Mutant Studies 101

Time to lock in, students! For this episode, your hosts are joined by returning guests Ollie and Emily to discuss one of the trickiest topics we've ever delved into: The court case of the International Justice Court vs. Erik Lensherr, also known as Magneto! Topics for this lecture include: A close-reading of Uncanny X-Men 200, discussing and diving deep into the (DEEPLY complicated) character of G...

Welcome back to class students! For this lecture, your professors are joined by special guest Priya Saxena (comics editor and critic) to discuss Leah Williams and Carols Gomez's X-Terminators (2022)! Topics for this lecture include: A discussion of Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", how comics fandom reacts to provocative works, how much fun this book is, and grappling with per...

Put on your philosophy hats, students! For this lecture, your hosts are examining the current line of Ultimates comics through the lens of the ship of Theseus: what remains, what has changed, and what does this mean for the medium as a whole. Topics for this episode include: How is Jonathan Hickman and Marco Cecchetto's Ultimate Spider-Man still very recognizably Spider-Man? In contrast, what does...

Hope you're ready to reckon, students! For this lecture, your hosts dive back into the deep mine that is Alison Blaire, the Dazzler. It's Dazzler Studies 301! This time, we're trying ton answer the question: Is Dazzler bad, actually? Topics for this episode include:Dean's adventures at Flame Con, Dazzler as a symbol for progressive or regressive politics, a close reading of Brian Johnson's essay "...

Dia duit, Students! On this episode, Dean gets to take a student role as Morgan flexes their knowledge of Irish post-modernism as we look at the X-Men villain Black Tom Cassidy through the lens of James Joyce's Dubliners! Topics for today's episode include: What distinguishes Joyce's writing from his contemporaries? How does one care for a homeland while also being drawn out of it? Can we relate B...

Strap in, Students! For today's field trip, professors Dean and Morgan discuss a highly anticipated release for both of them: Fantastic Four: First Steps!! Topics for this lecture include: Morgan loving this movie and Dean... liking it! Your hosts getting a divorce, what works and what doesn't, a failed Doechii needle drop, and what this movie could mean for the future. Also Jamie Lloyd's Sunset B...

Sharpen your swords, students! For this lecture, your hosts dig deep into one of the most fascinating X-Men series over the last few years: Peach Momoko's Demon Days and Demon Wars! Topics for this episode include: The X-Men as fairy tales. The Ship of Theseus in these comics. How do we handle talking about a work that is such a radical departure from the norm? And some words of encouragement for...

Once again wishing you a Happy Pride, Students! For this lecture, your hosts examine queer theory as it relates to the body and the mutant metaphor with an extremely exciting special guest: PhD in Literature and current writer for Marvel Comics Anthony Oliveira! Topics include: How do you navigate writing queerness in rooms where you aren't allowed full creative control? When does the mutant metap...

Happy Pride Month, Students! For this session, your hosts uhhhhhhhh queen out about our favorite lesbian terrorists Mystique and Destiny! Topics include: How old are these ladies? Was Mystique John Hinckley, Jr.?, Were they in Gertrude Stein's salon? and radical queer activism through X-Men Podcasting! Also Oh, Mary!! Content Warning: This episode contains discussions on state sanctioned violence...

We're falling back in love students! On this sort of Episode 1.5 of season 2, your professors sit down with one of the smartest people they know to discuss how we should approach art going forward. That person? Fern of Star Wars English Class! Topics for this episode include: A lot of talk about Star Wars! Approaching media on its own terms! And how we can find ways to move forward in this beautif...

Welcome back students! For the new semester, your professors wanted to examine an important subject: What is happening in the From the Ashes era? Topics of this episode include: Why aren't these books working? What does it mean when they DO start working? How come we can't connect with these new characters but also don't understand what's happening with out old friends? and how we think we can fix...

"There's no use living with it. The killing. There’s no going back from it. Right or wrong is a brand. A brand sticks. There’s no going back. Now, you run on home to your mother and tell her … tell her everything’s alright. There aren’t any more guns in the valley." Topics for this episode include: An analysis of theme, character, and cinematic language in James Mangold's Logan (2017), this film's...

Hello again, students! For the penultimate lecture of MARCH MUTANT MOVIE MADNESS, your hosts explore the creepy boarding school of The New Mutants with special guest Justin Jordan (@freddiesroommate). Topics of this episode include: The crazy-ass production timeline of this movie! We recorded this back in January! The Return of Is It A Dazzler Song?! Dean crashes out about Sam Guthrie and Morgan d...

Get ready to break the fourth wall, students! For this episode, your professors are joined by Morgan's friend and writer Jason (@simplewrites_2.0) to discuss their very complicated feelings on the Deadpool movies! Topics in this episode include: Ryan Reynolds as an auteur, the crazy journey to get these movies to the big screen Nathan Christopher Charles Summers, how do we handle art that makes us...

Hello again, students! This week, your professors are joined by a special guest who you for sure know the work of: Ollie! (@olliephresh) They join us to discuss two much maligned movies in the franchise: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix. Topics include: What happened to these movies, why are there so many characters, which of these is worse or better, a lovely tangent about Wolverine and the X-Men, and...

Get ready to go to the Great North, Students! For today's episode of MARCH MUTANT MOVIE MADNESS, your professors are joined by their friend Eileen to discuss X-Men: Origins-Wolverine, and The Wolverine! Topics for this episode include: These movies are bad, Hugh Jackman getting nominated for an Oscar and flopping, Orientalism AGAIN, fun facts about real wolverines, and a fun game! You can find lin...

Round 2, Students! For this episode, the professors are joined by returning guest Emily (@stardustem) for a new discussion on the first two films of the "reboot" series, First Class and Days of Future Past! Topics include: These movies being good but having no politics, why Kevin Bacon isn't playing Mr Sinister, the Cuba Beach Divorce, being gay, and SO much about the Kennedy's! You can find links...

Round One, Students! On this, the first proper episode of March Mutant Movie Madness, your professors are joined by friend Des (@movieswithdes) to discuss the first three X-Men movies! Topics for this episode include: How these movies came to be, our love affair with Scott Summers, how the Mutant Metaphor evolves over the course of these movies, a really fun game, and Morgan's hatred of James Came...

Welcome back, students! We're back with season 2 of Mutant Studies 101, with the beginning of our miniseries MARCH MUTANT MOVIE MADNESS! That's right, we're talking about the movies. But before we talk about that, we wanted to have a bit of coverage around some of the difficult topics we will have to discuss regarding a few of the creatives and the extensive allegations against them. Content Warni...

Happy Finals Week, Mutants! On this SEASON 1 FINALE Episode, your professors are here to talk about their single greatest passion as well as usher in the next semesters topic with a discussion of how they would bring Marvel's Merry Mutants to the big and small screen. Topics of this lecture include: The DeanMorgan X-MCU, Jack Schlossberg as the Lisan Al-Gaib, How to fix the Claremont Run, The 82nd...

Welcome Back Students! On this episode, your hosts are back and not only are they back but they have a special guest: Our good friend Emily aka StardustEm! Topics for today's episode include: A deep Dive of Zen Wells' Hellions (2020), the nature vs nurture debate, Alex Summers' terrible horrible no good very bad days, our love of Psylocke and Greycrow, and play some of the silliest games we've eve...

Hello again students! This week, your professors are talking all about THE mother of mutantkind, Ororo Munroe, the hero known as Storm! Topics for this lecture include: Storm (2023), Storm (2024), How Ororo has evolved as a character over the last 50 years, her relevance to the culture at large, our hatred of flashback mini-series by legacy writers, and a brief tangent about her greatest love inte...

Hope you're ready to face the music, students! On this episode, your professors dig deep once again into Dazzler, but this time with a more cultural lens. Topics of this lecture include: Chappell Roan and rapid rises to fame, how the mutant metaphor works (and doesn't work) in the context of fame, why we keep placing celebrities in positions to make political statements, a diatribe about the DFW v...

Happy Reading, Students! This week, your professors dive into the August releases for the new X-Line, including: Exceptional X-Men 1, X-Men 2 and 3, Uncanny X-Men 1, X-Force 1, Phoenix 2, and NYX 2. Topics of this episode include: Kitty Pryde being back in Chicago and feeling it, protecting Black children, espousing the gospel of Victor LaValle's Sabretooth work, Dean crying about Cyclops, Morgan...

Welcome Back To Class, Students! For todays lecture, your professors are kicking off the semester with a close reading of one of our favorite under appreciated gems of the Krakoa era: Vita Ayala, Bernard Chang, and Paco Medina's Children of the Atom! Topics in this episode include: Who are the Children of the Atom? How can the Mutant Metaphor evolve when placed under the lens of those without an X...