454 – X-Men ’97, Part 2

June 30, 2024 Miles 13 comments

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SPOILER WARNING: ALL OF THEM, NONSTOP

In which Barry Windsor-Smith is too sexy for television; we know what happens when unstable molecules get struck by lightning; X-Men gets political and does it spectacularly; this Captain America would not sew the cape; Magneto continues to throw things into space; and they kissed and we missed it.

X-PLAINED:

Fabian Cortez’s name
X-Men ’97 episodes 6-10
Lifedeath I & II: a surprising adaptation
Varying levels of going in blind
A somewhat different and possibly better Forge
The Adversary vs. the Owl Queen
Stormiest and least-Stormy costumes
Professor Charles Xavier, Official Space Boyfriend
Colonialism vs. Identity
Delayed catharsis
The narrative power of altered opening credits
What makes allyship effective (and not)
Justified mutant anger
The worst version of Nina DaCosta
What makes Prime Sentinels scary
Summers family feels
The best damned fight scenes out there
Bastion, robo-avatar of conservative white patriarchy
Simultaneous crossovers
A psychic gay bar
A last boss arena
Acolyte equivalencies
Phoenix Ex Machina
Crying
Whether Magneto was right
Apoca-futures and Apoca-pasts
A bulletin board and our hopes for its contents
Soft Serve
Kitty Pryde’s coffee shop AU
X-Men ’97 as the perfect gateway

NEXT EPISODE: Skrulls!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

The Judgment of Magneto by Asher Elbein

No visual companion this week!

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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 449 – Dressing the X-Men, with Russell Dauterman

May 12, 2024 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here!

The Marvel Art of Russell Dauterman!

Storm’s X-Men Red design.

The Scarlet Witch’s new design.

Nightcrawler’s original design by Dave Cockrum.

Hellfire Gala redesigns!

And some close-ups.

Jean Grey costume variant cover for X-Men #1.

Rogue costume variant cover for Excalibur #18.

Gambit costume variant cover for Gambit #5.

Thor costume variant cover for Thor #31.

Speaking of Thor – Russell’s wraparound cover for The Mighty Thor #1.

More covers! Here’s Marauders #1.

Scarlet Witch #3.

Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey & Emma Frost #1.

Variant cover, X-Men Legends #1.

Variant cover, X-Men ’97 #1.

NEXT EPISODE: Jay & Miles live at the Clinton Street Theater!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING

You still have a few days to be part of The Marvel Art of Russell Dauterman Kickstarter campaign!
Hear Russell and Kris Anka talk Adam X and more on Episode 27 – NYCC 2014 Special!
Russell’s website!
Russell on Instagram!

449 – Dressing the X-Men, with Russell Dauterman

May 12, 2024 Jay 6 comments

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In which artist Russell Dauterman joins us to discuss super-powered costume design!

X-PLAINED:

Why it’s important to get a professional to design your superhero costume
Why Miles doesn’t trust the government
Russell’s history at Marvel
Designing for the Hellfire Gala
Mutant fashion
The word “fashionize”
Iconic looks
Modernizing superhero costumes
Powers vs. personality
Punk goddess Storm
Designing for drawability
Magic hair
Russell’s influences
Definitive Rogue costumes
X-Men ‘97
Best X-team costumes
Jay’s holy grail cosplay
Magic hair, cosplayed
Costume retrospectives
Where to find Russell online
Evil twin trends of the 1990s
Fuck You Pink

NEXT EPISODE: Jay & Miles Live at the Clinton Street Theater!

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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 434 – Return to Cape Citadel

December 31, 2023 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Happy anniversary! Have a brand-new team! (Uncanny X-Men #360)

The first of a number of Giant-Size X-Men #1-style origin stories. (Uncanny X-Men #360)

In which the long-absent Excalibur mutants remind us of the first team they were all on. (Uncanny X-Men #360)

The All-New, Slightly-Off X-Men attack! (Uncanny X-Men #360)

Meanwhile: all that’s left of the X-Men. Err, the most recent team of X-Men. Not the returning ones. Or the fake ones. Look, there are a lot of different X-Men in this issue, okay? (Uncanny X-Men #360)

Hey, looks like Thomas Wolfe was wrong! (Uncanny X-Men #360)

Who needs panel borders when you’ve got layouts like this? (Uncanny X-Men #360)

Hey, it’s like the last issue’s cover – but with actual X-Men! (X-Men #80)

Comics’ greatest superhero soap opera. (X-Men #80)

Gotta admit, this is not Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau’s greatest showing. (X-Men #80)

A lot’s changed since you’ve been gone, Pete. (X-Men #80)

*raised heavy metal horns accompany a single heavy metal tear* (X-Men #80)

They’ve been back together for only a few hours and are already dramatically posing like champs! (X-Men #80)

“Hey, that’s not Professor X! He has a… you know!” (X-Men #80)

…rocket? (X-Men #80)

More couples’ therapy should include fastball specials. (X-Men #80)

I mean, I know they were kinda jerks, but… jeez! (X-Men #80)

NEXT EPISODE: Our tenth annual Giant-Size Winter Special!

434 – Return to Cape Citadel

December 17, 2023 Jay 13 comments

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In which the X-Men turn 35; we pause to celebrate the death of Henry Kissinger; Jay is a space nerd; Marrow hang-dries her delicates; space shuttles are not rockets; the band gets back together; and the Danger Room isn’t the first piece of X-tech to get sentience and a robot body.

X-PLAINED

How Excalibur got a Blackbird
Uncanny X-Men #360
X-Men #80
Many callbacks
The Benassi Rocket
The Cassini Probe
The All-New, Slightly Off X-Men
The Grey King (Addison Falk)
Chaos and/or Xhaos (Dan Dash)
Mercury
Rapture (Sister Joy)
Crux (Cristal Lemiuex)
Landslide (Lee Broder)
The Founder
Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau (again)
The Mutant Defense Net
Heroic narration
Lack of spacefaring continuity
Friendship
Technology
Costumes
All-New All-Different Dungeons & Dragons

NEXT EPISODE: GIANT-SIZE WINTER SPECIAL #10

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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 417 – Pterodactyl with a Gun

July 23, 2023 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the podcast here.

Rogue anxiety dreams like nobody’s business. (Uncanny X-Men #353)

We call this move the “Lois Lane.” (Uncanny X-Men #353)

I love it when people remember that the Xavier School is–at least ostensibly–a real school. (Uncanny X-Men #353)

WOLVERINE, WHAT THE HELL?!? (Uncanny X-Men #353)

Not the best place to hide incredibly sensitive mechanical equipment, y’all. (Uncanny X-Men #353)

This is supposed to be a clever bait-and-switch, but that hand is fairly obviously not Rogue’s. (Uncanny X-Men #353)

He sure is. (Uncanny X-Men #353)

Valid question, buddy. (Uncanny X-Men #354)

Sauron’s current whereabouts, X-Plained. (Uncanny X-Men #354)

Continued from previous. (Uncanny X-Men #354)

Fuckin’ Marvel Canadians. (Uncanny X-Men #355)

Remember answering machines? (Uncanny X-Men #355)

Yes, excellent. (Uncanny X-Men #355)

Hi, brainwashed Alpha Flight! (Uncanny X-Men #355)

This sequence is objectively perfect. (Uncanny X-Men #355)

Jean, you REALLY don’t spring that costume on someone. (Uncanny X-Men #354)

…Fair, though. (Uncanny X-Men #355)

NEXT EPISODE: this whole mess

417 – Pterodactyl with a Gun

July 16, 2023 Jay 10 comments

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In which you, too, can use Cerebro; Jubilee is here, for some reason; the Xavier School should absolutely not be accredited; Hulk Hands would solve many of Rogue’s problems; Sauron gets a gun; Psylocke pulls a Lois Lane maneuver; you really shouldn’t spring a Phoenix costume on anybody; Joseph has (another) identity crisis; and Canada has problems.

X-PLAINED:

Miles at SDCC
Uncanny X-Men #353-355
X-Men #73
A running motif
Wolverine’s sons
Margaret Stone
“fun”
The location of the original X-jet
A red herring
Sauron (more) (again)
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy… in space!
How to ship a pterodactyl
Mighty appendages
The Agee Institute
Boundaries
Wallpaper
Joseph (more) (again)
New Year’s Resolutions
Sebastian Shaw and his wraith buddy (again)
The X-Men’s answering machine
What Wolverine does
Alpha Flight
Canada problems
A crossover
Phoenix problems
Jean Grey’s ‘90s costume
Found families
What makes the Dark Phoenix Saga an X-Men story

NEXT EPISODE: Reignfire, resolved!

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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 379 – Stardate: Today

July 24, 2022 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

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

FAO Schwarz, allegedly. (Uncanny X-Men #341)

Gladiator is not great at diplomacy. (Uncanny X-Men #341)

I AM SO WORRIED ABOUT THIS POOR MAN AND HIS HORSE (Uncanny X-Men #341)

New Outfits: Trish (Uncanny X-Men #342)

New Outfits: Bishop and Rogue (Uncanny X-Men #342)

New Outfits: Gambit, Joseph, and Beast (Uncanny X-Men #342)

Well, that’s a new look for the Phalanx. (Uncanny X-Men #343)

One for your reaction files. (Uncanny X-Men #343)

Word balloons on the cover are an underrated gimmick. (Uncanny X-Men #344)

Where babies come from! (Uncanny X-Men #344)

NEXT EPISODE: Generation X vs. Black Tom Cassidy!

379 – Stardate: Today

July 17, 2022 Jay 7 comments

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In which what happens in space stays in space; a horse is imperiled; Joseph does some dubious science; Gladiator’s name is absolutely not Gary; everybody gets new costumes; and we learn where babies come from.

X-PLAINED:

Shi’ar taxonomy, sort of
The Shi’ar (again)
The Phalanx (again)
Uncanny X-Men #341-344
A whole bunch of callbacks to X-Men #98
A carriage ride
The Z’noxx chamber (again)
One way to have safer sex
FAO Schwarz
The Shi’ar Imerial Guard (again)
Diplomacy, kind of
Space outfits
Trademarks
Pure Phalanx
Dinosaur Kingdom 2
Where Shi’ar babies come from
Flirting
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vs. Isca the Unbeaten
Characters we would happily voice if invited to do so

NEXT WEEK: Hawk Talk

NEXT EPISODE: Generation X vs. Black Tom Cassidy!

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!