Issues: Marvel Team-Up #69-70, Defenders #62-65

Last we saw Alex Summers, Havok, and Lorna Dane, Polaris, they were being blasted point-blank by the god-tier-power-level Firelord. So what happened to them next? Matt and Pat, brave podcast adventurers that they are, venture to find out! Detour with us as we scour the Marvel Universe for HAVOK and POLARIS.

Topics Include:

We'll FINALLY get an origin for the Living Pharaoh... right? Nooo not Professor Craig's office! White men dressed as pharaohs. With Great Boredom Comes Whatever. A web disaster. Bunkies. Spider-Man twerking. A strong face, a weak ass. Gods vs Cosmic. Spider-Man foraging. The limits of Diplomatic Immunity. Membership Madness! DAVID KRAFT!! Drawing bad cinematography. "Do I have to be BLACK Goliath?" A game of frisbee. "I just remembered that I'm an Avenger." Stealing your Dad's car as a joke. Riding in a car with a Goliath. Plantman is here too. Toad has regressed. Flipping off the fun switch. "The Porcupine is here!" 

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

Episode 22 - Havok & Polaris

Issues:  X-Men #109-113

Pat won’t stop getting horned-up for the X-Men, but it’s hard to blame him when we’re reading comics as hot as these ones! With John Byrne fully on board the book, this chunk of issues sees the return of some major villains, and a robot spoon-feeding Wolverine.

Topics Include:

Pat’s fuzzy. John Byrne is HERE! NUDITY. Lilandra’s struggle with government bureaucracy. Kurt and Scott have a tough conversation. Piotr, the oblivious unicorn. Captain Alpha! “By Lenin’s Beard!” The X-Men are playing baseball! WARHAWK and his mysterious superior. Cyclops owes Wolverine one. Captain Delaney and his friends are sick of the X-Men. The circus comes to town. The “Hey Rube” debate continues. Mind control? Bruno and Jukie: Our Favorite Ones! We don’t talk about Jim Shooter. Cockrum still on covers. “The gentleman’s name is Magneto.” The circus leaves town – flying! Antarctic volcanoes. Too many bases for one man. Babying the X-Men. Matt explains how magnets work. The book’s monthly now! Storm is a dangerous baby. New psychic comms! What will the X-Men do?? Jean’s Different. Magneto looks great. Free & Weird.

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

Episode 21 - X-Men #109-113 -  The Return of Magneto

Issues:  X-Men #106-108, Marvel Team-Up Annual #1, Marvel Team-Up #53, Iron Fist #15

It's a stunning conclusion to the X-Men's first galactic adventure AND Dave Cockrum's first X-Men run. Matt and Pat also fill you in on some of the other stuff that's been going on with the X-Men in other Marvel books... unfortunately.

Topics Include:

Bill Mantlo. The Letterin' Rosen Boys! "Nobody cramps my style!" Duplicates again... Where have the X-Men never gone? A Barrach'an Shovel Beast. Nude Fang. A call-back to the Z'Nox. THE STARJAMMERS! Peter Corbeau learns his lesson. Everyone evolves into primates. THE KURT REPURT. Why is Shakari Eric the Red!? Starting an intergalactic war on a whim. Spread-eagle, taint-first. R.I.P. Dave Cockrum. JOHN FUCKIN' BYRNE! Jahf Supreme. I AM 1000X STRONGER THAN THE LAST GUY. Kabballah. "Until they fill out the paperwork, they have to kill me." A colorist named 'Hugh.' "My student, Errol Flynn!" Peter Parker disappears on a plane... and where did Spider-Man come from?? Anti-radiation spray. Something that's supposed to be normal is now outer space. Yama Dharma and his 6 friends. "Are you Peter Parker?" A bad issue. "Let him go, Wolver." WOODGOD. If you're in Nevada, you're gonna have to deal with the Hulk. The town's nerve gas tank. Chekhov's Anti-Radiation Spray. NOT-Chekhov's Sonic Scream. A bad case of heartburn. An Iron Fist Slapstick Comedy. A mention of some villain named "Sabretooth"??? NO MORE IMAGE INDUCER! "God of Us All!" Fantastic art in every Iron Fist book.

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

Episode 20 - X-Men #106-108 - To Space and Back

WELCOME NEW LISTENERS! You're just in time for the return (?) of a beloved character who we were POSITIVE died last issue! Matt watched New Mutants (2020), Pat visited a bunch of comic book stores, and we take a trip through to the end of Chris Claremont's second year on The X-Men, as a bunch of weird stuff happens and it might be connected?

Topics Include:

Furry Nightcrawler. The Month of 100 Editors. Jean Grey, who did NOT die… Everyone wants to kill Nightcrawler. The X-Men are going to Ireland! Wolverine hates vacation. Cassidy Senechal Eamon O’Donnell. A real Canadian Tuxedo. Black Tom and Juggernaut; true friends. The ol’ “bad Irish road maintenance” trope. An X-Polycule. Nightcrawler is so damn cool. Storm’s (maybe too many) origins! "You ungrateful, unspeakable cur!" MISTY KNIGHT! Stop answering our rhetorical questions, Chris Claremont! Literal Leprechauns. The Suez War (bad). The Arm That Looks Like Spider-Woman? LOGAN!!! Neuronic Tangler Glove. Sword/axe/castle/thunder! "YOU KILLED MY FRIEND NOOOO!" Dungeons & Dragons. Apologies to Andy Yanchus. ANGUS MACWHIRTER! Eric the damn Red again. Banshee has the most metal power. A "form-fitting coffin." Alien bug... lady? The Furies. THE STARJAMMERS!! Why is Firelord here? Ohhh The Arm That Looks Like Spider-Woman! The X-Men sitting around drinking coffee. Phoenix is uhhhh pretty powerful. How many Dave Cockrums are there?

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

19 - X-Men #101-105 - The Phoenix

Matt and Pat cover the entire first year of the legendary CHRIS CLAREMONT run on the X-Men. From Moira MacTaggert to the fate of Thunderbird to Steven Lang to Polaris’s new name to the return of the Sentinels to the fate of Jean Grey. It’s a wild ride as the comic book gets truly, utterly good.

Topics include:

The issue number is a LIE. NAAD. Joe Harris’ button thing. “I love a man named Gort.” Thunderbird punches a jet. A very respectful death. The narrator taunts Cyclops. Why is there a cairn there? Getting to KNOW Moira MacTaggert. “Hey man, this is crazy.” They blew up Keirrok’s cookie jar. Why is Eric the Red back? Is Wolverine’s hair shaped for his hat or his hat shaped for his hair? Peter Corbeau’s harrowing, pointless, off-panel journey. “Oh my god.” Nightcrawler can’t stop making friends. Matt’s Grand Theory of Mutancy. The Q*Bert Kids. Jean Grey becomes a character, finally. 100 IS A FRAUD. The First Fastball Special. Skin-Beast. “You little—!” FREE BOOK!

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

18 - X-Men #94-100 - The Chris Claremont Era

Before Matt and Pat took on one of the most important X-Men issues of ALL TIME, we needed to bring in a heavy hitter. Alex Goldman, from the podcast Hyperfixed, joins us to tackle the introduction of some of the most beloved characters in comic book history and a big island that’s also a mutant.

Topics include:

Sleeping in the Superman movie. Flying around in a cloud. Cat eyes. The X-Men arcade game. A bunch of Aztec gods stomping around. "Lorna Dale?" Recruiting X-Men by race-baiting. Another torch-wielding mob. Wolverine the business-man. Cut your boss's tie. Storm can only grant one wish. Sephiroth Posting. Cyclops is NOT a baby. Bobby Drake experimenting with Groucho eyebrows.  A Force that Assaults. “Please don’t call me ‘Thunderbird’.” The Ringo of the group. The murder of Captain Planet.

Listen to Hyperfixed: https://www.hyperfixedpod.com/

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

17 - Giant Size X-Men #1 w/ Alex Goldman

In this SPECIAL BONUS RECAP EPISODE, lucky listener Sine Wave Seán joins Matt and Pat (who are actually the lucky ones!) to bring listeners up to speed on all we’ve been through so far in the first 66 issues of the X-Men and the first 16 episodes of Mutant Menace!

We tell you all about the X-men so far, including:

 * The Beast aka Hank McCoy, cool hippy stoner
 * Iceman aka Bobby Drake, performative about everything except friendship and ice cream
 * Angel aka Warren Worthington III, the happy-go-lucky rich kid who loses fights
 * Cyclops aka Scott “Slim” Summers, an anxious romantic leader-type who gets hit in the head a lot
 * Marvel Girl aka Jean Grey, a woman who has done almost nothing yet
 * Professor X aka Professor Charles Xavier, the weird creep who used to be cool but got full of his own ego and started a paramilitary cult
 * Lorna Dane aka Lorna Dane, green-haired woman who does the X-Men’s laundry
 * Havok aka Alex Summers, the sweetheart younger brother of Cyclops who has reluctantly joined the team
 * Also the Mimic

We also go over all of the X-Men’s villains, big and small and the definitive Loser League!

Check out the Sine Wave podcast: https://shows.acast.com/sine-waves

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

BONUS - The Story So Far (1-16) w/ Sine Wave Seán

Issues: Defenders #15-16, Hulk #180-182, Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4

What’s that we see? Some light shining in the distance of this dark, dark void? Well first, we have to wade through baby villains, a scrappy new Canadian anti-hero, an obscure Fantastic Four antagonist, and so so much Hulk stuff. But two new writers enter our world, a guy named Len Wein and a kid named Chris Claremont. Wonder if they can save us?

Topics Include:

Our Steve Englehart mea culpa. Pat was right about Frank Miller. LEN WEIN! Flying from New York to New Mexico with a jetpack. Toad or Lorelei. “How to Grow the Ultimate Mutant in a Tube.” Kyle Richmond, Boy Tycoon! Jetpack physics. Doctor Strange has an exclamation quota. A bunch of babies. Hulk stuff. The Wendigo. Introducing… The Wolverine! Multiple Georges. Hammer and Anvil and their powerful chain. The Fantastic Four are assholes. Madrox the Multiple Man. “Someone knock the original baby unconscious.”

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

16 - The Dark Era: Enter, the Wolverine!

Issues: Marvel Team-Up #4, Avengers #103-104 & #110-111, Captain America #172-175

The X-Men are STILL CANCELLED so Matt and Pat continue to scrape the bottom of that barrel, looking for X-Men appearances in other Marvel comics. We manage to find some, but with far less X-Men and far more… other guys.

Topics Include:

Matching X-Men and Pokemon. Gerry Conway! Dr. Hans Jrgromsahn. Morbius is NOT A VAMPIRE. What do Spider-Man’s webs smell like? Spider-Man assaults Jean Grey. Angel is feelin’ himself. Hawkeye’s worst costume. Blob erasure. Why is there no MCU Rick Jones? More dinosaur abuse. Big sexy T-Rex legs. Magneto doesn’t wanna carry the X-Men. “Dance sexy, daughter!” Moonstone is a person. “Cheez! Double Cheez!” Captain America’s very good plan. Captain America’s very bad plan. Did Richard Nixon kill himself?

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

15 - The Dark Era: Secret Empire

Issues: Hulk #150, Amazing Adventures #11-17, Hulk #161, Hulk #172

The X-Men are cancelled and we're swimming in a dark, tideless sea of 1970's Marvel comics, grasping around for any mutant life-rafts we can find. This one has a weird energy, folks. With no main series to guide them, Matt and Pat have to generate their own momentum and they certainly try their best.

Topics:

Will we ever get the intro right? The X-Men do their jobs. Are my pants ruined? Is everything ruined?? Is the Hulk ever good? Dr. Alan Grant. Concentric circles. Metabolic time sense? Surely that’s all we’ll ever hear from the Maddickses. Mike Plug. Harvey Fierstein as Bernard the Poet. Iron Man DEAD! Buzz Baxter & Patsy Walker! Mastermind’s bad plan. The diamond underworld is a small world. "Like soap through a fist!" Blob and Unus got a good thing goin' on. Fine, no more curses! Sherlock Holmes’ stupid apartment. Linda Donaldson's a bad wingman. Quasimodo again?? Hank can’t kiss his girlfriend. SECRET EMPIRE! An old flame returns. Halloween in Rutland, VT! Juggernaut and his pink hole in the sky. Tom Fagan’s Halloween Party. Full suit, furry face. JIM STARLIN! He is BLUE. No respect for Mounties. Ugh, the Mimic. CANADA! No, the Hulk is never good. Batman.

Write in to Pat's Email Corner: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

Instagram: @mutantmenacepod [https://www.instagram.com/mutantmenacepod/]

14 - The Dark Era: Beast Transformed

Comedians Matt Aukamp (Save Your Game, The Very Worst) and Pat Reber (The Very Worst) read the X-Men in chronological order and talk about all the weird, funny, ridiculous, insightful, and interesting things within.