The Fanboy Podcast

THE FANBOY #82: "DC's Parting Gifts For 2018, Batman Changing Genres, And a Revenger Roundtable For ELSEWORLDS"

On this week's edition of The Fanboy Podcast, host Mario-Francisco Robles opens with some thoughts on the fun little nuggets has left us fans to enjoy as we turn the page on 2018 and look forward to a new year. From there, he touches on some insights he's received regarding how Matt Reeves is treating The Batman and what his plans for the Caped Crusader seem to be. Then things get real fun, because MFR knows he's no expert on The CW's Arrowverse, yet he finally dabbled in the DCTV universe by binging both Crisis on Earth-X and Elseworlds, so he's brought an expert DCTV panel to discuss it all with.

This week's Revenger Roundtable consists of:

Aaron Virola, of the The Fanboy Garage

Adam Basciano, of Multiverse Musings: A DC Comics Podcast

Matt Vernier, Lead Reporter and Associate Editor here at Revenge of The Fans

Brandon Alvarado, Columnist, Conspiracy Theorist, and RTF's resident The Flash super-fan

Katie Gilstrap, of the Wobam Entertainment Podcast

The crew has a great time reviewing Elseworlds, sounding off on the potential new series for Batwoman (and maybe Superman?!), and get into some wide-eyed theories about where the Arrowverse is heading next when it tackles Crisis on Infinite Earths next year.

THE FANBOY #81: "RIP Daredevil, Huge December For Marvel And DC, Creed II/Rocky Spoiler Chat w/MFR's Dad!"

On this week's edition of The Fanboy Podcast, host and Editor-in-Chief of Revenge of The Fans Mario-Francisco Robles sounds off on all of the biggest news affecting geekdom. From the sudden cancellation of Daredevil, to murmurs of big surprises on the way from both Marvel and DC, as well as the exciting projections for Aquaman, and an in-depth chat about Creed II, there's a lot of ground to cover.

But one special element MFR brings into play for this episode is the inclusion of his father, Jeff Robles. His pop is the biggest fan of Rocky Balboa (the character, the films, and the mythology) that he knows, and with the release of Creed II, he thought he'd bring him on to talk about what the series has meant to his life (and indirectly to MFR's own) since it began.

THE FANBOY #80: "Themes That Define Us, The Gift of Star Wars, and Aquaman Will Be Great!"

On this week's 80th Edition of The Fanboy Podcast, host Mario-Francisco Robles explores the way the themes that speak most to us in the art that we love reflect who we are as people. Unsurprisingly, things get personal. He also shares what he's been hearing about Aquaman and the way director James Wan seems to understand what makes these kinds of films so special. And a fair amount of time is spent discussing the impact George Lucas and Star Wars have had on the entire world- and to a whole generation of filmmakers (who now get to tell their own Star Wars Stories!!).

Also covered on the show are his non-spoiler thoughts on Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the Harry Potter/Wizarding World franchise, and how cool it is to see hispanic actors in prominent roles in that galaxy far, far away.

THE FANBOY #79: "For DC, The Future Is Now, And Talking Superman and The State of Film Critique w/ Zaki Hasan!"

On this week's episode of The Fanboy Podcast, host Mario-Francisco Robles booked the fantastic columnist, critic, podcaster, and overall great guy Zaki Hasan from the MovieFilm Podcast to talk about where Superman is in pop culture these days (namely the movies), and what's going on with film criticism in this Rotten Tomatoes world we're now living in.

But before getting into that, he shares some thoughts and insights into the way Warner Bros and DC Entertainment are feeling these days, on the cusp of Aquaman making waves around the world. He also makes his case for why the time has finally come for all facets of the DC fandom to come together behind James Wan's movie.

And more!

FANBOY #78: "Talkin' Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man: Far From Home Rumors, And Art Is Life On Steroids"

On this week's all-new episode of The Fanboy Podcast w/ Mario-Francisco Robles, MFR delves into some of the week's big rumors- revealing what all that Superman buzz was about earlier in the week, and also shedding light on a Batman scoop that fizzled out before it could become the career-making story he thought it could be. From there, he shifts his focus over to Marvel and some intriguing things he's heard about the casts for Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers 4. Things then evolve into a discussion about how the best works of art are often created by people who know how to take the concerns of everyday life and simply dial everything to 11.

FANBOY #77: "Where Ben Affleck Stood With The JUSTICE LEAGUE Overhaul, The Death of Superman, More!"

On this week's edition of The Fanboy Podcast, host Mario-Francisco Robles shares some insight he was granted about where Batman actor Ben Affleck stood when it came to the massive overhaul of Justice League last year, the ramifications of that stance on his relationship with director Zack Snyder, and more. He also discusses the Death of Superman animated movie and how it should inform the next live-action adventure for the Man of Steel. It's a short and sweet episode this week, since he only dropped Episode 76 five days ago.

FANBOY #76: "TITANS Review, Superman In The Phantom Zone, Gunn's Suicide Squad, And Redemption"

On this week's edition of The Fanboy Podcast, host Mario-Francisco Robles talks about the newest arrival to the DC Universe streaming service: Titans. He's seen the first episode, and he's got thoughts (shocking!). From there, he talks about Venom, the way a "fun" tone can improve a shaky movie, how Justice League doomed Superman...and maybe why that's okay? From there, he sounds off on James Gunn joining the cinematic DC Universe with Suicide Squad and what the folks decrying Gunn need to consider. 

FANBOY #75: "AQUAMAN Trailer, Mandalorian Dreams, VENOMous Concerns, Superman Hopes, and Batfleck Returns?"

On this week's stacked edition of The Fanboy Podcast, host Mario-Francisco Robles walks you through the latest updates on everything from the buzz (and *NEW TRAILER*) for Aquaman, the new intel we've been given about Jon Favreau's Star Wars series The Mandalorian, some concerns for The Flash, how the critical response to Venom highlights a disturbing trend, the latest on whether we should believe that Ben Affleck is preparing to return as Batman, what a new Superman movie should look like, A Star Is Born shining a light on an oft-ignored commodity: Acting, and more!

FANBOY #74: "Fandom, Heroes, and The Escape Valve (w/ Author Mark O'Connell)"

This week, on the 74th Edition of The Fanboy Podcast, host Mario-Francisco Robles is delighted to bring on Mark O'Connell- the author behind the great new book WATCHING SKIES: STAR WARS, SPIELBERG, AND US. Together, they do a deep-dive on the state of fandom, and how it's evolved since the great geek boom of the 1970s- when pop culture, and the WORLD, first became obsessed with Star Wars, Superman, and creators like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Richard Donner, Robert Zemeckis, and more. O'Connell has a uniquely personal perspective, since he's a fan of the current entertainment landscape, yet was there when Jaws and other films changed Hollywood and pop culture forever.

They touch on many of the issues MFR has been bringing up for a while now, be it the harassment of artists and creators by entitled fans, to the overwhelming amount of content out there and the pros and cons that's had for the industry and for fans, to fun stuff like what's going on with the James Bond franchise and- of course- some time is spent talking about Henry Cavill and Superman's cinematic future. 

Along the way, in segments before and after the conversation with Mr. O'Connell, MFR also shares with you his hopes and concerns for Venom, sheds light on the upcoming Revenger Watch Party for Halloween, and cautions you about not over-using The Escape Valve.

FANBOY #73: "Captain Marvel Impresses, Misdiagnosing The Trouble With Superman, And The Collective Dream'"

On this week's edition of The Fanboy Podcast, host and Revenge of The Fans Editor-in-Chief Mario-Francisco Robles discusses the latest update on Birds of Prey, the Captain Marvel trailer that arrived on Tuesday, and the question of whether or not audiences have simply fallen out of love with Superman.

From there, he discusses what makes fandom so special and how each of us has more power than we realize and are more special than we give ourselves credit for. Things get personal and deep, as they often do, but it all ties into the impact that the new film Life Itself had on him earlier this week and what it made him realize about the way passionate fans intake art, and how art can reveal so much about what makes us tick.