What If Marvel was Real?

E207: Superheroes are the new machine guns (Journey Into Mystery #116) -- June 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed continue their discussions on what the original Avengers are doing in their post-Avengers lives. For instance, Thor now seems to be working

E206: When they tell you what they are, believe them (Amazing Spider-Man #26) -- June 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss how the Goblin and the Crime Master may be the same person. Also, the Green Goblin is now clearly a villain. His early work attackin

E205: They Don't Make Villains Like They Used to (Daredevil #8) -- June 1965

Thank you for staying with us as we missed another week last week. Edward is traveling with his family this summer, making recording difficult. We still have a half dozen

E204: Recruiting for Strength (Avengers #17) -- June 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss the Avengers’ public search for a fifth member: the Hulk. What are they thinking? Is strength the only requirement for membership? H

E203: Post-Avengers (Tales to Astonish #68) -- June 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss life after being an Avenger. What are the responsibilities? What are the privileges? Do they get top secret briefings? Are they like

E202: The Fantastic Three? Four?? Five??? (Fantastic Four #39 and #40) -- June/July 1965

Apologizes for the delay on this episode. Edward has been traveling more than usual for business making it difficult to record. But we are back, and we should have a few

E201: Lobotomy or Death! (Tales to Astonish #67) -- May 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss the shocking loss of scientific skill among the country’s top scientists. It clearly seems purposeful, but what is the purpose? Alie

E200: (fixed audio!) Avengers in Name Only? (Avengers #16, Part 2) -- May 1965

When episode 200 was first published we push the wrong audio (audio for episode 199). It has now been fixed. Apologies for the error (Thursday, April 27, 2023) In this e

E199 - The newest Avengers are... a trio of supervillains? How does this make any sense?!? (Avengers #16 Part 1) -- May 1965

Next week is our 200th episode! It was fortunate timing that it ended up landing right on our episodes about Avengers #16, which was one of the most important issues of t

E198: Super Disinformation (Amazing Spider-Man #24) -- May 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss the latest Daily Bugle claims against Spider-Man. Does he really want to be a spider? Is he going crazy? Why do we think we can trus

E197: Criminal obligations, or obligations to criminals - one way or the other, (X-Men #11) -- May 1964

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss the end of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The X-Xen claim that Magneto and Toad have been kidnapped by an inter-dimensional being,

E196: Conspiracy Theories (Tales of Suspense #65) -- May 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss the Iron Man vs Iron Man battle. The man in the newest suit was unmasked and revealed to be Weasel Wills, a lifetime criminal with a

Episode 195: Advice to would-be heroes - maybe sit this super-brawl out! (Journey Into Mystery #116) -- May 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss when it is appropriate for a regular human to get involved in super-conflict. If you can’t help, you don’t need to show off - just r

E194: Kidnapping Week (Tales of Suspense #64 + Fantastic Four #38) -- April/May 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss two recent kidnappings: Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan by the Black Widow and Hawkeye, and Sue Storm by the Frightful Four. How senior

E193: Criminal Malpractice! (Daredevil #7) -- April 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss the trial of the century! Namor the Submariner is on trial for vandalism, which seems like a minor charge for the head of state of a

E192: Superhero branding, branding, and re-branding (Avengers #15) -- April 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss the battle between the Avengers and the Masters of Evil - not to be confused with the Brotherhood of Evil. Ed explains the importanc

E191: Come on, ugly doesn't mean evil! (Amazing Spider-Man #23) -- April 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss the increased police presence in the city and how that is affecting both real and perceived crime. Is this because police have less

Episode 190: Intergalactic peace treaty? Seems simple enough! Send in the Fantastic Four! (Fantastic Four #37) -- April 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss the peace treaty between Earth and the Skrull Empire, as negotiated by Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four. How does Reed have the

Episode 189: Technological Proliferation (Tales to Astonish #66) -- April 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss how to pronounce “Madam Macabre”. Is she a villain or just a Giant-Man competitor? Can we trust Giant-Man on this? How fast will gro

Episode #188: Is Thor Faster than a Speeding Bullet? (Avengers #14) -- March 1965

In this episode: Mike and Ed discuss how the Wasp is being treated while she is in critical condition and digress into trying to understand just how fast Thor can fly. H