Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

By Jay Edidin & Miles StokesArts Books Visual Arts

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Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men episodes

November 23, 201584 – The Fourth Horseman
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 11/29/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which Franklin Richards is the center of a disproportionate number of X-Men specials; Quicksilver without powers is comedy gold; Luna is the best little girl on the moon (but it’s kind of a low bar); Jay accidentally cares about the Inhumans; Jean Grey may or may not be the Wesley Willis of X-Factor; Cameron Hodge’s exit interview is weirdly professional; Boom Boom is the best reluctant hero; and Archangel makes his debut.
X-PLAINED:
Quicksilver’s team associations
Knights of Wundagore
Chthon
X-Factor Annual #2
X-Factor #21-23
The Inhumans
Black Bolt
Medusa
Crystal
Lockjaw
QWOP Quicksilver
Leech’s wildly inconsistent powers
Gorgon
Luna
Headbutting ghosts, or, why sentence structure matters
Maximus
Several methods of mind control
A really terrible place for a date
Cameron Hodge: Bureaucrat Supervillain
The last will & testament of Warren Worthington III
Another superpower pet peeve
A theoretical team-up we would love to see
The Arlington Interactive Museum of (evil) Science
Some really dumb armor
Archangel
Our preferred third Summers brothers
NEXT WEEK: Secret Convergence on Infinite Podcasts!
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
54 min
November 16, 201583 – Live at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 11/22/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

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
NEXT WEEK: Somehow, Cameron Hodge manages to get even worse.
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
47 min
November 09, 201582 – Birds and Boys
Art by David Wynne.

In which Louise Simonson’s New Mutants run gets off to a rough start; drugs are not a reliable way to impress your space girlfriend; Magma gets a character arc; Tarot’s powers are kind of iffy; it’ll take more than a few illegal fish to stop Magik; and Bird Brain thoroughly fails to live up to his potential.
X-PLAINED:
Sunspot’s brushes with villainy
The de-aging of the New Mutants
New Mutants #55-58
A memorable dress
Raek
A cautionary tale
The New Mutants as a Saturday morning cartoon
Bird Boy / Bird Brain
June Brigman
A romantic dilemma
Several alternative foci for Tarot’s powers
Redemption and humanization of villains in X-books
Undignified birds
The best and worst of Bret Blevins
Non-comics writers we’d like to see write X-books
Other teen time travelers we’d add to All-New X-Men
NEXT WEEK: Live in Las Vegas!
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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!
We’ll have prints of this week’s illustration up at our shop later this week. As always, you can contact David Wynne to inquire after the original!
51 min
November 02, 201581 – The Kids Are All Right, with Dennis Hopeless
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 11/8/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
In which we sit down with one of our favorite writers to talk about his upcoming series; the X-teens take to the road; Season One is kind of Friday Night Lights; good relationships make good stories; and we are really excited for All-New X-Men.
X-PLAINED:
Genesis (Evan Sabahnur)
Dennis Hopeless
Secret origins of X-Men: Season One
All-New X-Men, vol. 2
How to write Jean Grey
Building a team
Why Quentin Quire isn’t in All-New X-Men
All-New in the larger X-line, and the X-line in the larger Marvel Universe
Definitive X-eras
Cable & X-Force
What makes Cable tick
Boom Boom
Colossus and Domino
The narrative case for solid relationships
Favorite villains
Mark Bagley
Character evolution across multiple creative teams
X-teen hobbies
Vegas Valley Comic Book Fest
NEXT WEEK: The New Mutants meet Bird Boy, with mixed results.
There’s no visual companion this week, but you can find a list of links mentioned in this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
44 min
October 26, 201580 – For the Mutant Who Has Everything
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 11/1/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which we go back in time to take a look at two annuals; everyone is really excited about Excalibur; Claremont ups his illusion game; Horde should probably not be allowed to dress himself; Rachel fires the X-Men; Havok needs better role models; Psylocke’s secondary mutation is femme power; Kyle X-Plains giant monsters; we check in with Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau; and you should totally come see us at Vegas Valley Comic-Book Festival on November 7!
X-PLAINED:
Dazzler’s powers
Uncanny X-Men Annual #11
Uncanny X-Men Annual #7
New Mutants Annual #3
The Hostage, by Brendan Behan
Wolverine vs. Historical Fiction
Horde and his amazing outfit
The Citadel of light and shadow
The fantasy lives of X-Men
Things to do with a shed human skin
The secret origin of Wolverine’s overactive healing factor
The Impossible Man (and how to defeat him)
The Shogun Warriors
What happened to Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau
Powers we don’t like
Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival
NEXT EPISODE: All-New X-Men with Dennis Hopeless!
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
55 min
October 19, 201579 – Bear on a Boat
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 10/25/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In no one trusts Magneto; Dr. Druid is the comfiest superhero; She-Hulk wants to punch a meteor; Rachel and Miles are really bad at both nature and maritime law; boat fights are the best fights; everyone makes terrible choices; and James Jaspers should really have been disbarred by now.

X-PLAINED:
Darkstar vs. Dark Star
X-Men vs. Avengers #1-4
Magneto’s narrative milestones
Dr. Anthony Druid
A most peculiar meteor
The Soviet Super Soldiers
Vanguard
Darkstar
The Titanium Man / Gremlin
Ursa Major
Floridian vs. Australian fauna
Crimson Dynamo
Dock parties with the X-Men
Secrets of Asteroid M
Cartoonish pursuit
The drinking rules of costume semi-destruction
The Laws of the Sea
Why you should put your multi-team brawls on a boat
An abrupt creative shift
The Light
Several miracles of magnetism
An ethical dilemma
The (other) trial of Magneto
Magneto heel turns
Picking which tie-ins to read
The Secret Convergence on Infinite Podcasts
NEXT EPISODE: Warlock vs. the Impossible Man!
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
1 hr 9 min
October 12, 201578 – The Eye Killers and Other Cautionary Tales
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 10/18/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which we persevere in the face of adversity; Storm goes on a quest; Mr. Sinister makes his first appearance; Dazzler learns about teamwork (again); it still sucks to be Havok (but not as much as it sucks to be Madelyne Pryor); you should probably put down that cactus; the Murder Grampas join Freedom Force; Storm’s life is a metal-album cover; and the X-Men are doomed as hell.

X-Plained:
The Mr. Sinister / Summers family time loop
Uncanny X-Men #220-224
Actual and potential origins of Mr. Sinister’s name
How Longshot’s powers work in combat
Teamwork (again)
Representing sound and silence in a visual medium
A protracted fight
Forge (again)
Naze (kind of)
The Adversary
Eye Killers
One of many reasons not to masturbate with a cactus
The X-Men in San Francisco
Madelyne Pryor vs. fate
Storm vs. Forge
Character names vs. code names
X-Makeovers
NEXT WEEK: X-Men vs. Avengers
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
54 min
October 05, 201577 – Die Hard With a Lobster
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 10/11/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

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
NEXT WEEK: A Sinister debut.
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog! (Thanks for your patience!)
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
56 min
September 28, 201576 – Live at Rose City Comic Con, with Ann Nocenti, Jeff Parker, and Chris Yost
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 10/4/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which we record our first live episode; Rose City Comic Con is AMAZING; Ann tells us how to torture the X-Men; Jean Grey needs more friends; Chris survives an encounter with an angry vampire; Squirrel Girl sets the high bar for questions; everyone has opinions about Longshot’s hair; Jeff gets meta; Cyclops is the best at fighting Sentinels; and Rachel ALMOST gets through an entire panel without swearing.

X-PLAINED:
Cable (Nathan Summers)
Stryfe (Also Nathan Summers)
Rose City Comic Con
Christopher Yost
Jeff Parker
Ann Nocenti
The X-Men
Superheroes vs. soap operas
Continuity vs. evolution
Updating the Silver Age
What defines an X-book
All of our iconic X-eras
Close encounters of the fan kind
The Continuiteens
Marvel Girl and Squirrel Girl team-ups
Narrative regrets
How we’d end the X-Men
X-Men best suited to professional wrestling
Our personal mutant metaphors
Which of the X-Men is best at fighting Sentinels
NEXT WEEK: Fallen Angels!
There’s no visual companion this week, but you can see photos from the panel, party, and more in our Rose City Comic Con roundup!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
50 min
September 21, 201575 – By Their Deeds You Shall Know Them
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 9/20/2015 at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which Masque is the worst Morlock; makeouts are a good reason to learn to control your powers; Cyclops and Marvel Girl are terrible role models; Iceman is the heart of X-Factor; Cameron Hodge finally shows his hand; the kids are all right (and probably the only ones who are); and we’ve basically given up on X-Factor ever learning to use doors.
X-PLAINED:
The Right
The Ani-Mator
X-Factor #16-20
Training with X-Factor
Skids’ backstory
Motivational makeouts
Miles’s Thor-ner
Thor #377-378
Why you don’t make deals with frost giants
The mystical realm of Pittsburgh
Redundant funeral graffiti
A totally rad villain speech
The evolution of Iceman
Dubious flight safety precautions
Rictor (Julio Esteban Richter)
Some really epic gaslighting
A probably-inevitable confrontation
Supervillain team-building exercises
Park maintenance
NEXT WEEK: Rachel & Miles Live at Rose City Comic Con; with Ann Nocenti, Jeff Parker, and Christopher Yost!
You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!
Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!
Rachel 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!
48 min