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I have so much fun beating Mike in NBA Over/Unders each fall that we've decided to extend the game to the NFL. Sure, there are fewer games, but that will only make this beating of my friend oh so much sweeter.

Guest: Nata - @NataTheScribe

 

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I honestly thought the idea of an emergency pro wrestling podcast would be limited to a disaster, but once again Tony Khan and company have proven me wrong. If you liked pro wrestling as a kid, AEW is the product for you. And All Out proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Guest: Aaron - @ANSFreeman

 

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It's time for another Mailbag. This month we didn't get any new listener emails but that's okay since there was a ton of news to talk about. This is the time we usually see San Diego Comic-Con, D23 and other convention news. We had a bunch of much anticipated trailers from Marvel drop (Eternals and Spider-Man No Way Home). We also talk about a trailer we didn't talk about last time in Venom 2. Hey, it at least looks better than the first movie. The Suicide Squad might not have had a big box-office, but its the most watched DC film on HBO Max. Also coming soon to HBO Max, a Black Canary movie. At least that's what's been announced (You know how WB/DC is on follow through).

On the comic side, Marvel has announced an exciting upcoming roadmap that has some upcoming stories that seem to elevate certain characters we might be seeing in the MCU. The Fantastic Four will be involved in The Reckoning War which Dan Slott has been hinting at for 15 years. Kang will be at the center of Timeless. And Jason Aaron is doing a multiverse Avengers. Wonder why. 

Like we said, there's a lot to discuss this episode so sit back and enjoy.

 

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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On the anniversary of this here podcast, we are back with another Labor Day punctuated with a conversation with my dad. UGA won to kick off an energized - if contagious - atmosphere for week 1, how the NIL has changed the game for our beloved HBCU football, the swarming Ohtani hive, and the real live star that is Trae Young.

Guest: Poppa Palmer

 

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We're finally back to our series covering Jonathan Hickman's Marvel runs. This time we're revisiting his great Fantastic Four run. We start first with the Dark Reign mini-series and then cover issues 570 to 588 in Fantastic Four.

The great thing about reading a Hickman run is when you go back to read it and realize he's laid the groundwork for the next series he's going to write. Throughout the beginning of his FF run we see the seeds of what Hickman will do when he starts his Avengers run.

The Dark Reign mini-series gives us an important foundation for the rest of Hickman's FF run. First, it reveals that Franklin's powers are back when he uses a toy gun to shoot real bullets at Norman Osborne. Then there's Reed building and using the Bridge which will come into play in Hickman's Avengers run. It also introduces The Council of Reeds. More importantly though, this series digs into Reed Richards obsession with "solving everything" and his hubris of "I alone can fix it".

The main Fantastic Four run picks up with where Hickman left off in Dark Reign. We also get the reveal of why the 616 Reed Richards is the best Reed: Because he still had his father. We see the results of what happened in the SHIELD series with Nathaniel Richards. Hickman takes it a step further with The Great Hunt, that saw the Nathaniel Richards from all realities hunt and kill each other until only one remained. What's funny is that this story is something we've just seen told in the Loki series. We also get Val revealing to be smarter than her dad, Nu-World, the emergence of the Four Cities, the creation of the Future Foundation and more.

This episode ends with the emotional issues of 587 and 588. 587 sees the last stand and death of Johnny Storm while 588 is the emotional silent issue with the aftermath of his death.

We'll be back to wrap up this run in September. Then after that we'll be moving onto Hickman's Ultimate run and then eventually...Avengers & Secret Wars. Stay tune and remember:

Issues:

* Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1 - 5

* Fantastic Four #570 - 588

* Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Volume 1

* Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Volume 2

* Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Volume 3

* Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Volume 4

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Legends has been on a roll with these last few episodes. This show has always done a great job of juggling the ridiculous with the serious and giving us great character development and this episode highlights that. Everyone (the audience and the Legends) know that Bishop can't be trusted yet the show does a great job bringing that into doubt. First with him really getting to Ava and second after he saves Mick. And while we still don't know his new end goal, we see this whole episode was just so he could get a comm device and tempt Constantine. 

Also, as we've been saying, the Constantine addiction arc has been really good. They really do a great job of showing the toll addiction takes on a person. It helps that this feels like a natural conclusion for the Constantine arc we've seen develop since the NBC show. We look forward to how they will wrap all of this up.

We're going to to combine the review for the next two episodes so we'll be back to wrap up this season in 2 weeks.

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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Candyman suffers from an inconsistent script, wrapped in a beautifully shot film with a great cast that is going to leave audiences either absolutely loving it or feeling like it didn’t live up to expectations. On the surface, everything is there to make this a film that should be universally loved. Director Nia DaCosta embraces the lore of Candyman and attempts to wrap it in an updated and modern tale. There’s been some talk that (wrongly) associates Candyman with “black trauma porn” and that is just false. Candyman has always been more than that. Yes, Tony Todd’s Daniel Robitaille meets a tragic and violent end at the hands of racist white people, but this series has always been more about Robitaille being the Boogeyman and being a Black centered horror franchise. It’s more about revenge and, to be blunt, when white people don’t take Black people serious when they talk about not disturbing the dead or respecting the history of a space they’re invading. DaCosta takes that and adds to it by connecting the tale to modern day Chicago and gentrification and overpolicing. 

The biggest problem Candyman faces is the lack of focus on what story it’s trying to tell. It becomes very obvious there were two directions that written and the final product was a mash up of both that ends up with an ending that on paper is good, but isn’t earned. There are three distinct acts in this film and each act feels like it had its own writer that had a different idea of the overall story that should be told. The result is several good paths the film goes down never being fully fleshed out. Instead we get throwaway lines that are easily missed (the significance of Brianna Cartwright’s father and his tragic end) or painfully underused actors in good scenes that should be used more (Vanessa Williams is criminally underused). When the end of the film comes, it comes with a sense of satisfaction that quickly fade away because of how hollow it is due to being rushed in the third act and thereby being unearned. It honestly felt like there was more focus on making sure this could turn into another set of future movies instead of making sure the end was earned.

Candyman’s story never equals or exceeds the talent of the cast put together. On their own, each does what they need to. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is clearly a star that is going to continue to shine. Funny enough, both have superhero titles in their future with Abdul-Mateen returning for Aquaman 2 and Teyonah Parris showing up in The Marvels (and teaming bak up with DaCosta who will be directing). Individually both are fine but have very little onscreen chemistry which is always tragic when you have two beautiful people on screen and yet they just have no energy together. Colman Domingo outacts everyone (no surprise) but again, feels underused up until the rushed third act.

Overall there will be many audiences that are satisfied with Candyman as a film. The lack of a consistent voice in the script and unearned payoff at the end will be overshadowed by the well shot scenes, two less and overall intentions the story has even with the flaws. Regardless of how audiences feel, this film will definitely generate conversations and help propel those involved into bigger and better things.

 

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We're back with another Character Corner, this time to talk about Natalia Romanova aka Natasha Romanoff aka The Black Widow. On the surface this seems like a pretty straight forward character. A former Russian spy who was trained to be a femme fatale in a secret Soviet program that was recruited and turned into an ally by Nick Fury. But there ini a lot more to the character. First, Black Widow is yet another example of a Marvel character that has a redemption arc. Like Hawkeye, Vision and Scarlet Witch, Black Widow is yet another character that starts off as a villain only to turn into an Avenger (not just a member but a leader). The difference is, while Natasha became a hero, she never gave up being a spy and would definitely put two in the back of a someone’s head if they deserve it.

The other interesting thing about Black Widow is her mysterious history. The classic Uncanny X-Men #268 reveals a history that goes all the way back to 1941 with Captain America and Logan. There are also issues that reveal she received a modified Soviet version of the Super Soldier serum which is why she hasn’t aged. Then there’s the mysteries of “The Red Room”.  All of this leads to a rather interesting character with a history that sometimes changes but at it’s core still remains the same.

Issues:

Tales of Suspense #52 - First Appearance

Avengers #38 - 52 - Redemption arc including turning down joining the Avengers to work for Nick Fury & SHIELD

Amazing Spider-Man #86 - First appearance of the modern Black Widow look

Amazing Adventures #1 - 8 

Daredevil

Issues #75 - #92

Issues #92 - 107 - Co-headlines the Daredevil book

* Frank Miller Daredevil Run

* Issues 178 - 190

Inhumans # 5 - First appearance of Yelena Belova

Marvel Knights

Black Widow  #1 - 3 (Takes on Yelena Belova)

Marvel Knights  #1 - 12

Black Widow 1 - 3 (Greg Rucka)

Black Widow 1 - 6 (Things They Say About Her)

 

Black Widow: The Name of the Rose

Civil War

Avengers Time Runs Out

Secret Empire

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UDPOD IS BACK! PODCAST WEEK 2021 IS HERE! We're releasing a UDPod episode every day this week, and Friday is time to talk rasslin, ahead of what may be the most interesting 72 hours in the squared circle all year. Be sure to subscribe to the UDPod feed to ensure you get a full dose of audio greatness.

Guest: Aaron - @ANSFreeman

 

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UDPOD IS BACK! PODCAST WEEK 2021 IS HERE! We're releasing a UDPod episode every day this week, and Thursday brings us the product of being trapped with me for a year - my much better half's newfound love of Star Wars. Be sure to subscribe to the UDPod feed to ensure you get a full dose of audio greatness.

Guest: SPalm - @snusans

 

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