Quicksilver is more of a bored mutant, but Magneto got to name the club.
Mastermind’s bookshelf is nothing but Ayn Rand and Pickup Artist handbooks. (From X-Men #4)
Roughly 2/3 of the mutants in the Marvel Universe have variations on this origin story. (X-Men #4)
The last time Quicksilver trusted humans, they dressed him like this. (X-Men #4)
It’s actually sort of a tube that goes around her whole head, but it’s funnier if you pretend the Scarlet Witch is basically just villain-breading. (X-Men #4)
Toad: Career minion. ( X-Men #5)
Magneto is not making a very good case for mutant rule. (X-Men #7)
Either Cain Marko is evil, or he’s unusually prescient and has already figured out what an asshole his stepbrother is going to grow up into. (X-Men #12)
“Y’know–Cyttorak? We covered this in basic training, Cain.” (X-Men #12)
The Juggernaut. (X-Men #13)
A fair and balanced view of the Mutant Menace. (X-Men #14)
Seriously, how did Bolivar Trask not see this coming? (X-Men #14)
LOOK AT THAT KIRBY HAT. LOOK. AT. THAT. KIRBY. HAT. (X-Men #15)
“Intergenerational miscommunication” is a really common villain origin story. Also, check out those Neal Adams layouts. Man, he’s good. (X-Men #57)
“Son, your mother has seen the future. Disco is coming. You must prepare.” (X-Men #58)
When you’ve got a team of good guys with incredibly destructive superpowers, giant robots are a rare chance to really show off. (X-Men #59)
No, really. This scene is from almost 50 years later. Same basic principle. (Astonishing X-Men #8)
Remember that time Cyclops dressed up like Quicksilver and talked the Sentinels into going off and fighting the sun? That totally happened. (X-Men #59)
Sometimes, it’s not all that surprising when a villain doesn’t make it out of the Silver Age. (X-Men #25)
Unus the Untouchable is having a bad day in X-Men #8.
Look at this asshole. LOOK AT HIS BLUEJEANS. (X-Men #61)
We salute Marlene Jablon, early pioneer and unsung hero of X-Plaining. This letter appeared in X-Men #12.
Supplemental Reading:
Marvels, by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross
“Uncanny Avengers, Rick Remender, X-Men, and Oppression Comix,” by David Brothers
Hey! Just listened to the first two episodes back to back and really enjoyed them – especially the arrested attempt to explain some baffling element of continuity at the beginning by way of intro. Please keep up that tradition.
Definitely adding this podcast to my regular listening schedule.
I also thought you might want to check out Orion Martin’s “What if the X-Men Were Black?” as a supplement to the David Brothers piece you linked to.
Thank you for the link! If you’re interested in more in the same vein, we’d also recommend this great piece from NPR Code Switch: http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/01/11/261449394/who-gets-to-be-a-superhero-race-and-identity-in-comics
This is a topic we’re going to be coming back to a lot–we both feel like if we’re going to talk about the X-Men, critically examining the intersections between portrayal and metaphorical use of mutants in the Marvel universe and actual real-world diversity and oppression is non-negotiable.
You should also check out my recent post on my blog: “XX-Men: The Failures of Brian Wood’s All-Woman X-Team”.
Oh and I agree (and so does Kitty Pryde), Professor Xavier is a jerk!
Is this the second piece you alluded to in the podcast but couldn’t remember?
Nope–still looking for that one.
I just discovered you guys but I will certainly continue to follow your show. Just like a lot of people listening, I’ve been reading the X-Men my entire life and it’s refreshing to listen to you guys, who certainly have a broad knowledge and appreciation for the comic. It’s a fantastic podcast, and you guys are doing a great job! (and man, I haven’t read these silver ages comics in years…. it’s nice to reminisce about Unus the Untouchable!)
I just started listening to your podcast, and I couldn’t figure out the real life version of Scarlet Witch’s headgear beside your cat/bread comparison until I remembered the independent professional wrestler Ophidian, a man who is a snake who is a wrestler.
http://s165.photobucket.com/user/cpv88/media/Ophidian.jpg.html
You all were exactly what I was looking for, thank you! I’ll be binge listening to catch up.
This episode Rachel mentioned some song about the x-men and team work. Would you give the specifics?
I think it was this one!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dprn–RGKw
Awesome, thank you.
It is, indeed.