Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

Tag: X-Force

464 – The Cigarettes of Damocles

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In which X-Force is kind of silly; that really isn’t what “quantum” means; polite and lawful are two entirely different things, and Sam Guthrie is only one of them; Selene vogues; and the Hellfire Club plays the dead girlfriend card.

X-PLAINED:

  • Blackheart
  • The Damocles Foundation (more) (again)
  • Lucas Bartholomew Guthrie
  • The difference between prisons and jails
  • X-Force #98-98
  • Whether Dr. Octopus enjoys the literary stylings of Elmore Leonard
  • One way to get out of prison
  • The Glitterbox
  • An unsuccessful heist
  • Celestial cigarettes and/or golems
  • Thomas and/or Tyler Zebulon and/or Zeke Guthrie
  • Demon Bears as urban pests
  • Selene, Always Voguing
  • Gatherers
  • Various evil scientists
  • The Sword
  • Junkyard life
  • Lenny Delmonico
  • Psychic rodeos
  • Nightmare chambers
  • Bat sex
  • An offer Sunspot can’t refuse
  • Hank McCoy’s villain arc
  • New Mutant superlatives

NEXT EPISODE: Astonishing X-Men!

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As Mentioned in Episode 459 – Waiting to X’Hal (feat. Devin Toohey)

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It is a crime that Dial H.U.S.K. didn’t make the cover. (X-Patrol #1)
As letterforms to create the shape of your building go, you could do worse. A lot worse. (X-Patrol #1)
I didn’t know there was a wrong way to stare at a butt, but… Beastling’s doing it. (X-Patrol #1)
Backstory, orange edition: Shatterstarfire! (X-Patrol #1)
Backstory, green edition: Beastling! (X-Patrol #1)
Backstory, yellow edition: Dial H.U.S.K.! (Bonus: Wonder Girl!) (X-Patrol #1)
Backstory, blue edition: Ferro Man! (X-Patrol #1)
Backstory, fuschia edition: Elasti-Girl! (X-Patrol #1)
Shit, now I wish Cable had a beard. And not just that literally-evil goatee from 1993. (X-Patrol #1)
An auspicious start to a first mission. (X-Patrol #1)
That outfit! On that guy! (X-Patrol #1)
Pretty bangin’ fit, I’m not gonna lie. (X-Patrol #1)
Second-rate indeed. That claw-guy doesn’t even have bat ears! (X-Patrol #1)
Mary Marvel Girl! (X-Patrol #1)
Did he murder tiny demon-squirrels just to hold his cape on? (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
Hitch and Neary never disappoint. (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
They must have such excellent dental hygiene practices! (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
Maximalism. (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
X-Patrol Mark II, featuring non-Rockslide and Jan’s muscles. (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
Robot roll-call! (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
I would read any and all of these comics. (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
Stalactites have a C in the middle because they’re on the ceiling, stalagmites have a G in the middle because they’re on the ground, and Brood have an O in the middle because they’ll eat your goddamn face. (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
Artemisty Knight! (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
Turns out Terrax and Terra look pretty damned cool when they merge. (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
This isn’t even my final form! Wait, yes it is. (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
Why would you cover up that amazing outfit with rocks? (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
Fuckin’ YIKES (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
Introducing: Exuberant-Man! (Exciting X-Patrol #1)
NEXT TIME: Teens!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING

459 – Waiting to X’Hal (feat. Devin Toohey)

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In which Devin Toohey joins Miles to discuss X-Men’s DC Comics cousin Doom Patrol, and their bastard Amalgam child, X-Patrol!

X-PLAINED:

  • X-Men vs. Doom Patrol
  • Meet Your Doom
  • Doom Patrol
  • Amalgam
  • X-Patrol
  • Elasti-Girl (Amalgam)
  • Shatterstarfire
  • Beastling
  • Ferro Man
  • Dial H.U.S.K.
  • X-Patrol #1
  • Exciting X-Patrol #1
  • Niles Cable
  • Dr. Doomsday
  • Superhero aviation
  • Brother Brood
  • Raveniya
  • Niles Dayspring
  • Technoorganic lettering
  • Claw mechanics
  • Magneto on X-Force
  • Real-life Dazzler and Lila Cheney analogs

NEXT EPISODE: Generation X goes to Madripoor!

Want to hire J&MXPtXM producer Matt Hunter to produce your podcast? Email him!

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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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As Mentioned in Episode 458 – Quantum Stuff

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A hell of a cover… (X-Force #91)
…and a hell of a title page. (X-Force #91)
Standard superhero comic art this is not! (X-Force #91)
I want to read an X-Force that looks like this! (X-Force #91)
For your reaction image folder. (X-Force #91)
An anticlimactic breakup. (X-Force #91)
This issue is full of unconventional and perfect panels. (X-Force #91)
Theresa versus alcoholism – with all the drama of a final boss fight. (X-Force #91)
*sniffle* (X-Force #91)
We’re pretty sure that’s actually what the door says. (X-Force #92)
Only a slightly weirder computer case design than Apple’s Power Mac G4 Cube. (X-Force #92)
Cool colors versus warm colors – FIGHT! (X-Force #92)
Domino does what we all wanted to. (X-Force #92)
*heavy sigh* (X-Force #92)
“Neena Thurman – this is your life!” (X-Force #92)
Fake-Cable does not have game. (X-Force #92)
Casual Friday has gone too far! (X-Force #93)
What a lovely and colorful bee-fight! (X-Force #93)
Electryon and Astarte. (X-Force #93)
The four humors. (X-Force #93)
…and the four elements? (X-Force #93)
FTTTT (X-Force #93)
Danielle Moonstar: as short history. (X-Force #93)
Ry’lor the Destroyer: a short history. (X-Force #93)
It’s amazing how many problems can be solved with a time bomb to the face! (X-Force #93)
“SEE YOU ON THANKSGIVING!” (X-Force #93)
NEXT TIME: Miles and Devin x-plain X-Patrol!

458 – Quantum Stuff

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In which Tommy Lee Edwards draws a damned fine everything; death gods get taken a lot less seriously when their avatars are seagulls; warm and cool colors get in a fight; Domino has no time for this bullshit; Cable and Domino wait ’til the kids are asleep; Sunspot’s alibi is too complicated; X-Force forges a pouches path; Engines are nothing but trouble; and Ry’lor the Destroyer puts himself in time out.

X-PLAINED:

  • The Norse Pantheon of 2099
  • X-Force #91-93
  • One of the best X-covers ever
  • Our favorite Siryn story
  • Jesse Aaronson, penitent chef
  • Sean Cassidy, penitent dad
  • A realistically anticlimactic breakup
  • Cassidy/Rourke history
  • Bring Your Daughter to Crimes Day
  • Napoleon Sanders
  • An epistolary montage
  • The dusty pink word balloons of Tom Waits
  • A missed Manos-portunity
  • The Chaos Engine
  • Halloween Jack
  • Domino’s varied musical tastes
  • Ry’lor the Destroyer
  • Kodo the Komodo
  • Bedlam’s extremely situational powers
  • Astarte and Electryon
  • Horniness as a superpower
  • The Temple of the Dying Sun
  • Cable & Corsair’s (lack of) history
  • Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope, and Hope

NEXT EPISODE: Miles and guest host Devin talk X-Patrol, 1996’s X-Force / Doom Patrol mash-up!

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As Mentioned in Episode 448 – Skamageddon

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The two Emma Frosts: Shadowy and Pouty. (X-Force #87)
James Proudstar x-plains Uncanny X-Men #281. (X-Force #87)
Reconnecting via X-Factoring. (X-Force #87)
Now that is a lair. (X-Force #87)
Magma’s back! And she’s a jerk! (X-Force #87)
Meet Paradigm. (X-Force #87)
The New New Mutants vs. the New Hellions. New. (X-Force #88)
We can accept covering Empath’s face with word balloons – but hey, show some respect to Firestar! (X-Force #88)
Feral’s back – just in time to wreck Jay’s voice again! (And Siryn’s, but we’ll get to that later.) (X-Force #88)
Life got complicated since the last time these two saw each other. (X-Force #88)
X-Force’s x-treme tactics have just saved us like half an issue of misunderstandings! (X-Force #88)
The techno-organic virus: bad for free will and not great for skin health. (X-Force #88)
Paradigm x-plains X-Force. (X-Force #89)
This party sucks! (X-Force #89)
Blood relation has no inherent virtue. (X-Force #89)
Aww, there’s plenty of logic! Just look at the little manual that comes with most Tarot decks! (X-Force #89)
Among Dani’s new powers is the ability to turn robot-guys into eggs. (X-Force #89)
Kind of a weird font choice. Times New Armageddon? (X-Force #89)
Feral never misses an opportunity to learn the worst possible lesson. (X-Force #90)
Tarot, is that really a new manifestation of your mutant power, or did you just rob a Spirit Halloween? (X-Force #90)
Welp, I guess the entire West coast is completely demolished and will take decades to rebuild. Funny how no other comics have mentioned that… (X-Force #90)
Sorry, Jesse. Your brother is the absolute worst. (X-Force #90)
Sam Guthrie: annoying people into virtue since 1980-something. (X-Force #90)
BADDA BOOM (X-Force #90)
Aww. (X-Force #90)
NEXT TIME: Talking X-costumes with Russell Dauterman!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

448 – Skamageddon

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Feral’s back – just in time to wreck Jay’s voice again! (And Siryn’s, but we’ll get to that later.) (X-Force #88)

In which timeline math is almost never worth it; Tarot comes back from the dead (kind of) (maybe); Magma makes a heel turn; “King Bedlam” would be a great name for a ska band; not every nude man can turn into a bear; and you don’t have to talk to your supervillain relatives.

X-PLAINED:

  • The Triune Understanding
  • Birthday party follow-up
  • X-Force #87-90
  • Legacy and continuity
  • Bedlam (Jesse Aaronson)
  • Tarot (Marie-Ange Colbert)
  • Goat Simulator
  • King Bedlam (Christopher Aaronson)
  • The New Hellions
  • Perils of body-swapping
  • Linear time
  • Science
  • Armageddon Man
  • Paradigm
  • Senator Owen Danville
  • Family
  • A fancy hat
  • Madame Web
  • Many natural disasters
  • Early Genoshan history
  • Longshot as a villain

NEXT EPISODE: Dressing the X-Men with Russell Dauterman!

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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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As Mentioned in Episode 444 – Damnit, Magnus

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Domino: wine mom, but also good mom. (X-Force #86)
WRONG FREEZER WRONG FREEZER (X-Force #86)
Theresa Rourke Cassidy, mistress of disguise. (X-Force #86)
Remember how Moonstar’s weird new powers are always accompanied by a cosmic blue glow? This issue doesn’t, and is thus… confusing. (X-Force #86)
Odysseus Indigo, the most dapper of antagonists. (X-Force #86)
Some exceptionally efficient visual storytelling by Jim Cheung. (X-Force #86)
Christmas in March! Well, March for us. December for Colossus. (Uncanny X-Men #365)
Hey, it’s that thing Miles used to draw in middle school! How’d that get there?! (Uncanny X-Men #365)
In which Colossus interrupts a very manly threesome. (Uncanny X-Men #365)
The X-Men X-Plain X-Mas. (Uncanny X-Men #365)
I mean, that’s Rusty Collins, right? (Uncanny X-Men #365)
“My favorite X-Men character? You probably haven’t heard of him.” (Uncanny X-Men #365)
Oof, my emotions… (Uncanny X-Men #365)
Aww. (Uncanny X-Men #365)
Now that is a cover. (X-Men #85)
In which the first page establishes that this story will be a Big Deal. (X-Men #85)
Sorry, Bill… today’s gonna be a rough one. (X-Men #85)
We missed Alan Davis. (X-Men #85)
Uh oh. (X-Men #85)
Heroes. (X-Men #85)
This issue uses juxtaposition perfectly. (X-Men #85)
Magneto gets the answer he wants… and then the answer he doesn’t. (X-Men #85)
NEXT TIME: The Magneto War begins.

LINKS & FURTHER FESTIVITIES

444 – Damnit, Magnus

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In which it’s difficult to flee with soup; Miles may or may not be haunting the X-Men; Colossus collaborates involuntarily; Marrow is full of surprises; Magneto is a dick; Jay continues to carry a torch for Secret Wars: Siege; and you should totally come to our birthday party.

X-PLAINED:

  • Several rather pointed allusions
  • X-Force #86
  • Uncanny X-Men #365
  • X-Men #85
  • Almost Reno, NM
  • Where mutants come from
  • The Aguilar Institute (more) (again)
  • Abandoned towns
  • Mary the telepathic moppet (more) (again)
  • Odysseus Indigo
  • The Damocles Foundation
  • Sibling names
  • The Fundamental Attribution Error
  • A haunting
  • Christmas beer
  • Christmas ghost exquisite corpse
  • Bill Jones
  • A rescue mission
  • Essential stories of the ‘90s
  • Our weird favorites
  • Siege
  • Our upcoming 10th birthday party (more) (again)

NEXT EPISODE: Magneto War begins!

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

RSVP to our birthday shenanigans!

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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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As Mentioned in Episode 437 – Dismember the Titans

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“Hot Topic Rennfaire” was a somewhat controversial choice for X-Force’s prom theme. (X-Force #85)
I’m impressed Pandemonia is so well put-together after 600 years in captivity! I was wearing pajama pants by day three of the pandemic. (X-Force #85)
“I’ll never forget that day… Rusty was inexplicably blonde, I was in a costume I wouldn’t have for months, and all was right in the world.” (X-Force #85)
You can tell Sam and Dani are in great shape: they’re having a conversation about feelings and continuity during a run while most of us couldn’t manage more than “*wheeze* *cough*” (X-Force #85)
“This place seems different! Did somebody replace a lamp or something?” (X-Force #85)
…How long have they been posing like that? (X-Force #85)
Nice fight scene, Angel Unzueta! (X-Force #85)
As distinct from prolific video game voice actress Jennifer Hale! (X-Force #85)
Say it, Dani! Focused totality… you know the next part… (X-Force #85)
“We’re here to cast glamours and rock out for Satan, and we’re all out of glamours!” (X-Force #85)
Pictured: Hades in disguise, Hades’s girlfriend, and Hades’s surprisingly detailed and colorful statue of Hades. (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
It’s no Larry Stroman crowd scene, but still, pretty great! (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
Cannonball wants to axe Meltdown what she was thinking. (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
“Well, at least it’s not a, you know.” (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
To Meltdown’s credit, that lady does seem like she’s about to take a bite out of Cannonball. (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
“Why were we the members of this team? Well, we happened to all be free on a Tuesday.” (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
Magic! Flirtation! Fonts! (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
“Happy tenth high school reunion, everybody!” (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
Now THAT’S playing the long game. (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
Don’t feel bad, I always mix them up with the Defenders too. (X-Force & Champions Annual 1998)
NEXT TIME: A very Wolverine Wolverine story.