recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Episode 126 - Live at Rose City Comic Con, with Greg Pak

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we return to Rose City Comic Con and somehow manage to one-up last year’s Stryfe cold open; Greg Pak has secretly written all of the X-books; Cullen Bunn may or may not be watching you RIGHT NOW; the X-Men distill down to murder and kissing; Toshiro Mifune should be everybody; Miles swears first (for once); and we can’t wait to see all of your X-Men roller derby names!

## X-Plained

* Cold open escalation
* Onslaught
* Greg Pak
* Continuity exegesis
* Marrying history and narrative
* Murder and kissing
* *X-Treme X-Men* vol. 2
* Reimagining characters across the multiverse
* Governor-General James Howlett
* *Magneto: Testament*
* Where superheroes should and shouldn’t intersect with geopolitical events
* Our X-Men buddy-cop duos of choice
* X-Commencement speakers
* X-Men roller derby names
* Contemporary vs. retrospective representations of current event

## Listener Questions

* You mentioned trying to avoid real world situations and conflict because the material is too big for that. But a lot of early superhero comics, like of the concurrent era, did exactly that. What do you think separates doing it now from the way that they did it back then?
* What is your buddy cop duo from the X-Men lineup? And if you could do forgotten X-Mens if you want.
* So, imagine you're running one of the various Xavier Institute Massachusetts Academy yadda yadda yadda. Who do you invite to give the commencement address?
* So you mentioned in X-Treme X-Men that Wolverine and Hercules are -- you know, Wolverine's in love with Hercules. Presumably that means Wolverine is not straight. Do you think that that means that Wolverine is not straight in 616 as well? That he is a queer character? Or is that just a divergence point from that universe?
* On one of your recent episodes you mentioned Boom Boom Von Doom as a really awesome roller derby name. So I was wondering if you had thought of any other possible X-related roller derby names?
* Is it more interesting, like, reading a comic arc that is written during the timepiece and you can see like, actual evidence of like "*Whoa, radical culture!*" Versus a movie that's like recreating that in its own vision. What's more interesting for you guys?
* So you're about to enter the dark age of darkness and many pouches. Not what do you dislike, but what do you dread having to cover the most?

## Audience Participation

* Listeners were encouraged to post their best X-Men roller derby names in the episode comments for this episode.
Episode 064 – Ski Lodge of Apocalypse

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which Louise Simonson saves X-Factor; Apocalypse gets off to a rough start; Cyclops is bad at people; Apocalypse should be the Kingpin of X-Men; Jean Grey is sick of your bullshit; you should totally cosplay Skids; and Mystique fundamentally misunderstands branding.

## X-Plained

* The Maximoff family tree
* The Whizzer
* X-Factor as sketch comedy
* Louise Simonson
* X-Factor #6-8
* Apocalypse
* Bulk
* Glow Worm
* Skids (Sally Blevins)
* Weaponized fashion
* Trish Tilby
* Favorite Claremontisms
* X-Finance

## Notes

Special thanks to Master of Maximoffs Max Carleton of Waiting for the Trade.

A very happy birthday to the Consulting X-Pert Kestrel!

## Listener Questions

* You've both spoken at length about Claremont's writing tics, but is there a repeatedly used line that's a favorite?
* Talking about Sam and his family in Episode 61 made me think: does Xavier (or Emma Frost or Brian Braddock or whoever's in charge) financially compensate the team members or students? I mean, I don't think anyone could juggle the team and a second job, and most of them aren't independently wealthy. At least the Brotherhood could be stealing money or valuables, but I doubt the X-Men are. Especially Sam, the best kid.
Episode 187 - Mermaids at the Center of Time

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

n which Lee Forrester deserved better; we have somehow made 187 of these; *Bizarre Adventures* is accurately named; the Grey sisters do not steal a yacht; trite jerks are doubly offensive; *Black Panther* is *everything* and you should go see it right now; Namor has a type; Attuma reads like an import from *Game of Thrones*; Florida is the Australia of North America; Iceman has a good weekend; half of the Vanisher materializes in Poughkeepsie; and Jay’s mom is *the best Cable*.

## X-Plained:

* What Lee Forester has been up to
* How this happened
* *Bizarre Adventures* #27
* The not-particularly-secret lives of the X-Men
* *Jay’s Book of Irrelevant Headcanon*
* “The Brides of Attuma”
* Sara Grey
* Several incidents in the life of Jean Grey
* A plan as ineffectual as it is dastardly
* “Winter Carnival”
* “Titan Up the Defense”
* The peculiar predominance of ice sculpture in the Marvel Universe
* Bubba
* The Apple Profile
* Festive bandits
* A heist
* A very fancy cane
* “Show Me the Way to Go Home”
* Nightcrawler’s favorite movie
* The *Count Duckula* theme song
* Some very friendly ladies
* ECCC cosplay
* Sev the Oracle
* Whether Buffy is a Summers sibling
* Whom we would merge with cosmic forces
* The Queen of Nevers

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 232 - Careful With That Axe, Cerise

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we’re still not over *Into the Spider-Verse*; *Excalibur* becomes an official X-book; Feron tries to help; Butts are fundamental; we care about the weird stuff; threats are unnecessary; and we were all always already Erik the Red.

## X-Plained

* Several characters’ Earth-65 counterparts
* The X-Office
* Judging people for not being Alan Davis
* *Excalibur* #68-70
* A slippery story title
* The unceremonious disappearance of Captain Britain
* Mullets of space and time
* Angst-ridden super-types, all of whom are morbidly obsessed with death
* The *other* war criminal in Excalibur
* Fashion trends of the Shi’ar Empire
* Krag
* Important conversations to have with your significant other
* A sadness staredown
* Cerise’s actual secret origins
* A fairly poetic life sentence
* The cleverest fights
* Our 2019 Convention Schedule
* How to get Jay & Miles at your local convention

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 234 - Magnetic Feels (Fatal Attractions Part 1)

*WHOA DANG! This is David Wynne’s 200th illustration for our show!*

## Episode Description

In which the Acolytes are pretty terrible; Exodus considers his options; Val Cooper is not wildly trustworthy; Cable uses his words; and people with significant metal implants should probably stop confronting Magneto.

Happy podiversary to our beloved illustrator, David Wynne!

## X-Plained

* How not to get possessed by Mister Sinister
* Crossover structures
* How not to make friends or influence people
* The Acolytes (again)
* *X-Factor* #92
* A total dick move
* The new Project Wideawake
* *X-Force* #25
* A first appearance
* *Cable* #1-3
* A reunion
* Avalon
* Magneto’s bathrobe
* The evolution of X-Force
* Mojoworld in the multiverse
* X-characters who haven’t officially died at least once

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 036 - Steal This Podcast

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we play Six Degrees of Lila Cheney; Cannonball gets a makeover; Earth does not in fact blow up; the X-Men like their s’mores with thinly veiled allegories; and Magik dabbles in erotic friend fiction.

## X-Plained

* Strong Guy
* Annuals
* New Mutants Annual #1 (Steal This Planet)
* Lila Cheney
* Both versions of Cats Laughing
* The Vrakanain
* Chris Claremont Book Club
* Uncanny X-Men Annual #8 (The Adventures of Lockheed the Space Dragon and His Pet Girl Kitty)
* Some dubious campfire games
* Illyana’s Space Opera
* Space pirate X-Men
* Some long-awaited resolution

## Listener Questions

* I picked up Marvel Unlimited, mostly to keep up with the podcast - but I'm almost through the paltry offering of New Mutants that they have. Is there a good way to get the complete Claremont run? I don't think there's an omnibus.
* What's the deal with Psylocke's powers? Telepathy? Telekinesis? Both? In the current adjectiveless X-Men she manifests weapons besides the psychic dagger (maces, bow and arrows, crossbows etc.) Are those manifestations the focused totality of her psychic powers too? Or are they her telekinesis manifesting as a physical weapon doing physical damage? Also, how did she get telekinesis?
Ben Acker

## ***Ben Acker***

### First podcast appearance

Episode 121 - Two Sides of a Narcissistic Coin (feat. Ben Acker)

## External links

Marvel Database: Ben Acker

Twitter: @bnacker

**Ben Acker** writes comics and television.

## Selected X-Men related work

* *Wolverine: Season One* #1 (2013)
* *Deadpool v Gambit* #1-5 (2016)
* *Infinity Warps: Weapon Hex* #1-2 (2018)

## X-Plain appearances

* Episode 121 - Two Sides of a Narcissistic Coin (feat. Ben Acker)
Episode 077 – Die Hard With a Lobster

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we relax our definition of X-book; we really want Sunspot to grow a mustache; Miles gets an excuse to say “shillelagh”; Bill the Lobster goes on a rampage; and Fallen Angels is really, really, really wonderful.

## X-Plained

* Devil Dinosaur
* Moon Boy
* Fallen Angels #1-8
* Jo Duffy
* Assembling a team
* Sunspot as a point-of-view character
* Compassion as a superpower
* Da Costa’s Devils vs. Ma Guthrie’s Gorillas
* Goat Simulator
* An unfortunate incident
* Somewhat harsh student evaluations
* The moral compass of Magnum, P.I.
* Warlock and Sunspot as mutual foils
* Chance
* Ariel
* Multiple Man (Jamie Madrox) and several notable duplicates
* Siryn (Theresa Cassidy)
* Gomi
* Bill
* Don
* The Fallen Angels
* The Vanisher
* The Marvel Girl Fan Club
* Lobster feelings
* Kirby monsters
* Doris Danger
* Dinosaur World
* Fallen Angels as a spiritual antecedent to Runaways
* The tragic death of Don the Lobster
* Fallen Angels II
* How to party like Dr. Doom
* Doom Patrol vs. X-Men

## Listener Questions

* A few of my friends and I like hosting ambitious Halloween parties with stuff like roleplaying and scavenger hunting based on a given theme. This year we're psyched to try our hands at a superhero themed party. I'm going as Dr. Doom and one of my friends would be perfect as Wolverine. Naturally, we have no idea what the 20 or so guests will come as. What we really need now is a kind of framed narrative that can serve as an excuse for having every imaginable hero and/or villain (be it Marvel, DC, or other) doing activities together. Of course, it shouldn't be too complex so that non comic book readers can enjoy it as well. Do you have any ideas on what kind of narrative might work? Naturally a humorous one is encouraged. Any help is appreciated.
* I was wondering what your opinions are on the parallels between the Doom Patrol and the X-Men? I've seen fans lump both teams together, but the similarities aren't as obvious to me.
Episode 264 - Autotune the Phalanx

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we celebrate our 100th episode with producer Matt Hunter; you should always be kind to robots; Stryfe has a lot of very petty contingency plans; Britanic is bad at helping; we explore a peculiar pairing of book and arc; Charles Xavier has his moments; and Zero and Douglock defiy destiny.

## X-Plained

* The current occupant of Fantomex’s body
* *Excalibur* #78-80
* The Douglock “chronicles”
* Zero
* Douglock
* Several feelings
* Britanic (again)
* Camping fonts
* Drones
* Radio Shack
* Helping
* Pentagon-sense
* What being human is all about
* Charles Xavier, hero of the beach
* Rory Campbell’s voice
* Technoorganic vs. transmode viruses
* Kymera

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 252 - Snakes on a Trolley

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which Miles invokes Freddie Mercury; Polaris is more competent than the rest of X-Factor put together; Armageddon theology does not intersect well with superpowers (or politics, or anything else); Val joins a cult (kind of); Random joins the team (kind of); Haven is a surprisingly nonviolent mass-murderer; Havok is confused by women; and good guys don’t have orbital lasers.

## X-Plained

* Hope across the multiverse
* *X-Factor* #97-100
* Haven (Radha Dastoor)
* *Man, Mutant, and the New Humanity*
* A very fashionable outfit
* One of the greatest Marvel art submissions of all time
* Trinket the cat
* Catalogs
* A dramatic entrance
* Mahapralaya (kind of)
* Jamie Madrox vs. Jamie Madrox vs. the Legacy Virus
* The Trolley Problem
* Possession
* Orbital lasers as a metric of morality
* Monsoon (Aloba Dastoor)
* The apparent death of Jamie Madrox
* Our favorite takes on the Phoenix
* Who our X-Universe counterparts should be

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 058 – Miniseries Mayhem

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which Nightcrawler does Weird Tales; Iceman does Back to the Future; we want a vacation home in Dave Cockrum’s brain; Bamfs are terrible; the 1983 Iceman miniseries is straight-up bananas; parents just don’t understand; and Rachel will take literally any excuse to talk smack about John Ruskin.

## X-Plained

* Vanisher
* Nightcrawler #1-4
* Bizarre Adventures #27
* Iceman #1-4
* The Well at the Center of Time
* The downside to hanging out with pirates
* A shark wizard in a tiny loincloth
* Better living through sound-effect awareness
* Boggies
* The key to a classic Nightcrawler story
* Earth-5311
* Bamfs
* The full extent of Rachel’s Smurfs knowledge
* Cretaceous Sam
* Sehv
* Illyana Rasputin’s porn collection
* The Drake family
* An exceptionally unlikely girl next door
* The definitive Miles’s Mom anecdote
* Marge Smith / Mirage
* White Light
* Idiot
* Kali (but not that one)
* Two generations of Officers Ratchit
* Pornography no one wants to see
* Death by time travel
* Oblivion
* Night Man (kinda)
* Our ideal cross-media adaptations

## Listener Questions

* What would your ideal live action adaptation of X-Men be like? Would it be a movie, TV show, or web series? And what things would you like to see covered in said live action adaptation?
* We know that Nightcrawler's "Bamfs" smell strongly of sulfur from the brimstone dimension. The problem with this is that sulfur dioxide is poisonous, and we frequently see Kurt teleport into confined spaces where this could be a huge issue. Even if he's immune to it himself, other people would still be at risk. I was wondering if this has ever been addressed, or if I should just take a deep breath and recite the MST3K mantra?
Episode 028 - What’s New, Shadowcat?

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we welcome back Greg Rucka, Rachel makes a valiant effort to read Secret Wars, Earth-200500 is still the best Earth, Kitty Pryde and Wolverine is kind of dodgy, Ogūn is low-rent Mister Sinister, Miles talks about empathy, Greg has an Edna Mode moment, and we all love Kitty Pryde.

## X-Plained

* X-Men #153
* Kitty’s Fairy Tale
* Earth-5311
* Earth-200500 (again)
* Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #1-6
* Samurai eyefucking
* Ogūn
* Special cuddles
* Some really dodgy stuff
* The best Kitties Pryde
* Professor K.
* Smart kids in fiction
* Why we love Shadowcat
* Point-of-entry characters and gender
* Costume theory
* Our favorite new podcast

## Listener Questions

* What is the best version of Kitty after Claremont? Davis' Excalibur? Whedon's X-Men?
* How come Kitty Pryde just wears a variation on the Xavier School uniform these days, instead of a costume of her own? It seems especially weird with her because in her early days on the team, graduating out of that uniform and creating her own identity was a driving force of her character development. It seems weird that now, as a grown woman and a professor herself, she just wears the old yellow and black.
Episode 202 - Rhapsody in Blue (and Gold)

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which music is dangerous and confusing, Jamie Madrox has a weakness for femmes fatale, the term “f-holes” makes Miles turn 12, and we bid a fond farewell to Larry Stroman.

## X-Plained

* That time Havok was the nexus of all realities
* How to get to Florida, Magneto style
* *X-Factor* #79-81
* Lesser-used applications of super-speed
* Rhapsody (Rachel Argosy)
* Mutant late bloomers
* The surprising convenience and safety of fictional shop windows
* Excalibur-weird vs. X-Factor-weird
* Tiny cellos
* The worst kid in the neighborhood
* A creative use of mutant powers
* Whether Madrox creates duplicates during sex (again)
* Astral wheat fields
* Musical manslaughter
* Sean Young (who is decidedly not Catwoman)
* Hell’s Belles
* Rahne’s World
* Polaris’s body image issues
* Beefiness disambiguation
* Wolfsbane’s conditional poker face
* Cyber (Silas Burr)
* Strong Guy, who just works here, man
* Alex Summers, inspiring and/or deceptive authority figure
* Bringing back the classics (and when not to)
* The surprisingly homogenous Multiverse

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 255 - Rules of the Game

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which the Upstarts are the worst at Calvinball; Moonstar remains a non-mystery; Speedball gets a new costume; Shinobi Shaw never gets to finish a bath; Gamesmaster comes perilously close to getting context; Cable gets a new superpower; and Rahne Sinclair is too good for your crossover.

## X-Plained

* The time Husk went evil
* An anniversary
* A guest appearance
* *X-Force* #32-33
* *New Warriors* #45-46
* A crossover
* A game
* Younghunt
* The semi-debut of Paige Guthrie
* Deeply uncomfortable bathing-suit choices
* A toy that never actually existed
* The New Warriors
* Justice (Vance Astrovik)
* Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor)
* Nova (Rich Rider)
* Silhouette (Sil Chord)
* Kymaera
* Speedball (Robbie Baldwin)
* Rage (Elvin Haliday)
* Firestar (Angelica Jones) (more) (again)
* A plan
* Bantam
* A lot of mind control
* A very ambiguous game and its potential implications
* Favorite ads
* The narrative economy of resurrection

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 094 – WELCOME TO DIE!

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which Miles and Elisabeth X-Plain Pryde of the X-Men; Magneto is somehow even worse at branding than Mystique; the X-Universe is in desperate need of responsible adults; Wolverine hates kids; everybody’s mean to Lockheed; and the Sentinels represent your feelings.

## X-plained

* Wolverine’s Australian accent
* Pryde of the X-Men
* X-Men / Muppet Babies analogues
* The Brotherhood of Mutant Terrorists
* How not to comfort scared teenagers
* The X-Cessible X-Men
* The Mutant Power Circuit
* Terrible parenting
* A MacGuffin
* A Really Dubious Evil Plot
* Several Additional MacGuffins
* THE POWER!
* One of many reasons to be nice to animals
* Space
* The X-Men Arcade Game
* Ground Kontrol
* X-Men: Madness in Murderworld
* The Uncanny X-Men (game)
* Metaphorical sentinels
* Mysterious lizards
* Video game mechanics vs. superhero ethics
* Pryde of the X-Men vs the ’90s animated series vs. X-Men: Evolution
* Alternate animated series hooks

## Listener Questions

* Do you think *Pryde of the X-Men* did a better job at setting up its premise and introducing its characters than the 90s series or *Evolution*? It brings in a lot of characters, both good and bad, very quickly.
* Two part question: Is there a part of X-Men lore that you think would easily translate to a live action show in the vein of *Arrow*? And what part of X-Men lore would be the most hilarious to translate to a live television show?
Episode 210 - The End of Tomorrow: X-Cutioner’s Song (Part 1 of 3)

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which you may or may not have your own Black Bug Room; FlameCon was in fact every bit as wonderful as we projected (and more); Caliban hates true love; no one will ever be as extra as Mister Sinister; X-Cutioner’s Song is secretly a farce; we achieve Peak Cable; and the quintessential ’90s crossover event begins!

NOTE: At one point in this episode, Miles said “X-Force” when he actually meant “X-Factor.” If you can tell us where, you win the prize of eternal smugness (not as much smugness as Sinister, but still a lot).

## X-Plained

* The Black Bug Room
* A good deal of pre-event status quo
* *Uncanny X-Men* #294
* *X-Factor* #84
* *X-Men* #14
* *X-Force* #16
* Trading card taxonomy
* The opening strains of a crossover event
* A concert that worked out better in theory than in practice
* An abduction
* Several attempted murders
* A large number of awkward reunions
* An even larger number of inter-team brawls
* Two villains pretending to be other villains
* Cape logistics
* Peak Cable
* Many pouches
* Many guns
* The origin of Hope Summers
* Our hopes for mutants in the MCU

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 300 - Götterdämmerung

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which the Age of Apocalypse comes to an end; Angel briefly lives up to his potential; Bishop was sometimes right; It’s not a climactic ending without an X-Men #137 reference; Colossus breaks our hearts; *X-Men: Marvels Snapshot* will be out in September; and somehow we have made *300 of these things*.

## X-Plained

* Beast vs. Dark Beast
* *X-Men: Omega*
* The entirety of the (first) Age of Apocalypse
* Potpourri vs. incense
* Dramatic hair
* Many, many errors
* Unforeseen consequences
* A long-anticipated team-up
* Many deaths
* Art as artifact
* Narration that has haunted Jay for 20 years
* One of the more persistent deaths of David Haller
* Blast Attack
* The end of a world
* Refugees from the Age of Apocalypse
* Our favorite X-milestone issues
* Theoretical teams
* Orphans
* When X-Men: Marvels Snapshot is actually coming out
* Our favorite show bits
* How Jay’s chickens-in-law are doing

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 083 – Live at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we travel back in time to 1979 for our second live convention special; X-Men Annual #3 desperately needs a Queen soundtrack; George Perez draws great Banshee; Polemachus is kind of a bullshit planet; we dream of a world without Funky Winkerbean; Cyclops’s costume does not mix and match well; if you can be someone else, you should probably be Brian Blessed; Colossus gets a dragon; and Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival is awesome.

## X-Plained

* X-misadventures in Las Vegas
* X-Men Annual #3
* Arkon the Magnificent
* Isadore and Irmagarde Uhman
* The Comical Books
* Polemachus the planet vs. Polemachus the person
* Funky Winkerbean
* Several logistical problems with the Danger Room
* MVP Cyclops
* Some very good visual counterpoint to dialogue
* Paperboard lightning bolt disambiguation
* Jay’s favorite Starman story
* X-title and music pairings
* Imperions
* Visual perspective in grand melees
* How to order a meal on Polemachus
* One specific variation on Cyclops’s powers
* The X-Men as Spinal Tap
* Space-barbarian eyewear
* The annual cabinet
* The most appropriate X-team placement for Funky Winkerbean
* Best worst characters
* Our favorite X-Force teams
* Secret Convergence on Infinite Podcasts

## Listener Questions

* If Funky Winkerbean joined the X-group, which would be the most appropriate X-Men base book (New Mutants, X-Factor) -- where would Winkerbean's power of depression fit the best?
* Who is your favorite terrible X-Man? Terrible meaning powers and/or campiness.
* Which X-Force team do you prefer?
Episode 205 - Back to Basics

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which Jay returns from Latveria; Sabretooth is significantly less menacing in French; Fabian Nicieza takes the reins; *X-Force* wins our hearts and minds; Gideon plunders Flash Gordon’s wardrobe; Crule does not actually rule; Rictor was right; Ship is the friend who helps you move, but better; the X-Force kids strike out on their own; and it’s probably impossible to explain Joseph too much.

## X-Plained

* The secret origin of Gideon
* How to get deported from Latveria
* Marvel en français
* *X-Force* #11-15
* Some gratuitous posturing
* Pico
* What the actual Domino has been up to
* One hell of an outfit
* Peacock powers
* Crule
* A comical mix-up
* A somewhat radical cosmology
* A very dramatic strike force
* Tygerstryke
* *X-Force* post-Liefeld
* Weapon P.R.I.M.E.
* A four-page spread
* A fight for one is a fight for all
* Vance Astro
* The death of Copycat
* Things only Cable and Domino could do
* Joseph (more) (again)
* Marvel style and its evolution

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 070 – Forget It, Jake; It’s X-Factor

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which everything is terrible; miscommunication triangles are way more awkward than love triangles; Boom Boom is universally delightful; Miles has feelings about ‘80s fashion; Apocalypse is judging your band posters; X-Factor still hasn’t gotten the hang of doors; Cyclops’s life continues to be an anxiety dream; the Twelve are better in foreshadowing than practice; and Angel dies as he lived: half-naked, at an airport.

## X-Plained

* The evolution of Angel
* Cold opens
* rachelandmiles.com
* X-Factor so far
* X-Factor #12-15
* A miscommunication triangle
* Boom Boom (Tabitha Smith)
* Rachel’s Marc Silvestri causality loop
* Boom Boom vs. Jubilee
* Cameron disambiguation
* Famine
* Master Mold (more) (again)
* The Twelve
* Tanya Trask
* Caliban
Episode 144 - Giant-Size Special 5 (feat. Kid Apocalypse)

## Episode Description

In which we get a visit from Kid Apocalypse and debut a track from his upcoming album; Jay No-Prizes *Community*; *Rahne of Terra* is pretty damn delightful; Cable is an armchair editor; we finally release the unexpurgated version of Dennis Hopeless’s version of the Noodle Incident; and you remain–to nobody’s surprise–the best listeners of any podcast, ever.

## X-Plained

* Kid Apocalypse (Quinn Allan)
* Portland Snowpocalypse 2017
* “Return of the King”
* Rapping in character
* Beats in the gutters
* A vehement defense of Nate Grey
* *Wolverine: Rahne of Terra*
* Earth-1991
* Geshem
* Many puns of varying quality
* EiC Cable
* A definitely 100% true and accurate explanation of the Noodle Incident
* The Third Annual Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau Awards for Excellence at X-Cellence
Episode 184 - Sweetcakes

*David is still on vacation. Please enjoy this reasonable gentleman and his fancy accoutrements!*

## Episode Description

In which the 616 was inside Age of X all along; everyone is very sassy; an attempt at political commentary falls very flat; Wolfsbane kills a straw man; everything is better with Larry Stroman; the Rule of Cool is not transitive; X-Factor Quicksilver is the best Quicksilver; and some allegories are subtler than others.

## X-Plained:

* How to hide a universe
* Bees
* “War and Pieces”
* *X-Factor* #76-78
* *The Incredible Hulk* #390-392
* Open-ended vs. trade pacing
* Rick Jones, professional tag-along
* Trans-Sabal
* The Eisenhower Doctrine
* The Reagan Doctrine
* The ethics of cannibalism
* Fictional pigeon aficionados
* As story that isn’t about abortion but is definitely about abortion
* X-Factor vs. due process
* A very hazardous game of tug-of-war
* Gratuitous X-planation
* An unnecessary but well-intended rescue attempt
* The death of Vic Chalker
* Irresponsible parenting
* The second generation of mutants

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 022 - Through Death and Through Life

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which Rachel and Miles celebrate an anniversary with a retrospective of one of the great romances of the Marvel universe; the Summers/Grey family tree is more of a transdimensional strawberry patch; the X-Men play some football; Professor Xavier is not a jerk; and Scott Summers and Jean Grey are the power couple of existentialism.

## X-Plained

* Summers kids
* Scott and Jean
* Feelings
* X-Men #32
* The worst date ever
* Madelyne Pryor
* Plot-relevant prosopagnosia
* Three proposals
* *X-Factor* #53
* *Uncanny X-Men* #308
* “Fatal Attractions”
* That one panel that gets us every time
* *X-Men* vol. 2 #30
* Some really excellent wedding vows
* The best kiss in *X-Men*
* Cats Laughing
* Why “One” is actually a pretty decent first dance
* Existential ramifications of fictional romance
Episode 298 - Unlikely Avengers

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which the moments of 'X-Universe' are better than the whole; the code name “Dirigible” carries some inherent risks; Tony Stark is often more interesting without Iron Man; Clint Barton is no James Rhodes; there is somehow a Matt Murdock who makes even worse choices than the one from Earth-616; nobody should ever trust Mikhail Rasputin; and the baby’s name really doesn’t matter.

## X-Plained

* J. Jonah Jameson’s stance on mutants
* A way to get cool stuff AND support Trans Lifeline
* *X-Universe* #1-2
* Gwen Stacy (Earth-295)
* Some really obnoxious white savior tropes
* The Marauders (Earth-295)
* How to waste Arcade
* Spider-nostalgia
* Owl noises
* Tony Stark (Earth-295)
* Clint Barton and/or James Rhodes (Earth-295)
* Dr. Donald Blake (Earth-616)
* Dr. Donald Blake (Earth-295)
* Blark
* Mikhail Rasputin (Earth-295)
* Ship, but not Ship
* Ben Grimm (Earth-295)
* Sue Storm (Earth-295)
* Bruce Banner (Earth-295)
* A great many overplayed references
* Matt Murdock (Earth-295)
* Manuel de la Rocha (Earth-295)
* Victor Von Doom (Earth-295)
* Marte and Rafe McGuffin
* The Upscale Program
* A very hazardous plan
* The Stryfe Force
* The dreams of Donald Blake
* A red herring named Frankie
* Augmented humans in a mutant-centric world
* How Wolverine communicates with animals
* How Professor X lost his hair

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 186 - Right in the Melee

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which you are the wind beneath our wings; Sunfire doesn’t quit the team even once; the X-Men do “Judgment War,” kinda; Iceman’s clothes are mostly incidental; Mikhail Rasputin is a surprisingly accomplished vintner; Colossus has a bad day; Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau is a core value; and we are REALLY excited about our plans for Emerald City Comic Con!

## X-Plained:

* Colossus vs. Breakworld
* Jay & Miles at Emerald City Comic Con
* *Uncanny X-Men* #284-286
* “Judgment War”-Lite
* Byrne burns
* The collective noun for Edidins
* Sunfire’s new threads
* The evolution of Whilce Portacio
* Emma Frost’s dropped plot threads
* Iceman fashion (or lack thereof)
* Sha-har-a-zath
* The Savior
* A mysterious vintner
* Archangel’s hair
* Mikhail Rasputin
* Space-Person disambiguation
* Peril and the vanquishing thereof
* The continuing adventures of the XSE
* Chuck Cherkle
* Sara Gray’s unrealized potential
* The Great Excalibur Bake-Off

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Charles Soule

## ***Charles Soule***

### First podcast appearance

Episode 130 - The Soule Protocols (feat. Charles Soule)

## External links

Marvel Database: Charles Soule (Earth-1218)

Wikipedia: Charles Soule

Twitter: @CharlesSoule

Website: Charles Soule

**Charles Soule** writes comics.

## Selected -Men related work

* *Death of Wolverine* #1-4 (2014)
* *Wolverines* #1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 16, 19, 20 (2015)
* *Astonishing X-Men* Vol 4 #1-12 (2017)

## X-Plain appearances

* Episode 130 - The Soule Protocols (feat. Charles Soule)
* Episode 150 - Live at ECCC, feat. Dennis Hopeless & Charles Soule
Episode 108 - What Price Glory

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we recap nearly 200 issues in under three minutes; Madelyne Pryor is the Medea of X-Men; Mister Sinister takes the stage; Dazzler is basically an ’80s movie refugee; Scrambler may or may not be an exchange student from the Riverdale Marauders; Marc Silvestri is excellent at some things and less so at others; nothing good happens in Nebraska; Trish Tilby is the April O’Neil of X-Factor; and we swear that it was a total coincidence that this episode went up on Mother’s Day.

## X-Plained

* One solution to the existential conundrum of the Carol Danvers who is also kind of part of Rogue
* Pretty much everything that’s happened since the Dark Phoenix Saga
* The structure of Inferno
* Uncanny X-Men #239-241
* X-Factor #36-37
* The rise of the Goblin Queen
* Several deaths in elevators
* Mister Sinister and his amazing action-figure collection
* The evolution of Mark Silvestri
* Madelyne and Alex
* A very symbolic dress
* The Rainbow Room
* M-Squad
* That damn costume
* 1989 in outfit form
* Jay’s favorite Marauder
* Rats-R-Us
* Wolverine vs. a mail box
* The X-Men, but evil
* The secret origin of Madelyne Pryor
* A long-anticipated reunion
* Objects we’d demonically animate
* Which X-Man should do your taxes

## Listener Questions

* If you could use your demonic powers to animate any object, what would it be?
* Who would be better at doing your taxes: Iceman or Cyclops? Because, I mean, Bobby is an accountant, but Scott seems way more meticulous.
Episode 127 - Disaster City

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we get back on the continuity train; everything is the aftermath of Inferno forever; you should never fight a tractor or a horse without first putting on some damn pants; Vincent Price would’ve made a terrific Doctor Strange; Rusty Collins never really gets a fair break; Boom Boom is in over her head; and Brett Blevins takes his place as the definitive *New Mutants* artist.

## X-Plained

* Mirage’s on-again-off-again Valkyrie career
* Asgardia
* The New Mutants’ previous Asgard adventures
* The best single issue of all time
* The Naglfar
* A proposal for a new calendar
* *New Mutants* #77-80
* The Ust-Ordynski Collective (again) (more)
* There’s Stuff Going On: The Doctor Strange Story
* A very bad decision
* Why unicorns are the worst
* Doctor Stephen Sanders / Doctor Strange / Doctor Dad
* *Let’s Make a Deal*
* Whether arson counts as a personality trait
* Several nefarious plans
* Creative growth
* Disaster City
* Fun with the Technarchy
* Mindful representation
* Miles’s dad’s comics collection

## Listener Questions

* You recently called Gateway, who uses the trappings of his own culture, problematic. White characters who use trappings and practices of other cultures, for instance Iron Fist, are also problematic. How should characters with overt cultural trappings be handled?
* Just recently Miles mentioned that Uncanny X-Men #251 was the last issue in the box of comics his dad gave him. I'd love to know more about that collection. Were there any substantial gaps in the X-Men run? What were the other titles? Is this where Miles' love of Thor comes from? In what ways did that particular collection shape your expectations for comics?
Episode 037 - Giant-Size Special 1

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which we launch our first-ever giant-size special; God Loves, Man Kills is the definitive X-Men story; Bobby makes his R&MXtXM on-air debut; we repopulate the world with X-writers; Rachel is really excited about x-plaining X-Cutioner’s Song; Miles takes a strong stance on Wolverine’s mask; we award some awards; and it’s all your fault.

## X-Plained

* God Loves, Man Kills (Marvel Graphic Novel #5)
* William Stryker
* An inappropriate analogy
* Keeping it interesting
* Favorite episodes
* Bridging the fan/critic divide
* Our ongoing obsession with bit characters
* The challenge of keeping Charles Xavier relevant
* X-Planation Curation
* Several stories we’re really looking forward to covering
* X-Writers on a desert island
* Internet fights
* Favorite stories vs. best stories
* Stupid hats of the Marvel Universe
* Dr. Doom as Tim Gunn
* Havok vs. ceiling fans
* Educational standards of the Marvel Universe
* The First Annual Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau Awards for Excellence in X-Cellence

## Correction

In this episode, Rachel claims that there is only one Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau in the Marvel Multiverse. This is patently untrue. There are numerous versions of Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau in the Marvel Multiverse, who may or may not be able to combine Voltron-style into a giant Corbeau Singularity.

## The 2014 Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau Awards for Excellence in X-Cellence

The "Best Listeners" award involved a colouring contest.

## Links & Additional Reading

* We are an entirely listener-supported podcast, and features like this Giant-Size episode are made possible by our kickass Patreon subscribers. You can become one of those here.
* “You dare call that thing human?”: Classic line from *God Loves, Man Kills*; AND the title of this X-cellent Adam Warrock album.
* Bobby interviewed us this episode, but we totally interviewed him first. So there.
* Miles’s favorite episode.
* Rachel’s favorite episode.
* This one was fun, too.

## Cold Open

The secret origin of the giant-size special.

## Listener Questions

* Which version of the school do you guys think did the best job actually teaching mutant teenagers, and which did the worst?
Episode 135 - Kurt Wagner, Warlord of Mars (Cross-Time Caper, Part 2)

## Episode Description

In which the Cross-Time Caper continues; alliteration is awesome; someone else’s geopolitical conflict is not an appropriate place to play out your pirate fantasies; we are definitely not actually going to eat Alan Davis’s brains; Jamie Braddock is Evil Rex Racer; Widget eats a car; Rick Leonardi is the definitive fill-in artist; the problem is patriarchy; and everything’s sticky in Madripoor.

## X-Plained

* X-Manga
* *Excalibur* #16-19
* Crosstime
* A John Carter riff
* A mysterious and dubiously reliable narrator
* A terrible pick-up line
* Kymri
* Anjulie
* Gender-neutral fantasy armor
* Implicit fellatio in several media
* Space Fred Savage
* An alternate Jean Grey (and her untimely demise)
* Tullamore Voge
* A grand tourney
* A deeply disappointing pastiche
* ORZ-1
* *Dirty Pair* (and a sustained riff thereon)
* What makes a train sexy
* Wolverine’s table manners
* Jim Jaspers vs. Jamie Braddock vs. Jamie Jeffers

## Listener Questions

* It's pretty gross that Wolverine regularly uses his claws to prepare food, right?
* Can you explain the difference between Jim Jaspers and Jamie Braddock?
Chris Yost

## ***Chris Yost***

### First podcast appearance

Episode 076 – Live at Rose City Comic Con

## External links

Marvel Database: Christopher Yost

Wikipedia: Christopher Yost

Twitter: @yost

IMDB: Christopher L. Yost

**Chris Yost** writes comics, movies, and television.

## X-Men related work

* X-Men:Evolution (2000)
* *X-23* #1-6 (2005)
* *X-Force* Vol 3 #1-28 (2008)

## X-Plain appearances

* Episode 076 – Live at Rose City Comic Con
Episode 276 - Wizard Problems

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which *Excalibur* gets a regular writer again; we judge a book against against its covers; nothing good ever comes from being sexy on Muir Isle; and the soul sword’s real power is cutting through continuity.

## X-Plained

* Stegron
* Dinosaur powers
* *Excalibur* #83-85 (The Soul Sword Trilogy)
* Warren Ellis on *Excalibur*
* Excalibur (more) (again)
* Bends Sinister and *Bend Sinister*
* Outsider days
* Mail
* Boundaries
* Darkoth
* Gravemoss
* The Winding Way
* Shrill
* A problematic prosthesis
* Roger Corman’s *The Raven*
* A large number of continuity errors
* Gratuitous dickery
* An untold tale
* The semantics of skin removal
* Possession vs. retrograde amnesia
* The circle of nostalgia

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Elle Collins

## External links

Twitter: @AnotherElle

Podcast: Into It with Elle Collins

Instagram: Elle Collins

**Elle Collins** is the host of the weekly popular culture podcast *Into It with Elle Collins*. Elle has been involved in X-Plain the X-Men in a number of ways, including as a guest X-Pert on multiple occasions, and has also featured Jay Edidin as a guest on *Into It*. Elle participated in the Secret Convergence on Infinite Podcasts.

## Host of

* *Into It*
* *The Invisible Ray*
* *The Hard Times Podcast*
* *Lasso of Truth*
* *Crystal Clods*

## X-Plain appearances

* Episode 054 – Who You Gonna Call?
* Episode 069 – Weird Science
* Episode 089 – Giant-Size Special 3

## Mentions

* Episode 051 – The X-Istentialists (thanks for visual companion)
* Episode 060 – Rachel Summers and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (special thanks)
Episode 054 – Who You Gonna Call?

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which the X-Men get their third ongoing series; Elle drops in to x-plain the Defenders; the band gets back together; rich people are not like the rest of us; Cyclops is in desperate need of some kind of intervention; and X-Factor is basically Ghostbusters.

## X-Plained

* Cameron Hodge
* The fairly spectacular secret origins of X-Factor
* The Champions
* The New Defenders
* The evolution of Hank McCoy
* X-Factor #1
* The death throes of Scott and Madelyne’s marriage
* Rusty Collins
* A really bad first date
* The increasingly dubious life choices of Scott Summers
* The worst job interview
* Sushi-a-Go-Go
* How not to have an intervention
* X-Factor
* The X-Terminators
* The Phoenix Force on Earth-811 (and its relationship to Rachel Summers)

## Listener Questions

* Do you think the series would have been better if the original planned lineup for *X-Factor*had been used and Jean stayed dead?
* Thanks to a later retcon, we discover that the Jean Grey who went all evil and genocidal in the Dark Phoenix saga was not *actually* Jean Grey, but the Phoenix incarnate impersonating her. Jean Grey was actually still at the bottom of the bay when the X-Men crash landed. Rachel Grey is the alternate timeline future daughter of Scott and Jean, but as you mentioned in Episode 50, the Jean in her timeline was accepted by her family and never went dark. But at that point, wouldn't it have actually been the Phoenix incarnate, since Jean had been left at the bottom of the bay by that point. Doe that mean that Rachel is actually the daughter of Scott and the Phoenix force itself, or did Jean not get left behind for the Phoenix to take her place in Rachel's timeline?
Episode 091 – The Saddest Story Ever Told

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which New Mutants #64 is the saddest single issue of any X-book ever; the New Mutants have to grow up fast; Warlock comes to terms with mortality; The Last of Us is harder to play the second time; Tattoo Tales: X-Men: Masquerade is delightfully unhinged; animated Cyclops is totally the worst; Beast probably has a terrible garage band; Jean starts a kitchen fire; and Wolverine saves Jubilee’s birthday.

## X-plained

* The saddest issue ever
* New Mutants #64
* The only okay way to watch Grave of the Fireflies
* The aftermath of Doug Ramsey’s death
* Several unhealthy coping mechanisms
* The Last of Us
* Tattoo Tales: X-Men: Masquerade
* Some varyingly impressive costumes
* General irresponsibility
* Why Wolverine is wearing a clown suit
* Douglock
* The New Mutants’ D&D alignments

## Listener Questions

* I can't get my head around Douglock properly. In *Uncanny* #313 he's generated from the dead cells of Doug and Warlock, but then in *Excalibur* #107 Kitty goes to Doug's grave and his body is still there. Where does Douglock get his Doug Ramsey-ness from?
* Where would you put The New Mutants and Xavier on an alignment grid?
Episode 185 - Becoming Wolverine (feat. Tom Taylor)

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which *All-New Wolverine* and *X-Men Red* writer Tom Taylor joins us to talk friendship, heroism, pelican statues, and how to build on legacy without being bogged down by it.

## X-Plained:

* The epic awesomeness of Gabrielle Kinney
* *All-New Wolverine*
* The evolution of Best Wolverine
* Character-first story
* Family
* *X-Men Red*
* Finding Jean Grey’s voice
* Gentle (Nezhno Abidemi)
* Transcending the Silver Age
* Laura Kinney in Logan
* Wolverine-style brain surgery
* Editing down to the bones
* Tom’s comfort reads
* Secret origins of Tom Taylor
* Writing like a street performer
* Koalas vs. reavers

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Bret Blevins

### First podcast appearance

Episode 188 - Live from ECCC, feat. Bret Blevins, Rachelle Rosenberg, & Ramon Villalobos

## External links

Marvel Database: Bret Blevins

Wikipedia: Bret Blevins

Twitter: @BlevinsBret

Website: Bret Blevins

**Bret Blevins** draws comics.

## X-Men related work

* *New Mutants* #49, 55, 57-61, 64-69, 71-74, 79, 80, 82, 83 (1987)

## X-Plain appearances

* Episode 188 - Live from ECCC, feat. Bret Blevins, Rachelle Rosenberg, & Ramon Villalobos
Episode 304 - Explosive Ops

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which Jay discovers a continuity loop; phonetic spelling reaches a new level of implausibility; it’s always already Onslaught; X-Force’s roster gets shaken up; Siryn goes undercover; and the Upstarts remain vaguely plot-relevant despite our fervent wishes.

CORRECTION: In addition to being the setting of a number of 1970s Marvel and DC stories, Rutland, VT is actually a real place with a famous annual (and largely superhero-themed) Halloween parade!

## X-plained

* Mimic (Calvin Rankin)
* Wing problems
* *X-Force* #45-47
* One of Adam Pollina’s more remarkable non-Marvel art credits
* One of many homages to the cover of X-Men #138
* X-Force, its members, and its recent history
* Phonetic spelling
* Warpath’s hair
* Baffling managerial decisions
* Whether Reed Richards is machine washable
* Many pouches
* An unlikely friendship
* Sabretooth’s state of mind
* Rutland, VT
* The Weisman Institute for the Criminally Insane
* Dr. Rachel Weisman
* Jeremy Stevens
* Part of why we like following X-books over time
* Character redesigns

## Listener Questions

This article needs a transcription of the episode questions.
Episode 107 - Fairy Tale Ending

*Art by David Wynne*

## Episode Description

In which everyone’s got Inferno issues; Brett Blevins makes it work; Belasco is conspicuously absent from Inferno; you should never go into Hell barefoot; the greatest X-Men stories are about loss; and Illyana Rasputin finally gets a fairy tale ending.

## X-Plained

* Tempus (Eva Bell)
* *Storm and Illyana: Magik* #1-4 (briefly)
* The two major Inferno plotlines
* New Mutants #71-73
* The best of Brett Blevins
* The rise and fall of Magik
* The ethics of time-travel interventions
* A weaponized retcon
* N’astirh Guy™
* A chair that is also a moral event horizon
* A significant soul-armor upgrade
* Several variations on a chapter title
* Possessed New York
* An overly complex conspiracy theory
* A bittersweet reunion
* The Kobayashi Maru scenario as applied to X-Men
* An even more bittersweet victory (of sorts)
* The eventual return of Magik (sort of)
* Why it’s really irresponsible to affiliate your school with a superhero team
* Our favorite versions of Wolfsbane’s transitional form

## Listener Questions

* Do you ever wish that Xavier's School was just that? That there wouldn't be a Danger Room or the whole child soldier thing? Or maybe they could just re-open the Massachusetts Academy?
* What is your favorite artistic interpretation of Rahne Sinclair's transitional form? You know, the form where she's in between a wolf and a human.