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’s shows What we’ve learned from making Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men Regrets Where to find Matt online Our evolving feelings about the X-Men Stories we would’ve liked to have covered The evolving podcasti
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 dramatically; change is important; and somewhere Wolverine is probably still posing dramatically. X-PLAINED: X of Swords (somewhat) Endings Varying opinions on the same art Earth-15104 ‘Crawlers Tom Skylark Rover (in
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 Magneto Yet another death of Jean Grey A peculiar epilogue A legacy of retcons A miasma of bleakness and futility The Xorn retcon Disability in “Planet X” Miracles of Magnetism NEXT EPISODE: The future
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 gloves Several innovative ways to type loudly Doomed plans A manufactured confrontation A trap Magneto reimagined Visual depictions of sweat “New Genosha” Death and rebirth Whether Magneto has a place
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 program A large number of things men will do instead of going to therapy How to murder a nice, romantic mood The Hellfire Club, the rest of the time Jake Danials Whisky A drinking contest The Mysteries of
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 Frost A murder most foul Bishop (briefly) (again) Sage (briefly) (again) Many suspects One way to get drugs, I guess? A mysterious shack and its mysterious contents Perils and advantages of being a living
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 look Kick (more) (again) The Omega Gang That one t-shirt How to punch up your Power Point presentation A somewhat fraught camping trip The Special Class vs. U-Men A secret Some kind of weird affair A ri
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 Another bit of ruby quartz marginalia that will never be mentioned again A somewhat ill-founded psychic metaphor Emma Frost’s Dark Phoenix costume Some kind of weird affair Echoes of 9/11/2001 Genosha,
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 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 Check out the visual companion to this episo
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) (again) Angel disambiguation Several plans Mutant justice Several miracles of magnetism Mummudrai Horror movie shit Subtle visual foreshadowing A ruse Education Long-lost family members What may or may no
In which Marvel goes wordless; Cassandra Nova breaks space; none of the X-Men have media training; and Gus was the best dog ever.
In which John Sublime sucks; Angel Salvatore rules; trauma does not justify evil; and you should never, ever, ever mess with Jean Grey.
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.
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.
In which Dr. Jey McCreight joins us to discuss all things X-Genetics!
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.
In which Asher Elbein joins us to discuss the complicated intersections between Magneto, big feelings, and international politics.
In which we do a thing and are not even sorry.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 sketchy circus A break-up “Christmas cheer” A mysterious package An X-Men nativity Sage (Tessa) Origins of X-Treme X-Men Several gifts, some more mysterious than others Charles Xavier’s legacy Warwolves