Superhero Ethics

Matthew is moving this week and hasn't had a chance to finish editing the next episode. We have great content coming for you soon, but in the meantime, enjoy one of our older episodes about the ethics of violence itself

Does a Superhero movie need a good fight scene? Jacob and Matthew look at the role of physical violence in the stories we love, asking questions of both the characters and the writers.  Can you tell a hero story without violence? Do our heroes too often resort to their fists? And why do so many heroes see fighting as flirtation?

Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! We recently started a Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, which is the best way to join in the conversations. You can also find us on Twitter or email us at [email protected]

Does Q fit the mold of a Trickster God?

Steve Peterman is back to discuss Q, from Star Trek. Does Q fit the mold of a Trickster God? Do the Q have, or need a prime directive? And what happens when immortal, all powerful, beings, get bored?

You can find a full list of Star Trek episodes with Q in them here- https://www.imdb.com/list/ls047709394/

You can download the episode with a right click and clicking “save link as” or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher

Want to continue the discussion with us? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? We’ve got options for you!

You can post questions, or respond to our episode threads in our Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, or talk to us on the podcast’s Twitter account, or email us at [email protected]. Our guest, Steve Peterman, can be found at on Twitter: @supersteve524

Support this podcast through our Patreon page! Patreon is a great way to support creators like us through donations, and get great rewards for your help. You can even pick a topic for an upcoming episode! https://www.patreon.com/superheroethics

Want to show your love for Superhero Ethics with a t-shirt, hoodie, cell phone case, mouse pad, or other swag? We now have a store where you can buy any of those things and more! https://www.teepublic.com/user/superheroethics

This podcast is proud to be a member of the Stranded Panda Podcast Network. Check it out to find a number of other great geek properties, including others co-hosted by Matthew.

With Matthew
The Orville Universe Podcast
Superhero Ethics Podcast
Bingers Assemble - Where Matthew is currently doing a 3 times a week watch of Altered Carbon

And some of the other great Stranded Panda podcasts include:
Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast
DC on Screen
Star Trek Universe Podcast
Who Watched the Watchmen

Lastly, you probably heard some great music at the start and the end of our podcast. That music comes from the deeply talented Jack Hesse.. You can follow him on Twitter at Jack_608, https://twitter.com/jack_608

Jessica Plummer is back to talk Birds of Prey! What happens when Margot Robbie gets to make a Harley movie HER way? Can you be a villain who only punches up? And Is this the cinematic equivalent of a compliment in the bathroom from a drunk girl?

Jessica Plummer lives in New York and loves Superman very very much. You can listen to just how much on her Superman podcast, Flights and Tights (http://flightsandtights.libsyn.com/). She also writes about comics and books in general at BookRiot.com (https://bookriot.com/author/jessica-plummer/). Find her on Twitter @jess_plummer. In this episode she references her recent article on BookRiot, Birds of Prey, Trauma, and the Female Gaze. https://bookriot.com/2020/02/21/birds-of-prey-movie-2/

You can download the episode with a right click and clicking “save link as” or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher

Want to continue the discussion with us? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? We’ve got options for you!

You can post questions, or respond to our episode threads in our Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, or talk to us on the podcast’s Twitter account, or email us at [email protected].

You can also tweet at Matthew directly at CapedEthicist, https://twitter.com/CapedEthicist


Support this podcast through our Patreon page! Patreon is a great way to support creators like us through donations, and get great rewards for your help. You can even pick a topic for an upcoming episode! https://www.patreon.com/superheroethics
Want to show your love for Superhero Ethics with a t-shirt, hoodie, cell phone case, mouse pad, or other swag? We now have a store where you can buy any of those things and more! https://www.teepublic.com/user/superheroethics
This podcast is proud to be a member of the Stranded Panda Podcast Network. Check it out to find a number of other great geek properties, including others co-hosted by Matthew.

With Matthew
The Orville Universe Podcast
Superhero Ethics Podcast
Bingers Assemble - Where Matthew is currently doing a 3 times a week watch of Altered Carbon

And some of the other great Stranded Panda podcasts include:
Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast
DC on Screen
Star Trek Universe Podcast
Who Watched the Watchmen
Bingers Assemble
Lastly, you probably heard some great music at the start and the end of our podcast. That music comes from the deeply talented Jack Hesse.. You can follow him on Twitter at Jack_608, https://twitter.com/jack_608

As promised, I've been working overtime to bring you content to help get though social isolation, or to keep you company while you're one of the essential jobs we're all so grateful for. We've got episodes coming soon on Birds of Prey, The Ethics of Q, from Star Trek, and many more.

Over on the Bingers Assemble podcast, Matt Carroll and I have started a special quarantine project on the TV show Altered Carbon. I wanted to share that with you all, as we go deep on a lot of ethical issues, so here is the first episode!

Today’s episode is bittersweet as it marks Jacob’s last as co-host. To give him a proper send off, we’re diving into a topic he’s been eager to talk about- using mind control to make people stop doing bad things, in particular in the video game, Persona 5. Is altering, or even completely changing, someone’s brain, a morally appropriate way to stop people from hurting others? If so, what acts justify it, and who decides? What does mind reprogramming look like as punishment in Babylon 5 and for Prof. X?

Jacob is stepping down as co-host, but he will remain a supporter and occasional guest of the show. He’s had a great run and brought so much to podcast that I’ll forever be grateful for. Please join me in paying tribute to Jacob by sharing a favorite memory of his time, or just thanking him for being a part of this.

More info on the episode of Babylon 5 we discussed can be found here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_Through_Gethsemane

You can download the episode with a right click and clicking “save link as” or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher

Want to continue the discussion with us? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? We’ve got options for you!

You can post questions, or respond to our episode threads in our Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, or talk to us on the podcast’s Twitter account, or email us at [email protected].

Each of your co-hosts also has their own twitter,
Matthew is CapedEthicist, https://twitter.com/CapedEthicist
Jacob is BotsRPeopleToo https://twitter.com/BotsRPeopleToo

Support this podcast through our Patreon page! Patreon is a great way to support creators like us through donations, and get great rewards for your help. You can even pick a topic for an upcoming episode! https://www.patreon.com/superheroethics

Want to show your love for Superhero Ethics with a t-shirt, hoodie, cell phone case, mouse pad, or other swag? We now have a store where you can buy any of those things and more! https://www.teepublic.com/user/superheroethics

This podcast is proud to be a member of the Stranded Panda Podcast Network. Check it out to find a number of other great geek properties, including others co-hosted by Matthew.

With Matthew
The Orville Universe Podcast
Superhero Ethics Podcast

And some of the other great Stranded Panda podcasts include:
Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast
DC on Screen
Star Trek Universe Podcast
Who Watched the Watchmen
Bingers Assemble

Lastly, you probably heard some great music at the start and the end of our podcast. That music comes from the deeply talented Jack Hesse.. You can follow him on Twitter at Jack_608, https://twitter.com/jack_608

Episode 83 - Who Watches the Watchers who Watch the Watchmen?
Who are heroes accountable to, is a question we frequently explore on this show. In this episode, we dive into the movie and comic book* versions of The Watchmen and its interesting take on the question of accountability.  What happens when so called heroes shrug and watch as their friends do terrible things? Would the threat of alien invasion bring peace to our planet? And is anyone in this story remotely heroic?
*Jacob had not seen the TV show, so we stuck to the movie. We will be exploring ethical questions from the TV show in a future episode.   
Want to continue the discussion with us? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? We’ve got options for you!
You can post questions, or respond to our episode threads in our Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, or talk to us on the podcast’s Twitter account, or email us at [email protected]. Each of your co-hosts also has their own twitter, 
Matthew is CapedEthicist, https://twitter.com/CapedEthicist
Jacob is BotsRPeopleToo https://twitter.com/BotsRPeopleToo
Support this podcast through our Patreon page! Patreon is a great way to support creators like us through donations, and get great rewards for your help. You can even pick a topic for an upcoming episode! https://www.patreon.com/superheroethics
Want to show your love for Superhero Ethics with a t-shirt, hoodie, cell phone case, mouse pad, or other swag? We now have a store where you can buy any of those things and more! https://www.teepublic.com/user/superheroethics
This podcast is proud to be a member of the Stranded Panda Podcast Network. Check it out to find a number of other great geek properties, including others co-hosted by Matthew.
With Matthew
The Orville Universe Podcast
Superhero Ethics Podcast
And some of the other great Stranded Panda podcasts include:
Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast
DC on Screen
Star Trek Universe Podcast
Who Watched the Watchmen
Lastly, you probably heard some great music at the start and the end of our podcast. That music comes from the deeply talented Jack Hesse.. You can follow him on Twitter at Jack_608, https://twitter.com/jack_608
 
 
 
 

We cheer when our heroes give an evil bad guy their much deserved fate. But what happens when our hero has to fight someone who isn’t evil, they are just in our hero’s way? Should more heroes be like Jessica Jones? Should it matter to our hero if the person they are fighting is being mind controlled, or lied to or it is otherwise not their fault? Should it matter to the audience?  
You can download the episode with a right click and clicking “save link as” or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher
Want to continue the discussion with us? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? We’ve got options for you!
You can post questions, or respond to our episode threads in our Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, or talk to us on the podcast’s Twitter account, or email us at [email protected]. Each of your co-hosts also has their own twitter, 
Matthew is CapedEthicist, https://twitter.com/CapedEthicist
Jacob is BotsRPeopleToo https://twitter.com/BotsRPeopleToo
Support this podcast through our Patreon page! Patreon is a great way to support creators like us through donations, and get great rewards for your help. You can even pick a topic for an upcoming episode! https://www.patreon.com/superheroethics
Want to show your love for Superhero Ethics with a t-shirt, hoodie, cell phone case, mouse pad, or other swag? We now have a store where you can buy any of those things and more! https://www.teepublic.com/user/superheroethics
This podcast is proud to be a member of the Stranded Panda Podcast Network. Check it out to find a number of other great geek properties, including others co-hosted by Matthew.
 
With Matthew
The Orville Universe Podcast
Superhero Ethics Podcast
And some of the other great Stranded Panda podcasts include:
Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast
DC on Screen
Star Trek Universe Podcast
Who Watched the Watchmen
Lastly, you probably heard some great music at the start and the end of our podcast. That music comes from the deeply talented Jack Hesse.. You can follow him on Twitter at Jack_608, https://twitter.com/jack_608

We’re on the road again, and we’re looking back at 2019! As we did last year, we’re looking back at 2019- what were the best ethical questions raised, what are our hopes for genre media in 2020, and what are we concerned about?
Want to continue the discussion with us? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? We’ve got options for you!
You can post questions, or respond to our episode threads in our Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, or talk to us on the podcast’s Twitter account, or email us at [email protected]. Each of your co-hosts also has their own twitter, 
Matthew is CapedEthicist, https://twitter.com/CapedEthicist
Jacob is BotsRPeopleToo https://twitter.com/BotsRPeopleToo
Support this podcast through our Patreon page! Patreon is a great way to support creators like us through donations, and get great rewards for your help. You can even pick a topic for an upcoming episode! https://www.patreon.com/superheroethics
Want to show your love for Superhero Ethics with a t-shirt, hoodie, cell phone case, mouse pad, or other swag? We now have a store where you can buy any of those things and more! https://www.teepublic.com/user/superheroethics
This podcast is proud to be a member of the Stranded Panda Podcast Network. Check it out to find a number of other great geek properties, including others co-hosted by Matthew.
With Matthew
The Orville Universe Podcast
Superhero Ethics Podcast
And some of the other great Stranded Panda podcasts include:
Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast
DC on Screen
Star Trek Universe Podcast
Who Watched the Watchmen
Lastly, you probably heard some great music at the start and the end of our podcast. That music comes from the deeply talented Jack Hesse.. You can follow him on Twitter at Jack_608, https://twitter.com/jack_608
 
 
 
 

Picard, the new Star Trek show is about to launch and we’ve got questions! Matt Carroll, of the MCU and Star Trek Universe Podcasts joins Matthew to discuss the ethical questions we think Picard will explore. Has Data’s fear of a race of slave androids come to pass? Are the Borg still the enemy? What questions will the Borg and the Androids raise about who is a person? What has decades of  war and the threat of war done to the Federation, and will this show feel more like the Star Trek than many think the Abrams Trek and Discovery do?
Matthew Carroll is a podcaster and musician, whose Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast helped launch a wide range of genre media casts, all of which will be part of soon to be launched Stranded Panda Podcast Network.  His other podcasts include the Star Trek Universe Podcast, the Orville Universe Podcast, and Who Watched the Watchmen, all of which can be found on Itunes, Stitcher, or wherever you find podcasts. 
To follow the creation of Matthew Carroll's star trek double album check him out on The Star Trek Universe Podcast and the Matthew Carroll podcast. He'll be releasing episodes about each song as they're being written.
Social media:
Twitter-@thegaragesongs
Instagram-@thegaragesongs
Facebook.com/thegaragesongs
 
You can download the episode with a right click  and clicking “save link as” or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher
Want to continue the discussion with us? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? We’ve got options for you!
You can post questions, or respond to our episode threads in our Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, or talk to us on the podcast’s Twitter account, or email us at [email protected]. Each of your co-hosts also has their own twitter, 
Matthew is CapedEthicist, https://twitter.com/CapedEthicist
Jacob is BotsRPeopleToo https://twitter.com/BotsRPeopleToo
 
Support this podcast through our Patreon page! Patreon is a great way to support creators like us through donations, and get great rewards for your help. You can even pick a topic for an upcoming episode! https://www.patreon.com/superheroethics
Want to show your love for Superhero Ethics with a t-shirt, hoodie, cell phone case, mouse pad, or other swag? We now have a store where you can buy any of those things and more! https://www.teepublic.com/user/superheroethics
Want to hear more of Matthew’s perspectives? Check out his other two podcasts:
The Orville Universe Podcast
The Star Wars Universe Podcast
Or check out some of the other great podcasts by friends of Superhero Ethics, including:
Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast
DC on Screen
Star Trek Universe Podcast
Who Watched the Watchmen
Lastly, you probably heard some great music at the start and the end of our podcast. That music comes from the deeply talented Jack Hesse.. You can follow him on Twitter at Jack_608, https://twitter.com/jack_608

Now that we’ve all seen Rise of Skywalker, we’ve brought Becky back to talk about it!  On our last episode, the three of us talked about the ethical questions, hopes, and concerns we had going into this movie- this episode we revisit them, and ask, how did this movie address them?  What happened with the Jedi? Did Rey get the character arc she deserved? And does Hanukkah Harry use the same merit based system of gift to child allocation that Santa Claus does?
 We’re pleased to have Becky Allen join us for this discussion. 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.
We mentioned a few links in the episode, including Hanukkah Harry, Becky’s podcast episode about The Christmas Prince, and Matthew’s Facebook live blog of the movie, inspired by Becky’s podcast. 
You can download the episode with a right click  and clicking “save link as” or subscribe by searching for Superhero Ethics on Itunes or on Stitcher
Want to continue the discussion with us? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? We’ve got options for you!
You can post questions, or respond to our episode threads in our Superhero Ethics Facebook Group, or talk to us on the podcast’s Twitter account, or email us at [email protected]. Each of your co-hosts also has their own twitter, 
Matthew is CapedEthicist, https://twitter.com/CapedEthicist
Jacob is BotsRPeopleToo https://twitter.com/BotsRPeopleToo
Support this podcast through our Patreon page! Patreon is a great way to support creators like us through donations, and get great rewards for your help. You can even pick a topic for an upcoming episode! https://www.patreon.com/superheroethics
Want to show your love for Superhero Ethics with a t-shirt, hoodie, cell phone case, mouse pad, or other swag? We now have a store where you can buy any of those things and more! https://www.teepublic.com/user/superheroethics
Want to hear more of Matthew’s perspectives? Check out his other two podcasts:
The Orville Universe Podcast.
The Star Wars Universe Podcast- coming soon!
Or check out some of the other great podcasts by friends of Superhero Ethics, including:The Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast
DC on Screen
Star Trek Universe Podcast
Who Watched the Watchmen
Lastly, you probably heard some great music at the start and the end of our podcast. That music comes from the deeply talented Jack Hesse.. You can follow him on Twitter at Jack_608, https://twitter.com/jack_608