“The future is coming.” Join your favourite TransAtlantic podcasting trio – Ian, Liam & Megs – for our 293rd episode as we pop our claws, don our leather suits, and revisit the film that redefined the superhero genre for the new millennium: X-Men (2000). Kev and Georgia? They’re cage fighting in Northern Alberta—because of course they are.

This week we discuss:

• Ian and Liam get into a dust-up about what constitutes a gang—whose side are you on?


• What's with all the wavering accents in this film?


• How on earth did Magneto know that Rogue had her powers when Rogue, Wolverine, and even Professor X didn’t?


• Ian delights in the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo by a Canadian Prime Minister (true patriot love).


• We reflect on Auschwitz as a tourist destination and Ian shares a story about a fashion faux pas that might have landed him on the wrong tour.


• Was Anna Paquin actually the biggest star attached to the film at the time of its release?


• You won’t guess what Bryan Singer banned from the set—and no, it wasn’t claws.


• Our favourite ghostwriter pops up once again—this time with a surprising link to X-Men.


• Alternate casting choices: the Wolverine that makes us laugh out loud, and a Professor X that would’ve been a disaster… but we still want to see it, even if the studio told him to “beat it” (not like that).


• How do superheroes actually get their names? That’s the class we wanted to see at Xavier’s.


• What exactly are the rules of Mystique’s powers again—and why is Toad weirdly overpowered?


• Which character has the worst trash talk despite having the perfect set-up? (Spoiler: lightning shouldn’t strike twice.)


• We talk about meeting up with two Friends of the Podcast this week and drinking pints no matter the occasion.


• One cast member opens up about a wardrobe malfunction that made mutant fashion even harder to pull off.


• And finally, whether X-Men (2000) is the Best Film Ever—or just the first stepping stone on the path to superhero dominance.

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE.

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

• Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM


• Hermes Auslander


• James DeGuzman


• Synthia


• Shai Bergerfroind


• Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most


• Andy Dickson


• Chris Pedersen


• Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)


• Randal Silva


• Nate The Great


• Rev Bruce


• Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)


• Richard


• Ryan Kuketz


• Dirk Diggler


• Stew from the Stew World Order podcast


• NorfolkDomus


• John Humphrey's Right Foot


• Timmy Tim Tim


• Aashrey

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/.

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor.

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/.