Emma Frost – Page 10 – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 56 – Death by Crossover

May 10, 2015 Jay 10 comments

Listen to the podcast here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 5/17/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

Bobby makes some valid points. (New Mutants #36)

Remember being fourteen? (And also a mutant superhero?) (New Mutants #36)

Damnit, Beyonder. (New Mutants #36)

Hey, look! It’s a literal derailment in the middle of a metaphorical derailment! (New Mutants #36)

Don’t you hate it when your best friend’s soul gets split by a cosmic force and suddenly you’re stuck with her eldritch armor, weapon, and amulet, when all you really wanted was a library book? Yeah, us, too. (New Mutants #36)

Not even being brainwashed and absorbed into a cosmic hive-mind can come between Cannonball and his classic science fiction allusions. (New Mutants #36)

Aw, Illyana. (New Mutants #36)

This cover = Rachel’s definitive Beyonder. (New Mutants #37)

The New Mutants have the best incidental moments by a wide margin. (New Mutants #37)

Seriously: WHO THE HELL IS THAT ABOVE RAHNE? (New Mutants #37)

Relevant metaphor is relevant. (New Mutants #37)

THE BEYONDER IS A DICK. (New Mutants #37)

THAT IS NO EXCUSE. (New Mutants #37)

The Beyonder comes off as a petulant child in a lot of Secret Wars, but in New Mutants, he’s legitimately terrifying. (New Mutants #37)

Headcanon: In Marvel Asgard, there is at least one legit full-length saga about this storyline, focused on Dani. (New Mutants #37)

This cover. This scene. This series. (New Mutants #38)

Of all the scenes in all the issues of New Mutants, NONE has ever stuck with Rachel as hard as this one. (New Mutants #38)

Aw, kids. (New Mutants #38)

YES (New Mutants #38)

Is there a better pep talk than a pep talk from FROG THOR? We think not. (New Mutants #38)

Warlock, you delightful scamp! (New Mutants #38)

Empath is the worst ever forever. (New Mutants #38)

That “Next Issue” blurb, tho. (New Mutants #38)

Another memorable cover. (New Mutants #39)

Aw, man. (New Mutants #39)

Sadneto. (New Mutants #39)

Keith Pollard’s Emma is so good. (New Mutants #39)

It just DOES NOT STOP SUCKING to be Tom and Sharon. (New Mutants #39)

Madneto! (New Mutants #39)

Emma Frost, you sneaky person! (New Mutants #39)

WARLOCK IS THE BLACKBIRD. YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID. (New Mutants #40)

Magneto is trying so hard to be the man he promised Xavier he’d be. Poor guy. (New Mutants #40)

Really, Cap? Really? You gonna go there? (New Mutants #40)

Teacher Magneto might be the best Magneto. Definitely one of the most critically unremembered and underused. (New Mutants #40)

Aw, New Mutants. (New Mutants #40)

The perfect Emma Frost moment. (New Mutants #40)

Next Week: Angel in tiny briefs (more) (again), too much Tower, and the dubious debut of Apocalypse!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

Yaybo! Marvel Unlimited added New Mutants #36-40 just in time for this episode (starting here)!
In terms of formative influence, Kyle Baker’s Why I Hate Saturn was basically Rachel’s third parent.

56 – Death by Crossover

May 10, 2015 Jay 23 comments

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In which nothing comes between Sam Guthrie and his classic sci-fi allusions; Sunspot tries; the Beyonder is really scary; you can have Danielle Moonstar’s agency when you pry it from her cold, dead hands; Empath remains the worst kid; Tom Corsi and Sharon Friedlander just cannot catch a break; Emma Frost gets nuanced; Magneto does the wrong things for the right reasons; Rachel and Miles like liking things; and we finally wrap up Secret Wars II.

X-PLAINED:

Soulsword custody
New Mutants #36-40
The best Secret Wars II tie-in
Several Beyonder-triggered crises of confidence
A literal derailment in the midst of a metaphorical derailment
The Greek tragedy of Illyana Rasputin
Personal personifications of death
Counting coup
The death of the New Mutants
Crossover-related PTSD
A pep talk from a frog
Art style as a component of narrative
The Hellions (again)
Sadneto
Madneto
A completely avoidable fight
Rachel’s definitive Emma Frost moment
Emma Frost, Charles Xavier, and moral culpability

NEXT WEEK: The dubious debut of Apocalypse!

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

Abs Mentioned in Episode 51 – The X-Istentialists, Featuring Kris Anka, Marguerite Bennett, Kieron Gillen, and Peter Nguyen

April 6, 2015 Jay 7 comments

Listen to the episode here!

For the record: I am not even a little bit sorry. -Rachel

Art by David Wynne. We’re not selling prints of this one, but you can still hit David up for the original!

Many thanks to Kris Anka, Marguerite Bennett, Kieron Gillen, and Peter Nguyen! (I have no idea why this photo keeps displaying upside down, but at this point, I’m just gonna keep running with it.)

NEXT WEEK: Rachel and Miles Recap 51 episodes in under an hour.

LINKS:

KRIS ANKA
MARGUERITE BENNETT
- Twitter
- Tumblr
KIERON GILLEN
- Twitter
- Tumblr
PETER NGUYEN
- Twitter
- Tumblr
Emerald City Comicon (our favorite convention, forever)
The other (first) Wes Anderson’s X-Men (Mash-up zeitgeist high-five to the movie trailer, which we also enjoyed a lot!)

Special thanks to Elle Collins for the last-minute abs-sist.

51 – The X-Istentialists, Featuring Kris Anka, Marguerite Bennett, Kieron Gillen, and Peter Nguyen

April 6, 2015 Jay 14 comments

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In which Rachel and Miles go to Emerald City Comicon; six people try to share one microphone with varying success; you will never love anything as much as Kris loves Broo; Marguerite may or may not be a time-traveling supervillain; Peter is Laser Guy; Kieron joins an X-team; Hell is other X-Men; everyone lies egregiously; and it all comes back to Namor’s abs.

Special thanks to Jean, who let us borrow her mic and pop filter at the very last second when we realized we’d left ours in Portland! <3

X-PLAINED:

Namor’s last name
Several Secret Wars titles
Wiz Kid
Favorite characters
Lady Deathstrike’s new look
Seanan McGuire’s cats
Machetes of Future Past
Emily Aster
Asteroid P
Secret origins
Points of entry
Headcanon
The Wolverine and the X-Men Season 2 that might have been
The pros and cons of an isolated X-universe
The X-Istentialists
Hela’s Angels
Namor’s abs
What defines the X-Men
Mr. Sinister
Our X-movie wish lists
Wes Anderson’s X-Men (both of them)

NEXT WEEK: Previously on Rachel & Miles X-Plain the X-Men…

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Help us keep making cool stuff on Patreon!

We’re not selling prints of this week’s illustration, but you can still contact David Wynne to inquire after the original!

As Mentioned in Episode 42 – A Firestar Is Born

February 1, 2015 Jay 12 comments

Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 2/1/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (but not in that order).

Context is irrelevant. (Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends)

“John, dude, can we talk about the fact that you just turned into a fucking bear? No? Okay.” Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

“It means you’ll be hated and feared! Isn’t that wonderful?” (Firestar #1)

“Professor, is it true what they say about exposition in X-books?” (Firestar #1)

Wait ’til they find out she hasn’t even read Carlyle! (Firestar #1)

Oh. Angelica. Honey. No. (Firestar #1)

I’m pretty sure there’s a Talking Heads music video that starts exactly like this. (Firestar #1)

DON’T TRUST HER, ANGELICA! SHE’LL BLOW UP YOUR HORSE! (Firestar #1)

This horse’s name is Butter Rum. Don’t get too attached. (Firestar #2)

The Emma Frost who actually cares about her students did not make her first appearance until some years later. This Emma Frost is just an unapologetic monster. (Firestar #2)

Emma Frost is the best evil narrator. (Firestar #2)

“What could POSSIBLY go wrong?” (Firestar #2)

Miles ‘ships it SO hard. (Firestar #2)

That horror-movie WHINNEY! in the last panel, though. (Firestar #2)

Remember that time Emma Frost convinced a vulnerable teenage girl that she had killed her beloved horse by becoming sexually aroused? BECAUSE THAT DEFINITELY HAPPENED. (Firestar #2)

“What? This? Oh, no, I build killer robots of ALL my friends.” (Firestar #3)

AHAHAHA OH RANDALL YOU’RE SO DOOMED (Firestar #3)

Firestar X-Plains X-Men #193. (Firestar #3)

Seriously, I’m pretty sure Angelica’s dad being kind of a dick to her is the only thing that saves him from CERTAIN DOOM. (Firestar #3)

(He feels bad about it, though, so he still gets beaten up in the airport.) (Firestar #3)

Why does she throw her drink? We may never know. (Firestar #3)

And then she just straight-up breaks into “Stars” from Les Mis. (Firestar #4)

So sinister! (Firestar #4)

And that’s the end of Randall. (Firestar #4)

Fight scene, or breakin’ it down on the dance floor? YOU BE THE JUDGE! (Firestar #4)

For full effect, you have to imagine Firestar’s dialogue read by Alison Brie as Annie Edison. (Firestar #4)

Next Week: ~~Secret Wars~~ Why we drink.

42 – A Firestar Is Born

February 1, 2015 Jay 42 comments

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In which Miles has a brush with nostalgia; Angelica Jones is secretly a Thomas Hardy protagonist; it doesn’t need to make sense if it’s awesome; and Emma Frost really needs a mustache to twirl.

X-Plained:

Trevor Fitzroy
Firestar (Angelica Jones)
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Nostalgia
X-Men, if sometimes the main characters were bears
Inexplicably Australian Wolverine
Ms. Lion
Marvel Divas
Sudsy fun
Superhero sitcoms
Firestar #1-4
Basic palmistry
Generic mean girls
Coen Brothers YA
The reinvention of Emma Frost
Some epic gaslighting
Butter Rum
Mutivac
Miles’s favorite star-crossed ‘ship
Why Thunderbird I has stayed dead
Contextual definitions of “organic”

NEXT WEEK: Secret Wars

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Support us on Patreon!

Buy prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

As Mentioned in Episode 30 – New-Wave Superteens in Love

November 9, 2014 Jay 3 comments

Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne

Rahne has a Kaylee moment. (New Mutants #7)

SO THAT HAPPENED. (New Mutants #7)

W.W.M.P.I.D.? (New Mutants #7)

Just in case you’ve forgotten, Team America is–inexplicably–still around. (New Mutants #8)

“Not only did I spill my soul to you thinking you didn’t speak English, but it turned out your outfit was also really fucking racist. THANKS, AMARA.” (New Mutants #8)

Well, then. (New Mutants #10)

You do you, Selene. (New Mutants #10)

Magma’s best superpower is her op-art form. (New Mutants #11)

Remember the time the New Mutants straight-up murdered someone? Because that happened. (New Mutants #11)

This better be a Magnum, P.I. reference. (New Mutants #12)

Meanwhile at Project Wideawake, things are not going quote as planned. (New Mutants #13)

Somewhere in the multiverse, there’s a universe that’s exactly like Earth 616 in every way except that Kitty and Doug’s code names are Acid Burn and Zero Cool. (New Mutants #13)

Return of Those Kids at the Mall. (New Mutants #14)

X-MEN! (New Mutants #14)

Have we mentioned that we love Emma Frost? We love Emma Frost. Also: Kitty’s got a new costume. Drink! (New Mutants #16)

“This is even more awkward than the time we walked in on Bobby telling a photo of Magnum, P.I. that he wished he was his real dad.” (New Mutants #16)

Sam Guthrie: Best Kid, or Best Kid? Best Kid. (New Mutants #16)

Amara Aquilla: Horta. (New Mutants #16)

Are the Hellions evil, or just kinda New-Wave? You be the judge! (New Mutants #17)

We cannot overemphasize the extent to which New Mutants is a school drama at this point. (New Mutants #17)

MAGNUM, P.I.! (New Mutants #17)

They may be evil, but they’re not wrong. (New Mutants #17)

We passed your stealth and plainclothes cosplay contest entries along to X-Pert Judge Kris Anka, and he sent us back two winners: Congratulaions to lilpeepeedanceofdoom as plainclothes Gold Balls (you can read more about his costume here), and Elle as stealth Excalibur-era Shadowcat! (We’ll be getting in touch with you shortly with prize details!) Thanks again to contest sponsor TV Store Online, and judge Kris Anka–and be sure to swing by the blog early next week to see a roundup of all the amazing finalists!

Next week: Chekhov’s Raygun, time travel, and tiny shorts!

Links and Further Reading:

30 – New-Wave Superteens in Love

November 9, 2014 Jay 16 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which the New Mutants are the Bobbsey Twins to the X-Men’s Sam Spade; Nina da Costa is Ms. Frizzle; New Mutants does a Rachel-and-Miles cold open; Selene is the Elizabeth Bathory of lava; Rahne likes Sam, Sam likes Amara, Dani likes Bobby, and Bobby likes everyone; Gil and Art are no Harvey and Janet; Miles has a Del Preston moment, Magma is a Horta; and if something super happens, you should tell a super adult.

X-Plained:

Selene
Externals
New Mutants #7-17
The da Costa family
Axe
Some really dubious cosmetic choices
Nova Roma
Amara Aquilla (Magma)
Op-art as a superpower
Doug Ramsey’s hair
The Massachusetts Academy
New-Wave Superteens
Deflection
The Hellions
Not-Particularly-Secret Origins of the Hellfire Club
Publishing schedules

Next Week: Lifedeath, time travel, and Forge’s tiny shorts.

You can find a visual companion to the episode – as well as links to recommended reading and the winners of the stealth / plainclothes cosplay contest – on our blog.

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Support us on Patreon!

Halloween X

November 3, 2014 Jay 17 comments

We’ve been talking up the Stealth/Plainclothes cosplay contest a lot lately (reminder: deadline is Friday, November 7!), but right in the middle of that came Halloween–and our listeners turned out in some stellar X-wear. Check it out:

If you’re playing along with the Kitty’s Costumes game, take a drink: Meghan Ansbach made Kitty’s one-off costume from Uncanny X-Men #175!

Everything fell into place for Elle Collins‘s Domino costume! (If the name sounds familiar, we’ve mentioned Elle here before–she hosts the kickass pop-culture-obsession podcast Into It.)

PenceyPreparatory makes a marvelous Marvel Girl!

Donna Danger is the first post-Phoenix Emma Frost we’ve seen!

Genkigecko makes her way into the multiverse, as Wolverine of Earth-92124!

The McPherson family of Ohio sent us this photo of what we are objectively certain is the cutest Dark Phoenix of this or any other universe.

This costume–from listener Andrew Joyce–is from a con, not Halloween; but we’re including it anyway, because it’s the hands-down best use of a Probably a Summers Brother t-shirt we have ever seen (and puts a whole new spin on Rob Marsh‘s legendary “Wolverine Meets Freddie Mercury” Marvel submission).