Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega #3 courtesy Marvel
With the announcement of Brian Wood’s all-female X-Men book I started thinking of a favorite female mutant who has kind of fallen on the back burner. Jubilee will be the center of the new series that will feature Storm, Psylocke, Rogue, Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey.
What about Armor? Hisako Ichiki was created by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday during their Astonishing X-Men run. I recently “watched” the entire Whedon/Cassaday era now on motion comics.
Brian Wood used Armor in his excellent limited series: Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega. Hisako and Logan were trapped in a world created by Quentin Quire. Armor’s power is similar to many other Marvel women (Susan Storm, Cecelia Reyes) but Hisako in the right writer’s hands is magic. Here’s hoping Hisako may Armor up in a future arc of Wood’s or Jason Aaaron’s X-Men series.
X-Men books will always be packed with action and fights but it’s the relationships that keep us coming back. Jason Aaron has written a passionate love letter to X-fans of all ages in Wolverine and the X-Men #16 filled with hot hookups, sweet dates and mutant romance.
Storm is adjusting to life as a newly single woman and life back at the school when she turns to Wolverine to work through some issues and ask for favors. The flirtation and fruition of Logan and Ororo is beautifully written and drawn.
Kitty and Bobby finally have a first date after a year of flirting that takes that goes from awkward to unexpected. Teen Jean Grey of the past shares some “bonding time” with a surprise member of the modern age of mutant kids. The final romantic thread of this tale revolves around Idie and Broo with a monstrous cliffhanger.
This issue is a perfect crossroads of previous stories in this book and the first arc of All-New X-Men and sets up Storm’s new status quo in Uncanny X-Force. The beauty and brilliance of Jason Aaron is that you can pick issue this up and enjoy immensely but if you really know your old and current X-Men history it makes it all the more moving.
In Wolverine and the X-Men #23 Jason Aaron resurrected Azazel. The first storyline (The Draco) that introduced the demonic villain was controversial at the time and Azazel went to limbo (not the Magik kind either.) The character popped up in the X-Men: First Class movie. Aaron tells Comic Book Resources why he brought Nightcrawler’s father back into comics.
“The reasons to bring him back are many-fold, as we’ll see over the course of the next two to three arcs. I didn’t really worry about the fact that the original storyline he appeared in was very divisive. I don’t think there are any bad characters. It’s more how you write that character and what you do with them.
I’ve had plans for Azazel for a long time and his return means we’ll start to see the explanation of why there are Bamfs in the Jean Grey School. That, of course, goes back to our very first issue. This is all stuff that’s been in the works for a very long time and will come to a head later in the year in what will probably be the biggest arc we’ve ever done with “Wolverine & the X-Men.”
In The Draco story it was revealed that Azazel and Mystique were the parents of Nightcrawler. Mystique will be a major villain in All-New X-Men with an agenda involving the original five X-Men. Imagine Raven’s reaction when she learns Azazel is back? Could this lead to Mystique working with the X-Men? With Azazel’s return could this signal the resurrection of the real Kurt Wagner?
The Women of the Atom star in a brand new X-Men #1 by Brian Wood and Olivier Coipel. Jubilee, Storm, Psylocke, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, and Rachel Grey will face an evil blast from the recent past. Brian Wood told Comic Book Resources why Sublime (from the Grant Morrison New X-Men era) turns to the mutatns for help.
“Without giving too much away, Sublime surrenders to the X-Men because he has a serious problem of his own that he can’t handle, and the X-Men, being his most formidable opponents, are his best source for help. We get right into that, as he walks onto the grounds of the Jean Grey School and surrenders to Rachel and Psylocke.
Elsewhere, the others are picking up Jubilee who calls in a panic, having travelled halfway around the world to make it back “home” to the X-Men, and yeah, she’s got a baby with her. How these two story lines connect is what I’m not getting into just yet, as well as the cosmic thing and the threat to the planet. And the baby, I promise you, the baby is not evil nor does it die.”
“I was simply having a look at villains, early on in the pitch process, and he seemed interesting to me. I devised this story around him, this first arc. He won’t be the only villain in the book, and he’s actually not the only villain in this first arc. At the end of issue #1 there’s something of a reveal, exactly what this problem is that Sublime needs the X-Men’s help with. No other villain could work in this story, and I’m looking forward to adding a few more layers to his character.”
Brian Wood also said having Storm on the team was a must. Wood’s 2012 X-Men: Proto Mutants storyline was one of my favorites of the year. No creator had written Ororo that good since Chris Claremont.
Sublime was a major threat to mutants during Grant Morrison’s run. Sublime is a sentient bacteria that took a human host and become Dr. John Sublime – a scientist with connections to the Weapon X project that created Wolverine. Sublime diverted itself into the drug known as “Kick” that mutants abused to enhance their powers. Quentin Quire – under kick’s influence – led the riot at Xavier’s.
The hero who takes center stage in the current Astonishing X-Men arc is not a mutant but Warbird is a breakout character to watch! Warbird was introduced in Jason Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men as the bodyguard of Kid Gladiator (aka the heir to the Shi’ar Empire.)
When Marjorie Liu took over Astonishing X-Men Warbird joined the roster and now the wayward alien warrior is front and center. Warbird’s flirtation with Iceman has been hilarious and the flashbacks of her tragic past have been haunting. In this week’s Astonishing X-Men #58 Warbird is an enemy of Earth and the Shi’ar Empire. Can the alien artifact she’s discovered save her?
Not since Hepzibah was part of Ed Brubaker’s Uncanny X-Men run have I enjoyed such a great non-mutant hero hanging with the Children of the Atom. I hope Warbird sticks around or perhaps guests in Marvel’s space-based books like Nova or Guardians of the Galaxy.
Will they or won’t they? Wolverine and Storm share a passionate kiss on the cover of this week’s Wolverine and the X-Men #24. The story by Jason Aaron is billed as “date night” but could Logan and Ororo really become the new mutant super couple?
Storm is still heartbroken over her marriage to the Black Panther being “annulled” by her own husband – Wakandan law gives him the right plus he’s the King.
This isn’t the first time Logan and Ororo shared a kiss. Way back in Uncanny X-Men Annual #11 by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis the mutants faced off against Horde. This was 1987 during when Ororo still had her mohawk. The kiss was during a clash with a villain who tempted each X-Man with a vision of life they secretly wanted.
Wolverine has always has an admiration and respect for Ororo but love? Logan’s feelings for the late Jean have resurfaced since the teen Jean Grey arrived from the past in All-New X-Men.
In this series Jason Aaron has developed the relationship between Kitty Pryde and Iceman. I approve (and that’s coming from a longtime Kitty/Colossus fanatic.) (See Date Night in Wolverine and the X-Men. )
As we’ve seen from previews Storm will be sporting her Mohawk again in the new Uncanny X-Forceand X-Men titles. This “kiss” issue may be a big tease or the impetus for Ororo to change her look and attitude again. Stay tuned X-fans.
Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo relaunch Uncanny X-Men for the Marvel Now on February 13th. Marvel shared a preview of the second issue coming later that month. There’s a traitor in Scott’s camp!
Uncanny X-Men #2 courtesy Marvel
Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto and Magik are recruiting new mutants for the upcoming revolution. There’s a traitor in Scott’s camp! Who would betray the cause? What’s the motivation? Who is the treacherous mole reporting to?
Uncanny X-Men #2 courtesy Marvel
Emma Frost is an obvious suspect. During Avengers vs X-Men Emma lost Scott and part of her powers. Emma is probably ticked that Jean Grey is back!
No matter what side of the mutant race (Scott’s Revolution or Wolverine’s School) all Children of the Atom are potential targets for Sentinels which are on the loose in this preview art.
Uncanny X-Men #2 courtesy Marvel
Uncanny X-Men #1 hits 2/13/13 and #2 on 2/27/13!
Happy 50th Anniversary X-Men – hope you survive the experience!
By Editor
Op: I’ve always been a fan of Chris Bachalo’s art since way back when Generation X premiered. I’m loving Emma Frost’s new look with a slight nod to Lady Mastermind’s uniform during the Mike Carey/Bachalo Supernovas run.
The comic book writer who launched Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates (which influenced The Avengers movie) is now the Creative Consultant for the Marvel movie franchises controlled by Fox.
I wanted to share part of Mark Millar’s interview with SciFiNow about the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise to direct the film based on the classic storyline set in the past and a dark future. Turning that beloved X-Men story into a film is ambitious.
“I know how it’s done, so I’m not worried. I’ve been in all these meetings and talked about it at length with everyone, and everything I hear sounds incredibly mainstream. It’s no more difficult than The Terminator, or whatever, there’s one element of time jump in it, but other than that it’s absolutely fine.”
One of the biggest challenges in turning comic book teams into big screen teams is screen time for fan favorite characters and deciding who to cut. Millar compared what he faced writing Ultimate X-Men with the development of the X-Men movies.
“I remember when I was writing Ultimate X-Men and people were saying ‘I want to see Gambit, I want to see Rogue, I want to see…’ Everybody has a list, and at first you think ‘I’m going to please everyone’ and then you realise you’re pleasing no-one by just throwing in ten second cameos, you know.
I think that was the major problem with that first Wolverine movie and X-Men 3. Bryan Singer did such an incredible job with that original movie – it’s quite like Star Wars in that there’s Episodes IV, V and VI, and we’ve got the Matthew Vaughn prequels, and I love that – I love the fact that it simplifies so well. X-Men in the Nineties was so convoluted in comic-book terms, and Bryan drove a knife through it and make it work and simplified the whole thing.
I’d like to have that same approach and if we are bringing in a character then it shouldn’t just be for a trailer or to get a picture up online, get people excited, it should actually have a point in the story.
The trick with that is to try and keep the cast relatively small so that you actually care about them.”
For the entire interview here’s the ScifFiNow link.
Bryan Singer has revealed Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Hugh Jackman will reprise their roles. Kitty Pryde is critical to the original story but no word on it Kitty (played by Ellen Page in X3) will be in the film.
If you missed it – here’s my X-geek wish list for the next movie!
