 This is the SF Productions podcast network This is a 10 Thursday at three that Darren Pamela Fertin Oh, not another British narrative show and the video journal of popular culture. I'm Mark Schmidbauer and I'm Wilbert Neil And tonight we're gonna start into our the next phase of comic books Marvel Comics Marvel, that's right But before we get into the big extravaganza, we just want to tell you that we're on Tuesdays at 6 Wednesdays at 10 and Thursdays at 3 p.m We're at ACTV cable 21 That's right, and if you want to write us and tell us to stop doing this back-and-forth thing. We're at post office box 15 14 11 Columbus, Ohio 4 3 2 1 5 Oh just cut that out anyways and also want to Want to thank a member of the fourth estate Contacted me just yesterday for an interview. Yes, one of the fine people of the Worthington High School newspaper have Have contacted me last night And so you'll want to rush out to your newsstand to pick that up So just just go to the school that they excuse me. I want to get a copy of the paper I didn't get it in a homeroom. I my home room ran out So can I go up to the counter and sit down like can't get a copy of the paper? Yes, a copy of the paper So there you go Boy, they'll love us. That's right. Ask us to do another dark day ever again. That's right We blew this opportunity either that or they'll have us to come to all their home games. Yeah well You know Marvel comics Exactly the little Marvel comics by golly. They've been around for quite some time Well, I'd say they started off as other companies and right it just kind of branched into Marvel So I thought seriously about in fact We were we wanted to have somebody to come in to really to help us with this one I wanted to do it, you know, kind of like we did the DC one, but then That didn't happen. So we decided to do it this way. That's right. We're just gonna do it by characters and tonight starting with The human element. Yes Human element of Marvel comics. That's right the human element meaning characters who are basically Super-powered humans or enhanced humans, let's say Start with a quick question. What was the difference between an enhanced human and say a mutant? Okay? Mutants are born with their ability and they come to the fore later It's kind of like having an allergy and as you get older and it kind of kicks in Okay, we're a super-powered or an enhanced human if somebody who was just normal until something happens To give them whatever powers it was usually they're concerning cosmic rays or a radiation or some kind of a Drug treatment, right? Something like that. Although they weren't they weren't drug. It was a medical treatment. Yeah, it was never drug It was never drugs back then. Oh, no medical treatment. Okay, but let's um Well, let's okay. We'll start with this guy here Captain America here. I've got a picture here Captain America It was kind of like one of the earliest of the Marvel. Yeah, he was right there pretty much the beginning. Yes, exactly and he um Grelian the story kind of behind him as Steve Rogers was a little wimpy guy who um His brother had gone off and all his friends had gone off to sign up for World War two and It's like he he was just too small and puny that he went and Tried but um, they told him no, you're just too small and puny and so He felt really bad Well a doctor who just happened to be there at the recruiting office at the time hung out Young man. Well, let me let me take you outside here and we see that you really want to help So we've got this new development that we're working on here And we'll we'll put you into this program and see if we can do some things to you So we can help you and all like this is so he volunteered for that and what it was It was this a medical treatment a medical and exercise treatment where um, well, they gave it they injected him with some strange wonderful new Formula But it wasn't a drug. It's right. It wasn't a drug and it and it wasn't steroids or anything like that But it was some medical formula that his doctor Injected him with super juice which imbued him with some great powerful muscles almost immediately And then they put him through an exercise thing and put him through a training program and everything and he became the first Super soldier right and that was the super soldier program and certainly Virtually all the other comic book companies did did take off some of them. Yeah. Yeah, yeah Because that was such a durable concept Especially during World War two everybody have their own fighting soldier their own fighting super soldier a guy like well wasn't Kevin glory Yeah, Kevin glory never get him and he's he's on the shield and the shield Right, there's even one in the in the green hornet comment looks they've gotten somebody that's well like an early green hornet They you're gonna they're doing this whole story about a super soldier kind of program and by go there's somebody there. It's anyway he Graduates from the program and they decide well, this is just great But we can't let you just go out there as Steve Rogers. Well, we've got to give you a an identity somebody to bolster the fighting man out there and and and give them somebody to look look up to and Everything like that will give you this red white and blue suit and a wonderful shield and everything actually his first shield though was kind of a triangular kind of thing right and so um he went out is America's number one fighting guy there and super soldier and all that but When he when he graduated from the program and he found out how successful it was they wanted to do more but um It's assassin came in a shot the doctor Formula kind of died with him Formula and somebody shoots the doctor every time he just he just the formula pretty much died with the doctor and so Steve was out there and he's Captain America and Bucky were out there fighting in World War two and then uh Because in the 1940s every superhero had a sidekick exactly They just you get me a super hero without a little super sidekick there with you So um now it's Bucky of superpowers or he's just a no little bucky was just a scrappy kind of Whirly little kid kind of street smart, you know, you know a punk kid and Cap took him under his wing and said well by golly with your smarts and my power we can go out there and kick some Nazi but So that's that's pretty much how that went and then I guess the original Bucky got killed somewhere along the line Yeah, and so pretty common actually. Yeah, that's it's like people I think that I think that happened right around the time when we had the We had all the all the various hero and sidekicks Looked upon as well. There might be something untoward happening there. Exactly two guys hanging around all the time, you know And no women around. Yeah, so they kind of done the talk of you know Said well, we we can't have that so well kill off all the time kill the sidekick. Yeah That's what we'll do. We'll kill the sidekick. So um they did and then um, well Let's see cap also got frozen in the ice somehow One of his run-ins with his major enemy the Red Skull Ends up getting frozen in the ice and so he's preserved and then um Well, that's about 20 years later. They find him and thaw him out and by golly. He's just good as new Captain America And it's still the same Steve Rogers that started in the current continuity. Well, I suppose it's a Technically it's the same Clark Kent. It's the same Bruce Wayne in the DC world I suppose so it's still basically the same Steve and well the freezing thing kind of right that kind of explain And also the super soldier serum keeps him from aging and ah and also will the freezing, you know It kind of helps. Yeah, that can't hurt with I can't hurt with your freeze-dried superhero there It does it gets can't hurt to have a freeze-dried superhero And of course just recently they had the big Captain America movie fiasco. Yeah now This is something I want to get into more as we go into into Marvel and that is the idea of Why can't Marvel make a decent movie well, why can't the companies that that that get Marvel characters make a decent movie I Movie that makes big money like DC's heroes films Well, I think it's the idea that DC's heroes are more More super that season be what it always was me. Um, they're their heroes were just more super Marvel heroes had problems they they were more human and They had more frail more failed more frailty frailty even though they were super they still had more frailty they so um It's kind of in there somewhere and people relate more Somehow to the DC heroes as being heroes right and where the Marvel heroes is like well We could just do a movie, you know basically and but I mean all this guy in there We just as an example this Captain America movie, which I haven't seen but I've I've heard a lot of people tell me about you know and it's apparently The people who did the movie just went ahead and changed all these various things like Red Skull. He's Italian I mean that kind of thing was going on I know I don't know what the deal was and that's it just seemed like over and over and over again We had you know heroes things that just didn't make any sense. I Don't get it anyway Well, it's somewhere in artistic license and all that they buy they buy the rights to do the thing And it's kind of well that we can do whatever we want. So I Never made sense to me, but no there we are. Hey Who's that up there that's a camera? Hey, hey, that's camera. Hey, hey, yo Hey Good that guy out of there Okay, so Captain America that's that's what heroes and then well kind of the staple the Staple of the the modern hero I guess is the year year Well this guy here No, no, you're not doing that right now That's right. Spider-Man Spider-Man Spider-Man Spider-Man Spider-Man Spider-M который Spider-Man Spider-Man Spider-Man Spider-Man Spider-Man Spider-Man Oh no! Oh! Earthquakes! All the heroes are falling over. And it's all Spider-Man's fault. Let's see what the secret war is going on. I guess so. Dr. Doom or somebody else's. Yeah. And in an earthquake. Anyway, Spider-Man's a-list was Peter Parker. Peter Parker was just your average high school student who really liked science. And he was really into science. And he was considered kind of a nerd and a geek by the jock community of the high school and everything. Right. Well, I mean, the girls kind of felt sorry for him, you know. But he was always going to these science classes and science lectures and things. And there was one lecture one time at one university that he decided to go to. It was going to talk about radiation. And it's uses in the home or something like that. Some great new, new process for radiation. So he went to this and the doctors there talking and he's got the machines going and everything and he's paying attention. And he feels this tingle in his hand because this spider's falling down and bitten it. And so he, well, he kills the spider and he goes on about his business, doesn't think anymore about it, but he starts getting groggy, headachey and things. He leaves and he's not paying attention to where he's going. There's a car racing, barreling down after him. And so he moves out of the way and the car goes by and he realizes he's up on the side of a building. And he's like, what the heck is going on here? And then he remembers the spider bite, which is probably big red and swollen by now. And glowing, in fact, because this spider had come down and had gotten between the rays of the machine that was going on there and got him bewed with radiation. Ooh, that radiation. That radiation stuff. My golly, that's awful. And so he became imbued with the powers of a spider. Hey, what's going on there? Who's that? Hey, what's going on there? Yeah, that's just old Spidey there, making another appearance. What happens then is he figures all this out with his great scientific brain that's been imbued with these powers of a spider. And so he says, well, hey, I've got this. I'm gonna make some money off of it. Yeah, see, this was one of the first heroes that his first, you know, his first inclination is the almighty daughter. I'm gonna make some money off of this whole thing here. And then I can help my poor old Aunt May and Uncle Ben, who have raised me since my parents died. Right, so he goes home and, heck, this spider, this Peter Parker is just a whiz. He sews the suit together and he goes and he's gonna like be on Johnny Carson or some big show like that. And so he goes to the station and he's about to be on the show and some guy comes running through and the guard's like, hey, stop that man. He just stole all the money that was in the whole building or something like that. All the men's like, I'm too busy. I'm too busy being a star. That's right. And so he lets the guy go. And so, well, you gotta stop him. He's like, yeah, well, that's your job. You're a security guard. So he goes ahead, does the show, get some money. You know, he's all happy. He goes home and presents it to Aunt May and Uncle Ben and they're all happy and stuff. And then, well, a couple of days later, well, he doesn't tell him how he got the money, really. Right, just that he got some money. Just that he got some money. Right. And a couple of days later, he's coming home from school and there's police cars and everything around his house. What had happened was this, somebody had broken into the house. Uncle Ben had stopped him and got shot. Got killed. And when he finds the guy, finally it's the same darn guy that was running out of the studio with all the money. And so he's like, if I would have stopped him then, Uncle Ben would still be alive. Aunt May wouldn't be a widow. I wouldn't be feeling so bad about everything. And so from- So this began his period of neurosis. Which pretty much continues to this day. It's kind of that thing in there. He decides then with great power comes great responsibility. Oh, yes. Can you be a superhero without having a neurosis? Well, but it seems like Spiderman has far more than anybody else. Well, no, I'll say all the Marvel characters have. Some sort of neurosis that drives them on. Kind of like Captain Kirk. That constant sense to move on. That's right. No, you can't hear me. That's who I am. If you take away my fear, then I'll have nothing. No, but anyway, so Spiderman goes ahead and he develops web shooters with his great scientific power that can shoot out webs so he can swing through the town and he just thinks he'll be everybody's friend. Whoa, here he comes now, fly it in. Wow. Whoa. There he is, fly it in once again. And he can, well, he has the powers of a spider. He can climb all over things and hang upside down these huge suction cups on his hands. That's just perfect. That's right. So, but anyway, oh, that didn't work. They do really work though. Anyway, he can climb all over a place and he's just got a bunch of villains that come after him too and he's had his share of troubles but, well, we'll get into more of that later. Another group. Well, I was gonna say, if you're going by these guys down here, you gotta go into the next one, I think the next major radioactive type hero. Oh, you mean daredevil? Well, well, no, actually, well, there's another one, but it's daredevil as well. Daredevil is later, well, okay. We'll go into the next, this one's actually a super group. Oh, okay. The Fantastic Four led by Reed Richards. Mr. Fantastic. The stretching guy. Another side, apparently with a heck of an ego calling himself Mr. Fantastic. What an ego this guy has. I see, that's indeed. And basically, Reed Richards is your, well, he's just a brain-y college professor, kind of a guy and he's always liked science and science is his whole life and so he gets together with an old friend of his, well, they went to school together, college together. Right. Ben Grimm. Right. Who was kind of one of the football hero and everything like that. And he always admired Big Brain as he called Mr., well, Reed Richards at that time. And besides, he'll help him out on any venture that he has going. And so it's like, Reed develops a rocket. Yeah. And he wants to test this rocket, but he can't get NASA approval to do it. So he decides to do it pretty much on his own. Kind of like salvage one actually, that kind of Andy Griffiths. Kind of, kind of. And he gets together with, well, let's see. He has a young friend named Johnny Storm and Johnny's sister, Sue, who reads kind of sweet on. Yeah, well, you know. He's gonna take them all up in this rocket here together. They all decide to help him out. And so they go up and they get bombarded by cosmic rays. I hate those cosmic rays, boy. Well, I guess they sure did, because not only did they lose control of the rocket and end up crashing it, but they kind of lose control of their own normal human self. That's right. Reed's developed this ability to become elastic and just stretch all over the place. Johnny felt he was just burning up and his suit burned off of him and he just became like a ball of fire. But then he found out that he was still in kind of a human form. He could fly and he could control fire. He could throw fire. He could do all kinds of things. Sue kind of had a bad headache and sat down and headache woman, she turned invisible. Had a headache and just turned invisible. Only power we've got. She has a migraine every time. Turns invisible. And poor Ben Grimm by golly, the rays probably had the worst effect on him. He just sat down and he felt like he was heavier than he'd ever been in his whole life. And he actually became like a rock creature. And developed the name of the thing. The thing. He was just a big, rocky thing. And Reed sees that they've all got these special, different powers. They've all been imbued with these powers and he says, well, hey, hey, we should try to put these to good use and to help humanity. That's right. And so from there, they decided to all get together and become the fantastic four. Defenders of right and good and everything. Nice people and things. Yes, and savers of the world from anything bad and evil and alien and cosmic or something like that. I think Stan Lee possibly put it better than that, but I'm just guessing. And they were pretty much one of the first modern superteams. Right. And right away they just started running into all sorts of strange things, but we're just gonna talk really about the human and the heroes today. Well, one thing I wanted to say about Fantastic Four is, I mean, from what I've seen of them, it seems like almost pretty much all the time they're breaking up. What's the deal with this? Seems like every time you turn around, they're breaking up. Well, one member or another will leave or somebody gets fed up with the whole thing and says, well, Ben, all through their early incarnation was like, well, I'm just a rock creature and nobody likes me. So maybe I should just go off by myself, which he did a few times, but then they always get him to agree to come back because by himself, I mean, he's just, he's got no friends and everything. At least with them, it's like family. You know, he feels like he's got somebody to like him. And then when he does get a girlfriend, well, she's blind and she appreciates him for himself. And cause she can't see him and so she's not afraid of him and people were always running from him and everything. So he just felt better with a blind girlfriend. So let's see, Johnny at one point, he just went, get so it's like his flame became more and more intense and it started frying his brain kinda. Wow, he just became white hot and he just kinda left. And he linked up with some alien girl for a while. So they had to bring somebody else in. So let's see, one time when Ben left, they brought in She-Hulk who's another human that became imbued with powers, but we, well, we'll talk about her a little later. And there have been different people that have joined the Fantastic Four from time to time, but it's still basically the basic four there, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben. Okay, well, I mentioned the Hulk, so let's talk about the Hulk here. Dr. David Banner. Or Dr. Bruce Banner. Or Bruce David Banner. Or David Bruce Banner, or whatever you want to. Take your thing. Line it up there. Dr. Banner was, well, basically you're a wimpy scientist guy. This kinda happens a lot in the Marvel Universe. You start off with? Wimpy scientist guy. Oh, Wimpy scientist guy who, he's experimenting with, oh, a new type of an atom bomb. And they're doing this big test on this new atom bomb, which of course, well, we'll put out large amounts of radiation. And so they're doing this test out on this field and by golly, some darn kid gets into the test area and he's like poking around out there and Dr. Banner goes, hey, there's a kid out there. And the countdown is going. Well, we can have that. I've gotta go out there and rescue this kid. Okay, now I have a question then. Okay. If these were technically the same type of radiation, then why did it turn one person into the Incredible Hulk and another person into the Incredible Colossal Man? Well, now see, that's just one of those big, well, cause radiation, we don't really know what happened. That's right, it does lots of different things. It grows things bigger, it turns them green. What can we tell you? Anyway, he was out there and he knocked the kid out of the way, but he got the full, pretty much the full brunt of the radioactive blast there. And they just thought he was a goner. Yep. But they found him a little later and he seemed to be okay. But when they woke him up, he got big and green and jumped away. The Hulk, he's pretty much, he gets big and green and jumps. That's true, Hulk is mad. And he jumped, he can jump like a mile at a time, and so he just kind of jumped away and became like a bad guy for a long time until he calmed down and became Dr. Banner again. Well, yes, it's about time to get out of here. Well, next time on the show, we're gonna have Wilbert and Marty doing disco. And next time for the comic book show, three shows from now, we'll be doing the second part of Marvel and guess we'll go more into the humans and then what are we moving into next time? Gee, let's see, what do we have here? We have wizards, aliens, gods, bad guys. And just everybody else, except you and Amy. But then we're saving the best, though, for laughs. Some mutants, we'll be doing the next time after that. That's right, that's right. We've got a TV show in there too, but what are we gonna wait? Well, we'll see, we'll see. For all of us here at Vasway's land, or at least for us too, that's right. We'll see you next time. Good night.