wolverine – Page 19 – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

78 – The Eye Killers and Other Cautionary Tales

October 11, 2015 Jay 54 comments

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 10/18/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which we persevere in the face of adversity; Storm goes on a quest; Mr. Sinister makes his first appearance; Dazzler learns about teamwork (again); it still sucks to be Havok (but not as much as it sucks to be Madelyne Pryor); you should probably put down that cactus; the Murder Grampas join Freedom Force; Storm’s life is a metal-album cover; and the X-Men are doomed as hell.

X-Plained:

The Mr. Sinister / Summers family time loop
Uncanny X-Men #220-224
Actual and potential origins of Mr. Sinister’s name
How Longshot’s powers work in combat
Teamwork (again)
Representing sound and silence in a visual medium
A protracted fight
Forge (again)
Naze (kind of)
The Adversary
Eye Killers
One of many reasons not to masturbate with a cactus
The X-Men in San Francisco
Madelyne Pryor vs. fate
Storm vs. Forge
Character names vs. code names
X-Makeovers

NEXT WEEK: X-Men vs. Avengers

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Rachel 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!

Rachel Recaps X-Men: Evolution
S1E7: Turn of the Rogue

August 24, 2015 Jay 30 comments

AND WE’RE BACK! Hi, Evolution! I’ve missed you!

Not only am I back recapping X-Men: Evolution, but I get to jump back in with my hands-down favorite episode of Season 1.

Remember back in Episode 3, when I told you that a lot of the best stuff in Season 1 revolves around Rogue? This is what I’m talking about, right here. “Turn of the Rogue” is a great showcase of my favorite aspects of X-Men: Evolution: the balance and interaction of the superheroic and the personal; emotionally resonant coming-of-age stories; and some of the strongest writing and performances of the season.

Also, Mystique turns into an eagle.

LET’S DO THIS THING.

August 2015 Shirt of the Month: X-Gamers

August 5, 2015 Jay Leave a comment

Who needs a Danger Room when you can hone your battlefield skills AND rack up EXP against a Beholder? The X-Men gather ‘round the gaming table for some all-new, all-different training in August’s shirt of the month, featuring art by David Wynne!

In addition to covering your torso and impressing your friends and neighbors, the August, 2015 shirt of the months grants +1 on continuity-related checks.* It’s available on a wide variety of wearables, including kids’ clothes; as well as tote bags, travel mugs, and stickers!

NOTE: This is a limited-run shirt! It will DISAPPEAR FOREVER from the shop on September 1, 2015; get ’em while they last!

*Results not guaranteed in actual gameplay. Always run house rules by your GM. Not recommended for use against gazebos.

As Mentioned in Episode 68 – The Most Dangerous Game

August 3, 2015 Jay 10 comments

The visual companion to Episode 68 will be up a little late, because we’ve been moving all weekend. Meanwhile, please enjoy a sneak peek at our new home, which can double as a rousing game of Spot the Anna!

Spot the Anna! — LOOK AT ALL THOSE BOXES

68 – The Most Dangerous Game

August 3, 2015 Jay 26 comments

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most dangerous game v5 — Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 8/9/2015 , or contact David for the original.

In which we catch our breath after the Mutant Massacre; Miles’s taste is both epic and adorable; Dazzler’s Achilles heel is fame; Madelyne Pryor; it’s hard to be a teenage ghost; Crimson Commando is not actually Frank Borman (but we wish he were); Wolverine may or may not make truck noises; Heroes for Hope is profoundly baffling; and Sunspot would definitely be way into Leslie Knope.

X-PLAINED:

Several untimely deaths
Uncanny X-Men #214-216
Heroes for Hope
The post-Mutant Massacre X-Men
Malice
Another set of Phoenix callbacks
The Murder Grandpas
Crimson Commando
Super Sabre
Stonewall
Actual superhero Marsha P. Johnson
Priscilla the jerk
Wolverine SFX
Some fairly spectacular misunderstandings
One hell of a jam comic
X-costumes
A Thomas Magnum for 21^st-century X-kids

NEXT WEEK: Elle Collins and Graeme McMillan X-Plain Beast’s solo adventures!

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Rachel 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 66 – The Mutant Massacre, Part 2

July 20, 2015 Jay 4 comments

Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 7/26/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

If this week’s illustration reminds you of last week’s, that’s because they’re two parts of this rad panorama! Again, prints are available until 7/26/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

Mystique, what are you even doing? (X-Factor #9)

This, again. (X-Factor #9)

Passing privilege in action! (X-Factor #9)

That’s actually pretty clever. (X-Factor #9)

MOPPETS. (X-Factor #9)

Meanwhile in Apartment 3G… (X-Factor #10)

WRONG CHOICE, ANGEL. (X-Factor #10)

One horseman down, three to go. (X-Factor #10)

Damn, Jean. (X-Factor #10)

Ouch. (X-Factor #10)

OUCH. (X-Factor #10)

There is never a worst time to be a Power kid than during an X-line crossover. (Power Pack #27)

Everyone hates X-Factor. (Power Pack #27)

It really does kind of cheapen Sabretooth’s menace when a bunch of kids can take him down–even these kids. (Power Pack #27)

COMICS FOR KIDS. (Power Pack #27)

And then everything was sad forever. (Power Pack #27)

BEHOLD THIS MAJESTIC THUNDER GOD AND HIS MAJESTIC BEARD! (The Mighty Thor #373)

No, but seriously, though. (The Mighty Thor #373)

Thor has frog friends. (The Mighty Thor #373)

Have we mentioned that we love Thor? We love Thor. (The Mighty Thor #373)

There’s a reason that Walter Simonson is the gold standard for epic dialogue. (The Mighty Thor #374)

Aw. (The Mighty Thor #374)

There’s a lot of straight-up killing on the hero side of this event. (The Mighty Thor #374)

(X-Men #9, specifically.) (The Mighty Thor #374)

Thor: Definitely the best dude you know. (The Mighty Thor #374)

It’s funny, because miscommunication. (X-Factor #11)

“Run! It’s a crossover issue!” (X-Factor #11)

X-Factor drinking game: Drink every time someone has to explain the relationship between X-Factor and the X-Terminators. (X-Factor #11)

Halfway there, Apocalypse! (X-Factor #11)

Ouch. (X-Factor #11)

On the upside: Boom-Boom! (X-Factor #11)

NEXT WEEK: The New Mutants party like it’s 1299!

LINKS & FURTHER READING

Listen to Episode 65–The Mutant Massacre, Part 1–here!
You can find the Mutant Massacre reading order here.
Have you read Walter Simonson’s run of The Mighty Thor yet? You should really go do that. It starts here.

66 – The Mutant Massacre, Part 2

July 20, 2015 Jay 25 comments

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In which we wrap up our first official two-parter; Gambit ruins everything; Rachel has a theory about Mister Sinister; Marvel communication technology is behind the times; Trish Tilby is tired of your bullshit; Walter Simonson is the best of the best; X-Factor pulls it together; Power Pack gets uncomfortably dark; Miles has Thor feelings; and even more mutants die.

NOTE: This episode is the second of a two-parter! If you haven’t listened to Episode 65, where we cover the first half of the mutant massacre, you should probably do that before you listen to this one!

X-PLAINED:

Masque
Tentacle disambiguation
More of the Mutant Massacre
A Sinister hypothesis
Several Marauder-related retcons
X-Factor #9-11
Power Pack #27
The Mighty Thor #373-374
Trish Tilby
Artie & Leech
Several awkward reunions
Walter Simonson
The fall of Angel
Apocalypse’s horsemen
Yet another crossover that will probably scar the Power kids for life
Franklin Richards
Thor, Donald Blake, and Sigurd Jarlson
The best issue of any comic, ever.
The Tunnelers
Ongoing repercussions of the Mutant Massacre
Rachel & Miles’s horseman identities
Which X-Men could and should wield Mjolnir

NEXT WEEK: The New Mutants party like it’s 1299!

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Rachel 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 65 – The Mutant Massacre, Part 1

July 13, 2015 Jay 10 comments

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 7/19/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

And so it begins. (Uncanny X-Men #210)

Dazzler vs. Dazzler. (Uncanny X-Men #210)

We’d make a joke about taking a drink for every X-Men/X-Factor near miss, but you’d die of alcohol poisoning before the end of the crossover. (Uncanny X-Men #210)

Aw, Colossus. (Uncanny X-Men #210)

Not sure why Alanis Morisette didn’t bring this up in “Ironic.” (Uncanny X-Men #210)

Good job Kitty. (Uncanny X-Men #210)

Well, damn. (Uncanny X-Men #210)

There’s something really unsettlingly cheery and Silver-Age about this page. (Uncanny X-Men #211)

No idea who the purple individual is, which is a shame, because they seem awesome. (Uncanny X-Men #211)

STORM, NO! DON’T SPLIT THE PARTY! (Uncanny X-Men #211)

Whoa. (Uncanny X-Men #211)

This is the closest they’ll come to an actual conversation until Inferno. (Uncanny X-Men #211)

Whoops. (Uncanny X-Men #211)

So, THAT happened. (Uncanny X-Men #211)

SO, THAT HAPPENED. (Uncanny X-Men #211)

Dani Moonstar’s powers are METAL AS FUCK. (New Mutants #46)

“My powers are limited to the counterculture.” (New Mutants #46)

Powerlessness and the sense of being able to accomplish too little too late are pervasive themes in the Mutant Massacre. (New Mutants #46)

Everything’s sadder when teenagers are reacting to it. (New Mutants #46)

Well, shit. (New Mutants #46)

How have they not learned to listen to Doug by now? He is ALWAYS RIGHT. (New Mutants #46)

Cold, Wolverine. (Uncanny X-Men #212)

In her defense, everything is in fact well and truly fucked. (Uncanny X-Men #212)

And again. See what I meant about the alcohol-poisoning thing? (Uncanny X-Men #212)

You can, however, take a drink when Storm takes off her clothes for no clear reason. (Uncanny X-Men #212)

First mention of the man with the plan! (Uncanny X-Men #212)

Well done, Wolverine! (Uncanny X-Men #212)

I don’t care who you are: Callisto is better at leadership than you. (Uncanny X-Men #212)

It’s cool. It’s just Thor; we’ll be covering that stuff next episode. (Uncanny X-Men #212)

Psylocke’s psychic projection is adorable and also super creepy. (Uncanny X-Men #213)

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE (Uncanny X-Men #213)

Betsy Braddock is hardcore. (Uncanny X-Men #213)

Two classic Claremontisms… (Uncanny X-Men #213)

…on a single page. (Uncanny X-Men #213)

Damn, Psylocke. (Uncanny X-Men #213)

How much do we love Psylocke’s totally femme-princess superhero costume? SO MUCH. (Uncanny X-Men #213)

Next Week: The Mutant Massacre, Part 2!

If you want to follow along with the crossover, you can find a guide to the reading order–and how we’re dividing it between episodes–here.

65 – The Mutant Massacre, Part 1

July 13, 2015 Jay 47 comments

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In which we hit the first big X-centric crossover; a lot of Morlocks die; X-Factor is a dark farce; Kitty Pryde talks down a mob without using racial slurs; when Doug Ramsey tells you there’s a problem, you listen; and Callisto should be one of the iconic leaders of the Marvel Universe.

X-PLAINED:

Death by intellectual-property dispute
The Mutant Massacre
Mutant Massacres that might have been
Uncanny X-Men #210-213
New Mutants #46
The Marauders
The best way to guarantee the New Mutants’ involvement in a storyline
Limbo fashion
The responsibility of leadership
Wolverine vs. Sabretooth
Psylocke vs. Sabretooth
The evolution of crossovers
Characters we’d like to see more of post-Secret Wars

NEXT WEEK: The Mutant Massacre, Part 2!

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Rachel 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 60 – Rachel Summers and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

June 8, 2015 Jay 4 comments

Listen to the podcast here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 6/14/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

The last thing you see before you die. (Uncanny X-Men #206)

Do you ‘ship Storm and Bree Morrell now? You probably should. (Uncanny X-Men #206)

The outfits in this arc are just 100% amazing. (Uncanny X-Men #206)

Damnit, Rachel. This is why we can’t have nice things. (Uncanny X-Men #206)

“Teamwork! Our only weakness!” (Uncanny X-Men #206)

“It’s Madelyne! They’ve shot her! And dyed her hair! And given her fairly extensive cosmetic surgery!” (Uncanny X-Men #206)

Wolverine hates Arizona. (Uncanny X-Men #207)

We were going to make up a drinking game based around how many times Wolverine really or metaphorically kills Rachel in this story, but you would die of alcohol poisoning by the end of the first issue. (Uncanny X-Men #207)