Nick and Joe Fuoco presents Metal Mayhem New Years Eve party Wednesday, December 31st at The 3 Clubs 1123 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90038 12 bands.2 stages.3 rooms.GoGo Dancers. DJS.champagne.party favors.drink specials. Vendors.food trucks.VIP Tables and bottle service available Featuring: Michael Angelo Batio band, Nightmare The Alice Cooper Tribute, Little Caesar, plus many more
Tickets $30 in advance . $40 at the door
Doors open 6pm
See you there
Pop culture is not a smooth evolution. It is a pendulum, heavy and rusty, crashing from one extreme to the next. For nearly twenty years that pendulum stayed buried in the dark. We lived through an age where superhero films equated maturity with misery, grit with realism, and hope with childishness. Christopher Nolan set the template. Gotham became a post 9/11 fever dream, a city where justice arrived wrapped in trauma and Kevlar. Brilliant, yes, but also a tonal gravity well.
Then came Man of Steel, which did not only borrow Nolan’s mood but amplified it into operatic devastation. Snyder’s Superman was beautiful and brooding, mythic and distant. He punched through skyscrapers like a god in the middle of a nervous breakdown. He saved so few people that Batman had to join the franchise just to file a complaint, and kind of kick his ass, at least until he heard the now infamous “Martha.” Metropolis stopped feeling like a city and started feeling like collateral damage with a ZIP code.
This version of heroism, tragic and violent and hollowed out, did not emerge in a vacuum. It arrived in a decade infected by a political virus that chewed through norms, decency, and the social contract. It trained us to fear outsiders, to distrust empathy, to see cruelty as strength. It demonized immigrants while selling patriotism like a counterfeit cure. And culture, being a mirror, reflected that sickness back at us.
Hope collapsed. Cynicism became currency. Optimism became the punchline.
But here is the twist no one saw coming. Optimism became the most rebellious thing in pop culture.
That is why the new Superman movie hits like a Molotov cocktail filled with super powering sunlight.
This film turns away from the rubble and steps into the day. It does not apologize for sincerity. It does not wink or smirk to reassure us that it is self-aware. It offers something far more dangerous. A Superman who actually saves people. A Superman who believes in connection. A Superman whose power is measured not in collateral damage but in compassion.
In 2025 that is hardcore.
THE CULTURAL COMEDOWN FROM DARKNESS
To understand why this film feels revolutionary, you must track the psychology of the genre. Nolan’s films were a response to real fear, surveillance, terror, uncertainty. They made sense. But instead of evolving, superhero cinema froze around that fear until the only stories we told were soaked in shadows.
Snyder’s Krypton was a war zone, and his Earth was not much better. His Superman felt less like an immigrant and more like a walking natural disaster trying not to sneeze. It was gorgeous, operatic filmmaking, but it was also the kind of storytelling a culture turns to when it is exhausted and angry and convinced the future is already lost.
Then came the real-world years of institutional decay, weaponized cruelty, and walls built not from concrete but ideology. We were told to fear people crossing borders. We were told outsiders threatened our way of life. We were told that humanity was a closed club and that compassion was naïve.
Which is ironic, because Superman, the greatest hero ever created, is a literal undocumented alien.
But that truth got buried beneath the noise. Until now.
THE NEW SUPERMAN MOVIE. HOPE AS COUNTERCULTURE
The new Superman film snaps the pendulum free and sends it arcing back toward the light. It shows us a hero who runs into burning buildings instead of using them as set dressing. A hero who does not treat humanity as a species to observe, but a community to protect. A hero who speaks softly, stands his ground, and shows up when it counts.
What is shocking is not the spectacle. It is the sincerity.
In an age where irony is the default and cynicism is the algorithmic drug of choice, sincerity is subversive. Optimism is anti-authoritarian. Genuine hope, unbranded and unmonetized, is punk rock.
This Superman does not brood on rooftops. He listens. He helps. He engages. It feels forbidden, almost dangerous, because we have been conditioned to believe that gentleness is weakness and that compassion is politically inconvenient.
This film says no. Hope is not retreat. Hope is revolt. Hope is the refusal to let the darker timeline win.
SUPERMAN THE HUMAN, SUPERMAN THE REBEL
The new film rejects the old idea of Superman as an outsider peering in. It insists on something louder, riskier, and more intimate. It insists that an alien can be fully and defiantly human. Not genetically, not legally, but in the ways that actually matter. Compassion. Responsibility. Connection. Choice. The movie argues that humanity is not a birthright. It is a practice. A discipline. A decision you make every day to give a damn. And Superman, more than anyone, chooses it relentlessly.
This reaches its peak in the final confrontation with Lex. It is not a brawl or a demolition derby of gods smashing cities. It is a philosophical knife fight. Superman stands there, grounded and unmasked in every sense, and delivers the most radical line of the entire genre.
“I am as human as anyone.”
It is not denial. It is defiance. A rebel yell of belonging. In that moment he is not the Other. He is the reminder that humanity is big enough, generous enough, and hopeful enough to include even someone who arrived from the sky in a rocket. The rebellion is not in claiming difference. The rebellion is in claiming kinship.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHTER THAN THE DARKNESS WANTS
The new Superman is not nostalgia. It is a counterpunch. A bright, defiant, immigrant hearted answer to a decade of darkness. A reminder that kindness is not weakness, empathy is not naïve, and hope is not passive. Hope is action. Hope is resistance. Hope is a fist raised in the sun.
And right now, there is nothing more punk rock than a hero who still believes in us and who stands tall enough to say, without fear or apology, “I am as human as anyone.”
About the Author
Marke is the producer and co-host of the Saturday Morning Cereal Podcast, the show that celebrates the themes of Saturday Morning TV that we not only grew up with, but that grew up with us. He and the team talk with the talent and creatives who continue to shape the pop culture we love.
Hosted on Spreaker.com. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and visit mattypradio.com for more episodes, interviews, and Comic-Con and pop culture coverage.
Heart wrenching sounds of 13 kitties pulling on heart strings crying out-loud in despairing sadness, lost, scared confused confiscated felines suddenly caged 2 x 2 like Noah’s Ark in precipice subsequent relinquishment at an overcrowded a high-kill animal shelter. Once upon Ms. LaLa’s passing, who is my dear friends’s lifelong besties. suddenly passed away ending her battle with cancer. Rip LaLa. Their bestie bond of lifelong friendship remain through the realms. A precious commodity in these last days and times. But now her fur babies could become ghost kitties due to overcrowded Shelter. Ms. LaLa was an amazing animal activist with such a beautiful soul and her Bestie was honorably there to see all of her last wishes through. A Hail Mary would definitely be needed to beat this very time sensitive demise with us left facing only uncertainties. Ultimately this is when true character is revealed in scenario. United by compassion, strangers became allies. And the prayer chain begins. As I see Felix, the cat clock on the wall of her apartment wall tick tock tick tock. Everything doesn’t stop in life. Everything but time stops. Seated near empty cages I inadvertently recorded the haunting meows of felines past nightmarish screeching, some pissed off and mad as hell and some shakingly scared whimpering alone in the afterlife. That didn’t sound like no rainbow bridge to me. The sounds seemed to emanate from the beyond and still is etched into my being to this very day fourth forevermore. We reached out to friends but it was strangers that became allied missionaries of rescue. Team Hail Mary. An old acquaintance rescued a few of the fur babies. Then another friend stepped up saving five more. LaLas Bestie took the remainder. There are still 2 amazingly kool kitties available for adoption currently. A student wanders in looking for a cat and fell in love with one of the contained kittens in the cat house rescue center that literally had my shirt in it’s paw paws with his arms through the cage relentlessly holding on to me. A huge large room of furies waiting for their great escape. And there’s that Felix the cat clock on the wall but now there’s like endless wall space full of them! We took that as a reference sign that we’re going in the right direction. As fate would have it, this students father used to call her LaLa and she decided to rescue one of the felines and name it LaLa. Unbeknownst to her, I would soon tell her a tailspin that would blew her mind. We formed a profound bond that transcended words. Ultimately, we saved all thirteen felines from an untimely demise. We all connected like kindred spirits. 13 felines on the brink of a devastating fate yet, their story became a testament to the transformative power of compassion. Human character united by empathy cast strangers into allies. We rallied like-minded individuals, forming an unbreakable bond. A poignant coincidence? Together, we achieved mission impossible. Saving all 13 kitties precious lives from an untimely demise. This experience forged a testament to the profound impact of unwavering unity of like-minded individuals together can achieve profound impacts of collective action free spirit compassionate not dictatorship of ease. Heartwarming unwavering dedication of strangers in Unisom by empathy exemplified the hauntingly cats meows screeching echos through the unallied chaos. An unbreakable achievement over once impossibilities. “As I looked into the eyes of all 13 kitties. I knew we were part of something especially Spooktacular.” Unity is rescue. 2025 Tale spin of tails. Testament is a spiritual reminder. Love knows no bounds, nor limits. We navigate lifes escalator with our intentions. Giving selflessly is true fulfillment. Honor thy beloved. We all are kin. Unconditional love transcending death that only can come from within when we choose to elevate, alleviate, and appreciate. Whence We rise above societies darknesses. Slipping through the grip is true escape. Rewire your grind. Houdini level. This is a story of 13 ghost kitties on the brink & a day in of the life of that metal chick poetics. We visited LaLa,I took her a fruit basket. She like my style. Im spicy like her. She notice her surroundings from my head to my baby doll socks. we shared laughter not tears. This death doula vibeness reached new perspectives. LaLa’s bestie Bonnie gathered all Lala’s requested favorite things of variety. That’s a true gift of real love. Common ground matters *The strangest thing along the way was that my phone recorded various erie sound events of “ghost kitties” meowing from empty cages, as if they’re calling out from the great beyond. Rethink that next time you turn blind eye to depop agenda. Life reminds us that strangers can become our closest allies. The universal bond transcends words. *As fate would have it, LaLa, the newly adopted kitty, ran away from the students dormitory….. Somehow we managed to feel she was safe As for me, Ill choose to believe that its LaLas spirit animal still running wild & free.
Music ignites the souls of plenty, and for those hearts it hits, it is quite impossible to imagine any other humans that can’t relate. Despite tragedy, despite chronic illness and loss, music gives many of us the strength of Superman along with the will to carry on. 2025 has been a year of successful tragedy from Ozzy Osborne’s Back To The Beginning farewell concert on July 5th, to Ozzy’s funeral on July 30th.
No matter how big or small Ozzy Osborne’s presence was in any individual’s life, the silence of sadness still sweeps over the world. What have we all gained from this experience that hit some of us as hard as the death of our childhood? Well, in addition to our solid unforgettable recollection of where we were and what we were doing when we learned of Ozzy Osborne’s death, the birth of awareness of the roots of heavy metal to the next generation has begun.
The freshly released film titled “Ordinary Man,” serves as a great documentary for those trial and tribulations of Ozzy Osborne’s last few years. His family and fans were always holding him up as high as they could, and through all the pain, suffering, and laughter, he still never really let them down. His final concert gave every fan closure of that legendary existence that he so timelessly lived. He truly lives on inside of us all.
As none of us are getting younger, including the Gen Z club, there is much to be passed on to create some tolerability and release of life’s daily stresses to the youngsters of today. Ozzy Osborne has massively paved the way with his collaborations and teachings to younger artists such as Yungblud and Post Malone which he felt it an important duty to give to the future of heavy metal. Some of the older blooded heavy metal artists have found it difficult to accept that 2025 will never be the same as 1975. None the less, awareness of the classics to influence the future is certainly a great step one. Legends must go on, rock and roll, and heavy metal are just two of those.
The Rainbow Bar And Grill, which has served musical artist meet ups and spawned celebrity collaborations for years, is still a viable breeding ground for the old die hard rocker club to pass along their knowledge of what makes a great rock and roll or heavy metal band thrive to the young coming of age crowd. As it happens, anyone who attended the recent debut Rainbow Bar show with “The Tragics” has certainly seen the future of punk n’ roll. This band features the two sons, Sebastian and Julian, of long time LA rock n’ roll guitarist Ruby Carrera who has clearly trained them well. They are rocking out in the best way on vocals and bass with this fired up with fresh talent band “The Tragics.” If the energy of Iggy Pop and the charisma of glam rock had a baby, this would be an example of “The Tragics'” sound.
Moving on to 2026, don’t forget to explore the biggest music networking and technology producing NAMM event yet. NAMM is celebrating 125 Years of existence at the Anaheim Convention Center, CA January 20th-24th, 2026 commemorating this special milestone with expanded programming, and plenty of live tributes. A grand melting pot of all types of musical instruments, music genres, and musical artists through the decades is what breathes out of NAMM year after year. California has it’s perks, and 2026 will thrive in whatever the future of musical collaborations hold. So, stay metal and save your soul! RIP to our beloved Prince Of Darkness.
