Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

<p><a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/X513.png"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-23693" src="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/X513-1024x599.png" alt="" width="900" height="526" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/X513.png?resize=1024%2C599&#38;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/X513.png?resize=300%2C175&#38;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/X513.png?resize=768%2C449&#38;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/X513.png?resize=1536%2C898&#38;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/X513.png?w=1950&#38;ssl=1 1950w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/X513.png?w=1800&#38;ssl=1 1800w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></a></p> <p>In which Jay and Miles make an announcement; the X-Men are down to bare bones; Cyclops and Corsair are stunningly bad at feelings; Trish Tilby is stunningly bad at journalism; Magneto says goodbye to nuance; and Jean Grey assembles a team.</p> <p>X-PLAINED:</p> <ul> <li>X-Corps vs. X-Corp</li> <li>A thing that will be happening in a few months</li> <li>The story so far</li> <li><em>Uncanny X-Men</em> #391-392</li> <li><em>X-Men</em> #111</li> <li>The state of the X-Men</li> <li>A short-lived Cyclops costume</li> <li>A reunion</li> <li>A sorry excuse</li> <li>Resolution, somewhat</li> <li>Genosha (more) (again)</li> <li>Conflict of interest</li> <li>Several excellent villain speeches</li> <li>Joanna Cargill (Frenzy) (again)</li> <li>Jean-Paul Beaubier (Northstar) (again)</li> <li>Hector Rendoza</li> <li>Yet another angry mob</li> <li>Paulie Provenzano (Omerta)</li> <li>Leyu Yoshida (Sunpyre)</li> <li>Ice skating in Rockefeller Center</li> <li>Our picks for a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants</li> </ul> <p>NEXT EPISODE: Eve of Destruction concludes!</p> <hr /> <p>Check out the visual companion to this episode <a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/2026/02/as-mentioned-in-episode-513/">on our blog</a>.</p> <p>Find us on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jay-miles-x-plain-the-x-men/id862258051">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3dB4KyeOeylfiIVImshFY2?si=ee5e912a53114820">Spotify</a>!</p> <p>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 <a href="https://www.patreon.com/xplainthexmen">right here</a>!</p> <p>Buy rad swag at <a href="https://xplainthexmen.dashery.com/">our Dashery shop</a>!</p>

<p><a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/x512.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23650" src="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/x512.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="585" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/x512.jpg?w=1024&#38;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/x512.jpg?resize=300%2C171&#38;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/x512.jpg?resize=768%2C439&#38;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></p> <p>In which it’s rude to eat in a helmet; Cable does his best villain bit; Bishop is clearly unfamiliar with early <em>X-Force</em>; we’re pretty sure clones still count as people; and Stryfe is the surprise MVP of <em>Gambit &#38; Bishop: Sons of the Atom</em>.</p> <p>X-PLAINED:</p> <ul> <li>Another time Stryfe and Bishop teamed up</li> <li><em>Gambit &#38; Bishop: Sons of the Atom</em> #3-6</li> <li>Some of the Witness’s fancy swag</li> <li>An extremely awkward meal</li> <li>Stryfe in four pages</li> <li>Unsubtle foreshadowing</li> <li>The relative ethics of killing Stryfe</li> <li>A visual representation of time</li> <li>Somewhat logical consequences</li> <li>Bad clone ethics</li> <li>Future uncertainty</li> <li>Le Bête Noir</li> <li>Hell-lord / anti-Phoenix disambiguation</li> <li>A fancy t-shirt</li> <li>The appropriate amount of mean to be to Stryfe</li> <li>When <em>Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom</em> takes place relative to <em>The Search for Cyclops</em> (more) (again) (inconclusive)</li> <li>Reasons not to live under a crypt in New Orleans</li> <li>Betty Noir’s</li> <li>Relative (fictional) body counts</li> <li>Business-casual Stryfe</li> <li>Lucas Bishop, kitten guy</li> <li>Relitigating the X-traitor</li> </ul> <p>NEXT EPISODE: <em>Eve of Destruction</em> (and some bonus Summers family bullshit)</p> <hr /> <p>Check out the visual companion to this episode <a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/2026/01/as-mentioned-in-episode-512/">on our blog</a>.</p> <p>Find us on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jay-miles-x-plain-the-x-men/id862258051">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3dB4KyeOeylfiIVImshFY2?si=ee5e912a53114820">Spotify</a>!</p> <p>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 <a href="https://www.patreon.com/xplainthexmen">right here</a>!</p> <p>Buy rad swag at <a href="https://xplainthexmen.dashery.com/">our Dashery shop</a>!</p>

<p><a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X511.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23629" src="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X511.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="655" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X511.jpg?w=1024&#38;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X511.jpg?resize=300%2C192&#38;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X511.jpg?resize=768%2C491&#38;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></p> <p>In which we unapologetically ship Gambit and Bishop; pelicans are deeply alarming birds; Charles Xavier watches your sex dreams; the Witness is a Whole Continuity Thing; and the T’ieves Guild is really just here to steal your stuff.</p> <p>X-PLAINED:</p> <ul> <li>Destiny’s frequently retconned diaries</li> <li>Midi series</li> <li>Gambit (more) (again)</li> <li>Bishop (more) (again)</li> <li><em>Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom</em> Alpha</li> <li><em>Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom </em>#1-2</li> <li>When <em>Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom</em> takes place relative to <em>The Search for Cyclops</em></li> <li>Some things pelicans get up to</li> <li>An upsetting dream</li> <li>Ethics of telepathy (more) (again)</li> <li>Night science</li> <li>Some of what Stryfe has been up to</li> <li>French nouns</li> <li>A theoretical <em>Orphan Black</em> video game</li> <li>The Witness (LeBeau) (more) (again)</li> <li>The Witness Cave</li> <li>How to make Bishop a more central X-character</li> <li>The relative importance of T’ieves Guild continuity</li> </ul> <p>NEXT EPISODE: Stryfe in a diner!</p> <hr /> <p>Check out the visual companion to this episode <a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/2026/01/as-mentioned-in-episode-511/">on our blog</a>.</p> <p>Find us on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jay-miles-x-plain-the-x-men/id862258051">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3dB4KyeOeylfiIVImshFY2?si=ee5e912a53114820">Spotify</a>!</p> <p>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 <a href="https://www.patreon.com/xplainthexmen">right here</a>!</p> <p>Buy rad swag at <a href="https://xplainthexmen.dashery.com/">our Dashery shop</a>!</p>

<p><a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X510.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-23623" src="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X510-1024x764.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="671" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X510.jpg?resize=1024%2C764&#38;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X510.jpg?resize=300%2C224&#38;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X510.jpg?resize=768%2C573&#38;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/X510.jpg?w=1043&#38;ssl=1 1043w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></a></p> <p>In which we attempt an all-Cyclops Winter special; X-Men are bad at processing grief; writer Alex Paknadel X-Plains his upcoming <em>Cyclops</em> miniseries; every character (except Cameron Hodge) is someone’s favorite; and you remain the best listeners of any podcast, ever.</p> <p>X-PLAINED:</p> <ul> <li>Clones of Cyclops</li> <li>Gwen Warren</li> <li>Our year in review</li> <li><em>X-Men: The Search for Cyclops</em> #1-4</li> <li>Ahmed and his mustache</li> <li>Emotional support boats</li> <li>A monkey</li> <li>Apoca-lips</li> <li>Anias</li> <li>Boxes of fire</li> <li>One way of coping with trauma</li> <li>Ozymandias (more) (again)</li> <li>The relative criminality of a trail of questions</li> <li>Cat lady problems</li> <li>Twice as many cat ladies named Anias as you’d expect</li> <li>Terrible logic</li> <li>Caliban (more) (again)</li> <li>Several unpleasant reunions</li> <li>Alex Paknadel’s definitive Cyclopses</li> <li>Fun with minor characters</li> <li>Proxy characters and “highly polished surfaces”</li> <li>Characters to revisit</li> <li><em>Sentinels</em></li> <li>Cyclops vs. his own powers</li> <li>Cyclops’s powers vs. continuity</li> <li>Who Scott Summers is when he’s alone</li> <li>The punch dimension</li> <li>The 11^th Annual Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau Awards for Excellence at X-Cellence</li> <li>Many people to whom we are profoundly grateful</li> </ul> <p>NEXT EPISODE: <em>Gambit &#38; Bishop:<span style="text-decoration: line-through;"> Now Kiss </span>Sons of the Atom</em></p> <hr /> <p>Check out the visual companion to this episode <a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/2026/01/as-mentioned-in-episode-510/">on our blog</a>.</p> <p>Find us on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jay-miles-x-plain-the-x-men/id862258051">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3dB4KyeOeylfiIVImshFY2?si=ee5e912a53114820">Spotify</a>!</p> <p>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 <a href="https://www.patreon.com/xplainthexmen">right here</a>!</p> <p>Buy rad swag at <a href="https://xplainthexmen.dashery.com/">our Dashery shop</a>!</p>

<p><a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/X509.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-23558" src="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/X509-1024x678.png" alt="" width="900" height="596" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/X509.png?resize=1024%2C678&#38;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/X509.png?resize=300%2C199&#38;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/X509.png?resize=768%2C509&#38;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/X509.png?resize=1536%2C1018&#38;ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/X509.png?w=1944&#38;ssl=1 1944w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/X509.png?w=1800&#38;ssl=1 1800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></a></p> <p>In which Marrow just want to be left alone; Spider-Man remains hapless; S.H.I.E.L.D. is unhelpful; Colossus dies; Shadowcat leaves the X-Men; and we are all on board for Mutants to Watch Out For.</p> <p>X-PLAINED:</p> <ul> <li>How Magik caught the Legacy Virus</li> <li>Marrow (again)</li> <li><em>Spider-Man and Marrow</em> #1</li> <li><em>Uncanny X-Men</em> #390</li> <li><em>X-Men</em> #110</li> <li>A fancy club</li> <li>A terrible plan</li> <li>The Legacy Virus (more) (again)</li> <li>Some deeply contrived “science”</li> <li>A life-affirming display of social interaction</li> <li>The death of Colossus</li> <li>A very silly sound effect</li> <li>Acceptable handwriting</li> <li>Nostalgia</li> <li>A double send-off</li> <li>Closure</li> <li>Mortality in Otherworld</li> <li>Imaginary crossovers</li> </ul> <p>NEXT EPISODE: Winter Special!</p> <hr /> <p>Check out the visual companion to this episode <a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/2025/12/as-mentioned-in-episode-509/">on our blog</a>.</p> <p>Find us on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jay-miles-x-plain-the-x-men/id862258051">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3dB4KyeOeylfiIVImshFY2?si=ee5e912a53114820">Spotify</a>!</p> <p>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 <a href="https://www.patreon.com/xplainthexmen">right here</a>!</p> <p>Buy rad swag at <a href="https://xplainthexmen.dashery.com/">our Dashery shop</a>!</p>