With The Batman holding on to its spot as the highest-grossing film of the year so far, and fans rejoicing over the news that a sequel is in the works, Batman fever remains at a record high.
Also stoking fan fervour for an even deeper dive into comic book heroes, the latest instalment in Marvel’s Dr Strange franchise, Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, has climbed to the top of the box office. This proves cinema-goers' penchant for fantastical, expanded universes shows no signs of fatigue.
Away from the IMAX screens and their traditional origins as comic books, superhero stories have been making forays into the world of podcasts. Not the type of podcast where super-fans sit around and debate who was the best Bruce Wayne, but scripted shows that further explore different avenues and adventures those heroes may take.
The latest of these is Batman Unburied, the Caped Crusader’s first foray into scripted podcasts, which unseated The Joe Rogan Experience from the number one spot on the Spotify podcasts charts when it was released last week.
Here are five original superhero podcast series you’ll want to add to your playlist…
‘Batman Unburied’
DC’s scripted superhero series has gone straight in at number one on the Spotify podcast charts, after its global premiere on May 3. The 10-part podcast series released its first two episodes last week, which featured localised versions in nine regions, including India, Indonesia and Brazil.
The series, created by David S Goyer, who wrote 2005’s Batman Begins, follows Bruce Wayne (voiced by Black Panther’s Winston Duke) in his role as a forensic pathologist investigating a serial killer, known as the Harvester (Sam Witwer), who is on the loose in Gotham City.
In this Batman universe, Bruce’s parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne are still alive. Also featured are The Riddler (Hasan Minhaj) and detective Barbara Gordon, voiced by Gina Rodriguez, who is the daughter of former police commissioner Jim Gordon.
Episodes released weekly, exclusively on Spotify
‘Marvel’s Wolverine: The Long Night’
Marvel’s first scripted podcast ran for two seasons. Season one was called The Long Night, and season two, The Lost Trail, each 10 episodes long.
In The Long Night, a serial murder case leads federal agents to the fictional Alaskan town of Burns. Local resident Logan (Richard Armitage) is the main suspect, and the agents are soon set on the path to discovering his dual identity. Logan himself believes a local cult, the Aurora, know more than they are letting on about the murders.
The Lost Trail transplants the action to New Orleans. Logan is on the hunt for an ex-girlfriend, when he becomes embroiled in the disappearance of local humans and mutants.
Both seasons available on Apple Podcasts and Google Play
‘Tara Tremendous’
Anyone looking for a superhero series for their children will enjoy Tara Tremendous. With 42 episodes available, the series, which began in 2019, released its fourth season earlier this year. The show has already inspired an animated spin-off, and has moved into the kind of expanded, crossover universe which made Marvel such a success.
The show follows Tara Callahan (Mariana Harrison), a 14-year-old girl who accidentally gains the powers of every superhero in the world. Callahan must learn how to control her abilities and embrace her destiny to become the most powerful being in the universe.
In later seasons, new characters are introduced, including Tremendous Boy, a powerful-yet-mysterious 18-year-old from an alternate, dystopian universe who is torn between good and evil as he serves a dark lord.
Available on Apple Podcasts and Google Play
‘The Bright Sessions’
Having run from 2015 until 2021, any newcomer to this popular podcast will have plenty of shows to catch up on — 139 in total.
The scripted show follows a group of therapy patients, each of whom possesses a unique supernatural ability. Among psychologist Dr Joan Bright’s (Julia Morizawa) patients are Samantha Barnes (Lauren Shippen), who suffers from anxiety and can travel through time; high-school pupil Caleb Michaels (Briggon Snow), an empath who struggles to control his own emotions; and Rose Atkinson (Alanna Fox), whose narcolepsy allows her to enter into and manipulate other people's dreams.
Shadowy organisations circle the “Atypicals”, along with friends, family members and the military, as Bright turns out not to be quite who she says she is.
All seasons available at www.thebrightsessions.com
‘Inhale: A Superhero Tale’
If you struggle to fit in the time to listen to podcast series, Inhale: A Superhero Tale, delivers bite-sized episodes that are between six and 10 minutes-long, slotting perfectly into your daily life.
Tamara Tracer (Carrie Olsen) is known to the residents of the town of Hemlock by her pseudonym, Tracy Tanner. The locals have no idea about the quiet librarian in their midst is, and Tracer wants to keep it that way.
Possessing great powers, she goes to great lengths to keep her abilities hidden, until a dark stranger arrives, intent on destroying Hemlock, forcing her to make a choice between anonymity and destiny.
Available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and Spotify
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS - ELITE MEN
1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 57:03
2. Mario Mola (ESP) 57:09
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) 57:25
4. Leo Bergere (FRA)57:34
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 57:40
6. Joao Silva (POR) 57:45
7. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 57:56
8. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 57:57
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) 57:58
10. Richard Murray (RSA) 57:59
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
UAE v Zimbabwe A
Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs
Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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FIGHT%20CARD
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
Stage results
1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:39:05
2. Michael Matthews (AUS) Team BikeExchange 0:00:08
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma same time
4. Jack Haig (AUS) Bahrain Victorious s.t
5. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe s.t
6. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates s.t
7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ s.t
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (COL) EF Education-Nippo s.t
9. Bauke Mollema (NED) Trek-Segafredo s.t
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers s.t
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
