#gambit & rogue podcast

[spaceorphan18]

Alright. So. This is a thing that happened....

I... maybe have written my first real X-Men - Rogue/Gambit fic. Inspired by an interview X-Men 97 Gambit Voice Actor did. And then, it got posted to Twitter. And then said Gambit Voice Actor reblogged it, READ IT, and commented.

I am so... shellshocked you guys. I cannot believe this happened. I just... I was shaking when I found out today. This is wild and amazing and I'm so flattered and wow. I just can't even believe it.

I have literally been smiling all day.

<3

[themutantages]

It's not an X-Men story until characters Kool-Aid Man bursts through a wall.

[annamariedarkholmes]

lmao i feel like i should have been way more excited during the initial relaunch announcements

but it really speaks to how gatekeepy the loudest parts of fandom became and how mistreated certain characters (ie those not part of the chosen pet fav circlejerk on x-tw*tter, which would matter less if it weren’t a vacuum reinforced by the actual x-office) were under outgoing editorial these last five years that even a post-krakoa announcement of my girl finally:

-headlining a flagship

-with an incredible writer and artist team

-a SOUTHERN GOTHIC premise

-the possibility of rogue finally having enjoyable interactions with remy and kurt

-under new editorial (that hasn’t said inflammatory things about said character in interviews afaik)??

still kinda had me like

“cool!!…

…still not pre-ordering. i’ll see for myself in august” 👉👈

and then literally all it took was gail simone’s cbr mini q&a to alleviate everything i was paranoid about

(ie worried that rogue and gambit were only finally getting attention due to corporate knowing they sell/mcu synergy (cough r&g 2.0) while editorial themselves actively hates and sidelines them, that remy might be a punching bag joke once again, that dull - and mostly yt - sausage fest of a proposed line-up, r&g 2.0/uncanny avengers/duggan’s x-men/excalibur fatigue, general saltiness from the inferno exclusion and basic removal from her mothers’ lives)

and basically i now say

bring it!!!!

[cajunhawk]

♠️ ⁠PunkerDuckie⁠, aka The Meme Queen, joins me on this episode of Bon Temps! We just chat it up about Gambit, Rogue, college, daschunds, and making wine!

♠️ Which is your favorite meme of PunkerDuckie's?

♠️ ⁠Get your Bon Temps! merch here!

[studyofx]

Come join us as we talk about X-Men '97 in our bonus episode! We're joined by special guest Sol from @StrayReadsPod as we break down the first 5 episodes of this incredible show!

Part 2 will be out soon so make sure to follow us!

[creativedifferencespodcast]

We recorded this episode before X-Men ‘97 decided to DESTROY us this week! How are you feeling about the new animated show? Is it everything you hoped for the X-Men? Are you simping after the Goblin Queen, too? Would you fold like Scott? Do you think people who complain about the show being “woke” need to shut up? Let us know in the comments and check out episode 278 to hear our thoughts on the first three episodes of X-Men ‘97.

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 4, Episode 3. X-Men ‘97 Spoiler-Free Review

The X-Men are back! Ron and Mon caught the Canadian premiere of X-Men '97 at Toronto Comicon 2024, and the following episodes. We share our review of the new season, all the feels about seeing our favourite X-people onscreen, and what we're looking forward to from the rest of the season. No spoilers!

Read Mon's Episode 1 review at Vocal, and learn more about the creation of the show with Mon's Comicon recap. Ron shares her experience at the X-Men '97 activation at Toronto Comicon 2024 on WWAC.

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

(L-R): Beast (voiced by George Buza), Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), Bishop (voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith), Rogue (voiced by Lenore Zann), Gambit (voiced by AJ LoCascio), Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase) in Marvel Animation's X-MEN '97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.

Hello and welcome to a brand new episode of Stereo Geeks.

I'm Mon.

And I'm Ron.

Today, we will be discussing X-Men ‘97.

The new season of the 1990s X-Men animated show has got everybody a flutter.

We managed to catch the Canadian premiere at Toronto Comic Con 2024, and the hype was real.

I have never seen this many X-Men t-shirts, X-Men cosplayers, X-Men art, X-Men love, anywhere ever before.

And as two X-Men fans, this was a jam.

We literally went to Toronto Comic Con this year, just trying to get as much X-Men stuff as possible, and we did well.

Well, it's also nice because you suddenly see that there are other X-Men fans out there.

They love this franchise.

They love these characters.

Some of them are a little too enthusiastic.

But the highlight for a lot of people was the X-Men activation at Toronto Comic Con.

But it was an experience, getting in there.

Listen, with these exclusive things, it's always a bit of planning, a lot of loss of sleep, considerable anxiety before you can actually get there.

Sometimes you get lucky.

The stars align, the timings of your transporter line, and you get there well in time to stand in line and actually get into the room where it's happening.

The X-Men activation, we were already told several times, limited seating, you should get there early.

So that's exactly what we did, even though we'd spent all of Friday at Comic Con and it was kind of a late night for us.

But yeah, we were there first thing in the morning for the X-Men activation zone.

And it's a good thing that we went as early as we did.

So the activation was called Xavier's Lounge for Gifted Youngsters.

At first, I thought this meant it was only for young folks, like family zone or something.

Thankfully, it was open to everyone.

It was just, the naming of it was a bit odd.

But anyway, basically what this activation was, it was a couple of conference rooms turned into a giant North American living room like you would have back in the 90s.

It was Saturday morning, which is when the original show used to air.

And that's when they had the premiere.

I'd say there were about 10, 12 people before us, and this was a good half an hour, 40 minutes before the show even started.

So yeah, we were there really early.

Yeah, and you're talking about the show as in Toronto Comic Con.

That's not even when the screening started.

That started later, and it actually ran late.

So we missed another session.

But anyway, all in all, it was such a cool experience to be sitting amongst all these X-Men fans.

A lot of people had dressed up, a lot of t-shirts out there.

We were also wearing our X-Men t-shirts.

And just a great deal of buzz and excitement about this franchise that so many of us have loved for a really long time.

The thing is, you and I didn't grow up with this X-Men show.

It never came to India.

The X-Men movies, they came, and then we suddenly just fell in love with this group of characters, and we've been in love with them since.

But for a lot of people in North America, this was their introduction to the X-Men.

This is how they got into the comics.

So for them, this revival is huge.

Yeah, but also just spending time with the X-Men is so special.

It's weird because the X-Men weren't a thing when we were growing up.

Not just this show, but just in general, you never saw X-Men comics.

You never saw anybody refer to them.

So the movies were a game changer for us.

And then on the back of those movies, we had the PSP game, X-Men Legends 2 Rise of Apocalypse.

That really changed how we saw these people because there were all these characters in there, so many of them who still haven't made it to the big screen.

Then we went into reading the Wiki articles about them and finally got to the comics.

And that's how we learnt about this amazing group of people.

Now listen, comics, man, they're tough.

Some are good, some are bad.

Most of them are disasters.

You'll go through some runs and you're like, why do I like these people?

But in general, the X-Men do speak to a kind of community a lot of us feel, which is that you feel different, you feel like an outsider, you don't feel like you belong, and then you have the X-Men to turn to.

This is a really very important group of folks for us, and for a lot of people as we figured out at Comic Con this year.

And we were really like, you get pulled into that excitement.

Even if you're a little bit apathetic or unsure, I was like, oh, you know, like, you just get sucked into this.

Yeah, and we were so excited for anything X-Men related at Toronto Comic Con that we watched all five seasons of the 90s X-Men show on Disney Plus in anticipation for this event.

And I'm glad we did because at Toronto Comic Con, most of the main conference rooms were running the trailer for the X-Men ‘97 show.

And that starts with the ending of the 92 show.

Which has a huge spoiler for what happens in there.

So yes, I'm glad we watched it.

We marathon watched it.

Maybe that wasn't the best way to watch it.

And also as adults, you kind of do look at things differently.

On top of that, we're entertainment writers, so you're constantly analyzing everything you watch.

We are not devotees of the original series.

We have our criticisms of it.

But listen, it's the X-Men.

We had so much fun spending five seasons with them.

And I've gotta say, there were some very interesting notes in that original series.

And when I think about it, I'm like, wow, in the 90s, they were doing this.

I really enjoyed that aspect of it.

And there were some minute character changes, which I really enjoyed as well.

So yeah, I just enjoyed watching all these characters that we've completely fallen in love with for so many, so many years.

And I've been reading the Krakow era comics.

I keep telling you about everything that's been happening.

It's tough to get into those.

It's so vast.

There are so many different series.

I still don't know how certain plots ended because they weren't in the runs of the books that I was reading.

And I'm just like, okay, I'm just going to have to accept that this character died and just move on from that.

I will never find out how it happened.

Well, this revival is also happening at the same time that a comic book revival is happening.

So that's interesting.

I might actually start with these new comics because as you said, the Krakow era, I started it, but it's just too much.

There's too much to do in the world to catch up with that many comics.

I was kind of six months behind on the Krakow comics during Christmas.

And I literally didn't do anything else during the Christmas break, aside from reading comics from the Krakow era.

I'm caught up now and now I'm behind.

Such is the life of a comic reader, especially the Marvel comic readers.

Never know.

Anyway, shall we talk about 97?

Indeed, X-Men ‘97.

There's already a little bit of controversy just before the show launches on Disney Plus with creator and showrunner, Bo DiMeo, unceremoniously being fired.

No idea why.

And I think it's kind of odd because he was talking a lot about how much he loves the X-Men.

I don't know what happened.

We can't really speculate or anything, but it is a bit strange.

And it was obvious from the cast and previous producer and director, Larry Houston, when they were at Toronto Comic Con, nobody mentioned Bo DiMeo.

I was like, obviously the PR people got to you guys.

It's always uncomfortable when you start off something with a little bit of controversy.

His name is still in the credits from what we saw in the screeners.

So there's that.

But anyway, aside from the controversy, there's also been a lot of discourse about Morph.

We won't get into that because that's not even there in the first three episodes.

So let's just talk about the story.

First of all, we are not going to share any spoilers for the first three episodes.

The first two will be dropping on March 20th.

And then there'll be weekly episodes, total of 10 episodes.

All happening on Disney Plus.

So the show kicks off from the previous storyline.

It's not immediately after.

Things have changed.

Visually, things have definitely changed.

The animation style is gorgeous.

I would say it's almost too sexy.

I love the animation, the colors, the movement.

Actually, Larry Houston kind of said, that is really the Disney money because he couldn't get any of that kind of movement when he was doing the show in the 90s.

But yeah, oh God, it looks so good.

And there's a scene that for some reason, they've already shared it on Marvel's Instagram of Jubilee dancing.

It's absolutely gorgeous.

You would not have got that kind of movement in the 90s show.

Definitely not over here.

It's like your eyes just cannot move away from the screen.

Yeah, and the music is outstanding.

Not only has the theme tune been tweaked and updated to be more modern, but there's like these beautiful synth pop background tunes going on, which I'm like, this is exactly what I like.

Yeah, I'm like, are they going to unveil Leila Cheney here?

But you know, she wasn't there.

So one thing the voice cast at Toronto Comic Con mentioned was that the creators of the new show wanted to showcase the X-Men using their powers, but in new ways.

And that's obvious from the first episode itself.

And speaking of the powers, that's what makes the action in this episode so spectacular.

Each character and their awesome powers are introduced one by one.

This allows audiences old and new to acclimatize to the new era as well as the characters.

It was great to watch this.

And it's a really tight episode.

And honestly, it was more fun because we were watching it to the crowd and we were all like oooing and eyeing when the characters were in peril and ooh, they got out of that tight situation, yes.

So yeah, it was a lot of fun.

And another thing that, not that I noticed it, but the cast actually mentioned that the episodes in this season are going to be slightly longer.

So looking at the runtime, it's about 30 minutes for each of the episodes.

And I believe the 92 show, the episodes were generally about 21, 22 minutes.

So you get about six, seven minutes more story.

And I don't know whether that's the reason why it's only 10 episodes long.

We'll talk about that later.

Yeah, so the first episode really sets up a bunch of plot lines, which we're going to be seeing throughout the show.

The story does seem interesting.

The main story maybe, I don't know.

And then there's the Magneto drama, which honestly, I am far more into that than anything else.

Listen, if there's one thing that the X-Men is extremely good at, it's drama.

We don't care about who these big bad guys are that are attacking them.

We live with the drama.

Superhero soap operas, that's what we like.

Let's talk about Storm.

I know that the creators had said, oh, she's going to be powerful and cool.

In the first episode, she is definitely powerful.

She's never been more bad as before.

Yes, Storm's mohawk hair, like that just signifies that this is going to be an era.

I thought she was so cool, so powerful, and I love what she does with her powers.

It's different.

And I don't know whether it's because I've been reading the Krakoa era comics and all the characters are super powerful.

I just feel like it's a nod to what she can do in those comics.

So yeah, I like it.

On the flip side, Morph's look, that's a choice.

Well, Morph's look is much more consistent with their comic book look.

He looks like that?

In the comics, yes.

And now Morph and Bishop have been added to the main cast.

As you see, they're in all of the promos, etc.

Morph's human looking face, I don't know, I felt like it's been softened a little bit from the rather severe angles of the original show.

I don't know if it's a different choice because they have adopted a different default look or if it's just part of the animation style.

Bishop on the other hand, his powers are just so cool.

Again, the way they're using their powers in this show this time around, it's gonna blow people's minds.

I also feel like Rogue's face is slightly more soft.

The angles are gone.

I don't mind it, but because we've been watching the old show, and immediately after we see this one, you feel it.

I don't think this is a spoiler when I say Roberto da Costa has been added to the cast.

A lot of these characters, as we know, they sort of expand their roster, but it's not like they have full on main cast roles and screen time.

But love seeing Roberto, the way he's animated, so beautiful, really beautiful voice acting as well.

Now, we have seen one other new mutant in all this while.

One and a half, if you take into account little Ileana.

But what about the rest of the new mutants?

Also, so Bertro is like a little bit problematic in the comics, especially when he was first introduced.

I really hope they don't have all that misogyny in there.

Listen, when I see Bertro, my lad, I am so happy.

Listen, we lost Adam Cantor, who was a very lovely Bertro to see on the big screen.

I was so happy to see him, and it's really sad that we lost him.

But now we've got Bertro in this show, and he's being voiced by Guy Agostini.

I think he's doing a great job.

It's exactly what I'd imagine Bertro to sound like.

He's not sleazy here.

He's actually kind of sweet, very lost, and I really enjoyed the way they did his story.

There's a particular line that he says that got everyone in the feels.

Having said that, I don't think anybody ever gets Bertro's skin color right.

Like the New Mutants movie, let's not even start with that.

Bertro's mutant powers kick in because he's being bullied so badly because he has dark skin.

He's a very rich young boy.

It doesn't matter.

He's still getting bullied because of his skin color.

I just don't think it's correct in this show.

Like I love the fact that Bertro is here, but it's not right.

Yeah, no, I agree with you.

I really wish that they had just gone with the darker skin tone.

It's always these little things, you know.

Well, one course correction here has been the voice actor for Jubilee.

She's finally being voiced by Southeast Asian actor Holly Cho.

The original Jubilee actor, Alison Court, she said that she has a different role on the show, and she's actually very happy that she has passed on the baton to somebody who has the lived experience of Jubilee.

Court did not mention who she's playing, though.

Very, very sedative.

Yeah, I'm very happy that Holly Cho is taking over this role.

She got a really great shout out actually from Alison Court during the Q&A section.

She's really very happy about this new addition to the cast.

I'm really glad to see that they're willing to make these changes, you know, after everything that happened during the pandemic.

So it's a good change.

Can't help but wonder why we needed it in the first place.

Having said that, I did do some research, and at the time that Alison Court got the role, when she was, I think she said she was like 16, 17, they didn't tell her Jubilee's origins.

Poor thing was a bit shocked when she found out.

Well, at least they cost corrected.

So another cost correction, if you can call it that, is that this show is finally realizing how hot Gambit is.

Listen, I'm a writer at WWAC.

The WWAC team loves Gambit.

We once did an entire post about how much we love Gambit.

That's how much we love Gambit.

This episode, oh boy, people are going to love Gambit in this one.

Wow, yeah, how is Gambit this hot?

That's all we're going to say.

We're going to leave the rest to your imagination, because he doesn't.

That's a good one.

Oh wow.

So we had a kind of sad reason for a new addition to the cast.

Ray Chase has joined the cast as Cyclops' voice.

And this is unfortunately because the original voice actor Norm has passed away.

I absolutely love Ray Chase.

He is doing a great job.

When I started listening to Cyclops' voice in this show, I was like, this is it.

This is how Cyclops sounds.

Chase is doing a really good job of channeling Norm Spencer, but his voice acting is just so perfect.

He is exactly the way I hear Scott in my head.

I don't know what it is.

Maybe the timbre in his voice or something.

Scott is still a little bit more snarky in both these shows than I would expect him to be, but I love it.

It's so good.

I would listen to Scott in this show forever.

So we'll end the review for this episode by saying, it gets you in the feels.

There's a lot of emotion involved, not least because of the nostalgia value.

You're back with these characters.

You're spending a whole 30 minutes with them, which is honestly more time than you get to spend with the X-Men most of the time.

So this is great.

The best part of this episode is kind of in the trailer, but at the same time, every time I think about it, still makes me kind of teary.

This is quite an experience.

I don't know if it was heightened because of the Toronto Comic Con community and the whole premiere and the voice cast and meeting the person who made most of our favorite shows from our childhood, Larry Houston.

I don't know what it was.

It was a combination of a lot of things, but let's just say this first episode is worth the wait.

100%.

We can't really talk much about what we see in episodes 2 and 3.

We did get screeners to see them.

Let's just say they're quite different from the first episode, and comics fans are really, really going to love this.

From episode 2's credits itself, your mind is blown.

They're openly telling you nothing is the same anymore.

Without revealing anything about the episode, I will say that it was very tense, and honestly, there was one scene which I felt like it was riffing off the January 6th insurrection in the US.

Those sort of visuals and the tension of it, really scary stuff.

Now, whether it's intentional or whether we're putting those sort of visuals together because it literally happened not so long ago, I don't know.

Sometimes I do think art is sending a message, and if an X-Men show is not sending a message, it's not doing it right.

But from the scary to the sublime, if Magneto is so bad, why is he so hot?

That costume, that's something else.

It's making me question a lot of things.

Oh man, well, you know, Magneto's outfit is straight from the comics.

But I think it's the way it's drawn in this animated show.

It's really striking.

And I think it's because you don't usually see male characters dressed in that combination.

We can't reveal too much.

It may already be in the trailer, but when you see it in action, it definitely has a different feel to it.

And on top of that, you have this beautiful animation style and the colors are so beautiful, which actually makes a lot of sense because the X-Men are so colorful.

Like you have to have a colorful show.

Now what I do like, especially in this episode, is how they amalgamate a bunch of storylines into one tight story arc.

It's great because especially if you read different comics, you'll be like, oh, that bit's from this comic arc and this one's from that run.

I really love how they've done that.

Episode 2 for me was the best episode so far in 97, but probably the best episode of all of the original series as well.

Wow, that is high praise.

And I understand the sentiment because the X-Men, the 92 show, it kind of consistently had one message.

No matter what the mutants do, no matter how many people they save, humans will still hate them, humans will still hunt them.

The way that the Krakoa era comics have been going right now, that is the underlying theme.

It doesn't matter that the mutants have found their own island, that they're trying to just help people, cure people, it doesn't matter.

At the end of the day, they'll always be other, and because they are other, they must be eradicated.

This episode leans into that, and I think that's why it really hits you that these events can keep unfolding over and over again, despite what's happened to the X-Men.

The humans in this world will not accept them ever.

Well, one of the things which you can intuit from the first two episodes is that the humans are gonna hate the mutants because they don't see them as people.

And that is literally the real world issue with so many marginalized communities.

The people in power don't see them as people, so they don't see their suffering as an issue.

Now, how many people watching this in the year 2024 are gonna be able to draw that through line?

I have no idea.

Well, one of the things that was really hard hitting during the Q&A at Toronto Comic Con, George Booza and Lawrence Bain, both talked about how the X-Men appeal to people who don't fit in, who feel like they're on the periphery of society, the freaks, as Lawrence Bain called them.

They find refuge in the X-Men, which is what George Booza said.

And that's what makes the X-Men so enduring.

I do have to say that the Krakow era comics, I don't think they did justice to that feeling.

They got kind of lost in all the sci-fi stuff.

Very interesting to read, very imaginative, but so often I would be reading it, and I'm like, all those strong messages about it doesn't matter who you are, what you are, who you love, you're still a person who deserves respect, and the right to not be killed, whether you're mutant or human.

It just didn't come across that much in the Krakow era comics.

I'm hoping that the rest of the season really plays with that, because if you look at it, every time Bishop travels back and forth from the past, he's doing the same thing.

He's trying to save mutants, because humans just will not stop fighting mutants.

And honestly, at a time when the world is so divisive and so ready to fight over absolutely nothing, we need this show to send a message.

And I think it is, in its own way.

I think we're getting very maudlin over here.

Let's talk about the action.

The action was great.

Like the first episode, I loved the action.

It was so crisp.

And again, because we've been watching the old series literally days before, the movement of the characters was really something to behold.

What I loved about the action in the second episode is it's really hard to predict the outcome.

Again, maybe it's the crisp animation, but I felt I could really follow the different characters as they were fighting.

And sometimes in the old shows, I didn't always feel like I could figure out which character was fighting which.

I guess you could say the direction is a little bit crisper.

Again, technology has improved, so you can move animation and camera angles, et cetera, in a different way.

So it's much easier to follow, and it really ups the tension and the pacing a lot.

And Storm has a very interesting storyline here.

It's very different from episode one, but I believe we know which storyline from the comics this is.

So I'm very intrigued to see how the show is going to handle it.

So we mentioned the music in the first episode and how fun it was.

In this one, I felt like there were some musical throwbacks to the films, and it kind of reminded me of the Gotham Knights TV show, Short-lived, Why Did It Get Cancelled?

It was so good.

But that show had a few musical throwbacks to the Dark Knight trilogy.

It really worked to cement that show as part of that universe.

I kind of liked it.

Yeah.

Alright, episode 3.

Now this one, we really can't talk about anything here.

I swear every frame was a spoiler.

So we'll just give a sort of brief idea of this episode.

It kicks off with some extremely disturbing horror imagery.

If I was a child watching this, I would be awake for a few weeks.

This is not for the faint of heart.

And it actually makes me think, is this show for kids anymore?

The original show definitely was.

It was a Saturday morning cartoon.

It was meant for children to watch.

But watching the aesthetics of this show and some of the story arcs, I'm beginning to think this is a show for the people who had been kids when the original was around.

Yes, this episode was the first time when I thought to myself, who is this show for?

Because there are some really mature themes thrown in here.

They do scale back on some of the costumes because the comic storyline, oh boy, they did not leave anything to the imagination.

So that's definitely a bit different here.

But even then, like the horror elements, those were pretty disturbing for adults.

Forget children.

So the other thing I'd say, and I don't know if you noticed this, but Berthold's powers, it's borderline giving me trypophobia.

I really hope it doesn't actually because in the comics it never bothered me, but over here, because of the movement again, I don't know, it was like, oh boy, oh boy.

I really hope it doesn't get any worse.

Oh wow, I didn't notice that.

Now I'm worried.

But I do like how they're adapting stories from the comics.

And the original 90s show also did that, with Dark Phoenix saga and everything.

But the one that's in this episode takes place over several issues, and it's all kind of clumped together in this 30 minutes.

I don't know if that had to be so rushed.

I agree, it felt really rushed.

This was definitely one of those stories that required multiple episodes for the entire arc to run.

But again, how do you squeeze in a multi-arc story when you only have 10 episodes in this season?

The original show, one of the seasons had 13 episodes.

Some of the other seasons had 17 episodes, 19 episodes.

That's a good long time to base out your story.

But also there were a couple of other moments in this episode where I was just like, are people going to know who these characters are?

Because if you're a comics fan, you're like, oh yeah, oh yeah, this is great, this is wonderful.

If you're coming to this show as a newbie, you're going to be like, who's this?

There was definitely one character who I felt like, okay, they've put this character in there because they were part of the original comics arc, but there's no way the X-Men know about this person.

Or does this person even exist in this timeline?

It just doesn't make sense.

It's a great Easter egg, but it just doesn't make sense story-wise.

Talking about things that don't quite make sense story-wise, there's that love triangle.

Where did this love triangle come from?

I mean, it's alluring because the people involved are kind of hot.

But at the same time, it's also ecky.

Was it even canon in the comics?

When you guys watch it, you will know what I'm talking about.

Was it?

Okay, but I think we read about this in the trivia section of the Rise of the Apocalypse game.

I'm pretty sure.

But still, that doesn't mean it's canon.

Must be canon at some point.

This is so weird.

It's really weird.

This is probably the first episode of the three where I could tell that Gambit has a new voiceover artist.

He sounds a lot gruffer.

I couldn't tell.

He sounds the same.

He just looks great.

Yeah, the animation is so beautiful.

Yeah.

So yes, after watching these three episodes, how do you feel about the show?

Oh, I am super excited.

I'm enjoying it.

I love how many of the comic stories I can actually recognize.

I'm interested to see what's happening with the characters.

The animation is just so, so stunning.

I really just love being able to see it.

But I'm very intrigued by some of the story arcs that they've decided to adapt for this season.

And honestly, more X-Men.

Can't go wrong with that.

I completely agree with you.

Enjoying the action, the characters, the storyline, it's all great.

And we love the X-Men.

So glad this show is back.

And that's all from us talking about X-Men ‘97.

What did you think about the show?

Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email stereogeekspodcast@gmail.com. We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!

Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.

[talk-time-live]

EPISODE 399: FALL OUT SERIES REVIEW

We are back with a lot to discuss including a recap of the now infamous X-MEN 97 episode 5 featuring some mindblowing developments, my thoughts on the new GOOD TIMES animated series on Netflix, The Joker 2 trailer, and more. 

Then, in our TALK TOPIC of the WEEK, I give my casual fan thoughts on the new FALLOUT series (on Prime Video). All this and more in the 399th episode of A.C.M.G. presents TALK TIME LIVE!

[theworkprint]

NYCC: The Women of Marvel Panel Discusses Upcoming Titles

NYCC: The Women of Marvel Panel Discusses Upcoming Titles

At NYCC, fans got check out The Women of Marvel panel. Not only did it reveal several upcoming titles and the latest season of the Women of Marvel podcast, but it also featured women-led comics. Angélique Roché was joined by Digital Media Executive Director Ellie Pyle, Senior Editor Lauren Bisom, co-host Judy Stephens and writers Eve L. Ewing, Stephanie Phillips and Erica Schultz. These leading…

[spaceorphan18]

The Rogue and Gambit Project : Introduction

This has something I've been wanting to do for a long, long time, and now that X-Men 97 has really lit up the fandom again, I figure it's a great time to do it.

What is the project?

I want to look at Rogue and Gambit's relationship throughout their entire thirty year comic book history. I'm mainly sticking with the 616/Main Canon Universe, but who knows, maybe I'll branch out a little. I do want to revisit XM97 and dig in there a little bit, too.

For the most part, I'll be going through chronologically - starting in the 90s and working my way through the comics as they were first written. And do what I do - read the stories and discuss them. :)

Why do this? Because I'm partially insane - but mostly because I've loved these characters for a long, long time and I really want to dig in and talk about their story.

Tags I'm using so you can follow along or blacklist: the rg project; marvel meta

Some resources! Comics are a pain in the butt to follow, so here are some tools I use that help me keep everything straight:

Uncannyxmen.net : These guys have been around since at least the 90s and have very comprehensive summaries of everything X-Men related. They also have incredibly useful articles such as character studies, family trees, and all sorts of info. They also have a way to look up everything chronologically! I've been using them for years.

All Rogue Appearances : This has been a helpful tool in finding every comic Rogue has appeared in. They put it in their own reading order - I do kind of wish it was straight up chronological, but still incredibly useful as a tool.

All Gambit Appearances : Same thing as above except for Gambit

Rogue and Gambit Reading Guide : In case you're only here for the Romy and want to dig right in!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men : A podcast I've been listening to for about ten years now. They've been going through the entire 616 canon with a fine tooth comb and are about at the late-90s. They also have interviews with creators

Bon Temps! : A Rogue and Gambit Podcast! I've just started listening to them - and they're really a fun group who loves both characters well and equally!

Okay, time to dig into some comics - my god, I hope I survive the experience. ;)

[themutantages]

TODAY IS THE DAY.

[annamariedarkholmes]

Q: Do you think that marriage changed their dynamic at all?

A: Not for me, but for other writers, maybe.

Q: [laughing]

A: I don’t know why marriage has to be boring. I don’t get it. It’s the same relationship it was before. Why would that change it? […] I’m not saying that Rogue and Gambit didn’t grow into more interesting and complex versions of their brash, younger, slightly more villainous selves. Like, they’re very true heroes to me, both of them.

But they have interesting angles all over them. And they’re super hot. Why would anyone try to shave off those angles, or make them not hot, because they’re married now? […] Now they’re married, and so we think they have to have these kinds of fights. […] But our characters are superheroes! Their lives are already filled with action! They’re already filled with drama, they’re already filled with high stakes.

We don’t have to make the marriage boring. It can just be part of who they are.

- Women of Marvel podcast interviews Kelly Thompson, 10-25-23

(art: Reilly Brown, Pere Perez, Rodolfo Migliari, Clay Mann, Kris Anka)

[cajunhawk]

NSFW pt. 2!

Yes, yes. We are going to have another NSFW episode! We know you want it!

What are some questions or thoughts centered around Gambit and Rogue (specifically their sex life) that you'd like us to discuss?

Send your questions to me via a message and I'll be sure to include them and shout you out on the next episode!

Didn't catch the first NSFW episode? Listen HERE.

[newx-menfan]

NYX #2 Review

Spoilers!

Sadly this is a week late- life has been getting hectic and my subscriptions on Kindle never seem to work lol (I had originally meant to write up commentary on the podcast episode before issue two dropped and still haven’t finished it 😔)… but let’s dive in!

The issue starts with Laura monologuing as she takes down some random thug.

You’ve probably ALREADY saw the sample pages of this issue (especially if you follow my tumblr lol) but the girl Laura is trying to save doesn’t want to leave with her, saying they’re “friends” and that if Laura needs help too, she just needs to go “local” (Foreshadowing….Laura’s bad taste in men possibly strikes AGAIN 😂🤣)

We see Laura hanging out at some dilapidated place in East Harlem…(what happened to Logan’s old apartment that she shared with Gabby? Did they sell it during the Krakoa era…because Logan PROBABLY had locked in rent from like the 70’s…that was a horrible decision Laura…like do you know HOW hard it is to find non-brokered housing in NY anymore??!) 

Laura is thinking about Kiden (and in goth clothes again!) as she tracks down some mysterious figure (sadly not a green telekinetic!) in Bushwick (also shout out to one of my favorite spots in NY!)…

At an underground club, we’re introduced to Local. Local is…interesting (people weren’t wrong about the Gambit comparisons lol). Laura convinces him to get her a call with Local’s boss, Mr. Smiley…but Kamala randomly pops up with Anole and Sophie in tow!

Laura gets pissed as Kamala tried to talk about the “mysterious telekinetic” (Laura doesn’t want to talk about her previous secret EX Kamala!) and calls them “Kamala’s little friends” (DON’T be MEAN to ANOLE, Laura!); telling Kamala to stay out of it and not blow her cover….

Laura has fun committing crimes with Local; obviously reminded of her time with Kiden. (If Laura had a crush on any girl…it was PROBABLY Kiden guys lol)

Local’s last challenge before she can meet “Mr. Smiley” is stealing whatever is in Orchis’s Essex building; Laura challenges him that for everything she breaks, he has to tell her some truth.

It’s a kind of sweet and interesting moment, where readers get to see how easy it would be for Laura to slide into the old ways of “X-Force” or “NYX”…

Yet Prodigy drops reality on Laura- that this isn’t who she is anymore. You can’t live in the past.

Laura meets Mr. Smiley…who is really….you guessed it! (I totally didn’t lol!)…Mojo!

Laura gets beaten…BADLY…and retreats.

(Also we get one of the LOVELIEST panels EVER!) 

The issue ends with Laura realizing that she can’t do it alone- contacting Kamala and Sophie.

 Review:

I for one…kind of wish we had gotten a Laura solo issue this time around; I think it was needed and could have been akin to “Zuko Alone”, Logan’s “Patch” era, or X-Men # 182, where Rogue breaks into Shield…it’s been a while since writers really explored Laura’s psyche…

In some ways the weird pop up of Kamala drags the story a bit- this should have just been written as happening weeks before issue #1, in my opinion.

While I liked the ending…it somehow felt too soon a realization for Laura…I kind of wish they had played with the “loner” bit, dragged it on a little bit longer…

Another tiny critique- I really can’t stand Laura swearing. So many writers try to make it work…but it just doesn’t work. It just doesn’t really suit her, in my opinion. (Stop trying to make “fetch” happen lol)

Still, I think this issue is really solid. Laura is really nicely written and it’s probably the closest we’ve come to Kyle levels in a while.

Laura realizing “you can’t go back”….is something that’s really great to play with. It’s something everyone struggles with, when the “good times” pass. Laura can’t move on from her past…yet she can’t go back to it either. She can’t be the person she was.

Local also definitely plays into Laura’s nostalgia of Liu era adventuring with Gambit as well as Kiden… it makes sense why she would gravitate to him.

I actually like the addition of Local and hope he ends up being a regular (much better than Catwoman’s recent terrible love interest!) 

The Prodigy ending was a sucker punch and REALLY wonderfully done! Using David, an old NYM connection as a source of guilt (and David ALWAYS was the voice of reason!) was really excellent; even if there wasn’t much interaction between the two in the original NXM. The only thing that COULD have made it better…was if it had been Dust, Mercury, or Elixir…but that’s a nit pick.

NXM was the turning point for Laura, so it makes sense that someone from THAT time would “wake her up” a bit….

Overall, I would say it’s definitely a solid issue…I think there’s minor things they could have changed, but it’s still a better “Laura” than we have seen in a while.

Theories:

Mojo is totally going to use Local to get to Laura…

Krakellion’s mission is deeper than making NYC the next Krakoa; they’re actively fighting against Mojo…

[creativedifferencespodcast]

We get X-Men ‘97 in two weeks! A few of us have been revisiting the 90s animated series, and we wanted to remind you that anyone complaining about them “making the X-Men woke” is being dumb. The X-Men have been woke for decades. It’s kinda their whole thing.

We also wanted to point out that Wolverine might be the biggest hater of all time. Check out episode 277 for more X-Men talk!

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 4, Episode 6. X-Men ‘97 Spoiler Review

The Stereo Geeks review the first season of X-Men '97.

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Ron: Hello and welcome to a new episode of Stereo Geeks. Today we’re chatting about season 1 of X-Men ‘97.

I’m Ron.

Mon: And, I’m Mon.

This episode is about the full season of X-Men ‘97, so yes, there will be spoilers. If you haven’t watched all ten episodes, go finish them and then return.

R: We had discussed the first three episodes of the show and our experience at the Toronto premiere–which we’ll link to in our show notes–but now we’re going to unleash all our thoughts. So, overall feelings about the show?

M: This show gave me life. 

R: Yep, loved every minute! Each episode stuck the landing in the most unexpected ways. It was obvious that the people behind this show loved the characters and the universe of X-Men.

M: Nothing can surpass the excitement of 2 months of X-Men day. I’m so glad we got to have this and spend time with the X-Men. 

The show’s animation is just gorgeous. The colours, the movement, the details–they added to the immersive experience of the story. 

The characterizations were stellar–characters who hadn’t been given their due came alive here, especially Jean and Gambit, as well as Storm, to an extent.

R: We got so many meaningful arcs for Cyclops, Rogue, Jean, Storm, Jubilee, even Cable.

There were so many fun cameos–Blob, Pixie, Exodus!

The dialogue this season–wow!

Every word Nightcrawler said was amazing. His eulogy for Gambit? Actual perfection.

Also, Xavier’s diatribe against the Shiar about equality? Print that and hand it out to politicians!

R: Some of the plots did feel curtailed though.

Madelyne Pryor’s arc could have been a couple of episodes. Would have been a great way to reintroduce Havok.

In fact, in the Krakoa comics, Maddy and Havok are together.

Lifedeath is another story that could definitely have been longer.

That teaser for the second season though. I can’t wait.

M: Honestly, the soap opera drama is why this show is killing it.

M: But, the show had issues

Morph being non-binary was a footnote, and they were the only character who had absolutely no story or arc

The characters of colour were shunted to the side–Storm being depowered meant she disappeared a lot, Forge was only shown in context of Storm, Bishop vanished after 3 episodes, and ‘Berto…

We love ‘Berto, but while Gui Augustini is Brazilian-born, he’s not Afro-Latino. I didn’t clock that ‘Berto’s comic origins were re-written on the show (because the OG is so ingrained in me). And then his skin colour just kept getting lighter. What the hell? People are rightfully angry about him. 

R: Yeah. I had mentioned the skin colour issue in our previous episode. It… did not get better. Sigh.

M: Shall we chat about the rest of the voice-cast? Because the voice-acting sold us on the stories and emotions. I loved Lenore Zann, who allowed her personal tragedy to inform her powerful and emotional performance as Rogue. 

R: The voice cast was stellar. Lenore Zann and Alyson Sealy-Smith were highlights for me.

The way Zann channelled Rogue’s grief and rage after Gambit’s death–I’m tearing up just thinking about it.

Sealy-Smith brings the regality to Storm that her character deserves. She’s got a majestic voice and was somehow even better in this season than the 92 show. I can now only read Storm in her voice now.

M: Alison Sealy-Smith was seamless, and powerful.

R: AJ LoCascio was such a delight as Gambit. He clearly adores the character and made such an impact in just five episodes.

M: The newcomers were all so good. Ray Chase (Cyclops), Holly Chou (Jubilee), Matthew Waterson (Magneto), Jennifer Hale (Jean Grey), and A.J. LoCascio were exactly what you’d expect these characters to sound like. Love love loved them. Chase is the voice of Scott for me now. And LoCascio’s love for Gambit came through in every scene of Gambit.

I also love that Catherine Disher came back but not as Jean Grey. She played the heck out of Val Cooper. She got an iconic monologue and said THE LINE - Magneto Was Right!

R: So many characters to love here. But do we have a favourite?

M: I think we may have the same favourite. 

R: I’ve loved Gambit for so long but this season was the first time I felt a story did him justice.

He’s got such a big heart and he loves Rogue completely. He doesn’t even care that she can’t touch him. I love that about him.

I also love that he took their breakup so well. 

I was so worried about that scene but Gambit still wants to be Rogue’s friend. It’s so sweet.

M: Yep, I concur. I am in love with Gambit. 

The creators purposely made him loveable, likeable and sexy. They made us want to fall in love with him, and they succeeded!

It’s the little things that made Gambit such a tragic hero.

He’s besotted with Rogue, he loves her even though physical touch is impossible for them, he is willing to let her go and love her as a friend when she chooses Magneto, and he dies for the people he loves. Tears all around. 

R: And that brings me to the best character arc. 

I’ve also loved Rogue for a very long time and I absolutely adore her arc in ‘97.

This show wasn’t afraid to dive into sexuality with Rogue, Gambit, and Magneto.

Gambit is so comfortable in his sexuality in the first episode.

But with Rogue not being able to touch people, this season really leaned into her indulging her physical requirements with Magneto because she needs that fulfilment in her life.

Loving Gambit isn’t enough for Rogue. I like a lady who takes charge of her desires!

Then there’s her anger at losing Gambit. She goes for the jugular with everyone who took her man. I loved seeing her fight and be ruthless.

Rogue and her brother, Nightcrawler, get such an incredible scene together.

You can really see how Rogue, who starts the show as a pacifist, by the end of the season, she’s throwing Trask out the window.

No wonder she joins Magneto. He’s the only one who understands her pain.

M: Rogue’s arc was undeniably great. But I’m going to go against the grain here and talk about our Team Leader, Cyclops.

I love Cyclops so much, and have for a very long time. 

He’s complicated and wrong, and sad, and human. 

He has a great arc because it’s about love and family. 

I think he really goes through it with his emotions because he’s in love with Jean, always has been, but then finds out he was with her clone

The fact that he goes from boy scout to pissed off when he has to justify himself and his reluctance to talk about his son to Trish Tilby the reporter, was, well, a choice. But it’s like the dam burst for him.

It’s a reflection of a very real problem. If you’re from a marginalized community, it’s assumed you can never be objective. But you can always be objective when you’re the ‘default’ community. 

So when Tilby is pushing Scott to explain why he’s supposedly lying about the existence of his child, she’s basically suggesting, as a mutant he has to be perfect, and Scott’s outburst is saying ‘no. if humans can be flawed and have secrets, so can he and mutantkind.’

He’s such a great human, though.

He’s willing to take the punches from the X-Cutioner in the second episode because he has to protect people from his blasts.

He’s willing to sacrifice himself in the finale so his son and the world can live.

He wants to give people a chance–save Magneto, appeal to Bastion–despite being a child soldier, he tries to break out of the mold that Charles has tried to shape him in

Scott’s love for Nathan is so dang palpable. You can almost feel his heart breaking for all the lost years.

And that bloody line of dialogue to Logan in the finale, ordering Logan to do what he’s best at, heal, so Logan doesn’t break Jean’s heart–Scott just wants Jean to be happy. 

R: Wow. We’re so predictable. 

M: Earlier, I mentioned the drama on the show. Talk about soap opera - who isn’t in love with the wrong person on this show!

R. Absolutely. A lot of the soap opera stuff has to do with the romances and love triangles/quadrangles!

R: I was uncomfortable with Magneto/Rogue/Gambit but I get it.

M: The Rogue/Magneto romance is still icky to me. There’s too large a gap and power-imbalance. But Maggie gives Rogue something no one else can, so I get why she turns to him. 

M: The Scott/Madelyne/Jean triangle is very complicated, and they wrote it well, where none of them are perfect, but they’re trying. 

Jean kissing Logan felt forced to me–Logan has been in love with her forever, but has she felt anything for him? Or is she, in a state of weakness, picking up his emotions and projecting back? 

Also, was ‘Berto introduced just to be Jubilee’s boyfriend? Boring.

I’m not convinced by Storm and Forge’s romance either. She went from feeling betrayed by the revelation that it was his invention that depowered her to being in love with him. superquick.

R: I see what you mean but I want Storm to find love with Forge.

R: I am very interested in Morph/Wolverine/Jean though.

In Fire Made Flesh, Morph’s demon takes the form of Wolverine saying he and everyone else know what Morph is. And Morph looks so scared.

I was wondering why Wolverine?

M: Why naked Wolverine?

R: Yeah right? 

I know they’re best friends in the show.

But the finale explains it–Morph is in love with Wolvie. Who wouldn’t be?

Of course, we know Logan’s been in love with Jeanie forever. So Morph takes Jean’s form to confess their love.

M: Morph being in love with Logan is unexpected–but again, why isn’t that part of the text of the show? Why is everything to do with Morph an afterthought?

I don’t hate that Morph’s feelings for Logan have evolved from platonic to romantic, considering Logan has been their biggest champion and friend and support from the get-go. The two of them have always been close. But we need to see their romance/friendship grow on screen!

R: I really want to see where this goes. Friends-to-lovers is a very popular fanfiction trope and Morph deserves it.

However, we can’t forget it’s 1997 in the show and being queer isn’t easy.

So, will Morph get a coming out story?

The X-Men have already accepted Morph’s non-binary identity. But would they feel the same way about Morph being a queer person in love with Wolverine?

Will Wolvie accept them?

I would hate for them to stop being friends over this!

How great would it be if Iceman joined the team in Season 2 and had his own coming out story?

X2, the film, was a coming out allegory so why not have a real coming out story?

I just want to see Bobby Drake!

M: Me too!

M: Best episode?

R: I was tempted to go with Remember It because of Gambit and Tolerance is Extinction Part 2 because of that Magneto vs Wolverine ending.

But, it’s episode 2 for me. Mutant Liberation Begins

This episode is the first season’s manifesto

Magneto does everything that humanity, and the X-Men, expect of him

And the humans still fight him; they take Storm’s power. They still choose hatred.

Magneto gave them chances and offered them harmony.

But they refused; humanity sided with Bastion, they destroyed Genosha, they shot nuclear missiles at Asteroid M

The human beings in the X-verse deserve whatever Magneto dishes out to them

M: Like you, for me it’s also Mutant Liberation Begins

This, to me, was one of the best episodes of television, ever

This was a clear reflection of the divisions of the real world–artificial divisions along the lines of race, class, ethnicity, and beliefs, that literally kill and maim people. 

The battle at the end where the X-Men are restraining themselves, getting beat down, while they protect the same class of people that are hurting them is poignant. 

The problem is, it doesn’t matter how much our art shows us we’re on the wrong side of history, people will purposely choose to be on the wrong side of it.

I also want to talk about S1.E5 ∙ Remember It

Honestly thought this was going to be a game-changer. The start of a Krakoa-like era where the X-Men and mutants have found a home for themselves. 

R: Never expect good things for the X-Men.

M:

And then we turn to the personal side of things when Rogue chooses Magneto over Gambit. I was like, ok, this is a character story, it’s about their arc.

And then boom, literally. You can have no peace in a world that actively hates you.

And lastly, S1.E10 ∙ Tolerance Is Extinction - Part 3

I thought the penultimate episode was one of the weaker ones of the season, so I was concerned about the finale. I was wrong. 

It became about connections–Charles connecting with Magnus, Jean and Scott connecting with Nathan, Scott reaching out to Bastion in friendship. Very emotional.

R: This leads us to the most shocking moment. 

It has to be Gambit dying, right? He’s a core character and he’s very much alive and kicking in the comics.

M: Honestly, did not expect Gambit to die. Like, I’m still reeling. I can only cope by knowing that he’s alive in the comics. 

R: The show has done this before–Morph died in the pilot but they did come back eventually.

There’s speculation that Gambit will return but like, how? He dead-dead.

M: Another shocking moment was Rogue dropping Trask off the building–this was not something Rogue would do. I know she was angry, but she should have been beating him to a pulp, not letting him plummet to his death.

R: That was shocking but it felt right.

R: But also, Magneto ripping the adamantium out of Wolverine?

It’s straight from the comics! In fact, the animation was based on the panel in the comic.

Very exciting but poor Wolverine!

M: Hopes for season 2? 

R: More Morph! I want to see them take the spotlight. Get a great arc, lots of action, and a full-on love story with someone. It probably won’t be Wolverine, because I doubt Marvel will make Wolvie queer. But someone.

Also, Mystique and Destiny. I love them so much and I need to see more of them. In the comics, Mystique and Destiny are ready to destroy the universe to save each other. I need to see that passion on screen.

But I’m worried that without Beau DeMayo, or a queer presence behind the scenes, we won’t get fulfilling queer stories.

I’d also love to see lots of new and old X-Men. Bring me Polaris, Havok, Iceman, Dani Moonstar, Rayne Sinclair, Synch. I need more Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

M: I want more of the mutants showing up and helping Forge and team. Iceman, Archangel, the New Mutants. I’d like to see them become mainstays. 

I really want more queer storylines, arcs, and characters. For all the updated sensibilities of this show, the queerbaiting irritated me.

That ‘Berto is back, he’s his comic book colour, his origins are retconned, and, while I love Augustini’s voice acting, we need a representative actor voicing him. 

Someone please explain Val Cooper–something is up with her!

More soap opera drama and romantic entanglements. We live for this.