Tag: Mystique
361 – The World’s Densest Eagle
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In which the 1990s were full of miniseries; Mystique and Sabretooth take a sabbatical from X-Factor; Mystique’s powers are wildly inconsistent; we meet a second Cypher; most secret agents are Mystique; and you should never tell Sabretooth about your girlfriend.
X-PLAINED:
- Sabretooth’s ambitions
- Sabretooth and Mystique #1-4
- A Helicarrier heist
- Hydra
- AIM
- The sounds of autopsies
- How Mystique’s powers work, sometimes, kind of
- Commander Cypher
- Technosassins vs. Cyburai
- Catalyst
- Complimentary types of awful
- Caption colors
- Access
- Gender dimorphism of monsters
- The Comics Code Collar
- Dismember and Corrosion
- The time Cyclops offered to help Cable steal a spaceship
- The Black Womb Project
NEXT EPISODE: bits ‘n’ bobs
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X-TRA: Jay, Miles, and Jonathan Hickman Spoil the Hell out of Inferno
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Inferno #4 is out; and, as promised, we’ve got a bonus interview with Jonathan Hickman–unedited this time, so please forgive the audio–going into the gory details of the miniseries and its finale! (Again, spoiler warning–we can’t emphasize this enough–we spoil Inferno, including its ending, real hard. Listen at your own risk.)
As Mentioned in Episode 353 – Scientists and Superheroes
Listen to the episode here.
LINKS & FURTHER SPINOFFS
- I’m pretty sure we’ve linked to Robert Cop before, but just in case, here you go.
353 – Scientists and Superheroes
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In which Dark Beast is an unlikely father figure; Wild Child remains low-budget Wolverine; X-Factor foreshadows the XSE; no one else thwarts Richardses on Doom’s watch; the cow goes “hate”; and Juggernaut fails to grow as a person.
X-PLAINED:
- The Red Ghost
- Onslaught thus far
- X-Factor #126
- Fantastic Four #416
- X-Men Unlimited #12
- Random’s origins (kind of)
- Pinochle
- Kristoff Vernard
- Several villains
- Juggernaut’s adventures in the Gem of Cyttorak
- Gomurr the Ancient (again)
- Spite
- Unreliable narrators
- The evolution of Cyttorak
- Wolverine’s hair
- X-arcs we’d like to see as video games
NEXT EPISODE: To nobody’s surprise, Onslaught.
CORRECTION: Kristoff Vernard is not in fact a clone of Doctor Doom.
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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 338 – Chomp & Stomp
Listen to the episode here.

338 – Chomp and Stomp
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In which X-Factor’s lineup shifts further towards villainy; Wild Child is neither wild nor a child; bureaucrat Val Cooper > action Val Cooper; Marvel invests in Bastion; and foreshadowing works better in some titles than in others.
X-PLAINED:
- How Wolverine got his adamantium back
- A marriage of convenience
- X-Factor #122-124
- Amalgam comics
- A clever workaround
- Several new looks
- Belle Fourche (again)
- Several ways to fail to control supervillains
- The Hound
- The Hazard Chamber
- Different titles’ relationships to dark futures
- Statting up Beast in D&D
- Characters with more narrative impact dead than alive
NEXT EPISODE: Wolverine makes it weird.
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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 326 – Son of a Gun
326 – Son of a Gun
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In which it’s hard to be a hologram; the Internet is terrible and you should probably avoid it; we have no idea how Naze is still alive; this is not your mom’s Adversary (if your mom is Fall of the Mutants); Forge is an order muppet; and Sabretooth is not a great addition to most teams.
X-PLAINED:
- Skrulls in American history
- X-Factor’s attrition rate
- The spirit spell (again)
- The Adversary (again)
- X-Factor #119-121
- Hypercolor(TM) t-shirts
- Oblivion vs. masturbation
- Mark Trail (more) (again)
- Forge’s complicated relationship with magic
- The death of X-Factor
- Several retcons
- The resurrection of X-Factor
- (Mis)representation of indigenous cultures in X-books
- Jim Jaspers vs. the Adversary
- The spirit spell (YET AGAIN)
- The Feron of X-Factor
- Val ‘n’ Victor
- Dubious use of technology
- A red herring
- The lingering spectre of Days of Future Past
- Our tech issues
- Reasonable accommodations at the Xavier School
NEXT EPISODE: Cable vs. X-Force
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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 314 – Feelings, Alaska
Listen to the podcast here.
LINKS & FURTHER MISUNDERSTANDINGS:
- Lauretta Jean’s makes the best pie on earth, and Jay misses it desperately.
- Wanna make comics? Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That Always Work are an incredibly useful resource.
- We watched so much Sealab 2021 in college.
- If you’re interested in the intersections of psychology and superhero comics, check out The Arkham Sessions!
- PREVIOUSLY ON JAY & MILES X-PLAIN THE X-MEN
- For more about Scott and Alex’s origin story and picking which versions of canon count, check out Episode 308 – No Story Is the Whole Story.
- Hear about Roma and The Adversary’s last fight in Episode 86 – Legends.
- Dr. Andrea Letamendi joined us to discuss representations of mental illness and therapy in X-Factor in Episode 216 – X-Amining X-Factor.
- Our coverage of the Age of Apocalypse starts in Episode 287 – Welcome to the Age of Apocalypse…
- …and we focus on Cyclops and Havok’s relationship in that universe in Episode 292 – Weekend at Sinster’s.