The countdown reaches the last film James Gunn directed before the firing, and Adam makes the case that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is better than the first, and the entry most burdened by the machine around it. Why nearly every character arc here exists to clear the decks for Infinity War, how the Yondu rehabilitation works despite its setup, why the found-family theme rings hollow for a team that acts like coworkers, and why Guardians is the sub-franchise the crossovers damaged most. Plus the Awesome Mix Vol. 2 and the needle-drop grammar it taught the entire MCU. A full 5 out of 5. Next week: Spider-Man: Homecoming.

With a new Supergirl in theaters, the revisionist history is coming, and so is the inevitable claim that the 1984 Helen Slater film was secretly great all along. Adam watched it the night after the new release to head that off. Let's look at why the original is a one-star mess of missing urgency and plot-convenience, how its passive, paragon-of-femininity Kara has no agency in her own story, and why the new film's jaded, active Kara is a vastly improved character by comparison. Plus: why the Star Wars prequel rehabilitation probably won't happen here.

Adam revisits Captain America: Civil War as part of the Countdown to Doomsday and looks at why the movie was such an important turning point for the MCU. The episode covers how Civil War steadied Marvel after a bumpy Phase Two, introduced Black Panther and Spider-Man without derailing the story, and created the fracture that made Infinity War and Endgame possible. Adam also digs into the wider 2016 context, including the way Civil War arrived alongside Batman v Superman and helped turn Marvel vs. DC from normal franchise debate into a larger culture-war proxy fight. From the airport battle to the rise of Snyderverse discourse, this episode uses Civil War to unpack how superhero movies became more than just superhero movies.