X-Factor – Page 3 – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

353 – Scientists and Superheroes

November 21, 2021 Jay 10 comments

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

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

In which Dark Beast is an unlikely father figure; Wild Child remains low-budget Wolverine; X-Factor foreshadows the XSE; no one else thwarts Richardses on Doom’s watch; the cow goes “hate”; and Juggernaut fails to grow as a person.

X-PLAINED:

The Red Ghost
Onslaught thus far
X-Factor #126
Fantastic Four #416
X-Men Unlimited #12
Random’s origins (kind of)
Pinochle
Kristoff Vernard
Several villains
Juggernaut’s adventures in the Gem of Cyttorak
Gomurr the Ancient (again)
Spite
Unreliable narrators
The evolution of Cyttorak
Wolverine’s hair
X-arcs we’d like to see as video games

NEXT EPISODE: To nobody’s surprise, Onslaught.

CORRECTION: Kristoff Vernard is not in fact a clone of Doctor Doom.

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!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 350 – The Xavier Protocols

October 24, 2021 Jay 3 comments

Listen to the episode here!

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

Variant cover by Dylan Meconis!

Extra collectible sketch cover! You can download your own in PDF format here.

It’s always fun to see how teams look in other books. (Excalibur #100)

First version of the armor. Don’t get too attached. (Excalibur #100)

In all fairness, decapitation would kill most people. (Excalibur #100)

Does he seriously do this for EVERY mutant? Or just X-Men? Or–? (Excalibur #100)

Meanwhile in a circus in Franklin Richards’s head… (Fantastic Four #415)

I’ll admit: They look remarkably cool.

You don’t say, Reed. (Fantastic Four #415)

THE EYEBROWS OF TRUTH! (Fantastic Four #415)

What a good rug. (Fantastic Four #415)

This is among the weirder meta-product placement I’ve seen. (Fantastic Four #415)

There’s… a lot going on on that cover. (X-Factor #125)

Everything but the skateboard. (X-Factor #125)

Somewhere, one is experimentally gnawing on Hearst Tower. (X-Men #55)

How you can tell it’s a Really Big Event. (X-Men #55)

IT’S REALLY NOT THE TIME, BOBBY. (X-Men #55)

I don’t know why, but Onslaught’s pose in this panel cracks me the hell up. (X-Men #55)

That is… somewhat different from its previous appearance. (X-Men #55)

That certainly is an ebon citadel! (X-Men #55)

That’s quite a look, Onslaught of the Future! (X-Men #55)

NEXT EPISODE: Yep, more Onslaught.

LINKS & FURTHER CHOICES

Caps for Sale is a real and delightful book!
“Magneto’s Cape” is based on “Lily’s Eyes” from the excellent Secret Garden musical.

350 – The Xavier Protocols

October 24, 2021 Jay 36 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

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

Variant cover by Dylan Meconis!

And a real, live, downloadable sketch variant!

In which we celebrate a milestone with a special collectible episode; there may already be a Charles Xavier in your basement; Onslaught lacks subtlety; Bill Watterson may or may not have changed his licensing policy on Earth-616; guns should not have hair; and Jay once again exercises his questionable lyrical skills.

X-PLAINED:

Excalibur #100
Fantastic Four #415
X-Factor #125
X-Men #55
Onslaught (more) (again)
The Xavier Protocols
The many secret subbasements of Charles Francis Xavier
The Xavier Protocols
An extremely poor file-retrieval system
Onslaught vs. the Fantastic Four
Li’l Charlie
A circus, kind of
Lang disambiguation
Onslaught’s new look
Onslaught vs. several Avengers
An unlicensed rug
The only thing Bill Watterson loves
Metaphorical Turkish delight
The Brand Corporation (more) (again)
Dark Descendents
Hairy guns
Caps for Sale
A really big fight
A very dramatic EMP
Why Onslaught looks like that

NEXT EPISODE: Yep, more Onslaught!

“Magneto’s Cape” lyrics by Jay Edidin, with apologies to Marsha Norman. Performed by Steve Pence and Adam Faruqi and produced by Adam Faruqi.

CORRECTION: There are only three variant covers to this episode, not four; Jen Vaughn had to bow out due to other commitments.

Check out the visual companion to this post 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 rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 338 – Chomp & Stomp

July 11, 2021 Jay 2 comments

Listen to the episode here.

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

And THAT’S how you get around a collar with a five-second shapeshift limit. (X-Factor #122)

The Hound, in all his dubious glory. (X-Factor #123)

Shard’s expression in the last panel is so delightful. (X-Factor #123)

Don’t mess with Polaris. (X-Factor #123)

“You can try back later, but it’ll just be cows.” (X-Factor #123)

The Uh-Oh Room. (X-Factor #124)

“This isn’t… awkward or anything, right?” (X-Factor #124)

NEXT EPISODE: Wolverine makes it weird.

338 – Chomp and Stomp

July 4, 2021 Jay 15 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which X-Factor’s lineup shifts further towards villainy; Wild Child is neither wild nor a child; bureaucrat Val Cooper > action Val Cooper; Marvel invests in Bastion; and foreshadowing works better in some titles than in others.

X-PLAINED:

How Wolverine got his adamantium back
A marriage of convenience
X-Factor #122-124
Amalgam comics
A clever workaround
Several new looks
Belle Fourche (again)
Several ways to fail to control supervillains
The Hound
The Hazard Chamber
Different titles’ relationships to dark futures
Statting up Beast in D&D
Characters with more narrative impact dead than alive

NEXT EPISODE: Wolverine makes it weird.

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!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 326 – Son of a Gun

March 21, 2021 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

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

Fun times with holograms! (X-Factor #119)

Oh, THAT guy. (X-Factor #119)

If I had a dollar for every date that ended this way… (X-Factor #119)

Sir, your gun appears to be several cardboard boxes. (X-Factor #120)

Well, that’s going to be a problem. (X-Factor #120)

Okay, but seriously, why is Roma in this, again>? (X-Factor #121)

OH SNAP (X-Factor #121)

326 – Son of a Gun

March 14, 2021 Jay 20 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which it’s hard to be a hologram; the Internet is terrible and you should probably avoid it; we have no idea how Naze is still alive; this is not your mom’s Adversary (if your mom is Fall of the Mutants); Forge is an order muppet; and Sabretooth is not a great addition to most teams.

X-PLAINED:

Skrulls in American history
X-Factor’s attrition rate
The spirit spell (again)
The Adversary (again)
X-Factor #119-121
Hypercolor(TM) t-shirts
Oblivion vs. masturbation
Mark Trail (more) (again)
Forge’s complicated relationship with magic
The death of X-Factor
Several retcons
The resurrection of X-Factor
(Mis)representation of indigenous cultures in X-books
Jim Jaspers vs. the Adversary
The spirit spell (YET AGAIN)
The Feron of X-Factor
Val ‘n’ Victor
Dubious use of technology
A red herring
The lingering spectre of Days of Future Past
Our tech issues
Reasonable accommodations at the Xavier School

NEXT EPISODE: Cable vs. X-Force

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!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 305 – The Sleep of the Wicked

August 23, 2020 Miles One comment

Listen to the episode here.

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

That logo! That art! If this era was as good as the cover that started it, we’d be in great shape. (X-Factor #112)

Half cyborg. Half samurai. All toothy. (X-Factor #112)

Wild Child: like Wolverine, but stylish! (X-Factor #112)

“I walked here all the way from Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown, and boy, are my legs tired! And also very long!” (X-Factor #112)

Aww, Random. (X-Factor #112)

Mystique is actually laughing her ass off three blocks away. (X-Factor #112)

How else is someone in an X-Factor comic supposed to enter a room? Through the door? (X-Factor #112)

Havok’s woozy-bubbles are the best woozy-bubbles. (X-Factor #112)

Speaking of Polaris, did you see what her actress from The Gifted said on Twitter? (X-Factor #113)

As an information technology professional, Miles can confirm that BLAMPF (X-Factor #113)

Seriously, what the hell did Fatale build that thing out of? (X-Factor #113)

Yukio is reminded of her first date with Storm. (X-Factor #113)

Bad cop, worse cop. (X-Factor #113)

Havok is reminded of his first date with Polaris. (X-Factor #113)

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (X-Factor #113)

…and neither will we, because Scarlett hasn’t shown up since this panel. (X-Factor #113)

Mystique is the only one happy about this arrangement. Well, maybe not happy, but smug. (X-Factor #114

It’s like Banshee and Emma Frost if they hated each other way more! (X-Factor #114)

I mean, it’s pretty much Freedom Force with all of the pretense removed. (X-Factor #114)

Dig that panel layout. (X-Factor #114)

What did I mention about smug? (X-Factor #114)

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Part Two (X-Factor #114)

And here I thought X-Force was the only comic using romance comic panels in 1995. (X-Factor #114)

Poor bastard doesn’t stand a chance. (X-Factor #114)

Why yes, I do subscribe to World Wide Web! (X-Factor #113)

NEXT TIME: Buckle up.

LINKS & FURTHER BACKSTORY

We covered the Cyburai’s first appearance in Episode 160 – Hank McCoy and the Hickey of Destiny.
You can learn more about Scarlett McKenzie (and Jay’s favorite X-related miniseries) in Episode 114 – Meltdown.

305 – The Sleep of the Wicked

August 23, 2020 Jay 17 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which X-Factor gets its own roster shakeup; most bartenders will look at you funny if you order a flight of superheroes; Kaboom is a great name for a nightclub; we lack significant feelings about the clone saga; Yukio probably sends love to everyone’s girlfriends; Forge has terrible coping mechanisms; and Jay’s current life is not conducive to consistent acoustics (sorry!).

X-PLAINED:

Mystique’s powers
X-Factor’s new roster
X-Factor #112-114
The word “wreak”
The issue that made Miles stop reading X-Men
Wild Child (Kyle Gibney)
Wolverine as a role
Cyburai (more) (again)
Unethical management practices
One way to be drunk on power(s)
Scarlett McKenzie (again)
Club Kaboom
Yukio (again)
Fatale
Summers Problems(TM)
Marvel’s 1996 reader survey
A bondage harness that may or may not be made out of dryer tubing
Alex Summers vs. his own powers
Sugar Man in the 616
Several potential but unexplored story hooks for Scarlett
An implausible implant
Mystique’s new costume
A deeply dysfunctional but narratively plausible ship
A Random tangent
RPF on Earth-616
Forge vs. Tony Stark

NEXT EPISODE: Things get Uncanny!

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!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 301 – Can’t Beat the Real Thing

July 19, 2020 Jay One comment

Listen to the episode here.

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

This is in fact an ENTIRELY REASONABLE position under the circumstances. (X-Men Prime #1)

Dennis is his own disparaging narrator. (X-Men Prime #1)

I don’t know why John Constantine is here to question Trish Tilby’s ethics, but SOMEONE needs to. (X-Men Prime #1)

Why is Val here? WHO KNOWS? (X-Men Prime #1)

Pretty sure this is supposed to be Onslaught, but it’s not going to be confirmed, so… (X-Men Prime #1)

“I repurposed all the brain parts that would normally go to fashion sense. On one hand, I can keep track of every team in play. On the other hand, this is how I dress myself.” (X-Men Prime #1)