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Episode 685 - Raw SuperShow
1.4k Plays6 months ago
Yes, more Raw action this week! Matt's back from vacation and we're ranking more of the rawest moments in comics history! We even get to the nice number!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Clitus, I'm bored. What play thing can you offer me today?
00:00:10
Speaker
He's about to walk into Ajax, to bring back his body!
00:00:25
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome to War Rocket Ajax. This is the Internet's most explosive comic book and pop culture podcast. We are your hosts. My name is Chris Simms. With me, as always, is Matt Wilson. Matt, how are you? You might call me the bionic redneck, Matt Wilson. that The Shelby rattlesnake.
00:00:50
Speaker
Matt, let me ask you a question. Are you ready for one more round? OMR. Do you consider yourself a trusting person? IDTA. and Which for the uninitiated is don't trust anyone. This was gonna be my check by the way. Well, okay. That was a tease for the check. That was a tease. That was a tease. So we will get further into
Impact of Travel on Podcast Content
00:01:16
Speaker
that. We do checks and recs in a little bit. ah But as far as what we're doing on the show this week,
00:01:24
Speaker
ah We are, once again, raking raw moments because I have been out of town for most of the week. I was gone from Saturday through Wednesday, so I got back home yesterday, and today I had to work a regular workday, so I didn't have time to read Jurgys, nor did you, Chris, although I think maybe we'll do Jurgys next week. um But that's right, we're doing two straight episodes of Raw? And you know what they called Raw when it was three hours long in the early days? ah A torturous slog. The Raw Super Show. Ah, yes. Also that. And so that's what this is. This is the Raw Super Show. I hope to God that listeners that you are going to enjoy this episode more than the typical three hour Raw
00:02:19
Speaker
Those were dark days. I mean, Raw has been three hours for quite a few years now. Is it still three hours? It's still three hours long. Is it still very obviously not supposed to be three hours? I think they write a three hour show now, at least. but The third hour the third ah hour is always like, Man, y'all ran out of stuff.
WWE Raw vs WrestleMania: A Historical Comparison
00:02:50
Speaker
There's a real there's a real like,
00:02:55
Speaker
what what do you call what what do you call the ah the graph, the bell curve? There's like a real bell curve graph of how good a wrestling show is. Although I guess it never goes back up. It just kind of keeps going down. It depends on the show though, because there are some paper views that are quite long that are also very good. So yeah, there's like, there's like, there can be three hour shows that are good, but then you get into like these, like before it was split into two nights, those last couple of Wrestle manias that were literally like seven hours. Yeah, rough stuff. It's, it's hard loving the things we love everybody.
Patreon and Supporter Engagement
00:03:40
Speaker
All right. We're going to get to raw a little later in the show, but before we get to that, Chris, we have business to take care of.
00:03:47
Speaker
Starting with thinking our newest supporters on patreon That's right, Matt Now these are the people correct me if I'm wrong. These are the people who have gone all the way down to 685 gimmick Street and You know what's there? Well, let's see 683 was the hospital where I was born. Uh-huh 684 was the hospital where I'm going to die aka a Alston Bridges barbecue. Yeah 685 is where I went to high school. Not a big town, Shelby.
00:04:23
Speaker
and
00:04:26
Speaker
Stuff weirdly close together, yeah. Yeah, yeah, on the same street. It's weird that a hospital and a school, a high school, would occupy the same like like sequential numbers of a block. You know, youre maximizing space, maximizing space. That's true. I mean, it's efficient. Maybe it's like, do you ever have that book when you were a kid that, uh, sideways stories from wayside school? Oh yeah. I remember sideways stories from wayside school. Yeah. And how it was a school that they built wrong. So it was instead of of being 30 classrooms next to each other on one floor, it was one classroom per floor, but the building was 30 stories tall. And like, if I remember correctly, the whole premise of the book was that like it was a school that was weird. Yeah, no, it was wacky. Yeah.
00:05:16
Speaker
It's very Looney Tunesian. Yeah, yeah. Folks, this is what we want you to give us money for. To remember books for when we were children. To remember and vaguely describe books that were around when we were kids. because something in an adjacent bit reminded us of it. You know what memory you just jogged with that, Chris? What's that, Matt? I remember when I was in, I want to say second grade. And so that was that's at like 693 Gimmick Street. I will remember that in however many weeks that is. That was my elementary school at 693.
00:05:59
Speaker
And my teacher was reading us a story from Sideways Stories from White Side School. And you know how like when somebody wants to write somebody going, it's W-H-E-W. Yeah. So she kept reading that as we e And I knew she was wrong. ah hu And so I was like, I think it's supposed to be like, whoo, whoo, whoo. And she was like, it could also be we. And then she kept reading it that way. That's not who should be teaching you reading comprehension. I mean, I already had it, is the thing. Whoa, be to all the other children in that class. Ooh, buddy. Buddy, buddy, buddy.
00:06:57
Speaker
All right, Matt, so um while people are taking the tour of important spots in Matt Wilson's life, which I assume is why you would be at these addresses. Yes, yes. You're a fan of the show. You want to what want the real NW, the Matt Wilson experience. You can also ah help the real Matt Wilson continue to experience being alive. by going to patreon dot.com slash war rocket Ajax and kicking in as little as one dollar a month to help us keep this show going. Help us help us pay those gimmicks they keep sitting in the mail called bills. That's right, Chris. These are the people who have have prevented this from being a memorial tour so far. Right. Even though they have visited the hospital where you're going to talk. That's right. Alex.
00:07:52
Speaker
Thank you, Alex. And Dylan Samuel. Thank you, Dylan. If you would like to be like Alex and Dylan, you can help us out by going to Patreon dot.com slash War Rock at Ajax. And as Chris said, kicking in as little as $1 per month to make sure that we could do this show every week, that we do comics catch up monthly and every story every monthly, that we do snack situation and movie fighters.
Special Content for Supporters
00:08:16
Speaker
Marlene and I recorded an episode of snack situation ah With food we bought at the Charleston City Market That's right. We tried some Bena wafers along with other things So that's coming in July ah so you support all of those shows if you support our patreon and As a patron you get every single one of those shows completely ad-free you get your own feed on patreon and
00:08:45
Speaker
where you get every episode of every show that we do ad free. At the $5 level, you get a special bonus audio and other bonus content. Just today, the day we were recording this, I ah sent the link to all our Patreon backers for spreadsheet survivors. Chris?
00:09:14
Speaker
Some were very excited to have gotten that. Some are still confused what a survivor's like is.
00:09:22
Speaker
But, you know what? That's fair. Stick with it. I thought you were going to say that some were excited to get it. And some were like, fuck this. No, i nobody was like, fuck this. But some people were like, what is this? I did. I did go in to make a ah couple of additions, just like quick jokes that I thought up while I've been replaying these games. ah And I did notice that there were like a couple of people in there browsing it, which I forgot that in putting it up without finishing it, I would be letting people watch as I wrote it, which I don't like.
00:10:06
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I may have to make a second work in progress spreadsheet, my first document. That might be a good idea. All the good jokes over as they're done. When they're done. Yeah, that's that might be a good idea. Yeah. You can also get line stepping privileges for Every Story Ever and Thursday Night Raw, which is our current ah segment what that we're doing on episodes here in 2024. You can also get physical rewards if you are at the t-shirt level of our Patreon and you have not sent me your size, send it to me as soon as possible because I only have about half right now and I need to get in the order for the shirts as soon as I can. so
00:10:53
Speaker
Message me your shirt size on Patreon. As soon as you hear this, the moment you hear this, I'm also going to email you again to send me your shirt size, because I want to get these shirts printed and sent to you. You're going to want this shirt. You're going to want this shirt. It's a good one. I want it. If you are unable to help us monetarily, which You know, it happens. You can help us out in other
Community Engagement and Reviews
00:11:23
Speaker
ways. You can leave us a five star review on the podcasting app that you use. Uh, that might be Apple podcasts or now podcasts are on YouTube music instead of Google podcasts. I've been told that you cannot leave an actual written review on Spotify, but you can leave a five star rating on Spotify. So just.
00:11:45
Speaker
click the five stars on Spotify. Um, if you are able to leave written review, like click the fifth one. Don't click the first four. Yeah. Click the fifth star so that all five stars are highlighted and fill in all five stars. That's what I would like one at the right hand end. Yeah. But whatever podcasting app you use, a five star review there would help us out, uh, quite a bit. You can also spread the word about the show. Tell your friends about the show. let folks know that there's a podcast that you like and that they should listen to it, and then they can donate to our Patreon. You know what's wild about podcast reviews, Matt? What's that? ah this This actually happened with Apocryphal, not with Ajax, but um there was one dude who are I was browsing ah for reviews of the show, um because you know I want to know if people are enjoying it or
00:12:43
Speaker
or whatever. And ah there was a site that I had not heard of that was like some some manner of podcatcher where you could listen to the show. And there was one dude who would leave comments on like every episode on a website that was like not our website, but just like some podcatcher that prior to this I had never heard of who would be arguing with this that like rich people are good actually.
00:13:15
Speaker
And also, Jesus would think we were all rich, so, you know, he probably wasn't talking about rich people the way we think of them. ah But they're good, actually. Wow. ah Well, I'm sure that is specific to Apocryphal's, just like the one guy who has left multiple reviews on every podcast I've ever done about how much he hates me, is specific to those podcasts.
00:13:45
Speaker
That's still wild to me. it's Not least of which because Matt, I can't imagine anyone hating you. Well, I can because it has happened many times in my life. Chris. Of the two of us, I am the more polarizing figure. Chris, now that we've thanked our Patreon supporters, it's time for some checks and recs.
The Stone Cold Vest Story
00:14:06
Speaker
What do you say? Let's do it.
00:14:10
Speaker
Chris, you teased your check moments ago? What is it? Matt, you know what my check is because I i would like to cede my check time to you to to talk about my check, which is your birthday. My birthday present. Specifically the present thereof that I gave you on this, your 41st birthday. That's right. My 41st birthday was... Or is it your 316th? If only those digits added up.
00:14:44
Speaker
to 41, but they don't quite. Yeah. The numerology doesn't, doesn't quite fit. Yeah. So I'll go back when it's my check time to when I was actually on my trip to Charleston, but coming back from my trip to Charleston, uh, we drove back, as I said, on Wednesday. And ah as soon as I got home, uh, you had sent me messages that I had not seen yet. yes I thought you were just going to be gone over the weekend. No, I was gone like into the week too. Yeah. hey yes And so I didn't see the messages until after I got the gift, but like you had sent me messages saying that my message, my package was out for delivery and that it had been delivered. And so as soon as we got home, I like checked my mailbox and there's this package in there.
00:15:43
Speaker
from fanatics. And that kind of gave me an idea. Because I know that they do like wwe WWE's shop fulfillment stuff. And I was like, he didn't. And so I i brought it inside. Marlene was like, what's that? And I was like, i think it's from it's for me. I'm pretty sure it's from Chris. And I think it might be a stone cold Steve Austin vest. And she was like, well, now I got to see. So I opened it. your, your wife, Marlene. Yeah. Cause my wife was aware that this was the plan. If I ever found myself down to the wire and hadn't found a better gift for you for birthday or Christmas, I've discussed it, but Marlene did not know that this was a possibility. If I had mentioned it to but her before she had forgotten. And so she was like,
00:16:40
Speaker
and you hadn't mentioned it to her that should I do this, you had promised me, your friend, that you would go out to a formal dinner. Okay, well, a formal occasion, I believe, is your you're phrasing. Okay. So, I opened it, and there it was, the stone-cold vest. I immediately put it on over my t-shirt. And I was like, Marley, you have to take a picture right now. And so she did, I held my arms up like so cold. I posted that picture on our Discord. I will probably post the picture on ah the show notes for this episode too. I want to be the new album art for the show. No offense to Rusty, but
00:17:32
Speaker
That kind of sums it all up. It kind of does. Yeah. And so Marlene was like, so what are you going to do now? Are you going to hang it up or what? And I was like, yeah, I'm going to hang it up and then I'll find an occasion to wear it. Our mutual friend, Elle Collins, friend of the show, uh, co-host, guest co-host at least once or twice, um, and guest on a few occasions when we used to do the round tables and all that kind of stuff. Uh, Elle is getting married. and specifically requested that I wear it to their wedding. So I'm gonna do that ah that that that. That is a formal occasion in which you will wear the vest. That does not count for the purposes of you promising me that you would wear it too. I think I said out to dinner.
00:18:20
Speaker
We're gonna have to go back and review the tape. I'm pretty sure I said out to dinner and you did say yes. I think you said a formal occasion, ah but we will review the tape and I will honor the promise whatever it was. I have to say, if you are not in the Ajax Discord, which you should be, oh this picture, because you sent it to me and Benito first in our ah group chat where we talk about all the puzzles that we do every morning. This picture is my new favorite picture of you. and The great thing about it is you are in fact wearing the vest, posed like Steve Austin,
00:19:03
Speaker
but you have the most Matt Wilson, the smallest smile.
00:19:17
Speaker
I actually, it is you, you look, if I did not know you, I would not think you look delighted. okay ah Last night at, uh, here in Asheville, I met up with Jay Gonzo for dinner. Oh, love that guy. Right. He was on his way to Heroes Con. He was on his way to Heroes Con. And he asked me as soon as I saw him, like, how was your trip? How was your little vacation, birthday vacation? And I was like, oh, it's good. And he was like, you really never get excited, do you? I love that because Gonzo has
00:20:02
Speaker
met like Like we've hung out with him on so many occasions. Yeah. Yeah.
Consistency in Persona: On and Off Air
00:20:08
Speaker
And he listens to the show, but like... He listens to the show. You you watched him tattoo me. I did. I did. Hilarious. Love that guy. I think people think that like there's the me who does this show and that's a persona and there's the me all the rest of the time. And that is true to a degree, but also, this is kind of me. Putting on a persona at for this length of time would be so much work. It would. It would be tough. I know people do it, but... i Yeah, but like, I don't have it in me. yeah I mean, not not to... I don't want to impugn your work ethic, but Lord knows. Pretty much just this dude. oh I do want to point out two things.
00:20:56
Speaker
oh about this vest. Number one, um, it is a, if in case you're wondering specifically, it is the replica vest from WrestleMania 17, uh, the best WrestleMania. Yes. So it is the one that that says, uh, uh, OMR for one more round. Right. Uh, on it. Uh, which means if you see, if you see Matt wearing that one might be a heel turn coming. And then on the back,
00:21:27
Speaker
is the skull that has stone cold on the forehead and bulletproof. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good, that's a good one. It is a nice vest. so I Like it's, it's, I think you might suspect that if it's, you know, coming from the w WWE shop, that would be kind of like chintzy, ah not particularly well made. And it's not like hand stitched or anything, but it's like fairly well made, uh, for, for merchandise from the w WWE shop. Yeah. I ah I'm good. It actually like when you said it to me, I was very pleased with like, it looks good on you. Like it fits. It fits. Yeah. if it It fits better than you would think. I'm glad I didn't. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, the other thing is I did go to the shop to see what other, uh, stone cold merchandise they had. Um,
00:22:27
Speaker
And I have not been to the w WWE shop in quite some time because I haven't really watched ah the product in a very long time. ah But I did find they sell a three pack of stone cold Steve Austin friendship bracelets.
00:22:49
Speaker
and One says Austin three 16, one says stone cold and one says hell yeah. Yeah. And i I feel like that's gotta go to the puzzle, boys. Me, you, and Benito. The question is, which which message does each of us get? Oh, that's easy. I get hell yeah. Okay. Benito, as the religious scholar of the group, gets Austin 316. And I get Stone Cold. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Settled. Settled. I just, I can't imagine a character less suited to to the merchandise of friendship bracelets. Famously, no friends. but In character. Like, and in character. The Steve Austin that has, here's who he's giving these friendship bracelets to is is ah Shane McMahon and Kurt Angle during the ah the Alliance, like during the invasion.
00:23:46
Speaker
That's the only time he's dabbed like a faction. he I guess he could give one to like Savia Vega, right? I mean, I mean, they... yeah Sure. Savia Vega gets a friendship bracelet.
00:24:04
Speaker
he He didn't have that many tag teams. I mean, he and Triple H had the two-man power trip. The two-man power trip and and the the tag team with ah with Dude Luv. Right. but like right but like, those were very much like, I can't admit, like again, a carrot, like, even Randy Orton would be more suited for a friendship bracelet. He's had more friends. He's had more friends. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, well, Matt, that is my check. Uh, what else have you been up to while you've been stomping mud holes and walking them dry? Okay, so I went,
00:24:46
Speaker
I went to Charleston.
Meeting Rodney Scott: A Starstruck Moment
00:24:47
Speaker
What? What? Me and Marlene and I went to Charleston. And as we always do, we we always hit like certain restaurants on a Charleston trip. And one of those restaurants is always Rodney Scott's barbecue. Gotta go. Gotta go. Top, top choice to go when you're in Charleston.
00:25:14
Speaker
Would we win? This time we went for lunch on Tuesday. And so we parked, we're walking up to the building to go inside. And there are these two guys standing in the parking lot next to a truck. And one of them is like starting a phone call. The other one's just kind of standing next to him and he looks at us and he goes, Hey guys, welcome. How you doing? And I look up and I look at this guy and I'm like, that's Rodney Scott. Oh dang. And I have never been that starstruck as an adult. i I was like almost speechless. I literally put my hand up and I went, Hey.
00:26:08
Speaker
And like Marlene for at first was like, Who is that guy? And as we're we keep walking a little while a little further, and I'm sure he heard me, and I was like, that was Rodney. And I have seen a share of celebrities. like I have had run-ins with a share of celebrities in my adult life. You met Grant Morrison? I met and interviewed Grant Morrison in person, yes. Yeah. i've I interviewed Kathy Ireland for would my newspaper job when I did that.
00:26:41
Speaker
Uh, like I've, I've run into other celebrities. I've seen, you know, tons of celebrities at cons and stuff, you know, and it arguably Rodney Scott is only a celebrity to a subset of very small subset of people, but I am one of those people. Uh-huh. And so when I saw Rodney, I was like glowing for the rest of that day. it It made my trip. I was so happy. It was a good trip overall, but like seeing Rodney Scott, man. that's i mean That is that is a a a blessing. It was. It was a blessing. like well what's what's ah what's a I guess the opposite of a bad omen is just a good omen, but a blessing truly to be visited by by Rodney Scott.
00:27:37
Speaker
Saint Rodney. Marlene was kind of like, how do you know what he looks like? And I was like, I have seen so many videos of that dude's in, where he's talking about making barbecue. ah Yeah, I would identify him instantaneously. ah So ah that was a very cool thing that happened. All right, Chris,
Gaming Recommendations and Road Trip Music
00:28:00
Speaker
time for some recommendations. What do you have to recommend? Well, Matt, I do not really have anything new to recommend because in my free time over the past week, ah I've been ah replaying a bunch of survivorses so that I can accurately fill out the spreadsheet with things like how many characters are in there and what the mechanics are. ah But I will say a couple of the ones that i I know that I've mentioned before on the show and that I even give a little recommendation to in the spreadsheet
00:28:33
Speaker
I've gone back to and they have been, I have played them for longer than it would take me to write the review. ah One of which is, one that I hadn't played in a while, ah Crafty Survivors, ah which is still in early access. ah They're still adding characters to it. i'll I mentioned in the spreadsheet that it is maybe the best executed twist on the genre. that I have played, ah because it is the one that is kind of like, what if Stardew Valley was a survivors? And the gimmick is that every character plays differently, ah but they're all thematically based on the, there's a village and they are the the people who live in this village. So there's a chef, there's a tailor, a fisherman, a blacksmith,
00:29:28
Speaker
You've played Stardew Valley. You know the kinds of people. And all of them have different mechanics based on those skills. ah Lumberjack, a farmer. It's got so many really good ideas ah that mostly are done really well. I love the aesthetic. It's just a really, really fun game. And since I first talked about it here on the show, they've added a ah bunch to it. So ah if you are ah looking for a strong recommendation for a non-vampire survivors-like,
00:30:04
Speaker
ah then by all means, go check out Crafty Survivors. It's such a fun time ah with, again, really great character designs, really clever twists on on mechanics, like in the way that ah in the way that Hades used, oh like, drunk instead of poisoned, for instance. ah it It does stuff like that with ah With the status effects that you inflict based on being a tailor for instance ah Very very fun game. I really enjoy it. And I think you probably will too still in early access so not completely finished but Very very playable plenty of hours of fun to be had in that game um Matt what is your recommendation this week? Well, Chris I was on a road trip for
00:31:02
Speaker
the last few days, and which meant that there was a lot of listening to music in the car on the way and all the way back. um In addition to playing ah the games we always play in the car on the way there, which is um we did some 20 questions, but our favorite game to play is this is kind of a mini recommendation. um It's called French toast.
00:31:30
Speaker
Are you familiar with this game, Chris? I'm very unfamiliar. I know that when you and I go on trips, we do a lot of 20 questions. We do, specifically about wrestlers, 20 questions. ah The French toast is sort of like 20 questions, but more abstract. So the game French toast is played where somebody thinks of a thing, like in 20 questions, And then the other person tries to guess it by guessing, by asking a question where it's, the first question is, is it more like French toast or, and then you ask if it's more like another thing. So you might say, is it more like French toast or more like a car? Right. And then the person who thought of the thing has to say, whether it's closer to French toast or a car.
00:32:23
Speaker
And so they let's say that they say it's more like a car. Then you ask the next question, is it more like a car or is it more like this other thing? Some other thing you think of. And you try to narrow it down until you get closer and closer to what the thing is. And then you eventually guess it. And it is fun. That's an interesting game. It's a fun road trip game that Marlene and I play all the time, but nonetheless. Marlene has gotten really into Chapel Rhone over the last few months. Yeah bud! And I um like a lot of the songs from the album, The yeah the Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Like, plenty of those songs are really good. um But Good Luck Babe, which is the new Chapel Rhone song, which I assume will be on an album coming up soon, that song whips.
00:33:19
Speaker
like It is almost impossible to get out of your head. And it's real good. um I'm gonna have to check that out because let me tell you something. Hot to go is a fucking certified banger. ah You can take that to the bank from two 41 year old men. Hot To Go fucking whips. Well, go listen to Good Luck Babe. it is If it's an indication of what her new album is going to sound like, it's going to be real fucking good. I was actually watching the video for Hot To Go today on on on You Cathode Ray Tube. I
00:34:03
Speaker
ah Down beneath the video, it had a thing that was like, oh, here's Chapel Rhone's closest show to you. Now, keep in mind that I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Right. It told me that the closest Chapel Rhone show to me, coming up, was at the Township Auditorium in Columbia, South Carolina, a building where I saw ECW twice. Wild. and That's wild. I would... I gotta say, that is a great building to see Chapel Rhone. It was, I think, ah tonight, ah Thursday the 13th. If you are a a South Carolinian who got to go to that show, I bet it kicked ass. That's a great building. I i would love to go so that I can say that I have seen Shinsuke Nakamura and Chapel Rhone in the same place.
00:34:59
Speaker
I'm looking at that video on you, Catharine Ray Tube, right now, and it's telling me that the nearest event to me is in Seattle, Washington. I think this might be broken. No, that's that's the next one, which is wild that she did Columbia. It's not nearest then, it's just next. Yeah. Because like the one after that is, I think, in Dublin. Yeah, yeah.
00:35:28
Speaker
But it's they're very spaced out. The Seattle show's is not till July and the Dublin show's in September.
00:35:37
Speaker
Yeah. Maybe we should, Matt, should we? Folks, if we get to $6,000 a month on Patreon, Matt and I will go to Dublin to see a chaperone. We will play the French toast game.
Comic Book Discussions: Transformers, Blood Hunt, and More
00:35:55
Speaker
All right, Chris, those are Jackson Rex, which means it's time to talk about some comics. I just want to say that would be a kick-ass bonus episode. Sure would. The winner of this week's Textures Choice Award is Transformers No. 9, in which... Buddy... Optimus Prime eats a pile driver. but Yeah, uh, uh... Shockwave is going to get fined for that. That's not legal. to You can't. That's not legal. It's like a tombstone. It's a tombstone.
00:36:36
Speaker
Is it a tombstone? It's a tombstone. Wow. Yeah, it is. He gets him like up over the shoulder. Yeah. Yeah. it I've got so many Undertaker jokes fighting to come out of my mouth right now.
00:36:55
Speaker
it's ah It's a wonder he's not wearing a nine-line t-shirt. Is that one of his gifts? He goes, like, you'd think that would be the end of Optimus Prime, but ah then Shockwave's like, nah, we go in school.
00:37:12
Speaker
ah Also, Optimus Prime, for his part, does hit a strong Masahiro Chono style Yakuza kick. The second one of those in this book, ah I believe, Yeah. He's, he's fully like turning to the side, follow through with this one. It's good. It's good stuff. I got to say I like this book a lot. I like the story of it. I like what Daniel Warren Johnson has been doing with it. and Like it is, it is a high action, but also like a good story with a human element that like
00:37:52
Speaker
draws emotion out of you as a reader. like There are lots of reasons to love this book, and yet i'm so often I read it, I'm going to be i'm just like, what wrestling move is he going to put in this issue? Yeah, I feel like I don't want to give this book short shrift or or faint praise by just being excited that it's got Transformers doing wrestling moves. Cause it's very good. Yeah. As you said, it's like it craft wise, it's, I mean, Daniel Warren Johnson was good at making comics before he was into pro wrestling. True. So it's a, it's a good comic that is very enjoyable and like has some real suspense to it and is just really well done. But yeah, like, like that is the,
00:38:45
Speaker
it is It is the draw for me. like What's not the draw? It is the icing, I guess. it is certainly Certainly the icing, yeah. it's It's the thing I look forward to with this book for sure. it's It's a great book and I i love it, but like I love the story. It's actually got pathos and like good payoffs. and With Spike in this book, and yeah the the thing where he's with the the nice Decepticon, who's like, I feel bad for you. I'm not gonna lie, you're gonna get tortured. Yeah. Like, that stuff's really good. And, you know, like like you said, high action, just like really well paced, well, well done action. Very good stuff.
00:39:36
Speaker
I do have one singular complaint. Is it that instead of making undertaker jokes, we should have talked about the true master of the Tunestone Pile Driver, Steve Mongo McMichael?
00:39:51
Speaker
that it that That is not my complaint, but it is an interesting note. I do not want to give Russ Wooten the letterer of this issue too much of a hard time, but Oh, here comes another pen to Matt Wilson rant. Also, uh, David Warren Johnson is not listed as the artist of this issue. It's Jorge Corona. Oh, Jorge Corona. Yeah. I see that now. Uh, who is very, very good. Yeah. Great work. Uh, none, nonetheless. Um, but anyway, I thought we were so past the letters, Ellen, I becoming a you in comic lettering.
00:40:35
Speaker
It happens so many times in this issue. There are so many places where that dude's name is Cuffjumper.
00:40:49
Speaker
Oh, could be worse. Could be worse. But i would his name could have been, uh, his name could have been Clickjumper. Yeah. Yes. But it's weird, right? Like,
00:41:05
Speaker
It's weird that that still happens. I mean, that's... I feel like that is almost unavoidable with that font. It is the font, for sure, yeah. Yeah. ah but But Russ, just put a a little extra space between those two letters. yeah i I wonder if... I wonder how much time, because Russ wouldn't have a veteran letter at this point. Oh, yeah.
00:41:41
Speaker
There's no way I could sit here trying to tell that guy how to do his job. Yeah, he's but I do wonder if there has been a time where he like was playing with the kerning and he was like, it just looks weird if I make it, like it only makes it worse. Yeah, it creates a different problem. I can see that, yeah. Up next, we're going to talk about Blood Hunt number three, which is a fun issue in many ways. It does feel like Blood Hunt at this point, because it's a five-issue series with lots and lots of tie-ins by Jed McKay and Pepe Larraz. It does feel at this point that we're just delaying the reveal of who Blade really is.
00:42:25
Speaker
I also feel that. like I feel like that is a reveal that should have happened this issue. yeah But instead we go with the thing of this is where Brielle finds out that that ah Blade is the one who did all this. yeah yeah And so obviously that's setting up the reveal of who Blade really is coming up soon. it does It does cause one of my favorite arguments that have that has happened so far, which is that the the person that reveals that to real is Dracula. Yeah. Which leads to several people being like, who are you to talk? You're fucking Dracula. yeah I think Miles and Morales in particular goes, you're fucking Dracula. There's one point where Miles Morales just tells Dracula, shut up. And that made me cheer.
00:43:27
Speaker
i I very much enjoyed. I love that this is a universe in which Dracula exists, but also like all like all the Dracula stuff also exists. Yes. Like they've got Castlevania in that universe. I bet he's pissed about it too. He probably is. He's like, they got me all wrong. it Well, they they got him right before anyone else because he had the long white hair. Yes, this is Marvel Dracula with the long white hair, which... but know I'll accept it, but it's not. It's incorrect, but I'll accept it. I don't like it. And I don't like that the last time we saw Dracula in Avengers, he was like all old. Like... He was kind of like Gary Oldman at the beginning Dracula looking. Right. But with the long hair, like that was, ah that was an okay Dracula look. But like now he's buff again. Like he was when he fought the X-Men. I don't know, man. I don't know.
00:44:41
Speaker
Bring back mustache Dracula is what I say. Bring back the real Dracula. Put Dracula back in his real clothes and give him his mustache. Yeah. Yeah. The mustache is novel canon. Absolutely.
00:44:57
Speaker
Anyway, Blood Hunt is fun. Blood Hunt's very fun, yes. This might be my least favorite issue so far just because the Blood Coven is not in it so much. Yeah, ah yeah there's there's nothing in this issue that sounds like it was said in an issue of Warriors of Plasm. But I am enjoying Blood Hunt very, very much as an event. a it's a good time. Speaking of which, ah the last issue we're going to talk about is Fantastic Four, number 21, which is a blood hunt tie-in where Reed Richards and Alicia Masters take a trip, just the two of them, to the ah Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tomoma, because they have a
00:45:51
Speaker
ah an installation of art that is specifically for blind people, like reproductions of artworks that people can touch. So blind people can go to a museum and experience art. Yeah, which they've done it will experience like specifically paintings paintings. Yes. Yes. Uh, like ah it is mentioned that these are like 3d, uh, like recreations of like the Mona Lisa that people can touch and experience the art in a new way, which I thought if that's not something that's real, that's a very cool idea. I feel like it almost has to be something that's real, but, um, nonetheless, it leads to a conversation between Reed and Alicia.
00:46:36
Speaker
about Reed not being sure that he can actually experience art because Alicia is like moved to tears by the Mona Lisa, right? And so Reed is like, well, I've never been moved to that degree emotionally by a piece of art. So I don't know if I actually can, ah like, do I appreciate art? Like, i amm am I a person who's capable of that? And he and Alicia have a really interesting conversation about that. And then they all get attacked by vampires. Yeah. So this issue had some stuff that I really liked. And then it had Ryan North doing something that is beneath him. ah By the way, this is this is Ryan North writing with Ivan Fiorelli doing the art. Yes.
00:47:26
Speaker
um i the The fun thing about this issue is it is the standard Ryan North Fantastic Four issue, where there's a science problem that is solved with science. Yes. ah Like we've been getting since the relaunch, which I think is great. And i I like the entire way that that all plays out, I think is very, you know, it is as clever as this book ever has been. And it's well done. Here's what I don't like. Reed Richards doesn't believe in vampires. There's a whole thing in here a bit where he's like,
00:48:02
Speaker
these These are vampire-like people, but they they can't be vampires because vampires don't exist. But Reed Richards lives in a universe where Dracula has a country. Yes, yeah. People, like, everyone knows about Dracula. He has met Blade. He's like, Reed Richards has been to fucking heaven, dude.
00:48:29
Speaker
Like, I, this is a thing that I hate when it happens in comics. Because it's like, like, putting aside any of my personal views, like, there was a ah thing in DC Comics back during, I want to say like, Dave Judgment or something, where it was talking about ah Mr. Terrific being an atheist. And I'm like, well, then he's a fucking dumbass. Cause, cause he made his first appearance. Michael Holt first appears in the specter. Like, right. Like, I'm sorry. You, you can't be, you can't be ah like, if you are smart, you have to like, even Batman is like, yeah, I fight ghosts sometimes.
00:49:27
Speaker
Shit's a wild. Here's the thing. In in the real world, skeptics, I mean, look, there are some dumbasses who are skeptics. I'm not saying all skeptics are smart people, but there are a lot of smart people who are skeptics, right? Yeah. In a comic book universe, you can't do that because skeptics are smart in that they won't believe something without evidence. There is ample evidence in the Marvel Universe for the existence of vampires. Yes! And it's not like, but like Reed going, going like, okay, well, these are like the creatures of folklore known as vampires. It's like, no, these are vampires and anything that is folklore that is, that is not right is folklore being bad.
00:50:23
Speaker
Right. Like, is that getting it wrong? Because vampires fully exist. Again, Reed, you've been to heaven.
00:50:33
Speaker
You've been to heaven. You know Dr. Strange. And if like, and Reed can believe it's like, oh, this is just like a parallel set of natural laws or whatever. But like, the motherfucker knows magic is real. And I like, Again, love Ryan North. I have nothing but love for Ryan North ah and his comics, but it's like, come on, man. Come on. But overall, very fun issue. ah No, an absolutely fun issue. This is this is a this is a minor complaint that is a that even other people in the book roll their eyes at, like Alicia's like,
00:51:19
Speaker
You've met Ghost Rider. Yeah, at least I thought it was very funny. Reed. They're vampires, come on. Yeah. But it's just like, Reed should be smarter than that, given the world in which he lives. Right. to be To be a skeptic in our world is a sign of intelligence. To be a skeptic in the Marvel universe makes you a dumbass. Yeah. But you know, like, so and I don't know if sign of intelligence is the right way to put it, but yes. Yeah. like it's all right It's reasonable to be a skeptic in this universe. It is not reasonable to be this kind of skeptic in the Marvel universe where you know Dr. Strange. All right, Chris. Doom's a fucking sorcerer. He sure is. He's his arch enemy.
00:52:11
Speaker
Chris, it's time to get raw. What do you say? I'm already there, baby. there was no sign no dreaming of me and my bra live like a man but i'm animal rough Here's our first ah submission. All right, I've got the spreadsheet pulled up. I am ready to discuss some very raw moments. All right, here we go.
Iconic Comic Book Moments Analyzed
00:52:31
Speaker
Our first one is from Greg Pacnet. The submission is Wonder Woman stabbing her own eyes out with Medusa's hair snakes. Which is from Wonder Woman Volume 2, number 210. Uh, yeah, that kicks ass. Yeah. Here's here's what I will say though. um Wonder Woman does not stab her own eyes. She, uh, tears the stakes out of Medusa's head and then squeezes their venom into her eyes to blind herself. Which is honestly even more badass. Yeah, which is fucking rad as shit. Yeah.
00:53:08
Speaker
Uh, yeah, no, that run is underappreciated. I agree. Look around. I agree. It's, it's one of my favorite runs on Wonder Woman, like kind of undeniably. I don't know. Maybe, maybe I am just living a life where, where that run isn't talked about as much as I feel like it should be, but it's a, it's a good one. It's a solid run. I think there are. multiple Greg Rucka runs on multiple books that are not talked about as much as they should be. Yeah. Cause you know what, I will, I will stand up for the, uh, the run with shan mon Sean, Sean Martin, bro on detective comics, like during the, the, the new Gotham era circa 2000,
00:54:07
Speaker
A deeply unappreciated ah run of comics. Top of the Sasha Bordeaux run? Yeah. That's it. That's good stuff. I will say this about ah Greg Rocker runs. I think all of them are good, except for the mean men.
00:54:27
Speaker
And that one should have worked. And I don't think any of us know why it didn't. It was a great attempt. Yeah. Try to do something different. but I mean, that's the thing. yeah You could do something different with it almost every character except Wolverine. Wolverine's always got to be that guy. Always got to be Wolverine. Always got to be that guy. Yeah. that Because that one's not bad. like but but You don't read that one and and go like, wow, this is really stinking up the joint. It's fine, but it's it's also not
00:55:06
Speaker
a good Wolverine run. This Wonder Woman run though? Where Wonder Woman squeezes Medusa's steak venom into her eyes so that she can fight Medusa? Yeah, I mean- Fucking brat! So she doesn't get turned to stone by Medusa. She squeezes venom in her eyes to blind herself and then she cuts Medusa's head off. Yeah! And it whips ass. And everybody's watching it on TV. Yeah, I forgot that everyone is watching it on TV. Yeah. It's appointment television. And also the end, like the end of that issue is raw as fuck because, okay. So Medusa and Wonder Woman are battling or dueling inside like a baseball stadium. Yeah. And, um,
00:55:58
Speaker
Wonder Woman has to have on like a blindfold. Well, first she has on her helmet covering her eyes and Deuce is like, I'm taking off your helmet and you're going to turn to stone, but she's wearing a blindfold under that. So she fights her for a little while, blindfolded, and then ah she manages to cut off a couple of the snakes, but the blindfold gets removed. So Wonder Woman has to turn away, but then she just grabs one of the snakes and squeezes the venom into her eye, both her eyes, and she cuts off Medusa's head. And then the last panel of the issue is she's just like kneeling down with over Medusa's headless body, and she just says, I win. Yeah, man. That rips. That, like,
00:56:50
Speaker
That's such a good, like, I win. That fucking rules. Yeah. ah I love a fight where someone, like, does a thing to themselves. And then like, and then it's like, okay, now we can really fight. Like that's such fucking shonen manga shit.
00:57:13
Speaker
Cause at that point, if you're Medusa, how are you not just like, yeah, all right, I see which way the wind's blowing on this one. All right. Okay. I tap. I tap out. Yeah, man. That shit's good. That's like,
00:57:33
Speaker
I don't know if I want to say it's the high point of the Rucka run, but it's definitely one of the high points. I absolutely think it's the high point. Like it is. If I think of that run, I think of that, uh, that cover. Yes. That isn't like a JG Jones cover. I think JG Jones did most of the covers during that run. Uh, he, and he did the ones like prior to that too. It was, uh, him and Adam Hughes did a bunch in that era, which are actually like the Adam Hughes ones aren't bad either. Yeah, but it's it's like Wonder Woman and being attacked by the snakes, and she's got her helmet on, and yeah, you can see that she's in a baseball, in a ballpark. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, oh that shit kicks ass. And the the fact that you and I both immediately were like, oh yeah, we know that we know that moment. Yeah. That's a good one. Ain't nothing like that in the mean man. Ain't nothing like that in the mean man.
00:58:32
Speaker
You think the Mean Man will be full of ass off? the The thing about the Mean Man is... It's... It's trying to to do something different with Wolverine, but it's something that's already been done with another character. Because it really feels like the NS Punisher ring of Wolverine. Yeah. Very much so. But anyway. ah That has nothing to do with this Wonder Woman run, which which whips ass. And that that moment specifically whips ass. Fucking... with snakes. I mean, it gets pretty raw after that when she just has Medusa's head all the time. Yeah. And she like uses it as a weapon. getting Yeah, yeah. Yeah. What what are we doing? Top 10? Right now number 10 is Snake Eyes catching ah the sword bare handed, which I do think
00:59:30
Speaker
is probably not. This is probably stronger, yeah. I think it's below Magneto putting Red Skull in a hole, but I'll leave it up to you as to whether or not it's better than Trunks whipping Freeze's ass in front of Freeze's dad. Damn, it is in front of his dad, is the thing.
00:59:58
Speaker
Like, these are very interesting kind of opposite moments, right? Yeah. Because one of them is the the hero doing something like being like, well, if it's more dangerous for me to have my eyes, I'll fight you without them. Which is just bad as hell. Yeah. And this is just like, right oh, this is the guy who killed all the Saiyans. Okay, well, I'm gonna just whip the shit out of him in front of his dad. Yeah. Well, so Trunk's appearance is the start of a feud, right? Yeah. Where the guy who was the big bad in the last feud gets beat to put over a new guy, right? Yeah.
01:00:54
Speaker
this is And why by the transitive property put over the new guys that are even more dangerous. Exactly. This is the end of a feud. This is the Texas Deathmatch. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. yeah like I mean, it's the WrestleMania 17. It's the OMR. It's Wonder Woman's One More Around. Yeah, we're gonna put this at the new number nine. All right, the new number nine is Wonder Woman blinds herself with snake venom ah to whip Medusa's ass. And she does it. Boy, does she do it. Is that a, who did you save for that one? Is that a Nicholas Scott issue?
01:01:44
Speaker
ah No, i it was ah Johnson. Drew Johnson. Drew Johnson, yes. Yes. Interesting um array of artists on that run. Sean Phillips did some art on that run. Yeah. If you recall. I do recall. All right. Here's our next moment, Chris. It's from Ryan Beelich.
01:02:11
Speaker
And it's Nova pulling Annihilus's guts out of his mouth at Annihilation No. 6. Aw, no, that shit fucking rules. it the The line is, I'm thinking your flapping jaw is the gap in your armor. This is for billions dead by your hand. This is for Nova Corps. Yeah, no. Yeah. This is not just like what ah like the most badass thing Nova has ever done. It's the most badass thing I think maybe any cosmic Marvel character has ever done. It's pretty, it's pretty fucking raw. It's like... The thing is, like, okay, so that the thing where, like, Annihilus' guts get pulled out, uh, it's two-page s spread.
01:03:00
Speaker
and And... I mean, it it it's raw as hell, like... the The sound effect is crunch-ack, and Annihilus is going like, but his guts look disgusting. Yeah, man. He's a locust man from the negative zone. It's just a bunch of pink goop. I mean, well, generally, Matt, that is what most things guts look like. That's true. there's That's a fair point there. I feel like
01:03:33
Speaker
This sounds so 2006 Marvel Comics, right? Oh, it is. And it kind of is, except it's good. Except it's good, yeah. And i mean one of the reasons that it's good is that like even reading all of Annihilation and even like you know having a book that is so heavily like themed around this like big cosmic destruction and like entire planets getting destroyed, like You don't expect Nova to win by punching his hand into Annihilus's mouth and pulling him inside out. Yep. Like, cause Nova's got like, you know, he, he like shoots, shoots like lasers out of his hands, right? Like he's got powers, but no, this, it is a, it is a literally visceral moment. And
01:04:33
Speaker
And unlike some other moments we have on this list, Nova doesn't do a victory lap after this. He collapses immediately. Yeah, man. Because he's fucking wrecked as well. Yeah. And I like that this isn't just like, there's so many characters who got to do like cool stuff in their own book. you know yeah that like never was really brought up anywhere else. You and I love fucking third string Marvel and DC characters. We know all about somebody doing something cool in their own book that never gets brought up anywhere. But like this has become Rich Rider's defining moment. like They talked about it in X-Men Red.
01:05:22
Speaker
like identity Like, people talk about it, they're like, oh yeah, that's fucking Nova. That's the dude who fucking tore Annihilus' guts out. yeah Like, it it it made him a badass. I mean, and so much of Annihilation made Cosmic Marvel cool and interesting again, right? like Yeah, very much so. Keith Giffen, give Keith Giffen not all the credit for that, but a whole lot of it. Like Keith Giffen and Andre DeVito, who did the art. Yeah. And Adi Granov, who I believe redesigned that Nova suit, and then, uh, Adnan Lanang, who, uh, came in and did, uh, the Guardian stuff that's been out of that, like, annihilation was good. But like, Giffen was really the architect of a lot of it. And especially in violation itself. Yeah.
01:06:21
Speaker
I think that's why, despite that moment feeling very 2006, it's of the same time period where over in DC, the new atom was getting stabbed through the gut on panel. Yeah. And upsetting me so much. Being put in a matchbox? Disgusting.
01:06:50
Speaker
But that wasn't, that was 2010. So it's a couple years later. I consider it all part of the same. It is of a piece, I think. Orbit. And it's certainly like, you know, annihilation was contemporary with, you know, on one side of the aisle, civil war, and on the other side of the aisle, uh, uh, identity crisis. So that- Okay. This was coming out at roughly the same time as infinite crisis, right? So, so like, so like, why is this good in Psycho Pirate getting his head punched through? Not. Because this is a payoff of a story and not just random, gross violence. You know? Yeah. It's it's cathartic and it's visceral and in the metaphorical sense. And it's like, you and I are
01:07:49
Speaker
are two people who like violent comics. Sure. I don't have a problem with violence. I have a problem with violence with no meaning. Yeah. but that doesn't That doesn't, you know, progress the story that doesn't pay off an emotional beat. Yeah. If it's there for no reason, what's the point? We don't like Berserk in spite of its violence. We like this because it's violent. but but But also the violence is part of a grander story. like It's cool and and fun to read because it all means something. Yeah. Yeah. And I think Annihilation it is the like one of the few events that really paid this off.
01:08:47
Speaker
It's good. It's really good. And this is ah this is a very, very cool moment and a very, like, it's a, I mean, it's a character defining moment. It changed Nova for the next 20 years at least, if not forever. For sure. I mean, it, did Annihilation changed essentially every cosmic Marvel hero into something else. Yeah. um But Nova, and Nova was among that group for sure. Yeah. And that's, I think that might be like, if, if you've ever wondered why Matt and I love third string superheroes so much, it's cause like, if nobody really cares about you, you can do a lot. ah You can get real fucking weird. Yeah. And you get stuff like annihilation.
01:09:41
Speaker
out of it. Um, here's the problem with this moment. And again, I'm going off memory here. Matt, I think you've got the, the issue open. Uh, yes. Uh, Anialis' dad isn't there, is he? No. Yeah. So it's probably not as good as Trunk's showing up from the future and cutting Frieza the fucking half. Thanos is there, but not, uh, not Anialis' dad. I mean, going by Marvel timeline, like thematically, Annihilus is more Thanos' dad than the other way around. Yeah. All right, where so where do you want to put it? I mean, I i would it all i would put it... I would probably put it beneath Thor hitting the Midgard serpent so hard he breaks every bone in his own body. Yeah.
01:10:39
Speaker
but you could talk me into putting it, I could go as high as ah number 11, which would again be above Snake Eyes, below Trunks. I think it's below Midgard Serpent. I think it's below Batman putting the close down. I think it's above Anton Arcane. Okay. So that makes it the new number 16. Ah, yeah.
01:11:12
Speaker
We are one away from having a nice number of entries on this list, by the way, Chris. Nice. Are we? Are we? Oh, that's right. We have 68 on here. Yeah. So. This is the list that should have 316 entries.
01:11:32
Speaker
That's true. If we have to keep it going. That's when we'll stop this. We yeah we are only at 69. when we do the next one. And we've been doing this for a year and a half. Yeah, well, I mean, Matt, I'm having fun. All right. Who was the artist on Andre DeVito? Andre DeVito, yeah. Keith Giffen making a second appearance on the list would not have ah necessarily have ah picked him as well a writer of Rawls. Keith Giffen good. Keith Giffen good.
01:12:12
Speaker
Keith Given Good. All right, here's our next submission. It's from Dan Black.
01:12:19
Speaker
And it is, when God Doom, all caps, sub-zero fatality Thanos in Secret Wars number eight, ripping his spine and skull out of his body. Uh, yeah. You know what's good? You know what's good as hell? Secret Wars 2015. Yeah, it's it's good. but That is a that's a good comic book. And i like I did personally financially benefit from it. Which is one of the reasons it was so good. But i aside from that even, it's good as hell. You know what's funny? We just ranked a moment where
01:13:11
Speaker
Annihilus got ah his insides ripped out and Thanos watched. And this is a moment where Thanos gets his insides ripped out while Annihilus is watch watching. Man, it's it's but sometimes you eat the bar. Sometimes the bar is to you. That's right. Sometimes Dr. Doom shows up with god powers and just fucking fatalities Thanos. His fucking white cloak.
01:13:43
Speaker
Uh, the setup to this is so fucking good. Uh, cause Thanos or somebody's like, hey, you're a weak god, a pretender. You should bow before me. And Dr. Doom goes, hmm, do you have an Infinity Gauntlet right now? And Thanos goes, no, but I'm still Thanos. For you, that's enough. And that's when Dr. Doom punches his hand through his chest and tears his spine and skull out and goes, that appears untrue. Yes. Yes. Do you have an infinity gauntlet right now?
01:14:23
Speaker
No? Okay. Oh, Sierra Wars is good. He wrecks that, dude. He fucking owns that dude. Yeah. Uh, and this is after like a, it like a whole, a whole Secret Wars 2015 of, of Dr. Doob, of Thanos being like, yeah, I'm going to get him. I'm going to get him. Like he's the one who asked Ben Groom what time it is, you know? He sure is.
01:14:59
Speaker
He didn't get you didn't get a map. He gets got. He gets got. He makes a particular mistake. ah Runs his fucking mouth? He runs his fucking mouth and he steps to doom instead of continuing to kind of pull the strings behind the scenes, which was what was working for him. yeah and And then he gets all his bones ripped out. All his damn bones. Yeah. His whole skeleton. He just literally, he just falls to pieces. Yeah. He turns him to dust. Yeah. He turns his body to dust and tears his bones out.
01:15:43
Speaker
so
01:15:50
Speaker
God. Love it when, love it when a raw moment just makes me laugh. That's like, I think that's a great indicator of raw, like the best raw moments are kind of funny. Yeah. if If it's those moments that like you can't think about without smiling because it's just, there is a delight to it. Yeah. Oh yeah. This is, this is a good one. That's i honestly, I, again, it's the difference between,
01:16:26
Speaker
A violent moment in a comic that's just, like, gross and depressing, it makes you feel bad.
01:16:34
Speaker
And a raw moment that makes you go, fuck yes. Yeah. Like, even, like, even Scourge at Gallibrew, like, I wouldn't say that makes me laugh, but it does, like, I am, like, hell yes. It's, no, that mo-, that one's sad. That one's sad. Which, which is... an interesting thing to have at number one here because so many of the other moments are like about positive feelings, right? But scourge, scourge is one that you'll think about and like, tear up. And that's as good, like,
01:17:12
Speaker
I just think ah such a key component is the emotional reaction you have to it. It's the, it's the head, the heart and the gut, right? Yeah. Yeah. Like it's gotta get you, it's gotta get you in one of the three. Preferably two of the three and ideally all three, but yeah, all three is very hard, but if you can get two, that's pretty good. Yeah. Like after, after scourge, I don't think, there there's certainly nothing in the top 20 that doesn't make me smile for some reason. Like Magneto and ah Tarn and Sunspot and ISCA and X-Men Red. That shit is fucking great and like- It'll get you in the gut because it's so like cool.
01:18:09
Speaker
But that's the ultimate thinker-raw moment? Yes. It's just so clever. It's so smart. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, this is a good one. This is a good one. I mean, I was gonna say Thanos' dad isn't there, but I did just say that thematically Annihilus is kind of Thanos' dad. Yeah, you got yourself there. I did get myself there. Damn. It's pretty good.
01:18:40
Speaker
It's pretty fucking good. Is it, is it as good as Wonder Woman blinding herself with snake venom to fight Medusa? Is it as raw as that? Cause like, I think there is something uniquely raw to like, I'll take the hit. Like that's the Wolverine thing, right? Like I'll take a hit. Now it's my turn. I kind of think, I kind of think no, because Wonder Woman, what makes that Wonder Woman moment so raw is like, I will fuck myself up to fuck you up. Yeah. you know It's a dode real ah real real cactus jack. Yeah, Doom doesn't have to do that. Doom can just reach in and pull pull a man's bones out.
01:19:29
Speaker
Yeah, it is it is a demonstration of of power, but like again, the build up to it, and the build up, not just in this book, but I think a thing that that Hickman really, really got in terms of scripting this, is that like my mom knows who Thanos is. Yeah. you know yeah like that's That's even more true now than it was in 2015. Yeah. but yeah like In 2015, we all knew Thanos was going to be the big bad of the Marvel movies. Yeah. oh And that he was going to be a big deal. And then here's Dr. Doom being like, fuck this guy. Yeah. he He was the big bad of the Marvel movies when everyone was watching the Marvel movies. Yeah. Not so much now. And now they don't know who the fuck their big bad is going to be. So. I mean, it's probably going to end up being Dr. Doom.
01:20:24
Speaker
I guess, and unless they recast Kang, which I guess they could do, but... Boy, Kang fizzled out, huh? I mean, he was Kang, man. It's that guy's own fault. It's that guy's own fault. That one sucks too, man. Yeah. ah well Anyway, I think it's very similar to Gaze Into the Fist of Dread. It is. Doom is no ordinary man, for sure. I'm still inclined to give it to Trunks. I would put it below Trunks. ah Yeah, I would. Then I think it's it's the new number 11. The new number 11, okay.
01:21:09
Speaker
yeah so Dr. Doom pulls Thanos' bones out. Our next submission, Chris, is from... You know what else is great about that scene? Please tell me. that Then the next thing that happens is the fucking black panther shows up and he does have an infinity gauntlet Yes, yes oh so it's It's like oh dr. Dr. James like I get this motherfucker cuz he does have an infinity gauntlet Well, guess who does yeah, then here comes fucking black panther who's a black panther and also the king of the dead and
01:21:48
Speaker
The shit where the king of the dead stuff comes back in Secret your Wars. oh So good. i Like a lot of writers came together to revitalize Black Panther in the 2000s and 2010s, but hickman Hickman is part of that group for sure. Yeah. but All the Black Panther stuff that he did in FF was like really fucking good. Yeah. I mean, we got to, again, we got to read that, do a big reread of the Hickman Avengers run, which is very Black Panther centric. ah So anyway, after the Jurgis, Hickman is running wild.
01:22:37
Speaker
Okay. and but they We have, it's been decided. Hickmania. I don't know what the, I know the listeners have had some plans for us, but I think, I think Hickmania is running wild. All right. Here's our next submission. It's from Patrick O'Duffy, the boss dog. And Patrick says straight up, it's not a moment from Berserk folks. Send in Berserk Thursday Night Raw moments, please. The list isn't done until we get some Berserk on here. But it is a submission from the highest highest ranked manga on the Every Stairway Ever list, Pluto. Uh-huh. Can I guess? I'm waiting. Is it the shit where the piano robot takes his jacket off? No. It is not working.
01:23:28
Speaker
It is not where a piano robot takes a jacket off. I mean, he's a robot that plays piano. He's not a piano robot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's from volume five when the robot detective gesict protects a robot hating human from another robot hater with a rocket launcher by shooting the goddamn rocket out of the air ah before it hits them. Yeah, that's just pretty cool. It's pretty good. Yeah, it's pretty cool. It's not when the piano robot takes his fucking jacket off, though.
01:24:04
Speaker
It's pretty good. Hang on, I'm gonna go to the shelf. I'm gonna grab this one. Okay. Yeah, good go grab it. It is a good moment that is like beautifully rendered. like Yes. Just absolutely gorgeous artwork of a dude blasting a ah missile out of the air in front of him. Yeah, man. I'll tell you what's good is Pluto. Fuck yeah, man. Pluto? About as good as it gets. That's comics, baby. That's comics, baby. It's fucking great. Yeah. It's got the piano robot.
01:24:56
Speaker
I wish I could remember. I think that's North number two is the name of that robot. Uh, yeah. So this dude fucking, this dude shows up in this wild, like robot, like anti-robot Klansman outfit. Yes. It's not subtle. Yeah. But like just that, That aspect of it is is truly bonkers. But yeah, the reason this happens is because Gesicht... Gescht? I always called told him Gescht when I was reading it. I think it's Gesicht, but um I don't know for sure. ah He has a gun arm because he's a robot detective. Matt, you know about robot detectives.
01:25:52
Speaker
I'd know a thing or two about robot detectives, yes. you're But not not like, not like that bonus content stuff you wrote.
01:26:02
Speaker
Bonus. Yeah. Uh, but he's very like, uh, asimov three laws, so he can't shoot the guy. He can't kill a human. Right. So when the dude shoots the rocket, that's, he can't shoot the guy. He shoots the rocket instead. And they're like, if, if we have not mentioned this, they're like 15 feet away from each other. Yes. So he takes that hit. And then he just walks up on this dude and, uh, knocks him the fuck out with, yeah with hypno gas. Yeah. Yeah. He shoots, for he shoots, he shoots that missile out of the air. Like, like three feet in front of him.
01:26:52
Speaker
Yeah. Like, it's so close. But it doesn't knock him back because he's, you know, big, heavy robot guy. Yeah. but when the When the smoke clears, he's standing there in the same pose. Just his suit is all fucked up and he's like missing an eye. Yeah. It's pretty fucking good. oh Yeah. It's not as good as when that robot takes his jacket off though. That's fair. That's fair. o
01:27:23
Speaker
Everybody takes a jacket off that shit gets. that's the That's maybe the best part of Pluto. It's pretty fucking good. Yeah. But this is also good. This is good. No, I mean, it's everything in Pluto is better than most other comics. Yeah. Yes, correct. Correct. I don't know what like, I don't think this quite gets to the stuff we're talking about. Cause at the end of the day, I think the, the biggest flaw with this one is it is kind of a, kind of a standard action moment in terms of, in terms of like, you know, big explosion and the guy's still standing there and he hasn't, you know, he's, he really hasn't been hurt that much.
01:28:14
Speaker
Uh, but like the set up for it and like the, the theming behind it is all very, very good. Well, it's, it's, it's, it's demonstrating something about. Get sicked as a character, right? Like it's, it's, we've had five volumes up to that point. So like, or four volumes up to that point. So like, we know a good amount about him by this point, but we're learning more about him now. and like that he will protect people and and put himself in harm's way even though he's not actually harmed to to defend against you know these horrible people. yeah We're getting to know him. That's right.
01:29:10
Speaker
ah Getting to know love about him. Robot detective. Uh, it's good. It's good.
01:29:24
Speaker
All right. Solid. Solid for sure. I would call it solid. Yeah. Um, which we are now at 69 entries at nice entries. This is going to put us above nice entries.
01:29:40
Speaker
That means the halfway point of the list is between Batman vs. Prometheus round 2 at 34 and jusse ki Jesse Custer fighting Jody at 35.
01:29:55
Speaker
I kind of feel like this goes exactly there. Yeah, I kind of think that too. I mean, is it is it above Magneto putting pulling Wolverine's adamantium out of his body, which is at 37?
01:30:12
Speaker
I mean, that's pretty good.
Speculation and Future of Comic Adaptations
01:30:16
Speaker
Hey, also, Chris, if you haven't seen X-Men 97, the cartoon yet, uh-huh, they do it. I didn't know they did that. They do it. I, I have gotten up to the one where, um, the, the tricentenal attacks genocia. Yeah. Yeah. And I've been like, Hmm, Seems like this continuation of the 1990s X-Men animated series is bringing in some Grant Morrison shit. an Interesting tactic. And then I had to stop watching it and go take a walk. They bring in a lot of stuff. If fucking Cassandra Nova shows up, I'm gonna lose my goddamn mind. she's She's not in this season. I'll tell you that straight up. Okay. Because like they because I know, because she's gonna be in that fucking Deadpool movie where the plot is that she's gonna try and censor Deadpool.
01:31:07
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. That's a hundred percent happening. Yeah. That's a hundred percent happening. You can, you should see the look I'm giving my microphone right now. You can, you can picture it. I'm sure. I'm sure I can. Uh, no, but like there's a lot, like the amount of comic book storylines they get into those 10 episodes of X-Men 97 is out of control. I mean, yeah, that's how the that's how the cartoon was. I will say, I have liked all of the X-Men 97 that I have watched. It's been very enjoyable. Bodebeo pretty good, I gotta say. Bodebeo, who wrote the majority of that show, ah pretty good. and And they do it in the show, the the thing ah with with
01:32:05
Speaker
Magneto and Wolverine.
01:32:09
Speaker
ah Anyway, do you think it goes about with that? I mean, Magneto, Riff, and Wolverine set a man-to-man was pretty fucking badass. It sure, it it really is. I'll tell you who does a lot of badass shit, and that is, that is, I think I said these exact words on our last episode, but oh Eric, Max, Magnus, Magneto,
01:32:34
Speaker
Eisenhower luncheon. Just done some real bad up stuff.
01:32:43
Speaker
Like John Cena, he's a bad man. he No shit. No kidding. where where Where are you looking, Matt? I think it could go below, just below Magneto taking the adamantium out of Wolverine's body. Fadily attracting it? Yes, he he fatally attracts it in that issue. Agreed.
Reflecting on Podcast Journey and Future Plans
01:33:10
Speaker
So this makes this the note number 38.
01:33:15
Speaker
Gasext, the robot detective, shoots a missile out of the out of the air. Like, just in front of him. Good stuff. I think that's it. I think we're out of time now. We've only done like two. We've done more than two. We've done like five. All right. I believe you. god I have so much fun doing these with you. It's ah it's a blast. And this is why we only have 70 entries because too much fun. We have too much fun. And we're not stopping until we get to 316.
01:34:01
Speaker
I guess that's what we've decided. It will continue until morale improves. At least until we get some moments from Berserk. So people submit those.
01:34:15
Speaker
but If I'd like to... Yes. the Sidebar with me here. What's your pick for the most badass moment in Berserk? The Skull The Skull Knight crashing through the eclipse. The Skull Knight crashing through the moon is pretty fucking good. yeah But there's like a lot of fucking stuff that would qualify for the raw list. I mean, when Guts gets that sword for the first time. The dragon slayer. Yeah, when he sees it. And then the next thing you see is him like fucking basically chopping the book in half. Yeah. For fucking good.
01:34:54
Speaker
Um, it's also great when, uh, he kills a hundred men. He does kill a hundred men. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like it pretty much any time he shoves his metal arm into someone and then shoots a cannonball out of it. There's a low key raw moment that I told you about recently that I like had to like message you about. where they're breaking Griffith out of um the dungeon that he's been put in.
01:35:29
Speaker
and Yeah, and guts stabs like the the jailer is like you can't possibly step through this door It's reinforced seven times. and There's no way I've locked it and there's no way you can step through this door And then guts just stabs right the fuck through that door Yes, the jailer at the end of his sword and he just tosses him down the pit and I'll tell you what is fucking the real rawest shit that happens in Berserk. Yeah. Is, uh, when Griffith... When he kills the queen? When he kills the queen? Yeah. And he says that on the battlefield there's only the victors and the dead? Woo! Woo! That's pretty fucking raw. Shit is tight!
Contact Information and Humorous Outro
01:36:21
Speaker
All right, we're we're doing dessert cast right now, the strugglers. but This is a struggle cast right here. yeah got you Folks, you got a mini episode of the struggle cast just now. If you would like to send us a raw moment to rank, ah send it to our email address, which is warrockitpodcast.gmail dot.com. ah You can also get in touch with us on Tumblr, we're at warrocketpodcast.tumblr dot.com, we're on Blue Sky at warrocketajax.bsky.social. ah You can also join our Discord. You have to be invited to be a member of our Discord, but if you ask us for an invitation, politely, we will get you one and you can go join that beautiful and lovely community of people.
01:37:06
Speaker
You should go join over there. You can go see the picture of me in my stone cold vest early. I want get i want to get that poster sized. That should be next year's shirt. Just a picture of me? Just a picture of you in the stone cold vest. I don't like the idea of my face being out there that much. I think we should redo the 100% pure rattlesnake shirt, where Stone Cold's arms are turning into snakes like he's master pandemonium, hu ah but with you. i i that That I would happily do. i would And your arms are turning into Harrison and Eleanor? That is a... And it says 100% pure kitty cat? If anyone is willing to paint that,
01:38:03
Speaker
I will pose. and And Matt will pose nude, regardless of whether you require that. But you must make the art tasteful. Yes. I want... Ever since I saw that picture of Don Callis with the centaur, I want that so badly. With us? for With us, yes. yeah theyve they've They've reduced some of the Don Callis art lover content, and that should come back. It should absolutely come back. Anyway, Matt, please do the outro to the show. I'm sorry I keep distracting you. It's okay. Our website is warrockinajax.com. It is every episode of the show we've ever done, so if you want to listen to every episode of the show we've ever done, there they are.
01:38:58
Speaker
WarRockitWiki.com is the fan repository of all the information you could ever want and need about WarRockit Ajax. ah So go check that out and and get the good info there and see the good hat. If you want to find me and my stuff, go to MattDWilson.net where you can find links to my comics, my books, my other podcasts, and my social medias. Chris, where can people find you? Everybody can find me by going to the-isp.com. That is my website, and it has links to all the stuff that I do. Hey, we are only a couple weeks out from the release of the Downset Fight 10th Anniversary hardcover ah that is available to order at your local comic book store and online as well. um And if you are in the area, I think I'm going to be doing a signing at at the source.
01:39:46
Speaker
a really great comic and game store here in Minneapolis. So I'll let you know once we have those details settled. But if you haven't read Downset Fight or you want to see it in its new format, full comic size in a beautiful hardcover with a new cover by Scott and some bonus material by me and Chad, then ill pick it up. It's a good book. i it I'm proud of it. It's a good book.
01:40:15
Speaker
ah You should be proud of it. It is a good book and everyone listening to this this who has not read it should read it. Alright, that's it for this week's episode everybody. Join us next time when I think we're gonna be talking about some jerkies and having a lot of fun with those. Until then, do not forget Black Lives Matter. Trans rights are human rights. As are abortion rights. Drag is not a crime. And cops aren't your friends. But we love you. We love you.
01:40:46
Speaker
Step forward, everybody!