Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 477 – Ages of Apocalypse

February 21, 2025 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Jean Grey sums up this podcast. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

No smoking in the Skull Cave. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

“Was this outfit a mistake? I’m worried this outfit was a mistake.” (Uncanny X-Men #379)

“This outfit was definitely not a mistake, sugah.” (Uncanny X-Men #379)

To be fair, not her worst costume. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

Remember this for the next four chapters! ‘Cause the writers won’t. (Uncanny X-Men #379)

Don’t bring a sword to a gun- and/or Psimitar-fight. (Cable #77)

We learned that a horse helmet is called a chanfron, sometimes spelled shaffron, and that Magneto’s horse has the greatest one of all time. (Cable #77)

The literal power behind the throne. (Cable #77)

*cries in alternate timeline* (Cable #77)

We never get sick of that coloring technique. (Cable #77)

*record scratch* “You’re probably wondering how I got here…” (Wolverine #148)

“Logan, you know perfectly well that skeletons can’t drink, and even asking me is offensive and hurtful.” (Wolverine #148)

Is this issue good? That’s the wrong question. Is this issue fun? Absolutely. (Wolverine #148)

Nate Grey as Onslaught… Could this get any more 90s? (Wolverine #148)

I mean, might be an upgrade at this point. (See also: One World Under Doom, on sale now.) (Wolverine #148)

One of a very large number of excellent Phoenix costume color combinations. (X-Men Unlimited #26)

What’s Siphon’s deal? No one knows! (X-Men Unlimited #26)

Don’t think of it as losing a costume so much as gaining a robo-pterodactyl. (X-Men Unlimited #26)

Hey, it’s Excalibur! Kinda! (X-Men Unlimited #26)

Know why there isn’t sound in space? Because Banshee lost his voice. (X-Men Unlimited #26)

The one we’ve been waiting for! (Uncanny X-Men #380)

That ol’ Alan Davis alchemy. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

I want to read a whole comic about them! (Uncanny X-Men #380)

Utterly charming. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

The Brotherhood of 2099! Between Magneto and Polaris, we have complete shoulder fur-coverage. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

“Everyone, blast your thing at the thing!” (Uncanny X-Men #380)

Comic book structure as comic book storytelling. (Uncanny X-Men #380)

NEXT TIME: All the mutants lose their powers!

477 – Ages of Apocalypse

February 16, 2025 Jay 13 comments

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In which reality shatters; Ghost Rider wants friends; Jay’s toddler weighs in on the X-Men; the Phoenix costume is pretty much perfect; Caliban puts all his resources into an epic mount; and the future is so bright you’re gonna need shades.

X-PLAINED:

The Triune Understanding
Ages of Apocalypse
Uncanny X-Men #378
Cable #77
Wolverine #148
X-Men Unlimited #26
X-Men #98
Earth-23378
Things you can leave to people in a will
The Silver Age, but different
Apocaclops
Aliya Dayspring
Chronological inconsistencies
Earth-2841
The Harpy (Betty Ross)
A very different Fantastic Four
Earth-32000
Siphon
The moon
Zackat (Wolverine) (long story)
Erik the Red (more) (again)
The Ladies Mastermind
Cadre K
Earth-32098
X-World
The prettiest X-Man
The moon’s mutant power

NEXT EPISODE: Powerless!

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 TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 476 – The Moppets Take Manhattan

February 2, 2025 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Moppets on the run! (Generation X #59)

The meme before the meme but after the thing that became the meme. (Generation X #59)

Generation X vs. New Warriors. (Generation X #59)

Can’t really argue with that. (Generation X #59)

R.I.P., Butter Rum. (Generation X #59)

Oh, hey, it’s Mondo! (Generation X #60)

I don’t know if it’s the pose, or the color and font of the text, or what, but I can’t shake the idea that this is their holiday card. (Generation X #60)

Have you ever seen him in the same place as Santa? I REST MY CASE. (Generation X #61)

Spirit Halloween Hellfire Club. (Generation X #60)

Look at this silly-ass Dracula. (Generation X #60)

He will hypnotize you with the power of… ugly wallpaper! (Generation X #61)

Vampire quick-change? (Generation X #62)

Vampire quick-change! (Generation X #62)

NEXT EPISODE: Ages of Apocalypse!

Links & Further Conflagrations:

Hear the tragic tale of Butter Rum in Episode 42 – A Firestar Is Born!
And for more discussion, head on to Episode 225 – Class Reunion (feat. Austin Gorton)!

476 – The Moppets Take Manhattan

February 2, 2025 Jay 6 comments

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In which we remain adamant pro-POG advocates; Artie and Leech have adventures; Firestar and Emma Frost get some resolution; Santa Claus may or may not be the avatar of Cyttorak; Black Tom Cassidy exceeds expectations; and Monet has vampire problems.

X-PLAINED:

Marvel’s Revolution line
POGs (somewhat) (again)
Who’s on Generation X these days
Generation X #59-62
Artie and Leech’s adventures in NYC
Holidays at the Massachusetts Academy
Cordelia Frost (more) (again)
Mondo (the real one)
Santa Claus / Juggernaut disambiguation
An overly convoluted plot
Parenting?
St. Croix family problems
Vampire problems
Legacies of Generation X

NEXT EPISODE: Ages of Apocalypse!

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 TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 475 – Cross-Time Crisis

January 26, 2025 Miles One comment

Listen to the episode here.

If ever there was a time to bring back Bill Sienkiewicz for a cover… (X-Force #99)

Look at that varied crowd of background characters! And also that pig backpack! (X-Force #99)

Black toner cartridge has been depleted. Please replace black toner cartridge. (X-Force #99)

Is there a ghost in that necklace? Or maybe Malice 2.0? We’ll never know. (X-Force #99)

Sometimes, the bear eats you. (X-Force #99)

Don’t apologize for your awesome fantasy world, Arcadia! It’s great! (X-Force #99)

Creeeeepy doll. (X-Force #99)

Hi, Triune Understanding subplot! Bye, Triune Understanding subplot! (X-Force #99)

Not with a whimper, but with a bang and also a lot of narration. (X-Force #99)

Meet Dani, Dani, Dani, and Dani. (X-Force #99)

The Queen of the Star Swords: multiversal conqueror and also heavy metal album cover subject. (X-Force #100)

That’s all we get to see of the Queen of the Star Swords’ citadel. Looks like it’s probably pretty cool, though, right? (X-Force #100)

Less spiky than in the present day, but still a good look, Queen. (X-Force #100)

And that’s it for the resurrected-Juliana subplot. At least this one gets a satisfying, if sad, conclusion. (X-Force #100)

Well, the inside of the citadel looks pretty cool, at least! (X-Force #100)

Meet X-Force of Earth-130000! (X-Force #100)

It’s X-Force of Earth-8280, we think! Maybe Cannonball was supposed to be Cypher? (X-Force #100)

The saddest X-Force, numerical reality designation unknown. (X-Force #100)

X-Force of Earth-10003, AKA the Pete Wisdom-verse. (X-Force #100)

X-Force of… a lot of places. Fight! (X-Force #100)

“I’ll zap you so hard you’ll turn into a baby!” (X-Force #100)

G’Journey, Cable of Earth-3100… (X-Force #100)

…and G’Journey, John Francis Moore’s X-Force. (X-Force #100)

NEXT TIME: Mondo’s back, for the first time!

475 – Cross-Time Crisis

January 26, 2025 Jay 7 comments

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In which we wrap up John Francis Moore’s run on X-Force; the Demon Bear returns (kinda); four Moonstars are not in fact better than one; the Queen of Star Swords is an extremely rad villain; and X-Force takes a very contained multiversal tour.

X-PLAINED:

Multiversal canon
X-Force #99-100
The Demon Bear (more) (again)
Arcadia DeVille (more) (again)
Mary Weather
Fenwick
Meridian
The Queen of Star Swords
The Cathedral
Cable (but not that Cable)
The X-Forces of several universes
Earth-3100
Earth-10003
Earth-130000
Earth-8280
Earth-23100
Non-mutants on the X-Men
The provenance of the Brood X-men

NEXT EPISODE: Mondo! (The real one, this time.)

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 TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 474 – Giant-Size Special #13 (feat. Anthony Oliveira)

January 19, 2025 Miles One comment

Listen to the episode here.

Hey, that’s not what Warlock looks like in this series! (Warlock #1)

Jeez, Doug’s coffin needs to put up a NO TRESPASSING sign or something. (Warlock #1)

We had to really try to not just post all of Warlock’s transformations in this visual companion. (Warlock #1)

Meet Hope! No, not that one. The other one. (Warlock #1)

Anime hair, robot dinosaurs, and angst! (Warlock #2)

Classic (x2). (Warlock #2)

Warlock’s health is readable through the length of his cape. (Warlock #2)

Meet the Psi-Cops! (Warlock #3)

Our core cast! (Warlock #4)

Terry Gilliam’s been trying to make this movie for decades. (Warlock #4)

Jack Kirby smiles from the afterlife. (Warlock #4)

We love these kids. Wish they’d stuck around. (Warlock #4)

Mainspring can villain-splain with the best of them. Also… toucan? (Warlock #5)

I mean, to Warlock’s credit, it is pretty cool. (Warlock #5)

Team-up time! (Warlock #6)

“Alas, poor Bastion! I knew him-” SPAKKOW! (Warlock #6)

An oversimplification of the events of this story? Yes. Still hilarious? Also yes. (Warlock #7)

Friendship! (Warlock #7)

Grade A villainy, Mainspring! (Warlock #7)

I WANNA CLIMB IT. (Warlock #8)

“I know writers who use subtext, and they’re all cowards.” (Warlock #8)

If dad bods were evil. (Warlock #8)

/ FIGHT / TRANSFORM / MAGIC / ITEM / (Warlock #9)

“Eel” catch you later, dad! (Warlock #9)

When strength of identity meets strength of robot dinosaur. (Warlock #9)

If most of the cast will never be seen again, that’s not a bad panel to go out on. (Warlock #9)

Avengers Academy: Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic by Anthony Oliveira!

NEXT TIME: Demon Bear!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING

Find Anthony Oliveira on Bluesky! And lots of other places too.
Check out Avengers Academy on Marvel Unlimited!

474 – Giant-Size Special #13 (feat. Anthony Oliveira)

January 19, 2025 Miles 3 comments

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In which the Warlock ongoing series is fun, and fun is good; people should maybe leave Doug Ramsey’s grave alone; Tony Stark is probably not in touch with the Indigo Girls; the heroes skate awfully close to the “no killing” line; Bastion gets exhumed, rehumed, and re-exhumed; you should really read the Avengers Academy Infinity Comic; and you remain the best listeners of any podcast, ever.

X-PLAINED:

X-related characters of Avengers Academy
Warlock vol. 5, #1-9
Warlock (more) (again)
M-Tech
Jay’s Bluey Test for all-ages media
The visual semiotics of Warlock
Project Mainspring
Hope (Esperanza Ling)
Chi-Chee
Psi-cops
Gatekeepers
Technarchs
The transmode virus
A fancy hat
Many guest stars
The Phalanx (more) (again)
Psiren
Psimon
The techno-mechanic virus
Complicated feelings
Psycho Man (more) (again)
Astro-computers
Hope’s actual powers
Template
Magus (more) (again)
Avengers Academy Marvel Voices Infinity Comic
Why there are so many Canadian comic-book writers
Superhero comics vs. religious texts
Defining heroism
Escapade
Captain America of the Railways
Bloodline
Red Goblin
Moon Girl
Kid Juggernaut
Blackheart
Ongoing storytelling
Emplate as a queer character
Marcus Wetherell
What else to read if you love Avengers Academy Marvel Voices Infinity Comic
The 11^th Annual Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau Awards for Excellence at X-Cellence
Many people to whom we are profoundly grateful

NEXT EPISODE: The return of the Demon Bear!

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 TeePublic shop!

Winter Not-So-Special

January 12, 2025 Miles 7 comments

Because reality is full of things, the Winter Special is… not quite ready. But it will be in a week, and we think you’re going to love it! Apologies for the delay and we’ll see you then!