The Superhero Complex
4.8/5
Critic Rating
When darkness falls over Seattle, a masked crusader emerges from the shadows. His name? Phoenix Jones - a charismatic cage fighter, hell-bent on ridding the streets of criminals. Welcome to the world of real life superheroes - ordinary people who put on outrageous costumes and head out to fight crime. Phoenix’s team of superhero sidekicks have all turned against him. They say he’s no hero and in 2020, it’s Phoenix who finds himself on the wrong side of the law. So is Phoenix a model citizen fighting for a better world? Or is he a fraudster who used a superhe...
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Alexi Duggins • The Guardian • Apr 14, 2022
"It’s a tale full of deception and intrigue..."
Score: 5
Stephen O. • Podcast Delivery • Apr 11, 2022
"The Superhero Complex offers up a lot – an enthralling backstory, complex drama, and unexpected nuance...We’re excited for this story to unfold and fully expect some superhero tropes to make their way to your feed."
Score: 5
Fiona Sturges • Financial Times • Apr 10, 2022
"...just as wild as it sounds. Weinberg rises to the challenge of taking his subject matter sufficiently seriously while it prances around in a silly costume claiming hero status. There is genuine curiosity in his attempts to understand Jones, who, after several false starts, he pins down in the second episode for an interview."
Score: 4
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian • Apr 9, 2022
"Not quite so lovely, unfortunately, is new podcast The Superhero Complex. Sounds cool, if you’re five. To be fair, this is a well-made show. Host David Weinberg does a top job, the production is exemplary, and the Seattle superheroes make an excellent story, well told. Sadly, however, I couldn’t completely warm to it. This is due to Jones being – how can I put this? – a birrova tosser. His pompousness and arrogance killed the podcast for me, despite all its wonderful attributes."
Score: 4.9
Nicholas Quah • Vulture • Apr 6, 2022
"Flashes of his signature style still come through the piece: a light melancholia in the cadence of his narration, razor-sharp attention to the details of things like belt buckles and beer bellies. Compared to the gentle sensitivity of Welcome to LA, Weinberg’s writing in The Superhero Complex feels a lot more wry, a good deal more sarcastic. There are, however, turns in the script that strike me as more clichéd than I would expect from Weinberg…"
