Superhero Ethics

For our 100th episode we had FIVE guests, join us for a panel discussion of some of our favorite ethical questions. Who should a hero be accountable to? What makes a good villain? And, would it be ethical for someone with mind control to force everyone to wear masks until the pandemic ends? Our all star lineup included former co-hosts Paul Hoppe and Jacob Milicic, and frequent guests Jessica Plumm...

The Clone Wars TV show takes the well known stories of the fall of Anakin and the Jedi and gives them nuance, and moral complexity, and explores questions with relevance for our own world. What happens to peacekeepers when they become generals? What is the moral value of clones, and how were they treated? And what happens when people fight a war without asking why? Star Wars fans and former guests...

Ep: 98 - The RIghts of the Unpowered- Legend of Korra S1, and The Boys What happens to normal people, when others get powers? What rights do they have and are those rights respected? And when the people in power push the non powered around- what happens when the non powered push back? Paul and I talk about non powered people in powered worlds. We focus in particular on Avatar: Legend of Korra, sea...

While Ozark is a bit outside our normal topic and doesn’t have many heroes- it certainly has a lot of villains with different ethical perspectives, all of whom are convinced they’re the good one! Stranded Panda extraordinaire Ashley Coffin joins me as we talk about each of the characters and difficult choices they have to make. Whether your love the show, or have no idea what’s going on, there is...

What’s more fun than taking an ethical system from one world, and trying to find how our favorite characters from other worlds fit into it. In this episode we start with the ethical color pie from Magic the Gathering, in which we look at ethics not in terms of actions, but motivations and mind sets. We explain the system and then focus on other characters- even if you know nothing about MtG, if yo...

Why does James Bond keep getting women killed, and can you be a spy without it? Paul Hoppe is back to talk about the ethics of espionage, with a particular focus on the TV show, Burn Notice! Whether you’re a long time fan of Burn Notice, or never seen it, we dig into questions that apply across the genre, such as the ethics of getting others to do your dirty work for you, fighting for a client or...

Ep 94 - There is no Racism in Ba Sing Se The beloved Avatar:The Last Airbender is back on Netflix, and we’re talking about it, focusing on a story arc with incredible resonance with our own world; Ba Sing Se. What is it about denial, and closing your eyes to the problems of the world, that people find so appealing? How do you break through to someone who believes anything that contradicts what the...

Stan Lee was a great story teller, but he never hid his strong convictions, or his desire to use the stories he told to give people a new way to think about the issues of his time. Nor did the writers of Black Panther, Avatar the Last Airbender, Star Wars, or so many of the shows we love. Matt and Jeff are back, and we had a great episode on the ethics of Star Wars planned- but with all that has b...

Ep 92 - Was Uncle Ben Wrong? Great Power & Great Responsibility, with Matthew Carroll and Jeff Randle What did Ben Parker mean when he tells Peter the famous words about power and responsibility, and do we agree with him? Who decides who a hero is responsible to, and what for? Can believing in the responsibility that your power gives you lead you to become a villain? Matt and Jeff of the Marvel Ci...

NOTE: I realized that there were sound problems with the originally uploaded version. This version is improved- please listen to this version instead. Jess Plummer and Becky Allen join us to discuss She-Ra! What makes Catra such a compelling character? How does this show blur the lines between hero and villain, friend and dating, and different shares of morality? What makes this show such a powerf...

Heroes can be boring- let’s talk villains! Rik Hayashi joins us to talk about the villains who have a point, the ones we can sympathize with, or even sometimes agree with. What makes someone a villain? What are the lines between a villain and a hero who is willing to do anything for the cause? We talk Sinestro, Killmonger, and what happens when Ben Sisko goes for a walk in the Pale Moon Light. Rik...

This week, parent, geek, and holder of strong opinions, Jared Sylva, joins us to talk about watching geek media with kids. How do you decide what media to watch with kids, and how do you talk to them about it? What geek media offers entertainment and lessons for kids and parents alike? And how can parents deal with the so-called ‘Princess Problem?” Whether you have kids of your own or not, this co...

Who has agency in Picard? Is Seven finally getting to define her own life, on her terms? Did the Romulans have a point, and why did Picard give up on the rescue and on the Federation? This week, Matthew is joined by two of his podcasting inspirations, Matthew Carroll and David C Roberson to discuss season 1 of Star Trek Picard. David C. Roberson is a life-long tv/film/book geek who likes to podcas...

This week, we’re joined by returning guest Rob McKenzie, and first time guest Dan McCreary to talk about the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. What is AI, and what do we mean by concepts like sentience? Why does so much sci-fi assume AI will be our enemy? And what is the moral value of robotic life? Rob McKenzie is a science fiction and fantasy reader and Magic the Gathering judge from Minnesota....

Matthew is moving this week and hasn't had a chance to finish editing the next episode. We have great content coming for you soon, but in the meantime, enjoy one of our older episodes about the ethics of violence itself Does a Superhero movie need a good fight scene? Jacob and Matthew look at the role of physical violence in the stories we love, asking questions of both the characters and the writ...

Does Q fit the mold of a Trickster God? Steve Peterman is back to discuss Q, from Star Trek. Does Q fit the mold of a Trickster God? Do the Q have, or need a prime directive? And what happens when immortal, all powerful, beings, get bored? You can find a full list of Star Trek episodes with Q in them here- https://www.imdb.com/list/ls047709394/ You can download the episode with a right click and c...

Jessica Plummer is back to talk Birds of Prey! What happens when Margot Robbie gets to make a Harley movie HER way? Can you be a villain who only punches up? And Is this the cinematic equivalent of a compliment in the bathroom from a drunk girl? Jessica Plummer lives in New York and loves Superman very very much. You can listen to just how much on her Superman podcast, Flights and Tights ( http://...

As promised, I've been working overtime to bring you content to help get though social isolation, or to keep you company while you're one of the essential jobs we're all so grateful for. We've got episodes coming soon on Birds of Prey, The Ethics of Q, from Star Trek, and many more. Over on the Bingers Assemble podcast, Matt Carroll and I have started a special quarantine project on the TV show Al...

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

Episode 83 - Who Watches the Watchers who Watch the Watchmen? Who are heroes accountable to, is a question we frequently explore on this show. In this episode, we dive into the movie and comic book* versions of The Watchmen and its interesting take on the question of accountability.  What happens when so called heroes shrug and watch as their friends do terrible things? Would the threat of alien i...

We cheer when our heroes give an evil bad guy their much deserved fate. But what happens when our hero has to fight someone who isn’t evil, they are just in our hero’s way? Should more heroes be like Jessica Jones? Should it matter to our hero if the person they are fighting is being mind controlled, or lied to or it is otherwise not their fault? Should it matter to the audience?   You can downloa...

We’re on the road again, and we’re looking back at 2019! As we did last year, we’re looking back at 2019- what were the best ethical questions raised, what are our hopes for genre media in 2020, and what are we concerned about? Want to continue the discussion with us? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? We’ve got options for you! You can post questions, o...

Picard, the new Star Trek show is about to launch and we’ve got questions! Matt Carroll, of the MCU and Star Trek Universe Podcasts joins Matthew to discuss the ethical questions we think Picard will explore. Has Data’s fear of a race of slave androids come to pass? Are the Borg still the enemy? What questions will the Borg and the Androids raise about who is a person? What has decades of  war and...

Now that we’ve all seen Rise of Skywalker, we’ve brought Becky back to talk about it!  On our last episode, the three of us talked about the ethical questions, hopes, and concerns we had going into this movie- this episode we revisit them, and ask, how did this movie address them?  What happened with the Jedi? Did Rey get the character arc she deserved? And does Hanukkah Harry use the same merit b...

With just two days left before the release of Star Wars Episode IX, we’ve got theories! Can force users find a third path, neither Jedi or Sith? What does the future hold for Rey, Leia, Finn, and the rest of them? And how much respect will JJ Abrams have for the choices Rian Johnson made in The Last Jedi? We’re pleased to have Becky Allen join us for this discussion. Becky Allen is the author of B...