In which Claremont levels up; the Brood are legitimately scary; Colossus is an ethical dude; Nightcrawler and Wolverine share beers in the face of certain death; Storm turns into a space whale; we are Carol Corps for life; New Mutants are really into Magnum, P.I.; Kitty meets a dragon; and Xavier dies (again).

X-Plained:

Broo

The Brood Saga (X-Men #161-167)

Paul Smith

Space fashion

A really terrible awards ceremony

Tim O'Brien's X-Men

The Brood

How to tell a good Wolverine story

Rocket sharks

The single most badass magical-girl transformation sequence of all time

Binary

The X-Men's Kobayashi Maru

Friendship (more) (again)

The Acanti

Whether Cyclops watches Star Trek

The New Mutants

Cloning

Our secret cold-open formula

Cosmic crossovers

Next Week: Kurt Busiek! We would have words with thee!

You can find a visual companion to the episode – and links to recommended reading – on our blog.

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