The Mutant Ages

Latest Episodes:

Episode 34 - "Phoenix Saga, Part 2: Dark Shroud," X-Men: The Animated Series Aug 28, 2018

Show notes

If you think Maddy and Ryan have been harsh on Professor X in the past, just wait 'til you hear this breakdown of "Phoenix Saga, Part 2: Dark Shroud," the X-Men: The Animated Series episode in which Xavier finally shows his true colors. We're not reading into anything this time! The guy straight up admits that he fantasizes about torturing his loved ones. Xavier may be a piece of shit, but this episode is not. It's a thrill ride from start to finish, with plenty of fun Wolverine and Gambit one-liners, Storm rescuing everybody, Jean Grey showing off her new Phoenix superpowers, Cyclops standing up for himself, Beast being adorable, and Jubilee just wishing she could go see a Broadway show. Rogue's still MIA, but hey, you can't have everything. X-Men Spotlight: Lilandra, because why not introduce one of Xavier's love interests in an episode about how much he sucks? E-mail us at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

Episode 33 - "Phoenix Saga, Part 1: Sacrifice," X-Men: The Animated Series Aug 14, 2018

Show notes

Ryan and Maddy watched "Phoenix Saga, Part 1" and recorded this episode in the humid summer heat, as is fitting for a story about Jean Grey flying through a solar flare. We had to get all our thoughts out before we got burned alive, and we did it! Still with plenty of time to compare this adaptation of the Phoenix Saga to its original 1970s comic book version, as well as take a detour into reminiscing about the Scans-Daily LiveJournal community. X-Men Spotlight: Erik the Red, who is somehow also Magneto, and... Cyclops? Sure. E-mail us at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

Episode 32 - "Out of the Past, Part 2," X-Men: The Animated Series Jul 31, 2018

Show notes

"Out of the Past, Part 2" isn't nearly as hilarious as "Part 1." It's downright spooky, actually, thanks to some impressive animation and sound design choices on the part of the X-Men: The Animated Series season three creative team. Except, uh... Maddy and Ryan also thought the writing was a bit boring. We wanted Lady Deathstrike to give us more silly monologues about her feelings! At least we still have Gambit pining after his boyfriend Wolverine, plus a fun scene of Beast in an art gallery, and also Jean and Scott trying and failing to go on a date. By the way, Xavier is back on his bullshit again in this episode. Is he ever not? X-Men Spotlight: THE REAVERS! Terminator meets RoboCop meets ... the Cylons? Sure. They're a mishmash of '80s cyborg and robot tropes, and we're still not convinced there's any deeper meaning to be gleaned from them. E-mail us at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

Episode 31 - "Out of the Past, Part 1," X-Men: The Animated Series Jul 17, 2018

Show notes

Maddy and Ryan strap in for the third season premiere of X-Men: The Animated Series, featuring... an unfair portrayal of Lady Deathstryke and tons of flashbacks to Wolverine's Weapon X trauma? Wait a second, this is X2 deja vu! "Out of the Past, Part 1" also has Jubilee and Gambit in tow to help Wolverine when he's in a jam, but not before listening to him deliver some monologues alone in the dark. Ryan and Maddy recorded this episode really late at night last week, so forgive them for being totally incoherent for most of it, especially during the politics section where we try and fail to come up with something deep to say about the Reavers. In our defense, this X-Men: TAS episode is pretty incoherent too, so we afford it about as much analysis as it merits. X-Men Spotlight: Lady Deathstryke, a.k.a. Lady Deathstrike, a.k.a. NOT YURIKO, Wolverine's self-proclaimed nemesis who deserves better than almost any writer has ever given her! E-mail us at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

Episode 30 - X2: X-Men United (2003) Jun 26, 2018

Show notes

Maddy and Ryan revisit X2, the live-action sequel to X-Men, and once again they've brought back podcaster and movie critic Mary Ellen (of Let's Watch 2 Movies fame) to provide her unbiased thoughts. Ryan admits he saw this movie eight times in cinemas, and Maddy recounts all of the spoofs that she and Ryan made of this movie's scenes as teenagers. Meanwhile, Mary Ellen has some important questions about how Mystique's powers work. The word of the day is "jet." No X-Men Spotlight or listener mail segments this week, so you'll have to tune in X-time for those! E-mail us at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

Episode 29 - "Reunion, Part 2," X-Men: The Animated Series Jun 12, 2018

Show notes

Ryan and Maddy reach the end of season two of X-Men: The Animated Series, and as usual, the show brings its two-part finale to a delightful conclusion. We're back to discussing our problematic fave Mr. Sinister and queer-coded villains, for the billionth time, but we spend most of the episode giggling about the over-the-top sex dungeon that the X-Men have ended up in. The Nasty Boys make their final fantastic appearance, Rogue and Gambit share a rare non-lethal kiss, Wolverine gets some jungle strange (bye-bye Morph, helloooo Ka-Zar!), and when all's said and done, Xavier heads home to the X-Mansion. Sigh. The good times couldn't last forever. X-Men Spotlight: Vertigo, the nausea-inducing dominatrix! Next week, we revisit X2, the 2003 sequel to the first live-action X-Men movie. Watch along with us, won't you? E-mail us at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

Episode 28 - "Reunion, Part 1," X-Men: The Animated Series May 29, 2018

Show notes

Just like Professor X reuniting with the X-Men, Maddy and Ryan have reunited for yet another episode of X-Men: The Animated Series. We're almost as excited to talk to one another as Jean Grey is excited to talk to Xavier, although the two of us aren't also wearing handcuffs placed on us by Mister Sinister. Or maybe we are, figuratively? He has certainly stolen our hearts and minds in this week's episode! X-Men Spotlight: Ka-Zar, who may as well be He-Man E-mail us at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

Episode 27 - "Mojovision," X-Men: The Animated Series May 08, 2018

Show notes

Maddy and Ryan return to recapping X-Men: The Animated Series, and the latest episode introduces them to Mojo, who they like even though the show doesn't want them to. He may be an evil alien overlord who eats producers for lunch, but he's funny, okay? Anyway, this episode is a fun one-off that gives X-Men: TAS the opportunity to get into meta commentary about 90s TV trends, violence in cartoons, and the showrunners' fear that if they didn't manage to entertain us, we'd start ignoring our televisions and read a book. Perhaps even... a comic book!? X-Men Spotlight: Longshot and his amazing 80s hair and frequent amnesiac issues E-mail us at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

Episode 26 - '90s X-Men Toy Commercials! Apr 19, 2018

Show notes

Maddy and Ryan look back on a bunch of commercials from the '90s featuring X-Men action figures and games that we wish we'd had... and also, some toys that we actually DID have. These commercials are hilarious. Not always intentionally so. Strap in as we take '90s-era marketing firms to task for not letting Storm and Rogue do enough! Also, predictably, this episode features tons of Maddy and Ryan insisting that everything was both better and worse when they were younger. What is anything actually like for kids today? We don't really know. But we make our best guesses. Please feel free to write in and tell us how wrong we are! E-mail us at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

Episode 25 - "Beauty and the Beast," X-Men: The Animated Series Apr 03, 2018

Show notes

Ryan and Maddy recorded this episode late at night, and unfortunately for them, X-Men: The Animated Series doled out a serious political episode with a grim Friends of Humanity subplot. Your two favorite insomniacs do their best to analyze the show's deep dive into Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, and his turbulent emotions with regard to a new but all-too-fleeting romance. This episode is a metaphor for racism, probably? And some other stuff. By the way, we get to check in on Magneto and Xavier this week. They're still stuck in the Savage Land. We all know what they're doing to kill the time: making out on the beach! X-Men Spotlight: BEAST! From his early days as a werewolf-inspired sex symbol, to his present-day time travel drama. E-mail us your feedback at themutantages@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella

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