It's everyone's favorite team of heroes!
Show Notes:
Run Time: 68:52
We talk about every published incarnation of the Freedom Five and the Freedom Four, and often go down rabbit trails of nonsense, philosophy, or sometimes outright lies. Enjoy!
Lots of callbacks to previous episodes today, but also a good deal of call-forwards! We hint at the contents of the episodes of Haka, Ambuscade, the Slaughterhouse Six, and more!
The Q&A section in this episode is particularly robust, as well!
IMPORTANT! Starting exactly at 58 minutes and 10 seconds into the episode, we start talking about major story spoilers! If you don't want story spoilers for the Sentinel Comics RPG timeline as they're things you'll get to play through, please skip from 58:10 to 63:40.
As we mentioned last week, we still have the demographic survey going, so if you haven't gotten a chance to answer it yet, please do! Help us grow the Letters Page!
On Thursday, there will be a Dark Watch Interlude! Also, next week, we're recording both the Chokepoint episode AND the K.N.Y.F.E. episode, as Christopher will be in the UK from the end of May through the first week of June. So, get your Chokepoint and K.N.Y.F.E. questions in now!
It everyone's favorite robot builder: Unity!
Show Notes:
Run Time: 68:10
First thing, right off the bat, we talk about a survey. This is a link to that survey! Please do take a moment to fill it out, as it will help us grow and improve The Letters Page.
Then, we're on to talk about television! Because that's what this show is about!
Adam requested just after 12 minutes into the podcast that I put his address in the show notes. No one tell him that I'm not doing that. Just trust me; it's for the best.
We talk about Unity's parents' history a bit, and how her mom was injured during the Yom Kippur War.
At about twenty minutes in, we quickly give away that during the OblivAeon event, Unity builds a massive T. Rex bot. It's pretty dang cool.
And then! We go right to questions! Flying in the face of tradition! What is even happening?!
Lots of great info in today's Q&A segment. We're getting more and more free with information. Which is good!
Just after the 28 minute mark, we go into a bit of Unity's naming guidelines.
In a question we read around 32:45, we reveal the history of a couple minor figures in Sentinels lore, and even some of their story that is yet to be seen in the Multiverse!
As promised, here is a link to the OblivAeon lead-up ARG. If you haven't gone through it before, I highly recommend it. Very cool things happened there.
Just after the 44 minute mark, we read another fantastic limerick from Arcanist Lupus. The question in that limerick leads to us revealing who it was that captures Unity and kept her in a glass case far from all metal. So many reveals!
We even spill the beans a bit about her future relationships! She's dating someone? And joining some other team? (We get to that part in the Future segment.) But who? You'll just have to listen to the episode to find out!
Once we get to the Future segment, hold on to your hats for some time-traveling information. Not information about someone doing time-traveling or how time travel works. Nope. Information that has come back in time to us from the future! Bizarre!
Thanks for listening! So many exciting things on the horizon! Also, don't forget to fill out our demographics survey. Thank you!
A dastardly episode about Baron Blade, Freight Train, Ermine, Proletariat, and Friction!
Show Notes
Run Time: 92:42
The longest episode yet!
I know that this is a podcast about characters from a fictional comic book series, but we start off by talking about the weather. A bunch. So, that's fun!
Just before the four minute mark, we explain the format that we're using this episode, since we're covering a bunch of characters with overlapping stories. A thing we don't mention but is very true: this episode references a TON of other episodes. In a lot of ways, the Vengeful Five are a product of their opponents, so there's a lot of "inside baseball" talk in this episode.
First we mention Baron Blade... and point out that he's got an episode all of his own! Check it out.
Then, we move on to Fright Train. You might want to listen to the Bunker episode if you haven't yet, as Fright Train and Bunker have a shared history. (The Baron Blade episode is also relevant to Bunker's backstory. As is the Setback episode!)
There are lots of important links in these show notes.
Next, we move on to Ermine! In her story, we reference both the Mister Fixer episode and The Wraith's episode. And also The Chairman's episode!
The next character we cover is Proletariat! There's a lot of interesting references going on here, but the only episode I can really point to for you here is last week's Absolute Zero episode.
The final member of the Vengeful Five is Friction. The relevant episode tie-in here is the Tachyon episode.
Mid-Friction, we momentarily follow a rabbit trail from the definition of vengeance and into some nonsense about the definition of self.
Talking everyone's favorite intern sidekick technopath next week!
Today, we talk about a character with as depressing a name as his backstory! Hooray?
Show Notes:
Run Time: 87:33
Right off the bat, we get started with the story of the FIRST Absolute Zero! Surprise!
Just after the 3 minute mark, we lose our highly focused train of thought and devolve into madness, discussing the difference in scariness between Nazis and Nazi Ghosts. And then what to do about ghosts. We do this for... minutes. And then return to the backstory of the first Absolute Zero. There's no excuse for our behavior.
We do get into some of the backstory of the Golden Age of Sentinel Comics in the first fifteen minutes of this episode. We also goof around a bit.
Then! We finally get into Absolute Zero. The Absolute Zero you all know and love, that is.
At 19:28, I get ahead of myself and talk about a thing that I wanted to save for the Q&A portion... but it didn't get cut, so you get to hear what it sounds like when I change my mind on something I'm saying! Yay? Behind the scenes!
Around the 25 minute mark, we talk about Absolute Zero & Tachyon's Sentinels Book Club! Both of those members of the Freedom Five have book recommendations for this episode!
- from Absolute Zero: The Force of Spirit, by Scott Russell Sanders
- from Tachyon: The Eight, by Katherine Neville
Our answer to the first letter read in the Q&A segment (a bit after the 40 minute mark) explains why we have two Absolute Zeroes. There was a reason from the real world?! Not the fictional world Adam and Christopher spend the bulk of their lives living in?! Look, I'm as shocked as you are.
Next week, we talk Vengeance!
It's an interlude about the everything of everything!
Show Notes:
Run Time: 16:17
First off, here's the upcoming schedule:
- May 2nd: Absolute Zero
- May 9th: Vengeful Five
- May 16th: Unity
- May 23rd: Freedom Five
- May 25th: Interlude: Dark Watch
- May 30th: Chokepoint
- June 6th: K.N.Y.F.E.
Rock 'n' Roll! Racing!
Get your Absolute Zero questions is now Now NOW! Time is fleeting!
In this episode, we talk about what it means to be a Sentinel, what a recurring villain is, how we can all do better, how this whole thing came to be, and more!
And, thanks to brilliant listener Princess Cool, we now know what a group of Nazi Ghosts would be called.
See you next week!
Let's talk about Lillian Corvus in her many forms!
I got all artsy with today's image! In case you're not sure which art is which Lillian Corvus:
- Top: The Matriarch
- Left: The Harpy
- Right: Dark Watch Harpy
- Bottom: Pinion
Show Notes:
Run Time: 74:18
We finish up the villain portion of this podcast in the first fifteen minutes! Wow!
At the 14 minute mark, we begin digging into an event revealed in the OblivAeon lead-up ARG, the story of Dark Watch #7.
Just after the 35 minute mark, when discussing GloomWeaver, Christopher talks about that villainous entity getting encased in a doctor. Not sure what we're talking about? Listen to the GloomWeaver episode!
Just before 40 minutes in, we read a question that leads us to tell the backstory of the Mask of the Matriarch and its fowl power! About time!
At about 41:45, we talk about the Great Fire of Santander, Spain. Read more about that here!
Then, at 42:20, we talk about a special necklace that ended up on a particularly famous boat.
What fun!
Just after the 49 minute point, we get a letter from L. Nate - or, as we prefer, El Nate! Then, Christopher uses... some kind of accent. We apologize to listeners everywhere. Especially L. Nate.
Just before 52 minutes in, we claim we're only halfway through the episode. That was clearly false. We have no concept of time. As we prove with the OblivAeon Kickstarter! Oooh, sick self-burn! (Ow.)
Oh, also, we cancelled the future. We cover that a few minutes after the hour mark. Sorry about that. Future is cancelled.
*high-five*
This episode has arrived before it even left!
Show Notes:
Run Time: 79:15
Three and a half minutes in, we mention that there's an upcoming Freedom Five Episode. We do a lot of, "We'll talk about that in the [some character] episode," so I figured I might as well give you the official schedule through the end of May, at least.
- Today: Tachyon!
- Next Week: Lilian Corvus (Matriarch, Harpy, Pinion)
- May 2nd: Absolute Zero
- May 9th: Vengeful Five
- May 16th: Unity
- May 23rd: Freedom Five
- May 30th: Chokepoint
Worry not! We'll still do an Interlude about the upcoming schedule at the end of this month. I genuinely have no idea how many of our listeners read these show notes.
We talk about a couple of Tachyon's interns, Krystal Lee and Devra Caspit.
A bit after the sixteen minute mark, we tell an interesting story involving Tachyon and Tempest in the Bloodsworn Colosseum.
The last big pre-OblivAeon story we talk about for Tachyon is the Progeny story. We go over that starting around 19:30. This is a major turning point for Tachyon's powers and story.
At the start of the Questions segment, we do a bit of Talking About How To Questions. We get SO MANY questions, and we love them. But they've gotta be tagged properly or we might miss it. And that would be sad! We don't want to miss your questions.
Oh, boy. At just after the 55 minute mark, we're gonna say a thing about Tachyon that you're not all going to love. But it's true!
At 58:15, we reveal the name of a foe that has never been publicly named before!
At around the hour mark, we dig into the Iron Legacy timeline: Tachyon's role there, some things she does, some things that happen to her - it's all pretty rough.
At the end of the question segment around 68 minutes in, we talk about a Tachyon story that happened in Fanatic's book Absolution. We do some defining of blood magic and vampires, too!
See you next week to talk about Tachyon's cousin!
This interlude is called the Betterlude, because we recorded it once already, but now it's back and better than ever!
Show Notes:
Run Time: 23:31
Things we talk about!
- Parsons family powers
- Baron Blade in multiple places?
- Kismet in no places?
- Omnitron stuff
- Expatriette in another reality
- Where are the comics?
Thanks for listening!
Magicks from another realm! An ancient evil entity! What more could you ask for?
Show Notes:
Run Time: 89:06
Just as a heads up, Adam gets real demanding in this episode.
About fifteen minutes into the episode, we try to figure out what a group of Nazi Ghosts would be called. A haunt? A heil? Help us out!
We sneak in stories for a lot of other characters here. NightMist, Spite, Lifeline, even Doctor Medico! (Really big NightMist reveal during the Q&A portion, in particular...)
At around the 38 minute mark, he talk about Richard Launius. He's co-designed a game that we're publishing this year! It's called Fate of the Elder Gods. Find out more here.
Trevor does a great job with the sound effects at 54:30ish. Thank you, Trevor.
Time to talk about NightMist! Lots of big story stuff here.
Before the show even properly starts, Christopher jumps in to apologize for not posting an Interlude last week. We recorded it! It was really great. And then, the files got eaten by the internet, somehow. We have new plans in place to keep that from happening in the future (we're glad that we lost an Interlude and not an entire Episode), but we'll just have to re-record all that stuff this Friday after we record the GloomWeaver episode. Sorry about that! We're pretty annoyed about it, but what can be done? Just gotta move on.
Also! A few episodes ago we mentioned that a Letters Page Bingo type thing could be fun. Lo and behold, it has happened! Awesome Letters Page listener Kyle Grossman has created THIRTY different Letters Page Bingo cards, and you can find them all here!
Now, onto the episode itself!
Show Notes:
Run Time: 78:02
Before going on to introducing Faye Diamond, we first talk about her father Thomas, and before that, his father Joe Diamond. (As we discuss in the beginning of the Q&A portion, yes, that Joe Diamond from the game Arkham Horror crosses over with Faye Diamond from Sentinel Comics, due to a creation connection.)
Adam and Christopher get into sound effects and weird voices during this episode.
Around the 32 minute mark, we talk about NightMist during the Vengeance event, and how she gets shot with a regression dart and loses her powers. That's pictured in Baron Blade's Vengeance deck.
So, that happened. But it doesn't last! In a couple of ways, actually.
Around 43:00, we talk about NightMist encountering and losing to Progeny. This story is told during the OblivAeon lead-up ARG. And the next story about NightMist and The Harpy is also told during that ARG.
And that is the end of the NightMist story.