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In which Elisabeth plans for her reign as Omniversal Majestrix; Hulks and moons are two great tastes that go great together; Nightcrawler takes the lead; Alastair gets a new gadget; it’s just not a cosmic event without Alan Davis; Mastermind is still the absolute worst; Excalibur fixes problems by playing dress-up; Moira MacTaggert desperately needs to hire some staff; and Jamie Braddock is legitimately terrifying.
X-PLAINED:
- M’gubgub
- Nth Man
- Excalibur #25-27
- Nova (Frankie Raye)
- The continually poor decisions of Brian Braddock
- A convergence of cosmic forces
- Lumberjack Death
- Character growth both literal and metaphorical
- A cosmic snit
- Asshole Factor
- A villainous ruse
- Several rounds of reality warping
- Definitive incarnations of characters
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Returning to my old thing of “Alex Contextualizes X-Men with Anime” the whole thing of having Lockheed use his flame breath to simulate the Phoenix Flare reminds me of a recurring joke that would come up in the Ranma 1/2 films, where whenever Tatawaki Kuno would do one of his over-the top entrances or backdrops, once he was finished, stage-hands would come in and move the props out of the way, as if his flair for the dramatic was being facilitated and enabled through using his family’s fortune to pay for backdrops and stage effects to make him look more dramtaic
Miles,
After your reference to a “Peter David Level pun” and your surprise at the use of Neil Gaiman’s Death in Excalibur #25, you should hunt down Incredible Hulk #418. It’s one of the highlights of Peter David’s 12 year run on Hulk, the wedding of Rick Jones and Marlo Chandler, and… I don’t want to give anything away, but trust me, you’ll appreciate it.
And frankly, as someone who loves legendary long form superhero narratives by one creator, like Claremont’s X-Men or Simonson’s Thor, David’s Hulk is something you should check out. It was one of the comics that introduced me to the idea of following a writer around (that and Jim Starlin’s cosmic stuff). It’s an amazing run from, issues 331-467 plus annuals and a couple mini-series, with only two fill-ins in the regular title, and the first I believe 50-60 issues are in Peter David Visionaries: Hulk trades, which are out of print but not too hard to find. There are even some X-Men tie ins, including a meeting with the original X-Factor, some Wolvie fighting, and the crossover with David written government X-Factor. Oh, and towards the end of the run, Hulk becomes Apocalypse’s Horseman, War, and fights the Juggernaut. WHAT???
I just wanted to pass on my love for something I thought you’d dig, as I recently finished Simonson’s Thor on your recommendation, and it’s as good as you said. Thanks!
Matt Lazorwitz
Nth Man was one of my favourite comics, but I haven’t read it since the early 90s so it may not have held up. But it does feature the Cosmic Spin Cycle. Sadly it’s not available on Marvel Unlimited. As I recall, the Excalibur crossover managed to get pretty much every character completely wrong, it was very disappointing.
Larry Hama also played a nasty government agent in one episode of MASH. Do with that information what you will.
Elisabeth is such a sweetheart. I love her laugh. Glad she could make it to fill in.
Nth Man was a book I really didn’t understand when I was 12, but I loved it anyway. I would HAPPILY re-purchase it on Comixology or read it on MU if we ever got it.
Fun episode, and always nice to have Elisabeth back, she has a great voice to listen to as well as some very salient points. (Not that Jay doesn’t have a great voice either mind you, they’re just… different voices to enjoy!)
Oh and if you want to add the ideal Government Liaison for Asshole Factor then X-Factor can keep Val Cooper, Asshole Factor has none other than Henry Peter Gyrich, the platonic ideal of a Government sponsored asshole!
Holy Crap. You two have tons of chemistry. Nice to hear someone laugh at Miles’ jokes for a change. Elisabeth has a nice voice and I really enjoyed her perspective. I would love if she stuck around or showed up more.
Seconding all the comments about Elisabeth’s very podcastable voice and laugh. She should start her own (and continue guesting, obviously)
I love Elisabeth!!! Pls Bring Elisabeth in to xplain the xmen more often!!!
Catching up on some episodes, so I’m not sure if this was already addressed. Miles and Elizabeth kept saying “omniscient” to mean “all powerful”. Omniscient actually means “all knowing”, the word they actually wanted was “omnipotent”. Just an FYI. Thanks!
Speaking from experience there? 🙂
Um, they used it correctly. Phoenix gave Mastermind omniscience (which drove him nuts), not omnipotence.