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109 – The Passion of Madelyne Pryor

May 15, 2016 Jay 22 comments

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

In which you should not presume to judge Madelyne Pryor by your standards; we wrap up the core plot of Inferno (but still somehow have two episodes left to go); sympathetic is not the same thing as right; Storm and Jean use friendship and it’s super effective; Iceman is basically incorruptible; Angel gets a new codename; Cyclops gets a backstory; Sinister is aptly named; and Inferno makes retcons into retconade.

X-PLAINED:

Limbo vs. Limbo
Hel vs. Hell
Uncanny X-Men #242-243
X-Factor #38-39
A moment that does not speak eloquently for itself
Several extended misunderstandings
The difference between sympathetic and right
N’astirh’s sweet ride
A false binary
The Goblin Prince
Yet another reason Havok should have finished his dissertation
The power of friendship
The Rube Goldberg approach to combat
Superconductivity, kind of
Our least favorite retcon in Inferno
The Summers brothers summed up in a single scene
Clone ethics
Why we like it when characters screw up
Our favorite retcons
How to prep for X-Men: Apocalypse

NEXT WEEK: Apocalypse for Beginners

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes, Google Play, 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

As Mentioned in Episode 108 – What Price Glory

May 8, 2016 Jay 15 comments

Listen to the episode here.

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

Perfect cover is perfect. (Uncanny X-Men #239)

Hey, kids! Can you count the OSHA violations on this page? (Uncanny X-Men #239)

Does it get more Mr. Sinister than sitting on a giant crystal throne playing with X-Men action figures and expositing dramatically to himself? No. No, it does not. (Uncanny X-Men #239)

This moment is so good, and so chilling. (Uncanny X-Men #239)

Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar eats you. (Uncanny X-Men #239)

ABORT ABORT BAD IDEA ABORT (Uncanny X-Men #239)

“Also, apparently they were really into Pinterest.” (Uncanny X-Men #239)

I am pretty sure I have seen this exact image on the front cover of at least one VHS tape. (Uncanny X-Men #239)

Here’s every panel of Madelyne’s black dress, in order. (Uncanny X-Men #240)

Hi, M-Squad. Bye, M-Squad. (Uncanny X-Men #240)

This whole scene is so exquisitely unsettling. (Uncanny X-Men #240)

Rogue, that is… quite an outfit. (Uncanny X-Men #240)

Meanwhile, in a completely different comic book. (Uncanny X-Men #240)

“Mr. Weatherbee didn’t really go into the details of this exchange program.” (Uncanny X-Men #240)

I don’t know why I find Scrambler so endlessly hilarious, but, GOD, I do. (Uncanny X-Men #240)

Silvestri doesn’t get to do nearly as much as Blevins or Simonson with possessed objects; but he’ll make up for it with the amazing demonic cityscapes in #242. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

Close Encounters with the Fourth Wall, Colossus Edition. (Nah, they’re clones. BUT STILL.) (Uncanny X-Men #241)

I swear this police-car demon is a reference to SOMETHING, but I can’t for the life of me remember what. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

“Fuck this. I’m gonna go hang out in New Mutants.” (Uncanny X-Men #241)

This cannot POSSIBLY end well. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

“Also, I liked that scene way more when Paul Smith drew it.” (Uncanny X-Men #240)

The Greys really never catch a break. (Uncanny X-Men #240)

Nebraska: Definitely the worst state. (Uncanny X-Men #240)

And you thought your family holidays were awkward. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

Oh, damn. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

There’s at least one alternate universe in which Mister Sinister founded the X-men; but the only detail I remember is that their costumes are WAY fancier. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

This detail makes Madelyne’s story infinitely sadder. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

In which Mister Sinister effectively seals the fate of the world. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

That’s. My. Girl. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

Oh, snap. (Uncanny X-Men #241)

And then a hot dog stand ate Calvin and Hobbes. (X-Factor #36)

Awwww. (X-Factor #36)

Cool scene; dumb hats. (X-Factor #36)

In a just world, every time you looked at this panel, heroic music would start playing. (X-Factor #36)

Let’s all just take a moment to admire the composition of this splash page. (X-Factor #37)

These panels were fine in context of the page, but then I cropped them, and now all I can think of is that one really unsettling video of a sloth petting a cat. (X-Factor #37)

“Okay, but that’s gonna be really awkward at the bank.” (X-Factor #37)

Wait, what? (X-Factor #37)

“Also, you literally just teleported.” (X-Factor #37)

NEXT WEEK: The Passion of Madelyne Pryor

LINKS & FURTHER READING:

For our Inferno coverage, we’re working (somewhat loosely) from the reading order mapped out at UncannyXMen.net.
Jay is the worst at Valentine’s Day.
The amazing BelleChere cosplays a phenomenal page-accurate Goblin Queen, sometimes alongside either Rule-63 or original-flavor Sinister! (Madelyne is only one of a ton of really terrific X-Men cosplay BelleChere has done over the years; we highly recommend clicking through her galleries to see the rest!)
Amanda Lafrenais draws awesome comics and has rats named after soup! (Link may not be work-safe–contains some cartoon nudity.)

108 – What Price Glory

May 8, 2016 Jay 40 comments

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In which we recap nearly 200 issues in under three minutes; Madelyne Pryor is the Medea of X-Men; Mister Sinister takes the stage; Dazzler is basically an ’80s movie refugee; Scrambler may or may not be an exchange student from the Riverdale Marauders; Marc Silvestri is excellent at some things and less so at others; nothing good happens in Nebraska; Trish Tilby is the April O’Neil of X-Factor; and we swear that it was a total coincidence that this episode went up on Mother’s Day.

X-PLAINED:

One solution to the existential conundrum of the Carol Danvers who is also kind of part of Rogue
Pretty much everything that’s happened since the Dark Phoenix Saga
The structure of Inferno
Uncanny X-Men #239-241
X-Factor #36-37
The rise of the Goblin Queen
Several deaths in elevators
Mister Sinister and his amazing action-figure collection
The evolution of Mark Silvestri
Madelyne and Alex
A very symbolic dress
The Rainbow Room
M-Squad
That damn costume
1989 in outfit form
Jay’s favorite Marauder
Rats-R-Us
Wolverine vs. a mail box
The X-Men, but evil
The secret origin of Madelyne Pryor
A long-anticipated reunion
Objects we’d demonically animate
Which X-Man should do your taxes

NEXT WEEK: The Passion of Madelyne Pryor

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes, Google Play, 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

As Mentioned in Episode 107 – Fairy Tale Ending

May 1, 2016 Jay 4 comments

Listen to the episode here.

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

He’s not wrong; he’s just an asshole. (New Mutants #71)

Aw, kiddo. (New Mutants #71)

There’s a lot of more overtly awful stuff S’ym has done, but very little of it gets under my skin as badly as this scene. (New Mutants #71)

Brett Blevins’ Inferno might be the best Inferno. (New Mutants #71)

WELL, THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY. (New Mutants #71)

N’astirh Guy(TM) (New Mutants #71)

Nothing that begins with this line ever ends well. (New Mutants #71)

Okay. This looks bad. (New Mutants #71)

On its own, this is a perfectly serviceable cover; but it’s also a subtle and pretty brutal nod to the last issue of the Magik miniseries. (New Mutants #72)

Possibly the most metal title page to ever appear in an X-book. (New Mutants #72)

Calling it: Blevins’s is my hands-down favorite take on Inferno-infested New York. (New Mutants #72)

GAH. (New Mutants #72)

And now, a brief and delightful respite from the tragedy playing out in the A plot. (New Mutants #72)

Savor this moment: it’s not often you get to see New Mutants making a responsible choice! (New Mutants #72)

WELL, THEN. (New Mutants #72)

N’astirh levels up… (New Mutants #72)

…But so does Illyana. (New Mutants #72)

Death of Supergirl homage cover. Take a drink. (New Mutants #73)

T-O S’ym is so creepy, y’all. (New Mutants #73)

THERE ARE NOT ADEQUATE WORDS FOR HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS PAGE. (New Mutants #73)

That Colossus makes room in his rather minimal uniform for a photo wallet is kind of adorable an very much in character. (New Mutants #73)

“And that’s what you get for teaching new math!” (New Mutants #73)

We didn’t think of this until after the episode was recorded, but Illyana’s final armored form bears a lot of resemblance to her brother’s. (New Mutants #73)

This dude is pretty great. (New Mutants #73)

The Darkchilde in her final form. (New Mutants #73)

And so it ends… (New Mutants #73)

…or does it? (New Mutants #73)

“Or stick around in the background and then die of the Legacy Virus and come back like 20 years later without a soul. The point is, you’ve got options.” (New Mutants #73)

NEXT WEEK: The rise of the Goblin Queen.

LINKS AND FURTHER LISTENING:

We discussed the Magik miniseries in Episode 19 – Acorns and Swords.

107 – Fairy Tale Ending

May 1, 2016 Jay 39 comments

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In which everyone’s got Inferno issues; Brett Blevins makes it work; Belasco is conspicuously absent from Inferno; you should never go into Hell barefoot; the greatest X-Men stories are about loss; and Illyana Rasputin finally gets a fairy tale ending.

X-PLAINED

Tempus (Eva Bell)
Storm and Illyana: Magik #1-4 (briefly)
The two major Inferno plotlines
New Mutants #71-73
The best of Brett Blevins
The rise and fall of Magik
The ethics of time-travel interventions
A weaponized retcon
N’astirh Guy™
A chair that is also a moral event horizon
A significant soul-armor upgrade
Several variations on a chapter title
Possessed New York
An overly complex conspiracy theory
A bittersweet reunion
The Kobayashi Maru scenario as applied to X-Men
An even more bittersweet victory (of sorts)
The eventual return of Magik (sort of)
Why it’s really irresponsible to affiliate your school with a superhero team
Our favorite versions of Wolfsbane’s transitional form

NEXT WEEK:

The Rise of the Goblin Queen!

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes, Google Play, 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

As Mentioned in Episode 96 – Horsemen of the Playground

February 14, 2016 Jay 4 comments

Listen to the episode here.

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

How you know a psychic event is a big deal: the cross-franchise reaction montage! (X-Factor Annual #3)

Well, that’s certainly one way to stage an intervention. (X-Factor Annual #3)

These delightful scamps. (X-Factor Annual #3)

Warlock, never change. (New Mutants Annual #4)

Can we have a moment of rapt silence for how well June Brigman draws body language? (New Mutants Annual #4)

The High Evolutionary’s head scientist, Stack, appears to be dual-wielding a cane and a staple gun. Because, evolution. (New Mutants Annual #4)

“On Wednesdays, we wear pink.” (New Mutants Annual #4)

Hell, yeah, equal-opportunity battle lingerie! (Well, except for Magneto, but he marches to the beat of his own fuchsia drum.) (New Mutants Annual #4)

Horses: totally the worst. (New Mutants Annual #4)

The scene that blew tiny Miles’s tiny mind. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #12)

AND THAT’S WHY YOU ALWAYS LEAVE A NOTE. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #12)

Man, if we had a dollar for every time that happened… (Uncanny X-Men Annual #12)

POIT: Definitely the cutest sound effect. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #12)

In which Alex comes *this close* to the realization that Charles Xavier is totally a supervillain. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #12)

SURE, WHY NOT? (Uncanny X-Men Annual #12)

Remember the time Storm had adventures on pirate space city on the back of a flying wolf? Because that was definitely a thing that actually happened. (Classic X-Men #22)

Oh, THAT guy. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #12)

I’m not actually certain they ever followed up on this. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #12)

It’s kind of a shame this logo didn’t stick around, because it’s pretty sweet. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #12)

NEXT EPISODE: Captain Britain!

96 – Horsemen of the Playground

February 14, 2016 Jay 63 comments

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In which we play Evolutionary War Mad-Libs; it’s probably a bad sign when Apocalypse decides you need an intervention; Dani is (briefly) the new Doug; horses are jerks; it’s probably really dangerous to be Longshot; Storm has the coolest friends; the High Evolutionary is very high indeed; and we make a (very token) nod to Valentine’s Day.

X-PLAINED:

Secret Origins of the High Evolutionary
Evolutionary War
The actual history of eugenics in America
X-Factor Annual #3
New Mutants Annual #4
Uncanny X-Men Annual #12
Classic X-Men #22
Purifiers (but not those purifiers)
Stack
Purge
How to tell when an event has major psychic repercussions
A Silver-Age callback
An Apocalypse-style intervention
Toga Steve (Val-Or)
The return of Bulk and Glow Worm
Equal-opportunity Hellfire lingerie
Mirage’s power upgrade
Miles vs. puberty vs. Uncanny X-Men
The coolest civilization ever
Colossus’s illegitimate kid
The cutest sound effect
Origins of the Scott/Jean/Logan love triangle
Stuff Jay likes and Miles doesn’t
The Elle Collins Theory of Podcast Roles

NEXT EPISODE: Captain Britain!

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 (or travel mugs) of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

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?)

Real talk: if you watch this show on VHS, Spider-Man takes a minute of your time beforehand to tell you how important it is to vote.

Okay, that’s a legitimately cool way of showing how awesome telepathy can be. And a legitimately GI Joe-looking moment.

“Choose your character, Kitty Pryde!”

This image documents Kitty’s single moment of hesitation before she decides that following a bunch of strangers into space is a great plan.

Pryde of the X-Men‘s Storm may actually be her best on-screen portrayal.

“G’day! Let’s get a dingo on the barbie, you wallaby! Foster’s!”

This makes me actually kind of wish Dazzler had been on the team in the early 80s.

The Arcade Game: Heroes!

The Arcade Game: Villains!

It’s… basically a whole lot of this.

Three Living Monoliths for the price of one!

Twelve-year-old Miles was in heaven. Thirty-three-year-old Miles was too.

Our players: Anna Sheffey, Miles Stokes, and Elisabeth Allie!

Next time: The Brood are back, baby.

LINKS:

Special thanks to Guest X-Pert Elisabeth Allie!
- Previously on R&MXtX-M: Episode 47 – The Price of Power
- Blog
- Twitter
- GeekCraft Expo PDX
Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade, where we get our X-Men arcade-game fix.

94 – WELCOME TO DIE! (feat. Elisabeth Allie)

January 31, 2016 Jay 32 comments

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In which Miles and Elisabeth X-Plain Pryde of the X-Men; Magneto is somehow even worse at branding than Mystique; the X-Universe is in desperate need of responsible adults; Wolverine hates kids; everybody’s mean to Lockheed; and the Sentinels represent your feelings.

X-PLAINED:

Wolverine’s Australian accent
Pryde of the X-Men
X-Men / Muppet Babies analogues
The Brotherhood of Mutant Terrorists
How not to comfort scared teenagers
The X-Cessible X-Men
The Mutant Power Circuit
Terrible parenting
A MacGuffin
A Really Dubious Evil Plot
Several Additional MacGuffins
THE POWER!
One of many reasons to be nice to animals
Space
The X-Men Arcade Game
Ground Kontrol
X-Men: Madness in Murderworld
The Uncanny X-Men (game)
Metaphorical sentinels
Mysterious lizards
Video game mechanics vs. superhero ethics
Pryde of the X-Men vs the ’90s animated series vs. X-Men: Evolution
Alternate animated series hooks

NEXT WEEK: The Brood go to a revival meeting

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!