57 – Apocalypse Soon

Art by David Wynne. We’re not selling prints of this one, but you can still hit David up for the original! In which Miles tries to find things to like about Bob Layton’s X-Factor run; Cyclops’s life is literally an anxiety dream; X-Factor is very Leverage; Layton’s Angel is just godawful; Rachel is all about the Red Scare; Frenzy is awesome; and we bid a fond farewell to producer Bobby Roberts. X-PLAINED: An Apocalypse that might have been Mid-80s X-title thematic disambiguation The limited value of nostalgia Creative history of X-Factor X-Factor #2-5 and Annual #1 The baffling reinvention of Vera Cantor Tower (Edward Pasternak) Dubious didactic strategies Carl Maddicks Artie Maddicks Muffin the kitten Bad timing Soviet mutant policy Soviet robot disambiguation The Doppelganger (Wolfgang Heinreich) A ruse Alexei Garnov, Mentac the Living Computer, Concussion, Iron Curtain, and Siberian Tiger The worst phonetic accent we have ever seen. The Alliance of Evil Frenzy (Joanna Cargill) The color of Beast’s fur Our favorite X-Men toys NEXT WEEK: Miniseries Mayhem! Many thanks to Bobby Roberts for 57 spectacular episodes of production, advice, and boundless patience. You are the best, and we love you forever. You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog! Find us on iTunes or Stitcher! Rachel 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! We’re not selling prints of this week’s illustration, but you can contact David Wynne for the original!