Original Broadcast Recording
- For a limited time, you can listen to a recording of the original broadcast of Superhero Smash—Audio Issue #27: Ant-Man
Original Air Date
- July 11, 2024
Part 1 Begins
Heroic Opening Song (2:54)
- “Small Town Hero” by Blaze Foley from Live at the Austin Outhouse
Superhero Smash: Season II (2:00)
- You’re listening to Superhero Smash: Season II!
- 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!
- Contact me, the new Professor X, via email: SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
Audio Episode Theme: Ant-Man (3:00)
- This week I’m featuring that small but mighty hero, Ant-Man
- At one point there was a popular meme about Ant-Man circulating
- It goes like this:
- “And then I said, let’s make an Ant-Man movie”
- Because if you can make an Ant-Man movie, you can pretty much make anything
- Which is exactly what Marvel did, took Ant-Man and made a great film out fo
- Ex-convict Scott Lang is played with such heart and charm by Paul Rudd, that you really can’t help but love him
- And so, when Marvel decided to make Ant-Man into a movie, they pulled it off and made one of the best films in the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
- Today on Superhero Smash, I’ll be talking about Ant-Man in the comics and films
- I’ll also be playing songs about small things, like my opening song “Small Town Heroes” by Blaze Foley
Superhero Smash Special Guest Star: Professor Amelia Bowdell
- Amelia is Nationally Certified American and Sign Language Interpreter
- She has taught for 19 years and is a professor of interpreting and translation
Superhero Theme Music (2:46)
- “Theme from Ant-Man” by Christopher Beck
Collector’s Item Classic Comic Book (1:00)
- Open Door Effect
- Ant-Man first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27
- Publication Date: January 1962
- Writers: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber
- Artist: Jack Kirby
- Great story title, “The Man in the Ant Hill” with a cover showing a tiny man surrounded by giant ants holding him in their pinchers
- Value on eBay $1,170 (CGC graded 4.0 on a 10 point scale)
Ant-Man Song 1 (4:31)
- “Ants Marching” by Dave Matthews
Part 1 Ends (@15 minutes)
Part 2 Begins (@15 minutes)
Show ID: Superhero Smash (0:30)
- WIUP FM 90.1
- Featuring the best superhero music and comic book lore in the Marvel Universe, the DC 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 hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans!
The Origins of Ant-Man (5:00)
- I mentioned that my friend Dr. Joseph Croskey asked me to do this special Superhero Smash episode on black superheroes
- He told me I had to talk about a group of new black superheroes that were created in the 1990’s by Milestone Media
- “His history was largely a litany of failure, always changing guises and switching back and forth from research to hero-ing because he wasn’t succeeding at either,” Jim Shooter, a former editor-in-chief at Marvel, wrote on his website, explaining Pym’s shortcomings. “He was never the Avenger who saved the day at the end and usually the first knocked out or captured.”
- Right from the beginning, Ant-Man was a troubled hero:
- According to Wikipedia, “Dr. Henry “Hank” Pym was a Biophysicist and Security Operations Center expert who decided to be the original Ant-Man, a superhero after the death of his first wife Maria Trovaya who had been a political dissident in Hungary. Falling in love with him and believing that his American citizenship would protect her, Maria traveled with Hank to Hungary shortly after their marriage to start their new life together. Unfortunately they were confronted by corrupt agents of the secret police. Hank was knocked unconscious and Maria was murdered. Pym was greatly distraught by his wife’s death, and decided to do whatever he could in the future to battle injustice. After discovering a chemical substance, which he called Pym Particles, that would allow the user to alter his size, he armed himself with a helmet that could control ants. After that, Pym would shrink down to the size of an insect as the mystery-solving Ant-Man, solving crimes and stopping criminals.”
- Ant-Man was a founding member of The Avengers, but his powers were far less impressive than those of Thor and Iron Man
- In the article, “Ant-Man: A Brief History of Marvel’s Most Important Third-String Hero,” by Alex Abad-Santos of Vox, we learn that Hank was constantly having problems:
- “His history was largely a litany of failure, always changing guises and switching back and forth from research to hero-ing because he wasn’t succeeding at either,” Jim Shooter, a former editor-in-chief at Marvel, wrote on his website, explaining Pym’s shortcomings. “He was never the Avenger who saved the day at the end and usually the first knocked out or captured.”
- Marvel continued this trend when the brought Ant-Man to the big screen, introducing Scott Lang as Ant-Man
- In the comics, Scott was a later incarnation of the hero
- Scott isn’t even a brilliant scientist like Hank, who is also in the film and played by Michael Douglas
- Scott is an ex-convict who is trying to stay out of trouble and impress his daughter
- Let’s play a song, and then I’ll be back with my special guest, Professor Amelia Bowdell to talk about Ant-Man
Ant-Man Song 2 (2:00)
- “Ants Go Marching” (3:53) by CoComelon from Nursery Rhymes
Ant-Man and the Deaf Community (1:00)
- My special guest star is Amelia Bowdell
- Amelia teaches American and Sign Language interpretation
- She also is a Ph.D. student in IUP’s Graduate Studies in Composition and Applied Linguistics Program
- And this is a great time to give a shoutout to all the students in the program, including the students in my English 833: Teaching Composition doctoral course
- These doctoral students are here for a month in the summer taking in person classes before moving to remote classes during the academic year while they are teaching
- Amelia is here to tell us how Ant-Man is unique among Marvel films in its work to reach the Deaf Community
- Amelia, please also explain to listeners what we mean by the “Deaf Community”
Superhero Smash Guest Star: Amelia Bowdell 1 (5:00)
- Amelia on Ant-Man and signing
Ant-Man Song 3 (3:35)
- “Small World” by Idina Menzel, who is famous for singing “Let It Go” in Frozen
Superhero Smash Guest Star: Amelia Bowdell 2 (5:00)
- Humanities Special Issue: “The Power of Superhero Literature: Applying the Lessons of Superheroes to Real Life”
- I am currently Co-Editing a Special Issue of the journal Humanities
- I am Co-Editing this Special Issue with my good friend Sandy Eckard, Professor of English and Writing Studio Director at East Stroudsburg University
- Amelia will be publishing an article in the journal about Ant-Man
- Scott Lang is always struggling
- He’s lost his wife in a divorce, he’s worried about impressing his daughter, he can’t get a decent job because he is an ex-convict, and he can’t control his powers very well, plus he keeps getting knocked down by Hope Van Dyne (played by Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym’s daughter and eventual Marvel hero The Wasp
- Amelia, it can be challenging having a hearing impairment, so it’s great that Disney actually worked to reach the Deaf Community
- As an American Sign Language teacher, can you give us just a little insight of how people who have hearing impairments get by and how people can work to be more understanding of them?
Ant-Man Song 4 (3:45)
- “Little Wonders” by Rob Thomas
Part 2 Ends (@40 minutes)
Part 3 Begins (@40 minutes)
Show ID: Superhero Smash (0:30)
- WIUP FM 90.1
- Featuring the best superhero music and comic book lore in the MCU, the DCU, 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 hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans!
Superhero Smash Guest Star: Amelia Bowdell 3 (5:00)
- Some people have been saying that Marvel had a good run, but the superhero craze is over
- Still, even though he’s a little guy, Ant-Man has been fighting bad guys for over 60 years
- And, when Thanos destroyed half of the beings in the universe and all hope seemed lost, what hero was there to put the Avengers back on the track to saving everyone? Ant-Man
- Ant-Man may be small, but he’s still a vital member of the team
- Amelia, it’s been great having you on Superhero Smash today
- How about to wrap up, say a word or two about teamwork
- Why Ant-Man matters as a teammate and how deaf people can make important contributions as team members too
Ant-Man Song 5 (3:45)
- “Little Victories” by Sean Forbes
- Sean Forbes is a deaf hip-hop musician from Detroit
- I learned about him from a blogger named Corey Tomey, who is a writer of dark literary fiction, Founder of Heartmason Publishing in Connecticut, and also deaf
- Tomey’s blog makes no bones about how good he thinks Forbes’ music is: “Sean Forbes’ ‘Little Victories’ Album Is Out. BUY IT NOW.”
Part 3 Ends (@48 minutes)
Part 4 Begins (@48 minutes)
Show ID: Superhero Smash (0:30)
- WIUP FM 90.1
- Featuring the best superhero music and comic book lore in the MCU, the DCU, 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 hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans!
Romantic Interlude: Ant-Man & The Wasp (1:00)
- We have just enough time to celebrate Ant-Man and the Wasp’s love story
- In the comics, Hank and Janet got married in Avengers #60,
- Their marriage was very troubled and eventually they divorced
- In the movies, Scott and Hope have a better relationship, fighting side by side and falling in love
- So let’s focus on that positive romance with this song
Super Romantic Song (3:26)
- “Little Bit of Love (Live at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, 2012)” performed by Jack Johnson, Paula Fuga. & John Cruz
Superhero Smash To Be Continued Next Issue (2:00)
- Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel
- The Hollywood writer’s strike slowed production on superhero films, so there are not too many coming out this summer, but we are getting a few:
- Deadpool and Wolverine is scheduled to premier on July 26
- Watchmen Chapter I of the new animated series is scheduled to premier on Aug. 13
- The Crow reboot is scheduled to premier on August 23
- Later this year, there will be a few others, though they are more about villains than heroes:
- Joker: Folie a Deux is scheduled to premier October 4
- Venom: The Last Dance is scheduled to premieron October 25
- Kraven the Hunter will close out the year when it premiers on December 13
- Contact me, the new Professor X, via email: SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
- And always remember: “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
Heroic Closing Song (3:42)
- “Small Town” by John Mellencamp
- Who was originally forced by his music studio to go by Little Johnny Cougar
- He then became John Cougar and then later added back his real name, John Cougar Mellencamp
- He’s changed his name almost as often as Hank Pym changed his superhero name, from Ant-Man to Giant Man, Goliath, and Yellowjacket
- When he thinks his second wife, Janet Pym is killed during the Skrull’s secret invasion of earth, Hank even becomes The Wasp to honor her passing
- John Mellencamp finally regained his true identity
- Let’s hope Hank Pym can do the same
Part 4 Ends (@60 minutes)