Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

Author: Jay

251 – Triple Word Score

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

In which Jay proposes a new way of comparing superheroes; Beast faces an ethical dilemma; Mister Sinister has an Xavier moment; Sabretooth is a terrible houseguest; Cyclops totally gets what you see in Wolverine; Psylocke would absolutely be into hunting humans for sport; Sage probably vapes; rich people are definitely not like us; Shinobi Shaw is his own best friend; and Classic X-Men backup stories are canonical as hell.

X-PLAINED:

  • Blue Team vs. Gold Team
  • X-Men #27-29
  • Threnody
  • The fate of Infectia
  • One of Mister Sinister’s favorite aliases
  • Dr. Gordon Lefferts
  • Several complicated choices
  • A very frustrating cover
  • A secret meeting
  • The dubious evolution of Charles Xavier
  • Communication
  • An invitation
  • A sick burn
  • Rich people
  • The key to happiness
  • The theoretical adventures of Honey Badger and Princess Powerful

NEXT EPISODE: Val Cooper joins a cult!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

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Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

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As Mentioned in Episode 250 – Minding the DNA, feat. Fabian Nicieza

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

There’s no visual companion to this episode, but here’s some cool stuff we talked about!

250 – Minding the DNA, feat. Fabian Nicieza

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

In which writer Fabian Nicieza joins us to talk ‘90s crossovers, narrative legacies, and what Adam X’s word balloons really sound like!

Special thanks to Shatterstarologist Charlie of The Young Ones for lending their X-Pertise to the cold open!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

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As Mentioned in Episode 249 – The Parent Trap

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!
Sieniewicz, ahoy! (X-Men Unlimited #3)
I can’t stop imagining some poor craftsman meticulously working on this window and then disappearing forever. (X-Men Unlimited #3)
We have fun. (X-Men Unlimited #3)
“We’ll kill him sometime between 8 AM and maybe about 1 PM on Monday, unless we have to cancel.” (X-Men Unlimited #3)
I like this guy. He’s sensible and he dresses like a Capcom protagonist. (X-Men Unlimited #3)
Spoiler: Nah. (X-Men Unlimited #3)
Maverick is pretty much the worst houseguest. (X-Men Unlimited #3)
THAT FACE. (X-Men Unlimited #3)
Supersenses out of nowhere would be pretty awful. (X-Men Unlimited #3)
Damn, Creed. (X-Men Unlimited #3)
I like that it’s unclear which of them constitutes the main threat in this horror scene. (X-Men Unlimited #3)
How much funnier would this cover have been with Graydon? (X-Men Unlimited #4)
Mystique takes pride in her murder-work. (X-Men Unlimited #4)
After he storms out, the camera goes soft-focus and she sings “Somewhere That’s Green.” (X-Men Unlimited #4)
Parenting lessons with Kurt Wagner! (X-Men Unlimited #4)
Mystique is so classy. (X-Men Unlimited #4)
Nobody will tell him. It’s the tragedy equivalent of a running joke. (X-Men Unlimited #4)
This kid! (X-Men Unlimited #4)
Family is where the skulls are. (X-Men Unlimited #4)
And you thought Summers family reunions were awkward! (X-Men Unlimited #4)
Moms, amirite? (X-Men Unlimited #4)
Oof, that footnote. (X-Men Unlimited #4)
Family! (X-Men Unlimited #4)
NEXT EPISODE: Fabian Nicieza!

LINKS & FURTHER MUTATIONS:

249 – The Parent Trap

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

In which Sabretooth is weirdly ubiquitous; Maverick is a terrible guest; not all second chances are equivalent; Graydon Creed is the red delicious apple of people; Mystique is the master of murder monologues; and the Darkholmes give the Summers family a run for its dysfunctional money.

X-PLAINED:

  • X-Men Unlimited #3-4
  • Sabretooth (more) (again)
  • Emergency back-up Wolverine
  • Faces
  • A stained-glass window that is probably a metaphor
  • Evocation
  • Maverick’s nose
  • Maverick’s manners
  • Commcast (but not that one)
  • Sabretooth’s mind
  • The “mystery” of Nightcrawler’s parentage
  • Mystique’s murder monologues
  • Killing Eve
  • The skull of friendship
  • Several versions of Nightcrawler’s backstory
  • Glove magic
  • One way to get out of an awkward family conversation
  • The ‘90s X-Men cartoon
  • Character migration between media

NEXT EPISODE: Fabian Nicieza!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

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As Mentioned in Episode 248 – Destructo Woman

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!
Sure! Why not? What could POSSIBLY go wrong? (Excalibur #72)
‘Kay. (Excalibur #73)
Damnit, Siena Blaze. (Excalibur #73)
Phoenix demands proportionate arms! (Excalibur #73)
I don’t know why the fact that Moira kept Proteus’s entire genome on CD-ROM strikes me as hilarious; but it really, really does. (Excalibur #73)
Yelling in the Timestream: The Brian Braddock and Rachel Summers Story. (Excalibur #74)
You see the eyes, right? (Excalibur #74)
The odds that Mr. Sinister got that knife at a mall kiosk are basically 100%. (Excalibur #74)
You’re a good kid, Jubilee. (Excalibur #74)
I like to think they’re both just yelling. (X-Force #31)
The garden is a metaphor that is also a real garden. (X-Force #31)
Why is this random blonde dude so hung up on the Cassidy family? We’ll never know. (X-Force #31)
I just really love those yelling pages. (X-Force #31)
“And yet, despite all those years of gardening, I’m still not sure how to hold a rake.” (X-Force #31)
He’s an angry tree, but he’s an angry tree who cares. (X-Force #31)
NEXT EPISODE: More family fun!

248 – Destructo Woman

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

In which Tom Cassidy and Cain Marko may be the most stable couple in the Marvel Universe; Rory Campbell is no Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau; Siena Blaze remains a big jerk; the Cassidy family has some issues; and we are dismayed by an inexplicable dearth of leprechauns.

X-PLAINED:

  • Birthday presents
  • What Excalibur has been up to
  • Excalibur #72-74
  • X-Force #31
  • How to be mysterious
  • The Proteus Room
  • The continually terrible choices of Moira MacTaggert
  • Porridge ghosts
  • An unnatural disaster
  • Chekhov’s solid rock
  • Rory Campbell
  • Destructo Woman
  • Limitations of CD-ROMs
  • Siryn (Theresa Cassidy)
  • The Cassidy family
  • How not to treat a gunshot wound
  • Kelvin Donaghann and his fancy hair
  • An intervention
  • The future of the New Mutants feature film
  • Underwear

NEXT EPISODE: Family Reunion!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

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Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

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As Mentioned in Episode 247 – The Butt-Kick Scale

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!
In French, Sabretooth’s name is “Dents du Sabre,” and it’s not nearly as menacing. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #1)
“Fetch the pestridder, Birdy–We’ve got ninjas in the rutabagas.” (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #1)
As seen in Marvel vs. Capcom !(Sabretooth: Death Hunt #1)
Sabretooth is a terrible boss, but marginally better than the Hand, maybe, I guess. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #1)
Ah, yes, the sound of telepathic soothing: PHOOOOOO. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #1)
Note the arms and the axe. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #1)
TURBO-SABRETOOTH! (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #1)
Tribune: Banker. Politician. Pundit. Supervillain. Definitely about to go to BotCon cosplaying his OC. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #1)
This series has consistently excellent covers. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #2)
I was going to make an Elements of Style joke based on that sound effect, but it seemed like kind of a stretch. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #2)
HI, MYSTIQUE! (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #2)
Do you think Mystique spends an inordinate amount of time researching who from the pasts of people she knows will make them the most uncomfortable? Probably. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #2)
I’m not saying this is peak Mystique; but I’m also not saying it’s not. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #2)
Sabretooth: Death Hunt #3: Large Angry Men Yelling!
TEETH. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #3)
I appreciate this panel so damn much. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #3)
“Look at us: just a pair of stone cold badasses doing stone-cold badass stuff.” (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #3)
‘Kay. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #3)
HOW DID HE FIT THE PAULDRONS UNDER THE TUXEDO? (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #3)
I love that Mystique still has her cigarette holder. (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #3)
rghrargh (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #4)
OKAY THEN (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #4)
YEP THIS SURE IS HAPPENING (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #4)
AND SO IS THIS (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #4)
SURE WHY NOT (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #4)
AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER PROBABLY (Sabretooth: Death Hunt #4)
NEXT EPISODE: There should be leprechauns, and there aren’t, and I’m still angry about it.

And now, for your edutainment, a selection of Mark Trail panels, presented in no particular order:

LINKS & FURTHER WOODLAND CREATURES:

  • Experience the magic of Mark Trail for yourself.
  • If Jay wrote a Mark Trail parody Twitter account–which we’re certainly not admitting that he does–it would probably read exactly like this one.
  • The D- Poems of Jeremy Bloom is one of many delightful novels by Gordon Korman, who was a mainstay of Jay’s childhood. (It’s so weird that there are Bruno & Boots movies now!)

 

 

247 – The Butt-Kick Scale

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

In which the Hand probably doesn’t even offer dental; literally everyone is less creepy than the Joker and Harley Quinn; toxic masculinity is Sabretooth’s adamantium; Mark Trail is a wild ride; Wolverine trashes the dress code and gets funky; Larry Hama is your god now; and Sabretooth: Death Hunt scores a solid six on the butt-kick scale.

X-PLAINED:

  • Mark Trail vs. X-Men
  • Sabretooth (Victor Creed)
  • Clones of Sabretooth
  • Birthday traditions
  • Sabretooth: Death Hunt #1-4
  • Ps[i don’t remember; that one guy]
  • Low-context ninjas
  • A somewhat tasteful omission, I guess
  • The glow (and its counterintuitive sound effect)
  • Turbo Sabretooth
  • Tribune (Graydon Creed)
  • Mark Trail
  • Affirmations with Sabretooth
  • “Leni Zauber”
  • Dress codes
  • The butt-kick scale
  • A tearaway tuxedo
  • Dubious grenade handling
  • Parenting with Mystique
  • One thing Wolverine knows
  • The CHK-LIT gun
  • Comics bankers
  • A very qualified recommendation
  • Our preferred versions of Sabretooth’s origin
  • Relative redeemability

NEXT EPISODE: Siena Blaze and the Mystery of the Missing Leprechauns!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 246 – Foreshadow Puppets

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Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!
Four arms–and a conscience. (X-Force #27)
Does he just live in Gyrich’s garage? Or, like, under the lawn? (X-Force #27)
Too many muscles for one panel: The X-Force Story. (X-Force #27)
Who’s that? SURELY not Danielle Moonstar! (X-Force #27)
‘Kay. (X-Force #28)
And that’s the last we’ll see of Sunspot for a while. (X-Force #28)
Sometimes it’s like that. (X-Force #28)
Confirmed canonical: Shatterstar’s hair is independently mobile. (X-Force #29)
What happened to Sam, and who is this alarmingly beefy stranger? (X-Force #29)
Cable is leaning full into the Dad thing these days; and I, for one, am here for it. (X-Force #29)
I’m fairly sure that I saw this movie in an 8th-grade assembly. (X-Force #29)
Kids these days, amirite? (X-Force #29)
Based on her facial expression, I imagine her delivering this line in roughly the style of Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate. (X-Force #29)
Sure thing, buddy. (X-Force #29)
Look at these angry, pointy boys. (X-Force #30)
So angry. So pointy. (X-Force #30)
Angry but not pointy. (X-Force #30)
“You’ll probably do okay; you’re not a major character.” (X-Force #30)
How much better would this issue have been if they’d done a skate-off? (X-Force #30)
Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. (X-Force #30)
Aw, look at him learning to person! (X-Force #30)
NEXT EPISODE: More spiky people yelling!

LINKS & FURTHER CONSUMABLES: