finished already? Well, yes - but we know you're just itching to hear our detailed take on some of the biggest news stories that emerged from the convention. Besides, this is a special BONUS episode, designed to fill the gap left by bringing you our Ant-Man ep a week early. So listen in for our take on the Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad trailers, before Seb and James fill Joe in on some of the comics background behind X-Men: Apocalypse, the Green Lantern Corps, and the new Flash characters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's another Release Day Special, as we come to you LIVE (nb. - not actually live) with our thoughts on the latest addition to the MCU: Peyton Reed's Ant-Man. As per usual, we give you a few minutes of spoiler free opinions (in case you really can't wait to hear what we think) before moving on to the spoiler-filled discussion proper. There's no news section this week, as we'll be doing a special post-SDCC roundup next Wednesday; but in the meantime, we do have some discussion of the newly-released documentary The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe begins to tackle the wealth of movie and TV news coming out of SDCC, before moving on to Seb and James' Spider-Man comics recommendations: The Master-Planner Saga and Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 1. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Original recipe Cinematic Universe finally returns, as Joe, Seb and James reunite to discuss a subject that's very close to all our hearts: Sam Raimi's 2002 film Spider-Man. In the news, meanwhile, we give our thoughts on the CW's new Vixen animated series, and the status quo changes for Agent Carter season 2. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe runs through the latest comic book movie news before tackling this week's trio of Scott Pilgrim-inspired comics recommendations: Kevin Smith and Jim Mahfood's Clerks, Jen van Meter and Christine Norrie's Hopeless Savages, and Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's Phonogram: The Singles Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's on like Donkey Kong, as Joe, Seb and special guest Al Kennedy of House to Astonish look at Edgar Wright's 2010 adaptation of the classic Bryan Lee O'Malley series Scott Pilgrim. There's also a late-breaking-news segment discussing the casting of Tom Holland as the MCU's new Spider-Man. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe discusses Grant Morrison and JG Jones' Marvel Boy, Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos' Alias, briefly talks Velvet and Hawkeye, and runs through the latest comic book movie news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe, James and guest Rhys Williamson discuss Josh Trank's 2012 found footage superhero/villain movie Chronicle, plus the latest news on The Wicked + The Divine and Aquaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's minisode, Joe looks at the week's latest comic book TV & Movie news and reviews the comic recommendations from last week's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles podcast - TMNT Black & White Classics Vol. 1, collecting the first 4 issues of the original 1980s Mirage series, and TMNT Vol. 1: Change is Constant, collecting the first four issues of the modern IDW series which started in 2011. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.