This is a DynaMic Network Podcast.

Hi and welcome to the Dynamic Duel Podcast, a weekly show where we review superhero films and debate the superiority between Marvel and DC by comparing their characters and stat-based battle simulations.

I'm Marvelous Joe and I'm his twin brother Johnny DC.

And guys, there are only three episodes left of this podcast in its weekly format.

We're semi-retiring in mid-January as we turn 40.

We've been doing this podcast for 10 years now and we're coming up to the end here.

This will be our last Brothers Award episode as well as the last episode of 2025, which is wild.

This year went by so quick.

It's ridiculous.

I remember the 2024 Brothers Award episode like it was yesterday.

It's getting crazy.

If you guys have never listened to a Brothers Award episode before, it's basically the best of what Marvel and DC put out in terms of television and film over the year.

The Brothers Awards are named after the cosmic DC and Marvel entities that were in the 1996 DC versus Marvel crossover series.

Right.

In fact, those figures are on our award images that we post to Instagram as like Oscar statues.

This is our Oscars, but it's better than the Oscars.

It's way better than the Oscars, man.

First of all, our awards actually mean something.

It's not just a popularity contest.

I haven't trusted the Oscars since they snubbed the Dark Knight.

Never forgive them for that.

I never forgive the Oscars for not giving Black Panther the award for best picture.

Anyway, we're not going to be going over the comic book movie news this episode because Jonathan and I are recording this episode earlier, so we don't have a good handle on what the current news is.

But also, I'm hoping that Marvel is going to release the full set of Doomsday trailers online so that everybody can watch them as they're meant to be seen and not just like the leaked versions.

Who knows?

Maybe by the time this episode drops, that will be the case.

But if it is, we're not talking about it until 2026.

Right.

This episode is just going to be All Brothers Awards.

But before that, our artificially intelligent duel simulator, AJ9K, has a quick message for our listeners.

So listen up.

Hello.

These are the final episodes of Dynamic Duel's weekly podcast, leading up to our grand finale on January 20th.

We hope you've enjoyed the past 10 years of Marvel and DC duels and reviews, and we'd love for you to stick with us as we count down these last episodes.

We're inviting you, the listener, to help us close out the show by visiting dynamicjule.com over the next few weeks and clicking the red microphone button in the bottom right corner to leave us a voicemail that we'll play during the final episode.

Tell us what first got you into DC or Marvel, how long you've been listening, a favorite episode or moment, or anything else you want to share about what the podcast has meant to you.

Your messages will be aired and responded to on the January 20th finale.

Again, head to dynamicduel.com and leave your final message.

We would love to hear from you.

Pip pip cheerio.

Thanks AJ9K, and thanks to everyone who takes the time to call in and leave us a voicemail.

Be sure to tune in to the other shows in the DynaMic Podcast Network this week, including the Konsole Kombat podcast where hosts John and Dean simulate battles between popular video game characters.

In yesterday's episode, they reviewed with Matt, Halo Legends.

Over on the Max Destruction podcast, hosts Scotty and Gilly pay your favorite action heroes from film and television against each other.

The Macho Twins are off this week, but look forward to their next episode in the new year.

On the Senjoh World podcast, host Zachary Hepburn speculates on fights between fan favorite anime and manga characters.

In January, Zach is revealing who would win between Shigeo Kagayama, aka Mob from Mob Psycho 100, and Tatsumaki the tornado of terror from One Punch Man.

Visit dynamicpodcasts.com or click the link in our show notes to listen to all of the shows in the DynaMic Podcast Network.

But now that that's done, let's go ahead and set the stage.

We got the blue carpet rolled out.

I'm sick of the carpets.

We can never decide whether it's blue or red.

You know what?

Marvel doesn't need theirs this year because our nominees are parachuting in in style with red parachutes.

Okay, well if that's the case, the DC nominees are just gonna teleport into their seats in a puff of electric blue smoke with sparkles.

Magic.

Like Nightcrawler?

Yeah, except it doesn't smell like farts.

This is stupid.

Anyway, the nominees are making their way to the auditorium.

Let's go ahead and get into our 2025 Best of Marvel and DC Brothers Awards.

All right, everyone.

Welcome to the 2025 Brothers Awards, where we countdown the best that Marvel and DC had to offer in the realm of television and film.

Johnny DC and myself are here on the stage hosting you this evening.

Gotta say you're looking sharp.

And you're looking a little blunt.

I take it back.

Let's go ahead and start off by breaking down what was eligible for an award in the year 2025.

Spoiler warning, for anyone who has not seen any of these projects, we will be potentially spoiling any one of these in the course of our award ceremony.

For DC in television this year, we had Creature Commandos season one, Harley Quinn season five, The Sandman season two, Peacemaker season two, and Batman season one.

And on the big and small screens, we saw Batman Ninja versus Yakuza League, Superman, and Aztec Batman Clash of Empires.

Gotta say that's a pretty lackluster list overall when compared to the Marvel list.

Let me tell you what was eligible for Marvel.

In 2025, we had your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man season one, Daredevil born again season one, Iron Heart season one, Eyes of Wakanda season one, and Marvel Zombies season one.

In theaters, we had Captain America Brave New World, Thunderbolts, and the Fantastic Four first steps.

I don't know how you're going to bash DC's output.

We're all by two things on your list that you just read was pure trash.

Trash recognized trash is what I'm going to say.

Hey, I'm classy.

Anyway, let's go ahead and get into our very first award for the evening, which will be the best trailer.

Now, I don't know if a lot of people pay attention to trailers, but Jonathan and I like watching them.

We definitely like getting a taste of what's to come, speculating on what the trailers show us and getting hyped in general.

Yeah, actually, by profession, Joseph and I are both marketers, and it's really interesting to see how studios try and sell general audiences on the films that they're putting out.

To that end, I chose four nominees for this award based on how well they did at selling me and getting me excited on seeing the project.

Same.

And the DC nominees for best trailer of 2025 are Peacemaker season two official trailer.

There's another dimension.

It's exactly the same as ours.

But better.

Best dimension ever.

The Sandman season two date announcement.

A king will forsake his kingdom.

The oldest battle begins once more.

Supergirl official teaser trailer.

He sees the good in everyone and I see the truth.

Superman official trailer.

I would question myself in the same situation and consider the consequences.

People were going to die.

Okay, if I had to guess among those list of nominees, I'm not going to say that the winner is Supergirl or Peacemaker.

I think it's going to be either the Superman trailer or Sandman.

I think you're going to go with Sandman on this.

And the winner is Superman official trailer.

Damn it.

The Sandman trailer was incredible.

And I had a really hard time choosing between that and Superman.

Ultimately, I went with Superman because I feel like we got our first really good look at how David Corrin set was going to portray the character of Clark Kent and Superman really.

But also a taste of the story that we were going to get as well.

To hear the dialogue and see some of the performances really sold me on the movie.

And it got me super excited for this new universe that James Gunn was going to unveil.

Yeah, it wasn't the first Superman trailer.

I think actually the first one came out last year in 2024 and also got your brother's award for best trailer.

So you're just really gunk-ho for Superman when it comes to trailers.

I am doubling down.

Yes, I really liked the movie and I thought they did a really good job selling the movie as well.

Well, audience be prepared for most of these awards to be going to the Superman movie.

Bitch, you don't know my life.

What else is the award going to go to?

Really think about it.

Anyway, let's move on to the Marvel Award.

The nominees for best Marvel trailer in 2025 are Daredevil born again official trailer.

I was also raised to believe in retribution.

The Fantastic Four first steps official trailer.

Are you the protectors of this world?

Yes, we are.

Your planet is now marked for death.

Marvel Zombies official trailer.

Shit.

Thunderbolts final trailer.

No one here is a hero.

You all have things that we regret.

But I have so many.

Oh, those are some good choices.

The Marvel Zombies trailer was super metal.

I don't think they would get the win, though.

I'm going to say you're probably going to choose Fantastic Four first steps, largely for the same reason that I went with Superman in that you were able to glimpse for the first time this new-ish sort of world since the Fantastic Four took place in an alternate universe from the MCU.

And the winner is the Fantastic Four first steps official trailer.

Yes!

For exactly the reason that you said basically, you know, with Daredevil, we had a good feeling, especially after the reshoots that the series was going to be true in keeping with the Netflix show.

And it was.

So that was a great trailer.

Marvel Zombies was again so metal.

It was probably the most fun I had watching a trailer in years.

And the Thunderbolts final trailer was not the best trailer that we got for that film that actually came out in 2024.

But the Fantastic Four first steps official trailer introduced us to this whole new world, very stylish, very sleek, very Jack Kirby-esque.

And I was on board.

Like, I saw that and I immediately fell in love with this new universe that the film was taking place in.

I read you.

I read you.

You got your guess right.

I got my guess wrong.

Let's not talk about it.

Let's move on to the next award.

So the next award is Best Original Music.

Now, when it comes to original scores and songs for these Marvel and DC films, good music should do a lot of heavy lifting emotionally as you're watching what's unfolding on the screen.

As I've said before, the way I define a good score is one that I don't necessarily notice as I'm watching the film, but still moves me.

Right.

Movies and shows are not just visual experiences.

They are auditory.

And so I always really like doing this award because superhero movies have such unique, epic and interesting music out of all the other genres out there.

The nominees for Best Marvel Original Music in 2025 are Eyes of Wakanda, Season 1.

The Fantastic Four, First Steps.

Thunderbolts.

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Season 1.

Spider-Man, The Final Fantasy.

Okay, another tough call here.

I love all of these scores, but if I had to guess, your vibe would naturally be drawn to your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man's music.

And the winner is The Fantastic Four, First Steps.

Whoa, that was way off.

You know what?

The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Season 1 soundtrack was top tier.

This was one of the hardest years ever when it came to music because all four of these nominees fucking crushed it.

We didn't review your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Season 1, but the show was really well done.

Thunderbolts, a very emotional score.

Eyes of Wakanda, just fucking incredible.

That show was awesome, at least visually and auditorily, if not story-wise.

I didn't love the stories for Eyes of Wakanda.

They were okay.

Mostly about the War Dogs.

Like the history of the War Dogs.

We got to learn the origin of that pickaxe weapon that Kilmogger found in the museum and stuff like that.

But the Fantastic Four, First Steps score written by Michael Guccino was almost unlike anything I'd ever heard before.

In that he perfectly managed to capture the artistic direction.

It was kind of like retro, futuristic, kind of Jetson style, but very catchy.

And also very epic when it came to things like the Galactus and Silver Surfer themes.

It was nothing short of fantastic.

Yeah, he definitely nailed both the era and the niche genre of the film.

For sure.

Michael Guccino has done other Marvel works like The Doctor Strange Movie, Spider-Man Homecoming Trilogy, and of course he directed Werewolf by Night.

He's just kind of like a master at finding these like perfect little vignettes for the style of each franchise.

Nice.

Good choice.

Good choice.

Great nominees.

But now let's move to DC.

The DC nominees for best original music of 2025 are Aztec Batman, Clash of Clans.

Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League.

The Sandman Season 2.

Superman.

Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League.

That is all incredible music as well.

I think though you're going to give it to Sandman Season 2 because it allegedly has the greatest song of all time sung by Orpheus to Hades and Persephone.

And the winner is the Sandman Season 2.

And you are correct.

This was a tough one this year.

I think like your Isabel Kanda score, Aztec Batman kind of perfectly captured the cultural sounds.

And the Superman score was a great update of the John Williams score from the 70s.

I did really want to give this award to Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League just because of how wacky that score was and how fun it was.

Ultimately though, I could not give it to the Sandman Season 2.

Not only is just the theme of that song really haunting and good, but the music from this season in particular played such an important and critical role within the story.

Like you mentioned, the song of Orpheus.

And at the very end of the show, they played this song that was a poem from The Fates at the end of the comic.

Hearing that in song form was such a cathartic moment to happen at the end of that series.

It was very special and that's why it gets my award this year.

Yeah, kudos to the Sandman Season 2 for putting 110% effort into the music that was featured on that season.

Really well deserved.

Orpheus's song, Holy Cow.

Like The Fates, I also will never forgive Orpheus for making me weep during that song.

You have to be a machine not to cry.

But let's go ahead and move on to our next award, which is Best New On Screen Character in 2025.

Now one of the best things about being a Marvel and DC fan, seeing these works adapted on the screen, is that we get to witness the manifestation of a lot of characters we love from the comics in live action.

Sometimes animated.

Yeah, there's been so many comic book films to have come out in these past 20 years that I'm always interested to see like which new characters are being adapted.

And there were a lot of fun ones this year for both DC and Marvel, I feel.

The nominees for the Best New On Screen Character of 2025 for DC are The Bride from Creature Commandos Season 1.

Daniel Hall from The Sandman Season 2.

Crypto from Superman.

Mr.

Terrific from Superman.

Alright, it's definitely not going to be crypto.

I think it's a toss up between The Bride and Mr.

Terrific.

And I think personally, I just really loved how badass The Bride was from Creature Commandos.

So that's who I think you're going to give it to.

And the winner is The Bride from Creature Commandos Season 1.

Alright, count it.

My streak starts now.

So I really liked Mr.

Terrific from Superman.

He almost got this award.

But ultimately, I felt that The Bride really stole the show for me in Creature Commandos Season 1.

My favorite book is Frankenstein.

And I thought I was going to like his character the most in that show.

But the episode that delved into The Bride's origin, I think was such a perfect origin for the character and really delved into why she is the way she is.

And honestly, I can't wait to see more from her in the DC universe.

She basically made that show and it was a great show.

I agree.

I also thought I would like Frankenstein more, but he turned out to be so detestable.

And The Bride was so fucking cool.

Such a badass.

Well deserved, let's go ahead and move into the Marvel Award.

The nominees for the best new on-screen Marvel character in 2025 are Galactus from The Fantastic Four First Steps.

I was once little like you billions of years ago.

A man from another world.

The Hood from Iron Heart Season 1.

I knew that if I wanted you dead, I'd have to be the one to do it.

I did not come here to play with you Parker.

You came here to work.

Red Hulk from Captain America Brave New World.

Since when were they red?

Century from Thunderbolts.

Introduced to you the Century.

Hey guys.

Wow.

That's cool.

All powerful.

I feel like it's either going to come down to the Century or Galactus, but I gotta go with Galactus.

That's my guess.

And the winner is Century from Thunderbolts.

How could you not go with Galactus?

Well, at least it was a portrait as a cloud this go around, right?

In the end, the visuals for Galactus were stunning, but I just don't think you got quite enough screen time to warrant the best new on-screen character.

I really love what they did with the Century, with Lewis Pullman's acting and the way they adapted his origin story from his comic book origin.

I thought it was brilliantly done and told a really interesting story.

That's fair.

I kind of felt going in that the Century was going to be a hard character to adapt because he's so unique, but yeah, they did a fantastic job adapting him.

They kind of made it look easy, right?

Jerks.

Yeah, I love how powerful they made the character.

I love how they interpreted his dark side, the void.

Just yeah, all around stellar job.

But let's go ahead and move on to our next award category, best villain.

In my opinion, a lot of comic book films are only as good as their villain because as I've noticed in a lot of projects, the better the villain, the better I tend to feel about the story.

For sure, yeah, because they deliver the stakes that are required of the hero to surpass and make the story interesting.

The neat thing about comic book movies and shows, due to the nature of their fairly black and white portrayals of morality and justice, you get a lot of really fucking evil characters as villains.

Just dudes that you love to hate.

Let's go ahead and list them out.

The nominees for best Marvel villain in 2025 are Galactus from the Fantastic Four first steps.

I will meet your planet slowly while your child watches.

Kingpin from Daredevil, born again, season one.

The rule of law will prevail.

And should you go back to any of your old activities, there will be consequences.

The hood from Iron Heart, season one.

Stay and I'll kill you.

Talk to the cops.

Knowledge.

The void from Thunderbolts.

The most shameful thing of all was thinking you could be anything more than nothing.

Okay, tough call, tough call.

My guess is either going to come down to the void or Galactus, but I'm going to go with Galactus again.

That's my guess.

And the winner is Galactus from the Fantastic Four first steps.

And it's because he wasn't a clown.

I just think in terms of threat level, like you saw him destroy an entire planet in the Fantastic Four movie.

And he was also really menacing when he was like, I'm going to devour your entire world and steal your baby.

The fact that he wasn't even tricked by the Fantastic Four's plan at the end and they had to kind of like improvise to even defeat him, I thought made him a great villain.

There was a little bit of a power scaling issue in that final fight with Sue, but you know, she ended up dying.

So Galactus even has that going for him as far as a villain goes.

Galactus is one of those characters where he felt like it was going to be really hard to adapt the character to screen in a way that didn't make people laugh and chuckle because he just looks so weird and Kirby-esque.

You know, it's obviously why they didn't go that route in the old Fantastic Four films, but the fact that Marvel had the balls to do it correctly for this film, I have to commend because it was super effective.

I was afraid of Galactus, maybe for the first time in my entire life.

Good.

Keep it that way.

Okay.

Moving on to the DC side.

The nominees for best DC villain of 2025 are the Kindly Ones from Sandman from Batman Ninja vs.

Yakuza League.

Lena Luther from Harley Quinn Season 5.

I don't want to play with your toys.

I want to destroy them like you always destroyed me, making me feel lesser an afterthought.

Lex Luthor from Superman.

It is what has driven me to annihilating you.

What a, what a, what a, what a, what a.

Geez, I think it's really going to come down to the Kindly Ones or Lex Luthor.

I think I got to go with the Kindly Ones though because they literally killed the God.

That's my guess.

The winner is Lex Luthor from Superman.

Really, it came down to Lex or Lena for me.

We didn't review Harley Quinn Season 5, but Lena Luther is probably the best villain that that series has had.

Hey Lena, you're a bitch.

Ultimately though, I gave it to Lex Luthor because I thought Nicholas Holt gave the most comic, accurate portrayal of Lex Luthor that we've seen on screen to date.

He was a genius.

He was an angry, envious genius to boot, and I'm really happy with the direction they took the character for this new universe.

And it was cool to see him again in the Peacemaker show.

Yeah, just orchestrating shit from behind the scenes.

That's what Lex Luthor needs to be.

Well, let's go ahead and move on to the flip side of this award, Best Hero of 2025.

Why do we award the best heroes in film and television?

Because they deserve to be awarded.

This is a fucking comic book podcast.

Yeah, I was gonna say because they deserve to be rewarded for their virtues of sacrifice, nobility, and bravery.

Oh yeah, that too.

Yeah, heroism is defined by sacrifice and selflessness.

These are really awesome traits that humanity has admired since they first started telling stories.

Marvel and DC have some of the most iconic heroes from the past century, so let's celebrate them.

The nominees for best DC hero of 2025 are Batman from Batman Ninja vs.

Yakuza League.

This is the pain of all the people you're watching.

I'm killing you because you took the life of the only friend I have and the only one of us with an out...

Mr.

Terrific from Superman.

Get him someplace safe.

Take the T-Craft.

The controls are easy and intuitive.

I need to stay back here and make sure the portal is secure.

Superman from Superman.

I don't know how else to find him.

It's a dog.

Yeah, and he's not even a very good one, but he's out there alone and he's probably scared.

Gee, let me think.

Could it be Superman from Superman?

And the winner is Batman from Batman Ninja vs.

Yakuza League.

Why are you lying?

I'm not lying.

That's who I gave the award to.

Superman, of course, was very heroic in the Superman movie.

He saved Metropolis, but equally just as impressive, Batman saved Gotham from the Yakuza League.

And the way he went about it, helping to defeat each member of the Justice League, including Rassal Ghul, I think ultimately it was just a much cooler and much more impressive feat, so he got the win.

Yeah, it was pretty cool.

I mean, he utilized a lot of the Bat family to help him out, but that's who Batman is.

It's just kind of fascinating to see Batman go up against these much more powerful people, and especially in this case when the rest of them are all alternate evil versions of themselves.

And that's why he got the win.

I think it'll surprise a lot of people with that award, but I don't necessarily think you're wrong.

Let's move on to the Marvel side.

The nominees for best Marvel hero of 2025 are Captain America from Captain America Brave New World.

But when showing there's more to you, it's not about when times are easy.

It's about moments like this.

Daredevil from Daredevil, born again, season one.

But this is our city, not his.

And we can't take it back.

Invisible Woman from the Fantastic Four first steps.

I will not sacrifice my child for this world.

But I will not sacrifice this world for my child.

Yelena Belova from Thunderbolts.

What I said to you before was wrong, but you can't stuff it down.

Okay, personally for me, I think there's a clear standout amongst these heroes, and I gotta say that is Invisible Woman from Fantastic Four First Steps.

And the winner is Invisible Woman from the Fantastic Four First Steps.

Makes sense, right?

I mean, she did make the ultimate sacrifice within that film, and a fucking broke my heart in that scene.

She gave literally everything she had to save her son.

And you know, a lot of people might count her as being a little bit more selfish and that she didn't want to sacrifice her son for the sake of the entire planet, which is really the utilitarian approach.

She kind of took on the Steve Rogers philosophy of we don't trade lives.

She knew that her family would find a solution to really protect everybody.

Oh yeah, totally.

I mean, as I was watching the movie, I was like, you kind of gotta make the trade, right?

Until she gave her reasoning that, hey, I'm not going to give up my baby, but I'm also not going to give up all of you guys.

I'm not going to give up the entire planet for my baby.

Right.

The sacrifice she made at the end, like you said, is the ultimate act of heroism.

So yeah, this is an easy win for her.

Which is not to discount the others.

It's just that, you know, like, I think Sam Wilson's arc in Brave New World was kind of a rehash and also better represented in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV series.

Daredevil, of course, was always great.

Yelena Bolova was a standout on Thunderbolts.

I just don't think that they compared to Invisible Woman in terms of pure heroism.

I agree.

Well, moving on to our next award category, that is for best moment.

Now for a lot of people, the main reason why they enjoy comic book films is escapism.

And with escapism, it's really easy to lose yourself in a film when it comes to really intense or really funny or really action packed moments, which the comic book genre delivers in spades many times.

It's one of the reasons why the comic book genre is so successful in theaters as a whole.

Of course, we're seeing diminishing returns on that.

But yeah, there's a lot to enjoy about these films in terms of spectacle and emotion.

Let's break down the best Marvel moments.

The nominees for best Marvel moment of 2025 are Celestial Island Dogfight from Captain America, Brave New World.

Daredevil vs Bullseye from Daredevil Born Again Season 1.

Inside the Void from Thunderbolts.

Sue fights Galactus from The Fantastic Four First Steps.

Okay another clear standout winner for me personally, I would have to say Inside the Void.

That's my guess.

And the winner is Daredevil vs Bullseye from Daredevil Born Again Season 1.

What?

I thought we got such a better version of that in past seasons of Daredevil.

No, actually I think the Daredevil vs Bullseye fight scene was the best version of that fight that we've gotten in this series.

And it literally delivered on every possible angle from the action to the spectacle to the emotion.

It was fucking devastating.

Like, Sue dying while fighting Galactus was heartbreaking.

But also, Foggy Nelson dying was heartbreaking as Daredevil heard his heart stop at the end and then he threw Bullseye off the building and it was emotionally devastating.

I remember watching that first episode and just being like, how the fuck are they gonna top this because that was the legitimately perfect scene.

I guess it was cool to see the two go at it in costume for the first time.

And it was done in that now iconic hallway fight style for the Daredevil series.

The body count alone was massive just in that fight and it really tore the protagonist completely apart.

It was incredible.

It probably was the best scene of the entire show.

Right.

And I guess that's why you gave it the award for best moment.

There you go.

Okay, well moving on to DC.

The nominees for the best DC moments of 2025 are Batman vs Kuraku from Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League.

Die!

Just as expected.

EarthX reveal from Peacemaker Season 2.

Fuck me.

This is your perfect world, huh?

Mr.

Terrific vs Lux's army from Superman.

I am giving you one last chance to start.

I was just about to say the same to you.

Superman vs Planet Watch from Superman.

Kill him!

Good luck with that.

These were all fantastic moments.

Geez, that's really tough.

Because the Batman vs Superman fight in the Yakuza League movie was probably among the best that's ever been done.

But I think it's going to go to either the Mr.

Terrific scene or Superman vs Planet Watch.

I'm going to go with Superman vs Planet Watch as my guess.

The winner is Superman vs Planet Watch from Superman.

You got it.

I mean, it was probably among the best displays of Superman's abilities that we've ever seen on screen.

It was like emotional and happy.

Oh yeah, the music during this scene and just watching Superman unload on an entire army of flying soldiers in a way that we've never really been able to see him do before in a city alongside crypto.

It was just magical.

It was heartwarming.

I had all the feels.

My arms were raised just from the thrill of it and the theater.

It was awesome.

It was amazing how he was able to fight those guys without completely destroying the entire city and killing millions of people.

Yeah?

You're saying that to me or Zack Snyder?

Zack Snyder!

Yeah, it's a fair criticism.

I'm going to go with the best.

Prepare yourself for the ultimate showdowns in comic books, video games, movies, and anime.

The Dynamite Podcast Network presents Console Combat, where video game legends brawl every Monday.

Dynamic Duel, where comic book titans smash every Tuesday.

Max Destruction, where TV and action heroes battle every Wednesday.

And Sendro World, where anime champions clash every Thursday.

Join us as we speculate on the matches and armed with the power of mathematical simulations discover who will emerge victorious.

Visit dynamicpodcast.com where we settle the debate and settle the score.

But now let's move on to our next award category, which is Best Actress of 2025.

It gets harder and harder every year to describe these categories in a way that isn't over-reductive.

Best Actress Award, I think you guys all know what this means.

Yeah, often in comics, women were relegated to sort of damsels in distress.

I think as time has gone on, comic books and filmmakers have tried to move away from that.

And of course, have been giving women a lot of strong roles, which I think is proudly displayed in the nominees this year.

The nominees for the best DC actress of 2025 are Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo from Peacemaker Season 2.

I believe in miracles because of you.

I saw an eagle hug a human.

I know who I am because of you.

Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine from The Sandman Season 2.

This is the head of Orpheus, whose song was powerful enough to sway even the hearts of Hades and Persephone.

Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt from Peacemaker Season 2.

Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane from Superman.

All these ladies gave strong performances, but for some reason I want to say Jennifer Harcourt from Peacemaker.

That's my guess.

The winner is Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane from Superman.

Well, maybe I should have given it more thought.

I loved Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.

I figured, even from her casting announcement, that she was going to be the best Lois Lane to date, and I was not wrong.

She totally pulled off the spunk and the charm and just the love for the character of Superman that no other actress has been able to do as well to date.

It kind of seemed like she was plucked right out of the Superman cartoon, which I think was probably one of the strongest depictions of the character in modern times.

Oh yeah, I totally agree.

The fact that she was able to help expose Lex Luthor the villain, she really dealt him a major blow in that film.

Let's go ahead and move on to the Marvel side.

The nominees for Best Marvel Actress of 2025 are Dominique Thorne as Ironheart in Ironheart Season 1.

Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova in Thunderbolts.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Contessa Valentina Allegra da Fontaine in Thunderbolts.

Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman in The Fantastic Four First Steps.

I personally would go with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

I thought she had a standout performance.

I'm actually surprised she was on your list for Best Villains of the Year, and I think partially because of that you're going to give her the win here.

And the winner is Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman in The Fantastic Four First Steps.

Well shit.

Well much the same reason you gave your award to Rachel Brosnihan for exemplifying the character of Lois Lane in the Superman movie.

I'm giving it to Vanessa Kirby for exemplifying the character of Susan Storm in The Fantastic Four movie.

Never before in all the other iterations of Sue Storm in the other movies have we seen this type of very grounded, very motherly character as we saw in First Steps.

Okay, yeah I could buy that.

It was a fantastic performance.

And she had a lot to do with the role I think.

Not only did she believably serve as the glue that holds the team together, she also believably fought and sacrificed herself for her kid.

And I think she brought a lot of chemistry to her role with Pedro Pascal.

Vanessa Kirby just nailed it, she crushed it.

Yeah, sold, you're right.

We're moving on to our next category, Best Actor.

It's basically the same award as our last category except these are the dudes.

The genitalia is different but the award is the same.

Exactly.

There of course have been tons of great DC and Marvel actors throughout the years.

That doesn't make the job any easier though because these guys have to be in peak shape, they have to be strong and charming for the most part.

Yeah they have to not only be good thespians, they have to be stuntmen as well.

Lesbians?

Let's break down the nominees.

The nominees for Best Marvel Actor are Anthony Ramos as the hood in Iron Heart Season 1.

So why are you here?

I had to look you in the eye and ask what kind of father puts his son out of the house at 12?

Charlie Cox as Daredevil in Daredevil, born again, Season 1.

It occurs to me that justice will not be served today.

It won't be served because whatever sentence is passed, foggy Nelson.

We'll still be dead.

Lewis Pullman as Century in Thunderbolts.

Just like the rest of them.

I'm not afraid of you Robert.

It's not Robert, you need to be free of him.

Pedro Pascal as Mr.

Fantastic in The Fantastic Four First Steps.

L is the load, R is the lever arm connected to the load, Archimedes the law of levers.

Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth.

For me, this is a toss up either between Lewis Pullman or Pedro Pascal.

But I got to say, I think I was more surprised by Lewis Pullman's performance and how good that was.

So he's my guess.

And the winner is Lewis Pullman as Century in Thunderbolts.

Noice, nailed it.

Yeah, I was totally unsure about Lewis Pullman when he was cast and replaced Stephen Yon as Bob in the Thunderbolts movie.

The dude fucking nailed it though.

He pulled off the psychosis, the vulnerability, the threat that the character posed in such a deep, emotional and convincing way.

I had to give it to the guy.

It was a complex role.

Oh for sure.

And honestly, I'm not sure how Stephen Yon or literally any other actor could have pulled it off as well as Lewis Pullman.

I'm sure he could have.

But at that point, Stephen Yon probably would have won this award.

It's next to be him, as I mentioned in our review of the movie.

Probably.

But let's move on to the DC side.

The nominees for best DC actor of 2025 are David Corn Sweat as Superman in Superman.

That is being human.

And that's my greatest strength.

And someday, I hope for the sake of the world, you understand that.

David Harbour as Frankenstein in Creature Commandos season one.

That would bring balance to life, they would say.

No one would say that.

I would say that.

I want.

Am I not someone?

John Cena as Peacemaker in Peacemaker season two.

I can't get your fucking break.

He ends up in the land of goodness and light with a brother who's still alive and a father who fucking loves him.

The good us.

Tom Sturridge as Morpheus in Sandman season two.

You've made your choice.

Just as your life is your own.

So tell us your death.

I think it's going to be a toss up between John Cena and Morpheus.

I'm going to go John Cena.

That's my guess.

The winner is David Corn Sweat as Superman in Superman.

Damn it.

That was so off.

Now, there was not a bad choice.

I think John Cena probably gave the best performance of his career in Peacemaker season two.

That said, David Corn Sweat, in my opinion, is the best actor to play Superman since Christopher Reeve.

And that's a really high bar.

I think he's better in the role than Henry Cavill, Brandon Routh, Tyler Hochlin, better than anyone else to play the role.

Because I thought he nailed both Clark Kent and Superman better than most.

Now, is that due to the writing you think or is that because of the performance?

I think it's both.

I think James Gunn is really good at casting for his style of writing.

Because I would say that, like, for example, Henry Cavill gave a great performance as Superman.

He was just a very different characterization of Superman.

Fair.

But also, I don't think there was enough differentiation between his Superman and Clark Kent.

Maybe intentionally so.

And there should be because that's from the source material.

Clark Kent acts differently from Superman.

Superman is sort of the wish fulfillment idealized version of Clark Kent, whereas Clark Kent is supposed to be meek and mild mannered.

Makes sense.

Let's go to move into the penultimate category this evening for the Brothers Awards.

And that is Best Marvel Series or Special.

There weren't any specials that came out this year.

We haven't had one since Werewolf by Night.

We're supposed to get another special next year with The Punisher.

So this is basically the best series award for 2025.

I think we've said this before in previous award shows, but this award, I think, becomes more and more important every year as we get better and better quality television series that rival and even sometimes outperform the quality of what we're seeing in theaters.

Oh, yeah.

Comics are a long form storytelling medium.

So it's no surprise that their stories would be better translated to a long form medium like a television series.

The production value on these things, like you mentioned, continues to improve.

And I'm pretty excited about this year's nominees.

The nominees for the best DC series of 2025 are Creature Commandos Season 1.

Harley Quinn Season 5.

Peacemaker Season 2.

The Sandman Season 2.

Uh, Sandman Season 2 final answer.

The winner is...

The Sandman Season 2.

Of course it was.

It was so freaking good.

I was worried about it.

I'm not going to lie.

I was worried about it about how they were going to close out the show, but they did it perfectly, in my opinion.

I mean, they condensed so much material into just like 12 episodes, but they did a really good job in the translation from print to screen, I think, and staying on track with the character of Dream.

Everything.

Everything from the casting, the performances, to the music, to the direction, to, you're right, the adaptation of the story.

I feel like it should have been harder to pull off, but they did it in just a masterpiece of a season and really a show.

I mean, the Sandman series is one of modern literature's greatest tragedies, and Season 2 was a lot more heavy on the tragedy aspect of it.

And I remember being devastated watching it.

If I'm ever put in a situation where I only get to watch one television series again for the rest of my life, I'm choosing the Sandman.

Both seasons.

Really?

Interesting.

Hell yeah.

You think you'd pick something with more seasons, though?

That's fair.

I'd probably go like Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad or something.

You know what?

No, I'm going to stand by it.

I'll stick with the Sandman.

It's pretty varied.

You're probably still safe with that choice.

But let's go to move on to Marvel.

The nominations for the best Marvel series of 2025 are Daredevil, Born Again, Season 1 Iron Heart, Season 1 Marvel Zombies, Season 1 Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Season 1 I think this one's obvious.

I think it's Daredevil, Born Again.

And the winner is Marvel Zombies, Season 1 Well, I didn't watch it, so how would I know?

Marvel Zombies was fucking everything that I wanted it to be.

Now, it wasn't an adaptation of the comic book story of Marvel Zombies, which largely takes place after the zombie apocalypse has happened and we see the state of all these Marvel heroes as zombies.

The show was more about survival and it had a great kickoff with the What If episode.

This carried on and told a truly harrowing and horrifying story.

The main characters were Kamala Khan, Miss Marvel, and Shang-Chi, as well as featuring a version of Blade that was like amalgamated with Moon Knight.

So it kind of felt like the Avengers movie that we're probably never going to get with all those new characters.

But it was funny and it was violent, and I think it was everything that it needed to be in a way more so than these other shows were.

Now, in all honesty, I actually almost gave this award to your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man because I really came around on that show, especially in the latter half of Season 1.

Not only did it tell some of the best origin stories for Spider-Man's villains, probably ever when the story wasn't bogged down by teenage drama or whatever.

The show was really well done, but in the end, I think it kind of tied for Daredevil born again in terms of my enjoyment of it, whereas Marvel Zombies, I had a blast from start to finish.

And Marvel Zombies was a mini-series, right?

It was only, what, like six episodes?

Four episodes.

Oh, wow.

Talk about getting banged for your buck.

Yeah, you should watch it next Halloween season.

I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.

If you like Zombie Fair, I think a lot of people will probably not be thrilled that it stars some lesser-known Marvel characters, but if you're a fan of Kamala Khan like I am, like I loved the Miss Marvel television series, and I thought Amon Valani was one of the strongest parts of the Marvels movie.

If you loved Shang-Chi like I did, if you're really looking forward to seeing what Blade will be like, or if you loved Moon Knight, yeah, just watch Marvel Zombies.

But also, I would recommend watching the Marvel Zombies episode of What If first, and then going into the Marvel Zombies season.

Really, it's a five-episode season, because that first What If episode is crucial.

Gotcha.

Okay, good advice.

Moving on to our final category of the show of the year.

Best motion picture.

Best film, really.

Yeah, no one calls them motion pictures anymore, except for the Oscars.

This award is, again, basically like the previous award, just with, again, different genitalia.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

No, Joseph and I are huge movie fans.

It's one of the reasons we started this podcast.

I love going to the theaters, and I'm glad to see more and more people continuing to do so after the pandemic.

Come on, that was five years ago, people.

Let's get our asses back in the theaters.

My ass loves my couch, though.

That's loser talk, bro.

Get out there, lazy bastard.

Honestly, the movie theater seats in the theaters near me are like leather and reclining now.

It's great.

It's way more comfortable than my couch.

All right, then.

But anyway, there's nothing quite like experiencing a story on a massive screen with a bunch of people.

Let's break down the nominees.

The nominees for Best Marvel Picture of 2025 are Captain America, Brave New World.

The Fantastic Four First Steps.

Thunderbolts.

And that's it.

Just three nominees for Marvel.

Well, of those easily hands down, I would say my favorite was Fantastic Four First Steps.

So that's my guess.

And the winner is...

Thunderbolts.

That would have been my second guess.

You lose.

I win.

I don't know what I win.

No, Thunderbolts was every bit as good as the Fantastic Four First Steps in terms of my enjoyment of them.

They were very different movies.

The difference being that Thunderbolts had something to say, which is not entirely common among films in this genre.

Fantastic Four looked amazing, had great art direction, truly brought the heroes to life on the big screen in a way that other attempts failed.

But Thunderbolts, I think, is the best type of movie for the superhero genre in that it really brought more to the table than just spectacle in action.

It was more of a psychological exploration.

And it was funny.

And it's still delivered on the action.

Yes, psychological thrillers are some of my favorite films of all time.

I really liked the Thunderbolts when it came out.

In fact, I called it my favorite Marvel film up until that point.

And so Fantastic Four came out, which I started calling that my favorite Marvel film up until that point.

But only because I think I cared about the characters a little bit more.

And I think the filmmaking was a little better in terms of, you know, cinematography and stuff like that.

But that's not to discount Thunderbolts.

It was a really cool movie, really well done movie, a little bit smaller in scope.

But I agree with you that I appreciate that it had a message.

Yes, scope isn't everything.

Yeah, you compare the scope of these two films and they couldn't be more different.

But I think what also contributed to my ultimate decision was that the first act and the latter part of the second act of the Fantastic Four movie were too montagey.

There was too much dicing and slicing in the editing room for the Fantastic Four first steps, whereas that was not the case for Thunderbolts.

That's fair.

Yeah, that's a fair criticism for sure.

Made it harder to connect with the characters than it should have been.

Whereas it was surprisingly easy to connect with C tier characters that appeared in the Thunderbolts.

Right.

Good choice.

Good choice.

I'm glad you went with that choice.

But moving on to DC, also just three nominees.

The nominees for the best DC picture of 2025 are Aztec Batman, Clash of Empires.

Batman Ninja versus Yakuza League.

Superman.

Superman, obviously.

Final answer.

The winner is Aztec Batman, Clash of Clans.

I'm just joking.

Bullshit.

The winner is Superman.

It was an easy choice.

As much as I really liked Batman Ninja versus Yakuza League, I had to go with Superman.

It was just a better experience overall.

An exciting experience as it kicked off James Gunn's DCU.

It was a terrific Superman film with all of the heart and hope and goodness that you want out of a Superman movie.

In a way that I feel like we haven't had in a really long time.

The music, the score, the story, the performances, all commendable.

I just really loved this film.

And I'm not the only one.

I can't tell you how many Instagram reels I've seen of people just loving on the Superman movie.

Just going home and feeling good about being a punk rocker or wanting to be a punk rocker like Superman, who's extremely nice and sees the good in everyone.

It's a great message for a Superman film to have in particular.

First of all, Superman isn't punk rock as much as he wants to claim that he is.

He's the new punk rock.

Second of all, I totally beat you at this year's Brothers Awards.

I just want you to know that I know it's not like an actual competition, but I won in terms of our guesses.

Oh, wait, wait, what are we keeping score now?

Is this some kind of contest?

Yes.

What was the score?

I don't know.

Okay.

Third of all, yes, Superman was a good movie.

It was fine.

I don't think he compared to Thunderbolts.

And frankly, I'm tired of hearing about Superman.

Well, that's just Hater talk.

Hater.

Hater's going to hate.

And I guess you'll be doing given more hating next year because we'll be discussing Supergirl.

Yeah, I'm already not looking forward to it, but thankfully I'll be able to go at least a few precious months without hearing you talk about Superman.

Cause I'm a punk rocker.

Yes, I am.

Okay.

But that does it for this award show, guys.

We hope you enjoyed it this year.

Let us know which awards you agreed with, which awards you didn't agree with.

Follow us on Instagram where we'll be posting the awards or join our Discord server, which is now open to all of our listeners, not just our patrons.

There is a link to the server within the show notes.

Go ahead and click that if you are on Discord and join the larger dynamic dual fan community.

That's right.

As we transition into the new year and the new format where we're doing only reviews, no more dual episodes, we are doing away with our Patreon tiers and opening up our Discord to anyone who wants to chat about DC and Marvel films or comics, or just shoot the shit with us because we'll still be on there.

So happy new year, everyone.

AJ9K help close this out.

Thanks for listening to Dynamic Duel.

Visit the show's website at dynamicduel.com and follow us on Instagram at Dynamic Duel podcast.

Don't forget to listen to the other shows in the DynaMic podcast network, including Max Destruction, Senjo World, and Konsole Kombat.

In our next episode, we are going to be doing a duel between Animal Man and the Lizard, the Spider-Man villain.

That should be a good one.

Yeah, it's going to be our last individual dual matchup for the show.

Do not miss it.

That is it for this episode.

We want to give a big final thank you to our executive producers, Jon Straski, Zachary Hepburn, Nathaniel Wagner, Levi Yatn, Austin Wyselowski, AJ Dunkerly, Nick Obanto, Scott Camacho, Gil Camacho, Adam Spees, Dean Maleski, Devin Davis, Joseph Kirsting, and Paul Graves for helping make this podcast 520 01:02:13,420 --> possible.

We'll talk to you guys next week.

Up, up, and away, true believers.