Psylocke – Page 6 – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 222 – A Tale of Two Betsys

November 11, 2018 Jay 5 comments

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

Spoiler: It’s Betsy Braddock’s original body. (X-Men #20)

Does it seem weird to anyone else that Jubilee is putting her skates on in Professor X’s news den? Is there even room for that? (X-Men #20)

That’s not how gravity OR abs work. (X-Men #20)

BETSY NO (X-Men #20)

We have reached peak Scott Summers. (X-Men #20)

This stuff will be a running backbeat to the remainder of Scott and Jean’s relationship. (X-Men #20)

WHAT?! (X-Men #20)

These reaction faces are priceless. (X-Men #20)

Sure, that’s what you CLAIM, but so far Colossus has not thrown Devil Dinosaur at anybody, so I’m suspicious. (X-Men #21)

Kwannon seems to like posing for pictures about as much as Jay does. (X-Men #21)

Same face, same hair–who wore it better?! (X-Men #21)

This guy, AGAIN. (X-Men #21)

At this point, Matsuo’s hair may actually be more aggressively styled than Wolverine’s. (X-Men #22)

Betsy and/or Kwannon X-Plains Betsy and/or Kwannon. (X-Men #22)

“As completely as I understand what happens when two people like each other very much.” (X-Men #23)

And so forth. (X-Men #23)

And you thought that conversations with YOUR grandparents were awkward. (X-Men #22)

The creepiest thing about Sinister is the moments of profound disconnect when it’s clearly Sinister, but everyone reacts to him like he’s just a regular dude. (X-Men #22)

In which Scott Summers continues to never under any circumstances be allowed to take an actual vacation. (X-Men #22)

Seriously. (X-Men #23)

Heralding several decades of nonsense. (X-Men #23)

NEXT EPISODE: Dracula, live at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival!

LINKS & FURTHER SORROWS

Listen to our discussion of Psylocke’s original transformation–featuring author Sarah Kuhn–in Episode 137 – Kicky Kinko Killers.
Marvel’s current EiC has a particularly ugly history when it comes to appropriation of Japanese culture and identities.

222 – A Tale of Two Betsys

November 11, 2018 Jay 18 comments

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In which it has been a pretty intense month; there is a lot to unpack about Psylocke; we are confused by hip teen lingo; Cyclops definitively lacks game; organized crime is anything but; and the mystery of the third Summers brother officially begins.

X-PLAINED:

How the Maximoffs joined the Avengers
X-Cutioner’s Song fallout
An X-ceptionally convoluted set of retcons
X-Men #20-23
How not to repair an airplane
One way to get out of an awkward conversation
Several Betsys Braddock
Revanche
Dubiously organized crime
Kwannon
Nyorin’s diary
Awkward family conversations
Mike Milbury
Twin Peaks Season 3
Akira Yoshida

NEXT EPISODE: Dracula in Vegas!

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!

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217 – Piotr the Obscure

October 7, 2018 Jay 11 comments

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In which it sucks to be a Rasputin; X-Men and Uncanny X-Men muddy the waters; Cyclops and Psylocke’s weird flirtation somehow manages to get even more awkward; Colossus has a long series of bad days; and you should totally come see us at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival.

X-PLAINED:

An atypical curriculum
Jay & Miles at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival
X-Men #17-19
What Colossus and Magik have been up to
X-Men title disambiguation
The terrible fate of the town of Neftelensk
Blind Faith (Alexi Garnov)
Darkstar (Laynia Petrovna)
Darkstar
Beard auras
Cathartic interdimensional landscaping
Flagwatch 113
Red Flag 113
An awkward encounter
The Soul Skinner
The tactical value of cute little ears
Dubious cold-weather apparel
Jude the Obscure
Weaponized angst
An inopportune coloring error
Lack of pants
Whether Pyro could control Jubilee’s “fireworks”
How to enjoy dated comics

NEXT EPISODE: Uncanny X-Men hits a major milestone!

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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 215 – Mon de Orb Uno

September 23, 2018 Jay 2 comments

Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

While this cover may be the first story page, it still follows the general rule of Excalibur covers: It’s funny when bad things happen to Captain Britain. (Excalibur #55)

Aw, they look so fancy! (Excalibur #55)

Alan Davis hair: expressive AND extra! (Excalibur #55)

HIS FOOT POPPED. (Excalibur #55)

Remember this plot thread? Alan Davis does. Alan Davis remembers EVERY plot thread. It is his blessing and his curse. (Excalibur #55)

Speaking of threads… (Excalibur #55)

This is both an excellent disguise and a quality Cross-Time Caper callback. (Excalibur #56)

Oof. (Excalibur #56)

This party is the worst. (Excalibur #56)

Captain Britain X-Plains the Plot. (Excalibur #56)

(There’s a lot of plot.)(Excalibur #56)

On one hand, Sat-Yr-9 is very evil. On the other hand, this is still very satisfying. (Excalibur #56)

Meggan is so badass. (Excalibur #56)

There’s a Monty Python sketch about this. (Excalibur #56)

“Next, you eat the banana, thus disarming him!” (Excalibur #56)

Too little, too late, Nick. (Excalibur #56)

Remember this kid? ALAN DAVIS DOES! (Excalibur #57)

KITTY, NO. (Excalibur #57)

Cyclops X-Plains X-Factor #41-42. (Excalibur #57)

(And so forth.) (Excalibur #57)

I don’t know why this is a thing. It doesn’t actually impact the story in any significant way. (Excalibur #57)

GAMBIT, NO. (Excalibur #57)

These jerks, again. (Excalibur #58)

This is a ruse, except for the part about Cyclops’s secret boot radio, because Cyclops is a nerd. (Excalibur #58)

I really, really want to know more about Margaret. (Excalibur #58)

TEAM-UP! (Excalibur #58)

Amazing what they cover in undergrad chemistry programs these days. (Excalibur #58)

JUST USE THE PHONE YOU RIDICULOUS PEOPLE (Excalibur #58)

And they all lived happily ever after! (Excalibur #58)

NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor vs. therapy, with guest X-Pert Dr. Andrea Letamendi!

LINKS & FURTHER MISADVENTURES

You can hear all about Tom and the trolls’ first encounter in Episode 118 – Extrude the Grappling Arms!
Here is one way to defend yourself against a man armed with a banana.
The Brussels Sewer Museum is super cool, and if you get the chance, you should absolutely check it out.

215 – Mon de Orb Uno

September 23, 2018 Jay 11 comments

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In which we finally emerge from the other side of X-Cutioner’s Song; rich people are different from us; Brian Braddock is probably not comfortable with menstruation; Dai Thomas cleans up pretty well; someone FINALLY remembers Sat-Yr-9; Psylocke knows how to defend herself from a man armed with a banana; the (non-Internet) trolls return; and we are fairly sure that Gambit does not actually speak French.

X-PLAINED:

Winzeldorf
Excalibur (so far)
Excalibur #55-58
Lip massage
The death of Alysande Stuart
A banana fight
Alchemy (again)
Many trolls
A fairly joyous reunion
The Brussels Sewer Museum
A fake heel turn
Our hopes and worries for the New Mutants movie
Comics covers

NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor vs. Therapy, with Guest X-Pert Dr. Andrea Letamendi!

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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 212 – Drumbeats of Despair

September 2, 2018 Jay 5 comments

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

(Actually, it’s part of a triptych! Here are all three, together at last!)

Damnit, Stryfe. (Uncanny X-Men #296)

Ew. (Uncanny X-Men #296)

Including this entirely for Archangel’s epic grumpy face. (Uncanny X-Men #296)

Alas, the podcast JY & Miles X-Plain the X-Men won’t exist for another 23 years. (Uncanny X-Men #296)

Say what you will about Scott and Jean, but they’re aware of their own cliches. (Uncanny X-Men #296)

Of course. (Uncanny X-Men #296)

The number of unsettling ways in which X-artists can mess up drawing babies never ceases to impress. (Uncanny X-Men #296)

“Also, sorry ’bout your table.” (Uncanny X-Men #296)

“Remember,” said the editor, “Every comic is somebody’s first!” (X-Factor #86)

Seriously, though, that could not get more Patrick Nagel if Patrick Nagel had drawn it. (X-Factor #86)

“AND I’LL BE THE HEAD!” (X-Factor #86)

THIS. PAGE. (X-Factor #86)

No, not particularly. (X-Factor #86)

Seriously: Ew. (X-Factor #86)

“Eh, I got nowhere else to be.” (X-Factor #86)

They’re so enormous and heavily armed! (X-Men #16)

Aw, man, this is a really good heroic moment. (X-Men #16)

WHOOPS. (X-Men #16)

Well, that’s portentous. (X-Men #16)

Stryfe’s tirades remain an impressive mix of incredibly specific and frustratingly vague. (X-Force #18)

Possibly the most Stryfe line of the entire event. (X-Force #18)

Dang, Cable. (X-Force #18)

“Like, organs and stuff.” (X-Force #18)

I’d like to think that Stryfe is angriest about the pun. (X-Force #18)

SPOILER: He’ll be okay, at least by Cable standards. (X-Force #18)

Maybe it’s a universal remote! SERIOUSLY, CYCLOPS, I KNOW YOU WERE RECENTLY DEPRIVED OF OXYGEN, BUT IT’S VERY CLEARLY A DETONATOR. (X-Force #18)

Ouch. (X-Force #18)

NEXT EPISODE: Live from FlameCon, featuring Sina Grace, Magdalene Visaggio, and Leah Williams!

LINKS & FURTHER MISHAPS:

I know this Waiting for the Trade strip is years old, but the joke really never stops being funny.
For all your old-school hacking needs.
According to Wikipedia, the not-Stüssy S is in fact called the “Cool S,” which is a fairly bold claim.
Ferruginous hawks are ridiculous, but they’re still not as ridiculous as Warren Kenneth Worthington III.

212 – Drumbeats of Despair: X-Cutioner’s Song (Part 3 or 3)

September 2, 2018 Jay 14 comments

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In which nobody but Stryfe’s diary understands him; Apocalypse is the best at what he does (and what he does is remarkably versatile); Scott and Jean weaponize their clichés; Jae Lee does his best Patrick Nagel; Apocalypse is poisonous; Cable goes full T-800; nothing good ever happens to Cyclops on the moon; Stryfe dies as passive-aggressively as he lived; and X-Cutioner’s Song finally concludes.

X-PLAINED:

How Cable dies
The Story So Far
Still more trading-card taxonomy
Uncanny X-Men #296
X-Factor #86
X-Men #16
X-Force #18
An AU we’d like to read
The not-Stüssy S
How to effectively reference X-Men #137
A decoy baby
An abortive escape
Moon gravity
Revelatory vandalism
A trip to the moon
A probably excessive number of hawk facts
Various daring rescues
How to kill time in space
Cathexes
A very fancy moon base
The cavalry, kind of
Stryfe vs. Cable
An X-Cellent epilogue
Several Silent Hill 2 references
Stryfe’s Legacy
Pawnee, Indiana vs. Marvel
Sexy high-security prisons of the future

NEXT EPISODE: Live from FlameCon, featuring Sina Grace, Magdalene Visaggio, and Leah Williams!

Special thanks to Matt for the subject of this episode’s cold open; and to the Protomen for use of their cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 211 – A Cornucopia of Mayhem

August 26, 2018 Jay One comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

Really, though, it was all just a hilarious misunderstanding. (Uncanny X-Men #295)

I’m just gonna let Jubilee caption this one… (Uncanny X-Men #295)

…Yep. (Uncanny X-Men #295)

PSYLOCKE, MURDER IS OCCASIONALLY NOT THE ANSWER. (Uncanny X-Men #295)

This is not actually a lot like child-rearing. (Uncanny X-Men #295)

It is very, very 1992 in here. (Uncanny X-Men #295)

Aw, Sam. You’re a good kid. (Uncanny X-Men #295)

NEXT ISSUE: Three men without inside voices. (Uncanny X-Men #295)

Sure, why not? (X-Factor #85)

Even Apocalypse is horrified by the ramifications of this mess. (X-Factor #85)

Compromise is the heart of teamwork! (X-Factor #85)

I really love both the art in this issue and Dragoness’s design as drawn by Jae Lee. (X-Factor #85)

It’s a metaphor! With robots! Probably! (X-Factor #85)

Awk-ward. (X-Factor #85)

You see what I mean about the DragonQuest thing? (X-Men #15)

Why is Psylocke standing like this mid-fight? Or at all, honestly? A MYSTERY FOR THE AGES. (X-Men #15)

I’m glad that Colossus’s Angst Landscaping has persevered. (X-Men #15)

No, Stryfe. And I think you know that. (X-Men #15)

new body who dis (X-Men #15)

NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU, STRYFE. (X-Force #17)

Oh, that’ll end well. (X-Force #17)

Logan ABSOLUTELY deserved that. (X-Force #17)

Ouch. (X-Force #17)

Objectively, I know that X-Men #137 callbacks are calculated manipulation, BUT THEY ALWAYS WORK ANYWAY. (X-Force #17)

NEXT EPISODE: Man, this is a long event.

LINKS & FURTHER EXPERIMENTS:

Listen to Part 1 of our X-Cutioner’s Song coverage here.
Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love is a really cool book made by some people we like very much.

211 – A Cornucopia of Mayhem: X-Cutioner’s Song (Part 2 of 3)

August 26, 2018 Jay 16 comments

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In which Jubilee is underwhelmed by X-Force; Havok and Gambit make weirdly good buddy cops; Department K is a hot vacation destination; Cable is secretly a Coen Brothers protagonist; you can cancel Community but you can never take away Jay’s gratuitous Community references; Rusty goes full cultist; nobody is Stryfe’s real dad; smoking on a space station is a REALLY bad idea; Apocalypse is here to help; and Miles lies at length about music.

X-PLAINED:

Kuurth
Various Juggernauts
The Story So Far
More trading-card taxonomy
Uncanny X-Men #295
X-Factor #85
X-Men #15
X-Force #17
Varyingly hilarious misunderstandings
Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love
What happened
Good Cop / Sleazy Cop
A deal
A tragic absence of Draculas
The Coen Brothers’ X-Cutioner’s Song
Thanksgiving with Cable
Miles’s summer camp hijinks
Murderbots in space (again)
A dubious strategy
MLF Redshirts
The second time someone force-fed superheroes baby food in space
A dropped plot thread
Things you shouldn’t do on space stations
Additional awkward reunions
Whether Stryfe is a Summers
The X-Cutioner’s signature karaoke song

NEXT EPISODE: Dang, this event is long.

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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)