M – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 524 – House in a House

May 10, 2026 Jay Leave a comment

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Xorn is a junk food guy. (New X-Men #127)

I… I don’t think Snuffy really cares anymore, dude. (New X-Men #127)

The idea of Magneto making all of this up fascinates me. (New X-Men #127)

Aw, Sonny. (New X-Men #127)

This poor kid. (New X-Men #127)

“And life goes on.” (New X-Men #127)

The appropriately ridiculous first appearance of Fantomex. (New X-Men #128)

Fire, life, and silverware incarnate. (New X-Men #128)

SO THAT’S A PROBLEM. (New X-Men #128)

In which Emma sits like a dyed-in-the-wool bisexual. (New X-Men #128)

This silly, silly man. (New X-Men #129)

Corporal Animal. (New X-Men #129)

E.V.A. is so pretty. (New X-Men #129)

We have fun. (New X-Men #129)

Weapon XII. (New X-Men #130)

Absolutely, unquestionably the line of the story. (New X-Men #130)

NEXT EPISODE: A memorial of magnetism.

524 – House in a House

May 10, 2026 Jay 7 comments

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In which Xorn goes out on the town; silverware is morally neutral; Cyclops pursues dubious counsel; the X means ten; and Fantomex is eminently enjoyable.

X-PLAINED:

The parentage of Hope Summers
New X-Men #127-130
Mutant Town
A monster who is not a monster but is, perhaps, a metaphor
X-Corporation Paris
The whole Phoenix situation
Fantomex
Weapon XII
A gene-hazard
Corporal Animal
E.V.A.
The Weapon Plus program (somewhat)
The World (somewhat)
The Shi’ar Empire vs. Earth
Xorn variations

NEXT EPISODE: A Memorial of Magnetism

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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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507 – Comic Book Logic

November 30, 2025 Jay 2 comments

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In which there are a lot of explosions in X-Force; Great Britain-616 is to intelligence as Canada-616 is to military; Alastair Stuart used to be fun; Emma Frost is here to stomp on your dreams; Chamber joins the X-Men; and the Generation X kids graduate themselves.

X-PLAINED:

Revolution (again)
Counter-X (again)
X-Force #114-115
Generation X #75
Yet another origin of humanity and/or life on Earth (again)
The World Engine
Accurate representation of CD-Rs
Genetech
A swimsuit interlude
Agent Corben
Alastair Stuart (more) (again)
A kidnapping
A really amazingly terrible plan
A particularly large explosion
The remaining 14 issues of X-Force vol. 1
An interlude at Applebee’s
Bad times at the New Xavier School
A murder (more) (again)
Intersectional superheroism
An additional bonus murder
An invitation
Many goodbyes
What happens next to the Generation X kids

NEXT EPISODE: The end of Revolution

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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 504 – One Day, Four Ways

November 7, 2025 Miles Leave a comment

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Ooh, that Arthur Adams texture. (Generation X #71)

SKA! (Generation X #71)

Steve Pugh: master of body language, even when part of that body is psionic energy. (Generation X #71)

New (new) costumes! (Generation X #71)

That guy hates Animal Magnet. (Generation X #71)

I wish I could look half this cool. (Generation X #71)

Surprise telepathy! (Generation X #71)

And they lived happily ever – DAMMIT JONO (Generation X #71)

Fashion! (Generation X #72)

Note the “Cool shoes” box in the corner. Way better than the “horrible shoes” box just a little off-panel. (Generation X #72)

I’m gonna miss these kids. (Generation X #72)

It’ll be longer than that, Jubes, at least in the US. (Generation X #72)

Kids, amirite? (Generation X #72)

It’s kinda like that one scene from Fury Road… (Generation X #73)

Miles is feeling runner envy. (Generation X #73)

Oh, Sean. (Generation X #73)

I respect a dude who course-corrects. (And I don’t mean the almost-missed exit.) (Generation X #73)

For all your reaction image needs. (Generation X #73)

Not continuity-related, just fun. (Generation X #73)

Now that is how you show an off-panel injury. (Generation X #73)

That idiot brought a car to a finger-fight! (Generation X #73)

Another great cover! (Generation X #74)

“Glad I already pre-spiked this coffee.” (Generation X #74)

Husk in the Husk-Cave. (Generation X #74)

This is what happens when the teacher forgets to say “class dismissed”. (Generation X #74)

Spooooky. (Generation X #74)

Opinions vary on what those marks came from… (Generation X #74)

We don’t get to read it either. (Generation X #74)

NEXT TIME: Fast times in Otherworld!

504 – One Day, Four Ways

November 2, 2025 Jay 9 comments

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In which Banshee is chronically hapless; the team gets new costumes (again); Chamber is a self-fulfilling prophecy; toddlers will sell you out in a hot minute; Moira MacTaggert is definitively not in; we are frustrated by excessive ambiguity; and it’s not Rashômon, but it’ll do.

X-PLAINED:

Banshee post-Generation X
Generation X #71-74
Interior decorating
New costumes (again)
Chamber, but a housecat
A meet-cute
Teen angst
Fashion
An extremely awkward conversation
A brief history of boba in the United States
A fracas
Fun things to do with extra skin
Evolving teacher-student relationships
Poor interrogation technique
Husk vs. international terrorism, in general
Ghosts of the Massachusetts Academy
Villains and heroes we think would be neat as the reverse
A world in which Peridot of Steven Universe imprinted on X-Men

NEXT EPISODE: Fast times in Otherworld!

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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 Dashery shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 485 – The House of Correction

April 30, 2025 Miles Leave a comment

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Being the boss means you get the yellow pouches! (Generation X #63)

Teenagers! (Generation X #63)

The new and… improved… Emma Frost. (Generation X #63)

DEAR GOD THOSE PANTS (Generation X #63)

Remember, this issue came out before we knew what happened to Synch… (Generation X #63)

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE (Generation X #64)

Fashion? (Generation X #64)

Fashion! (Generation X #64)

Jubilee, you are the worstbest. (Generation X #64)

The most dangerous game! (Generation X #64)

Super-speed, part one! (Generation X #65)

Super-speed, part two! (Generation X #65)

I see no flaws with this plan. (Generation X #65)

We have our complaints about this era, but… man, it can just be so charming! (Generation X #65)

I have so many questions, and yet I do not want them answered. (Generation X #66)

Miles just saw Eraserhead at a David Lynch retrospective, and you know that mix of revulsion and pity you feel toward the baby in that movie? …yeah. (Generation X #66)

Banshee, you rule and we’re sorry everyone always forgets you exist. (Generation X #66)

An only slightly less abrupt ending than that of X-Factor #149. (Generation X #66)

NEXT TIME: Yes, really.

485 – The House of Correction

April 27, 2025 Jay 13 comments

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In which we go back to the future of Generation X; Jay once again gets pedantic about lettering; Generation X takes on the carceral state; we take a deep dive into the late ‘90s; Jubilee does her best Nick Fury; and superpowers should be noisier.

X-PLAINED:

Earth-14042
Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers
Generation X #63-66
Revolution and Counter X (more) (again)
An evil Oyster
Warden Coffin
The Decency Defecit
Some shit we wish was fictional
Underpants
Souped up powers
Newsgroups
The Columbine school shooting
The Grid
Cable vs. ISDN Internet
Jonathan Somers
Generation X’s new costumes
The House of Correction
Hacking
Trophies
Baxter
‘90s X-Men outside of comics
How superpowers sound

NEXT EPISODE: Mutant X May begins!

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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 481 – Chekhov’s Butt-Gun

March 23, 2025 Miles 4 comments

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In which Adrienne Frost flirts with a corpse. (Generation X #67)

Oh man, Monet’s left sock is going to be all wet and gross for the rest of the morning… (Generation X #67)

I used to love it when the cafeteria served GReeBo C back in high school. (Generation X #67)

I think those bullies were held back a few years… like maybe 30 or so. (Generation X #67)

Just some really fun faces on this page. (Generation X #67)

NO PRETTY BOYS. (Generation X #67)

It’s like a romance comic cover exploded! (Generation X #68)

Hey, that shirt’s just painted on! (Generation X #68)

Teens are the worst, Jubilee. (Generation X #68)

“And I assure you, that’s far from the most dangerous thing in this skirt.” (Generation X #68)

Everyone reacts to bad news in their own way. Penance’s way is to stick a Mjolnir sticker to her face. (Generation X #68)

Well shit. (Generation X #68)

The snowy calm before the fiery storm. (Generation X #69)

“The Leprechauns of Cassidy Keep never gave me this much grief.” (Generation X #69)

What fighting game is this supposed to be?! And don’t say Ninja Boogie! (Generation X #69)

Effortless. (Generation X #69)

What is this, Black Friday? (Generation X #70)

Kid’s got a point, Sean. (Generation X #70)

You really feel the crush of humanity in this issue. (Generation X #70)

Everett Thomas: hero ’til the end. (Generation X #70)

Bye, Adrienne. See ya never. (Generation X #70)

Left-to-right, the answers will be: make bad decisions as part of X-Factor, become a vampire mom, have sex with Angel in the sky above Ma Guthrie, get crucified on the X-Mansion’s lawn, and find out you’re a descendent of Apocalypse. (Generation X #70)

NEXT TIME: X-Force goes Counter-X!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

Episode 303 – No Simple Answers, feat. Laura Hudson

481 – Chekhov’s Butt-Gun

March 23, 2025 Miles 9 comments

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In which Adrienne Frost is absolutely terrible (and so was Ronald Reagan); you should not put guns in your butt; Synch deserved better; and Jay and Miles inventory their favorite dangling plot threads of the ‘90s.

X-PLAINED:

Several potential origins of Havok’s stupid hat
Generation X #67-70
Revolution (more) (again)
Shockwave (more) (again)
Adrienne Frost (more) (again)
The New Xavier School and/or Massachusetts Academy (more) (again)
Possible necrophilia
Dorm life
How not to draw clothing
Rules of entry to Jubilee’s dorm room
The Rich Person Store
How to say the word “consigliere”
The ‘90s
Blackmail
Limits of telepathy
Arson
Ninja Boogie
Panic
How to keep Synch safe
Adultification
Failure to keep Synch safe
Where to pick up to follow along with us
Plot threads we’d like to see picked back up

NEXT EPISODE: X-Force goes Counter-X!

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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 Dashery shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 476 – The Moppets Take Manhattan

February 2, 2025 Jay Leave a comment

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Moppets on the run! (Generation X #59)

The meme before the meme but after the thing that became the meme. (Generation X #59)

Generation X vs. New Warriors. (Generation X #59)

Can’t really argue with that. (Generation X #59)

R.I.P., Butter Rum. (Generation X #59)

Oh, hey, it’s Mondo! (Generation X #60)

I don’t know if it’s the pose, or the color and font of the text, or what, but I can’t shake the idea that this is their holiday card. (Generation X #60)