Superhero Ethics

Jacob and Matthew explore the second season of Jessica Jones on a number of levels, looking at the decisions of both the characters and the writers. How should the law treat someone like Alissa? What responsibility does Jessica hold for her mother’s actions? How do we view Trish’s actions, and the writers' decisions to put so much conflict between her and Jessica? You can download the episode with...

This week, we take a step back from the things we are fans of, to talk about fandom itself. What rights or ownership do we as fans have over the properties we love? What is the interaction between media, and the fan-created things it inspires, such as fan fiction? And why do fan responses to media sometimes turn so horribly toxic? Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your ow...

This week we dive into questions from our listeners and fans! inspired by our friends at the MCUCast, we start with a lengthy discussion about Kingpin and The Punisher, what separates them and what makes them similar. Why do we cheer for one, and root for the other to be taken down, or do we? From there we dive into listener questions about Civil War, Cap, the portrayal of mental illness in genre...

Here it is, our 50th episode! All three hosts, Paul, Jacob, and Matthew, come together to re-examine some of our favorite questions and discussions from past episodes. We talk about the Joker, different ways of understanding violence, when heroes can or should kill, humorous vs. serious portrayals of heroes, and plan for the eventual ascension of our robot overlords. You can download the episode w...

What makes someone a hero? Does it matter if they choose their path is chosen, or it is assigned to them? Does a hero have to have something terrible happen to them, to inspire them to become heroic? And which villains come the closest to being heroes in their own right? To celebrate our 50th episode, we got all three hosts, Paul, Matthew, and Jacob, on the line to look back at some of our past di...

*** SPOILER WARNING *** Even our show notes have spoilers Is Cap’ right to claim “We don’t trade lives?” Could Thanos have been stopped if our heroes made different choices? What role does hubris play when heroes don’t want to make tough choices? And how much of an idiot was Peter Quill? In this episode, Jacob and Matthew dive deep into the questions that came out of Avengers: Infinity War, explor...

Should the heroes who enforce justice, also decide what is or isn’t just? Where are the lines between heroism, vigilantism, or just using your powers to do what you want? And does great power actually come with great responsibility, or is that too much to ask of people with powers? In this episode, Jacob and Matthew use Kingdom Come, a fantastic 1996 run of Superman comic books, as a jumping off p...

What is the responsibility of a filmmaker to stay true to a book? What is the problem with 'girl as prize' romance plotlines? And is it possible Jacob and Matthew enjoyed the movie of a book they are so critical of? This week, Jacob and Matthew throw down their quarters for a two player, two part, deep dive. They start out talking about the book and their hopes and concerns about the movie- than h...

In part 2 of our discussion with Author and Star Wars Geek Extraordinaire, Becky Allen, we dive into Rey’s Journey, explore Luke’s issues with the Jedi, and critique some of the critiques of the movie. You can find the first part of our discussion in our previous episode. Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us know! You can find us on Twitter, Faceboo...

What is the narrative power of failure, and how is it used in The Last Jedi? What did we learn from Admiral Holdo and Po about power, and trusting leaders, and the role of gender in that? Author and Star Wars geek extrodinaire, Becky Allen, joins us again to discuss these questions and more. It turns out the three of us had a lot ot say on this topic, so this is only part 1, of a 2 part episiode!...

Should life always come before death? Should we favor the journey over the destination? And can there be an episode of Superhero Ethics without Matthew? In this episode, Jacob is joined by special guest Rob McKenzie for a discussion of The Way of Kings, book 1 in the Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson. In particular, they focus on the oaths of the Knights Radiant, discussing the ethical impl...

What makes Netflix’s The Punisher so good, and so troubling, at the same time? Can you tell a story about the evils of guns and violence, while glorifying gun violence? And can anyone explain the concept of collateral damage to Karen? Special guest Jessica Plummer joins Jacob and Matthew as we dive into these questions and more. Jessica is a writer, podcaster, and superhero obsessive. She's writte...

A hero is supposed to be devoted. To their country, to their cause, to their friends- whatever it may be, heroes are often defined by the thing they are willing to go to any extreme to protect and defend. But what happens when that goes too far? On this episode, Jacob and Matthew discuss the costs of devotion, looking at the ways a cause can blind a person to the damage it is doing, to themself or...

What happens when social media and public opinion rule the world? How does an all-male species react to the birth of female child? And can Seth McFarland leave behind the problems of much of his earlier writing. Like the Star Trek shows it pays homage to, The Orville uses science fiction to hold a mirror to our own world. Matthew and Jacob explore this show, the questions it raises, and some of th...

Jacob and Matthew take a look back at 2017, talking about our favorite characters and ethical questions from the year, and where we think we dropped the ball. We also look ahead to 2018, talking about what we are most excited about and what we are most concerned about, in terms of movies and TV coming to us in the next year. As we wrap up the year, here are some of the other content creators we th...

Thor: Ragnarok is pretty and fun, but there’s nothing here that we can dive into for an episode, right? Challenge accepted! This week we explore a number of from and about Thor. We talk about Odin’s revisionist history, and the evolving relationship between Thor and Loki. We also talk about the value of movies that don’t hit us with deep ethical questions, and how that balances with our love of he...

From the Justice League to the Avengers, we know that heroes work best in teams. And sometimes the obnoxious brilliant guy does have the best idea. But both of those things can also go wrong.  Join us as we dive into questions from the Magic the Gathering storyline, tying them into larger questions that are pervasive in geek literature and culture. Jacob and I are joined by Lee Henderson. Lee is a...

All three of our hosts, Matthew, Jacob, and Paul, come together to talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender. We take a deep dive into a number of characters, including Aang, Toph, and Uncle Iroh, examine the way the show  portrayed martial arts and alternatives to violence, and why this such is beloved by so many. Agree or disagree with what we talked about, or want to add your own thoughts? Let us k...

This week, I'm joined by special guest Matt Carroll as we take a deep dive into the character of Tony Stark. What responsiblity does he hold for Ultron, and what lessons has he learned? Did he have a point in Civil War? And is mentoring Spiderman his way of working out his daddy issues?  Matt Carroll is one of the co-hosts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast. You can find them on any podcast...

For some time, we have been given villains whose actions need no explanation-- they're just "crazy." The aftermath of the Vegas shooting reminds us how strong the stigma against mental illness still is in this country, a

What can Captain America teach us about Kapernick, and vice versa? Are heroes just on screen, or can we have heroes in our own world? And what happens when our heroes fall from grace? Note- we added a brief addendum to address an issue that came up in our discussion. Thank you again to our fans for your feedback, both when we do well and when we stumble. 

Is Data a person? What about C-3P0 or Aida? Jacob and Matthew explore the ethical questions around artificial life.

Would Daredevil share information about Nazis? Would Superman or Captain Mal? How would our heroes react to Charlottesville and what can that teach us?

Babylon 5 is almost 20 years old, but the questions it raises about telepathy, fear, and how we treat the 'other' are still relevant. Jacob Milicic is our guest.

The Hero's Journey is one of the strongest tropes in literature, and Star Wars its clearest example. How does this troupe limit our stories, and the messages we can take from it? What other kind of journeys and stories c