<figure id="attachment_23986" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23986" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/X524.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-23986" src="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/X524.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="618" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/X524.jpg?w=1024&#38;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/X524.jpg?resize=300%2C181&#38;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.xplainthexmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/X524.jpg?resize=768%2C464&#38;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-23986" class="wp-caption-text">Illustration by David Wynne</figcaption></figure> <p>In which Xorn goes out on the town; silverware is morally neutral; Cyclops pursues dubious counsel; the X means ten; and Fantomex is eminently enjoyable.</p> <p>X-PLAINED:</p> <ul> <li>The parentage of Hope Summers</li> <li><em>New X-Men</em> #127-130</li> <li>Mutant Town</li> <li>A monster who is not a monster but is, perhaps, a metaphor</li> <li>X-Corporation Paris</li> <li>The whole Phoenix situation</li> <li>Fantomex</li> <li>Weapon XII</li> <li>A gene-hazard</li> <li>Corporal Animal</li> <li>E.V.A.</li> <li>The Weapon Plus program (somewhat)</li> <li>The World (somewhat)</li> <li>The Shi’ar Empire vs. Earth</li> <li>Xorn variations</li> </ul> <p>NEXT EPISODE: A Memorial of Magnetism</p> <hr /> <p>Check out the visual companion to this episode <a href="https://www.xplainthexmen.com/2026/05/as-mentioned-in-episode-524/">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>