Tag: Adversary
326 – Son of a Gun
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS

In which it’s hard to be a hologram; the Internet is terrible and you should probably avoid it; we have no idea how Naze is still alive; this is not your mom’s Adversary (if your mom is Fall of the Mutants); Forge is an order muppet; and Sabretooth is not a great addition to most teams.
X-PLAINED:
- Skrulls in American history
- X-Factor’s attrition rate
- The spirit spell (again)
- The Adversary (again)
- X-Factor #119-121
- Hypercolor(TM) t-shirts
- Oblivion vs. masturbation
- Mark Trail (more) (again)
- Forge’s complicated relationship with magic
- The death of X-Factor
- Several retcons
- The resurrection of X-Factor
- (Mis)representation of indigenous cultures in X-books
- Jim Jaspers vs. the Adversary
- The spirit spell (YET AGAIN)
- The Feron of X-Factor
- Val ‘n’ Victor
- Dubious use of technology
- A red herring
- The lingering spectre of Days of Future Past
- Our tech issues
- Reasonable accommodations at the Xavier School
NEXT EPISODE: Cable vs. X-Force
Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
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 86 – Legends
Listen to the episode here.

86 – Legends (Fall of the Mutants, Part 1 of 3)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS

In which we begin our 3-part coverage of Fall of the Mutants; Roma is very good at her job; strange things are afoot in Dallas; Mystique’s parenting skills are somewhat lopsided; Neal Conan is awesome; Havok gets a soapbox; Storm and Forge flirt with godhood; Rogue’s costume exists in a state of quantum uncertainty; Colossus is the organic steel wrench in the gears of chaos; and the X-Men die for real (but get better).
X-PLAINED:
- Crossovers vs. events
- The Fall of the Mutants
- Uncanny X-Men #225-227
- A really great marketing campaign
- The Adversary (again)
- Roma
- The Starlight Citadel
- Retcons as applied pareidolia
- A metaphor that is also a real chess piece
- A sort-of stabbing
- Neal Conan & Manoli Wetherell
- Literally hard-hitting journalism
- A whole new world
- Another variation on the Rogue’s-costume drinking game
- A really improbable plan
- The death and resurrection of the X-Men
- Mutant metabolisms
NEXT WEEK: It’s Always Darkest…
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
As Mentioned in Episode 78 – The Eye Killers and Other Cautionary Tales
Listen to the episode here!


Links & Further Reading:
- For more on Storm, Forge, and “Lifedeath: A Love Story,” listen to Episode 31 – Chekhov’s Raygun!
- Navaho Religion: A Study in Symbolism, by Gladys Amanda Reichard
78 – The Eye Killers and Other Cautionary Tales
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS

In which we persevere in the face of adversity; Storm goes on a quest; Mr. Sinister makes his first appearance; Dazzler learns about teamwork (again); it still sucks to be Havok (but not as much as it sucks to be Madelyne Pryor); you should probably put down that cactus; the Murder Grampas join Freedom Force; Storm’s life is a metal-album cover; and the X-Men are doomed as hell.
X-Plained:
- The Mr. Sinister / Summers family time loop
- Uncanny X-Men #220-224
- Actual and potential origins of Mr. Sinister’s name
- How Longshot’s powers work in combat
- Teamwork (again)
- Representing sound and silence in a visual medium
- A protracted fight
- Forge (again)
- Naze (kind of)
- The Adversary
- Eye Killers
- One of many reasons not to masturbate with a cactus
- The X-Men in San Francisco
- Madelyne Pryor vs. fate
- Storm vs. Forge
- Character names vs. code names
- X-Makeovers
NEXT WEEK: X-Men vs. Avengers
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
As Mentioned in Episode 45 – A Woman Who Could Fly
Listen to the episode here!

Links and Further Reading:
- Cheryl Lynn Eaton on Idie Oknokwo
- Finder is Rachel’s all-time favorite comic, and you should go read it right now.
- This didn’t actually come up in the episode, but you’ve got just under one week left to get What Would Peter Corbeau Do? t-shirts before they disappear FOREVER.
45 – A Woman Who Could Fly
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS

In which we discard our regularly scheduled programming to focus on Storm and Lifedeath II; no one draws motion like Barry Windsor-Smith; Storm goes up to eleven; and we really wish we had the frame of reference to place this story in the larger context of diaspora literature.
X-Plained:
- Forge
- The Adversary
- Uncanny X-Men #198 (Lifedeath II)
- Storm
- The narrative impact of sexualization
- Barry Windsor-Smith
- Extreme weather in comics
- Hallucinatory X-Men
- Storm in adaptation
- The Storm elevator pitch
- Our Storm dream casting
- Mjnari
- Artist editions
- Colonialism
- Storm as a liminal figure
NEXT WEEK: The New Mutants Go to the Arena!
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Support us on Patreon!
Buy prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!