Best Continuing Series: Wolverine and the X-Men Humor, action, heart and the unexpected. Jason Aaron pack big moments, hilarious exchanges and moments that went for the heart and the gut!
Best Artist: David Lopez (X-Men) This was a tough call with the always mighty Jim Cheung (AvX covers) in the lead. Nick Bradshaw made an outstanding debut. This cover and Lopez’s portrayal of Storm just stayed with me.
Best Writer: Jason Aaron (Wolverine and the X-Men, Thor: God of Thunder) Everything I’ve said about Wolverine and the X-Men plus a serial killer of Gods in Thor – nuff said!
Best Mini-Series: Avengers vs. X-Men
Best Single Issue: Wolverine and the X-Men #18I picked this issue because of how it made me feel with the most shocking ending of the year. The last panel just hurt in my gut and heart! Jason Aaron made me love a strange little student at Logan’s school and then blasted him.
Wolverine and the X-Men #17 courtesy Marvel
Funniest Issue of the Year: Wolverine and the X-Men #17 (the All Doop epic with Mike and Laura Allred art!)
Comeback of the Year: Scott, Jean, Bobby, Hank and Warren in All-New X-Men
Best New Talent: Seth Peck & Paul Azaceta (X-Men #38 & #39 aka Domino & Daredevil)
All-New X-Men #4 This is the confrontation we’ve been waiting for since Brian Michael Bendis revealed he was bringing the original X-Men from the past into the Marvel Now! The original Scott, Jean, Bobby, Warren and Hank confront Cyclops, Emma, Magneto and Magik! Will it be Cyclops vs. Cyclops?
Red Hood and the Outlaws #15 Jason Todd may have more reason to hate the Joker than any of his victims. In this Death of the Family tie-in Red Hood and Red Robin team up to take on the Joker! Could this teaming turn into a clash between the Teen Titans and the Outlaws?
Saga #8Alana is a former warrior turned new mom. She and her husband have dodge alien monsters, armies and assassins. Will she survive meeting her in-laws/
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimiliation2 #8 The final chapter in the epic crossover starring to huge science fiction franchises! The Time Lord and Enterprise crew launch an assault behind enemy lines to stop the threat of the Cyberborgs!
Uncanny X-Force #35 Rick Remender’s final issue! The last chapter of The Final Execution! Wolverine’s covert team (Psylocke, Deadpool, Archangel, Fantomex) has been to hell (The Age of Apocalypse, Otherworld) and back with a bloody, brutal connection to the child who could become Apocalypse. There’s been death, rebirth, betrayals and shocking developments no one could predict. How will Remender end his epic run? This may be the issue of the year!
Fox and Marvel revealed the new international poster for The Wolverine. This Summer Hugh Jackman plays the X-Man in a story based on the classic limited series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. Logan journeys to Japan in search of peace and honor but finds love and violence! This story will introduce Lady Mariko, Yukio the Ronin, Viper and Silver Samurai. James Mangold directed.
This film could really be Jackman’s greatest performance as Logan. The original story is one of the best combinations of action and drama.
The teams Astonishing X-Men, X-Treme X-Men and Age of Apocalypse will clash in a major crossover in March 2013. Marjorie Liu, Grek Pak and David Lapham (writer of the three books) tell Marvel.com about the collision of X-Men from alternate realities. The talented trio is writing X-Termination Alpha #1 together before the story hits each title.
“I think we each write our X-Family books from a non-standard perspective. We’re exploring areas outside of the usual X-Men dynamic. Alternate worlds, alternate takes on characters,” said Lapham, “I’ve never met either Marjorie or Greg before and what made this engaging are these story sessions, e-mails, and conference calls we’ve had to develop this crossover event. That has been enormously fun and engaging with everybody playing ideas off each other. I had never really done that, and was a bit wary about it. So far AGE OF APOCALYPSE has operated in its own space. But the plan always was once we established the AoA series to start to tie it to the regular Marvel Universe.”
X-Termination: Alpha #1 will focus on the Age of Apocalypse Nightcrawler trying to get back to his own universe. As we’ve seen from Uncanny X-Force: The Final Execution this Kurt is ruthless and willing to betray his own teammates to achieve his goal.
“It’s a cliché, but ever so true: Home is where the heart is. And AoA Nightcrawler’s heart is in another world. In fact, our world still doesn’t feel all that real to him. It’s not where he grew up, where he made friends, fell in love, and lost his love. All these people aren’t his people. And that lack of connection and empathy will prove to be incredibly dangerous,” said Liu.
Age of Apocalypse #13 courtesy Marvel
“The AoA is Nightcrawler’s home. That’s where his family and friends are, that’s where he’s spent his whole life fighting Apocalypse and then Weapon Omega. That’s what he was trying to liberate. Just because he leaves to another place and has an adventure doesn’t mean he turns his back on all that and says “this new universe is a lot safer and cushier. I think I’ll stay here while my loved ones suffer.
We see that in the real world all the time, a political exile from another country comes to the safety of the United States only to return to fight in their homeland even at the price of their life. And with Nightcrawler it’s a step further; as much sympathy as he’s had for what he’s seen and done here in the Marvel Universe, he just can’t bring himself to feel it’s a completely real place. The Marvel Universe is some kind of dreamland. The AoA is real,” said Lapham.
“As far as the greatest damage he could cause. Well, that’s part of our crossover event…”
X-Treme X-Men #12 courtesy Marvel
“As I intimated back when we launched X-TREME X-MEN, eventually our story curls back around to the Marvel Universe. The stakes are huge—multiple realities are at risk, including our own, and something’s definitely gonna break,” said Pak.
Age of Apocalypse #13 will serve as a prologue to the event. In that series – Wolverine of that reality is Apocalypse and Jean Grey is still alive. X-Treme X-Men #12 picks up the story. Pak’s book stars Dazzler (along with alternative reality versions of Emma Frost, Wolverine and Nightcrawler) on a mission to kill ten evil variations of Professor X.
Logan has worked with the AoA Nightcrawler but in Astonishing X-Men other members of team meet this version of their beloved team member who died in Second Coming to save Hope.
“None of them will have an easy time. Imagine your best friend died, and then you found him again, alive, except he has no memory of your friendship, lived a totally different life, and doesn’t want to have anything to do with you? That would hurt,” said Liu, “You might tell yourself it shouldn’t, that it all makes perfect sense, that this isn’t the same person you loved, but that wouldn’t really matter, would it?”
Astonishing X-Men #60
When asked if we might see Wolverine vs. Wolverine?
“There’s more than one Wolverine in the multiverse, and who is to say they will all get along?” teased Liu.
For more from the writers here’s the Marvel.com link.
By Editor
(All this Nightcrawler talk makes me miss the real Fuzzy Elf! I want him back – I don’t care how they explain it!)
This is where it all began: the original Age of Apocalypse still rocks.
All-New X-Men is perfect for an X-virgin but even better for a veteran! Brian Michael Bendis set the stage for the future of the Children of the Atom: New mutants are emerging around the world. Cyclops is racing to recruit them for his revolution. Wolverine, Storm, Kitty, Iceman and Beast are trying to teach young mutants and keep the peace. If Scott could only see young man he used to be. The only hope for the future of mutantkind is in the past.
Beast has been the heart and moral compass of the X-Men for years. Bendis made the perfect choice of having Henry as the balance between hope and destruction, past and present. Beast brings the original X-Men into the present. A desperate act of a dying X-Man.
I absolutely loved this week’s All-New X-Men #2. Bendis just nails the wonder and innocence of the “little X-Men” as Logan calls them. The writing captures the relationships between the original five X-Men. You really get a sense of their youth, hope and inexperience as they grapple with what Beast is telling them. When they arrive in the present you understand the team’s fear and disbelief over how their lives are radically different and how Xavier’s dream could have gone so wrong.
Bendis and Stuart Immonen create an incredible issue packed with drama, humor and excitement. There’s a heartbreaking moment between the young Jean Grey and modern Beast that just signals the powerful stories that will be told. Past meets present and future of All-New X-Men will be a thrilling ride.
Hugh Jackman leading the real Last Stand! In the classic Days of Future Past storyline Logan leads the underground resistance in a future North America ruled by Sentinels. Magneto, Storm, Colossus and Kitty Pryde (now Kate Rasputin) are the only surviving X-Men. The heroes eventually break out of their concentration camp and join Logan on a suicide raid on Sentinel headquarters. Hugh Jackman is now in talks to join the film.
Uncanny X-Men #466 courtesy Marvel
Rachel Summers! The daughter of Scott and Jean is the key to the story. Rachel is telepathic and telekinetic like her mother and uses her psionic powers to send Kate’s mind into the present day body of a younger Kitty Pryde who must convince the X-Men to prevent an assassination that will lead to this dark future. Bryce Dallas Howard (yes I know she’s already been in a Spidey movie) would be perfect as tragic daughter of Scott and Jean. Rachel was forced to be a “Hound” and track down fellow mutants. In the comic books Rachel escaped the future and went into the past became the new Phoenix and joined the X-Men. She currently teaches as the Jean Grey School.
Franklin Richards! The last surviving member of the Fantastic Four is in love with Rachel. The son of Reed and Susan Storm Richards is in the camp with the surviving X-Men and I won’t reveal his final fate. Mark Millar’s new role as Creative Consultant for the Fox controlled Marvel franchises includes the upcoming reboot of Fantastic Four. This film could serve as a reboot point for both franchises similar to J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek.
Kitty Pryde/Kate Rasputin! Could Singer recruit Ellen Page to reprise her role? In the future Kate is married to Colossus (as it should be!) but agrees to have her mind travel into the past to rally the X-Men to stop a chain of events leading to the dark future. I think this is unlikely given the time period of the previous film.
Frenzy! I think the movie version will still have a Brotherhood of Mutants attempt to assassinate a Senator. The killing leads to the creation of the Sentinels. Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) will need new members of their Brotherhood. Why not have the gorgeous and formidable Frenzy aka Joanna Cargill on the roster? This would be a good way to have an African-American character in this retro time period as a way to explore race relations and the human/mutant conflict. In the comics Frenzy is a former mutant terrorist (who followed Apocalypse and Magneto) but joined the staff of the Jean Grey School.
X-Factor #243 courtesy Marvel
Polaris! Before I knew the X-Men: First Class sequel would be Days of Future Past I was hoping Magneto’s children (Polaris, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch) would appear in the sequel. Polaris aka Lorna Dane is a green haired mutant with magnetic powers and falls in love with Havok (played by Lucas Till.) Polaris is one of the most tragic characters in X-history and having her could lead to romantic scenes with Till and powerful scenes with the men who would be revealed as her father (Michael Fassbender, Ian McKellen.) I think maybe Lorna would be the mutant sent back to save the future instead of Kitty.
Halle Berry returns as Storm! Ororo joins Logan in his assault on the Sentinel HQ in the future. I would love to see Berry (and Daniel Cudmore as Colossus) join Hugh Jackman in what is one of the most gripping scenes from the comic book series as the older broken heroes go on a suicide mission to save humanity one last time.
Earlier this week Director Bryan Singer sent off the Tweet that sent the X-world buzzing: Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen would join the cast of X-Men: Days of Future Past. The new film is based on the classic story by Chris Claremont and John Byrne.
Uncanny X-Men #141 courtesy Marvel.com
In Days of Future Pastthe surviving X-Men of the future send Kitty Pryde (Rasputin) into the body of her past self to rally the X-Men of that era to prevent an assassination. The murder leads to an apocalyptic future in which mutant hunting robots called Sentinels rule North America and have killed or imprisoned all mutants and superheroes. A much older Wolverine leads the underground resistance movement and a final assault on the Sentinel Headquarters.
With this storyline we might see Halle Berry reprise her role as Storm, Daniel Cudmore as Colossus, Ellen Page as Kitty?
Looks like there might be unfinished business between Wolverine and the treacherous Nightcrawler from the Age of Apocalypse in this Marvel teaser!
Before I give you my theory I feel like I must give you a:
SPOILER WARNING:
IF YOU HAVE NOT READ RECENT ISSUES OF UNCANNY X-FORCE YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ THIS THEORY!
SERIOUSLY
OK HERE IT IS
Uncanny X-Force #33 courtesy Marvel
The alternate dimension version of Kurt joined Logan’s Uncanny X-Force team. The AoA Nightcrawler was tracking down the AoA Blob who murdered Kurt’s wife.
In The Final Execution storyline Wolverine’s team were trying to rescue Evan before the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (including the AoA Blob) could trigger the child into becoming Apocalypse.
Kurt was manipulated by Mystique, stabbed Wolverine and betrayed the team to get his revenge on Blob. There’s only one more issue of Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender. The book is relaunched with a new creative team and roster in 2013.
What does X-Termination mean?
1. Logan and the traitor will have a rematch in Rick Remender’s Uncanny Avengers storylines since Wolverine is a member?
2. More Age of Apocalypse characters will spill into our universe or vise-versa?
3. This AoA Kurt will get a fatal case of SNIKT from Wolverine and the real Nightcrawler will be brought back from the dead?
4. There will be a new X-Terminators series in 2013 (or Uncanny X-Terminators?)
5. Since Age of Ultron is the big Marvel event (also in March 2013) I think this will be a crossover in the second-tier X-books.
