Superhero Ethics

Batman has had many sidekicks over the years, but it's not until Terry McGinnis steals the Batsuit that Bruce Wayne finds a successor. What is the difference between successors and sidekicks, and how do age and agency factor into that? What responsibility did Bruce have towards his wards and sidekicks, and how is Terry different? How many parallels can Ashley, Paul, & I draw to Captain America, the Falcon, and the Winter Soldier? Spoiler alert: A lot!

Contains minor spoilers for Falcon & the Winter Soldier, and huge spoilers for Batman Beyond, Batman the Animated Series, and Justice League Unlimited.

With all the ethical issues Falcon & the Winter Soldier is raising, we realized we are absolutely going to record on it every week, and no more minisodes. We had a lot to say, because this show clearly has a lot to say.

The X-Men have often been symbols for the civil and human rights styles of the day. Some of the movies, especially X2, X3, and Days of Future Past, have strong resonance as metaphors for queer and disabled identity. Brand Grinslade joins me to as we explore those connections.

Brand Grinslade is a non-binary nerd living just outside of Chicago Illinois, they are a musician and graphic designer who was raised a nerd since birth, and have love dissecting all things nerdy to find the truths at their core.

We didn't plan on doing episode by episode recordings about the ethics of Falcon & the Winter Soldier, but the show raised so many great questions, Paul Hoppe and I wanted to drop a quick episode.

Today we talk about racism, nationalism, Bucky's trauma, and Sam's relationship to the military.

Imagine a world with superhumans. You’ve got heroes, you’ve got villains, you’ve got... an NPR style radio station aimed at supers? The creators of the Superhuman Public Radio podcast join me to discuss the gig economy for henchmen, the immigrant rights of extraterrestrials, and how their love for comic books as moral allegory drove this project.

SPR is an independent, nonprofit media organization that was founded on a mission to create a more informed Superhuman public. Every day, SPR connects with millions of Superhumans on the air, online, and in person to explore the news, ideas, and what it means to be Superhuman. Through its network of member stations, SPR makes local stories national, national stories local, and global stories personal.

To learn more about Superhuman Public Radio go to https://www.superhumanpublicradio.com/ or subscribe to their podcast on your favorite podcast app!

To support this awesome project, go to https://www.patreon.com/sprpod

Follow them on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/sprpod, or Twitter @sprpod, and if you want a deep dive, follow @VLNpod for the twitter of the Villainous League News and @HeroicLegion for the voice of he Heroic Legion.

John Dorsey is the son of a failed magician and successful businesswoman, which doomed him to become a storyteller. For the past 10 years he's worked in the film industry both above and below the line. Most recently his pilot script Profit won the San Francisco International Screenwriting Competition. He lives just outside Washington, DC with his wife, son and dog.

Maximilian Clark has dedicated his life to creating soulful art that strips society bare to its core and to writing “guy getting hit in the nuts” skits for his little comedy friends. He co-created and wrote the Starz Digital Series “Llama Cop” and his projects have been official selections at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, ITVFest, and dozens of others. His own mother once described his collective works as “Not bad.”

Is Wanda a hero, an antihero, or the MCU's version of a Batman Villain? Is sitcom jail a fair punishment for Agatha? And is the Ship of Theseus the most Star Trek moment to happen in the MCU? Matt Carroll and Paul Hoppe join me to discuss the ethical questions from WandaVision

Are you legally responsible for the actions of your clone? What is the self, and could it ever be uploaded, or copied? Rob McKenzie joins me for a deep dive into science fiction and the questions that surround digitized consciousness.

Can Mutants win love and acceptance by being heroes? Can Magneto find peace in separation? Is Charles helping Jean, or himself, by trying to protect her from her powers and her past?

Paul, Ashley, and Matthew, dive into these questions and more as we look at XMen: Dark Phoenix!

What is the role of fate in the Terminator movies? Do the later movies stay true to this idea? What can you do when you see the tragedy your current decisions are taking you towards?

Becky Allen joins us for this episode. Becky Allen is the author of Bound by Blood and Sand and the sequel,
Freed by Flame and Storm. She grew up outside Ithaca, New York, and
graduated from Brandeis University with a major in American studies
and a minor in journalism. She is the product manager for TheBody.com,
an online HIV resource, and loves New York, brunch, and feminism.

How would the Batman story change, if Bruce Wayne lived in the late 19th century? What ideals would Superman fight for, if he landed in the Soviet Union, instead of the United States? What happens when stories take our beloved characters and break canon by placing them in totally different times, settings, situations, or tones?

Paul Hoppe (https://twitter.com/zenmadman) takes the reigns, leading a discussion with Matthew Fox and Ashley Coffin.

In the episode we mentioned the following previous episodes:

Our episode on Red Son- https://theethicalpanda.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/ep-58-red-son-zenith/

Our episode on Canon - https://theethicalpanda.wordpress.com/2020/12/29/the-value-and-danger-of-canon/