AP Marvel

After a read of Chris’s Venom review, they, Izzy, and Anthony are joined by returning guest Sam Riordan (@JustSamPlease) and total rando Peter (plugging @MorganRoseArt on Instagram) in discussing Sony’s “Marvel” “film” at length, topics including its production history, character arcs, choices of accents, and overall genre weirdness. Like the movie itself, this episode is a mess, but expect to hear a lot about Tom Hardy’s old MySpace profile and the wonderful Eddie/Venom fanart the crew has found.

Recommended Reading:

Next Week: Our Favorite Luke Cage and Iron Fist Moments 

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

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Chris went to New York Comic-Con! Anthony interviews them about their NYCC experience, from the show floor, networking with other people in the press, to actually interviewing cast members and producers from Runaways — this episode includes some audio from those interviews, where the cast members talked about social and political issues as depicted on the show. Plus, hear some impressions from Chris regarding the Daredevil season 3 panel.

Chris’s NYCC Coverage on Destructoid:

Next Week: How Does Venom Exist? 

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

Email suggestions for topics or your own MCU viewing anecdotes to [email protected]!

The three Thor films are all drastically different products, each with a different director with their own styles — but does Thor the character have a coherent arc through those movies? Izzy leads the discussion with Chris, Anthony, and StuCo teacher Erin Beasley in examining how Thor has evolved from Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and Thor: Ragnarok, while briefly speculating where Thor can go after Avengers: Infinity War drastically changed up some stakes for him.

Recommended by Anthony: Why Thor Ragnarok is the Perfect Reboot — Movies with Mikey

Next Week: The NYCC Episode!

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

Email suggestions for topics or your own MCU viewing anecdotes to [email protected]!

Romance may not be at the center for the MCU, but it’s a persistent element regardless. This episode has Chris, Izzy, Anthony, and special guest, playwright Dave Harris (@StayDancingDave) dissect many of the canon pairings in the MCU films and shows. The conversation then turns into a discussion about why we look for well-written romance in fiction in general, as well as a talk about how the MCU depicts sex.

Content Warning: sex, body talk, language

Extra Reading: Sex and the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Movie superheroes are being scrubbed of desire (Salon)

Next Week: The Evolution of Thor (with special guest Erin Beasley)

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

Email suggestions for topics or your own MCU viewing anecdotes to [email protected]!

We begin with Chris reading their article about the themes of Iron Fist season 2, before jumping into our regular AP Marvel panel discussion. Joined by AP Marvel substitute “teacher” Thomas Rasmussen, Marvel News Desk’s number one Iron Fist fan Adam Barnhardt (@adambarnhardt), and all-around Typhoid Mary enthusiast Brooklyn Wallace (@BrooklynMND), the crew breaks down their thoughts on the heart of the season’s story, the action scenes, and their overall love of Ward Meachum.

Extra Reading:

Next Week: Love, Sex, and Marvel (with special guest Dave Harris)

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

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Let’s get into an actual school subject on AP Marvel for once: science! Chris is joined by their friend, biology and English major Betsy Ladyzhets (@owlinaminor) and regular co-host Anthony to talk about how the Marvel Cinematic Universe depicts science. The universe started somewhat grounded in Iron Man before things went awry in films like Ant-Man and the Wasp. Is it worth trying to get back to scientific accuracy, or will we need to shut up and continue our suspension of disbelief?

Extra Reading:

Next Week: What Was Iron Fist Season 2 About?

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

Email suggestions for topics or your own MCU viewing anecdotes to [email protected]!

Anthony brings on returning substitute hosts Sabrina Clarke (@sabsclarke) and Thomas Rasmussen to discuss the gaming concept of “Power Creep.” As the MCU heroes grow, they become more powerful — but is it possible for this power to be too much? Do these characters have to keep gaining new powers in order to stay interesting to audiences?

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

Email suggestions for topics or your own MCU viewing anecdotes to [email protected]!

With the show going through a temporary change in roster, Chris has a one-on-one conversation with Izzy, who will be leaving for a few weeks due to some school-related commitments. The duo talks about the history that led to the creation of AP Marvel, mainly the Carnegie Mellon class that the two taught on the Marvel Cinematic Universe — crack open a cold one with Chris, and enjoy some fun anecdotes.

Stay until the very end to learn which topics we’ll be covering in the future!

Next Week: Power Creep — The Problems of Being Super (starring Anthony, Thomas, and Sabrina)

Coming Soon: Marvel Science 101 (with special guest Betsy Ladyzhets)

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

Email suggestions for topics or your own MCU viewing anecdotes to [email protected]!

The AP Marvel crew completes the Marvel News Desk trifecta by bringing in Caleb (@calebaborchers) to discuss religion as depicted by Netflix’s Daredevil. This Christian quartet talks about Frank Miller, demographics, Father Lantom, and Bibleman. If you haven’t figured it out by now, Anthony may deafen those using headphones, so be wary.

Next Week: The Meta Episode — A History of AP Marvel

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

Email suggestions for topics or your own MCU viewing anecdotes to [email protected]!

Marvel News Desk’s Brooklyn Wallace (@BrooklynMND) has been thinking about ethics a lot after watching Luke Cage season 2, so AP Marvel brings her on to discuss some problematic actions from our favorite MCU heroes and villains. As usual, Chris and Izzy are in attendance, bringing back fellow Marvel StuCo teacher and apparent ethics expert Thomas Rasmussen into the discussion.

Next Week: How Daredevil Depicts Catholicism(with MND’s own Caleb Borchers)

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Theme Music: Steve Molitor

Logo: Charles Villanueva (@cfsvillanueva)

Email suggestions for topics or your own MCU viewing anecdotes to [email protected]!