Comics "fix" an X-Man

[XFanTim]

What changes would you make to improve some of the X-Men. You can define "improve" however you want, basically anything that you think would make them a more interesting character. These can be changes to their powers or personalities, or even just putting more emphasis on certain existing aspects of the character.

I'll start:

Psylocke: She needs something to differentiate her from all the other psionic mutants running around. I say play up the ninja angle as much as possible. I'd reduce the level of her telekinesis so that it only works on things within a few-foot radius of her body. Thus, she'd have an actual reason to cut things up with her telekinetic katana rather than just bowling them over with telekinetic force. She could also use her telekinesis on herself to a limited degree -- not enough to fly, but enough to give herself a boost to leap long distances or run up a vertical wall. Maybe she could telekinetically bend light around herself to make herself invisible.

Then I'd give her some limited telepathy, mostly working on a subconscious level to let her telepathically anticpate opponents' moves in combat -- or perhaps even telepathically learn their moves and fighting style. And she could focus her power into telepathic projectiles -- basically "psychic shuriken" -- which could pass through barriers and knock out or paralyze whomever they hit by overloading their nervous system.

To summarize: telekinetic sword, TK-enhanced jumping and climbing abilities, invisibility, telepathically aided hand-to-hand fighting, psychic shuriken. See how it all fits the ninja theme? At least then she wouldn't be just a Jean Grey wannabe with a roundhouse kick.

Forge: He needs something to set him apart from Marvel's other super-inventors. Other than the seldom-used Shaman angle, he's basically just a super-inventor whose tech-skill is attributed to his mutation instead of raw brainpower. How about adding an abilitity to psionically control or reconfigure machinery. He'd be limited to transforming machines into devices of roughly equivalent complexity, so he couldn't turn a light bulb into a time machine, but he could turn a laptop into a laser pistol. Plus with the ability to take control of any nearby tech, he'd be pretty formidable. At least he wouldn't just be a Tony Stark wannabe without the cool suit.

Havok: I like Havok, I really do, but I think he's a lot more interesting when writers play up the traits that make him different than his brother. When PAD was writing him in the '90s X-Factor, he had a tendency to think outside the box and break the usual rules of superheroing. He was willing to lie to his teammates to inspire them (e.g., pretending to willingly ingest the same poison Strong Guy had been exposed to, while actually just drinking tap water), or to cut a deal with a villain (e.g., buying off the mercenary Random by writing him a check from X-Factor's government funds, rather than engaging in a fight that could have injured bystanders). I'd like to see Havok leading a team while going even further with his willingness to "play dirty" and put the end result ahead of doing things the "right" way.

As for his powers, isn't it time he learned a little more control? At times he's been able to use a plasma burst to propel his fist into a super-strong punch -- I'd like to see him do that regularly. Maybe he could get the ability to control the trajectory of his plasma blasts, such as bending them around corners (in contrast to Cyclops' ricochet shots). Perhaps he could even surround himself with a plasma field that would deflect attacks or burn up incoming projectiles.

At least then he wouldn't be just a wannabe Cyclops.

--
OK, so what do think? What are your ideas for which characters can be improved, and how? (Snarky comparisons to more popular characters optional. )

 

[Harlekin]

I like all of your improvements, but you basically made Forge a Madison Jeffries wannabe now.

 

[FieryBalrog]

I've always hated Forge's power. "If I can think it, I can build it." So I'm wondering why he hasn't built a machine that turns air into food to solve world hunger, a machine that creates endless energy out of fusion to end the fossil fuel use...

Why dont they just have Forge built an Anti-Apocalypse gun so they can quickly zap him every time he shows up-

Apoc: Hey guys, its MEEEEEE
X-men: *yawn* *zap*
Apoc: Nooooooo!!!!!

Etc!

 

[Generation Lee]

This was how I would have added to Decimation.

Psylocke: For me would have gone back to have pre cognative powers imagine that and kick ass Ninja moves.

Iceman: Would be able to Change to flesh again that potential to become pure Ice would be gone. That would give an angle to how he really felt about it.

M; Too busy, make her Strong and hard to injure. But if she was in X-factor she'd be the resident Telepath.

Sage: For the love of God a Computer mind a limited Telepathy is enough.

Nocturne: Hex Bolt teleporting like blink and her Fathers ability to hide in Shadows and Similar phisology.

Bishop: Make him look of Aboriginal origin instead of the token hip hop Black guy and just allow him to absorb engery. Non of this cannot get lost crap.

 

[BBraddockLover]

i like what you all did to psylocke

 

[Abaddon]

What changes would you make to improve some of the X-Men. You can define "improve" however you want, basically anything that you think would make them a more interesting character. These can be changes to their powers or personalities, or even just putting more emphasis on certain existing aspects of the character.

I'll start:

Psylocke: She needs something to differentiate her from all the other psionic mutants running around. I say play up the ninja angle as much as possible. I'd reduce the level of her telekinesis so that it only works on things within a few-foot radius of her body. Thus, she'd have an actual reason to cut things up with her telekinetic katana rather than just bowling them over with telekinetic force. She could also use her telekinesis on herself to a limited degree -- not enough to fly, but enough to give herself a boost to leap long distances or run up a vertical wall. Maybe she could telekinetically bend light around herself to make herself invisible.

Then I'd give her some limited telepathy, mostly working on a subconscious level to let her telepathically anticpate opponents' moves in combat -- or perhaps even telepathically learn their moves and fighting style. And she could focus her power into telepathic projectiles -- basically "psychic shuriken" -- which could pass through barriers and knock out or paralyze whomever they hit by overloading their nervous system.

To summarize: telekinetic sword, TK-enhanced jumping and climbing abilities, invisibility, telepathically aided hand-to-hand fighting, psychic shuriken. See how it all fits the ninja theme? At least then she wouldn't be just a Jean Grey wannabe with a roundhouse kick.

Forge: He needs something to set him apart from Marvel's other super-inventors. Other than the seldom-used Shaman angle, he's basically just a super-inventor whose tech-skill is attributed to his mutation instead of raw brainpower. How about adding an abilitity to psionically control or reconfigure machinery. He'd be limited to transforming machines into devices of roughly equivalent complexity, so he couldn't turn a light bulb into a time machine, but he could turn a laptop into a laser pistol. Plus with the ability to take control of any nearby tech, he'd be pretty formidable. At least he wouldn't just be a Tony Stark wannabe without the cool suit.

Havok: I like Havok, I really do, but I think he's a lot more interesting when writers play up the traits that make him different than his brother. When PAD was writing him in the '90s X-Factor, he had a tendency to think outside the box and break the usual rules of superheroing. He was willing to lie to his teammates to inspire them (e.g., pretending to willingly ingest the same poison Strong Guy had been exposed to, while actually just drinking tap water), or to cut a deal with a villain (e.g., buying off the mercenary Random by writing him a check from X-Factor's government funds, rather than engaging in a fight that could have injured bystanders). I'd like to see Havok leading a team while going even further with his willingness to "play dirty" and put the end result ahead of doing things the "right" way.

As for his powers, isn't it time he learned a little more control? At times he's been able to use a plasma burst to propel his fist into a super-strong punch -- I'd like to see him do that regularly. Maybe he could get the ability to control the trajectory of his plasma blasts, such as bending them around corners (in contrast to Cyclops' ricochet shots). Perhaps he could even surround himself with a plasma field that would deflect attacks or burn up incoming projectiles.

At least then he wouldn't be just a wannabe Cyclops.

--
OK, so what do think? What are your ideas for which characters can be improved, and how? (Snarky comparisons to more popular characters optional. )

I like your ideas alot.

 

[PWN3R]

Wolverine: I'd kill him. Dead Wolverine is alot better than Wolverine having 2 ongoings, being an Avenger, and being in every Marvel comic it seems.

 

[Exploding Boy]

Wolverine: I'd kill him. Dead Wolverine is alot better than Wolverine having 2 ongoings, being an Avenger, and being in every Marvel comic it seems.

I 2nd that completly

 

[Infinity9999x]

If I was doing Wolverine, I'd just bring him back to the way he was in the early 80's. He actually fights with skill, is ashamed of and tries to hold back his animalistic rage, tone down the healing powers a bit, but also cut back on his dirty harry attitude where he just seems to like to kill for the hell of it, and not because his rage drives him to it.

 

[Exploding Boy]

To me Logan's healing is ****ing stupid these days. I think that he shouldnt be able to be ripped in half and then crawl around looking for his legs. His factor should just be for his claws mainly getting through his skin. And for stuff like being stabbed and having a fast recovery time, no silly over exagerated garbage that his healing is today.

 

[Herr Logan]

Wolverine: I'd kill him. Dead Wolverine is alot better than Wolverine having 2 ongoings, being an Avenger, and being in every Marvel comic it seems.

And the award for the least imaginative idea ever goes to....



Yeah, so the intelligent thing would be to return Wolverine to his former glory; the glory created by Chris Claremont in the late 70's/early 80's. Larry Hama did a great job with him in the 90's as well, until things went way downhill following his loss of adamantium. I'm not saying there weren't some good Wolverine stories after 'Fatal Attractions,' but only up until issue #90. After that, $hit got out of hand.

Basically, they should retcon everything in the Marvel Universe since 1998 or so. More specifically, they should limit the monthly X-Men books to two, with no more than seven members per strike team, with Wolverine only belonging to one of those strike teams, plus one solo on-going title. No more Nu Avengers bull$hit, no more Multiple Man Wolverine, no more useless guest spots. Wolverine should make guest spots when they make sense and are written properly, but that doesn't happen anymore.

His mutant healing factor should be scaled back to, at the very, very most, the degree to which it worked in issue #71 when Sauron sliced his hamstring, tossed him into a chasm of fire, had minions bury him in large boulders thrown from a height and then sent a stampede of dinosaurs down after him. Wolverine made a lizard-meat stairway out of the dinosaurs and came back up to kick Sauron's ass when Rogue somehow couldn't do that job herself. Now, this should be a very occasional occurrence in comics featuring Wolverine. This is the highpoint, not the lowpoint, even though at the time, Wolverine claimed his healing factor was in low gear. Low gear my ass... he had to heal for several days after being crucified by the Reavers. Anyway, that's the max. No more healing from nuclear explosions and half of his body melted by acid.

Also, no more hidden conspiracies with Not-Dead Bucky killing his wife and kid or Condeleeza Rice having a direct line to Shiva robots. What the feck is wrong with Marvel?!?

 

[Herr Logan]

If I was doing Wolverine, I'd just bring him back to the way he was in the early 80's. He actually fights with skill, is ashamed of and tries to hold back his animalistic rage, tone down the healing powers a bit, but also cut back on his dirty harry attitude where he just seems to like to kill for the hell of it, and not because his rage drives him to it.

A-Goddamn-men.

 

[rjb182]

To me Logan's healing is ****ing stupid these days. I think that he shouldnt be able to be ripped in half and then crawl around looking for his legs.

In fairness, that was Ultimate Wolvie, not "ours"...

I do agree that Wolverine should be limited to one X-team and either the Avengers (where I personally like him) or his solo series. But there's really nothing wrong with him that cutting back a little wouldn't fix. To me, he's still a great CHARACTER...

As to his healing factor, to me, it's best when it's used to make Wolverine a hero in the Indiana Jones mode-- the hero who gets his butt kicked (sometimes repeatedly) but slogs through and triumphs in the end on sheer determination. A *reasonable* healing factor helps in that regard. An *unreasonable* one detracts from the suffering that makes that kind of hero appealing. Again, it's not the concept at fault, it's just a matter of finding the line and not crossing it...

 

[PWN3R]

And the award for the least imaginative idea ever goes to....

Wow me? Geez I dunno who to thank...

Yeah, so the intelligent thing would be to return Wolverine to his former glory; the glory created by Chris Claremont in the late 70's/early 80's. Larry Hama did a great job with him in the 90's as well, until things went way downhill following his loss of adamantium. I'm not saying there weren't some good Wolverine stories after 'Fatal Attractions,' but only up until issue #90. After that, $hit got out of hand.

Basically, they should retcon everything in the Marvel Universe since 1998 or so. More specifically, they should limit the monthly X-Men books to two, with no more than seven members per strike team, with Wolverine only belonging to one of those strike teams, plus one solo on-going title. No more Nu Avengers bull$hit, no more Multiple Man Wolverine, no more useless guest spots. Wolverine should make guest spots when they make sense and are written properly, but that doesn't happen anymore.

His mutant healing factor should be scaled back to, at the very, very most, the degree to which it worked in issue #71 when Sauron sliced his hamstring, tossed him into a chasm of fire, had minions bury him in large boulders thrown from a height and then sent a stampede of dinosaurs down after him. Wolverine made a lizard-meat stairway out of the dinosaurs and came back up to kick Sauron's ass when Rogue somehow couldn't do that job herself. Now, this should be a very occasional occurrence in comics featuring Wolverine. This is the highpoint, not the lowpoint, even though at the time, Wolverine claimed his healing factor was in low gear. Low gear my ass... he had to heal for several days after being crucified by the Reavers. Anyway, that's the max. No more healing from nuclear explosions and half of his body melted by acid.

Also, no more hidden conspiracies with Not-Dead Bucky killing his wife and kid or Condeleeza Rice having a direct line to Shiva robots. What the feck is wrong with Marvel?!?

See I could live with that. My man problem with him is he is freakin everywhere! It is very annoying, and most of the time he isn't written right. I like Wolverine, just have the man on one team.

And yes, "NA" and "bull$hit" go together nicely.

 

[Infinity9999x]

A-Goddamn-men.

Right back at ya Herr, you basically summed up all I wanted to say, but didn't have the patience to type. I mean why can't we have more Wolverine stories like the 80's? Hell, if it wasn't for the 4ish miller/claremont shingin story, I wouldn't have gotten into Wolverine, and consequently wouldn't have gotten into the x-men. So it only pisses me off all the more when I see what the writers of today have turned Wolverine into.

 

[Herr Logan]

Wow me? Geez I dunno who to thank...

See I could live with that. My man problem with him is he is freakin everywhere! It is very annoying, and most of the time he isn't written right. I like Wolverine, just have the man on one team.

And yes, "NA" and "bull$hit" go together nicely.

I'm sick of what they've turned him into, also. I just don't think killing him off is the way to go.

Maybe I should rephrase that:
I'm pretty nihilistic about Marvel Comics now, and I wouldn't mind if they put the whole publishing company out of its misery at this point. I object to Wolverine being killed only if it's under the presumption that other Marvel characters are allowed to live. Hell, Spider-Man has been screwed up just as much. So yeah, I say either save the whole patient or kill the whole patient, but don't amputate one extremity when the rest are just as diseased.

Right back at ya Herr, you basically summed up all I wanted to say, but didn't have the patience to type. I mean why can't we have more Wolverine stories like the 80's? Hell, if it wasn't for the 4ish miller/claremont shingin story, I wouldn't have gotten into Wolverine, and consequently wouldn't have gotten into the x-men. So it only pisses me off all the more when I see what the writers of today have turned Wolverine into.

It almost makes me ashamed to be a Wolverine fan, what those hacks have done. But I'm not ashamed, really, because I don't stand by the franchise, I stand by the quality. As I see it, that doesn't make me a fair-weather fan, that's my response to Wolverine and every other beloved Marvel character being fair-weather heroes. When Wolverine is good, he's the best there is at what he does, but what he does best is not be a ubiquitous army of watered-down clones that attracts money just on name value alone.

That's the same reason I don't put up with it when people claim that the movie version of Wolverine was faithful and adequate. Despite what many have been conditioned to believe, the "essence" of a character is absolutely in the details. That is especially important with Wolverine, more so than with characters like Superman, Captain America or even Spider-Man and the Batman. Wolverine has no true literary value as an archetype. Badass tough guys with a heart o' gold are a dime a dozen. It's the mannerisms (how he talks, walks, reacts to various situations, etc.) and specific brand of behavior that makes him unique, and without uniqueness, the character doesn't exist. They just use the name to make money, when they could be making money and rewarding true fans for supporting the talented writers who made these characters marketable in the first place.
Hell, even 'The Chronicles of Riddick' captured Wolverine better than the X-Men movies, very likely because Vin Diesel was a comics fan and Bryan Singer wasn't. Wolverine is a very easy act to follow, so if the character carrying his name is just some watered down anti-hero who doesn't shave, then that's the same as telling fans that in the opinion of the writers-in-question, the fans have remained specifically loyal to a generic, cheap, hand-me-down archetype that has been used since before even Homeric poems were being memorized and recounted. Yeah, I can appreciate Wolverine, Dirty Harry, and every other famous fictional badass at the same time, but I expect something unique when I watch or read any given one of them. If I wanted lazy, subjective, self-centered writing on a character that's jury-rigged to fit a convenient situation, I'd write my own damn fan fiction.

When I see Bendis' hack-ass writing on Nu Avengers or whichever narcissist is tarnishing Spider-Man's legacy at a given moment say things like "Any member of this team would die for you... well, except for Logan," that just burns me. Why the hell would Wolverine be on a team where anyone could even joke that he wouldn't die for any member of that team? His days of acting like a callous teenager are long gone, and its time these egomaniacal writers grew up as well. Does anyone else remember hearing that Bendis "justified" his putting Wolverine on the fake Avengers team only by saying he wants the best characters on his team? What the hell is that? 'I don't care that he's simultaneously in four different places at all times, I'm entitled to Wolverine just because I'm me, and I don't even have to write him properly; the name alone sells the book, just like my own name.' Stupid fecking Marvel.

Rant over.

For now....

 

[Xplicit Content]

I think a back to basics approach would be a plus for all the characters...I think the only current X-Man that's clearly better than they were back in the day is Emma...the revamped version is so much better...but I'm still undecided about the diamond power.

Cool ideas for Psylocke though. But at the end of the day, I'll always prefer the pre-telekinetic, pre-Crimson Dawn, pre-psychic katana even Psylocke...the early 90s Psylocke with the psychic knife and butterfly effect telepathy will always be my Psylocke of choice. I've always disliked Forge's current powers for the stated reasons in the topic. Good ideas for Havok too.

I'm excited about the new creative teams for the titles though...hopefully it'll be the start of a good stretch for the franchise.

 

[FieryBalrog]

I dont think revamped Emma is better. She was better as a villain.

 

[Xplicit Content]

To each their own, I guess...I was just never into her back in the day...even in her Gen X days. If there was one great thing to come out of Morrison's run, it was him redefining Emma's character. I think his revamped younger, "good guy" with an edge Emma is a lot more entertaining to read...there's more depth to her character. I never would've thought I'd see the day when Emma Frost would be among the X-Men's premiere heroines. I hate her relationship to Cyclops though...it can be too corny. I liked her chemistry with Banshee better (R.I.P.)

 

[FieryBalrog]

I think we had more than enough good guys with an edge already (Wolverine, Rogue, whatever) Turning Emma into a *****y blond cheerleader with the usual heart of gold ruined her for me. I much prefer the sadistic dominatrix with a knack for corrupting her students.

 

[not_a_victim]

Wolverine:
I would take him off ANY team. Solo adventures only.
I would get rid of the "mystery origin/background" thing. He could be dark and brood because he remembers his background, not because he cant.
I definately agree with throttling back on the healing factor. A broken bone would heal in two days. A through and through chest wound would CLOSE in about five minutes, but the internal damage would take a day to heal. I would also explain the healing factor in terms of vastly increased metabolism and caloric activity. Fixing big wounds would require huge caloric intake.
I would also ENSURE that the protracted claws would NEVER appear to be longer than his forearm. Lets not forget that Logan is quite short. I am 5'8" and my forearm is 11' long. I dont see how a guy who is 5'3' or so could keep 14" or so claws in his forearms.

 

[RSS]

Psylocke: She needs something to differentiate her from all the other psionic mutants running around. I say play up the ninja angle as much as possible. I'd reduce the level of her telekinesis so that it only works on things within a few-foot radius of her body. Thus, she'd have an actual reason to cut things up with her telekinetic katana rather than just bowling them over with telekinetic force. She could also use her telekinesis on herself to a limited degree -- not enough to fly, but enough to give herself a boost to leap long distances or run up a vertical wall. Maybe she could telekinetically bend light around herself to make herself invisible.

Then I'd give her some limited telepathy, mostly working on a subconscious level to let her telepathically anticpate opponents' moves in combat -- or perhaps even telepathically learn their moves and fighting style. And she could focus her power into telepathic projectiles -- basically "psychic shuriken" -- which could pass through barriers and knock out or paralyze whomever they hit by overloading their nervous system.

To summarize: telekinetic sword, TK-enhanced jumping and climbing abilities, invisibility, telepathically aided hand-to-hand fighting, psychic shuriken. See how it all fits the ninja theme? At least then she wouldn't be just a Jean Grey wannabe with a roundhouse kick.

That would probably be the best Psylocke ever. Great thinking!

I would 'fix' Emma. First, I'd like Marvel to up the b*tchiness factor on her; to me - she'd always be that evil character that turned good, but stayed a b*tch; she's the character I love hating.
One more thing I'd like to be fixed about her, is her powers. In Astonishing, she's been able to use her TP while in diamond form, which for me - is a cheap thing; she's basically invulnerable, nigh-unbreakable, and can kill you with her TP. No one likes an invincible character So either they take away her secondary mutation(or her primary one), or they make it so that she can't use them at the same time.

 

[XFanTim]

Glad you all liked my suggestions. I couldn't agree more on Wolverine: tone down the healing factor (like it used to be) and quit sticking him in every book!

 

[Herr Logan]

Wolverine:
I would take him off ANY team. Solo adventures only.
I would get rid of the "mystery origin/background" thing. He could be dark and brood because he remembers his background, not because he cant.

I vehemently oppose the idea of Wolverine not being on a team. He works best on a team. I don't know where people get the idea that he's actually a loner. How many times has he expressed that he feels like the X-Men is his family and that he feels "home" with them? How is his "rebellious" personality supposed to truly shine if he isn't contrasted with other team members who are more "team player" types. In any case, Wolverine is a team player, and has been for decades. He's not the Punisher, he's not the Batman, he's not Spawn, he's Wolverine, and Wolverine is a mainstay, loyal-as-hell member of the X-Man. Yes, I'd like a solo title going concurrently as well (if it's written and drawn properly, which hasn't been the case in years), but he belongs with the X-Men.

I definately agree with throttling back on the healing factor. A broken bone would heal in two days.A through and through chest wound would CLOSE in about five minutes, but the internal damage would take a day to heal. I would also explain the healing factor in terms of vastly increased metabolism and caloric activity. Fixing big wounds would require huge caloric intake.
I would also ENSURE that the protracted claws would NEVER appear to be longer than his forearm. Lets not forget that Logan is quite short. I am 5'8" and my forearm is 11' long. I dont see how a guy who is 5'3' or so could keep 14" or so claws in his forearms.

Wolverine's bones can't break. They're coated and molecularly bonded with adamantium, a nigh-indestructable metal. I thought that was common knowledge.

Anyway, the rest of that is pretty reasonable. I think he should be able to work through a lot of serious injuries to finish the job, but when in team combat, one of his main uses is to throw into the fray with the intention of doing as much damage as possible until he gets badly hurt and has to be retrieved by another member so he can recover. If there's a one or two day break between battle royales, he should be back in shape to do it all over again next time.

I don't think it's necessary to match his caloric intake precisely with how much he needs to heal, as in try to make it as "realistic" as possible. Wolverine can heal dead nerve tissues and severe scar tissue, which real people cannot do (at least not the nerve tissue). A little bit of pseudoscientific leeway should be allowed, but yeah, the healing factor should be keep in check. That's another reason why Wolverine works best on a team. He's not very powerful when you get right down to it, so if we ever want to see him stand face to face with a class-A Marvel supervillain for some characteristic trash talk without having to put up with some ridiculously contrived reason why Wolverine didn't get killed by the end of the story, he needs back-up.

Speaking of "back-up," I'd like to see Jubilee (or Kitty Pryde, but especially Jubilee, who doesn't seem to have a purpose in the Marvel Universe without Wolverine) accompany the ol' Canucklehead in his solo adventures.
Wolverine should go back to his brown and tan costume. Hell, I'd even be fine with his original blue and gold X-Men costume, as long as it's not the idiotic get-up he's wearing now. The Yashida tribute costume is the best, with the original uniform being second best.

 

[cerealkiller182]

^^^^^agreed, although he has been done to death recently. I hope they make him a bit player in the upcoming Civil War. He seemed like he was being used more then usual probably because of House of M which he was kind of the driving force to the change in HOM (he was the one who remembered everything, and he was the one who got all the heroes together and he was the one who got Layla to un-mind-swipe everyone)