Disassembled: Heroes and Villains

Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics
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A podcast that doesn’t just explore characters—it deconstructs them. Each week, we pull apart the most iconic, complex, and controversial figures across comics, animation, video games, and pop culture. From masked zealots to haunted warriors, fallen heroes to corrupted gods—we unravel what makes them tick… and what makes them dangerous. Blending dramatic storytelling, continuity-rich history, and philosophical analysis, Disassembled isn’t just a lore dive—it’s a breakdown of the characters we thought we knew. One that asks: When does belief become obsession? When does loyalty become a lie? When does a hero become the villain? And what lesson can we learn from the icons we grew up with? If you’re looking for more than backstories—if you want to understand the why behind the who—this is your next obsession. New episodes every Thursday. Written and hosted by Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics. Thanks for listening And as always—Stay Handsome.

  1. FEB 11

    Kratos: Why Ultimate Strength Feels Like Weakness - God of War Deep Dive

    Have A Character You Want To See Featured? Send Us A Text Kratos was never meant to survive his story. He was forged in violence, driven by vengeance, and unleashed upon gods who deserved what came next. Cities fell. Pantheons burned. And when the rage finally ran out—Kratos was still standing, surrounded by the consequences. In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we explore Kratos not as a symbol of rage, but as a man forced to live after it. From the ashes of Olympus to the quiet weight of fatherhood in the Norse realms, Kratos’ journey isn’t about redemption through victory—it’s about restraint, responsibility, and learning to carry guilt without letting it rule you. His greatest battles aren’t against gods or monsters, but against the man he used to be… and the fear that his son might become the same. We explore: Why Kratos’ rage was never the problem—direction wasHow violence solves nothing once the war is overThe cost of survival after vengeance is completeAnd why true strength, for Kratos, is finally learning when not to strikeThis isn’t the story of a god who conquered his enemies. It’s the story of a father trying not to pass his sins forward. Because the hardest fight Kratos ever faced… was choosing to live differently. 🎙 Disassembled: Heroes and Villains 🗓 New episodes weekly ✍️ Written & hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics Business Opportunities Please Email: HandsomeComics@gmail.com Rage ends wars. Restraint ends cycles.

    17 min

  2. FEB 4

    Spider-Man: With Great Guilt Comes Great Responsibility - Marvel Comics Deep Dive

    Have A Character You Want To See Featured? Send Us A Text Download "Hang On Superman: A Field Guide For Men Under Pressure": https://stan.store/Handsome_Comics/p/are-you-a-man-under-pressure Spider-Man was never meant to carry the world on his shoulders. He didn’t ask for power. He didn’t seek greatness. And he certainly didn’t choose the cost that came with it. In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we explore Spider-Man not as a symbol of strength—but as a study in responsibility, consequence, and quiet endurance. Across decades of stories—from classic comics to modern interpretations—Peter Parker’s life follows the same painful pattern: every time he tries to put himself first, someone else pays the price. And every time he chooses to do the right thing, he loses something in return. We break down:  • How responsibility becomes consequence, not a choice  • Why Spider-Man’s suffering isn’t accidental—it’s structural  • The difference between inherited power and chosen burden  • And why Spider-Man keeps showing up… even when it costs him everything This isn’t a story about winning. It’s a story about staying. About doing the job no one thanks you for. About carrying weight that never gets lighter. And about choosing to be Spider-Man—again and again—when walking away would hurt less. 🎙 Disassembled: Heroes and Villains 🗓 New episodes weekly ✍️ Written & hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics Business Inquiries: HandsomeComics@Gmail.com Because Spider-Man doesn’t teach us how to be strong. He teaches us how to be responsible—when no one’s watching.

    19 min

  3. JAN 28

    Rodimus Prime: When Responsibility Arrives Before Readiness

    Have A Character You Want To See Featured? Send Us A Text Rodimus Prime was never meant to lead. He didn’t ask for the Matrix. He didn’t want the burden. And he wasn’t ready when destiny chose him anyway. In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we explore the most misunderstood Prime in Transformers history—not as a failure, but as a mirror for anyone who inherited responsibility before confidence. Rodimus represents a truth most stories avoid: that leadership doesn’t arrive when you’re prepared—it arrives when someone else can’t carry it anymore. We break down: •How Hot Rod became Rodimus Prime—and why the transformation nearly broke him •Why self-doubt, not weakness, defines his story •The cost of stepping into a role built for someone else •And why Rodimus may be the most human Prime of them all This isn’t a story about greatness. It’s a story about growing into weight you never asked for—and choosing to carry it anyway. 🎙 Disassembled: Heroes and Villains 🗓 New episodes weekly ✍️ Written & hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics Business Inquiries: HandsomeComics@gmail.com Because sometimes the hardest leaders to understand… are the ones who didn’t want the crown in the first place.

    23 min

  4. JAN 21

    Spawn: Why Burnout Happens to the Strongest People

    Have A Character You Want To See Featured? Send Us A Text Spawn isn’t a power fantasy. He’s a warning. In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we take a deep, character-first look at Spawn—not as a 90s icon, but as a man slowly consumed by the very thing he thought would save him. Al Simmons made a deal to return to the life he lost. Instead, he came back trapped between Heaven, Hell, and his own unresolved guilt. This isn’t a story about revenge. It’s about burnout before the word existed. Spawn fights endlessly, not because he believes he’ll win—but because stopping would mean facing the truth: that no amount of power can undo the cost of the choice he made. We explore: •Spawn’s origin as a soldier who never learned when to stop fighting •The illusion of control offered by deals, destiny, and “greater purpose” •Why Spawn represents the danger of tying your identity entirely to duty •And how his story mirrors modern burnout, sacrifice, and emotional isolation Spawn doesn’t fall because he’s weak. He falls because he refuses rest. Because he mistakes endurance for meaning. Because he keeps going long after the reason is gone. This episode isn’t about demons and capes. It’s about what happens when survival becomes your only goal—and no one tells you it’s okay to stop. 🎙️ Disassembled: Heroes and Villains A character study series about power, cost, and the stories we tell ourselves to keep moving. Because sometimes the most dangerous lie isn’t evil… It’s purpose without an end. 🎙 New episodes of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains every week ✍️ Written & hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics 📩 Business inquiries: handsomecomics@gmail.com

    19 min

  5. JAN 13

    Optimus Primal: Why Good Leadership Feels Like Failure - Transformers Deep Dive

    Have A Character You Want To See Featured? Send Us A Text Leadership is often portrayed as strength, certainty, and victory. Optimus Primal teaches something harder. In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we break down Optimus Primal—not as a conqueror, but as a guardian shaped by restraint. Across Beast Wars and its aftermath, Primal doesn’t lead by domination or spectacle. He leads by choosing who carries the burden when no good options remain. Again and again, he absorbs the cost himself—physically, morally, and emotionally—so others don’t have to. This isn’t a story about winning wars. It’s a story about staying when leaving would be easier. We explore: Why Primal’s leadership is defined by restraint, not powerHow responsibility reshapes him across the Beast Wars eraThe difference between command and accountabilityWhat Primal teaches us about leadership, sacrifice, and moral endurance Because true leaders aren’t remembered for how hard they strike— but for what they refuse to destroy. 🎙 New episodes of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains every week ✍️ Written & hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics 📩 Business inquiries: handsomecomics@gmail.com

    19 min

  6. JAN 6

    Everyone Thinks They're The Hero

    Have A Character You Want To See Featured? Send Us A Text How to Become the Villain of Your Own Story Villains aren’t born. They’re built—choice by choice. In this opening episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we examine how good intentions can curdle into something destructive, and why the line between hero and villain is thinner than most stories admit. Using pop culture characters and narrative psychology, we explore how the pursuit of power, certainty, or success can slowly strip away purpose—until the goal matters more than the cost. This isn’t a show about evil for evil’s sake. It’s about how people convince themselves they’re right… even as everything around them breaks. This episode asks: • When does conviction become obsession? • Why does winning sometimes feel emptier than losing? • How do people justify harm in the name of progress? • And what warning signs appear before someone becomes the villain? Because the most dangerous villains don’t see themselves as monsters. They see themselves as necessary. 🎙 Disassembled: Heroes and Villains Written & hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics 📩 Business inquiries: handsomecomics@gmail.com

    19 min

  7. 12/12/2025

    Why Starscream Is the Most Dangerous Kind of Broken - Transformers Deep Dive

    Have A Character You Want To See Featured? Send Us A Text Why Starscream Proves You Can Reach the Top… and Still Fall Starscream’s story isn’t just about betrayal—it’s about longing. Longing for recognition. Longing for purpose. Longing to matter. In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes & Villains, we peel back the layers of one of Cybertron’s most complex figures. From the ambitious Seeker of G1, to Armada’s conflicted soldier, to IDW’s politician grasping for redemption, Starscream’s tragedy is the same across the multiverse: He didn’t believe he was worth anything unless he stood above someone else. We explore: – Starscream’s origins as scientist, soldier, and usurper – How insecurity shaped every coup and every collapse – Why IDW’s Starscream won the throne… but lost himself – The wound inside him that no amount of power could heal Because Starscream’s fall wasn’t inevitable. It was internal. This is the tragedy of the eternal usurper— a character who could have been a visionary, but became a cautionary tale. New episodes every Friday. 🎙 Written & Hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics 📩 Business inquiries: handsomecomics@gmail.com

    38 min

  8. 12/05/2025

    Why Megatron Proves That Power Corrupts Absolutely - Transformers Deep Dive

    Have A Character You Want To See Featured? Send Us A Text Megatron is one of fiction’s most misunderstood villains. Across the Transformers multiverse, his story begins the same way: a laborer in the mines of Kaon, a gladiator who refused to break, a thinker who believed Cybertron could be better. He inspired the helpless. Challenged the corrupt. And ignited a revolution meant to bring justice. But somewhere along the way… the cause died, and Megatron didn’t stop. This episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains digs into the rise and fall of Cybertron’s most complicated leader—exploring how idealism became obsession, how justice twisted into domination, and how a friendship with Orion Pax shattered the fate of an entire world. We’ll explore: • The gladiator who became a symbol • The revolutionary who lost the movement • The tyrant who believed he had no choice • The defector who carried the weight of his sins • Why Megatron’s downfall mirrors real-world revolutions • And what his story reveals about power, trauma, and conviction Megatron didn’t set out to conquer Cybertron. He set out to save it. And that’s what makes his fall one of the darkest tragedies in Transformers history. 🔥 New episodes of Disassembled: Heroes & Villains every week 🎙 Written & hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics 📩 Contact: handsomecomics@gmail.com

    1h 7m
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About

A podcast that doesn’t just explore characters—it deconstructs them. Each week, we pull apart the most iconic, complex, and controversial figures across comics, animation, video games, and pop culture. From masked zealots to haunted warriors, fallen heroes to corrupted gods—we unravel what makes them tick… and what makes them dangerous. Blending dramatic storytelling, continuity-rich history, and philosophical analysis, Disassembled isn’t just a lore dive—it’s a breakdown of the characters we thought we knew. One that asks: When does belief become obsession? When does loyalty become a lie? When does a hero become the villain? And what lesson can we learn from the icons we grew up with? If you’re looking for more than backstories—if you want to understand the why behind the who—this is your next obsession. New episodes every Thursday. Written and hosted by Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics. Thanks for listening And as always—Stay Handsome.

Information

  • Creator
    Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Disassembled: Heroes and Villains
  • Show Website
    Disassembled: Heroes and Villains