Superhero Ethics

If you try to understand why someone did something terrible, are you excusing it? Matthew Fox and co-host Paul Hoppe, a poker player and writer, look back on what more than 400 episodes have taught them and build a working framework for heroes, anti-heroes, villains, and anti-villains. Killmonger, Karli Morgenthau, Anakin Skywalker, and Finn all get run through it.Matthew traces the distance between “A New Hope” and “Andor,” where the rebellion includes thieves and Luthen calls himself a moral monster. Paul tells a Roger Clemens story about refusing to judge a life you haven’t lived, then pushes back when Matthew blames systems over individuals in “The Wire.” Underneath all of it sits one uncomfortable question: how sure are you that you wouldn’t have made Anakin’s choice?Full show notes and resources: https://trustory.fm/superheroethics/wrap-up-1-a-new-lens/**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and

Paul Hoppe’s mom checked MLB.com every day and never once stumbled on a story about the Women’s Pro Baseball League. Matthew Fox and Paul, a poker player and writer who watched the WPBL’s first season with her, look back at what the league delivered on the field and why so few people knew it existed. They also revisit Penny Marshall’s “A League of Their Own” to see how it holds up.Matthew traces the WNBA’s rise to the NBA’s backing and asks why Major League Baseball offered nothing comparable. Paul calls ESPN’s promotion gross negligence while cutting the shaky broadcasts some slack. Along the way come Mo’ne Davis’s first hit in league history, Ayami Sato’s championship shutout, and Paul’s firm belief that somebody should have walked Dottie. If nobody tells girls a league exists, who gets to blame them for not watching?Full show notes and resources: https://trustory.fm/superheroethics/womens-baseball/**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Supe

Walking away from a bad table is easy advice when you have money to come back with. Matthew Fox and co-host Paul Hoppe, a professional poker player and writer, spend the hour on what it means to be short stacked or underrolled. They open by remembering Tim Curry, Dolly Parton, Peter Cullen, and Hayden Panettiere, then Paul explains how stack size and bankroll hand one player power over another.That power gap turns up in rent due tomorrow, in lotteries, and in a hundred-dollar long shot that looks very different when it’s grocery money. Matthew reruns the order to nuke New York in “The Avengers” as a risk calculation, Paul insists on calling it what it is, and Scarlet Witch’s choice in Lagos gets the same scrutiny. When you only get one try, how much are you willing to put on the table?Full show notes and resources**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast

Every time you size someone up by their demographics, whether at a poker table or a police stop, you’re profiling them, and it’s worth asking why. On Superhero Ethics, Matthew Fox and Paul Hoppe dig into the different flavors of profiling, from the ways poker players read opponents to the much higher stakes of police profiling on the street.They trace how casinos and comic book movies lean on the same shortcuts, and where those shortcuts turn into real harm. Paul explains why the MIT Blackjack Team’s Asian card counters mattered to the story that “21” erased entirely, and Matthew connects it to how superhero comics decide which stereotypes a character gets to subvert. So how much of your own read on a stranger is actually information, and how much is just a story you already wanted to believe?Full show notes and resources: https://trustory.fm/superheroethics/profiling/**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda po

 On this episode, poker player and co-host Paul joins Matthew Fox to argue that quitting isn’t a moral failure, it’s a skill; one poker forces you to practice on every hand and superhero movies almost never reward. They test the idea against Steve Rogers hanging up the shield and Tony Stark’s gamble on Ultron.Paul walks through deliberately quitting the MCU and a Mets season gone bad, Matthew explains how fatherhood rewired what counts as quittable, and both admit to a guitar habit revived a little too aggressively. The real question underneath it all: if you’re not consciously choosing to keep going, are you really choosing at all?Full show notes and resources**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with our late

Would you cheer for a hero who tricks a Cyclops but never sleeps with a witch? Classics professor Adam Kemezis joins Matthew Fox to dig into how Christopher Nolan's Odyssey reshapes Homer's most cunning warrior for a modern audience, and what gets lost when three thousand years of moral complexity gets smoothed down to relatable and redeemable.Kemezis, who teaches Greek and Roman mythology at the University of Alberta, and Fox work through why the movie's Odysseus loses his cunning and his affairs while keeping  his violence intact, and how Emily Wilson's own translation, and her since-published critique of the film, shaped the conversation. Is a hero still worth rooting for once the trickery gets stripped away?Full show notes and resources**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sis

Dolly Parton let the world underestimate her for fifty years, then spent that underestimation as leverage every single time. Days after her death, comedian and "Make Me a Nerd" host Mandy Kaplan joins host Matthew Fox to talk about what she meant to them, using the workplace revenge fantasy "9 to 5" as the way in. They cover the movie, the songs that came out of it, and the choices Parton made with the fortune she built.Kaplan explains why she spent seventh grade being called "Dolly Parton" against her will, and how that shaped her relationship to the caricature Parton built on purpose. Fox digs into Parton's finances, her advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, and the choice to stop short of billionaire status despite having the means to get there. Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Mandy Kaplan: Make Me A Nerd**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast

“Lanterns” so far is more cop drama than cosmic weirdness, and comic book historian Jessica Plummer isn’t convinced the trade was worth it. She joins Matthew Fox to dig into the first two episodes of HBO Max’s new John Stewart and Hal Jordan series, working through what an adaptation owes its source material and where reinterpretation turns into replacement.They get into the show’s stripped-down approach to Green constructs, John Stewart’s rewritten comics backstory, and why the human sheriff might be the character worth rooting. Is this really a Green Lantern story, or just a good show wearing the name?Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Jessica Plummer: Website**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out more about this show and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.We want to hear from you! Keep up with

Should a beloved story get a sequel twenty years later, and does anyone actually want it? Matthew Fox and Paul Hoppe take on Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, the new Avatar Studios movie picking up with a grown-up Team Avatar, and neither host walked away loving it. They dig into what makes a "midquel" so hard to pull off, why aging up characters from a beloved kids' show is trickier than it looks, and who a movie like this is actually made for.Paul frames it as a simple question: who was this made for? Matthew traces it to Legend of Korra and a storyline the show never fully resolved. They get into the business side, voice casting, and animation too, and why this is nowhere near as bad as the 2010 live-action disaster, even if it's still not the story either of them wanted. So was this worth making, or just another trip back to a well-loved well?Full show notes and resources**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical P

Thanos says he “had to” sacrifice Gamora. Vader tells Luke it’s too late to turn back. Professional poker player Paul Hoppe joins Matthew Fox to dig into the sunk cost fallacy, the bias that convinces us that because we’ve already paid a price, we have to keep paying it, and to test that idea against real poker hands as much as comic book ones.They trace “don’t throw good money after bad” out of the casino and into relationships people stay in too long, then out further still, into the Pentagon Papers and a naval arms race that helped start World War One. Running through most of it is the same reason people won’t budge: the fear of hearing “I told you so.” Is staying the course ever actually the right call? Paul and Matthew push back on their own thesis before they’re done.Full show notes and resourcesGet Paul’s book, “Friday Night Is My Monday Morning, Volume One” (40% off with code SHE400): ZenMadman.com**************************************************************************This episode is a production of

What if the hero afraid of his own power is exactly what makes it easy to fear an entire population? Matthew Fox is joined by returning guests Will Freeland and Steve Stormoen of the “Hype Is My Superpower” podcast to dig into “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” Peter’s uneasy partnership with the Punisher, and how Bruce Banner’s fear of himself ends up doing quiet work in the movie’s X-Men subplot.The three trace comic references straight out of “Civil War,” “Ultimate Comics,” and the original “Brand New Day” storyline, argue about whether Jean Grey finally gets to be a character instead of a plot device, and dig into a scene where MJ takes back the agency Peter tried to take from her. Lastly, they get into whether we should evaluate this movie on its own or as the last MCU release before “Avengers: Doomsday.”Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Will Freeland: Twitch · Instagram**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical

What actually separates a poker player from a gambler? Professional poker player, coach, and writer Paul Hoppe steps in as Matthew Fox’s full co-host and the two spend this episode arguing over wagers, variance, and self-control at the table before turning it into a lens for superhero risk-taking.They dig into Nick Fury’s bet on New York, Kingpin’s long-shot gamble in the Spider-Verse, and a decades-long discussion between Matthew and Paul about variance that stretches all the way to how people misread election polling. So: is poker just gambling with better math, or something else entirely?Full show notes and resourcesGrab Paul’s book: Friday Night Is My Monday Morning, Volume One. Use that link to get a significant discount and help support the podcast at the same time.**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check out our website to find out

What happens once a society finds a way to turn a human body into an energy source, and decides that’s a good deal? Podcaster and TruStory FM co-founder Pete Wright joins Matthew and Paul to talk about “Lattice,” his debut science fiction novella, and the death penalty, corporate power, and family loyalty questions Wright built into its plot from the very first chapter.Wright talks about writing the book’s bones as a teenager and only now finishing it, while Matthew and Paul push on why the story never lets its villains twirl a mustache, they just sign off in a procurement meeting. They get into the Kobayashi Maru, the Batman choice, and a death penalty scene with no last-second rescue. What does it cost a person to have power and refuse to use it?Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Pete Wright: Website**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, an Ethical Panda podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Netwo

What do you owe to a culture that built you — especially when that culture is evil? Writer and poker thinker Paul Hoppe (ZenMadman) returns to Matthew Fox on Superhero Ethics to dig into R.A. Salvatore’s “The Crystal Shard,” the first Icewind Dale novel and the book that launched the 40-book Legend of Drizzt saga. Paul recommended it; Matthew finally read it. The question of who Drizzt Do’Urden is — a Drow elf who rejected his culture and built his own ethics from scratch — turns out to be exactly the kind of question this show was made for.They also get into the D&D debate that’s all over TikTok right now: is fudging dice rolls for narrative purposes cheating, or good storytelling? What’s the Session Zero conversation that prevents a campaign from falling apart? Is villain Akar Kessel a “power corrupts” story or a “power reveals” one? And when the halfling rogue Regis uses a magic pendant to brainwash bickering towns into uniting against an existential threat — is that manipulation, or just very effectiv

What happens to a friendship and a podcast over ten years and four hundred episodes? On this milestone episode, Matthew sits down with longtime guest Paul Christopher Hoppe, poker professional and author of ZenMadman’s Friday Night Is My Monday Morning Volume 1, to talk about what has changed since Superhero Ethics started in 2016 as a media project that doubled as a mental health lifeline.They get into how internet discourse has curdled, why "nuance" became a weapon instead of a virtue, and how right wing outrage around movies like The Last Jedi and Supergirl made honest criticism so difficult. Matthew and Paul also test whether arguing about values is ever worth it, versus arguing about methods with people who already share them, and float a brand new project built around poker, variance, and statistics. Is superhero media still the right lens for any of this?Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Paul Hoppe: Website**************************************************************************This episode is

Did Supergirl earn her killing of the already defeated villain, or did the movie just tell us not to worry about it? Matthew Fox is joined by returning guest Jessica Plummer, comics journalist and Book Riot contributing editor, to dig into Supergirl 2026, from the internet’s reaction to star Millie Alcock to whether the film’s ethics hold together at all. Jessica has been a Supergirl fan since long before the character’s 2000s comeback, and brings that history to bear on a film both hosts found entertaining but morally scattered.The conversation covers a sex trafficking subplot that gets dropped almost as fast as it’s introduced, a Lobo cameo with no real purpose, and a needle drop so literal it borders on parody. Matthew and Jessica land on the same verdict from different directions: a perfectly watchable movie that never figures out what it’s trying to say. So which is worse, a movie that doesn’t ask hard questions, or one that asks them and shrugs?Full show notes and resourcesConnect with Jessica Plummer:

In 1984, a group of London lesbians and gay men decided to raise money for striking Welsh miners, because Thatcher was going after both communities. Author Becky Allen joins Matthew Fox to dig into "Pride," the 2014 film about that real coalition, asking what made it work, what the film gets right about discomfort and solidarity, and why the fact that the strike ultimately failed doesn’t diminish what was built.They get into the film’s careful handling of the AIDS crisis, including a nightclub scene that never names what it’s about and doesn’t need to. They talk about Sian James, who went from making sandwiches at union meetings to becoming a Member of Parliament. And they push on the question the film keeps raising: how much of yourself do you soften to build a coalition, and what does it cost when you do?Full show notes and resources HereConnect with Becky Allen: Newsletter · Bluesky · Instagram**************************************************************************This episode is a production of Superher

"Ben's PTSD manifested as his alcoholism and his self-destruction as the Spider. ‘I'm just going to go out there and get punched in the face voluntarily, and maybe I'll do some good at the same time.’ "— Will FreelandBen Riley didn’t become the Spider to save anyone. He did it for the rush, and Spider-Noir on Prime Video is honest enough to build a whole show on that confession. Marvel comics expert Will Freeland joins Matthew Fox to dig into the series: why it works better than either of them expected, how a World War I origin story reframes the cynicism of 1930s noir as something closer to undiagnosed shell shock, and what Nicolas Cage gets right once he settles into the role.They dig into the show’s remarkable villain architecture, where almost no one is simply bad, the stealth Black Cat origin hiding inside Li Jun Li’s Kat Hardy, and the choice to watch in black and white. What does it mean that Ben’s final heroic act is sacrificing the cure he wanted for himself to save the man who has the woman he loves

He-Man was always camp. The loincloth, the harness, the flexing, the pink tunic, Masters of the Universe was masculinity as WWE spectacle.. The 2026 film knew this, it just couldn’t decide what to do about it. Host Matthew Fox welcomes Pete Wright of The Next Reel Film Podcast on TruStory FM to dig into why this movie feels like five films playing simultaneously, why the Barbie comparison is more complicated than it looks, and what a genuinely great He-Man movie would have required of its filmmakers.There’s real craft on display; Idris Elba anchoring chaos, Jared Leto’s Skeletor going full Shakespearean villain, moments of nostalgia that land exactly right. But the movie sets up a father-son arc about masculinity and emotional bravery, then resolves it with a half-hearted deathbed forgiveness scene that changes nothing. It gestures at He-Man’s campy legacy and then gets embarrassed by it. It makes Adam an HR rep with empathy skills, then turns those skills into a punchline. The movie knew what it wanted to sa

The Boys is over — but did it actually answer the questions it spent five seasons raising? Matthew is joined by returning guest Ocean Murff, podcast host and movie theory enthusiast, to dig into the finale and wrestle with what the show chose to resolve and what it quietly left on the table.They work through the biggest choices of the final season: Homelander’s death, Butcher’s suicide-by-Huey, Ryan’s rejection of both potential father figures, and Stan Edgar walking back into power as though nothing really changed. The conversation keeps returning to the show’s deepest tension;  was Homelander ever really the villain, or was he always just Vought’s monster, with Vought as the true Dr. Frankenstein? Matthew and Ocean explore whether the show knew it was delivering a dystopian ending even as it dressed the finale up as a victory.They also mourn what was lost when Gen V was canceled, arguing that the spinoff was quietly becoming the space where the harder ethical questions about coexistence, identity, the ethic