CEREBRO

In Episode 121 of CEREBRO, Connor and returning guest Justin Park consult the ancestors with Mariko Yashida, the stoic Scarlet Samurai! Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, inspired by the character Mariko Toda from James Clavell's 1975 historical novel Shōgun, Mariko is the daughter of an ancient Japanese noble house who becomes the great love of Logan, aka Wolverine. Over the course of Claremont's time with the character, she becomes the formidable leader of the politically powerful Clan Yashida. After her tragic death in a 1992 story by Larry Hama, Mariko's memory haunted Wolverine for decades until her resurrection in a 2018 arc of Old Man Logan written by Ed Brisson. In the interim, a popular alternate universe version of Mariko — her world's version of Sunfire — was a regular cast member in Judd Winick's Exiles in the early aughts, making a sizable impact as one of Marvel's first prominent lesbian superheroes. Recently, another alternate version of Mariko — this one created by Japanese writer-artist Peach Momoko — was the protagonist of the celebrated series Demon Days and its sequel Demon Wars.The CEREBRO character file on Mariko Yashida begins at 1:23:36.This is Part Two of Two. Go back to Part One if you haven't heard it yet! Patreon subscribers now have exclusive access to the combined 8.5-hour Extended Study in Scarlet Mix.(Content Advisory: Mariko's story includes domestic violence. This episode features general discussion of racism. There's a lot to unpack.)Our Sponsors:* Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Episode 126 of CEREBRO, the SEASON FIVE PREMIERE, Connor and returning guests Anthony Oliveira (Avengers Academy) and Khaliden Nas (Referential) drink deep of mutant marrow with Marius St. Croix, the execrable Emplate! Created by Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo for the 90s series Generation X, Emplate is a grotesque mutant vampire who uses the mouths in the palms of his hands to drain living things of their bone marrow, which he must consume to survive. Only the marrow of fellow mutants is capable of sustaining him for long — and keeping him in our dimension, as he is typically imprisoned in an extradimensional hell.The character was deeply complicated by retcons; first, one establishing him as the brother of Generation X member Monet St. Croix, and then a series of very confusing retcons about the nature of Monet herself. Perhaps as a result, Emplate never managed to be the big bad of the book as he was initially conceived, and after the end of Gen X the character has rarely appeared again. Most recently, the character was revived and somewhat reimagined by Anthony in the long-running digital comic Avengers Academy.This is Part Two of Two. Go back to Part One if you haven't heard it yet! Patreon subscribers now have exclusive access to the combined 10-hour Extended Journal du Voleur Mix.(Content Advisory: Marius is a deeply fraught character whose story metaphorically alludes to subjects like incest, sexual violence including child sex abuse, and torture. His story also features homophobia, racism, and Islamophobia. This episode features discussion of suicide. Proceed with caution!)Our Sponsors:* Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Episode 126 of CEREBRO, the SEASON FIVE PREMIERE, Connor and returning guests Anthony Oliveira (Avengers Academy) and Khaliden Nas (Referential) drink deep of mutant marrow with Marius St. Croix, the execrable Emplate! Created by Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo for the 90s series Generation X, Emplate is a grotesque mutant vampire who uses the mouths in the palms of his hands to drain living things of their bone marrow, which he must consume to survive. Only the marrow of fellow mutants is capable of sustaining him for long — and keeping him in our dimension, as he is typically imprisoned in an extradimensional hell. The character was deeply complicated by retcons; first, one establishing him as the brother of Generation X member Monet St. Croix, and then a series of very confusing retcons about the nature of Monet herself. Perhaps as a result, Emplate never managed to be the big bad of the book as he was initially conceived, and after the end of Gen X the character has rarely appeared again. Most recently, the character was revived and somewhat reimagined by Anthony in the long-running digital comic Avengers Academy.The CEREBRO character file on Emplate begins at 1:45:36.This is Part One of Two. The second half is coming soon! When it drops, Patreon subscribers will also get exclusive access to the combined Extended Journal du Voleur Mix.(Content Advisory: Marius is a deeply fraught character whose story metaphorically alludes to subjects like incest, sexual violence including child sex abuse, and torture. His story also features homophobia, racism, and Islamophobia. Proceed with caution!)Our Sponsors:* Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Episode 125 of CEREBRO, the SEASON FOUR FINALE, Connor and returning guests Josh Cornillon (Did You Hear About Mimi Green? — preorder now!) and Dr. Holly Raymond of Temple University microwave themselves stupid with Angelica Jones, the functional Firestar! Created by NBC executives for the 1981 Saturday morning cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Firestar spent the next 40-odd years desperately trying to find a place in the Earth-616 continuity of Marvel Comics.While she had notable runs with the New Warriors and the Avengers in the 90s, Angelica never really made her way to the X-Men until the 21st century, first in Jason Aaron's Amazing X-Men, but then — a lot more explosively — under writer Gerry Duggan during the First Krakoan Age. After winning the second X-Men Vote, Firestar became a member of the flagship team, only to find herself entangled in a gruesome mission during the fall of the Krakoan state: infiltrating the anti-mutant genocidal apparatus Orchis to dismantle it from within.She's more interesting than ever now, in my opinion, and we're excited to dig into her whole crazy continuity with you!This is Part Two of Two. Go back to Part One if you haven't heard it yet! Patreon subscribers now have exclusive access to the combined 9-hour Extended Tidings of Joy Mix.Our Sponsors:* Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Episode 125 of CEREBRO, the SEASON FOUR FINALE, Connor and returning guests Josh Cornillon (Did You Hear About Mimi Green? — preorder now!) and Dr. Holly Raymond of Temple University microwave themselves stupid with Angelica Jones, the functional Firestar! Created by NBC executives for the 1981 Saturday morning cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Firestar spent the next 40-odd years desperately trying to find a place in the Earth-616 continuity of Marvel Comics.While she had notable runs with the New Warriors and the Avengers in the 90s, Angelica never really made her way to the X-Men until the 21st century, first in Jason Aaron's Amazing X-Men, but then — a lot more explosively — under writer Gerry Duggan during the First Krakoan Age. After winning the second X-Men Vote, Firestar became a member of the flagship team, only to find herself entangled in a gruesome mission during the fall of the Krakoan state: infiltrating the anti-mutant genocidal apparatus Orchis to dismantle it from within.She's more interesting than ever now, in my opinion, and we're excited to dig into her whole crazy continuity with you!The CEREBRO character file on Firestar begins at 1:29:44.This is Part One of Two. The second half is coming soon! When it drops, Patreon subscribers will also get exclusive access to the combined Extended Tidings of Joy Mix.(Content Advisory: Angelica battles cancer on-page in a manner rare for superhero comics. Her story also includes child abuse, animal abuse, substance abuse, torture, genocide, and sexual violence.)Our Sponsors:* Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy