FLAVOR TEXT: Social Justice in Comics

in , , , , ,

Art imitates life. That is the same with comic books. Over the last few decades of storylines featuring our favorite comic book heroes, there have been plenty of problematic storylines, events, and characters that mirror the same cultural issues we have faced in America. The Comics Code Authority, culturally insensitive propaganda, and the fact that white comic book writers have likely unwittingly ruined a whole bunch of storylines featuring underrepresented populations are just a few entries in the bird's nest that is social justice issues in comics.

Since we know these themes can be problematic, we wanted to point out the following timestamps for specific trigger warnings:
- Violence against Japanese people - 7:40-7:50
- Sexual Assault - 36:55-38:30
- The Ku Klux Klan - 1:10:00-1:12:40
- Chemical Warfare Against a Minority - 1:17:30-1:19:00

Today's educational, informative, and culturally self-reflective lore dump is brought to you by Tommy, AKA "Whomstrodamus" in our Discord! Check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/debatethiscast if you want to commission your own FLAVOR TEXT for the one-time price of $50!

Read More

Episode 68: The Sarah Michelle Gellar of Prehistorical Despots

in , , ,

Last month, we asked the question "Which superhero would be a terrible roommate?" So, it stands to reason that it's worth playing in that opposing headspace by asking "Which supervillain would be an awesome roommate?" Imagine just hanging out watching Storage Wars doing bumps of The Power Cosmic with Galactus while your bro Toad cleans the bugs from your shared living space, all the while Apocalypse is channeling you full of otherworldy strength enough to carry 10-ton limestone blocks.

Debate This! is streaming live every Monday night! You can find us on twitch.tv/debatethiscast every Monday at 8pm ET.

Check out more of our incessant arguments at debatethiscast.com and keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

Read More

SIDEBAR: The Real Rhino Was the Friends We Made Along the Way

in , , ,

And here is where we'd talk about the newest MCU movies...if we had one!

Today's superhero movie discussion is taking a 180, and so instead of talking about movies to come, we're talking about some of our favorite hated superhero movies from the past. Come on in for some hot takes on Man of Steel, two commercially failed Spider-Man movies, and--of course--more of Matt yelling at us about Ghost Rider.

Debate This! is now on Patreon, y'all! Subscribe at $5 a month to access our all-new premium feed, featuring the monthly adventures of Forborgürf And The Office Drones.

Check out more of our incessant arguments at debatethiscast.com and keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

Read More

Episode 56: Concentric Penguin Nipples

in , , ,

He's big, he's blue, he's probably diabetic and sometimes he's vaguely Creole...that's right, today's episode is all about the Royal Rumbler himself, King Dedede! We ask what would happen if we ram-jammed Dedede into some of the wackiest standalone comic runs to hit the bookshelves, and the answer is it feels...somehow right? Kyle has Dedede fighting alongside Thor in the Marvel Zombies continuity, Todd places Dedede in the center of the Spectacular Spider-Ham universe, and Matt says some things about Joker teaming up with The Mask (yes, THAT "The Mask") that make little sense.

Suggested Reading

Debate This! is now on Patreon, y'all! Subscribe at $5 a month to access our all-new premium feed, featuring the monthly adventures of Forborgürf And The Office Drones.

Check out more of our incessant arguments at debatethiscast.com and keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

Read More

SIDEBAR: My Favorite Man-Bear

in , , ,

Greetings, comrade! The State has granted us the pleasure of introducing you to the Winter Guard, Mother Russia's very own team of superheroes. Yes, you may think that many of our heroes are clones of your American Avengers slapped together with a red color scheme, but we assure you they are very complex and interesting characters. There is also a man that is also sometimes bear. Glory to Siberforce.

Debate This! is now on Patreon, y'all! Subscribe at $5 a month to access our all-new premium feed, featuring the monthly adventures of Forborgürf And The Office Drones.

Check out more of our incessant arguments at debatethiscast.com and keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

Read More

Episode 48: Don't Worry, the Radioactive Jeans are Non GMO (ft. Randy Hardenbrook)

in , , ,

With the decline in cable TV viewers (and a few notorious legal "uh-ohs") comes the inevitable decline of the glory and majesty that is the television pitchman. To to inject some new life into this fading empire, we're calling in some A-list superheroes and also Paste-Pot Pete to hawk their latest and greatest Made For TV products.

Special thanks to Randy Hardenbrook from Canned Air for joining in on a pitch! The Canned Air podcast is a tribute to all things pop culture, like toys, games, and comics.

Debate This! will be at the TORG Gaming Expo in Columbus, OH, on May 30th! Get your tickets now to see the Midwest Tetris World Championship.

Debate This! is a dumb show where grown men yell at each other over video games and comics. Check out more of our incessant arguments at debatethiscast.com and keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

Read More

FLAVOR TEXT: Marvel Secret Wars

in , , ,

Do you think the people at Marvel back in the 80s would ever have thought that their one-off concept of "make everyone fight each other on an alien planet" would go on to be the single most important thing to happen in the Marvel universe? And that this one storyline would be the thing that retconned, redefined, and completely undid multiple series more than 15 years in the making? This week's FLAVOR TEXT is giving you the entire Secret Wars saga, a notorious storyline that started as a flimsy excuse to sell more toys to being the actual most ambitious crossover event in Marvel history.

Debate This! is a dumb show where grown men yell at each other over video games and comics. Keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

Suggested Reading

Read More

SIDEBAR: The MCU and the Multiverse of Madness

in , , ,

With Tony Stark gone, Captain America having Back-to-the-Future’d himself, and Spider-Man facing off against the villainy that is the Sony Pictures Legal department, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to undergo some massive changes. Following the recent announcements during San Diego Comic-Con and Disney’s D23 Expo, the boys felt it was time to regroup and talk about those reveals and what we see for the future of the franchise.

Keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

Read More

SIDEBAR: Jon Favreau Is My Stepdad

in , , ,

**SPOILER WARNING FOR SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME**

Todd and Andrew saw Spider-Man: Far From Home and oh my God now it’s time to geek out over it. Does Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio top Keaton’s Vulture? What is the future of the MCU now that the Avengers are gone? Could J.K. Simmons dethrone Rami Malek as our new God-King? It’s very possible all of these questions have answers. It’s also very possible we just spent 35 minutes talking about the now-very-real ship of Happy & Aunt May.

Keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

Image Credit: Sony Pictures

Read More

Episode 18: Don't Bring a Knife to a Glue Gun Fight

in , ,

Michael Keaton’s Vulture is the latest of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery to get the “gritty reboot” treatment. With the rumors of Jake Gyllenhaal donning Mysterio’s fishbowl in “Far From Home,” we’d like to present you with updates to some of Spidey’s more goofier villains. The “Silly Sixties” strike back as we discuss classic villains like Paste-Pot Pete, Chameleon, and The Jackal.

Keep the conversation going by following us on social media @debatethiscast.

Read More