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Superman Returns came out in 2006 and asked audiences a very sincere question: what if Superman, but sad? Brandon Routh brooded his way across the big screen, lifting improbable objects and pining for Lois Lane, and somewhere in a boardroom, someone decided this emotionally complex theatrical event needed to be a video game on four different platforms. Five if you count the Game Boy Advance version, which is technically a different game but we’re counting it anyway because we paid good money decided that we just needed to talk about it.

The PS2 and Xbox versions let you fly around Metropolis, absorbing explosions with your face in service of a health bar that belonged to the city rather than Superman himself, which is either a genuinely clever design idea or the most passive-aggressive mechanic in superhero gaming history. The Xbox 360 version turned the whole thing into an open-world showcase for what next-gen hardware could do, which in 2006 meant “look at those buildings.” The DS version was a side-scrolling beat-em-up. The GBA version was something else entirely. Superman Returns contained multitudes, is what we’re saying.

Joining me to dig through the whole sprawling, melancholy, city-defending mess is Adam Williamson, real-life friend, frequent Play Comics guest, and owner of a podcast idea that has been marinating for what I can only describe as a concerning length of time. Adam, I say this with love: at some point you’re going to have to actually make the thing. In the meantime, he’s here, the knowledge is flowing, and we’ve got a Superman game across half a console generation to get through.

So settle in, try not to let the city’s health bar drop to zero, and let’s find out whether Superman Returns deserved better — from Hollywood, from the games industry, and honestly, maybe from all of us.Continue Reading

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Somewhere out there is a piece of Superman history that almost nobody remembers exists. Not because it was bad. Not because it flopped. It just… vanished off the internet one day, like it got caught in a Phantom Zone projector aimed at a server farm. That’s the story of The Multipath Adventures of Superman, and we’re about to dig it back up.

The whole thing started life as a CD project dreamed up with actual comic book writers, including Louise Simonson and Steve Englehart, before publisher Brilliant Digital Entertainment decided the format worked better as an ongoing online series. So you got Menace of Metallo on disc, and then a sprawling, branching, multi-arc saga that lived entirely on the internet, complete with a villain who time-travels just to make everyone’s life harder. And then, because this is the late ’90s internet we’re talking about, the entire thing quietly vanished. No re-releases, no remasters, just a bunch of dead links and a handful of people insisting this was real and they didn’t dream it.

So yes, this episode is a little bit of a cheat. We usually stick to games you could buy off a shelf and put in a console. This is software, distributed on a CD-ROM and later piecemeal over a dial-up connection, that you had to install a special plugin just to run. But it’s a piece of Superman history that’s basically slipped through the cracks of the internet entirely, and that felt worth breaking the rules for.

Helping me dig through the wreckage is Chris Baker from SuperHero.VG, who has spent decades working on actual superhero games at places like Marvel and LucasArts and literally wrote the book on this stuff with WRONG! Retro Games, You Messed Up Our Comic Book Heroes! If anyone can tell us whether this lost relic deserves to stay lost, it’s him.

So load up the B3D Projector, brace for some early-internet voice acting, and let’s see how many ways Metropolis can end before lunch.Continue Reading

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Look, at some point you have to respect the audacity of putting the entire Justice League on a Game Boy Advance cartridge. Not one hero. Not two heroes doing a buddy-cop thing. The whole league. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the works. All crammed onto a handheld that also had to share shelf space with Hamtaro games. That’s ambition. That’s vision. That might also be a cry for help, but we’re not here to judge.

Justice League Chronicles was Ubisoft’s love letter to the animated series, which means it had genuinely great source material to pull from and a screen roughly the size of a Post-it note to work with. The Justice League animated series was the kind of show that made you sit down and watch it with your kids because it was actually that good, and somehow that energy had to survive the trip to a device that ran on two AA batteries.

Here to help make sense of it all is Doug Adamson from The Monitor Tapes, a man whose podcast is literally named after the thing the Justice League uses to watch for trouble. Which means he was cosmically destined to appear on this episode whether he wanted to or not.

So pull up a chair in the Watchtower, try not to touch anything that looks important, and let’s talk about a DC animated tie-in that had no business being as earnest as it was.
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Somewhere in the mid-2000s, a group of developers looked at the Justice League and said, “What if we made a game where all your favorite heroes team up… and then we just kinda vibed with that idea instead of sticking to any specific comic storyline?” Which kind of works actually because they got Dwayne McDuffie to write it but that’s not the point. So anyway, Justice League Heroes burst onto the scene for PS2, Xbox, PSP, and Nintendo DS like a Watchtower alarm that nobody remembers installing.

This week on Play Comics, we grab our capes, charge up our vaguely canon-adjacent superpowers, and dive into a game that absolutely has Batman, Superman, and friends… ummm, friends are definitely there I promise and sometimes they have to be there because of contractual obligations. And sometimes even the best version of those friends if you’re lucky and the best version of that hero had been invented already.

Joining the adventure is Gavin Mevius from The Mixed Reviews and The Q Division, bringing along just the right blend of insight, chaos, and “wait, was that ever a comic plot?” energy to help us make sense of it all.

So get ready for teamwork, button mashing, and a Justice League game that is just kind of meh, especially considering the story that it had to work with.Continue Reading

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Holy Kryptonian catastrophe, comic crusaders! This week on Play Comics, we’re diving headfirst into the digital dumpster fire that is Superman: Countdown to Apokolips for the Game Boy Advance – because apparently someone thought the best way to honor Superman: The Animated Series was to trap the Man of Steel in a tiny screen prison with graphics that make MS Paint look like the Sistine Chapel.

Released in 2003 by the brave souls at Mistic Software (after poor Crawfish Interactive literally died during development – talk about your occupational hazards!), this isometric adventure promised to let players soar through Metropolis while battling Livewire, Metallo, and the fashion disaster known as Kalibak. What it actually delivered was a gaming experience so punishing that even Darkseid would file a complaint with customer service.

Joining us for this digital descent into madness is Adam Maresh from my local shop back when he lived by me – a man who’s seen more comic-to-game adaptations crash and burn than a rejected Justice League movie pitch. Together, we’ll explore how this GBA “gem” managed to score a whopping 45% on GameRankings and somehow convinced IGN to give it a 4.5/10 (which in retrospect feels generous).

So grab your emergency kryptonite antidote and prepare for an episode that’s more fun than actually playing the game – which, let’s face it, isn’t exactly setting the bar stratospheric. Will Superman’s portable adventure redeem itself through sheer nostalgic charm, or will it crash harder than a Daily Planet exclusive? Tune in to find out if this animated series tie-in belongs in the Fortress of Solitude… or the Phantom Zone!Continue Reading

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Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves for a super-powered episode of Play Comics that’ll have you faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive! This week, we’re diving into the pixelated world of “Superman: The Man of Steel” for Xbox, a game that’s more connected to the comics than Lois Lane is to trouble.

Joining us on this Kryptonian adventure is none other than Doc Issues from Capes on the Couch, here to analyze whether this entry in Superman’s mixed bag of gaming endeavors is a heroic triumph or a Kryptonite-level disaster. We’ll explore how this game draws inspiration from the contemporary Superman comics, with a special focus on the “Superman: Y2K” storyline that turned Metropolis into a futuristic wonderland faster than you can say “Great Caesar’s ghost!”

So grab your cape, adjust your glasses, and get ready to leap tall buildings in a single bound as we uncover whether this Xbox title is truly worthy of the Man of Steel’s iconic ‘S’ shield. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… another episode of Play Comics!Continue Reading

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Welcome to another episode of Play Comics, where we dive into the pixelated world of superheroes and their digital escapades! This week, we’re strapping on our capes and booting up our Game Boy Advances to tackle Justice League: Injustice for All. Based on the beloved Justice League Unlimited cartoon, this game lets you step into the boots of your favorite heroes, even if the gameplay sometimes feels like it’s stuck in the Phantom Zone.

Joining us for this heroic journey is the illustrious AJ Malacarne from Gamma Head Press. Known for their penchant for the absurd and psychedelic storytelling, AJ brings a unique perspective to our discussion. Will they find the game as thrilling as a battle with Darkseid, or as perplexing as The Riddler’s latest scheme? Tune in to find out!

So grab your Batarang, call in your sidekicks, and prepare for a supercharged episode that promises more twists and turns than a Luthor-led plot. Let’s see if Injustice for All can truly do justice to the Justice League!Continue Reading

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Welcome back, Super-fans and comic connoisseurs, to another electrifying episode of Play Comics! This week, we’re diving headfirst into the pixelated world of Superman: Shadow of Apokolips, the game that lets you don the cape and tights of the Last Son of Krypton himself. Released on the GameCube and PS2, this gem is based on the iconic Superman: The Animated Series, and trust us it’s more fun than a barrel of Kryptonite!

Joining us in the Fortress of Solitude is none other than Anthony Sytko from the podcast Capes on the Couch. Anthony’s here to help us dissect this game faster than a speeding bullet and to share his super-insights on what makes this title soar—or crash-land like a Kryptonian spaceship.

So grab your capes, tighten your spandex, and get ready for a supercharged episode that’s sure to leave you feeling more powerful than a locomotive. Whether you’re a fan of the animated series, a gaming guru, or just here for the witty banter, this episode has something for everyone. Up, up, and away!Continue Reading

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You knew this day was coming. Eventually we had to get to Superman 64. Flying around through rings, horrible time limits, battling Lex Luthor in an arena of his making. What can we say about this game that hasn’t already been said?Listen in as Kyle Federline and Karrington Martin give it a shot as we look at this N64 classic. I promise, we actually have good things to say about it.Continue Reading

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Superman can’t really be stopped by normal bad guys, we’ve established that. But what happens when Lex Luthor decides to really go after him? Oh, we’ve done that too? Ummmm, so what happens this time? It’s comics after all, so we know he isn’t really going anywhere.

Listen in as Dan McMahon from DC Supersons comes on the show to take a look at a Gameboy exclusive title based on the 1990s animated series. Yeah, that’s what we’re going with for this one. It says so on the box so it must be trueContinue Reading

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So we’ve seen Superman games before, and we know how I feel about them. But maybe, just maybe, we’ve found one that actually does Superman justice.

Listen in as Michael Bailey from The Fortress of Baileytude Podcast Network (including From Crisis to Crisis) joins the show to talk Death and Return of Superman.Continue Reading

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Superman Returns (see what I did there) with a game that exists and has a Superman sprite that looks like Superman and, ummmm, I don’t know I’m really stretching here because this game isn’t very good. Listen as Chris is joined by Karrington Martin of the RealDudes Podcast as they break down another Superman game that still can’t quite get the hero right.Continue Reading