In which we remain adamant pro-POG advocates; Artie and Leech have adventures; Firestar and Emma Frost get some resolution; Santa Claus may or may not be the avatar of Cyttorak; Black Tom Cassidy exceeds expectations; and Monet has vampire problems. X-PLAINED: Marvel’s Revolution line POGs (somewhat) (again) Who’s on Generation X these days Generation X #59-62 Artie and Leech’s adventures in NYC Holidays at the Massachusetts Academy Cordelia Frost (more) (again) Mondo (the real one) Santa Claus ...
Feb 03, 2025•44 min•Ep 476•Transcript available on Metacast Meet Dani, Dani, Dani, and Dani. (X-Force #99) In which we wrap up John Francis Moore’s run on X-Force; the Demon Bear returns (kinda); four Moonstars are not in fact better than one; the Queen of Star Swords is an extremely rad villain; and X-Force takes a very contained multiversal tour. X-PLAINED: Multiversal canon X-Force #99-100 The Demon Bear (more) (again) Arcadia DeVille (more) (again) Mary Weather Fenwick Meridian The Queen of Star Swords The Cathedral Cable (but not that Cable) The X-F...
Jan 27, 2025•54 min•Ep 475•Transcript available on Metacast Classic (x2). (Warlock #2) In which the Warlock ongoing series is fun, and fun is good; people should maybe leave Doug Ramsey’s grave alone; Tony Stark is probably not in touch with the Indigo Girls; the heroes skate awfully close to the “no killing” line; Bastion gets exhumed, rehumed, and re-exhumed; you should really read the Avengers Academy Infinity Comic; and you remain the best listeners of any podcast, ever. X-PLAINED: X-related characters of Avengers Academy Warlock vol. 5, #1-9 Warlock...
Jan 20, 2025•2 hr 11 min•Ep 474•Transcript available on Metacast In which you know it’s serious business when a logo gets smashed; the prophecy of the Twelve is an elaborate prank; we have a lot of Summers family feelings; Apocalypse is not a very good planner; and the Twelve reaches its conclusion.
Dec 30, 2024•56 min•Ep 473•Transcript available on Metacast In which the Twelve should really be twelve chapters long; Archangel has issues; we continue to bemoan the absence of captions; the X-Men ditch their crossover event for a side quest; Magneto is Genosha’s official chaperone; and we would absolutely elect Emma Frost to a school board.
Dec 23, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep 472•Transcript available on Metacast Survival of the Toothiest (Cable #75) In which we begin our coverage of The Twelve; Scott and Jean get sucked back in AGAIN; Apocalypse probably doesn’t tip; and we have become awfully fond of Cable. X-PLAINED: A codename that deviates from common patterns The story so far Uncanny X-Men #376 Cable #75 X-Men #96 Fiz the Skrull (again) The Twelve Foreshadowing, both accurate and otherwise The Living Monolith (more) (again) That one font Time-travel logic Cable vs. eyes Fabian Cortez (more) (again)...
Dec 16, 2024•57 min•Ep 471•Transcript available on Metacast In which Cable may or may not have been a spokesperson for AT&T; it’s impossible to draw a CD dramatically; Wolverine gets his adamantium back; Apocalypse says the thing; and we probably can’t keep putting off The Twelve forever.
Dec 02, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 470•Transcript available on Metacast In which the Shattering officially concludes; you can’t swoop over the phone; toddlers are engines of pure chaos; the X-Men do some processing; and we are mildly scandalized by the absence of footnotes.
Nov 25, 2024•47 min•Ep 375•Transcript available on Metacast In which St. Croix History reminds us of a Martian with a big butt; Penance’s escape is ambiguous; Avengers Academy Infinity Comic successfully reinvents Emplate; you should not learn to flirt from Vanilla Ice; Jubilee fires two fireworks blasts into the air whilst going aaahhh; and we go in through the ears. X-PLAINED: Apocalypse’s influence The Big House (about which we are confused) Generation X #58 Cartier and/or Louis St. Croix Our college’s Dean, naked jogger Things that are sharp in the w...
Nov 17, 2024•46 min•Ep 468•Transcript available on Metacast In which Nightcrawler has a type; the Hill is a bad place to raise your kids up; Colossus introduces Marrow to art; we come out against autotrepanation; Mikhail Rasputin never learns; Destiny leaves clues from beyond the grave; and The Twelve looms.
Nov 04, 2024•57 min•Ep 467•Transcript available on Metacast In which Lenore Zann joins us to talk Rogue, Canadian politics, and her upcoming memoir!
Oct 28, 2024•40 min•Ep 466•Transcript available on Metacast In which “Astonishing X-Men” is something of a misnomer; Death has a good look; sometimes you just need a guy who swoops; Miles stops worrying and learns to love Nate Grey; Telekinesis is silly looking; “Wolverine” dies; and nothing really changes.
Oct 20, 2024•59 min•Ep 465•Transcript available on Metacast In which X-Force is kind of silly; that really isn’t what “quantum” means; polite and lawful are two entirely different things, and Sam Guthrie is only one of them; Selene vogues; and the Hellfire Club plays the dead girlfriend card.
Sep 30, 2024•53 min•Ep 464•Transcript available on Metacast In which Gambit is fundamentally goofy; t’ieves love research; Magneto was ripped; Professor Xavier remains a jerk; Miles attempts to convey something very fundamentally visual in an audio format; Marrow is adorable; the X-Men pretty much disband (again); and a miniseries is the opposite of a vacation.
Sep 23, 2024•56 min•Ep 463•Transcript available on Metacast In which the 1990s were very long; if you die in the simulation, you die in real life; Adrienne Frost is a bad person with good clothes; we judge the number 57; things just keep happening; and Penance somehow gets even more complicated.
Sep 16, 2024•58 min•Ep 462•Transcript available on Metacast In which Magneto may be right but is also wildly impractical; X-Force goes on a sneaking mission; Magneto isn’t mad, he’s just disappointed; Rictor and Shatterstar return; Strong is not a common surname in the Marvel universe; and being a mutant on TV doesn’t mean you’re one in the comics. X-PLAINED: How Jubilee became a vampire The most X-treme youth of them all X-Force 94-95 X-Force Annual 1999 Genosha Butler disambiguation Clown jobs A team-up predicated on an awkward breakup Hammer Town Delp...
Sep 02, 2024•54 min•Ep 461•Transcript available on Metacast In which Synch is better with your powers than you are; Generation X gets some actual training; Artie and Leech are fully feral; everyone gets the hots for Paladin; Zeus has probably fucked a motorcycle at some point; many countries have valleys; and Adrienne Frost is terrible.
Aug 26, 2024•56 min•Ep 460•Transcript available on Metacast In which Devin Toohey joins Miles to discuss X-Men’s DC Comics cousin Doom Patrol, and their bastard Amalgam child, X-Patrol! X-PLAINED: X-Men vs. Doom Patrol Meet Your Doom Doom Patrol Amalgam X-Patrol Elasti-Girl (Amalgam) Shatterstarfire Beastling Ferro Man Dial H.U.S.K. X-Patrol #1 Exciting X-Patrol #1 Niles Cable Dr. Doomsday Superhero aviation Brother Brood Raveniya Niles Dayspring Technoorganic lettering Claw mechanics Magneto on X-Force Real-life Dazzler and Lila Cheney analogs NEXT EPIS...
Aug 19, 2024•1 hr•Ep 459•Transcript available on Metacast In which Tommy Lee Edwards draws a damned fine everything; death gods get taken a lot less seriously when their avatars are seagulls; warm and cool colors get in a fight; Domino has no time for this bullshit; Cable and Domino wait ’til the kids are asleep; Sunspot’s alibi is too complicated; X-Force forges a pouches path; Engines are nothing but trouble; and Ry’lor the Destroyer puts himself in time out. X-PLAINED: The Norse Pantheon of 2099 X-Force #91-93 One of the best X-covers ever Our favor...
Aug 05, 2024•50 min•Ep 458•Transcript available on Metacast In which the theme is too many inkers; Cecilia Reyes has no patience for your bullshit; Genosha’s going to be just fine (it’s not); we would watch a supercut of Fabian Cortez getting punched; we bid an abrupt farewell to Gaia; and comics are exhausting, yet captivating. X-PLAINED: Dazzler’s murder trial X-Men Unlimited #24 The past and future of X-Men Unlimited Doctor Cecilia Reyes Ghost Pirate Cap’n Bloodscream Wolverine and friends Pushing your kid out of a plane as a basic first aid skill Ban...
Jul 29, 2024•56 min•Ep 457•Transcript available on Metacast In which there’s nothing inherently wrong with monster-of-the-week; Marrow’s makeover extends to her font; Red Skull gets a Power Glove; Marvel sets up a slate of spinoffs; and you should hire Matt Hunter to produce your podcast! X-PLAINED: What Danger’s been up to lately Uncanny X-Men #371 X-Men #91 X-Men Annual 1999 Crossover cover design Skrullverine Machine Man Dethlok vs. Dethklok Jack Truman (Agent 18) (to some extent) A nice dress An awkward reunion Gambit as a mentor Billy G. A daring bu...
Jul 22, 2024•44 min•Ep 456•Transcript available on Metacast In which Roadhouse is basically a Wolverine story; Spider-Man does crimes; space names are derivative; there are lots of good reasons to yell at Professor Xavier; the X-Men do Doctor Who; Galactus is not interested in your puny human feelings; Marrow gets a new look; the Skrulls need a crash course in UI; and we overthink bones. X-PLAINED: The time the Skrulls did “A Piece of the Action” The trouble with benevolent dictatorships X-Men #89-90 Uncanny X-Men #370 A New York City that is not in fact...
Jul 08, 2024•53 min•Ep 455•Transcript available on Metacast SPOILER WARNING: ALL OF THEM, NONSTOP In which Barry Windsor-Smith is too sexy for television; we know what happens when unstable molecules get struck by lightning; X-Men gets political and does it spectacularly; this Captain America would not sew the cape; Magneto continues to throw things into space; and they kissed and we missed it. X-PLAINED: Fabian Cortez’s name X-Men ’97 episodes 6-10 Lifedeath I & II: a surprising adaptation Varying levels of going in blind A somewhat different and possib...
Jun 30, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep 454•Transcript available on Metacast In which we put the comics on hold to take a look at X-Men ’97; it is still always Inferno in here; Wolverine is best used sparingly; a Marvel show finally embraces politics; Wolverine is best in small doses; Madeylne Pryor still always deserves better; Jubilee grows up; and we are all in on this series.
Jun 24, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep 453•Transcript available on Metacast In which Magneto is not full of mirth; nobody real or fictional likes Fabian Cortez; when you’re a speedster, every problem is a metaphorical nail; The Zealot makes some valid points; and when Quicksilver declares himself your conscience, it’s time to examine your life.
Jun 10, 2024•Ep 452•Transcript available on Metacast In which we remain fascinated by Magneto’s robot butler; murder is Logan’s love language; the Juggernaut punches a hole in reality; Professor Xavier makes it weird; and Storm lectures several gods.
Jun 03, 2024•Ep 451•Transcript available on Metacast In which we celebrate our tenth anniversary by X-Plaining what may be the most reviled X-arc; you should not try this at home; Mystique is so much better than this story; Azazel is a really boring devil; Nightcrawler should probably be missing a hand; the Xavier School definitely does not have an HR department; and we would prefer that you not pee on Iceman.
May 27, 2024•Ep 450•Transcript available on Metacast In which artist Russell Dauterman joins us to discuss super-powered costume design! X-PLAINED: Why it’s important to get a professional to design your superhero costume Why Miles doesn’t trust the government Russell’s history at Marvel Designing for the Hellfire Gala Mutant fashion The word “fashionize” Iconic looks Modernizing superhero costumes Powers vs. personality Punk goddess Storm Designing for drawability Magic hair Russell’s influences Definitive Rogue costumes X-Men ‘97 Best X-team cos...
May 13, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 449•Transcript available on Metacast Feral's back - just in time to wreck Jay's voice again! (And Siryn's, but we'll get to that later.) (X-Force #88) In which timeline math is almost never worth it; Tarot comes back from the dead (kind of) (maybe); Magma makes a heel turn; “King Bedlam” would be a great name for a ska band; not every nude man can turn into a bear; and you don’t have to talk to your supervillain relatives. X-PLAINED: The Triune Understanding Birthday party follow-up X-Force #87-90 Legacy and continuity Bedlam (Jess...
May 06, 2024•56 min•Ep 448•Transcript available on Metacast In which everything is an event these days; Skin may or may not have a skeleton; everyone has a crush on Synch; we are intrigued by Integer; and it’s hard to be Emma Frost. X-PLAINED: War of the Mutants Generation X #50 X-Man #50 Nate Grey (again) Adrienne Frost Science Dark Beast (again) Gene Nation Vessel Hemingway Membrain Fever Pitch Dark Opsidian Iron Maiden Wynter Tattoos More science Integer Trauma Multiversal designations The Morlock Tunnels NEXT EPISODE: X-Force vs the New Hellions Chec...
Apr 29, 2024•44 min•Ep 447•Transcript available on Metacast 
