Original Air Date

• May 20th, 2026

Part 1 Begins

Super Show ID 1: Superhero Smash (0:30)

• Good morning. You’ve waited all week, and here it finally is: Another great episode of Superhero Smash on WIUP FM 90.1!
  • Featuring “The Best in Superhero Music and Comic Book Lore”
  • Superhero Smash is a musical force for good!
• I’m your host, Dr. Gian Pagnucci, but you can call me The New Professor X
• All summer long, I’ll be playing great music about superheroes as well as music that is featured in superhero movies and shows
• I’ll also be talking about comic book history and heroism
• And I’ll have plenty of great guest stars this summer, too
• But no matter what cool stuff I discuss, you don’t have to worry because this is a NO SPOILERS show
• Contact me, the new Professor X, via email: SuperheroSmash3000@gmail.com
• I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans!

Issue Theme

• Noticing What Others Miss

Heroic Spotlight: The Dark Night Detectives! (2:00)

• I started Season IV off by talking about Supergirl
• Supergirl looks like she’s going to be a kind of bad ass version of Superman, if the trailers for the new Supergirl movie are anything to go by
• And by comparison, Superman always has been a real do gooder
• In fact, Batman has always called Superman a boy scout
• So today, we’ll leave the bright red, white, and yellow world of the Super Family behind and dive into the darkness of the night
• Today, I’ll be featuring two dark night detectives: Batman and Jessica Jones
• Jessica is probably the only person surly enough to put up with Batman’s perpetual no holds barred attitude
• And yes, loyal listeners, last week I did promise you a third dark detective: the magic wielding Harry Dresden
• Well after searching around for some great Harry Dresden music, I decided there were so many cool songs to play, that I’ll need to give Dresden his own full show
• Dresden haunts the dark alleys of Chicago, and I’m headed to Chi town myself tomorrow for a family get together, so I’ll feature a show about Harry show next week when I get back
• For now, let’s dive into a little Bat music

Heroic Opening Song for Dark Night Detectives (6:14)

• “Batdance” by Prince

Batman: The Dark Knight (2:00)

• Prince managed to capture both the light and the dark of Batman
• There was the fun of the 1960’s Batman TV series that starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin
  • That show was full of campiness
  • Whenever Batman punched a villain, up popped the comic book words “pow, bam, biff”
  • The show was aimed at kids, so the producers were careful to sanitize the violence
  • And Prince captures that sensibility with his use of direct movie quotes from Jack Nicholson who played the Joker in the 1989 Batman movie which starred Michael Keaton in the title role
• At the same time, Prince captures some of the edgy darkness of Batman in Frank Miller’s famous The Dark Knight Returns comics of 1986
  • Miller showed an aging Batman who was angry at the world and was watching Gotham slide into the sewar
  • In The Dark Knight Returns, Batman takes his war on crime to a whole new level
  • These were ground breaking comics at the time, with a story no one had seen before
  • I was fortunate enough to buy them when they came out, since now they are highly valued
• As we spin toward that dark knight, it’s the perfect time to play this next theme song

Heroic Instrumental Theme Song (2:38)

• “The Batman Theme” by Danny Elfman

Part 1 Ends (@15 minutes)

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Part 2 Begins (@15 minutes)

Super Show ID 2: Superhero Smash (0:30)

• You’re listening to Superhero Smash on WIUP FM 90.1
  • A musical force for good!
  • Featuring “The Best Superhero Music and Comic Book Lore” in the DC Cinematic Universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and our U-niverse too!
• Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
• Or email the New Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash3000@gmail.com
  • I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans!

The Superhero Smash Comic Book Vault (3:00): First Appearance of Batman

• The Comic Book Vault Sound Effect (0:12)
• Batman was created to capitalize on the success of Superman in Action Comics
  • The first ever image of Batman appeared in Action Comics #12 advertising the introduction of the character
  • 
• Batman First Comic Book Appearance: Detective Comics #27
  • 
  • Publication Date: May 1939
  • Publisher: National Comics Publications which later became DC Comics
  • Writer: Bill Finger
  • Artist: Bob Kane
  • Great cover of Batman swooping in
    • His cape looks like bat wings and his costume is almost silver/metalic looking
    • And to think it was only 10 cents!
  • Value: In 2022, a copy of Detective Comics #27 sold for $1.7 million
• The original costume was meant to be black and gray, but due to the printing technology of the time, the publishers used blue highlights and even gave Batman purple gloves which, thankfully were quickly abandoned in favor of the black spiked gloves he now wears
  • 

The Batmobile (2:00)

• In his earliest appearances, Batman drove a simple, unnamed red convertible
• Batman’s first true Batmobile appeared in February 1941
• Finger and Kane used the term “Batmobile” for the first time in Detective Comics #48 to describe a supercharged red convertible.
• By Batman #5 (March 1941), the car had evolved into a darker sedan sporting a bat hood ornament and dramatic tailfins.
• The Batmobile first appeared on screen in live-action during the 1943 Columbia Pictures Batman serial film, utilizing a standard 1939 Cadillac Series 75 Convertible.
• The Iconic TV Car: The widely recognized, gadget-filled custom Batmobile was created by George Barris for the 1966 Batman television series, built on the chassis of a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car.

Super Song 1 (4:39)

• “Silver Thunderbird” by Marc Cohn

Batman’s Origin Story (5:00)

• The Batman
• Batman is really Bruce Wayne, child of the wealthy Thomas and Martha Wayne
• Ironically, Superman is also raised by a mother named Martha, Martha Kent
• Batman is a hero born in trauma: After enjoying the film Zoro, Bruce’s parents are shot in front of his eyes by a lone gunman seeking to steal Martha’s pearl necklace
• Retold many times afterwards, Bruce sobs beside his dead parents surrounded by the scattered pearls of the broken necklace
• It is one of the most tragic of all origin stories
• The young Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to a war on crime, studying science and training his body endlessly into athletic perfection
• In one of the most inspired pieces of writing of all time, Kane and Finger depict in Batman #1 how Bruce decides upon his name: “Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts! I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible, a… a… “As if in answer, a huge bat flies in the open window! “A bat! That’s it! It’s an omen…I shall become a Bat!”
  • 
• Batman does not merely want to do good, instead he is seeking vengeance on the underworld
• The New Professor X’s one great claim to fame: Being featured in Wikipedia on the “Origin Story” page (in my mild mannered alter ego as Dr. Gian Pagnucci)
  • You can change a superhero’s costume and powers, but if you change his origin, then he ceases to be that hero
  • The origin story is a critical point for each superhero because it is the foundation of the character
  • Origin stories also make superhero literature a unique genre
• Batman’s origin also led him to become a detective as he sought to bring criminals to justice
• He became a Dark Knight of Justice

Super Song 2 (3:49)

• “Dark Knight” by The Blasters

Part 2 Ends (@35 minutes)

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Part 3 Begins (@35 minutes)

Super Show ID 3: Superhero Smash (0:30)

• You’re listening to Superhero Smash on WIUP FM 90.1
  • A musical force for good!
  • Featuring “The Best Superhero Music and Comic Book Lore” in the DCU, the MCU, and our U-niverse too!
• Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
• Or email the New Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash3000@gmail.com
  • I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans!
• If you are enjoying today’s show, you can catch more Superhero Smash on Thursday mornings at 11:00 a.m. all summer long on WIUP FM 90.1

Batman As a Detective (5:00)

Jessica Jones (1:00)

• Now I’ll turn from DC to Marvel’s own great dark night superhero, Jessica Jones
• As grim as Batman can be, Jessica is equally bad tempered, probably more so
• She has superpowers, but she dislikes being different from everyone else
• Jessica also uses her superpowers for good, but she is often let down by the people she helps and makes a lot of mistakes along the way
• Because she’s often depressed, she also drinks way too much for her own good
• Her theme song captures this mixture of dark, late night angst

Super Song 3 (1:09)

• “Jessica Jones Main Title” by Sean Callery

Alias Investigations (2:00)

• Jessica Jones is brilliantly played by Krysten Ritter on the streaming show
• 
• Like Batman, she has to solve mysteries and crimes
• She is a private eye and has her own firm called Alias Investigations
• Like most private eyes, though, she seems to have trouble getting many paying customers

Super Song 4 (5:58)

• “Private Investigations” by Dire Straits

The Many Hangovers of Jessica Jones (2:00)

• Jessica does have a harried office assistant named Gillian, played by Aneesh Sheth on the series, who is constantly trying to get Jessica to handle the office’s cases and to speak to potential clients, something Jessica often refuses
• She also has a partner, Malcolm Ducasse, played perfectly by Eka Darville on the show
  • Malcolm’s life had been nearly destroyed in Season One by the supervillain Kilgrave, who was played to chilling perfection by David Tennant
  • But Malcolm regains control of his life and begins to work for Alias Investigations
  • In fact, Malcolm does such a good job that he eventually gets frustrated with Jessica’s troubled life and lack of focus on her work
• Jessica also comes under suspicion by the police and gets hounded by the press, which unfortunately exacerbates her depression and makes her turn again to alcohol
  • This leads to a lot of hangovers and is why Jessica is so often pictured wearing big, dark sunglasses
  • Which leads to this next great song

Super Song 5 (5:20)

• “Sunglasses at Night” by Corey Haim

Part 3 Ends (@45 minutes)

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Part 4 Begins (@45 minutes)

Super Show ID 5: Superhero Smash (0:30)

• You’re listening to Superhero Smash on WIUP FM 90.1
• Featuring the best superhero music and comic book lore in the MCU, the DCU, and our U too!
• Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
• Or email Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash3000@gmail.com
  • I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans!

Superhero Smash Super Shout-out: To Cormac in Philly (0:10)

• And let me also give a Superhero Smash Super Shoutout to Cormac and the Reconciliation Team at SEI Investments
  • Thanks, Cormac, for doing a sound check for me
  • Hope the whole SEI team is enjoying a little superhero music as they work!

Super Good Deed for the Week: Notice Someone Other People Miss! (2:00)

• Superhero stories are about doing good
• And in that spirit, I have been trying to make Superhero Smash be a musical force for good
• Last week I asked listeners to thank a teacher

The Superhero Move

• This week, in keeping with the theme of detectives, let me encourage you to try this
  • Good detectives notice things other people don’t
  • So, in that spirit, try pay attention to someone this week who usually goes unnoticed, and do one small thing to help them

Super Examples

• • • Thank a custodian, a person at the coffee shop for making a great coffee or clerical worker
    • You might try to help someone who looks lost or overwhelmed
    • Or you could send a quick note of appreciation to a co-worker
  • Both Batman and Jessica Jones succeed because they notice what others miss, especially people on the margins.

That’s this week’s Superhero Smash Move: Notice someone who’s under appreciated. Super good deed!

Super Show ID 6: Superhero Smash To Be Continued Next Issue! (1:00)

• Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel: Harry Dresden, the Dark Wizard Detective!
  • If you are enjoying today’s show, you can catch more Superhero Smash on Thursday mornings at 11:00 a.m. all summer long on WIUP FM 90.1
  • Batman, Jessica Jones, & Harry Dresden: Next issue I’ll be featuring a bunch of cool superhero detectives!
• Listen to Superhero Smash on WIUP FM 90.1
  • A musical force for good! 
  • Featuring “The Best Superhero Music and Comic Book Lore” in the DCU, the MCU, and our U-niverse too!
• Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
• Or email the New Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash3000@gmail.com
  • I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans!
• And remember, while Superhero Smash is about the exploits of amazing individuals,
  • “You don’t need superpowers to be a hero. The only thing it takes to be a hero is the courage to do what’s right when someone needs your help.”–Gian Pagnucci

Heroic End Credits Song for the Dark Night Detectives (1:11)

• “Batman Theme Song”

Part 4 Ends (@60 minutes)