There's something deeply satisfying about a villain whose very identity is a mystery. Not "I wonder what their backstory is" mystery, but genuine, sustained, readers-arguing-in-letters-columns mystery. The kind where the clues are there if you're paying attention, but the answer keeps shifting just out of reach. That's what Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. gave … Continue reading Who’s Under the Mask? The Hobgoblin’s Long Con
The Question I Couldn’t Stop Asking (And the Book It Became)
I was five years old the first time I saw Back to the Future, sitting in the back of my family's car at a drive-in theater. I didn't understand half of what was happening on screen. I definitely didn't understand the science, or the lack of it, behind a souped-up DeLorean hitting 88 miles per … Continue reading The Question I Couldn’t Stop Asking (And the Book It Became)
Rewatching Smallville – Episode 107
Welcome back to Rewatching Smallville, my weekly dive into the iconic series that explores Clark Kent’s journey before becoming Superman. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the show, you’re invited to join in each Tuesday as I revisit episodes and share my thoughts and observations. Be sure to share your own memories and … Continue reading Rewatching Smallville – Episode 107
The Worst 17 – Wild Things
Wild Things 1998 Directed by John McNaughton Welcome back to Movie Monday. The standard disclaimer applies before we go any further: everything below is my own opinion, shaped by my own particular experience with this film, and none of it is meant as a criticism of anyone who genuinely loves Wild Things. Maybe it holds … Continue reading The Worst 17 – Wild Things
The Assigned
The letter arrived, as it always did, on the morning of a child's eighteenth birthday... printed on government-issue cream cardstock, sealed with the blue wax emblem of the Bureau of Productive Placement, and slid under the front door at precisely 6:00 a.m. by a courier who never knocked and was never seen. Nora Calloway found … Continue reading The Assigned
Question of the Week #496
Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! As always, the questions come from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions, and this week we're leaving the restaurant behind. If you've been here for the last two weeks, you've earned it. We've spent enough time in that dining room. This week, … Continue reading Question of the Week #496
Anime’s Invasion
There's a specific memory I've carried around since childhood that I only fully understood much later. I remember watching an animated series on HBO... Dorothy in a world that looked somehow more detailed, more cinematic, and more emotionally sincere than the cartoons I was used to on Saturday mornings. It wasn't the 1939 Judy Garland … Continue reading Anime’s Invasion
Welcome to Shermer, Illinois
Before the MCU. Before the DCEU. Before every major studio started scrambling to stitch their films together into a grand shared mythology with its own timeline, its own rules, and its own inevitable crossover event, there was a quiet suburb of Chicago that most people drove right past without realizing it. There was Shermer, Illinois. … Continue reading Welcome to Shermer, Illinois
Greendale’s Quirky Courses: Exploring the Community’s Absurd Curriculum
There are community colleges, and then there is Greendale Community College. Most community colleges offer practical courses designed to help students better their lives. You might find accounting, basic biology, introductory Spanish... the kind of classes that add credentials and open doors. Greendale offers those, too. It also offers a class called "Can I Fry … Continue reading Greendale’s Quirky Courses: Exploring the Community’s Absurd Curriculum
Rewatching Smallville – Episode 106
Welcome back to Rewatching Smallville, my weekly dive into the iconic series that explores Clark Kent’s journey before becoming Superman. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the show, you’re invited to join in each Tuesday as I revisit episodes and share my thoughts and observations. Be sure to share your own memories and … Continue reading Rewatching Smallville – Episode 106
The Confusing Middle 