PLUS, Issue #53 of The Avengers!

A brand new writer, Gary Friedrich, joins the X-Men creative team and PROMPTLY DESTROYS THEM. 

Also, Matt went to a comic book convention, Pat is 40, Pat explains beepers to Matt, and we talk about what the word "mutant" really means in the Marvel Universe

We talk about:

Magneto is glad Professor X is dead he SWEARS! Quicksilver can fly. Toad is back and weirder than ever. NO TRAPS. Cyclops has no regard for sailors. Marvel's prototypical super-hero: THE RED RAVEN. Wait, what is a "Red Raven"? Every idea is Angel's idea. Warren Worthington has ADHD. "No one tells Cyclops to halt!" Mutant Separatism. Seymour the Skydiver joins the Loser League. THE AVENGERS. Everyone is an unreliable narrator. The REAL Juggernaut is back. Foggy Nelson is a defense attorney. Globules. Warlocks eaws huwt. Hank McCoy's "Wonderous Wench." THE ICEMAN COMETH.

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

9 - X-Men #43-47 - Gary Friedrich and the End of the X-Men 

It’s a wrap on Factor Three, folks, as the X-Men’s final confrontation with the MUTANT MASTER wraps up. You know, the MUTANT MASTER, the biggest villain ever in X-Men history? He would go on to… oh, I guess this is his last appearance…

We also get the Origins of Cyclops and Professor X and some background on Roy Thomas’s X-Men experience.

We talk about:

Comedy club etiquette. “Horatio at the Bridge?” NO TIME FOR THAT NOW. Roy Thomas can’t talk normal. Contract-tracing the “Holy Hannah” pandemic. Fred Duncan’s dudes. Don Heck was famous for drawing machines? A major punch-fest. A political rant. New costumes!! The REAL Frankenstein. Stop calling me “Tiger.” Grotesk. Professor Xavier’s Solar Orbs. An amazing trainman. A convincing disguise.

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

8 - X-Men #38-42 - The Death of Professor X and Cyclops’ Origin

This episode starts with a conversation about trash hoarding and ends with a conversation about the etymology of the term “69”… So…. Buckle up?

Werner Roth’s reign of terror continues as Ross Andru and Don Heck join the art team. Matt and Pat ponder over the trials of our intrepid team of mutants and plea to our future robot overlords.

We talk about:

Where are Juggernaut’s beautiful thighs? Mansplaining to Jean Grey. The most disappointing Dr. Strange cameo in history. Two losers living in their basement dragging the X-Men into their petty bickering. Still sculpting robot muscles, huh? A MAJOR SPIDER-MAN CAMEO! Mekano is boring as hell. A real tear-jerker of an issue. “Jean makes the robot suck its own dick until it dies.” The Mutants Return!

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

7 – X-Men #33–37 - Spider-Man and Factor Three

Mimic is now a full-fledged member of the team as Factor Three begins to close in! Roy Thomas and Werner Roth continue their parade of weirdo villains, and Matt and Pat are here to explain and mock them all for you

We talk about:

Banshee's weird face and iconic costume. The Ogre: Bob Hoskins of Super-Villains. Calvin is still a dick. What's behind THE DOOR? Iceman can't skate. The Super-Adaptoid's bizarre plan. The Warlock's bizarre plan. "It's not magic, it's mutant!" Turning people into medieval. Roy just can't bring out the hate for youth culture like Stan. Cobalt is too expensive! Are size 13 shoes really that big? THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF CANDY SOUTHERN! Rock and Red-Bone blaze their way into the Coffee-a-Go-Go AND our hearts.

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

6 - X-Men #28-32 - Banshee and More Obscure Villains

Matt and Pat bring you another stunning episode of Mutant Menace, as the Roy Thomas era continues, bringing you a parade of obscure villains that will basically never show up in the X-Men again.

We talk about:

A bunch of villains that are hard to grab. Having too much fun being evil. Is criminal conspiracy a crime? Stan and Roy trade barbs. What is Telekinetic Research? Charles Xavier: Master of Disguise. "Do we both have the same bug guy?" THE LOCUST. Bola bonanza. Ted Roberts sucks so bad. The romantic sound of screaming orphans. The "no-prize." A Dig-Dug scene. Mimic is back, and part of the team? 

 Email us: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

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

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5 - X-Men #23-27 - Roy Thomas’s Obscure Villain Parade

Okay, I lied in last episode's show notes. We left you on a cliff-hanger again. But I PROMISE we won't do it again here.

Werner Roth is off and running as Stan Lee hands the reigns of the world's strangest super-team over to Roy Thomas! Stan Lee seems to wrap his story up by bringing the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to a pretty final conclusion and introducing The Mimic!

We also talk about:

Magneto treats Toad like shit. Do sulfa drugs do that? What is a Counter-Ego? An anti-mutant mob! Cal Rankin is a dick. Using a MEMORY ENHANCER because you forgot a dude's name. Hot Tub Time Machine. Innuendo in the desert. The Unforgettable Porter Mack! A guy with a gun on his head. And dubious claims of "yester-year."

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

4 - X-Men #18-22 - The Mimic and the End of the Stan Lee Era

Welcome to another episode of Mutant Menace ...! 

Sorry we left you on a cliff-hanger last time! we certainly won't do it again here... !

Matt and Pat say goodbye to the pencils of Jack Kirby and say Hello to Werner Jay Roth Gavin as the X-Men encounter, for the first time, the dreaded SENTINELS and their perfectly molded butts! 

We also talk about:

A baffling Human Torch cameo. Bolivar Trask is the worst anthropologist ever. Licking neanderthals. The dating life of Hank and Bobby. How do you pronounce "...!" ? Telling an interrogator your entire life story. Steel Gondolas. And a mysterious  villain!

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

3 - X-Men #13-17 - Juggernaut and the Sentinels

This episode, Matt and Pat encounter a veritable parade of long-time X-Men villains limping their way into and out of fights with our mutant heroes!

The Blob returns and wrestles everyone! Unus the Untouchable can't smoke a cigarette! The X-Men face off against THE AVENGERS because Professor X is too lazy to tell everyone what's going on. Ka-Zar is gorgeous, but his dinosaur friends aren't. The Stranger is... Strange. And some massive threat makes its way to the X-Mansion while Professor X excitedly tells the X-Men a very very long story.

If you've ever wondered how the X-Men got their start, this is the series of issues where things just start heatin' up! 

Email us: mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

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

2 - X-Men #7-12 - Magneto and Lucifer

In our INAUGURAL EPISODE, Matt Aukamp and Pat Reber (former hosts of The Very Worst) talk about the first six issues of the X-Men, from 1966. Written by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby and drawn by Jack Kirby, these first six issues introduce our main cast - Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Beast, and Marvel Girl, plus their teacher and mentor Professor X. We also meet Magneto, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Blob, and a human pyramid!

Listen to the humble (read: ridiculous) origins of your favorite mutants and their obsessions with ice cream, their weird verbal ticks (YAYBO!), their fights with random animals, and their extreme disrespect for the US Army. We find out that Professor X is a creep. Cyclops ruins cake. Magneto has every power possible. And Jack Kirby loves to draw a boat. 

Email us! mutantmenacepod@gmail.com

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

1 - X-Men #1-6 - The Original X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

Mutant Menace is a BRAND NEW podcast where Matt Aukamp (Save Your Game, The Very Worst) and Pat Reber (The Very Worst) talk about every issue of the X-Men comic book franchise in chronological order. We will talk about all the bizarre, hilarious, ridiculous, political, and interesting aspect of every issue for -- I guess, ever?

Listen to MUTANT MENACE wherever you found this trailer or on your favorite podcast app! New episodes every Thursday!

Mutant Menace - Trailer

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