473 – The Baker’s Dozen (The Twelve, Part Three) Jay & Miles X-Plain The X-Men podcast

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Join us for an X-beginner-friendly, mutant-metaphor-focused, live episode of Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men: presented by LC-GLOBE, the LGBTQ+ organization of employees of the Library of Congress! When: 6:00 PM on Friday 06/06/25 Where: The Mumford Room (LM-649) in the James Madison Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC If you’d like to join the staff in attending, you’d be very welcome – to reserve seats, please email us so we can get a headcount and make sure you’re on the list. Hope to see you there!…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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488 – There Goes the Moon (Mutant X May, Part 3) 1:12:40

6 days ago1:12:40

1:12:40

In which we reap the consequences of our choices; possession is 18/10 of the law; Sinister dresses for the occasion; Hank gets his groove back; Havok of Earth-1298 is a jerk; Hank loses his groove; Captain America blows up the moon; the Beyonder experiences a stirring; Dracula makes a deal; and Mutant X May comes to an end. X-PLAINED: The aftermath of Mutant X Mutant X #19-32 Mutant X Annual 2001 The story so far Character color coding Some telepathic misdirection Apocalypse of Earth-1298 Charles Xavier of Earth-1298 Professor X’s Juggernaut-fightin’ mullet A whole lot of possession Fake Galactus Several fears X-Man of Earth-1298 Child batteries The worst place for a portal to the Negative Zone How Hank McCoy became the Brute Vampire problems The Marauders of Earth-1298 The Outcasts of Earth-1298 Cloak & Dagger of Earth-1298 James Hudson of Earth-1298 The Avengers of Earth-1298 The Beyonder of Earth-1298 who is also kind of the Goblin Force Several additional superheroes A last stand The appeal of alternate timelines Earth-1298’s best glow-ups NEXT EPISODE: Attack of the Meatspore Stormtroopers! 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 !…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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487 – The Only Well-Adjusted Cyclops in the Multiverse (Mutant X May, Part 2) 1:01:48

13 days ago1:01:48

1:01:48

In which Mutant X May continues; the X-Men return from space; it’s okay not to fill in every detail of a world; Havok leans into parenthood; we meet the only well-adjusted Cyclops in the multiverse; in any universe, Forge has terrible judgment; and the Six get some new members. X-PLAINED: Several notable upcoming events in Mutant X What’s happened so far Mutant X #9-18 Mutant X Annual 2000 The Morlocks of Earth-1298 The Mole Man of Earth-1298 The Yancy Street Underground Magneto of Earth-1298 Superhero costume color theory Polaris of Earth-1298 The X-Men of Earth-1298 Magneto Polaris Nightcrawler Rogue Mystique Quicksilver The Goblin Entity Doctor Doom of Earth-1298 Namor of Earth-1298 The origin of Bloodstorm Dracula’s fellas The Starjammers of Earth-1298 Cyclops Binary Nova Lockheed Silver Surfer Space alien problems A fairly literal deus ex machina Captain America of Earth-1298 A terrible idea The United Guild of Thieves and Assassins Gambit of Earth-1298 Raven LeBeau The origin of Vampire Gambit Mister Sinister of Earth-1298 Jean Grey of Earth-1298 Where Scott Summers of Earth-1298 ranks on the Cyclops Has a Good Day scale Where to put X-logos on a costume NEXT EPISODE: Mutant X May 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 !…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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486 – Welcome to Earth-1298 (Mutant X May, Part 1) 1:01:56

19 days ago1:01:56

1:01:56

In which we embark on a Great Work; it remains hard to be Alex Summers; and it’s also always Inferno on Earth-1298. X-PLAINED: Mutant X May Mutant X #1-8 Mutant X Annual 1999 Havok (Alex Summers) (more) (again) Earth-1298 The Six The Brute (Hank McCoy) Ice-man (Bob Drake) Bloodstorm (Ororo Munroe) The Fallen (Warren Kenneth Worthington III) Marvel Woman (Madelyne Pryor) Bannerman Castle The original five X-Men of Earth-1298 S.H.I.E.L.D. of Earth-1298 Scotty Summers Elektra of Earth-1298 The Swarms of Moot The Fantastic Four of Earth-1298 Canada of Earth-1298 The Pack Logan Sabretooth Wild Child Demon problems The Goblin Queen of Earth-1298 Kitty Pryde of Earth-1298 Forge of Earth-1298 Man-Spider Some murders Alligators of the Night National politics Cerebro of Earth-1298 Dr. Strange of Earth-1298 The Nexus of All Realities Stingray of Earth-1298 Yellowjacket of Earth-1298 Doc Sampson of Earth-1298 Vendetta Firestar of Earth-1298 A coincidence Adam X and Vulcan of Earth-1298 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 !…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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485 – The House of Correction 53:44

5 weeks ago53:44

53:44

In which we go back to the future of Generation X ; Jay once again gets pedantic about lettering; Generation X takes on the carceral state; we take a deep dive into the late ‘90s; Jubilee does her best Nick Fury; and superpowers should be noisier. X-PLAINED: Earth-14042 Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers Generation X #63-66 Revolution and Counter X (more) (again) An evil Oyster Warden Coffin The Decency Defecit Some shit we wish was fictional Underpants Souped up powers Newsgroups The Columbine school shooting The Grid Cable vs. ISDN Internet Jonathan Somers Generation X’s new costumes The House of Correction Hacking Trophies Baxter ‘90s X-Men outside of comics How superpowers sound NEXT EPISODE: Mutant X May begins! 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 !…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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484 – Hell Tuba 53:13

6 weeks ago53:13

53:13

In which the 2000 Magik miniseries is not a good comics series but is an excellent heavy metal concept album; Nightmare has a nightmare; and tubas work differently in Hell. X-PLAINED: Belasco: the early years Magik (2000 series) #1-4 Magik (Amanda Sefton) (Jimaine Szardos) (more) (again) Some art stuff The realm of Nightmare The Splinter Realms The Soul Sword (Amanda Sefton version) An Archfiend of the Pit Nugent Chekhov’s Hell computer (and its secretions) Kurt Wagner’s short and bizarre career in the church Vitchen Several cool demon battles The Dread Dormammu Gleeg A problem Muspelheim Twilight (sword) Some Mephisto nonsense Hades, maybe Epithets A convocation Weird Hell guys Duke Bleys The Archenemy The Hell Tuba The most demonic brass instrument Some time travel bullshit Stories where Emma Frost is at her best Villain reuse NEXT EPISODE: Generation X gets new threads! 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 !…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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483 – Piotr Lovely Locks 1:01:25

7 weeks ago1:01:25

1:01:25

In which a lot has happened in the Six Month Gap (and we even get to learn about some of it); we’d missed Claremontian narration; Miles has questions about Colossus’s ponytail; the Soulsword is basically a Poké Ball; the Shadow Pope is cooler than the regular Pope; and Magik has a secret. X-PLAINED: Some big news X-Men: Black Sun #1-5 Phoenix and Psylocke’s sorta-power-swap Implied continuity The N’Garai Belasco Limbo Magik (Illyana Rasputin) New costumes Priests vs blood magic An impressively overcomplicated evil plot Chekhov’s skeleton Body swaps and/or possession Thunderbird (Neal Sharra) Pilgrimm and the Ru’tai (again, surprisingly) Astral meetups Confusing bloodstone math A Triple-Tech Magik (Amanda Sefton) Counting X-generations Our favorite X-decades NEXT EPISODE: More Magik! 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 !…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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482 – The Mutant Gene for Murder 1:00:35

9 weeks ago1:00:35

1:00:35

In which Pete Wisdom canonically smells weird; we are inordinately entertained by a villain; everyone levels up their superpowers; and you probably shouldn’t shave the logo of your secret super team into the side of your head. X-PLAINED: Nasty Boys disambiguation X-Force #106-109 Counter X (more) (again) Shockwave (more) (again) Turn-of-the-millennium cool X-Force (more) (again) How to dress for funerals, I guess? How Pete Wisdom smells Romany Wisdom (again) Marcus Tsung Mind bullets Nightman Our first audience challenge in a really long time A bad nickname X-Force’s new looks A thing growing out of Domino’s back Several enigmas shrouded in mystery The worst birthday party Abel, Baker, and Charlie Fish The Factory Telepathic “voices” The miracle of magnetism NEXT EPISODE: The return of Chris Claremont! LISTENERS! We want to hear your Marcus Tsung murder ballads! Send ‘em to xplainthexmen@gmail.com with the subject line MUTANT MURDER BALLAD, and we’ll stick ‘em on the web or play ‘em on the show! 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 !…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

1
481 – Chekhov’s Butt-Gun 57:41

10 weeks ago57:41

57:41

In which Adrienne Frost is absolutely terrible (and so was Ronald Reagan); you should not put guns in your butt; Synch deserved better; and Jay and Miles inventory their favorite dangling plot threads of the ‘90s. X-PLAINED: Several potential origins of Havok’s stupid hat Generation X #67-70 Revolution (more) (again) Shockwave (more) (again) Adrienne Frost (more) (again) The New Xavier School and/or Massachusetts Academy (more) (again) Possible necrophilia Dorm life How not to draw clothing Rules of entry to Jubilee’s dorm room The Rich Person Store How to say the word “consigliere” The ‘90s Blackmail Limits of telepathy Arson Ninja Boogie Panic How to keep Synch safe Adultification Failure to keep Synch safe Where to pick up to follow along with us Plot threads we’d like to see picked back up NEXT EPISODE: X-Force goes Counter-X! 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 !…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

1
480 – Cross-Time Tattoo Parlor 53:19

11 weeks ago53:19

53:19

In which we check in on Nate Grey; yet another Madelyne Pryor is not what she seems; dead men tell tales; there are a lot of Canadians out there; and Nate gets a makeover. X-PLAINED: What happened to Nate Grey (short-term) Counter X Shockwave Nate Grey (more) (again) X-Man #67-70 Non-dildo futures Madelyne Pryor (kind of) A dubiously ethical relationship The destruction of Quito, Ecuador Earth-998 Mr. Scratch Her Majesty Madelyne I, Resurrected Queen of Briton, High Protector of the Unified Commonwealths, Sacred Mistress of the Order of the Black Knights, and Absolute Empress of the North and the Breachlands (Jean Grey of Earth-9575) Several other Nates Grey (particularly the Nate Grey of Earth-2098) A distinctive tattoo Inverted X-Men logos Shamanism, kind of A very nice dress The Spiral / The Tree of Worlds Forge of Earth-998 The Interscope The Engine of the Gods A plot twist that might have been Magical brain damage Dangerous Canadians A complex ruse A makeover How best to support the comics you love Some very X-Man-specific information NEXT EPISODE: Shockwave comes to Generation X! 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 !…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

1
479 – Nancy Drew and the Secret of Carrion Cove 48:45

13 weeks ago48:45

48:45

In which Genosha gets better and/or worse; Fabian Cortez is the Secretary of Betrayal; having an action figure of yourself is the path to immortality; and Hammer Bay sounds like a sex toy company. X-PLAINED: Triathlon The Revolution relaunch and the six-month gap Magneto: Dark Seduction #1-4 Erotic skyscrapers Magneto (again) (forever) X-Men Tijuana Bibles The Genoshan Cabinet Dark friendship with benefits Polaris’s newfound interest in heavy metal Magneto's on-again, off-again children Carrion Cove Coloring symbolism and/or errors Spat and Grovel (kind of) Magneto’s ancestral f**k-ghost Socialism! Magneto’s mysterious mind-voice Neal Conan The Avengers of 2000 Kirby Krackle Magneto’s smooth arc into villainy Bonking Human nature Rachel Summers in the Body Shoppe Our (lack of) coverage of solo comics NEXT EPISODE: X-Man! 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!…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

1
478 – The Monologue Tube 57:03

14 weeks ago57:03

57:03

In which Alan Davis is Team Cyclops; everyone gets depowered; it’s hard to connect with kids your age when you’re a superhero; Sinister’s gotta sinister; everyone gets repowered; and the ‘90s were much more eclectic than they get credit for being.

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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477 – Ages of Apocalypse 59:32

15 weeks ago59:32

59:32

In which reality shatters; Ghost Rider wants friends; Jay’s toddler weighs in on the X-Men; the Phoenix costume is pretty much perfect; Caliban puts all his resources into an epic mount; and the future is so bright you’re gonna need shades.

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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476 – The Moppets Take Manhattan 43:43

17 weeks ago43:43

43:43

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 / Juggernaut disambiguation An overly convoluted plot Parenting? St. Croix family problems Vampire problems Legacies of Generation X NEXT EPISODE: Ages of Apocalypse! 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 TeePublic shop!…

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

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475 – Cross-Time Crisis 53:48

18 weeks ago53:48