Disassembled: Heroes and Villains
A podcast that doesn’t just explore characters—it deconstructs them.
Each week, we pull apart the most iconic, complex, and controversial figures across comics, animation, video games, and pop culture. From masked zealots to haunted warriors, fallen heroes to corrupted gods—we unravel what makes them tick… and what makes them dangerous.
Blending dramatic storytelling, continuity-rich history, and philosophical analysis, Disassembled isn’t just a lore dive—it’s a breakdown of the characters we thought we knew. One that asks:
When does belief become obsession?
When does loyalty become a lie?
When does a hero become the villain?
And what lesson can we learn from the icons we grew up with?
If you’re looking for more than backstories—if you want to understand the why behind the who—this is your next obsession.
New episodes every Thursday.
Written and hosted by Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics.
Thanks for listening
And as always—Stay Handsome.
Episodes
27 episodes
Why Optimus Prime Proves That Sacrifice Defines a Leader - Transformers Deep Dive
Some heroes die to save the world. Others die because someone has to.Optimus Prime has fallen countless times—on Cybertron, on Earth, across universes.But his story was never about death.It was about s...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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1:01:55
Why Venom Proves We Are The Monsters We Fear - Marvel Comics Deep Dive
Eddie Brock didn’t need saving.He needed to be seen.The symbiote didn’t just give him power—it gave him purpose.Together, they became Venom: a monster born not from evil, but from empathy twisted by pain.<...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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55:04
Why Unicron Proves Some Evils Are Too Big to Destroy - Transformers Deep Dive
He doesn’t kill heroes.He kills hope.Unicron isn’t a villain. He’s the end of everything — the eraser of meaning. From Marvel to IDW, from Armada to Prime, he returns not to conquer… but to devour.
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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24:19
Why Transformers: Shattered Glass Proves That Being the Hero Is a Choice - Transformers Deep Dive
What if your heroes were the villains all along?In the Shattered Glass universe, the Transformers’ moral compass flips. Optimus Prime leads a brutal empire. Megatron fights to save the weak. And the line between hero ...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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15:40
Why Hellboy Proves That Your Destiny Is In Your Hands - Comic Deep Dive
He was born to end the world.But he chose to save it instead.Hellboy’s destiny was written long before he walked the Earth: summoned in fire, branded Anung Un Rama, and given the Right Hand of Doom to bring about the ap...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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18:40
Why Thunderwing Proves Belief Can Break You - Transformers Deep Dive
Thunderwing wasn’t chasing glory.He was chasing salvation.In his mind, the Matrix had chosen him to lead Cybertron out of ruin. But faith became obsession, and obsession consumed him. Across comics and continuities, Thu...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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14:14
Why Grimlock Proves Strength Without Wisdom Is a Curse - Transformers Deep Dive
What if the very thing that made you powerful—Was also what made you dangerous?Grimlock was built to be a weapon. A force of fury and steel. A leader who could crush armies. But his story across Transformers lo...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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23:51
Why Alpha Trion Proves That Leadership Means Letting Others Rise - Transformers Deep Dive
What if the greatest Prime never ruled?Alpha Trion was a Prime who refused the throne. A sage, a scholar, and a mentor, he didn’t lead through conquest—he led by raising others higher than himself. From guiding Orion Pax into ...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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21:55
Why Kratos Proves Fatherhood Was His Greatest Battle - God of War Deep Dive
He was a soldier.He was a god.He was a monster.But fatherhood was the battle that tested him most.In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we uncover the story of Kratos—th...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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21:23
Why These Twisted Primes Prove Even Evil Can Look Like a Hero - Transformers Deep Dive
He was more than a leader.He was a symbol.But what happens when the symbol is stolen?Across Transformers lore, evil versions of Optimus Prime have risen to twist his image into something darke...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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22:30
Why Metroplex Proves Real Strength Serves Others - Transformers Deep Dive
He doesn’t speak often.He doesn’t move quickly.But when he does… the world shakes.Metroplex is no ordinary Autobot. He is a Titan—a city that walks, a fortress with a spark, and Cybertron’s oldest protector. For ...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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23:18
Why Bludgeon Proves You Can Worship Strength and Still Be Weak - Transformers Deep Dive
He wasn’t a conqueror.He was a zealot.Bludgeon made death his master, blending the silence of a monk with the savagery of a warlord. He preached honor and discipline, but beneath the creed was only ego—and a devotion to...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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11:45
Why Doctor Doom Proves Redemption Requires Surrender - Marvel Comics Deep Dive
He was born with nothing.No throne. No crown. No power.Only ash, frost, and the sound of his father freezing to death beneath the stars.Victor Von Doom could have been Earth’s greatest hero. Instead, h...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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31:04
Why Deathsaurus Proves You Can Stand For Nothing and Lose Everything - Transformers Deep Dive
He was a tyrant.A dragon.A conqueror of stars.But Deathsaurus wasn’t always a monster. In some worlds, he fought for domination. In others, for survival—for the families and soldiers who followed him, for the rig...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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21:22
Why Ultra Magnus Proves You Can Carry the Weight of Leadership and Still Be Crushed By It.
Why Ultra Magnus Proves You Can Carry the Weight of Leadership and Still Be Crushed By ItHe survived the battlefield.He survived the Matrix.He even survived becoming more symbol than soldier.
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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24:14
Why The World Made Magneto and Then Feared The Monster It Created - Marvel Comic Deep Dive
They called him many names.Mutant. Terrorist. Savior. Monster.But before all of that—he was a boy. A survivor of humanity’s darkest chapter, who lived to see history repeat itself against his own kind. From those ashes,...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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23:33
Why Jetfire Proves We Can Change For The Better - Transformers Deep Dive
He wasn’t built for war.He was built to explore.A scientist. A seeker of truth.But when truth became a weapon, Jetfire made the choice that would define his legacy—he walked away. From the Decepticons. From Starscream. From...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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24:02
Why the Doom Slayer Proves You Can Slay Hell and Still Be Damned - Doom Deep Dive
He doesn’t speak.He doesn’t stop.And when the gates of Hell open… he walks in.In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we unleash the story of the Doom Slayer—the unrelenting force feared by Hell itsel...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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19:35
Why Galvatron Proves You Can Survive Anything and Still Lose Everything - Transformers Deep Dive
He survived death.He survived time.He survived the unraveling of history itself.But Galvatron’s story isn’t one of triumph—it’s a warning.In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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27:00
Why The Dark Side Couldn't Keep Darth Vader - Star Wars Deep Dive
He didn’t scream.He didn’t plead.And when the galaxy burned around him, Darth Vader endured.In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we uncover the shattered soul beneath the mask. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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25:22
How The Fallen Became a Monster And What That Says About Us - Transformers Deep Dive
Megatronus was forged for greatness.A Prime. A brother. A guardian of the stars.But when love became grief—and grief became purpose—he didn’t rise.He fell.In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villai...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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20:53
What Mewtwo Taught Us About Choosing Our Own Path - Pokemon Deep Dive
Mewtwo was never meant to choose.It was created—not born—stitched from the DNA of a mythical Pokémon and forced into existence by human ambition. A weapon. A lab experiment. A god with no past and no permission to ask why.And yet…...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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27:28
What Overlord Taught Us About the Monsters We Make - Transformers Deep Dive
There are villains who conquer.There are villains who believe.And then… there’s Overlord.A Decepticon Phase Sixer engineered for escalation, Overlord wasn’t created to win battles—he was built to end them. From <...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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26:18
Why Tarn and the DJD Were the Decepticons’ Scariest Creation - Transformers Deep Dive
Tarn wasn’t a conqueror. He wasn’t a warlord.He was something far more dangerous—a believer.In this haunting deep dive, Disassembled: Heroes and Villains unpacks the story of Tarn and the Decep...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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24:26
Why Soundwave Was Megatron’s Most Dangerous Ally? - Transformers Deep Dives
He spoke little.But he heard everything.And in the shadows of the Decepticon Empire, no one was more trusted—or more feared—than Soundwave.In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we dissect...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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31:11