Mutant Studies 101

Get ready to boldly go, students! For this lecture, your hosts sit down with the writing collective known as "The Hivemind" Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (NYX, Giant Size Ms. Marvel, Star Trek: The Last Starship, and more) to discuss not just their work on Star Trek and the X-Men, but their unique perspectives on how to fight against fascistic regimes.

Topics for this lecture include: How The Last Starship presents a new way to move forward through a mass regime change, what the Kardassians of Deep Space Nine and Star Trek (2022) show us about humanity's natural move toward fascism, the smaller revolutions that the characters of NYX fight lead to social change, and what these books together can tell us about how we move forward today. Also... Bones Syndrome.

Content Warning: This episode deals with humanity's descent into fascism on the whole and also makes references to genocide, the killings of black and queer youth by the police, and general bigotry.

You can follow the show on Twitter and TikTok @mutantstudiespod and on Instagram and Bluesky @mutantstudies101. You can follow Morgan on social media @beakerbarnes and Dean on Bluesky @deanofx. You can follow Collin and Jackson's work on social media @hivemindactual and can pick up Star Trek: The Last Starship wherever comic books are sold.

Time to focus our totality, students! for this lecture, your hosts dive deep into the themes of Psylocke (2024) before being joined for an interview with the writer of the series Alyssa Wong (Psylocke, Deadpool, Doctor Aphra).

Topics for this episode include: How Kwannon has evolved over the course of her publication history, what this series is doing that allows it to find clear footing in the -post Krakoan age, what does it mean to be "redeemed", the importance of side characters, and more!

Content warning: This episode contains discussions of violation of bodily autonomy and cults.

You can follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky @mutantstudies101 and on Twitter and TikTok @mutant101pod. You can follow Morgan on all socials @beakerbarnes and Dean on bluesky @deanofx.

Links for our show notes, transcripts, citations, and more can be found on mutantstudies101.tumblr.com.

As always we'd like to thank Ollie (@Olliephresh) and Hayden for our theme music and graphic design, respectively.

Get ready to fall in love again and again, students! For this weeks lecture, your hosts are joined by Dr. Anna Peppard (Supersex: Sexuality, Fantasy, and the Superhero, Sequential Scholars, Oh Gosh Oh Golly Oh Wow) to discuss the ways in which romance and romance comics have changed and shaped around the character of Jennifer Walters, the Sensational She-Hulk!

Topics include: A close analysis of Rainbow Rowell's She-Hulk (2022) and Sensational She-Hulk (2023), how Jennifer Walters is defined as a sexual symbol throughout history, what happened to the modern romance comic, her relationship status with Jack of Hearts, complicated female friendships, and more!

Content warning: This episode contains discussions of loss bodily autonomy, sexual assault, and misogyny

You can follow the show on Twitter and TikTok @mutant101pod and on Instagram and Bluesky @mutantstudies101. You can follow Morgan on all platforms @beakerbarnes and Dean on Bluesky @deanofx. Links to show notes, transcripts, and citations can be found on our website mutantstudies101.tumblr.com

As always, we'd like to thank Ollie (@OlliePhresh) and Hayden (@mcuwaititi) for our music and graphic design, respectively.

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 Gabrielle Haller, why we shouldn't divorce characters from their origins, and... a digression about Dale Cooper! I guess!

Content Warning: This episode, by nature of the characters it discusses, deals heavily with the Holocaust and discussions of other genocides throughout history. Gabrielle Haller's story includes coercion in a catatonic state and implied sexual abuse. Additionally, Gabby is a prominent Israeli character which means discussions must inevitably turn to Israel's colonial history as well as the modern genocide of Palestinians. This podcast stands firmly with a free Palestine and believes Palestinian liberation is the only answer.

You can follow the show @mutantstudies101 on Instagram and @mutant101pod on Twitter and TikTok. A link to transcripts, show notes, and citations for this and all our episodes can be found at mutantstudies101.tumblr.com

As always, we'd like to thank Ollie (@OlliePhresh) and Hayden (@mcuwaititi) for our music and graphic design, respectively.

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 perception as a viewer.

Content warning: This episode generally speaking discusses a lot of potentially misogynistic views on media discussion and women as sexual objects.

You can follow the show @mutantstudies101 on Instagram and @mutant101pod on TikTok and Twitter. Links to all of our show notes and citations can be found at mutantstudies101.tumblr.com.

As Always, we'd like to thank Ollie (@Olliephresh) and Hayden (@mcuwaititi) for our music and graphic design, respectively.

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 Peach Momoko's Ultimate X-Men saying with the deviations it's making? Finally, how does Denis Camp and Juan Frigeri's Ultimates provide an interesting fusion of the two perspectives.

Content warning: This episode contains discussions of the American government's treatment of Indigenous peoples, victims of nuclear testing, and suicide.

You can find links for the show notes, transcripts, citations and more at mutantstudies101.tumblr.com. You can follow the show @mutant101pod on Twitter and TikTok and @mutantstudies101 on Instagram. You can follow Morgan on social media @beakerbarnes.

As always, we'd like to thank Ollie (@olliephresh) and Hayden (@mcuwaititi) for our music and graphic design, respectively.

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 "Dazzler, Melodrama, and Shame", how Alison is a product of Reagan-era politics, what do we do in order to reclaim our queer icons, and pop divas! Then, Dean and Morgan embark on an ambitious journey: Creating Dazzler: Sparkle, Alison's Greatest Hits Album!

You can follow the show on TikTok and Twitter @mutant101pod and on Instagram @mutantstudies101. Links to our show notes, transcripts, citations, and sources can be found at mutantstudies101.tumblr.com. You can follow Morgan on social media @beakerbarnes and Dean on Instagram @deancoburnld.

As always, we'd like to thank Ollie (@OlliePhresh) and Hayden (@mcuwaititi) for our music and graphic design, respectively

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 Black Tom's power set back to his relationship to Ireland, and how much did Krakoa influence him? And Morgan stops being aloof and mysterious!

Content Warning: this episode contains discussions of the Irish Civil conflict known as the troubles

You can find links and information for our show, including show notes, citations, and transcripts, at mutantstudies101.tumblr.com. You can find Morgan on socials @beakerbarnes and can follow Dean's Substack at deansoscarrambles.substack.com

As always, we'd like to thank Hayden (@mcuwaititi) and Ollie (@OlliePhresh) for our graphic design and music, respectively.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Boulevard.

You can find links for the show notes and citations at mutantstudies101.tumblr.com. You can follow Morgan @beakerbarnes.

As always, we'd like to thank Ollie (@olliphresh) and Hayden (@mcuwaititi) for our music and graphic design, respectively.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Marvel Comics!

You can find links to all our show notes, including transcripts and citations, at mutantstudies101.tumblr.com. You can follow Morgan on socials @beakerbarnes.

As always, we'd like to thank Ollie (@olliephresh) and Hayden (@mcuwaititi) for our music and graphic design, respectively.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.