Original Air Date
- May 11, 2024
Part 1 Begins
Hero Song (3:26)
- “Son of a Son of a Sailor” by Jimmy Buffet (R.I.P. in 2023)
Superhero Smash (0:30)
- You’re listening to Superhero Smash!
- Featuring the best in “Superhero Music and Comic Book Lore”
- Focusing on current superhero movies and popular culture events
- I’m your host, Dr. Gian Pagnucci, a.k.a. The New Professor X
- Playing great music about superheroes as well as music that is featured in superhero movies and shows
- Also talking about comic book history and heroism
- But no matter what cool stuff I discuss, you don’t have to worry because this is a NO SPOILERS show!
Audio Episode Theme: IUP Spring Break and the DC Spring Breakout! (3:00)
- It’s spring break at IUP, so of course, we just had a big snowfall
- DC Comics is set to reboot its cinematic universe next year
- The DCU will begin with Superman in 2025
- The film had been tentatively titled Superman: Legacy, but director James Gunn has retitled it simply Superman
- David Corenset will be playing Superman in the film, replacing Henry Cavill
Heroic Instrumental Theme Music (4:24)
- “Superman” theme song by John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra
Collector’s Item Classic Comic Book (2:00)
- DC Spring Breakout #1
- Publication Date: April 30, 2024
- Publisher: DC Comics
- 80-page giant
- In the tradition of the DC and Marvel Christmas holiday specials
- 8 different stories
- Price: Only $9.99 but sure to climb in value after being featured on Superhero Smash
- Lots of great DC writers and artists
Spring Break Song #1 (6:14)
- “Batdance” by Prince from the Batman feature film that premiered in 1989
- Including a few lines from Michael Keaton as Batman, Jack Nicholson as the Joker, and Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale
Part 1 Ends (@20 minutes)
Part 2 Begins (@15 minutes)
Show ID: Superhero Smash (0:30)
- WIUP FM 90.1
- The best alternative music in the DC Cinematic Universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and our Universe too!
- Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
- Or email Professor X using the address superherosmash2024@gmail.com
- I love to get listener’s input
Superheroes at the Academy Awards (4:00)
- Last night was the 96th Academy Awards ceremony
- Next month I’ll be hosting a guest on Superhero Smash who is a voting member of the Academy, IUP alum Susan Burig
- I’ll tell you more about that guest appearance later in the show
- Susan, I’m sure, is a vote who supports superhero movies
- But sadly, those voters are a minority in the Academy
- Mostly the Oscar ceremonies have been full of frustration and disappointment for superhero fans
- Neither The Dark Knight nor Avengers: Endgame were nominated for Best Picture despite being two of the finest films ever made
- In fact, people were so outraged that The Dark Knight was not nominated for an Oscar, that after The Dark Knight was snubbed, the Academy expanded the Best Picture category, eventually settling on 10 films instead of the 5 nominees typical in most of the other categories
- Black Panther was the first superhero film ever to be nominated for best picture, but of course it did not win either
- Nor did Chadwick Boseman win a posthumous Oscar, another travesty
- At least Heath Ledger
- And Joaquin Phoenix both won for playing different versions of The Joker
- Yes, a lot of frustrating disappointment
- There was a great scene last night, however, when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito, who both had played Batman villains (Mr. Freeze and The Penguin) got to make pretend threats to Michael Keaton who was sitting in the audience
- Of course Keaton had reprised his role as Batman and was the one standout element of the otherwise disappointing The Flash film from last summer
- But last night brought a big win for superhero fans everywhere
- Robert Downey Jr. won Best Supporting Actor for portraying Rear Admiral Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer
- Interestingly, Downey was up against Mark Ruffolo, a.k.a. The Hulk, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor as Duncan Wedderburn in Poor Things
- Thor actor Chris Hemsworth was there too, although he was giving out an award not nominated for one
- I love Downey, but I was disappointed that he didn’t give a little shout out to his role of Iron Man which of course made him a mega star
- As a teenager, I was both a big movie both and collecting Iron Man comics and a bunch of titles
- Years before the first Iron Man movie came out, I had always thought that Robert Downey, Jr. should play Iron Man
- He even battled with alcoholism as Tony Stark did in the comics
- So in honor of Downey’s win…
Academy Awards Song #1 (4:15)
- “Back in Black” by AC/DC which is featured in the opening scene of the first Iron Man movie
Monsters at the Academy Awards (2:00)
- And while I am recognizing comic book heroes, there was another one honored at the Oscars last night
- Godzilla had a fun comic book run from Marvel
- And last night, the makers of the film Godzilla Minus One won Best Visual Effects
Academy Awards Song #2 (3:41)
- “Godzilla” by Blue Oyster Cult
Injustice at the Academy Awards (2:00)
- And while there were some big wins for superhero fans last night, there was one moment of injustice
- The best animated film of the year, the best animated superhero film of all time, and one the best superhero films of all time, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, did not win Best Animated film
- Obviously the voters hadn’t watched the movie or they would have seen some of the most amazing animation ever done for a film
- At least Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won Best Animated Picture in 2019
- So no matter how much the Academy didn’t get it right, Spider-Man is a winner on Superhero Smash
Academy Awards Song #3 (2:04)
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” by Jared Moreno Luna and ORCH
Part 2 Ends (@37 minutes)
Part 3 Begins (@37 minutes)
Show ID: Superhero Smash (0:30)
- WIUP FM 90.1
- The best alternative music in the DCU, the MCU, and our U-niverse too!
- Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
- Or email Professor X using the address superherosmash2024@gmail.com
- I love to get listener’s input
Long Lost Hero VILLAIN: King Shark (3:00)
- In the DC Spring Breakout, one story has Harley Quinn breaking King Shark out of the Belle Reve prison
- If you have watched Harley Quinn on Max (formerly HBO), you will know King Shark is a hilarious character, quite cerebral but also prone to a bloody appetite
- He is played to perfection by Ron Funches
- You absolutely must watch the show if you’ve never seen it
- It is so funny but also very moving at times
- There is a great song called “Prisoner” by James Arthur, but unfortunately there isn’t a clean version, and Superhero Smash is a family friendly radio program
- I tried finding a good shark song but those are in short supply too, but instead I’m going to focus on the fact that Shark King and Harley are villains and play a great beach pirate song
Spring Break Song #2 (3:45)
- “Pirate Flag” by Kenny Chesney
Spring Break Shenanigans (3:00)
- In the comic, Superman teaches how to train for spring break
- He’s not really known for partying, but there are a bunch of heroes who are, The Teen Titans
- DC Spring Breakout #1 features a story where the Titans head to the beach
- Who knows what sort of shenanigans the Titans will be getting up to
- You won’t want to miss it
- And that gives me an excuse to play one of my all time favorite superhero songs, the Teen Titans fight song
Spring Break Song #3 (1:38)
- “Go” from Teen Titans Go! To the Movies by the whole Teen Titans Go! Cast: Greg Cipes (Beast Boy), Scott Menville (Robin), Khary Payton (Cyborg), Tara Strong (Raven), & Hynden Walch (Starfire)
Romantic Interlude (1:00)
- In the DC Spring Breakout comic, there is a story about Superman training for spring break
- It might be tough to live up to those muscular standards
- But in the end, Lois Lane loves Superman more for his big heart than his big muscles
Holiday Romance Song #1 (2:54)
- “Best at Loving You” by Michael Franti and Spearhead
- I saw them perform last summer in Pittsburgh, and they are phenomenal
- A great spring break beach sound
To Be Continued Next Issue (2:00)
- Same Bat Time, same Bat Channel…
- In April
- I will be featuring an actual member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
- Susan is an IUP alum who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design
- She has appeared in 3 films as an actress including Mad City which co-starred Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta and also produced the film Christmas in Compton
- Her main claim to fame, though, is as a graphic designer for movies
- Susan has done graphic design for many Marvel films including being the Lead Graphic Designer for Avengers: Endgame
- I’ll be doing an interview with her which will be broadcast in early April
- My interview with Susan Burig will be right before her guest appearance at an exhibit at the IUP Museum on April 11
- To get the date and time of my interview broadcast with susan, go to my website pagnucci.org and click on the big Superhero Smash button
- Or send me an email: SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com for more information
- And don’t forget
- “You don’t need superpowers to be a hero. The only thing it takes to be a hero is the courage to do what’s right when someone needs your help.”–Gian Pagnucci
Time to Start Spring Break (3:00)
- Finally, I’m headed to North Carolina to visit my parents
- Loyal listeners may remember that my sister, Anna, is an Art Professor who was on Superhero Smash this past summer talking about the costumes in Black Panther
- It’s supposed to be warm in North Carolina, so I’ll try to bring some sunshine back with me
- But to help everyone get into the spirit of IUP’s spring break, I thought I’d better warm things up with a little Beach Boys music
- The Beach Boys song “Help Me, Rhonda” is actually featured in the fantastic show WandaVision
- If you haven’t seen the show, it’s amazing, unlike anything else you’ve ever seen
- But “Help Me, Rhonda” isn’t a great spring break song, so instead, I’m going to feature the amazing “Good Vibrations”
- Brian Wilson used 90 hours of tape to make the song, recording the loops over and over to get them just perfect
- Costing between $50,000 and $70,000, it is one of the most expensive songs ever recorded
- On Oct. 10th, 1966, it reached #1 on the charts and went on to become the Beach Boys’ first million selling single
- So here it is…
Spring Break Song #4 (3:43)
- “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys
Part 3 Ends (@60 minutes)