When Winking Makes you Blind – Brainstorming Ideas for Comic-Con pt.2

A second dive into the Comic‑Con notebook, because apparently one round of confusion wasn’t enough.

Show Notes

When Winking Makes You Blind: The Tangential Giants vs. Disney, Booth Babes, and Bat Boy’s Military Career

Some podcasts stay on topic.

The Tangential Giants refuse to even pretend.

In this episode, Kareem, Ken, and Pat crack open their Comic‑Con brainstorming notes and instantly detour into a three‑course tasting menu of pop‑culture absurdity: Disney’s pettiness, 90s cross‑media chaos, and the surprisingly rich military résumé of Bat Boy. It’s the kind of episode that starts with Comic‑Con planning and ends with a dissertation on anthropomorphic cryptids.

Strap in. This one swerves.

Disney, Fantastic Four, and the Art of Hoarding Plots

The Giants kick things off by unpacking the long‑running rumor that Marvel (pre‑Disney acquisition) intentionally withheld Fantastic Four storylines to prevent Fox from adapting them into movies.

Yes, Marvel allegedly benched its own first family out of spite.

Relevant reads:

📎 Marvel reportedly shelving Fantastic Four comics during Fox era

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/marvel-cancels-fantastic-four-comic-book-737321/ (hollywoodreporter.com in Bing)

📎 The complicated Marvel–Fox rights history

https://www.polygon.com/2015/8/7/9115363/marvel-fox-movie-rights-explained (polygon.com in Bing)

It’s corporate pettiness at its finest, and the Giants savor every detail.

Cross‑Media Chaos: When Booth Babes Became Superheroes

From there, the pod swan‑dives into the 90s/early‑2000s era when publishers decided the future of comics was… models and singers becoming superheroes.

This includes:

Booth babes turned into comic characters
Models headlining entire comic runs
Singers like Nightcat getting full superhero origin stories and tie‑in albums

Relevant links:

📎 Nightcat (Marvel’s pop‑star superhero)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Nightcat_(Earth-616) (marvel.fandom.com in Bing)

📎 Nightcat’s 1991 album

https://www.discogs.com/release/1480783-Nightcat-Nightcat (discogs.com in Bing)

📎 The 90s trend of models in comics

https://www.cbr.com/marvel-models-comics-history/ (cbr.com in Bing)

It was a bold era. It was a weird era. It was an era that absolutely deserves the roasting it gets here.

Bat Boy: The Hero, Fugitive, Soldier, and Cultural Icon

And then… the pod takes a glorious left turn into the world of Bat Boy, the tabloid cryptid who once dominated checkout aisles and early internet culture.

The Giants go deep, shockingly deep, into:

His alleged military service
His repeated imprisonments
His dramatic escapes
His political involvement
His slow fade from fame
His influence on other anthropomorphic hybrids like Alligator Boy and PhD Ape

Relevant links:

📎 Bat Boy archives (Weekly World News)

📎 The cultural legacy of Bat Boy

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/50120/brief-history-bat-boy (mentalfloss.com in Bing)

📎 Alligator Boy & other WWN cryptids

📎 PhD Ape (yes, this is real)

https://weeklyworldnews.com/headlines/1243/phd-ape-wins-nobel-prize/ (weeklyworldnews.com in Bing)

It’s part documentary, part fever dream, and entirely on‑brand for the Giants.

Watch the Episode

Shawarma vs Falafel vs Vaccines – A Review of James Gunn's Superman pt.2 – Tangential Giants Podcast

The Tangential Giants are back with Part 2 of their deep dive into James Gunn’s Superman, and this round Kareem, Ken, and Pat have dragged Tim into the fray. He claims he’s here for analysis, but really he’s here for moral support and to witness whatever this movie is doing in its first twenty minutes.The crew breaks down everything from the Lois and Clark argument that feels ripped straight from a couples therapy session to Superman throwing hands with a kaiju before breakfast. They also unpack the emotional rollercoaster of watching Clark repair a Kryptonian VHS love letter from his parents, because apparently Krypton had Blockbuster.Naturally, the tangents spiral.The team debates which Mediterranean dish officially separates MCU fans from DCU loyalists. They explore the hazards of rookie superheroism and why some heroes should probably start with a learner’s permit. Then they wander into a surprisingly scientific discussion about Big Dick Energy and how it occasionally overrides attractiveness, logic, and the known laws of the universe.If you enjoy chaotic analysis, passionate nonsense, and four grown adults arguing about whether Superman should own a Blu‑ray player, this episode is your new comfort food. Grab your gyro or shawarma depending on your cinematic allegiance, and settle in for another heroic descent into tangents.#tangentialgiants #superman #jamesgunn #dcuniverse #dcuniverse #supermanmovie #dccomics #comicbookmovies #nerdpodcast #SuperheroTalk #moviebreakdown #loisandclark #kaijufights #krypton #podcastepisode #geekculture #popculturepodcast #dcfans #SupermanAnalysis #moviediscussions