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  • Most Businesses Fail Because Founders Can’t Sell

    Most Businesses Fail Because Founders Can’t Sell

    Most Businesses Fail Because Founders Can’t Sell written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

    Catch the Full Episode Episode Overview In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, host John Jantsch sits down with serial entrepreneur Brian Will to unpack the real reasons most businesses fail and why it has little to do with product, market, or funding. Drawing from his experience building 10 companies worth over half […]

    Most Businesses Fail Because Founders Can’t Sell written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

    Catch the Full Episode

    Episode Overview

    In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, host John Jantsch sits down with serial entrepreneur Brian Will to unpack the real reasons most businesses fail and why it has little to do with product, market, or funding. Drawing from his experience building 10 companies worth over half a billion dollars, Brian explains how sales, not technical skill, is the true driver of business success.

    The conversation explores practical sales psychology, common mistakes founders make, and actionable strategies to improve closing rates. Brian also shares his unconventional journey from high school dropout to successful entrepreneur and breaks down why mastering communication, negotiation, and human behavior is essential for any business owner.

    Guest Bio

    Brian Will is a serial entrepreneur who has built or co-built 10 companies across five industries, collectively valued at over $500 million at their peak. A high school dropout turned business leader, Brian specializes in sales systems, negotiation strategies, and business growth. He is the author of multiple books, including The Dropout Multi-Millionaire and The Psychology of Sales and Negotiations, where he shares proven frameworks for scaling businesses and improving sales performance.

    Key Takeaways

    1. Most Businesses Fail Because Founders Can’t Sell

    • Failure is rarely about product or market. It is about lack of sales ability.
    • Many founders are technicians who lack skills in selling and management.

    2. The Biggest Sales Mistakes

    • Talking too much
    • Sounding like a stereotypical salesperson
    • Overloading prospects with technical details

    3. Sales Is a Conversation, Not a Pitch

    • Asking the right questions is more powerful than presenting features.
    • Customers will tell you how to close them if you listen carefully.

    4. Simplicity Wins

    • Communicate at a basic, clear level, around a fifth grade level.
    • The more complex your explanation, the less your customer retains.

    5. “No” Is the Most Powerful Word in Sales

    • Every negotiation starts with “no.”
    • Setting expectations and anchoring price ranges improves outcomes.

    6. Never Ask for a Budget

    • Customers will often mislead you.
    • Instead, provide a price range and let them choose within it.

    7. Match Your Sales Style to the Buyer

    • Emotional buyers respond to feelings.
    • Analytical buyers want data.
    • Adjust your approach quickly based on cues.

    8. Founders Must Build Around Their Weaknesses

    • If you are not a salesperson, hire or partner with one.
    • Success requires entrepreneur, technician, manager, and salesperson roles.

    9. Listening Is a Competitive Advantage

    • Knowing when to stop talking dramatically improves close rates.

    10. Growth Comes From Letting Go of Control

    • Brian’s biggest lesson is that success accelerated when he stopped trying to do everything himself and trusted more experienced partners.

    Great Moments

    00:02 – Why Businesses Really Fail
    Brian explains that failure is usually due to lack of sales skills, not product or funding.

    00:54 – Discovering a Natural Talent for Sales
    Brian shares how he accidentally discovered his ability to sell insurance.

    03:52 – The Three Core Sales Mistakes
    Talking too much, sounding like a salesperson, and being overly technical.

    05:35 – Talking Yourself Out of the Sale
    A story illustrating how over explaining can lose deals.

    07:04 – The Power of “No” in Negotiation
    Why every negotiation starts with rejection.

    09:57 – Why Technicians Fail as Business Owners
    The Joe the plumber example highlights missing business skills.

    12:29 – Ask Questions, Don’t Pitch
    How questions reveal exactly how to close a deal.

    14:47 – Practical Sales Example (Windows)
    A real world walkthrough of effective sales questioning and pricing.

    16:40 – Why You Should Never Ask for a Budget
    Customers will mislead. Set ranges instead.

    18:13 – The Lesson Brian Wishes He Learned Earlier
    Success came when he stopped trying to do everything himself.

    Memorable Quotes

    “Most salespeople fail for exactly the same reasons. They talk too much and act like a salesperson.”

    “If I can get you to have a conversation instead of selling, your closing rates will go through the roof.”

    “Every single negotiation starts with no.”

    “If your business fails, it won’t be because you’re bad at your craft. It will be because you can’t sell or manage.”

    “The more you talk, the less they hear.”

    John Jantsch (00:02.122)

    What are the reasons most businesses fail has nothing to do with their product, their market, or even funding and everything to do with the fact that the founder never learned how to Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Brian Will. He’s a serial entrepreneur dropped out of high school, went on to build or co-build 10 companies across five different industries collectively worth over half a billion dollars at their peak.

    He’s the author of three books, including one we’re going to talk about today. No, the psychology of sales and negotiations. So Brian, welcome to the show.

    Brian (00:40.654)

    John, I appreciate you having me today. It’s gonna be fun.

    John Jantsch (00:43.348)

    So, start with the fact you dropped out of high school, built 10 companies. At what point did you realize that maybe this selling thing has a lot to do with my success?

    Brian (00:54.648)

    You know, it’s funny, John, the first company I did was landscaping and I only did it because I basically had no education and no job skills and I thought anybody could dig a hole and mow grass. Right. So that’s what I did. And I did that for 10 years and that company did well until it didn’t. That’s my one of my favorite things and ended up losing everything. Almost went bankrupt, lost the house, the cars, made a couple of critical errors in business that I carried with me for the rest of my life.

    John Jantsch (01:05.683)

    Yeah, right.

    Brian (01:23.81)

    But what was interesting when I got out of the landscaping business is a buddy of mine, he said, hey, you should come sell insurance with me. Now, mind you, I’m thinking, you remember the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray? And you remember Ned, needle nose Ned, and every day he tries to get Bill and one day Bill just knocks him out in the street. That was my internal picture of an insurance salesman. And I did not see myself walking around with a briefcase and a hat, know, chasing people down on the street.

    John Jantsch (01:34.856)

    yeah. One of my, one of my favorites. Yeah. Yeah.

    John Jantsch (01:46.048)

    Yeah.

    Brian (01:51.022)

    And I told my friend, no, I’m not selling insurance. Never. I’m a landscaper to start with. So he bugged me and bugged me and six months goes by and he kept showing me big checks. And finally I said, all right, how do I sell insurance? And he said, give me $500. I’ll give you some leads. I’ll take you on one appointment and then I’ll turn you loose. That’s the worst way to train a salesperson. I got to tell you.

    John Jantsch (02:13.642)

    you

    Brian (02:15.061)

    So that’s what we We went on one appointment. We went into this house. We came out. He goes, I just made $500. And I was like, my gosh, that’s incredible. So I took these 20 leads and a week later I showed up at the office and I had sold 12 insurance policies. And the guy that owned the agency, I walked in, I put him on the table and he goes, what’s that? I said, those are the insurance policies I sold this week. And he goes, how many leads did you get? And I said, I had 20. I said, is that not good enough? He goes, my God.

    That’s like top 1 % in the country. What did you do to sell those? I remember saying, I don’t know. I just sold them. I had no idea, John, I could sell. I tell my kids all the time, you probably have talents you don’t know yet. And one of the talents I did not know at the time was apparently I could sell. And within six weeks, I was producing 50 % of the revenue in this agency.

    John Jantsch (02:58.421)

    Mm.

    Brian (03:08.587)

    Six months later, I broke off. started my own agency. A year and a half later, I sold it to a venture capital firm. It was my first sale. And we turned it into a company that went public. I didn’t know I could sell. I just could, and I don’t know why. But then I turned it into a system of selling and sales management and training and wrote the book. And, you know, that’s what I do.

    John Jantsch (03:30.474)

    Well, a lot of people suggest sales can be taught, but it’s not a skill necessarily. But you kind of backed into it as like, had that skill. I don’t even know what I was doing. So how do you kind of reconcile that with the idea that you’re now taking people who maybe say, I don’t have that skill and you’re teaching them.

    Brian (03:44.813)

    I

    Brian (03:52.654)

    You know, it’s interesting. Most salespeople fail for exactly the same reasons every single time. Number one, they talk too much. Number two, they act like a salesperson. If I can just get you to learn how to have a conversation with somebody and not act and sound like a salesperson. You know, a salesperson’s their voice.

    John Jantsch (04:02.442)

    Yeah.

    Brian (04:15.854)

    goes up like an octave and they talk really fast and they’re excited. Like, hey, John, how are you, man? I’m glad you came in today. And you’re like, dude, you’re a salesperson. Stop doing that. Right. And then if I asked you about a product, you have to give me a 20 minute dissertation on everything there is to know about everything about this product. And I don’t care because we know that psychologically people only remember 30 % of what they hear anyway. So the more you talk, the less they hear. And then the more you talk, the less they want to listen to you. And now they just want to leave.

    So if I can get you to number one, have a conversation instead of sell and number two, learn when to shut up, your safe’s closing rates will go through the roof right out of the gate.

    John Jantsch (04:55.776)

    My father was kind of an old time salesperson. was a manufacturer’s rep and he’d go into these towns and go around the square to the stores that were there. I used to go with him every now and then. I remember he was like, really, we got this great new product. I’m going to show this person today. He walks in and he’s like, hey, we got this great new product. The guy’s like, that is nice. Can I get 10 cases? Got out his pad, sat it down, came to pen.

    and left. was like, well, you didn’t even tell me about it. He was like, I took the order. And it just lasted with me forever. A lot of people talk themselves out of orders.

    Brian (05:35.663)

    Oh yeah. And the third thing is they talk too technical, right? I remember I was doing a project out in Seattle a year or so ago and I always, if it’s a small sales team, I like to go out with the salespeople and listen. And I out with their top salesperson and he went in to see this customer and they were selling windows and he’s like, yeah, and these windows have…

    The Belgian slash and the six inch nails and they do this and this and the customers nod their head. And I stopped, said, hey John, can I ask you something? What is a Belgian slash and a six inch nails? That sounds like a band. And he goes, I don’t know, I said, and he said something different. And I looked at the customer and I said, did you hear six inch nails? And they go, yeah, that’s what we heard too. And if I hadn’t stopped John and asked the question, they would have the whole time never known what he said, right?

    John Jantsch (06:12.946)

    You

    John Jantsch (06:27.21)

    Yeah, yeah, yeah.

    Brian (06:28.622)

    So you can get too complicated and lose your client so easily. And I tell people, don’t use tech talk. Talk at a fifth grade level. Stop due check-ins, know, pause for effect, just like I did right there. And, you know, there are a few things we can teach you to make you better. We may not be able to make you the best, but we can make you better.

    John Jantsch (06:54.314)

    So you start your, I think this is not your first book with this, the word no. Is there a story behind why you’ve kind of latched onto that?

    Brian (07:04.874)

    Yeah, because the most powerful word in the English language is no. Without a doubt. And that’s on both sides of the sales process. can’t tell. I’ve got so many stories about the word no. And the Genesis literally, believe it not, comes from Richard Branson. And he wrote a book. And one of the things in his book, he says, is if your first offer doesn’t insult them, you’ve offered too much.

    And no matter what, because if you’re talking to somebody who’s a negotiator, they’re never going to offer you what you want. And if you’re selling something, you’re never going to sell it for, you know, never going to offer it for sale for what you actually want. So we already know right out of the gate, both sides are going to say no. Right. So we start with no. That’s what we always start with. And every single negotiation starts with no. I’ll give you a, I’ll give you a funny example. I own some restaurants. I have a manager that works for me.

    John Jantsch (07:36.629)

    Mm-hmm.

    John Jantsch (07:54.186)

    Thanks.

    Brian (07:59.791)

    And I was sitting in there with a general contractor one day and the manager comes up and he said, Hey, the electrician’s here and he wants to fix the outlet and the lamp and he wants $1,200. I said, offer him 600. And the manager looked at me and goes, what do you mean? I said, go back. He’s already here. He’s either going to take my 600. He’s going to go home. He goes, but it’s 1200. said, listen to me, just go offer 600 and come back. He comes back. goes.

    He’ll do it for nine. I said, take the deal. Right. And the manager was like, I don’t understand what just happened. And the person at the table goes, do you do all your negotiations that way? I said, yes, I do. Whatever you tell me, it’s no.

    John Jantsch (08:40.96)

    Well, that’s an interesting point because the word negotiation is in the title, but I think a lot of people think selling is, have this offer, I give it to you, you pay me or you don’t pay me. That negotiation is really not even a part of the deal. It’s like, do you want it or not? So, and what you’re suggesting is it should be a part of every conversation or at least every transaction.

    Brian (08:56.419)

    Yes.

    Brian (09:04.536)

    So you’ve been to the mall, right, John? To a store, to buy a suit or pants or… Those people are technically salespeople, but they’re not selling you anything. That’s retail, right? Salespeople are true salespeople that are going out and trying to sell a product or a service, and those things are negotiable, period.

    John Jantsch (09:13.524)

    No, no.

    John Jantsch (09:24.234)

    So what do you say to that? A lot of times, mean, a lot of my listeners are, you know, they don’t have sales teams. mean, the founder is selling out there. And a lot of times they got into the business because they were good at doing something like landscaping, for example. Right. So how do you turn that person, especially the person is like, I hate selling. How do you turn that person? mean, obviously one of the pieces of leverage you have is the fact that, well, if you don’t sell, you’re going to be out of business. But how do you turn that person into

    Brian (09:43.672)

    Yes.

    John Jantsch (09:54.519)

    you know, somebody who could successfully sell.

    Brian (09:57.423)

    So my first book, John, is called The Dropout Multi-Millionaire. And I talk a lot about this in that book. And we like to say that every successful company has four personalities. And I don’t care if it’s Apple Computer all the way down to the guy who just started his own business. You have an entrepreneur who’s a big thinker, who’s also usually a salesperson, but not always. You have the entrepreneur, you have the technician, you have the manager, and you have the salesperson, right? Most businesses…

    John Jantsch (10:01.311)

    Mm-hmm.

    Brian (10:26.572)

    are started by technicians and they’re not salespeople. And as I like to say, my books are famous for Joe the plumber, right? Joe’s a plumber, he works for XYZ Plumbing for 20 years. He goes out every day, they’re paying him 50 bucks an hour. One morning, Joe wakes up and says, why am I charging 150 an hour? I’m only getting 50. I’m gonna start my own business and we’re gonna call it Joe’s Plumbing. So Joe starts Joe’s Plumbing.

    If Joe’s plumbing fails, it will not be because Joe is not a good plumber. It will be because Joe is not a good salesperson or a manager, one of the two. But Joe thinks that all there is to business is the technician part, not understanding that he doesn’t understand how business works. He doesn’t understand how insurance works and payroll works and sales work and, you know, managing people. None of that. He doesn’t get that. And so that’s why most businesses fail is because they’re started by technicians.

    If you are a technician, understand that you don’t know how to do sales, bring somebody in who does.

    John Jantsch (11:28.938)

    Yeah. No, no, no question. I think a lot of people jump out of, out of work and, decide to start a business and don’t realize just there’s a lot of moving parts. So, if somebody came to you, they were a newbie in, like a class or coaching or something you were doing, what, would be the basic principles kind of map out the basic principles that you would teach or that have really worked for you over the years?

    Brian (11:39.33)

    Yes.

    Brian (11:55.342)

    You mean a new business owner?

    John Jantsch (11:56.754)

    Yeah, who wants to get better at selling? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

    Brian (12:00.374)

    better at selling. Okay. So the first thing we’re going to do is we’re going to, and I hate to say this, but I’m going to go out with you on a couple of sales calls to find out what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong. And then we’re going to develop a system for you to learn how to sell. So there in my book, we lay all these things out, but it’s sick. It literally gets into the things we’ve already talked about, which is you need to bring your presentation down to a few words, not a five minute dissertation.

    John Jantsch (12:27.114)

    Hmm.

    Brian (12:29.934)

    You need to quit selling and just ask questions. That’s one of the most powerful sales tools there is. If I can find out what you want, why you want it, when you want it, who else you’ve looked at buying it from and why you didn’t buy it from them, you will tell me exactly how to close you. But that’s a series of questions. If we want to get into, you know, high level sales, then we’ll start talking about

    learning who the other person is. You know, some people give and receive information differently, as I like to say. John, if you’re an emotional person and you like you live on your emotions and what’s going to feel good and do good. And I try to give you a bunch of data. You’re going to your eyes are going to roll back in your head. If you’re a data person and I can tell that very quickly when I first start talking to you and I start giving you all the emotional reasons why you should do something and you keep going, no, just give me the numbers. Right.

    how you receive information, how you give information is how you receive it. I need to pick up that small thing and my sales tactic has to match how you receive information. And then my close ratios will go up. Matching that with not talking too much, asking a ton of questions and letting the person close themselves. These are things we teach that I would try to teach somebody. And then it’s learning when to shut up. Like that’s the huge one. Just stop talking.

    John Jantsch (13:58.314)

    So the point you make about reading, you know, how somebody wants to be sold, how they process information, how they learn. Doesn’t that take a long time to really get good at? I know one of the things that they teach all the time is just what you talked about. Go in and probe, right? Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. I don’t really like that when somebody comes in and I feel like I’m being interviewed because I’m like, I don’t really know you that well yet. I don’t trust you necessarily. I’m not going to give you, you know, all this information you’re asking me for. how do you…

    How do you deal with kind of, I mean, how do you teach people to do that reading, you know, how somebody needs to be, and again, I’m, you know, years of experience, you probably learned it because you’ve seen everything, but how does that newer person who is really maybe feeling a little uncomfortable with this, like this new approach that they’ve been taught?

    Brian (14:47.982)

    Well, these things are gonna all be product specific. So let me just, let me give you one, right? I have a company that does window and door replacement. Okay? So when I walk up to the door, I’m like, hey John, how are you doing? I understand that you’re looking to replace some windows today. Is that right? Yeah. But which ones are you looking to replace? Well, I’m thinking the ones on the front of the house. Why do you wanna replace those? I mean, why not all of them? Why just these? And you’re gonna say, well, because…

    John Jantsch (14:52.382)

    Yeah. Right.

    Brian (15:16.526)

    I either want a bigger window or this one’s fogging up or I need a double pane window. So these questions aren’t really interviewing you as much as why are you wanting to replace these windows. And when you say, this one’s leaking and this one’s leaking and I don’t want a double pane here or I want a bigger window, I’m like, okay, great. So you’re looking at a double pane window, you want to do this and this. Have you shopped with anybody else? And you’ll say yes or no. Do you have any idea what windows like this cost? And you’re going to say, well, not really.

    John Jantsch (15:19.786)

    It’s all the sun all day. Yeah.

    John Jantsch (15:30.453)

    Mm-hmm.

    Brian (15:46.061)

    And then I do what we call, we set the Delta, right? And I’ll say, well, just to let you know up in advance, Windows costs, and I know this because I did this with a window company, Windows costs between 300 and a thousand dollars a piece to replace. 300 is going to get you a base level, a thousand is going to get you the Mac daddy. What range are you going to be in? I’m going to set the range. And the reason I set the range is because I don’t want you to come in and say, I thought they were a hundred bucks and I just spent a half a day with you.

    John Jantsch (16:08.874)

    Mm-hmm.

    John Jantsch (16:14.922)

    Yeah. All right.

    Brian (16:16.27)

    Right. I also want to try to I don’t want to pitch you a thousand dollar window when you say my budget’s 200 or if it’s in my I never asked somebody a budget. I always give them a range. let them pick in the range. You want the cheapest at 300. You want me to talk about the thousand. Let’s go in the middle. OK.

    John Jantsch (16:23.882)

    Mm-hmm. Yeah.

    John Jantsch (16:31.508)

    Yeah, you know, people ask the budget question. I’m always, you know, what are you looking to spend? That’s my favorite question. And I’m like, as little as possible. mean, I’m just trying. It is.

    Brian (16:40.174)

    Yeah, that’s a terrible people don’t ever ever ever ask somebody what their budget is and they go why I’m saying because they’ll lie to you. They want I don’t go into the car lot and say I’m really looking to spend $52,560. Right? I’m gonna lie to you because I think you’re to take advantage of me. Now, if that same person says Windows costs between 300 and $800 a piece.

    John Jantsch (16:54.898)

    Right?

    Brian (17:05.646)

    Now you know you’re not getting it for 200 bucks. You’re gonna give me at least, you want me to start at 300, 500, 800, where do you wanna go? Because I could spend all day talking about Windows, but let’s talk about what’s important to you. And by the way, if we’re gonna get into super high level sales, John, if they pick the 500 and we get to the end and they’re not willing to commit, this is what we call the drop back and punt. I’ll say, well, let me ask you something. To be very fair, I just told you all about the $500 Windows, and those may be what you want.

    Would you have any interest in hearing about the $300 window? Because if you say yes, you could never afford the 500 in the first place.

    John Jantsch (17:42.504)

    Ha

    So do you find that these principles that you teach doesn’t really matter? The industry, B2B, B2C, doesn’t really matter?

    Brian (17:52.855)

    It is what, look, people are people. I don’t care if you are the CEO of IBM, you still go home and fight with your wife and your kids are throwing up on you and you know, you’re just a person.

    John Jantsch (18:03.914)

    So you also wrote the Dropout Multi-Millionaire. What lesson from that book do you wish you’d learned 10 years earlier?

    Brian (18:13.55)

    You know, I spent my first 10, 15 years in business trying to do everything myself, trying to be the smartest guy in the room. Particularly when you get under pressure, too many entrepreneurs fall back into the red personality zone where they get very autocratic and you will do it my way and blah, blah, And it wasn’t until I met my business partner, Steve, who was way more successful than me.

    And that even took a year before I broke down and I said, you know what? I’m going to listen to you. And when I did that, we went from zero to we sold our company for $80 million three years later. You know, at some point you have to understand that there are smarter people than you as smart as you think you are. There are people that know more about certain things that you need to listen to.

    Finding somebody who’s been there and done that, who’s willing to come in and help you and tell you, and then your ability to take that advice and listen to it is the difference between your success today or your failure tomorrow, 100%. And I didn’t know that when I was young.

    John Jantsch (19:28.126)

    I think that’s a great place to end it today. Brian, I appreciate you taking a moment to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Is there anywhere you invite people to connect with you and find out more about your work?

    Brian (19:37.484)

    Yeah, BrianWillMedia.com. BrianWillMedia.com. My books, my training, everything’s on there. You can find everything you want to know.

    John Jantsch (19:43.816)

    Awesome. Well, again, I appreciate you stopping by and hopefully we’ll run into you one of these days out there on the road.

    Brian (19:48.943)

    Appreciate it, John. Thanks for having me.

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  • Good designers, bad websites: a proposal

    Good designers, bad websites: a proposal

    I want to discuss accessibility because it is the most important thing for making websites. Other A List Apart articles give you innovation and insight. This article will give you homework. These are just my personal views, but they’re pretty good.

    I want to start off with a couple of statements, and you will agree:

    1. Designers are good people. I have never heard a designer say, “I don’t care if somebody can’t read this text”, “Not my fault if somebody can’t use this device”, or “Who cares if this is confusing?”
    2. Some designs exclude people. You have seen people unable to read the text on a website or app that somebody designed. You’ve seen people unable to use a physical device that somebody has designed. You’ve seen people utterly bamboozled while trying to use a service that somebody designed.

    So what?

    The first question is, “Is this life-or-death stuff?” The answer is, “Yes.” In my favorite essay, This Is All There Is, Aral Balkan makes the point that pretty much everything that we design can affect life events and death events. Aral gives the example of how even a straightforward bus timetable app can affect life and death events, if we design it badly:

    • somebody might miss a life event, such as their daughter’s fifth birthday party; or
    • somebody might miss a death event, such as the chance to say goodbye to a dying grandmother.

    The next—and frustrating—question is, “Why do some designs still exclude people?” After all, we know that:

    • not everybody can see perfectly;
    • not everybody can hear perfectly;
    • not everybody thinks the same way; and
    • not everybody moves the same way.

    I think the answer is that there’s too much to recall. Consider, if you will, the wide variety of topics that A List Apart articles cover. Designers are expected to remember all of that guidance, plus all of the accessibility guidance, plus so much more. It is too much.

    Recognizing accessibility issues while designing

    I’d like to point toward one possible solution, starting from Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design. These are from the mid-1990s, and—although there’s a good chance that you, gentle reader, are a lot younger than that—please bear with me. 

    Seeing as the problem is that there’s too much to recall, I want to look at heuristic № 6, “Recognition rather than Recall.” Jakob Nielsen said that for users, information required to use the design should be visible or easily retrievable when needed. I suggest we tweak that to make life easier for designers. Let’s say that the information required to produce the design should be visible or easily retrievable when needed. In other words, let’s make it easier to recognise accessibility issues while we’re designing.

    How are we going to do that? I really like the book A Web for Everyone—Designing Accessible User Experiences by Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery. I really like this book not only because it includes a quote from me—actually two quotes, but I don’t like to boast—but because it includes personas that are perfect for helping us to recognise accessibility issues. That’s the good news. The even better news is that these personas are available now for free on the companion website to the book What Every Engineer Should Know About Digital Accessibility, again by Sarah Horton, with David Sloan this time.

    Meet your users

    I’m going to introduce you to these personas now:

    I want to throw one more persona at you now, because, well, A List Apart readers are overachievers. One of my favorite authors, Cennydd Bowles—who literally wrote the book on Future Ethics—says to create Personas Non Grata. In other words, every time we design something, we have to think about what a bad guy could do with that thing, and whom that might affect.

    To actually use these personas while designing, I like what Eric Meyer and Sara Wachter-Boettcher in Design for Real Life call the Designated Dissenter: for each project that you work on, one of your teams should be responsible for asking, “Will this work for Vishnu?”, “How’s Trevor going to get on with this?”, and so on. 

    Then, once you’ve used the personas to recognise the accessibility issues, you can look up the guidelines for whichever platforms you’re designing for: 

    Your mission, should you choose to accept it

    I told you in the introduction of this article that I would give you homework. You thought I was joking. So, here’s your homework: I want you to grab the personas from the Know About Accessibility website, and use them throughout every design project to help you recognise accessibility issues while you work—and reclaim design for everyone.


    NOTE: This article is based on “Recognise,” my five-minute presentation from Interaction Design Association (IxDA) Dublin’s Defuse (Design for Use) event in 2025.

  • Design for Amiability: Lessons from Vienna

    Design for Amiability: Lessons from Vienna

    Today’s web is not always an amiable place. Sites greet you with a popover that demands assent to their cookie policy, and leave you with Taboola ads promising “One Weird Trick!” to cure your ailments. Social media sites are tuned for engagement, and few things are more engaging than a fight. Today it seems that people want to quarrel; I have seen flame wars among birders.  

    These tensions are often at odds with a site’s goals. If we are providing support and advice to customers, we don’t want those customers to wrangle with each other. If we offer news about the latest research, we want readers to feel at ease; if we promote upcoming marches, we want our core supporters to feel comfortable and we want curious newcomers to feel welcome. 

    In a study for a conference on the History of the Web, I looked to the origins of Computer Science in Vienna (1928-1934)  for a case study of the importance of amiability in a research community and the disastrous consequences of its loss. That story has interesting implications for web environments that promote amiable interaction among disparate, difficult (and sometimes disagreeable) people.

    The Vienna Circle

    Though people had been thinking about calculating engines and thinking machines from antiquity, Computing really got going in Depression-era Vienna.  The people who worked out the theory had no interest in building machines; they wanted to puzzle out the limits of reason in the absence of divine authority. If we could not rely on God or Aristotle to tell us how to think, could we instead build arguments that were self-contained and demonstrably correct? Can we be sure that mathematics is consistent? Are there things that are true but that cannot be expressed in language? 

    The core ideas were worked out in the weekly meetings (Thursdays at 6) of a group remembered as the Vienna Circle. They got together in the office of Professor Moritz Schlick at the University of Vienna to discuss problems in philosophy, math, and language. The intersection of physics and philosophy had long been a specialty of this Vienna department, and this work had placed them among the world leaders.  Schlick’s colleague Hans Hahn was a central participant, and by 1928 Hahn brought along his graduate students Karl Menger and Kurt Gödel. Other frequent participants included philosopher Rudolf Carnap, psychologist Karl Popper, economist Ludwig von Mises (brought by his brother Frederick, a physicist),  graphic designer Otto Neurath (inventor of infographics), and architect Josef Frank (brought by his physicist brother, Phillip).  Out-of-town visitors often joined, including the young Johnny von Neumann, Alfred Tarski, and the irascible Ludwig Wittgenstein. 

    When Schlick’s office grew too dim, participants adjourned to a nearby café for additional discussion with an even larger circle of participants.  This convivial circle was far from unique.  An intersecting circle–Neurath, von Mises, Oskar Morgenstern–established the Austrian School of free-market economics. There were theatrical circles (Peter Lorre, Hedy Lamarr, Max Reinhardt), and literary circles. The café was where things happened.

    The interdisciplinarity of the group posed real challenges of temperament and understanding. Personalities were often a challenge. Gödel was convinced people were trying to poison him. Architect Josef Frank depended on contracts for public housing, which Mises opposed as wasteful. Wittgenstein’s temper had lost him his job as a secondary school teacher, and for some of these years he maintained a detailed list of whom he was willing to meet. Neurath was eager to detect muddled thinking and would interrupt a speaker with a shouted “Metaphysics!” The continuing amity of these meetings was facilitated by the personality of their leader, Moritz Schlick, who would be remembered as notably adept in keeping disagreements from becoming quarrels.

    In the Café

    The Viennese café of this era was long remembered as a particularly good place to argue with your friends, to read, and to write. Built to serve an imperial capital, the cafés found themselves with too much space and too few customers now that the Empire was gone. There was no need to turn tables: a café could only survive by coaxing customers to linger. Perhaps they would order another coffee, or one of their friends might drop by. One could play chess, or billiards, or read newspapers from abroad. Coffee was invariably served with a glass of purified spring water, still a novelty in an era in which most water was still unsafe to drink. That water glass would be refilled indefinitely. 

    In the basement of one café, the poet Jura Soyfer staged “The End Of The World,” a musical comedy in which Professor Peep has discovered a comet heading for earth.

    Prof. Peep: The comet is going to destroy everybody!

    Hitler:  Destroying everybody is my business.

    Of course, coffee can be prepared in many ways, and the Viennese café developed a broad vocabulary to represent precisely how one preferred to drink it: melange, Einspänner, Brauner, Schwarzer, Kapuziner. This extensive customization, with correspondingly esoteric conventions of service, established the café as a comfortable and personal third space, a neutral ground in which anyone who could afford a coffee would be welcome. Viennese of this era were fastidious in their use of personal titles, of which an abundance were in common use. Café waiters greeted regular customers with titles too, but were careful to address their patrons with titles a notch or two greater than they deserved. A graduate student would be Doktor, an unpaid postdoc Professor.  This assurance mattered all the more because so many members of the Circle (and so many other Viennese) came from elsewhere: Carnap from Wuppertal, Gödel from Brno, von Neumann from Budapest. No one was going to make fun of your clothes, mannerisms, or accent. Your friends wouldn’t be bothered by the pram in the hall. Everyone shared a Germanic Austrian literary and philosophical culture, not least those whose ancestors had been Eastern European Jews who knew that culture well, having read all about it in books.

    The amiability of the café circle was enhanced by its openness. Because the circle sometimes extended to architects and actors, people could feel less constrained to admit shortfalls in their understanding. It was soon discovered that marble tabletops made a useful surface for pencil sketches, serving all as an improvised and accessible blackboard.

    Comedies like “The End Of The World” and fictional newspaper sketches or feuilletons of writers like Joseph Roth and Stefan Zweig served as a second defense against disagreeable or churlish behavior. The knowledge that, if one got carried away, a parody of one’s remarks might shortly appear in Neue Freie Presse surely helped Professor Schlick keep matters in hand.

    The End Of Red Vienna

    Though Austria’s government drifted to the right after the War, Vienna’s city council had been Socialist, dedicated to public housing based on user-centered design, and embracing  ambitious programs of public outreach and adult education. In 1934 the Socialists lost a local election, and this era soon came to its end as the new administration focused on the imagined threat of the International Jewish Conspiracy. Most members of the Circle fled within months: von Neumann to Princeton, Neurath to Holland and Oxford, Popper to New Zealand, Carnap to Chicago. Prof. Schlick was murdered on the steps of the University by a student outraged by his former association with Jews.  Jura Soyfer, who wrote “The End Of The World,” died in Buchenwald.

    In 1939, von Neumann finally convinced Gödel to accept a job in Princeton. Gödel was required to pay large fines to emigrate. The officer in charge of these fees would look back on this as the best posting of his career; his name was Eichmann.

    Design for Amiability

    An impressive literature recounts those discussions and the environment that facilitated the development of computing. How can we design for amiability?  This is not just a matter of choosing rounded typefaces and a cheerful pastel palette. I believe we may identify eight distinct issues that exert design forces in usefully amiable directions.

    Seriousness: The Vienna Circle was wrestling with a notoriously difficult book—Wittgenstein’s Tractus Logico-Philosophicus—and a catalog of outstanding open questions in mathematics. They were concerned with consequential problems, not merely scoring points for debating. Constant reminders that the questions you are considering matter—not only that they are consequential or that those opposing you are scoundrels—help promote amity.

    Empiricism: The characteristic approach of the Vienna Circle demanded that knowledge be grounded either in direct observation or in rigorous reasoning. Disagreement, when it arose, could be settled by observation or by proof. If neither seemed ready to hand, the matter could not be settled. On these terms, one can seldom if ever demolish an opposing argument, and trolling is pointless.

    Abstraction: Disputes grow worse when losing the argument entails lost face or lost jobs. The Vienna Circle’s focus on theory—the limits of mathematics, the capability of language—promoted amity. Without seriousness, abstraction could have been merely academic, but the limits of reason and the consistency of mathematics were clearly serious.

    Formality: The punctilious demeanor of waiters and the elaborated rituals of coffee service helped to establish orderly attitudes amongst the argumentative participants. This stands in contrast to the contemptuous sneer that now dominates social media.  

    Schlamperei: Members of the Vienna Circle maintained a global correspondence, and they knew their work was at the frontier of research. Still, this was Vienna, at the margins of Europe: old-fashioned, frumpy, and dingy. Many participants came from even more obscure backwaters. Most or all harbored the suspicion that they were really schleppers, and a tinge of the ridiculous helped to moderate tempers. The director of “The End Of The World” had to pass the hat for money to purchase a moon for the set, and thought it was funny enough to write up for publication.

    Openness: All sorts of people were involved in discussion, anyone might join in. Each week would bring different participants. Fluid borders reduce tension, and provide opportunities to broaden the range of discussion and the terms of engagement. Low entrance friction was characteristic of the café: anyone could come, and if you came twice you were virtually a regular. Permeable boundaries and café culture made it easier for moderating influences to draw in raconteurs and storytellers to defuse awkward moments, and Vienna’s cafés had no shortage of humorists. Openness counteracts the suspicion that promoters of amiability are exerting censorship.

    Parody: The environs of the Circle—the university office and the café—were unmistakably public. There were writers about, some of them renowned humorists. The prospect that one’s bad taste or bad behavior might be ridiculed in print kept discussion within bounds. The sanction of public humiliation, however, was itself made mild by the veneer of fiction; even if you got a little carried away and a character based on you made a splash in some newspaper fiction, it wasn’t the end of the world.

    Engagement: The subject matter was important to the participants, but it was esoteric: it did not matter very much to their mothers or their siblings. A small stumble or a minor humiliation could be shrugged off in ways that major media confrontations cannot.

    I believe it is notable that this environment was designed to promote amiability through several different voices.  The café waiter flattered each newcomer and served everyone, and also kept out local pickpockets and drunks who would be mere disruptions. Schlick and other regulars kept discussion moving and on track. The fiction writers and raconteurs—perhaps the most peripheral of the participants—kept people in a good mood and reminded them that bad behavior could make anyone ridiculous.  Crucially, each of these voices were human: you could reason with them. Algorithmic or AI moderators, however clever, are seldom perceived as reasonable. The café circles had no central authority or Moderator against whom everyone’s resentments might be focused. Even after the disaster of 1934, what people remembered were those cheerful arguments.

  • Design Dialects: Breaking the Rules, Not the System

    Design Dialects: Breaking the Rules, Not the System

    “Language is not merely a set of unrelated sounds, clauses, rules, and meanings; it is a totally coherent system bound to context and behavior.” — Kenneth L. Pike

    The web has accents. So should our design systems.

    Design Systems as Living Languages

    Design systems aren’t component libraries—they’re living languages. Tokens are phonemes, components are words, patterns are phrases, layouts are sentences. The conversations we build with users become the stories our products tell.

    But here’s what we’ve forgotten: the more fluently a language is spoken, the more accents it can support without losing meaning. English in Scotland differs from English in Sydney, yet both are unmistakably English. The language adapts to context while preserving core meaning. This couldn’t be more obvious to me, a Brazilian Portuguese speaker, who learned English with an American accent, and lives in Sydney.

    Our design systems must work the same way. Rigid adherence to visual rules creates brittle systems that break under contextual pressure. Fluent systems bend without breaking.

    Consistency becomes a prison

    The promise of design systems was simple: consistent components would accelerate development and unify experiences. But as systems matured and products grew more complex, that promise has become a prison. Teams file “exception” requests by the hundreds. Products launch with workarounds instead of system components. Designers spend more time defending consistency than solving user problems.

    Our design systems must learn to speak dialects.

    A design dialect is a systematic adaptation of a design system that maintains core principles while developing new patterns for specific contexts. Unlike one-off customizations or brand themes, dialects preserve the system’s essential grammar while expanding its vocabulary to serve different users, environments, or constraints.

    When Perfect Consistency Fails

    At Booking.com, I learned this lesson the hard way. We A/B-tested everything—color, copy, button shapes, even logo colors. As a professional with a graphic design education and experience building brand style guides, I found this shocking. While everyone fell in love with Airbnb’s pristine design system, Booking grew into a giant without ever considering visual consistency.  

    The chaos taught me something profound: consistency isn’t ROI; solved problems are.

    At Shopify. Polaris () was our crown jewel—a mature design language perfect for merchants on laptops. As a product team, we were expected to adopt Polaris as-is. Then my fulfillment team hit an “Oh, Ship!” moment, as we faced the challenge of building an app for warehouse pickers using our interface on shared, battered Android scanners in dim aisles, wearing thick gloves, scanning dozens of items per minute, many with limited levels of English understanding.

    Task completion with standard Polaris: 0%.

    Every component that worked beautifully for merchants failed completely for pickers. White backgrounds created glare. 44px tap targets were invisible to gloved fingers. Sentence-case labels took too long to parse. Multi-step flows confused non-native speakers.

    We faced a choice: abandon Polaris entirely, or teach it to speak warehouse.

    The Birth of a Dialect

    We chose evolution over revolution. Working within Polaris’s core principles—clarity, efficiency, consistency—we developed what we now call a design dialect:

    ConstraintFluent MoveRationale
    Glare & low lightDark surfaces + light textReduce glare on low-DPI screens
    Gloves & haste90px tap targets (~2cm)Accommodate thick gloves
    MultilingualSingle-task screens, plain languageReduce cognitive load

    Result: Task completion jumped from 0% to 100%. Onboarding time dropped from three weeks to one shift.

    This wasn’t customization or theming—this was a dialect: a systematic adaptation that maintained Polaris’s core grammar while developing new vocabulary for a specific context. Polaris hadn’t failed; it had learned to speak warehouse.

    The Flexibility Framework

    At Atlassian, working on the Jira platform—itself a system within the larger Atlassian system—I pushed for formalizing this insight. With dozens of products sharing a design language across different codebases, we needed systematic flexibility so we built directly into our ways of working. The old model—exception requests and special approvals—was failing at scale.

    We developed the Flexibility Framework to help designers define how flexible they wanted their components to be:

    TierActionOwnership
    ConsistentAdopt unchangedPlatform locks design + code
    OpinionatedAdapt within boundsPlatform provides smart defaults, products customize
    FlexibleExtend freelyPlatform defines behavior, products own presentation

    During a navigation redesign, we tiered every element. Logo and global search stayed Consistent. Breadcrumbs and contextual actions became Flexible. Product teams could immediately see where innovation was welcome and where consistency mattered.

    The Decision Ladder

    Flexibility needs boundaries. We created a simple ladder for evaluating when rules should bend:

    Good: Ship with existing system components. Fast, consistent, proven.

    Better: Stretch a component slightly. Document the change. Contribute improvements back to the system for all to use.

    Best: Prototype the ideal experience first. If user testing validates the benefit, update the system to support it.

    The key question: “Which option lets users succeed fastest?”

    Rules are tools, not relics.

    Unity Beats Uniformity

    Gmail, Drive, and Maps are unmistakably Google—yet each speaks with its own accent. They achieve unity through shared principles, not cloned components. One extra week of debate over button color costs roughly $30K in engineer time.

    Unity is a brand outcome; fluency is a user outcome. When the two clash, side with the user.

    Governance Without Gates

    How do you maintain coherence while enabling dialects? Treat your system like a living vocabulary:

    Document every deviation – e.g., dialects/warehouse.md with before/after screenshots and rationale.

    Promote shared patterns – when three teams adopt a dialect independently, review it for core inclusion.

    Deprecate with context – retire old idioms via flags and migration notes, never a big-bang purge.

    A living dictionary scales better than a frozen rulebook.

    Start Small: Your First Dialect

    Ready to introduce dialects? Start with one broken experience:

    This week: Find one user flow where perfect consistency blocks task completion. Could be mobile users struggling with desktop-sized components, or accessibility needs your standard patterns don’t address.

    Document the context: What makes standard patterns fail here? Environmental constraints? User capabilities? Task urgency?

    Design one systematic change: Focus on behavior over aesthetics. If gloves are the problem, bigger targets aren’t “”breaking the system””—they’re serving the user. Earn the variations and make them intentional.

    Test and measure: Does the change improve task completion? Time to productivity? User satisfaction?

    Show the savings: If that dialect frees even half a sprint, fluency has paid for itself.

    Beyond the Component Library

    We’re not managing design systems anymore—we’re cultivating design languages. Languages that grow with their speakers. Languages that develop accents without losing meaning. Languages that serve human needs over aesthetic ideals.

    The warehouse workers who went from 0% to 100% task completion didn’t care that our buttons broke the style guide. They cared that the buttons finally worked.

    Your users feel the same way. Give your system permission to speak their language.

  • 17 Movies Remembered Entirely for One Scene

    17 Movies Remembered Entirely for One Scene

    All filmmakers want their movies to be remembered as a whole experience, marking lives with their message. Yet, many films survive in pop culture almost entirely because of a single unforgettable moment. Usually, it’s a shocking twist, a quotable line, or a visually striking sequence, making these scenes take on a life of their own, often eclipsing the rest of the movie.

    In some cases, they even become more famous than the film itself, referenced and parodied far beyond their original context. This phenomenon highlights how one perfectly executed idea can define an entire production. These are movies that, for better or worse, are largely remembered for just one standout scene.

    The post 17 Movies Remembered Entirely for One Scene appeared first on Den of Geek.

    Spider-Man has one of the most varied and wonderful rogues galleries in all of comic book history. Peter Parker regularly goes toe-to-toe with heavy-hitters like Green Goblin, Venom, and the Kingpin. But he also has a host of unimpressive weirdos, including the Gibbon and the Kangaroo. For the most part, they all stay in their place. Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus will always be the biggest threats, especially as Venom has become a hero and the Kingpin fights Daredevil, the rest of the Sinister Six, including Electro and Mysterio, can have an arc here and there, and then everyone else fights for the scraps.

    But a new promo for the MGM+ series Spider-Noir suggests that the hierarchy of power among Spider-Man villains has changed. It’s not so much that D-lister Silvermane gets to be the show’s big bad, nor the muscle he sends to fight Nicolas Cage‘s hardboiled take on Spider-Man. It’s that Tombstone gets highlighted, just months before he’s slated to be a major problem for Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

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    Loosely adapted from the comic book series Spider-Man: Noir by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Marko Djurdjević, and spinning out of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Noir stars Cage as Ben Reilly, a 1930s private investigator who can do whatever a spider can. As this latest promo shows us, Ben will be going up against the gangster Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), who relies on a trio of toughs to do his dirty work, including Sandman (Jack Huston), Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell), and Tombstone (Abraham Popoola).

    Tombstone, of course, isn’t a new thorn in Spidey’s side. First introduced in Web of Spider-Man #36 (1988), by Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk, he’s been a regular player in stories about the New York underworld. Born Lonnie Lincoln, he grew up with Daily Bugle editor Robbie Robertson and was constantly teased for being a Black child with albinism. The bullying led Lonnie to a life of crime and to embrace his appearance. Taking the name Tombstone, he filed his teeth to sharp ends and built an imposing physique.

    For most of his history, Tombstone’s been a constant C-lister. While the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man made him that show’s version of Kingpin (and got Keith David to provide the voice!), he hasn’t appeared in any of the live-action movies, nor does he get more than a couple of arcs or side missions in any cartoons or games.

    However, that’s starting to change. Lonnie Lincoln was a major supporting character in season one of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, where he’s voiced by Eugene Byrd. That series imagines Lonnie as an extraordinarily talented good kid who befriends Peter Parker. The first series ends with him being forced to participate in the local gang, and being exposed to chemicals that will certainly transform him into the imposing Tombstone.

    Moreover, Tombstone’s rumored to be the chief antagonist of the next MCU film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Played by Marvin Jones III (who also voiced the character in Into the Spider-Verse), Tombstone will be one of the many baddies who tangle with the overworked Spidey, including Boomerang and the Hand. How will that fit into a story that’s also about the Hulk, Punisher, and probably Jean Grey of the X-Men, as well as his regular pals MJ and Ned? We’re not sure.

    But it’s clear that Tombstone is having a moment, and the next part will be in Spider-Noir. This Tombstone “links the comic book character to a very grounded backstory,” says Popoola, promising something unique from even the versions in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Brand New Day. In fact, he sounds unique from any other C-list hero, which can only help Tombstone move further to the top spot of evil among the sinister foes of Spider-Man.

    Spider-Noir streams on MGM+ on May 27, 2026.

    The post Spider-Noir Gets Tombstone to the Screen Before Brand New Day appeared first on Den of Geek.

  • 15 Movies Clearly Designed for a Sequel That Never Came

    15 Movies Clearly Designed for a Sequel That Never Came

    Hollywood has increasingly leaned on franchise-building, with many films designed less as standalone stories and more as the first chapter in a larger saga. This approach often leads to endings filled with cliffhangers, unresolved arcs, or explicit sequel teases meant to hook audiences for future installments.

    However, not every gamble pays off. Call it weak box office returns, mixed reception, or behind-the-scenes complications; many of these planned follow-ups never happen. The result is a collection of films that feel incomplete in hindsight, frozen mid-story. These are movies that clearly aimed for more but ultimately remained one-offs.

    The post 15 Movies Clearly Designed for a Sequel That Never Came appeared first on Den of Geek.

    Spider-Man has one of the most varied and wonderful rogues galleries in all of comic book history. Peter Parker regularly goes toe-to-toe with heavy-hitters like Green Goblin, Venom, and the Kingpin. But he also has a host of unimpressive weirdos, including the Gibbon and the Kangaroo. For the most part, they all stay in their place. Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus will always be the biggest threats, especially as Venom has become a hero and the Kingpin fights Daredevil, the rest of the Sinister Six, including Electro and Mysterio, can have an arc here and there, and then everyone else fights for the scraps.

    But a new promo for the MGM+ series Spider-Noir suggests that the hierarchy of power among Spider-Man villains has changed. It’s not so much that D-lister Silvermane gets to be the show’s big bad, nor the muscle he sends to fight Nicolas Cage‘s hardboiled take on Spider-Man. It’s that Tombstone gets highlighted, just months before he’s slated to be a major problem for Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

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    Loosely adapted from the comic book series Spider-Man: Noir by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Marko Djurdjević, and spinning out of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Noir stars Cage as Ben Reilly, a 1930s private investigator who can do whatever a spider can. As this latest promo shows us, Ben will be going up against the gangster Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), who relies on a trio of toughs to do his dirty work, including Sandman (Jack Huston), Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell), and Tombstone (Abraham Popoola).

    Tombstone, of course, isn’t a new thorn in Spidey’s side. First introduced in Web of Spider-Man #36 (1988), by Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk, he’s been a regular player in stories about the New York underworld. Born Lonnie Lincoln, he grew up with Daily Bugle editor Robbie Robertson and was constantly teased for being a Black child with albinism. The bullying led Lonnie to a life of crime and to embrace his appearance. Taking the name Tombstone, he filed his teeth to sharp ends and built an imposing physique.

    For most of his history, Tombstone’s been a constant C-lister. While the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man made him that show’s version of Kingpin (and got Keith David to provide the voice!), he hasn’t appeared in any of the live-action movies, nor does he get more than a couple of arcs or side missions in any cartoons or games.

    However, that’s starting to change. Lonnie Lincoln was a major supporting character in season one of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, where he’s voiced by Eugene Byrd. That series imagines Lonnie as an extraordinarily talented good kid who befriends Peter Parker. The first series ends with him being forced to participate in the local gang, and being exposed to chemicals that will certainly transform him into the imposing Tombstone.

    Moreover, Tombstone’s rumored to be the chief antagonist of the next MCU film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Played by Marvin Jones III (who also voiced the character in Into the Spider-Verse), Tombstone will be one of the many baddies who tangle with the overworked Spidey, including Boomerang and the Hand. How will that fit into a story that’s also about the Hulk, Punisher, and probably Jean Grey of the X-Men, as well as his regular pals MJ and Ned? We’re not sure.

    But it’s clear that Tombstone is having a moment, and the next part will be in Spider-Noir. This Tombstone “links the comic book character to a very grounded backstory,” says Popoola, promising something unique from even the versions in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Brand New Day. In fact, he sounds unique from any other C-list hero, which can only help Tombstone move further to the top spot of evil among the sinister foes of Spider-Man.

    Spider-Noir streams on MGM+ on May 27, 2026.

    The post Spider-Noir Gets Tombstone to the Screen Before Brand New Day appeared first on Den of Geek.

  • Chili Finger’s Cast and Creators Turn Real-Life News Into Black Comedy

    Chili Finger’s Cast and Creators Turn Real-Life News Into Black Comedy

    In March 2005, no one could stop talking about Wendy’s. Specifically, everyone talked about the fast-food chain’s chili, after a woman claimed to have found a severed finger in her meal. When the claim turned out to be fraudulent, most people forgot about the instance, but not writer Stephen Helstad and his co-director Edd Benda. […]

    The post Chili Finger’s Cast and Creators Turn Real-Life News Into Black Comedy appeared first on Den of Geek.

    Spider-Man has one of the most varied and wonderful rogues galleries in all of comic book history. Peter Parker regularly goes toe-to-toe with heavy-hitters like Green Goblin, Venom, and the Kingpin. But he also has a host of unimpressive weirdos, including the Gibbon and the Kangaroo. For the most part, they all stay in their place. Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus will always be the biggest threats, especially as Venom has become a hero and the Kingpin fights Daredevil, the rest of the Sinister Six, including Electro and Mysterio, can have an arc here and there, and then everyone else fights for the scraps.

    But a new promo for the MGM+ series Spider-Noir suggests that the hierarchy of power among Spider-Man villains has changed. It’s not so much that D-lister Silvermane gets to be the show’s big bad, nor the muscle he sends to fight Nicolas Cage‘s hardboiled take on Spider-Man. It’s that Tombstone gets highlighted, just months before he’s slated to be a major problem for Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

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    Loosely adapted from the comic book series Spider-Man: Noir by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Marko Djurdjević, and spinning out of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Noir stars Cage as Ben Reilly, a 1930s private investigator who can do whatever a spider can. As this latest promo shows us, Ben will be going up against the gangster Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), who relies on a trio of toughs to do his dirty work, including Sandman (Jack Huston), Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell), and Tombstone (Abraham Popoola).

    Tombstone, of course, isn’t a new thorn in Spidey’s side. First introduced in Web of Spider-Man #36 (1988), by Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk, he’s been a regular player in stories about the New York underworld. Born Lonnie Lincoln, he grew up with Daily Bugle editor Robbie Robertson and was constantly teased for being a Black child with albinism. The bullying led Lonnie to a life of crime and to embrace his appearance. Taking the name Tombstone, he filed his teeth to sharp ends and built an imposing physique.

    For most of his history, Tombstone’s been a constant C-lister. While the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man made him that show’s version of Kingpin (and got Keith David to provide the voice!), he hasn’t appeared in any of the live-action movies, nor does he get more than a couple of arcs or side missions in any cartoons or games.

    However, that’s starting to change. Lonnie Lincoln was a major supporting character in season one of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, where he’s voiced by Eugene Byrd. That series imagines Lonnie as an extraordinarily talented good kid who befriends Peter Parker. The first series ends with him being forced to participate in the local gang, and being exposed to chemicals that will certainly transform him into the imposing Tombstone.

    Moreover, Tombstone’s rumored to be the chief antagonist of the next MCU film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Played by Marvin Jones III (who also voiced the character in Into the Spider-Verse), Tombstone will be one of the many baddies who tangle with the overworked Spidey, including Boomerang and the Hand. How will that fit into a story that’s also about the Hulk, Punisher, and probably Jean Grey of the X-Men, as well as his regular pals MJ and Ned? We’re not sure.

    But it’s clear that Tombstone is having a moment, and the next part will be in Spider-Noir. This Tombstone “links the comic book character to a very grounded backstory,” says Popoola, promising something unique from even the versions in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Brand New Day. In fact, he sounds unique from any other C-list hero, which can only help Tombstone move further to the top spot of evil among the sinister foes of Spider-Man.

    Spider-Noir streams on MGM+ on May 27, 2026.

    The post Spider-Noir Gets Tombstone to the Screen Before Brand New Day appeared first on Den of Geek.

  • The 15 Video Games a Parent Would Least Want Their Child to Play

    The 15 Video Games a Parent Would Least Want Their Child to Play

    A good way to avoid your child playing something they shouldn’t is by checking age ratings; if the game isn’t for children, it’ll be labeled as such. But we all know parenting isn’t that simple, and kids will often ask for games that, while targeted at mature audiences, might not really be that bad.

    Well, these next few games are that bad, and no child should really play them. Some of their covers give the problems away, but not all of them. If you need to know the most controversial games your child shouldn’t play, or if you’re looking for something with true adult themes, these are the games to watch out for.

    The post The 15 Video Games a Parent Would Least Want Their Child to Play appeared first on Den of Geek.

    Spider-Man has one of the most varied and wonderful rogues galleries in all of comic book history. Peter Parker regularly goes toe-to-toe with heavy-hitters like Green Goblin, Venom, and the Kingpin. But he also has a host of unimpressive weirdos, including the Gibbon and the Kangaroo. For the most part, they all stay in their place. Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus will always be the biggest threats, especially as Venom has become a hero and the Kingpin fights Daredevil, the rest of the Sinister Six, including Electro and Mysterio, can have an arc here and there, and then everyone else fights for the scraps.

    But a new promo for the MGM+ series Spider-Noir suggests that the hierarchy of power among Spider-Man villains has changed. It’s not so much that D-lister Silvermane gets to be the show’s big bad, nor the muscle he sends to fight Nicolas Cage‘s hardboiled take on Spider-Man. It’s that Tombstone gets highlighted, just months before he’s slated to be a major problem for Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

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    Loosely adapted from the comic book series Spider-Man: Noir by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Marko Djurdjević, and spinning out of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Noir stars Cage as Ben Reilly, a 1930s private investigator who can do whatever a spider can. As this latest promo shows us, Ben will be going up against the gangster Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), who relies on a trio of toughs to do his dirty work, including Sandman (Jack Huston), Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell), and Tombstone (Abraham Popoola).

    Tombstone, of course, isn’t a new thorn in Spidey’s side. First introduced in Web of Spider-Man #36 (1988), by Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk, he’s been a regular player in stories about the New York underworld. Born Lonnie Lincoln, he grew up with Daily Bugle editor Robbie Robertson and was constantly teased for being a Black child with albinism. The bullying led Lonnie to a life of crime and to embrace his appearance. Taking the name Tombstone, he filed his teeth to sharp ends and built an imposing physique.

    For most of his history, Tombstone’s been a constant C-lister. While the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man made him that show’s version of Kingpin (and got Keith David to provide the voice!), he hasn’t appeared in any of the live-action movies, nor does he get more than a couple of arcs or side missions in any cartoons or games.

    However, that’s starting to change. Lonnie Lincoln was a major supporting character in season one of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, where he’s voiced by Eugene Byrd. That series imagines Lonnie as an extraordinarily talented good kid who befriends Peter Parker. The first series ends with him being forced to participate in the local gang, and being exposed to chemicals that will certainly transform him into the imposing Tombstone.

    Moreover, Tombstone’s rumored to be the chief antagonist of the next MCU film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Played by Marvin Jones III (who also voiced the character in Into the Spider-Verse), Tombstone will be one of the many baddies who tangle with the overworked Spidey, including Boomerang and the Hand. How will that fit into a story that’s also about the Hulk, Punisher, and probably Jean Grey of the X-Men, as well as his regular pals MJ and Ned? We’re not sure.

    But it’s clear that Tombstone is having a moment, and the next part will be in Spider-Noir. This Tombstone “links the comic book character to a very grounded backstory,” says Popoola, promising something unique from even the versions in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Brand New Day. In fact, he sounds unique from any other C-list hero, which can only help Tombstone move further to the top spot of evil among the sinister foes of Spider-Man.

    Spider-Noir streams on MGM+ on May 27, 2026.

    The post Spider-Noir Gets Tombstone to the Screen Before Brand New Day appeared first on Den of Geek.

  • 15 Artists Who Never Won a Grammy But Probably Should Have

    15 Artists Who Never Won a Grammy But Probably Should Have

    The Grammy Awards are considered the highest form of recognition in the music industry, even if their history is filled with notable omissions. Across its history, some of the most influential, commercially successful, and critically respected artists still have never taken home a competitive Grammy.

    We’re talking about musicians who have racked up multiple nominations, chart-topping hits, and lasting cultural impact, yet remain overlooked when awards are handed out. This list highlights artists frequently cited in that conversation, focusing on names whose absence from the winners’ circle feels increasingly difficult to justify given their legacy.

    The post 15 Artists Who Never Won a Grammy But Probably Should Have appeared first on Den of Geek.

    Spider-Man has one of the most varied and wonderful rogues galleries in all of comic book history. Peter Parker regularly goes toe-to-toe with heavy-hitters like Green Goblin, Venom, and the Kingpin. But he also has a host of unimpressive weirdos, including the Gibbon and the Kangaroo. For the most part, they all stay in their place. Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus will always be the biggest threats, especially as Venom has become a hero and the Kingpin fights Daredevil, the rest of the Sinister Six, including Electro and Mysterio, can have an arc here and there, and then everyone else fights for the scraps.

    But a new promo for the MGM+ series Spider-Noir suggests that the hierarchy of power among Spider-Man villains has changed. It’s not so much that D-lister Silvermane gets to be the show’s big bad, nor the muscle he sends to fight Nicolas Cage‘s hardboiled take on Spider-Man. It’s that Tombstone gets highlighted, just months before he’s slated to be a major problem for Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

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    Loosely adapted from the comic book series Spider-Man: Noir by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Marko Djurdjević, and spinning out of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Noir stars Cage as Ben Reilly, a 1930s private investigator who can do whatever a spider can. As this latest promo shows us, Ben will be going up against the gangster Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), who relies on a trio of toughs to do his dirty work, including Sandman (Jack Huston), Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell), and Tombstone (Abraham Popoola).

    Tombstone, of course, isn’t a new thorn in Spidey’s side. First introduced in Web of Spider-Man #36 (1988), by Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk, he’s been a regular player in stories about the New York underworld. Born Lonnie Lincoln, he grew up with Daily Bugle editor Robbie Robertson and was constantly teased for being a Black child with albinism. The bullying led Lonnie to a life of crime and to embrace his appearance. Taking the name Tombstone, he filed his teeth to sharp ends and built an imposing physique.

    For most of his history, Tombstone’s been a constant C-lister. While the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man made him that show’s version of Kingpin (and got Keith David to provide the voice!), he hasn’t appeared in any of the live-action movies, nor does he get more than a couple of arcs or side missions in any cartoons or games.

    However, that’s starting to change. Lonnie Lincoln was a major supporting character in season one of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, where he’s voiced by Eugene Byrd. That series imagines Lonnie as an extraordinarily talented good kid who befriends Peter Parker. The first series ends with him being forced to participate in the local gang, and being exposed to chemicals that will certainly transform him into the imposing Tombstone.

    Moreover, Tombstone’s rumored to be the chief antagonist of the next MCU film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Played by Marvin Jones III (who also voiced the character in Into the Spider-Verse), Tombstone will be one of the many baddies who tangle with the overworked Spidey, including Boomerang and the Hand. How will that fit into a story that’s also about the Hulk, Punisher, and probably Jean Grey of the X-Men, as well as his regular pals MJ and Ned? We’re not sure.

    But it’s clear that Tombstone is having a moment, and the next part will be in Spider-Noir. This Tombstone “links the comic book character to a very grounded backstory,” says Popoola, promising something unique from even the versions in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Brand New Day. In fact, he sounds unique from any other C-list hero, which can only help Tombstone move further to the top spot of evil among the sinister foes of Spider-Man.

    Spider-Noir streams on MGM+ on May 27, 2026.

    The post Spider-Noir Gets Tombstone to the Screen Before Brand New Day appeared first on Den of Geek.

  • 10 Comic Book Villains Who Deserve Their Own Movie

    10 Comic Book Villains Who Deserve Their Own Movie

    The age of heroes has ended. Now it’s time to bring on the bad guys. The upcoming Clayface movie is just the latest example of supervillains getting the spotlight. Not only did Clayface’s fellow Arkham inmate the Joker get two feature films, but Lex Luthor will be the co-lead of the Superman sequel Man of […]

    The post 10 Comic Book Villains Who Deserve Their Own Movie appeared first on Den of Geek.

    Spider-Man has one of the most varied and wonderful rogues galleries in all of comic book history. Peter Parker regularly goes toe-to-toe with heavy-hitters like Green Goblin, Venom, and the Kingpin. But he also has a host of unimpressive weirdos, including the Gibbon and the Kangaroo. For the most part, they all stay in their place. Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus will always be the biggest threats, especially as Venom has become a hero and the Kingpin fights Daredevil, the rest of the Sinister Six, including Electro and Mysterio, can have an arc here and there, and then everyone else fights for the scraps.

    But a new promo for the MGM+ series Spider-Noir suggests that the hierarchy of power among Spider-Man villains has changed. It’s not so much that D-lister Silvermane gets to be the show’s big bad, nor the muscle he sends to fight Nicolas Cage‘s hardboiled take on Spider-Man. It’s that Tombstone gets highlighted, just months before he’s slated to be a major problem for Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

    cnx.cmd.push(function() {
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    }).render(“0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796”);
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    Loosely adapted from the comic book series Spider-Man: Noir by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Marko Djurdjević, and spinning out of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Noir stars Cage as Ben Reilly, a 1930s private investigator who can do whatever a spider can. As this latest promo shows us, Ben will be going up against the gangster Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), who relies on a trio of toughs to do his dirty work, including Sandman (Jack Huston), Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell), and Tombstone (Abraham Popoola).

    Tombstone, of course, isn’t a new thorn in Spidey’s side. First introduced in Web of Spider-Man #36 (1988), by Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk, he’s been a regular player in stories about the New York underworld. Born Lonnie Lincoln, he grew up with Daily Bugle editor Robbie Robertson and was constantly teased for being a Black child with albinism. The bullying led Lonnie to a life of crime and to embrace his appearance. Taking the name Tombstone, he filed his teeth to sharp ends and built an imposing physique.

    For most of his history, Tombstone’s been a constant C-lister. While the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man made him that show’s version of Kingpin (and got Keith David to provide the voice!), he hasn’t appeared in any of the live-action movies, nor does he get more than a couple of arcs or side missions in any cartoons or games.

    However, that’s starting to change. Lonnie Lincoln was a major supporting character in season one of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, where he’s voiced by Eugene Byrd. That series imagines Lonnie as an extraordinarily talented good kid who befriends Peter Parker. The first series ends with him being forced to participate in the local gang, and being exposed to chemicals that will certainly transform him into the imposing Tombstone.

    Moreover, Tombstone’s rumored to be the chief antagonist of the next MCU film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Played by Marvin Jones III (who also voiced the character in Into the Spider-Verse), Tombstone will be one of the many baddies who tangle with the overworked Spidey, including Boomerang and the Hand. How will that fit into a story that’s also about the Hulk, Punisher, and probably Jean Grey of the X-Men, as well as his regular pals MJ and Ned? We’re not sure.

    But it’s clear that Tombstone is having a moment, and the next part will be in Spider-Noir. This Tombstone “links the comic book character to a very grounded backstory,” says Popoola, promising something unique from even the versions in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Brand New Day. In fact, he sounds unique from any other C-list hero, which can only help Tombstone move further to the top spot of evil among the sinister foes of Spider-Man.

    Spider-Noir streams on MGM+ on May 27, 2026.

    The post Spider-Noir Gets Tombstone to the Screen Before Brand New Day appeared first on Den of Geek.