Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

The Mutation of a Logo

July 16, 2026 Miles One comment

One last special feature before our final episode!

Friend of the podcast and friend of us Katie Moody made our logo twice over the years, based on the iconic comics logo, and we thought you might be interested to learn how.

Click the Continue Reading link, and we’ll turn it over to Katie for a deep dive into design!

As Mentioned in Episode 531 – Here Comes Tomorrow

July 12, 2026 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Please enjoy this loving rendering of Wolverine’s ass. (New X-Men #151)

Meet the ‘Crawlers. (New X-Men #151)

Rover is a good boy. (New X-Men #151)

I really have trouble buying this as E.V.A.(New X-Men #151)

Do you know how long he had to grind for that belt? (New X-Men #151)

Meet Tito Bohusk, sexy hawk. (New X-Men #151)

The Stepford Cuckoos, all grown up. (New X-Men #151)

Wow, Emma. Wow. (New X-Men #152)

The Proud People, who absolutely deserve their own miniseries. (New X-Men #152)

Apollyon is totally That Guy. (New X-Men #152)

Goth team-up! (New X-Men #152)

A great illustration of the power of lettering. (New X-Men #152)

Wolverine poses dramatically. (New X-Men #152)

Wolverine poses dramatically.(New X-Men #152)

Everyone poses dramatically. (New X-Men #152)

…the fuck?!(New X-Men #152)

The Terminds. Don’t get too attached. (New X-Men #153)

They have fun. (New X-Men #153)

Yeah, valid. (New X-Men #153)

I love him.(New X-Men #153)

Didn’t see that team-up coming. (New X-Men #153)

Rover, NOOOOOO!(New X-Men #153)

Wolverine poses dramatically. (New X-Men #153)

Sublime X-Plains Sublime. (New X-Men #154)

The secondary colors of evil science. (New X-Men #154)

Hot Topic Phoenix. (New X-Men #154)

Wolverine X-plains the last century and a half. (New X-Men #154)

The end of the Stepford Cuckoos. (New X-Men #154)

Beast takes a turn posing dramatically. (New X-Men #154)

Phoenix night at the club. (New X-Men #154)

Only departure from the status quo can save the universe. (New X-Men #154)

NEXT EPISODE: The End.

531 – Here Comes Tomorrow

July 12, 2026 Jay 5 comments

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In which we wrap up the continuity portion of the podcast along with our coverage of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men; Wolverine poses dramatically; Cyclops breaks the timeline; Wolverine poses dramatically; we are deeply intrigued by Brian and his magic car; Wolverine poses dramatically; Sublime extends his reach; Phoenix heals the timeline; Wolverine poses dramatically; change is important; and somewhere Wolverine is probably still posing dramatically.

X-PLAINED:

X of Swords (somewhat)
Endings
Varying opinions on the same art
Earth-15104
‘Crawlers
Tom Skylark
Rover (in several media)
The Beast (Hank McCoy) (sort of)
The evolution of EVA
An evocative quotation
Several recognizable oracles
Where the timeline broke
The Proud People
Apollyon the Destroyer
Mer-Max
A somewhat robotic love triangle
Tito Bohusk
How to hatch a Phoenix egg
The White Hot Room
The Termids
Several atrocities
An unfortunate costume choice
John Sublime (for real this time)
Yet another origin of life on Earth
Evil science
Kick (more) (again)
Weapon XIV
The X-Men’s last stand
An unlikely Phoenix host
Breaking cycles
Aspects of Earth-15104 we’d like to see explored further
Where we’d conclude the X-Men

NEXT EPISODE: The end.

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 530 – Not for Beginners

July 5, 2026 Jay One comment

Listen to the podcast here.

Dig that Christopher Shy cover! (New X-Men #149)

Magneto was technically right, the best kind of right. (New X-Men #149)

Dick move. (New X-Men #149)

Hindsight. (New X-Men #149)

Hell, yeah! (New X-Men #149)

These issues are so full of great hero moments. (New X-Men #149)

I am pretty sure that they are not a thing. (New X-Men #149)

This seems… unlikely. (New X-Men #149)

Dang, Phoenix! (New X-Men #150)

HECK YEAH BEAK! (New X-Men #150)

Right into the gutter! (New X-Men #150)

You’d think that telepaths could use the same line of approach, but I guess not? (New X-Men #150)

Aw, they’re so heroic. (New X-Men #150)

Well, shit. (New X-Men #150)

The graffiti absolutely sends me. (New X-Men #150)

NEXT EPISODE: The future!

LINKS & FURTHER MUTATIONS

530 – Not for Beginners

July 5, 2026 Jay 14 comments

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In which we remain frustrated with Morrison’s Magneto; Esme Cuckoo’s hat game is lacking; and the status quo dies with Jean Grey.

X-PLAINED:

Dubious X-relationships
Some excellent songs from an excellent show
New X-Men #149-150
Various atrocities and catastrophes
The resistance, such as it is
Magneto’s limits
A rebirth
Neutron warheads
The cavalry
Yet another death of Magneto
Yet another death of Jean Grey
A peculiar epilogue
A legacy of retcons
A miasma of bleakness and futility
The Xorn retcon
Disability in “Planet X”
Miracles of Magnetism

NEXT EPISODE: The future!

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 529 – Magneto Was Wrong

June 28, 2026 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the podcast here.

We didn’t discuss it in the episode, but I really dig this cover. (New X-Men #146)

Charles Xavier is not a safe adult. (New X-Men #146)

Death by irony. (New X-Men #146)

And there it is. (New X-Men #146)

I know this is supposed to be dramatic and horrifying; but there’s something about Magneto’s stiff pose and facial expression that makes it very funny. (New X-Men #147)

Meet the new Brotherhood! (New X-Men #147)

There go the bridges. (New X-Men #147)

The bubbles were a choice. (New X-Men #147)

Bless Phil Jimenez for finding a whole spectrum of ways to obscure Charles Xavier’s genitalia. (New X-Men #148)

Jean’s eminently sensible bra. (New X-Men #148)

Okay, so, the side coverage (or lack of coverage) is a little weird; but I’ll still accept it. (New X-Men #148)

OH SNAP IT’S THE PHOENIX (New X-Men #148)

NEXT EPISODE: Magneto dies, again.

529 – Magneto Was Wrong

June 28, 2026 Jay 6 comments

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In which many plot threads come together; Charles Xavier is a catastrophically bad listener; you should probably not live in the Marvel Universe; bridges are really important; there’s nothing sexy about dying of heat exhaustion; and we judge Morrison’s Magneto and find him wanting.

X-PLAINED:

What Xorn did after dying
The story so far
New X-Men #146-148
Beast’s typing gloves
Several innovative ways to type loudly
Doomed plans
A manufactured confrontation
A trap
Magneto reimagined
Visual depictions of sweat
“New Genosha”
Death and rebirth
Whether Magneto has a place in New X-Men; and if so, what
A name for an era

NEXT EPISODE: Yet another death of Magneto

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 528 – Welcome to the Slippery Slope

June 21, 2026 Jay One comment

Listen to the podcast here.

Me, too, Scott. Me, too. (New X-Men #142)

I’m not sure Sabretooth has ever looked cooler than this. (New X-Men #142)

Jake Danial’s. (New X-Men #142)

There are better places to drink than a nine-panel grid, but not many. (New X-Men #142)

Aw, these guys. (New X-Men #142)

Welcome to the World. (New X-Men #143)

I like these weird li’l dudes. Too bad they are extremely doomed. (New X-Men #143)

This looks cool and all, but what I really want to know is why SONY was allowed, but Jack Daniel’s wasn’t. (New X-Men #143)

Cool dudes lookin’ cool. (New X-Men #143)

Wolverine vs. a rail gun. (New X-Men #143)

All car cops are bastards. (New X-Men #144)

Walking all over a time-frozen splash page, as one does. (New X-Men #144)

Meet Weapon XV. (New X-Men #144)

While Wolverine and Fantomex declare war on Weapon Plus, this man is living his own private Silent Hill game. (New X-Men #144)

And there goes Weapon XV. (New X-Men #144)

Weapon Plus HQ is, in its own way, every bit as surreal as the World. (New X-Men #145)

Ugh, Fantomex is so cool. (New X-Men #145)

The plus logo is a really interesting detail. (New X-Men #145)

NEXT EPISODE: Magneto, unmasked!

528 – Welcome to the Slippery Slope

June 21, 2026 Jay 3 comments

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In which friends don’t let friends drink sparkling wine at the Hellfire Club; Cyclops is a Silent Hill protagonist; Fantomex is a cool dude; John Sublime has his grubby little fingers in everything; and three men do a lot of things to avoid going to therapy.

X-PLAINED:

What happened to the World
Weapon XVI
New X-Men #142-145
Fantomex (more) (again)
The Weapon Plus program
A large number of things men will do instead of going to therapy
How to murder a nice, romantic mood
The Hellfire Club, the rest of the time
Jake Danials Whisky
A drinking contest
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
The World
Weapon XV
A series of B&Es
Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.)
Car cops
Weapon XV’s feelings
Weapon Plus’s secret space headquarters
Education at the Xavier School
Gender-swapped superheroes and heirs to superheroes

NEXT EPISODE: Magneto, unmasked!

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!