454 – X-Men ’97, Part 2

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 possibly better Forge The Adversary vs. the Owl Queen Stormiest and least-Stormy costumes Professor Charles Xavier, Official Space Boyfriend Colonialism vs. Identity Delayed catharsis The narrative power of altered opening credits What makes allyship effective (and not) Justified mutant anger The worst version of Nina DaCosta What makes Prime Sentinels scary Summers family feels The best damned fight scenes out there Bastion, robo-avatar of conservative white patriarchy Simultaneous crossovers A psychic gay bar A last boss arena Acolyte equivalencies Phoenix Ex Machina Crying Whether Magneto was right Apoca-futures and Apoca-pasts A bulletin board and our hopes for its contents Soft Serve Kitty Pryde’s coffee shop AU X-Men ’97 as the perfect gateway NEXT EPISODE: Skrulls! LINKS AND FURTHER READING: The Judgment of Magneto by Asher Elbein No visual companion 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 TeePublic shop!

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Daunted by complex continuity? Can’t tell a mutate from a warpie? We are here for you. We have trained for this responsibility for decades. We have the backissues, the calluses, and a really detailed map of the Summers family tree. We’ve been explaining the X-Men informally for years–to our friends and family, to the Internet, and, occasionally, to patient strangers on the street. Now, we’re making it official, with Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men: a weekly podcast dedicated to unpacking the weird, wonderful world of our favorite superhero soap opera for newcomers and die-hard fans alike.