The guys (Kareem, Ken, and Pat) review the state of billionaires in comics. Tangents include Charles Xavier’s insatiable lust for money, mutant apartheid, mutant syphilis’s, and more.
Show Notes: A Billion Is…How Much Again?
Welcome back to Tangential Giants, where Kareem, Ken, and Pat dive into the absurd world of comic book billionaires and the very real history of wealth. This week’s episode asks a deceptively simple question: how much is a billion, really? Spoiler: it’s more money than most of us can even conceptualize.
Episode Highlights
- Charles Xavier’s finances: How does Professor X keep the lights on at the X-Mansion while rebuilding it every time Magneto drops by? Offshore accounts, psychic stock market manipulation, and mutant real estate empires are all on the table.
- Mutant apartheid & inequality: The guys explore whether comic book billionaires solve systemic problems or just build taller adamantium towers.
- Mutant syphilis?! Yes, even superhumans face awkward medical bills. The crew discusses the implications of mutant diseases and how even wealth can’t buy immunity.
- Tangents galore: From secret mutant Illuminati meetings to Batman vs. Iron Man in an arm-wrestling contest, this episode veers into hilarious chaos.
Real-World Context
To ground the comic absurdity, the episode also explores the history of billionaires:
- John D. Rockefeller became the world’s first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916, thanks to Standard Oil’s near-monopoly.
- Oxfam’s 2017 report revealed that just 42 individuals held as much wealth as the poorest 3.7 billion people combined.
- Female billionaires are on the rise: Between 2013 and 2019, their numbers grew by 46%, outpacing male billionaires.
- Japan’s bubble economy in the 1980s produced billionaires like Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, once the richest man alive with a $20 billion fortune built on real estate.
Perspective on Scale
- Spending $10,000 a day would take 274 years to burn through a billion.
- In 2019 alone, 19 new billionaires joined the ranks, some through inheritance or divorce.
References & Links
- John D. Rockefeller – Wikipedia
- John D. Rockefeller – Britannica
- History.com – John D. Rockefeller
- CNBC – Oxfam Report 2017
- UBS/PwC Billionaires Report 2019
- Report.az – Female Billionaires Growth
- Yoshiaki Tsutsumi – Wikipedia
- Japan Inside – Rise and Fall of Yoshiaki Tsutsumi
Summary: This episode blends comic absurdity with real-world billionaire history, showing how wealth in both fiction and reality shapes power, inequality, and sometimes hilariously awkward problems.
EP.119 – Don't Trust Billionaires – A Review of James Gunn's Superman pt.3 – Tangential Giants Podcast
The Tangential Giants return for their third strike at reviewing the three-quarter mark of James Gunn’s Superman, and somehow, the chaos only gets more refined with age. Kareem, Ken, Pat, and guest Tim settle in to talk about the movie, but as always, tangents emerge like uninvited cousins who still somehow run the show.This time, the crew dives into how the fictional citizens of Metropolis and the very real citizens of the United States share a troubling weakness for any rich guy with a shiny suit and a PR team. From there, they spiral into a celebration of Guy Gardner’s comedic menace as Green Lantern, because apparently the universe needed a man who is equal parts hero and walking HR violation.Naturally, the group also questions the logistics of a pocket universe prison. Is it science, magic, or just James Gunn saying, " Trust me and hoping no one asks follow-up questions? The Giants ask them anyway. And that is only scratching the surface of the detours they take while trying to talk about Superman’s journey.If you enjoy passionate nonsense, comic book philosophy, and four grown adults trying to make sense of a movie that refuses to stay on the rails, this episode is your comfort food. Settle in and enjoy another round of heroic chaos.#tangentialgiants #superman #jamesgunn #dcu #dcuniverse #supermanmovie #dccomics #comicbookmovies #nerdpodcast #superherotalk #moviebreakdown #GuyGardner #greenlantern #metropolis #PocketUniverse #popculturepodcast #dcfans #supermananalysis #moviediscussions
- EP.119 – Don't Trust Billionaires – A Review of James Gunn's Superman pt.3
- Shawarma vs Falafel vs Vaccines – A Review of James Gunn's Superman pt.2
- Super Woke or Super Broke – A Review of James Gunn's Superman pt.1
- EP.116 – When Winking Makes you Blind – Brainstorming Ideas for Comic-Con pt.2
- CAPES, CHOAS, AND COLLECTIBLES – Reviwing content for our 2025 Comic-Con panel
tangentialgiants.com 