Comics The '07 X-Event: Endangered Species, Messiah Complex, & Disassembled

[Colossal Spoons]

What the hell is going on the X-world?

I'm so overwhelmed

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Ewwwwwww. Sucky line up

and no Cable&Deadpool anymore?! >_<

 

[squeekness]

She looks freaky in that shot.... Not like herself.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

What the hell is going on the X-world?

I'm so overwhelmed

I fear what is in store for the rest of the lineups. :

I mean a team of practically 3 Wolverines with a werewolf who'll probably turn into Wolverine? Count me out. :

No more Deadpool?! Cable & Deadpool is one of Marvel's most awesome titles right now.

 

[Specter313]

Full article:

Marvel&#8217;s so-called X-Men Disassembled image appears to foreshadow a major shake-up in the teams and rosters that make up the X-Universe after Messiah Complex. And despite Monday afternoon's false start, here's a look at two new titles being added to the mix, Cable and X-Force.


Okay then, so what does this all mean you ask? Newsarama spoke with head X-editor Axel Alonso and his trusty sidekick Nick Lowe for a few questions about not only the images you&#8217;ve now seen, but the post-Messiah CompleX X-titles in general&#8230;

Newsarama: So okay fellas, let&#8217;s start with the images. We know the represent two new series, what can you tell us more specifically..?

Alex Alonso: X-Force is a new ongoing series debuting in February 2008. The artist is Clayton Crain. We&#8217;ll announce the writer later.

Cable is an ongoing series debuting in March 2008. The artist is Ariel Olivetti. We&#8217;re not ready to announce the writer yet. And yes, he&#8217;s back &#8211; the only question is, when: the past, the present, or the future? This Cable series will be unlike anything we&#8217;ve every published.

NRAMA: So does this replace Cable & Deadpool on the schedule?

AA: Yes.

NRAMA: All right Axel, switching back to X-Force, we&#8217;ve been pre-warned that you might not be saying much in the way of details, but to a degree Warpath and particularly Wolverine&#8217;s appearance in these images suggest a pretty significant line-up shuffle for all the X-titles, which has been hinted at in the past and the Disassembled teaser image adds fuel too.

AA: It just might, indeed&#8230;

NRAMA: Is this indicative of the level of change readers will see across the board?

AA: Yes, it is. In the aftermath of &#8220;Messiah CompleX,&#8221; there is a new status quo for the X-Men. If indeed there is an X-Men.

NRAMA: Hmmm, one question always on the mind of readers and touching again on &#8220;line-ups&#8221;&#8230; will this be the one X-title Wolverine will be a regular cast member of? Or will he also appear in Warren Ellis&#8217; Astonishing (for example?)

AA: No. Wolverine will appear elsewhere. But his role in X-Force is, let&#8217;s just say, unique.

NRAMA: Got to ask, the black and gray uniforms. Not only does it kind of marry the Morrison/movie era and Ultimate costumes along with the classic more colorful superhero-ish looks, but it suggests a tone, a flavor perhaps never seen in an mainline Marvel Universe X-title, but maybe that can be chalked up to Crain&#8217;s distinct style..?.

AA: The colors of the uniforms reflect the tone of the series and the team&#8217;s mission statement.

NRAMA: Okay, so let&#8217;s just lay it on the line? Who is X-Force, why do they exist, and why these characters?
AA: Individually, they&#8217;re killers, but together? Look out.


We also spoke with Nick Lowe, about the X-verse post Messiah CompleX in general and the storyline itself&#8230;

NRAMA: Nick, a reminder then - broad strokes - Messiah CompleX - while the title has ominous overtones, the plot here is about a chase to find a new mutant baby, right? What makes a mutant baby so special anyway?

Nick Lowe: The mutant baby is everything. Ever since Wanda took the powers away, hope for the mutant species has been lost. This baby means that they could have a future. With its disappearance in X-Men: Messiah CompleX #1, that is their future quickly disappearing.

NRAMA: But back to that title - to whom does it refer? As a pejorative, it always refers to someone with an ego that's four sizes too big, and there are certainly enough of those types of folks around the X-books...

NL: There are a lot of meanings behind it. The first, and most obvious thing that the Messiah part refers to is the baby. But the whole kit-and-caboodle of &#8220;Messiah CompleX&#8221; refers to several people involved. Just looking back at X-history, there are lots of major characters who have had messiah complexes &#8212; Xavier, Magneto, Sinister, Apocalypse, etc&#8230; These are characters who have believed that the future is all in their hands. That happens in this crossover, too.

NRAMA: As Marvel is advertising it, this is the first X-Men crossover in over a decade. Why is that? Certainly, past history has suggested that X-Men crossovers sell. Why hasn't there been one, and why does this story merit one?

NL: Ever since Joe Q. came on as Editor-in-Chief he&#8217;s trumpeted that it&#8217;s story first. Always story first. If a story is big enough and important enough to merit an event or a crossover, then do it. If the story&#8217;s not there, don&#8217;t you dare&#8230; We haven&#8217;t had a story that deserved it. It&#8217;s that simple. This story made it necessary. The implications of this baby would need to be felt through all the books. It couldn&#8217;t be contained in just one. It means too much to all the others.

NRAMA: As best we can - let's at least put some theories to rest - someone in X-Factor is preggers. Does the baby in Messiah CompleX have anything to do with that storyline over there?

NL: Nope. That&#8217;s a totally different storyline entirely. And a cool one. Just wait until you see what Peter [David] has in store with that one.

NRAMA: How was/is this crossover being organized? Was each writer given an element or two that they needed to touch in their title, or was a larger storyline laid out, and people chose what parts they wanted to tell?

NL: It started with the basic idea that actually came up in a retreat a few years ago, once the &#8220;No more mutants&#8221; thing came about. We knew it had to happen some time. So last year we got all the writers into a room and cut them loose with plotting. Axel took the helm but every single person contributed immensely. It was such a fun two days. We plotted out the whole thing and the events fell where they fit best. It&#8217;s one chronological story

NRAMA: The X-verse post-Messiah CompleX vs. the X-verse pre-Messiah CompleX. How different will it be?

NL: Completely. And that&#8217;s not just a company line. I swear. This will be the single biggest seismic shift in about 20 years of X-Men stories. This changes everything. In fact, who&#8217;s to say that there will even be a group of people who can call themselves X-Men when it&#8217;s done. What if I told you there wouldn&#8217;t even be an X-Men after the event?

NRAMA: Since we're talking about the historical nature of this crossover, if we go back ten years to previous X-Men crossovers, they typically told their stories, but then served to reinvigorate the franchise, with books ending and beginning, characters shifting teams, etc. Is any of that going on here, and what can you spill?

NL: Oh yeah. There&#8217;s a big shake-up. Not all the books will exist after Messiah CompleX and those that do will be drastically changed. There will be changes galore. And you can quote me on that. Wait, I think you just did.

http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/xmen/disassembled/X-Who.html

 

[El Bastardo]

Wow, that's... interesting art. The X-Force stuff, I mean. It looks fine for promo art, but if that's the guy who's going to be doing art, I'm afraid of what the interior panel work is going to look like.

And that's Wolfsbane? What the heck happens to her in MC? Does somebody spill a bunch of Ooze that somehow came over from the TMNT universe on her? I mean, fine in the little action pic, but that looks like Mystique (at best or at worst) in the line-up pic.

Meh. Again, Wolverine on a black ops team doesn't work when he's at large in the Marvel U as an Avenger and solo title guy.

But at least Warpath's on the team. And assuming Wolfsbane doesn't always look that stupid, and X-23 gets some solid character development, it might not be a total loss. Might even be good.

It'll depend on the writer and creative direction of the book. And yes, if Wolverine is the team leader then they can eat me.

I'd be more angry that X-Force is being used without Cable being there, but Warpath's there, so it's more okay than not.

EDIT: Was posting this as Spec posted the article above. Well, let's hope that Wolverine isn't the team leader, given that it's supposed to be "interesting." Acting liason to whatever amounts to an "X-Men administration" might be a neat role - they'd need a "killer" to be the go-between.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I fear what is in store for the rest of the lineups. :

I mean a team of practically 3 Wolverines with a werewolf who'll probably turn into Wolverine? Count me out. :

No more Deadpool?! Cable & Deadpool is one of Marvel's most awesome titles right now.

- Cable's getting his own book AND gonna be part of a team? Correct me if I'm wrong.

- That X-Force business, ongoing or mini?

 

[squeekness]

I don't mind Cable Deadpool ending if Deadpool gets his own book. He's the main reason I read that anyhow.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

This news turns me off wayyyy more than One More Day did. Grrrrr.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I don't mind Cable Deadpool ending if Deadpool gets his own book. He's the main reason I read that anyhow.

I'm gonna need to talk with my LCS guy on Wed to get all this sorted out.

 

[El Bastardo]

I'm gonna need to talk with my LCS guy on Wed to get all this sorted out.

I bet he won't know much about it just yet. Give it another month or two and he'll probably know exactly what titles are coming out circa February and be able to tell you what's up.

I think Cable's on his own, and not with X-Force. Which kinda sucks. And there's a riddle in the Cable book, too, apparently.

 

[VICTORVONDOOMX]

I stopped buying X-Men sometime last year. My Uncanny collection starts with #94 and X-Men, with #1 but I just totally lost interest... partially because of these EVENTS...yawn.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

I'll have to talk to mine on Friday (when I usually pick up my comics). I hate the line up and the fact there splitting Cable and Deadpool, but I'll give everything a try.

But so far, DO NOT WANT.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Being the X-****e that I am, I'll give all these new books a shot but I don't have high hopes for Cable and X-Force.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Whatever the new line-up, I need Colossus and Cannonball on the same team. Kthxbye

 

[Specter313]

- Cable's getting his own book AND gonna be part of a team? Correct me if I'm wrong.

- That X-Force business, ongoing or mini?

- Just a solo.

- Ongoing, starts in Feb. Got the full article up now.

 

[El Bastardo]

Spoons has turned into such a hater.

What did I ever do to you?

 

[Colossal Spoons]

- Just a solo.

- Ongoing, starts in Feb. Got the full article up now.

Yeah, gracias

Spoons has turned into such a hater.

What did I ever do to you?

I don't hate, just not optimistic. I'm purchasing the first issues of all those books Warpath AND Wolverine in the same book, I'm gonna have drink a bit b4 diving into that. Hepzibah would have been a nice addition though

 

[El Bastardo]

I don't hate, just not optimistic. I'm purchasing the first issues of all those books Warpath AND Wolverine in the same book, I'm gonna have drink a bit b4 diving into that. Hepzibah would have been a nice addition though

You DO hate. Stop hating! Stop! No Warpath hate!

And... you mention Hepzibah... We see Warpath, Wolvie, X-23, Wolfsbane... Huh. Was Hepzibah in that Silvestri cover of the tracker team to X-Factor?

*Goes back a few pages.*

 

[Specter313]

Wow, that's... interesting art. The X-Force stuff, I mean. It looks fine for promo art, but if that's the guy who's going to be doing art, I'm afraid of what the interior panel work is going to look like.

Clayton Crain. He did one of the Spidey books, and all his art looked like the covers, if I recall correctly, but I didn't read it, so you'd have to check with whoever read it. I think it was Spectacular Spidey.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

 

[Colossal Spoons]

You DO hate. Stop hating! Stop! No Warpath hate!

And... you mention Hepzibah... We see Warpath, Wolvie, X-23, Wolfsbane... Huh. Was Hepzibah in that Silvestri cover of the tracker team to X-Factor?

*Goes back a few pages.*

I don't believe she was. Just figured they might as well add all the "enhanced senses" people. Sabretooth, Wildchild, and Feral excluded for obvious reasons

 

[Xplicit Content]

I'll give the book a shot...but the lineup is...I dunno. Whoa...what a surprise...Wolvie making an appearance in another book! And the X-23/Wolvie combo might be overkill unless they go a long way in giving X a personality outside of being the female Wolverine. I like Wolfsbane and Warpath. I still think the lineup needs more. I like the costumes too.

 

[squeekness]

If Wolverine is going to be in XForce, this needs to be the only X-book he is in. I like him in Avengers. He doesn't need to be in six books at once.

 

[Specter313]

I don't believe she was. Just figured they might as well add all the "enhanced senses" people. Sabretooth, Wildchild, and Feral excluded for obvious reasons

Hold on, I'm lookin it up...