The Ringer-Verse

Jomi and Steve are joined by Daniel Chin and Matthew James for their Summer Franchise “Retooling” Draft! With DC, the MCU, and ‘Jurassic World’ all looking to put their pasts behind them with new films this month, they’ll be taking a look back at the movies that caused these franchises to retool. They’ll each draft one movie from each franchise’s most recent era and one wild card! (00:00) Intro(05...

Was June slow? Not so! Let Ringer-Verse Recommends tell you what to know. Sit back and enjoy the show. Join your favorite Ringer-Verse and House of R hosts as they salute unsung nerd culture content in the latest installment of the monthly mini-pod about fandom favorites from TV, anime, movies, video games, books, comics, and beyond that were released recently but not yet covered in-depth on a ful...

Ben and Justin Charity have a spoiler-free discussion about Hideo Kojima's acclaimed PlayStation 5 sequel to 2019's 'Death Stranding,' 'Death Standing 2: On the Beach.' Then, after their brief reaction to casting news about the upcoming 'Street Fighter' film, Matt James joins to reflect on the year in gaming. The two construct joint top-10 lists of his and Ben's favorite games of the year so far,...

The Midnight Boys suit up to take on the newest Disney+ show, 'Ironheart,' reacting to the big three-episode premiere and diving into how they think the character of Riri Williams is served in this opening. Later, they take a look at the final trailer for 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' and debate how strong Johnny can be and how handsome Pedro Pascal really is. (0:00) Intro (6:42) Spoilers ahea...

The boys are back to answer your call-in questions for all things coming up in the summer of content! They discuss James Gunn, Superman, the new Batman, and much more! They also answer questions like "Is Marvel hiding 'Ironheart'?" and "What are your favorite movies, games, and comics?" Intro (0:00) Spoilers Ahead (11:02) Nerd News (11:35) Mail Bag (24:06) Outro (2:00:13) Hosts: Van Lathan, Charle...

The Mint Boys are back, and this time they’re joined by the amazing Jessica Clemons to dive into the 'How to Train Your Dragon' live-action remake! From stunning visuals to emotional beats, they break down what worked, what didn’t, and what this means for the future of live-action adaptations. Heads up: Full spoilers ahead for the remake—skip ahead if you haven’t taken flight yet. They also discus...

The Boys are back to react to the newest release in the 'John Wick' series, ‘Ballerina.’ They then dive into the latest nerd news, the final trailer for the highly anticipated ‘Superman.’ (0:00) Intro (6:31) Spoilers ahead (8:35) Instant reactions to 'Ballerina' (1:25:19) Midnight Meter (1:29:43) Nerd News Minute: new 'Superman' trailer (1:37:59) Outro (1:39:30) Post Credits Hosts: Van Lathan, Cha...

Ben and Matt put down their Pro Controllers long enough to react to a landmark weekend in gaming. First, they discuss the launch of Nintendo’s Switch 2, their at-home experiences with the system, and whether it's worth getting now. Then they share their thoughts on ‘Mario Kart World’—as a sequel to one of the bestselling games of all time, as a reinvention of the franchise, and as a Switch 2 launc...

The Boys are back to draft the most racist characters in film history, featuring five categories: action, comedy, Oscar, Tarantino, and wild card. (0:00) Intro (16:45) The draft (1:42:53) Outro Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Jonathan Kermah, and Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Learn more about your ad choice...

Ben, Matt, and Steve party up for a three-person podcast about a three-player game! First, they discuss what the cancellation of Electronic Arts' Black Panther project portends for the future of superhero games and Triple-A licensed games. Then they have a spoiler-free discussion of FromSoftware's fascinating 'Elden Ring' spinoff experiment, 'Nightreign,' focusing on its difficulty, its genre-span...

It's been a busy month in nerd culture—so stacked, in fact, that some quality releases could have slipped through the cracks were it not for Ringer-Verse Recommends! Join your favorite Ringer-Verse and House of R hosts and friends as they gush about geek content in the latest installment of the monthly mini-pod about fandom favorites from TV, anime, movies, video games, books, comics, and beyond t...

Ringer-Verse listeners let Ben and Daniel live, and they don't waste it! First, they give their reviews of Season 2, Episode 7, "Convergence," and then they break down the episode's departures from and additions to the game before assessing the season as a whole. Then they forecast when to expect Season 3 and what it could look like, and they conclude by answering audience emails. Intro (0:00)Reac...

'Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning' Reactions | The Midnight Boys The Boys are back and they’re diving into their thoughts on the final (?) installment of the franchise: ‘Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning.’ (0:00) Intro (10:00) Spoilers Ahead (11:56) Instant Reactions to 'Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning' (35:13) Criticisms of 'Mission: Impossible' (1:05:51) Midnight Meter (1:08...

The Midnight Boys are back to give all of their hot takes on and instant reactions to the season finale of 'The Last of Us.' They take a look at where Ellie's revenge tour leads and discuss what they can look forward to in Season 3. Later, they also react to the news of a delay to 'Avengers: Doomsday' that could clash with 'Dune,' and they talk about whether things are all right in the house of Ma...

Jomi and Steve jump into the world of ‘Murderbot’ with instant reactions to the first three episodes! Later, the guys look at the news of Avatar, Hunger Games, and other series in fandom. (00:00) Intro (05:00) Murderbot (37:00) Nerd news Host: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman Producer: Jonathan Kermah Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

Ben and Daniel "do it all over again." First, they give their reviews of Season 2's penultimate 'TLOU' episode, "The Price," and then they break down the episode's departures from and additions to the game.  Then they speculate about what could be coming in the season finale and beyond. Finally, Ben talks to Chris Rondinella, the musician who performed "Future Days," "Take On Me," and other songs...

Ben, Matt, and Steve share their (non-spoiler-y) impressions of the new first-person shooter 'Doom: The Dark Ages,' focusing on the ever-evolving nature of the franchise, whether the series' latest experiments improve upon its tried-and-true formula, how they'd rank the three most recent 'Doom' games, and more. Then, Ben brings on video game writer and screenwriter Tom Bissell, who wrote the three...

The Midnight Boys dive into Joel and Ellie’s father-daughter relationship in their instant reactions to the penultimate episode of Season 2 of ‘The Last of Us.’ Later, they turn their focus to the ‘Superman’ and ‘Ironheart’ trailers in the latest edition of Nerd News. Hosts: Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, Steve Ahlman, and Van Lathan Social: Jomi Adeniran Producers: Chris Thomas, Jamie Yukich, Jon...

Ben and Daniel got here from Jackson just in time to talk about Episode 5, "Feel Her Love." They discuss the specifics of the action and the pivotal closing scene, then pull back a bit to comment on how the effort to adapt the game is going before forecasting what could be coming next. Then, Ben talks to longtime Naughty Dog game developer Almudena Soria Sancho, lead animator on 'The Last of Us Pa...

The Boys are back, and they’re diving into ‘Andor’ Season 2, Episodes 10-12, the season’s final episodes. (0:00) Intro (3:30) Spoilers ahead (6:10) Initial reactions (1:43:05) Outro (1:45:26) Post-credits Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Jonathan Kermah, Chris Thomas, and Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Learn...

The Boys are back and they’re diving into ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2, Episode 5. They discuss Ellie and Dina’s personality differences from the game and touch on some X-Men nerd news! (0:00) Intro (8:29) Spoilers ahead (10:13) Initial reactions (1:18:52) Nerd News (1:27:07) Outro Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Jonathan Kermah, and Steve...

In honor of ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2, we’re trying four curated apocalypse meals and ranking them from best to worst. If you have the stomach for it, come along for the journey! (0:00) Intro (1:20) Steve’s Meal (6:54) Jomi’s Meal (11:28) Charles’s Meal (17:30) Van’s Meal (26:34) Midnight Collective’s Meal (30:46) Scoring and Prize Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman...

Ben and Daniel pass the halfway point of the second season as they visit Seattle and take on Episode 4, "Day One." After sharing their brief reviews of the episode, they discuss several significant changes to core characters and scenes from 'The Last of Us Part II' before wrapping up with some speculation about the structure of the remainder of the season (and beyond). Intro (0:00)Episode 4 breakd...

The Boys are back, and they’re diving into ‘Andor’ Season 2, Episodes 7-9. They discuss why these episodes feel monumental in the 'Star Wars' universe. (0:00) Intro (3:36) Spoilers ahead (6:25) Initial reactions (1:29:29) Outro Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Jonathan Kermah, and Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgop...

Ben, Matt, Jomi, and Steve join forces for an emergency reaction to the second trailer for ‘GTA VI’ and the newly announced details about the game’s plot, characters, and setting. First, they share their thoughts on how the trailer affected their overall levels of hype for the game, and then they run through some of the highlights, new revelations, and questions they still have before analyzing th...