Blog Posts – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 527 – Whodunnit?

June 7, 2026 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

So very romance comics! (New X-Men #139)

Ouch. (New X-Men #139)

Damn, Jean. (New X-Men #139)

Fun times in Emma’s memory. (New X-Men #139)

More fun times in Emma’s memory. (New X-Men #139)

Less fun times in Emma’s memory. (New X-Men #139)

And that’s why you always leave a note! (New X-Men #139)

It’s mystery time! (New X-Men #140)

Someone doesn’t dance the tango to championship standards. (New X-Men #140)

The Phoenix knows what you did (or, I suppose, didn’t do).(New X-Men #140)

Bishop looks prepared to break into song at any moment. (New X-Men #140)

Yeah, they grow there. (New X-Men #140)

AWESOME is what they are. (New X-Men #141)

THE CUTEST MONSTER BABIES (New X-Men #141)

She’ll be back. (New X-Men #141)

Emma’s spleen and heart are now reversed, but it’s cool. (New X-Men #141)

NEXT EPISODE: Assault on Weapon Plus!

As Mentioned in Episode 526 – Vengeful Mutants on Drugs

May 31, 2026 Jay One comment

Listen to the episode here.

I love these weird kids. (New X-Men #135)

It really is the same outfit with different flourishes. (New X-Men #135)

That One Shirt. (New X-Men #135)

That… is not how campfires work. (New X-Men #135)

It’s a look, alright. (New X-Men #135)

Go, Beak! (New X-Men #136)

WELL, THAT’S NOT MENACING OR ANYTHING (New X-Men #136)

“His Viennese Waltz, for instance, was terribly clumsy.” (New X-Men #137)

These kids in a nutshell. (New X-Men #137)

Why is that thing on your face, Logan? Who did this to you? (New X-Men #137)

See how much better he looks without it? (New X-Men #137)

Ouch. (New X-Men #137)

I wish these gentlemen only the best. (New X-Men #138)

SPOILER: Their kids are gonna be awesome. (New X-Men #138)

Awkward. (New X-Men #138)

NEXT EPISODE: Murder!

LINKS & FURTHER REVOLUTIONS

Wanna read more about Quentin Quire in context? Check out “You Were Never My Age: Unpacking Quentin Quire’s Problematic History.”
Wanna hear Jay talk more about this arc? Go listen to Episode 11 of Here Comes Tomorrow.

As Mentioned in Episode 525 – Beyond This Death

May 24, 2026 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the podcast here.

Warren, no. (New X-Men #131)

Aw, buddy. (New X-Men #131)

<3 <3 <3 (New X-Men #131)

And then everyone immediately forgot that. (New X-Men #131)

Seriously, dick move, Emma. (New X-Men #131)

I really love this panel. (New X-Men #131)

Meanwhile in Genosha. (New X-Men #132)

The magnetic ghosts. (New X-Men #132)

Ah, man. (New X-Men #132)

The last words of Magneto, for now. (New X-Men #132)

Oh, for fuck’s sake. (New X-Men #133)

Damnit, Xavier. (New X-Men #133)

I love the idea that the Shi’ar’s collective Earth disguise is a bunch of Amish dudes.

Dust’s first (conscious) appearance. (New X-Men #133)

Jumbo Carnation! (New X-Men #134)

Quentin Quire before shit goes down. (New X-Men #134)

Seriously, Hank, uncool. (New X-Men #134)

Slick is gddamn adorable. (New X-Men #134)

Someday I will knit this sweater vest. (New X-Men #134)

NEXT EPISODE: Someday I will also knit this sweater vest.

LINKS & FURTHER ILLUSIONS:

As Mentioned in Episode 524 – House in a House

May 10, 2026 Jay 3 comments

Listen to the podcast here.

Xorn is a junk food guy. (New X-Men #127)

I… I don’t think Snuffy really cares anymore, dude. (New X-Men #127)

The idea of Magneto making all of this up fascinates me. (New X-Men #127)

Aw, Sonny. (New X-Men #127)

This poor kid. (New X-Men #127)

“And life goes on.” (New X-Men #127)

The appropriately ridiculous first appearance of Fantomex. (New X-Men #128)

Fire, life, and silverware incarnate. (New X-Men #128)

SO THAT’S A PROBLEM. (New X-Men #128)

In which Emma sits like a dyed-in-the-wool bisexual. (New X-Men #128)

This silly, silly man. (New X-Men #129)

Corporal Animal. (New X-Men #129)

E.V.A. is so pretty. (New X-Men #129)

We have fun. (New X-Men #129)

Weapon XII. (New X-Men #130)

Absolutely, unquestionably the line of the story. (New X-Men #130)

NEXT EPISODE: A memorial of magnetism.

As Mentioned in Episode 523 – This World of Liars

May 3, 2026 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Weirdly, Xorn and junk food will actually become a cover motif. (New X-Men #124)

G-Type, the LEGO guardian. (New X-Men #124)

In case you, too, were wondering what Neosaurus’s artificial brain looked like. (New X-Men #124)

Damn skippy. (New X-Men #125)

Still, it’s gotta be creepy when your inner monologue takes the form of your nude father figure in a cloud of ectoplasm. (New X-Men #125)

The best meet-cute. (New X-Men #125)

Damnit, Hank. (New X-Men #125)

Not only does he run around in those suspenders, but apparently he wore them for THE OFFICIAL SCHOOL PHOTO (New X-Men #126)

A better close-up of Mummudrai Charles. (New X-Men #126)

Never piss off a passel of teenagers. They will destroy you. (New X-Men #126)

We see what you did, there. (New X-Men #126)

So, that’s creepy. (New X-Men #126)

More ectoplasmic fun! (New X-Men #126)

Once you know about the electoral map, it’s really hard not to go straight there. (New X-Men #126)

Charles Xavier triumphant, nude. (New X-Men #126)

NEXT EPISODE: This ridiculous man.

Visuals for Audio

April 30, 2026 Miles One comment

If you follow us on a feed, you may have noticed a change in the icon that appears beside the podcast. We’ve got brand new cover art for the Morrison run, by artist and friend of the show Ramon Villalobos!

We also thought this might be a good time to take a peek back through twelve years of X-Plain art, starting with its comic-book antecedent. Click through to watch us evolve! (By completely coincidence, we’ve changed the cover art every six years. Go figure.)

The iconic cover to X-Men #137!

Our original cover art, by Ming Doyle.

In 2020, we updated for the Age of Apocalypse with art by Peter Nguyen.

Six years later, Ramon Villalobos ushers us into the age of New X-Men!

As Mentioned in Episode 522 – Fetus Fight

April 26, 2026 Jay One comment

Listen to the podcast here.

‘Nuff said, as they say. (New X-Men #121)

And in they go! (New X-Men #121)

The Cassandra Nova doors also shoot psychic energy and spit green goo. They’re great. (New X-Men #121)

I love this sequence. (New X-Men #121)

Hi, Charles. (New X-Men #121)

Not as weird as it could have been! (New X-Men #121)

FETUS FIGHT! FETUS FIGHT! (New X-Men #121)

Charles should’ve kept this look when he got his body back. (New X-Men #122)

Fuck, yeah, Emma. (New X-Men #122)

So it goes. (New X-Men #122)

HOW DO NONE OF THE X-MEN HAVE MEDIA TRAINING?! (New X-Men #123)

How to win over Emma Frost. (New X-Men #123)

That they regularly have meetings here is yet another piece of evidence that the Xavier School has no HR. (New X-Men #123)

I’ve had more relationships end this way… (New X-Men #123)

NEXT EPISODE: Your new OTP.

As Mentioned in Episode 521 – Snowflakes

April 21, 2026 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Illustration by David Wynne

Did those eyeballs come from a different jock or did he steal them between panels from this one? (New X-Men #118)

Telepaths must see a lot of weird fetishes. (New X-Men #118)

Onward, faculty! (New X-Men #118)

DAMMIT EMMA (New X-Men #118)

Mean or literal? You be the judge! (New X-Men #118)

Angel Salvadore is so gross and awesome! (New X-Men #118)

John Sublime remains the absolute worst. Also, hi Martha! (New X-Men #118)

I was always a little sad that Angel never got to wear the bumblebee helmet in the comics themselves. (New X-Men #119)

Sublime is awful, but that’s a great panel layout. (New X-Men #119)

Logan needs to work on his bedside manner. (New X-Men #119)

Explanations are not excuses. (New X-Men #119)

Kitty Pryde she isn’t… (New X-Men #119)

The tiniest morgue drawers! (New X-Men #119)

Just a kick-ass cover. (New X-Men #120)

Again: Kitty Pryde she isn’t! (New X-Men #120)

Aww shit. (New X-Men #120)

The Stepford Cuckoos. (New X-Men #120)

Effortless. (New X-Men #120)

This is fine. (New X-Men #120)

Martha’s revenge. (New X-Men #120)

Michael Jackson? (New X-Men #120)

NEXT TIME: Shh.

As Mentioned in Episode 520 – Head Like a (Black) Hole

April 10, 2026 Miles 2 comments

Listen to the episode here.

Illustration by David Wynne

To unlock Xorn, you’ll need the Lapis Eye key, the Purple Bull key, a code from carbon paper, and a number written in blood in a padded cell. (New X-Men Annual 2001)

X-Corporation Hong Kong has a pretty big headquarters for a staff of two… Well, now just one. (New X-Men Annual 2001)

Introducing John Sublime, tech-bro douchebag (and ancient/sentient bacteria). (New X-Men Annual 2001)

Grant Morrison: “I need you to draw a containment suit!” Leinil Francis Yu: *cracks knuckles* Every future artist: “DAMMIT LEINIL” (New X-Men Annual 2001)