Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links.

Figured I'd start a thread for the current new status quo for the X-Verse. House of X/Powers of X and onward. I was going to do separate threads for each book, but I doubt this'll get a ton of traffic. Best to keep it here for now.

Interesting. I'm happy to hear other views even they are different from mine.

I personally love most of what's happening in the main series so far. Hickman works slowly but he usually gives us a big pay off, and I don't know if many more storylines were left with the previous X-Men status quo. I love that all these arcs are being set-up and will come crashing down soon: The Phalanx, The Brood, The Children of the Vault, Orchis, etc. They're all being expanded upon and given the proper narrative support to actually be scary again. The data files in the issues are really well done, and really deepen the histories, hierarchies, and goals of all these things.

My favorite aspect so far are the Children of the Vault. They were a good but horribly executed idea from the Mike Carey days. Never thought I'd see or want to see them again. Hickman has is set them up spectacularly though imo, and they are poised to finally fulfill their purpose of being the "true" threat to mutantkind. They represent evolution on an entirely different scale than anything humanity or mutant-kind could ever approximate, and it scares Xavier.

https://ibb.co/zxmgG2D
https://ibb.co/VBHjRh9

I can't wait to see what happened to the X-23, Darwin, Synch trio they sent to the Vault. The Vault internal readout said several Children are already at level 2, and upgrading to level 3 will mean times up.

I definitely think Xavier, and to a lesser extent Magneto, are being uncharacteristically assholish to Mystique though. Dangling Irene's revival in front of her like that is so wrong, and Xavier is so condescending about it.

https://ibb.co/tH2wQWm
https://ibb.co/mJF17Zh
https://ibb.co/XDrq3Mh
https://ibb.co/2vLh0JN

On the other hand, they are kinda right. Mystique does have some of it coming, and these are fairly unique situations, being that Xavier learned he was "wrong" after Moira's whole multiple lives thing.

I take it you weren't a fan of the recent Emma/Jean issue of Giant Size either? It was a direct homage the no-dialogue issue of Morrison's run, where Jean/Emma went through Cassandra Nova's mind. I feel like Russel Dauterman does such a better job on art than Quitely did in the original, that it alone improves the experience. I'm obviously not a Frank Quitely fan though: only time I'm ever gotten nauseous reading a comic. (not joking)

Originally posted by StyleTime
being uncharacteristically assholish to Mystique though

Oh, c'mon. She deserved much, much, muuuuuch worse.

Let's face it... the only good Mystique is dead Mystique.

Oh, no doubt. Mystique is definitely not a good girl. Still, I don't know. Xavier isn't normally the type to demean you, or dangle someone's life in front of you like that.

Plus, Mr Sinister, Shaw, Apocalypse, Exodus, and such are on the Quiet Council too. He doesn't put any of them through this. It really seems like Mystique got singled out so they could coerce her into becoming their little spy-bot on Orchis. I get her abilities/skills are a great fit, but she probably would have cooperated with Irene alive too.

I mean, don't get me wrong, emotional blackmail makes for great story drama. I like it for that apsect, but hot damn. Maybe I'm a softie, but seeing Mystique's tears when she got shot into space made me feel for her a bit.
https://ibb.co/CHVFwRB
https://ibb.co/2W5yNbL

I understand why they all voted to let Krakoa eat Sabretooth or whatever, but I feel like this is going to bite them in the ass. The flashbacks with Destiny indicate she knows something that could probably help.

I love how Essex is not event a mutant... yet they don't mind making an exception in his case

Yeah, and the whole Quiet Council hates him. I love Hickman Sinister. He's wacky without annoying the reader like 95% of Deadpool depictions. That whole scene when Xavier and Magneto came to recruit him was something else. The Sinister clones just kept offing each other lol

https://ibb.co/9WBXcdL
https://ibb.co/NTSScPd
https://ibb.co/yyNcZyv
https://ibb.co/qy0BGg8

I hated that scene But to each his own.

But now that I've read it again... guess that explains it? As that particular body of Sinister does have the x-gene... right?

Fair enough. I just like that the Quiet Council are all getting different personalities. Wacky Sinister doesn't take me out of the world at least. His crazy seems internally consistent. His old persona overlaps too much with current Apocalypse. And I dig this storytelling teacher version of Exodus that is great with kids.

But yeah, this Sinister is the "mutant" Sinister it seems.

New X-Factor series is supposed to drop in a few days. I don't have high expectations for it, but let's hope it's readable at least. While I like the main series X-Men, the associated X-Books are kinda meh. I'll probably give my take on them soon.

Originally posted by StyleTime
Interesting. I'm happy to hear other views even they are different from mine.

I personally love most of what's happening in the main series so far. Hickman works slowly but he usually gives us a big pay off, and I don't know if many more storylines were left with the previous X-Men status quo. I love that all these arcs are being set-up and will come crashing down soon: The Phalanx, The Brood, The Children of the Vault, Orchis, etc. They're all being expanded upon and given the proper narrative support to actually be scary again. The data files in the issues are really well done, and really deepen the histories, hierarchies, and goals of all these things.

My favorite aspect so far are the Children of the Vault. They were a good but horribly executed idea from the Mike Carey days. Never thought I'd see or want to see them again. Hickman has is set them up spectacularly though imo, and they are poised to finally fulfill their purpose of being the "true" threat to mutantkind. They represent evolution on an entirely different scale than anything humanity or mutant-kind could ever approximate, and it scares Xavier.

https://ibb.co/zxmgG2D
https://ibb.co/VBHjRh9

I can't wait to see what happened to the X-23, Darwin, Synch trio they sent to the Vault. The Vault internal readout said several Children are already at level 2, and upgrading to level 3 will mean times up. After the movies, she deserves it.

Originally posted by StyleTime
Interesting. I'm happy to hear other views even they are different from mine.

I personally love most of what's happening in the main series so far. Hickman works slowly but he usually gives us a big pay off, and I don't know if many more storylines were left with the previous X-Men status quo. I love that all these arcs are being set-up and will come crashing down soon: The Phalanx, The Brood, The Children of the Vault, Orchis, etc. They're all being expanded upon and given the proper narrative support to actually be scary again. The data files in the issues are really well done, and really deepen the histories, hierarchies, and goals of all these things.

My favorite aspect so far are the Children of the Vault. They were a good but horribly executed idea from the Mike Carey days. Never thought I'd see or want to see them again. Hickman has is set them up spectacularly though imo, and they are poised to finally fulfill their purpose of being the "true" threat to mutantkind. They represent evolution on an entirely different scale than anything humanity or mutant-kind could ever approximate, and it scares Xavier.

https://ibb.co/zxmgG2D
https://ibb.co/VBHjRh9

I can't wait to see what happened to the X-23, Darwin, Synch trio they sent to the Vault. The Vault internal readout said several Children are already at level 2, and upgrading to level 3 will mean times up. After the movies, she deserves it.

Did you mean Mystique? I can't tell from the quoted post.

Not to be a broken record, so I'll keep this short. Hickman has fallen in to his usual trap of making the characters fit the story rather than the other way around. This, on top of his weird ideas of how certain X-Men characters should be, means we're getting some pretty strange if not poor characterisation across the board, even if the basic plot concept is actually pretty interesting.

As far as Mystique goes: The question to me, isn't whether she deserves it. The question I would ask is why someone like Xavier would sink to those kind of levels to manipulate her like that. There's a lot of X-Men that, under other writers, would be flat-out disgusted if they found out Xavier was pulling that shit. Even for Magneto it feels kinda c**ty.

Originally posted by -Pr-
The question I would ask is why someone like Xavier would sink to those kind of levels to manipulate her like that. There's a lot of X-Men that, under other writers, would be flat-out disgusted if they found out Xavier was pulling that shit. Even for Magneto it feels kinda c**ty.

There is no other way to make Raven cooperate.

She is a sick person. Always has been. And her shapeshifting powers are only making her mental condition worse.

She will betray anyone and anything --- and if she somehow runs out of people to betray, she will betray herself and her own beliefs.

Even if they bring Destiny back, they should keep her as far as possible from Raven.

Mystique should share Creed's fate. And probably will. Xavier and Mags just want to use her before that.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
There is no other way to make Raven cooperate.

She is a sick person. Always has been. And her shapeshifting powers are only making her mental condition worse.

She will betray anyone and anything --- and if she somehow runs out of people to betray, she will betray herself and her own beliefs.

Even if they bring Destiny back, they should keep her as far as possible from Raven.

Mystique should share Creed's fate. And probably will. Xavier and Mags just want to use her before that.

Destiny isn't a fool; plus, she's a big girl. She can look after herself. I definitely got the impression they were keeping her locked up for a reason other than to **** with Mystique. That, somehow, makes it look worse to me.

Originally posted by -Pr-
Destiny isn't a fool;

She is for hanging out with Raven.

Originally posted by -Pr-
plus, she's a big girl. She can look after herself.

Oh, Sinister thought that too and got f*cked in the ass dry and raw the first chance she got.

It's not a question of if Mystique will betray you --- it's only a matter of when it happens.

And those closest to her can expect true hell.

Originally posted by -Pr-
I definitely got the impression they were keeping her locked up for a reason other than to **** with Mystique. That, somehow, makes it look worse to me.

Quite possible, I agree here.

Originally posted by -Pr-
Not to be a broken record, so I'll keep this short. Hickman has fallen in to his usual trap of making the characters fit the story rather than the other way around. This, on top of his weird ideas of how certain X-Men characters should be, means we're getting some pretty strange if not poor characterisation across the board, even if the basic plot concept is actually pretty interesting.

As far as Mystique goes: The question to me, isn't whether she deserves it. The question I would ask is why someone like Xavier would sink to those kind of levels to manipulate her like that. There's a lot of X-Men that, under other writers, would be flat-out disgusted if they found out Xavier was pulling that shit. Even for Magneto it feels kinda c**ty.
100% understandable. He's definitely taking liberties with several folks. I'm willing to sacrifice though since, as all us X-Fans know, it's been a hot minute since the main series produced any good stories. Second Coming was fun, but ultimately the best of a bad lot. I do like some of the new takes though. And chilled-out, drunk Vulcan = Best Vulcan.

Yeah, that is what irked me too. I just don't feel typical Xavier would do that. Even Magneto seems inclined to cut her slack, provided enough transparency. I have a feeling someone will find out about it and have problems though. Cyclops already went off on the Quiet Council in Hellions, albeit over his brother. I feel like he'd be willing to call them out over Mystique.
Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
There is no other way to make Raven cooperate.

Mystique should share Creed's fate. And probably will. Xavier and Mags just want to use her before that.
Possibly. Maybe that's the difference though: Mystique can be made to cooperate. She does legitimately care for Destiny. Sabretooth has no such attachments.

Magneto highlighted Sabes inability to follow basic mission instructions when he voted against him. Apoc agreed lol. Mystique, for all her flaws, does her job, although not "handling" the Nimrod situation was deceitful AF. I feel like Mystique is more selfish than psycho. Still bad, but can be contained at least.
Originally posted by -Pr-
Destiny isn't a fool; plus, she's a big girl. She can look after herself. I definitely got the impression they were keeping her locked up for a reason other than to **** with Mystique. That, somehow, makes it look worse to me.


That would be fuuuuucked if Destiny was alive this whole time, and they're just using her too or something.

It appears Rachel's chronoskimming ability has returned.
https://postimg.cc/V5w6HB4q
https://postimg.cc/Yjx9cGyJ

And speaking of the new X-Factor, it's about what I expected BUT....I will say the actual detective portions are pretty solid. I wish we'd get more of that. The rest feels too sitcom-y for my tastes, and Daken has been totally reduced to his sexual orientation. It's a shame since his orientation has only ever been incidental to his character. Leah is making his whole identity about it.

It started with the "disaster bisexual" thing.

https://postimg.cc/9DCYm7WZ

Then he just turned into a contrived, laugh-box, network TV gag. It's like some clueless exec walked into a writer's room and went "you know what would be funny?" as the writers roll their eyes but get forced to put it in.

My best movie

Originally posted by StyleTime
Possibly. Maybe that's the difference though: Mystique can be made to cooperate. She does legitimately care for Destiny. Sabretooth has no such attachments.

Magneto highlighted Sabes inability to follow basic mission instructions when he voted against him. Apoc agreed lol. Mystique, for all her flaws, does her job, although not "handling" the Nimrod situation was deceitful AF. I feel like Mystique is more selfish than psycho. Still bad, but can be contained at least.


Sabretooth is shit right in front of you.

Mystique is the same shit, but covered in expensive wrapping.

That's the only difference between them, Style.



As for her bond with Destiny? I don't believe it would withstand the real tests. Mystique never faces challenges, she runs from them.

The Empyre issue of X-Men(#11) was surprisingly well done. Humorous exchange with Magneto and the Cuckoos too.
https://postimg.cc/SncPm4w9

The actual Empyre: X-Men tie-in mini was neat too. The Explodey Boy thing was gold. I've never gotten attached to a zombie before but well done lol. I was sad at the end scene.


Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Sabretooth is shit right in front of you.

Mystique is the same shit, but covered in expensive wrapping.

That's the only difference between them, Style.


As for her bond with Destiny? I don't believe it would withstand the real tests. Mystique never faces challenges, she runs from them.
I'd have to disagree. You seem to think I'm defending her character: I'm not. It goes back to what I said earlier: She's no different than the rest of the folks on the Quiet Council with questionable pasts. Or the others on Krakoa in general. Sebastian personally funded sentinel production ffs. Emma has her shit. Selene. Mutant Liberation Front. Apocalypse. Lady Mastermind. Shinobi Shaw. Sinister. Nanny and Orphan-Maker. Magneto's done things, including killing an actual X-Kid. The island is full of them.

Krakoa was the new start. Everyone got a chance to unite under Xavier's unified mutant banner, provided they fall in line. So far, everyone has...except Sabretooth. He's the one who decided to risk an important mission and disobey orders. Not Toad. Not Mystique. They did their jobs as asked, and continue doing so.

Once he blew his chance, they tossed him. I don't really see it the same at all tbh.

My issue was moreso the ****ed up they treat her personally, especially considering the folks they happily chill out with now. As far as redeeming traits, she got as much as any of the "bad" mutants. She does love Destiny, and can commit to the team if needed: she was put on death's door saving Forge's life, for example.

I just can't imagine Raven living anything close to a normal life... especially with her history of homicidal tendencies, mental ilness and that weird addiction to betraying anyone around her, even when it doesn't really fit her goals.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
I just can't imagine Raven living anything close to a normal life... especially with her history of homicidal tendencies, mental ilness and that weird addiction to betraying anyone around her, even when it doesn't really fit her goals.
W. those qualities she could be an aspiring actress in L.A.

So, thoughts on X of Swords?

I didn't think it was the worst event ever, but I didn't really hit the mark. I don't think these crossovers running through multiple titles with multiple writers often work very well. Right off the bat, we get tonal inconsistencies that take me out of the story. Not to mention quality shifts. I think it would be better if there was one main title, written by Hickman. Have the other titles be about those teams' actions during the event, but minus their missing member(s). Only 10 folks were actually chosen, so it would be fine if they disappeared for a while into a Hickman written maxi-series.

As for the actual story, I feel like we got two potentially good plotlines crammed into one so-so event. I actually liked Saturnyne's petty and utterly arbitrary contests just reform the Captain Britain Corps. And watching her throw a b1tch fit because she wants to bang Brian but Betsy is her only option was hilarious. I just wonder if it would work better as a dedicated, almost absurdist mind**** of a story where she trolls everyone with her ridiculous games until figure out some way through it all. When it happens alongside the Apocalypse story, it just made the whole Krakoa/Arakko war so hard to take seriously. I found myself not giving AF during the battle, and it was the climax of the event.

I do like that Apocalypse's personal arc finally move forward though. He was preparing them for a coming war, and the war occurred. He finally moved on from the one-note villain he was all those years. Good stuff there at least. I still think Remender Archangel made a better Apocalypse, but En Sabah Nur grew a lot here.

Oh, and of course, I loved the character moment from Cyclops. This is probably the best example of how you make Cyclops the "third" option against Magneto or Xavier, which Marvel spent the last decade trying to do.

https://postimg.cc/wtH39SZc
https://postimg.cc/LY8X1jHJ
https://postimg.cc/zLjvvx1m

Mags and Xavier can keep their little abstractions and ideological battles. Cyclops is here to be a ****ing hero.

Oh, and while I'm rambling, I might as well mention something I noticed with the former teen mutants. It was really prominent in this event, but is noticeable throughout all the series. Magik, Doug, Rahne, etc---

--Are their ages changing back and forth? One issue, they feel like mid-twenty somethings, but they change to 13 year olds who go "teehee" at the idea of kissing someone in the next. I can't totally get a handle on it. Maybe it's just me though.

Please stop bribing X-writers.


I blame you for the Gurl Powah vs. Sebastian Shaw scene uhuh

Too late. I've already arranged for Storm to destroy Knull alone. She was just too afraid of hurting everyone to cut loose last issue.

So, Hickman is handing X-Men over to Gerry Duggan. Tini Howard will be on X-Corp. Simon Spurrier and Leah Williams on new titles.

I genuinely dislike this. Hickman's X-Men was just getting going, and most of the other titles aren't good. I definitely didn't want to see Tini on X-Corp, and Spurrier, Leah, and Gerry.... just goddamnit. I don't want to be so negative about it, but holy **** I was kinda hoping we'd get other writers. None of their X-books have been good, other than Hickman.

https://i.postimg.cc/HLPmtQTK/cirg65umiyr61.jpg

He's still gonna write one title, right? Looking at that pic.

Hickman is NOT someone who can execute his "grand plans" right to the end.

Yeah, he'll be on whatever that new title is.

I assume it will pick up from Cyclops/Jean separating from the Quiet Council, and starting the official X-Men team.

Maybe this will be the new Uncanny? I just REALLY hope we get to continue what Hickman's plans are, with Hickman actually being the one to do them. I was enjoying it and there's 8 million threads we need to see play out. I really don't get why he'd be off the flagship title, unless they're planning to make the new title the "main" book.

Either way, let's hope it's not being left to Tini and Duggan and such... ermm

Originally posted by StyleTime
I just REALLY hope we get to continue what Hickman's plans are, with Hickman actually being the one to do them.

I see what you're saying, but we both know it's hard to execute such plans in the mainstream continuity.

Even if Marvel's editorial staff agrees, sooner or later there will be a new creative team... often forgetting/ignoring/retconning the work of previous writers.

In my opinion, you were putting way too much faith in Hickman. He is overrated and half-measure.

But.

It's not over yet, so hopefully he will get a chance to prove me wrong.

Well, we disagree on Hickman, but maybe I'm overreacting. He is still at the reigns to my understanding, so this shouldn't go too far of course. Let's just hope it doesn't turn out like Warren Ellis Wildstorm reboot. Started out great, then the whole reboot gets put on hiatus and still hasn't come out 5 years later.

As for the current run,

I'm especially liking the recent turns of events, now that the Children of the Vault arc moved forward. It seems like sending Darwin worked against them, as the third generation Children wouldn't have been enough to kill the mutants since they're all banded together on Krakoa. The Vault captured Darwin and used his powers to make a 4th generation possible. The mutants basically just doomed themselves by even bothering to investigate.

X-23 got a great healing feat though.
https://postimg.cc/2bVqswb5
https://postimg.cc/LgPJX8VK
https://postimg.cc/ftp3D9mf
https://postimg.cc/kDR6wTP1

And the Krakoan revival protocols have resulted in some folks getting a power boost, as Synch can now copy anyone's powers. Not just mutants. Nice to see him getting used.

Interesting story too, since X-23, Synch, and Darwin were trapped in there for over a century. I'm glad that didn't get glossed over. Time moves differently in the Vault.

Darwin was atomized and reconfigured 10,278 times after being captured.

Laura's skeleton boobs are even bigger

It is kinda funny, huh?

Walking around despite literally being skeleton. Her clothing still has boob imprints. Mask completely undamaged.

It reminds me of the scan srank posted, where Wolverine climbed out of a vault of acid as a complete skeleton.

Originally posted by StyleTime
Oh, and of course, I loved the character moment from Cyclops. This is probably the best example of how you make Cyclops the "third" option against Magneto or Xavier, which Marvel spent the last decade trying to do.

https://postimg.cc/wtH39SZc
https://postimg.cc/LY8X1jHJ
https://postimg.cc/zLjvvx1m

Mags and Xavier can keep their little abstractions and ideological battles. Cyclops is here to be a ****ing hero.

i'm loving Hickman's X-Men except for these 2 things:

- how is Scott okay with Logan and Jean? this is stupid... we've had a soft reboot and instead of keeping Logan away from Scott and Jean, Hickman even made them a throuple, for f*ck's sake

- we've seen disgusting moments of Jean and Logan but we've never seen Scott and Emma yet, this is my saving grace

I prefer the open relationship to the old love triangle to be honest. Maybe they've just developed beyond their old notions of what their relationship should look like. There's no reason they have to be monogamous, if it doesn't suit them.

That said, I just think Scott and Jean should have stayed separated. Morrison did a really good job showing them grow apart romantically, and I don't like that being discarded. Jean and Wolverine feel much more organic as a couple too. While X-Force isn't the greatest series, their conversations feel more authentic and both characters are themselves around each other. Neither really becomes background noise to the other.

Jean with Scott just feels almost...performative at this point, like "wife" and "husband" are just positions they play on a sports team. Honestly, I'd rather Emma be with Scott as they just work better.

I wouldn't mind Jean just being single either.

Originally posted by StyleTime
I prefer the open relationship to the old love triangle to be honest. Maybe they've just developed beyond their old notions of what their relationship should look like. There's no reason they have to be monogamous, if it doesn't suit them.

That said, I just think Scott and Jean should have stayed separated. Morrison did a really good job showing them grow apart romantically, and I don't like that being discarded. Jean and Wolverine feel much more organic as a couple too. While X-Force isn't the greatest series, their conversations feel more authentic and both characters are themselves around each other. Neither really becomes background noise to the other.

Jean with Scott just feels almost...performative at this point, like "wife" and "husband" are just positions they play on a sports team. Honestly, I'd rather Emma be with Scott as they just work better.

I wouldn't mind Jean just being single either.

^ Good post.

Originally posted by StyleTime
It is kinda funny, huh?

Walking around despite literally being skeleton. Her clothing still has boob imprints. Mask completely undamaged.

It reminds me of the scan srank posted, where Wolverine climbed out of a vault of acid as a complete skeleton.

Vault of molten metal, if you're thinking of that Wolverine Annual.

It was re-posted a million times, not just by srank. But perhaps he was the first one to share it... you sure sound like a kmc grandpa, Style.

High-end feat to be sure, but it was sort of implied that it did take him a good while to recover fully and strike at the mobsters again.

Logically, he shouldn't be able to move as a skeleton of course... unless we assume that either Gaea's or Lazaer's supernatural connections are there at work. Or that he adapted far beyond limits of human physiology

Originally posted by dyajeep
i'm loving Hickman's X-Men except for these 2 things:

- how is Scott okay with Logan and Jean? this is stupid... we've had a soft reboot and instead of keeping Logan away from Scott and Jean, Hickman even made them a throuple, for f*ck's sake

- we've seen disgusting moments of Jean and Logan but we've never seen Scott and Emma yet, this is my saving grace

I don't believe for one second that Scott would be okay with sharing Jean with Logan. Logan I can see it, Jean I can see it, but not Scott.

Originally posted by -Pr-
I don't believe for one second that Scott would be okay with sharing Jean with Logan. Logan I can see it, Jean I can see it, but not Scott.

precisely, and even though i'm loving the fact that "the X-Men" are now recognized as heroes, they basically are and they already did this storyline several times before... so i'm also thinking when will this "era of Krakoa" end? i'm pretty much waiting to see how this pans out, and i believe Xavier did some worldwide mindsh*t for this to happen

Originally posted by StyleTime
I prefer the open relationship to the old love triangle to be honest. Maybe they've just developed beyond their old notions of what their relationship should look like. There's no reason they have to be monogamous, if it doesn't suit them.

That said, I just think Scott and Jean should have stayed separated. Morrison did a really good job showing them grow apart romantically, and I don't like that being discarded. Jean and Wolverine feel much more organic as a couple too. While X-Force isn't the greatest series, their conversations feel more authentic and both characters are themselves around each other. Neither really becomes background noise to the other.

Jean with Scott just feels almost...performative at this point, like "wife" and "husband" are just positions they play on a sports team. Honestly, I'd rather Emma be with Scott as they just work better.

I wouldn't mind Jean just being single either.

i don't want it to be a love triangle, and i do agree that Scott should move on with Emma, and going back with Jean is just like going back to the drawing board... again!

just my take:

- Logan stays the f*ck away from Jean and the Summers family, he's got too much sh*t on other comics
- Jean stays single, or even flirts with Logan (i don't really care because writers can't erase that freakin' ship off their minds)
- Scott moves on with Emma
- Scott and Jean co-parents their children/family

the conversations of Jean and Logan in X-Force seems organic or mature because they don't have to hide their lasciviousness from Scott, and over the years, Scott and Emma remains a solid mature couple and it's a waste that up until now, they still have no romantic moments

they don't have to be monogamous but it should still be according to their character/personality, these are really their missed opportunities in the soft reboot

I feel like there's still a chance that it all goes pear-shaped at the end, as tends to happen with Hickman's runs on big teams (F4, Avengers had big climaxes). As things stand though, he's gone (imo at least) way too far in trying to make the X-Men come across as the "other". There's no "we're Humans but a bit different" attitude anymore. And it honestly feels like a lot of the time, the mutants arrogantly believe that they're plain better than Humanity. Or at the very least more evolved.

The open relationship between the "big three" is another aspect of that, and I wonder how many writers will stick with it afterwards.

Not to mention the possibility that they're all clones anyway or something.

Originally posted by dyajeep
just my take:

- Logan stays the f*ck away from Jean and the Summers family, he's got too much sh*t on other comics


KMC is like a time travel machine, I swear.

It's not 2005 anymore, dya.

Logan hasn't been in many titles since his resurrection.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
KMC is like a time travel machine, I swear.

It's not 2005 anymore, dya.

Logan hasn't been in many titles since his resurrection.

oh, forgot about that hello 2021

other comics i meant was his own, and X-Force... and if that's the only comics he was in right now then, thank you Marvel

https://64.media.tumblr.com/ad155caa42ac6023f08299888aed1c1f/tumblr_nxpo2rR1ZL1qh2loco1_1280.jpg

I bet you have that framed on your wall, don't you.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW


thanks goodness Bear-devil is there to save the day!

Nobody expects The Spanish Inquisition. Or Beardevil

I love it

So, now that the Hickman arc is moving forward with Inferno, I must say it's off to a pretty good start. It appears Moira was unable to account for everything, since...

Destiny shows up at the end. Sits right next to Xavier and Magneto in the empty Quiet Council seat, much to their dismay.

The crappiest part is that apparently, Marvel really liked the Krakoa era and wanted to extend it beyond Hickman's original plan. They're freezing the status quo so the new writers can play around a bit in the world. Hickman is leaving for a while, but it seems he'll be back later to "close" the era. He originally had it planned out in three parts, which were supposed to happen with no big breaks in between.

I really hate they did that tbh. Other than Zeb Wells on Hellions, the Hickman titles were the only interesting books tbh. Zeb is going off to Spiderman, so we'll probably be back to a very meh X-line until/unless Hickman returns.

Honestly, it would be fine, except I don't enjoy any of these other writers. The artists have mostly been solid though.

Off-topic, but I can't help myself:

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
The best of Magik... her greatest character moment in 46 years... just for StyleTime:

https://i.ibb.co/khxt0pD/magik.png

Don't let ngw2 see that.

I do think adding the goofy, dumb element to Magik was a good idea. The 24/7 edgelord thing got old immediately. Having her be unrestrained in a sillier way also makes for a better contrast if anyone wants to explore her going evil again.

I agree here, actually

Allowing herself to be silly = fantastic way to begin the healing process.

Still, quite out of character. Or maybe she was hoping to get hired as Wolverine's sidekick this way, worked for Jubilee

Originally posted by cdtm
Worst run since every other Xmen run.

I wouldn't go that far.

S.W.O.R.D. mini probably had the best iteration of Beast and Abigail Brand ever.


A shame that couldn't have become the standard. Made a cute couple too.

Originally posted by -Pr-
I wouldn't go that far.



Hell, it's been rather well-received, that's why it's still going and has so many tie-ins.

It sure can be controversial, but mutants always are, and the biggest flaw is Hickman stealing ideas from Eternals and other works.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW


Hell, it's been rather well-received, that's why it's still going and has so many tie-ins.

It sure can be controversial, but mutants always are, and the biggest flaw is Hickman stealing ideas from Eternals and other works.

That and some god-awful characterization.

Originally posted by cdtm
S.W.O.R.D. mini probably had the best iteration of Beast and Abigail Brand ever.

A shame that couldn't have become the standard. Made a cute couple too.
It wasn't quite a mini. It was just cancelled early due to low sales.

Also, it was trash.

As for Hickman, it's the best main-series run we've had since Morrison(Maybe since Whedon, depending on your preferences) tbh. The problem is, it's only the actual portion written by him. The "world", meaning the sidebooks, are mostly not good. Hellions was solid, but Zeb is leaving to write Spiderman now. And it seems like Marvel has delayed Hickman's plans, so we're getting this run in a really spread out fashion, which screws up things. We're not even sure if/when he's coming back after Inferno wraps up.

I do agree his characterizations are off for certain characters though. Good writers fail to even write 5 person X-Teams, while Hickman has juggled a cast spanning nearly all corners of the X-verse pretty well.

I definitely have my criticisms too, but I just think the overall writing is a damn sight better than us X-Fans have gotten in a loooooooong time.

Originally posted by -Pr-
That and some god-awful characterization.

Hickman started as an obscure Ultimate Universe writer.

I don't really get how he managed to get promoted so high.

He's not terrible, no, but he is overrated.

Best example is his Secret Wars. Doesn't hold a candle to the Shooter's Secret Wars, despite some great scenes (Thanos getting what he deserves).

Originally posted by StyleTime
It wasn't quite a mini. It was just cancelled early due to low sales.

Also, it was trash.

As for Hickman, it's the best main-series run we've had since Morrison(Maybe since Whedon, depending on your preferences) tbh. The problem is, it's only the actual portion written by him. The "world", meaning the sidebooks, are mostly not good. Hellions was solid, but Zeb is leaving to write Spiderman now. And it seems like Marvel has delayed Hickman's plans, so we're getting this run in a really spread out fashion, which screws up things. We're not even sure if/when he's coming back after Inferno wraps up.

I do agree his characterizations are off for certain characters though. Good writers fail to even write 5 person X-Teams, while Hickman has juggled a cast spanning nearly all corners of the X-verse pretty well.

I definitely have my criticisms too, but I just think the overall writing is a damn sight better than us X-Fans have gotten in a loooooooong time.


https://terrigen-cdn-dev.marvel.com/content/prod/1x/sword-2.jpg


Deaths Head alone made it gold.

And it was a huge miss that he wasn't cribbed into the Transformers/Avengers crossover.

You're the only guy who remembers and cares for Death's Head, lol.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
You're the only guy who remembers and cares for Death's Head, lol.

Pretty sure Pr and one of the Canadian's are fans (K-M?) Which would make him far more popular on KMC than The Transformers.

Yeah, no.

Show me either of these posters discussing Death's Head.

You're thinking of Digi, who gave me thumbs up for kicking you out of fb chat and left KMC years ago.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Hickman started as an obscure Ultimate Universe writer.

I don't really get how he managed to get promoted so high.

He's not terrible, no, but he is overrated.

Best example is his Secret Wars. Doesn't hold a candle to the Shooter's Secret Wars, despite some great scenes (Thanos getting what he deserves).

He's one of the few writers that can think big and actually carry it through. He's like Scott Snyder without the crushing inadequacy. He's a great ideas man, and with the proper cast of characters, like in FF, he can put out some good stuff.

His X-Men has an interesting premise, and you can tell he really sat down and tried to plot it all out. The problem, (and this was evident in the Avengers run too) is that he gets carried away, and can't rein himself in. Nor does he adapt his story to the characters as he's writing it. For better or worse, the plot is the plot and the characters don't really matter. Not really.

He hasn't had a great character moment in his runs since the FF run.

At least, that's my broken-record opinion of him.

Good post. Agreed.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Good post. Agreed.

thanks.

The best/funniest part of his runs, imo, was turning Beast into a massive hypocrite. Remember all the shit he gave Cyclops, and then he went and did that with the illuminati.

Yes. I remember.

Did it happen under Hickman's pen? Or was it Benjamin Percy?

You could argue Hickman is supposed to be the overseer, but in practice neither Marvel nor DC controls their writers.

I think it's a good decision, though. Hank is not a saint and he does tend to go crazy every once in a while. This is just another example. Consistent with his character.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Yes. I remember.

Did it happen under Hickman's pen? Or was it Benjamin Percy?

You could argue Hickman is supposed to be the overseer, but in practice neither Marvel nor DC controls their writers.

I think it's a good decision, though. Hank is not a saint and he does tend to go crazy every once in a while. This is just another example. Consistent with his character.

I don't remember which, just that it amused me.

Damn. Genius has its drawbacks I guess.

Hank can be very selfish.

"I was tortured, Scott! I was tortured!" (Utopia era)

or

"I need the cure! I need it! I want my life back!" (Astonishing)

or... you know...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DcXmJ1wWsAE1QmH.jpg

But the worst thing McCoy has done was teaming up with Dark Beast, in order to find the way to reverse M-Day effects... and he even tried to work with worse villains than him.

https://i.ibb.co/NL3dSws/banddb.jpg

When you're right, you're right.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Hank can be very selfish.

"I was tortured, Scott! I was tortured!" (Utopia era)

or

"I need the cure! I need it! I want my life back!" (Astonishing)

or... you know...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DcXmJ1wWsAE1QmH.jpg


The art makes this look very old. Is it from a modern comic?


Just how long has Beast been a douche, instead of the Bill Nye the Science Guy I remember from the animated series?

Its... early 70s iirc.

@Todd

"Is it from a modern comic"

By the White Wolf, just when nobody believed you could outcdtm yourself, you just did.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
@Todd

"Is it from a modern comic"

By the White Wolf, just when nobody believed you could outcdtm yourself, you just did.


I mean, with the callbacks Morrison style you never can tell.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
But the worst thing McCoy has done was teaming up with Dark Beast, in order to find the way to reverse M-Day effects... and he even tried to work with worse villains than him.
The worst thing Beast did was bring the young O5 to the present, jumping off the era where we re-opened already resolved plot lines from 1960's X-Men (literally) about whether Jean will date Angel or Cyclops.

But, you know, young Hank learned magic at least.

Fine literature right there.

Originally posted by StyleTime
The worst thing Beast did was bring the young O5 to the present, jumping off the era where we re-opened already resolved plot lines from 1960's X-Men (literally) about whether Jean will date Angel or Cyclops.

But, you know, young Hank learned magic at least.

Fine literature right there.

They sure took their sweet time before leaving, too.

I remember that!

Actually remember something from Marvel.


The young Xmen brought to the future was totally ripped off from Giffen's Legion of Superheroes "Five Years Later", where they did nearly the same thing. They left it up in the air whether they were time displaced or clones.

You would need to be eleven times dumber than carver not to remember.

It lasted years and ended relatively recently.

And no, legion of dc failures didn't inspire it, it's an old ass idea spammed often in fiction.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
You would need to be eleven times dumber than carver not to remember.

It lasted years and ended relatively recently.

And no, legion of dc failures didn't inspire it, it's an old ass idea spammed often in fiction.

Did you read 5YL?

Old time fans didn't like it because of how unlike the standard Levitz run it was.


It actually feels very close to a mix of L.E.G.I.O.N. and Watchmen, you might like it.

Yeah, LOSH didn't inspire it. It just served as the model to copy the concepts and archetypes from.

The **** is this "Captain Krakoa" bullshit?

Originally posted by -Pr-
The **** is this "Captain Krakoa" bullshit?

A desperate attempt to make Cyclops suck less.

https://i.ibb.co/FkQtRWh/XMEN2021006-Col.jpg

Your boy is such a great instagram model, you should be proud!

*where are those tissues when you need them the most... need to use my shirt again...*

If they wanted Cyclops to not suck, they shouldn't have ruined him in the first place.

https://i.ibb.co/7QQSL5Z/4f90c0d29cd1f.jpg

Yup.

Y'know, we can use something other than a banana to transform you into Cyclops...

Pfft. Like we need the assistance.

Originally posted by -Pr-
The **** is this "Captain Krakoa" bullshit?
You can thank Duggan for that. He's really taking Cyclops to the next level. vin

https://i.postimg.cc/G2hbynFy/Elephants.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/4NKNPGrv/lol2.jpg

This is what Pr gets for saying bad things about his lord and saviour, Joss Whedon.

The only writer in history of Marvel who cared about Cyclops.

Originally posted by StyleTime
You can thank Duggan for that. He's really taking Cyclops to the next level. vin

https://i.postimg.cc/G2hbynFy/Elephants.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/4NKNPGrv/lol2.jpg

Wow.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
This is what Pr gets for saying bad things about his lord and saviour, Joss Whedon.

The only writer in history of Marvel who cared about Cyclops.

**** Whedon. **** him with a rusty cactus.

Saddest part is, Guggen didn't stop with Cyclops. The whole team is lulz worthy. I'm having to watch X-23 go through the character blender again, just as she was starting to climb out. Jean got off better than the others character-wise, but she is still kinda meh.

I'd rather have Bendis back, as crazy that sounds.

Style, maybe you know.

There's that panel with Taskmaster and X-23 (in Wolverine suit).

Taskmaster says something about having "fought the original Wolverine, but not this pretender", to which Laura pretends to be disgusted (bet she got wet, they are all like that) and responds she's not interested.

Okay, no more pervy stuff. I'm behaving. Back on topic.

While we can explain him not remembering about battling Laura in her own series (because of his condition - he forgets stuff, as his fighting skills overwrite the data in his brain, whatever, it was mentioned in both his solo comic and Avengers Academy, so no point in denying it, no matter how stupid it is... goes against his canonical history as well, but I digress)... when the hell did he fight Logan?

Did I miss some comic?

Or, at best, it's some untold tale stuff... and, at worst, writer not doing his homework and editors greenlighting the book to get published without examining the script first, as they used to do back in the good old days?

Styyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyle

I mean this panel:

https://i.ibb.co/3zJdxsk/FB-IMG-16430223626845036.jpg

Originally posted by StyleTime
Saddest part is, Guggen didn't stop with Cyclops.
That is supposed to say Duggan.

And the in-universe reason for Captain Krakoa is that Cyclops death was too public. The Quiet Council requires him to be Captain Krakoa when not outside of Krakoa or the X-Men treehouse etc.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Style, maybe you know.

There's that panel with Taskmaster and X-23 (in Wolverine suit).

Taskmaster says something about having "fought the original Wolverine, but not this pretender", to which Laura pretends to be disgusted (bet she got wet, they are all like that) and responds she's not interested.

Okay, no more pervy stuff. I'm behaving. Back on topic.

While we can explain him not remembering about battling Laura in her own series (because of his condition - he forgets stuff, as his fighting skills overwrite the data in his brain, whatever, it was mentioned in both his solo comic and Avengers Academy, so no point in denying it, no matter how stupid it is... goes against his canonical history as well, but I digress)... when the hell did he fight Logan?

Did I miss some comic?

Or, at best, it's some untold tale stuff... and, at worst, writer not doing his homework and editors greenlighting the book to get published without examining the script first, as they used to do back in the good old days?
Yeah. It definitely feels like writers not doing their homework. And the worst part is, we're not even getting good stories out of it. I'm willing to forgive continuity errors if the narrative payoff is worth it.

But we're living in Duggan's world now.

Originally posted by StyleTime
Yeah. It definitely feels like writers not doing their homework. And the worst part is, we're not even getting good stories out of it. I'm willing to forgive continuity errors if the narrative payoff is worth it.

But we're living in Duggan's world now.

How hard is it to google "Taskmaster vs. Wolverine"?

We live in weird times; all that tech, all those apps and people still can't be arsed to do anything.

Style, honey, do all of us a favour and stop designing outfits for Laura to wear at Hellfire Galas

Saddest part is that there is more effort put into the outfits than the damn stories.

I wonder if this will continue even after Krakoa ends. I didn't mind the Hellfire Gala as some sort of background event happening in-universe, but I just really don't care to have comics focus on it.

Originally posted by StyleTime
Saddest part is that there is more effort put into the outfits than the damn stories.

Quoted for truth.

Originally posted by StyleTime
I wonder if this will continue even after Krakoa ends. I didn't mind the Hellfire Gala as some sort of background event happening in-universe, but I just really don't care to have comics focus on it.

Depends on what Marvel's plan for mutants are after all of this, I guess.

They might want them back to being hunted, decimated and nigh-extinct.