In this milestone episode, I look back to some earlier episodes, including the very first, to see what stories need updating. In addition, I talk about questions I’ve received that, while appreciated, will not be the basis for a future episode.
Okay, we might be taking the title of “Death Metal” a little too literally…
Physician, feed thyself.
Wakanda Forev…wait a second.
Started as their own separate story, the Eternals are now completely ingrained into the origins of the Marvel Universe. With the Chloe Zhao-directed movie on its way in less than two months, now seems like a good time to give a primer on these characters, their powers, and what their introduction means for the MCU going forward.
You may recognize one of these “faces” from the trailer above.
When Kirby was on his own, he really liked go out there.
Continuing our occasional look into the characters that have taken on the identity of an already established hero, this installment covers those who have become the hero that was literally the face of Marvel for many years, Spider-Man, including one of his arch-nemeses. Take a listen to get all the details.
The original.
The less original. (Ben’s “Scarlet Spider” costume)
And the first costume Ben wore as Spider-Man. (Sewing those fingers must have taken forever…)
The newest Spider-Ben.
Yes, this happened.
If only there was some clue this was actually Doc Ock… Stares in tentacles
Yeah you are.
Also available as part of a YouTube Playlist featuring many different creators, this episode discusses the story that really brought Kurt into the DC Comics Universe, and defined Wally West’s version of The Flash for years to come. Written by Mark Waid with art by Greg LaRocque, it’s “The Return of Barry Allen.”
If you’re a longtime fan of a book and you hear it’s being made into a movie, you may have a mix of joy and dread, as so many of the adaptations over the years have not met up to the book fans’ approvals. This episode, we look at some of the common follies that adapters will run into that cause fans to cry foul, then Kurt picks out a couple of films he think got it just right.
As promised in the show, you can find the study showing movie runtimes getting longer right here.
A standard book page (about 300 words) vs…
a typical film script page (250 words on average). How do you squeeze one into the other?
Kurt and Anne wrap up their conversation on the first season of Loki (Season 2 has already been announced!), including the mysterious power behind the TVA, and how this all feeds in to what is coming up in the next year or two in the MCU.
Other than the hat, you can see a lot of this in “He Who Remains”’s outfit.
I really hope we get the “floating invisible chair” at some point in Kang’s MCU appearances.
Continuing the discussion of "Loki" with special guest Anne V., we dive in and talk all about the show, the comics that inspired it, and the relationships and growth of all the characters involved.
The source for the strangest Easter Egg in MCU history (and that’s saying something…)
Continuing the discussion of "Loki" with special guest Anne V., we dive in and talk all about what makes this show so great, and how it connects to the comics. And yes, we definitely talk about that mid-credits scene and who all those characters are.
I’ll take “Things I never thought I’d see in the MCU” for $1000.
Continuing the discussion of the Loki show with special guest Anne V., we dive in deep on all the details we can find, especially as they relate to “Sylvie,” including her comic book connections, and what her actions reveal about the character. And we talk about the big reveal regarding the TVA and what that means.
Not an exact duplicate, but certainly has some similarities to our Sylvie.
Apologies for the double post, but an error in the URL of the MP3 may have caused issues in downloading. Here is the correct file (and it also has been corrected on the website). Depending on timing issues and your podcast app, you may get both, or you may only get this one correctly.
Continuing the discussion of the Loki show with special guest Anne V., topics include Ren Faires, costumes, diadems (which are not helmets), and the comic book origins of the character revealed at the end of the episode.
How do you get your voice to do that font?
Yes, I think you might actually be good right now…
With the Loki show diving into one of Kurt’s favorite subjects (Time Travel), of course he’s going to dive deep into the show as well, looking at all the comic book connections, and theorizing with his guest, Anne V. This first episode we discuss the TVA, Mobius, and all the little moments that made the show so much fun.
Mark Gruenwald, the original face of…
Mobius M. Mobius (Not sure what the M stands for, but I can guess…)
Ravonna (the judge in the show) is…just a little different…in the comics.
Celebrating Pride Month, we are looking at some of the characters in DC Comics that belong to the LGBTQ+ community. I invited JennytheGeek on to discuss the topic and get her feelings as a trans woman (and fellow superhero fan), on how these different characters were handled.
One slight correction. I referred to Danny the Street as gender-fluid in the show. I meant to say non-binary. My apologies for the mix-up in terms.
Really? I am?
Close your jaw, Wally…
If you know who the one on the right is, you also know this is a bittersweet ending for Wanda.
Look at that castle. Is this Dannyland?
With a few exceptions, comic book romances rarely end well. This is no exception.
Neither is this…
Yay! An exception!
crickets
Anyone else distracted by the cat in the last panel? Just me? Okay…
To be appearing in a comic near you soon!
Whoops! Forgot one! Thanks for the reminder, Jenny!
We’ve recently gotten a teaser trailer for the Marvel film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” but you may not have heard of the character before that. We give you a basic rundown on who Shang-Chi is, his infamous father, and how he fits into the Marvel Universe (and possibly the MCU as well)!
Shang-Chi’s dad as originally portrayed…
Limited Edition First Issue…#15? Math is hard!
and as seen in one of the (many) films where they cast a white man to play him.
Bruce Lee? No, we weren’t inspired at all by…um…okay, maybe a little.
If you ask people to name X-Men, basically everyone can come up with Wolverine, and most will be able to remember Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm and maybe a few others. However, who are the X-Men that nobody talks about? In the first of this new recurring series, Kurt dives into the history of the mutant team to find the lesser-known characters that deserve some additional attention.
Go ahead. Name them all…I can wait.
Mimic could actually control his optic beams, but wore the red shades anyways. Calvin Rankin: Fashion icon.
Changeling’s original appearance. You can see why he…changed it.
Wolverine’s claws with Colossus’s strength behind them. A one-man Fastball Special.
How’d he recognize him without that helmet?
Morph…the sacrificial lamb of the X-Men cartoon.
Finally, the Morph of Age of Apocalypse/Exiles. Just a little shift in appearance here.
I am…Magnetrix! No, wait, I changed my mind…No, stop calling me that!
With her multiple times being mind-controlled/possessed, she has some issues about people “getting in her head,” among others…
Two questions being asked this week. One is about what causes certain heroes to be immune to each other’s powers when they are on the same family tree. The other question is about the MCU version of Bucky, and if and when he got powers.
You can keep blasting…it’s not going to do anything.
The “s” that launched a thousand characters…(Okay, just two)
Can you tell he was created in the 90s?
“Zzark” and “Fzzshak” just don’t have the resonance of “Bamf” and “Snikt” when it comes to X-Men power noises.
The (slightly) more serious Summers brother.
The moment Bucky becomes a Super Soldier, even if he doesn’t realize it.
We’ll be seeing him join the MCU soon in Black Widow, but who is Taskmaster in Marvel Comics? That is the question being asked this week by one of the younger listeners of Welcome to Geektown, and so we explain the history and powers of the skull-masked villain, to see what makes him so special.
Tasky as he first appears in the comics…
in the Marvel Villainous game that partially inspired the question…
and the upcoming Black Widow movie. Which is your favorite?
For the first anniversary of the podcast’s release, Kurt’s favorite hero Speedball was introduced. In the 2nd-Anniversary episode, he introduced the rest of his teammates in the New Warriors, or at least the members of the team when it was first formed. For year 3, it’s time to look at the other heroes who joined the roster sometime after the first issue, but still in the original 75-issue run.
Editors Note: I say in this episode “Helix’s first appearance was in Spider-Man: Maximum Clonage Alpha #1 (yes, that’s the full title), and so his creator credits have been listed as the writer/artist team of that book, which is Tom DeFalco, Todd DeZago, and Ron Lim. However, in Episode 55, Evan Skolnick seems to state that he and New Warriors penciler Patrick Zircher came up with the idea and look originally. I’ve reached out to Evan for further elaboration on that, but as of this recording have not heard back.”
I have now heard back from Evan, and he and Patrick did co-create Helix, but that credit was mistakenly left off the title page of the book, so it has been assumed that the creative team of that one-shot are the ones that created the character. Thank you to Evan for getting back to me as quickly as he could (I gave very little notice due to catching this discrepancy late in the process).
Sil’s original costume (that actually traveled with her…originally when she used her powers, she left her clothes behind)
And her most recent costume (not sure why she’s hiding her face now)
Rage’s first costume. Not the greatest sartorial choice.
Not that it got a whole lot better when he joined the New Warriors…
Turbo…not Turbo Teen. That’s different.
The other (still living) Turbo.
Hindsight Lad. Exactly as insufferable as he looks.
Hindsight. Yes, that’s the same guy as the last picture.
Alex (and Friday’s) first appearance. Alex is the blond.
As he appeared with the New Warriors. Someone grew up!
Scarlet Spider and Rage obviously went to the same tailor for their collars.
I’m honestly not sure how much of that is costume, and how much is skin…
How does she make her word balloon do that?
Completing our look at the new MCU show starring Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bettany on Disney+, Kurt is joined by personal friend and frequent question asker Joel L. (an MCU fan, but not a regular comic reader) in order to see the show from all sides, theorize about the mysteries, and discuss the connections to the comics that inspired the series.
Round one: Physical combat. Round two: Philosophy debate. Round 3: Swimsuit competition?
Continuing our look at the new MCU show starring Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bettany on Disney+, Kurt is joined by personal friend and frequent question asker Joel L. (an MCU fan, but not a regular comic reader) in order to see the show from all sides, theorize about the mysteries, and discuss the connections to the comics that inspired the series.
We’re nearly to the end! Please let me know what you think by emailing welcometogeektown@gmail.com or clicking the “Submit a Question” link at the top of the page!
If you have to ask, the answer is probably “No.”