Erik Lehnsherr – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 491 – Live from the Library

June 22, 2025 Jay One comment

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LINKS & FURTHER READING

Go read “Kitty Queer,” by Sigrid Ellis.
Done? Great. Next, read “The Judgment of Magneto,” by Asher Elbein.
If you’re looking for a jumping-on point to this podcast, you could do worse than the Age of Apocalypse.
Jay has some additional thoughts on identity politics, which you can read here.

491 – Live from the Library

June 22, 2025 Jay 6 comments

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In which we record live from the Library of Congress; time travel complicates everything; X-Men is a fundamentally queer narrative; we attempt to summarize a lot of history very fast; and when identities are politicized, claiming them becomes a political act.

X-PLAINED:

LC-GLOBE
The first openly queer X-Man
Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men
Why we do what we do
Why the X-Men are worth studying
Returning nuance to critical discussion of media
A brief(ish) history of X-Men and queerness in X-Men
Iceman Watch
Retroactive foreshadowing
The mutant metaphor
Found family
Subtext
Text
Facets of mutant activism
Coming-out stories
Various vectors of diversity
Some comics Jay wrote
Comics in libraries
Where to start with Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men
X-Men for horror fans
Our favorite X-Men lineups
Identity politics
The T-O virus vs. the Legacy Virus

NEXT EPISODE: Brain Sharks!

This episode doesn’t exactly have a traditional visual companion, but you can click through the entire slide deck from the live show–and find links to the essays we mentioned–on our blog.

Jay has some additional thoughts on identity politics, which you can read here.

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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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488 – There Goes the Moon (Mutant X May, Part 3)

May 25, 2025 Jay 5 comments

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In which we reap the consequences of our choices; possession is 18/10 of the law; Sinister dresses for the occasion; Hank gets his groove back; Havok of Earth-1298 is a jerk; Hank loses his groove; Captain America blows up the moon; the Beyonder experiences a stirring; Dracula makes a deal; and Mutant X May comes to an end.

X-PLAINED:

The aftermath of Mutant X
Mutant X #19-32
Mutant X Annual 2001
The story so far
Character color coding
Some telepathic misdirection
Apocalypse of Earth-1298
Charles Xavier of Earth-1298
Professor X’s Juggernaut-fightin’ mullet
A whole lot of possession
Fake Galactus
Several fears
X-Man of Earth-1298
Child batteries
The worst place for a portal to the Negative Zone
How Hank McCoy became the Brute
Vampire problems
The Marauders of Earth-1298
The Outcasts of Earth-1298
Cloak & Dagger of Earth-1298
James Hudson of Earth-1298
The Avengers of Earth-1298
The Beyonder of Earth-1298 who is also kind of the Goblin Force
Several additional superheroes
A last stand
The appeal of alternate timelines
Earth-1298’s best glow-ups

NEXT EPISODE: Attack of the Meatspore Stormtroopers!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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 Dashery shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 479 – Nancy Drew and the Secret of Carrion Cove

March 4, 2025 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Jay’s not wrong that the buildings look like giant dildos… but at least they look like fancy dildos! (Magneto: Dark Seduction #1)

Starring: a bunch of fashionable jerks, mostly! (Magneto: Dark Seduction #1)

Not a good look when your cops look just like the cops who used to oppress you… (Magneto: Dark Seduction #1)

Magneto: Master of Magnetism and Monologues! (Magneto: Dark Seduction #1)

okay but what about the chest-skull (Magneto: Dark Seduction #1)

That floaty platform has a heated floor, blind spot monitoring, and built-in GPS. (Magneto: Dark Seduction #2)

For all your chat reaction needs! (Magneto: Dark Seduction #2)

These here comical books are lookin’ pretty comical-booky. (Magneto: Dark Seduction #2)

Magneto talks to… someone! (Magneto: Dark Seduction #2)

We just like this cover. (Magneto: Dark Seduction #3)

Everybody fights everybody! (Magneto: Dark Seduction #3)

In which dust illustrates speed and impact! (Magneto: Dark Seduction #3)

It’s like the portrait-instead-of-landscape version of widescreen storytelling! (Magneto: Dark Seduction #3)

Father of the year. (Magneto: Dark Seduction #3)

To her credit, she does have all the Kirby Krackle. (Magneto: Dark Seduction #4)

Because Mister Sinister is the hidden force behind literally everything. (Magneto: Dark Seduction #4)

Rest in Ponytail, Fabian Cortez. (Magneto: Dark Seduction #4)

“Time to conceive some other on-again, off-again offspring who suck less.” (Magneto: Dark Seduction #4)

NEXT TIME: X-Man!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING

That thing about the cooking show and spreader bars and Namor that Jay was talking about
Information and pencils from Chris Claremont and Rick Leonardi’s canceled Phoenix miniseries

479 – Nancy Drew and the Secret of Carrion Cove

March 4, 2025 Miles 10 comments

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In which Genosha gets better and/or worse; Fabian Cortez is the Secretary of Betrayal; having an action figure of yourself is the path to immortality; and Hammer Bay sounds like a sex toy company.

X-PLAINED:

Triathlon
The Revolution relaunch and the six-month gap
Magneto: Dark Seduction #1-4
Erotic skyscrapers
Magneto (again) (forever)
X-Men Tijuana Bibles
The Genoshan Cabinet
Dark friendship with benefits
Polaris’s newfound interest in heavy metal
Magneto’s on-again, off-again children
Carrion Cove
Coloring symbolism and/or errors
Spat and Grovel (kind of)
Magneto’s ancestral f**k-ghost
Socialism!
Magneto’s mysterious mind-voice
Neal Conan
The Avengers of 2000
Kirby Krackle
Magneto’s smooth arc into villainy
Bonking
Human nature
Rachel Summers in the Body Shoppe
Our (lack of) coverage of solo comics

NEXT EPISODE: X-Man!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog.

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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 Dashery shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 478 – The Monologue Tube

February 23, 2025 Miles 3 comments

Listen to the episode here.

Alan Davis protests the death of Cyclops. (From this link)

X-teams, past to present. (At least the ones who still had comics in 2000.) (Uncanny X-Men #379)

Well, at least this time he’s leaving with someone other than those five motorcycle guys who could turn into a sixth motorcycle guy. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

It really, really isn’t. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

“…why do you call yourself X-Man, anyway?” (Uncanny X-Men #379)

Suddenly, the plot! (Uncanny X-Men #379)

“Sacre blue, non! Our elf ears!” (Uncanny X-Men #379)

“you guys i am so mad right now you have no idea” (Uncanny X-Men #379)

Toad, did you just… have that mirror with you? (Uncanny X-Men #379)

Just a really good cover. (X-Force #101)

That pacing, though. (X-Force #101)

Aww man. (X-Force #101)

We’ve all been there, kid. Well, maybe not exactly there, but like… metaphorically. (X-Force #101)

Meltdown counsels a sad child in a comic by Joseph Harris, part 2. (X-Force #101)

Doctor Wily, is that you? (X-Men #99)

“You wanna play paintball with us?” (X-Men #99)

How does a costume that looks so good when you’re blue look so silly when you’re not? (X-Men #99)

I’m not so sure about this Storm-and-Marrow-as-camp-counselors subplot, but I do love me some soap opera. (X-Men #99)

Businesspeople and bikers: the two genders. (X-Men #99)

Tentacle-guys, demons, and hulks: the three genders. (X-Men #99)

Mystique really misses that lamp. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

Logan may be dying, but his eyebrows are very impressive right now. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

“Plus, they charged us like thirty bucks just to bring a carry-on!” (Uncanny X-Men #380)

The S stands for Sexy. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

We’ve all had that dream, Blob. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

Bye, Alan Davis! It’s been weird but pretty fun! (Uncanny X-Men #380)

NEXT TIME: Magneto versus everybody.

478 – The Monologue Tube

February 23, 2025 Miles 6 comments

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In which Alan Davis is Team Cyclops; everyone gets depowered; it’s hard to connect with kids your age when you’re a superhero; Sinister’s gotta sinister; everyone gets repowered; and the ‘90s were much more eclectic than they get credit for being.

X-PLAINED:

Side effects of Decimation
Uncanny X-Men #379-380
X-Force #101
X-Men #99
Cadre K
Summers family drama
The High Evolutionary (more) (again)
The (other) time all the mutants got depowered
Kevin
A very beautiful book
The ongoing mess of Genoshan politics
The Neo (slightly)
To what extent Logan’s claws are a mutant power
Sinister monologues
Herbert Evolutionary
The New New Men
The ‘90s, in general
What makes a Morlock

NEXT EPISODE: Magneto: Dark Seduction!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog.

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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!

As Mentioned in Episode 477 – Ages of Apocalypse

February 21, 2025 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Jean Grey sums up this podcast. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

No smoking in the Skull Cave. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

“Was this outfit a mistake? I’m worried this outfit was a mistake.” (Uncanny X-Men #379)

“This outfit was definitely not a mistake, sugah.” (Uncanny X-Men #379)

To be fair, not her worst costume. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

Remember this for the next four chapters! ‘Cause the writers won’t. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

Don’t bring a sword to a gun- and/or Psimitar-fight. (Cable #77)

We learned that a horse helmet is called a chanfron, sometimes spelled shaffron, and that Magneto’s horse has the greatest one of all time. (Cable #77)

The literal power behind the throne. (Cable #77)

*cries in alternate timeline* (Cable #77)

We never get sick of that coloring technique. (Cable #77)

*record scratch* “You’re probably wondering how I got here…” (Wolverine #148)

“Logan, you know perfectly well that skeletons can’t drink, and even asking me is offensive and hurtful.” (Wolverine #148)

Is this issue good? That’s the wrong question. Is this issue fun? Absolutely. (Wolverine #148)

Nate Grey as Onslaught… Could this get any more 90s? (Wolverine #148)

I mean, might be an upgrade at this point. (See also: One World Under Doom, on sale now.) (Wolverine #148)

One of a very large number of excellent Phoenix costume color combinations. (X-Men Unlimited #26)

What’s Siphon’s deal? No one knows! (X-Men Unlimited #26)

Don’t think of it as losing a costume so much as gaining a robo-pterodactyl. (X-Men Unlimited #26)

Hey, it’s Excalibur! Kinda! (X-Men Unlimited #26)

Know why there isn’t sound in space? Because Banshee lost his voice. (X-Men Unlimited #26)

The one we’ve been waiting for! (Uncanny X-Men #380)

That ol’ Alan Davis alchemy. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

I want to read a whole comic about them! (Uncanny X-Men #380)

Utterly charming. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

The Brotherhood of 2099! Between Magneto and Polaris, we have complete shoulder fur-coverage. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

“Everyone, blast your thing at the thing!” (Uncanny X-Men #380)

Comic book structure as comic book storytelling. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

NEXT TIME: All the mutants lose their powers!

477 – Ages of Apocalypse

February 16, 2025 Jay 13 comments

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In which reality shatters; Ghost Rider wants friends; Jay’s toddler weighs in on the X-Men; the Phoenix costume is pretty much perfect; Caliban puts all his resources into an epic mount; and the future is so bright you’re gonna need shades.

X-PLAINED:

The Triune Understanding
Ages of Apocalypse
Uncanny X-Men #378
Cable #77
Wolverine #148
X-Men Unlimited #26
X-Men #98
Earth-23378
Things you can leave to people in a will
The Silver Age, but different
Apocaclops
Aliya Dayspring
Chronological inconsistencies
Earth-2841
The Harpy (Betty Ross)
A very different Fantastic Four
Earth-32000
Siphon
The moon
Zackat (Wolverine) (long story)
Erik the Red (more) (again)
The Ladies Mastermind
Cadre K
Earth-32098
X-World
The prettiest X-Man
The moon’s mutant power

NEXT EPISODE: Powerless!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog.

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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!