Official X-MEN: LEGACY Discussion Thread

[Specter313]

If we're going for a shakeup then the smart money says that Wolverine winds up all three times again somehow...

:whatever: Please, it's been over and talked about before, and it's not happening. He's got Astonishing, his own two books, and New Avengers. And that's where editorial has said they're keeping him.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

How trivial a reader can you be if you think ONE character could kill a book? And Gambit won't be rejoining any teams in a permanent sense for quite awhile, I'd think. Not during his first reappearance, anyway.

And who the hell do you think you are?

Did I say it will kill the book? No. I said it will suck. Does that mean for everyone? No. For me? I dont like Gambit, the current Gambit, more like, so It will suck for me to have to see him.

I don't even Like this book all too much, why do I still read it? Because they're a few characters in this book that I like. And I like that they're being used.

[04nbod]

good interview- im really excited. as for gambit... who knows what reception he'll get after all isn't rogue meant to be getting a new relationship- not with gambit?

[ProfeZZor X]

Previews for #195 are up... And boy, do I have a big smile on my face right about now!!!... All I can say is "GO ICEMAN!!!"

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stori...rvelfirsts.htm

[04nbod]

says its not found profezzor X

[ProfeZZor X]

Try this:

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/26/marvelfirsts.htm

[El Bastardo]

Cool. :woot:
And I still like Ramos's art over Bachalo's.

[Specter313]

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/26/xmen195c.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/26/xmen1951.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/26/xmen1952.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/26/xmen1953.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/26/xmen1954.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/26/xmen1955.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/26/xmen1956.jpg

The Story: "PRIMARY INFECTION"
While the X-Men follow her trail to India, Rogue is at the mercy of the man known as Pandemic! What is his fascinating connection with Rogue? What has he done to Lady Mastermind? Why is he called Pandemic? All good questions. Read the issue and find out! Part 2 (of 3)!
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

[Valechan]

Nothing we haven't seen before right? In fact it gives us the only means to destroy Robert, it would be to utterly destroy the so called "crystal ice", turn it into less than dust.

[ProfeZZor X]

Nothing we haven't seen before right? In fact it gives us the only means to destroy Robert, it would be to utterly destroy the so called "crystal ice", turn it into less than dust.

I agree. Blowing up Robert many times over really isn't being creative with his powers (As Mike Carey has promised us). But who knows... Maybe Carey has something building up from those experiences for Bobby. Then again, he may not even have Iceman in his line up for long. :huh:

[04nbod]

since when do we repeatedly call him robert:confused:

[ProfeZZor X]

For those wanting to know everything that happens in this issue, a friend of mine posted a summary of the entire issue:

Oh well, I thought I'd drop by and give a summary of issue #195. For those of you who were wondering when Karima'd be more than just window dressing, here it is. I don't remember a lot of the specifics since I read through the issue in shop on Wednesday, but I can give you the gist of what happened. I think I got a bit carried away on the length. Umm, if this is too much information, perhaps I should write a summary of my summary.

First, some points about the issue. It's narrated from Karima's point-of-view, via a transmission to Cable. If you are getting tired of "Rogue and the X-men" (but how could you, really? ) , this is the issue for you. The only glimpse you'll get of Rogue is on the cover, and nowhere else. Mystique makes a brief appearance at the beginning, and Karima, Regan and Bobby are the main characters, with guest appearances from Sam, Nathan, and Victor, who really steals the show at the end. You'll find out why later. And of course there's the good doctor Pandemic himself.

The first scene opens up with Cable receiving a transmission from Karima, they've found Rogue, but are in need of help. Cable says that they're busy, and Sam and he appear to be wrestling with the controls of the Conquistador Cable asks them to fall back, to which Karima answers, we're not going anywhere. The transmission ends, and Karima is sprawled on the floor looking gutted, you can see some machine parts and goo, Lady Mastermind is slumped against a wall unconscious, and Bobby is stuck in iceform and motionless, and is now a tomato (lobster?) red.

It confused me at first, but this scene takes place at or near the end of the issue, the next scene begins right where the last issue left off, immediately after Rogue is abducted by the Plague Dogs. Mystique, Karima, Lady M and Bobby are huddled around the teleport console. Mystique asks why they aren't following, since Rogue could be half way around the world by now, Karima says that she probably is, because of the amount of energy the machine discharged when she was kidnapped. The information of where they ported to, however has been deleted/destroyed. Raven then snidely asks if Karima can do anything about it, since she's the one that talks to machines and all. Karima blows her off and says some technobabble, something about putting some of her sentinel parts into the machine so she can hack it or whatever. Meanwhile Lady M has a headache. Bobby asks maybe she should stay back, but she tells him that she owes Pan some blood and tears. Karima tells them that she managed to get the coordinates, and tells them to go through first and that she'll follow right after, and will try to leave as little of herself behind as possible. They do so, and the place starts blowing up around them as Karima enters the portal.

On the other end, something seems to have gone wrong. Lady M materializes way above the city, and really needs a rescue. Bobby materializes into a wall, which should be fatal, since two objects cannot occupy the same space in the same time (unless you're Kitty), but since he's in ice form, he manages to break out of the wall, and since ice isn't flesh, but crystal, which can reform itself from a single piece, Bobby is able to reform himself. He says that it felt like pulling himself up by his boot strings, after he made the boot strings out of his own gut. No rest for the wicked though, since he immediately has to save a falling Lady M. They come across Mystique, who looks like a distorted hologram, either Bobby or Regan quip that they always thought of her as being so together. Karima appears and walks up to them, while Mystique vanishes. They wonder where she went. Karima then realizes that she knows where they are, she recognizes the name of the street; they're in India. She’s a bit concerned that they may have alarmed the natives with their arrival. Lady M then says she’ll cast an illusion to make them appear to be some of the locals, and makes them all to appear to be women wearing saris, burquas, whatever they wear in India. Bobby complains that she could have at least made him a man, Lady M shoots back something like, if God couldn’t do it, how could she possibly do it.

Cut to Sam, Cable, and Sabretooth who are touring the lower decks of the Conquistador. Creed adds that it's the little things that make a house a home. He asks about the stench of blood, and wonders if they added that little touch for him. They have a discussion that they’re keeping him locked up in the Conquistador to keep him away from the students and the Institute, to which Victor quips that he’s good at making new friends. 2 minutes later, Sam shoves Creed into a dark room and seals it with a hatch. Vic asks about cushions, and Sam snaps that it's good enough that they put airholes in for him.

Karima, Lady M, and Bobby arrive at the gates of what appears to be a fancy well-to-do Indian/Middle Eastern style mansion complete with pool/oasis, and are now dressed as security guards/officials of some kind (Bobby does get to be a guy this time. ). The gate keeper tells them that she’s (I don’t think it’s mentioned who “she” is) not available to see them right now, and leaves them/escorts them off. Someone asks if they’re sure if it is the place, and Karima says that they are at the exact coordinates of where the teleport unit was supposed to send them to, and that people don’t have to enter through a front door.

Lady M then tells them that she’s getting the weird tingle, the same she gets when she uses her power, so what they’re seeing is an illusion. She volunteers to hack around in their hind brains so they can see what’s really in front of them. It appears to be an industrial complex with spires that contain many screen/small cell-like objects. Of course, they go along and tear through the complex, dealing with the many armor clad guards as they go. Karima notes the level of security, past paranoid and into… I think the word was brutal, but then she made the comment of, just look at who she’s with. Lady M is going wild by casting illusions in quick succession, catatonia here, infantile regression there, etc, etc, and something supposedly happens to the back of her head. It isn’t clear though, but Bobby makes the comment of, “I didn’t know you had a tail gunner”, while one of the scientists contacts Dr. Palence (Pandemic) telling him that there’s been a security breach, they could damage the samples, and if they should send out the anti-bodies.

The big man himself then comes out to face them. Lady M tries to fire off an illusion at him, he brushes it off and tells her that her powers seem weaker, and that it might be attributed to the coma, now he’ll show her how it’s done, and well, he does, taking Regan out of the fight. Bobby tries to ice him, Pan just ices him back, then launches into the whole villain monologue spiel, while displaying what experimenting on himself has allowed him to do. What can he do? Well, remember how Rogue was uber-powered during the Invasion arc of X-treme X-men, and was able to recall any of the powers she had imprinted in the past? Pandemic is exactly like that, but I don’t think he has any of the limitations that Rogue had (like Magneto’s psyche surfacing.) I don’t remember much of what he said, but he speaks a bit about his life work and ambitions, and credits Rogue to be at the root or the very beginning of it all. He talks about how being a doctor/physician has enabled him to come into contact with many mutants, I think the number he gave was about 296, and lists a few of the people he’s imprinted, such as Bobby, Paige, and Shiro.

Bobby, after hearing how obsessed Pan is with his work, then destroys all of Pandemic’s genetic samples stored in the spires with immense cold. Pan is aghast, he calls the wrecked samples his “life”, then goes berserk on Bobby. Other recognizable power effects are from Storm, Chamber, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Psylocke. In the midst of the onslaught, he notices Karima trying to send out a transmission for help, which Cable says he uploads. Pan tells her how pointless/useless it is and says that he’s also come into contact with Jean, and his second contact nearly burnt out his nervous system, but it was well worth it. Up above in the Conquistador Sam and Cable are having trouble with the ship, something is interfering with the controls. They are not able to go down and help Bobby, Regan and Karima. I think it’s Sam who says that they might be able to send something down that can help them. Cable asks what, since SHIELD made sure that they stripped the Conquistador of all of its weapons. Sam cheekily says that they left them one, and presses a button on the panel. The last page shows a very surprised/scared, and enraged Sabretooth that has just fallen out of a hatch. Oh yeah, his landing’s going to be anything but happy.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

"If god couldn't do it..." God*damn!

[emmymae]

That Pan guy's insane. I wonder what exactly will happen to Rogue. Has Pan absorbed her? Crazy plot I'll have to agree. By the way, I love Gambit and Rogue equally, and Rogue is not ending up with someone else. At this moment, romance would be the last thing on her mind. No one else stacks up to Remy whether you like him or not. I am completely overjoyed at the return of Gambit after issue #200. I'm only strongly familiar with three of the characters in the line-up. So I feel kinda confused. I think Carey hinted that Gambit might be part of the line-up again, at least I read it that way in one of his most recent interviews.:yay:

[@JeanGrey]

Wow! I liked the last weapon left :woot::woot::woot:

I like it!When it arrives in Greece (that's in 3 weeks from now earliest) i can't wait to get it.

Still i don't like the drawing in the cover. How uproportional and bad rogue's body is :csad:

[Specter313]

Part 2 of that LiveWire interview:

In some ways, Rogue’s really had centre-stage thus far. What made you want her to be the focal figure?

I just love her, I love the character. I love the tensions in her, I love her directness and her wildness and I love that when she is played like that she is someone who will do anything. As Cyclops says, you can’t second-guess her. I’ve made this point in previous interviews about the passion in her being held and restrained because she can’t touch people, which is a nice beat – but it’s more than that. It’s a sense of boundless energy and total unpredictability and non-conformity. It’s a very attractive package.

I love the ins and outs of the Rogue-Mystique relationship, too. I thought having both of them on the team would allow us to do some very cool things.

It’s great to see more ‘minor’ characters like Karima and Lady Mastermind brought back. Karima hasn’t really had much in the way of character beats just yet – is she someone you’ve got long-term plans for?

Yes, but probably not what you’d expect. There’s something fairly earth-shaking happening to her shortly. She has a very big role to play in Primary Infection, she plays a very active role in the very next issue that comes out, and in the post-#200 arc something unexpected is going to happen to Karima.

Lady Mastermind was a really quite obscure character to pull out for your run – what made you think of her?

It comes down to looking for characters who I thought I could voice. I thought it would be nice to have a totally amoral, cheerfully ruthless borderline psychopath character on the team. She’s kind of like … I don’t know who to compare her to …

Emma Frost?

Yes … there are similarities, aren’t there? Yes, that’ll do nicely. I needed someone who was that dangerous and that brittle.

What would you say to critics who think that she’s pretty much just Emma Frost-lite? What do you think the distinctions are?

She’s not the intellectual powerhouse that Emma is. There’s a kind of shallowness and vanity and also a … almost a pettiness about her. We see her in #194 taking some pretty awful revenge on people who have not directly done anything to harm her but are part of the machine that harmed her. There’s a literal-mindedness and directness to her that’s almost like a playground bully’s logic. I think Emma is much more subtle.

Cable’s the character on your team who’s got his own book, albeit shared with Deadpool. Has that shared ownership of the character created any difficulties in writing him?

No, not at all. We’ve got an arc coming up that takes the team to Cable’s Providence and I’ve used one or two of the characters from Fabian’s cast. I’d have liked to have used more actually and made it more of an informal crossover between the two books but the problem with that is that Deadpool is such a unique, such a strong flavour that when you bring him in he changes everything around him and the story you want to tell gets skewed in a Deadpool direction; but what we have got coming up in #197-199 is a story that changes Cable’s status in a way that will play out in the Cable and Deadpool book as well.

Does that mean he’ll be leaving the X-Men team?

No, but there are big changes there for the character and some of them are surprising changes. Fabian [Nicieza] is very much onboard and we set the whole thing up together.

As far as the X-Men are concerned, The Children (the new set of villains from the Supernovas arc) are out of the way and dealt with – so is Sabretooth planning on sticking around?

As far as the X-Men are concerned, yes, the Children are history. We know that’s not true, of course. As for Sabretooth, watch this space. Sabretooth is hugely involved in Primary Infection, he’s central to the way the story plays out. In Condition Critical, the #197-199 arc, we’ll see some surprises that will bring him to a crisis point, a climactic and decisive point.

The last page of Supernovas returned to The Children and showed that they’re very much still around, very much still a threat and planning on coming back stronger. Roughly how long do we have to wait until we see that?

That will probably be more than a year because the crossover runs through until January 2008. It won’t be until after that that we see The Children again.

X-history is littered with different groups of villains that appear once or twice and then quickly fade into history – The Neo and Gene Nation, for example. Are you thinking that this is a group that will be able to stick around for the longer haul and if so how do you factor that into your writing?

I would like them to stick around for the long haul and I’ve already got some ideas for how to use them in interesting and unexpected ways when they next show up that won’t just be Supernovas Redux.

I think the characters that have staying power are the ones that have a psychological simplicity. My favourite X-Men villain, although he’s currently not available for use, is Magneto because it’s a simple power that he uses in lots of complex, spectacular and surprising ways because he’s an arch manipulator and he’s as clever as Xavier. It’s the intelligence and will that makes him awesome, as much as the magnetism.

So what I need to do when The Children do make their return is to build up the characters that I want to re-use and let readers inside their heads a bit more.

You’ve said on your blog that there will be major changes to your line-up in the coming year, and I know you can’t say too much about that but rumour has it that Marvel Girl (Rachel Grey) will be leaving the Uncanny team sometime soon and if the opportunity came up to include her on your team, is she someone you’d like to give time to?

Yes, I like Rachel a lot. I haven’t heard that rumour but I do know that not all of that team are coming home. I’d love to write Rachel, I’d like to write Colossus, I’d be happy to write Nightcrawler, I think there are a lot of cool characters on the other teams.

You mentioned Colossus being a member of the Uncanny team on your blog, which at first seemed like a simple oversight, and then here you are again linking the character and the team. Are you trying to tell us something about Colossus' future?

No, that was just me typing stuff up while I was still jet-lagged. You'll notice that in the same blog entry I turned Marrow into Maggott...

Speaking of characters that you’d like to write, it’s not gone un-noticed that Beast has cropped up a fair bit as a supportive character. Is he someone that you’d like to add to your line-up?

Oh, yes, I love - I’m a great Beast fan.

And how do you feel about his counterpart, McCoy, Dark Beast?

I’ve always had a yen to bring them together again, to have some kind of situation where they have to work together to achieve some kind of goal; but for now it’s just an idea, there are no firm plans.

When we talked before about your team you said that Rogue-Iceman-Cannonball formed the ‘stable triangle’ of the team. How many of those three do you expect to stay on the team following the crossover?

At least two, at least two.

Thinking of Sam and Bobby, we’ve seen a special relationship between the two of them – is that something you’d like to take somewhere? How do you feel about the frequently discussed, often quite heated debate about Iceman’s sexuality?

I think it’s an interesting topic … how can I put this … I’ve got plans for Bobby which conflict with him coming out as gay. I do think he probably is a character who … you know the theory that everyone is basically bisexual, and social pressures force you to come down on one side or the other? I do see Bobby as someone who’s probably polymorphously perverse and turned on by … by …

Most things?

Most thing, yes! It’s kind of like an unspoken beat, really. There’s never been a story thread exploring it but some of the decisions Iceman has made about his love life have almost seemed to push him that way but then he’s always pulled back. I know the scene people are referencing here, when Sam carries Bobby to the infirmary – so you’ve got one guy holding another guy naked in his arms. But that follows directly on from the immensely erotic kiss of life that Mystique gives Bobby. I think it’s cool to think of Bobby as someone who’s capable of being attracted to men and women, but it’s the Bobby-Mystique thing I’m more interested in right now.

As soon as you said there was going to be romantic developments with Mystique it put ideas into my mind. I like the idea of Iceman being this kind of closet bisexual that readers know more about than anyone else, more than his team-mates. I imagine the kind of scene where you’ve got Iceman leaving the bedroom and there’s Mystique in bed, laying there in a male form – something like that, that’s a subtle Easter Egg.

[laughs agreeably] That would be a very interesting scene to write.

I wrote a second kiss for Iceman yesterday and I think it’s a great moment.

What does Mystique see in Bobby?

I can’t answer that without giving away too much of an insight into Mystique’s current state of mind. At the moment you’re going to have to speculate as to what the answer to that question is. It’s very much a Mrs. Robinson/Benjamin Braddock thing, isn’t it, because she’s 100 or so years older than him and she’s an immensely experienced older woman; and of course she’s had a lesbian relationship on her own terms. They’re both really interesting characters from a psycho-sexual point of view.

In some ways that’s the most fascinating aspect of Mystique. Here’s this woman who can look like anything and anyone – how does that affect her as a person, how does that affect her identity?

I think … she says this in Condition Critical, the relationship I had with Destiny was the most important relationship in my life and I had a period after she died when I really wasn’t together at all, I was driven more or less insane by it. I think a part of what’s at issue here is that her shapeshifting leads to an amorphous, unstable personality. She is a scary and fascinating figure because she is so unstable and unpredictable, almost pathologically so.

I imagine that that’s part of how she’s ended up using such extremes of violence and aggression at times, that sense of losing your own identity by shifting into different forms for long periods of time must, I imagine, be confusing and make it hard to hold on to your own identity, certainties and values.

Absolutely, which is why I think we can still believe that she loves Rogue despite the fact that she stabbed her in the stomach and very nearly killed her.

This is going back to Muir Island, when she killed Moira MacTaggart. Brian K. Vaughan suggested in his Mystique solo book that it wasn’t the real Mystique who did those things. Do you have an opinion on that?

I think it was, but maybe it’s not something that she’d want to acknowledge. Some things are easier to deny than to face up to.

Are we going to see, given that kind of history, more tensions around Mystique being with the X-Men; we’ve seen it with Sabretooth, with Wolverine saying ‘what’s this guy doing here?!!’, are we going to see more of that with Mystique?

We are. There are gonna be some quite amazing developments, both in the post-#200 arc and in the crossover itself, both to do with Mystique and the Mystique-Rogue relationship.

I know from before that one character you’d like to write is Psylocke; other than her, ignoring whether they’re available, dead, depowered etc, what one character would you most like to add to your team?

Northstar.

If we can touch on Crossing Midnight – it’s another stylistic departure for you. How knowledgeable were you about Shinto before writing the book?

Not very. I’m a tourist. Really. It comes from casual reading, watching a lot of Japanese movies, reading a lot of Japanese Manga, and the research I did for the series, so it’s all second-hand knowledge. It’s not in-depth, it’s a riff on Eastern ideas which I haven’t grown up with. I’d be the first to admit that my knowledge is superficial.

Have you had any feedback from Japanese readers or Shinto followers?

Only from a couple of Japanese friends who aren’t the slightest bit religious; but then I think it’s fair to say that the core ideas in Crossing Midnight are folk beliefs which are woven into Shinto in much the same way as Christianity took onboard a lot of Pagan beliefs and then transformed them slightly and gave them back. The yokai are almost like… I don’t know, leprechauns or fairies or something. And the kami are halfway between that status and the status of gods.

Setting the book in Nagasaki is something that really interests me. In choosing that city as your location, was it that the city itself is different to most anywhere else in the world, given it suffered a nuclear strike, and special because of that, or because the inhabitants, the people themselves who rebuilt the city and survived all that that made it special?

The main psychological importance of Nagasaki, the thing that clinched it was not so much the atomic bomb as the open port aspect, the fact that they were the ones who said we’ll let Europeans not just trade here but live here and worship here, that presents an incredible openness. Then you get the tragedy of what happened during the second World War. It was both of those two things, but more the first than the second.

How important is the setting of Nagasaki to the story from hereon in?

It’s really important in terms of the characters’ psychology. The setting shifts to Tokyo for the third arc and we’ll stay in Tokyo for a little while after that.

You’ve got hardcover graphic novel God Save The Queen about to come out and the mini-series Faker, you’re writing Ultimate Fantastic Four as well as X-Men and have all kinds of other projects on the go, including your novels – I’m amazed at how much you’re writing. How do you find the time to do it all?

Clones.

It surprises me too. I think part of it is that I’m immensely insecure and driven by neurotic anxieties. When I stop working, I worry, and I have to pick something up again and start. It’s not easy for me to rest.

How do you keep track of where you’re at with all the different projects?

I’d like to say it’s because I have a tidy and methodical mind, but I don’t. I ricochet around like a maniac. I do have a fairly capacious mind, when I was younger I effectively had a photographic memory, I could recite very very long tracts of prose and poetry word for word after reading them just once or twice, so not photographic but close. I don’t have that anymore but I still have a retentive memory and I can keep a lot straight in my mind at any one time. It’s that, more than my organisational skills.

Given that you work over such diverse genres, it’s hard to imagine you tied to one publisher who would satisfy your creative desires. What, if anything, would tempt you into an exclusive contract?

A financial consideration wouldn’t interest me, unless it really was shedloads of money, but if it came down to ‘and you can write this book’ and it was a book that I’d love to write, something like that, yeah, I could see myself doing that. Most exclusives are only for two or three years, so it’s not like you’re getting married, you’re just committing yourself for a certain length of time.

Thinking outside of the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, are there any other Marvel characters that you’d particularly like to write?

I’ve always had a yen to write a Doctor Strange story. I think that would be fun to do. When I wrote Spellbinders, the magical teens book, I was stealing a lot of riffs from the early Ditko Doctor Strange – showing magical spells in a visual way not a verbal way. You don’t have characters uttering spells, you just see things happening around their hands. [Spellbinders artist] Mike Perkins and I developed this system whereby each spell had it’s own sigil so you could tell exactly what each character was doing by the kind of magic circle that appears around their hands, which is a very Ditko sort of riff.

Spider-Man. I think everyone has a Spider-Man story inside them, the same as everyone has a Batman story in them. I would love to write Spider-Man.

Why do you think it’s been so hard for Doctor Strange to maintain his own title?

I think he’s a bit of an anomaly in the Marvel Universe. He works best when you do really odd things with him, like when Steve Gerber was writing him in Defenders. There were some lovely things happening there; and I remember in his own series there was one time when they brought the Lovecraftian gods, the Cthulhu pantheon, into it. I liked that very much, Doctor strange vs. these strange elder gods.

You can’t have Doctor Strange fighting against costumed villains and make it stick. It’s just a little bit silly. You’ve got to give him his own kind of antagonists. It’s difficult to integrate him into the Marvel Universe and keep his mystique.

So how do you feel about him being on the New Avengers team?

I haven’t read it yet, but it could well work given the creative talent that’s on that book.

Given that there’s been more momentum behind Doctor Strange recently, with his role in The Illuminati and the Brian K. Vaughan mini, do you think there could be a revival of his own book?

I would hope so, yes, and I would love to be involved in the process. I think he’s a great character.

http://livewireworld.net/livewirereview/interviews.htm

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

:up:

[squeekness]

That remark about a bi-sexual Bobby? I thought there was a scene a while back where Northstar was hitting on him or some such and he was rolling with it but then when Bobby realized he might be serious he did a complete turn around, like he was actually a little homophobic. Does anyone else remember that? It was in that issue where Northstar tears that mud guy in half....

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

I know Nurse Anne was around that time. Lorna either was about to go crazy, or already did. The mud guy had a girl Bobby was hitting on. Nurse Anne (was tthat her name) Soon accused bobby of being Racist, or did she before? Either way, I know what You're talking about. I miss Northstar.

[JustABill]

I don't like the idea of Bobby as a bisexual character for some reason.

[proteus]

I don't like the idea of Bobby as a bisexual character for some reason.



I don't either, and don't think he ever will be.

[squeekness]

I know Nurse Anne was around that time. Lorna either was about to go crazy, or already did. The mud guy had a girl Bobby was hitting on. Nurse Anne (was tthat her name) Soon accused bobby of being Racist, or did she before? Either way, I know what You're talking about. I miss Northstar.Me, too. I was really liking having Northstar around. I thought that issue was hilarious, too. I would have loved to see Bobby and Northstar have a fling. :p

[Colossal Spoons]

Cool interview :up:

[usagicassidy]

Alas, I miss Northstar as well.

And sometimes people can act really homophobic just because they wouldn't want anyone to think that they're like that. I mean when Bobby thought Northstar wasn't gay, it was just all in good fun, but then when he found out, it became "oh no, he's actually gay, people know he's gay, I can't be comfortable around him." That sorta thing.

[ProfeZZor X]

Mike Carey "thinks" he knows Bobby's sexuality, but it almost seems like he's just getting his information from the people that believe, and want him to be gay. There are so many instances of him in hetrosexual relationships than anything. But because of those very few times that people have suspected him to be gay, it's being blown out of propotion now. And now we're in a situation because of Mike, that could conceiveably damage the character Robert Louis "Iceman" Drake, forever.

1) Bobby didn't know Cloud was a he/she. And when he did, he called off the relationship.
2) The "interior designer" joke from Emma to Bobby was just that... A very minor joke.
3) Jean-Paul's advancement towards Iceman was met with very little reception. In fact, Iceman only proved that he was not interested in men because he was scoring with a woman within a few hours.
4) All of Iceman's hetrosexual relationships have all ended in failure, but doesn't mean they're any different from real world relationships. And because of those failed relationships, does that automatically make people gay?

...I don't think so.

[proteus]

Mike Carey "thinks" he knows Bobby's sexuality, but it almost seems like he's just getting his information from the people that believe, and want him to be gay. There are so many instances of him in hetrosexual relationships than anything. But because of those very few times that people have suspected him to be gay, it's being blown out of propotion now. And now we're in a situation because of Mike, that could conceiveably damage the character Robert Louis "Iceman" Drake, forever.

1) Bobby didn't know Cloud was a he/she. And when he did, he called off the relationship.
2) The "interior designer" joke from Emma to Bobby was just that... A very minor joke.
3) Jean-Paul's advancement towards Iceman was met with very little reception. In fact, Iceman only proved that he was not interested in men because he was scoring with a woman within a few hours.
4) All of Iceman's hetrosexual relationships have all ended in failure, but doesn't mean they're any different from real world relationships. And because of those failed relationships, does that automatically make people gay?

...I don't think so.

Excellent post. I'm starting to want Bobby off of Carey's book just because I don't like that he is paying attention to all of these fans who wants Bobby turned gay, which he is not.

[@JeanGrey]

Couldn't agree more with you ProfeZZor X

Never crossed my mind that Bobby is bisexual. Hope Carey makes that clear in progress.

[usagicassidy]

Well seeing as how Iceman hasn't really done *anything* in quite awhile, if he's in the limelight, I'll be happy.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

You people are sad, It's really not that big a deal. And before anyone says that i'm fine with it because i'm gay, I have said before how I don't want this to happen because it would be weird. Seriously, if you can't deal with it, you shouldn't even be reading the comics since they don't always go your way.

[Valechan]

Bobby Drake is so gay

[Havok83]

Iceman is NOT gay. The guy has been around for over 40 years and he is straight. People really need to get over this fantasy

[ProfeZZor X]

Bobby Drake is so gay

...And because Storm is married, it makes her straight?

...Ask Chris Claremont, and he'll tell you differently.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Why do people hate storm? It makes me sad.

[Havok83]

...And because Storm is married, it makes her straight?

...Ask Chris Claremont, and he'll tell you differently.
oh I definetly see Storm as a little bit of bi. She and Yukio have way too much chemistry not to be. Just look at the stuff with them in X-treme X-men. Yukio is honestly the only person I can actually see Storm with

[ProfeZZor X]

Why do people hate storm? It makes me sad.

Never said I hated Storm... The plausibility of her being Bi-sexual is just as likely as someone would think Iceman is....

Tit for tat?.... Maybe. But neither of us have concrete evidence that these accusations are true.... So....whatever.

Just saying, people shouldn't be so quick to pass judgement until it's spelled out in writing.

[usagicassidy]

Exactly why I think it would be perfectly plausable to imagine both of them as possibly being Bisexual. Am I going to say Iceman is Bi? No, because the writers haven't made it that way. But Storm? I'm gonna say she's "free spirited".

[Neptune]

You people are sad, It's really not that big a deal. And before anyone says that i'm fine with it because i'm gay, I have said before how I don't want this to happen because it would be weird. Seriously, if you can't deal with it, you shouldn't even be reading the comics since they don't always go your way.

Yeah but Iceman being gay is a big change in his personality. It isn't something that doesn't go your way because his personality is supposed to be consistant. His personality shouldn't change. What if suddenly Wolverine was gay? That would be just as out of the blue as Iceman being gay if you ask me.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

He isn't turning gay. Maybe bi. Either way, I rather wait and see before I judge. It makes no sense to get all huffy when we don't know how things are going to play out.

[Valechan]

I'd love it if Ororo was a lesbian... anything to get rid of man in a cat suit.

[bengan]

Just found this one http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g199/ilovebengan/OCT062191.jpg
It was supposed to be the cover fro X-Men #194. looks really good imo :)

[squeekness]

Sweet. :D :up:

[Brainiac 8]

I'd love it if Ororo was a lesbian... anything to get rid of man in a cat suit.


I agree, they killed your character when Hudlin stole her.:o

[jim_root_rules]

Just found this one http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g199/ilovebengan/OCT062191.jpg
It was supposed to be the cover fro X-Men #194. looks really good imo :)

cool, whos it supposed to be iceman :huh: ( probly a stuuuuuupid question lol)

[bengan]

cool, whos it supposed to be iceman :huh: ( probly a stuuuuuupid question lol)
the man in the middle is Cannonball, and Ice-man is to the right in that picture.

[Neptune]

Bachalo really impressed me with his artwork. I was never a fan of his but i like him now.

[squeekness]

*reads 195* Sabes to the rescue! :D

[PiotrRasputin]

Isn't prejudice a sad little thing?
Humans are all bisexual and poligamic, in different degrees.
What we (well, I don't LOL) do is we hide these feelings, cover them, think less of them until they disappear. We're all repressed by the system, the religion, the present culture.
If Iceman is bi so what? So f***ing what guys? Please don't let YOUR repressed feelings mess with others' (even if the "other" is a paper character).

PS 1= Storm IS bisexual. NO argues about that.
PS 2= Just read X-Men 195... Go Sabes! Go dude!
PS 3= Cannonball is cute as hell!!! :yay:

[DarthCyclopsRLZ]

I wish I was bi.

Twice as many fishes in the sea out there. :D

But, yeah, on a more serious note, it shouldn't affect one's opinion of a character. I think the appropriate terminology is 'grow up'. :D

[proteus]

Isn't prejudice a sad little thing?
Humans are all bisexual and poligamic, in different degrees.
What we (well, I don't LOL) do is we hide these feelings, cover them, think less of them until they disappear. We're all repressed by the system, the religion, the present culture.
If Iceman is bi so what? So f***ing what guys? Please don't let YOUR repressed feelings mess with others' (even if the "other" is a paper character).

PS 1= Storm IS bisexual. NO argues about that.
PS 2= Just read X-Men 195... Go Sabes! Go dude!
PS 3= Cannonball is cute as hell!!! :yay:


I don't get why some people can't get that some fans just don't want Bobby gay or bi.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

I don't get why some people can't get that some fans just don't want Bobby gay or bi.
:huh: Of course people know that, but if you had to tip-toe around everything because not everyone will like it, what type of country would this be?

[Mike059jig]

Well the issue came and went by very quickly...

Rogue wasn't in this issue at all.........but we get sentinel girl, Iceman and badass ladymastermind....Iceman powers; its cool the writers when to use his powers to its limits...........Doctor Palance can BAMF????...Chambers powers, laser eyes, Lightning,Colossus type armor..Jean grey endless powers.........Sabes to the rescue and mytique is gone missing..........the art;I like the way Iceman was drawn but every one else wasn't looking nice at all

[Havok83]

LOVED that Rogue wasnt in the issue. That was a surprised but it was good bc it forced Carey to focus on the other characters and Mastermind, Karima and Iceman got the spotlight here. Im starting to get used to Mastermind here and not hating her as a member as much. Was it just me or did anyone else see some potential between her and Bobby? Id rather see that then him and Mystique

I was confused about the bit about Pan and the mutant names he was reading out. Sunfire, Husk and Jean. What did he have to do with them?

I still think Ramo's art is horrible. Bachalo hurry on back. The art was very distracting and made the plot hard to follow

[PiotrRasputin]

I still think Ramo's art is horrible. Bachalo hurry on back. The art was very distracting and made the plot hard to follow

Yeah it's true. Bachalo and Carey are like the soul of the book. Team work.
And Ramos' art sucks so much it makes reader's eyes get tired.

PS= DarthCyclopsRLZ, COMICBOY, I f***ing couldn't agree more with you both! :yay:

[Mike059jig]

I was confused about the bit about Pan and the mutant names he was reading out. Sunfire, Husk and Jean. What did he have to do with them?
I think those were possible subjects that he wanted to study but couldn't get his hands on them...i guess

[Colossal Spoons]

*reads 195* Sabes to the rescue! :D

Yeah, what a funny ending. I really enjoyed the issue; though I'm not sure how L.Mastermind shot that thing out of the back of her head :huh:


I was confused about the bit about Pan and the mutant names he was reading out. Sunfire, Husk and Jean. What did he have to do with them?

He was calling out there names as he used their powers. He's obviously stealing DNA samples and using them to mimic their powers.

[Colossal Spoons]

Well the issue came and went by very quickly...
Rogue wasn't in this issue at all.........but we get sentinel girl, Iceman and badass ladymastermind....Iceman powers; its cool the writers when to use his powers to its limits...........Doctor Palance can BAMF????...Chambers powers, laser eyes, Lightning,Colossus type armor..Jean grey endless powers.........Sabes to the rescue and mytique is gone missing..........the art;I like the way Iceman was drawn but every one else wasn't looking nice at all

I LOVED that art and don't miss Bachalo at all. I thought Lady Mastermind looked delicious in this issue :D

I still think Ramo's art is horrible. Bachalo hurry on back. The art was very distracting and made the plot hard to follow

...pretty much everything Bachalo does wrong.

[usagicassidy]

Wait - Rogue wasn't in the issue at all? Even though she's on the cover? Yeah, that makes sense.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

And it was a waste of a cover, too. Ugly as hell.

[Havok83]

I LOVED that art and don't miss Bachalo at all. I thought Lady Mastermind looked delicious in this issue :D



...pretty much everything Bachalo does wrong.
Noooooo! Bachalo's art is beautiful and breath-taking. He just has issues with being detailed. Ramos is just overexagerated, choppy and messy. He needs to stay away. Id rather have Henry back doing the fill in issues

[gothicFLAVOURS]

I think those were possible subjects that he wanted to study but couldn't get his hands on them...i guess
Actually, it's some of the mutants he could get hands on. You can see him using their powers: getting rid of his skin to have a metal one under that (Husk's power), using fire attacks (he uses Chamber and Sunfire's powers) and using the limitless telekinetic power of Jean Grey. Anyways, it's really difficult to follow all the powers since Ramos' art is pretty confusing, but I don't think Bachalo would have done it better since whenever he uses fire in his panels, everything looks like a mess.

By the way, do you recognize any more powers Pan's using? I can see Nightcrawler's teleporting abilities, some kind of psychic attack to Regan (it could be Jean's or Regan's power), Chamber's fire (since his mouth looks blown away), Cyclops' beams, Psylocke's psychic dagger, Havok's energy circles (but since they have some kind of lightning bolts it could be Storm's doing too), Husk's skin thing, Sunfire's fire and Jean's telekinetic abilities to deflect Iceman's ice at the end.

I really like this Pan character, he's like the X-Treme X-Men Rogue but without the crazy personality thing.

[Brainiac 8]

Noooooo! Bachalo's art is beautiful and breath-taking. He just has issues with being detailed. Ramos is just overexagerated, choppy and messy. He needs to stay away. Id rather have Henry back doing the fill in issues


:up:

I agree.:woot:

[squeekness]

Yeah, what a funny ending. I really enjoyed the issue; though I'm not sure how L.Mastermind shot that thing out of the back of her head :huh:

Remember how Beast said there was some sort of "thing" that was piggy backing in peoples minds? I was wondering if it was whatever that thing was. Hank never did find out where it went.

[Brainiac 8]

Probably, good memory. :up:

[Valechan]

Jean has not limitless telekinetic abilities. She even had limits as Dark Phoenix, so don't say things that aren't true.

[Specter313]

Jean has not limitless telekinetic abilities. She even had limits as Dark Phoenix, so don't say things that aren't true.

Take your own advice. Jean is one of the first recognized Omega mutants, which is defined as being that she has limitless possibilities to her powers. Don't care how much you don't like it, it's canon which means it's fact.

[gothicFLAVOURS]

She can compose and decompose matter at atomic level, and as the White Phoenix of the Crown she has pretty limitless powers since she can even modify and erase entire timelines. She's not even bound to death. Pandemic himself says "But the power--opening before me like an endless, fractal landscape" (and I think he's the one moving the Conquistador in one of the last panels). If you have something against Jean then that's another story. The point is we don't know when Pan got to touch Jean, if it was in her Marvel Girl/Phoenix/Dark Phoenix. But according to Pandemic she was pretty powerful when he did.

[Colossal Spoons]

Probably, good memory. :up:

Seriously, Squeek should be on X-Jeopardy

Remember how Beast said there was some sort of "thing" that was piggy backing in peoples minds? I was wondering if it was whatever that thing was. Hank never did find out where it went.

I had totally forgotten about that.

[squeekness]

LOL, I'm lucky if I remember what I did five minutes ago....:p

[Colossal Spoons]

Over the years and having to deal with forgotten comic plots, I've stopped remembering minor details about comics that are more than a month back.

[gothicFLAVOURS]

Preview pages from the Annual thanks to PopCultureShock

http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/9190/409551tb5.jpg
http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/1025/409552gc7.jpg
http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/452/409553lw3.jpg
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6851/409554wh9.jpg
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/6062/409555zd4.jpg

COVER BY: MARK BROOKS
WRITER: MIKE CAREY
PENCILS: MARK BROOKS
LETTERED BY: VC

Rogue and her team have unfinished business on board the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier - business that concerns the twins, Northstar and Aurora, and a last-ditch attempt to restore them to their right minds. But a powerful enemy from the X-Men’s past has a different agenda - and his plans to hijack the Helicarrier for his own uses lead to a terrible revelation.
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

PRICE: 3.99
IN STORES: 2007-02-07

[Specter313]

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/31/xmenannual1c.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/31/xmenannual11.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/31/xmenannual12.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/31/xmenannual13.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/31/xmenannual14.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/31/xmenannual15.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0701/31/xmenannual16.jpg

X-Men Annual #1 will arrive in stores on Feb. 7 from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Mike Carey, with art and cover by Mark Brooks.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"Rogue and her team have unfinished business on board the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier -- business that concerns the twins, Northstar and Aurora, and a last-ditch attempt to restore them to their right minds. But a powerful enemy from the X-Men's past has a different agenda - and his plans to hijack the Helicarrier for his own uses lead to a terrible revelation."

X-Men Annual #1 will be 48 pages and will cost $3.99.

[Colossal Spoons]

Can Rogue's bust size fluctuate anymore? lol

[ProfeZZor X]

Even more information... Here is a summary of the ENTIRE issue.

BIG SPOILERS AHEAD!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

The issue starts off with Exodus remembering important events in his life, ending with the fall of Avalon. The scene then shifts to a one page splash of the SHIELD Helicarrier. Rogue takes Mystique and Cable aboard the Helicarrier to ask Maria Hill if they could borrow some of the VR equipment to try to fix Northstar and Aurora's condition, using a method that Cable and Emma came up with. They plan to make the Beaubiers experience their lives from birth, hoping it will restore them to their original mental states. Hill says that she better not notice anything that they’re doing, or they’ll call in their psi-units to come in and scramble their brains. Mystique calls Rogue Anna again, and she gets angry at her, saying that her name is Rogue, and that’s all it’ll ever be. Then Mystique starts babbling about how she knows that she’s hurt Rogue very bad, and explains tries to control the lives of the people she loves, because manipulation is in her nature, and that the only reason she came to the mansion was to try to steer her life it in hopes that she could be happy. Rogue doesn't believe her, then Mystique says that if she doesn't want her in her life, she'll walk out, and Rogue says that she'll tie tin cans to the back of the cab when she does. (See the previews up at either Popculture Shock or Comics Continuum for more details.)

Next we cut to a different section on the Helicarrier. Some men on surveillance are concerned by the fact that a small vessel seems to be on a kamikaze type crash course with them. Orders are given to shoot it down, which they do. A piece from it is seemingly lodged in the wall of their aircraft, and they examine it, when suddenly what appears to be liquid metal starts to leak from it, that later turns out to be Random. He takes them out by forming multiple arms and knocking them out, then telling someone outside that the beachhead is now clear. Whoever it is tells them to stand clear, and Exodus comes in with both Tempo and Cargill. Random wants to be clear that Exodus told him that there will be no deaths. The person they are looking for is aboard the ship, but first they must do something to take care of its defenders.

Rogue and Cable have just prepared Jean Paul and Jeanne Marie to undergo the reprogramming process. Rogue says something sentimental to JP in French (don’t ask me what, I don’t understand French, and I don’t remember what was said), before starting up the process. We are then treated to a couple of pages of Jean Paul and Jeanne Marie reliving some of their most life affirming moments, right after a moment with Jean Paul telling a woman that if she loves people, she shouldn’t use them as accessories (probably Persuasion, since you guys brought her up), and Jeanne Marie is talking to some kind of robot, when something goes wrong, someone has sabotaged the simulation feed. Someone with high power telekinesis and telepathy. The Beaubiers break out and are confused, and speak in turn, as if they have a singular mind. They escape, and Rogue and her companions go after them, since they could do a lot of damage in very little time. but then are split up and ambushed by Exodus' gang. Random takes on Cable, he brings up that there are only 198 mutants left, and wants to know what they are doing. Cable says that he’s working on cutting it down to 197. He only manages to threaten about being able to use his force field to kill him before he’s taken out. Random says that what’s in his head is important to their employer. Rogue is stopped in mid-flight by Tempo’s ability to manipulate how someone views the passage of time. This gives Cargill/Frenzy the opportunity to get in a good hit. One of them makes a crack about how Rogue’s powers are always dangerous to those around her. They can’t believe that she keeps trying to fight back, or get up, and it’s painfully clear that she can't do much to people who can either manipulate time, or are practically invulnerable. She's knocked out cold. (With Rogue constantly getting beat up like this, the payback better be enormous. :mwahaha: ) Someone shoots a firearm (a claymore?), while Tempo comments that the X-men are reduced to using personals now? But she stops the bullets. While she’s gloating, Mystique can be seen, out of their sight. She takes advantage of this to launch an attack at Tempo, whose concentration breaks, allowing the bullets to take her out. Raven is furious about what they did to Rogue and is adamant that they will not hurt her further. She does the growing spikes out of her skin thing.

Meanwhile Exodus makes his way to the main control room. Maria Hill orders the psi-unit to take him out, (suicidal suggestion and all that fun stuff) but to their amazement, he isn’t even phased. Hill is horrified, saying that no person should be able to stand it. Exodus then gives his little diatribe about how he is no longer just a man but an idea (see Mike Carey’s interview for more details on this little speech). She asks him what he wants with them.

Somewhere along the line, the Beaubiers are still confused and tearing through the Helicarrier. They notice that it seems that their minds have been melded together, have some brother-sister type talk, and then take a leap of faith, they touch their hands together, activating their light attack.

Mystique is still trying to fend off Cargill, even though she can’t do much against her, but she’s not going to give up. Frenzy is about to do her in too, when just in time, the Beaubiers show up, and they’re all better now. It seems that the contact enabled them to shake off the initial confusion. :excited: Jean Paul tells her that they’ve got control of their power now, but to turn away because of the intensity. They use their combined attack to knock Cargill away, but it barely phases her. When she starts to gloat that they can’t do anything to her, Mystique attacks her, and knocks her out of the Helicarrier, saying that she’ll leave that up to gravity.

Rogue comes to, and thanks Northstar for the rescue but he tells her that it's Mystique she should be thanking, which confuses her a bit, and that he knows that she still has misgivings about her, but that she should try to give her another chance. Rogue considers talking things over later. (The interaction between Rogue and JP in this issue really makes me want him to be on the team.)

They make their way to the cockpit of the Helicarrier and confront Exodus. Apparently he wanted to use the carrier as an ark of sorts for the remainder of mutant kind, and wanted to use the technological resources to create a Cerebra of sorts to locate the mutants, or people with genetic potential, and is shocked to find none. Rogue explains the Decimation event, and that they'd already figured this out using the resources they had at the mansion. Exodus becomes enraged, saying that now they’ll die out within the generation, and that he’d destroy/sacrifice hundreds/thousands of humans if it meant the survival of even a single mutant. Maria Hill makes it clear that they've worn out their welcome, and don't want any association with Rogue's particular group (or mutants in general maybe), so Rogue takes her team and disembarks.

Later, in a remote, snowy area, (I don’t remember where) Exodus takes his little gang with him to meet someone inside some kind of dome type structure. He tells them about the situation with the mutants, and he reassures him that there will be a way to ensure the survival/resurgence of mutants. His employer is none other than… Apocalypse.

[Rogue's Hand]

OMG! So that's the infamous secret character at the end.
I wonder how Rogue will deal with him.
She's getting knocked around and saved left and right.
Me no like :whatever:

[@JeanGrey]

I like the art in the annual

Today i bought #194 (#195 will arrive on 10-15 february here)
I noticed (and got really pissed off) that Ramos drew Rogue with brown eyes. Not even a picture of her with green eyes, for god's shake!!!

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Even more information... Here is a summary of the ENTIRE issue.

BIG SPOILERS AHEAD!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

The issue starts off with Exodus remembering important events in his life, ending with the fall of Avalon. The scene then shifts to a one page splash of the SHIELD Helicarrier. Rogue takes Mystique and Cable aboard the Helicarrier to ask Maria Hill if they could borrow some of the VR equipment to try to fix Northstar and Aurora's condition, using a method that Cable and Emma came up with. They plan to make the Beaubiers experience their lives from birth, hoping it will restore them to their original mental states. Hill says that she better not notice anything that they’re doing, or they’ll call in their psi-units to come in and scramble their brains. Mystique calls Rogue Anna again, and she gets angry at her, saying that her name is Rogue, and that’s all it’ll ever be. Then Mystique starts babbling about how she knows that she’s hurt Rogue very bad, and explains tries to control the lives of the people she loves, because manipulation is in her nature, and that the only reason she came to the mansion was to try to steer her life it in hopes that she could be happy. Rogue doesn't believe her, then Mystique says that if she doesn't want her in her life, she'll walk out, and Rogue says that she'll tie tin cans to the back of the cab when she does. (See the previews up at either Popculture Shock or Comics Continuum for more details.)

Next we cut to a different section on the Helicarrier. Some men on surveillance are concerned by the fact that a small vessel seems to be on a kamikaze type crash course with them. Orders are given to shoot it down, which they do. A piece from it is seemingly lodged in the wall of their aircraft, and they examine it, when suddenly what appears to be liquid metal starts to leak from it, that later turns out to be Random. He takes them out by forming multiple arms and knocking them out, then telling someone outside that the beachhead is now clear. Whoever it is tells them to stand clear, and Exodus comes in with both Tempo and Cargill. Random wants to be clear that Exodus told him that there will be no deaths. The person they are looking for is aboard the ship, but first they must do something to take care of its defenders.

Rogue and Cable have just prepared Jean Paul and Jeanne Marie to undergo the reprogramming process. Rogue says something sentimental to JP in French (don’t ask me what, I don’t understand French, and I don’t remember what was said), before starting up the process. We are then treated to a couple of pages of Jean Paul and Jeanne Marie reliving some of their most life affirming moments, right after a moment with Jean Paul telling a woman that if she loves people, she shouldn’t use them as accessories (probably Persuasion, since you guys brought her up), and Jeanne Marie is talking to some kind of robot, when something goes wrong, someone has sabotaged the simulation feed. Someone with high power telekinesis and telepathy. The Beaubiers break out and are confused, and speak in turn, as if they have a singular mind. They escape, and Rogue and her companions go after them, since they could do a lot of damage in very little time. but then are split up and ambushed by Exodus' gang. Random takes on Cable, he brings up that there are only 198 mutants left, and wants to know what they are doing. Cable says that he’s working on cutting it down to 197. He only manages to threaten about being able to use his force field to kill him before he’s taken out. Random says that what’s in his head is important to their employer. Rogue is stopped in mid-flight by Tempo’s ability to manipulate how someone views the passage of time. This gives Cargill/Frenzy the opportunity to get in a good hit. One of them makes a crack about how Rogue’s powers are always dangerous to those around her. They can’t believe that she keeps trying to fight back, or get up, and it’s painfully clear that she can't do much to people who can either manipulate time, or are practically invulnerable. She's knocked out cold. (With Rogue constantly getting beat up like this, the payback better be enormous. :mwahaha: ) Someone shoots a firearm (a claymore?), while Tempo comments that the X-men are reduced to using personals now? But she stops the bullets. While she’s gloating, Mystique can be seen, out of their sight. She takes advantage of this to launch an attack at Tempo, whose concentration breaks, allowing the bullets to take her out. Raven is furious about what they did to Rogue and is adamant that they will not hurt her further. She does the growing spikes out of her skin thing.

Meanwhile Exodus makes his way to the main control room. Maria Hill orders the psi-unit to take him out, (suicidal suggestion and all that fun stuff) but to their amazement, he isn’t even phased. Hill is horrified, saying that no person should be able to stand it. Exodus then gives his little diatribe about how he is no longer just a man but an idea (see Mike Carey’s interview for more details on this little speech). She asks him what he wants with them.

Somewhere along the line, the Beaubiers are still confused and tearing through the Helicarrier. They notice that it seems that their minds have been melded together, have some brother-sister type talk, and then take a leap of faith, they touch their hands together, activating their light attack.

Mystique is still trying to fend off Cargill, even though she can’t do much against her, but she’s not going to give up. Frenzy is about to do her in too, when just in time, the Beaubiers show up, and they’re all better now. It seems that the contact enabled them to shake off the initial confusion. :excited: Jean Paul tells her that they’ve got control of their power now, but to turn away because of the intensity. They use their combined attack to knock Cargill away, but it barely phases her. When she starts to gloat that they can’t do anything to her, Mystique attacks her, and knocks her out of the Helicarrier, saying that she’ll leave that up to gravity.

Rogue comes to, and thanks Northstar for the rescue but he tells her that it's Mystique she should be thanking, which confuses her a bit, and that he knows that she still has misgivings about her, but that she should try to give her another chance. Rogue considers talking things over later. (The interaction between Rogue and JP in this issue really makes me want him to be on the team.)

They make their way to the cockpit of the Helicarrier and confront Exodus. Apparently he wanted to use the carrier as an ark of sorts for the remainder of mutant kind, and wanted to use the technological resources to create a Cerebra of sorts to locate the mutants, or people with genetic potential, and is shocked to find none. Rogue explains the Decimation event, and that they'd already figured this out using the resources they had at the mansion. Exodus becomes enraged, saying that now they’ll die out within the generation, and that he’d destroy/sacrifice hundreds/thousands of humans if it meant the survival of even a single mutant. Maria Hill makes it clear that they've worn out their welcome, and don't want any association with Rogue's particular group (or mutants in general maybe), so Rogue takes her team and disembarks.

Later, in a remote, snowy area, (I don’t remember where) Exodus takes his little gang with him to meet someone inside some kind of dome type structure. He tells them about the situation with the mutants, and he reassures him that there will be a way to ensure the survival/resurgence of mutants. His employer is none other than… Apocalypse.
How... meh. :dry:

[OutcryX]

As long as someone finally writes the BIG BAD correctly and gives him a story that has him doing something to live up to his name....i'll be cool with it.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

As long as someone finally writes the BIG BAD correctly and gives him a story that has him doing something to live up to his name....i'll be cool with it.
I'll hate him no matter what, I always have. I'll deal though. And we should've seen this coming. Seriously, we already knew.

[Valechan]

I like the little nods to past continuity. Rogue was "close" to Jean Paul in X-Men/Alpha Flight 1-2 like a thousand years ago, and also Exodus worked for Apocalypse when he was first transformed so it isn't so far fetched.

[Rogue's Hand]

I'm so bored of Rogue's powers. She needs something new :csad:

[emmymae]

Well, now I HAVE to get the annual. What's with the French knights bit? So Apocalypse is back. I think Rogue looks gorgeous. And for that comment about her bust size getting bigger, you all probably remember back in the mid-nineties when all the X-Ladies, except Jubilee, had huge chests.

It's scary to think that Jean is all-powerful and impervious to death. It sounds like this Pan guy has similar powers to Rogue, or engineered himself to. When did he encounter members of the X-Men and associated teams? I thought he was a new character. Crazy how they suddenly out of nowhere introduce someone involved with the X-Men in some way, that we've never seen before.:yay:

[DarthCyclopsRLZ]

I'm so bored of Rogue's powers. She needs something new :csad:

Dear God no.

As if super strength, leeching powers, flight and being fire elementalist wasn't enough... :wow:

[@JeanGrey]

I miss Rogue with miss marvel's powers. I think they suited her. Far more that sunfire's powers.

I have the suspicion that Carey doesn't want her to absorb anyone again this time and get the powers. I think she will evolve her own. But in what way...let's wait to find.

[Generation Lee]

OK Pulling back to this weeks issue cause I don't want the iannual spoiled. Was the start the end?? I got a bit confused.

[gothicFLAVOURS]

OK Pulling back to this weeks issue cause I don't want the iannual spoiled. Was the start the end?? I got a bit confused.
Yes, it was

[PiotrRasputin]

Now, someone said Bachalo's art is the distracting one (like Ramos')
There're two types of distracting.
1) One that's so hard to follow, so out of proportion, lame and just... I don't know, out of place... that it just makes you wanna kill the penciler.
That's RAMOS'.
2) And one that makes you forget about the time and just dig in. You take a loooong time in each page (I love that!) discovering each and every detail (correctly inserted). You spend your time with the book. You enjoy yourself. You don't go fast by the pages, just reading and reading.

I say Bachalo's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Ramos.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

To you. When I read a comic, I barely look at the art. I don't want to look for every single damn detail. It could be in stick figures and I'd be happy. I just want the story to be told. That's all. But if the art is too busy, it ruins the story completely.

[@JeanGrey]

Now, someone said Bachalo's art is the distracting one (like Ramos')
There're two types of distracting.
1) One that's so hard to follow, so out of proportion, lame and just... I don't know, out of place... that it just makes you wanna kill the penciler.
That's RAMOS'.
2) And one that makes you forget about the time and just dig in. You take a loooong time in each page (I love that!) discovering each and every detail (correctly inserted). You spend your time with the book. You enjoy yourself. You don't go fast by the pages, just reading and reading.

I say Bachalo's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Ramos.

:up:

The only thing that i liked at first sight in Ramos' pencils was the page where Rogue has absorbed that guy that(can't remember name) and sees through his memories to find information about Pan. Then on second look i looked at the way he drew her nose and spoiled the whole picture. Then i noticed the brown eyes on rogue in one picture...then in another one...and another...and i never found A SINGLE ONE damned pic in the whole issue with Rogue having GREEN eyes. I mean is it soooooooooo difficult to draw a character correctly? And it's about the famous green eyes of Rogue here!!!

He's very unstable and the only thing that kept me in the issue was the story. But if i wanted just to read a story and didn't care about drawing, i would just get the script in a pdf file or buy a novel book. Drawing and pictures along with the words in the white bubbles is what makes comics, comics.

Definition of comic in wikipedia:

Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual) art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_balloon) or image captions. Originally used to illustrate caricatures (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caricature) and to entertain through the use of amusing and trivial stories, it has by now evolved into a literary medium with many subgenres.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Are you trying to say I'm stupid now? I think I know what the meaning of a comic is.

The reason some people read comics instead of books is because it's easier and more fun to look at pictures with words then just a bunch of words. It shouldn't be so hard to tell what the hell is going on in a story when they involve pictures. Bachalo's art does that, makes it hard to read because a whole bunch of crap is going on.

It's sad that you, and others, can't seem to understand that some people rather have, or like "simple" art to tell a story than whatever the hell Bachalo is doing. Sad indeed.

[@JeanGrey]

Are you trying to say I'm stupid now? I think I know what the meaning of a comic is.


I never thought of that. I just say that by definition comics do not have simplistic caricatures. Half of the story in comics is in the art.

It's sad that you, and others, can't seem to understand that some people rather have, or like "simple" art to tell a story than whatever the hell Bachalo is doing. Sad indeed.

I'm not a great fan of Bachalo, but i prefer him to Ramos. I don't think that drawing a character wrong repeatedly is simplicity in art & I don't really know what it is. By seeing Mystique in the cover having breasts twice the size of her head, well how does this respond to definition of 'simple'..?

On my turn, I find cartooney art for this book and this arc sad. Bachalo's art fits it better.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Look, I don't hate Bachalo. In fact, when they had the last fill-in with that other guy, I was pissed. Chris work is... *sigh* solid, but that doesn't mean it's always good.

What I'm about to say is very racist, so sorry to anyone, but his Rachel looked like a Jewish person for some reason and I didn't like it. I don't know why, but when I saw her, "Jew" popped into my head. I don't even hate Jewish people, I just thought she should've looked prettier.

And all his women seem plump, frumpy.(sp?:huh:) I wanna say fat, but they're still skinny.

Sometimes his art moves. Sometimes it's a good thing, but it becomes blurry a points.

I don't hate Bachalo, but he is at the very bottom of my favorite artists.

[@JeanGrey]

I don't hate Bachalo, but he is at the very bottom of my favorite artists.

I don't defend Bachalo, he is not my favorite either :yay:
But he's higher in my list than Ramos.

[Generation Lee]

In Ramos's defence I really liked his Iceman around 5 pages from the end it looks like he actually spent time drawing instead of scribbling because if you see Pan at the bottom panel shouting "Gaaaah my Life!" you'll know what I mean.

[ProfeZZor X]

Look, I don't hate Bachalo. In fact, when they had the last fill-in with that other guy, I was pissed. Chris work is... *sigh* solid, but that doesn't mean it's always good.

What I'm about to say is very racist, so sorry to anyone, but his Rachel looked like a Jewish person for some reason and I didn't like it. I don't know why, but when I saw her, "Jew" popped into my head. I don't even hate Jewish people, I just thought she should've looked prettier.

And all his women seem plump, frumpy.(sp?:huh:) I wanna say fat, but they're still skinny.

Sometimes his art moves. Sometimes it's a good thing, but it becomes blurry a points.

I don't hate Bachalo, but he is at the very bottom of my favorite artists.

If you're putting Rob Liefeld above Bachalo (on your artist list), then you need to be banned for a year. :cwink:

There are other artists out there that produce WAY more detail than one can actually see. There are a few Image artists that come to mind that produced a few comics back in the mid to late 90's. The comic "BRASS" comes to mind. I mean it's like every page is a "Where's Waldo?" book.

So having Bachalo is a walk in the park compared to a few others out there. Besides, Carey's "roughneck" team fits Bachalo's organic style... Very hip, with fluidity.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

I like and respect Liefeld.

[Rogue's Hand]

Am I getting the Annual issue in the mail or is it not part of the subscription?:huh:

[squeekness]

I am going to assume that you will get the annual in the mail. It would be beyond cheesy if they didn't.

[Specter313]

Am I getting the Annual issue in the mail or is it not part of the subscription?:huh:

It might depend on who you're getting your comics from, but it's most likely that you'll have to either subscribe to or purchase the annual separately.

[Specter313]

X MARKS THE SPOT: ANDY SCHMIDT
The X-Men editor pops in to announce some new projects, show off some new art and tackle the big questions in regards to the Children of the Atom in 2007—and you won’t want to miss his final answer
By Ben Morse
Posted February 5, 2007 9:30 AM

The X-Men may be feared and hated in the Marvel Universe, but here in the real world, they’re perhaps the most consistently successful franchise in comic book history.

As such, being one of the guys calling the shots for Marvel’s mightiest mutants can certainly be a high-pressure job, but it’s one editor Andy Schmidt relishes.

A longtime X-Men diehard, Schmidt joined Marvel’s X-Office fresh from pioneering the Annihilation event in 2006. Alongside fellow editor Nick Lowe, executive editor Axel Alonso and assistant editor Sean Ryan, Schmidt steers the destinies of Wolverine and friends, specifically in X-Men, X-Factor and New Excalibur (the last of which he co-edits with close buddy Lowe).

With a recent X-Men summit in New York attended by the writers of Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, X-Factor and New X-Men now in the books, Schmidt and company are preparing to unleash major plans for the X-Universe in 2007 that will bring all four books together and push them to the forefront of the Marvel Universe.
Schmidt took some time out of his busy schedule to talk about the exciting road that lies ahead.

WIZARD: First off, unlike some other lines at Marvel, the X-Men group of titles has a lot of editors working on a lot of different books. How is the office set up?

SCHMIDT: Axel oversees a couple different lines, the X-Men line being the largest. He’s still got a hand in Spider-Man as it transitions out of his office and he’s still doing MAX as well as Marvel Knights. He’s got so much in front of him that he only directly edits a handful of titles, mostly MAX and Marvel Knights books. He has two assistants who work directly for him: Daniel Ketchum and Michael O’Connor. Nick and I are the two editors of the X-Men line and then Sean is the assistant editor. Sean is actually the only person who works on every X-Men book.

Recently, you guys, along with the writers of all the X-Men books, had a creative summit in New York City. What were you hoping to accomplish going in?

SCHMIDT: There were the goals on paper and then those not on paper. We wanted to plan out everything we were doing in 2007 and then into 2008. We really want to shine a spotlight on the X-Men line. Everything was geared towards “How do we get people back?” and “How do we put a spotlight on books like New X-Men and X-Factor?” We all like those two books, and we want to figure out how to bring those die-hard X-Men fans reading Uncanny X-Men and X-Men over to read them.

Is there a plan to bring the titles closer together again as they were in the ’90s?

SCHMIDT: There’s a term in playwriting called “unifying your audience,” which is that moment where you take the character moment over there and the mystery over here and it all comes together and everybody in that audience, you know you’ve got them. That’s what we’re trying to do. I don’t have any market research in front of me, but if you polled people who read three X-Men books, I’d bet most of them read Uncanny and X-Men and then they might read New X-Men, they might read X-Factor or they might read New Excalibur because they’re diehard [Chris] Claremont fans. I’d be surprised if you found a lot of people reading New X-Men who also read X-Factor [and vice versa]. We’re trying to bring everybody who reads any X-Men book onto the same page and unify them at one galvanizing point and then go from there. We want to reintroduce people to all the great characters they may not have been reading and spin these characters off into new relationships and new positions—just try to do something new with some of these guys. I feel like to a certain degree, while recent stories have been good, they haven’t necessarily been new. What Mike Carey has been doing [in X-Men] is a lot of new villains, which has been very successful creatively but I don’t know how much it has connected with the audience. Ed Brubaker has been very good [on Uncanny], but it’s back to the Sh’iar again. We want to forge ahead but also bring back those members of our audience who have left because, gosh darnit, they need Stryfe!
I notice you didn’t mention Astonishing X-Men in there—where does that book fit into the equation?

SCHMIDT: Astonishing X-Men is the lead book, which means when Astonishing is using characters, the rest of us get out of the way. The reason Ed’s book has gone into space and Mike’s has left the mansion was so that we wouldn’t have to keep bumping up against Astonishing, since it has an erratic shipping schedule and we couldn’t really plan [the other books] around it. The storyline in Astonishing right now takes place over a matter of days and the events will definitely be felt in the other books.

Which characters became focal points of upcoming events during the summit?

SCHMIDT: There’s always Wolverine. [Laughs] I think Cyclops is going to be really cool. I’m pretty sure people are going to take a liking to Hellion from New X-Men. I hope they’re going to like the entire X-Factor team, but Jamie Madrox is always fun and I think a lot of fans don’t really realize his potential, but we’ll see some of that in the events coming up. Some older characters will be coming back into the fold, like Sunfire and Gambit. I think Wolfsbane and Warpath will surprise some people. X-23 will have a significant role.

So you had five very different writers at this retreat: Peter David is a veteran, Mike Carey is a more cerebral guy, Ed Brubaker is more…

SCHMIDT: Hard-boiled?

Yeah. And then you’ve got Craig Kyle and Chris Yost, the Hollywood guys.

SCHMIDT: Craig and Chris just go for the throat: They see it, they launch for it. It was very interesting for me to watch. No, not everybody agreed on everything. In fact, we debated everything. Sometimes Ed’s opinion prevailed, sometimes Peter’s, sometimes Mike, sometimes Axel—once I think I even said something people didn’t scoff at.

So recently, as you know, Marvel had a fairly huge event that the X-Men stayed out of…

SCHMIDT: Annihilation? [Laughs]

You know it, baby! Also, they didn’t take a side in Civil War—why not?

SCHMIDT: The X-Men stayed out of Civil War because they had their own stuff going on. They’ve dealt with this before when it was the Mutant Registration Act. I thought it was interesting that they remained neutral, but there are so few mutants now that they’re dealing with their own problems. I actually liked the way the X-Men were handled and that Tony Stark didn’t push it when he sat down with Emma Frost. It was cool for me as a reader because I thought the X-Men were being handled in an intelligent way. It would have been easy to have the X-Men just choose a side and then have Wolverine fight everybody, and I was glad we didn’t go that route. On top of that, logistically, Brubaker was already well into his 12-part story and Carey had already planned out his stuff.

Speaking of those other problems, when are we going to see the X-Men actively deal with Decimation and the fact that only 198 mutants remain?

SCHMIDT: The X-Men Annual is a sneak peek at things to come. Starting in June with X-Men #200—which is gonna rock—we’ll be starting a series of backup stories collectively called “Endangered Species.” Those are going to be driving home the point of what it means when your race has 198 living beings in it and there aren’t anymore coming. What does that mean? How do you deal with that personally? How do they deal with it globally? Do they try and reverse what happened? We’re really going to see that coming home, and the events of X-Men #200 and Uncanny #487 will start new story arcs. You’ve essentially got three new stories starting in June, and for X-Men fans they are all stories you’re going to want to read, because they start building to where this is all going and what this all means. It is all actually going somewhere; it wasn’t just [Marvel] as a company deciding we had too many mutants. There’s more of a story here than we first thought.

Now some of the X-Men have been off in outer space, some have been off on their own—will we see them all together again anytime soon?

SCHMIDT: We will be seeing that soon, sooner than you think actually. This is a great segue for me to plug World War Hulk: X-Men, which is a three-issue miniseries taking place during “World War Hulk,” obviously. Chris Gage will be writing it, Andrea Di Vito will be providing art and the covers will be by Ed McGuinness.

That’s a Ben Morse creative dream team!

SCHMIDT: It really is. Unfortunately Nova doesn’t show up, I’m sorry. [NOTE: Ben Morse is a gigantic Nova fan, as is Andy Schmidt]

I have faith you’ll work him in there somehow

SCHMIDT: I’ll give his helmet to Xavier. [Laughs] So yeah, there will be a Hulk/X-Men fight and you will see many X-Men together. To answer the question more globally, you will see more of the X-Men coming together. For one thing: Ed’s team doesn’t stay out in space forever. Rogue’s team will also be headed back to the mansion relatively soon. You will see a lot more interplay.

Based on some of the upcoming plans I’ve seen, it seems like there are a few characters on the X-Men team that are very integral to the next few months, and I’d like to get your thoughts on each of them, beginning with Rogue.

SCHMIDT: Rogue has got a pretty significantly challenging life ahead of her for the next year. If you are a Rogue fan, you are going to feel some pain. [Laughs] That said, we’re doing interesting things with Rogue. She will be heroic, but she’s going to have some trials. Part of that comes from my feeling on her. I’m not a huge fan of the Sunfire powers, for example. Mike Carey is a very interesting guy and has a lot of ideas on how to use people’s powers and what directions to take characters in. Rogue, in particular, is going to have a very tough life for the next year or so.

Next up: Cable.

SCHMIDT: If you’re interested in what’s going on with Cable, read X-Men #200. If you’re not interested in Cable, you will be after you read X-Men #200. [Laughs]

Finally, Mystique.

SCHMIDT: She’s going to take a more active role in the team. There will be circumstances that precipitate that. She’s probably the most interesting character on the team, in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I like Iceman and Cannonball just fine, but Mystique, she goes back and forth between good and bad—there’s an interesting history there. There was an interesting storyline a couple years ago where she didn’t even know who she was anymore, she had played so many different roles. We’re going to be exploring Mystique’s true allegiances in issues ahead. I think she’s going to be very popular very soon.

Outside of those characters, who else from the team will be stepping up?

SCHMIDT: The two arcs we’re currently working on really feature the whole team, but those three characters we just discussed and to a certain degree Sabretooth all share the spotlight. In the arc that goes from #200 to #203, Mystique is going to be very interesting, people will be very curious about what’s going on with Cable, but you’re going to see a lot of Iceman and Cannonball. Those two are really going to rule that story, and I know that to many X-Men fans that probably sounds pretty lame, but Iceman and Cannonball are really cool and I’m going to stand by that. I think X-Men fans will understand why they’re really cool once the story is over.
Another character who has been in the spotlight a bit lately is Bishop—what is his current deal and his relationship with the X-Men?

SCHMIDT: He pops back up every now and then. He’s working with the O.N.E., with the Sentinels. He did some things during Civil War that will be frowned upon by some X-Men. [His relationship with the X-Men is] strained. He’s not on any X-Men team, but if he shows up at the X-Men mansion, they’ll let him in; he’ll just get some looks. They don’t look at him like a villain or anything, though. He’ll be in X-Men for a bit, but he’s not rejoining the team. He’s a cool character, everybody likes him, but nobody had the right place to fit him in.

Speaking of people not getting along with the X-Men, where does X-Factor stand with them after taking a stand against them for not telling them they knew Scarlet Witch was behind Decimation?

SCHMIDT: X-Factor sort of disintegrated their relationship with the X-Men during Civil War. If Bishop’s relationship with the X-Men is strained, X-Factor’s relationship with them is worse than that. They’re not going to be hanging out pleasantly anytime soon. That said, it’s all about individuals. There are individuals on X-Factor who don’t have much of a problem with the X-Men. Wolfsbane would be a good example of that because she has such ties to the mansion and characters like Cyclops that if she shows up, they’ll welcome her with open arms, whereas if Jamie Madrox shows up at this point, they wouldn’t be very happy. Siryn’s father was an X-Man when he died, so she’s probably got a free pass. As far as speaking in generalities, X-Factor and the X-Men are not friendly at the moment.

Getting specifically into the books you work on, what is coming up next in X-Men?

SCHMIDT: [Artist] Humberto Ramos’ X-Men arc, which is already under way, deals with Rogue quite intensely. Following that is another three-parter through #199 called “Condition Critical,” and that’s got a new villain from outer space that is really quite cool, and when you see the way Chris Bachalo draws him, you’ll think you’re on some sort of drug. That actually features Cable pretty heavily and will shake up his status quo quite a bit. We’ll also deal further with fallout from the previous arc involving Rogue. That takes us up to issue #200 where, quite honestly, everything will be up in the air—it’s like “X-Men Disassembled.”

What’s next in X-Factor?

SCHMIDT: X-Factor is cooking along right now with Jamie Madrox literally trying to put himself together, going around gathering up duplicates who have been off for years. Some really good emotional stories coming up; issue #16 is one of my favorite issues so far. After that, [X-Factor] moves on to a terrorist group called the X-Cell, who are depowered mutants that believe the government was behind M-Day. There will be a mix of new characters and old faces on X-Cell.

Switching gears to some of your personal tastes, who is your favorite X-Man?

SCHMIDT: I’ve always been interested in Wolverine and loved reading about him. I’m a big Colossus fan. For some reason, I loved Havok when I first saw him drawn by Neal Adams, but I kind of lost faith in him somewhere along the way. I really like that classic team with Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey, Storm—that’s the era I sort of default to. Kitty Pryde as well, because I like the way Wolverine is with Kitty; I think Wolverine works best when there’s a younger kid around.

Aside from that period, what were your favorite X-Men eras?

SCHMIDT: I was really into “Mutant Massacre” when that came out and [artist Marc] Silvestri’s run with “Fall of the Mutants” and the Adversary and Forge. I think Forge is really cool, but nobody has managed to pull him out and make him as cool as he should be. I loved Angel when he was Archangel and that period of X-Factor. When Jim Lee was on the book, that was the last time I really felt like, “This is the coolest thing ever.” Nick and I read the X-Men books at different times. That’s something that became very clear at the summit. It wasn’t a bad thing, I just sometimes didn’t know a group of characters he’d be referring to or something because I quit reading for those five years. The original stuff with [Stan] Lee, [Jack] Kirby and [Neal] Adams, I’ve read all that, then Giant-Size X-Men all the way up through “Age of Apocalypse”—that’s where I quit reading. I was going to college and it seemed like a nice ending to me. That’s right where Nick started reading, after that, with some overlap.

Favorite X-Men stories that stand out?

SCHMIDT: “Proteus” is definitely one. “Mutant Massacre” is one, though I don’t know if I went back and read it today if it would hold up, but at the time, man, it was great. X-Men #1-#3. “Days of Future Past,” obviously. All the same stuff that everybody else says. [Laughs]

How will your personal tastes be reflected in the future of the X-Men line?
SCHMIDT: You’ll see my heavy hand as of X-Men #200. I’m bringing back some villains that I love to hate. Mike was kind enough to agree to use these guys and actually got pretty excited once he started thinking about it. What I liked about the X-Men was the soap opera drama that went with it. I got very caught up in the characters’ personal lives, but I also liked that I was afraid for the X-Men, that they could die at any time. I’m hoping to inject a certain amount of that uncertainty of who will get out alive into the books. It was the first comic I read where I felt like I was reading about people who could potentially be my friends. When I first started reading it, I was younger than they were in the comics, so I kind of looked up to them, then later they were peers; they don’t age, so now they’re young tykes. That feeling that they were the family that was always in danger, that there was something lurking around every corner just because they were different, that’s something that I liked and would like to get back to.

Okay, one last chance to get people excited about the X-Men with something you haven’t mentioned yet—go!

SCHMIDT: [Pauses] Yeah, all right: the Marauders.


X-Men #199

http://wizarduniverse.com/_images_/003309/XMEN199COVER_100.jpg


http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/003309512.cfm

[bengan]

AWSOME COVER!!!! I cants stop loving this guy:heart: BUt I also likes the info that I get. It looks like 2007 is going to be great :D Too bad that it looks like Lady MAstermind wont be there for long. I REALLY like her.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

:up:

[proteus]

AWSOME COVER!!!! I cants stop loving this guy:heart: BUt I also likes the info that I get. It looks like 2007 is going to be great :D Too bad that it looks like Lady MAstermind wont be there for long. I REALLY like her.



Where does it say that she is not sticking around? Carey said that she wouldn't slip in limbo.

[Havok83]

Why is Rogue on all the damn covers!

[spark627]

carey has done 8 issues and rogue has been the subject of 2.... and we have at least 1 in the future, def not all

[Havok83]

carey has done 8 issues and rogue has been the subject of 2.... and we have at least 1 in the future, def not all
it was an exageration bc she seems to be pimped out alot on them. The last issue had her on and she wasnt even in the issue

[iamlegend]

Regardless, it is true that Carey and company are head over heels for Rogue. I'm okay with it for now, but if she's still the constant covergirl and focus after the current arc then it's going to get stale.

[Rogue's Hand]

It might depend on who you're getting your comics from, but it's most likely that you'll have to either subscribe to or purchase the annual separately.
I subscribed from Marvel.com
So I have to buy it seperately? :csad:

[Rogue's Hand]

Based on some of the upcoming plans I’ve seen, it seems like there are a few characters on the X-Men team that are very integral to the next few months, and I’d like to get your thoughts on each of them, beginning with Rogue.

SCHMIDT: Rogue has got a pretty significantly challenging life ahead of her for the next year. If you are a Rogue fan, you are going to feel some pain. [Laughs] That said, we’re doing interesting things with Rogue. She will be heroic, but she’s going to have some trials. Part of that comes from my feeling on her. I’m not a huge fan of the Sunfire powers, for example. Mike Carey is a very interesting guy and has a lot of ideas on how to use people’s powers and what directions to take characters in. Rogue, in particular, is going to have a very tough life for the next year or so.

If they don't like her powers get rid of them dammit!!!!:cmad::whatever:
I think Rogue is going to get her butt kicked for the next year or so :csad:
I don't think he's funny by laughing after making a comment like that :csad::whatever:

[Halcohol]

Why is Rogue on all the damn covers!
Because Iceman gets no love. None at all. :cool:

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

You read comics, hal? You post in here? Where the heck have I been? Why can't I remember? :(

[Halcohol]

You read comics, hal? You post in here? Where the heck have I been? Why can't I remember? :(
B/c I'm more partial to using this site for the movies, rather than the comics. I support my favorite character in all of his incarnations, especially considering he was one of the original X-Men :up:

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

B/c I'm more partial to using this site for the movies, rather than the comics. I support my favorite character in all of his incarnations, especially considering he was one of the original X-Men :up:
I just hope Bobby sticks around for the long run.

[Halcohol]

I just hope Bobby sticks around for the long run.
I think it gets taken for granted that he's been on the team for 40 years, so other characters are given the chance to shine.

If they kill him... well, I don't rightly know what I'd do.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

I mean, you can say it again and have a wow moment. The character of Robert Drake/Iceman has been around for 40+ years. wow.

[Halcohol]

http://www.uncannyxmen.net/images/costume/iceman-bigcostume1.jpg

:D:up:

This always makes me laugh.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Red x?

[Halcohol]

http://www.uncannyxmen.net/images/costume/iceman-bigcostume1.jpg

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

NOw it says it a server error

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Yeah, snowman iceman was weird looking.

[ProfeZZor X]

Since #196 ends this mini arc, I wonder how soon before we start seeing some of the changes Mike mentioned in his Livewire interview.

[ProfeZZor X]

I just hope Bobby sticks around for the long run.

"Outside of those characters, who else from the team will be stepping up?

SCHMIDT: The two arcs we’re currently working on really feature the whole team, but those three characters we just discussed and to a certain degree Sabretooth all share the spotlight. In the arc that goes from #200 to #203, Mystique is going to be very interesting, people will be very curious about what’s going on with Cable, but you’re going to see a lot of Iceman and Cannonball. Those two are really going to rule that story, and I know that to many X-Men fans that probably sounds pretty lame, but Iceman and Cannonball are really cool and I’m going to stand by that. I think X-Men fans will understand why they’re really cool once the story is over."

Hey, this answer is good enough for me.

[squeekness]

I like both of those guys so that is just fine with me. :D :up:

[bengan]

Where does it say that she is not sticking around? Carey said that she wouldn't slip in limbo.
Its just that after what he said, I kinda got the feeling that LAdy mastermind will leave after the next arc and that karima will leave very soon, maybe even after PI(this arc).

[ProfeZZor X]

Its just that after what he said, I kinda got the feeling that LAdy mastermind will leave after the next arc and that karima will leave very soon, maybe even after PI(this arc).

It seems only natural for them to both leave, since their score is FINALLY settled with Pandemic. And neither one has any allegience to the X-Men, other than needing their assistance in capturing and destroying Pan, so it's not like they need to hang around, other than to take up space at the mansion, or where ever Rogue's team stays.

To me, both were kind of "cookie cutter" versions of past stereotypical characters. So I wouldn't miss them in the least bit. Not that I hate either one, they just don't do anything for me... Nothing exciting in terms of powers, and dynamics anyway.

[Specter313]

I subscribed from Marvel.com
So I have to buy it seperately? :csad:

Well, the best way to find out is to go and see if they have it listed separately from the rest of the X-Men line, and if so, then yeah, you'll probably have to buy it separately.

[Rogue's Hand]

If Karima & Lady M leave then that leaves 2 slots open right?:huh:
I would love for Storm to branch away from Black Panther
and leave the FF4 and for Husk to come along.
2 women to replace 2 women:woot:

[Specter313]

If Karima & Lady M leave then that leaves 2 slots open right?:huh:
I would love for Storm to branch away from Black Panther
and leave the FF4 and for Husk to come along.
2 women to replace 2 women:woot:

Not neccessarily. The typical number for an X-team is around 6 or 7 members, while this one already has 8. If they both leave, they might only bring in one later.

[bengan]

I think that he really wants Northstar on the team, and it would be ok. I dont really feel close to him anyway.

[ProfeZZor X]

I think that he really wants Northstar on the team, and it would be ok. I dont really feel close to him anyway.

Likewise. I'd think everyone, especially Iceman, would feel uncomfortable with him being on the team... Brainwashed or not, if someone was trying to kill me, I'd still take it personal. And that alone could become an interesting story in itself, but I wouldn't imagine it would take an entire story arc to confront the issue.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

O c'mon, this is the x-men. Rogue started off trying to kill them and every other person on the team has tried to kill the other at one point or another.

[Havok83]

Likewise. I'd think everyone, especially Iceman, would feel uncomfortable with him being on the team... Brainwashed or not, if someone was trying to kill me, I'd still take it personal. And that alone could become an interesting story in itself, but I wouldn't imagine it would take an entire story arc to confront the issue.
Mystique, Rogue, Sabretooth, Mastermind, Karima have all tried to kill the X-men and look where they are at now

[ProfeZZor X]

Mystique, Rogue, Sabretooth, Mastermind, Karima have all tried to kill the X-men and look where they are at now

Yeah, but those were all passive and random attacks on whoever just happened to be within reach, and weren't intended on a specific person... Because none of them didn't stop to talk to them specifically then kill them without malice, like Northstar did with Bobby.

After that initial killing is when the twins became random in their attack.

[iamlegend]

Yeah, but those were all passive and random attacks on whoever just happened to be within reach, and weren't intended on a specific person... Because none of them didn't stop to talk to them specifically then kill them without malice, like Northstar did with Bobby.

After that initial killing is when the twins became random in their attack.


Regardless, anyone on this team that feels uncomfortable around either of the twins for that reason is still a hypocrite. Especially considering how the twins were programmed... I mean, ****, Rogue, Bobby, and Sam all feel relatively comfortable around Wolverine and he's been brainwashed and sent to kill X-men multiple times, no?

[bengan]

Am I the only one wgho thinks thatthe thing in Lady M (:heart:) an alian that uses her power to create a body for it. Thats why its the mainenemy in the next arc?

[Havok83]

Yeah, but those were all passive and random attacks on whoever just happened to be within reach, and weren't intended on a specific person... Because none of them didn't stop to talk to them specifically then kill them without malice, like Northstar did with Bobby.

After that initial killing is when the twins became random in their attack.
passive and random? Was it all passive and random when Sabretooth nearly killed Psylocke? Or how about Mystique's numerous attempts. It doesnt matter how or why, the point is tehy have all tried to kill X-men. Everyone on this team with the exception of Bobby and Sam are former X-men villians. Thats more than half. None of them have any room to talk nor do I think they would. Like iamlegend said, besides Northstar was brainwashed. I think intent and actual understanding is much different than being brainwashed and having no control over your actions

[usagicassidy]

So...it's Wednesday...and I haven't been to the comic shop in 5 weeks. This has NEVER happened before, lol.

Annual...what do people think? A / B / C / D / F +/- ???

[emmymae]

Have any of you gotten to see the cover for X-Men #199? It's absolutely scary. Rogue is a skeleton with skeleton hands coming out of her. That's worse than seeing Gambit as Death, Horseman of Apocalypse. He's coming back by the way and the complete ramifications of this change will be brought to light. I hate that they're going to put Rogue through hell. Are they trying to destroy her now too? I'm scared to find out what they're going to do to her, from the look of the cover on #199. By the way, she's been good since 1983 and has never tried in any way to be a hypocrite.:csad:

[Mike059jig]

B-,Exodus attacks the ship and wants to find babies that still have the X-gene using a machine on one of the ship.....mystique and Rogue have a fallen out.....X-men are there to help Jean Paul and jeanie Marie get their minds back...and they succeed.......Mystique saves rogue....Jean and Jeanie save both of them....Rogue just figured out that mystique save her....exodus and acolytes escapes...........now for the end..........we see them in anartica and Exodus just opened a facility....Walks and starts talkin in the dark to a shadowy blue person.....with red eyes!!...on how he will save the mutant race... all he needs is Exodus obedience

Have any of you gotten to see the cover for X-Men #199? It's absolutely scary. Rogue is a skeleton with skeleton hands coming out of her. That's worse than seeing Gambit as Death, Horseman of Apocalypse. He's coming back by the way and the complete ramifications of this change will be brought to light. I hate that they're going to put Rogue through hell. Are they trying to destroy her now too? I'm scared to find out what they're going to do to her, from the look of the cover on #199. By the way, she's been good since 1983 and has never tried in any way to be a hypocrite.Link please

[Havok83]

Have any of you gotten to see the cover for X-Men #199? It's absolutely scary. Rogue is a skeleton with skeleton hands coming out of her. That's worse than seeing Gambit as Death, Horseman of Apocalypse. He's coming back by the way and the complete ramifications of this change will be brought to light. I hate that they're going to put Rogue through hell. Are they trying to destroy her now too? I'm scared to find out what they're going to do to her, from the look of the cover on #199. By the way, she's been good since 1983 and has never tried in any way to be a hypocrite.:csad:
its already been posted in this thread

[squeekness]

B-,Exodus attacks the ship and wants to find babies that still have the X-gene using a machine on one of the ship.....mystique and Rogue have a fallen out.....X-men are there to help Jean Paul and jeanie Marie get their minds back...and they succeed.......Mystique saves rogue....Jean and Jeanie save both of them....Rogue just figured out that mystique save her....exodus and acolytes escapes...........now for the end..........we see them in anartica and Exodus just opened a facility....Walks and starts talkin in the dark to a shadowy blue person.....with red eyes!!...on how he will save the mutant race... all he needs is Exodus obedience

As far as the Annual goes...

I thought that the rumor was that Apocolypse was gonna show up. It sure seemed to me that baddie with the red eyes at the end was Sinister which makes more sense going forward.

[spark627]

the annual was slightly disapointed (considering how much i anticipated it). the art was gorgeous though and i'm glad northstar is back to normal.

[squeekness]

The art was very good. It was a nice change from the uber cartoony stuff. I would be happy if that guy stayed on for good... :)

[Brainiac 8]

I won't be getting mine till tomorrow. :(

I am happy to hear Sinister is back....and hopefully on is heels will be the repaired Gambit minus the snot powers.:cmad:

[squeekness]

Yeah, that is my wish as well. :) I miss my Cajun.

[usagicassidy]

IGN gave it a "Must Read." Haha, I know nobody really cares what IGN thinks, but sometimes it's fun reading their reviews. They seem to really like X-Men and really hate Uncanny (I gotta agree with them there).

[squeekness]

I like both books, but they are very different and I can see how they might not appeal to everyone. However, if I were to post a must read, X-Factor is the best of all the X-books right now. Just my opinion....

[Brainiac 8]

I have yet to read X-Factor...I'll probably pick up the first trade and give it a shot.

As it is, the X-Books (Uncanny, Astonishing, X-Men, and New) are the most enjoyable reads I buy right now. X-Men hasn't been this good for years.

[Colossal Spoons]

Holy moley that annual was awesome.

[Generation Lee]

Don't get me wrong I liked the annuel very much especially the Mystique/ Rogue scenes. But it seems pointless that certain storylines are opening up and we have to wait a few months to see what happens (cough Astonishing cough). Just want to know is J.M "cured"?

[bengan]

well, Ive been getting two difernet infos. is the villian on the last page :

Apocalypse or Mr.Sinister?

[squeekness]

well, Ive been getting two difernet infos. is the villian on the last page :

Apocalypse or Mr.Sinister? Sinister :D

[bengan]

Really? YES!!!!

[ProfeZZor X]

Exodus attacks the ship and wants to find babies that still have the X-gene using a machine on one of the ship.....mystique and Rogue have a fallen out.....X-men are there to help Jean Paul and jeanie Marie get their minds back...and they succeed.......Mystique saves rogue....Jean and Jeanie save both of them....Rogue just figured out that mystique save her....exodus and acolytes escapes...........now for the end..........we see them in anartica and Exodus just opened a facility....Walks and starts talkin in the dark to a shadowy blue person.....with red eyes!!...on how he will save the mutant race... all he needs is Exodus obedience

1) How much interaction do the X-Men (as a whole team) have in this book?

2) Is this another Rogue dominated storyline?

...Being the Mike Carey supporter that I am, I don't think I could stand another Rogue-dominated story. If this is the case, I might pass on this book.

[Colossal Spoons]

^I didn't feel like it was too heavy on the Rogue at all. I think you'd like it :up:



Can somebody please explain to me what Random did to Cable when his eye glowed?

[spark627]

this was not at all centered around Rogue, she is knocked out pretty early in the battle

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

How sad.:(

[Havok83]

I was also confused about who the villain at the end was. I assuymed it was Sinister bc of what Ive been hearing the past few months but it sure looked like Apocalypse and talked like him

The art in the annual was pretty good. I only wish the rest of the team had showed up but it did make snse that they all werent there as it would have been crowded. At least Cable was around :D

[Colossal Spoons]

No need for spoiler tags, people should know to expect them when they come in this thread so soon after a new issue comes out :up:

I definately think it's Sinister.

[squeekness]

No need for spoiler tags, people should know to expect them when they come in this thread so soon after a new issue comes out :up:

I definately think it's Sinister.I agree. I was looking at his mouth in particular and it just didn't seem like Apoc to me who has those wierd lines on his face. Plus with the upcoming Sinister arc, it just makes more sense.

[mightiest_mortal]

it was CLEARLY sinister. There arent many villains who'd get away with wearing thigh length boots.

[Mar420x]

^^^
yup the boots give it up.. it sure is MR.. SINSTER.. hell b here for x-men #200

[Colossal Spoons]

I wonder what he'll be doing w/ Gambit, Sunfire, and the New Brotherhood though. I smell a HUUUGE retcon of Wanda's "no more mutants" coming up and I'm all for it.

[Brainiac 8]

I wonder what he'll be doing w/ Gambit, Sunfire, and the New Brotherhood though. I smell a HUUUGE retcon of Wanda's "no more mutants" coming up and I'm all for it.


Brokeback Mutants?:wow:

Seriously, I would be all for a retconning of the whole Wanda mess, then they need to retcon "The Other."

[Nightwolf]

Great issue, has mystique ever done that with her body before, cause i cant think of a time. It would be cool if should start doing more things like that.

[squeekness]

In Mytique's solo book she was doing things like spiking her body and even making wings and jazz like that. It was cool. :D

[Colossal Spoons]

Seriously, I would be all for a retconning of the whole Wanda mess, then they need to retcon "The Other."


Superboy prime better start warmin up that arm.

In Mytique's solo book she was doing things like spiking her body and even making wings and jazz like that. It was cool. :D

Mystique doesn't do 1/2 the cool stuff Hulkling does in YA.

[Mike059jig]

I haven't seen sinister for a long time......when was the last time he showed up anyway??

[Colossal Spoons]

At the end of Milligan's "Blood of Apocalypse" arc on Adjectiveless X-Men.

[emmymae]

I actually went and bought the annual. Not bad at all. Yeah, that's Sinister at the end. I was hoping I'd see Gambit with him, but no. I don't know Exodus at all, so I was lost about him. The drawing was pretty good though certain characters looked a bit funny. Rogue looked beautiful, but I don't like her current outfit. The writing is a bit reminiscent of the 80's and 90's writing. Kinda nostalgic. Though I don't like Mystique, I am glad that Carey is showing her compassionate side and having her try to connect with Rogue, though Rogue really doesn't want that right now.

If you want to know what's in store for Gambit, and also Rogue, check out the direct links to recent interviews with Mike Carey and the X-Editor on the French Quarter site at www.geocities.com/thefrenchquarter03/thefrenchquarter03. There you will also find the scary cover for X-Men #199. Rogue is going to be put through hell and Gambit has a tough time still to come.

About Blood of Apocalypse, I flipped through the TPB at a local comic book store yesterday and a thought crossed my mind. I thought it was important to note that of the people who were transformed into Horseman, only Gambit no longer looks like himself. He looks really evil and will look like that for a while to come.:csad:

[04nbod]

i thought it was sinister but for some reason i expected his forehead gem to glow

[@JeanGrey]

It is Essex. It is not 'Pocy'. That is totally obvious, just look at the jaw.

[04nbod]

to move on- i thought the cover was amazing, the art inside was touch and go. he has trouble with faces but his mystique was great and in some places his rogue

[El Bastardo]

On first thought, I wanted to say it was Sinister too. But I remembered a spoiler here saying it was Apocalypse. So I have someone else's gut feeling vs. my own, and I'm not sure.

squeek's right: the face doesn't really look like any Apocalypse face we've seen before. But then, have we ever seen Mark Brooks draw Apocalypse? This "different face" was the only reason my gut thought it might be Sinister rather than Apocalypse.

I don't know. While Sinister doesn't talk like a stupid goon, he and Apocalypse still have different voices. And in all the words on those two pages... it really seems like Apocalypse.

Besides, look at what Exodus himself says. Random asks if he needs backup, and Exodus replies by saying: "If it comes to a fight, Marshall Stone, I doubt that the three of you will make a difference." Would he think Sinister to be that powerful? On the other hand, he'd know Apocalypse to be that powerful.

Final basis for it being Apocalypse and not Sinister: In the face pic, the face is very definitely not a pale WHITE, which Sinister's is. And I don't think the "shade" of the room would make his face look like a gray/blue. Furthermore, the forehead diamond is not glowing, and you'd think that if Carey wanted us to understand/suspect it was Sinister, he'd have made sure that it would. But the face does have ears. Does Apocalypse have ears? And Apocalypse's eyes red?

(And no, the knee-high boots are not enough to make me believe it's really Sinister.)

Regardless of what the end outcome is, I think this page might be my only problem with Brooks's artwork in the issue. But I think that, Carey's words looked at, more weight is on the Apocalypse side of things.

[Colossal Spoons]

Besides, look at what Exodus himself says. Random asks if he needs backup, and Exodus replies by saying: "If it comes to a fight, Marshall Stone, I doubt that the three of you will make a difference." Would he think Sinister to be that powerful? On the other hand, he'd know Apocalypse to be that powerful.



Hmmm, very true.

[Havok83]

anyone else notice that they screwed up the color of the twins hair. In the beginning it was brown but midway through the book it was black (which it should be). And of course in other appearances they are drawn with either white or grey hair

[Specter313]

http://images.comicbookresources.com/solicits/marvelcomics/200705_xbooks/XMEN199.jpg



X-MEN #199
Written by MIKE CAREY
Pencils and Cover by CHRIS BACHALO
"CONDITION CRITICAL"
The X-Men are one issue away from 200…and let's hope Cable and Rogue can make it! Facing a nearly indestructible enemy, both Cable and Rogue will need to make choices that will alter their lives forever.
Part 3 (of 3)!
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

[Specter313]

damn hype made me double post

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Nice cover.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

What if Rogue sapped the rest of cable's powers? He had little but maybe she can do something with it.

[Rogue's Hand]

I didn't get my annual in the mail :csad:

[ProfeZZor X]

Solicitations for May 2007:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=9636

[04nbod]

thats a weird cover- wonder what's goin' on?

[Colossal Spoons]

I'm really getting tired of these Rogue covers.

[04nbod]

i see what you mean but as a rogue fan i am delighted. i've counted 3 main rogue covers- its nowhere near as bad as wolverine on ultimate covers though- rogue has NEVER had a solo cover on that book

[spark627]

3 rogue covers is not bad, considering how neglected she was during milligans arc

[Colossal Spoons]

Guess I'm just not a huge fan now that she's got these new fire powers.

[Brainiac 8]

Guess I'm just not a huge fan now that she's got these new fire powers.


I'm having a feeling she won't be keeping the fire powers....something Carey said I think.

[Colossal Spoons]

Oh? Hope that happens soon. It'd be awesome if Pan somehow restored her old abilities by the end of this arc.

[Specter313]

Oh? Hope that happens soon. It'd be awesome if Pan somehow restored her old abilities by the end of this arc.

Note: Not picking on you, just how you phrased it. ;)

This is something that irks me a bit. Rogue HAS her "old" abilities. Her absorbtion powers. And really, that's all she needs. She's not defined by Ms. Marvel's old powers. If Carey want to do something good with her, he'll expand on her use of her absorbing powers. Give her something new to work with, not go back to the old cliched place of plain super strength and flight.

[Rogue's Hand]

Note: Not picking on you, just how you phrased it. ;)

This is something that irks me a bit. Rogue HAS her "old" abilities. Her absorbtion powers. And really, that's all she needs. She's not defined by Ms. Marvel's old powers. If Carey want to do something good with her, he'll expand on her use of her absorbing powers. Give her something new to work with, not go back to the old cliched place of plain super strength and flight.
Exactly, she needs something else. I'm tired of her having Ms. Marvel's powers, but I do feel she should have one additional power. I don't know about Sunfire's powers, maybe he has something better in store for her I hope.:csad:

[Havok83]

I'm really getting tired of these Rogue covers.
I 2nd that.

As far as her powers go, I like what Carey is doing with her. He's making me not miss her Ms. Marvel powers and I have been since Claremont screwed around with her powers back during Maximum Security. I hated all this extra random powers showing up at any time and now the Sunfire crap. I like that Carey is focusing on just her base powers. The Sunfire powers arent bothering me too much now but I want him to get rid of them

[04nbod]

he should evolve her main powers

[Havok83]

he should evolve her main powers
and what's that supposed to mean?

[Havok83]

he should evolve her main powers
and what's that supposed to mean?

[Colossal Spoons]

Note: Not picking on you, just how you phrased it. ;)

This is something that irks me a bit. Rogue HAS her "old" abilities. Her absorbtion powers. And really, that's all she needs. She's not defined by Ms. Marvel's old powers. If Carey want to do something good with her, he'll expand on her use of her absorbing powers. Give her something new to work with, not go back to the old cliched place of plain super strength and flight.

I liked the superstrength and flight. The X-Men are seriously lacking in the brawling dept with only Petey and Hank. I'd also be up for her having a new spin on her absorption powers, I just don't wanna see a female Sunfire.

[ProfeZZor X]

Note: Not picking on you, just how you phrased it. ;)

This is something that irks me a bit. Rogue HAS her "old" abilities. Her absorbtion powers. And really, that's all she needs. She's not defined by Ms. Marvel's old powers. If Carey want to do something good with her, he'll expand on her use of her absorbing powers. Give her something new to work with, not go back to the old cliched place of plain super strength and flight.

Yeah, there are so many directions Rogue's powers can go. Just look at all the other mutants with similar powers. Synch, Leech, Mimic, and a few others. There are so many ways her leeching abilities can be used, or modified that there would be no need for her to stabilize someone elses abilities to be best known for (Ms. Marvel).

The character "Ms. Marvel" was created with her powers for a reason, and it wasn't to pass them along to Rogue for her to take them over. Rogue needs her sense of identity, and not someone elses.

Now I'm not trying to defend her, because I really don't like her all that much, but I will agree with you that she needs her own sense of identity, and power useage. :cwink:

[OutcryX]

Yeah, there are so many directions Rogue's powers can go. Just look at all the other mutants with similar powers. Synch, Leech, Mimic, and a few others. There are so many ways her leeching abilities can be used, or modified that there would be no need for her to stabilize someone elses abilities to be best known for (Ms. Marvel).

The character "Ms. Marvel" was created with her powers for a reason, and it wasn't to pass them along to Rogue for her to take them over. Rogue needs her sense of identity, and not someone elses.

Now I'm not trying to defend her, because I really don't like her all that much, but I will agree with you that she needs her own sense of identity, and power useage. :cwink:


I agree. The Ms. Marvel powers are what made us really take notice of Rogue, its' what made her popular...arguably..well actually undeniably MORE popular than the character from which she stole them. But at the end of the day...they aren't Rogue's power. Her power is absorbtion and she can do so much more with that power than being the Supergirl of Marvel U. Chris Claremont struck a (shockingly) good chord when he gave her the ability to recall any power ever absorbed. It was like a flash in the pan of his old brilliance...however fleeting it was. BUT...having Rogue be able to do that again...and also be able to control those powers and her own so that she can touch people(not saying that will happen...but it could)...would make her something of a dues ex machina...no?

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Rogue is boring and so is her powers.

[spark627]

i dont know how anyone can rogue is boring, she is one of the best x-men out there.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Looking back on it, she does nothing for me, really. She's only been with maybe one guy, that I don't really like him, but she meant to be with him, so meh. She can take people's powers.. yay:dry: I rather see the person who had the power in the first place use that power. She keeps getting beat down (Don't forget how she got herbed in the pages of Ms. Marvel) Wtf is her real name? I think we know, but are we really, really, really sure? She's always angry. She does nothing. What's her point? I miss the old comics when they had lives and they talked to other people, and it wasn't fighting all that time, and everyone,once in a while, were happy.

[emmymae]

Rogue is my main woman. She's not boring at all; she's beautiful and fiesty and the best woman Gambit ever loved. I don't think you like Gambit either, do you? You can like who you want. I got to check out some of Rogue's period of being able to recall anyone's ability. I thought it was cool. I do miss her flying through the air and punching out the bad guys. And it was so cute when she would fly Gambit places. I must say I don't dig her as the human torch. And it would be great if she could expand on her main power and maybe control it enough to touch people. I have always wanted her to be able to touch the people she loved for good, not just for some brief period. That cover is scary. I have to know what happens to her. And I love Rogue on the covers. She deserves to be in the spotlight. And Gambit's coming back in issue #200! Not everyone's excited about that I know, but I am.:heart:

[spark627]

Rogue has been interested in other men (Joseph, Longshot), Gambit was the only man that she felt comfortable having a relationship with.

We do know Rogue's real name, it is Anna Marie. Her aunt and mother called her that.

Rogue is portrayed as always angry when written by the wrong writer (Milligan, Claremont). Carey has not written an angry Rogue (except when Mystique is around, but can you blame her)

What I love about Rogue is her tragic beauty, she can't experience true love and human touch and it is the one thing she yearns for more than anything else. The one man she felt comfortable with and truly loved has left her and tried to kill her. She didn't get to experience life with her mother, Mystique was the next best thing and she is constantly being betrayed by her.

Her mutant powers already make the outcast's outcast. She has to hold herself back in a fight when using her aborbing powers, for fear of truly hurting someone or being unable control what she absorbs.

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

Still, does nothing for me.

[emmymae]

ComicBoy, You can't please everyone, sugah.

I loved how Fabian Nicieza wrote Rogue and I thought Claremont did a great job with the X-Treme X-Men Invasion of Dimension X storyline, though I can't speak for the other stories he wrote. Carey is doing an awesome job. I read the Annual and liked it a lot.:heart:

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

I like rogue I just wish things were better. People, don't mind me too much, i'm just really pissy.

[Colossal Spoons]

Looking back on it, she does nothing for me, really. She's only been with maybe one guy, that I don't really like him, but she meant to be with him, so meh. She can take people's powers.. yay:dry: I rather see the person who had the power in the first place use that power. She keeps getting beat down (Don't forget how she got herbed in the pages of Ms. Marvel) Wtf is her real name? I think we know, but are we really, really, really sure? She's always angry. She does nothing. What's her point? I miss the old comics when they had lives and they talked to other people, and it wasn't fighting all that time, and everyone,once in a while, were happy.


Hahaha, haven't heard the word "herbed" since I lived in the Bronx :D

And thanks for reminding me why I think Rogue is meh

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

I had the word "herbed" in my mind all day. I had to say it.

[emmymae]

May I ask what meh means? I wish the X-Men actually had lives these days. A lot of bad stuff has happened and good characters have been messed with. There's more heartbreak to come in the series. Rogue is cool no matter what, and so is Gambit.
:yay: :heart: :cwink:

[Colossal Spoons]

May I ask what meh means? I wish the X-Men actually had lives these days. A lot of bad stuff has happened and good characters have been messed with. There's more heartbreak to come in the series. Rogue is cool no matter what, and so is Gambit. :yay: :heart: :cwink:

Meh is the equivalent of a shoulder shrug. I think Rogue is meh as is I just acknowledge her presence and don't hate/like her.

[emmymae]

Ok. I've never heard the expression before.:yay:

[Colossal Spoons]

It's all the rage around here :p

[Rogue's Hand]

It's okay that some people on here say they don't like Rogue,
I actually expected that. She's not a comic hog and now that she
does get her shine they wanna hate on her.
Well DEAL wit it. Everyone has gotten a damn turn in the X-men
and now that a Rogue fan is writing for her you wanna flip?
Too bad, she ain't going nowhere for a while.
She even lost her powers at one point, which is crazy.
Rogue fans were in limbo thinking our Southern Belle
would never come back, now she's here.
Growing every day more and more. I'm from the Bronx too.
176st off the 4 train, and I know what a herb is.
Rogue won't be getting "herbed" for long, trust.
Soon as she gets powerful I will be expecting the topics
to soar regarding her upgrade because her haters can never
accept that she's carrying the torch. Everyone deserves a chance.

P.S. Even if she did get whooped by Ms. Marvel recently
it doesn't compare to Carol dealing w/ being in a coma for quite some time:word:

[Colossal Spoons]

^Would it make you feel better if I told you that I've never cared about Rogue for years, not just now that she's in the spotlight. I'm glad she's getting time to shine cuz when Carey's run is all over with, she can reclaim her position as "X-man nobody cares about".

[Brainiac 8]

^Would it make you feel better if I told you that I've never cared about Rogue for years, not just now that she's in the spotlight. I'm glad she's getting time to shine cuz when Carey's run is all over with, she can reclaim her position as "X-man nobody cares about".


Sadly, that'll be what happens.:csad:


Then it's back to all Wolverine.:cmad:

[Colossal Spoons]

That's one thing I can say about Rogue. "At least she's not Wolverine". But that's about it :o

[Brainiac 8]

That's one thing I can say about Rogue. "At least she's not Wolverine". But that's about it :o

lol :up: :D


I say that about many of the characters that I don't care for.

At least their not Wolverine.:hyper:

[ProfeZZor X]

^Would it make you feel better if I told you that I've never cared about Rogue for years, not just now that she's in the spotlight. I'm glad she's getting time to shine cuz when Carey's run is all over with, she can reclaim her position as "X-man nobody cares about".

I'm with you on that one.... But the same can be said about all of the team members he's characterizing.

...It's the circle of (comic book) life.

[Colossal Spoons]

Well Lady Mastermind and Karima are destined to return to X-obscurity.

[emmymae]

Rogue will never be the X-Man (why not X-Woman, she's not a man) nobody cares about. Rogue has gotten to be in the spotlight a few times as has Gambit, mostly together. Though they should both be honored as individuals, and not just as a neat package. I absolutely love them both even when they're not together, and it makes me sad when they're not. So, Rogue has never been consistent window dressing. She may not be Storm, but people still love her, like me.

Wolverine is pretty cool, but they shouldn't make it all about him all the time. My brother is a Wolverine fan, but he noted that most everyone has Wolverine as their favorite X-Man.

While we're on that topic, poor Psylocke has been written out of the series twice. At least no one's written Rogue out of the series. I think they nearly wrote Gambit out of the series at least once but I'm not sure about that since he's pretty popular and I love him so they'd have no right to do that.:heart:

[Havok83]

While we're on that topic, poor Psylocke has been written out of the series twice. At least no one's written Rogue out of the series. I think they nearly wrote Gambit out of the series at least once but I'm not sure about that since he's pretty popular and I love him so they'd have no right to do that.:heart:
you mean just this book or the X-men in general? Psylocke was taken out when the Excalibur members returned around X-men 80 and then she was killed off in X-treme 3 and then recently was taken out again with UXM 474. Rogue has been taken out herself. She's been more consistent but she was written out after she was almost killed in X-treme X-men.

As for Gambit he has been written out 3 times. First time was after the Mutant Massacre reveal in UXM. 2nd time was with Rogue in X-treme and most recently under Milligan's run

[04nbod]

Well Lady Mastermind and Karima are destined to return to X-obscurity.

just where i like them:woot:


lol


I say that about many of the characters that I don't care for.

At least their not Wolverine.

doesn't everybody- they should kill him off!:cmad:
never gonna happen but a girl likes to dream.:O


i don't see why rogue is meh. she has mystery to her past and the more they try to give her 'character' the more they take that away- like giving her a name(although i think anna marie is lovely) she has a great power- like mytsique in evolution said, she can have any power she wants but she has a moral compass holding her back. i'm hoping the need for a moral compass will be taken away by carey though. she has a central dilemma to her character that may have run its course as a main point but remains a decent background as to why rogue is who she is.i think she is infinitely better because of these reasons to her relative contemporaries like kitty pryde.

so yeah ... that is all:p

[Rogue's Hand]

just where i like them:woot:




doesn't everybody- they should kill him off!:cmad:
never gonna happen but a girl likes to dream.:O


i don't see why rogue is meh. she has mystery to her past and the more they try to give her 'character' the more they take that away- like giving her a name(although i think anna marie is lovely) she has a great power- like mytsique in evolution said, she can have any power she wants but she has a moral compass holding her back. i'm hoping the need for a moral compass will be taken away by carey though. she has a central dilemma to her character that may have run its course as a main point but remains a decent background as to why rogue is who she is.i think she is infinitely better because of these reasons to her relative contemporaries like kitty pryde.

so yeah ... that is all:p
I agree. I like her edge, but there is something missing.
I've always admired Rogue because of her power/curse.
I hope to see some change in her direction soon.

[ProfeZZor X]

Bachalo does the original five:

http://www.comicbox.com/images/ComicBox36.jpg

[bengan]

Nice. where is that from?

[04nbod]

i prefer the first class covers of the original five that is a bit crap from bachalo

[Havok83]

I dont like his Marvel Girl

[04nbod]

the background is really chaotic making his figures look plain and boring.

[ProfeZZor X]

The thing is, everyone seems to be responding to their own individual threats.... What ever happened to the days were all of the team members were all looking at the same threat, and reacted (with their powers) accordingly?

[emmymae]

you mean just this book or the X-men in general? Psylocke was taken out when the Excalibur members returned around X-men 80 and then she was killed off in X-treme 3 and then recently was taken out again with UXM 474. Rogue has been taken out herself. She's been more consistent but she was written out after she was almost killed in X-treme X-men.

As for Gambit he has been written out 3 times. First time was after the Mutant Massacre reveal in UXM. 2nd time was with Rogue in X-treme and most recently under Milligan's run

I meant the X-Men in general. What I meant by being written out is not just being out for several issues or so, but being taken out with an intention to have the character never return. I don't know if Milligan did the whole Horseman thing to write Gambit out of the series. That seemed to be left open ended to me. But as soon as Carey got on board, he expressed his intention to have Gambit come back. I hadn't read the comic since '95, so there's a lot I missed. I'm trying my best to get back in the loop.:csad:

[K.B.]

While I love how Carey is writing X-men, I wasn't really enjoying the annual (but thats due to the art, the story itself was fine) till the last 2 pages. Something Sinister this way comes.

[@JeanGrey]

Bachalo does the original five:

http://www.comicbox.com/images/ComicBox36.jpg

Compared to Djurdjevic, Bachalo's art is simply inadequate

[ProfeZZor X]

Compared to Djurdjevic, Bachalo's art is simply inadequate

Yeah, and since when did Cyclops have enough super strength to crack the floor with his hand?

[@JeanGrey]

Yeah, and since when did Cyclops have enough super strength to crack the floor with his hand?

True, but in general it is such a pretty meshed up cover that this is minor detail.

Is he going to take over the art in First Class? Why did he do that cover?

[04nbod]

no the first class first run is handled but the follow up- i hope not. and anyway first class has different uniforms- they are the original kirby ones

[ProfeZZor X]

no the first class first run is handled but the follow up- i hope not. and anyway first class has different uniforms- they are the original kirby ones

I hope the X-Men: First Class legend that IS "Roger Cruz"... lives forever.

[bengan]

Yeah, and since when did Cyclops have enough super strength to crack the floor with his hand?
Doesnt it crack becuse its ice/cold stuff from Iceman?

[Havok83]

I meant the X-Men in general. What I meant by being written out is not just being out for several issues or so, but being taken out with an intention to have the character never return. I don't know if Milligan did the whole Horseman thing to write Gambit out of the series. That seemed to be left open ended to me. But as soon as Carey got on board, he expressed his intention to have Gambit come back. I hadn't read the comic since '95, so there's a lot I missed. I'm trying my best to get back in the loop.:csad:
well unless they are killed off I dont think any character is written out with the intention of never returning. Even deaths mean nothing bc when Claremont killed Psylocke, he planned on bringing her back but that was blocked

[Snikt 6]

I am looking forward to issue 200. Man, Carey is awesome.

[K.B.]

I really like Bachelos art and I think that that cover is awesome.
I'd like to see him and Carey do a flashback story of the original 5.

[emmymae]

#200 also signifies the return of Gambit. But I wonder what will happen to Rogue after seeing the cover for #199. I don't dig the Bachalo cover for the original team. That's painful to look at. Being a child of the 80's and 90's, I'm more partial to the X-Men of the past 15 or so years, not the 60's original team era.:oldrazz:

[@JeanGrey]

no the first class first run is handled but the follow up- i hope not. and anyway first class has different uniforms- they are the original kirby ones

I know about the first run being already handed (thank god), i am talking about a possible second run. Bachalo's style doesn't fit the arc style.

[04nbod]

i felt the same way about the last rogue series especially the covers. the first 4 were stunning but then it got all cartoony and seemed like a different comic all together

[Kevin D. Comicboy]

I haven't read the lastest issue of this or annual (or any x-book) Will try today or sometime this week.

[@JeanGrey]

New interview from Mike Carey in newsarama

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=102118

So i suppose Sinister is confirmed.
I am gonna start the prozacs LadyVader mentioned in another thread while reading AXM...

[OutcryX]

NRAMA: At the end of Peter Milligan’s run on X-Men and your ending to X-Men Annual #1, someone “sinister” seems to be lurking in the background—will readers be getting a taste of things to come?

MC: Oh yes. Keep watching, between now and #207, you will see all of the themes from the annual and all of the themes from the monthly pay off in spades. I’m settling a lot of issues left behind from House of M and Decimation and we’re going to be—and I know that they always say this, but we are going to changing the status quo of the X-universe in a big way.

NRAMA: Any chance the Marauders are coming back?

MC: Bet on it. (laughing)

Awesome....I smell a retcon...or something close to it...

[@JeanGrey]

Preview pages for Issue #196 from Comics Continuum!

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0702/22/xmen196c.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0702/22/xmen1961.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0702/22/xmen1962.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0702/22/xmen1963.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0702/22/xmen1964.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0702/22/xmen1965.jpg

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0702/22/xmen1966.jpg

At first look Ramos' art got better...

[ProfeZZor X]

Not too bad, but I hope the rest of the book isn't a Rogue-fest again. She had her momment in the Annual already. What I'd like to see is some resolve with the other members that were incapacitated trying to defeat Pandemic in the last issue, and not some off panel explanations afterwards.

By the way, with the little bit of interaction Bobby and Mystique have had so far, I find it a little hard for them to share an intimate kiss in the next (#197) issue. Other than saving each other, they really haven't talked on a personal level, let alone show any interest in each other. Even in the last issue, Bobby didn't seem too concerned with Mystique's twisted body after they all teleported down to Pan's place...

At least we have this to look forward to in the next issue:

http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/8107/icemanmystiquekissli1.jpg

[emmymae]

Looks like Iceman's getting some action. I don't mind a Rogue-fest at all, but I really think Carey is doing a good job of including and developing the other characters. It's not all about Rogue, but she's the leader. Wolverine can't get all the attention. And heck, Carey's bringing back Gambit! I wonder exactly what Pandemic is doing to Rogue. The art's cute in this issue and I love how Rogue describes herself. Even in the midst of all the bad stuff, she still keeps her wicked sense of humor. No wonder she and Gambit are so perfect together, not Death Gambit mind you. I've really missed my hot Cajun, t'ief pretty boy.:heart:

[squeekness]

LOL, Sabretooth is so kewl. I hope he stays around for a while, just so I can see him. They can keep him in the basement like before.... :p

[ProfeZZor X]

LOL, Sabretooth is so kewl. I hope he stays around for a while, just so I can see him. They can keep him in the basement like before.... :p

Since it's already known that Sinister and the Marauders will be coming in the near future, I wonder what's Sabertooth's reason for staying on with the team... After all, his issues with the Children have already been resolved for the time being. So there's really no reason why he needs to be at the mansion at this time. Other than having them remove the nanosentinels from his bloodstream.... or act as Sinister's spy. :cwink: