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 #118 Xorn X-Corporation The U-Men Ao Jun (and his super gross mutant power) Synchronized heists Psychometry vs. telepathy A big eventual twist Beak (Barnell Bohusk) A kiss Some really fucked up use of telepathy Some Moira MacTaggert continuity nonsense NEXT EPISODE: U-Men vs. X-Men The visual companion to this episode will be up later this week. 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 rad swag at our Dashery shop!

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 #114-117 Grant Morrison and their approach to the X-Men Superhero fashion Cerebra Beast’s new look Ugly John Interpersonal dynamics Cassandra Nova (somewhat) Donald Trask Master Molds Wild Sentinels Emma Frost (more) (again) Negasonic Teenage Warhead (the original) The fall of Genosha Secondary mutations The most strapless bra of all time The Black Bug Room Summers problems Official X-Men and the designation thereof Wonder Man and mutants NEXT EPISODE: Beast has a bad day 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 rad swag at our Dashery shop!

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 cool stuff–you can do that right here! Buy rad swag at our Dashery shop!  

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 Ani-Men, somewhat The Living LASER, somewhat An orgy of satiation Wolverine, Lord of the Vampires Several highlights of Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose Vampire nonsense The Darkhold The Montessi Formula Some alligators August 5 Frank Punisher, Vampire Hunter What If vol. 2 #37 (briefly) A kinder alternate history A singularly beautiful montage The Soul Staff Summers family connections How Wolverine climbs NEXT EPISODE: Unspooling the X-Gene, with Dr. Jey McCreight! 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 rad swag at our Dashery shop!  

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 listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here! Buy rad swag at our Dashery shop!  

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 rad swag at our Dashery shop!

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 #393 Genosha (more) (again) Northstar (more) (again) Dazzler (more) (again) Sunpyre (more) (again) Hector Rendoza (more) (again) Paulie Provenzano (more) (again) Frenzy (more) (again) Amelia Voght (more) (again) St. Sebastian thirst traps Sewer adventures Post-Apocalypse Cyclops (more) (again) Awkward conversations about feelings Implausible knitting The Age of Apocalypse X-Babies A protracted confrontation Bad strategy A confusing ruse Some stabbing What happens to the unlikeliest X-Men Jean Grey as Charles Xavier’s heir Best potential uses of Hector Rendoza NEXT EPISODE: The secret (retconned) origin of Wolverine! 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 rad swag at our Dashery shop!

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-lived Cyclops costume A reunion A sorry excuse Resolution, somewhat Genosha (more) (again) Conflict of interest Several excellent villain speeches Joanna Cargill (Frenzy) (again) Jean-Paul Beaubier (Northstar) (again) Hector Rendoza Yet another angry mob Paulie Provenzano (Omerta) Leyu Yoshida (Sunpyre) Ice skating in Rockefeller Center Our picks for a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants NEXT EPISODE: Eve of Destruction concludes! 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 rad swag at our Dashery shop!

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 Stryfe in four pages Unsubtle foreshadowing The relative ethics of killing Stryfe A visual representation of time Somewhat logical consequences Bad clone ethics Future uncertainty Le Bête Noir Hell-lord / anti-Phoenix disambiguation A fancy t-shirt The appropriate amount of mean to be to Stryfe When Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom takes place relative to The Search for Cyclops (more) (again) (inconclusive) Reasons not to live under a crypt in New Orleans Betty Noir’s Relative (fictional) body counts Business-casual Stryfe Lucas Bishop, kitten guy Relitigating the X-traitor NEXT EPISODE: Eve of Destruction (and some bonus Summers family bullshit) 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 rad swag at our Dashery shop!

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: Sons of the Atom #1-2 When Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom takes place relative to The Search for Cyclops Some things pelicans get up to An upsetting dream Ethics of telepathy (more) (again) Night science Some of what Stryfe has been up to French nouns A theoretical Orphan Black video game The Witness (LeBeau) (more) (again) The Witness Cave How to make Bishop a more central X-character The relative importance of T’ieves Guild continuity NEXT EPISODE: Stryfe in a diner! 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 rad swag at our Dashery shop!