Episode 403

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Published on:

12th Aug 2025

Geeks Unite: Our Take on Jurassic World, Superman, and Fantastic Four!

The salient point of this discussion revolves around the evaluation of this summer's cinematic offerings, specifically the blockbuster films: "Jurassic World: Rebirth," "Superman," and "Fantastic Four: First Steps!" The panelists—Kevin Schaeffer, Will Rose, Christian Ashley, Evan Garcia, and Andy Walsh—engage in an insightful discourse regarding their respective anticipations and subsequent reactions to these films. They delve into the thematic elements present in each narrative, exploring how these stories resonate with contemporary societal issues and personal experiences. Through rigorous examination, they assess the merits and shortcomings of each movie, ultimately reflecting on the enduring appeal of these iconic characters and franchises. This episode serves not merely as a review but as a thoughtful exploration of what these stories signify in the broader context of modern cinema and culture.

Takeaways:

  • The discussion highlights the thematic exploration of family dynamics within the context of superhero narratives, particularly emphasizing the importance of chosen family as seen in the Fantastic Four.
  • The hosts articulate their varying emotional responses to Superman, emphasizing the character's enduring relevance through themes of kindness and the struggle for identity in a complex world.
  • Jurassic World: Rebirth is critiqued for its entertainment value, with discussions centered around the film's ability to deliver thrilling dinosaur action while also exploring deeper societal themes.
  • The panelists reflect on the cultural impact of both Superman and the Fantastic Four, noting how Superman's archetype has influenced countless superheroes while the Fantastic Four remains a unique family-centric narrative.
  • Listeners are encouraged to engage with the films on their own merits, rather than through the lens of expectation or preconceived notions about superhero narratives.
  • The episode concludes with a call for viewers to appreciate the joy these blockbusters bring, regardless of their narrative shortcomings, highlighting the communal experience of cinema.

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Transcript
Kevin Schaeffer:

This is systematic geekology. We are the priest of the geeks, and we are here for a very special episode today.

This is our super drastic episode where we did a sort of prequel to this about a month ago where this is a big blockbuster movie summer for everyone with the release of three major blockbusters. Obviously, if you couldn't guess with the title, it was Jurassic World, Rebirth, A Superman, and Fantastic Four. First steps.

So we did an episode about a month ago where we talked about sort of our excitement level going into these movies, which ones we were most excited for. And now they've all been out. We're gonna talk about them, and we're gonna do some fun questions around these movies. So I'm very excited. So we have a.

A full panel today that I'm really excited for. So. So, yeah, I am Kevin Schaefer, and with me, I want to go around the room here, and if everyone could give me one word of how you're feeling today.

So, Evan Garcia, we will start with you. How are you feeling today?

Evan Garcia:

I'm feeling super casual, fragilistic, xp, Doshous.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Excellent. Excellent. I love it. And Andy Walsh, who also has the best sub name in your title here. Yeah, yeah. But, Andy, how are you doing?

Andy Walsh:

I'm dandy, thanks.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I love it. I love it.

Andy Walsh:

Dandy.

Kevin Schaeffer:

And Will Rose. What? Will Rose, what is your word here, man?

Will Rose:

Evan took mine, so I'm just gonna say superb. No, that was really good. I didn't. I didn't think about doing that, but nice. Nice job. I'm Sue. Perb. That's how I'm feeling.

Evan Garcia:

Sue Storm.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Perp. Very cool. I love it. And Christian Ashley, what about. What is your word today?

Christian Ashley:

I'm feeling TJ less because I was hoping he'd be here.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yeah, I know, I know.

Will Rose:

Yeah. Oh, this is an honor of TJ's, because, you know, he's so good at doing those.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Good.

Will Rose:

And. And, you know, but. But we're. We're living in the spirit of TJ right now.

Evan Garcia:

We have a lot.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I would have loved to hear what his. His answer to this prop would have been.

Christian Ashley:

I'll say multiple words just to be.

Will Rose:

Oh, yeah. Plot twist.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yeah. I will say I'm feeling punk rock today. A little. Little setup for. For this episode. So. Yeah. So. So, yeah. Thanks, guys, for being here.

We are very excited for this one. So we're gonna get into each of these movies before we get started. Thank you all for being here.

Please, if you are on a laptop or you're watching a mobile, please, like Rate and review the show. This is on YouTube right now. And the promise still hold. We say it every time. But if you. If we get 50 likes on an episode on YouTube, Will Rose. Will.

Will. What are you gonna do this time?

Will Rose:

If we get 50 likes, I will film myself being chased by a dinosaur going down a river. And inner tube.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Okay. That's very specific. I love it. But, yeah, so if you want to see that, all you have to do is hit the like button on YouTube.

And again, whatever you listen to your podcast on, please like Raiders review on there. You'd also support us on Patreon. We got some cool merc, too, on our site. So just look us up. You know, we love your support and.

Yeah, so we're just gonna get into it today with. I guess we've got a lot to cover with this topic. So again, it's.

If you have not seen the previous episode, if you want to kind of get at what our thoughts were going into these movies, you can go check that one out.

But, yeah, so now we're going to be talking about each of these movies extensively, and we're not going to reveal rankings just yet, but let's start just kind of going around the room. And if we had to describe the main plot of these movies in one sentence, what would be. I could start. Well, let's start with Superman. So my.

I. I had a log line here is an extraterrestrial encounter is the best and worst of humanity, but chooses to fight for them while also risking his life dog sitting. That is my little pitch for.

Will Rose:

Well, where's that applause sound effect? Where's that applause sound effect?

Kevin Schaeffer:

Where is it?

Will Rose:

Oh, that is. Yeah.

Kevin Schaeffer:

So that is my first Superman. Well, we'll start. What. What's your first Superman? What's your little line right there?

Will Rose:

An alien comes to Earth to help out, but a billionaire is really jealous. So jealous he doesn't care if the Earth gets sucked into a pocket universe.

Kevin Schaeffer:

That's fair. I love it. Christian, what about you?

Christian Ashley:

The S stands for hope in a far better movie.

Will Rose:

The S. Shots fired. Shots.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Shots fired.

Evan Garcia:

Wow.

Kevin Schaeffer:

All right, all right.

Will Rose:

Hey, it took me a second.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I was like, what do you mean by that? Oh, hold on. Okay.

Will Rose:

We'll find out. We'll find out.

Kevin Schaeffer:

All right. Andy, what about you? Sure.

Andy Walsh:

Four superheroes, a brilliant scientist, a hotshot flyer, a man whose body has been transformed into energetic material, and a woman work to unite the world and keep the Earth from being swallowed up.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I love it. That's very accurate there. I love it. Evan, what about you?

Evan Garcia:

Similar to Will. He's. There's.

There's an alien that pisses off a billionaire, saves the world because of the said billionaire, and his dog is really cool and he's got cool friends.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yep, yep. Yeah. I love it. Oh, yeah. Crypto. I think it's hard to describe this movie without Crypto in there because he plays such a pivotal role, but. Awesome.

So that is our plot for Superman. Now let's move to Fantastic Four for this one. I said renowned scientists pick a bad time to become parents. So. Yeah, I don't know if you've.

Like, there's these, like, the challenge of describe a film plot badly. And I. I have a lot of fun with those, so.

Will Rose:

It's good. That's good.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yeah. Yeah. So, Will, what about you?

Will Rose:

A family of four and a baby saved the world from the space Kaiju without child sacrifice.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Good. I love it. Tristan, what about you?

Christian Ashley:

Hey, remember that post credit scenes? And thunderbolt slash? New Avengers. Well, that doesn't really get followed up on yet, but it will if you watch Avengers too.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yep, pretty much. Gotta set up the next movie. Andy, what's your Fantastic Four pitch?

Andy Walsh:

The diner orders off the menu and is forced out.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yes. That is a. I. I hope Kevin Feige is listening to this. I. I think we're. We're. We're marketing executives here.

Will Rose:

Exactly.

Kevin Schaeffer:

And Evan, what's yours?

Evan Garcia:

Your kid's not special, but their kid is. And that's pretty much all I got.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yeah, that's pretty good. I love it. I love it. So I. This is. Again, I really wish. I can only imagine what TJ's would be here.

We were like, tj's having car troubles at the moment. But I almost want to get him, like, in a bonus here just to go through these.

Evan Garcia:

He would probably say, like, oh, yes. Something like, car seat.

Kevin Schaeffer:

That would be good. Yeah, he would. Yeah. I love it. I love it. Very cool. Okay. And then. Yeah. So sorry, guys, but Jurassic World Rebirth is the only one I did not see.

So I'm gonna. I'm gonna guess there are dinosaurs in it, but I'm gonna leave you guys.

Will Rose:

That's a good plot device. Just from the trailer. There are dinosaurs in it. There you go.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yes. Yeah, exactly. Andy, I know you're a big Jurassic park fan, so we'll start with you. Sure.

Andy Walsh:

A familiar court, a familial quartet explores unfamiliar territory and is nearly eaten by an ancient behemoth.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Good. Okay. I love it. That. See, some of these might make me really want to see it now. I love this. Will, what about you?

Will Rose:

Okay, people are bored with dinosaurs and we're going to show you why you shouldn't be bored with dinosaurs.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Fair. I like it. I like it. Christian, what about you?

Christian Ashley:

You idiots keep buying tickets to these, so we're going to keep making them because we put dinosaurs in them. And also I had fun.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Again. I think I. I got some good pictures here. Log line here. But Evan, what about you?

Evan Garcia:

It doesn't look like a Jurassic park movie, but it is.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Fair enough. What, what does it look like?

Evan Garcia:

It's not so heavy on the meta ness. Like everything doesn't. Everything doesn't mean something. It's just a fun activity to scary dinosaurs. People die. Boohoo.

I'm sure somebody's gonna make some meaning out of it. But I liked how. How simple it was.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I like it. I like it. Awesome. Well, that is the plot elements of these three movies.

So now we're gonna get a little bit into what we think it was the message that we took away from each of these movies. So I can start with Superman. It's gonna be cliche to just say kindness pop rock, but that is like the best tagline for this movie.

But I would also add to that that it's a. The message is about no matter where you come from, you have a choice to be the best you could be. You have a choice to be good.

And that choice is up to you. And, and so that's kind of what. The essential message for me, for Superman. But. Well, what.

What was your kind of main message you took away from Superman?

Will Rose:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, so I, you know, similar stuff there. But for me, sometimes being nice and kind wins. And don't be suckered by an egotistical billionaire. Dogs rule.

And Superman listens to Christian punk rock like Pod.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Oh, yes. Yeah. Oh, 100% yeah.

Will Rose:

That's the message. So I had to throw crypto in there because even if a dog doesn't have boundaries, his dog still rule.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I mean, no. Have you seen that? Like just a side point to that, that dog adoptions have gone up since Superman.

Will Rose:

Yeah.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I love it. Like, I mean that is beautiful.

Will Rose:

That's beautiful.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I love it. Let's see. Evan, what about you?

Evan Garcia:

Oh, great. That you put me behind Will, because I'm going to kick back and say that, that I'm sorry because the Christians, we try to co op something again.

Because it wasn't Pod. It was. It was a James Gunn old band from a college called the Pods. And just.

Will Rose:

Yeah, yeah, I was like this Christian's always Kel Copton.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yeah.

Evan Garcia:

Oh, no. And then there's a dog. Oh. And. And a big part of it is that there's. That sometimes billionaires do get. Get arrested sometimes. Sometimes.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Sometimes. It said it was nice to see it happen here, but. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Christian, what about you?

Christian Ashley:

If you want people to act heroic, be the superhero you want them to be.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Amen. Definitely. Perfect. Andy, what about you?

Andy Walsh:

Do as I say, not as I do, pretty much.

Kevin Schaeffer:

That's. That was good. I love it. I love it. That's awesome. Sweet. Well, I think.

Yeah, no, and we'll get into more, I think, of these themes, but let's do Fantastic Four next. And then we'll kind of get. And then we're gonna do a broader discussion as well. But Fantastic Four. I was thinking about this, too.

I mean, obviously family is a central component, but, you know, I. I guess that because I. This is. I don't know, maybe this has to do with my thoughts on the movie. I don't think the themes are as strong here, so.

But I would just say that family is important. Be that. And that's not just blood here because obviously, like, Ben Grimm is not blood relative. But.

But that whether it's your chosen or your biological family, support each other and do good as much as you can with the ones you love. But. Well, what about you? I like. I'm curious what your thoughts are for this. Okay.

Will Rose:

All right. I got it. Cosmic surfing is rad. And yes, a mom's love and passion can body slam a space giant. And why don't we have flying cars yet? Why.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Why that? Yeah, why?

Will Rose:

Andy, help me.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Help me. Andy. If this was in the 60s. Come on.

Will Rose:

No. Come on. We're 60 years later.

Evan Garcia:

FTL. What's FTL too?

Kevin Schaeffer:

Andy, what's your kind of main theme message from Fantastic Four?

Andy Walsh:

The needs of the many are the needs of the few.

Will Rose:

Coming at you.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Dropping some knowledge here, Andy.

Will Rose:

I love it.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yeah. Evan, what's yours?

Evan Garcia:

This is for Fantastic Four, right?

Will Rose:

Yeah.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yes.

Andy Walsh:

Yep.

Evan Garcia:

It's gonna be more like in the.

Andy Walsh:

Sense of.

Evan Garcia:

We all play a part in our. In our family, but sometimes we do overstep each other and we. And we need to learn to do a give in.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Oh, I like that.

Will Rose:

Give and take.

Kevin Schaeffer:

So that. That's the message for Reed Richards.

Evan Garcia:

Yeah. But then you could kind of apply it to. To some of the other ones, too.

Will Rose:

Yeah.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Okay. Yeah, Yeah, I like it. I like it. Awesome. Christian, what about you?

Christian Ashley:

If you have a press secretary working for your fantastical family, maybe you should let them speak first before you announce to the world that you doomed it.

Evan Garcia:

I don't know.

Kevin Schaeffer:

They need some pr. There.

Evan Garcia:

Her face when he said that.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Like what? That was it. Oh, I love it. Awesome. And now Jurassic World. So again, I do not have messenger on this one.

So I'm gonna leave it to you guys for this one. Andy, you've been dropping some great liners here for theme, so I'm curious what yours is for this one.

Andy Walsh:

In late stage capitalism, it's everyone for themselves.

Evan Garcia:

I was thinking something like that too.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I love it. Well, what about you?

Will Rose:

I hate it when a dinosaur crosses causes a traffic jam. And. And don't let big pharma experiment on dinosaurs. And if your leg gets hurt, don't worry, it may be healed in the next scene.

Evan Garcia:

Ta da.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I love it. I love it. And Evan.

Evan Garcia:

Greed kills, but sometimes it doesn't.

Kevin Schaeffer:

And then Christian. And around us out here.

Christian Ashley:

Does anyone remember the first season of Iron Fist where he makes the company, you know, put that drug out at cost. Imagine that happened at the end of the film for something that was a lot better. And then thinking that was a smart decision.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Oh, okay, I didn't do one.

Christian, I love how you're making a lot of references to other movies and franchises that came before here as a tie, like for both plot and themes here. But I love it. Awesome. Awesome.

Well, and we'll get into now we'll get into kind of the main discussion of our rankings of these movies and building on what we said about the plot and the themes, kind of like maybe a little bit about why we did. So let's just go around the room. I. I can start. I think it's. I mean there's. Comes to the surprises. No one out of the two I saw.

I think people who listen to the show know how much I love Superman. Is it a perfect movie? No.

It certainly I'm has flaws, but as far as the emotional impact it had on me, I thought the storytelling was really solid and it had the. The idea of it being in a lived universe and it really bringing to life characters that I loved. But not just that.

I just thought it was again, a good movie.

It had really strong thematic material and it reminded the world why Superman is so cool and why he is why the first one of the longest running superheroes and why he still has a massive cultural impact. And it. For years Hollywood had been saying like, oh, Superman's not relevant anymore. I don't know how we can make a good Superman movie.

And this defied all of that and said no, he is not only timeless but he's fully relevant and he. And the message of kindness is cool. Kindness is punk rock that is needed now more than ever.

And so while, I mean, you know, I can still nitpick some of the aspects of it, but as far as one of the most joyful comic book movie experiences I've had in a while. This is high up there. So so easily my number one. And then Fidetic four I.

You know we talked about on our review last week, there were things about it I really loved, like the production design, the casting. Also that it embraces its source material much like Superman and it's not a shame to be a comic book movie. It has all of those elements.

I just think it could have been much stronger in terms of execution and in terms of writing and in terms of particularly again, like while the visual elements were really cool, I think the camera work and the editing were rushed and you know, there could have been a stronger delivery on some of the thematic material, but it still is highly entertaining. I get why people love it. It just for me is not as high as Superman and Thunderbolts were for me on the comic movie realm this year.

So that's easily my ranking. And again I no dis to Jurassic park fans. I'm just not. It's not a franchise I'm invested in really. So I have not seen Rebirth yet.

I may catch it on streaming when it comes out, but that was my only exclusion from the big blockbuster.

Will Rose:

So the big. The big plot twist. Sorry, Malaysia went on.

The big plot twist is that you're going to see Jurassic park and you're like it's my favorite one of all three. I need to go back and reviews and do all this.

Kevin Schaeffer:

That would be. That would be kind of hilarious now. That would. That would be something. But yeah, who knows though? I will. I'll if it when it comes in.

If I see it eventually then I will report back. But yeah. Well, what about you? So what's your ranking and kind of like your thoughts on these movies?

Will Rose:

Yeah, yeah, I. It's hard. Yeah. I. I'm just right out front. Jurassic park number three, Fantastic Four two and number one, Superman is hard.

It was hard going the next weekend to see Fantastic Four and not comparing it to what I saw with Superman. I acknowledged that I loved that both Superman and Fantastic Four were not embarrassed to be comic book movies and use it source mater material.

I understand some of the fan critique around Superman about being overstuffed and I thought was they could have done more with Superman and his supporting cast than just a big huge super team movie. But. But I'm so excited that they just popped us right into these universes and just let us go. They didn't have to do the big origin story.

Same with Fantastic Four. They did. Recap. They didn't have to do big origin story. You just plopped us in the universe and.

And assumed, hey, you have 20 years experience with these comic book movies. You know how this worked. Let's just get going and get right to the plot. So that's what I love. Jurassic park or Jurass Rebirth. I think it was fun.

I went there to see dinosaurs and I did. I really was hoping to be more kind of meat on the dinosaur bone around like this plot in the world and what they did. But, you know, it was fun.

It was a funner, some fun summer movie. I saw that first. It's ranked third. I saw Superman second is first. I saw Fantastic Four third, and now it's second. So that's.

That's where we can talk more about kind of what we thought they could have done better later on or. Or what we loved about it.

Kevin Schaeffer:

But.

Will Rose:

But that's how I rank. Rank mine. And really it was a. It's a good time to be a geek. You know, it's not a competition. We're ranking these things.

I. I don't want to compete, but to think about the source material that we all love as. As fans of this medium and kind of the time to be. We're all geeks here and we all love the source material. So. So yeah, we're gonna.

We're gonna rank them, but good time to be a geek.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Totally agree. And that's the thing, like the ranking we're doing just for fun here.

But I want to emphasize if you are a major Jurassic park man, this was your favorite. Absolutely. Go own that. Love it. And like, I think. I mean, to get three big blockbusters like this back to back from different franchises.

What more can you ask for as. As geeks, as movie fans. So love whatever you want. But these are just our personal rankings. And also someone can keep track. So we've got. Yeah.

Christian, are you able to just keep track of the. Because we'll do like a tally at the end here. So. So right now I say it's the same so far, so. Yeah, sounds good. Andy, what about you? Because I'm car.

Because you have not. I don't think we've had you talk about Superman yet. Right. So I'm really curious on you.

So take it away for your rankings and thoughts on these movies. Sure.

Andy Walsh:

So to cut to the chase, it's Fantastic Four. 1. Jurassic World 2. Superman 3. Fantastic Four. You know, I. Ghost number one.

I think mainly on the strength of a really rousing score, a theme that has been stuck in my head for the week before. I was listening to it and all through the movie I enjoyed the, you know, the subtle little characterizations between the characters.

And I was really appreciative of the way that, you know, science on a social scale was a big part of the solution in the, in the film. Not just, not just a genius doing a thing, but everybody working together around the world to collaborate on, on a shared goal and a shared effort.

So that's, that's what put that number one, Jurassic World, number two. I just had a lot of fun with it. The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. It's kind of a.

And the, you know, it has a, has an opening, like five minute prologue that has absolutely nothing to do with the story or the rest of the movie. But, you know, watching the movie, I just had a good time.

There were some really cool, you know, dinosaur sequences and that was about all I wanted out of it. And that was what I got. And then, you know, Superman really just broke my heart.

I wanted it to be the movie that I think everybody else saw, but for me it just wasn't. It said a lot of good things, but I don't want to hear Superman talking about torturing people.

I don't want to watch Superman bludgeon people with other people. And I don't want to see Superman kill his enemies as the solution to the final challenge. Right.

We had a decade of debate over that and I just didn't want to see that again.

And I left the theater before the credits were done because I could not listen to that John Williams theme play in conjunction with, with that movie anymore.

And, and it just, yeah, broke my heart because it kept saying, you know, and it would pull me back in, it would say things that I thought were good things to say. Like, you know, hope is the, is the real punk rock. But then what it was actually doing, I just, I couldn't, couldn't do. I couldn't go with it.

So, you know, that was my own personal reaction. I know, you know, everybody has different, different reactions to different things and that's fine. I'm not saying it was a bad movie.

In a lot of ways it was a very well done movie. And that's Part of what made it so. So frustrating for me. But yeah, that was. That's in briefly. Why. Why it comes in last for me.

Will Rose:

Annie, for clarification, are you saying when Superman was kind of going all out against the people in the, like, suits, like, the Iron man armor there at the end of, like, killing people, you know, all throughout.

Andy Walsh:

So when he's fighting the Engineer, he used it. And Ultraman uses the Engineer to bludgeon Ultraman or Ultraman to bludgeon the Engineer. I forget which was which. You know, he's.

And later on in the fight, he's swinging Ultraman around and using, you know, and just kind of bludgeoning him.

Not unlike the Hulk swing Loki around, which, you know, I get that that was a big moment in the Avengers, but I have different standards for Superman than the Hulk. I'm sorry. And then, yeah, the. The fight against the. The Raptors. Right. I don't want to see Superman punch somebody's teeth out in slow motion.

Especially, you know, especially a normal, you know, human with no. No powers or anything like that. That's just not. Not something I want to see. And that's always been an issue I've had with. With James Gunn, with the.

With the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, too. The. The gleefulness with which the characters engage in. In lethal violence has never sat well for me. And when.

When it was in the context of Superman film, I just. I couldn't go there.

Will Rose:

Gotcha. All right, all right.

Kevin Schaeffer:

The fair criticism, I think, you know, because, like, I think it's something like the Suicide Squad. It's like, yeah, you expect that from those characters, but. But that. No, it's something I.

And, well, honestly, because the first time I saw it, I was almost thinking the. Those, like, armored people at the end were robots, so I wasn't even thinking. And I forgot for a minute that they were humans. But.

But no, it's a valid point. Yeah. Cool. Awesome. Thanks, Eddie. Evan, what about you? Your ranking and overall rankings.

Evan Garcia:

I'll go with Superman 1, 2 Fantastic Four, and 3 Jurassic World, because I like them all. Just. I had to put them somewhere. So the.

Will Rose:

These.

Evan Garcia:

The Superman, it just gave me that, like, I was just so pumped. I just felt so good watching that movie.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Me.

Evan Garcia:

Me and my son were singing to the soundtrack after, and we were just. He just felt good, man. It just felt good.

Andy Walsh:

And.

Evan Garcia:

And. And when I went to go see it again, I could see kind of like the flaws that Danny's talking about, but I was like, stop it. Stop it.

You like this movie you like it. Don't. Do not, do not ruin it for yourself. But that doesn't mean.

I still find that the, the same kind of criticisms in it, which I do, but it's just, it just, it just landed so good with me. The, the post cynicism and the acceptance of more, more, more good, even though it's kind of cheesy. And these.

And the idea of like when your God dies, what do you do? You got to find it inside of you. And that was a big one for me. So, so, so. And for, and for Fantastic Four, I got, I got old school MCU vibes from it.

Like, it just felt good. I was like, all right, we are getting back. It's not, they're not, they're not like a throw in just a bunch of characters.

I was kind of expecting them to show up and kind of save the day, but I'm glad they didn't. It was just. They chose these characters and they focus on this family and these stakes were big, but not too big because it didn't end up.

At least we don't know yet. And, and the interactions between the family and the, and the archetypes that that each one of them represented.

I was kind of, I was kind of disappointed that they didn't, they didn't change it up completely because that probably would have pissed people off like if, if a Johnny Storm was like the genius or something like that. But I like how they didn't, like, they didn't try to sexualize. Sue, he a Storm.

Johnny wasn't like just walking around with, with, with a bunch of girls and the thing wasn't like all whiny about his thing.

Like they all, they all kind of had that, but that was in their main personality and they set that aside to help each other in the end and, and that mothers always know best. Like they are there. They are always going to pull through for their kids and the Jurassic World. I, I just love that it wasn't so much of a.

Of what Jurassic park was. I think it was refreshing. We are so far removed from it already that, that, that I think it's okay to have a film where just cool shit happens.

Andy Walsh:

Nice.

Evan Garcia:

So. And my son loved it because he was scared.

Will Rose:

He said, yeah, yeah. Power of the thrill. Of the thrill.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I love it. Did you get to see all three with your kids?

Evan Garcia:

I saw them, yes.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yeah.

Evan Garcia:

Yeah. I didn't see the last two. We only saw a super Jurassic park together. And then, and then the rest was just me and my son.

Will Rose:

Yeah.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Very cool. That's awesome.

Will Rose:

How do you think your son would rank them? How do you think your son would rank the three Superman?

Evan Garcia:

Probably. And that's a good question. I could call him over.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I'm just curious. I know, because that it's rare now to have like three blockbusters in a row that you can take your kids, too. That's a big deal now.

Evan Garcia:

That's huge.

Kevin Schaeffer:

So that alone, this deserve praise. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Christian, what about you? Your ranking and overall thoughts?

Christian Ashley:

Yeah, I'm going to stick with the curve here that Andy broke and. Love you, Andy. It's Superman 1 for me. I understand where you're coming from a little bit, but I guess it wasn't.

Didn't bother me because of the proportionate response to who he was fighting. If he was doing that against, like, I don't know, the Joker in Toyman.

Yeah, I'd feel a little more closer to you, but he's doing it to the engineer and what is essentially a clone of himself. What is a clone of himself? So they can take the beating. Go for it. Now, you have a better point with the people in armor.

I'm not big on the two scene, but I think at that point in time, it's, I have to take you idiots out as soon as possible because I have a city to save. So if this is the fastest way to do it, I'll do it. You can argue whether or not that was the right call, but overall, this is the Superman I want.

He is saving people. He's inspiring people.

We have excellent superheroes coming into the film to set up a universe that I was expecting to be, you know, just thrown in there for the sake of maybe setting up spin off films or something. They had their own arcs and everything. Hawker was the weakest, but it's. She was still fine in the film.

I love what they did with the Daily Planet crew, giving them an opportunity to be relevant in the movie instead of just, well, it's Superman, so we have to have them there.

I'm trying to say think of something I hadn't said before in previous episodes, but I mean, really, in the time I've had since then, it's pretty much stayed the same. So second once again to stay with everyone else. Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue are perfect in my eyes and how they're portrayed.

I love Reed's awkwardness. I love, you know, Sue's take, you know, grabbing, taking things, taking charge as need be.

And of course, I mean, if there's anyone who I could believe out of the Four, who would stop Galactus for a little bit in his tracks. It's her. I mean, I'm fairly certain at one point in time she actually killed a celestial. So she can do that.

I can see her taking down Galactus for a little bit Bit. The thing was okay. He was fine. Once again, it's not having the watcher, not having Alicia Masters kind of ruin aspects of this film.

Just having that random girl. And I'm glad they embraced, you know, the Jewish side of his character and brought that up. It was just kind of handled poorly overall.

It's like you can have it. I want that there. I just wish they did it better. And Johnny. I despise what they did with Johnny. It's making him a genius as far as linguistics.

That's not him. Yeah, if it was like engineering or something like that. Yeah. He modifies hot rods all the time. I could see that. If that was more relevant, sure.

But Galactus, excellent Silver Surfer was eh. I think I like her a little more than I do Johnny in this film. But it's not great.

Once again, I was waiting for the reason why it had to be Shallow Ball instead of Norrin Rad. And the answer was there wasn't one. They just wanted to do it. But overall, great film.

Lots of good fun, great fight scenes, great exploration of space, of using science to better the world, of, you know, working together. Yeah. The scene where she convinces people is weak but you know, it got to the end point of people actually getting the job done. Then Jurassic park.

It is what it is. Like my bare. It's a five out of 10 for me. There were dinosaurs in the film and they were scary.

That's all you needed to me to actually enjoy a Jurassic park film. I'm not expecting Citizen Kane. I'm not expecting the greatest film in the world. They gave me what I wanted.

I'm not seeing it again, but they gave me what I wanted. So I think with our rankings there. I don't know. I don't do mathematics. I need TJ for that.

So it was basically Superman, Fantastic Four and Jurassic park except for Andy. So however the heck that breaks the curve, whoever failed the class, blame him.

Will Rose:

That's right.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I'm not good at math. I'm not good at math either. So I cannot.

Will Rose:

Andy might be. I did put this out there on the polls on. On the social medias and the. We had a few chime in and most of them were like Superman.

You know, it was kind of their favorite that kind of lean into I hearing Andy's kind of critique, I can definitely see where James Gunn style can, can rub some people the wrong, the wrong way when those things. For me, I do, I do like his directing style and the soundtrack and the, the brightness of it and the kind of quippiness of it. I, I was captured by.

I, I do think we're all winners because all these movies capture kind of the heart of what these characters are, at least for me. That's what is Andy, the different thoughts in terms of how supreme was portrayed.

But I, I do think it kind of the, the core of who they are was portrayed. And what I really loved is that finally we get some comic book movies.

Some movies that aren't embarrassed of its source material, that they're not embarrassed. Comic book movie. They don't have to ground it. They're not thinking, oh, what are the non geeks going to think about this?

They're like, you know, let's just, let's just do it. They all of them watch like a comic book reads.

And, and I love it that people are now coming to me and asking like, hey, what's a good Fantastic Four run that I could read? What's a good Superman run that I can read?

I want to hop into some of the source material and see and that, that brings me joy that they can do that stuff. And so they've opened up the universe for me, the Fantastic Four.

I feel like there's some moments that were kind of half baked that I wish they would have leaned in a little bit, a little bit harder, a little bit further, a little bit, be a little bit more bold. It plays safe in certain places.

And, and I guess in my head, what threw me, that's why I want to go back and see it again, is that I was really expecting eight to eight, that world to be destroyed and then, then brought over to the proper mcu. And when that didn't happen, I was like, wait, wait, wait, what's going on? I really thought that maybe she was going to die.

Maybe Galactus would have won and that's why they come over here. But. And I really want to see if they're gonna set up Dr. Doom. It wasn't his movie. Let's see a little bit more. Or maybe there's some tension there.

The whole world worked together except for that one. One country. Why, why, why weren't they there? What, what's going on? I would have seen like an extra 20, 30 minutes of maybe leaning in of some risks.

Since they are. Andy, I would love to hear like you really love Fantastic Four. How did you come out, like, hopeful or what?

Was there some preconceived notions in terms of how they bring into MCU or the next Doomsday? I guess I'm still caught up on what the next movie, how they lead into the next movie. Maybe. Should I just enjoy it on its own?

Andy Walsh:

Yeah, I've been really trying to just watch these Marvel movies on their own terms. I feel like so much of the post endgame discourse around these Marvel movies has been around what was happening behind the scenes.

Why did this movie get made the way this did? What choices were Kevin Feige making? I don't want to ever think about Kevin Feige when I'm watching one of these movies. I'm sorry.

I'm sure he's a lovely man.

He's done lots of things that I appreciate, but I don't want to think about like, well, which parts did, you know, which parts did Kevin Feige do about and which, you know, which parts did Bob Iger have an influence on? And this and that and the other thing? Like, what, what is this movie doing on its own terms? What is the story that it's telling?

Does it execute that story well? And I'll worry about, you know, what, what the, what comes next when that, when that comes.

So I had no expectations of how it would end, how it would tie into subsequent films. And mostly that isn't how these Marvel movies have worked.

Oftentimes you think, oh, this is how it's going to lead into whatever, but it really doesn't. They really do kind of end on their own terms. And then the connective tissue, if there needs to be, comes at the beginning of the next movie.

They explain how they got from wherever the last thing ended up to. Where they are now is generally the approach, rather than telling you where, you know, how we're going to get to the next thing.

So, yeah, I, you know, I, I really wasn't expecting anything, you know, and I wasn't even expecting anything based on the, the Thunderbolts post credit tease or whatever, you know, I, It'll, it'll be what it'll be. It'll, you know, and, and we'll, we'll connect the dots after we've seen the dots.

But I'm not going to try to guess where the dots are and get my heart set on particular connections before then, because then you're getting disappointed for something that nobody ever actually promised you. I feel like a lot of the Marvel fans, a lot of the things that I hear People complaining about. It's like, nobody promised you that.

So why are you upset that you didn't get that or why did you think that that was going to happen this way? Let's just watch the movies that we get in the TV shows that we get and if you like it, like it. If you don't, you don't, and that's fine.

But don't dislike it because you think that maybe Kevin Feige made a choice that you didn't agree with or you think that there was this behind the scenes thing that you have no way of knowing whether it happened or not.

Will Rose:

Yeah.

Andy Walsh:

You know, and go with them in those terms.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Yeah.

Will Rose:

Now my mind has switched. Like, I've gone like, okay, that, that spaceship that was coming in, then the thunderbolts, maybe the Fantastic Four weren't on that.

Maybe that's Dr. Doom and Franklin because he stole the kid and he's coming over to us. So that was like, oh, maybe it's, maybe it's not the Fantastic Four. Maybe, maybe we have a child abduction with Dr. Doom and, and this kid.

So I don't know. And again, it's that, that preconceived expectation or writing the movie in my head that always gets me in trouble.

So I think that's, that's a fair thing.

Evan Garcia:

Wasn' where a Robert Downey Jr. Drives drunk with a kid or something?

Will Rose:

I think so. Oh, no, here we go again. Dr. Doom. I wonder if Dr. Doom can figure out a car seat. Yeah. Other, other thoughts out there.

I think, you know, again, we're all winners when it comes to, to these movies and, and, and out there and they have a, we have 20 plus years of expectations of a Rolson. They're still making some money and they're still going to make them and we kind of go in. I, I do like it.

My, my kid on the way to Fantastic Four, I guess the Superman, they knew a little bit about it and they had some questions about, you know, is that really Green Lantern, what's going to happen? That kind of stuff. Fantastic Four, they're like, all right, we're coming to this movie. What do I need to know?

tan Lee and Jack Kirby in the:

They explained they didn't do the origin, but they did do some back. You know, it's like reading the front page of a. Of a comic book synopsis to help you get into you. This is what happened before.

Hop right in and to the story in the universe it's in. So. So I liked how they did that in this kind of retro futuristic world episode of the Jetsons.

You know, I could have watched that movie the whole time for. For Super. I don't know if I need to see another Jurassic World movie. If they rebirthed it and have another one.

I don't know if I'm going to be like, oh, I can't wait to go. To go see it. It did what it did and I was curious to see how Scarlet James was going to do with this.

But with the dcu, I really am excited about what James Gunn is doing with his universe and how this is going to play out. I'm a huge fan of crypto and, and how that I was. I was smitten with that dog. And I'm going to get more of it.

The Supergirl movie may be a little bit more crass and super kind of Suicide Squad ish. I don't know if any is going to like that movie as much with Supergirl, but.

But I, but I, I get more crypto and I love the graphic novel and the source material that Tom King and Emily Belquist did with Supergirl, Woman of Tomorrow. And so to see that portrayed on the screen, I'm. I'm pretty excited about what's. What's next. So I don't know what you guys. How you guys think.

I have a question though, if anybody has other thoughts. I have two questions. But if I don't want to leave anything hanging out there.

If, if you guys want to summarize what you kind of loved or what they thought could have done better, I've.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Got a right for your questions. I feel like I. On both Superman versus the core, I've already shared extensively. I'll just go back to Superman too.

Like the two scenes that broke me were the John and like the packet and Clark.

Will Rose:

Yeah.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Scene was just like. That felt like Superman for all seasons brought to life. And it was such a.

Like it hit me in particular at a certain time too because like just with the little personal but like I had a close co worker passed away like a few weeks before this came out. And so like that's like hit me fairly. And then same with the monologue from Superman to Lex Luthor at the end.

I just thought that was so eloquently handled. And the, you know, like that's where you wronged about me, Lex. It was. And it didn't feel cheesy or forced or anything.

It was just his direct, you know, counteract to Lex is saying you'll never understand us because you're not human. And he said, no, that's what you're wrong about me because I'm every bit as human as you are and you know, that's my greatest strength.

So I just, those were like the icing on the cake for me. But yeah, and again that's where I kind of shared my thoughts on there. So I'm curious what your questions are though.

Will Rose:

Okay. So with an Andy too. Any Evan. Andy? Evan and I are our dads. We were probably in the hospital room when the childbirth happened.

When they did, when they made the choice to have this baby in space and everybody was there on the ship to watch it. Was it too clean? What do you think was going to happen? I think it's a lot messier than that.

I was really scared what they're going to show or not show at the moment I was very uneasy.

Evan Garcia:

Andy, my 7 year old with me, I was just like, oh my God, like what is happening guys?

Will Rose:

I'm like, whoa, that was a choice. And I know. I realized we have five guys on this and, and no, no women. And when it comes to like talking about childbirth and movies.

But I'm, I, I, I'm aware of that. But, but in terms of that choice, I think it added a sense of suspense and I was like what are they getting ready to do? I doing this here? But yeah.

Andy, thoughts Childbirth in space.

Andy Walsh:

I mean, yes, if, if we're going to be realistic about these things right there.

There are a lot of things that happen during childbirth that if you don't have gravity now that's going to be floating around the room and including the baby. Nobody.

Will Rose:

Sure.

Andy Walsh:

Nobody, nobody wants, nobody wants that. I don't think right that that has all kinds of hygiene and engineering problems.

Evan Garcia:

If it was made by Christopher Nolan, then we probably would have saw that.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Oh yes, right.

Will Rose:

Yeah. As I think more about that movie, there's a lot of things I love a lot of things I was like, I wish I would leaned harder in that.

Been a little bit more. It was my critique of Brave and you know, Brave New World.

I wish it was a little bit braver, a little bit newer and some of this, I was hoping for some of that too, but that seems like, wow, we're doing, were doing this.

Evan Garcia:

I loved how the thing Just came in there like, he didn't miss a beat. He didn't put it in park. He just poop and cut the middle of record. Yeah, it's like, boom, right there. Like, right on, man.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Right on.

Will Rose:

And. And as a surfer, as. As a surfer watching her surf on the lava, she grabbed the rail way too many times.

Evan Garcia:

Is it a part of her or.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Or separate?

Will Rose:

I know. I feel like she had some sweet turns and she was right and she was going with the flow, but dodging those lasers. Yeah, she grabbed the rail.

She grabbed the rail way too many times. I think you could do it with just, just your balance, I guess.

My other question is with both of these Fantastic Four and Superman, what is it about these ips, these properties, these heroes that endures? We keep rebooting. This is the four time Fantastic Four. This is. What number of Superman movie is this? The comics are gone.

Superman's been around since:

What is it about these two IPs that really resonates with us that you think that we keep trying, trying again to tell this story, even if it's a different angle, a different way, but we love these, and they're going to keep telling them. What is it that resonates with these heroes that we keep telling the story?

Christian Ashley:

They're the first. I mean, Superman is the first. I mean, as far as DC is concerned, superhero.

And yeah, Marvel had their own superheroes during the 40s, but as far as, like this, the new age of Marvel in the 60s, they were the first. They're the ones they've tried for years to try and replicate that. And your mileage may vary on how some of those turned out.

Kevin Schaeffer:

But did.

Christian Ashley:

You get to see? Because they're really. I mean, if they were doing things correctly, they would have started with them. So it's nice to actually see them and see how.

What the world would look like if they were actually the first, you know, superheroes on their planet. Which is why I'm glad they went with the alternate universe thing.

Will Rose:

Yeah.

Christian Ashley:

And see people inspired by them and the villains inspired by that. Well, not inspired by them that rise up, that they have to oppose those teases that they gave with the cartoon intro like, we're killing me.

It's like, I want to see Diablo in live action. I want to see Dragon man in live action. Because that Jack Lee, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby run is fan, fantastic.

I mean, there's no other word to use that's like 103ish issues. And yeah, not everyone's the winner, but for the most part, they're pretty great. And they introduce concepts in the Marvel Universe.

They're used to this day. So I want to see that especially in a universe where, you know, we're having all these Marvel characters interact.

I want to have the first family there. Then on the Superman side of things, like, we're not here without him. I mean, yeah, you know, Batman does come a little after that.

And yeah, there were superhero figures. We had the Phantom, we have the Shadow. We have even a Scarlet Charlotte Pimperhill if you want to go that far back. And Zorro.

But like as far as comics, like, he's the one that got us to where we are today. And I want to see him done well. I want to see him broadcast. This is compared to what we had before in the dceu.

I want to see a new take that actually inspires me to continue watching these films. And that most definitely did. Nice.

Kevin Schaeffer:

I would say echoing a lot of that. It's so. Yeah. I mean even like, like my dad is a sports buff.

He's never like in a comic books or anything, but he grew up watching the George Reef show and all that. Like, I mean, and then I grew up on Superman, the Animated Series and comics and other movies. Like Superman is timeless. He is the first.

He has this rich history. And I think in both in the case of Superman and.

But at the core, as fantastical as they are and as like they have these otherworldly origins, what makes them enduring is their relatability. So with Superman, he is still. He comes from a farm in Smallville, Kansas, and he's raised by people who want him to do good in the world.

And, and he's deal wrestling with these feelings of being an outsider. And even if you don't come from another planet and you're not, you know, you weren't sent here from. As the last of an alien species.

I don't think any of us in the room have that origin, to my knowledge. I don't know, maybe. Maybe Andy will surprise us. I don't know. But, but, but I don't. Or oh, well. Standing up right now. Yeah, but, yeah, but, yeah.

But regardless, I think both people have felt at some point like an outsider or like, you know, they still go through this kind of identity thing. And that's really what makes Superman relatable more so than his powers. Humanity. That. Right. And same with Fantastic Four.

So much of, you know, especially those early comics, you know, they're struggling to pay rent in the Baxter Building, and they're even as celebrity superheroes. It's like they have these grounded everyday problems that. That, you know, other people can relate to.

So it's that gate like lens between the otherworldly and then the human basis that helps us connect to the characters. So I think that's why, you know, they're some of the most timeless and relatable.

Will Rose:

Nice. Evan or Andy.

Evan Garcia:

I want to start, but I want to pitch it to. I got a question for. Well, Andy could probably touch on this, but isn't there a sense in psychology where you have.

Where you have your individual self and your social self?

Kevin Schaeffer:

Right.

Evan Garcia:

Isn't that a thing? I've been told.

Andy Walsh:

I'm not a psychologist, but okay.

Evan Garcia:

You know, but that's kind of like.

Andy Walsh:

Sounds familiar to some degree. Yeah, sure.

Evan Garcia:

Because I think that's why these two are so ingrained, because they cover our two sides of ourselves that we have to deal with every single second of every single day. We have our internal monologue in ourself, which is our individualness. And that's with the Superman and how he can. How he can just do good.

And then with a Fantastic Four, sure, you have that. But how do you work in a social setting? How do you work in a family dynamic? You can't just impose yourself on other people. And.

And I know that Superman, he fluctuates with that and he. And he will wrestle with that, but I think those are core parts of being human, that. That these characters are. That they are blank slates for.

For us to put into.

Will Rose:

Nice.

Andy Walsh:

Yeah. So I. I keep being the contrarian, but I'm not entirely convinced that the Fantastic Four are enduring characters in the same way that.

That Superman is. Yes, yes. They keep coming back to them. Right. Every. Every 10 years like cockwork, there's going to be a new 10 years fantastic four movie.

But, yeah, I'm not entirely convinced that that's because there is this timeless quality to. Or this ongoing engagement with the Fantastic Four as a story and as a concept.

I think there's a lot of reverence for the magic that came together when Lee and Kirby worked on that initial run. Absolutely right. It is a classic run. It is a seminal run. It does stand as one of the great achievements in American superhero comic book.

No question about that.

Not throwing any shade at that, but I don't think it has had quite the same generation after generation impact or reimagining the way that Superman has. Superman keeps coming back. Superman has become One of the iconic fictional characters in the Western canon. And I just don't see that that's.

That's true of the Fantastic Four. I'm not sure that my parents know who the Fantastic Four is or could, you know, pick them out of a lineup.

I'm not sure that they know anything about their stories, but they know. They know who Superman is.

They could, you know, they could tell you the whole Superman, Krypton, you know, raised in Kansas kind of thing without having read a single Superman comic book, without ever watching more than the first one or two movies. Maybe with. With Christopher Reeve, you know, same with Batman or Spider Man. Right. If you stop somebody on the street, they'll give you.

They can give you the rundown of those characters. And I'm just not sure that the Fantastic Four have that same cultural footprint.

I think the reason why we keep coming back to them is reverence for what Lee and Kirby did in the 60s. And I, you know, and you see that. I mean, that is all over this movie. Why is it Earth 828? Because that's a tribute to Jack Kirby's birthday.

Evan Garcia:

That was cool.

Andy Walsh:

Why, you know, why is it set? Why does it feel like it's in the 60s? Right.

They don't actually really say when it's set, but it's very clear that it is a 60s, early 70s inspired aesthetic. Why is that? Well, that's the time frame of those early Lee and Kirby Fantastic Four comics. Why is it not Alicia Masters? Why is it a woman named Roz?

Because that was Jack Kirby's wife's name.

Will Rose:

Right, right.

Andy Walsh:

You know, and, you know, Ben Grimm is, to the best approximation, you know, Dak Kirby on the page, you know, not. Not one to one, you know, not always, you know, not. Not as a criticism, but just sort of. If there's a character that.

That most reflects Jack Kirby on the page, it's Ben Grimm. And so, you know, that it's that reverence for that and that wanting to honor that.

I think people keep coming back to rather than having, you know, a take on what are the Fantastic. What do the Fantastic Four represent for the current moment?

And the way that we keep coming back to what does Superman represent for the current moment? What does Batman look like in the current moment? What does Spider man look like in the current moment?

kind of frozen in that early:

Let's play those hits again of Dr. Doom, Dragon man, the Frightful Four, those kinds of Things like, you see a lot of those same concepts come back again and again in those Fantastic Four comics.

So that's why I think, you know, I think the Fantastic Four comics that resonate the most with me are the ones that instead of trying to play those hits again and again, try to push the envelope forward again, try to do something new and different in the way that Lee and Kirby were trying to do something new. And that's why one of the things I appreciate about the Brian north books is the way that he's trying to bring in new concepts.

He's, he's got all these new sci fi elements. He's trying to bring in modern sci fi into the Fantastic Four, which I think is absolutely should be.

ntastic Four movie? And not a:

And. But I understand why they did that and I didn't not enjoy it because of that.

But that is one element that I think that I'd like to see if they continue to do Fantastic Four, that's something that I think they should really try to do is how do we push them forward? How do we make them relevant today?

How do we bring them into the modern world in the way that we've done these other characters instead of just keeping them preserved in amber as they were when Liam Kirby wrote them?

Because I'm, you know, I'm not sure that that's, that's all that that would want, that's not necessarily how the Inciri would want to be honored by that.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Right.

Andy Walsh:

It's just kind of revisiting the same, same things over and over.

Will Rose:

Yeah. And I think that's fair.

Like you show a Superman symbol with the five sided diamond with the S in it, people are going to know exactly what that symbol means.

Andy Walsh:

Like, I don't know that emblem up there in the corner.

Will Rose:

Yeah, like right there. If you put a four in, in like a circle, you know, they're going to be like, like, you know what, what is. Maybe they might know, they might not.

Or to be like, yeah, I know. Or if we did the SG symbol with a, just a circle around it, be like, oh, you're, you're copying the Fantastic Four year. It's a smack ecology symbol.

You're like, no, but I, I think, you know, the Fantastic Four, they bring the scientific method to a gunfight, you know. And so they think their way out of things. They have superpowers. They, they lean into what it means to be a family.

But, but that sci fi element is bigger part of it. I think why I think they endure is because I think there's this kind of universal human condition and consciousness of.

Of us really thinking about what does it mean to be human and what does it mean to be human together. And so these superheroes hold up a mirror for us to really think through. If we had those powers, if we have that privilege, what would we do with it?

Hopefully we wouldn't act like Lex Luthor, we would act like Superman. Hopefully we wouldn't want to devour a planet because we're just, we're hungry and just, you know, there's going to be.

We'll work as a family and as a team to do this together. And I think as, as geekologists and as a team around systematic ecology, we reflect on those things deeply and we're entertained. It's fun.

We like to see the visuals like you see special effects. But I think we're pat. We know these movies can put up great special effects and it can look great on, on screen. We can do all those things.

We have the movie magic do that. But the deeper questions of what. Yeah, what does it mean to be human and how are we humans together is.

Is a big question that we have to keep asking, especially now more than ever. So it is interesting that these movies come out now in our present situation in our world and our politics and, and.

And what's being funded or defunded or undermined and how we other. The other person or not and what, how we see the other person as inherently good or, or someone that. That should be dignified.

I think, I think all that. That matters. And so I think these, these movies definitely, definitely strike a nerve when it comes to that.

And, and why I'm hopeful for what they can be and we'll never be shortage of a content with systemic ecology of what we're going to geek out on. But, but for me they endure because they just. They just like the. The myths of old or, or the pantheon of myths or superheroes.

There's, there's a way of us playing in the sandbox of what who am I, what's my identity, who's my family, who's my friends and how am I using the gifts that I have? And we all struggle with that from time to time. I fantastic for a wrestle with what does it mean to Be family.

And as a world, where does it mean to be family?

And then even Superman, even though it's a little problematic for me in terms of Jor El and how they perceive Jor El from the very beginning, him thinking of, like, who is his family?

And then the last shot of him showing videos, home movies of, of his family and packet and Martha brought tears to my eyes of like, yeah, this is his family, and this is what's going to ground him moving forward and what it means to be Superman. So I, I thought that was pretty amazing. And these, these here. Yeah. Sometimes they get a little stale.

Sometimes they share the same stories over and over again. They do that in the comics. They reboot or have a different take, but I think the movies do the same.

So I think, I think we're all winners when it comes to these movies this summer and, and moving forward with it.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Absolutely. And hey, Andy, if they want to, you know, do a gritty reimagining of Fantastic Four, they could call it Fan4Stick.

And, you know, I'm sure that would go well.

Evan Garcia:

Good, good.

Kevin Schaeffer:

If they want to do something different. Sorry, I had to throw a shade at that one.

Will Rose:

There you go.

Kevin Schaeffer:

Awesome. Well, guys, this has been fantastic.

I want to thank everyone for tuning in today, wherever you're listening from, and, you know, thank you for supporting us. Are we doing recommendations real quick, or do we want to just.

Will Rose:

I think you heard our rankings. I think you heard them. We recommend seeing. I recommend seeing all three and do your own rankings, but, you know, see that.

I, I think we all need to take Andy's recommendation of going and letting the movie speak for itself and stop putting your expectations on top of it. Will. I know. I hear you. Thanks, Andy. I get is.

Kevin Schaeffer:

No, I, I, we could do an entire episode on that. On the pros and cons of modern cinematic universes. Are they tampering with how we actually. Yeah, independently. So I, Yeah, I, I like a lot. Awesome.

Well, everyone out there, again, like, subscribe, share, and remember kindness is punk rock and be fantastic each other.

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About the Podcast

Systematic Geekology
Priests to the Geeks
This is not a trap! (Don't listen to Admiral Ackbar this time.) We are just some genuine geeks, hoping to explore some of our favorite content from a Christian lense that we all share. We will be focusing on the geek stuff - Star Wars, Marvel, LOTR, Harry Potter, etc. - but we will be asking questions like: "Do Clones have souls?" "Is Superman truly a Christ-figure?" or "Is it okay for Christians to watch horror films?"
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