X-Men

[Benn Roe]

The thread about Marvel movies got me wanting to geek out more about X-Men (comics as well as movies), and it seemed like there were a few other X-fans kicking around. Anyone else keeping current? I'm always about six months behind because I buy the trades rather than the single issues, but there have been a few good titles lately. I'm nervously awaiting the new Astonishing X-Men, which has a pretty great line-up (Psylocke, Archangel, Bishop, Rogue, Mystique, Gambit, Fantomex, and Old Man Logan) but is being written by a writer I normally don't care for (Charles Soule).

Other conversation starters:

• Favourite X-Men runs or series? My favourite in recent memory was Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force, but that's a pretty safe answer. Probably my favourite of all time is the Age of Apocalypse (or at least various parts of it). Much more controversially, I also really liked Age of X. Also controversially, I couldn't get into Jason Aaron's Wolverine and the X-Men at all.
• Ideal X-Men line-up? Mine is Magik, Karma, Chamber, Dust, Psylocke, and Wolverine.
• Thoughts on the time-displaced original five? I was pleasantly surprised when Bendis pulled this off, but feel they have long worn out their welcome and can't wait for them to stop hogging valuable title-space.
• Is-my-favourite-character-currently-dead checks? I don't think we've ever had so many of the heavy hitters dead at one time. Right now Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X, and Wolverine are all dead.

[Iommic Pope]

Bishop and Cable or get the fuck out.

[Benn Roe]

I can definitely get behind some time travel and guns. It's cool you're into both characters. They have so much in common, people often really like one of them to the other's exclusion. Messiah Complex probably didn't help with that.

[MEC]

[oldangelmidnight]

I haven't read a lot of the X-books but I listen to Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men and I love it.
I tend to read based on writers so I read the whole Bendis run and I liked it. I thought the time displaced characters were well used. I'd like to see a Beast solo book with him processing some of his psychological issues.
The rebel Cyclops stuff was interesting.
The Morrison run helped usher me back to superhero comics and Marvel, in particular.
Probably my favorite thing X-related was Jason Aaron's run on Wolverine and the X-Men. I don't really have strong feelings about Wolverine as a character but that book was a lot of fun. Really clever and I felt like it worked really well emotionally.

[space6oy]

i fell out a long time ago. kinda sucks.

i have the first 120 issues of x-factor.

will have to think about the favorites...

favorite villain though is apocalypse, by far. sad about that in the movies. so bad...
favorite story is probably days of future past (the comics one, not the movie one).



had a big crush on psylocke.

[Benn Roe]

I haven't read a lot of the X-books but I listen to Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men and I love it.
I tend to read based on writers so I read the whole Bendis run and I liked it. I thought the time displaced characters were well used. I'd like to see a Beast solo book with him processing some of his psychological issues.
The rebel Cyclops stuff was interesting.
The Morrison run helped usher me back to superhero comics and Marvel, in particular.
Probably my favorite thing X-related was Jason Aaron's run on Wolverine and the X-Men. I don't really have strong feelings about Wolverine as a character but that book was a lot of fun. Really clever and I felt like it worked really well emotionally.

I like Jay & Miles a lot too, despite often disagreeing with them. I know Bendis gets a lot of shit for his run on the X-Men, but I agree with you. He pulled off a lot of stuff I didn't think he'd be able to, and kept his entire arc engaging and interesting. I even like a few of his new characters, like Triage, Tempus, and Benjamin Deeds.

Morrison's run on New X-Men was pretty undeniable, and far and away the best thing to come out of the early movies. As for Wolverine and the X-Men, I totally get why people like it. I'd probably like it too if it were the same story but with a totally different cast of characters. I just don't think the tone was a good fit for the X-Men. They have a long history of being mostly serious and allegorical with a hint of light-hearted soap opera, and I think that tone's important. WatXM just came across as too silly and slapstick for these characters.

i have the first 120 issues of x-factor.

favorite villain though is apocalypse, by far. sad about that in the movies. so bad...
favorite story is probably days of future past (the comics one, not the movie one).

I actually just read the first volume of the X-Factor epic collection! Overall, it was pretty good. Apocalypse has always been my favourite villain too (with Magneto being a close second), so it was cool to finally read his first appearance story. I was pleasantly surprised by how much of his more modern persona and ethos were present, despite the weird role he filled as random boss of a team of mutant thugs. His inclusion was a rewrite, and the role he played was originally supposed to be the Fantastic Four villain the Owl, which is why he's such an awkward fit for that first story. I kind of expected him to be a generic moustache-twirler like Magneto was in the 60s.

[$harkToootth]

Contrary to (current) popular opinion, I'm a huge Rob Liefeld fan. I love all the characters he designed and his art. Something about it invokes something in me.

I have the two omnibuses of the Chris Claremont and Jim Lee run. Love that! The earlier Claremont runs are great too. I think a lot of his sentiments are just as relevant now as they were then. I always loved X-MEN because of the diversity and tolerance and overall team building. Cyclops was my favorite for that. Wolverine would always be like "I'm going in on my own" and Cyclops would have to diplomatically explain how ineffective that is.

Other than that if you think about it, the X-MEN are some of the most inadvertently ineffective super heroes. It seems like half the time they are just fighting other mutants. Not really saving anyone. So if you think about the casualties and collateral damage caused by mutants fighting each other, as a civilian, you would be pretty pissed off.

I'm a HUGE Garth Ennis fan. THE BOYS is a great series (if a bit too long) and he goes over my sentiments. Garth Ennis is responsible for writing (in opinion) the greatest series to ever come out of the Marvel imprint. Yes, I am talking about THE PUNISHER MAX. Holy Shit.

But yes, love X-MEN. The movies aren't good but I watch them anyway.

[chuckjaywalk]

I learned about the X-Men as an elementary kid on a bus full of high school nerds on the way to a chess meet. Colossus was big and Russian and metal. Wolverine was a badass fighter with claws. Nightcrawler was German and teleported and looked like a demon. Kitty Pryde was a crushworthy freshman with the ability to phase through walls. It was heady, fascinating, and all I wanted. I didn't get to read them until a little while later. It was the beginning of the Claremont/Lee run called Death and Dissolution. The X-Men went through the Siege Perilous and everything changed. Wolverine was crucified by the Reavers. It was amazing. It was spectacular. The Shadow King showed up. Shit got real. X-Men #1 was the end of my love affair with the X-Men.

The Garth Ennis run with Frank Quitely was great.

I hate the movies but Logan was awesome.

[$harkToootth]

To be fair, my issues with the movies are filmmaking ones and not regarding their merit as an "adaptation". I think it's juvenile for comic book fans to hold that expectation but so be it. A good example of this is the second Captain America movie. It's just a shitty film.

LOGAN, which I have not seen, was based on the MAX run right? Those are the best. The Garth Ennis Nick Fury MAX mini series (12 issues = 2 trade paperbacks) was an amazing work. You will get "feelings" reading that one.

I haven't bought a new comic in years but when I was still buying comics I thought PROPHET was the best thing EVER!

[Benn Roe]

Logan is loosely based on Old Man Logan, but since Fox doesn't have film rights for Hawkeye, they used Professor X as the road-trip buddy. It's definitely a stand-out movie (along with Days of Future Past) in an otherwise middling film franchise. I have high hopes for the New Mutants movie, though.

What characters did Rob Liefield design other than Cable and Deadpool? I guess Shatterstar and Domino? I always liked Shatterstar and Deadpool's over-the-top looks, but could take or leave the characters themselves. Domino and Cable are cool, though. Wait, did Liefield create the Mutant Liberation Front? Haha, I guess he must have. I think most of the rest of that original X-Force lineup were Claremont New Mutants or Simonson X-Factor characters.

Other than that if you think about it, the X-MEN are some of the most inadvertently ineffective super heroes. It seems like half the time they are just fighting other mutants. Not really saving anyone. So if you think about the casualties and collateral damage caused by mutants fighting each other, as a civilian, you would be pretty pissed off.

It's only gotten worse in recent years, with the X-Men often just fighting other super hero teams like the Avengers or Inhumans. They've got a lot of actual super heroics under their belts too, though, especially when you take into consideration the constant uphill social battle.

Also, unrelated, but did Kitty and Piotr just get engaged? I'm not caught up on the current titles, but I heard a rumour..

[oldangelmidnight]

Last I knew Kitty and Starlord were an item. But maybe the confusion is that his name is also Peter...

[$harkToootth]

I was never that big into the big II but what really turned me off from them was an the cross overs. You have to buy like 7 issues to understand what is going on. I'm not a fan of story lines like 'Civil War', 'Infinity' etc.
Per my bias, things like ANGRY YOUTH COMIX, PUKE FORCE, anything Daniel Clowes and Charles Burns did, are more my speed.

[Benn Roe]

That's actually a thing with Kitty. She pretty much only dates guys named Peter (Colossus, Pete Wisdom, Peter Quill, etc.), although she did briefly date Iceman right before he came out. I don't think what I heard was about Quill, though, because she's back from space and has been leading a team with Colossus on it. Quiet!! I'm watching my stories!!

[Benn Roe]

Big news (hidden for spoilers)!

NSFW: show

Jean Grey's coming back to life! She's been dead since 2004, so this is a pretty big deal. I always have mixed feelings about resurrections, especially when they don't serve the needs of a good story, but this might be the ideal time for her to return, what with Cyclops, Wolverine, and (kind of) Professor X all being dead.

https://www.newsarama.com/36459-marvel- ... tions.html