Comics Official X Men: Forever Thread

[EvilClareToo]

Thanks Silver Samuri for the inspiration!

I’m surprised that no one has started a thread about Claremont’s new take on the X Men, so here goes….


X Men: Forever takes off where literally he left off…right after the events of X Men #3 waaaaay back in the early nineties. I bought the trade paperback of the first 5 issues, and in spite of its faults, I really enjoyed it. Here is a brief review of issues 1-5.

WARNING!!!! MAHOOOSIVE SPOILERS FOLLOW:

Story: In the great Claremont tradition, there is action, grief, love, loss, and some WTF???? I agree with the criticism that he tries to cram in too much story. It is as if he tried to put in all his ideas he had for the X Men in the 90’s and stick it in 5 issues. But it zips along nicely and there are some neat twists. Hopefully now that X Men : Forever seems to be here to stay for a while, he can settle down and expand on the various plot threads and give us some of his trademark “quiet moments” between the various characters.

I like the new “baddie”, the Consortium, who for some reason remind me of Whedon’s Dollhouse. They are suitably mysterious and full of nefarious plans for our merry band of mutants. I found lil ‘Ro’s appearance confusing, since it relies heavily on back-story that I could barely remember from 1990-1992. In fact, the story relies too much on previous events in the X Men universe, so I recommend brushing up on your early nineties X Men issues before reading this. I was most impressed with Claremont’s cojones on killing Wolverine, the X Men’s most beloved mutant ( well timed as many people have complained at Logan’s current overexposure in comics and media in recent years.) I’m not sure how I feel about Sabertooth being Logan’s dad, though-it doesn’t feel right.

Still, the best part is that unlike many current X titles (*cough* Legacy *cough*), this is a team book-the characters have their moments to shine, although some have more attention than others due to the plot, I feel most people will be satisfied with their favourite mutant’s appearance (well, maybe not Wolverine fans…) and in future issues, the focus will shift from various X Men and allies. Finally the family dynamic is back, which I have personally missed since Whedon’s Astonishing X Men run.

To be continued in next post!

 

[EvilClareToo]

SPOILERS CONT!!!!!!!!!

Characters: I cannot begin to express the relief I had at reading a comic where the X Men behave like the X Men (with one obvious exception, of course). Call me old school, but I like my Cyclops as a tough boy scout who manages to lead the team through anything thrown at them, Rogue being her sassy, Southern self, Gambit being a kick butt Cajun with a heart of gold, Jean being, well, Jean, so on and so forth…It also helps that Claremont assembled my X Men dream team (sorry Colossus, Angel and Psylocke fans!) This is who I want to see in movies/tv series!

I loved seeing Fabien Cortez again-hope we see more of the crazy Spaniard in the future. Nick Fury-not so much-but he did bring an interesting element into the X Men world. I liked what CC ‘s done with Kitty (and hurray for her replacing Jubilee!!!!!), I like assertive, tough Kitty rather than wimpy, whiny Kitty. I’m not a big fan of Lil Ro-I hated the Nanny robot/Orphan Maker storyline with a passion, although it brought us Gambit.

Speaking of which, of the characters presented in X Men: Forever, none will probably more interesting to see developed than the Ragin’ Cajun. He is still a relatively new character here, only participating in two (if I remember correctly) X Men adventures at this point and unsure if he will stay on with the team. This is before later writers included his Thieves Guild back-story, his connection to Sinister, the Marauders and the Morlock Massacre, his aggressive, romantic pursuit of Rogue, and his “womanizer” reputation. He is just a mysterious thief who just recently came on board, primed to take Wolverine’s place as the resident wild card and object of younger female mutant’s attention (shudder). Already CC changed Remy’s surname to Picard (lol!) so we will have to wait and see what he really had in store for Gambit before other writers created the character we all know and love/hate.

Future issues will bring focus and guest appearances from other former X Men (Colossus fans rejoice!) as well as other Marvel universe characters.
Writing: Well, it IS Claremont. If excessive thought bubbles that give loads of exposition drive you crazy, you’re in trouble here. If you’re looking for sleek, modern dialog a la Kyle and Yost and Whedon, this isn’t the place. If you want good, old fashioned, family friendly writing, then CC is your man. It is refreshing to have an X Title that I can read with my daughter and enjoy on the same level as the various animated incarnations of the X Men.

Artwork: Grummet is suitably old school and his work is reminiscent of Jim Lee’s style. I am not particularly fond of Kitty’s costume (puffy sleeves?) but the rest of the team look pretty much like they did in the early 90’s/X Men TAS series. He draws the boys nicely, but the girls look a bit too-girly. Even Storm has a babyish face. But these are minor complaints in lieu of some of the artwork in some of the other X Titles past and present. It suits Forever’s early 90’s feel, and I am content with that. I know as of issue 6 the X Men get new designs (some of them quite a radical departure from their standard look-Gambit is virtually unrecognizable!) so I will reserve any further comment until I see those issues.

In conclusion, if you are 1) a fan of Claremont b) a fan of the 90’s X Men TAS c) like seeing the X Men they way they were back in the 80’s and 90’s or d) all of the above, this is the X title for you. It is not his best work, though miles better than much of his recent stuff, such as GenNext United, but it does have a lot of potential.

 

[Havok83]

X-men Forever already has a thread. Use the search option

 

[Morg]

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=324739