nightcrawler – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 423 – Moby Dick Ice Cream

September 10, 2023 Jay Leave a comment

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Probably not even the fanciest trash can on Muir Island. (Excalibur #121)

She’s fun. (Excalibur #121)

It’s no SMEK, but it’ll do.

What’s doubly interesting about this is that David’s personality isn’t actually there. (Excalibur #121)

And off they go. (Excalibur #121)

Hmm. (Excalibur #122)

That’s a lot of hair. (Excalibur #122)

Spoiler: Not actually the X-Men. (Excalibur #122)

The Mimic and his beard. (Excalibur #122)

The sound of love. (Excalibur #122)

Aw, those wacky kids. (Excalibur #123)

The now-beardless Mimic. (Excalibur #123)

NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor explodes.

423 – Moby Dick Ice Cream

September 10, 2023 Jay 6 comments

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In which subtlety is not Sabra’s strong point; Moira takes a vacation; Meggan broods; you should take care in referencing the Dark Phoenix Saga; Excalibur may or may not shave Mimic; and Captain Britain is a silly man.

X-PLAINED:

Ghosts
Excalibur #121-123
The Mutant Underground
Empathic recon
An extremely disgruntled kiss
Kitty’s new costume
Several of Legion’s personalities
A mysterious disk
A very fancy trash can and/or ice cream maker
Ice cream of Cloud City
A good dog
Remains of Operation Zero Tolerance
The devolution of Douglock
Mimic (Calvin Rankin)
Mimic’s facial hair
Some Prime Sentinels
Wedding planning
Liking parts of things
Villains who want to marry Storm
Maddy Pryor

NEXT EPISODE: The end of X-Factor!

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As Mentioned in Episode 421 – Dudleyworld or Bust

August 27, 2023 Jay Leave a comment

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Fast times at Dudleyworld! (Colossus #1)

Aw, these wacky kids.(Colossus #1)

Note: This is supposed to be taking place during the day. (Colossus #1)

EliSabeth, you mean! (Colossus #1)

The Proletarian! (Colossus #1)

BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T TELL HER WHAT WAS GOING ON. (Colossus #1)

On the scale of bad disguises, I’ve seen worse. (Colossus #1)

He’s smooth, I’ll give him that. (X-Men Unlimited #19)

“What the HELL, Mom?!” (X-Men Unlimited #19)

See what I mean about her head? (X-Men Unlimited #19)

My kingdom for follow-through on this tease. (X-Men Unlimited #19)

NEXT EPISODE: The secret origin of Maggott!

421 – Dudleyworld or Bust

August 20, 2023 Jay 3 comments

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In which one letter can make a big difference; it’s just not Arcade without giant pinballs; Colossus is nobody’s fool; Margali Szardos is not a relative you want to stay in touch with; Nightcrawler turns to the jerk side; and Jay and Miles pitch an X-Men kids’ show.

X-PLAINED:

Elisabeth Wilford vs. Elizabeth Wilford
Colossus #1
X-Men Unlimited #19
How to name a miniseries or one-shot
The destructive potential of happiness
A clock
An inaccurate duplicate of Avalon
The return of the Proletarian
Costumes with characters’ faces on them
Death by irony
A journey to Limbo
Several blasts from the past
Margali Szardos’s head
Foreshadowing that we desperately wish had panned out
Cold open curation
A hypothetical X-Men show for five-year-olds

NEXT EPISODE: The secret origin of Maggott

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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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420 – The Legendary House of Wolverine, feat. Christopher Michael Roman

August 13, 2023 Jay 4 comments

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In which Jay sits down with scholar Christopher Michael Roman to discuss his recent book, Queering Wolverine in Comics and Fanfiction: A Fastball Special; alongside queer theory, porous bodies, and nontraditional mentorship.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes graphic discussions of physical trauma as well as consensual if weird fictional sex.

NEXT EPISODE: Colossus and Meggan finally go to Dudleyworld, sort of!

No visual companion this week, but if you want to pick up Chris’s book, you can do that here!

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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 416 – The Screaming Room

July 16, 2023 Jay Leave a comment

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Okay, but it’s pretty fucking creepy as a toy, too. (Excalibur #118)

Aaaaand there he goes. (Excalibur #118)

Meanwhile in AWESOME. (Excalibur #118)

Oh, THAT guy. (Excalibur #118)

Nightcrawler’s nightmare. (Excalibur #119)

Colossus’s nightmare. (Excalibur #119)

Shadowcat’s nightmare. (Excalibur #119)

Douglock’s nightmare. (Excalibur #119)

Meggan’s nightmare, featuring a whole lot of great cameos! (Excalibur #119)

I’m not a smoker, but I wanna learn to blow smoke rings like that. (Excalibur #119)

Ouch. (Excalibur #120)

NEXT EPISODE: Why, indeed.

416 – The Screaming Room

July 2, 2023 Jay 7 comments

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In which we are incapable of X-Plaining the Great Lakes Avengers; Pete Wisdom evolves; Douglock hacks the island; Nightcrawler cosplays Nightcrawler; and we find ourselves bafflingly defensive of the Bamfs.

X-PLAINED:

How to recruit Unus the Untouchable to your super-team
What Excalibur has been up to
Excalibur #118-120
An excellent use of danger room technology
Some fairly deft metacommentary
Colossus vs. another tree
Bamfs and the character assassination thereof
Nightmare
Characterization via lettering
Several nightmare scenarios
Pete Wisdom vs. Nightmare
Meggan’s true form (again)
A poorly conceived romantic gesture
Foreshadowing
Relative Bamf quality
Other Marvel villains we’d like to see menace the X-Men
Our thoughts on Legion and The Gifted

NEXT EPISODE: A pterodactyl with a gun!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog.

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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 TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 405 – Morally Purple

April 2, 2023 Jay Leave a comment

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So, that’s a thing. (Cable #-1)

Honestly, I kinda wish Cable had sported this look for longer. (Cable #-1)

THE BOW TIE (Cable #-1)

Cable’s future may be kind of dystopian, but it’s also rad as hell. (Cable #-1)

Damn, bro. (Cable #-1)

On one hand, yes, he’s very dashing. On the other hand, they are definitely foster siblings. (Excalibur #-1)

Hey, we know that guy! (Excalibur #-1)

This is Sabu. Don’t get attached. (Excalibur #-1)

Harry Leland knows how to dress to impress. (Generation X #-1)

I know it’s a byproduct of the foreshortening plus slightly murky colors, but from at least one angle, it looks like Hank has a human-skin rug. (Generation X #-1)

And then they never talked to or mentioned each other again. (Generation X #-1)

Rachel’s cloak is SO GOOD. (Uncanny X-Men #-1)

this genocidal disco motherfucker (Uncanny X-Men #-1)

Tanya, NO. (Uncanny X-Men #-1)

NEXT EPISODE: More flashbacks!

LINKS & FURTHER BACKSTORY

Go check out Al’s podcast, House to Astonish!

405 – Morally Purple

March 27, 2023 Jay 8 comments

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In which Jay returns; babies are bad at pretty much everything; continuity flies straight out the window; Cable should speak English with a Scottish accent; Harry Leland knows how to dress; Tanya Trask makes the same time travel mistake everyone makes; and we love Al Kennedy forever.

X-PLAINED:

Sentry (but not that one)
Babies
Flashback
Cable #-1
Excalibur #-1
Generation X #-1
Uncanny X-Men #-1
The preturn of Angus McWhirter, angry hovercraft-rental guy
Hippie Cable
Veins of science
Yet another time travel loop
What may or may not be how Nightcrawler quit the circus
Sabu
“Science”
A large volume of dubious continuity
Larry Trask (more) (again)
Jay’s cosplay aspirations
Sanctity (Tanya Trask)
The Twelve (somewhat)
A possible splinter timeline
The X-Men of 1602
Rube Goldberg

NEXT EPISODE: Flashback continues!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes 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 rad swag at our TeePublic shop!