Get ready for some black-and-white mayhem that’s more chaotic than trying to untangle Christmas lights while wearing oven mitts! This week on Play Comics, we’re diving headfirst into the wonderfully ridiculous world of Spy vs Spy for the original Xbox—the 2005 game that took MAD Magazine’s iconic feuding spies and somehow convinced them to blow each other up in glorious 3D.
This delightfully deranged espionage extravaganza comes courtesy of the twisted minds at Vicious Cycle Software, who apparently looked at the classic NES version and thought, “You know what this needs? More explosions and better graphics!” Whether you’re here for the nostalgic callback to those legendary MAD TV shorts or you just enjoy watching cartoon spies meet their doom in increasingly creative ways, this episode promises to deliver more backstabbing action than a corporate boardroom during budget season.
Joining us for this masterclass in mutual assured destruction are two absolute legends from the podcasting world: Anthony Sytko and Doc Issues, the brilliant minds behind Capes on the Couch. When they’re not busy psychoanalyzing superheroes and providing much-needed therapy to fictional characters who definitely have trust issues, these two bring their expertise in comic psychology to help us understand why watching two spies repeatedly murder each other is somehow deeply satisfying.
So dust off that original Xbox controller, practice your best evil laugh, and prepare for an episode that’s guaranteed to be more explosive than a briefcase full of dynamite left by your nemesis. We’ll explore whether this modern take on the classic formula captured the essence of those timeless comic strips, or if it just left us feeling like we’d been caught in one of the White Spy’s elaborate traps.
Learn such things as:
- Does choosing Black Spy make you morally superior?
- How many ways can a cartoon spy die before it stops being funny?
- Why do we find such joy in elaborate revenge schemes involving household appliances?
- And so much more!
You can find Anthony and Doc @CapesOnTheCouch on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and of course the Capes on the Couch website.
If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.
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Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.
You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook.
A big thanks to Escape the Mojoverse and The Monitor Tapes for the promos today.
Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who cloned himself and is both of the spies at the same time.
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