Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

In which we take a retrospective look at X-Factor and Excalibur : where the series began, where they went, and what’s in store after the ends of their first volumes. X-PLAINED: What Rictor’s been up to X-Factor Excalibur NEXT EPISODE: A Corbeau cameo! The visual companion to this episode is scattered through the last eight years of visual companions, mostly under the X-Factor and Excalibur tags. F...

In which we reach the end of Larry Hama’s run on Generation X ; Gaia remains remarkably normal for someone who has spent millennia chained up alone in a citadel; Synch practices radical forgiveness; we ponder the nature of Emma Frost and Sean Cassidy’s relationship; and Forge is extra unqualified to lecture on ethics. X-PLAINED: How Jubilee stopped being a vampire The Draco , kinda Generation X #4...

No notes. ( Generation X Underground Special #1) In which Synch is a more versatile character than he originally got credit for; “eep” and “eek” are likewise underused; space makes everything better; Nate Grey is the proto-himbo; and if you can decipher the secret code in this episode, you, too, can win a Silver Surfer jet ski! X-PLAINED: Diablo Generation X Underground Special X-Men Unlimited #30...

  In which birds have no business in sex dreams; feelings are complicated and allegories are imperfect; Mystique made some valid points; Psycho-Man is good at UI; Callisto was right; and the label “Omega-level mutant” actually kind of makes sense. X-PLAINED: Psycho-Man Malice (but not that one) Hate Monger (but not that one) Finding good comics from the ‘90s Uncanny X-Men #359 X-Men / Fantast...

Dracularmy ( X-Men Unlimited #21) In which you should stop hatin’, there’s a big difference between fill-ins and filler, Snow Valley needs higher Ferris wheel standards, Todd DeZago must really hate video rental clerks, and we’re all monsters – some of us just smell better than others. X-PLAINED: Strong Guy’s hellacious history The nature and purpose of X-Men Unlimited X-Men Unlimited #20-21...

Love and chaos. ( Excalibur #125) In which you shouldn’t invite nazis to your wedding, there’s a lot of multiverse, Captain Britain and Meggan are pretty heteronormative but make it work, everybody forgot Feron, and the next husband will be Gatecrasher’s. X-PLAINED: Captain Britain varieties The history of Brian Braddock and Meggan Puceanu, abridged Excalibur #124-125 Mutants most likely to jump o...

In which we have grown to love Adam Pollina; the Vanisher is delightfully awful; Ekaterina Gryaznova gets a new look; Domino rejoins X-Force; superheroes actually have a conversation instead of fighting; Cannonball rejoins X-Force; we don’t even remember recording this one; and something cool is coming (stay tuned). X-PLAINED: Arcadia DeVille The Deviants X-Force #81-84 What’s been up with X-Force...

In which the Shi’ar have zero chill; Bishop and Deathbird do space opera; we travel to the far-future year of 2018; Alanna Nerimani stretches the definition of “bird”; Deathbird is the cool aunt; Bishop needs a break from dark futures; and Bishop and Sauron have an intimate encounter. X-PLAINED: The current number of Summers brothers Uncanny X-Men #358 Team X 2000 The Shi’ar Empire (more) (again)...

In which moose are nothing to mess with; Cyclops requests a reality check; Bachalo does Kirby; Rogue absorbs a catchphrase; and the Shadow King needs a villain song. X-PLAINED: Uncanny X-Men #356-357 X-Men 77-78 The Cable Principle Corvid disambiguation An aborted narrative Moose Sherrif and/or Officer Chris Stacy’s sister Melissa Cul-de-sacs Ptarmigan Creek Dubiously credible lies Nostalgia Bad t...

In which everything is Havok’s fault; Jay is a bad influence; Polaris makes some valid points; Jamie Madrox is the Bobby Drake of X-Factor; and X-Factor vol. 1 ends with a bang. X-PLAINED: Muppet rules X-Factor , vol. 1, in general X-Factor #146-149 Sense of place Jude Black and his inexplicable facial hair Boundaries Edible Arrangements A different kind of sports bar Kevin Nostalgia, I guess? Sev...

In which subtlety is not Sabra’s strong point; Moira takes a vacation; Meggan broods; you should take care in referencing the Dark Phoenix Saga; Excalibur may or may not shave Mimic; and Captain Britain is a silly man. X-PLAINED: Ghosts Excalibur #121-123 The Mutant Underground Empathic recon An extremely disgruntled kiss Kitty’s new costume Several of Legion’s personalities A mysterious disk A ve...

In which the X-Men’s membership is a complicated subject; not all angels know each other; we need to talk about Beast’s Wasp costume; Cecilia Reyes speaks for all reasonable folk; Storm gets a mysterious package; and reading comics day-and-date may not be for everyone. X-PLAINED: The variable loyalties of the N’garai X-Men #74-76 A somewhat atypical team lineup A whole lotta backstory How to join...

In which one letter can make a big difference; it’s just not Arcade without giant pinballs; Colossus is nobody’s fool; Margali Szardos is not a relative you want to stay in touch with; Nightcrawler turns to the jerk side; and Jay and Miles pitch an X-Men kids’ show. X-PLAINED: Elisabeth Wilford vs. Elizabeth Wilford Colossus #1 X-Men Unlimited #19 How to name a miniseries or one-shot The destructi...

In which Jay sits down with scholar Christopher Michael Roman to discuss his recent book, Queering Wolverine in Comics and Fanfiction: A Fastball Special ; alongside queer theory, porous bodies, and nontraditional mentorship. CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes graphic discussions of physical trauma as well as consensual if weird fictional sex. NEXT EPISODE: Colossus and Meggan finally go to Dudle...

Run, Penance! The retcons are coming for you! ( Generation X #40) In which the St. Croix family is constructed largely of retcons; Generation X adjusts surprisingly quickly to a massive status quo shift; Psi-War is coming soon to a podcast near you; Snow White – I mean, Bianca LaNeige – has an intriguing but exceptionally minimal backstory; and if you die in this podcast episode, you d...

In which S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are scarier in suits; Reignfire is the new Erik the Red; “background assets” would be a very funny euphemism; it’s always either time travel or clones; and you should probably not get a corporate logo tattooed on the side of your head. X-PLAINED: Crimes of Dark Beast X-Force #77-80 The Mutant Liberation Front Reignfire (repeatedly) Video Renaissance Almost Reno, NM The...

In which you, too, can use Cerebro; Jubilee is here, for some reason; the Xavier School should absolutely not be accredited; Hulk Hands would solve many of Rogue’s problems; Sauron gets a gun; Psylocke pulls a Lois Lane maneuver; you really shouldn’t spring a Phoenix costume on anybody; Joseph has (another) identity crisis; and Canada has problems. X-PLAINED: Miles at SDCC Uncanny X-Men #353-355 X...

In which we are incapable of X-Plaining the Great Lakes Avengers; Pete Wisdom evolves; Douglock hacks the island; Nightcrawler cosplays Nightcrawler; and we find ourselves bafflingly defensive of the Bamfs. X-PLAINED: How to recruit Unus the Untouchable to your super-team What Excalibur has been up to Excalibur #118-120 An excellent use of danger room technology Some fairly deft metacommentary Col...

In which Gambit does Stardust ; Wilbur Weston holds no one’s redemption; Gambit is unequivocally bisexual; Lucifer is kinda goofy; and we still don’t know what’s in the box . X-PLAINED: Family businesses Gambit vol. 2 #1-4 What Gambit’s been up to Some peculiar parallels Father Miguel Bonavita Sister Katrina Father Marcelo A box Tante Mattie Baptiste Olivier Stoker and/or Lucifer Fancy captions Th...

In which Wild Child makes an unlikely Santa Claus; Sabretooth champions continuity; Random’s last name should’a been Violence; Forge doesn’t have to like you; and Mackie’s X-Factor run gets interesting—right before its untimely end. X-PLAINED: Another X-Factor X-Factor #142-145 Unrealized anticipation Deadline What Val Cooper wants for Christmas The evolutionary symbolism of noses Several breeds o...

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 Se...

In which Kelly and Seagle’s X-runs begin with immense promise; dark psychic residue gets just everywhere; Storm’s past is literally buried; Wolverine is just saying is all; Cecilia Reyes’s job doesn’t deserve her, and Cyclops and Phoenix are the worst at being normal. X-PLAINED: The Grey family reunion X-Men #71-72 What counts as an Uncanny X-Men #138 cover reference Baggag...

In which we actually kind of like a Sabretooth story; we’re not asking for viscera, here; all pants on Earth-616 are tearaway pants; we’d like to see more Wolverine stories about bodily autonomy; Gambit’s hallucinations have hallucinations; and there are probably too many X-books. X-PLAINED: Punch-clock villains Hydro-Man’s secret weakness 411 ‘90s fashion X-Men Unlimited #17-18 X-Men Unlimited vs...

In which the M-Plate Saga continues; Jay gets into the spirit of the day; we briefly give up on our primary mission; the story is coordinated if not coherent; Miles is not allowed to continuity-shame about Tolkein; Gaia is extra chill; Dirt Nap discovers altruism; and Jubilee should absolutely not have eaten that. X-PLAINED: Vampires vs. Marrow (again) Whether Marrow is a mutant Drugs X-Plaining t...

In which nobody is sure what Emplate actually eats; airport food is not a good peace offering; Larry Hama writes a good Jubilee; the St. Croix siblings merge; and we honestly have no idea what a Token is. X-PLAINED: Emplate vs. Marrow What’s been up with Generation X Generation X #34-36 Claudette and Nicole St. Croix Emplate (more) (again) Controlled chaos Tracy Authier Bullying Dorian and Weasel...