Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

Tag: Legion

As Mentioned in Episode 131 – The Reaver Bunch

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
That cloak! Those Kent Williams inks! (Uncanny X-Men #252)
These are not the foundations of a healthy relationship. (Uncanny X-Men #252)
Ah, yes, the old-fashioned way. With robot dingos. (Uncanny X-Men #252)
Man, Lady Deathstrike is so cool. (Uncanny X-Men #253)
Emergency medicine must be a pretty different field in the Marvel Universe. (Uncanny X-Men #253)
Really? REALLY? (Uncanny X-Men #253)
Never change, Callisto. (Uncanny X-Men #253)
“Wait, what’s this over here? A stack of books. They all say… Complete Handbook of the Marvel Universe?” (Uncanny X-Men #253)
Hope you survive the experience! (Uncanny X-Men #254)
MOIRA THAT IS NOT SAFE LAB WEAR (Uncanny X-Men #254)
Remember that time the Morlocks brought Professor Xavier back from the dead and then dressed him in bondage gear? Good times. (Uncanny X-Men #254)
Well, THAT’S ominous. (Uncanny X-Men #254)
Relationship goals. (Uncanny X-Men #254)
There’s such a thing as trying too hard. (Uncanny X-Men #254)
LOOK AT HIM MUGGING GOOFILY AT THE SECURITY CAMERA (Uncanny X-Men #255)
Aw, man. (Uncanny X-Men #255)
Aw, man. (Uncanny X-Men #255)
NEXT WEEK: Back to Asgard!

131 – The Reaver Bunch

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which Jubilee is the sassiest Xenomorph; Lady Deathstrike is way too good for the Reavers; Wolverine gets a sidekick; Forge arm wrestles the Shadow King; Moira takes a cavalier approach lab safety; Magneto’s motives get kind of reconciled; Legion is a chaos gamer; Mystique and Destiny break our hearts; queer erasure in fiction reflects erasure in life; and the Shadow King is not even a little bit subtle.

X-PLAINED:

  • That one time Donald Pierce pretended to be Cyclops for like a year
  • The post X-Men X-Men
  • What may be our deepest cut yet
  • Uncanny X-Men #252-255
  • Where’s Wolverine?
  • The Reaver Bunch
  • Major-League lumpoids
  • Robot dingoes
  • A prescient vision
  • Trouble at sea
  • Several significant deaths
  • Subtext and queer erasure
  • The key of agony
  • Smile noises
  • Non-mutants we’d team up with the X-Men

NEXT WEEK: Back to Asgard!

You can find a 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

115 – So Many Teeth (feat. Max Carleton)

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which Jay and Max brave the X-Men anime; the problem isn’t in Wolverine’s pants; Xavier is for once less villainous than he seems; Emma Frost gets ruffly; Cyclops wasn’t even supposed to be here today; and we both really want to hang out with Scott Porter.

X-PLAINED:

  • Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd
  • Waiting for the Trade
  • The X-Men Anime
  • Marvel Anime
  • Scott Porter
  • Jay’s ongoing attempts to assemble a coherent X-Men/Speed Racer conspiracy theory
  • Floating Hands Theater Wolverine
  • An unlikely T.A.
  • Several recurring flashbacks
  • The U-Men
  • The other U-Men
  • Armor (Hisako Ichiki)
  • Emma Frost, but ruffly
  • Evil Moira MacTaggert (Yui Sasaki)
  • The Sasaki Institute
  • The other Inner Circle
  • Marsh
  • Rat
  • Neuron
  • Takeo Sasaki
  • Potluck night at the Hellfire Club
  • Living vs. dead Jean Grey

NEXT EPISODE: Jubilee!

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

Find us on iTunes, Google Play, 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

As Mentioned in Episode 61 – Even Horses

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 6/21/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.
So much love for this cover. (New Mutants #41)
Danielle Moonstar on cultural identity. (New Mutants #41)
I guess when you’ve spent ten years trapped in a demon bear, it’s easier to take things like flying horses in stride. (New Mutants #41)
“Ill wind.” Who even says that? (New Mutants #41)
SPOILER: This does not end well. (New Mutants #41)
Yeah, I can see how that might put a crimp into a friendship. (New Mutants #41)
Oof. (New Mutants #41)
How badass is Dani? BADASS ENOUGH TO SHOUT DOWN DEATH. (New Mutants #41)
On the list of iconic showdowns of New Mutants, this one will always be near the top. (New Mutants #41)
A very different brush with death. (New Mutants #41)
There’s a lot going on here, but the best part is that Lila is wearing a Lila t-shirt. (New Mutants #42)
AW, SAM. (New Mutants #42)
Headcanon: Sam never has any idea what his mom’s going to look like when he gets home. (New Mutants #42)
In Joshua’s defense, his fears will turn out to have been ENTIRELY JUSTIFIED. (New Mutants #42)
Damnit, Sam. (New Mutants #42)
Later, he’ll sprout wings, but we try not to talk about that story. (New Mutants #42)
Lila goes and changes, but seriously, how great is this look? SO GREAT, RIGHT? (New Mutants #42)
This does not seem like safe behavior around an aircraft in flight. (New Mutants #43)
In which Sunspot does his best Miles. (New Mutants #43)
Aw, they’re so happy. About revenge. (New Mutants #43)
In the New Mutants’ defense, Empath is in fact the literal worst. (New Mutants #43)
Have I mentioned recently how goddamn underrated Doug Ramsey is? Doug Ramsey is so goddamn underrated. (New Mutants #43)
Moment of silence for Dani’s super awesome Kyle Baker-inked hair. (New Mutants #44)
Illyana’s door signs are pretty priceless. (New Mutants #44)
Friendship! (New Mutants #44)
Kinda love the team reaction shot going on here. (New Mutants #44)
If Reverend Craig were an ice cream flavor, he’d be Presbyterianism and dick. (New Mutants #44)
Changing in a parking lot on the way to a school dance is about as New Mutants as it gets. (New Mutants #45)
Our first introduction to Larry Bodine. (New Mutants #45)
They’re talking about two entirely different things, but only one of them realizes it. (New Mutants #45)
THESE jerks. (New Mutants #45)
X-Factor keeps popping up as the off-screen bogeyman in other titles. (New Mutants #45)
Oh, Larry, no. (New Mutants #45)
(New Mutants #45)
Warlock trying to understand death is pretty much always the saddest thing. (New Mutants #45)
Aw, Kitty. (New Mutants #45)
Aw, everyone. (New Mutants #45)
Trivia: This scene has been referenced in a number of flashbacks, but it’s almost always misidentified as Doug Ramsey’s funeral. (New Mutants #45)
It’s really remarkable how consistent the evolution of Kitty’s feelings about identity politics has been, from here, through Mekanix, and into All-New X-Men. (New Mutants #45)
Next Week: GIANT-SIZE SUMMER SPECIAL SUPER TABLETOP TEAM-UP!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

61 – Even Horses

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 6/21/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 6/21/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

In which the band gets back together; Dani faces down Death; Sam takes Lila home to meet his mom; revenge is a dish best left unserved; there is nothing sadder than Warlock confused by the concept of death; Kitty Pryde has a some opinions about identity politics; and X-Men has not been great with textual representations of neurodiversity.

NOTE: Given some of the material covered in this episode, we wanted to link a few resources below, for anyone who might need them:

X-PLAINED:

  • The rotating members of the Guthrie family
  • New Mutants #41-45
  • One way to end a friendship
  • A respectable number of dubious decisions enacted over several issues
  • An epic showdown with an anthropomorphic personification
  • Additional Guthries
  • The Xavier Institute PTA
  • The worst Hellion (more) (again)
  • Legion (more) (again)
  • The second-saddest issue of New Mutants
  • The life and death of Larry Bodine
  • A somewhat bleak recurring continuity error
  • Depression and mental illness in X-canon
  • Care and storage of comic books
  • Autism in X-canon

NEXT WEEK: GIANT-SIZE SUMMER SPECIAL SUPER TABLETOP TEAM-UP!

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!

As Mentioned in Episode 44 – Assembling Legion, with Si Spurrier

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Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints, cards, and travel mugs available until 2/22/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.
Ruth and Luca Aldine. (X-Men: Legacy vol. 2 #5)
Our introduction to Legion. (New Mutants #25)
Legion has consistently inspired some of the best covers in Marvel’s lineup. (New Mutants #26)
DON’T WEAR FRINGED BOOTS TO THE GYM, TOM CORSI. DON’T DO THAT. (New Mutants #26)
That creepy laughter is so awesome. (New Mutants #26)
VVTOOOOM! (New Mutants #26)
Warlock is the best ever, forever. (New Mutants #26)
WARLOCK IS THE BEST EVER, FOREVER. (New Mutants #26)
Not gonna lie: watching the White Queen take Empath to task was pretty satisfying. (New Mutants #26)
Warlock is not super good at being human, and it is charming as hell. (New Mutants #26)
In which Charles Xavier owns some fairly heinous shit. (New Mutants #26)
No, seriously: Legion covers are pretty much always top notch. (New Mutants #27)
Next time you watch Pink Floyd’s The Wall, pretend it’s about Legion and Professor X. It works surprisingly well. (New Mutants #27)
Jack, Jemail, Cyndi–and David. (New Mutants #27)
Legion’s mindscape. It’s not a Demon Bear, but it’ll do. (New Mutants #27)
Does Jack Wayne scare you? He should. (New Mutants #27)
Cyndi: your angry teenager’s inner angry teenager. (New Mutants #27)
Who needs nuance when you can straight-up stab a dude instead? (New Mutants #27)
Love, love, love this title page. (New Mutants #28)
Lee Forrester contemplates consent, power dynamics, and maybe also Lovecraftian horrors. (New Mutants #28)
The last panel is, of course, a lie. (New Mutants #28)
The first time Legion broke the Marvel Universe. (X-Men vol. 2 #41)
The second time Legion broke the Marvel Universe. (X-Men: Legacy vol. 1 #248)
Legion’s mental prison, at the beginning of X-Men: Legacy vol. 2 #1…
…and after the jailbreak in X-Men: Legacy vol. 2 #2.
The Origamist. (X-Men: Legacy vol. 2 #4)
It is entirely fair to judge X-Men: Legacy vol. 2 by Mike Del Mundo’s gorgeous, brilliant covers.
Seriously, look at this. They are all this good. (X-Men: Legacy vol. 2 #6)
Professor Y. (X-Men: Legacy vol. 2 #6)
Next Week: We were going to cover a whole bunch of X-Men, but we ended up spending the whole time talking about Storm and Lifedeath II. WE REGRET NOTHING.

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

 

 

 

44 – Assembling Legion, with Si Spurrier

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Art by David Wynne. Prints, cards, and travel mugs available until 2/22/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints, cards, and travel mugs available until 2/22/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

In which Legion grows from setting to protagonist; Rachel is a master of narrative rationalization; “Claremont” is a verb; Warlock befriends an airplane; Xavier owns a significant mistake; New Mutants does a deep dive into power dynamics; you should go read X-Men: Legacy already; and Si reveals the true secret nature of reality.

X-PLAINED:

  • Blindfold (Ruth Aldine)
  • Luca Aldine
  • Legion (David Haller)
  • Mental illness in fiction
  • New Mutants #26-28
  • Socialized medicine
  • Appropriate gym apparel
  • Rachel’s favorite scene from any X-book, ever
  • Claremonting
  • Jack Wayne
  • Cyndi
  • Jemail Karami
  • Roughly 20 years of condensed continuity
  • The Age of Apocalypse
  • Age of X
  • X-Men: Legacy vol. 2
  • Father issues
  • David Haller’s accent
  • The Origamist
  • Santi Sardina
  • A visual metaphor
  • The true secret nature of reality
  • Professor Y
  • The Franklin Richards Universe Hypothesis

NEXT WEEK: Spotlight on Storm

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 26 – The Other Team America (featuring Chris Sims)

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Art by David Wynne!
Bobby is so very Bobby. (New Mutants #1)
Yeah, so, Dani, maybe get a handle on that. (New Mutants #1)
Remember, at this point, as far as everyone on Earth knew, the X-Men were dead. (New Mutants #1)
Oh, Storm. (New Mutants #1)
Meanwhile on Muir Island, REVELATIONS! (New Mutants #1)
“You’re not the X-Men. You’re just, um, wearing their original superhero costumes. Because, stuff.” (New Mutants #1)
OH, SHIT. THOSE GUYS. (New Mutants #1)
Well, that’ll end well. (New Mutants #2)
Gyrich realizes that part of the price of appearing in an X-Men book is occasionally having your conversation partner drop out for an extended inner monologue. (New Mutants #2)
“Son, I know Peter Corbeau, and you’re no Peter Corbeau.” (New Mutants #2)
Mostly including this to point out that FANDOM ZONE is a great name for a comics shop. (New Mutants #2)
FORESHADOWING. (New Mutants #3)
OH, NO! (New Mutants #3)
Aw, Illyana. (New Mutants #3)
Remember that time Bob McLeod drew a full page of a teenager and casual nudity and there was no sexualization whatsoever? Because that was RAD. (New Mutants #3)
Oooh, clever! (New Mutants #3)
Reinforcing the case for X-Men watching Star Trek. (New Mutants #3)
Aw, bros. And Magnum, P.I. For more on what happens next, see Episode 20. (New Mutants #3)
The more things change… (New Mutants #4)
That one time Professor Xavier wasn’t a jerk. (New Mutants #4)
And then the New Mutants just straight-up broke into a school dance. (New Mutants #4)
AW, SAM. (New Mutants #4)
WHY WOULD YOU PUT ALL THAT TNT THERE? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? (New Mutants #4)
… (New Mutants #4)
ETHICS. (New Mutants #4)
For more on these baffling gentlemen, see the links below.
Well, hello, Viper and Silver Samurai. (New Mutants #5)
Oh! Of course! Team America! Because, um, right, those guys. (New Mutants #5)
‘Kay. (New Mutants #5)
Xavier X-Plains the A-plot. (New Mutants #5)
Wait, what? (New Mutants #5)
Aw, Shan. (New Mutants #6)
Aw, Shan. (New Mutants #6)
Not that Black Mesa. (New Mutants #6)
Well, I think we can all be pretty excited that Team America have finally learned to control their dangerous power of making an extra good motorcycle dude. Dodged a bullet there. (New Mutants #6)
Next Week: NYCC Special, with Russell Dauterman and Kris Anka!

Links:

26 – The Other Team America (featuring Chris Sims)

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Art by David Wynne.
Art by David Wynne.

In which Danielle Moonstar is the Wolverine of the New Mutants, Henry Peter Gyrich is the Walter Peck of the Marvel Universe, Michael Rossi is no Peter Corbeau, Xavier is a Brood Queen (who is a jerk), Bob McLeod draws really good teenagers, the New Mutants do an after-school special, Chris Sims drops in for some emergency X-Plaining, Elsie Carson is the Harvey and Janet of Hydra, and Team America is generally sort of baffling.

X-Plained

  • Viper
  • Brood stuff
  • The original New Mutans (more) (again)
  • The New Mutants #1-6
  • Denial
  • Dani vs. the Danger Room
  • Mall stories
  • Neighborhood kids
  • Henry Peter Gyrich
  • Sebastian Shaw (again)
  • Project Wideawake (sort of)
  • Michael Rossi
  • A poorly-timed crossover
  • Gabrielle Haller
  • A profoundly unethical relationship
  • A Very Special Episode
  • Overkill
  • Magnum, P.I.
  • Team America (but not that one)
  • Elsie Carson, middle manager of Hydra
  • The Girl With the Silver Eyes
  • X-Men reading order

The visual companion for this episode will go up mid-week, due to New York Comic-Con generally kicking our asses (Among MANY other things, Rachel is tweeting–mostly cool X-cosplay pics–from the show floor, and Miles is working at the Dark Horse booth. Come say hi!). Meanwhile, for further supplemental material, we recommend reading Chris’s in-depth history of Team America:

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