X-Force – Page 5 – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

332 – Gideon Falls

May 9, 2021 Jay 13 comments

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

In which Swimsuit Catalog is not an actual style of martial arts; Onslaught dabbles in vandalism; Crule is a special guy; we identify briefly with X-Force; and Charles Xavier is the Keyser Soze of Onslaught.

X-PLAINED:

Externals on Krakoa
Relative levels of violence in X-books
X-Force #52-54
Camp Hayden, KY
Onslaught-facilitated power-ups
Gideon (again)
At least one apparent death
How it feels to be us
Businesswear
Whether Cannonball is an external
Nazis in the Captain Britain Corps
Doop

NEXT EPISODE: Sinister vs. Public Transit

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As Mentioned in Episode 326 – The Sounds of Gravity

March 21, 2021 Jay 2 comments

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

“My son murdered me and all I got was this cool scar.” (X-Force #49)

Alas, poor Stansfield. (X-Force #49)

I think we’ve all been on that visit home. (X-Force #49)

Aw, this guy. I’ve missed him. (X-Force #49)

Look at all that cover! (X-Force #50)

Go, team! (X-Force #50)

Correction: not actually a two-page spread. (X-Force #50)

Sure, why not? (X-Force #50)

“Remember when we read all those comics?” (X-Force #50)

That is an unsettlingly good home haircut. (X-Force #51)

NO. (X-Force #51)

One for the reaction files. (X-Force #51)

NEXT EPISODE: A tale of two Beasts!

327 – The Sounds of Gravity

March 21, 2021 Jay 28 comments

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In which nobody’s ages ever make sense; Sebastian Shaw catches up on villain speeches; nobody puts Louise Simonson in a corner; Tabitha Smith has a bad day; Gambit and Bat Manuel have a lot in common; and Warpath outruns Adam X.

X-PLAINED:

X-Force #49-51
Haircuts
The return off Sebastian Shaw
Stansfield
A series of kidnappings
Solar-powered superpowers
Attempted murder
Memories
Cable as an audience surrogate
Tabitha’s new codename
The first Tick live-action series
Warpath’s running speed
Risqué
What gravity sounds like
X-leisure activities
Magneto’s human name/s

NEXT EPISODE: A Tale of Two Beasts

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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 325 – Captain Bloodscream

February 28, 2021 Jay One comment

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

I’m sorry; I cannot accept this as Cable. (X-Force/Cable Annual 1995)

The Impossible Teens. (X-Force/Cable Annual 1995)

Yay, Team-Ups! (Spider-Man Team-Up #1)

Tessa, Shade Queen of the Hellfire Club. Spider-Man Team-Up #1

SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS THE GOLD CROTCH THING (Spider-Man Team-Up #1)

Also Tessa. (Spider-Man Team-Up #1)

NO, SERIOUSLY: 30-50 FERAL HOGS. (X-Men Unlimited #9)

FUCKING GHOST PIRATES Y’ALL (X-Men Unlimited #9)

YES AS A MATTER OF FACT I WILL BE CAPTIONING ALL THE IMAGES FROM THIS ISSUE IN ALL CAPS (X-Men Unlimited #9)

LOOK AT THIS MAN. THIS IS A MAN LIVING HIS DREAM. (X-Men Unlimited #9)

SURE WHY NOT (X-Men Unlimited #9)

SHARK FIGHT SHARK FIGHT (X-Men Unlimited #9)

THIS VISUAL IS LIKE ALL THE GOOFINESS OF THE EPISODE IN A NUTSHELL (X-Men Unlimited #9)

KING OF THE CAT PEOPLE (X-Men Unlimited #9)

FOOTNOTES FOR THE FOOTNOTE GODS (X-Men Unlimited #9)

FISH! FISH OF DECEIT! (X-Men Unlimited #9)

OH HEY WE KNOW THAT GUY (X-Men Unlimited #9)

THE NEXT TWO IMAGES WILL JUST BE KICKASS BLOODSCREAM YOU’RE WELCOME (X-Men Unlimited #9)

I WISH HIM THE BEST (X-Men Unlimited #9)

NEXT EPISODE: The Adversary probably does not actually join X-Factor.

325 – Captain Bloodscream

February 28, 2021 Jay 12 comments

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In which we recommend against having a birthday in the Marvel Universe; Shinobi Shaw was a proto-Quentin Quire; Lee Forrester returns under the best possible circumstances; Bloodscream lives his best unlife; Belasco is apparently master of the cat people now; and a former Marvel intern returns to solve a mystery.

X-PLAINED:

Bloodscream (again)
X-Force/Cable Annual 1995
Spider-Man Team-Up #1
X-Men Unlimited #9
The Impossible Man (and his slacker kids)
The Clone Saga
Benedict Kine
A really superlative insult
The continuity box
Still more Bloodscream
30-50 feral hogs
GHOST PIRACY
Belasco (more)(again)
The N’garai (more) (again)
A follow-up to a mystery from Episode #323

NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor vs. the Adversary

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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 321 – Revolving Doors

January 24, 2021 Jay One comment

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

Damn, those bunny slippers are intense.(X-Force #48)

Please note that Siryn has her own personal breeze. (X-Force #48)

“Y… you’re not?” (X-Force #48)

Large. (Uncanny X-Men #328)

LARGE. (Uncanny X-Men #328)

THAT IS NOT HOW YOU FIRST-AID A MAJOR ABDOMINAL WOUND (Uncanny X-Men #328)

We may never know why Professor X chose to install Cerebro in a Multi-Axis Trainer, but he certainly appears to have done so. (Sabretooth Special #1)

Dang, that’s a lot of drop shadows. (Sabretooth Special #1)

Deja vu all over again. We may never know why Professor X chose to install Cerebro in a Multi-Axis Trainer, but he certainly appears to have done so. (Sabretooth Special #1)

NEXT EPISODE: INTO THE CLONE ZONE!

321 – Revolving Doors

January 24, 2021 Jay 14 comments

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In which Sabretooth does not get effectively rehabilitated; nobody has the moral high ground; Val Cooper is the worst possible person to call in any emergency; Bishop needs a better support system; Jay knows several things about onions; and not everything has to be a mammal.

X-PLAINED:

Sabretooth (more) (again)
X-Force #48
Uncanny X-Men #328
Sabretooth Special #1
Bunny slippers
An intervention
Stages of grief
What not to do with Sabretooth
An evil squirrel
Onions
The three genders
Mutant Massacre callbacks
Caption disambiguation problems
The overabundance of boobs on fictional non-mammalian species

NEXT EPISODE: INTO THE CLONE ZONE!

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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 304 – Explosive Ops

August 18, 2020 Miles 3 comments

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

Next up: this cover sadly walking away from a gathered crowd of additional copies of this cover. (X-Force #44)

They’re about five minutes away from standing on each other’s shoulders and wearing a big trench coat to seem like an adult. (X-Force #44)

All of the elements of a relaxing vacation: an idyllic cottage, a beautiful forest, adorable animals, a tiny speedo… (X-Force #44)

“Also, I’m going to need you to start doing machines. You’ve been cool but rude for too long.” (X-Force #44)

“Ah’m nigh invulnerable when Ah’m excited!” (X-Force #44)

Morally yellow and purple. (X-Force #44)

“DOOM”? Are we looking at Caliban and Sabretooth or Surtur and his anvil? (X-Force #45)

Adam Pollina draws some pretty great faces. (X-Force #45)

“Every time he seems to be ready to come down, he loses count of his pouches and has to start all over again.” (X-Force #45)

If you asked me what X-book would look most like a romance comic in 1995, I would not have predicted X-Force. (X-Force #45)

Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that the character Mimic has spent the most time with in the preceding decade was the Hulk. (X-Force #45)

Rutland, Vermont: not just a frequent setting of 1970s Marvel and DC comics, but totally a real place! (Avengers #119)

“Is that..? Couldn’t be. But who else has that topknot and ‘burns combo?” (X-Force #46)

And that’s why you always leave a note. (X-Force #46)

These animals look way more judgmental than the ones in the last hologram. (X-Force #46)

“This new hair gel… When it says ‘apply sparingly’, it means it.” (X-Force #46)

“What? Someone on your team now has more pouches than me? I’ll be right over!” (X-Force #46)

Reminds me of my first car. (X-Force #47)

Aww, kid. (X-Force #47)

I’m not sure why Adam Pollina sometimes randomly gives us art nouveau backgrounds, but I’m not complaining. (X-Force #47)

Jeez, now I’m scared to go outside. (X-Force #47)

Aww not this again (X-Force #47)

This haircut! Bring back this exact haircut! (Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe #1)

NEXT TIME: The kinda-new, sorta-different X-Factor.

LINKS & FURTHER NONSENSE:

Rutland, Vermont had multiple Marvel and DC stories set in it during the 1970s – but it’s also a real place. Apologies for telling everyone it was imaginary, and thank you to all the listeners who kindly pointed out that it wasn’t!

304 – Explosive Ops

August 17, 2020 Jay 30 comments

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In which Jay discovers a continuity loop; phonetic spelling reaches a new level of implausibility; it’s always already Onslaught; X-Force’s roster gets shaken up; Siryn goes undercover; and the Upstarts remain vaguely plot-relevant despite our fervent wishes.

X-PLAINED:

Mimic (Calvin Rankin)
Wing problems
X-Force #45-47
One of Adam Pollina’s more remarkable non-Marvel art credits
One of many homages to the cover of X-Men #138
X-Force, its members, and its recent history
Phonetic spelling
Warpath’s hair
Baffling managerial decisions
Whether Reed Richards is machine washable
Many pouches
An unlikely friendship
Sabretooth’s state of mind
Rutland, VT
The Weisman Institute for the Criminally Insane
Dr. Rachel Weisman
Jeremy Stevens
Part of why we like following X-books over time
Character redesigns

CORRECTION: In addition to being the setting of a number of 1970s Marvel and DC stories, Rutland, VT is actually a real place with a famous annual (and largely superhero-themed) Halloween parade!

NEXT EPISODE: What X-Factor’s been up to

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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!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

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

July 19, 2020 Jay One comment

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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)