As Mentioned in Episode 529 – Magneto Was Wrong

June 28, 2026 Jay Leave a comment

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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!

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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!

454 – X-Men ’97, Part 2

June 30, 2024 Miles 13 comments

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SPOILER WARNING: ALL OF THEM, NONSTOP

In which Barry Windsor-Smith is too sexy for television; we know what happens when unstable molecules get struck by lightning; X-Men gets political and does it spectacularly; this Captain America would not sew the cape; Magneto continues to throw things into space; and they kissed and we missed it.

X-PLAINED:

Fabian Cortez’s name
X-Men ’97 episodes 6-10
Lifedeath I & II: a surprising adaptation
Varying levels of going in blind
A somewhat different and possibly better Forge
The Adversary vs. the Owl Queen
Stormiest and least-Stormy costumes
Professor Charles Xavier, Official Space Boyfriend
Colonialism vs. Identity
Delayed catharsis
The narrative power of altered opening credits
What makes allyship effective (and not)
Justified mutant anger
The worst version of Nina DaCosta
What makes Prime Sentinels scary
Summers family feels
The best damned fight scenes out there
Bastion, robo-avatar of conservative white patriarchy
Simultaneous crossovers
A psychic gay bar
A last boss arena
Acolyte equivalencies
Phoenix Ex Machina
Crying
Whether Magneto was right
Apoca-futures and Apoca-pasts
A bulletin board and our hopes for its contents
Soft Serve
Kitty Pryde’s coffee shop AU
X-Men ’97 as the perfect gateway

NEXT EPISODE: Skrulls!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

The Judgment of Magneto by Asher Elbein

No visual companion this week!

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 218 – Careful What You Lick

October 21, 2018 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

They are very excited to be here. (Uncanny X-Men #298)

This is exactly how we dress to watch TV, too. (Uncanny X-Men #298)

Ugh, THESE jerks. (Uncanny X-Men #298)

I mean, they were living there anyway, and it’s probably just as well that you saved them from being murdered, but you do you. (Uncanny X-Men #298)

Forge, you have never been reassuring in your life. (Uncanny X-Men #299)

Somewhere, a damp Magneto is skittering around waiting for his new carapace to harden. (Uncanny X-Men #299)

While I get that Warren’s intentions are probably good here, breaking into schools and holding the children while they sleep is generally frowned upon by LITERALLY EVERYONE. (Uncanny X-Men #299)

Look at him evade like a pro. (Uncanny X-Men #299)

BECAUSE WE WERE TOO MENNY (Uncanny X-Men #299)

Hank McCoy for President. (Uncanny X-Men #299)

I wish they just lied continually to Bishop about the modern world. (Uncanny X-Men #299)

Look at all those Xs! (Uncanny X-Men #300)

Forge, settle down, buddy. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

Iceman speaks for us all, here. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

PROFESSOR XAVIER IS KIND OF CREEPY. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

A good hug. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

And that’s why you always leave a note! Or don’t murder Magneto! One of those, probably! (Uncanny X-Men #300)

These villains are not wildly memorable. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

A rematch that’s been a long time coming. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

Even ’90s Cyclops has his moments. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

There’s the mutant metaphor, and then there’s the Jean Grey metaphor, which is related but not identical. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

“Magnets… I’ve had a few…” (Uncanny X-Men #300)

GLOWER. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

And then nobody was ever happy again. (Uncanny X-Men #300)

NEXT EPISODE: The Emma Frost Appreciation Society (feat. Seanan McGuire, Leah Williams, et. al.)

LINKS & FURTHER NONSENSE:

Come see us at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival!
The delightful PDX Broadsides will also be there!
This episode involves a LOT of references to past story arcs. Here’s where you can hear us talk about those:
- Learn about one of the less obvious reasons not to masturbate with cacti in Episode 78 – The Eye Killers and Other Cautionary Tales.
- You can hear about the beginning of X-Men vol. 2 in Episode 178 – Giant-Size Special #6.
- We covered God Loves, Man Kills in Giant-Size Special #1.
You can see Miles’s childhood X-Men drawings in Jay & Miles Made a Zine About the X-Men, now available on Gumroad!

218 – Careful What You Lick

October 15, 2018 Jay 28 comments

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In which X-Cutioner’s Song may be over, but its repercussions continue; Uncanny X-Men hits a major milestone; superhero comics are and always have been political; Bishop learns to banter; the X-Men gain an unlikely ally; and Magneto remains exceptionally difficult to kill.

X-PLAINED:

Jay & Miles at VVCBF
Uncanny X-Men #298-300
The Acolytes (more) (again)
The Upstarts (more) (again)
Several important lessons
A very fancy room
A very fancy brain
The unpleasant fate of Sharon Friedlander
The all-new, all-different Acolytes
Carmella Unuscione
The return of one of our favorite antagonists
A sick burn
The fate of Asteroid M
Molting
A debate
Graydon Creed (more) (again)
The tentative redemption of Robert Kelly
How to lose a debate with Joe Biden
A large number of prescient political references
Friends of Humanity
How to engage with a fascist in a televised debate
Noah DuBois
Fatale
A generic rural mob
Milan
A narratively convenient superpower
Amelia Voght
Seamus Mellencamp
Neophyte
The gospel of Magneto
A joyous reunion
The helmet that wouldn’t die
Ponytail ethics
Timelust
Several accents
The current state of Rogue’s powers

NEXT EPISODE: All Emma All Episode (feat. Seanan McGuire, Leah Williams, and more)!

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!

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.)

As Mentioned in Episode 161 – Do You Even Howl, Bro?

August 27, 2017 Jay 6 comments

Listen to the podcast here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

FlameCon Saturday: ABD Squad! (Yes, Tea’s shirt says what you think it does. Yes, Jay’s hands light up. Yes, we think we’re funny.)

FlameCon Party: Billy and Teddy from Young Avengers #15

FlameCon Sunday: Mod Silver Age Emma and Scott.

Excalibur #32

Not unprecedented, until you realize that the whole thing is a fantasy Margaret Thatcher is having in therapy. (Excalibur #32)

YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?! (Excalibur #32)

Don’t mess with Kitty’s crushes. She’ll cut you. (Excalibur #32)

That is PERFECTLY RESPECTABLE penmanship, thank you very much. (Excalibur #32)

Welcome to St. Subtext’s School for Young Ladies. (Excalibur #32)

(Excalibur #33)

“Also, I’m a superhero.” (Excalibur #33)

(Excalibur #34)

“But you can call me… MR. RAD!” (Excalibur #34)

Let the hijinks commence! (Excalibur #34)

Well, that could’a gone worse. (Excalibur #34)

‘Kay. (Excalibur #34)

Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time I’d woken up like this… (Excalibur #32)

TOO SOON, MESMERO. (Excalibur #33)

Do those abs go all the way… wait, no, that doesn’t even make sense. (Excalibur #33)

But if he can hypnotize her just by making eye contact, why bother doing this? Just to mess with her for fun? Total dick move.(Excalibur #33)

[Ron Howard voice]: There were mistakes. (Excalibur #33)

Oh, great. These assholes, again. (Excalibur #34)

AND THAT’S WHY YOU ALWAYS LEAVE A NOTE! (Excalibur #34)

GOOD JOB, EVERYBODY! (Excalibur #34)

Trust me, they’re delightful together. (Excalibur #35)

Well, that escalated quickly. (Excalibur #35)

Aw, kiddo. (Excalibur #35)

Right. That guy. (Excalibur #35)

“But not the one from Alaska. The indefinite article.” (Excalibur #35)

And they all lived grumpily ever after. (Excalibur #35)

Our hero! (Excalibur #36)

It’s a nuanced issue, okay? (Excalibur #36)

This is why we can’t have nice… uncontrolled nuclear things? (Excalibur #36)

Best fight dialogue? Best fight dialogue. And check out that word-balloon cut! (Excalibur #36)

We certainly did not see that coming. (Excalibur #36)

And it DIDN’T ONCE OCCUR TO YOU that this might end badly? (Excalibur #36)

I have no idea what the moral of this story is, but it’s sort of heartwarming anyway. (Excalibur #36)

NEXT EPISODE: The angriest naked man!

LINKS & FURTHER READING:

Special thanks to Gavia Baker-Whitelaw for helping us assemble the St. Searle’s marginalia!
Listen to our FlameCon X-Tra Bonus Episode!
The MacDonald Hall books are delightful, and you should read them all immediately.
If you didn’t get Jay’s joke about St. Searle’s, this is for you.
The International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting is the kind of thing you’ll like, if you like that kind of thing.
We talked about Kitty Pryde and asynchronous social development in Giant-Size Special #1!
D’Spayre last turned up on the podcast in Look Upon My Man-Thing and D’Spayre!

161 – Do You Even Howl, Bro?

August 27, 2017 Jay 22 comments

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Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which we return to Excalibur, and Excalibur returns to form; “Girls’ School from Heck” is way better than we remembered; Jay has strong feelings about penmanship; we examine the semantics of field hockey; the band gets back together; Dai Thomas has no time for your comic-book bullshit; and you should never, ever install a good/evil switch in your technological abominations.

X-PLAINED

The first appearances of Colonel Vazhin
Perks of home recording
FlameCon 2017
Jay & Miles at Rose City Comic Con
Excalibur #32-36
“Girls’ School from Heck!”
St. Searle’s School for Young Ladies
St. Trinian’s and a large number of references thereto
Regional variations in boarding school hijinks
Miss Rutherford
A poorly staged panel
Phoebe Huntsman
Kitty Pryde’s penmanship
Margaret Thatcher’s weirdly wholesome fantasies
The kinda-reformation of Mesmero
The end of Chris Claremont’s run on Excalibur
Some complicated contradictions related to the ethics of consumption
An abduction
The ethics of psychic interrogation (kinda)
Mariner disambiguation
A rescue
An unlikely partnership
Darkmoor Research Center
Dr. Walshe
A somewhat convoluted plot
Whether the Danger Room could function as a bathroom
The physics of Asteroid M

NEXT EPISODE: Weapon X!

You can find 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!

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.)

Special thanks to Gavia Baker-Whitelaw for helping us assemble the St. Searle’s marginalia!

As Mentioned in Episode 94 – WELCOME TO DIE!

January 31, 2016 Miles 13 comments

Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

Pryde of the X-Men‘s character designs are pretty damned comics-accurate, if slightly pastel. (I guess Kitty would have gotten her Shadowcat costume later?)