Tag: X-Men
5 – The Retcon That Walks Like a Man
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In which the Bronze Age begins; Dave Cockrum is your god now; the band gets together; Sunfire joins the team; cultural sensitivity is not Marvel’s strong suit; Sunfire quits the team; it sucks to be Cyclops; Professor X crosses a moral event horizon; Sunfire joins the team; Ed Brubaker channels Thomas Hardy; you are probably a Summers brother; and Sunfire quits the team.
X-Plained:
- Bamf-Voltron Nightcrawler
- Giant-Size X-Men #1
- The worst hat of the Marvel Universe
- The Mostly-New, Mostly-Different X-Men
- A business-casual angry mob
- The limits of creative good intentions
- Tractor punching on the Ust-Ordynski Collective
- The correct spelling of “fine”
- Canada
- Sunfire’s utter disdain for everything, including you
- Krakoa: The Island That Walks Like a Man!
- Characteristics of good X-fights
- Yet another miracle of magnetism
- X-Men: Deadly Genesis
- Summers Family Continuity (Introductory)
- More hats
- The Muir-MacTaggert Research Facility
- Summers Family Continuity (Intermediate)
- The Charles Xavier Scale of Supervillainy
- Relative immunity
- Wolverine’s ubiquity
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION:
- What would you do with thirteen X-Men?
- Help us find all-ages-friendly Marvel Girl stories!
You can find a visual companion to the episode – and links to recommended reading – on our blog.
As Mentioned in Episode 3 – Cartoons, Lies, and Video Tape
We didn’t actually mention this, but you should probably watch it anyway:
For more Chris Sims, check out:
Chris’s X-Men episode guides at Comics Alliance
For more on X-Men, X-Men Evolution, and Wolverine and the X-Men, check out:
X-Men (90s series) on Toonzone
Wolverine and the X-Men on Toonzone
3 – Cartoons, Lies, and Video Tape
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS
Featuring Emergency Backup Co-Host Chris Sims!
In which Rachel and Chris X-plain three cartoons and track a disagreement to its source; Gambit is definitely the worst person you know; Broadcasting Standards and Practices is tired of your death ceremonies; Storm doesn’t have an inside voice; and we finally get around to mentioning that one dude with the claws.
X-Plained:
- Weaponized creepiness
- The evolution (and Evolution) of X-Toons
- Why you hate Cyclops (and Rachel doesn’t)
- Adaptation overload
- Broadcast standards, practices, and laser rifles
- How to order pizza like a weather goddess
- A paramilitary after-school club
- G-Rated Wolverine
- Comics based on cartoons based on comics
- Morph
- The Batman Standard
- The Wolverine and the X-Men trifecta of perfection
- Why the Mojoverse works better on TV
- Dazzler’s secret second job
- Basic jacketry
CORRECTION: In this episode, Rachel mentions that Morph’s first comics appearance is in Exiles. It’s not: he’s in Age of Apocalypse. Mea culpa.
You can find a visual companion to the episode – and links to recommended reading – on our blog.
Magneto’s Miraculous Mustache
Friend of the X-Plainers and All-Around Excellent Fellow Tyler Crook has developed what is clearly the ideal solution to the Mystery of Magneto’s Missing Mustache:
The whole thing is pretty splendid, but I think my favorite touch has to be the wee Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in the corner. Marvel/Disney/Fox/whoever owns the relevant toy licensing rights, you need to make this wonder a reality.
2 – Sentinels in the Mist
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In which we introduce the villains of the Silver Age: Magneto makes some valid points, Mastermind is a Nice Guy of OkCupid, the Scarlet Witch predicts Cat Breading, the Trasks should really have known better, and the Comics Code Authority is down with pterosaurs.
X-Plained:
- Common characteristics of enduring X-villains
- Mutant identity politics and moral relativism
- Context-agnostic Juggernaut flashbacks
- An unorthodox approach to anthropology
- Cyclops’s greatest diplomatic achievement
- Silver-Age haberdashery
- An innovative modification to vampire mythology
- Cultural assimilation
- The propaganda-and-sweater-vest machine
- Hex bolts
- Supplemental reading
You can find a visual companion to the episode – and links to recommended reading – on our blog.
Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men Is Now Available on Stitcher!
Yaybo! Click here to listen or subscribe!
Meanwhile, we’re gearing up for our second episode. If you’ve got an X-question–especially iconic villains of the Silver Age–drop it in the comments below or our tumblr ask-box, or tweet it to @RaeBeta with the hashtag #xplainthexmen!
Lazerwolf Wants Your Questions!
As promised, David sent over a clean scan of his awesome, awesome LAZERWOLF drawing:
Meanwhile, we’re busy getting ready for our scintillating second episode! Got a burning question you’d like to hear Rachel and Miles answer on the podcast? Drop it in the comments below or our tumblr ask-box, or tweet it to @RaeBeta with the hashtag #xplainthexmen!
LAZERWOLF LIVES!
Hot damn! It’s our first official fan art, courtesy of the inimitable David Wynne! (David’s promised a proper scan later (at which point it will become Rachel’s userpic EVERYWHERE FOREVER), but we are too excited not to post this RIGHT NOW, because it is AWESOME.)
YAYBO! Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is now on iTunes!
(We’re still waiting for approval from Stitcher, but we’ll add that link as soon as we’ve got it!)


