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In which we play Six Degrees of Lila Cheney; Cannonball gets a makeover; Earth does not in fact blow up; the X-Men like their s’mores with thinly veiled allegories; and Magik dabbles in erotic friend fiction.
X-Plained:
- Strong Guy
- Annuals
- New Mutants Annual #1 (Steal This Planet)
- Lila Cheney
- Both versions of Cats Laughing
- The Vrakanain
- Chris Claremont Book Club
- Uncanny X-Men Annual #8 (The Adventures of Lockheed the Space Dragon and His Pet Girl Kitty)
- Some dubious campfire games
- Illyana’s Space Opera
- Space pirate X-Men
- Some long-awaited resolution
NEXT WEEK: Rachel and Miles’s Giant-Size Special #1, featuring God Loves, Man Kills!
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Oh man, I had totally forgotten about Uncanny X-Men Annual #8. I’m fishing this out of the longbox as soon as I’m done listening to this episode, and enjoying the stroll down memory lane. Thank you so much for covering it!
It should be noted that Strong Guy is no longer the King of Hell, after Red Hulk wrestled him on Mephisto’s behalf in Thunderbolts. He’s still *in* Hell, though, searching for his soul.
Charles Soule’s run on Thunderbolts was wonderful.
I’m a huge fan of the podcast, and I was wondering if you knew of any other podcasts that go through and explain something really in depth. I’m already listening to Chris Sims’ Sailor Moon podcast. Do you know of any other podcasts in the same vain of in depth analysis?
Ohhhh, I can’t wait until next podcast. God Loves, Man Kills was one of the 3 trades that my nephew bought me for my 40th Birthday last month. Wolverine Origins and Wolverine Origins II are the other two.
I’m very much looking forward to your discussion of God Loves, Man Kills. It is a story that I hold in special regard, as I can say without hyperbole that it helped to make me a better person. When the graphic novel hit the shelves I was still very new to the X-Men and hadn’t quite caught on to its significance as a parable for tolerance. To this day I consider this story one of the strongest and most succinct condemnations of prejudice I have encountered, and it reached me at a time in my life when I most needed to hear it. Not bad for a silly little comic.
Really enjoyed this episode, guys. Well done!
So I know I’m way late. My husband and I have only recently discovered this podcast. In regards to the Jean/Psylocke power swap, I remember research g this exact question years ago. Apparently Claremont intended to tell that story, how their powers split, etc. in an annual that never saw print. That’s a lingering thread I would LOVE for someone to flesh out because it only made Betsy’s powers more nebulous and let writers just do whatever they want with them. It’s never really been too clear what she can do since then.
Hey, so I just found your podcast, and I’m marathoning your whole archive — and REALLY liking it — but in the off-chance you’re interested, since nobody seems to have pointed it out? (sorry if someone has already), but the exclamation “there aint no justice” is, almost definitely …. YET ANOTHER Larry Niven referenve in Young Mutants.
Who PUT all those things there?