Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

424 – Times Change

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In which everything is Havok’s fault; Jay is a bad influence; Polaris makes some valid points; Jamie Madrox is the Bobby Drake of X-Factor; and X-Factor vol. 1 ends with a bang.

X-PLAINED:

  • Muppet rules
  • X-Factor, vol. 1, in general
  • X-Factor #146-149
  • Sense of place
  • Jude Black and his inexplicable facial hair
  • Boundaries
  • Edible Arrangements
  • A different kind of sports bar
  • Kevin
  • Nostalgia, I guess?
  • Several confrontations
  • Temporal insanity
  • A very specialized course
  • What happens next
  • The universe where Dazzler replaced Jean Grey in the original X-Factor
  • Characters we would like to have seen more of

NEXT EPISODE: Psi-War!

Special thanks to muppets Michal Richardson, Bilal Dardai, and Matt Hunter!

(You can find an mp3 of just the muppet opening in the visual companion.)

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 423 – Moby Dick Ice Cream

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Probably not even the fanciest trash can on Muir Island. (Excalibur #121)
She’s fun. (Excalibur #121)
It’s no SMEK, but it’ll do.
What’s doubly interesting about this is that David’s personality isn’t actually there. (Excalibur #121)
And off they go. (Excalibur #121)
Hmm. (Excalibur #122)
That’s a lot of hair. (Excalibur #122)
Spoiler: Not actually the X-Men. (Excalibur #122)
The Mimic and his beard. (Excalibur #122)
The sound of love. (Excalibur #122)
Aw, those wacky kids. (Excalibur #123)
The now-beardless Mimic. (Excalibur #123)
NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor explodes.

423 – Moby Dick Ice Cream

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In which subtlety is not Sabra’s strong point; Moira takes a vacation; Meggan broods; you should take care in referencing the Dark Phoenix Saga; Excalibur may or may not shave Mimic; and Captain Britain is a silly man.

X-PLAINED:

  • Ghosts
  • Excalibur #121-123
  • The Mutant Underground
  • Empathic recon
  • An extremely disgruntled kiss
  • Kitty’s new costume
  • Several of Legion’s personalities
  • A mysterious disk
  • A very fancy trash can and/or ice cream maker
  • Ice cream of Cloud City
  • A good dog
  • Remains of Operation Zero Tolerance
  • The devolution of Douglock
  • Mimic (Calvin Rankin)
  • Mimic’s facial hair
  • Some Prime Sentinels
  • Wedding planning
  • Liking parts of things
  • Villains who want to marry Storm
  • Maddy Pryor

NEXT EPISODE: The end of X-Factor!

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 422 – Cairn Touch This

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If your sick room isn’t a fire hazard, you’re doing it wrong. (X-Men #74)
Well, that’s not good. (X-Men #74)
He’s got a million of ’em. (X-Men #74)
Seriously, Hank, what the hell? (X-Men #75)
I LOVE THESE GUYS THEY ARE SO WEIRD (X-Men #75)
Wolverine has been up to some… stuff. (X-Men #75)
We’re not in Westchester anymore. (X-Men #75)
Hi, Pilgrimm! (X-Men #75)
Hi, Magneto! (X-Men #76)
Hi, Eany and Meany! (X-Men #76)
It is rough to be Maggott. (X-Men #76)
NEXT EPISODE: Excalibur isn’t over (quite) yet!

422 – Cairn Touch This

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In which the X-Men’s membership is a complicated subject; not all angels know each other; we need to talk about Beast’s Wasp costume; Cecilia Reyes speaks for all reasonable folk; Storm gets a mysterious package; and reading comics day-and-date may not be for everyone.

X-PLAINED:

  • The variable loyalties of the N’garai
  • X-Men #74-76
  • A somewhat atypical team lineup
  • A whole lotta backstory
  • How to join the X-Men
  • Warren Kenneth Worthington III as a religious figure
  • Flechette clean-up
  • Teenage drama
  • Detective Jim Logan
  • A lot of murder
  • The N’garai
  • Beast’s Wasp costume
  • Explanatory captions for real life
  • The Ru’tai
  • Pilgrimm
  • Mai’Keth the Undying One
  • The Eye of Kierokk
  • Maggott’s secret origins
  • X-Men cartoons for a 7-year-old
  • Reckoning with loss in comics

NEXT EPISODE: Excalibur rushes toward its conclusion

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 421 – Dudleyworld or Bust

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Fast times at Dudleyworld! (Colossus #1)
Aw, these wacky kids.(Colossus #1)
Note: This is supposed to be taking place during the day. (Colossus #1)
EliSabeth, you mean! (Colossus #1)
The Proletarian! (Colossus #1)
BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T TELL HER WHAT WAS GOING ON. (Colossus #1)
On the scale of bad disguises, I’ve seen worse. (Colossus #1)
He’s smooth, I’ll give him that. (X-Men Unlimited #19)
“What the HELL, Mom?!” (X-Men Unlimited #19)
See what I mean about her head? (X-Men Unlimited #19)
My kingdom for follow-through on this tease. (X-Men Unlimited #19)
NEXT EPISODE: The secret origin of Maggott!

421 – Dudleyworld or Bust

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In which one letter can make a big difference; it’s just not Arcade without giant pinballs; Colossus is nobody’s fool; Margali Szardos is not a relative you want to stay in touch with; Nightcrawler turns to the jerk side; and Jay and Miles pitch an X-Men kids’ show.

X-PLAINED:

  • Elisabeth Wilford vs. Elizabeth Wilford
  • Colossus #1
  • X-Men Unlimited #19
  • How to name a miniseries or one-shot
  • The destructive potential of happiness
  • A clock
  • An inaccurate duplicate of Avalon
  • The return of the Proletarian
  • Costumes with characters’ faces on them
  • Death by irony
  • A journey to Limbo
  • Several blasts from the past
  • Margali Szardos’s head
  • Foreshadowing that we desperately wish had panned out
  • Cold open curation
  • A hypothetical X-Men show for five-year-olds

NEXT EPISODE: The secret origin of Maggott

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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420 – The Legendary House of Wolverine, feat. Christopher Michael Roman

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In which Jay sits down with scholar Christopher Michael Roman to discuss his recent book, Queering Wolverine in Comics and Fanfiction: A Fastball Special; alongside queer theory, porous bodies, and nontraditional mentorship.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes graphic discussions of physical trauma as well as consensual if weird fictional sex.

NEXT EPISODE: Colossus and Meggan finally go to Dudleyworld, sort of!

No visual companion this week, but if you want to pick up Chris’s book, you can do that here!

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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 419 – Stuff Happens

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Run, Penance! The retcons are coming for you! (Generation X #40)
Hey, that’s not how telepathy works! (Generation X #40)
I’d be responding with a lot more middle fingers and lawsuits than Synch is here. (Generation X #40)
Monet, I know your brother is super evil and all, but do you really have to be so mean about it? (Generation X #40)
I see someone just earned their Villainous Wordplay merit badge! (Generation X #40)
Huh, that was easy. (Generation X #40)
…as Disney’s copyright lawyers back slowly away… (Generation X #40)
This issue’s an odd and somewhat troubling one, but damn that art is great. (Generation X #41)
Jubilee: from youngest X-Man to youngest Gen X’er. (Generation X #41)
AAAAAAAHHHHHHH (Generation X #41)
And once more I say AAAAAAAHHHHHHH (Generation X #41)
I’m impressed we can tell Emma and Paige apart for once, but what really impresses me is EVERYTHING ABOUT JUBILEE’S HAIR (Generation X #42)
Is… is this how flirting works? Have we been doing it wrong? (Generation X #42)
We’ll get to this. (Generation X #42)
The color of PAIN (Generation X #42)
It must be hard to be Just Some Dude in the Marvel Universe. (Generation X #42)
Why Gaia is probably actually a Neutrino from TMNT, figure 1. (Generation X #42)
Why Gaia is probably actually a Neutrino from TMNT, figure 2. (Generation X #42)
Hi, Elsie-Dee and Albert! Bye, Elsie-Dee and Albert! (Generation X #42)
I feel like Emma makes that face at Sean a lot. (Generation X #43)
This run may be baffling and bizarre, but I can’t say I’m not having a good time. (Generation X #43)
FUN FACT: Did you know that 1996’s Super Mario RPG was the first time Princess Peach, then called Princess Toadstool, used a frying pan as a weapon? (Generation X #43)
Oh right, these guys. (Generation X #43)
NEXT EPISODE: Queering Wolverine with Dr. Christopher Michael Roman!

419 – Stuff Happens

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Run, Penance! The retcons are coming for you! (Generation X #40)

In which the St. Croix family is constructed largely of retcons; Generation X adjusts surprisingly quickly to a massive status quo shift; Psi-War is coming soon to a podcast near you; Snow White – I mean, Bianca LaNeige – has an intriguing but exceptionally minimal backstory; and if you die in this podcast episode, you die in real life.

X-PLAINED:

  • Hellfire Club history
  • Generation X #40-43
  • MillXnials
  • Mercy General Hospital vs Our Mother of Mercy Hospital
  • Ambiguous psionic overlap
  • Nicole & Claudette & Monet & Marius St. Croix
  • The Downtown Stomp
  • Synch, agreeable and bland (for now)
  • Vincent Adultman
  • The nature of Penance
  • A glacial but effective pace
  • Bianca LaNeige, evil Snow White from space
  • Warpy, Stinky, Spiky, Windy, Greasy, Brainy, and Blurry
  • The Enchanted Forest of Oregon
  • Claremont:Body Swaps::Hama:Getting Stuck In Other Dimensions
  • Jay vs. Accents
  • Terminal Dream Syndrome
  • A surprisingly gruesome fill-in
  • An underrated era for Emma Frost
  • Betty & Veronica, presenting like mandrills
  • Zak the Neutrino
  • Albert & Elsie-Dee (briefly)
  • The Dodsons vs Mike Allred
  • Dr. Bronner’s uncredited Marvel career
  • Our coverage of Ultimate X-Men (or lack thereof)
  • Dr. Phil Zimbardo’s xplainthexmen study

NEXT EPISODE: Queering Wolverine with Dr. Christopher Michael Roman!

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!