Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men
Jay Edidin and Miles Stokes guide listeners through the complex history and storylines of the X-Men comic book universe. Each episode breaks down major arcs, characters, and moments from the comics with humor and insight. The podcast aims to make decades of mutant lore accessible to newcomers while still engaging longtime fans. It is a deep-dive companion for anyone interested in the X-Men franchise.
Episodes
532 – No Regrets (feat. Matt Hunter)
Illustration by David Wynne
In which we wrap things up.
X-PLAINED:
Krakoa (mostly)
The True Secret History of Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men
The True Secret History of Matt Hunter
Live shows
The “WHAT”s
Audio production through transition
Adapting to long-distance recording
Proximity
Our retirement plans
The means of production
Our favorite voice effects
Sound design considerations for Dazzler
531 – Here Comes Tomorrow
 
 
Illustration by David Wynne
In which we wrap up the continuity portion of the podcast along with our coverage of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men; Wolverine poses dramatically; Cyclops breaks the timeline; Wolverine poses dramatically; we are deeply intrigued by Brian and his magic car; Wolverine poses dramatically; Sublime extends his reach; Phoenix heals the timeline; Wolverine poses dra
530 – Not for Beginners
Illustration by David Wynne
In which we remain frustrated with Morrison’s Magneto; Esme Cuckoo’s hat game is lacking; and the status quo dies with Jean Grey.
X-PLAINED:
Dubious X-relationships
Some excellent songs from an excellent show
New X-Men #149-150
Various atrocities and catastrophes
The resistance, such as it is
Magneto’s limits
A rebirth
Neutron warheads
The cavalry
Yet another death of
529 – Magneto Was Wrong
Illustration by David Wynne
In which many plot threads come together; Charles Xavier is a catastrophically bad listener; you should probably not live in the Marvel Universe; bridges are really important; there’s nothing sexy about dying of heat exhaustion; and we judge Morrison’s Magneto and find him wanting.
X-PLAINED:
What Xorn did after dying
The story so far
New X-Men #146-148
Beast’s typing
528 – Welcome to the Slippery Slope
Illustration by David Wynne
In which friends don’t let friends drink sparkling wine at the Hellfire Club; Cyclops is a Silent Hill protagonist; Fantomex is a cool dude; John Sublime has his grubby little fingers in everything; and three men do a lot of things to avoid going to therapy.
X-PLAINED:
What happened to the World
Weapon XVI
New X-Men #142-145
Fantomex (more) (again)
The Weapon Plus pro
527 – Whodunnit?
Illustration by David Wynne
In which Jean Grey crosses several lines; Emma Frost is killed; Bishop and Sage visit from X-Treme X-Men; mutants are weird; the plot thickens; Emma Frost is resurrected; and we learn several secrets of fly reproduction.
X-PLAINED:
The brothers Xorn
A question of reading order
New X-Men #139-141
Cosmic force problems
A showdown
A brief tour through the mind of Emma Fro
526 – Vengeful Mutants on Drugs
Illustration by David Wynne
In which you should use drugs only with caution; a famous shirt makes its debut; Wolverine is the new Mary Worth; and you were never Quentin Quire’s age (unless you were).
X-PLAINED:
What Quentin Quire’s been up to since discorporating
New X-Men #135-138
The Special Class
Basilisk
Ernst
Dummy
No Girl
Whether the Xavier School should admit human students
Quentin’s new l
525 – Beyond This Death
Illustration by David Wynne
In which Warren Kenneth Worthington III is a terrible teacher; we are all Magneto’s children; Sooraya Qadir deserves a better origin story; teenagers have a lot of feelings; and we meet one of the modern age’s most controversial mutants.
X-PLAINED:
The destiny of Quentin Quire
New X-Men #131-134
An underattended funeral
How to fly? Kinda? I guess?
A kiss
A friendship
A
524 – House in a House
Illustration by David Wynne
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
Corp
523 – This World of Liars
Illustration by David Wynne
In which Wolverine learns to fly; pants are a basic human right; we decide to cherry-pick our Xorn retcons; Xavier’s eyebrows follow his mind; and the first year of New X-Men ends with a bang.
X-PLAINED:
The origin of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard
New X-Men #124-126
The current state of Charles Xavier’s body
G-Type
Neosaurus
Plutonia
Schism
Oracle
Stuf
Gladiator (more) (a
522 – Fetus Fight
Illustration by David Wynne
In which Marvel goes wordless; Cassandra Nova breaks space; none of the X-Men have media training; and Gus was the best dog ever.
X-PLAINED:
Erik the Red (more) (again)
Kin Crimson
A big messy bag of mutant glory
New X-Men #121-123
‘Nuff Said
A journey into Charles Xavier’s mind
What Emma is drinking
A fetus fight
The criminal culpability of a fetus
Space problems
A c
521 – Snowflakes
Illustration by David Wynne
In which John Sublime sucks; Angel Salvatore rules; trauma does not justify evil; and you should never, ever, ever mess with Jean Grey.
X-PLAINED:
A horrifying revelation
The universe where Jay and Miles work for Cassandra Nova
New X-Men #118-120
John Sublime (more) (again)
The U-Men
Psychic energy, gender-reveal party-style
The Stepford Cuckoos
One way to disperse a
520 – Head Like a (Black) Hole
Illustration by David Wynne
In which several individuals are not what they seem; John Sublime sucks; Cyclops talks Xorn down from a cosmic ledge; we meet the inimitable Beak; and Cassandra Nova makes herself (limitedly) known.
X-PLAINED:
John Sublime
Marvelscope™
New X-Men 2001 Annual
New X-Men #117
Xorn
X-Corporation
The U-Men
Ao Jun (and his super gross mutant power)
Synchronized heists
Psycho
519 – Beautiful People With Incredible Powers
Illustration by David Wynne
In which we start the Morrison Run; Professor X gets his hands on Chekhov’s gun; Cassandra Nova raises X-villains to a new level of weird; and humanity is running on borrowed time.
X-PLAINED:
No-Girl
New X-Men #114-116
Grant Morrison and their approach to the X-Men
Superhero fashion
Cerebra
Beast’s new look
Ugly John
Interpersonal dynamics
Cassandra Nova (somewhat)
Don
518 – Mapping the X-Gene
In which Dr. Jey McCreight joins us to discuss all things X-Genetics!
X-PLAINED:
The genetics and taxonomy of Marvel’s merry mutants
NEXT EPISODE: The Morrison run begins!
Follow Dr. Jey on Bluesky, and check out Beyond X and Y!
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
517 – Sliding Scale Ransom
In which we totally forgot to record a cold open (sorry); a lot of characters die (but not in Earth-616); Vampires may already be in command of America’s atomic arsenal; and we revisit a favorite.
X-PLAINED:
What If vol. 2 #9
What If vol. 2 #24
What If: Magik #1
Rahne Sinclair (moppet stage)
The deaths of the Silver Age and All-New-All-Different X-Men
Fancy television
Sliding-scale ransom
Then A
516 – The Evolution of Magneto (feat. Asher Elbein)
In which Asher Elbein joins us to discuss the complicated intersections between Magneto, big feelings, and international politics.
X-PLAINED:
Some complicated intersections between Magneto, big feelings, and international politics.
Check out links to some of what we discuss in this episode on our blog.
Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and li
515 – Origins
In which we do a thing and are not even sorry.
X-PLAINED:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Next Episode: Magneto, with Asher Elbein!
Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog.
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 ra
514 – Plan 9 From Westchester
In which we provide some inroads to resisting fascism in your community; pacifism has amazing abs; Cyclops and Wolverine play revolutionary chicken; Amelia Voght fails to live up to her narrative potential; Jean Grey continues to make spectacularly bad choices; Polaris deserves better; and Wolverine finally gets to stab Magneto.
X-PLAINED:
Community action and aid
X-Men #112-113
Uncanny X-Men #3
513 – Eve of Destruction
In which Jay and Miles make an announcement; the X-Men are down to bare bones; Cyclops and Corsair are stunningly bad at feelings; Trish Tilby is stunningly bad at journalism; Magneto says goodbye to nuance; and Jean Grey assembles a team.
X-PLAINED:
X-Corps vs. X-Corp
A thing that will be happening in a few months
The story so far
Uncanny X-Men #391-392
X-Men #111
The state of the X-Men
A short
512 – You Can Get Anything You Want at Stryfe’s Restaurant
In which it’s rude to eat in a helmet; Cable does his best villain bit; Bishop is clearly unfamiliar with early X-Force; we’re pretty sure clones still count as people; and Stryfe is the surprise MVP of Gambit & Bishop: Sons of the Atom.
X-PLAINED:
Another time Stryfe and Bishop teamed up
Gambit & Bishop: Sons of the Atom #3-6
Some of the Witness’s fancy swag
An extremely awkward meal
St
511 – Night Science
In which we unapologetically ship Gambit and Bishop; pelicans are deeply alarming birds; Charles Xavier watches your sex dreams; the Witness is a Whole Continuity Thing; and the T’ieves Guild is really just here to steal your stuff.
X-PLAINED:
Destiny’s frequently retconned diaries
Midi series
Gambit (more) (again)
Bishop (more) (again)
Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom Alpha
Gambit and Bishop
510 – Giant-Size Special #14 (feat. Alex Paknadel)
In which we attempt an all-Cyclops Winter special; X-Men are bad at processing grief; writer Alex Paknadel X-Plains his upcoming Cyclops miniseries; every character (except Cameron Hodge) is someone’s favorite; and you remain the best listeners of any podcast, ever.
X-PLAINED:
Clones of Cyclops
Gwen Warren
Our year in review
X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1-4
Ahmed and his mustache
Emotional sup
509 – No Fun Will Be Had
In which Marrow just want to be left alone; Spider-Man remains hapless; S.H.I.E.L.D. is unhelpful; Colossus dies; Shadowcat leaves the X-Men; and we are all on board for Mutants to Watch Out For.
X-PLAINED:
How Magik caught the Legacy Virus
Marrow (again)
Spider-Man and Marrow #1
Uncanny X-Men #390
X-Men #110
A fancy club
A terrible plan
The Legacy Virus (more) (again)
Some deeply contrived “sci
508 – Destiny’s Doodles
In which Professor Xavier is a jock; all of Shadowcat’s friends are dead; Storm recruits a team; Bishop makes new pals; and everyone gets festive.
X-PLAINED:
Some of Mystique’s secret kids
Uncanny X-Men #389
X-Men #109
Charles Xavier’s workout routine
Two funerals
Rave (the drug)
The wrong necklace
Destiny’s doodles
A large knife
Charles Xavier/Moira MacTaggert backstory
A snowball fight
A very
507 – Comic Book Logic
In which there are a lot of explosions in X-Force; Great Britain-616 is to intelligence as Canada-616 is to military; Alastair Stuart used to be fun; Emma Frost is here to stomp on your dreams; Chamber joins the X-Men; and the Generation X kids graduate themselves.
X-PLAINED:
Revolution (again)
Counter-X (again)
X-Force #114-115
Generation X #75
Yet another origin of humanity and/or life on Eart
506 – The House at the End of the World
In which Jay remains angry at a font; a person who is obviously Kang the Conqueror is not in fact Kang the Conqueror; the pig men deserve better; and Nightcrawler should never, ever, ever be allowed to attempt grief counseling.
X-PLAINED:
Storm/Cable
Cable #85-86, 88
Cable (more)(again)
Earth-4935
Mother Askani
Irene Merryweather
Several cryptic witches
Are you as dangerous as you think martial
505 – The Amulet of Ass
In which Widget takes a heel turn; there is some confusion over sword identification; we appreciate Sir Benedict of the Falls; the Braddock family has a lot going on; and Otherworld changes hands.
X-PLAINED:
Names for flying horses
Excalibur (2001 miniseries) #1-4
Captain Britain (Brian Braddock) (briefly) (again)
The Black Knight (Dane Whitman)
Darkmoor Research Facility
Sword and amulet distri
504 – One Day, Four Ways
In which Banshee is chronically hapless; the team gets new costumes (again); Chamber is a self-fulfilling prophecy; toddlers will sell you out in a hot minute; Moira MacTaggert is definitively not in; we are frustrated by excessive ambiguity; and it’s not Rashômon, but it’ll do.
X-PLAINED:
Banshee post-Generation X
Generation X #71-74
Interior decorating
New costumes (again)
Chamber, but a house
503 – Dream’s Anticlimax
In which history repeats itself; Senator Kelly prevaricates (and then dies); Magneto keeps the cape on; Mystique does evil science; Post remains irrelevant (and then dies); Pyro saves the day (and then dies); Cable is a large man; Moira MacTaggert does the astral nasty (and then dies); and we really, really, really want to go to Froggy World.
X-PLAINED:
Moira MacTaggert’s mutation
A dubious plan
502 – Milkshakes of Despair (Maximum Security, Part 2 of 2)
In which t’ieves and assassins dress to impress; Bishop returns; Rogue and Carol Danvers have a moment; and the revolution will be stored on compact disc.
X-PLAINED:
The New Son
The First Half of Maximum Security
Gambit #23
X-Men #107
X-Men Unlimited #29
Maximum Security #3 (briefly)
Several of Gambit’s buddies
How to dress for… stealth? I guess?
Heth’sa of the planet Culth
Where Carl the X-Cuti
501 – A Bag of Cloacae (Maximum Security, Part 1 of 2)
In which an event begins; Earth is problematic; the Phoenix Force is an unreliable narrator; Max Power just wants to make safer party drugs; and we miss Opal Tanaka.
X-PLAINED:
The fate of the D’Bari
Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet
Maximum Security #1
Uncanny X-Men #387
Iron Man #35
Bishop the Last X-Man #15
Voting in space
A bad plan
U.S. Agent (John Walker)
A peculiar marketplace
A dangerou
500 – People Who Stick Together
In which we sure did that.
X-PLAINED:
Miracles of magnetism
Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men
NEXT EPISODE: Maximum Security!
Special thanks to:
Producer, fellow musketeer, and all-around mensch Matt Hunter
Episode 500 guests David Maybury and Josephine Riesman
David’s blog and upcoming Vegas trivia tournament
Josie’s website and Morrison run-focused podcast
Illustrator David Wy
499 – Light Me, Boy!
In which we meet some delightful monsters; Cannonball is a man who knows how to wear overalls; Domino is the Leslie Knope of X-Force; red liquid babies deserve love, too; and not all British authors know each other.
X-PLAINED:
A murder
X-Force #110-113
Peak butts
Domestic bliss
Misplaced guilt
Several monsters
Comics Codium
Warborgs and/or Rawborgs
Poison problems
Additional monsters
SHIELD busi
498 – Home Depot Ossuary
In which the Twisted Sisters are vanquished by water; there is no way to make Stryfe cool; and the X-Men fight a hurricane.
X-PLAINED:
Ego the Living Planet and his dysfunctional family
X-Men #105-106
Uncanny X-Men #386
The Neo (more) (again)
The state of Psylocke and Archangel’s relationship
The Twisted Sisters
Helix
Coil
Gyre
Ringlet
Torque
Pelicans
Bad decisions of past Jay and Miles
A mys
497 – Stranger Things
In which Prosh’s plans sort of come to fruition; we do not know very much about movies; Iceman dies (but is fine); The Stranger gets around; and Toad learns nothing.
X-PLAINED:
The Stranger
X-Men Forever #4-6
Prosh (more) (again)
The story so far
Astra (again)
The Black Womb Project
Toad’s secret origins, possibly
Fashion
Hazard
Amanda Mueller (a bit)
Anguirus
The end of human civilization
Fores
496 – Time After Time
In which Prosh assembles a peculiar team; the cosmic forces are somewhat paranoid; Mystique gets shit done; and we are very into the concept of Toadland.
X-PLAINED:
The Black Womb Project
X-Men Forever #1-3
Prosh
Several custom-grown people
A motley crew of mutants (and one human)
Cataclysm keys
The assassination of Graydon Creed
Several poignant reunions
The cosmic construction worker (Death)
W
495 – The Goth
In which Rogue is beset with leadership; Psylocke’s telekinetic sword is narratively inconsistent; the Crimson Pirates are bad at their job; and you should not look to Frank Punisher as a role model.
X-PLAINED:
Whether Dani Moonstar is still a Valkyrie
X-Men #103-104
Uncanny X-Men #384-385
A crossover
Tessa (somewhat)
A test
The Goth (group)
Skulls
The Crimson Pirates
The mind of Tullamore Voge
494 – You’ve Got Evil Mail
In which the X-Men zealously protect their trademarks; Cable can have as many moms as he wants to; not everyone should have to be a superhero; Lady Deathstrike knows how to handle unauthorized emails; and somehow there are still more gun arms.
X-PLAINED:
Lady Deathstrike
X-Men Unlimited #27-28
X-Men Annual 2000
One reason to recycle code names
Thunderbird III (Neal Shaara)
Sanjit Shaara and his
493 – Now a Major Motion Picture
In which the first X-Men film turns 25 (and holds up remarkably well).
X-PLAINED:
A startling absence
The X-Men’s big-screen debut
An X-film that might have been
X-Men (2000), in general; and related publications
Some very casting
What makes a good adaptation
Wolverine’s hair
Those costumes
The cinematic X-Men
The cinematic Brotherhood
Sabretooth’s eyebrows
Condensed backstories
The movie magic
492 – Brain Sharks
In which the Shockwave Riders are exceptionally silly; we are deeply impressed by brain sharks; and chrome plating and gun arms are among the lesser explored recurring Claremont motifs.
X-PLAINED:
The fate of Sara Grey
Revolution Claremont X-book disambiguation
Uncanny X-Men #381-383
The Neo (again)
An unmarked anniversary
A secret treasure trove
Vagaries of telekinesis and telepathy
The Shockwa
491 – Live from the Library
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
R
490 – Chekhov’s Angel Dust
In which Chris Claremont tries to make the Neo happen; Cecilia Reyes continues to have no time for this bullshit; Rogue gets some action; Shadowcat flees the comic; and Tessa returns.
X-PLAINED:
The Evolutionaries
X-Men #100-102
The current X-Men rosters
Thunderbird (Neal Shaara)
Claremont vs. continuity
Dove crimes
The Neo
Domina
Jaeger
Rax
Fancy space suits
What to do with someone else’s bo
489 – The Eyepatch of Love
In which Pete Wisdom does his best Charles Xavier; Alastair Stuart has not aged well; San Francisco has monster problems; and there’s probably an alternate universe where Dr. Niles Roman fronts a metal band for toddlers.
X-PLAINED:
The value of Pete Wisdom
X-Force #102-105
Revolution (more) (again)
Counter X (more) (again)
Flight
Elf stuff
Alastair Stuart (again)
The eyepatch of love
Science Cit
488 – There Goes the Moon (Mutant X May, Part 3)
In which we reap the consequences of our choices; possession is 18/10 of the law; Sinister dresses for the occasion; Hank gets his groove back; Havok of Earth-1298 is a jerk; Hank loses his groove; Captain America blows up the moon; the Beyonder experiences a stirring; Dracula makes a deal; and Mutant X May comes to an end.
X-PLAINED:
The aftermath of Mutant X
Mutant X #19-32
Mutant X Annual 200
487 – The Only Well-Adjusted Cyclops in the Multiverse (Mutant X May, Part 2)
In which Mutant X May continues; the X-Men return from space; it’s okay not to fill in every detail of a world; Havok leans into parenthood; we meet the only well-adjusted Cyclops in the multiverse; in any universe, Forge has terrible judgment; and the Six get some new members.
X-PLAINED:
Several notable upcoming events in Mutant X
What’s happened so far
Mutant X #9-18
Mutant X Annual 2000
The M
486 – Welcome to Earth-1298 (Mutant X May, Part 1)
In which we embark on a Great Work; it remains hard to be Alex Summers; and it’s also always Inferno on Earth-1298.
X-PLAINED:
Mutant X May
Mutant X #1-8
Mutant X Annual 1999
Havok (Alex Summers) (more) (again)
Earth-1298
The Six
The Brute (Hank McCoy)
Ice-man (Bob Drake)
Bloodstorm (Ororo Munroe)
The Fallen (Warren Kenneth Worthington III)
Marvel Woman (Madelyne Pryor)
Bannerman Castle
The o
485 – The House of Correction
In which we go back to the future of Generation X; Jay once again gets pedantic about lettering; Generation X takes on the carceral state; we take a deep dive into the late ‘90s; Jubilee does her best Nick Fury; and superpowers should be noisier.
X-PLAINED:
Earth-14042
Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers
Generation X #63-66
Revolution and Counter X (more) (again)
An evil Oyster
Warden Coffin
The Dece
484 – Hell Tuba
In which the 2000 Magik miniseries is not a good comics series but is an excellent heavy metal concept album; Nightmare has a nightmare; and tubas work differently in Hell.
X-PLAINED:
Belasco: the early years
Magik (2000 series) #1-4
Magik (Amanda Sefton) (Jimaine Szardos) (more) (again)
Some art stuff
The realm of Nightmare
The Splinter Realms
The Soul Sword (Amanda Sefton version)
An Archfiend
483 – Piotr Lovely Locks
In which a lot has happened in the Six Month Gap (and we even get to learn about some of it); we’d missed Claremontian narration; Miles has questions about Colossus’s ponytail; the Soulsword is basically a Poké Ball; the Shadow Pope is cooler than the regular Pope; and Magik has a secret.
X-PLAINED:
Some big news
X-Men: Black Sun #1-5
Phoenix and Psylocke’s sorta-power-swap
Imp
482 – The Mutant Gene for Murder
In which Pete Wisdom canonically smells weird; we are inordinately entertained by a villain; everyone levels up their superpowers; and you probably shouldn’t shave the logo of your secret super team into the side of your head.
X-PLAINED:
Nasty Boys disambiguation
X-Force #106-109
Counter X (more) (again)
Shockwave (more) (again)
Turn-of-the-millennium cool
X-Force (more) (again)
How to dress for
481 – Chekhov’s Butt-Gun
In which Adrienne Frost is absolutely terrible (and so was Ronald Reagan); you should not put guns in your butt; Synch deserved better; and Jay and Miles inventory their favorite dangling plot threads of the ‘90s.
X-PLAINED:
Several potential origins of Havok’s stupid hat
Generation X #67-70
Revolution (more) (again)
Shockwave (more) (again)
Adrienne Frost (more) (again)
The New Xavier School and
480 – Cross-Time Tattoo Parlor
In which we check in on Nate Grey; yet another Madelyne Pryor is not what she seems; dead men tell tales; there are a lot of Canadians out there; and Nate gets a makeover.
X-PLAINED:
What happened to Nate Grey (short-term)
Counter X
Shockwave
Nate Grey (more) (again)
X-Man #67-70
Non-dildo futures
Madelyne Pryor (kind of)
A dubiously ethical relationship
The destruction of Quito, Ecuador
Earth-9
479 – Nancy Drew and the Secret of Carrion Cove
In which Genosha gets better and/or worse; Fabian Cortez is the Secretary of Betrayal; having an action figure of yourself is the path to immortality; and Hammer Bay sounds like a sex toy company.
X-PLAINED:
Triathlon
The Revolution relaunch and the six-month gap
Magneto: Dark Seduction #1-4
Erotic skyscrapers
Magneto (again) (forever)
X-Men Tijuana Bibles
The Genoshan Cabinet
Dark friendship wi
478 – The Monologue Tube
In which Alan Davis is Team Cyclops; everyone gets depowered; it’s hard to connect with kids your age when you’re a superhero; Sinister’s gotta sinister; everyone gets repowered; and the ‘90s were much more eclectic than they get credit for being.
X-PLAINED:
Side effects of Decimation
Uncanny X-Men #379-380
X-Force #101
X-Men #99
Cadre K
Summers family drama
The High Evolutionary (more) (again)
477 – Ages of Apocalypse
In which reality shatters; Ghost Rider wants friends; Jay’s toddler weighs in on the X-Men; the Phoenix costume is pretty much perfect; Caliban puts all his resources into an epic mount; and the future is so bright you’re gonna need shades.
X-PLAINED:
The Triune Understanding
Ages of Apocalypse
Uncanny X-Men #378
Cable #77
Wolverine #148
X-Men Unlimited #26
X-Men #98
Earth-23378
Things you can l
476 – The Moppets Take Manhattan
In which we remain adamant pro-POG advocates; Artie and Leech have adventures; Firestar and Emma Frost get some resolution; Santa Claus may or may not be the avatar of Cyttorak; Black Tom Cassidy exceeds expectations; and Monet has vampire problems.
X-PLAINED:
Marvel’s Revolution line
POGs (somewhat) (again)
Who’s on Generation X these days
Generation X #59-62
Artie and Leech’s adventures in NYC
475 – Cross-Time Crisis
Meet Dani, Dani, Dani, and Dani. (X-Force #99)
In which we wrap up John Francis Moore’s run on X-Force; the Demon Bear returns (kinda); four Moonstars are not in fact better than one; the Queen of Star Swords is an extremely rad villain; and X-Force takes a very contained multiversal tour.
X-PLAINED:
Multiversal canon
X-Force #99-100
The Demon Bear (more) (again)
Arcadia DeVille (more) (again)
Ma
474 – Giant-Size Special #13 (feat. Anthony Oliveira)
Classic (x2). (Warlock #2)
In which the Warlock ongoing series is fun, and fun is good; people should maybe leave Doug Ramsey’s grave alone; Tony Stark is probably not in touch with the Indigo Girls; the heroes skate awfully close to the “no killing” line; Bastion gets exhumed, rehumed, and re-exhumed; you should really read the Avengers Academy Infinity Comic; and you remain the best listeners of
473 – The Baker’s Dozen (The Twelve, Part Three)
In which you know it’s serious business when a logo gets smashed; the prophecy of the Twelve is an elaborate prank; we have a lot of Summers family feelings; Apocalypse is not a very good planner; and the Twelve reaches its conclusion.
X-PLAINED:
Who Madelyne Pryor’s psychic ghost really is
The story so far
Uncanny X-Men #377
Cable #76
X-Men #97
Perks of immortality
A slightly gratuitous way to
472 – Leave Room for Magneto (The Twelve, Part Two)
In which the Twelve should really be twelve chapters long; Archangel has issues; we continue to bemoan the absence of captions; the X-Men ditch their crossover event for a side quest; Magneto is Genosha’s official chaperone; and we would absolutely elect Emma Frost to a school board.
X-PLAINED:
What Cable does next
The event so far
Wolverine #146-147
Uncanny X-Men Annual 1999
Whether the Shadow
471 – Eyebrows and Powers (The Twelve: Part One)
Survival of the Toothiest (Cable #75)
In which we begin our coverage of The Twelve; Scott and Jean get sucked back in AGAIN; Apocalypse probably doesn’t tip; and we have become awfully fond of Cable.
X-PLAINED:
A codename that deviates from common patterns
The story so far
Uncanny X-Men #376
Cable #75
X-Men #96
Fiz the Skrull (again)
The Twelve
Foreshadowing, both accurate and otherwise
The Livi
470 – Large Adult Men
In which Cable may or may not have been a spokesperson for AT&T; it’s impossible to draw a CD dramatically; Wolverine gets his adamantium back; Apocalypse says the thing; and we probably can’t keep putting off The Twelve forever.
X-PLAINED:
One way to dispose of a corpse
Cable #73-74
Wolverine #145
Cable (more) (again)
Poor font choice
Sarcophagus nipples
Caliban (more) (again)
Impromptu tai
469 – Killed by Death
In which the Shattering officially concludes; you can’t swoop over the phone; toddlers are engines of pure chaos; the X-Men do some processing; and we are mildly scandalized by the absence of footnotes.
X-PLAINED:
Rama-Tut
Evan Sabahnur
Uncanny X-Men #375
X-Men #95
X-Men Unlimited #25
Skrull problems
One very upsetting way to identify a traitor
Skrullverine
Fiz and Jaq
The Ally
A ruse
Death’s ma
468 – Sasquatch Road Trip
In which St. Croix History reminds us of a Martian with a big butt; Penance’s escape is ambiguous; Avengers Academy Infinity Comic successfully reinvents Emplate; you should not learn to flirt from Vanilla Ice; Jubilee fires two fireworks blasts into the air whilst going aaahhh; and we go in through the ears.
X-PLAINED:
Apocalypse’s influence
The Big House (about which we are confused)
Generation
467 – Disorganizing Principle
In which Nightcrawler has a type; the Hill is a bad place to raise your kids up; Colossus introduces Marrow to art; we come out against autotrepanation; Mikhail Rasputin never learns; Destiny leaves clues from beyond the grave; and The Twelve looms.
X-PLAINED:
That one universe where Mystique raised Nightcrawler in an attic
An event in name only
Some shit that went down a while ago
The Hill (mor
466 – A Rogue’s Tale, feat. Lenore Zann
In which Lenore Zann joins us to talk Rogue, Canadian politics, and her upcoming memoir!
Lenore’s memoir, A Rogue’s Tale, will be out November 1! You can preorder it here.
 
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Bu
465 – Right in the Fabric
In which “Astonishing X-Men” is something of a misnomer; Death has a good look; sometimes you just need a guy who swoops; Miles stops worrying and learns to love Nate Grey; Telekinesis is silly looking; “Wolverine” dies; and nothing really changes.
X-PLAINED:
Astonishing X-Men (miniseries)
Ambience
Nina (again)
Mannites (again)
The third-best way to get out of awkward conversations
The Hulkbuste
464 – The Cigarettes of Damocles
In which X-Force is kind of silly; that really isn’t what “quantum” means; polite and lawful are two entirely different things, and Sam Guthrie is only one of them; Selene vogues; and the Hellfire Club plays the dead girlfriend card.
X-PLAINED:
Blackheart
The Damocles Foundation (more) (again)
Lucas Bartholomew Guthrie
The difference between prisons and jails
X-Force #98-98
Whether Dr. Octopus e
463 – The Fart Ghost That Walks Like a Manhattan
In which Gambit is fundamentally goofy; t’ieves love research; Magneto was ripped; Professor Xavier remains a jerk; Miles attempts to convey something very fundamentally visual in an audio format; Marrow is adorable; the X-Men pretty much disband (again); and a miniseries is the opposite of a vacation.
X-PLAINED:
Where Wolverine went
Gambit Annual 1999
Uncanny X-Men #372
X-Men #92
A lot of backs
462 – Angst and Continuity
In which the 1990s were very long; if you die in the simulation, you die in real life; Adrienne Frost is a bad person with good clothes; we judge the number 57; things just keep happening; and Penance somehow gets even more complicated.
X-PLAINED:
Bevatron
Generation X #55-57
The Hellions and their untimely demise (again)
Uncanny X-Men #281
A continuity conundrum
Many allusions and references
Co
461 – Things to Do in Denver When You’re X-Force
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 199
460 – Setting Sons
In which Synch is better with your powers than you are; Generation X gets some actual training; Artie and Leech are fully feral; everyone gets the hots for Paladin; Zeus has probably fucked a motorcycle at some point; many countries have valleys; and Adrienne Frost is terrible.
X-PLAINED:
Generation X #52-54
Tristan Brawn (more) (again)
Grant Morrison on suspension of disbelief in superhero medi
459 – Waiting to X’Hal (feat. Devin Toohey)
In which Devin Toohey joins Miles to discuss X-Men’s DC Comics cousin Doom Patrol, and their bastard Amalgam child, X-Patrol!
X-PLAINED:
X-Men vs. Doom Patrol
Meet Your Doom
Doom Patrol
Amalgam
X-Patrol
Elasti-Girl (Amalgam)
Shatterstarfire
Beastling
Ferro Man
Dial H.U.S.K.
X-Patrol #1
Exciting X-Patrol #1
Niles Cable
Dr. Doomsday
Superhero aviation
Brother Brood
Raveniya
Niles Dayspring
Technoo
458 – Quantum Stuff
In which Tommy Lee Edwards draws a damned fine everything; death gods get taken a lot less seriously when their avatars are seagulls; warm and cool colors get in a fight; Domino has no time for this bullshit; Cable and Domino wait ’til the kids are asleep; Sunspot’s alibi is too complicated; X-Force forges a pouches path; Engines are nothing but trouble; and Ry’lor the Destroyer puts himself in t
457 – Stinking at the Moon
In which the theme is too many inkers; Cecilia Reyes has no patience for your bullshit; Genosha’s going to be just fine (it’s not); we would watch a supercut of Fabian Cortez getting punched; we bid an abrupt farewell to Gaia; and comics are exhausting, yet captivating.
X-PLAINED:
Dazzler’s murder trial
X-Men Unlimited #24
The past and future of X-Men Unlimited
Doctor Cecilia Reyes
Ghost Pirate C
456 – Until/Unless
In which there’s nothing inherently wrong with monster-of-the-week; Marrow’s makeover extends to her font; Red Skull gets a Power Glove; Marvel sets up a slate of spinoffs; and you should hire Matt Hunter to produce your podcast!
X-PLAINED:
What Danger’s been up to lately
Uncanny X-Men #371
X-Men #91
X-Men Annual 1999
Crossover cover design
Skrullverine
Machine Man
Dethlok vs. Dethklok
Jack Trum
455 – Space, Geeks, and Galactus
In which Roadhouse is basically a Wolverine story; Spider-Man does crimes; space names are derivative; there are lots of good reasons to yell at Professor Xavier; the X-Men do Doctor Who; Galactus is not interested in your puny human feelings; Marrow gets a new look; the Skrulls need a crash course in UI; and we overthink bones.
X-PLAINED:
The time the Skrulls did “A Piece of the Action”
The tro
454 – X-Men ’97, Part 2
SPOILER WARNING: ALL OF THEM, NONSTOP
In which Barry Windsor-Smith is too sexy for television; we know what happens when unstable molecules get struck by lightning; X-Men gets political and does it spectacularly; this Captain America would not sew the cape; Magneto continues to throw things into space; and they kissed and we missed it.
X-PLAINED:
Fabian Cortez’s name
X-Men ’97 episodes 6-10
Life
453 – X-Men ’97, Part 1
SPOILER WARNING: ALL OF THEM, NONSTOP
In which we put the comics on hold to take a look at X-Men ’97; it is still always Inferno in here; Wolverine is best used sparingly; a Marvel show finally embraces politics; Wolverine is best in small doses; Madeylne Pryor still always deserves better; Jubilee grows up; and we are all in on this series.
X-PLAINED:
“Beyond Good and Evil”
X-Men: The Animated
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