N’astirh – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 112 – Embers of Inferno (feat. Sam Humphries)

June 10, 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.

“So, y’know–business as usual.” (Amazing Spider-Man #313)

The Ghostbusters references just keep coming! (Amazing Spider-Man #313)

HE’S NOT WRONG. (Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #146)

This is in fact literally what it is like to work in publishing, all the time. (Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #147)

CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW JARVIS’S MOM IS A HUGE WRESTLING AFICIONADO? (Avengers #298)

Well, then. (Avengers #298)

He does this every time he fights a possessed machine. (Avengers #298)

No, seriously. Every time. (Avengers #299)

Stories involving Nanny and the Orphanmaker are never not super sad and messed up. (Avengers #299)

That one time the Avengers got back together in a tie-in to someone else’s crossover event. (Avengers #300)

Never leave your house. Seriously. (Power Pack #42)

Actually, no. Your house isn’t safe, either. (Power Pack #42)

And then a group of young children looked back nostalgically at the time they fought Sabretooth in a sewer. (Power Pack #44)

Aw. (Power Pack #44)

LIES. (The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #4)

For full effect, you have to imagine the narration being read by David Attenborough. (Daredevil #262)

And that was how Daredevil beat up a vacuum cleaner. (Daredevil #262)

It’s actually pretty surprising that no one else thought to do anything with possessed hospital equipment, because that is TERRIFYING. (Daredevil #263)

Officer Drillbit, in all his glory. (Daredevil #265)

For 1989 Daredevil, this ending is positively chipper. (Daredevil #265)

NEXT EPISODE: So. Much. Wolverine.

112 – Embers of Inferno (feat. Sam Humphries)

June 5, 2016 Jay 47 comments

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In which we cover (almost) all of the Inferno tie-ins with the help of writer Sam Humphries; the Marvel Universe used to be really X-Centric; Jarvis is unstoppable; Daredevil fights a vacuum cleaner; it’s probably best not to ask about the whole Celestial Madonna thing; Power Pack gets incredibly upsetting; working in comics makes you appreciate crossovers on a whole new level; and we’d all really have liked to have seen Guy Davis’s Inferno.

X-PLAINED:

Peter Quill’s brief music career
Widget
The Amazing Spider-Man #311-313
Spectacular Spider-Man #146-148
Web of Spider-Man #47-48
Avengers #298-300
Power Pack #42-44
Daredevil #262, 263, 265
Cloak and Dagger (vol. 3) #4
Fantastic Four #322-324
Inferno, as a whole
The fate of Madelyne Pryor
Jay’s Madelyne Pryor song
How working in comics taught us to appreciate crossovers
Our ideal Inferno artists

NEXT EPISODE: So. Much. Wolverine.

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

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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 106 – The X-Terminators

April 25, 2016 Jay 5 comments

Listen to the podcast here.

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

Hi, Bill Gaines! (X-Terminators #1)

In which Bogdanove goes full Silver-Age romance-cover! (X-Terminators #1)

And so it was. (X-Terminators #1)

Wellp. (X-Terminators #1)

Can Bogdanove draw Boom Boom forever, please? (X-Terminators #1)

THIS KID IS AWESOME. (X-Terminators #1)

The cartoonishness of this series is really, really fun. (X-Terminators #1)

“Classic goblin behavior.” Did she learn about this in school? (X-Terminators #1)

JAIL BREAK TIME! (X-Terminators #1)

Boom Boom vs. vending machines. (X-Terminators #2)

I love the extent to which Hostess Fruit Pies became a running joke within actual Marvel comics. (X-Terminators #2)

So doomed. (X-Terminators #2)

This is probably a little too niche to describe as “every parent’s worst nightmare,” but I’m sure it hit home for someone. (X-Terminators #2)

#WINNING (X-Terminators #2)

Seriously, though–wouldn’t it be funnier if this were just a regular Viewmaster? (X-Terminators #2)

I can’t find the Ghostbusters production photo this is an homage to, but I swear it exists. (X-Terminators #3)

The living landscape of NYC quickly becomes legitimately terrifying, without ever quite losing its cartoonishness. (X-Terminators #3)

Incidental transitional panel, or hidden pitch for a whole new series? (X-Terminators #3)

Magic spells are ridiculous. (X-Terminators #3)

THOSE FACES. (X-Terminators #4)

You know that feeling when a crossover flies in from nowhere and whacks you in the back of the head? Yeah. (X-Terminators #4)

OKAY, THEN. (X-Terminators #4)

Wouldn’t that be multiplying it by 100? (X-Terminators #4)

Are… pigeons particularly notorious for meekly accepting destruction? Is that a thing? (X-Terminators #4)

And they all lived happily ever–HA, NO, JUST KIDDING. GO READ NEW MUTANTS. (X-Terminators #4)

NEXT WEEK: The fall of Magik.

LINKS & FURTHER LISTENING:

The entire Nextwave theme song.

106 – The X-Terminators

April 25, 2016 Jay 40 comments

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In which Nextwave is both canon and not-canon; Inferno officially begins; X-Terminators is basically a cartoon; Bill Gaines cannot catch a break; Artie and Leach are superbabies; Takeshi Matsuya is fantastic; you should probably never take our advice about anything; Boom Boom is pretty good at superhero costume design; Walter Peck was right; Miles still won’t stop saying that one line about stealing a baby; N’astirh is no pigeon; and “No Mutant Is an Island” is a patently inaccurate statement.

X-PLAINED:

The Beyond Corporation
The Defilers
X-Terminators #1-4
The first 35 issues of X-Factor, briefly
Two teams with the same name
Fredric Wertham
Bill Gaines
Crotus
Babies
A boarding school that may or may not be Phillips Exeter Academy
Muffy
Saint Simon’s Academy
Wiz Kid (Takeshi Matsuya)
Nuprin
Medical advice from goblins
The Goblin Buster
Metareferential snack food
RadSport Sport Fashion Outfitters
An exceptionally specific Ghostbusters reference
Helen and Tim
Dubious spell semantics
How not to incorporate a crossover into a miniseries, and vice versa
“No Mutant Is an Island”
A brief history of Magneto’s helmet
Definitive Magnetos

NEXT WEEK: The fall of Magik.

Special thanks to multiversal metacontinuity wizard Al Ewing for the last-minute assist on the cold open!

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!

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