Cinematic Universe

The deluge of new-release episodes continues, as Joe and James are joined by special guest Neil "Incredible Suit" Alcock to discuss the ninth (NINTH!) X-film, Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse. As usual with new films, there's some spoiler-free chat at the start (despite James' best efforts) before a more full-on spoiler-filled discussion. PLUS, we've got a very special new competition you can enter! You don't even need to listen all the way through to hear it because we're that nice. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Now that you (and we) have all had time to finish the second season of Netflix's Daredevil, Joe, James and special guest Caroline Siede look back over the series to see what worked, what didn't, and generally chat about how great The Punisher is. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In a special bonus episode recorded just before it was confirmed that Agent Carter had been cancelled, Joe, Seb and James look back at the second season and discuss why it was one of our favourite superhero TV shows of recent years. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's been longer than normal since our last news roundup, due to our release-week episode of Captain America: Civil War - so Joe catches up with the latest happenings and scuttlebutt in the Marvel, Fox and DC movieverses before moving on to discussing last week's comics recommendations: Captain America: No Escape by Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice, and Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Two sides. One conflict. You know the drill: it's CaptainAmerica: Civil War, and we're all a bit excited. But are we #TeamCap, #TeamIronMan, #TeamSpidey or #TeamMarisaTomei? Find out on our special release-week episode. As ever, there's no news roundup this week, but we do a chunk of safe, spoiler-free opinion chat before delving deep - and we do mean deep - into the specifics of the film. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well, that Michael Keaton Spider-Man thing went well,huh? Joe discusses that, the final X-Men: Apocalypse trailer and various little bits of casting news in our latest minisode. Then it's on to last week's The Mask-inspired comics recommendations: (unsurprisingly) The Mask by John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke, and (slightly more surprisingly) The Matrix by the Wachowskis and... loads of people. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

SSSSMOKIN! SOMEBODY STOP ME! THAT'S A SPICY MEATBALL! And other such things that you undoubtedly heard (and maybe even shouted) thousands of times in the playground in the mid 1990s. Yes, we went there: it's Jim Carrey in Chuck Russell's adaptation of the Dark Horse comic The Mask. In the news, meanwhile, we mostly talk about Spider-Man: Homecoming because, well, it's us. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe talks Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Defenders, Cloak and Dagger and a whole bunch more in a bumper news section. Then it's on to last week's comics recommendations: Greg Pak and Aaron Lopresti's Planet Hulk: Anarchy and Kieron Gillen and Kano's Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A bit of a change of pace this week, as we look for the first time at a direct-to-DVD animated adaptation, with Sam Liu's 2010 film of Planet Hulk. As well as discussing this specific film's merits, we talk more generally about the genre: do these adaptations generally work? What, if anything, do they offer that a live-action film or the original comic can't? And are there any comics we'd like to see adapted into the format? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A big pile of DC-related news heads up this week's minisode, before Joe moves on to the Batman v Superman-inspired recommendations of (obviously) The Dark Knight Returns and (slightly less obviously) Superman & Batman: Generations. But #WhoWillWin in this epic battle between Frank Miller and John Byrne? We promise we won't make you wait two and a half hours to find out. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do we really need to introduce this? It's our Batman v Superman episode: you should know the drill by now. Listen on to find out whether another Zack Snyder film made Seb throw up, or whether the unlikely scenario of Seb and James somehow liking it more than Joe did came to pass. And as usual with new releases, we've done a spoiler-free instant reaction section (recorded in a central London pizza restaurant literally minutes after we got out of the film) before getting into the detailed nitty-gritty, so if you haven't seen the film yet, you can still listen to the first twenty minutes or so. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week's Man of Steel-inspired comics reading was made up of two books that Seb has very different feelings about: Mark Waid and Leinil Yu's Birthright and J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis' Earth One volume 1. But did Joe agree on either or both counts? Find out in this week's minisode. There's also the usual roundup of the week's comic book movie news - including the trailer-based appearance of a certain webslinger... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We finally reach The Movie That Literally Made Seb Vomit; but in case you were worried our Man of Steel podcast was going to be two hours of relentless negativity, we've drafted in Rhys Williamson - who actually liked it - to provide some balance alongside Joe and Seb. That's after news discussion around Joseph Gordon-Levitt's departure from Sandman, and Sony's announcement of Venom. And no, the Civil War trailer didn't make it out in time to be covered here, but you'd better believe we'll be talking about that soon. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Inspired by Ghost World, this week's comic book recommendations are both indie titles: Jeff Lemire's Essex County, and Adrian Tomine's Optic Nerve: Sleepwalk and Other Stories. In the news, meanwhile, Joe looks at Finn Jones being cast as Iron Fist, and that seemingly inevitable Gambit delay. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A film about two sarcastic, alienated outsiders trying to make sense of the baffling world around them? Can't imagine why that would appeal to us at all. Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes' 2001 masterpiece ends up giving us our longest episode yet - although that's partly because of how long Seb spent talking about DC Rebirth at the start... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe looks back at a big news week, from Deadpool's astonishing box-office take to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's shooting and casting announcements. Then it's on to last week's recommendations, the first volumes of Cable & Deadpool (2004) and Justice League International (1987). Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Cinematic Universe meets The Merc With A Mouth as Joe, James and guest Amon Warmann discuss the latest cinematic release from Fox's X-Men universe - the R-rated superhero movie, Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Tim Miller. Don't worry if you haven't seen the film - we start off with a fairly hefty spoiler-free discussion so that you can still listen to the podcast even if you haven't seen it yet. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To plug the gap before our imminent release-week Deadpool review episode, Joe and James have got together to bring you a special "Deadpool For Dummies" primer episode - including answers to some listener questions! So you'll have no excuse for not knowing who the guy is when you go to see the film on Friday. And once you have done, come back for our main ep! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe was so keen for pun-ishment this week that he accidentally read twelve additional Punisher issues that hadn't actually been recommended to him. As it is, though, he finally got around to checking out Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Welcome Back Frank and Garth Ennis (again) and Dougie Braithwaite's Mother Russia; but you might as well also hear what he heard of the opening arcs of the Garth Ennis (yet again) 2001 ongoing series as well. It's confusing, this comics lark, isn't it? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, Seb and James have maybe their biggest ever Marvel-vs-DC argument, over two characters they don't even really like that much. Then it's on to a bit of news discussion - including some cheery speculation over Civil War's potential deaths - before moving on to the main event, the 2004 Thomas Jane-starring adaptation of The Punisher. Nobody could argue it's a good film, but is it one we enjoyed watching? The answer, in one of our longest episodes to date, might surprise you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/cinematicuniverse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.