X Ed Past and Present
We initially planned to start with X-Men #1 (1963) and go through the rest of what Marvel called X-Men’s Seminal Moments. Throw in a few interviews, wrangle a couple of retcons and expand that history lesson, because Season 2 has gradually taken on a life of its own!
Where Season 1 was a continuous story, Season 2 intends to give you multiple ways into X-Men comics, both past, and present.
So start at the beginning, start at where interests you or dive right in with the Dawn of X. This one has it all!
Seminal Moments: X-Men #1 (1963) – It Starts
We’re taking it all the way back with this one friends! 1963’s X-Men #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the first appearance of the original five X-Men, Charles Xavier, and Magneto. Do you know who the original five X-Men are? Alicia doesn’t, but she does notice how they’re all teenagers trapped in the bodies of 50-year-old men. The 60’s am I right?
Retcon Wranglers: All-New X-Men #1 (2012) – Needs More 1960s
A new X-Men story that connects to the comic’s roots! Mutant-human relations look grim in 2012. Don’t worry, Beast has a radical plan that could destroy reality as we know it! Traveling back to the 1960s, he recruits the original five X-Men to stop the world from breaking out into civil war. Plus, cowboy accents!
X-Books: Liberty and Justice for All by Carrie Harris
We’ve taken away all the pictures and multiplied the word count. Oh boy, is Alicia excited! We both love books and to have one that takes place near X-Men continuity makes us nerd out even more. Carrie has a love for the X world and it shows through her knowledge of this timeline and these characters.
DoX Vol. 1: X-Men #1 (2019) – Viva Krakoa!
It’s a brave new world mutants! Our first issue in a post-HoX/PoX world and we start out with leaders of the mutant people on a mission. Magneto!! And then some family time on the moon that Alicia is not a fan of.
Seminal Moments: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975) – It Restarts
A giant issue with some regular sized mutants, we’re taking this story international y’all! It’s the 1975 relaunch of X-Men. After a five-year hiatus, a mixture of good ideas and economic opportunity strikes! Marvel takes the X-Men concept worldwide and introduces some of the line’s biggest fan-favorite characters. Plus, it’s our first appearance of Krakoa!!
Retcon Wranglers: X-Men: Deadly Genesis (2005) – Oh Charles…
If at first, you don’t succeed… we’re splicing in a retcon here folks and it’s a doozy! The 2005 Deadly Genesis mini-series uncovered a giant-size dark truth of X canon.
Reign of X: The X-Men Election?
Make an informed X-Men Vote! Before we could vote for the last addition to the new X-Men team, Justin had to explain to Alicia what Marvel was doing and who her options were – with some slight campaigning… We’re jumping to the present – or the future where Alicia’s concerned – to where current books are and where Justin is reading. An X-Men team is being formed, the roster will be announced at the upcoming Hellfire Gala, but one member is still undecided…
The Claremont Run – Interview with Dr. J. Andrew Deman
How could we possibly talk about 16 years of Chris Claremont X-Men issues, analysis, and meaning in just one episode? Consult a professional opinion! This is some deep nerding out y’all and we loved having Andrew from Claremont Run on to talk comics!
The Claremont Run – Days of Future Past
Like Sentinels through an alleyway, these are the days of our past. We’re going back! And forward? It’s our first dip into Chris Claremont’s comics! We’re starting with Justin’s favorite, Uncanny X-Men #141, Days of Future Past, the tale of two Prydes. Because Alicia demanded it! And Justin had planned for it! This page includes both issues/episodes of this story.
The Claremont Run – Brand New Mutants!
What do you do when your students die*, Charles? Reluctantly get new students! We’ve got a brand NEW team of MUTANTS coming into the story in today’s episode with 1982’s New Mutants Graphic Novel.
*they’re not even dead guy, jeez.
We’re taking a break from our regularly scheduled program to talk about our current media obsession, WandaVision! We talk about episodes 7, 8 and 9 of the show in the three episodes of this page.
The Claremont Run – God Loves, Man Kills
Stryker!! No, it’s not X2, but part of the source. The X-Men are back after the Brood Saga and we have a contained story of biblical proportions! In X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, supervillain zealot William Stryker has been studying the X-Men and he’s destined to take them down – head on with the Purifier army, armed with ridiculous technological resources and nationwide with a public campaign, swaying the country to join the Stryker Crusade. We’ve got another two episode story as everything comes down to the final showdown!
The Claremont Run – Excalibur Draws the Sword!
Gather ye Knights of the Roundtable, it’s a story of the Excalibur times… sort of. It’s the X-Men go UK! We’re doing a six-year jump from our last episode and catching up with fan favorites Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Rachel Summers/Phoenix as they meet up with Captain Britain and Meggan to save the day in this reality and maybe the next. Join us as we dive into Excalibur: The Sword Is Drawn!
DoX Vol. 1: Marauders #1 (2019) – Ahoy, Muties!
We’ve navigated the high seas of continuity and found our way back to the Dawn of X! It’s our first issue of Marauders, a seafaring adventure of omega proportions. There’s something wrong with Kitty.. er Kate? Krakoa doesn’t seem to be welcoming her, but maybe that’s exactly what she needs. New opportunities abound, darling!
DoX Vol. 1: Excalibur #1 (2019) – For Avalon
Holy theoretical gates we’ve stepped into an Otherworld! Witches, magic, and mystery abound in this first issue of the new series of Excalibur. Ooo Alicia has questions with this one folks – Justin’s just trying to keep up!
DoX Vol. 1: New Mutants #1 (2019) – Space Pirate Adventures
These Krakoan youths aren’t so new anymore! They’ve been around long enough to build their own community in the Sextant. But someone’s missing, especially when it comes to the OG New Mutant team. Catch a ride with the Starjammers, add in a new face and a half (heh Chamber) and get ready for some space pirate adventures!
DoX Vol. 1: X-Force #1 (2019) – The Wilds of Krakoa
Some mutants are getting a little too comfortable in the promise of paradise. There’s something evil brewing in and around the island, best not let your guard down. Things can change quickly. Is X-Force up to the task?
Seminal Moments: X-Men #1 (1991) – It Comes Home
Bring on the nostalgic Blue and Gold of the ’90s! The X-Men have traveled, split off, and now it’s back to basics in the mansion, forming two strike teams to respond to the threats of the world. Magneto really just wants to go home too. Retire in a nice space base overlooking the stars, but his future Acolytes have something else in mind for the Dread Lord of mutantkind.
X-Men: The Animated Series – Interview with Eric and Julia Lewald
Saturday mornings were all about the X-Men in the early ’90s. Now, with Disney+, there’s a whole new generation of fans humming the iconic intro. We dove in with the Lewalds, talking everything X-Men: TAS and their recent, visually dynamic book, “X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series.” Eric developed the series for television, serving as story editor for the full 76 episode run. Julia was a series writer for the show and has since cultivated a vibrant fan community via social media, sharing in the fandom that so many grew up with.
The votes have been tallied and the team has been announced! The nation of Krakoa has its first-ever roster of X-Men, charged with acting on behalf of the mutant people. We talk through the results of the fan vote as well as the new team roster, answering questions and sharing our feels.
Nathan Christopher Charles Summers is here to muck up your timeline and blow your mind wide open! Gigantic guns and a grizzled attitude are all key components to this boy of Summers. He’s a baby, an old man, and then a teenager… time travel!
Talk about an out-of-body experience! When most people hear Psylocke, they think of a deadly ninja assassin in tights. But, Betsy Braddock began her life as an Englishwoman, the twin sister of Brian Braddock – Captain Britain. Throw in a magical relic, a meddling feud between Japanese crime lords, and a mysterious woman named Kwannon and you’ll start to be able to piece together this multilayered retcon.
DoX Vol. 1: Fallen Angels #1 (2019) – Wayward Warriors
Newfound freedom following a decades-long caged existence – what do we really know about this Psylocke before us? Her visions are pulling her away from the security of Krakoa towards the mysterious Apoth. Cable and X-23 join in for the ride, because, well, safety sucks!
X-Books: First Team by Robbie MacNiven
It’s our second foray into X-Men novelizations with the action-packed adventure, First Team! Things are looking grim as Purifier rallies intensify across the nation. Anole, Greymalkin, and Cipher are just students at the New Charles Xavier School, feeling the weight of these dangerously historic times. Author Robbie MacNiven has a background in building out worlds through his tie-in novels and he brings that experience full force into the X universe. We had a whole ton of fun talking with him.
Seminal Moments: Age of Apocalypse (1995) – It Gets Apocalyptic
A new age is upon us! And Legion has some serious explaining to do. We kick off the 1995 smash hit Age of Apocalypse with X-Men: Alpha #1. Charles is dead? Magneto is leading the X-Men? Apocalypse is in charge!? Everything’s different!! Alicia loves it.
Marvel Legends – History, Age of Apocalypse and House of X
It’s a legendary episode as we dive into Justin’s other Marvel obsession! Comics may have lit the nerd spark, but Marvel Legends added fuel to the fire. Little does Alicia know, she had a hand in causing the madness of the full-blown collection that currently takes over the Room of Requirement. We talk through the history of the toy line, open the Age of Apocalypse wave while discussing the characters, and check back into the House of X.
Seminal Moments: New X-Men (2001) – It Goes Extinct
Sweet mummudrai we’ve got ourselves a doozy of a story! Grant Morrison’s epic New X-Men run kicks off with our final Seminal Moment. It seems Alicia’s developed a Secondary Mutation and it involves an inability to be left on a cliffhanger… so we’ve got ourselves a two parter!
We never thought we’d reach the end of Season 3, but here we are! A whole lot of past mixed in with a heaping of present to give you a variety of jumping on points.
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