Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
In which continuity has its eyes on you; the multiverse is so complex that we have to drag Al Ewing out of the audience to X-plain it; the X-Men mean a lot of different (but mostly compatible) things to all of us; we will accept any retcons necessary to maintain Magneto’s history as a Holocaust survivor; and ECCC rocks our world.
X-PLAINED:
Secret Wars
Alternate universes vs. alternate timelines
Multiversal problem-solving
New Arcadia
Definitive alternate-timeline X-Men
The weird joy of reading comics out of order
That one alternate timeline where Storm has a leather jacket and is hooking up with Wolverine
The only happy Cyclops in the multiverse
What makes the X-Men the X-Men
Intersections we’d like to see explored in canon
The appeal of universe-hopping
Relative ratios of metaphors to punching
Proof of concept in comics publishing
Battleworld characters we’d like to import into the 616.1
Which X-Men should get solo series
NEXT WEEK: X-Terminators!
CORRECTION: During the panel, Jay claimed that Spider-Man had been married for their entire life. Jay was in fact five years old when Spider-Man got married. We regret the error, but maintain our stance that Spider-Man is totally married.
You can find links to all our ECCC coverage–as well as a live video of the Hamilton cold open, from the Phoenix Comics party–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!
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
In which Brett White joins us for a look at the current state of the X-line; Dennis Hopeless helps shed some light on a persistent mystery; Brett has a lot of feelings about the Dark Riders; All-New Wolverine is our everything; All-New X-Men is the new New Mutants; X-Men ’92 is the prize at the bottom of the continuity cereal box; we speculate on potential fatalities in the upcoming Death of X; and everything is probably going to be more or less okay.
X-PLAINED:
Why everyone is mad at Cyclops
The Noodle Incident
How we variously define X-titles
The current state of the X-line
The 8-Month Gap
Secret Wars
Earth 616.1
Extraordinary X-Men (Current series)
Uncanny X-Men (Current series)
All-New Wolverine
Old Man Logan (Current series)
All-New X-Men (Current series)
X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever
X-Men ’92 (Current series)
The Dark Riders
Being personally invested in characters you don’t own
Favorite formats
The mystic end of the X-Men cinematic universe
Mysteries and mysteries
NEXT WEEK: Continuity Has Its Eyes on You: Live from ECCC with Kris Anka, Al Ewing, Scott Koblish, and G. Willow Wilson!
EDITED: NOODLE INCIDENT SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. We’ll be announcing the winners sometime between 4/18 and 4/22. Thank you to everyone who participated!!!
You can find a 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!
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
In which the podcast gets a new name; Jay starts (another) imaginary band; mutant issues break away from the metaphor; Genosha’s leading industry is cognitive dissonance; invisibility to electronic surveillance is not always a plus; Rogue and Wolverine are the X-Men most likely to find themselves nude in a fight; Carol Danvers is awesome even when disembodied; and we both have a lot of feelings about Mad Max: Fury Road.
X-PLAINED:
The Havok dilemma
Our new name
Uncanny X-Men #235-238
Genosha
Jenny Ransome
The Press Gang
A really good bit of vintage slang
The downside of electronic invisibility
Naked teleportation
The Genegineer (David Moreau)
Philip Moreau
Mutates
The (sort of) return of (sort of) Carol Danvers
The portmanteaus of Genosha
Moral binary in superhero comics
Possible antecedents of Sterling Archer
The only good reason to bring Logan back
N’astirh
Several versions of Madelyne Pryor
“Gone to America”
Off-page baby theft
How to have fun re-reading
InfernoWatch:
This week, it’s all about Madelyne Pryor: her first contact with N’astirh and escalating romance with Havok; the first hints of her connection to Mister Sinister; her oblique connection to the Phoenix Force; and her first foray into baby theft!
NEXT EPISODE: Chris Claremont
CORRECTION: In this episode, Miles mentioned Those Who Walk Away From Omelas as having been written by Margaret Atwood. It was, of course, actually written by Ursula K. LeGuin. Miles blames the Jaspers Warp for this mistake.
You can find a visual companion to this episode–and links to recommended reading–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!
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
In which New Mutants #64 is the saddest single issue of any X-book ever; the New Mutants have to grow up fast; Warlock comes to terms with mortality; The Last of Us is harder to play the second time; Tattoo Tales: X-Men: Masquerade is delightfully unhinged; animated Cyclops is totally the worst; Beast probably has a terrible garage band; Jean starts a kitchen fire; and Wolverine saves Jubilee’s birthday.
X-PLAINED:
The saddest issue ever
New Mutants #64
The only okay way to watch Grave of the Fireflies
The aftermath of Doug Ramsey’s death
Several unhealthy coping mechanisms
The Last of Us
Tattoo Tales: X-Men: Masquerade
Some varyingly impressive costumes
General irresponsibility
Why Wolverine is wearing a clown suit
Douglock
The New Mutants’ D&D alignments
NEXT WEEK: You never forget your first Ship.
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
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!
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
In which the X-Men move to Australia; O.Z. Chase is definitely not a werewolf; Dazzler is a smart, glittery laser cookie; Gateway falls into some uncomfortable tropes; Havok remains the king of terrible hats; Madelyne Pryor hacks the planet; Rogue makes a friend; Rick Leonardi draws the definitive Magik; Colossus’ secondary mutation is allegory; and there are a lot of great places to donate your old backissues.
X-PLAINED:
Gateway’s probable origin
Wintry mix
Miles’s definitive X-era
Uncanny X-Men #228-231
O.Z. Chase
Vladimir Zaitzev
The Reavers (No, not those Reavers)
Bonebreaker
Skullcrusher
Pretty Boy
Children
Jessan Hoan (Tyger Tiger)
Gateway
Teamwork (more) (again)
The Siege Perilous
Cooterman’s Creek
Jay’s favorite mythic figure (and long-term career goal)
The best brother in the Marvel Universe
A really sad team-up
Favorite X-science moments
Where to donate comic books
NEXT WEEK: The saddest story ever
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
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!