Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 510 – Giant-Size Special #14 (feat. Alex Paknadel)

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Well backgrounded, Tom Raney! (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1)
And then Jean holographically re-traumatized herself. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1)
And then Cable holographically re-traumatized himself. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1)
That monkey is INTO THIS. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1)
Time to switch lip balm brands, my friend. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1)
Scott Summers: great at boats. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1)
Okay, this doesn’t literally happen in this issue, but it looks pretty rad. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #2)
Angry mobs: a core feature of any historical period or geographic locale! (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #2)
Bad kitty. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #2)
As if his day couldn’t get any worse… (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #2)
It’s easy to forget how well Apocalypse rocks that heavy metal haircut. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #3)
“I’m not even supposed to be here today! (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #3)
“Hey, who turned out the lights?” (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #3)
(Cue goofy Hanna-Barbera chase music) (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #3)
“Your butt was really different the last time we hung out!” (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #3)
<3 (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #3)
“Sorta-mom, didn’t your sorta-daughter wear that same color when she was old in the future that is my past?” (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #4)
Now that’s how you enter a panel! (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #4)
Jean is having a day. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #4)
Jean Grey and her weaponized feelings. Hell yeah. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #4)
Okay, that’s legit cool. If also a little silly. (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #4)
“…at least until our relationship falls apart in New X-Men.” (X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #4)
NEXT TIME: Gambit and Bishop get their own series!

Find Alex Paknadel on Bluesky and Instagram!

510 – Giant-Size Special #14 (feat. Alex Paknadel)

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In which we attempt an all-Cyclops Winter special; X-Men are bad at processing grief; writer Alex Paknadel X-Plains his upcoming Cyclops miniseries; every character (except Cameron Hodge) is someone’s favorite; and you remain the best listeners of any podcast, ever.

X-PLAINED:

  • Clones of Cyclops
  • Gwen Warren
  • Our year in review
  • X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1-4
  • Ahmed and his mustache
  • Emotional support boats
  • A monkey
  • Apoca-lips
  • Anias
  • Boxes of fire
  • One way of coping with trauma
  • Ozymandias (more) (again)
  • The relative criminality of a trail of questions
  • Cat lady problems
  • Twice as many cat ladies named Anias as you’d expect
  • Terrible logic
  • Caliban (more) (again)
  • Several unpleasant reunions
  • Alex Paknadel’s definitive Cyclopses
  • Fun with minor characters
  • Proxy characters and “highly polished surfaces”
  • Characters to revisit
  • Sentinels
  • Cyclops vs. his own powers
  • Cyclops’s powers vs. continuity
  • Who Scott Summers is when he’s alone
  • The punch dimension
  • The 11th Annual Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau Awards for Excellence at X-Cellence
  • Many people to whom we are profoundly grateful

NEXT EPISODE: Gambit & Bishop: Now Kiss Sons of the Atom

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

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 509 – No Fun Will Be Had

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Everyone is just so jagged and wiry! (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
No one ever invites us to clubs like this. (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
Meet Sarah Rushman and her abs! (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
You’re partied out, man. (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
Daaaaaamn. (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
Just a li’l Spidey-parkour! (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
A very bouncy match-up! (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
“The point is, we did some unethical stuff and it was awesome.” (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
Peter Parker possesses the proportional good heart of a good-hearted spider. (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
Alas, the main thing in Marrow’s future is more trauma. (Spider-Man & Marrow #1)
Hank McCoy, possessor of an amazing scientific mind and absolutely no chill. (Uncanny X-Men #390)
Beast x-plains nine years of the Legacy Virus. (Uncanny X-Men #390)
“Do NOT take that out of the fridge! It’s, like, super expired!” (Uncanny X-Men #390)
No surprise that Chuck is good at basketball – did you see his gymnastics routine an issue or two ago?! (Uncanny X-Men #390)
Aww man aww man (Uncanny X-Men #390)
As we are PLUNGEd into sadness. (Uncanny X-Men #390)
Hell of a callback. (Uncanny X-Men #390)
This cover has always stuck with us. (X-Men #110)
What a large teenager! (X-Men #110)
Leinil Francis Yu’s people look a little weird – and that just makes them look more normal. (X-Men #110)
This issue has such a quiet and contemplative feel. (X-Men #110)
Those are some very dramatic trees. (X-Men #110)
Just beautiful. (X-Men #110)
See you in Mekanix, Kitty. (X-Men #110)
Seems a little excessive, but I’m sure she appreciates the sentiment! (X-Men #110)
NEXT TIME: It’s our Winter Special and Cyclops is back!

If you’re in crisis and need someone to talk to, here are some resources (phone numbers are US specific):

  • 988 is a national mental health crisis helpline.
  • 741741 is a national crisis text line, reachable via text, online chat, or WhatsApp.
  • Trans Lifeline is a trans peer support hotline.
  • The Trevor Project offers round-the-clock phone and text support for queer and trans youth.
  • The Veterans Crisis Line offers 24/7 crisis support for veterans and can be reached directly or via 988.

509 – No Fun Will Be Had

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In which Marrow just want to be left alone; Spider-Man remains hapless; S.H.I.E.L.D. is unhelpful; Colossus dies; Shadowcat leaves the X-Men; and we are all on board for Mutants to Watch Out For.

X-PLAINED:

  • How Magik caught the Legacy Virus
  • Marrow (again)
  • Spider-Man and Marrow #1
  • Uncanny X-Men #390
  • X-Men #110
  • A fancy club
  • A terrible plan
  • The Legacy Virus (more) (again)
  • Some deeply contrived “science”
  • A life-affirming display of social interaction
  • The death of Colossus
  • A very silly sound effect
  • Acceptable handwriting
  • Nostalgia
  • A double send-off
  • Closure
  • Mortality in Otherworld
  • Imaginary crossovers

NEXT EPISODE: Winter Special!

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

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!

Buy rad swag at our Dashery shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 508 – Destiny’s Doodles

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A quick workout with Charles Xavier. (Uncanny X-Men #389)
At my funeral, I want a kazoo band. (Uncanny X-Men #389)
Joe Mactaggert is a jerk. (Uncanny X-Men #389)
Rachel’s actually okay, but Kitty doesn’t know that yet. (Uncanny X-Men #389)
DAMNIT. (Uncanny X-Men #389)
I wonder how weird and specific Destiny’s diaries get. (Uncanny X-Men #389)
Bad times. (Uncanny X-Men #389)
Is this a bit? (X-Men #109)
They’re gonna hook up, and then everyone’s going to forget that Thunderthird ever existed. Poor guy. (X-Men #109)
Ye Olde Hot Chocolate Hall. (X-Men #109)
Seriously, though, what the hell? (X-Men #109)
Oh, my. (X-Men #109)
I love that instead of making the holy family generally mutant-looking, they straight-up used X-Men statues. (X-Men #109)
Coming soon: X-Treme X-Men! (X-Men #109)
Based on size, maybe it’s a box of tissues? (X-Men #109)
Wellp. (X-Men #109)
BEHOLD YOUR LEGACY (X-Men #109)
NEXT EPISODE: Colossus dies!

508 – Destiny’s Doodles

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In which Professor Xavier is a jock; all of Shadowcat’s friends are dead; Storm recruits a team; Bishop makes new pals; and everyone gets festive.

X-PLAINED:

  • Some of Mystique’s secret kids
  • Uncanny X-Men #389
  • X-Men #109
  • Charles Xavier’s workout routine
  • Two funerals
  • Rave (the drug)
  • The wrong necklace
  • Destiny’s doodles
  • A large knife
  • Charles Xavier/Moira MacTaggert backstory
  • A snowball fight
  • A very sketchy circus
  • A break-up
  • “Christmas cheer”
  • A mysterious package
  • An X-Men nativity
  • Sage (Tessa)
  • Origins of X-Treme X-Men
  • Several gifts, some more mysterious than others
  • Charles Xavier’s legacy
  • Warwolves (more) (again)
  • Archangel’s color vision

NEXT EPISODE: Colossus dies!

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

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!

Buy rad swag at our Dashery shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 507 – Comic Book Logic

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CD-Rs, our lost beloveds. (X-Force #114)
They’re so delightfully blasé about it. (X-Force #114)
X-Force swimsuit special! (X-Force #114)
Agent Corben. (X-Force #114)
One way to stealthily kidnap a man. (X-Force #115)
Still can’t get over how wildly impractical Tabitha’s cape is. (X-Force #115)
Go, team! (X-Force #115)
The World Engine is kinda icky. (X-Force #115)
*rimshot* (X-Force #115)
Damn, Emma. (Generation X #75)
This panel is mostly in here to spotlight Paige’s transcendently southern hair. (Generation X #75)
Damn, Emma. (Generation X #75)
Hee. (Generation X #75)
One of many hugs. (Generation X #75)
Gonna miss these kids. (Generation X #75)
NEXT EPISODE: More endings!

507 – Comic Book Logic

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In which there are a lot of explosions in X-Force; Great Britain-616 is to intelligence as Canada-616 is to military; Alastair Stuart used to be fun; Emma Frost is here to stomp on your dreams; Chamber joins the X-Men; and the Generation X kids graduate themselves.

X-PLAINED:

  • Revolution (again)
  • Counter-X (again)
  • X-Force #114-115
  • Generation X #75
  • Yet another origin of humanity and/or life on Earth (again)
  • The World Engine
  • Accurate representation of CD-Rs
  • Genetech
  • A swimsuit interlude
  • Agent Corben
  • Alastair Stuart (more) (again)
  • A kidnapping
  • A really amazingly terrible plan
  • A particularly large explosion
  • The remaining 14 issues of X-Force vol. 1
  • An interlude at Applebee’s
  • Bad times at the New Xavier School
  • A murder (more) (again)
  • Intersectional superheroism
  • An additional bonus murder
  • An invitation
  • Many goodbyes
  • What happens next to the Generation X kids

NEXT EPISODE: The end of Revolution

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

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!

Buy rad swag at our Dashery shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 506 – The House at the End of the World

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Totally irrelevant to this story, but cool design. (Cable #85)
They have to abbreviate the name for the phone book. (Cable #85)
SMUFF, tho (Cable #85)
This will never come up again, ever. (Cable #85)
Cable’s time suit. (Cable #85)
Gaunt, who is probably actually Kang. (Cable #85)
We are ALWAYS here for awkward Summers family hugs. (Cable #86)
SHIRTS OFF (Cable #86)
Whoops. (Cable #86)
An unlikely frienship. (Cable #88)
What the fuck, Nightcrawler? (Cable #88)
Do you want Major X? Because that’s how you get Major X. (Cable #88)
Here’s to you, Video Renaissance. (Cable #88)
NEXT EPISODE: Two endings.

506 – The House at the End of the World

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In which Jay remains angry at a font; a person who is obviously Kang the Conqueror is not in fact Kang the Conqueror; the pig men deserve better; and Nightcrawler should never, ever, ever be allowed to attempt grief counseling.

X-PLAINED:

  • Storm/Cable
  • Cable #85-86, 88
  • Cable (more)(again)
  • Earth-4935
  • Mother Askani
  • Irene Merryweather
  • Several cryptic witches
  • Are you as dangerous as you think martial arts training for advanced students
  • Shin
  • An unlikely sound effect
  • The Black Dawn
  • A time catapult
  • An End of Time
  • Earth-805110
  • The House on the Borderline
  • Gaunt
  • One of Esad Ribic’s more entertaining accomplishments
  • A fight
  • One way to weaponize the T-O virus
  • The future past of Rachel Summers
  • Cable’s friendship with Moira MacTaggert
  • Streets of Fire
  • Grief counseling? Sort of? I guess?
  • A very impressive spear
  • Our muppet counterparts

NEXT EPISODE: Two endings!

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

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!

Buy rad swag at our Dashery shop!