Original Air Date
- May 23, 2024
Part 1 Begins
Hero Song (3:15)
- “Sunshine Superman” by Donovan
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: Captain Britain (1:00)
- Marvel hero Captain Britain
- Gained his powers from the wizard Merlin
- Tomorrow is my son Loughlin’s birthday and he just returned from a trip to England and is helping me out as my music producer this morning
- So I’m featuring music by English rock bands as we talk about this English superhero
- I always like to start with a superhero theme song
- In this case, though, I’m going to stretch to play a hero theme song: One of the greatest theme songs of all time…
Heroic Instrumental Theme Song (2:53)
- “The James Bond Theme” by John Barry
Collector’s Item Classic Comic Book (4:00)
- Captain Britain first appeared Captain Britain Weekly #1 , published in the United Kingdom
- Publication Date: October 13, 1976
- Value on eBay $272 (CGC 9.0)
- In the United States, Captain Britain first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #65
- Publication Date: 1978
- Publisher: Marvel Comics
- Value: $35 on eBay
- Written by Chris Claremont
- Penciled by John Byrne
Captain Britain Song 1 (4:42)
- “Great British Hero” by The Soldiers
Part 1 Ends (@18 minutes)
Part 2 Begins (@18 minutes)
Show ID: Superhero Smash (2:00)
- WIUP FM 90.1
- The best alternative music in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC 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
- Next week I’ll be featuring a special interview with Jon Engle who is the Promotor for 3 Rivers Comicon
- 3 Rivers Comicon
- Taking place in Pittsburgh at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on June 1-2
Captain Britain’s Origin Story (5:00)
- Enfari’s Syndrome: Captain Britain
- Courtesy of the Rusty Staples Comics Blog
- According to the Rusty Staples website, “Blond-haired, blue-eyed physicist Brian Braddock is a junior assistant at a nuclear power plant in Darkmoor….The plant is attacked by armoured men under the leadership of a shouty villain who announces himself as Joshua Stragg — the Reaver! Braddock alone escapes, but his
motorbike is forced off the road and crashes in a very explody fire. Seemingly mortally wounded, Braddock crawls away from the fiery flames and hears an ethereal voice that leads him to a clearing where two enormous ghostly figures — an old man and a young woman — hover over two large stones, one bearing a sword, the other an amulet. The old man tells Braddock that he ‘must choose the amulet or the sword… life or death — for thee… and, mayhap, for thy WORLD as well!” Since the pre-flashback pages have already shown us Captain Britain in full costume, we know that he chooses the amulet so that’s not much of a cliff-hanger, but it’s still a very strong opening, with three action sequences in only seven pages.” - Braddock choose the amulet and does become Captain Britain
- The old man is the wizard Merlin of King Arthur’s court
- Brian Braddock may not have believed in magic, but the magic was real
Captain Britain Song 2 (4:22)
- “A Kind of Magic” by Queen
- Queen’s “Bicycle Race” talks about Superman, but I’ll save that for the Super Family show I’ll be doing later this summer!
Captain Britain Travels to the States (4:00)
- In Captain Britain #16, the UK comic, Captain Britain fights Captain America
- But as I mentioned earlier, Captain Britain’s first appearance in the U.S. was actually in a Spider-Man comic
- Peter Parker was attending Empire State University
- Peter had some interesting roommates while he was a college student
- At one point he got a roommate named Brian Braddock who was an exchange student
- Much better than his roommate Harry Osborne who became the Green Goblin
- He also roomed with Johnny Storm a.k.a. The Human Torch
- In the Marvel Team-Up story, the heroes fight the villain Arcade who traps them in a giant pinball machine
Captain Britain Song 3 (3:03)
- “Pinball Wizard” by The Who
Bonus! Origin Story: Rocket Racoon (4:00)
- “Waiting for Superman” by Daughtry
- 1st appearance of “Rocky” Racoon: Marvel Preview #7
- His origin story was told in The Incredible Hulk #271 where we learned that “Rocky” was short for his real name, Rocket
- From Wikipedia, “Rocket Raccoon acts as the “Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant”, an area of outer space sealed off from the rest of the cosmos by the so-called Galacian Wall. Rocket is captain of the starship Rack ‘n’ Ruin, and he and his first mate Wal Rus (a talking walrus) come from the planet Halfworld in the Keystone Quadrant, an abandoned colony for the mentally ill where the animal companions were genetically manipulated to grant them human level intelligence and bipedal body construction for [them] to become caretakers of the inmates. Rocket was Halfworld’s chief law officer (“ranger”) who protected the colony against various threats.”
- That origin story was also based on this song by The Beatles
Free Comic Book Day Song (3:33)
- “Rocky Racoon” by The Beatles
Part 2 Ends (@44 minutes)
Part 3 Begins (@44 minutes)
Show ID: Superhero Smash (0:30)
- WIUP FM 90.1
- The best alternative music 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
Long Lost Movie: The Spice Girls Superhero Animated Movie (3:00)
- I never thought that a Guardians of the Galaxy movie could be a hit, but it was
- Reports surfaced a few years ago that the Spice Girls were going to be featured in an animated superhero movie
- This was reported by movie insider magazine Variety, among other sources
- All 5 band members were going to voice their parts and each Spice Girl would have her own super girl power to fit with the movies theme of Girl Power
- The Spice Girls had reported that they were “fired up about the idea” about the project
- Sadly, so far that film has still not been made
Free Comic Book Day Song (2:56)
- “Wannabe” by Spice Girls
Romantic Interlude: Captain Britain and Meggan
- The Vulpine named Meggan Puceanu, AKA Meggan, and Brian share a long-term romantic relationship and travel the world together, later marrying. They co-founded the British superhero team Excalibur
- The Vulpine were a species of sapient furred mammals found on the planet New Blenheim
Romantic Superman Song 1 (4:44)
- “All for Love” by Bryan Adams and featuring Sting and Rod Stewart from the heroic film The Three Muskateers
To Be Continued Next Issue (2:00)
- Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel
- Next week I’ll be featuring a special interview with Jon Engle who is the Promotor for 3 Rivers Comicon
- 3 Rivers Comicon
- Taking place in Pittsburgh at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on June 1-2
- 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
End Credits Song (3:50)
- “Brown Sugar” by The Rolling Stones
- Featured in Episode 8 of Daredevil Season 1
Part 3 Ends (@60 minutes)