In which we take a retrospective look at X-Factor and Excalibur: where the series began, where they went, and what’s in store after the ends of their first volumes.
X-PLAINED:
What Rictor’s been up to
X-Factor
Excalibur
NEXT EPISODE: A Corbeau cameo!
The visual companion to this episode is scattered through the last eight years of visual companions, mostly under the X-Factor and Excalibur tags.
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!
In which we reach the end of Larry Hama’s run on Generation X; Gaia remains remarkably normal for someone who has spent millennia chained up alone in a citadel; Synch practices radical forgiveness; we ponder the nature of Emma Frost and Sean Cassidy’s relationship; and Forge is extra unqualified to lecture on ethics.
X-PLAINED:
How Jubilee stopped being a vampire
The Draco, kinda
Generation X #44-47
Bianca LaNeige (again)
Polaroid cameras
Gaia (more) (again)
Reality warping
Woody and Arlo Guthrie
Iceland
Several continuity errors
Psi War fallout
Paul Weller
New school uniforms
Accreditation
Miss Pickwick
Penance’s nationality
Guthrie manifestation
Teamwork
Forge’s decision-making skills
Paradox
Indoor/outdoor moppets
Four theoretical horsemen of Apocalypse
Awkward family holidays
NEXT EPISODE: Jay & Miles autopsy X-Factor and Excalibur!
Check out the 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!
In which Synch is a more versatile character than he originally got credit for; “eep” and “eek” are likewise underused; space makes everything better; Nate Grey is the proto-himbo; and if you can decipher the secret code in this episode, you, too, can win a Silver Surfer jet ski!
X-PLAINED:
Diablo
Generation X Underground Special
X-Men Unlimited #30
X-Man: All Saints Day
Jim Mahfood
Skin’s video-game preferences
Strange superpowers
Poster pirates
Visual representations of the passage of time
“Banshee’s Angels”
Charlie’s Angels
The infamous donut-day riots
Perfect costumes
Adequate restraints for small children
The raw power of funk
Generation X vs. the Beat Generation
The greatest disco event in the universe
Nate Grey
Some kid named Jerome
Countess Absynthia Von Mort
Transylvania
Dr. Cindy’s Castle
The state of Phoenix affairs
The color bar at the top of the page in ‘90s comics
NEXT EPISODE: Generation X suits up!
Check out 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!
It’s always awkward when you run into someone you know out of context. (Uncanny X-Men #359)
I don’t know why Rogue palming Mystique’s face like a basketball is so funny, but it really is. (Uncanny X-Men #359)
Aw, these two. (Uncanny X-Men #359)
Spoiler: They do not actually fight each other. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)
Every supervillain, ever. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)
It’s Bring-a-Twink night at the poker game! (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)
Psycho Man may have his issues, but you’ve gotta hand it to his UI design. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)
I love that Kirby armor. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)
INVISIBLE BEAR TRAP (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)
By this point, half the superheroes in the Marvel Universe are anxiously awaiting their turn to toss Wolverine. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)
OH NO (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)
Callisto looks so cool in this issue. (X-Men #79)
She knows how to flirt like a pro. (X-Men #79)
They’re spooning. (X-Men #79)
NEXT EPISODE: Miles and Al Kennedy X-Plain the Generation X Underground Special!
In which birds have no business in sex dreams; feelings are complicated and allegories are imperfect; Mystique made some valid points; Psycho-Man is good at UI; Callisto was right; and the label “Omega-level mutant” actually kind of makes sense.
X-PLAINED:
Psycho-Man
Malice (but not that one)
Hate Monger (but not that one)
Finding good comics from the ‘90s
Uncanny X-Men #359
X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998
X-Men #79
The dead man’s hand
Dr. Aubrey Agee
Psi-War fallout
Dr. Bradley Beynon
Hadley the robot
Poker twinks
La Bludgeon
Psycho-Man’s Bad Feelings Box
An invisible bear trap
Marvel’s floating poker game
Officers Aguinal and Cleveland
Antagonists vs. villains
Omega-level mutants
NEXT EPISODE: The Generation X Underground Special, feat. Al Kennedy!
Check out 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!
In which you should stop hatin’, there’s a big difference between fill-ins and filler, Snow Valley needs higher Ferris wheel standards, Todd DeZago must really hate video rental clerks, and we’re all monsters – some of us just smell better than others.
X-PLAINED:
Strong Guy’s hellacious history
The nature and purpose of X-Men Unlimited
X-Men Unlimited #20-21
Rock Trolls (Chambliss, Nettles, and Munson)
What Asgard was up to in 1998
Magik vs magic
The Snow Valley Harvest Festival
Jubilation Lee, one of the guys
Eagles vs Hats
Fatman, Beardlady-o, Stickman-o, & Frogman-o
Tic Tac Toe fundamentals
Angry mobs
Paige Guthrie, Angry Mom
The many potential applications of Husk’s powers
Falls Edge, VA vs Eagle Ridge, WV
Payphones & video rental stores
X-friends
Rutland, VT (again)
Melvin J. Weals
Helen Back
The Donnybrook Country Club
Cat Fancier & Motorcycle Conventions
The Shi’ar Wardrobe Transmogrifier
Steel (the Shaq one)
The worst pun we’ve ever seen in a comic
Earth: the Hipster Planet
Which X-Men throw the best and/or wildest Halloween parties
Fan-casting X-voices
NEXT EPISODE: The X-Men team up with the Fantastic Four!
Check out the 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!