All language subtitles for Selling.Superman.E04.Will.the.Real.Superman.Please.Stand.Up.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-Mj_track3_[eng]

[intriguing music]

[auctioneer]
We're on lot 26.
This is an 8.0 Batmanone.

This is the first book
to have its own unique label.

I'm telling you,
this book is the one you want
in your collection, right?

Let's go to $800.

I'm at 775--

-[woman] $800.
-[auctioneer] 8--

-[woman] 825.
-[auctioneer] 825.

-Let's go $850,000.
-[woman] 850.

-850--
-[woman] 875.

875. I have that.
How about $900,000?

[text alert chiming]

I'm at 900. Do I hear $925,000?

It was a Batmanone
graded at an 8.0.

Sold for $1.1 million.

[Darren]
I felt guilty

knowing that I just sold
a million-dollar comic book.

I felt guilty
about not being happy about it.

I felt like
that was a stupid thing to do.

That was very dumb.

And then the news articles
coming out,

the front page,
I was, um, horrified.

And then theUSA Today,
it was just like,
"Oh, my God. No way."

I just, I just--
I keep going in the spiral

of, uh, beating myself up
about it.

Just so upset.

You know,
everything triggers me now.

I've had zero ability
to process my dad's death.

I've zero ability
to put it behind me.

You know, whether
somebody's like, "Oh, wow,
your dad did a great thing,"

I just wanna just explode.

It's so not the case.

[newscaster]
Still ahead
on theCBS Weekend News.

[male reporter 1]
Over a million items in total.

First appearance
of, uh, Iron Man.

[male reporter 1]
Now, what used to bring
the family shame

is something
that now brings great pride

for Darren and his family.

I just love that story though.
You know, it took, you know,

until after his death,
unfortunately, the father,

but the appreciation
and kind of the poetic nature

of they finally get
what it was all about.

And the fact that
they thought it was a problem,

-but it really turned out
to be something so beautiful...
-Yeah.

-...and lucrative.
-[muted]

[Darren]
I-- I'm so pissed how
I answered that CBS interview.

Uh, so mad.

-[Adam] Would--
-[Darren] Perfect-- Well,
when they, when they were like,

"Well, what would you say
to your dad, you know,
if he was here?"

[Darren on interview]
If I could talk
to my dad today, um...

[chuckles] I guess I'd say,
"Dad, you did it."

You know, I mean,
all of that pain

and, and struggle
and, and investment,

um, you did something
really great, man.

And, uh, I just wish you were
here to witness this with us.

[soft suspenseful music]

I don't feel like
I'm telling the right story,

you know, at all.

It's difficult
to be fully authentic

and just to,
to not say what I think
maybe should be said

instead of, instead
of what I really wanna say.

What were you holding back on,
not being honest on due to,

you know, fear of how you'll be,
you know, perceived?

My father
does not deserve respect

for amassing this collection.
Period.

When you have a mother
that thought she was depressed
for decades

because of treatment
by my father.

When you have a brother
with s-- some conditions
that are sensitive.

You know,
he lived in that house.

He felt trapped.
He felt like a slave.

My father, you know, predatored
on my brother's weaknesses.

You know, so I think
one of the things that
really upsets me quite a bit

is the people
that are of the misunderstanding

that we seem to have
some redemption

or some pride or appreciation
for what my father did

now that his collection is worth
some millions of dollars.

[suspenseful music]

I mean, I watched
this little interview.

The guy was like, "Oh,
I didn't really like my dad.

Uh, my parents got divorced
because of it."

And now that the guy is dead,

they're like, "Oh, my gosh,
he was so great,"

because they're sitting
on probably, like,
$10, $15 million.

Does it rub you the wrong way?
It rubs me the wrong way.

[Darren]
So these people that wanna say,
"Oh, well, you know,

he's disrespecting his father,
you know, now that he's dead,

even with this
amazing collection."

F*** the collection.

It changes nothing about
how he treated us and them.

And I think
it's super important.

I have many millions of dollars
without comic books,

on my own since my twenties,

and, um, I don't talk about it.

And this film makes me do that.
It makes me very angry.

And when I see my mother
being pulled into conversations

when they have no clue
on her stance.

My mother divorced my father
and asked that the comics

and the collectibles not be
included in the settlement.

She took the bare minimum
she needed.

I'm spellbound that
people are, um, so dramatic

about their, their,
their assumptions

or their comments or whatever,

and the level
of personal insult.

[music intensifies, stops]

[birds chirping]

[Tony]
The comments
were just mortifying.

Like, I couldn't believe
what people were saying
about Darren

and his family
and everything else.

So people get jealous.
They just throw stuff out.

Plus they don't know
the whole story.

I hope Darren do everything
in the beginning.

We went through all the comics,
we set up all the shop.

After that,
it's just-- life got busy,

and I kind of just laid off
a little bit,

and I didn't know how much
I wanted to be involved
in the documentary.

And to be honest, after reading
some of the comments

people have written
about his mother on the internet

after these little blurbs
are coming out,

I'm kind of glad that I've
stayed out of it a little bit.

[pensive music]

I'd probably sell everything,
take the money,

and nobody would
ever see me again.

I'd probably move
in the middle of nowhere
and just live in the woods.

But that's just me.
Some people wanna
hold on to him forever...

...but I wouldn't wanna pass
that whole thing on to my kids

so they have to do
the same thing
that I just went through.

[Celeste]
It's hard to get through
when he's in so much pain.

It's hard to get through.

Even though they're wackos,
you know.

On top of it, being reminded
of his father all the time,

it's just too much, you know.

It just gets to be too much.

[Darren]
I want him to be gone.

And I want to not have,

you know,
these different things come up.
I don't wanna look at pictures.

I don't want to constantly be
answering questions about him.

[Adam]
You don't still get angry
about Dale in your life?

[Celeste]
No. Only from the standpoint of
seeing what it did to my kids.

Then I get angry.

Because I, I realize
that both of them--

No. He-- No.
I've, I've gotten past him,

but I know that
Darren and Adam haven't,

and that angers me.

That's what angers me.
Their pain.

Not-- not Dale anymore. No.

No, you don't let him take
space in my brain, you know.

[Kevin]
All you can do is
work on yourself and learn.

It's not about them.
It's about you.

At the end of the day,
you're going to bed
with your decisions

and the people
who are complaining to you,

you're giving them so much
real estate in your head.

We, we say that in my family
all the time. We're like,

"Don't, don't let them
live up there for free.

You know, set them out because
they're not thinking about it."

-[soft music]
-Fortunately,
my knees are small.

-Australia.
-[Adam] And yeah, in Superman
one, he was saying that

his father taught him
real estate was the--

-Yes.
-[Adam] The key to something.

Heck, you know what? So...

-What's more-- [chuckles]
-...who do you blame?

[Adam]
Remember that? Who do we blame?

And we're obviously
not in high school anymore

and can choose the stories
we give meaning to

and who we allow in our heads.

So who do we blame?

Do we blame the father

or the rippling effects
of that father?

Or maybe we blame the media

and the crazy
internet YouTube trolls.

We could turn that blame back
on ourselves

or on this documentary film.

[Darren]
If I could go back,
I would not have done this film.

I still, all the time,
every single day, doubt

that I should even
still continue forward.

The only reason I am is
because I don't want to shy away

just because
there is some discomfort
with my personal exposure

and with, um, haters, trolls
and other negative figures.

So I don't want them to win.

And I feel a responsibility,
you know, to the people,

my friends and family,
the crew of the film,

everyone involved
who put their time and resources

for this to be represented
correctly.

Yeah, for us to be
properly understood.

So that's why I continue.

Okay. But the answer truly is
that I would not--

if I had a time machine
to go back in time,

I would not have done
this film again.

[melancholic music]

I, I just-- I constantly
look at myself and say,

"Well, why do I have to do it?"
You know what I mean?

Like, "Why is it
my responsibility?"

[Adam]
That to me sounds
like many a superhero

feeling the weight
of responsibility

and this "Why me?

Why was I given the powers
or this situation?"

But what Darren
might not realize

is how powerful and even heroic

is this real calling
to be honest, to be vulnerable

and ultimately to let us
into the battlefield
of authenticity

versus hiding behind a mask.

[rock music]

♪ Love ♪

[singer yells]

♪ Welcome to the battlefield
I hope you brought a shield ♪

♪ You better buckle up
we're about to tear it up ♪

♪ Let's walk fast
or break it up and tear it up ♪

♪ Whoa! Break it
Whoa! Break it, whoa... ♪

[Brian]
It's no longer a comic book
anymore when it's slabbed.

It's something different.

[singer yelling]

You can't read it.
You can't touch it.

All you can really do
i-- is show it off and say,
"I have this."

[Chris] I'd really be tempted.
If somebody dropped

a SupermanNo. 1 on me,

I'd get it out
and I'd read it, man.

And I'd fold it over
and, uh, uh...

I just-- I couldn't help myself.

And I'm that way with my own
collection, with the toys.

It's a weird tension
that you have in this story

between the object
and its function.

Its function was to be read,

but now it has
this whole other function.

And the last thing in the world
you wanna do is read it.

That would be destroying it
just by touching it.

[Brian]
Darren knew that I was looking
for a Silver Surfer,

so he gave me the same book
in an 8.0.

And, like, I, I said to him,

I'm like, "You know
what I'm gonna do with that?"

He's like, "Oh, yeah, do it."
Yeah, sort of prove the point

that, uh...
I don't know what point it is,

but I don't give a shit
about the grade, honestly.

I just want the book
so I can open this bad boy

and send him home
with his brothers and sisters.

Means putting them
right in there.

He wants to exist
next to his other books

in just normal bags and boards
in a dark box.

Be there, be loved,
I don't know.

He doesn't look comfortable
in this, right?

Like, you wanna be like--
He's like Han Solo in carbonite.

That's no good.
He wants to be free.

I wouldn't wanna say that people
that are into graded books

aren't purists
'cause they can be, you know,

but I'm not.
Yeah, it's not for me.

I understand that some people
want their investment protected

and they wanna know what it is,
and I get it,
and I'm fine with it.

But me personally, no.

Book is free.

I'm a raw dog.

I'm so raw, you need to store me
in a refrigerator.

I'm so raw, I'm uncookable.

[Chris]
There's a strange split

in the true nature
of these things.

I'd be really thrilled
if somebody bought the book

for a million and a half
or whatever

and, and then opened it
and read it, you know.

It's like the bottles of wine
that people get that, uh--

You know, it's been
under the sea for 200 years,

and, uh, "We're gonna
drink it tonight," you know.

Uh, that's, uh,
to me, the ultimate fate
of these things.

[shatters]

♪ Mask off, blast off ♪

[echoing]
♪ Mask off, blast off ♪

[microphone feedback]

[Darren] We have a lot
of people, man, and it's been
really pissing me off,

that are misunderstanding
the story.

-Have you seen some of
the comments lately on YouTube?
-Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Why do you care?
If they're not gonna buy it--

If they're not gonna buy a book,
why do you care?

Josh had just very simply said
in that conversation,

he goes, "Darren, those people
that are saying that,

would you even want them
buying one of the books
from the collection?"

And it was just
so overwhelmingly simple,
uh, and profound.

Like I say, it was just like
a light bulb went off to me.

I'm like... "No.

I wouldn't want one of those
people owning these books."

Part of what we're trying to do
is get them into hands of people

that appreciate and identify,

or just are astounded
with the conditions
or otherwise.

It instantly
just was a light bulb
of a little epiphany of like,

"Why is this even bothering me?

Let's focus on the people
that are contacting us
and saying,

'Hey, I'd love just any book,
in any grade,
just to be a part of this'."

That's humbling. That's amazing.

[soft bass music]

[Adam]
So Darren has a renewed drive.

And that's coupled
with this growing awareness
around the collection

partly due to theBatman sale

and partly the first ever
custom label.

So more than ever,
Darren seized the need

for more organization
of this mammoth collection,

organization that
his father never had.

That warrants a little growth

for his ever-expanding
comic book family.

I mean, as far as the boxes go,
there is no organization.

It can be a golden age book,
80 years old,

and then right next to it,
you know, books from 2004.

And then the rest of it
is Marvel from the '60s.

Most people,
they don't understand
when I tell them what I'm doing.

I mean, I, I, I've come up
with a lot of different terms
for it.

My favorite is
"comic book consiglieri"...

...but my wife
does not like that one.

[uplifting music]

Now I'm here every day.
I look through comics,
I sort them, I pick them.

I find ones that are
good enough to grade.

I find ones that are
good enough to sell raw.

I separate, I bag,
I board, I organize.

-[Adam speaks] Wow.
-Full time.

Full time. I'm here
from 10:00 in the morning

till 5:00 in the afternoon.

And then when I get home,
I'm selling comics.

So from, you know, after dinner
till eleven o'clock at night,

I'm, you know, looking through
Facebook, looking on eBay,

finding books, selling books.

Lots of fun stuff. Comic books,
comic books, comic books.

[Darren]
He's been great.
He's part of the family.

He's a great guy.
We have a ton of fun.

-[laughter]
-And he's one of the dudes.

They literally couldn't
function without me.

No, I'm just-- [laughs]

Before I got here,
they had made a run
and pulled out the major keys.

The big keys, you know.

But I still find big keys.
Every day I find stacks of keys.

I mean, I came out here
with five CrowNo. 1s
the other day

and five Batman251s
the other day.

Not that that makes much sense,
but Batman251s,

if we get a 9/8,
it's like a $35,000 book.

So, you know,
every day my jaw drops
at the books that are here,

that I find here.
It's unbelievable.

I mean, uh, Darren came in here
earlier yelling where I was.

I told him I couldn't keep away
from the back.

I found a little honey hole.
So, you know,

I-- it's, it's amazing.

[Adam speaking]

-They were there
and now they're not.
-[Adam Kellert] Yeah.

-[laughs]
-End of discussion.

Um, yeah, that's
a really good question.

I-- How many did we have?
Twentyish?

-I-- Sure.
-Yeah, we had, like, twentyish.

[Darren]
You know, it's just--
it can get scary sometimes

because it can be very easy

for one or 100 books
to go missing.

-[Adam] Mm-hmm.
-Um, and, uh, again,

we're not ever really kind of
r-- racing to the stolen,
you know, scenario.

-There really aren't
that many people in here.
-[Adam Kellert] Yeah.

Um, but it's more
just left hand, right hand

and being in sync
with one another
and making sure.

-We have no organization here.
Uh, like, I don't know how--
-Some organization.

I don't even know
how we find books
when we do need them.

-I mean, it's memory.
It's, it's, it's stupid.
-[Darren] Yeah, yeah.

-We go on memory.
-I think the missing Spawns
are in the boxes to be graded,

which are right over there.

We've got about 35 boxes
of 150 books each.

So the 5000 books
that I've identified over there,
it wasn't overnight.

I mean, this took me
three months to identify those.

Just to pull them out of,
you know, the trailer,
the boxes and boxes.

And then for Brian
to have to press, you know.

[Brian] To really do it right
and clean them
and get them right,

I mean, you're looking
at probably three hours a book.

Of your hands
on that book for three hours,

you know, to clean it,
do all that.

So, yeah, I mean,
figure every book
is probably a good three hours

-of, of labor.
-[Adam Kellert]
Plus the 24 hours in press.

-[Brian] Yeah, yeah.
-[Adam Kellert] So it's--

[Darren]
The 5000 are identified
to go to CGC.

-[Adam Kellert] Right.
-[Darren] Three hundred
are ready to go to CGC.

But, you know,
we're not just grading books

that are key titles
or things like that.

You know, we're also
looking at the census.

You know, there are
several books that we have

that may or are
or have been already proven

to be the highest grade
of that book in existence.

So even if it's a non-key,

if you have the highest grade
of a book in the world,

that's still a significant thing
and a reason to grade it.

So we have these different,
I guess, thresholds

or different tiers

of, of why we decide
to grade a book or not.

You know, it could be
rarity on the census.

It could be highest condition
on the census

or one of, that we think
we have a shot at.

Obviously, it could be
a key book in general

just because it's a,
it's a very well-known title

or a big announcement
of a first character.

[lighthearted music]

[Tony]
It's definitely changed. It has.

I mean, especially
with the publicity
of the collection

and everything like that,
that is completely changed

because it has to be.
It has to be.

With that kind of inventory
and everything that's going on,

it, it, it has to be
more of a business.

But Darren's included
so many people into it.

So it's kind of like
a family business, I guess.

-This is our highest
in the census.
-Of what?

-Peacemaker196.
-Oh, nice.

-So now take your photo.
-Let me see that.

-Whoo.
-Wow.

All right, well, how could it--
Why is it not 9.8?

Quick, look,
that was my dad talking.

-Yeah.
-Why is it not 9.8?

-[laughs]
-[man] Why are you yelling--

Dad, it's the highest
in the census ever.

I do miss the hunt.
That was the funnest part.

I felt like
some sort of explorer.

Like, "What, what is
in this box?"

You pull it out and sometimes
it's one after another.

-[men] Oh.
-[chuckles] Stunned.

[Adam] One could say
that the treasure hunt
for finding new books

in the collection
is slowing down.

But it's replaced
by seeing books come back

from CGC
with extremely high grades.

9.8s, people.

[Adam]
And then to my astonishment,
there's a new hunt.

A hunt to actually
buy more books.

-[Adam speaks]
-You know, um...

...I, I, I get asked that,
you know, again,

especially from Renee. [laughs]

"Why the heck are you buying
comic books? That's insane."

Um, okay.

Well, just because
you have a lot of something

doesn't mean you have,
uh, you know, everything.

And I have the means to do it
through the collection again.
Recycled money.

Um, and again, I, I, I say that
because then there's no guilt

of, like, you know,
spending outside of that.

It's- I-- I--
it's important to me

to keep that mentally
s-- straight of that,

"This is the collection paying
for these additional buys."

And, and there's
some excitement there.
There's some joy.

Uh, and some of these covers
are just hysterical.

And I do enjoy them very much.
You know, the art part of it.

Nice innuendo cover.

I don't identify
with the, the hoarding aspect

of having 150 of something
or 200 of them.

That doesn't make
any sense to me.

Let's take the best one,
or the best ones,

you know,
and keep a couple of those,
and the rest can go

in a controlled way
that's not flooding the market

and then let that fuel the holes
that we have in the collection.

I think that it's neat
to build a real personal

personal collection, PC.

And when I go to a Con,
it, it gives me
an additional element

to just walking around
and meeting people and so on.

It's like, "No... [stutters]
I like that. No, that's cool."

So I get to participate,
I guess, you know,
in something I'm already in.

It may not make sense,
but I will say that,

you know,
we enjoy the stuff that we buy.

At least we're not just
throwing it in a box.

You know, we're displaying it
or looking at it

or talking about it,
and it's great.

[upbeat music]

I'm so excited
to dive into this.

The one thing I do respect
about Darren,

instead of just selling
his dad's collection

and kind of taking the money
and walking away from the hobby,

he's actually reinvesting it
back into the hobby.

He's picking up
golden age grails,
high-grade books

that he's always wanted
as a kid.

So I respect that.
I respect that a lot.

Did some pickups today.
Made some deals.

So I wanna show
some of the stuff we got.

I mean, I guess the point
that we're at right now is that

the collection is starting
to gain ground in the community.

One of the things
that's happened recently

that was very pleasant
for me to see was that

we have some dealers
and some individuals
that have bought raw books,

and they're sending them in
to get graded,

and they're getting
the new label.

And they're loving it because
they want a part of the story,

part of the collection,
the label.

So we're focusing on that,
you know.

And, um, going with the people
that are on board with us.

I see what you're doing
with these labels

and the story
that you're telling

and the awareness
that you're spreading,

and I, I just wanna thank you.

I'm sure this is uncomfortable
coming so public
about all of this

and, you know, for you to,
to share this with the world.

I really do feel like there's
also a warning out there
to, like,

"Don't forget. This isn't
just the legacy of books
you leave behind,

-but it's the people too."
-[emotional music]

I don't feel
my dad was a collector.

I feel like he was a hoarder.
You know, what was he doing?

You know, I don't have
the answer to that.

Because the thing is that,
um, we weren't involved.

But he assembled this collection
from a lot of different sources,
okay?

Um, a-- again, I don't have
the details. I wish I did.

And your father, he, he had...

His, his illness was-- He...

What did you say it was?
It was Asperger's?

You know, we, we're not trying
to paint a, a negative picture

and, and even call it
a disability. It's a,
it's a condition, right?

-Sure.
-And then here's the thing.

People live with all kinds
of conditions, right?

People that have, you know, uh,

suffering eyesight wear glasses,
you know.

People that, uh,
you know, need help walking

may have, uh, you know,
a cane or something else.

But it's recognized.
It's realized and it's admitted.

The problem with this story
is my father never admitted
his condition, ever.

He would never seek any advice
on dealing with it.

So that was the challenge.
It wasn't the condition.

-I wanna-- I, I-- that's, that's
one of the biggest things...
-Sure.

...I can make clear is that,

you know, we've met
several people along the way,

um, of this journey
that, that, that have,

you know, uh,
somewhere on the spectrum,

and they realize it
and they cope

and they understand how to deal
with it and work with it.

It's the problem
of not admitting it, right,

not dealing with it,
not understanding the impact,

like you said,
that it has on others,
creating these barriers

and just thinking
everyone else is off.

At that point,
the denial becomes abusive.

-Mm-hmm.
-Y-- yeah, sure,
if you wanna nam--

Or I mean, uh, if,
if anything, it's, it's--

You're just-- I-- it's...

I mean, uh,
the metaphor of superheroes

who live double lives
and the dichotomy
of this denial.

That's the thing with Superman.
It's like Kal-El is who he is.

-Clark is the lie.
-[Darren] That's exactly right.

[podcast host]
And Clark is the forward-facing

-public image of this person.
-[Darren] 100%.

[podcast host]
And I'm guessing your father had
a, a public image

as well that he had
to stay conscious of.

-[Darren] Absolutely.
-[podcast host]
But the home was being

filled with things. I mean,
uh, not just the home,

but the home as a metaphor
for the human,

you know, is,
is becoming cluttered

-and unmanageable after a point.
-[Darren sighing] Yeah.

I have three kids,
and that is also something that

I am constantly
doing this with, right?

So it's something
that I don't ever want them
to look back on and be like,

"Well, he wanted
to do that more than

go play catch with me
or something, you know."

[Darren]
He didn't get to experience
with a friend.

He didn't get to dig
through boxes

and have people be wide-eyed.

He didn't get exposure like this
where people appreciate
what he did.

On no level,

none, did he benefit.

-That was the tragedy.
-That's unfortunate.

-Yeah, it is.
-That's unfortunate.

-It's really--
-'Cause as collectors, I mean,

that's like, one, we like
to have, you know, nice things.

But then, two, we like to share
that with our cohorts.

-You know, like, that's...
-Oh, my God.

...that's what
this is all about.

-Because--
-It's no fun
doing this alone, you know.

Otherwise we wouldn't be here.

I would have traded anything
for an actual relationship
with this man

rather than a bunch
of sterile boxes.
I don't need the money.

I think, um, a l--
a lot of people forget

what stories kind of
go along with comics.

You know, we've, we've--
A lot of people have stories.

You don't know the stories
of the people that had them.

At the age of two,
my daughter Gwen

was going to have
to start chemotherapy.

[emotional piano music]

She was diagnosed
with a rare genetic disease
called neurofibromatosis.

And she grew a cancerous tumor
on her optic nerves.

She was going blind.

When she was going in
for her blood tests,

they let her pick out a toy.

She reaches her hand in

and she pulls out this, uh,
this blue and red character,

and she says, "Dad," 'cause
she's, she's two. [laughs]

"Dad, what's this?"

And I said,
"Gwen, that's Spider-Man."

And she goes,
"What's a Spider-Man?"

And I said,
"Spider-Man's a hero.

Spider-Man protects people.

And he's actually a kid.

And, you know, he's always
trying to do his best.

And no matter what he does,
he's looking out for the people

that he loves and the community
in which he lives.

He's somebody that,
that's always there to help."

And she's like, "Okay."
You know, she's two.

[laughs] "Cool."

And we take the toy home.
We start chemo.

Uh, she's going every week.

During that two-year process,
she gets very allergic
to her chemotherapy.

So much so that she has to be
basically knocked out

with a lot of Benadryl
and things of that nature

to keep from the allergic
reactions that you can get.

When they started
putting her out,

she would always put
the little Spider-Man
on her tray table

in her chemo room,
'cause we'd be there all day,

and it would always be kind of,
like, looking into the room

or be kind of watching the door.

I never really got it.

It wasn't until
that we finished chemo,

and we went
on her Make-A-Wish trip,

and we got to go
to Universal Studios,

and we see
the big, huge Marvel sign

and it says, "Spider-Man
autographs over here."

And Gwen just melted.

"Spider-Man's here.
We have to go see Spider-Man.

We have to go see Spider-Man."

And Gwen just runs up
and gives him a hug.

And, you know, we're,
we're, we're listening in,

and she just says,
"I wanted to thank you...

...for protecting
my mom and my dad

all that time when I was sick

because they were scared.

They were really scared.

And I couldn't take care of them
'cause I had to go to sleep.

And I wanted to...

I, I wanted to thank you
for taking care of my parents."

You know, they always say,
like, there's always
somebody in your life

that makes you
wanna be a better person.

Um... [clicks tongue]
mine's my daughter.

[lighthearted music]

[Darren]
Superman was always a superhero

that was represented strongly
in our household.

Even before I had the ability
to pick out my own clothes,

I was wearing Superman shirts.
So was my brother.

We had Halloween costumes
and such.

You know, we were
just raised that, you know,

Superman was a very moral
and strong character.

[Kevin]
I think Superman embodies
just this ability

to not only stand for himself
but stand for everyone else

and be that port in the storm,
be that solid figure.

And I think as a parent,
a lot of people are just,

"I just want my kid to be okay.

I just want them
to be solid and have,

and have a solid ground
to stand on."

And I think
he kind of represented that
for a long time.

[Chris]
I think he really
represents the future.

He represents humanity
and what they can be.

He's us. But, you know,
a thousand years further along

or after, you know,
some technological--

or just evolution,
uh, that we evolve

and I hope get morally better

at the same time
we get all these other skills
and abilities that he has.

Looking in this world
we live in,

we will have cyborgs
and we will have Cyborg Superman

before we have more people
who, who treat each other

with the humanity that we're
deserved. You know what I mean?

That seems to be--
You talk about attainable.

That seems to be the,
the more difficult to reach

is to, to have
an open understanding
of your neighbor

-than it is to be able to fly.
-[whooshes]

[Chris]
Okay. They have
all these powers. Great.

What are they
gonna do with them?

And how are they gonna deal

with these deep human flaws?

[Darren]
When I started reading comics
more later on,

I, I even got a stronger
connection to the character

and even some of the shows
like Lois & Clark

or, you know, Superman & Lois,

and just the way
he's represented as a human

and trying to be in the world

and not, not just, you know,
saving the day all the time.

And it's just fascinating

to, to really learn
more about, you know,

him maintaining his secrecy
and what that really means

and how hard that is
on his loved ones and his family

and how much
he restrains himself so often,
um, you know, with his powers.

I mean,
when you have the temptation
of just being omnipotent,

uh, and don't use those powers
in a selfish way at all,

I mean, that's just
incredible restraint.

Just think of the people
in the world that
if they had superpowers

for that one minute
of road rage,

or that one minute
at the supermarket

when someone cuts them off,
what they'd do?

And he can do it at any time
and he doesn't.

And that's something
that I really struggled with
on my father,

is that he had
a lot of capabilities.

There's a lot of things
we could have done together

that would have been
really cool,

you know, with our two mindsets
and aptitudes.

And, um, it was unrealized.
So he didn't apply it.

So, you know,
you can't always choose your,
your powers or your aptitude,

but you can choose
how you employ

and, you know,
how you represent them.

Deep down, we're not saying
he's super because
of all those magic powers.

We're saying he's super
'cause he's making
the right decisions

and helping humanity.

[female interviewer speaks]

[laughs] It's exhausting.

[laughter]

♪ Super super Superman ♪

♪ Sumatronomaticexpialidocious
Push my buttons ♪

♪ I'mma take off like
a speedboat in the ocean
'cause I got a minute ♪

♪ My power goes infinite
like the comics ♪

♪ In the cellar trying
to find a way to win it ♪

[Adam]
What might surprise you is that

in his journey with Superman,

Darren never found out

how his dad
got theSuperman No. 1.

-♪ Man ♪
-[Darren] I think
he got that Superman

in, like, the late '70s,
early '80s,

but I'm not 100% sure.

And my mother either doesn't
care enough to remember

or she just wasn't told fully.

But there may only be
a few people left on Earth

that know the story
of where this stuff came from,

and I'm really excited
to find that out.

[Adam]
So now he's in a hunt
to find the origin

of his father'sSuperman No. 1.

And to do so,
find the people that worked

at the comic store where Dale
would get the comics.

Did you ever, uh,
know of the store
Classic Movie & Comic Center?

[Adam]
That's CC's comics
in Livonia, Michigan.

He used to refer to CC's
as his version of Cheers.

-Remember the show Cheers?
-Yeah. Oh, yeah.

And, you know,
I would assume he meant that

in the way of, like,
Norm coming in and, like,

-"Hey."
-Checking in with the guys.

Yeah, that was his,
that was his boys club.

[announcer]
With over 4000 square feet
of comic books,

posters, baseball cards
and more,

Classic Movie & Comic Center
is the place for classic fun.

Open seven days a week,
Classic...

[Brian]
Man, it was right here, right?

But I remember his counter
was on, uh, this side.

-I remember--
-[Darren] Remember it was
like a horseshoe?

-Like it went all the way
around the store...
-Yeah.

-With the center,
with comic books. Yeah, yeah.
-Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, they must have
totally rezoned this place.

-Well, I would assume.
-Mm.

I just think it's hilarious
this is for lease

-Oh, let's do it.
-[laughs]

[announcer]
Memorabilia from
Star Trek, theStooges

and the current
favoriteBatman.

[Darren]
Part of the routine on Thursday

when we go as a family,
and I'm sure

his own routine
as he went by himself,

would be to go to Classic's,
go to dinner,

and there was a buffet
next to it called Duff's.
I'll never forget.

-And, uh, you know, as a kid,
I'm like--
-Oh, yeah.

-But the value.
The value, right?
-Yeah, right.

Well, I didn't care about
the value. I cared about getting

-13 servings of ice cream, so.
-Yep.

And then we'd go to Toys "R" Us.

-But not for us.
-[laughs]

-Mm-hmm. Nice.
-For him to buy Star Wars toys.

I think part of what he was
doing was appeasing my mom

and distracting her and like,

"No, no, we're having
a family event here.

And never mind, you know,

the things that
I'm bringing home." You know,

-um, "We're spending time."
Which we were.
-Yep.

But i-- it's all part of that,
that illusion of, uh, you know,

creating a normal situation

out of just the stockpiling
of all this stuff over time.

♪ Super Superman ♪

[upbeat hip-hop music]

[Darren]
You know, I've been asking
local store owners

if they know
these people by first name,
that used to work at Classic,

and I asked about,
uh, Dennis, Andy, Craig.

And I was told that,
"Yeah, I think that's the Andy

that owns Back To The Past."

-Have you heard
of Back To The Past?
-I have.

[Darren] "We'd only be open
by appointment.
Saturday and Sunday."

-Did you make an appointment?
-I didn't.

-[Darren] I didn't.
-Not this time. We will.

You remember
these people though, right,
uh, from your child--

-Like, did you know them
as a kid?
-Yeah.

-No, I knew them.
-Wow. I mean, going and talking
to all these people,

do you think it will help you
understand who your father was?

-A little more, you know.
-Well, that's exactly
why I'm doing it.

I mean,
it's not just about like,

"Where'd you get this comic?"
You know?

I mean, I'm very excited,

probably the most excited
to figure out

what this part
of my dad's l-- life was like.

[pensive music]

You know, it took him
to really kind of lose his mind

-before he trusted his son.
-Could you listen for a sec?

[Darren]
Maybe if there was a history
of reasons he couldn't trust me,

it makes sense,
but I can't come up with any.

I, I tried to show him
what a father
I was starting to become.

He knew I took my relationships
very seriously.

He knew I took my friend's
loyalty very seriously.

So I don't know
on what measurement

he was basing
his, his, his stances on,

but I could never
crack that code.

And it was just-- again,
I, I think there's a wiring

when it's for so long that
it just becomes your normal.

You know,
I had a therapist one time
tell me that, you know,

oftentimes when we're
put against the wall
or, you know, against--

w-- you know, when we're put
in situations of stress

that we return
to what's familiar
rather than what's right,

you know, and the thing is
that, um, that's--

I've found to be very true,
you know.

It's complex.
Like it's traumatic grief.

Because oftentimes
when there's not a repair
in the relationship,

when someone passes away,

it just adds to all of the churn

of everything that's been going
on throughout the lifetime.

It just makes it more intense
because there was no resolution.

[pensive music continues]

[Darren]
Since my father's passing,

since him making me feel
inadequate

and, and, and these
other things,

even if they were conscious
or subconscious, was removed.

If I reflect
on the last couple of years,

I started doing it
to myself more

and I really recognize it.
I mean, it, it's, it's amazing

because I did not have
some of the night terrors
or some of the night struggles.

I mean, Renee has said that
there have been times that

she has heard me
scuffling around,

and she'll come downstairs,
and I'm literally pacing.

I sat on the stairs
'cause I heard him
from all the way upstairs,

and I went downstairs
and I heard him,

and it's just-- he was arguing
with his father.

[Darren] Well, I'm trying
to tell you is I'm trying to use
common terminology...

Swearing at my father.
Like, if I'm half dreaming.

That's crazy,
and that never happened before.

You know what I mean?
That never happened before.

Is it exactly because he passed
am I doing that?

Am I, am I making up for that,

you know, uh, conflict
and that struggle

that I would feel with him
all the time,

um, because it was removed?

Wow. That's a very powerful
and interesting thing
to think about.

But, um, I'm not doubting that
that phenomenon occurs,

and I'm not doubting
that I'm above it.

So, you know, fortunately,

it's something
that I can be aware of

and maybe, uh, maybe fix.

-There we go. Can you hear me?
-Yes, I can you hear you.

Yeah. All right. Good.
Look at that.

The last time I remember you,
you were about this,

-about this, about this big.
-That, that would
have been right.

Absolutely correct. And so--

-Time flies by--
-I probably was looking
at the movie posters

and the cute girls on them
and stuff.

-I remember that and everything.
-Yeah.

-You know, stuff like that.
-That was huge back then.

-Huge back then.
-I know.

Well, I'm a 65 year old man
with no computer skills.

Looks like I actually made it.

Wow. Danny,
I'm proud of you, bro.

Well, you're the only one, sir.

[all chuckle]

Oh, come on now.

I wanted to introduce, um...

He's my closest friend
Brian Krueger.

-Hey, Brian.
-How are you guys doing?

-Good.
-He definitely, I'm sure,

-saw you guys at one point.
-Oh, yeah.

You know, he was,
he was definitely
in the stores like Classic's.

You know, you're kind of,
like, the last lifelines

-of me piecing together...
-Right.

...such a major,
major hidden piece

of his life
that he did not share.

I mean, he did not share it.

I liked Dale a lot.

You would never know
he was a lawyer.

Like, he didn't
carry himself, like,

"Listen, I'm gonna talk down
to you" or whatever.

Uh, he, he went-- if you asked,
uh, you know, Dale a question,

he would almost
approach it with, like,
like a friendly comedy.

Like, what kind of mess
have you gotten yourself
into this time?

But he would never
make fun of you.
He would never talk down to you.

Uh, but, but there was
the side of Dale

that was an excellent lawyer,

and so I sure wouldn't have
want to have been

on the other side of the table,

uh, from him, uh,
you know, as a lawyer.

Do you have any memorable things
with, with, with my father,
Dennis?

-I mean, you know--
-I needed a car.
He had a Mercury Sable.

-Yes, he did.
-60,000 miles.
The head gaskets went.

So he had me meet him
at the used car lot
on 12 Mile and Telegraph.

And I bought that car off of him
for a Susan B. Anthony dollar.

-[Andy] So he sold it to you
for a dollar?
-A dollar.

-A Susan B. Anthony dollar.
-I like that. I like that.

'Cause that's
what I had in my pocket.
And I thought it was funny.

So I flipped it up in the air
and he caught it,
and it ran forever.

I think I got
160,000 miles on it

just by making sure
it had antifreeze in it

and everything was fine.

[laughs]

So y-- you guys, I mean,

we have 150 copies
of Ghost Rider1.

We have 150 copies
of Star Wars1.

-We have 150 copies
of Strange Tales169.
-[Andy] Wow.

-Okay. Why? Why?
-[Andy] Uh-huh. Right.

-Why? How?
-[Andy] So-- Right.

You know, Dale obviously
was, was CC's lawyer.

You know,
your dad was CC's lawyer.

Um, but I think
they worked it out in trade.

You know, there's
a certain amount of s-- stuff
in these conversations

where, like, I can say, "Yep,
that's what happened for sure,"

with, like,
the Giant-Size X-Men1.

[gentle music]

I found a sealed case
of Giant-Size X-Men,

sealed distributor case,

and I think it held 200 copies.

And I remember at the time,
we sold--

They were selling--
I mean, it was

a really expensive book
at the time.

It-- 'cause it was the true
first appearance of the X-Men.

-So--
-Well, give me a year.
Give me a year.

-What year are we talking?
-Uh, this would have been 1980,

-'82 probably.
-Okay, so it wasn't that old.

I mean, that book was like
seven years old.

It was only like
seven years old.

Well, but, but there's
a punchline when I say

it was a really expensive book
at the time.

-We were getting
$40 to $45 a copy...
-Whoa.

...for a mint copy
ofGiant-Size X-Men No. 1.

It's possible at the time
that CC was like,

even though him and Dale
were friends, it was like,

"Listen, I'm kind of
struggling financially.

I can get real money for these.

I'll give you a few copies,
but I can't let you take

-100 copies
of myGiant-Size X-Men 1."
-[laughs]

[laughing] And you know.

[Darren]
We have six or seven
9.8s of that book.

[Andy]
You know,
Dale was the original owner.

Nobody else had
ever touched those before.

[stutters] So you guys are aware
that there's a Superman1

at a 7.0 in this collection.
Right?

-I didn't know that.
-No? You know--

-[cross talk]
-So that's a heavy
hitter copy there, yeah.

But do you have any history?

-You didn't even know
we had those.
-[Andy] Well, so-- I,

I, I was gonna say
I, you know...

I don't recall those books

-coming through the store,
unfortunately.
-[both exclaiming]

Uh, it wouldn't
surprise me, you know,

if Dale wasn't going
to the comic book conventions.

I don't know
if you guys do recall,

but, I mean,
Superman was his hero.

-I mean,
Superman was his superhero.
-Yeah, absolutely.

-Yeah. That was his guy.
-Yeah. That was his guy.
And we have a complete run.

-So it's not about
just Superman1...
-All right.

...it's 2 through,
you know what, 468, right?

-All the way up.
-[Andy] He had it all.
That doesn't surprise me

'cause like you say,
that was his guy.

[Darren]
[stutters] If you do this still,

I, I'd be interested
in just some, uh--

You know, I don't have my father
to give the advice,

but, uh, any kind of, uh,
you know, elder legacy advice...

-Yeah.
-...on, you know,
the situation here.

I-- You know,
I could sit back and say...

"Man, I sold
that amazing fantasy
for 300 bucks or 250 bucks,

and, and now it's worth
$100,000 or whatever it is,"

and beat myself up
till the end of time.

But the reality of it is
I'm where I'm at.

It, it all worked out good
in the end.

How much is enough?

Like, if you sell your dad's
collection for 10 million...

"Oh, I could have
waited three years
and gotten 12 million."

Or-- You know,
I mean, at some point,

you gotta walk out
of the casino.

You, you know, there's,
there's gonna come that point.

And so that's
how it was with me.

There just kind of
came to this point
where it was, like,

I never, I never looked back.

Not enough time to use
the money, you're saying,

and enjoy the money.

Right. And if I could,
if I could send you the view

of what I'm looking at
here in Montana,

sitting in the Rocky Mountains,

what I wake up to every day,
it's amazing.

So I really just traded
something that I loved,

I did love my collection,

but I traded it
for something that I love

that's just a different thing.

It was just, just kind of my,

-my time.
-[whimsical music]

[Adam]
So although Darren's search
for the origin

of his Superman
has hit a roadblock,

it inspired me
to look at the origins
of the Superman itself,

to see possible deeper roots
of this archetype and myth
in our world.

And I found that
thousands of years ago,

there was a yogic god
named Hanuman

who represents heroics,
internal value and devotion.

And as he rips open his chest,
much like Superman,

we see that devotion
is to serve all mankind.

And maybe not surprisingly,
I find people online arguing

about who would win in a battle
between Hanuman and Superman.

And now Hanuman, well,
he has his own superhero film.

But is that why we need
and love these archetypes,

because of their powers
and ability to defeat anything,

to rescue us
from the forces of evil?

When you encounter something
that's as strong, uh, stream

in, uh, our consciousness
as the superheroes

and these other
adventure type films are,

uh, then it must be expressing
some human wish.

So we do wish for a savior.
It would be nice, wouldn't it?

[stutters] And this is how
I related to Superman as a kid.

[triumphant music]

Watching those old
black and white shows,

it comforted me to have the idea

that if the school bus
goes off the bridge,

that guy in a cape
can fly down and save me.

And I knew--
maybe he'd be busy that day

and he wouldn't save us,
but it made me feel better.

For me, comics were an escape
because I was...

you know, I was
the fat kid growing up.

I got bullied relentlessly
in school.

I immediately connected
with somebody like Iron Man

who could hide in that suit
of armor that gave him power.

Ten-year-old me thought
that was perfect.

So I think psychologically
there was something
going on with me.

It was, like,
I kind of wished I had that.

[Monti]
It's comforting.

It's comforting to go to a place

where things are clear

because life is so messy.

So I think that's where
people might be drawn to it.

It might be also simplicity.
It might be also avoidance.

It also might be like, "I want
someone like that in my life."

You know,
"I identify with this. I wish
this person was my parent,"

or "I want this person
to save me,"

because some of us
wanted to be saved.

The downside of that
is that you can wish yourself
out of power

and turn it over to a leader,

to a hero, to a role model,

without examining that
very closely, uh,

because there's always
a real flawed human being
behind all those masks.

We wanna hand it off.

We want somebody else,
uh, to, to take charge,

and, uh, that just weakens us.

[whimsical music]

[Adam]
And as I looked deeper
into the origins of Superman,

I then found
the actual word "superman"

and its first appearance
from a German philosopher

that wasn't really looking
for a heroic savior.

He was more interested
in us taking our power back.

[Jack]
Nietzsche was a 19th century
German philosopher,

known for his
kind of literary flair

and his provocative
philosophical ideas.

[intriguing piano music]

One of the most famous of which

is, uh, his idea
of the "Übermensch,"

which is commonly translated
into "overman," "beyond-man,"

or most pertinently for
our purposes today, "superman."

While DC Comic Universe Superman

is this kind of alien
with literal superpowers,

Nietzsche's Übermensch
is very much a human.

Not a human now,

but a-- what humans
might become one day

were we not so repressed
and inhibited.

It inspires us to ask,
"Why do we value what we value?

Why do we think
what's good is good?

What gives me meaning?
What gives me fulfillment?

How much of this comes from me?

And how much of it comes from
other people or other systems

or the kind of convention and
social norms that we live by?"

Nietzsche's Übermensch
is someone that isn't
really concerned

with any of these external
value systems.

It's just governed
by, like, what is something

that makes them feel empowered
within themselves.

When people hear words
like "power,"

they often think
of dominion over others,

but that's not really
what Nietzsche is talking about.

He's not talking
about dominion over others.

He's talking about
dominion over yourself,

so that you're not
this kind of tormented soul

that is constantly outsourcing
your decision-making

to value systems
that you don't really believe in
in the first place.

The Übermensch is, is someone
who feels completely at ease
with themselves

and being with themselves,
and they're unrepressed.

And it's, uh, it's about
kind of liberating yourself

from these feelings
of shame and guilt.

It's about self-overcoming.

I think the, the heroic act
of the moment

is to take responsibility.

And, uh, that means to me

that y-- you have more power

over things
than you think you do.

And that goes for your own body
and your own health,

but also the vibrations
all around you.

I believe that you are creating
your world around you,

and you're doing it usually
in an unconscious way

based on old injuries usually,

and things you're worried about
moment to moment.

And I think the heroic act
is to step back from that
a little bit

and try to take a broader view
and more responsibility.

Like, "I'm the God
of my universe."

[dramatic music]

[Jack]
With great responsibility
comes great power.

And if we take power to mean
what Nietzsche uses it as,

which is this sense
of self-mastery,

that is the powerful person.

He's not saying this flippantly.

Like, it's not
an easy thing to do.

He recognizes we have all these
competing kind of desires

and drives within us,
some natural, some learned,

and it will take many lifetimes
of humans, Nietzsche thinks,

to, to really
overthrow ourselves,

release ourselves
from the shackles of, of this.

[music intensifies, fades away]

[Adam speaking]

That's interesting.

My current feeling
is that the Superman

is the face of this collection.

I feel the collection would feel
hollow without it in it.

Um, I think that
if I wanna give someone a secret

on how to pry that away from me
at some point,

an argument would--

You're not gonna get me
with numbers.

You're not. I mean-- You're not.

Uh, $10 million,
I mean, okay, mm...

One of my conditions
would be that

that book isn't sitting
in his private safe at home.

No. Um...

And two, uh, why mine?

I really would wanna know.

Is it the story? Is it the book?

Is it something
he's always wanted?

Uh, does he already have a copy?
Is he trading up?

Is he a massive Superman fan?
Is he a massive comic fan?

Um, what's the story?
What's his story?

You know,
why does he wanna own it?

I mean, I would have to do
a mini interview on someone.

I mean it. I mean,
this isn't someone
I just want to own this

because they think it's neat
and it's just another
little trophy on their wall.

And I don't care
how much money they have.

I do wish that it was, uh,

in, in a place
where it could be enjoyed more.

So I think the only way
that I'd consider,

um, releasing that book
in some way

is if it was in partnership
with a display

that could be enjoyed
and visited by the public,
by a-- anyone.

Um, my kryptonite on that
Superman1 is gonna be,

"All right, you're gonna
tell me, you're gonna--
How are you gonna help

a bunch of other people
that are big fans?"

You know, it would have to be
something like that.

A philanthropy effort

in a major way
revolving around the character.

[whimsical music]

[Adam]
So the buyer from Minister Jeff

declined the idea
of talking with Darren,

but then Jeff made an intro
to another person,

the seller
of theSuperman No. 1 8.0

for that record $5.3 million.

And although I met
and filmed them,

in the end, they preferred
to keep their identity hidden.

I don't know if this is some
strange superhero phenomenon

of wanting to stay secret,

but as an outsider
to this comic book world,

I can say my experience
has been the opposite.

What I've come to see
is the majority of the people
in this community

feel free to be themselves.

They love what they love
and wanna be seen.

And this idea of being true
to the self, I think,
is really epitomized

by one of the most
well-known collectors

with one of the biggest
comic book stores in the world.

You don't always
please everybody,

and if you try to,
you're an idiot.

I don't try to.

I don't even come
close to trying to.

Um, you know, Captain Alienation
at your service here.

[soft music]

I just like to have lots
and lots and lots of stuffs.
Woohoo!

And have fun and be able to know

that I'm getting up
in the morning
and doing good things.

And maybe not everything
works out every day, okay?

But my intent is to create joy
in this world.

Okay, let's walk in the back
so I can show you

-a little bit more
of my craziness.
-[Brian] Oh, yeah.

-[Chuck] I mean...
-Oh, my God.

[Chuck]
At a certain point in time,

you go past being a businessman
and a transactionalist,

and you become a touchstone

for very emotional responses
within people.

Every one of those comics
was purchased with you in mind.

As you said, he wasn't
selling anything, was he?

-No, sir.
-So what was he thinking?

Your dad was thinking
that they would be yours,

and he was thinking that
that would be his way

of leaving you that
which he couldn't leave you
in life.

He was leaving you his love.

[Darren]
That was not his motive one bit.

But I will agree on one end is,

you know, to believe
that's, uh, certainly better

than, uh, carrying the anger.

[pensive music]

[Chuck]
If he has an idealized notion
in his own head

that somehow he can buy
his own redemption
through this...

Mm...

Try again.

It gets really complicated
'cause even though
my father was an abuser,

I still have a lot of his stuff,
and I would never sell it.

Like his medals from, from
being shot in World War II.

Purple Heart, things like that.

And the reason,
the number one reason

is because it's still...

...subconsciously...

...provides me with a hope
of someday reconciling with him

even though he's dead,
he's gone,

and that reconciliation
will never happen.

As long as
I still have his stuff...

...I still feel like
that could happen.

All hope is gone
when your dreams die.

And so these tangible objects
keep the dreams alive

even though they are nothing
more than that.

And consciously, I know
they're nothing more than that.

But the little five-year-old boy

that he used to whip with a belt
every single day...

...still lives here

and still hopes here

that someday
Daddy will stop beating him.

They're the connection to hope.

And the idea of letting him go

is more than I could bear.

It's irrational...

...but it sustains me.

[upbeat music]

Oh, yeah, yeah. We saw you.

I really am processing a lot,
you know.

Like... where's my identity?

I have to say the mindset
of having the comic

or collectibles world
be more of a full-time,

you know, engagement of mine
is very attractive. [chuckles]

We've got a pretty amazing story
for you here
at the Geekscape booth.

[Darren]
Somehow be involved
in this community

and stay involved. I don't know.

Carve out some, some way
of making a difference in this,

in this, in this industry.

[muted]

[Monti]
We're all a product
of our traumatized society.

I mean, there's still messages
about therapy
being for weak people, right,

when it's actually courage
that you showed up with.

[Darren]
It took a bit to get that.
Yeah. [chuckles]

The pendulum swing was very far.

You know, you go
from complete secrecy

to having my name
on a San Diego Comic-Con panel.

I mean,
that doesn't even make sense

from what we were dealing
with when I was a kid,

where it's like, I'm not even
allowed to go in that room,

let alone talk about comics
on stage.

[applause]

[gentle music]

[Adam speaking]

I don't think I have a choice
but to believe that now.

I mean, the evidence
is just there, and I'm--

you know,
I'm a scientific person.

I mean, you can't refute
the truth. [chuckles]

And the fact is
that I'm being told

in every format you can imagine,

email, text,
direct message, verbally,

phone calls, podcasts,

in every single way,
that this is impacting people,

and it isn't even out.

So, I mean, I mean,
here we are talking about it--

I'm almost talking about it
like it's already been made.

I mean, it's just surreal to me.

[Celeste]
The happy part about it is that
he's met so many nice people

who do understand what, what,
you know, he's gone through.

When I went to the Comic-Con,
I could see the happy side
that he gets from it

because there were so many
nice, kind people that are there

that really seemed to appreciate
the message that
we're trying to get out.

And so many people
have come up to Darren
and said the same thing.

You know, "I realize
I'm, I'm rethinking
about how I'm collecting."

[soft bass music]

[Brian]
He loves talking to people.

Like, that's his favorite part,
is going and talking to people,

and I, I think
it's good for him.

He's made a bunch of new friends
and comic book friends.

You can discuss things,
and it's not the end
of the world.

I mean, you're talking comics.

It's ActionNo. 1.
First appearance in Mexico.

You know, there's always a quest
to find what you don't have.

Uh, I'm really looking
for an Action23.

To upgrade what you do have

and then to get rid
of what you have, you know.

So I can tell he's enjoying it,
and that's nice to see.

[Darren]
You know, it's just
organic friendships being built.

You know, when I go
to these cons, it's a,
it's a, it's a nice reminder,

whether they're small or big,

of the--
just the community of this.

There's just a lot of trust
in this, uh, this industry,

which I find refreshing
to deal with,

where I deal with quite
the opposite in the businesses

that I'm in, you know,
especially the tech company.

A 7.5.
Wow, that is our only one.

-[man] Okay. So yeah.
-[Darren] Sweet shit.

So where we are at this point,
it's totally running
like a business.

We're selling on eBay.
We're selling on Instagram.
We're selling on Facebook.

We're selling
directly from our website
fantastcollection.com.

I mean, we're selling worldwide.

I have people
in Germany and Australia.

I actually have someone
in Singapore right now

that's asking--
that's interested in books.
I mean, it's crazy.

Harley comes by to pick up books
for when he's going to shows.

Josh, he's got a lot of books
that he's, you know,
working through.

You know, we're a team.
It's a big Fantast family.

[Darren]
There'd be so many things
I'd say to my dad, you know.

Oh, my God. So many things.

But, you know, if all--
it, it-- [sighs]

Of all the things
I'd wanna say to him,

it's almost
that I'd be more curious

to just know
what he would think of it.

Not that I need his approval,
not that I even want it.

I would be floored to know

what he would think of this.

Um... [chuckles]
I mean, I honestly think
that he'd be impressed.

I do.

I think that he'd be impressed
about what we were able
to achieve.

I think he'd be proud
of the business part of it.

[melancholic music]

I don't think he'd be impressed
about the fact

that we're touching
all these people

and that, you know,
it's resonating.

I think he'd be confused
with that.

And that's just part of his lack
of understanding emotions.

I don't think he'd understand
why people are sending--

I absolutely know for a fact
he would be very confused

of why someone
would ever contact me,
that doesn't know me,

and saying, "You're helping me
be a better father
because of what you're doing."

He would find that silly.

And that's sad.
That makes me sad.

You know, I really wish
he'd see the, uh...

...the human,
the emotional component
of what we're doing, a lot.

That's the hardest.

So I wouldn't wanna
tell him a lot

because I don't think
it'd fall on open ears.

[Adam]
Then a few months later,
surprisingly,

Darren decided to pull back
from the comics...

-[lock clicks]
-...to step back
from the attention,

the podcasts,
going to Comic-Cons,

and being so occupied
by the collector world.

Much like the Übermensch,

he realized the inner world
needed his attention

to address the demons within

and find some resolution
of the angers of the past.

[gentle piano music]

[Darren]
I never,
I never figured it out.

So I don't have a happy story.

Biggest thing I, I'd like
is to be proud
of the things I'm doing.

And, um... the one thing
I'd want for myself,

I would say,
if there was one word...

...it would just be peace.

[wind gusting]

[gentle upbeat music]

[Darren]
Just kind of releasing
and forgiving some of that

has been something that's--

I've been able to accomplish
a little bit more lately.

It's been, uh,
pretty liberating.

[muted]

-How cool is that?
-Thanks.

It's very special for me
to give that to you, man.

This is awesome.

[Darren]
I just want
the best relationship

with my brother
I could possibly have,

and it has been getting better.

[muted]

[shatters]

[Brian]
That was sweet.

[laughter]

-You don't need that?
-We do, we do need this one.

I know. It's the best. [laughs]

♪ 'Cause I'm super
super Superman ♪

[music continues]

♪ I'm on the go with it
in the air, by sea
on the floor with it ♪

♪ Showtime in the sky
this show business ♪

♪ With a S on my chest
and I glow oh ♪

♪ Big body, big beam eyes
I lay them flat
like a one-man D-line ♪

♪ I'm rare I'm different
with the X-ray visions ♪

♪ Leap tall buildings
like, "Gee, wow" ♪

♪ Man of steel
in the train station ♪

♪ It's a bird, it's a plane
not a PlayStation ♪

♪ I got more power in my finger
than a locomotive ♪

♪ And the Hall of Doom
stay hatin' ♪

♪ Red kryptonite
green kryptonite, hey ♪

♪ I be on it, yeah
on that Kryptonite, hey ♪

♪ Faster than a speeding bullet
super speed Justice League ♪

♪ Keys to the city world's
finest I will never leave ♪

♪ Lois Lane, know your lane
Brainiac, I know some things ♪

♪ And I got hands, yeah
I've been known
to throw them things ♪

♪ Bang!
Put the world on my back ♪

♪ 'Cause I'm super
super Superman ♪

♪ Superman ♪

♪ Super super Superman ♪

♪ Super super Superman ♪

♪ Yo, how can I transcend
this villainous mind ♪

♪ Before my ways catch up
past the point of rewind? ♪

♪ Time's ticking
I'm opening portals
like a magician ♪

♪ Seeing things
that aren't there
or is it a vision? ♪

♪ Is this whole damn thing
a hallucination ♪

♪ Or are they coming
through the door
like a home invasion? ♪

♪ My most prized possession
deep in the basement ♪

♪ If they find it, I'll lose
'cause there's no replacement ♪

♪ Its face value
doesn't matter to me ♪

♪ It's mine
and only for my eyes to see ♪

♪ And only for
my little fingers to feel
I'm like a superhero ♪

♪ Everywhere
I'm striking the deal
No one remembers my face ♪

♪ And I ain't leaving a trace
Think you're different ♪

♪ Till the moment
that you've taken a taste ♪

♪ Once you feel that sensation
you can never erase ♪

♪ Might not believe it
but you'll taste it
for the rest of your days ♪

-♪ Yeah ♪
-[Adam speaking]

-Yeah. You're gonna walk--
-Does that make sense?

Like, would I walk through
the parking lot
without my shirt on?

-[laughs]
-[Adam] Start back
a little ways.

-Start back.
-[Adam] You'll walk out here

and then, and then
put the shirts on.

[music resumes]

♪ Super super Superman ♪

♪ Super super Superman ♪

♪ Super super Superman ♪

[laughs]

[cross talk]