Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

Tag: charles xavier

As Mentioned in Episode 235 – Fatal Extractions

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Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!
If there’s anything I look for in an event anniversary issue, it’s an interrupted funeral. (Uncanny X-Men #304)
Nobody likes Fabian Cortez. (Uncanny X-Men #304)
“Always alone… and always dramatic.” (Uncanny X-Men #304)
Speaking of dramatic… (Uncanny X-Men #304)
One of the best of many callbacks. (Uncanny X-Men #304)
Ouch. (Uncanny X-Men #304)
I’m curious about a lot of the inclusions and exclusions in this crowd. (Uncanny X-Men #304)
BEHOLD! (Uncanny X-Men #304)
“We live in space.” (Uncanny X-Men #304)
I wonder how many issues have had variations on this title. (X-Men #25)
HE’S VERY CLEARLY FACING AWAY. (X-Men #25)
Dang, Magneto. (X-Men #25)
“Professor, this plan is terrible.” (X-Men #25)
This implies that Xavier’s decision to wipe Magneto’s mind was the plan from the start… (X-Men #25)
Dr. Spock would like a word with you, Magneto. (X-Men #25)
“Damnit, that was my favorite shirt!” (X-Men #25)
That’s gotta smart. (X-Men #25)
…Well, damn. (X-Men #25)
Please note that even bereft of his mind, Magneto’s cape is DRAMATIC AS HELL. (X-Men #25)
NEXT EPISODE: Reality bites.

235 – Fatal Extractions (Fatal Attractions, Part 2)

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

In which Magneto may or may not own a Namor body pillow; Cyclops probably doesn’t color-code his files; Colossus is Not Okay; bats are nature’s flashers; there are a lot of reasons to be mad at Fatal Attractions; Charles Xavier is surprisingly durable; the X-Men know their Aeschylus; Jean Grey goes in through the face; and bringing Wolverine to fight the guy who controls metal was probably not a great idea.

X-PLAINED:

  • Mutant Alpha
  • Uncanny X-Men #304
  • X-Men #25
  • False foreshadowing
  • Costume storage and display
  • Relative moral event horizons
  • The character dehabilitation of Magneto
  • The Magneto Protocols
  • How Cyclops organizes his files
  • An excellent eulogy
  • The complicated legacy of Illyana Rasputin
  • Several noteworthy absences
  • A memorable funeral
  • The ‘behold’ thing
  • A protective mesh of electromagnetic fire
  • A well-played callback
  • A strategically dubious plan
  • Several Prometheus Bound quotations
  • An uncharitable assumption
  • The blood-brain barrier
  • A severe costume injury
  • The definitive scene of Fatal Attractions
  • The root of Onslaught
  • Which X-Men would podcast
  • Our preferred comics formats

NEXT EPISODE: Colossus still can’t catch a break

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 233 – Electromagnetism Unlimited

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Listen to the episode here.

X-Men Unlimited.
“Scott! Ororo! Why are you blasting in opposite directions? Siena Blaze is RIGHT THERE! Look where I’m pointing!” -Charles Xavier (X-Men Unlimited #1)
We’re not sure if Cyclops’s eyes actually do that when they’re closed, but damn if it doesn’t look cool. (X-Men Unlimited #1)
Alan Davis has his hair. Chris Bachalo has his eyeballs. (X-Men Unlimited #1)
Bachalo’s characters are just so expressive! (X-Men Unlimited #1)
That visual pacing, though. (X-Men Unlimited #1)
How many ways are there to say “we just really like Chris Bachalo’s art”? (X-Men Unlimited #1)
After this awkward exchange, Cyclops blurts out “Stand down, Wolverine!” for reasons he can’t quite explain. (X-Men Unlimited #1)
Cyclops and Storm: still one of my favorite, and one of the most under-appreciated, friendships in the Marvel Universe. (X-Men Unlimited #1)
This is why Miles’s parents moved from Michigan to Florida. (X-Men Unlimited #1)
Siena, you jerk. Go to your room! Or the Malibu Universe. (X-Men Unlimited #1)
Awwwww (X-Men Unlimited #1)
Hell of a cover, that. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
Not many artists can do awe-inspiring. Jan Duursema can. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
What Happened To Ute, version 1. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
So maybe it’s not so weird that Magneto’s middle name is (supposedly) Magnus. (Daredevil vol. 4 #10)
This is the roughest PowerPoint presentation I’ve ever seen. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
Gabrielle Haller’s facial expression is its own set of speech bubbles. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
Work buds! (X-Men Unlimited #2)
I mean, I know some of them are pretty evil, but I feel really bad for everyone here. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
Adrian Eiskalt X-Plains Magneto. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
Magneto: flesh and bone, and that only makes him more impressive. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
A good writer knows when to let the art speak. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
What Happened To Ute, version 2. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
Not for nothing does Magneto’s cape resemble wings. (X-Men Unlimited #2)
NEXT TIME: Guess who’s back?

233 – Electromagnetism Unlimited

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X-Men Unlimited.

In which X-Men Unlimited begins; Cyclops’s powers remain wildly inconsistent; electromagnetic fields are the gamma rays of the early ‘90s; Siena Blaze should probably take some science courses; Magneto is a complex dude; and the Marvel Universe could really use adequate mental healthcare.

X-PLAINED:

  • Tradeoffs
  • X-Men Unlimited
  • Several other Unlimited series
  • The Gregorian calendar
  • Chris Bachalo
  • Storm’s-eye view
  • Electromagnetic fields
  • Diverse approaches to problem-solving
  • One of Cyclops’s many issues
  • An unfortunate encounter with Magneto
  • A memorial
  • Magneto, his origins, and his many pseudonyms
  • The Victor Von Doom paradox
  • A terrible plan
  • Physical mannerisms in comics
  • An unfortunate encounter with Magneto, revisited
  • Mental healthcare in the Marvel Universe
  • What happened to the Soul Sword

NEXT EPISODE: FATAL ATTRACTIONS

Special thanks to consulting X-Pert @beccastareyes!

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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 230 – Touchstones

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Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!
Or, alternately, read something that won’t make you cry? You do you. (Uncanny X-Men #303)
Nobody stands casually like that. NOBODY. (Uncanny X-Men #303)
Another scene from the alternate universe where A Fish Called Wanda was a heartwarming tearjerker about friendship and loss. (Uncanny X-Men #303)
I just. The art. (Uncanny X-Men #303)
Jean X-Plains Kitty and Illyana. (Uncanny X-Men #303)
“It won’t save her, but she’ll at least get to play some Rad Racer.” (Uncanny X-Men #303)
Aw, man. (Uncanny X-Men #303)
AW, MAN. (Uncanny X-Men #303)
Andy Kubert is really exceptionally good at drawing kisses and almost-kisses. (X-Men #24)
(It’s okay. They’ll work it out.) (X-Men #24)
I really appreciate Beast’s casual use of the word “panache” here. (X-Men #24)
Aw, these kids. (X-Men #24)
…which is the cat, and which the mouse, and which the mousecat, and which the catmouse, and… (X-Men #24)
If you need me, I’ll be over here, crying. (X-Men #24)
These two have been written pretty unevenly over the years, so it’s easy to forget how good a couple they can be. (X-Men #24)
CEILING MAGNETO IS WATCHING YOU… well, you get the idea. (X-Men #24)
What If: Magik is very much the story Illyana should have had.
This comic! (What If: Magik)
Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, Kind of Bad at the Whole Person Thing. (What If: Magik)
I really wish I could just drop this whole comic into the visual companion, because it’s ALL this gorgeous. (What If: Magik)
My heart. (What If: Magik)
Aw, these two awkward sorcerer friends. (What If: Magik)
That’s. My. Girl. (What If: Magik)
NEXT EPISODE: The other X-Cutioner!

LINKS & OTHER TRAGEDIES:

230 – Touchstones

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

In which tragedy strikes; leisure suits are underappreciated; Jubilee is fundamentally opposed to feelings; that MCU joke would definitely have been hilarious; we have trouble accepting Beast as a 20-something; when Gambit and Rogue work, they work; Wolverine makes an unlikely agony aunt; Dr. Strange was the mentor Illyana Rasputin really needed; and What If: Magik is pretty much a perfect comic.

X-PLAINED:

  • The Human High Council
  • Many terrible things that have happened to the Rasputin family
  • Uncanny X-Men #303
  • X-Men #24
  • What If: Magik
  • A tonal disconnect
  • Leisure Suit Larry
  • A prospective movie marathon
  • Insecurity
  • Molecular Cohesion Unit
  • The death of Illyana Rasputin (and its aftermath)
  • Death in America
  • A dubious idea for a theme park
  • A reunion
  • Papa Gumbo’s Cajun Cookout
  • Illyana Rasputin and Dr. Strange
  • Navigating vs. erasing trauma
  • Why What If: Magik is absolutely amazing
  • How to cite X-Men volumes
  • Earth-242 (Earth on Fire)

NEXT EPISODE: The other X-Cutioner!

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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 222 – A Tale of Two Betsys

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Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!
Spoiler: It’s Betsy Braddock’s original body. (X-Men #20)
Does it seem weird to anyone else that Jubilee is putting her skates on in Professor X’s news den? Is there even room for that? (X-Men #20)
That’s not how gravity OR abs work. (X-Men #20)
BETSY NO (X-Men #20)
We have reached peak Scott Summers. (X-Men #20)
This stuff will be a running backbeat to the remainder of Scott and Jean’s relationship. (X-Men #20)
WHAT?! (X-Men #20)
These reaction faces are priceless. (X-Men #20)
Sure, that’s what you CLAIM, but so far Colossus has not thrown Devil Dinosaur at anybody, so I’m suspicious. (X-Men #21)
Kwannon seems to like posing for pictures about as much as Jay does. (X-Men #21)
Same face, same hair–who wore it better?! (X-Men #21)
This guy, AGAIN. (X-Men #21)
At this point, Matsuo’s hair may actually be more aggressively styled than Wolverine’s. (X-Men #22)
Betsy and/or Kwannon X-Plains Betsy and/or Kwannon. (X-Men #22)
Betsy and/or Kwannon X-Plains Betsy and/or Kwannon. (X-Men #22)
Betsy and/or Kwannon X-Plains Betsy and/or Kwannon. (X-Men #22)
“As completely as I understand what happens when two people like each other very much.” (X-Men #23)
And so forth. (X-Men #23)
And you thought that conversations with YOUR grandparents were awkward. (X-Men #22)
The creepiest thing about Sinister is the moments of profound disconnect when it’s clearly Sinister, but everyone reacts to him like he’s just a regular dude. (X-Men #22)
In which Scott Summers continues to never under any circumstances be allowed to take an actual vacation. (X-Men #22)
Seriously. (X-Men #23)
Heralding several decades of nonsense. (X-Men #23)
NEXT EPISODE: Dracula, live at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival!

LINKS & FURTHER SORROWS

222 – A Tale of Two Betsys

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

In which it has been a pretty intense month; there is a lot to unpack about Psylocke; we are confused by hip teen lingo; Cyclops definitively lacks game; organized crime is anything but; and the mystery of the third Summers brother officially begins.

X-PLAINED:

  • How the Maximoffs joined the Avengers
  • X-Cutioner’s Song fallout
  • An X-ceptionally convoluted set of retcons
  • X-Men #20-23
  • How not to repair an airplane
  • One way to get out of an awkward conversation
  • Several Betsys Braddock
  • Revanche
  • Dubiously organized crime
  • Kwannon
  • Nyorin’s diary
  • Awkward family conversations
  • Mike Milbury
  • Twin Peaks Season 3
  • Akira Yoshida

NEXT EPISODE: Dracula in Vegas!

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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 221 – Better Than LEGO

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Listen to the podcast here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!
Bella, as seen on FaceTime between rounds of headbutting the phone.
The late, great, immensely fluffy Buzz Lightyear.
What, you thought this whole thing was just gonna be photos of cats? (Sorry) (X-Force #20)
Whoops. (X-Force #20)
That hair, though! Why, Shatterstar? WHY? (X-Force #20)
Those spacesuits look incredibly cumbersome. (X-Force #20)
You never forget your favorite ship. (X-Force #20)
That is a GREAT use of a spread. (X-Force #20)
X-Force really only has the one setting. (X-Force #21)
Aw. AW. (X-Force #21)
AWWWWWWWWW (X-Force #21)
“THE TEETH COMMAND IT!” (X-Force #21)
And that’s why you always leave a note. (X-Force #21)
“The guns were inside you all along!” (X-Force #22)
Well, then. (X-Force #22)
But he looks so happy about it! (X-Force #22)
I was gonna make a callback to that one tangent about how Cable probably carries a bunch of tampons because they are useful and he seems like the kind of dude who has a good attitude about menstruation, but it seemed too forced. (X-Force #22)
This is both excessive and silly, Gideon. (X-Force #22)
“Am I forever damned to eat crackers sideways?!” (X-Force #23)
Look at him! He’s just propped up in the corner! (X-Force #23)
OH, SNAP! (X-Force #23)
I’m still kind of peeved that this isn’t spelled out in Sam’s accent. It just feels wrong like this. (X-Force #23)
NEXT EPISODE: Psylocke vs. Revanche!

LINKS & FURTHER MONSTROSITIES:

221 – Better Than LEGO

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

In which Miles stops worrying and learns to love X-Force; you should absolutely not google the phrase “face jam”; the kids take a field trip to Graymalkin; Jay reverse-engineers Shatterstar’s hair; Donald Pierce gets a new job; Sam Guthrie is the most trustworthy man in the Marvel Universe; Cable is your guns grandma; Professor earns its name; X-Force really only has one setting; and not every Sluggo is lit.

X-PLAINED:

  • A bunch of stuff Quicksilver did
  • Several cats
  • X-Force #20-23
  • The Externals (more) (again)
  • A deeply unlikely hairstyle
  • Graymalkin / Ship / Professor
  • A somewhat one-sided reunion
  • Yahoos
  • Inaccurate arithmetic
  • Why Feral sounds like that
  • Neither Tom, Dick, nor Harry
  • War Machine (James Rhodes)
  • Salvage
  • Sam Guthrie’s long trail of dead father figures
  • Shatterstar
  • How to fight an External
  • The seventh plague
  • What Domino’s been up to
  • Hammer’s mom
  • Tigerstryke (more) (again)
  • Sluggo (but not that Sluggo)
  • Learning to appreciate the ’90s

NEXT EPISODE: Psylocke Vs. Revanche!

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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)