W4W's BEHIND THE COMICS: X-Men: First Class

Today Marvel and X-Men's fans were previewed to the cover of the new Brian Michael Bendis title, All New X-Men.  As part of the Marvel NOW campaign happening after Avengers vs. X-Men, All New X-Men will be about the original five X-Men coming to the present day Marvel Universe.  Bendis has been writing Avengers titles since 2004 and saw them through Avengers: Disassembled, Civil War, and Dark Reign, but now Bendis says he's ready to step into the X-Men world and mix things up. 

I'm not sure how AvsX will leave the mutant race, but I do know the original five have come a long way since their first introduction back in 1963.  I've always had a soft spot for the fab five.  When they started out they were just teenagers trying to figure out how to protect a world that fears and hates them.  And trust me when I say the drama in their lives since then has put Greek tragedies and soap operas to shame.  They've been government recruits forming the original X-Factor, school head masters and mistresses at the Xavier Institute, Avengers, and even the world's greatest threats.  One of the members is even dead, again.  So before Cyclops and the rest of gang meet their teenage-selves I figure we'd look back and see just how messed up their younger counter parts will think they are. 

HANK MCCOY / BEAST

Hank McCoy used to be a high school quarterback until the people around him discovered he was a mutant.  Neighborhood mobs then tried to kill him so he came to Xavier's school as an escape and too be accepted for who he is.  He started hitting the books and is now considered one of the smartest people in the Marvel U.

While taking a job in a corporate lab an accident left Hank with blue fur all over his body to complete his transformation into Beast.  With this new look came heightened sense, a descent healing factor, and the ability to run on walls and ceilings; kinda like Spider-Man I guess you can say.  But in recent years these side effects are becoming worse.  Hank feral/animal instincts are growing more and more like he's De-evolving and as a brilliant scientist he has yet to find a cure.

Because of his appearance Hank has had a lot of trouble with love.  Most women seem to not like a guy who will shed in the bed.  He had a brief relationship with his lab assistant, then a long term relationship with TV reporter Trish Tilby.  But neither relationship lasted due to the not only Hank's appearance, but his life as a superhero as well.  He's currently dating S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) director, Abigail Brand.     

In the last few years Hank has broken away from the X-Men, due to not being happy about how is longtime friend, Cyclops has taken the X-Men.  But Hank is back in Westchester, NY at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, ran by Wolverine and Kitty Pryde. 

BOBBY DRAKE / ICEMAN

Robert Louis Drake was barely in his teens when his mutant power first manifested.  He was then beaten-up by a mob so the sheriff placed him in jail for his own protection.  He was found by Professor Xavier and given a place where he could let his powers grow and be accepted.  Bobby, being the youngest of the original five, was always the prankster.  Whether he was throwing snow balls at his friends or make jokes at Magneto during a fight, he always lightened the mood.

Throughout the years Bobby has turned into an Omega-Level mutant using his ice manifestation to make himself stronger, have thermal vision, and moisture conversion.  He's also been known to team-up with other young heroes like the Human Torch and Spider-Man back in the day.

When Loran Dane joined the X-Men Bobby found his first girlfriend, but the relationship did no last and Bobby ended up leaving the X-Men to go to college and eventually joining X-Factor with the original X-Men. 

During M-Day, where most mutants lost their powers, Bobby was one of the fallen, but gained them back through still unknown means.  He's tried to live a normal life on several occasions; especially when his dad was almost beaten nearly to death for defending mutants, but Bobby knows, like the rest of his friends, he's a hero at heart.

Bobby is with Wolverine and Hank at Jean Grey's school, but when the AvsX went down he joined back with Cyclops like most mutants, but then has switched back after the Phoenix has manifested itself.  And right before this started Kitty Pryde planted a big wet one on him. Watch it Bobby, her ex is part of the Phoenix Five.

  

WARREN WORTHINGTON III / ANGEL / ARCHANGEL

As heir to a billion dollar corporation Warren had all the time he needed to save people from burning buildings and muggings after he first developing his wings.  Xavier soon recruited him into the X-Men and he started dating Jean Grey, who happened to be in love with another classmate, Scott Summers.  Warren soon gets over it and has had an on-again-off-again relationship with Betsy Braddock, a.k.a. Psylocke, for quite some time.

During his time on X-Factor, Angel was attacked in the Morlock Tunnels and his wings had to be amputated off of him.  Warren makes a deal with the villain Apocalypse to get his wings back so long as he served as one of Apocalypse's four horseman.  Warren soon becomes Archangel, an-evil-to-be reckoned with.  With the help of his friends and some inner strength Warren breaks Apocalypse's hold on him and becomes one of the good guys again.

Years later Warren shed his robotic wings again to regain his natural ones, but then again turns into Archangel years after, much like a man turns into a werewolf.  Warren is now suffering from amnesia after the Dark Angel Saga that almost turned him into the next Apocalypse, but broke him of his Archangel persona.  He is currently being watched over by his long-time friend, Bobby, at the Jean Grey school.

JEAN GREY-SUMMERS / MARVEL GIRL / PHOENIX / DARK PHOENIX / REDD DAYSPRING

She's had more names then Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, but she's deserved everyone one of them.  Jean Grey was Charles Xavier's first student and after teaching her from home for a while he convinced her parents to move Jean to his school in Westchester.  There Jean learned to grow her telekinetic abilities and even develop telepathy like Xavier.  Jean became so powerful that she was a host to the Phoenix force, the most powerful being in all the universe.  However, Jean's human emotions mixed with the Phoenix became a deadly combination, turning her into the Dark Phoenix.  After destroying an entire galaxy with billions of life forms Jean is sentenced to death by the Shi'ar Empire, but kills herself rather than risk harming anyone else.

At the time Jean was dating her long time boyfriend, Scott Summer, a.k.a. Cyclops.  She had always flirted with Wolverine, but her and Scott's psychic link made her believe they were meant to be.  Jean soon rose from the dead; because the Dark Phoenix really wasn't her.  The Phoenix replicated Jean's mind and body after bonding, leaving Jean's original body safely at the bottom of the Hudson River, and found by the Fantastic Four.  

Jean woke to a world that had moved on without her, as Scott was married to another woman and had a son.  After re-joining her friends in X-Factor Jean and Scott rekindled their relationship and eventually got married.  Years later, Jean started developing Phoenix-like symptoms again, but died by the hand of Magneto before the possible return of the Dark Phoenix.

Jean's been dead since 2001, not since Barry Allen has a popular comic book character been gone that long.  With the Phoenix back into play in the Marvel U I feel like Jean Grey could make a come back, and if not I'd hate to be teenage Jean and arrive in the future only to find out you died; twice. 

SCOTT SUMMERS / CYCLOPS / SLYM DAYSPRING

Warren Ellis was quoted in Wizard magazine in saying that when X-Men is all over it'll be Cyclops story.  Scott has been with the X-Men since issue #1 and has never left.  But he's had a hell of a tragic life along the way.  His parents died when he was young, forcing him into lots of bad foster homes away from his brother, Alex.  Scott eventually wound up at Xavier's where he became field leader for the X-Men and fell in love with Jean Grey. 

After Jean's death Cyclops took a leave of absence and met a woman Madelyne Pryor who reminded him so much of Jean, physically.  Scott married Madelyne and they had a son named Nathan.  When Jean Grey returned Scott felt confused, but then news broke that Madelyne was actually a clone of Jean Grey, created by Mr. Sinister to combine their DNA to create the perfect mutant child, Nathan.  Madelyne went nuts and sacrifices herself while trying to stop Apocalypse from infecting Nathan with a techno-organic virus.  She fails and Scott's only way of saving his son is to let his future daughter, Rachel, take him into the future to be raised by himself and Jean under the aliases "the Daysprings".  Once Nathan is almost grown Scott and Jean return to the present, with an adult Nathan following shortly after.

Jean and Scott get married and are happy for a short time, until Scott sacrifices himself to stop Apocalypse.  Jean and Nathan find a way to bring Scott back, but not entirely how he was.  Scott begins having a psychic affair with Emma Frost, the same woman who once helped turn Jean into the Dark Phoenix.  After Jean's death Scott and Emma run Xavier's school together, relocate to San Francisco, and Scott is now assuming the role of leader for the entire mutant race.  I have a feeling after AvsX Scott might not end in such a good position.

And this is just him and Jean.  His daughter Rachel is also back from the future and taking her mom's name, Marvel Girl.  His father who was dead turned out to be alive, and then dead again.  His brother Alex was good, then bad, and then good again.  Finally, he has another brother he never knew about who pretty much has tried to destroy the whole galaxy.    It's not easy being Scott Summers, and that's why I love him as a character.

I'm very interested to see what young Cyclops thinks of his present-day self and where Scott will be after AvsX is over.  Ellis said Cyclops is like the Batman of the Marvel Universe.  He's been training as a superhero most his life, so somehow, I think Scott will be OK; eventually.  

  



My Top 12 Comics of 2011

Last week I was eager to see CBR's conclusion of their Top 100 Comic Books of 2011, and like most things in 2011 it was a major let down. Their Top 10 list had me baffeled, and the Top 25 was not that great either. Sure there were a titles I thought deserved their spot, but Action Comics should be no where near the top. I've been mostly indifferent to DC's New 52, but what they did to Superman is what Marvel did to Spider-Man in Brand New Day. They erased 20 years of history just try and draw in few new fans, and as a fan who as been reading Superman for almost 20 years they completely turned me away. He's now the emo-version of what Superman should be, like Superman: Earth One, or "the Twilight Superman" as I call it. I think DC's best titles where the ones they either tweaked a little or left completely alone; however I am enjoying Johns and Lee's Justice League, but I don't see myself collecting it long-term.

Over at Marvel they've wrapped up Fear Itself and X-Men: Schism and are preparing for this summer's X-Men vs. Avengers mini-series. I think it's safe to say everyone is looking forward to the summer blockbuster, which just happens to kick-off right when Joss Whedon's Avengers will come to theaters. While I admit that I mainly follow the titles in these two publishing companies I make sure to check out what Wildstorm, Dark Horse, IDW, and all the other comic book publishers are up too. So here are my top picks for 2011.

12) Green Lantern

Back in 2004 Geoff Johns took over has writer for Green Lantern and his first decision was to bring back the man without fear, Hal Jodan. Ever since Green Lantern has been one of DC's best selling titles and one of the hottest comics books in the industry. Even though Johns has moved up as DC's Chief Creative Officer he's still writing the ring slinger and still making it kick-ass. 2011 brought us the end of Brightest Day and brought on the War of the Green Lanterns where the four human Lanterns had to each don a different colored ring in order to stop Kronas, a former Guardian. And how was Hal Jordan rewarded for his bravery? He was cast out of the GL Corps while the Corps most hated enemy, Sinestro, was chosen to wear a green ring of willpower once again. Sinestro now seeks Hal Jordan's help in freeing his homeworld from the Yellow Lantern Corps he created.

Johns is never at his best when he writing Hal Jordan and Sinestro in the same scene. The two characters are oppositie sides of the same coin and bounce dialogue off each other like a perfect game of ping pong. Johns promises more surprises and twist to the Green Lantern mythology in 2012 and I for one can't wait to see the emerald sparks fly!

11) Uncanny X-Force

At the end of Second Coming Cyclops disbanded the secret killing squad known as X-Force, but Wolverine was never one to follow Scott’s orders. Together with Angel’s help Wolverine and his crew continued in secret the work that X-Men shouldn’t. They started off hunting the heir of Apocalypse, a mere child, and Fantomex put a bullet in that child’s head. This started a reaction inside Angel that triggered him to be the next heir of Apocalypse, so X-Force then ventured to the Age of Apocalypse to find the life seed to stop Warren’s transformation.

It’s been a wild ride this year for X-Force. Logan had to deal with seeing the AoA versions of not only Jean Grey and Nightcrawler, but also he had to see himself as AoA’s ultimate villain. After Fantomex shot the child Apocolaypse he cloned another and raised it in a simulated ‘Clark Kent” lifestyle hoping to make some good of the boy. At the same time he was trying to steal Psylocke away from Warren, the very friend they were trying to save. Wolverine doesn’t like putting kids in harm’s way like Cyclops does, but he has no problem putting the veterans threw the ringer.

10) Wolverine and the X-Men

Following the event of Schism Wolverine is looking to put Xavier’s dream back on track with Jean Grey’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Boy, that must piss-off Cyclops, Jean’s widower, really bad. In the first storyline of the year we’ve seen Logan joined by Kitty, Beast, Iceman, and Rachel Summers in their first true test when the school is attacked by the new Hellfire Club during the school’s evaluation. Through the help of the students, and a new side of Iceman we’ve never seen, Wolverine and the bunch took down their enemies by only destroying half the school; and classes haven’t even started yet.

I hope writer Jason Aaron keeps showing us the quirks of a school that is full of rebellious, super-powered, kids. With Chris Bachalo’s pencil leading the way I feel something special when I read this comic, like new territory is being explored when some comics are too afraid to shake the status quo. But Logan and the faculty have no idea what they’re getting into.

9) Aquaman

When Geoff Johns brought Arthur Curry back from the dead at the end of Blackest Night we didn’t know that he was actually bringing the character back to life on a much grander scale. In Brightest Day Aquaman was reborn as a bad-ass after being the joke of DC Universe for years. The Aqua-Family is back in the water and is picking up more momentum than a tsunami. In only a few issues Johns has had Aquaman and his wife, Mera, battle sea demons from the darkest reaches of the oceans while re-introducing Arthur’s orgins to people who are not that familiar with the character.

Johns has brought back Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, and now Arthur Curry and made them all successes. I always thought Aquaman got a bum rap due to the 1970’s cartoon, Superfriends, and I love that comic book readers everywhere are eating their words and are excited to talk about the King of Atlantis. 2012 is going to be Aquaman’s year!

8) Superior

Sometimes I can hardly believe the stuff that comes out of Mark Millar’s mind, Superior is the story about Simon, a boy with multiple sclerosis, who makes a wish to become a super hero, but it comes at the price of his soul. The same demon offers his bully the same deal, and he accepts. Now Simon must decide if his soul is worth the price of saving the world.

Millar has brought us such twisted hits like Nemesis and Kick-Ass and continues to shock the comic community like no other. Superior is just another step Millar’s ability to turn a good story. He taps into the comic geek in all of us and just lets us have our greatest dreams. Well done Mr. Millar, well done.

7) Venom

Flash Thompson spent is high school life picking on Peter Parker while idolizing Spider-Man, ironic eh? Inspired by his hero, Flash joined the army and lost his legs in the process, and now has agreed to part of a top secret government project where he joins with the same alien symbiote that turned Spider-Man dark and created some of his greatest villains like the original Venom and Carnage.

This title is about a good man trying to the right thing with the wrong tools. Flash is a great leading character with lots of tragedy, but still lots of heart.  Flash must balance his secret life with his love life, and fight the darkness the symbiote is trying to bring out in him.

6) Transformers: Chaos

Optimus Prime and the Autobots are not only blowing up the big screen these days, but also comic book stores everywhere. IDW has been publishing Transformer comics for a while now and it all has lead to their big storyline; Chaos. This comic leads to the Autobots being seriously outnumbered by the Decepticons. Galvitron is out to kill the Autobots once and for all, Megatron stands trial for millions of years of crime, and the fate of Rodimus, the Matrix, and Optimus Prime is all revealed in this massive story that is more than meets the eye.

5) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Cowabunga kids! The heroes in a half shell are back, but not like you know them. The TMNT creator, Kevin Eastman, is returning the turtles to their roots. They’ve got more attitude than their cartoon counter parts and fight a little more dirty, just like when they first premiered in comics. And just like the original title they all have red bandanas, for a while at least.  Eastman has brought the flair back to what made the turtles popular to begin with. For fans who grew up on TMNT this more adult version is right up our alley. Plus the true origins of the turtles all revealed. Turtle Power!

4) X-Men: Schism

Ever since House of M the mutant species has been dwindling, and Cyclops has stepped up as leader of his race with Wolverine has his general to enforce the law. But in Schism we saw the two men finally break their truce as Wolverine no longer liked how Scott was running the show. Cyclops believes mutants of all ages should learn to defend themselves and fight the people who are trying to kill them. Wolverine believes that kids should be kids, not killers; and wanted to restart the school in order to teach them and give them a choice when they’re older. Of course all of this was done after a slugfest between the two mutants.

House of M, Endangered Species, Messiah Complex, Second Coming, and now Schism. The X-Men have had quite the decade of trouble, and it only is going to get deep in their upcoming battle with the Avengers. Sides have been chosen and lines have been drawn, but when the World’s Greatest Heroes face the mutants who are sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them I only have one question; whose side is Wolverine and his team going to be on?

3) Batman and Robin

I’ve never been a big fan of Grant Morrison, but when this title first started I don’t think it could have been more entertaining. A rebellious Robin in the form of Damian Wayne was just the pain-in-the-ass Dick Grayson needed to keep him in line as the new Batman. Now Bruce has returned to reclaim his cowl and he has to find out how to be a father.

Peter Tomasi has taken the father/son relationship to the next level as Bruce and Damian try to find common ground. With Alfred trying to guide Bruce in the ways of raising a troubled youth the dynamic is just off the page. Greek tragedies even aren’t this good.

2) Brilliant

From the team that brought you Ultimate Spider-Man comes the first creator-owned book by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. Brilliant is the story of a handful of college-age geniuses who challenge each other to solve the mystery of superpowers. Can the best and brightest change science fiction into science fact? And if so, how will the world at large react? Brilliant is a story of how true power can either destroy or protect the strongest of friendships. It is the story of how the world will react when our true potential is finally unlocked. The series is full of fast-talking, whip-smart, dialogue and is a fanboys delight. And it’s only just begun!

1) Marvel’s Fear Itself

Sibling rivalries are tough on a family, especially when they’re gods. The Red Skull’s daughter finds a magical hammer in Antarctica that grants her the powers of Skadi and releases the true ruler of Asgard, the god of fear; Serpent.  Formerly known as Odin’s brother and Thor’s uncle. The Serpant helps more hammers fall and chaos ensues on our heroes. Skadi kills Bucky Barnes which forces Steve to reclaim his role as the one true Captain America, and in the end Thor sacrifices his life to save Asgard and Earth.

One thing I love about Thor comics is their epic scale. The Marvel writing team, lead by Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker, create a tale that can barely be imagined it’s so grand. Of course a personal treat was seeing Tony Stark kick-ass with some Asgardian armor. Too bad he had to give it back though.