Superhero Ethics

Superhero Ethics
  • 4.8 (160)
  • TV & Film
  • Updated Weekly

Exploring ethical questions from Superhero movies and TV shows, sci-fi, and everything else geeks love

  1. 1d ago

    Avatar Aang: Did We Need This?

    Should a beloved story get a sequel twenty years later, and does anyone actually want it? Matthew Fox and Paul Hoppe take on Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, the new Avatar Studios movie picking up with a grown-up Team Avatar, and neither host walked away loving it. They dig into what makes a "midquel" so hard to pull off, why aging up characters from a beloved kids' show is trickier than it looks, and who a movie like this is actually made for.Paul frames it as a simple question: who was this made for? Matthew traces it to Legend of Korra and a storyline the show never fully resolved. They get into the business side, voice casting, and animation too, and why this is nowhere near as bad as the 2010 live-action disaster, even if it's still not the story either of them wanted. So was this worth making, or just another trip back to a well-loved well?Full show notes and resources ************************************************************************** This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with our latest news and send us feedback, questions, or comments via social media or email.TikTok · Twitter/X · Instagram · Facebook · EmailJoin the conversation in the Star Wars Generations and Superhero Ethics channels on the TruStory FM Discord.Want even more content while supporting the podcast? Become a member! For $5 a month or $55 a year you get access to bonus episodes and bonus content at the end of most episodes — and you can even give membership as a gift. Sign up here.You can also support us through our sponsors:Purchase a lightsaber from Level Up Sabers, run by friend of the podcast Neighborhood Master Alan.Use Audible for audiobooks. Sign up for a one-year membership or gift one through this link.Purchase any media discussed this week through our sponsored links.

    Avatar Aang: Did We Need This?

  2. Aug 11

    Sunk Cost Fallacy

    Thanos says he “had to” sacrifice Gamora. Vader tells Luke it’s too late to turn back. Professional poker player Paul Hoppe joins Matthew Fox to dig into the sunk cost fallacy, the bias that convinces us that because we’ve already paid a price, we have to keep paying it, and to test that idea against real poker hands as much as comic book ones.They trace “don’t throw good money after bad” out of the casino and into relationships people stay in too long, then out further still, into the Pentagon Papers and a naval arms race that helped start World War One. Running through most of it is the same reason people won’t budge: the fear of hearing “I told you so.” Is staying the course ever actually the right call? Paul and Matthew push back on their own thesis before they’re done.Full show notes and resourcesGet Paul’s book, “Friday Night Is My Monday Morning, Volume One” (40% off with code SHE400): ZenMadman.com ************************************************************************** This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with our latest news and send us feedback, questions, or comments via social media or email.TikTok · Twitter/X · Instagram · Facebook · EmailJoin the conversation in the Star Wars Generations and Superhero Ethics channels on the TruStory FM Discord.Want even more content while supporting the podcast? Become a member! For $5 a month or $55 a year you get access to bonus episodes and bonus content at the end of most episodes — and you can even give membership as a gift. Sign up here.You can also support us through our sponsors:Purchase a lightsaber from Level Up Sabers, run by friend of the podcast Neighborhood Master Alan.Use Audible for audiobooks. Sign up for a one-year membership or gift one through this link.Purchase any media discussed this week through our sponsored links.

    Sunk Cost Fallacy

  3. Aug 4

    Spider-Man: Brand New Day

    What if the hero afraid of his own power is exactly what makes it easy to fear an entire population? Matthew Fox is joined by returning guests Will Freeland and Steve Stormoen of the “Hype Is My Superpower” podcast to dig into “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” Peter’s uneasy partnership with the Punisher, and how Bruce Banner’s fear of himself ends up doing quiet work in the movie’s X-Men subplot.The three trace comic references straight out of “Civil War,” “Ultimate Comics,” and the original “Brand New Day” storyline, argue about whether Jean Grey finally gets to be a character instead of a plot device, and dig into a scene where MJ takes back the agency Peter tried to take from her. Lastly, they get into whether we should evaluate this movie on its own or as the last MCU release before “Avengers: Doomsday.”Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Will Freeland: Twitch · Instagram ************************************************************************** This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with our latest news and send us feedback, questions, or comments via social media or email.TikTok · Twitter/X · Instagram · Facebook · EmailJoin the conversation in the Star Wars Generations and Superhero Ethics channels on the TruStory FM Discord.Want even more content while supporting the podcast? Become a member! For $5 a month or $55 a year you get access to bonus episodes and bonus content at the end of most episodes — and you can even give membership as a gift. Sign up here.You can also support us through our sponsors:Purchase a lightsaber from Level Up Sabers, run by friend of the podcast Neighborhood Master Alan.Use Audible for audiobooks. Sign up for a one-year membership or gift one through this link.Purchase any media discussed this week through our sponsored links.

    Spider-Man: Brand New Day

  4. Jul 28

    Evaluating Risk: Poker, Life, and Nick Fury's Nuke

    What actually separates a poker player from a gambler? Professional poker player, coach, and writer Paul Hoppe steps in as Matthew Fox’s full co-host and the two spend this episode arguing over wagers, variance, and self-control at the table before turning it into a lens for superhero risk-taking.They dig into Nick Fury’s bet on New York, Kingpin’s long-shot gamble in the Spider-Verse, and a decades-long discussion between Matthew and Paul about variance that stretches all the way to how people misread election polling. So: is poker just gambling with better math, or something else entirely?Full show notes and resourcesGrab Paul’s book: Friday Night Is My Monday Morning, Volume One. Use that link to get a significant discount and help support the podcast at the same time. ************************************************************************** This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with our latest news and send us feedback, questions, or comments via social media or email.TikTok · Twitter/X · Instagram · Facebook · EmailJoin the conversation in the Star Wars Generations and Superhero Ethics channels on the TruStory FM Discord.Want even more content while supporting the podcast? Become a member! For $5 a month or $55 a year you get access to bonus episodes and bonus content at the end of most episodes — and you can even give membership as a gift. Sign up here.You can also support us through our sponsors:Purchase a lightsaber from Level Up Sabers, run by friend of the podcast Neighborhood Master Alan.Use Audible for audiobooks. Sign up for a one-year membership or gift one through this link.Purchase any media discussed this week through our sponsored links.

    Evaluating Risk: Poker, Life, and Nick Fury's Nuke

  5. Jul 21

    Lattice and Writing

    What happens once a society finds a way to turn a human body into an energy source, and decides that’s a good deal? Podcaster and TruStory FM co-founder Pete Wright joins Matthew and Paul to talk about “Lattice,” his debut science fiction novella, and the death penalty, corporate power, and family loyalty questions Wright built into its plot from the very first chapter.Wright talks about writing the book’s bones as a teenager and only now finishing it, while Matthew and Paul push on why the story never lets its villains twirl a mustache, they just sign off in a procurement meeting. They get into the Kobayashi Maru, the Batman choice, and a death penalty scene with no last-second rescue. What does it cost a person to have power and refuse to use it?Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Pete Wright: Website ************************************************************************** This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with our latest news and send us feedback, questions, or comments via social media or email.TikTok · Twitter/X · Instagram · Facebook · EmailJoin the conversation in the Star Wars Generations and Superhero Ethics channels on the TruStory FM Discord.Want even more content while supporting the podcast? Become a member! For $5 a month or $55 a year you get access to bonus episodes and bonus content at the end of most episodes — and you can even give membership as a gift. Sign up here.You can also support us through our sponsors:Purchase a lightsaber from Level Up Sabers, run by friend of the podcast Neighborhood Master Alan.Use Audible for audiobooks. Sign up for a one-year membership or gift one through this link.Purchase any media discussed this week through our sponsored links.

    Lattice and Writing

  6. Jul 14

    The Crystal Shard: D&D, as Game and as Story

    What do you owe to a culture that built you — especially when that culture is evil? Writer and poker thinker Paul Hoppe (ZenMadman) returns to Matthew Fox on Superhero Ethics to dig into R.A. Salvatore’s “The Crystal Shard,” the first Icewind Dale novel and the book that launched the 40-book Legend of Drizzt saga. Paul recommended it; Matthew finally read it. The question of who Drizzt Do’Urden is — a Drow elf who rejected his culture and built his own ethics from scratch — turns out to be exactly the kind of question this show was made for.They also get into the D&D debate that’s all over TikTok right now: is fudging dice rolls for narrative purposes cheating, or good storytelling? What’s the Session Zero conversation that prevents a campaign from falling apart? Is villain Akar Kessel a “power corrupts” story or a “power reveals” one? And when the halfling rogue Regis uses a magic pendant to brainwash bickering towns into uniting against an existential threat — is that manipulation, or just very effective leadership?Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Paul Hoppe: ZenMadman.com ************************************************************************** This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with our latest news and send us feedback, questions, or comments via social media or email.TikTok · Twitter/X · Instagram · Facebook · EmailJoin the conversation in the Star Wars Generations and Superhero Ethics channels on the TruStory FM Discord.Want even more content while supporting the podcast? Become a member! For $5 a month or $55 a year you get access to bonus episodes and bonus content at the end of most episodes — and you can even give membership as a gift. Sign up here.You can also support us through our sponsors:Purchase a lightsaber from Level Up Sabers, run by friend of the podcast Neighborhood Master Alan.Use Audible for audiobooks. Sign up for a one-year membership or gift one through this link.Purchase any media discussed this week through our sponsored links.

    The Crystal Shard: D&D, as Game and as Story

  7. Jul 7

    EPISODE 400!

    What happens to a friendship and a podcast over ten years and four hundred episodes? On this milestone episode, Matthew sits down with longtime guest Paul Christopher Hoppe, poker professional and author of ZenMadman’s Friday Night Is My Monday Morning Volume 1, to talk about what has changed since Superhero Ethics started in 2016 as a media project that doubled as a mental health lifeline.They get into how internet discourse has curdled, why "nuance" became a weapon instead of a virtue, and how right wing outrage around movies like The Last Jedi and Supergirl made honest criticism so difficult. Matthew and Paul also test whether arguing about values is ever worth it, versus arguing about methods with people who already share them, and float a brand new project built around poker, variance, and statistics. Is superhero media still the right lens for any of this?Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Paul Hoppe: Website ************************************************************************** This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with our latest news and send us feedback, questions, or comments via social media or email.TikTok · Twitter/X · Instagram · Facebook · EmailJoin the conversation in the Star Wars Generations and Superhero Ethics channels on the TruStory FM Discord.Want even more content while supporting the podcast? Become a member! For $5 a month or $55 a year you get access to bonus episodes and bonus content at the end of most episodes — and you can even give membership as a gift. Sign up here.You can also support us through our sponsors:Purchase a lightsaber from Level Up Sabers, run by friend of the podcast Neighborhood Master Alan.Use Audible for audiobooks. Sign up for a one-year membership or gift one through this link.Purchase any media discussed this week through our sponsored links.

    EPISODE 400!

  8. Jul 1

    Supergirl

    Did Supergirl earn her killing of the already defeated villain, or did the movie just tell us not to worry about it? Matthew Fox is joined by returning guest Jessica Plummer, comics journalist and Book Riot contributing editor, to dig into Supergirl 2026, from the internet’s reaction to star Millie Alcock to whether the film’s ethics hold together at all. Jessica has been a Supergirl fan since long before the character’s 2000s comeback, and brings that history to bear on a film both hosts found entertaining but morally scattered.The conversation covers a sex trafficking subplot that gets dropped almost as fast as it’s introduced, a Lobo cameo with no real purpose, and a needle drop so literal it borders on parody. Matthew and Jessica land on the same verdict from different directions: a perfectly watchable movie that never figures out what it’s trying to say. So which is worse, a movie that doesn’t ask hard questions, or one that asks them and shrugs?Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Jessica Plummer: Website · Flights and Tights podcast ************************************************************************** This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with our latest news and send us feedback, questions, or comments via social media or email.TikTok · Twitter/X · Instagram · Facebook · EmailJoin the conversation in the Star Wars Generations and Superhero Ethics channels on the TruStory FM Discord.Want even more content while supporting the podcast? Become a member! For $5 a month or $55 a year you get access to bonus episodes and bonus content at the end of most episodes — and you can even give membership as a gift. Sign up here.You can also support us through our sponsors:Purchase a lightsaber from Level Up Sabers, run by friend of the podcast Neighborhood Master Alan.Use Audible for audiobooks. Sign up for a one-year membership or gift one through this link.Purchase any media discussed this week through our sponsored links.

    Supergirl
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4.8
out of 5
160 Ratings

About

Exploring ethical questions from Superhero movies and TV shows, sci-fi, and everything else geeks love

Information

  • Creator
    Superhero Ethics
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    409
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © TruStory FM
  • Show Website
    Superhero Ethics

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