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

As Mentioned in Episode 524 – House in a House

May 10, 2026 Jay 3 comments

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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 12 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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As Mentioned in Episode 491 – Live from the Library

June 22, 2025 Jay One comment

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15_survivetheexperience_words_of_the_poet

LINKS & FURTHER READING

Go read “Kitty Queer,” by Sigrid Ellis.
Done? Great. Next, read “The Judgment of Magneto,” by Asher Elbein.
If you’re looking for a jumping-on point to this podcast, you could do worse than the Age of Apocalypse.
Jay has some additional thoughts on identity politics, which you can read here.

491 – Live from the Library

June 22, 2025 Jay 6 comments

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In which we record live from the Library of Congress; time travel complicates everything; X-Men is a fundamentally queer narrative; we attempt to summarize a lot of history very fast; and when identities are politicized, claiming them becomes a political act.

X-PLAINED:

LC-GLOBE
The first openly queer X-Man
Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men
Why we do what we do
Why the X-Men are worth studying
Returning nuance to critical discussion of media
A brief(ish) history of X-Men and queerness in X-Men
Iceman Watch
Retroactive foreshadowing
The mutant metaphor
Found family
Subtext
Text
Facets of mutant activism
Coming-out stories
Various vectors of diversity
Some comics Jay wrote
Comics in libraries
Where to start with Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men
X-Men for horror fans
Our favorite X-Men lineups
Identity politics
The T-O virus vs. the Legacy Virus

NEXT EPISODE: Brain Sharks!

This episode doesn’t exactly have a traditional visual companion, but you can click through the entire slide deck from the live show–and find links to the essays we mentioned–on our blog.

Jay has some additional thoughts on identity politics, which you can read here.

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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!

461 – Things to Do in Denver When You’re X-Force

September 1, 2024 Jay 8 comments

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In which Magneto may be right but is also wildly impractical; X-Force goes on a sneaking mission; Magneto isn’t mad, he’s just disappointed; Rictor and Shatterstar return; Strong is not a common surname in the Marvel universe; and being a mutant on TV doesn’t mean you’re one in the comics.

X-PLAINED:

How Jubilee became a vampire
The most X-treme youth of them all
X-Force 94-95
X-Force Annual 1999
Genosha
Butler disambiguation
Clown jobs
A team-up predicated on an awkward breakup
Hammer Town
Delphi
Memory boxes
Several potential continuity error
Names
Genoshan robots
Archie
A hierarchy of potential fates
Vershiagen Industries and/or Vershlagen Industries
V2
Hanrancha
Stronghold
Martin Strong
Freddie
Michelle Balters (Neurotap) (more) (again)
Communication with X-teams
A sudden and depressing resolution
Continuity across media
Why Gambit doesn’t (usually) throw tarot cards

NEXT EPISODE: The Return of the Hellions (kinda)

The visual companion to this episode will be up later this week!

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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 413 – Convergence

June 4, 2023 Jay One comment

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We’re still not sure about the word for a gatefold-and-a-half, but here’s a good one. (X-Force #75)

Welcome to Exploding Colossal Man! (X-Force #75)

Karma and her girlfriends. (X-Force #75)

I’d like to think she spends her time being an asshole at New Age bookstores, too. (X-Force #75)

Wandering down memory lane with Mirage and Warpath. (X-Force #75)

OOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhh (X-Force #75)

This is really about as far as that ever gets X-Plained. (X-Force #75)

I really dig the weirdness of the art of the Colossal Man. (X-Force #75)

If you know, you know. (New Mutants vol. 4 #30)

This gimmick has been used a lot over the years… (X-Force #76)

…but it plays nicely here. (X-Force #76)

Noooooooooooooo! (X-Force #76)

A very fun fight (at least for the reader). (X-Force #76)

Two great tastes that go great together! (X-Force #76)

NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor spirals towards its inexorable lack of conclusion.

413 – Convergence (feat. Douglas Wolk)

June 4, 2023 Jay 12 comments

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In which X-Force goes to Burning Man Exploding Colossal Man; Douglas Wolk may or may not have superpowers; Karma gets girlfriends; we are already tired of Reignfire; Meltdown and Sunspot initiate a love triangle; and Jay is writing some more X-Men.

X-PLAINED:

Road trips
X-Force #75-76
New Mutants vol. 4 #30
A gatefold and a half
Burning Man
Exploding Colossal Man
Karma’s name
Echidna Faire
Text
Selene (more) (again)
Crowd scenes
Various character relationships
Callbacks
Mud
A magic box and a fancy stick
Eitri the Dwarf
A grand conjunction
A big, silly fight
Peak late ‘90s queer culture
Echidna Faire
Bowling
Etienne Rousseau
Updating Bastion’s facial hair
Wolverine’s mentees

NEXT EPISODE: The beginning of the end of X-Factor

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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 401 – True Tales of Double-Entry Bookkeeping

February 12, 2023 Miles 2 comments

Listen to the episode here.

“Jack, I served with Cannonball, I knew Cannonball, Cannonball was a brother of mine. Jack, you are no Cannonball.” (Generation X #32)

smek (Generation X #32)

David Bowie and Hacker T. Dog. (New Mutants #92)

I’ve missed 80s Boom-Boom. Yeep! (New Mutants #92)

The character find of 1990. (New Mutants #92)

“This haunted house is nuts, especially that broccoli guy! We need to tell Jean Grey about it and make sure she wears that Phoenix outfit when she comes to visit!” (New Mutants #92)

Did we cover this issue mostly for 80s Boom-Boom? Yes. Yes we did. (New Mutants #92)

And you thought Ship was cool, kids. (New Mutants #92)

Speaking of things Boom-Boom would do… (Generation X #33)

Keep an eye on this guy. (Generation X #33)

Miles totally would have stuck with hard science in college if the labs had looked like this. (Generation X #33)

No, no… The WHAT goes at the end, not in the middle! (Generation X #33)

Welcome to a dimension of pure CHAIR. (Generation X #33)

And now for something completely different. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Now I want to see Adam Pollina draw Mystique’s creepy nephew from X-Factor. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

I believe Danish armored mother-and-son murderers refer to this as hygge. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

1 pet robot. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Random stuff piled up outside the panels – this must be an issue of Generation X! (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Mutant, mutant, angst, angst. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

What an obituary that would have made. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

It’s easy to forget how legitimately terrifying the Orphan Maker can be. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

So that happened. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Better or worse than the kids that wet their pants on Santa’s lap? (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Oh, kiddo. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Well that’s just lovely. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

NEXT TIME: Doctor Moira MacTaggert versus the Legacy Virus.

401 – True Tales of Double-Entry Bookkeeping

February 12, 2023 Miles 8 comments

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In which Santa Claus makes problematic choices; we make good on a promise; Sebastian is the new Deadpool; Skrulls get stuck as animals more than you’d think; Nanny and Orphan-Maker celebrate; and Jubilee stops worrying and learns to love Christmas.

X-PLAINED

Santa Claus’s flirtations with villainy
A new direction for Generation X
Larry Hama
Al vs. U.S. geography
Generation X #32-33
Generation X Holiday Special
New Mutants #92
Thing One & Thing Two St. Croix
The Circus of Crime
The Pirates of Dark Water (somewhat)
Hacker T. Dog
Why Wolfsbane is scared of clowns
Skrull Kill Crew
Carnie Voltron
Chief Authier
Phat beats
A reality biscuit
Emplate’s pocket dimension
Chimera and Dirtnap
Variant interiors
Nanny & Orphan-Maker (more) (again)
Santa Claus (in general)
Benefits of inconsistent characterization

NEXT WEEK: Break week

NEXT EPISODE: Excalibur!

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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!