Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

Category: Blog Posts

As Mentioned in Episode 2 – Sentinels In the Mist

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Listen to the podcast here!

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

As Mentioned In Episode 1 – The Strangest Podcast of Them All

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Listen to the podcast here!

Magneto, in X-Men #1, also speaks for our feelings about this podcast.
Professor X X-Plains the X-Men in X-Men #1
Every problem with Jean Grey’s characterization, summed up in one panel from X-Men #1
See this? This is why Cyclops is eventually gonna get the girl. (X-Men #1)
Play along at home: How many lies is Professor Xavier telling in these panels from X-Men #1?
One of the many miracles of magnetism portrayed in X-Men #1 is Magneto’s Incredible Mutating Hat.
Everything Magneto knows about supervillainy, he learned from the Wicked Witch of the West. (X-Men #1)
YAYBO! (X-Men #1)
Professor X knows how to decorate in X-Men #2.
Snow grenades, from X-Men #1.
At some point, we’re going to have a long conversation about the X-Men and the concept of the model minority. (X-Men #2)
Natural consequences, as explored in X-Men #2.
This actually happens in X-Men #3, because the Silver Age.
Two for the price of one: Cyclops angstily humblebragging, and the Ubiquitous Plaid Suit! (X-Men #3)

Recommended for new readers:

Ming & Rachel Explain The ‘Rachel & Miles X-Plain the X-Men’ Pinup at Robot 6!

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howdoyouart

Over at CBR’s Robot 6 blog, Rachel and artist Ming Doyle talked to Tim O’Shea about the secret origins of our hella sexy promo pinup. We’ve summarized the process above, but you should click through for a more, including some very cool process pics from Ming (and a moment of serious Mushy Stuff from Rachel).

The first episode of Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men, ”The Strangest Podcast of Them All,” debuts this weekend. We hope you’ll join us!

 

Ask the X-Perts

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Quentins Quire, from Wolverine and the X-Men #37
W: Jason Aaron, P: Giuseppe Camuncoli, F: Andrew Currie, C: Matt Milla w/ Israel Silva, L: Clayton Cowles

 

Got a burning question you’d like to hear Rachel and Miles answer on the podcast? Drop it in the comments below or our tumblr ask-box (we have a tumblr now, by the way), or tweet it to @RaeBeta with the hashtag #xplainthexmen!

 

The first episode of Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men, ”The Strangest Podcast of Them All,” debuts this weekend. We hope you’ll join us!

Meet the X-Perts

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IMG_4062NAME: Jay Edidin

KNOWN ALIASES: @NotLasers, Pirate King of the Moon

PRONOUNS: Male

OCCUPATION: Writer / Editor

POWERS: Looks a lot like Quentin Quire

FAVORITE X-MAN: Cyclops

FIRST X-BOOK: Age of Apocalypse: Alpha

MISCELLANEOUS X-CRED: Once scored a second date by reciting the Grey/Summers genealogy from memory.

SHORT BIO: Jay spent seven years as an editor at a major comics publisher until leaving in 2013 to pursue a freelance career. As a pop-culture journalist, Jay sometimes gets paid actual, legal tender to explain the X-Men, which you can tell your parents next time they ask how knowing that Cyclops’s eyes shoot concussive force beams will help you find a job.

 

miles_hulkhandsNAME: Miles Stokes

KNOWN ALIASES: @gjallerbru

PRONOUNS: Male

OCCUPATION: SysAdmin

POWERS: Action Beard

FAVORITE X-MAN: Longshot

FIRST X-BOOK: X-Factor #4

MISCELLANEOUS X-CRED: As a child, produced a prodigious volume of X-Men fan art, which we will definitely post if we can convince his mom to part with it for long enough for us to scan it.

SHORT BIO: Ten years ago, Miles carefully placed his psychology degree in a drawer and went to work IT because it was way easier. These days, he fixes broken things for a non-mutant-related comic-book publisher and surrounds himself with as much geekery as time allows. Buy him a drink and he’ll spend the next two hours telling you about how Chris Claremont made him a feminist and that come on, guys, Gambit’s ’90s costume isn’t that bad.

 

NAME: Matt Hunter

KNOWN ALIASES: @mechlo, Moon Talk

PRONOUNS: Male

OCCUPATION: Podcast Producer/Audio Engineer

POWERS: Can clip flubbed sentences with superhuman speed and accuracy

FAVORITE X-MAN: Boomer

FIRST X-BOOK: Uncanny X-Men #304 (later bought the rest of the series)

MISCELLANEOUS X-CRED: Still owns complete collections of 1993 and 1994 Fleer Marvel Masterpieces and 1994 Fleer Ultra X men trading cards.

SHORT BIO: In 2009 Matt decided to try out this whole weird podcast thing by launching his own podcast about video games, A Jumps B Shoots. It was all downhill from there. Matt then went on to co-host and produce several podcasts including the one you’re probably listening to now! When he’s not contributing to the world of podcasts Matt also enjoys making chiptune and synthpop music from his studio in Portland, OR.

 

Because It’s About Time Someone Did

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X-Men_Vol_1_1

In September of 1963, the first issue of X-Men hit the stands, a quirky little comic about a handful of superpowered teenagers and their mentor, the telepathic Professor X, fighting to protect a world that hated and feared them.

Our names are Rachel and Miles, and we love the X-Men: all fifty years, multiple cancellations, thousands of issues, dozens of spinoffs, six feature films, three animated series, and two cancelled pilots (not to mention the brand-dubious Mutant X live-action series).

As long-time X-readers, we also recognize that the series can be–well, “daunting” is the nice word. Time travel paradoxes? The X-Men created a new splinter universe in the seconds it took you to read this sentence. Clones? Get ’em by the dozen. Retcons? Honey, let me tell you about something called the Phoenix Force.

This is the series that straight-up broke the Marvel Universe. Twice.

And so, with a new movie less than a month away, we’ve decided it’s time to step up.

rachelmilesxplain_newheaderWe’ve been explaining the X-Men informally for years–to our friends and family, to the Internet, and, occasionally, to patient strangers on the street. Now, we’re making it official, with Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men: a weekly-or-so podcast dedicated to unpacking the weird, wonderful world of our favorite superhero soap opera for newcomers and die-hard fans alike.

Daunted by complex continuity? Can’t tell a mutate from a warpie? We are here for you. We have trained for this responsibility for decades. We have the backissues, the calluses, and a really detailed map of the Summers family tree.

This weekend, we’ll be delving into the longboxes with our first episode, “The Strangest Podcast of Them All.” We hope you’ll join us!