In which it is probably not actually possible to be too nasty for Earth-295; Sinister is on nobody’s side but his own; Vulcan is still the worst Summers in the multiverse; the Bedlam Brothers are too delightful for the EMF; Heaven is just straight-up Rick’s Bar now; Polaris of Earth-295 is the saddest Polaris; Scott Summers and Jean Grey make a good team in most universes; and the metaphors of 1995 read very differently in 2020.
X-PLAINED:
Nathaniel Essex of Earth-1610
A regrettable tattoo
#Creators4Comics
Scott Summers (Cyclops) of Earth-295
Alex Summers (Havok) of Earth-295
Factor X #1-4
Working for the Man
Costume design as narrative
The EMF (Elite Mutant Force)
Northstar and Aurora of Earth-295
Sam and Elizabeth Guthrie (Cannonball and Amazon) of Earth-295
Jesse and Terrence Aaronson (Bedlam Brothers) of Earth-295
Heaven (the bar)
Scarlett McKenzie of Earth-295
Someone who is not Magneto
The Brain Trust
Lorna Dane (Polaris) of Earth-295
An obscene monument
Innuendo of several sorts
That time Jean Grey got captured
Resistance of various sorts
Poetic almost-kinda justice
One more fallen angel
Villains of the Age of Apocalypse
NEXT EPISODE: Generation Next!
Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog.
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!
In which Seanan and Jay break down their favorite X-Villains; technically everyone is always cosplaying Mystique; Magneto remains the gold standard; and we have some concerns about Eye Boy.
X-PLAINED:
Candy Corn, and our official stance thereon
Halloween candy economy
Which X-Character to dress as for your office Halloween party
X-Villains
What makes Magneto tick
Magneto as a Holocaust survivor
What makes a villain redeemable
Face turns
The last DDR machine in New York, and denizens thereof
An X-Villain musical
Mystique
How to make Daken work
Avengers as antagonists
Sinister’s goals
Bringing back Cameron Hodge
Meggan vs. Brexit
Heel turns
NEXT EPISODE: Stokes + Stokes!
Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!
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!
In which we introduce the villains of the Silver Age: Magneto makes some valid points, Mastermind is a Nice Guy of OkCupid, the Scarlet Witch predicts Cat Breading, the Trasks should really have known better, and the Comics Code Authority is down with pterosaurs.
X-Plained:
Common characteristics of enduring X-villains
Mutant identity politics and moral relativism
Context-agnostic Juggernaut flashbacks
An unorthodox approach to anthropology
Cyclops’s greatest diplomatic achievement
Silver-Age haberdashery
An innovative modification to vampire mythology
Cultural assimilation
The propaganda-and-sweater-vest machine
Hex bolts
Supplemental reading
You can find a visual companion to the episode – and links to recommended reading – on our blog.
Meanwhile, we’re gearing up for our second episode. If you’ve got an X-question–especially iconic villains of the Silver Age–drop it in the comments below or our tumblr ask-box, or tweet it to @RaeBeta with the hashtag #xplainthexmen!