Tag: Storm

X-Men’s Storm Vs. Colossus

 

X-Men #37 courtesy Marvel

  Brian Wood and David Lopez deliver their final issue of X-Men this week. I hate to see this end of this creative team. They have crafted one of my favorite Storm stories of all time. Wood writes her as the strong, decisive leader that Chris Claremont made her.

  Storm and her unit (Colossus, Psylocke, Domino, Pixie) discovered the remains of a race of proto-mutants that lived on the planet before modern mutants. The team’s search for the truth led to a ruthless scientist, a deranged cult and finally to the one proto-mutant left alive on Earth.

  Storm felt this discovery was so powerful she kept it from Cyclops and Wolverine. The tension between Ororo and a disapproving Colossus has been building. In each previous issue you can feel the confrontation building. In this issue the tension explodes into a bitter, violent confrontation between the old friends.

  Pixie confronts Gabriel hoping he can give her answers missing links in mutant evolution.  In a masterful exchange the young mutant tries her best to argue with this ancient solitary ancestor.

  David Lopez’s art is beautiful and powerful. He conveys the shifts of confidence and conflict in Storm, the hope and desperation in Pixie, the anger and pain in Colossus.

  I’ve said it before – this storyline reminds me of the classic Chris Claremont/Paul Smith era with generous twists of a Torchwood or X-Files case to create a compelling mystery of corrupted science, the burden of secrets and search for answers about the origin of mutants.

  I hope Brian Wood and David Lopez will soon be added to a Marvel Now book. The revamp is about new ideas and new takes on Marvel characters – they already delivered this year in a big, creative and satisfying way.

By Editor

Brian Wood On Leaving X-Men

X-Men #31 courtesy Marvel

  Brian Wood has completed his last X-Men script for now. Wood will continue writing Ultimate Comics X-Men for Marvel and The Massive for Dark Horse. I love those books but it’s hard to see Wood leave the X-Men. Wood and artist David Lopez crafted a beautiful and thrilling run starring Storm, Psylocke, Domino, Colossus and Pixie. The Wood/Lopez run reminded me of the Chris Claremont/Paul Smith era mixed with a Torchwood modern edge.

  I wanted to share some fan questions and Wood’s answers from today’s X-Position on Comic Book Resources. He was asked about a dream project and the artist he would work with.

  “I like writing the X-Men, and I’d love to do more of it with David Lopez. Second to that, I’d love to write a new Runaways book and a Thor MAX that’s heavy on the Viking stuff.”

 If you’re not familiar – Wood has an amazing series of Viking graphic novels  – Northlanders so the idea of a Thor MAX book is very exciting.

  Wood’s X-Men team dealt with the discovery of ancient mutant DNA and inspired a fan to ask what Psylocke meant when she was “being a mutant…it means something different now.”

 “All that means is they have a greater understanding of their shared history. The proto-mutants weren’t just ancestors, they were a whole different species, one that died out. It would be like if we, as humans, just now discovered that there were Neanderthals. It casts everything that came after it in a new light.”

 One of my favorite part of Wood’s run was how he portrayed Storm as team leader and how his script worked so beautifully with David Lopez’s pencils. Wood revealed the best part and biggest surprise of this run was Lopez and Storm.

“If I had to say just one thing, it would be finding a great partner in David Lopez. Sometimes you work with an artist and something about it just feels right it just click with your words in the perfect way. That’s how I felt about David’s work, and I keep coming up with new project ideas for him to draw.

“I wouldn’t say I wasn’t crazy about any of them, really. Some of them surprised me. Considering how well received my Storm was, I really had a strong vision for her as a character at the very beginning. But once I started writing the first script, it all clicked into place and I was like, “Oh yeah, this is working”. And so it went.”

X-Men #36 courtesy Marvel

Will Wood be back writing the X-Men?

“People at Marvel can answer that better than I can. I hope the chances are 100%.”

X-Men #36 is out this week.

Op/Ed

  I have no knowledge of the inner workings of the Marvel offices and don’t mean this in any disrespect to other writers that I enjoy but I can’t help but think this title is falling victim to the Marvel Now revamp.

   Every X-book has to be part of a biggest picture. This book was perfect and stood on its own. In fact – I recently was asked to recommend an X-book for a newbie at my local shop and this was the only one not tied to AvX. so it was perfect for a jumping on point. I’m proud to say I converted a new X-Men fan! I really hate to see this title go and hope both Wood and Lopez are back on an X-Men book.

By the way – The Massive is my favorite non-superhero book right now – pick it up!

By Editor

Storm’s Demotion in X-Men?

X-Men #36 courtesy Marvel

Storm will survive AvX to appear in at least 3 Marvel Now X-books: Uncanny X-Force, All-New X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men, in which she will become a teacher at the Jean Grey School.

In the soon to be relaunched Uncanny X-Force by Sam Humphries Storm will be taking orders from Psylocke. That’s a role reversal from the current X-Men book by Brian Wood. I have loved the way Wood writes Storm. I would even say it’s the best portrayal of Ororo I’ve read in a long time.

This week’s X-Men #36 may be setting the stage for Ororo stepping down. Storm’s security team discovered an ancient genetic secret (the extinct ancestors of modern mutants) and when the material got in the hands of a crazed cult leader Storm sent Domino and Psylocke into action. Storm has been on her own agenda, has her own secret team of human scientists and kept secrets from Cyclops and Wolverine. Storm’s leadership has been called into question. Will she be taken down and a new member may be joining the unit but who can trust which side they’re really on?

If you want old school X-Men mixed with a dash of Torchwood then this is the book for you. I’m just disappointed Brian Wood is leaving the book but he is staying on Ultimate Comics X-Men.

By Editor

Psylocke Leads New Uncanny X-Force

Uncanny X-Force #1 courtesy Marvel

Earlier Sam Humphries revealed he and Ron Garney will launch a brand new Uncanny X-Force this January. The new book with a new team picks up 6 months after the climax of Rick Remender’s run. The new roster starts with Storm, Psylocke, Spiral and Puck of Alpha Flight. The writer says the action begins when a student is kicked out of the Jean Grey School. Humphries tells Marvel.com why Elizabeth is taking charge as team leader and acts the center of the book.

Uncanny X-Force 17 from Marvel.com. Cover Art by Esad Ribic

“She’s a great character with deep contradictions. Her history is a mess. She’s a survivor who doesn’t fear the darkness. She’s one of my favorite X-Men. And it’s her time. Watch the throne.”

I’ve said before that Psylocke is the new Wolverine. She’s everywhere. Betsy was in the previous Uncanny X-Force and in Brian Wood’s X-Men where she followed Storm’s commands. Humphries points out a moment of Storm’s history to explain her position on his new team.

 “Don’t forget Storm is still the same person who ran off into the Tokyo night and reappeared sporting leather street wear and a mohawk! I see everyone in this book as a wild card, especially Storm. Without saying too much, the events of AvX creates a bond between her and Betsy that will take them into the events of the book together.

  Characters in Uncanny X-Force aren’t always going to be on the same page when it comes to killing. Same goes for some of the other bizarre surprises we have in store. We’ve got a wide spectrum of strong personalities and it’s been fun to decide where they stand on some core values—and how their positions could change over time.”

Alpha Flight #1 courtesy Marvel

I think the biggest surprise about the roster is a short, hairy Canadian adventurer. Not that one with the claws. Puck.

  “I see him as a Canadian Indiana Jones. He’s gone some dark places in his past, and he’s a dwarf, which can present challenges most of us never have to deal with. But he’s also a bad ass who has confronted the darkness with a wry sense of humor, and he has yet to find a situation where being small of stature has stopped him from kicking some butt,” Humphries explains.

The first villain this new team will face is Lucas Bishop. Storm has a history with this X-Man gone rogue.

“Bishop is the man she remembers, but not the man she remembers. He was abandoned in the year 6300 AD. The dude has been alone, thousands of years in the future. A man goes through a lot of changes trying to get from 6300 AD to the present day. It is going to be an ugly reunion all around,” explains Humphries.

Humphries explains how his new Uncanny X-Force will differ from Cable and X-Force by Dennis Hopeless.

  But we’ve also got two books with two very different focuses. To put it simply, UNCANNY X-FORCE are the hunters, and CABLE AND THE X-FORCE are the hunted. Will the two books intersect? Well, one book has Cable as a leader, and one has Bishop has a bad guy. There’s a volatile history there that could be powerful enough to draw in both teams.”

Humphries ends with explaining how he will deliver on the Uncanny.

 “How can I say this without spoilers? I take the title of “uncanny” very seriously, just like I do the mandate of “ultimate” over on ULTIMATES. My job is to tell a story about mutants that you can’t find in any other X-book—and that’s what you’re going to get. After the first arc, even the so-called “Uncanny” X-Men are going to find these mutants very, very uncanny. And [editor] Nick Lowe might start dodging my calls.”

For more on the perhaps lesser known members of this team:

What the Puck? I highly recommend John Byrne’s original Alpha Flight run with Eugene Milton Judd as the small guy with a big tragic past.

Longshot #6 courtesy Marvel

Stuntwoman Ricochet Rita was transformed into Spiral by Mojo back in the original Longshot series. Spiral was last scene in Matt Fraction’s Sisterhood arc of Uncanny X-Men.

By Editor

New Uncanny X-Force Team, Roster

 

courtesy Marvel and Comics Alliance

Uncanny X-Force is heading to a finale with Rick Remender’s Final Execution arc. Sam Humphries (Ultimates, Higher Earth) and Ron Garney will relaunch Uncanny X-Force #1 this January according to Comics Alliance. The X-Force concept has always been a team operating outside the core X-books- outsiders among outsiders if you will.

 Humphries told the site his take on the ‘outsider’ team.

 “One of my favorite things about this book, not just working on it but reading it over the years, is that it delivers a story that you can’t find in any other X-Book. Theres’s a combination of characters and character dynamics, and they go out and find and deal with situations and beings and all sorts of dark secrets that you can’t find anywhere else. Through the different incarnations, we’ve seen that implemented in different ways. You have the Rob Liefeld paramilitary extreme version, you have the wacked-out, nearly psychedelic Milligan/Allred version, you’ve got Rick Remender doing his thing with questions of killing and murder and when it’s okay and when it isn’t.

 Even though it’s a definition, it gives you a lot of room to move within that definition. There’s a lot of different things that you can pick apart in the Marvel Universe, and specifically the mutant universe, that aren’t ever really addressed in the main book. It’s a huge opportunity to do some cool things, new things, to get people excited and present the whole mutant world in a new light.”

courtesy Marvel

The biggest shocker from this interview is the initial roster including a short Canadian guy – without claws!

  “This is not any cast that I think anyone can say they’ve ever seen before. This is not a classic Wolverine, Rogue, Colossus line-up. It’s definitely a new mix of characters thrown together in ways that they really have never encountered each other before.

  The group that we start off with right off the bat is Psylocke, Storm, Puck and Spiral, and we have a few more characters joining the group in the first few issues. In my mind, all those characters are wild cards. They’re all strong personalities, they’re all strong in terms of their powers, they’ve all got dark secrets and they’ve all got a rebellious streak. That to me is a really attractive part of the book, being able to balance all those character dynamics at once.”

Puck…seriously?

“I think Puck is a character that deserves more love. He’s like a Canadian Indiana Jones, he’s an adventurer. He’s also gone out and faced a lot of dark stuff out in the world, but he does it with this wry sense of humor. He’s a guy that despite being short of stature, he always finds a way to kick somebody’s ass. That kind of character who has a wit and determination is fun to write, and I think he’s going to be a good mix with these other characters in the book who all tend to be super-serious all the time.”

For more of the Humphries interview here’s the Comics Alliance link.

Cable and X-Force and a brand new Uncanny X-Force in the Marvel Now? Do you think the publisher is “forcing” too many similar teams on us?

This is not the answer I was expecting after the Killers teaser. I love Storm, Spiral and Puck. I commend Humphries for going for an unexpected roster.

By Editor

 

Consequences of Avengers vs. X-Men

  Kieron Gillen and Tom Raney explore the moments after the conclusion of Avengers vs. X-Men #12. Marvel shared the cover and first look inside AvX: Consequences #1.

  Because these images could be viewed as giving away who survives the conflict, especially the cover, I’m going to give you this before you scroll down:

 

SPOILER WARNING

 

THESE IMAGES MAY GIVE AWAY PLOT POINTS OF AVX #11 & 12

 

SERIOUSLY

 

HERE THEY COME

 

OK

 

Cyclops is on the cover of All-New X-Men #1 so we can assume he survives the final chapter of AvX. The hook is how they heck are they going to get the Dark Phoenix Force out of him!

AvX: Consequences #1 courtesy Marvel

Wolverine and Storm are shown (arguing in the Blackbird?) over what to do with Scott after his actions.

AvX: Consequences #1 courtesy Marvel

Finally Abigail Brand of SWORD is seen talking with Magneto – over the fate of the Phoenix entity?

AvX: Consequences #1 courtesy Marvel

AvX: Consequences #1 arrives October 10.

By Editor

Jumping On X-Men

 

X-Men #34 courtesy Marvel

  A new guy at my local comic book shop asked what’s a good book as a jumping ON point for the X-Men. The clerk said asked this guy. I’m thrilled to see a potential new X-fan in an Avengers dominated age. I gave the guy a brief rundown of each current X-book and what you need to know but recommended this week’s X-Men #34. No disrespect to the other X creative teams but all the current titles are currently part of AvX or mid-arc.

  X-Men #34 starts a new arc spinning out of the last issue’s shocking conclusion. Brian Wood excellent first arc had a Torchwood (minus the sex) vibe as Storm’s “security team” tracked down monsters that turned out to be products of a twisted science and a genetic secret of mutant history.

  Subterraneans part one picks up right where were left with the small unit tracking stolen genetic material. The trail leads to a cult with a strange twist. I love the way Wood writes this team. Storm leads with confidence and authority. The Psylocke and Domino infiltration of the cult’s unusual compound is written with tension and humor.  

  I have to say I miss David Lopez. Wood/Lopez had a kind of magic that reminded me of the Chris Claremont/Paul Smith era but darker. Roland Boschi’s work is not as clean but still fits the tone of the story. This run has excellent characterization of a small team, a tightly plotted mystery and a dark tone. If you want a great X-book – not connected to crossover – then Brian Wood’s X-Men is a book you should be reading.

By Editor

By Editor

Storm Joins Wolverine and The X-Men

Wolverine and the X-Men #20 courtesy Marvel

  Storm is joining the staff of the Jean Grey School in Wolverine and the X-Men #20 and #21 according to Marvel November solitics. The teaser is for Frankenstein’s Murder Circus coming to town and looks like the staff (including Logan and Bobby) are unwittingly joining the circus.

  I love that Storm is on the faculty and this image takes me way back to the Chris Claremont/John Byrne Uncanny X-Men era when Mesmero hypnotized the X-Men into thinking they were part of his traveling circus.

By Editor

Thanks to Comics Newsarama.