Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling

This week, it's the masked vigilante and cricket aficionado CASEY JONES! Anthony tackles his ever-changing backstory, while Dr. Issues discusses what makes vigilantes difficult to treat. And the couch session is unlike anything that's come before. So get high on cocaine and watch your speed - listen now!

• Introduction
• Background (05:33)
  • Created by Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird, first appearance in Raphael: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (April 1985)
  • Difficult to cover Casey or any TMNT characters because comics have changed publishers numerous times, each time with a reboot
• Mirage history –
  • Arnold Casey Jones grew up in Brooklyn – was beaten as a child by a gang, which led to him idolizing vigilante TV characters and deciding to clean up the streets himself
  • Casey encounters some muggers, and begins beating them to death until stopped by Raphael – they have several skirmishes until they decide to help each other attack the muggers
  • Helps the Turtles, Splinter, and April when they're attacked in April's house, and they retreat to Casey's grandmother's old farm
  • Over time, he and April begin to get closer until he accidentally kills a teenager, and descends into alcoholism
  • "City at War" - Meets a pregnant waitress named Gabrielle, who he falls in love with and marries – she dies in childbirth, and Casey raises the daughter, named Shadow, as his own – returns to NYC, where he reunites with April
  • They marry and raise Shadow together until April learns she's actually a drawing come to life courtesy of the Kirby warp pen
  • Later, Volume 4 mentions Casey & April are married, and Shadow is a teenager
• Image Comics history (10:39)
  • Follows up on Mirage Vol 2
  • Wears an American flag colored mask
  • Still struggles with alcoholism
• IDW history (12:00)
  • Young hockey player on a scholarship until his mother dies from cancer
  • His father became an alcoholic who beat him repeatedly
  • Befriended Raphael, who saved him from another beating
  • Met April and introduced her to the Turtles
  • His father became Hun, leader of the Purple Dragons, and allied with Shredder – Casey nearly killed as a result of refusing to join
  • Dated April and worked for her parents
• Issues (14:09)
  • Vigilantism
  • Alcoholism (19:38)
  • Issues with personal relationships, both with April and his father (23:27)
• Treatment (28:04)
  • In-universe – Learn from Splinter to focus energy and deal with aggression/anger
  • Out-of-universe (29:48) – Testosterone check
• Skit (35:25)
• Ending

References:

• "Casey Jones" by the Grateful Dead - Anthony & Dr. Issues - 00:55
• "Ninja kick the damn rabbit!" - Scene from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Anthony - 08:34
• "America, F**k Yeah!" from Team America: World Police (NSFW language) - Anthony - 11:31
• "We can rule the galaxy as father and son." - Scene from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - Anthony 13:33
• "You gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket." - Scene from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Anthony - 14:30
• Death Wish - Anthony - 15:23
• Disproportionate retribution - TV Tropes link - Anthony - 17:46
• "I am the law!" - Scene from Judge Dredd - Anthony - 18:28
• Legend of the Drunken Master - Anthony & Dr. Issues - 21:44
• CM Punk - Anthony & Dr. Issues - 23:00

iTunes: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter FacebookE-mailPatreon

This week, it's the masked vigilante and cricket aficionado CASEY JONES! Anthony tackles his ever-changing backstory, while Dr. Issues discusses what makes vigilantes difficult to treat. And the couch session is unlike anything that's come before. So get high on cocaine and watch your speed - listen now!

• Introduction
• Background (05:33)
  
  • Created by Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird, first appearance in Raphael: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (April 1985)
  • Difficult to cover Casey or any TMNT characters because comics have changed publishers numerous times, each time with a reboot
• Mirage history –
  
  • Arnold Casey Jones grew up in Brooklyn – was beaten as a child by a gang, which led to him idolizing vigilante TV characters and deciding to clean up the streets himself
  • Casey encounters some muggers, and begins beating them to death until stopped by Raphael – they have several skirmishes until they decide to help each other attack the muggers
  • Helps the Turtles, Splinter, and April when they’re attacked in April’s house, and they retreat to Casey’s grandmother’s old farm
  • Over time, he and April begin to get closer until he accidentally kills a teenager, and descends into alcoholism
  • “City at War” - Meets a pregnant waitress named Gabrielle, who he falls in love with and marries – she dies in childbirth, and Casey raises the daughter, named Shadow, as his own – returns to NYC, where he reunites with April
  • They marry and raise Shadow together until April learns she’s actually a drawing come to life courtesy of the Kirby warp pen
  • Later, Volume 4 mentions Casey & April are married, and Shadow is a teenager
• Image Comics history (10:39)
  
  • Follows up on Mirage Vol 2
  • Wears an American flag colored mask
  • Still struggles with alcoholism
• IDW history (12:00)
  
  • Young hockey player on a scholarship until his mother dies from cancer
  • His father became an alcoholic who beat him repeatedly
  • Befriended Raphael, who saved him from another beating
  • Met April and introduced her to the Turtles
  • His father became Hun, leader of the Purple Dragons, and allied with Shredder – Casey nearly killed as a result of refusing to join
  • Dated April and worked for her parents
• Issues (14:09)
  
  • Vigilantism
  • Alcoholism (19:38)
  • Issues with personal relationships, both with April and his father (23:27)
• Treatment (28:04)
  
  • In-universe – Learn from Splinter to focus energy and deal with aggression/anger
  • Out-of-universe (29:48) – Testosterone check
• Skit (35:25)
• Ending

References:

• "Casey Jones" by the Grateful Dead - Anthony & Dr. Issues - 00:55
• "Ninja kick the damn rabbit!" - Scene from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Anthony - 08:34
• "America, F**k Yeah!" from Team America: World Police (NSFW language) - Anthony - 11:31
• "We can rule the galaxy as father and son." - Scene from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - Anthony 13:33
• "You gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket." - Scene from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Anthony - 14:30
• Death Wish - Anthony - 15:23
• Disproportionate retribution - TV Tropes link - Anthony - 17:46
• "I am the law!" - Scene from Judge Dredd - Anthony - 18:28
• Legend of the Drunken Master - Anthony & Dr. Issues - 21:44
• CM Punk - Anthony & Dr. Issues - 23:00

iTunes: here
Google Play: here
Stitcher: here
TuneIn: here
iHeartRadio: here
Twitter
Facebook
E-mail
Patreon

It's a special Ant-Man and the Wasp episode as Anthony & Dr. Issues examine HANK PYM! Our hosts discuss his multiple costumed identities (and invent a new one for him), and discuss his interactions with the other Avengers in light of the #MeToo movement. It's all here - Listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

• Introduction
  • Explanation/apology for last week's Sentry episode
  • Discussion of Thanos Annual & new Sentry series
  • Plug for 2 Men and the Mouse podcast
• Background (07:11)
  • Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers in Tales to Astonish #27 (Jan. 1962)
  • Originally just Hank Pym, discovers/creates Pym particles, which allowed him to shrink in size
  • Studies ants & creates suit that allows him to communicate with them, calls himself Ant-Man
  • Reveals his identity to Janet van Dyne, socialite - gives her tiny wings with Pym particles and names her the Wasp - the two of them establish the Avengers with Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk
  • Tales to Astonish #49 - Nov. 1963 - creates Giant-Man identity, and begins dating Janet
  • Becomes Goliath in Avengers #28 (May 1966) upon his return to the Avengers
  • Creates Ultron (1968), who becomes one of Avengers' greatest foes
  • Becomes Yellowjacket (Avengers #59-60) after he suffers schizophrenia from chemicals, but recovers in time to marry Janet
  • Rejoins Avengers as Yellowjacket, but is kicked off team by Henry Peter Gyrich - comes back shortly thereafter
  • Sanctions Scott Lang as Ant-Man while he remains Yellowjacket
  • Begins to demonstrate mental breakdown - suspended from Avengers, he attempts a false flag operation with a robot
    • Janet discovers his plan, and he backhands her - how hard it was supposed to be is up for debate between Jim Shooter and Bob Hall
    • He is kicked off Avengers, and Janet divorces him
  • Jailed while stealing adamantium while under influence of Egghead, but later cleared once Egghead is killed by Hawkeye - decides to stick to Dr. Pym and do research with West Coast Avengers
  • Returns to Avengers as Giant-Man, helps team defeat Ultron again
  • Avengers Forever - In order to fight Immortus, Rick Jones calls upon past Yellowjacket and current Giant-Man - Yellowjacket betrays team to Immortus, but overcome by guilt and rejoins team to side with heroes
  • Split personality between Pym and Yellowjacket, until restored by Wasp
  • "Civil War"/"Secret Invasion" - Yellowjacket is pro-registration during Civil War, until it was revealed he was actually Skrull imposter named Criti Noll
    • Takes on Wasp persona after Janet killed by Skrulls
  • Creates Avengers Academy to train young powered individuals
  • Joins Secret Avengers as Giant-Man
  • "Age of Ultron" - Past Pym makes change to Ultron to allow current team to defeat him
  • Rage of Ultron - Merges with Ultron during attack
  • Rejoins Avengers as Pym/Tron, but team finds out he's being controlled by Ultron & throws him into the sun
  • Encounters team again during "Secret Empire", where he tries to reconcile Hydra Cap and A.I. Tony, but Tony says Avengers can't work as family because Hank hit Janet
  • Also turns out he has a daughter with first wife Maria - Nadia was raised in Red Room, and later becomes Wasp after being mentored by Janet
• Issues (32:24)
  • Mental instability
    • First mental breakdown after first wife Maria Trovya was murdered
    • Suffered numerous breakdowns, often because Ultron went rogue
  • Bipolar disorder - dramatic version, cycles between manic and depressive over course of days
  • Feelings of inadequacy as compared to other heroes
  • Suicidal - talked out of it by Firebird during WCA run
  • Can never live down the slap - how do you handle Hank in midst of #MeToo movement
• Treatment (55:45)
  • In-universe - possible group therapy with Avengers to discuss slap, if they're willing
  • Out-of-universe - address present situations, and work from there
• Skit (67:52)
• Ending

References:

• Honey I Shrunk the Kids - movie referenced by Anthony at 08:27
• Paul Heyman, aka Paul E. Dangerously, wrestling manager mentioned by Anthony at 15:04
• False flag operation - mentioned by Anthony at 16:39
• "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal" - Firefly clip mentioned by Anthony at 22:01
• Jurassic Park - referenced by Anthony at 37:38
• Psicosis - WCW wrestler mentioned by Anthony at 39:26
• "Chip on your shoulder" - expression used by Dr. Issues at 43:22
• The Scarlet Letter - Novel referenced by Dr. Issues at 48:50
• Charles Barkley spitting incident - referenced by Dr. Issues at 58:52
• Choose Your Own Adventure book series - mentioned by Anthony at 63:17

iTunes: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter FacebookE-mailPatreon

It's a special Ant-Man and the Wasp episode as Anthony & Dr. Issues examine HANK PYM! Our hosts discuss his multiple costumed identities (and invent a new one for him), and discuss his interactions with the other Avengers in light of the #MeToo movement. It's all here - Listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

• Introduction
  • Explanation/apology for last week's Sentry episode
  • Discussion of Thanos Annual & new Sentry series
  • Plug for 2 Men and the Mouse podcast
• Background (07:11)
  • Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers in Tales to Astonish #27 (Jan. 1962)
  • Originally just Hank Pym, discovers/creates Pym particles, which allowed him to shrink in size
  • Studies ants & creates suit that allows him to communicate with them, calls himself Ant-Man
  • Reveals his identity to Janet van Dyne, socialite - gives her tiny wings with Pym particles and names her the Wasp - the two of them establish the Avengers with Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk
  • Tales to Astonish #49 - Nov. 1963 - creates Giant-Man identity, and begins dating Janet
  • Becomes Goliath in Avengers #28 (May 1966) upon his return to the Avengers
  • Creates Ultron (1968), who becomes one of Avengers' greatest foes
  • Becomes Yellowjacket (Avengers #59-60) after he suffers schizophrenia from chemicals, but recovers in time to marry Janet
  • Rejoins Avengers as Yellowjacket, but is kicked off team by Henry Peter Gyrich - comes back shortly thereafter
  • Sanctions Scott Lang as Ant-Man while he remains Yellowjacket
  • Begins to demonstrate mental breakdown - suspended from Avengers, he attempts a false flag operation with a robot
    • Janet discovers his plan, and he backhands her - how hard it was supposed to be is up for debate between Jim Shooter and Bob Hall
    • He is kicked off Avengers, and Janet divorces him
  • Jailed while stealing adamantium while under influence of Egghead, but later cleared once Egghead is killed by Hawkeye - decides to stick to Dr. Pym and do research with West Coast Avengers
  • Returns to Avengers as Giant-Man, helps team defeat Ultron again
  • Avengers Forever - In order to fight Immortus, Rick Jones calls upon past Yellowjacket and current Giant-Man - Yellowjacket betrays team to Immortus, but overcome by guilt and rejoins team to side with heroes
  • Split personality between Pym and Yellowjacket, until restored by Wasp
  • "Civil War"/"Secret Invasion" - Yellowjacket is pro-registration during Civil War, until it was revealed he was actually Skrull imposter named Criti Noll
    • Takes on Wasp persona after Janet killed by Skrulls
  • Creates Avengers Academy to train young powered individuals
  • Joins Secret Avengers as Giant-Man
  • "Age of Ultron" - Past Pym makes change to Ultron to allow current team to defeat him
  • Rage of Ultron - Merges with Ultron during attack
  • Rejoins Avengers as Pym/Tron, but team finds out he's being controlled by Ultron & throws him into the sun
  • Encounters team again during "Secret Empire", where he tries to reconcile Hydra Cap and A.I. Tony, but Tony says Avengers can't work as family because Hank hit Janet
  • Also turns out he has a daughter with first wife Maria - Nadia was raised in Red Room, and later becomes Wasp after being mentored by Janet
• Issues (32:24)
  • Mental instability
    • First mental breakdown after first wife Maria Trovya was murdered
    • Suffered numerous breakdowns, often because Ultron went rogue
  • Bipolar disorder - dramatic version, cycles between manic and depressive over course of days
  • Feelings of inadequacy as compared to other heroes
  • Suicidal - talked out of it by Firebird during WCA run
  • Can never live down the slap - how do you handle Hank in midst of #MeToo movement
• Treatment (55:45)
  • In-universe - possible group therapy with Avengers to discuss slap, if they're willing
  • Out-of-universe - address present situations, and work from there
• Skit (67:52)
• Ending

References:

• Honey I Shrunk the Kids - movie referenced by Anthony at 08:27
• Paul Heyman, aka Paul E. Dangerously, wrestling manager mentioned by Anthony at 15:04
• False flag operation - mentioned by Anthony at 16:39
• "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal" - Firefly clip mentioned by Anthony at 22:01
• Jurassic Park - referenced by Anthony at 37:38
• Psicosis - WCW wrestler mentioned by Anthony at 39:26
• "Chip on your shoulder" - expression used by Dr. Issues at 43:22
• The Scarlet Letter - Novel referenced by Dr. Issues at 48:50
• Charles Barkley spitting incident - referenced by Dr. Issues at 58:52
• Choose Your Own Adventure book series - mentioned by Anthony at 63:17

iTunes: here
Google Play: here
Stitcher: here
TuneIn: here
iHeartRadio: here
Twitter
Facebook
E-mail
Patreon

This week's patient is Marvel's insane Superman analogue, THE SENTRY! Anthony & Dr. Issues pick apart Bob Reynolds to find out what makes one of Marvel's most powerful heroes tick. And speaking of powerful, Dr. Issues gets emotional talking about depression and suicide. It's all here - listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

• Introduction
• Background (3:03)
  • Created by Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee, and Rick Veitch in Sentry #1 (Sept. 2000)
  • Bob Reynolds, overweight, middle-aged man, remembers he used to be superhero known as Sentry, was part of Marvel Universe from beginning
    • Best friends with Reed Richards, who was best man at his wedding to Lindy
    • Helped Peter Parker get a Pulitzer Prize
  • Gets powers from experimental serum, gives him power of a million exploding suns - essentially a Superman ersatz
  • The Void, a great evil, is returning - Sentry is the only one who knows, but no one remembers him
  • Years prior, we discover the Sentry & Void were the same person, but to prevent Void from destroying the world, Bob had to stop being the Sentry, and everyone had to forget about Sentry, including Bob
  • Able to defeat Void once again, and make everyone forget Sentry once more
  • Voluntarily submits self to the Raft for safekeeping after killing his wife - helps quell breakout of villains alongside New Avengers
  • Reynolds implants memories of his life into writer Paul Jenkins, who creates a comic book based on him
  • As Void returns, Bob once again has breakdown - with help of Emma Frost, able to overcome virus planted by Mastermind and regain control of powers
  • Gets clean slate and able to begin new life as hero without anyone remembering previous heroics or the Void
  • In new solo series, Sentry contains Void within vault, and calls for help of psychiatrist Dr. Cornelius Worth - during session, Dr. Worth asks Bob to meet Sentry, but instead meets Void who holds Worth hostage - Bob claims Void is true persona, and Sentry is separate entity
  • Void battles Sentry in the sky, and Bob appears to Dr. Worth - indicates neither Void nor Sentry is true persona
  • Sentry meets up with Dr. Strange, who performs magic mind probe, but discovers secret and stops the probe - Sentry finds out he's actually being held at secret SHIELD base and Strange is implanting false memories to keep him sedated - only the Professor knows the true secret of Sentry's origin, but when he tells Sentry, Nick Fury sets off bomb to kill Professor - Sentry finds Void in Antarctica, and throws him into the sun
  • Sentry sides with Iron Man during Civil War, realizing danger of his powers if unregistered
  • Later on, Ultron kills Lindy - Sentry battles Ultron and nearly destroys him alone - comes back to Watchtower to find Lindy alive, but she asks Tony Stark to depower or kill Bob
  • "World War Hulk" - Sentry has massive fight with Hulk, who has to defeat him to contain his powers from destroying everyone - Bob collapses defeated
  • "Dark Reign" - Void is under control of Norman Osborne, and Sentry joins Dark Avengers
  • "Seige" - Sentry destroys Asgard under Norman's orders - Void kills Ares, then battles Avengers and defeats them all, until Loki revives them - Sentry reverts to Bob and asks to be killed - Thor kills him and cremates his body
• Issues (22:39)
  • Where do we begin?
  • Cannot lose control ever
  • Multiple personalities
  • Deals with being forgotten numerous times
  • Addiction to serum
  • Suicidal
• Treatment
  • In-universe - follow lead of Emma Frost
  • Out-of-universe - similar to panic disorder, treatment with anti-psychotics
• Skit (57:05)
• Ending

References within episode:

• Flying Brick - TV Tropes entry mentioned by Anthony at 3:31
• Bruce Almighty - film referenced by Anthony at 24:49
• Legally Blonde - film clip referenced by Anthony at 25:50
• "World of cardboard" speech from Justice League Unlimited, referenced by Anthony at 29:38
• Harlow experiment - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 36:06
• Rational emotive behavioral therapy - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 54:43
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - Mentioned by Anthony at 64:10

iTunes: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter FacebookE-mailPatreon

This week's patient is Marvel's insane Superman analogue, THE SENTRY! Anthony & Dr. Issues pick apart Bob Reynolds to find out what makes one of Marvel's most powerful heroes tick. And speaking of powerful, Dr. Issues gets emotional talking about depression and suicide. It's all here - listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

• Introduction
• Background (3:03)
  • Created by Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee, and Rick Veitch in Sentry #1 (Sept. 2000)
  • Bob Reynolds, overweight, middle-aged man, remembers he used to be superhero known as Sentry, was part of Marvel Universe from beginning
    • Best friends with Reed Richards, who was best man at his wedding to Lindy
    • Helped Peter Parker get a Pulitzer Prize
  • Gets powers from experimental serum, gives him power of a million exploding suns - essentially a Superman ersatz
  • The Void, a great evil, is returning - Sentry is the only one who knows, but no one remembers him
  • Years prior, we discover the Sentry & Void were the same person, but to prevent Void from destroying the world, Bob had to stop being the Sentry, and everyone had to forget about Sentry, including Bob
  • Able to defeat Void once again, and make everyone forget Sentry once more
  • Voluntarily submits self to the Raft for safekeeping after killing his wife - helps quell breakout of villains alongside New Avengers
  • Reynolds implants memories of his life into writer Paul Jenkins, who creates a comic book based on him
  • As Void returns, Bob once again has breakdown - with help of Emma Frost, able to overcome virus planted by Mastermind and regain control of powers
  • Gets clean slate and able to begin new life as hero without anyone remembering previous heroics or the Void
  • In new solo series, Sentry contains Void within vault, and calls for help of psychiatrist Dr. Cornelius Worth - during session, Dr. Worth asks Bob to meet Sentry, but instead meets Void who holds Worth hostage - Bob claims Void is true persona, and Sentry is separate entity
  • Void battles Sentry in the sky, and Bob appears to Dr. Worth - indicates neither Void nor Sentry is true persona
  • Sentry meets up with Dr. Strange, who performs magic mind probe, but discovers secret and stops the probe - Sentry finds out he's actually being held at secret SHIELD base and Strange is implanting false memories to keep him sedated - only the Professor knows the true secret of Sentry's origin, but when he tells Sentry, Nick Fury sets off bomb to kill Professor - Sentry finds Void in Antarctica, and throws him into the sun
  • Sentry sides with Iron Man during Civil War, realizing danger of his powers if unregistered
  • Later on, Ultron kills Lindy - Sentry battles Ultron and nearly destroys him alone - comes back to Watchtower to find Lindy alive, but she asks Tony Stark to depower or kill Bob
  • "World War Hulk" - Sentry has massive fight with Hulk, who has to defeat him to contain his powers from destroying everyone - Bob collapses defeated
  • "Dark Reign" - Void is under control of Norman Osborne, and Sentry joins Dark Avengers
  • "Seige" - Sentry destroys Asgard under Norman's orders - Void kills Ares, then battles Avengers and defeats them all, until Loki revives them - Sentry reverts to Bob and asks to be killed - Thor kills him and cremates his body
• Issues (22:39)
  • Where do we begin?
  • Cannot lose control ever
  • Multiple personalities
  • Deals with being forgotten numerous times
  • Addiction to serum
  • Suicidal
• Treatment
  • In-universe - follow lead of Emma Frost
  • Out-of-universe - similar to panic disorder, treatment with anti-psychotics
• Skit (57:05)
• Ending

References within episode:

• Flying Brick - TV Tropes entry mentioned by Anthony at 3:31
• Bruce Almighty - film referenced by Anthony at 24:49
• Legally Blonde - film clip referenced by Anthony at 25:50
• "World of cardboard" speech from Justice League Unlimited, referenced by Anthony at 29:38
• Harlow experiment - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 36:06
• Rational emotive behavioral therapy - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 54:43
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - Mentioned by Anthony at 64:10

iTunes: here
Google Play: here
Stitcher: here
TuneIn: here
iHeartRadio: here
Twitter
Facebook
E-mail
Patreon

Anthony & Dr. Issues examine the predecessor to Rorschach, THE QUESTION! Of course, it was all part of the plan that they did Rorschach first... or was it?

SHOW NOTES:

• Introduction
• Background (02:44)
  • Created by Steve Ditko in the Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967)
  • Originally a Charlton Comics hero
  • Vic Sage was investigative journalist who used Pseudoderm, a fake skin in a spray can, to cover his face and investigate things Vic couldn't without being exposed
  • Frequent foe of the Banshee, a flying circus performer
  • Charlton Comics bought by DC in 1985, brought into their universe
    • Was originally to be used by Alan Moore in Watchmen, but DC editorial had bigger plans and forbade Moore from using Question, so he created Rorschach
  • Got solo series in 1987 by Dennis O'Neill and Denys Cowan
  • Learned martial arts from Richard Dragon to help him fight better
  • Primarily focused on rooting out corruption in Hub City (based on East St. Louis)
  • Helps noble Myra Fermin win mayor seat - they have relationship as Vic Sage, but she doesn't know he's the Question
  • Later has relationship with Huntress while working in Gotham
  • Trains Renee Montoya to succeed him since he's dying of lung cancer
  • New 52 reboots character - Government agent recruited to help Amanda Waller run Suicide Squad
  • Grant Morrison creates Earth-4 Question - similar to Mr. A and Rorschach, a murderous vigilante
• Issues (14:17)
  • Paranoia - everything is a conspiracy
  • Privacy - he can't be seen, but he investigates everyone else
  • Philosophy - Ditko's objectivism personified
• Treatment (37:32)
  • In-universe - Difficult because of the conspiracy theories
  • Out-of-universe - Find truth in conspiracies, and then challenge the rest, coping with possibility of failure
• Couch skit (48:56)
• Ending

References in episode:

• Skin gun - Mentioned by Anthony at 4:10
• Manipulative Bastard - TV Tropes entry, used by Anthony at 12:33
• Justice League: Doom - Movie referenced by Anthony at 12:44
• GDPR - Mentioned by Anthony at 23:51
• "No man is an island" - from Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, paraphrased by Dr. Issues at 25:47
• Creator Avatar - TV Tropes entry, mentioned by Anthony at 27:09
• Paranoid personality disorder - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 47:52
• Delusional disorder - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 47:56

iTunes: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter FacebookE-mailPatreon

Anthony & Dr. Issues examine the predecessor to Rorschach, THE QUESTION! Of course, it was all part of the plan that they did Rorschach first... or was it?

SHOW NOTES:

• Introduction
• Background (02:44)
  • Created by Steve Ditko in the Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967)
  • Originally a Charlton Comics hero
  • Vic Sage was investigative journalist who used Pseudoderm, a fake skin in a spray can, to cover his face and investigate things Vic couldn't without being exposed
  • Frequent foe of the Banshee, a flying circus performer
  • Charlton Comics bought by DC in 1985, brought into their universe
    • Was originally to be used by Alan Moore in Watchmen, but DC editorial had bigger plans and forbade Moore from using Question, so he created Rorschach
  • Got solo series in 1987 by Dennis O'Neill and Denys Cowan
  • Learned martial arts from Richard Dragon to help him fight better
  • Primarily focused on rooting out corruption in Hub City (based on East St. Louis)
  • Helps noble Myra Fermin win mayor seat - they have relationship as Vic Sage, but she doesn't know he's the Question
  • Later has relationship with Huntress while working in Gotham
  • Trains Renee Montoya to succeed him since he's dying of lung cancer
  • New 52 reboots character - Government agent recruited to help Amanda Waller run Suicide Squad
  • Grant Morrison creates Earth-4 Question - similar to Mr. A and Rorschach, a murderous vigilante
• Issues (14:17)
  • Paranoia - everything is a conspiracy
  • Privacy - he can't be seen, but he investigates everyone else
  • Philosophy - Ditko's objectivism personified
• Treatment (37:32)
  • In-universe - Difficult because of the conspiracy theories
  • Out-of-universe - Find truth in conspiracies, and then challenge the rest, coping with possibility of failure
• Couch skit (48:56)
• Ending

References in episode:

• Skin gun - Mentioned by Anthony at 4:10
• Manipulative Bastard - TV Tropes entry, used by Anthony at 12:33
• Justice League: Doom - Movie referenced by Anthony at 12:44
• GDPR -  Mentioned by Anthony at 23:51
• "No man is an island" - from Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, paraphrased by Dr. Issues at 25:47
• Creator Avatar - TV Tropes entry, mentioned by Anthony at 27:09
• Paranoid personality disorder - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 47:52
• Delusional disorder - Mentioned by Dr. Issues at 47:56

iTunes: here
Google Play: here
Stitcher: here
TuneIn: here
iHeartRadio: here
Twitter
Facebook
E-mail
Patreon

Our first ever President-picked episode - LEGION! Anthony & Dr. Issues go inside David Haller's shattered mind to revisit dissociation, talk about what it's like being the son of the most famous mutant in the world, and the most auditorally challenging couch visit yet!

SHOW NOTES:

• Introduction
• Response to comments (3:06)
• Background (9:55)
  • David Charles Haller - Created by Chris Claremont & Bill Sienkiewicz - New Mutants #25 (Mar. 1985)
  • Son of Charles Xavier & Gabrielle Haller - they had an affair, but Charles didn't know of his existence for many years
  • Sole survivor of terror attack - absorbed the mind of terrorist leader into his own mind
  • Kept under observation by Dr. Moira McTaggert on Muir Island for many years
  • Determined that he split his personality, with each one able to control a different ability
    • Early personalities included Jack Wayne, who was telekinetic, and Cyndi, who was pryokinetic
  • After emerging from catatonia, he was possessed by the Shadow King, who used him to kill Destiny
  • As he grew, he learned to control his personalities, and decided to go back in time to kill Magneto to help his father's vision of mankind & mutantkind coexisting
  • Ends up accidentally killing Xavier, who jumps in to protect Magneto - creates Age of Apocalypse era
  • Bishop goes further back to kill Legion with his own psi-blade
  • Discovered to be alive in a box - now has thousands of personalities, each of whom have a different ability
  • Some of his personalities are in Limbo - they battle each other
  • Used to battle Sentinels during Second Coming
  • During Age of X, new personality created to protect Legion - looked like Moira McTaggert
  • Avengers vs. X-Men - Death of Xavier causes David to lose control of his personalities, creating death & destruction across the planet
  • X-Men Legacy - Begins to merge with everyone on the planet, eventually Blindfold stops him
  • TV show portrays mental illness in visually creative style
• Issues (20:15)
  • Dissociative identity disorder
  • Son trying to outdo father
  • TV show - schizophrenia
• Treatment (40:44)
  • In-universe - Get inside his mind
  • Out of universe - Treated like schizophrenia with anti-psychotics
• Couch skit (49:27)
• Ending (52:39)
  • Next episodes: The Question, Sentry, Casey Jones

References:

• Three men make a tiger/Blind men and an elephant - the idioms Anthony conflated at 20:05

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Our first ever President-picked episode - LEGION! Anthony & Dr. Issues go inside David Haller's shattered mind to revisit dissociation, talk about what it's like being the son of the most famous mutant in the world, and the most auditorally challenging couch visit yet!

SHOW NOTES:

• Introduction
• Response to comments (3:06)
• Background (9:55)
  • David Charles Haller - Created by Chris Claremont & Bill Sienkiewicz - New Mutants #25 (Mar. 1985)
  • Son of Charles Xavier & Gabrielle Haller - they had an affair, but Charles didn't know of his existence for many years
  • Sole survivor of terror attack - absorbed the mind of terrorist leader into his own mind
  • Kept under observation by Dr. Moira McTaggert on Muir Island for many years
  • Determined that he split his personality, with each one able to control a different ability
    • Early personalities included Jack Wayne, who was telekinetic, and Cyndi, who was pryokinetic
  • After emerging from catatonia, he was possessed by the Shadow King, who used him to kill Destiny
  • As he grew, he learned to control his personalities, and decided to go back in time to kill Magneto to help his father's vision of mankind & mutantkind coexisting
  • Ends up accidentally killing Xavier, who jumps in to protect Magneto - creates Age of Apocalypse era
  • Bishop goes further back to kill Legion with his own psi-blade
  • Discovered to be alive in a box - now has thousands of personalities, each of whom have a different ability
  • Some of his personalities are in Limbo - they battle each other
  • Used to battle Sentinels during Second Coming
  • During Age of X, new personality created to protect Legion - looked like Moira McTaggert
  • Avengers vs. X-Men - Death of Xavier causes David to lose control of his personalities, creating death & destruction across the planet
  • X-Men Legacy - Begins to merge with everyone on the planet, eventually Blindfold stops him
  • TV show portrays mental illness in visually creative style
• Issues (20:15)
  • Dissociative identity disorder
  • Son trying to outdo father
  • TV show - schizophrenia
• Treatment (40:44)
  • In-universe - Get inside his mind
  • Out of universe - Treated like schizophrenia with anti-psychotics
• Couch skit (49:27)
• Ending (52:39)
  • Next episodes: The Question, Sentry, Casey Jones

References:

• Three men make a tiger/Blind men and an elephant - the idioms Anthony conflated at 20:05

iTunes: here
Google Play: here
Stitcher: here
TuneIn: here
Twitter
Facebook
E-mail
Patreon