In which the Age of Apocalypse comes to an end; Angel briefly lives up to his potential; Bishop was sometimes right; It’s not a climactic ending without an X-Men #137 reference; Colossus breaks our hearts; X-Men: Marvels Snapshot will be out in September; and somehow we have made 300 of these things.
X-PLAINED:
Beast vs. Dark Beast
X-Men: Omega
The entirety of the (first) Age of Apocalypse
Potpourri vs. incense
Dramatic hair
Many, many errors
Unforeseen consequences
A long-anticipated team-up
Many deaths
Art as artifact
Narration that has haunted Jay for 20 years
One of the more persistent deaths of David Haller
Blast Attack
The end of a world
Refugees from the Age of Apocalypse
Our favorite X-milestone issues
Theoretical teams
Orphans
When X-Men: Marvels Snapshot is actually coming out
Our favorite show bits
How Jay’s chickens-in-law are doing
NEXT EPISODE: X-Men Prime
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!
HI! Jay here! This week we dove into the gritty, glittery entrails of Earth-295 (better known as the Age of Apocalypse), where we’ll be spending the next several months. And as some of you have spotted, we’ve updated our cover art to match, care of x-ceptional artist and long-time friend of the show Peter Nguyen:
HOT DAMN
Not only that, but Peter hooked us up with a time-lapse video of the creation of the cover, condensing about four hours of digital art into four minutes, which you can watch below the cut! Continue reading
This plotline really never stops hurting. (X-Factor #93)
THE ARISTOCRATS! (X-Factor #93)
I see what you did, there. (X-Factor #93)
It is actually a pretty sharp costume once you take off all the goofy stuff. (X-Factor #93)
Hope you survive the experience! (X-Factor #93)
I feel like an evening with Lorna Dane would probably be really fun and also result in both of you being banned from several establishments. (X-Factor #94)
I’m trying to think of other hobbies for Quicksilver and generally failing. (X-Factor #94)
“Statement! One, love.” (X-Factor #95)
NOT A DISSERTATION, THOUGH (X-Factor #95)
It really never gets old. (X-Factor #95)
Yay! (X-Factor #95)
Aw, Rahne. (X-Factor #95)
Featuring the Increasingly Swoopy Hair of Alex Summers. (X-Factor #96)
AW, RAHNE. (X-Factor #96)
Someday we’re gonna have to X-Plain Haven, and I am dreading that day. (X-Factor #96)
UPDATE: Jay initially linked to the wrong episode here. Link now leads to the actual Episode 241. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Dave is moving this week. We miss you, Dave!
In which Quicksilver wants you to know that he’s not cool; X-Factor gets a new government liaison; a danger room on a jet is a terrible idea; this team is bad at feelings; Forge is a pretty okay boss; and it remains exceptionally difficult to be Rahne Sinclair.
X-PLAINED:
Several deaths of Scott Summers
X-Factor #93-96
X-Factor (more) (again)
A somewhat tragic meeting
A costume and the response thereto
A very brief adventure
A political reference
Feelings
Art therapy with Quicksilver
Random (more) (again)
Mr. Dibbles
Havok’s hair
The new boss (as literally and idiomatically distinct from the old boss)
Some history
Haven (kind of)
Navigating mental health triggers in comics
The difference between isolation and quarantine
NEXT EPISODE: A Threat and/or Menace!
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!
Possibly the grooviest Dracula-related cover ever published. (X-Men Annual #6)
HELL, YEAH, IT’S DRACULA! (X-Men Annual #6)
Kitty is having SO MANY FEELINGS, and you will NEVER UNDERSTAND! (X-Men Annual #6)
Check out Cyclops and Nightcrawler exchanging a look, like, “Parents? What the hell are those?” (X-Men Annual #6)
This panel is actually a pretty good encapsulation of what I remember about being 13. (X-Men Annual #6)
TBH, a lot of Kitty’s dreams probably start like this. (X-Men Annual #6)
THAT’S NOT A BAT. (X-Men Annual #6)
Dracula is probably the only person who looked at a bright green catsuit and yellow pouches and thought “stealth.” He’s mysterious like that. (X-Men Annual #6)
Ah, 13: that tender age when a young girl’s heart turns to eldritch summonings. (X-Men Annual #6)
Dracula, that’s really the kind of thing you should be keeping track of. (X-Men Annual #6)
[Eliot Spencer voice] “It’s a very distinctive sound effect.” (X-Men Annual #6)
How does Nightcrawler know the Montesi Formula? Who knows? Who cares? He’s a good pal. (X-Men Annual #6)
OH, SNAP. (X-Men Annual #6)
That’s our Wolvie! (X-Men Annual #6)
Lilith really looks like she’s visiting from an Archie comic. (X-Men Annual #6)
Skids and Northstar!
NEXT EPISODE: Fix the future!
And here’s a bonus gallery of Jay’s convention sketches:
Quentin Quire is indisputably the Nancy of the X-Men.
That said, we feel pretty strongly that this is a design that should be in everybody’s hands. You’re of course welcome to buy our merch above; but if you want to DIY your own, you can download a high-resolution stencil below. This stencil is free for use for any non-commercial projects.
It is ALSO free for use on specific commercial projects, with one major caveat (on the honor system):
If your business is not trans-owned, any proceeds from merchandise you sell with this design should go to Trans Lifeline or another trans advocacy organization.
(Also, we’d love to see anything folks make with this, private or commercial!)
Thanks to Dylan Meconis for design and file-formatting assistance!
We’re juuuuust about recovered from Emerald City Comic Con (be sure to check out the live episode), and finally ready to show off our mountains of photos! First up: All the table sketches we remembered to photograph!
(Not pictured: A handful of solos, a couple collaborative pieces, and the marriage proposal Jay was so bewildered that someone asked him to draw that he totally forgot to document it. If you got a sketch from us that isn’t pictured here, please feel free to share it in the comments!)
In which Jay makes a sartorial switch; Hope Summers is less confusing than you might expect; we are very happy to present our first all-artist convention special; Ramon kills his idols; Rachelle deciphers the past; Bret (re)defines New Mutants; a long-time mystery is resolved; colorists deserve more respect; the Xavier School probably has an actual curriculum; and a lot of X-Men have really cool hair.
X-PLAINED:
The adventures of Hope Summers
Several Phoenix hosts
The time Quentin Quire became a Shi’ar god
Jay’s mom
Our panelists’ definitive X-Men
E for Extinction
Killing your idols
Coloring as archaeology
Visually defining the X-Men
New Mutants that might have been
Favorite costumes
The actual color of Storm’s ’90s costume
Editorial direction vs. editorial mandate
Practical considerations in costume design
Actual education at the Xavier School
Wolverine’s assorted children
The best hair in the X-Men
NEXT EPISODE: Cannonball dies (briefly)!
No visual companion to this one, but check out the first part of our ECCC gallery over 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!
We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)