Current Time in the Marvel Universe

The Sitch

The X-Men have been shattered.  Professor Xavier has left.  Several of the X-men have become mutant police.  Scott Summers, the first X-Man and Emma Frost, a former foe, have formed a new school with three previous X-Men on staff – Wolverine, the Beast and Kitty Pryde.

“Mommy is screaming.  Her screams are…yummy.  Dad…is next.”  The first two pages of Astonishing X-Men open up on a young girl named Tildie who is having a nightmare, which her doctor Veeda promises won’t ever come back for her.

First day at the new school.  New staff member Kitty Pryde arrives at the school to retrace her steps during her own days there as a student – leaving the school, rebelling against Xavier, holding mistletoe over Colossus’ head.  All her past moments, shards of her memory, makes her feel as overwhelmed as her first moments.  She’s a kid again.

Kitty phases through a wall to discover that she is late to the first assembly, which sparks a snark-fest with Emma, a woman who previously sought to turn her against the X-Men.  Emma turns back to the students to introduce the faculty, explaining the philosophies and objectives of the school, and then noting that violence will not be tolerated. 

Immediately, three Sentinels (giant mutant-hunting robots) crash through the school roof, scattering the children and sending all three X-Men (save Emma) into fight mode.  Even as the X-Men join the Fray, the holographic Sentinels disappear at Emma’s touch.

“So, what have we learned?”

As the X-Men glare, Emma explains to the children that they must live above the world’s fear and hatred of them, working to gain compliance and understanding while never believing that they trust them.  Emma and Scott go behind closed doors to argue the teaching methodology.  Emma reveals that she did it to suss out which students were craving the violence.  Even as Scott begins to ask which ones were prone, Emma promises him the information tomorrow while giving him a knowing look.

Dawn breaks to reveal Scott and Emma in bed together.  Crouched over their bed is the missing faculty member Wolverine, who asks Scott which part of grieving the sleepover with Emma is.  Wolverine is blown straight through the window by Cyclops’ blast.  An old fashioned throwdown between Wolverine and Cyclops over Scott’s dead wife Jean Grey ensues.  Old rivalries still fester even as Scott turns up his visor power.

Emma and Hank watch from a window as Emma notes that she still rates below a corpse.

The Beast calls a meeting to discuss the tension in the team in the Danger Room.  Even as Scott, Emma and Logan work out their differences, Kitty and Hank debate on the specifics of the Danger Room’s settings.  Hank has calculated the Hawaiian Islands on too small a scale while Kitty reminisces about the days of blades and flamethrowers.

Scott finally stops all discussions and starts speechifying.  His solution to the problem of humanity’s perception?  Rather than staying in the shadows, they need to turn the X-Men into a force for good.  The X-Men will finally be superheroes.  Even with Logan’s objections, Hank wants to see the costumes.  Later, as Kitty is looking for Lockheed, her pet dragon, Wolverine tells her that he thinks Scott is crazy for wanting to turn them into superheroes.

At this point, the proverbial crap hits the fan.  In true Joss fashion, the last few minutes set up the next several months for us.  Veeda, actually Geneticist Doctor Kavita Rao, and Tildie prepare to address the world.  She asks what is a mutant?

Immediately, we see a group of bandits breaking into a gathering at a building and taking hostages.  Scott, eyes closed, decides that now is the moment for mutants to break out as superheroes.  Dr Rao begins to answer the question, stating that rather than monsters…  The bandits are actually led by a mutant who notes that they want the hostages’ money, daughters and their peeled and roasted flesh.  Why?  Because maybe these mutants are fanatics or just bored.

Dr Rao continues that they are people with a disease.  The X-Men suit up with Wolverine asking if it’s time to make nice with the public.  Scott answers that this group of mutants must be more than that.  They must be ASTONISHING.

Dr Rao’s voice covers the final images.  Mutants are not the next step of evolution (X-Men).  They are not the end of mankind (bandits).  The mutant gene is a corruption (Kitty)…

…and they have found a cure.

End of Issue #1

Thoughts

I am going to borrow from Buffy a little here.  I suspect that as Marvel brought recent mutant events to a head, they were asking themselves the seminal question asked at the end of “Once More with Feeling” - “Where do we go from here?” 

The X-Men have been around for 40+ years now.  Their stories have passed into legend, on which no real time constraints can be placed.  Isn’t most everything explored at this point?  Well, with Joss at the helm, I think we’re going to peel back another layer or two and dig into some very big questions. 

First, we’re going to get a look at each of these characters and see a new facet to them.  Second, we’re going to explore some overarching issues.  And you know what?  I don’t think it’s going to be the same ones we’ve already seen explored before – we’re just gonna get a whole new look.

On the character level, we have a team that has conflict and alliances on almost every pairing.  Wolverine and Cyclops.  Kitty and Emma.  Emma and Scott.  The only one outside of this so far is Hank.  Hank may well become our narrator for the various conflicts, but I suspect that Joss won’t leave him on the sideline for long.

On the personal level, we have characters who are discovering things about themselves.  Most notably in this first issue is Kitty Pryde.  This issue marks a very different Kitty from the past few years as a college student and bartender at the Belles of Hell (think Coyote Ugly).  The moment she walks back into Xavier’s through, she’s a kid all over again.

What is it about going back to the place that we spent our formative years?  I can still go visit my parent’s house and sleep in my old bed, and I feel like I’m 13 again.  For me, I guess it was the fact that I built a lot of my adult life separate from them.  I guess that’s necessary in becoming a person in your own right, but the reaction to going to that old environment still amazes me. 

For Kitty, those shards of her past will be difficult to overcome, evidenced by Emma’s taunting her with her childhood hero nicknames – Ariel, Sprite and Shadowcat.  There’s nothing quite like a childhood nickname to bring you back to, eh?  I was quite fortunate as my grandfather gave me mine, and it was actually very normal – Sam.  Interesting guy, my grandfather.

Then, Whedon sets us up with what I am guessing is the core question for his run on this series.  What is a mutant? Are they evolved beings?  Diseased people?  Astonishing super-heroes?  Monstrous villians and terrorists?  And can they be cured? 

The X-Men have always been a metaphor for racism and the impact it has on society.  This has been a common theme for years with the X-Men being persecuted for being different.  I think Joss is going to take this theme one level deeper for us and answer the philosophical question of why is being different ok?  I think that the answer will be interesting – especially in comparison to the Buffyverse.

Overall, a solid story to open this new adventure up.  Nothing really huge and the story has lots of holes.  But, that’s the point, I think - a little mystery for us to figure out.  So, with the storyline loaded (or reloaded) with its first twists and turns, where do we go from here?  Joss will let us know in 30 – join us then.

And a quick PS – I can’t wait to see what other teaching techniques the faculty employs. I sure could have used a few Sentinels now and again when I was teaching high school.  Maybe some day we can have a conversation about mutants as a metaphor for teenagers.

Cover Art

Astonishing X-Men #1 features two covers – the standard one and a special cover and a cover for the special edition.  I actually prefer the standard cover in this case.  It is simply Wolverine’s right hand from the knuckle area up, claws extended.  The alternate cover features Wolverine leaping through the air at the reader.  Excellent artwork in both cases.

I sat in on a cover artists’ panel at a con last year and received confirmation of something I had wondered about for a long time.  Sometimes, a cover has everything to do with a story and at other times, it has nothing to do with it.  For AXM #1, I suspect that the Wolverine covers were primarily there to sell the issues.  The popularity of the character is huge and it’s the only explanation of placing him on the cover since he’s absent for so much of the book.  The only other reasoning I can think of is due to the return of the costumes.  In either case, the covers are beautiful.

What's My Line?

This, children, is Kitty Pryde, who apparently feels the need to make a grand entrance.

I’m Sorry.  I was busy remembering to put on all of my clothes.

Doctor McCoy and Miss Pryde will round out the senior staff along with Logan, who is…elsewhere.

What does she mean, “elsewhere”?

It means we’ve narrowed it down to “else”.

So tell me…which stage of grieving is this?  Denial?

This is good.  The guy who’s tried to steal my wife since the he met us is gonna tell me all about what’s proper.

Hey, Logan, that healing power’s about to come in really handy.

Superpowers, a scintillating wit and the best body money can buy…and I still rate below a corpse.

Ho, whoa, wait…is this gonna be about tights?

Remember when this place was just flame-throwers and rotating knives?  I miss that.

Now I have cloud-hair.

So I’m what – a PR stunt?

Yes, our own poster child.  Isn’t it sweet?  ‘The nonthreatening Shadowcat’ or ‘Sprite’ or ‘Ariel’ or whatever incredibly unimpressive name you’re using nowadays.

We have to astonish them.

Rating:

3.5 of 5

Main Credits (as listed in the issue)

Whedon

Cassaday

Martin

Eliopoulous

Moore

Sedlmeier

Marts

Quesada

Buckley

Published May, 2004