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Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Multiverse Tonight is a geeky podcast that brings you all the latest news about your favourite TV shows and movies. Every other week, we cover DC Comics, Marvel, Star Trek and everything in between! This podcast has you covered with any big story or scoop on all of your fandoms.
Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Remembering The "Writer of Stuff"
We mourn the passing of Peter David, an iconic writer who shaped Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Incredible Hulk, Supergirl, Young Justice and many other beloved properties across multiple media formats.
• Ryan Reynolds pitches Disney on creating an R-rated Star Wars property as a "Trojan horse for emotion"
• DC Comics and Marvel announce Batman/Deadpool crossover comics coming in 2025, their first major collaboration in decades
• Tania Miller cast in Marvel's Vision series as Jocasta, a character originally created to be Ultron's bride
• Disney delays Avengers: Doomsday to December 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars to December 2027
• Mark Miller and John Romita Jr. reunite for new comic Psychic Sam, launched via Kickstarter with potential film adaptation
• HBO announces leads for Harry Potter series: Dominic McLaughlin (Harry), Alistair Stout (Ron), and Arabella Stanton (Hermione)
• We remember Alf Clausen (Simpsons composer, 84), Loretta Swit (M*A*S*H star, 87), and Peter David (prolific author, 68)
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Tonight, remember Alf Clausen, loretta Swit and Peter David, plus some geek news. All that and more on this edition of Multiverse Tonight. Welcome to Multiverse Tonight, your source for geek news. We dissect films, games, comics and much more, bringing you insightful commentary on pop culture. This is Multiverse Tonight. Now here's your host, thomas Townley. Well, hello everyone and welcome to episode 241 of Multiverse Tonight. I'm, of course, your host, thomas Townley. And well, weather-wise, it's been nice Plenty of rain, cool temperatures. It's not very nice if you're someone who wants to swim, but you know, for the rest of us old people, it's been, you know, very pleasurable. But of course, there's some sad news and this will be my main topic for today. But I just want to express here at the top of the program how sad I am at the loss of author Peter David.
Speaker 1:If you don't know Peter David, shame on you. He's excellent. He's done Star Trek, star Wars, Babylon 5, incredible Hulk, supergirl, young Justice, I mean, the list goes on and on. I've got some of his work right here. Of course, this is one of his autobiographical books. Mr Sulu Grabbed my Ass and Other Highlights Life in Comics, novels, nivelles, Establishments, films and Video Games. He's written Star Trek. This is MZOTI 2. Star Trek New Frontier Series is Treason.
Speaker 1:Of course he wrote for the comics too. There's the Trial of James T Kirk that he wrote for the comics too. There's the Trial of James T Kirk that he wrote. There's Young Justice Issues 1 and 2, which they should really consider making Young Justice into. You know, either a series, you know, do as a series, or do it as a series or do it as a movie or something. I think that would be real fun.
Speaker 1:Of course he had a big hand in the Marvel vs DC epic back in the day. And there's Supergirl number one. This is such a good run Back in the day. And there's Supergirl number one. This is such a good run. This redefines Supergirl. And I mean, again, I loved the work of Peter David and when he got sick I was more than happy to help with his GoFundMe For his medical treatment. Apparently Medicaid got turned down and all that. And I believe it's still open. So if you want to donate, go to GoFundMe and look up Peter David. But again, it's a big loss to me. I'll always cherish everything that Peter David wrote. Anyway, let's go on to the Star Wars news.
Speaker 1:Star Wars news begins with Ryan Reynolds who wants Disney to extend the R-rated success of the Deadpool and Wolverine franchise into the Star Wars franchise. The Deadpool actor revealed on an episode of the Box Office podcast that he pitched the idea of an R-rated Star Wars property to Disney. Quote I pitched to Disney. Why don't we do an R-rated Star Wars property? Why don't we do an R-rated Star Wars property? It doesn't have to be overt A plus characters. There's a wide range of characters you could use, and I don't mean R-rated to be vulgar, r-rated as a Trojan horse for emotion. I always wonder why studios don't just want to gamble on something like that. While the actor is keen on the idea, he clarified that he did not want to star in the possible future film or TV show because that would be a bad fit. Instead he'd like to sign on as producer or writer Quote I'm not saying I want to be in it, I'd want to produce and write or be a part of behind the scenes those kinds of IP subsets. Really, on a well, on scarcity and surprise we don't get scarcity really with Star Wars because of Disney+, but you can certainly still surprise people, unquote. Now he notably starred, wrote, produced the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time with Marvel Studios and Deadpool and Wolverine.
Speaker 1:Now, despite Reynolds' familiarity with R-rated projects, the Star Wars franchise has never developed a project with that specific rating in mind. However, the Disney Plus series Andor, has depicted sensitive material. Aside from that Star Wars pitch, reynolds is also considering another Deadpool film that would feature X-Men characters. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the idea for the project would incorporate three or four X-Men characters with a potential supporting role for Reynolds' Deadpool. While he has many other future film projects on the horizon, reynolds is currently writing Paramount's Boy Band film, which is slated as a comedy centered around an aging boy band. So with that, let's go on to the DC Comics news.
Speaker 1:Dc Comics and Marvel Comics have announced an unprecedented collaboration. Two highly anticipated crossover comic books are coming in 2025. Entertainment Weekly revealed Batman Deadpool no 1 and Deadpool Batman no 1. This marks the first major collaboration between two companies in decades a program unlike anything the comic book industry has seen. These one-shots bring together Gotham's Dark Knight detective and Marvel's Deadpool in an unexpected adventure.
Speaker 1:Batman Deadpool no 1 features a lead story by Grant Morrison and Dan Mora, with backup stories and creative team details to be revealed later. Dc President Jim Lee praised Morrison's creative storytelling and Mora's dynamic art style, highlighting it as a fusion of Kurt Swann and Gil Kane. He also noted Morrison's knowledge, storytelling and Mora's dynamic art style, highlighting it as a fusion of Kurt Swan and Gil Kane. He also netted Morrison's knowledge of both universes. Morrison expressed excitement to work with Mora again and take on Batman, deadpool, promising forth while breaking mayhem and other unusual elements. Mora, a self-proclaimed Deadpool fan, called the project a dream come true and an honor. Mora's main cover has been released. Released and more news about Deadpool number one and the overall crossover initiative will be shared by DC and Marvel in the coming months.
Speaker 1:Two lucky comic book fans will win the opportunity to attend the world premiere of director James Gunn's Superman in Los Angeles by discovering Crypto's golden biscuit hidden inside the front cover of DC's facsimile edition reprint of the 1955 comic book Adventures Comics number 210, that is the issue number that will land in local comic book stores starting on June 18th. Written by Otto Binder and art by Kurt Swan, including art by Ramona Fryden and George Pop, this iconic comic book with cover art by Kurt Swan features Krypto's first adventure in comics in the story the Superdog from Krypton, where a young Clark Kent rediscovers Superboy's best friend in a heartwarming reunion, spending years of time and light years of space and light years of space. Starting on Wednesday, june 18, 2025, fans can head to their local comic book shop and pick up a special polybagged edition of Adventure Comics no 210 for their chance at discovering Crypto's Golden Biscuit. Copies of Adventure Comics no 210 facsimile edition can be pre-ordered from local comic book shops, so talk to your staff at your store about adding it to your pull list. Dc Studios Presents presents a Troll Court Entertainment. The Saffron Company production, a James Gunn film. Superman soars into theaters and IMAX nationwide on July 11th 2025, and around the world beginning July 9th 2025, distributed by Warner Bros Pictures.
Speaker 1:Now let's go on to the Marvel news. Tania Miller from the Fall of the House of Usher is set for a major role in Marvel's Vision series for Disney+. According to Deadlinecom, she's believed to be playing one of the leads opposite Paul Bettany's character, who is reprising his titular MCU character in the WandaVision spinoff. The new series is thought to be set after the events in WandaVision and follow Vision as he tries to regain his memory and humanity. Miller is said to be playing the cunning and powerful Jocasta, who is driven by revenge. Now, in the comic books Jocasta is a robot Ultron builds to be his bride, who eventually sides with the Avengers. The robot Ultron builds to be his bride, who eventually sides with the Avengers Marvel Comics. Marvel decided to decline comment on this. Miller is believed to be part of Vision's main cast, alongside Bettany James Spader, who reprises his role as Ultron, todd Stashwick and Ruru de Molca. Additionally, farron Tahir is reprising his MCU role of Raza. Vision is the second WandaVision spinoff following Agatha all along. Marvel's Disney Plus slate also includes the recently launched Daredevil Born Again, which is currently filming its second season. Miller, whose casting in Vision was first reported by Daniel Richtman, is known for his series of regular roles on Mike Flanagan's the Haunting of Bly Manor and the Fall of the House of Usher for Netflix and her recurring stint on Apple TV Plus' Foundation.
Speaker 1:Disney has pushed back the release dates for the upcoming Marvel Studios-filmed Avengers Doomsday and Avengers Secret Wars. Doomsday will now premiere on December 18, 2026, shifting from its original Mayth 2026, shifting from its original May 1st 2026 date. Consequently, secret Wars has also been rescheduled to December 17th 2027 from its prior date of May 7th 2027. These delays were announced by Disney. Alongside a significant overhaul of their upcoming theatrical release schedule. Several unannounced Marvel projects have been removed from the calendar. Specifically, the February 13, 2026, untitled Marvel date is now absent. Additionally, the November 6, 2026, and November 5, 2027, untitled Marvel slots have been changed to Untitled Disney Films. The Avengers Assembly will require a few more months than anticipated. Plus, this in the Avengers will have to wait to assemble in San Diego another year.
Speaker 1:Marvel Studios will have a smaller presence at Comic-Con International this year, skipping its annual blockbuster presentation at Hall H on Saturday. Variety reports to Variety have confirmed, with Avengers Doomsday moving its release date from May 2026 to December 2026, the studio is holding its powder for Comic-Con 2026, rather than suspended production in London to fly its cast of more than two dozen stars to appear on stage in San Diego this year. The company is still planning panels and events focused on comics and games, as well as a booth that will play off the release of the Fantastic Four First Steps, which opens in theaters on the Friday of the annual fan convention. The stars of the film will appear at the fan convention CCXP this weekend. Since the preview of Iron man Electrified Hall H at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, marvel Studios has utilized the stage to showcase its upcoming features and make news with surprise appearances and the announcement of new titles. Now, in 2024, the studio even tacked on a special Thursday Hall H panel for Deadpool and Wolverine. That became a surprise premiere screening, capped off with a 10-minute drone and fireworks show over Petco Park. The studio has set out the convention before, however, most recently in 2023 due to guild strikes, 2021, 2020, and 2020 due to the pandemic, as well as in 2018, 2015, 2011,.
Speaker 1:Largely due to a lack of footage or news to share. So, in other words, they don't really have anything to show. They're not going to go. Hey, that rhymes. Now let's go on to the geek news. I guess that means they're growers, not showers.
Speaker 1:Anyway, geek news begins with Mark Miller and John Romita Jr, the careers of kick-ass, who are reneging for a new comic book titled Psychic Sam, which was launched on Kickstarter. This story centers on a man with the ability to foresee murders, compelled by voices in his head to identify future killers. Miller describes the protagonist as someone who takes action, but with a moral dilemma the individuals he has tasked to target haven't committed any crimes yet. Ignoring the voices, however, results in innocent lives being lost. Fifteen years ago, miller and Romita achieved significant success with Kick-Ass, which led to a popular film and boosted director Matthew Vaughn's career. They are now hoping for similar success with Psychic Sam, as producer Ivan Atkinson, known for his collaborations with Guy Ritchie, joins the project for a potential feature film adaptation. This would add to the list of Miller's works adapted to the screen, including Wanted and Kingsman, and acknowledges his influential work at Marvel. Nobly, psychic Sam is independent of Millar's exclusive deal with Netflix's Miller World, which has produced shows like Jupiter's Legacy and the Chosen One. Millar clarifies that this project will not interfere with existing Netflix commitments, with the content planned through 2026.
Speaker 1:The HBO Harry Potter series has announced its lead actors. Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, alistair Stout will play Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton has Hermione Granger. These newcomers will star in the decade-spanning TV series, following in the footsteps of Daniel Radcliffe, emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Showrunner Francesca Gardner and director Mark Molloy praised the young actors selected after a search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockman. Quote the talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold. They express excitement for the world to witness their on-screen chemistry and thank the 32,000 children who auditioned. Filming will begin this summer at Warner Bros Studios Levesden, with the first season airing in 2026,. The three actors are relatively new to television. Mclaughlin has a role on the BBC's Gifted, while Stanton previously played Matilda in Matilda's musical in London's West End.
Speaker 1:The casting process, which followed an open call for UK and Ireland residents aged 9 to 11, emphasized inclusive diverse casting. Applicants made two videos, one performing a story or poem and the other introducing themselves and discussing a close relationship. The adult cast includes Papa Isweda as Snape, john Lithgow as Dumbledore, janet McTeer as McGonagall and Nick Frost as Hagrid. Voice actor Toby Huss has been tapped to take over as the voice of unaccessible exterminator and conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble on King of the Hill, as the show is revived for a 14th season. Huss is no stranger to King of the Hill, having voiced Khan and Cotton Hill during the show's original run. In taking over Dale, huss replaces Johnny Hardwick, who voiced the character for its original 13 seasons on Fox from 1997 to 2009. Hardwick recorded six episodes for the upcoming season before his death in 2023. Hardwick also had roles as a writer and story editor during his run on the show, which consisted of 258 episodes. The news of Huss' casting as Dale was set to be announced Friday at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, where King of the Hill will be featured, with a combination reunion-slash-revival panel featuring co-creators and exec producers Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, exec producer-showrunner Saladin Pearson and series stars Pamela Alden, lauren, tom and Huss.
Speaker 1:And this story just broke today. Jonathan Jost, an actor on King of the Hill who voiced John Redcorn, died in a shooting on Saturday, according to San Antonio police, confirming to Daily Variety, he was 59 years old. San Antonio officers were dispatched to a shooting in progress at a home on Sunday night around 7 pm. When they arrived at the scene, they found Jost near the road after he was shot multiple times. The officers attempted life-saving measures until medics arrived, but Joss was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooter fled in a vehicle but was detained by officers a block away and booked for murder. Investigation is still ongoing. Tmz, which broke the news, reported that Joss was shot by a neighbor after disagreement. Which broke the news, reported that Joss was shot by a neighbor after a disagreement. Joss voiced John Redcorn from seasons 2 through seasons 13, and had recorded lines for the upcoming revival. He took over the role from original actor Victor Aaron after he died in 1996 in the car accident. More than a decade later, the show is set to be revived on Hulu on August 4th. Joss also had a recurring role in Parks and Recreation and appeared in films and shows like Tulsa King, ray Donovan, true Grit, the Magnificent Seven and more.
Speaker 1:Alf Clausen, the composer who made the Simpsons even funnier with his music for 27 years, died early Thursday after a decades-long battle with progressive supernuclear palsy. He was 84 years old. Clausen won two Emmys and another 21 nominations for the long-running animated Fox series. He began scoring the antics of Bart Lisa Company in 1990 during its second season, as believed to be the most nominated composer in Emmy history, with a total of 30 nominations overall. He also won five Annie Awards, also for Simpsons music. His long tenure with Matt Groening's irreverent creation made him one of the most respected creators of animation music in TV history. His nearly 600 original scores for the series are also believed to be a record for the most written for a single TV series in America.
Speaker 1:Clausen conducted a 35-piece orchestra every week, something producers insisted upon from the beginning. His unexpected firing in August of 2017, a cost-saving move by Fox and Simpsons producer Greasy Films, resulted in a firestorm of protests from fans around the world. Producers decided to recognize Clausen's indelible contribution by crediting him as composer emeritus in subsequent seasons. Clausen was as adept at songwriting as score composition. Both his Emmy wins were for songs on the Simpsons and they formed the basis for many of the tracks on the series' three popular compilation albums Songs in the Key of Springfield, go Simpsic with the Simpsons and Testify, clausen told Variety in 1998 on the occasion of the series's 200th episode.
Speaker 1:Quote this is a dream job for a composer. Matt Groening said to me very early on we're not a cartoon, we're a drama where the characters are drawn. I want emotions on the characters as opposed to specific action set hits on the screen, unquote. Clausen explains his musical process on the characters as opposed to specific actions that hits on the screen. Clausen explains his musical process on the series. Quote the basic premise of this whole series is the joke, and the jokes come rapid fire. An old band leader, friend of mine, once told me you can't vaudeville. Vaudeville meaning the joke is much funnier if you play the real situation as opposed to playing the music. Funny, you pull the audience into the reality of the situation. If you try to Mickey Mouse it and play the comedy, you're already tipping your hand. So you try to play the reality of the situation. As much as you can unquote the Profile of Clawson published in 1996, by his alma mater, berklee College of Music.
Speaker 1:Simpsons creator Groening called the composer one of the unacknowledged treasures of the show. Alf understands the show and produces a voluminous amount of music in all different styles. He is our secret weapon. One of Clausen's greatest strengths was the ability to write in many different styles, from symphonic to jazzy to contemporary, sometimes riffing on famous film scores or other pop culture references, and to do it with as little as a few seconds, just enough to make a comedic point.
Speaker 1:The Simpsons capped a long career in music for television that dated back to the 1970s. Before that he was a musical director for variety shows, including Donny and Marie and Mary, tyler Moore's Short-Lived Mary, and contributed arrangements to specials headlined by Nell Carter, john Schneider, tony Orlando, goldie Hawn and others. Clausen orchestrated for other composers including Lolo Schifrin and Craig Safan, but it was composer Lee Holdridge who propelled his career as a dramatic composer. After orchestrating such Holdridge films as the Beastmaster, splash and others, holdridge launched the Bruce Willis-Sybil Shepard dramedy, moonlighting, and then turned it over to Clausen. Six of Clausen's pre-Simpsons Emmy nominations were for Moonlighting, including two landmark episodes the black-and-white the Dream sequence Always Rings Twice and the Taming of the Shrews. End-up Atomic Shakespeare. He scored more than 60 hours of moon-lying, and the series' infamous last-minute post-production schedule often meant writing an entire score over a weekend in order to make ABC's the Tuesday Night Airdate. Among his art series as composer were Wizards and Warriors, fame, lime Street, christine Cromwell, the Critic and Bet. He scored nearly 100 episodes of the 1980s puppet sitcom Alf, and when asked about the title he would often quip no relation.
Speaker 1:Clausen was born March 28, 1941, in Minneapolis but grew up in Jamestown, north Dakota, and earned degrees from North Dakota State University, the University of Wisconsin and Boston's Berklee College of Music. He would later study film scoring with Earl Hagen. As a two-year member of the Lehman Engel's BMI Musical Theater Workshop, he would be honored with an honorary doctorate in music in 1996 and another honorary doctorate from North Dakota State in 1999. And he also released an album of his own big band compositions Swing Can Really Hang you Up the Most in 2005. He is survived by his wife Sally, former wife Judy, sister Faye, three children, two stepchildren, eleven grandchildren, one niece and one nephew. Again, alf Clausen was 89 years old four years old, excuse me Laura DeSwit, who played Major Margaret Hot Lips Houlihan on the seminal TV comedy MASH died Friday at her home in New York City at the age of 87.
Speaker 1:Her representative said the New York police reported her time of death as 12.01pm on May 30th of suspected natural causes. For her work on MASH, swit was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy every year from 1974 to 1983, winning the Emmy in 1980 and 1982. As MASH evolved over its 11-year run from a broadly farcical satire into a more contemplative series than braced drama as much as comedy, the character of Margaret Houlihan and the way Swit performed it changed markedly as well. She was at first a crudely drawn villain allied with the weasel Frank Burns, who existed to be the object of derision and of practical jokes by Hawkeye and Trapper John. The first step in the revolution came with the season four episode Male Call Again, in which Margaret realizes that Frank is at least up to a point after Frank's wife finds out about Margaret and he lies about it.
Speaker 1:With season five episode Bug Out, in which most of the personnel evacuate, leaving only Hawkeye, margaret and Rader to take care of a patient that can't be moved, viewers began to respect her professionally and the human side came through. The best moment in Swift's long tenure as Houlihan, however, came a few episodes later in one called the Nurses. In this episode the nurses under Major Houlihan kept a secret from her. They contrived to allow one nurse and her new husband to spend the night together. But in the end Margaret finds out commenting in a speech in which she emotionally declares how she's always felt ostracized by them, how they've never so much as offered her a lousy cup of coffee. In the words of one MASH fansite, she lets them know why she's always so mean to them in a speech that's both riveting and heartbreaking, reviewing her character's position and evolution on MASH Swit once said, I mean certain things had to remain the same.
Speaker 1:She had to remain one of the antagonists because that was the structure of the show. In the second season we saw for the first time that she was unhappy with Frank and wanted more from her life. Then, around the third or fourth year, in an episode called the Nurses, hot Lips gave the nurses a speech telling them how lonely she was because she was in charge and that's the way it was. So she couldn't really have any friends. Her marriage and divorce changed her. Her affair with Hawkeye in Comrades at Arms changed both characters so that they were never really rivals again. Arms changed both characters so that they were never really rivals again.
Speaker 1:Swift appeared as Major Houlihan on the 1995 variety special Rickles starring in cell comic Don Rickles. After the end of the show, the actress starred in the popular, emmy-nominated 1983 telepic the Best Christmas Pageant Ever, in which she played a teacher who puts the worst students in the school's holiday pageant. She wound up to star in a long series of TV movies, including 1985's the Execution, and guested on shows ranging from the Love Boat to Murder. She Wrote making her final television appearance in the 1998 episode of Diagnosis Murder. In 1985, she starred with Rip Torn in the feature comedy Beer with Swift First Build. Three years she played President Barbara Adams in Whoops Apocalypse, a feature adaptation of a dark political comedy on British TV. The actress also had roles in the 1996 Chuck Norris movie Forest Warrior and later appeared in the 1998 comedy Beach Movie.
Speaker 1:She was born in Passaic, new Jersey, to Polish immigrant parents who were far from encouraging about her career in show business, but she could not be deterred performing for the first time. At the age of seven she was trained as a singer at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied with Gene Frankel in Manhattan. The actress made her small screen debut in 1969 with the first of several appearances on Hawaii Five-0, followed by guest appearances in 1970 on Mission Impossible, mannix, gunsmoke and then Bonanza, ironside and Love American Style. Swift then made her feature film debut in 1972's Battle of the Sexes comedy Stand Up and Be Counted. Even after being cast in MASH, swift appeared in other film and TV work, including 1974 action comedy Freebie and the Bean, which was the third build after Alan Arkin and James Caan, and in the 1975 Peter Fonda car chase movie Race with the Devil. She also showed her musical talents in an adaptation of the campy man of Steel musical it's a Bird, it's a Plane, it's Superman in 1975. In the late 70s she appeared in a series of TV movies and she had a supporting role in Blake Edwards' 1981 comedy SOB. Also in 1981, she appeared in the pilot episode of Cagney and Lacey as Lacey, but Fox did not let her out of her match contract and she was replaced by Sharon Gilles when the show was picked up. Swift also did theater touring with the National Company of Any Wednesday in 1967, and played one of the Pigeon Sisters in the Los Angeles run of the Odd Couple starring Don Rickles and Urs Borgnine.
Speaker 1:Swit was married to actor Dennis Houlihan in 1983 until the divorce in 1995, and she was heavily involved in animal rights organizations and founded the. Swit was 87 years old and finally, tonight we'll talk about Peter David. Peter David, prolific author and Eisner Award-winning Incredible Hulk actor, dead at the age of 68. Peter David, a giant of the literary and comic book worlds, whose character-defying 12-year run on the Incredible Hulk earned him an Eisner Award and critical acclaim, passed away on Sunday, may 25, 2025, at the age of 68. His wife, kathleen O'Shea David, confirmed the heartbreaking news on social media, while a cause of death was not immediately provided. David had been battling significant health challenges in recent years, including kidney failure, multiple strokes and a mild heart attack, as detailed on a GoFundMe page established to assist with his mounting medical and living expenses. Kathleen shared updates on the GoFundMe, knowing that Pierre had been admitted to the ICU with bilateral pneumonia on May 18th and was later intubated and sedated. She wrote we are devastated More when I can write about it.
Speaker 1:Born on September 23rd 1956, pierre David's nearly two-decade-long career showcased an extraordinary versatility, allowing him to leave an indelible mark across television, film, books, short stories and comic books. His work garnered dedicated followings in every medium he touched. In the literary field, david authored over 50 novels, many of which earned him a spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list Sillars list. His diverse bibliography includes original works such as the heroic fantasy satire Sir Apropos of Nothing and Woe to Woon Nightlife and the Cyman Adventure series. He was also the co-creator and celebrity author of the best-selling Star Trek New Frontier series for Pocket Books, contributing significantly to the Star Trek universe with novels like Q-Squared, the Siege and Amzadi. David further expanded the Babylon 5 universe with the Centauri Prime novels and saw his short fiction published in esteemed collections and magazines like Isaac Admoff's Science Fiction magazine.
Speaker 1:David's contributions to comic books were more than legendary. Beyond his seminal work on the Incredible Hulk, he lent his writing talents to vast arrays of popular titles, including Supergirl, young Justice, aquaman, which he famously gave the harpoon hand in the 1994 relaunch Spider-Man, spider-man 2099, a character he co-created with artist Rick Leonardi, x-factor and Captain Marvel. His insightful and often humorous opinion column but I digress was a consistently popular feature in the Comic Buyer's Guide for nearly a decade. His talents also extended to television and film. He co-created with science fiction icon Bill Mooney the Cable, ace Award-nominated series Space Cases. For Nickelodeon, david penned several scripts for the Hugo Award-winning Babylon 5 and its sequel Crusade, and in film, he co-wrote and co-produced multiple features for Full Moon Entertainment, including installments in the Trancers series and the gold award-winning science fiction western spoof Oblivion.
Speaker 1:Peter David's formal training was in journalism, earning a bachelor's degree from New York University, although he eventually found his calling in creative writing, his approach to storytelling, particularly in comics, was deeply psychological, developing into the inner lives of his characters. This was the most evident in his transformative work on the Incredible Hulk, which he took over the title in 1987. David was tasked with reinvigorating a character many writers shied away from due to the traditional Hulk smash persona. David famously embraced the Grey Hulk, the character's original, more cunning incarnation, and explored the concept of the Hulk as a manifestation of Bruce Banner's dissociative identity disorder. This led to his merged story in Incredible Hulk number 377, where Banner, the Green Hulk and the Grey Hulk named Joe Fixit converged into a single intelligent and formidable being. This groundbreaking exploration of the character's psyche not only redefined the Hulk for a generation, but also heavily influenced subsequent acclaimed runs such as Al Ewing and Joe Bennett's Immortal Hulk. David often noted that his work on the Hulk was deeply personal, relaying his own experiences and concerns.
Speaker 1:Throughout his career Peter David received numerous awards and citations recognizing his immense impact on the industry. This includes the Hexdire Award in 1996 for Best Comic Script from Spain, the OzCon Award in 1995 for Favorite International Writer, australia Comic Buyer's Guide Fan Awards in 1995 for Favorite Writer, 1993's Wizard Fan Award, the 1994 Golden Duck Award for Young Adult Series for Starfleet Academy no 1 Horse First Adventure, the UK Comic Award in 1993, and Will Eisner's Comic Industry Award in 1993. Peter David lived in New York with his wife Kathleen. They had one daughter, caroline, helen David. Peter also had three children from his first marriage Shaana, gwen and Ariel, a devoted and often long-suffering Mets fan. His warmth and wit were as much a part of his public persona as his incredible writing talent. His passing leads a significant void in the world of speculative fiction, but his vast body of work will continue to entertain and inspire for generations to come. Again, peter David dead at 68.
Speaker 1:And if your interest in this bibliography is collection of work, I'm going to include that in this week's show notes, I promise. Now, this brings us to the end of the show for today. Now, please be sure to check us out on social media. We're on Twitter and Blue Sky at Multiverse, tom Threads, facebook and Instagram, as well at Multiverse Tonight. And if you've gotten some value out of the show and would like to pay it back, head on over to MultiverseTonightcom, where you'll find our Patreon and Ko-Fi links. Check our show notes, visit our t public store and so much more. You'll leave some feedback as well.
Speaker 1:Now, if this is your first time listening, thank you very much and welcome. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button and share us with others. Now. Thanks to hot dope for the intro music and lobo loco for the outro theme music. Thanks for watching this edition of multiverse tonight. We'll be back in two weeks with more sci-fi and comic book news. Now please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse Tonight is a production of Path to Big Shot Productions. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. Podcasts are you Podcasts, are you? All rights reserved.
