Elaine Grey – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 118 – Extrude the Grappling Arms!

July 24, 2016 Jay 5 comments

Listen to the episode here!

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

Elaine Grey as drawn by Rob Liefeld. (X-Factor #40)

Perspective? What perspective? (X-Factor #40)

Remember, this is supposed to be taking place inside the cockpit of a fairly small airplane. (X-Factor #40)

Nanny, X-Plained. (X-Factor #40)

Trolls, trollin.’ (X-Factor #41)

“Just, um, don’t call Magneto. He’s a supervillain. Anything he says about us is probably a lie.” (X-Factor #41)

Well, that escalated quickly. (X-Factor #41)

Sure, why not? (X-Factor #41)

The future mutant messiah. (X-Factor #42)

Meanwhile in Excalibur, other stuff. (X-Factor #42)

This is also a problem in Portland. (X-Factor #42)

I like this kid. He makes good choices. (X-Factor #42)

NEXT EPISODE: Miles and Elisabeth X-Plain New Mutants Forever!

LINKS:

Go follow the Ravenmaster on Twitter. He is absolutely delightful.
We talked about The Dark Is Rising with Kurt Busiek in Episode 21 – Kurt Busiek at the Coffee-a-Go-Go.

118 – Extrude the Grappling Arms!

July 24, 2016 Jay 41 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS

In which you really can’t compete with Cable; the X-Men may or may not ditch a funeral; Nanny extrudes the grappling arms; Boom Boom is more responsible than she looks; Jean Grey is the cool stepmom; we posit an alternate explanation for Brexit; and ravens are the best dinosaurs.

X-PLAINED:

What happened to the Inferno babies
X-Factor #40-42
Madelyne Pryor’s funeral
Post-Inferno X-Factor
Archangel’s inconsistent appearance
Secret origins of Nanny and the Orphanmaker
Teenagers (more) (again)
Tom Jones (Alchemy)
Conversations we probably shouldn’t have with Neal Conan
Trolls of London
Dubious super-parenting
Phy
Phay
Phee
Phough
Phumm
Troll economics
A grocery list
The Ravenmaster
Miles’s mom

NEXT EPISODE: Miles and Elisabeth X-Plain New Mutants Forever!

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 109 – The Passion of Madelyne Pryor

May 15, 2016 Jay 9 comments

Listen to the episode here.

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

It’s the whole gang! Kind of! And some of them are evil! BUT STILL! (Uncanny X-Men #242)

No, it’s not. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

SEE? (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Only one of many reasons that enthusiastic consent is important. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Iceman is so underrated. Dude’s the heart and conscience of the original five. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

WELL, THEN. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

N’astirh may be evil, but he has impeccable taste in infernal vehicles. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

That’s the cold wind of metaphor, Alex. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Madelyne Pryor knows from genre conventions. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Aw, man. These two. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Inferno’s a pretty dark crossover, but it has some really damn delightful moments. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Love N’astirh’s face in that first panel. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

No one draws a possessed skyline like Silvestri. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

SUCKERS. You’ve still got three issues left! (Uncanny X-Men #242)

I’m genuinely curious as to whether this splash page started out as a cover design. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

“We’ll laugh about this later.” (X-Factor #38)

THAT SOUND EFFECT! (X-Factor #38)

Madelyne Pryor is the best at villain speeches. (X-Factor #38)

This panel is awesome, which is probably why there are going to be a lot of callbacks to it. (X-Factor #38)

This sequence is kind of a great encapsulation of a lot of Scott and Alex’s relationship. (X-Factor #38)

Jean’s rocky and reluctant alliance with the Phoenix force makes each of them a good deal more interesting. (X-Factor #38)

The most important relationship–and scenes–in Inferno are between Jean and Madelyne. I really wish we’d gotten more of the two of them together. (X-Factor #38)

“We’ll need to harness the power of all of our best sound effects!” (X-Factor #38)

Perfect panel is perfect. (X-Factor #38)

On one hand: this is all kind of Scott’s fault. On the other hand: it’s hard not to feel bad for him. (X-Factor #38)

Inferno: In which everyone is wrong and everyone is sympathetic. (X-Factor #38)

OH, YEAH! (Uncanny X-Men #243)

X-Factor will continue to play with this idea to some extent, but it’ll fade away pretty fast, and that’s a damn shame. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Ditto, this. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Jean, Madelyne, or Phoenix; her story at its best will always be about self-determination. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Valid. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Pawing through the X-Men’s stuff is one of the less invasive things Sinister has done in this arc, but there’s something extra creepy about it. (Uncanny X-Men #242)

Walter Simonson’s ability to make Longshot’s hair look good is the eight wonder of the world. (X-Factor #39)

Scott Summers’ Life Is An Actual Anxiety Dream, chapter infinity. (X-Factor #39)

Oh, hey, it’s the rest of Cyclops’s backstory! (X-Factor #39)

Does Nebraska even have a Department of Social Services? (X-Factor #39)

I just really love this page. (X-Factor #39)

This panel might have the highest appearance-to-reality-of-finality ratio in comics. (X-Factor #39)

And they all lived happily ever after. (X-Factor #39)

NEXT WEEK: Apocalypse for Beginners!

LINKS & FURTHER LISTENING

For our Inferno coverage, we’re working (somewhat loosely) from the reading order mapped out at UncannyXMen.net.
We’ll be bringing you up to speed on both the cinematic X-Men and Apocalypse’s comics background in episode 110, but if you want to brush up this week, you can do that here:

109 – The Passion of Madelyne Pryor

May 15, 2016 Jay 21 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS

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 33 – Crossoverload

November 30, 2014 Jay 8 comments

Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne! Prints here, or contact David for the original.

There is a lot going on in The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans.

The best thing about Metron is that his eyebrows are part of his costume. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Things we never get tired of: Cyclops using his powers to cheat at pool. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Darkseid is Creepy Santa (so, basically, Santa). (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Cyclops has a bad day. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

How Gar manages to get an image that specific from her description remains a mystery. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Flash Fact: Wally West is the best Flash, and anyone who tells you otherwise is full of lies.

Deathstroke the Terminator: the assassin who designed his costume to be as visible as possible against pretty much any backdrop. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

The Greys just CANNOT catch a break. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Simonson doing cosmic Kirby is our jam, now and forever. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Were we less mature and tasteful, this is where we’d put a “butte sex” joke. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Probably not actually the fourth wall. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Oh, that’s not gonna end well. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

TEAM-UP! (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

You know this is the happiest moment of Kitty Pryde’s entire life. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Along with fire and life, slightly creepy Cyclops feels are a running Phoenix Force motif. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

Can we talk about how very much better this Cyclops-as-Phoenix costume is than the AvX version? (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

This isn’t actually all that relevant, but we couldn’t resist one last page of cosmic Simonson art. (The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans)

We are pretty into crossovers that come with convenient captioned character guides! (The X-Men and the Micronauts #1)

This is Kitty’s regular Ariel costume, so, no need to drink. Yet. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #1)

Baron Karza is Darth Vader Plus. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #1)

A possibly recognizable villain. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #1)

I’d like to take a moment to point out that the Professor Xavier who is punishing Kitty for thinking too loudly is explicitly good Professor X. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #1)

Action-figure-sized people fighting normal-sized people: NEVER NOT HILARIOUS. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #1)

Look at that snazzy title treatment! (The X-Men and the Micronauts #2)

Okay, that’s extra creepy. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #2)

One of the better pratfall panels. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #2)

Let’s check and see if the action-figures-vs.-full-size-people thing is still funny when the action figures are the good guys. YES. YES, IT IS. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #2)

This conceit really never stops being entertaining. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #2)

Seriously, how the hell did no one see Onslaught coming? (The X-Men and the Micronauts #2)

To be fair, she’s both body-swapped with Baron Karza AND mind-controlled by Evil Professor Xavier. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #3)

“Oh, HELL, yes,” says Kitty. “Cross THAT one off the bucket list.” (The X-Men and the Micronauts #3)

The worst part is that he gets so much creepier. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #3)

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE (The X-Men and the Micronauts #4)

Remember the time Phoenix wiped out one planet, so Jean Grey had to die? Yeah, so do we. Marvel editorial, not so much. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #4)

Modified rule: When someone else in Kitty’s body makes her a new costume, steal someone else’s drink. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #4)

JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO IMAGINE HOW MUCH FUNNIER X-MEN WOULD BE IF THEY’D STAYED SIX INCHES TALL. (The X-Men and the Micronauts #4)

Next week: Captain America in a loincloth!

Links and Further Reading

Information and links to donate toward Bill Mantlo’s ongoing care
(You can also send physical donations–and cards and letters–addressed as follows:
Mike Mantlo
26364 East Pintail Road
Long Neck, DE 19966
Please make out any checks to “Michael Mantlo” — Bill’s legal guardian.)
The Hero Initiative
Some notes on X-Men Origins: Jean Grey, and why we’re adamantly pro-Jean.

33 – Crossoverload

November 30, 2014 Jay 37 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS

In which we dive into two crossovers; our DCU is the DCAU; the Greys just cannot catch a break; Darkseid is basically Santa Claus; the Phoenix Force has Cyclops feels; Baron Karza is the sonic screwdriver of supervillains; and the Enigma Force is aptly named.

CONTENT NOTE: The Micronauts portion of this episode involves not-particularly-graphic but still fairly involved discussions of sexual violence. If that’s not something you want to listen to, we’d recommend stopping the episode after the Teen Titans portion at 26:26, and fast-forwarding to 47:52 for conclusions, questions, and outro.

X-Plained:

Crossover Earth
Amalgam
Crossovers
The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans
The Teen Titans
The One True Flash
Cosmic Kirby
Darkseid
Metron
The Source Wall
Deathstroke the Terminator
Ravok
Butte sex
Cyclops and the Phoenix Force
The X-Men and the Micronauts #1-4
Bill Mantlo
The Hero Initiative
Micronauts
The Microverse
Baron Karza
Evil Xavier (more)(again)(seriously, how is anyone still surprised when this happens)
Several moral event horizons crossed in quick succession
Female protagonists in X-books

Next Week: Captain America in a loincloth!

You can find a visual companion to the episode on our blog.

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Support us on Patreon!

Buy prints of this week’s illustration here, or contact David Wynne for the original!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: