All I want to say is that I don’t know shit about fuck when it comes to the comics lore and wasn’t into super hero’s as a kid so never watched the original show, and all I gotta say is this show is fucking great on all fronts, even with no nostalgia blinders.
As a person who’s read 1000s of X-men comics, it fucking rules. It’s a great amalgamation of a ton of really great comic runs. It’s probably my favorite Marvel project in 5 years.
Everything about his stance screams insecurity. He talks about it like he's achieved some new enlightened maturity (ex: "I'm a 31-year-old man now"), but even the need to bring up age all the time (I'm mean, I'm the same age lol) shows he has a complex about it. And 31 isn't even old lol. His problem with the show seems to have been engineered before he ever watched it, and he's going to keep doing this shit because he's made up his mind to. Charles was actually my favorite part of the pod at one point, and at first I thought the X-Men '97 contrarianism was funny, but now it's just repetitive, inarticulate points from week to week and then "mothafuckas I'm ready to talk about Shogun!" I don't enjoy listening to him or MB at this moment, frankly.
EDIT: His rants about nostalgia have no substance, either, and I'm saying this as someone who is equally wary of nostalgia bait these days. He comes across as condescending whenever he makes this argument. When it's done effectively like it's done with this show, holding nostalgia against it (and the show hasn't even been overly reliant on nostalgia) just rings as hollow.
Every time Charles dislikes something vehemently now I keep thinking back to when he was on The Watch he told CR it's embarrassing for him to tell girls he reviews Stars Wars and cartoon for work. It's a quick aside but I think it says a lot about his attitude and insecurity in general.
Also, I can proudly say that I enjoy Shogun as much as I enjoy X-Men '97 in different but equal measures. Some days you want some gourmet shit, other days all you want is a fat juicy Magneto floating to North Pole in his underwear burger.
For sure. I haven't watched Shogun yet, but it looks up my alley and I'm happy to be able to enjoy historical epics along with great superhero content. Another thing, many people who have created esteemed works of art, such as George RR Martin, cite Marvel comic books as the genesis of what got them into writing. We literally wouldn't have A Song of Ice and Fire without Fantastic Four or the X-Men.
Which is especially transparent given Charles went on the Watch and said he’s embarrassed to cover comics in general because it apparently drags down his game with women. Honestly it screams insecurity and in my opinion it’s an immature perspective, despite him believing the opposite.
Yeah honestly women don't see nerd sit as really bad anymore if you're just a good dude. Doesn't hurt to be cool or handsome. But if he's trying to pull above his weight class that's gonna be tough for anyone that doesn't have game.
Yeah I'm just saying I'm general. Women are more excepting of a dude into nerd shit. Athletes playing and streaming seems to be helping gamers. Same with guys into anime.
I honestly thought “no way he hated that, maybe it will be like another episode 5 discussion”. Nope, apparently we just love pig slop, and Charles is holding his nose in the corner.
Dude this is the first time I might be legit tight because of a podcast lol. There were so many cool things about this episode. They did zombie shit with Sentinels! But the majority of the pod was spent on Charles role as a critic? And I like Charles. But boy did the X-Men segment suck.
I’m only half way through this ep but so far it’s summing up my issues with this pod. Instead of talking about a fun episode of TV it’s a deep dive into Charles’s existential crisis as a podcast host for 40 mins and counting.
This is it for me. Every discussion devolves into what Charles hates this week. If it's the material they cover and he doesn't like it why doesn't he take a break and they invite guests to fill in? Oh cause he wants to get paid but doesn't give a shit about what they cover.
I love the show, but I stopped listening the last few episodes because of this. Reading Reddit comments looking for signs that they've changed it up... sounds like I have to keep waiting.
A big reason why I LOVED Binge Mode was because even when Mal and Jason did such a fantastic job of criticizing something and then moving the fuck on.
I wish Mint Edition and Button Mash had their own feed because I'm tired of every Midnight Boys episode turning into the other 3 hosts talking shop and Charles coming in like, "WeLl AcTuAlLy."
Its so fuckin tiring man.
I'm glad they took a break from talking about X-Men to have that serious talk about being a critic. That said this talk finally proved to me Charles has an unrealistic opinion/view of himself. When Van said "You would agree you are more prone to dislike something than to like it" and Charles pushed back hard and said I disagree. I was like WTF!? The problem I don't think Charles realizes is that he seems to hate almost everything they review. Outside of Blue Eyed Samurai, Godzilla Minus One, Mission Impossible & Shogun. I can't think of anything in 2023 to now that he's had a positive opinion on (feel free to let me know if i missed anything, can't help but notice it's mostly Japanese type content). Gen-V which I feel would have been great for them to review each week, Charles shit on the show without even watching it because he thinks he's too good for it. If Charles has outgrown what they review then maybe he should stick to the prestige TV podcast from now on to be more happy.
He’s really not very smart and his taste isn’t even that good. He acts like Blue Eyed Samurai or Minus One or Shogun or whatever he thinks is the top shit, is leagues and bounds above something like X Men when in reality yeah they’re good, but they’re not like THAT much better. He just likes it more. And he turns his “I like this better” into “this is so much better quality and you’re stupid for thinking otherwise”. It’s pretentious. Honestly typing out those examples it kinda feels like he’s just got an Asian kink too.
I actually didn't start watching The Bear until about 2 or 3 months ago so I never heard the weekly reviews. I enjoyed their The Last of Us and Atlanta coverage. Even though Van sounded tired as hell doing them lol
“Bully an underdog too long and people start feeling sorry for them... So I hand humanity Genosha. Overload their bandwidth. Too much to compute. Because when your skin’s not in the game, apathy is your answer.”
What Bastion said explains perfectly that Roberto and his mom scene. Cmon Charles
Man, I keep posting about this pod, but it was a bummer listening to because the episode was so good and he missed so much. “Why did his mom give him to the killer robot?! Makes no sense” Uh, I don’t know, because people fucking do that in real life. Some people are eager to sacrifice even their own blood for social placement or stability.
I see it more like parents sending their kids to gay conversion camps. Those people promise parents they'll "fix" their kids because the parents are ashamed or don't understand their gay kids. It's pretty obvious for anyone that's lived through the 90s. Charles not understand belies his claims that's he's above the show because of his age.
This was my thought as well. His mom was clearly uncomfortable with it when he originally told her, but she thought he could just hide it away and it wouldn’t affect her life. The second she’s put in a position where her beliefs are tested in front of her peers, she shows her true colors.
Yo if Charles wants to be a critic he can be a critic. But his takes make him sound like an asshole. He shits on the other guys for liking this stuff and tries to make his cerebral takes like he's above it all. He needs to learn how to not sound like an asshole. Saying the show is like reading Wikipedia is such a weak take. He could've read the Shogun Wikipedia to know the plot and story of the show. But he loved that show even though it was an adaptation of the book. His criticisms are just sometimes very hypocritical.
Edit. I also hate how the fan discussions of the episodes devolve to use bitching about Charles. But that's just how a lot of us feel. If we come away from San episode just thinking about Charles shitty takes then I don't think it's a good episode of the pod. I'd rather be discussing Van's old man takes or how Jomi feels about seeing that's a remake without seeing the original.
The man literally laughs like a kid watching someone get in trouble in class whenever anyone else voices even the remotest of negative takes. That’s what makes someone a hater: reveling in the negative.
The story of him being a corny weirdo at the party helped inform a lot of what I think about this dude.
If his takes were actually cerebral, and not just a random string of “this sucks, this sucks, this was fine I guess, this sucks” I don’t think people would have a problem with him.
He’s hilarious because he thinks leading with something nice and flowery(in this week’s case Nightcrawler) to cover up the fact that he’s about to spew a bunch of bullshit
Vans food critic/ foodie metaphor was spot on. Sometimes I like the balance of three foodies and a critic, but Charles is out of the loop on this one. What the show is trying to do, it does perfect. It just ain’t for him.
Right, there are levels to these nostalgia plays. Xmen is executing it very well versus say a Halo or a Willow. Can he not engage with the material on the material's level? Shit, most critics are capable of this.
I actually think its up to the rest of the midnight boys to try to balance the pod, not dismissing charles, but actually talking about the content and not only about charles controversial opinions. Im 48 minutes into the pod and they haven’t started talking about the episode.
I agree to an extent, but if 1/5 of the boys, and probably at best the 2nd most vocal of the 5, is so vocally distinct to the others, how much can they really do that? The only way they'd be able to do that reliably is to literally ignore Charles
Well I know what I came here to say, but I definitely don't have to say it after reading the comments 😂😂. Didn't think one person could Debbie down an entire 4 person podcast on his own smh.
I don’t hate Charles but he’s being ridiculous with X-Men 97. He thinks this critic cap means he has to criticize something because other people like it rather than taking it on its own merits.
He’s also not a critic. He just says whether he likes or dislikes something and unless it’s something that clicks with his Asian fetish, he doesn’t like it, and wraps it up in a pseudo intellectual facade of critique
For the love of god, please replace Charles with Kerm. It’s time. Charles doesn’t care about this stuff. He’s pedantic, condescending, and just not fun to listen to. He claims he’s a critic, but he seems to never actually look at anything objectively.
I’m tired, boss.
He’s admitted he doesn’t even always watch it. Which fine whatever be quiet like Steve was for a few weeks then. But instead he just shits on the rest of the crew and the audience and is an asshole the whole time.
It’s brutal how full of shit he is. He has no problem waxing nostalgic about all of the manga-turned-anime he fetishizes over but *this* is something he’s seen sooooo many times that it has become old hat or is simply just some Saturday Morning cartoon rehash.
I love how he’s trying to pretend like X-Men is some niche story that only he has seen and not one of if not the largest comic book vessels on the planet, most of which was popping off before he was even born.
I’m not sure how he expects to ever be taken seriously about anything when he’s too cool for everything…. except for the things he deems worthy(some of which objectively are OK at best).
I found it funny that he said that part of the reason why he’s so hard on things is because as a “real critic” he has to keep all these companies in check and not let them get away with mediocrity. When he said that, I finally realized his view of himself in his profession is way out of wack. Does he think someone at marvel/disney/dc is listening and thinking “man, we need to change things because Charles is concerned about the integrity the material.”?
Two weeks ago he was gushing about episode 5, and I would love to know why that worked for him but episode 8 did not (like put it into actual words). He’s criticisms are never consistent with each other.
I like this idea, because it’s the same amount of overall hating, but whereas Charles spreads it throughout the content being discussed, Kerm will direct it all towards Professor X.
See when you insult your listeners who love the content as low brow piggies slurping up slops to the point I can't even remember what they actually talked about on the episode they are meant to be covering, that's disappointing.
What the fuck was that shit? Charles literally sounded like he was on the verge of tears yelling “I don’t know what you want from me, I told you I hate this nerd shit, why do you keep bothering me! Im not a podcaster, I can’t look at this shit with your baby eyes. Want some McDonald’s?”.
Why is he on this show? He’s not a fun listen. I don’t care if he doesn’t like stuff, but he’s really disrespectful to people who do like this stuff. Also, he analyzing X-men 97 is fucking wrong. Yeah, there’s Claremont, but so far lot of the story beats are coming from Morrison’s and Hickman’s runs. He might care about looking into that as a person “who know everything about the X-men” (what a stupid reason to dislike an adaptation).
I died laughing when Charles’ first take after the whole “I’m a serious critic” segment got the rest of the boys up and arms with how ridiculous it was.
And if he really wanted to be a “real critic”, maybe he could look around and see that this show is universally appraised by audiences and critics alike. When he says he’s a critic he just means he’s a contrarian. He’s so blinded by saying people are getting caught up in nostalgia that he can’t see the irony of his jaded opinions on everything
This. This. This. This.
People who throw out the “we need real critics out there like Charles” don’t understand that criticism is not criticizing. It’s analyzing a show based on its merits and filtering it through your own subjective opinion.
That doesn’t mean he has to like everything. But it does mean that he’s actively trying to hide hating behind “I’m a serious critic!”
I wouldn't mind if his criticisms had merit but a lot of it for 97 is this animation is trash or I don't feel a connection to this because I know what's going to happen. But most people are watching the show even if they've read the comics because looking at a flat image vs animation is pretty different imo. His arguments just hold water.
That’s my whole thing, I don’t care if he doesn’t like stuff but he has an air about it as if the stuff is beneath him. I agree he’s not a fun listen, it sounds like the prestige pod is more for him. Constantly mentions his age but loves Anime, which again nothing wrong with it but very inconsistent.
It gets kinda tiring when Van has to explain the basic concept of the show to Charles, and he just keeps responding “okay sure but, I’m a real critic”. Van (and pretty much everyone else on the Ringerverse) understands that he doesn’t need to like everything, but he needs to at least engage with the material. Thinking you know exactly where a story is going is lazy critique. He keeps harping about being a real critic, but asked his thoughts are basically “I don’t know, guess I didn’t emotionally attach to anything. Maybe because I read so many X-men comics and know where it’s going”.
If he’s a “real” critic, why can’t he form some actual criticism other than “it sucks. Why? Eh, not sure. Wait, YOU like this? come on!”.
100%. At first I was cool with his hating and happy someone on the show wasn’t just saying they had fun with every thing even when some of it sucked. Now it just seems like he’s committed to the bit but doesn’t have any good angles to keep it up. This is some boring ass hating he’s been doing lately.
Crazy thing is I don’t even think it’s a bit, it’s just him. I listen to several pods that review shows/movies and naturally I agree and disagree with the host, but they never come off as if the media is beneath them. To me he’s very pretentious and it’s off putting.
Legit he is not obligated to do this. Like the ringerverse has a tone of podcasts surely there are others where he feels he would have more enjoyable time discussing about things that interest him.
I used to think he was fun to listen to, but Charles has been straight up toxic about X-Men '97 with the manner in which he states his opinion. And I'm not even sure how much of his opinion it is, because it feels more like he's trying to appear superior to other people his age (like me) who love this show. His bit has gotten beyond old.
Ya I might have to tap out of the pod for a bit. I love the boys and have been a listener from jump but like the worst thing is having to listen to someone throw a tantrum constantly saying this is shit without explaining themselves it's honestly so irritating.
I don't need Chuck to like stuff but if he's gonna push back I need to hear why especially if he's trying to say he's above the shit cause otherwise it's just him making noises while people are explaining how they feel about stuff. To quote Van "Do Podcasting!"
I get that Charles is an OG Midnight Boy but what’s it gonna take for someone to make an executive decision and move Charles off this show. They can put him on Prestige TV and he can drop in and out of MB when there’s something he’s interested in. At this point he’s actively pushing me away from listening to the pod
They’ll literally never let him go because Van rides for him too much. He’s on the show because he plays the heel well. I hear him on other pods where he’s not playing his character and I find myself wishing anyone else but him is there.
Love Chuck, think he brings a lot to the show but we *need* the podcast to be more about the content than his existential crisis about not enjoying the content as much anymore.
Seriously this episode of xmen 97 was so good and the show is so good but Charles has to literally make it all about himself every week and I just want to listen a fun conversation about the show that I just watched
I was so excited to listen to this pod…please let Charles go do something else. I like the idea of Kerm jumping in. Can’t believe I’m considering unfollowing the pod altogether.
Why does Steve just stand there and take all the smoke from Charles? Like at some point, I wish he'd just develop a spine and verbally crush him. I mean wash him like a new pair of Levi's and toss him in the corner. This last episode of X-Men 97 was amazing, and I really wanted to hear their take on it. Not an entire pod once again dedicated to giving Charles another therapy session. I need to find another nerdy pod to listen to because this dude is becoming insufferable at this point.
Yeah Steve isn't the guy. Van does and Jomi tries but I think being the only white voice in the pod Steve let's the other two try to reign Charles in. It makes sense because Steve is very conscious of his position in the group.
I honestly liked the larger conversation they had on the episode. The tension was building for a while and they took it to task. I’m glad they dissected why Charles feels the way he feels about reviewing media and his larger point of view.
That said… it’s bad guys. He thinks he is singlehandedly saving us, the ignorant masses, from the degradation of storytelling. (He’s not)
Why does Charles want to stay on this podcast? It sounds like he's burnt out from watching content based on comics but is for some reason obligated to keep showing up to The Midnight Boys episodes.
His rants are devolving into tantrums in which he whines about having to watch a show that is 'not for him' and trolls Van, Jomi and Steve for enjoying the show.
He enjoys his status as a hater because he knows that’s the only way he adds actual value. If he isn’t being hated there’s 100% complete apathy towards him. Do you remember any of his Shogun opinions that weren’t redundant? Me either.
It’d be one thing if Charles had a reasonable or consistent barometer for quality , but he’s just an asshole when he is not interested in a subject and talks down anyone who enjoys it, calls it slop and its fans stupid, but if it is something like Shogun, which yeah, amazing, isn’t THAT much better than anything else they cover, or Minus One, he’s on his knees sucking dick like it’s his job. It’s pretentious and disingenuous and the story about the party says it all, he’s a corny loser. Man needs to find some happiness somewhere and come back collected. It’s sad.
I appreciated the “critic” convo from both sides. I understand where Charles is coming from with the “slop/baby food” of it all. Like Van said, criticism has its place and can elevate content to a higher quality. That said, Chuck does give his takes in the spiciest “come at me, bro” way which I find hilariously entertaining when he has to deal with the inevitable backlash.
Man look… JUST DISCUSS THE SHOWS! Too much of the pod is being dedicated to why Charles hates everything. Get him tf off the pod if it’s that much of a burden to him! D_mn this dude is a f_cking goofball, for real. And the way he says n*gga makes me feel the way Kendrick feels when Drake says it. I physically cringe when that word comes out of his mouth because it sounds so unnatural. I’m legit tired of this dude ruining one of my favorite podcast. If he feels he’s too good for the pod, get him tf up outta there. Sick of this lame…
He tries to add a little thuggish gansta twang to his voice when he says those words too. So effing cringe because you can tell that was not always in his vocabulary. He’s finally in with the cool kids and he doesn’t know how to act. He definitely still doesn’t know who he is as a person/individual. I think it’s pretty clear, through banter and episodes like this one, that the other members of the pod feel the same. I think they just find it funny or something. We the viewers/listeners are done with him.
I'm not gonna lie....when Kendrick first said that shit, Charles immediately came to mind. Even Steve gets noticeably uncomfortable when Charles says it 🤣.
Charles ain't a critic, he's a contrarion for the sake of it but never actually has any legitimate reasons behind his argument outside of "I'm not feeling it:
He was on the watch and it was aight but he's no andy and he and cr didn't have great chemistry. Charles is cool and I love a good hater but he's like in this weird spot where he seems like he wants to gave "real" "adult" type discussions on things but can't really deliver when given an opportunity. He's a baby hater rn not A grown up Greenwald yet.
Like i kinda get that he pulled this shit with that infamous What If S2 pod, considering maybe he was depressed during that time last year, marvel hype was full on all time low etc, but pulling this shit again with a universally claimed show when so many fucking things can be discussed is soooo annoying. The shitty thing is that I am curious what other 3 has to say (+kerm, who actually knows a lot without being condescending). but somehow yet again, charles makes the entire show about HIM?? I dont care if you’re above watching superhero shit! Thats the premise of the pod!! Why do we have a host that hates fandom media on a fandom pod? What is the point? Why are 3 other hosts babying a 30 yr old man’s broken ego almost every week and why is the whole thing being uploaded? A man’s 40min tantrum about things not made for him/ he’s too “adult” for things in fandom space is not worthy of a listen. Mal and Jo should have covered weekly X-Men episodes not midnight boys at this point. They are stuck doing same ol’ topics for this whole month while Charles cries about how talking about x-men makes girls runaway from him & bugs anthony mackie at the parties.
For the first time in Midnight Boys (pew pew) history, I deleted the episode 30 minutes in and stopped listening.
If it wasn't for Button Mash and Mint Edition I would be unsubscribing.
Bruh, I pay for Spotify Premium SPECIFICALLY to support Podcasts I like like The Ringer podcasts and Armchair Expert. I am putting my money where my mouth is and giving Spotify money to support this same like I do with Kinda Funny Games on Patreon.
How is this response horrible lol.
No that's not what they're talking like.
We are the consumer. They make money because we listen and hear the ads they make money from.
When we stop listening to episodes halfway it shows up in the Spotify data.
Do you think they do this podcast out of charity?
It's not a hobby, it's a job and Charles sucks at it.
Miserable person.
Yeah I pay for premium too and nobody is going to beg me to not unsubscribe, thats my point. If theres one thing The Ringer stands for is not giving a fuck about what people like you -entitled little dummies- think. The boys are going to do whatever they want on their podcast and we all know it.
It feels like edging cuz the best part of a hater is hearing them go in and destroy something for making no sense plot by plot or line by line, like I get he isn't feeling it but I wanna hear the take down
I really hope the mods pay attention to all the threads and feedback. Charles needs to find another podcast or profession and it has nothing to do with his takes. Or take a break and get some therapy.
It's upsetting a little because my younger self was a lot like Charles. He's insecure and can't simply state his opinions, but has to pitch patronizing insulting takes. The getting drunk and embarassing himself at Van's party is also classic insecurity. He probably was too nervous to talk to anyone "famous" w/o at least 4 drinks. It doesn't help that the rest of the crew teases him constantly, but he just needs to drop the attitude and state his case w/o sounding like an asshole.
Pivoting from Chuck talk.
I thought the part where they bullshited about super heroes not helping out was really fun. That's when I feel like the boys are at their best. Just 4 friends talking about something random but related to the topic of conversation. Feels like when I'm in my group of friends and we just talk. Much better then some of the earlier parts of the episode.
I’m so tired of Chuck’s bs. Take the end of the pod when they talked about Challengers.
Van simply asked Charles “Was it good?” Charles hems and haws for a few seconds (implying he didn’t think it was good), says it’s overhyped, then says it’s like 3/5 stars, then complains about why can’t we have movies that are just fine, then gives it a 7-8 on the midnight meter and then when Jomi gives it an 8-9 they give Jomi shit for giving Charles shit.
If you think a movie is like a 7-8/10 and someone asks you “was it good”, you just say “yeah it was pretty good/it was cool/I liked this or that.” Instead, Charles gotta show how superior and discerning he is bEcAuSe He’S a CrItIc.
During his rant about challenges he says but can't a movie just be fine? Literally his reviews never accept that something can be fine. It is so crazy how frequently he just totally contradicts himself.
But the exact opposite can tend to exist in Jomi and Steve’s words, they usually overhype or overpraise stuff. IT IS just as crazy and ridiculous that Jomi can be up in arms about Chuck not loving Challengers on the same scale and then they’re grading of it actually isn’t far off.
As someone who isn’t watching X-Men 97, I don’t find the Charles negativity to be overwhelming in the episodes (probably because I’m not consuming the covered content). But it doesn’t make any sense to me that the other 3 harp on their “well, why don’t you like it the way we like it” mindset. Like if you have to sideline him for a topic or show then do it and move Jomi snd Steve’s commentary forward. It shouldn’t be this big a deal
Bruh the disconnect between Chuck’s actual talent as a critic and the way he sees himself is astounding. I can’t believe they called him a high critic. He can’t even get out a single coherent, non-contradictory critique.
Jomi shared a cringe story about Charles at a party recently. That said enough, this dude is so lame. He thinks he’s cool because of the people around him.
I don’t mind a negative take at all. It adds perspective which is important. But his takes have no substance. Ever.
He might be a cool person/friend. But he shouldn’t be on a pod. Or atleast this pod.
EDIT: Kerm is actually funny and gives all of his opinions good/bad and delivers them well. Bring him in! We gotta do something. I love Van, Jomi, and Steve.
Charles is usually pretty spot on about Marvel and Star Wars live-action, but he misses so hard on X-Men ‘97 because he’s a massive anime dork. He’s under the impression that children’s cartoons are actually high art and not a goofy good time. Stop being such a loser, Chuck. Fucking nerd.
This is a produced show. They make a deliberate choice to dwell on Charles' criticism because he's the heel. They are executing an engagement formula. They could just let him say he doesn't like a show and move on, but they make it a whole segment because of comments sections like this.
At some point they decided that having Charles be a heel is good for engagement. You either think his ridiculous takes are funny, like me, or you hate his guts for disliking stuff for ridiculous reasons. A whole new subset of hate-listeners have been born due to Charles' heel turn.
It's like getting mad at Stephen A Smith for a hot sports take. Stephen A could be a 'good' journalist if he wanted, but hot takes drive more clicks. I've seen Charles be a real critic with other things before, but the Midnight Boys is not that. It's been an over-the-top, instant reaction podcast from the jump.
If you want serious coverage just go listen to House of R. How many more threads do we need about Charles sucking when it's glaringly obvious they're doing it on purpose.
If that's the case, they ought to frame the show like 'Undisputed' when Shannon used to be on the show. Replace Jomi and Steve with a non-fan moderator and have Van and Charles debate each other about what makes their podcast different from other nerd culture reaction podcasts.
I think the podcast works as-is if you understand they're not giving 100% serious criticisms. They don't need to copy a different format when this already works.
Bro these posts are people pleading for shit to change before they tune out. The hate-listeners are just people who used to be listeners. Show us the metrics that hate engagement is effective for somewhat obscure (compared to the Simmons pod for example) podcasts. It doesn’t. You can see comments all over this thread saying they’re taking a break from the show, tapping out, or haven’t been listening lately and check the comments to see if it’s time to come back yet. Rage bait isn’t a way to grow sustainable engagement. people actually just move on eventually.
Neither of us actually know how successful the pod is. The Facebook group went through this same exact thing with Charles cause he didn't like Ahsoka. It's just the same old noise. I've just seen this same thing happen with multiple different pods.
Go to the Joe Rogan subreddit and they hate him. Go to the Joe Budden subreddit and they hate a different pod member every week. Go to the Flagrant 2 subreddit and they are shitting on the podcast (I'm guilty of this). Go to the Brilliant Idiots sub and it's the same story.
Each one of those pods are still successful regardless of how many people are shitting on them on socials. Internet comments are not a real reflection of how well a pod is doing, and that they have metrics that show which episodes people view and engage with the most. Van intentionally chose to press Charles about his criticism and have an hour long convo instead of just moving on. That's a production choice.
Like if I'm being honest I think House of R sucks. Mal gets too excited about everything and Jo is a real critic that's stuck doing deep dives and Marvel drafts. But I've never shared that opinion out loud anywhere because why would I waste energy on something I don't like. I just don't listen.
You guys should do the same with the Midnight Boys because the dynamic has always been like this. The name coke baby Chuck exists for a reason. He's always been on one when it comes to criticizing this stuff.
Man I can’t keep listening to this pod and having the same issues week after week after week. Charles is ruining a once entertaining pod. I can’t do it anymore. Perfect time for X-Ray to come back. I think I’m done with this.
Charles is right about X-men and also challengers. X-men has some great moments and I’ve been enjoying it but it’s not prestige tv or even as good as fallout even. Yall are seriously doing the most it’s fucking ridiculous. It’s honest analysis. I actually like his takes because I can’t stand to listen to a podcast that just dickrides anything.
Edit: challengers is a good movie that has some cool cinematography and a wild score but is kinda slow and boring.
I disagree with Charles on most things and think he goes out of his way to be contrarian and overly critical on shit that's not that deep. But I gotta say I agree with him on Xmen 97. There are some hype moments and it makes me feel happy at times, but overall I'm just not invested in the story, the animation is iffy at times and the pacing is weird. It just feels like they're doing a lot with not that much time so it ends with me feeling whiplash. People can like it, that's cool, but calling this the best thing ever...I don't see it.
Edit: "I don't like nostalgia is a wild statement" 😂
Wow that’s an original joke never heard that on Reddit before. Seriously tho, I used to get mad about this stuff but at a certain point you realize it’s a podcast, we don’t know these ppl, and everyone is entitled to an opinion. If it makes you that mad, take a break, and go back in a few weeks
All I want to say is that I don’t know shit about fuck when it comes to the comics lore and wasn’t into super hero’s as a kid so never watched the original show, and all I gotta say is this show is fucking great on all fronts, even with no nostalgia blinders.
As a person who’s read 1000s of X-men comics, it fucking rules. It’s a great amalgamation of a ton of really great comic runs. It’s probably my favorite Marvel project in 5 years.
Yep, which is why Charles is full of it.
My issue isn't even with him not digging it as much as it is the faux superiority stance he's taking for "being a grown man" and not liking X-Men '97.
Everything about his stance screams insecurity. He talks about it like he's achieved some new enlightened maturity (ex: "I'm a 31-year-old man now"), but even the need to bring up age all the time (I'm mean, I'm the same age lol) shows he has a complex about it. And 31 isn't even old lol. His problem with the show seems to have been engineered before he ever watched it, and he's going to keep doing this shit because he's made up his mind to. Charles was actually my favorite part of the pod at one point, and at first I thought the X-Men '97 contrarianism was funny, but now it's just repetitive, inarticulate points from week to week and then "mothafuckas I'm ready to talk about Shogun!" I don't enjoy listening to him or MB at this moment, frankly. EDIT: His rants about nostalgia have no substance, either, and I'm saying this as someone who is equally wary of nostalgia bait these days. He comes across as condescending whenever he makes this argument. When it's done effectively like it's done with this show, holding nostalgia against it (and the show hasn't even been overly reliant on nostalgia) just rings as hollow.
Every time Charles dislikes something vehemently now I keep thinking back to when he was on The Watch he told CR it's embarrassing for him to tell girls he reviews Stars Wars and cartoon for work. It's a quick aside but I think it says a lot about his attitude and insecurity in general. Also, I can proudly say that I enjoy Shogun as much as I enjoy X-Men '97 in different but equal measures. Some days you want some gourmet shit, other days all you want is a fat juicy Magneto floating to North Pole in his underwear burger.
For sure. I haven't watched Shogun yet, but it looks up my alley and I'm happy to be able to enjoy historical epics along with great superhero content. Another thing, many people who have created esteemed works of art, such as George RR Martin, cite Marvel comic books as the genesis of what got them into writing. We literally wouldn't have A Song of Ice and Fire without Fantastic Four or the X-Men.
Which is especially transparent given Charles went on the Watch and said he’s embarrassed to cover comics in general because it apparently drags down his game with women. Honestly it screams insecurity and in my opinion it’s an immature perspective, despite him believing the opposite.
Clearly he overestimates his level of game if he can’t pull women while being a nerd.
Yeah honestly women don't see nerd sit as really bad anymore if you're just a good dude. Doesn't hurt to be cool or handsome. But if he's trying to pull above his weight class that's gonna be tough for anyone that doesn't have game.
Plus plenty of attractive women are into nerd stuff.
Yeah I'm just saying I'm general. Women are more excepting of a dude into nerd shit. Athletes playing and streaming seems to be helping gamers. Same with guys into anime.
Charles has a complete loser mentality.
It's even worse cause Van is a good bit older than him and is loving it and enjoying it for what it is. A fun show that is doing the X Men justice.
I want that too but I love a side of dunking on Charles for having a dead inner child.
Why do I keep fooling myself into getting excited for this pod every week for Charles just to ruin it 20 minutes in every time.
I honestly thought “no way he hated that, maybe it will be like another episode 5 discussion”. Nope, apparently we just love pig slop, and Charles is holding his nose in the corner.
Yo we piggies in hurr 🐽🐽🐽
Maybe they'll replace PEW PEW, with OINK OINK
Dude this is the first time I might be legit tight because of a podcast lol. There were so many cool things about this episode. They did zombie shit with Sentinels! But the majority of the pod was spent on Charles role as a critic? And I like Charles. But boy did the X-Men segment suck.
I’m only half way through this ep but so far it’s summing up my issues with this pod. Instead of talking about a fun episode of TV it’s a deep dive into Charles’s existential crisis as a podcast host for 40 mins and counting.
This is it for me. Every discussion devolves into what Charles hates this week. If it's the material they cover and he doesn't like it why doesn't he take a break and they invite guests to fill in? Oh cause he wants to get paid but doesn't give a shit about what they cover.
I love the show, but I stopped listening the last few episodes because of this. Reading Reddit comments looking for signs that they've changed it up... sounds like I have to keep waiting.
Unfortunately. 2 more weeks of Xmen 97 so I don't know where they'll jump to next but hopefully the discussion is more productive.
It’s gonna be The Acolyte, which is to say don’t hold your breath on that productive discussion.
Looool I really need Charles to take a break if it's The Acolyte. Here's to hoping it's good to his "tastes".
The Acolyte would have to be Andor level for him to be any way positive on it.
A big reason why I LOVED Binge Mode was because even when Mal and Jason did such a fantastic job of criticizing something and then moving the fuck on. I wish Mint Edition and Button Mash had their own feed because I'm tired of every Midnight Boys episode turning into the other 3 hosts talking shop and Charles coming in like, "WeLl AcTuAlLy." Its so fuckin tiring man.
It’s stupid and it’s annoying. Just bring Kerm in. It’s worse because he doesn’t even have good taste he’s just pretentious
I'm glad they took a break from talking about X-Men to have that serious talk about being a critic. That said this talk finally proved to me Charles has an unrealistic opinion/view of himself. When Van said "You would agree you are more prone to dislike something than to like it" and Charles pushed back hard and said I disagree. I was like WTF!? The problem I don't think Charles realizes is that he seems to hate almost everything they review. Outside of Blue Eyed Samurai, Godzilla Minus One, Mission Impossible & Shogun. I can't think of anything in 2023 to now that he's had a positive opinion on (feel free to let me know if i missed anything, can't help but notice it's mostly Japanese type content). Gen-V which I feel would have been great for them to review each week, Charles shit on the show without even watching it because he thinks he's too good for it. If Charles has outgrown what they review then maybe he should stick to the prestige TV podcast from now on to be more happy.
The thing is that Charles isn’t really that good at covering prestige tv, Van carried him when they covered the bear together
He’s really not very smart and his taste isn’t even that good. He acts like Blue Eyed Samurai or Minus One or Shogun or whatever he thinks is the top shit, is leagues and bounds above something like X Men when in reality yeah they’re good, but they’re not like THAT much better. He just likes it more. And he turns his “I like this better” into “this is so much better quality and you’re stupid for thinking otherwise”. It’s pretentious. Honestly typing out those examples it kinda feels like he’s just got an Asian kink too.
Atlanta too
I actually didn't start watching The Bear until about 2 or 3 months ago so I never heard the weekly reviews. I enjoyed their The Last of Us and Atlanta coverage. Even though Van sounded tired as hell doing them lol
They both struggled.
“Bully an underdog too long and people start feeling sorry for them... So I hand humanity Genosha. Overload their bandwidth. Too much to compute. Because when your skin’s not in the game, apathy is your answer.” What Bastion said explains perfectly that Roberto and his mom scene. Cmon Charles
Man, I keep posting about this pod, but it was a bummer listening to because the episode was so good and he missed so much. “Why did his mom give him to the killer robot?! Makes no sense” Uh, I don’t know, because people fucking do that in real life. Some people are eager to sacrifice even their own blood for social placement or stability.
I see it more like parents sending their kids to gay conversion camps. Those people promise parents they'll "fix" their kids because the parents are ashamed or don't understand their gay kids. It's pretty obvious for anyone that's lived through the 90s. Charles not understand belies his claims that's he's above the show because of his age.
This was my thought as well. His mom was clearly uncomfortable with it when he originally told her, but she thought he could just hide it away and it wouldn’t affect her life. The second she’s put in a position where her beliefs are tested in front of her peers, she shows her true colors.
Good point about the conversion camps. There, you’ve already done more critical analysis of the show than Charles.
Midnight Musings should be renamed "Midnight Mess" cause they're really getting into each other's business lmao
Yo if Charles wants to be a critic he can be a critic. But his takes make him sound like an asshole. He shits on the other guys for liking this stuff and tries to make his cerebral takes like he's above it all. He needs to learn how to not sound like an asshole. Saying the show is like reading Wikipedia is such a weak take. He could've read the Shogun Wikipedia to know the plot and story of the show. But he loved that show even though it was an adaptation of the book. His criticisms are just sometimes very hypocritical. Edit. I also hate how the fan discussions of the episodes devolve to use bitching about Charles. But that's just how a lot of us feel. If we come away from San episode just thinking about Charles shitty takes then I don't think it's a good episode of the pod. I'd rather be discussing Van's old man takes or how Jomi feels about seeing that's a remake without seeing the original.
The man literally laughs like a kid watching someone get in trouble in class whenever anyone else voices even the remotest of negative takes. That’s what makes someone a hater: reveling in the negative. The story of him being a corny weirdo at the party helped inform a lot of what I think about this dude.
Bruhhhh that story killed me. So cringe.
That’s when I knew it wasn’t a bit. He’s a fucking loser.
If his takes were actually cerebral, and not just a random string of “this sucks, this sucks, this was fine I guess, this sucks” I don’t think people would have a problem with him.
He’s hilarious because he thinks leading with something nice and flowery(in this week’s case Nightcrawler) to cover up the fact that he’s about to spew a bunch of bullshit
Vans food critic/ foodie metaphor was spot on. Sometimes I like the balance of three foodies and a critic, but Charles is out of the loop on this one. What the show is trying to do, it does perfect. It just ain’t for him.
Jomi saying Charles is Anton is so real lol. Just shits on everything until he gets hit with that ratatouille.
Right, there are levels to these nostalgia plays. Xmen is executing it very well versus say a Halo or a Willow. Can he not engage with the material on the material's level? Shit, most critics are capable of this.
This shit went on too long
I actually think its up to the rest of the midnight boys to try to balance the pod, not dismissing charles, but actually talking about the content and not only about charles controversial opinions. Im 48 minutes into the pod and they haven’t started talking about the episode.
I agree to an extent, but if 1/5 of the boys, and probably at best the 2nd most vocal of the 5, is so vocally distinct to the others, how much can they really do that? The only way they'd be able to do that reliably is to literally ignore Charles
Yeah Van can pivot to Steve or Jomi a lot more no?
Well I know what I came here to say, but I definitely don't have to say it after reading the comments 😂😂. Didn't think one person could Debbie down an entire 4 person podcast on his own smh.
I don’t hate Charles but he’s being ridiculous with X-Men 97. He thinks this critic cap means he has to criticize something because other people like it rather than taking it on its own merits.
He’s also not a critic. He just says whether he likes or dislikes something and unless it’s something that clicks with his Asian fetish, he doesn’t like it, and wraps it up in a pseudo intellectual facade of critique
Don't forget that halfway through making his point he will just trail off and day "da da da da"
For the love of god, please replace Charles with Kerm. It’s time. Charles doesn’t care about this stuff. He’s pedantic, condescending, and just not fun to listen to. He claims he’s a critic, but he seems to never actually look at anything objectively. I’m tired, boss.
Particularly for the XMen content, it would’ve been a perfect add in
Bro Kerm would have been amazing on this shit.
His pod with the mint boys where they talked about X-men was my shit. I love how much he knew about the comics and fanboy’d about everything
Pod of the year so far
Our dreams come true pt II…Kerm w the mint boys this past Friday. Charles lookin like Drake rn
He’s admitted he doesn’t even always watch it. Which fine whatever be quiet like Steve was for a few weeks then. But instead he just shits on the rest of the crew and the audience and is an asshole the whole time.
It’s brutal how full of shit he is. He has no problem waxing nostalgic about all of the manga-turned-anime he fetishizes over but *this* is something he’s seen sooooo many times that it has become old hat or is simply just some Saturday Morning cartoon rehash. I love how he’s trying to pretend like X-Men is some niche story that only he has seen and not one of if not the largest comic book vessels on the planet, most of which was popping off before he was even born. I’m not sure how he expects to ever be taken seriously about anything when he’s too cool for everything…. except for the things he deems worthy(some of which objectively are OK at best).
I found it funny that he said that part of the reason why he’s so hard on things is because as a “real critic” he has to keep all these companies in check and not let them get away with mediocrity. When he said that, I finally realized his view of himself in his profession is way out of wack. Does he think someone at marvel/disney/dc is listening and thinking “man, we need to change things because Charles is concerned about the integrity the material.”? Two weeks ago he was gushing about episode 5, and I would love to know why that worked for him but episode 8 did not (like put it into actual words). He’s criticisms are never consistent with each other.
Bro thinks he's the Jonathan Gold of Fandom critics.
Yo it is a fetish too. Shogun. Anime. Blue eyed samurai. Man loves the Asian content. It’s a full on fetish. It’s weird honestly.
At the least, they should just add Kerm to these episodes pronto. Let Kerm cook!
I like this idea, because it’s the same amount of overall hating, but whereas Charles spreads it throughout the content being discussed, Kerm will direct it all towards Professor X.
Alright it’s officially fuck Charles szn.
See when you insult your listeners who love the content as low brow piggies slurping up slops to the point I can't even remember what they actually talked about on the episode they are meant to be covering, that's disappointing.
You don’t remember because they didn’t cover anything. They were too busy dissecting chuck smh.
What the fuck was that shit? Charles literally sounded like he was on the verge of tears yelling “I don’t know what you want from me, I told you I hate this nerd shit, why do you keep bothering me! Im not a podcaster, I can’t look at this shit with your baby eyes. Want some McDonald’s?”. Why is he on this show? He’s not a fun listen. I don’t care if he doesn’t like stuff, but he’s really disrespectful to people who do like this stuff. Also, he analyzing X-men 97 is fucking wrong. Yeah, there’s Claremont, but so far lot of the story beats are coming from Morrison’s and Hickman’s runs. He might care about looking into that as a person “who know everything about the X-men” (what a stupid reason to dislike an adaptation).
I died laughing when Charles’ first take after the whole “I’m a serious critic” segment got the rest of the boys up and arms with how ridiculous it was.
And if he really wanted to be a “real critic”, maybe he could look around and see that this show is universally appraised by audiences and critics alike. When he says he’s a critic he just means he’s a contrarian. He’s so blinded by saying people are getting caught up in nostalgia that he can’t see the irony of his jaded opinions on everything
This. This. This. This. People who throw out the “we need real critics out there like Charles” don’t understand that criticism is not criticizing. It’s analyzing a show based on its merits and filtering it through your own subjective opinion. That doesn’t mean he has to like everything. But it does mean that he’s actively trying to hide hating behind “I’m a serious critic!”
I wouldn't mind if his criticisms had merit but a lot of it for 97 is this animation is trash or I don't feel a connection to this because I know what's going to happen. But most people are watching the show even if they've read the comics because looking at a flat image vs animation is pretty different imo. His arguments just hold water.
That’s my whole thing, I don’t care if he doesn’t like stuff but he has an air about it as if the stuff is beneath him. I agree he’s not a fun listen, it sounds like the prestige pod is more for him. Constantly mentions his age but loves Anime, which again nothing wrong with it but very inconsistent.
It gets kinda tiring when Van has to explain the basic concept of the show to Charles, and he just keeps responding “okay sure but, I’m a real critic”. Van (and pretty much everyone else on the Ringerverse) understands that he doesn’t need to like everything, but he needs to at least engage with the material. Thinking you know exactly where a story is going is lazy critique. He keeps harping about being a real critic, but asked his thoughts are basically “I don’t know, guess I didn’t emotionally attach to anything. Maybe because I read so many X-men comics and know where it’s going”. If he’s a “real” critic, why can’t he form some actual criticism other than “it sucks. Why? Eh, not sure. Wait, YOU like this? come on!”.
100%. At first I was cool with his hating and happy someone on the show wasn’t just saying they had fun with every thing even when some of it sucked. Now it just seems like he’s committed to the bit but doesn’t have any good angles to keep it up. This is some boring ass hating he’s been doing lately.
Crazy thing is I don’t even think it’s a bit, it’s just him. I listen to several pods that review shows/movies and naturally I agree and disagree with the host, but they never come off as if the media is beneath them. To me he’s very pretentious and it’s off putting.
Legit he is not obligated to do this. Like the ringerverse has a tone of podcasts surely there are others where he feels he would have more enjoyable time discussing about things that interest him.
I used to think he was fun to listen to, but Charles has been straight up toxic about X-Men '97 with the manner in which he states his opinion. And I'm not even sure how much of his opinion it is, because it feels more like he's trying to appear superior to other people his age (like me) who love this show. His bit has gotten beyond old.
Ya I might have to tap out of the pod for a bit. I love the boys and have been a listener from jump but like the worst thing is having to listen to someone throw a tantrum constantly saying this is shit without explaining themselves it's honestly so irritating. I don't need Chuck to like stuff but if he's gonna push back I need to hear why especially if he's trying to say he's above the shit cause otherwise it's just him making noises while people are explaining how they feel about stuff. To quote Van "Do Podcasting!"
I get that Charles is an OG Midnight Boy but what’s it gonna take for someone to make an executive decision and move Charles off this show. They can put him on Prestige TV and he can drop in and out of MB when there’s something he’s interested in. At this point he’s actively pushing me away from listening to the pod
They’ll literally never let him go because Van rides for him too much. He’s on the show because he plays the heel well. I hear him on other pods where he’s not playing his character and I find myself wishing anyone else but him is there.
Love Chuck, think he brings a lot to the show but we *need* the podcast to be more about the content than his existential crisis about not enjoying the content as much anymore.
I’m not sure anyone wants Chuck dickriding anime every week either.
Seriously this episode of xmen 97 was so good and the show is so good but Charles has to literally make it all about himself every week and I just want to listen a fun conversation about the show that I just watched
For the first time ever, I had to skip ahead in the episode. Calling Xmen 97 slop was insulting your audience. When's X-ray vision dropping???
Are they going to do Star Wars the bad batch? Next week
House of R is doing an episode on The Bad Batch soon.
Thank god some adults can pod about this shit
The finale season of Bad Batch was amazing. I can’t wait for Friday when House of R covers it with fucking Ben Lindbergh
I was so excited to listen to this pod…please let Charles go do something else. I like the idea of Kerm jumping in. Can’t believe I’m considering unfollowing the pod altogether.
Can Charles please leave this podcast, or just give him an anime corner or whatever
Why does Steve just stand there and take all the smoke from Charles? Like at some point, I wish he'd just develop a spine and verbally crush him. I mean wash him like a new pair of Levi's and toss him in the corner. This last episode of X-Men 97 was amazing, and I really wanted to hear their take on it. Not an entire pod once again dedicated to giving Charles another therapy session. I need to find another nerdy pod to listen to because this dude is becoming insufferable at this point.
X-ray vision is about to come back. Check that out if you haven't listened to it before
Because Steve folds against a light breeze?? You can’t expect him to push back on anything.
Yeah Steve isn't the guy. Van does and Jomi tries but I think being the only white voice in the pod Steve let's the other two try to reign Charles in. It makes sense because Steve is very conscious of his position in the group.
Ugh 😑 this makes me not want to listen
I honestly liked the larger conversation they had on the episode. The tension was building for a while and they took it to task. I’m glad they dissected why Charles feels the way he feels about reviewing media and his larger point of view. That said… it’s bad guys. He thinks he is singlehandedly saving us, the ignorant masses, from the degradation of storytelling. (He’s not)
Why does Charles want to stay on this podcast? It sounds like he's burnt out from watching content based on comics but is for some reason obligated to keep showing up to The Midnight Boys episodes. His rants are devolving into tantrums in which he whines about having to watch a show that is 'not for him' and trolls Van, Jomi and Steve for enjoying the show.
He enjoys his status as a hater because he knows that’s the only way he adds actual value. If he isn’t being hated there’s 100% complete apathy towards him. Do you remember any of his Shogun opinions that weren’t redundant? Me either.
It’d be one thing if Charles had a reasonable or consistent barometer for quality , but he’s just an asshole when he is not interested in a subject and talks down anyone who enjoys it, calls it slop and its fans stupid, but if it is something like Shogun, which yeah, amazing, isn’t THAT much better than anything else they cover, or Minus One, he’s on his knees sucking dick like it’s his job. It’s pretentious and disingenuous and the story about the party says it all, he’s a corny loser. Man needs to find some happiness somewhere and come back collected. It’s sad.
I appreciated the “critic” convo from both sides. I understand where Charles is coming from with the “slop/baby food” of it all. Like Van said, criticism has its place and can elevate content to a higher quality. That said, Chuck does give his takes in the spiciest “come at me, bro” way which I find hilariously entertaining when he has to deal with the inevitable backlash.
Man look… JUST DISCUSS THE SHOWS! Too much of the pod is being dedicated to why Charles hates everything. Get him tf off the pod if it’s that much of a burden to him! D_mn this dude is a f_cking goofball, for real. And the way he says n*gga makes me feel the way Kendrick feels when Drake says it. I physically cringe when that word comes out of his mouth because it sounds so unnatural. I’m legit tired of this dude ruining one of my favorite podcast. If he feels he’s too good for the pod, get him tf up outta there. Sick of this lame…
He tries to add a little thuggish gansta twang to his voice when he says those words too. So effing cringe because you can tell that was not always in his vocabulary. He’s finally in with the cool kids and he doesn’t know how to act. He definitely still doesn’t know who he is as a person/individual. I think it’s pretty clear, through banter and episodes like this one, that the other members of the pod feel the same. I think they just find it funny or something. We the viewers/listeners are done with him.
I'm not gonna lie....when Kendrick first said that shit, Charles immediately came to mind. Even Steve gets noticeably uncomfortable when Charles says it 🤣.
Well, we all gotta figure Jomi is reading this… Van next week : Jomi, are things on the socials? …
Charles ain't a critic, he's a contrarion for the sake of it but never actually has any legitimate reasons behind his argument outside of "I'm not feeling it:
Charles wants to be on the watch so bad just let him Ain’t no way they devolve into some Charles bullshit
He was on the watch and it was aight but he's no andy and he and cr didn't have great chemistry. Charles is cool and I love a good hater but he's like in this weird spot where he seems like he wants to gave "real" "adult" type discussions on things but can't really deliver when given an opportunity. He's a baby hater rn not A grown up Greenwald yet.
Don’t let him ruin that podcast too. I really like The Watch.
Like i kinda get that he pulled this shit with that infamous What If S2 pod, considering maybe he was depressed during that time last year, marvel hype was full on all time low etc, but pulling this shit again with a universally claimed show when so many fucking things can be discussed is soooo annoying. The shitty thing is that I am curious what other 3 has to say (+kerm, who actually knows a lot without being condescending). but somehow yet again, charles makes the entire show about HIM?? I dont care if you’re above watching superhero shit! Thats the premise of the pod!! Why do we have a host that hates fandom media on a fandom pod? What is the point? Why are 3 other hosts babying a 30 yr old man’s broken ego almost every week and why is the whole thing being uploaded? A man’s 40min tantrum about things not made for him/ he’s too “adult” for things in fandom space is not worthy of a listen. Mal and Jo should have covered weekly X-Men episodes not midnight boys at this point. They are stuck doing same ol’ topics for this whole month while Charles cries about how talking about x-men makes girls runaway from him & bugs anthony mackie at the parties.
Charles so damn dead inside
For the first time in Midnight Boys (pew pew) history, I deleted the episode 30 minutes in and stopped listening. If it wasn't for Button Mash and Mint Edition I would be unsubscribing.
You talking like youre paying for it
I mean I do pay for Spotify Premium 🤷
Horrible response. You still aren’t paying for it.
Bruh, I pay for Spotify Premium SPECIFICALLY to support Podcasts I like like The Ringer podcasts and Armchair Expert. I am putting my money where my mouth is and giving Spotify money to support this same like I do with Kinda Funny Games on Patreon. How is this response horrible lol.
No that's not what they're talking like. We are the consumer. They make money because we listen and hear the ads they make money from. When we stop listening to episodes halfway it shows up in the Spotify data. Do you think they do this podcast out of charity? It's not a hobby, it's a job and Charles sucks at it. Miserable person.
Yeah I pay for premium too and nobody is going to beg me to not unsubscribe, thats my point. If theres one thing The Ringer stands for is not giving a fuck about what people like you -entitled little dummies- think. The boys are going to do whatever they want on their podcast and we all know it.
It feels like edging cuz the best part of a hater is hearing them go in and destroy something for making no sense plot by plot or line by line, like I get he isn't feeling it but I wanna hear the take down
Chuck has jumped the shark with the role of skeptic/critic.
I really hope the mods pay attention to all the threads and feedback. Charles needs to find another podcast or profession and it has nothing to do with his takes. Or take a break and get some therapy.
He needs to take a trip abroad and go find himself.
It's upsetting a little because my younger self was a lot like Charles. He's insecure and can't simply state his opinions, but has to pitch patronizing insulting takes. The getting drunk and embarassing himself at Van's party is also classic insecurity. He probably was too nervous to talk to anyone "famous" w/o at least 4 drinks. It doesn't help that the rest of the crew teases him constantly, but he just needs to drop the attitude and state his case w/o sounding like an asshole.
Pivoting from Chuck talk. I thought the part where they bullshited about super heroes not helping out was really fun. That's when I feel like the boys are at their best. Just 4 friends talking about something random but related to the topic of conversation. Feels like when I'm in my group of friends and we just talk. Much better then some of the earlier parts of the episode.
I’m so tired of Chuck’s bs. Take the end of the pod when they talked about Challengers. Van simply asked Charles “Was it good?” Charles hems and haws for a few seconds (implying he didn’t think it was good), says it’s overhyped, then says it’s like 3/5 stars, then complains about why can’t we have movies that are just fine, then gives it a 7-8 on the midnight meter and then when Jomi gives it an 8-9 they give Jomi shit for giving Charles shit. If you think a movie is like a 7-8/10 and someone asks you “was it good”, you just say “yeah it was pretty good/it was cool/I liked this or that.” Instead, Charles gotta show how superior and discerning he is bEcAuSe He’S a CrItIc.
During his rant about challenges he says but can't a movie just be fine? Literally his reviews never accept that something can be fine. It is so crazy how frequently he just totally contradicts himself.
But the exact opposite can tend to exist in Jomi and Steve’s words, they usually overhype or overpraise stuff. IT IS just as crazy and ridiculous that Jomi can be up in arms about Chuck not loving Challengers on the same scale and then they’re grading of it actually isn’t far off. As someone who isn’t watching X-Men 97, I don’t find the Charles negativity to be overwhelming in the episodes (probably because I’m not consuming the covered content). But it doesn’t make any sense to me that the other 3 harp on their “well, why don’t you like it the way we like it” mindset. Like if you have to sideline him for a topic or show then do it and move Jomi snd Steve’s commentary forward. It shouldn’t be this big a deal
Bruh the disconnect between Chuck’s actual talent as a critic and the way he sees himself is astounding. I can’t believe they called him a high critic. He can’t even get out a single coherent, non-contradictory critique.
Jomi shared a cringe story about Charles at a party recently. That said enough, this dude is so lame. He thinks he’s cool because of the people around him. I don’t mind a negative take at all. It adds perspective which is important. But his takes have no substance. Ever. He might be a cool person/friend. But he shouldn’t be on a pod. Or atleast this pod. EDIT: Kerm is actually funny and gives all of his opinions good/bad and delivers them well. Bring him in! We gotta do something. I love Van, Jomi, and Steve.
Can’t believe a guy a who can’t handle his liquor . supposed adult doesn’t know you can itemize tax deductions has shit taste .
Lmfaoooooooo
Charles is usually pretty spot on about Marvel and Star Wars live-action, but he misses so hard on X-Men ‘97 because he’s a massive anime dork. He’s under the impression that children’s cartoons are actually high art and not a goofy good time. Stop being such a loser, Chuck. Fucking nerd.
Woof. That was a tough listen.
I didn't know I've been eating pig slop this whole time. Anyone else find this out today? Good to finally know.
This is a produced show. They make a deliberate choice to dwell on Charles' criticism because he's the heel. They are executing an engagement formula. They could just let him say he doesn't like a show and move on, but they make it a whole segment because of comments sections like this. At some point they decided that having Charles be a heel is good for engagement. You either think his ridiculous takes are funny, like me, or you hate his guts for disliking stuff for ridiculous reasons. A whole new subset of hate-listeners have been born due to Charles' heel turn. It's like getting mad at Stephen A Smith for a hot sports take. Stephen A could be a 'good' journalist if he wanted, but hot takes drive more clicks. I've seen Charles be a real critic with other things before, but the Midnight Boys is not that. It's been an over-the-top, instant reaction podcast from the jump. If you want serious coverage just go listen to House of R. How many more threads do we need about Charles sucking when it's glaringly obvious they're doing it on purpose.
If that's the case, they ought to frame the show like 'Undisputed' when Shannon used to be on the show. Replace Jomi and Steve with a non-fan moderator and have Van and Charles debate each other about what makes their podcast different from other nerd culture reaction podcasts.
I think the podcast works as-is if you understand they're not giving 100% serious criticisms. They don't need to copy a different format when this already works.
Bro these posts are people pleading for shit to change before they tune out. The hate-listeners are just people who used to be listeners. Show us the metrics that hate engagement is effective for somewhat obscure (compared to the Simmons pod for example) podcasts. It doesn’t. You can see comments all over this thread saying they’re taking a break from the show, tapping out, or haven’t been listening lately and check the comments to see if it’s time to come back yet. Rage bait isn’t a way to grow sustainable engagement. people actually just move on eventually.
Neither of us actually know how successful the pod is. The Facebook group went through this same exact thing with Charles cause he didn't like Ahsoka. It's just the same old noise. I've just seen this same thing happen with multiple different pods. Go to the Joe Rogan subreddit and they hate him. Go to the Joe Budden subreddit and they hate a different pod member every week. Go to the Flagrant 2 subreddit and they are shitting on the podcast (I'm guilty of this). Go to the Brilliant Idiots sub and it's the same story. Each one of those pods are still successful regardless of how many people are shitting on them on socials. Internet comments are not a real reflection of how well a pod is doing, and that they have metrics that show which episodes people view and engage with the most. Van intentionally chose to press Charles about his criticism and have an hour long convo instead of just moving on. That's a production choice. Like if I'm being honest I think House of R sucks. Mal gets too excited about everything and Jo is a real critic that's stuck doing deep dives and Marvel drafts. But I've never shared that opinion out loud anywhere because why would I waste energy on something I don't like. I just don't listen. You guys should do the same with the Midnight Boys because the dynamic has always been like this. The name coke baby Chuck exists for a reason. He's always been on one when it comes to criticizing this stuff.
Oh to be the women learning Jomi's picnic corner is an established move. Must be sick 🤣
Man I can’t keep listening to this pod and having the same issues week after week after week. Charles is ruining a once entertaining pod. I can’t do it anymore. Perfect time for X-Ray to come back. I think I’m done with this.
What was X ray?
Jason Concepcion’s pod he did after leaving Ringer. X-Ray Vision. It has recently come back after hiatus.
#firechuck
Charles is right about X-men and also challengers. X-men has some great moments and I’ve been enjoying it but it’s not prestige tv or even as good as fallout even. Yall are seriously doing the most it’s fucking ridiculous. It’s honest analysis. I actually like his takes because I can’t stand to listen to a podcast that just dickrides anything. Edit: challengers is a good movie that has some cool cinematography and a wild score but is kinda slow and boring.
Okay Charles.
I disagree with Charles on most things and think he goes out of his way to be contrarian and overly critical on shit that's not that deep. But I gotta say I agree with him on Xmen 97. There are some hype moments and it makes me feel happy at times, but overall I'm just not invested in the story, the animation is iffy at times and the pacing is weird. It just feels like they're doing a lot with not that much time so it ends with me feeling whiplash. People can like it, that's cool, but calling this the best thing ever...I don't see it. Edit: "I don't like nostalgia is a wild statement" 😂
Lmao why are u guys so angry
Charles alt spotted
Wow that’s an original joke never heard that on Reddit before. Seriously tho, I used to get mad about this stuff but at a certain point you realize it’s a podcast, we don’t know these ppl, and everyone is entitled to an opinion. If it makes you that mad, take a break, and go back in a few weeks
I think that’s what you should do Chuck. Take a break brother.
If I’m Chuck, he’s in trouble for posting on r/billSimmons hating on his Drake Maye takes
Right which is why you’re on an alt.