X-Men - All about the merry mutants: comics, movies, cartoons, and news of future cast.

[UnKillFill]

Exceptional X-Men is about nothing at all. It's the gay book among the others that are also gay. This one is really gay: it has Kitty (now bi), Bobby (gay), Emma, and pronouns. I only read the first number and I ran away like the plague. Someone decided to promote the book with this:

Now... When they say "Exceptional" Xmen, they mean it in the way *we* use exceptional ...don't they?

 

[Sparkletor 2.0]

Just show the modern X-Men as what happened in real life with the other group in the 60's who were fighting for civil rights.

Modern day mutants are uneducated criminals who use their mutant powers to shit up the world. Mutant worship is the new religion. A mutant has gone crazy and killed a bunch of people? It's not his fault, generational trauma has made him that way and you're just racist against mutants. There's riots when the police arrest a mutant on a crime rampage and the mutant dies. Charles Xavier Blvd. is the most dangerous street in any city.

It would be quite interesting.

 

[Hamburger Detractor]

I used to love X-Men and all the spinoffs growing up. Watched the Fox cartoon and had a bunch of comics that are still stored in boxes in a shed. All of that ended the issue they did the trial in Antarctica with Gambit, who was always my favorite, where it's revealed he worked with Mr. Sinister and was responsible for the Morlocks getting killed and it ends with Gambit getting kicked out and left behind in Antarctica. Well 14 year old me got worked hard and didn't care to wait and see if he'd come back or what happened after, I was done with everything at that point. Never bought another comic and other than watching the early Spiderman and X-Men movies in the late 90's/2000's and reading some of the Civil War story when a friend let me borrow some books I've avoided all capeshit since then, for the better from what I gather.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

Well 14 year old me got worked hard and didn't care to wait and see if he'd come back or what happened after, I was done with everything at that point. Never bought another comic and other than watching the early Spiderman and X-Men movies in the late 90's/2000's and reading some of the Civil War story when a friend let me borrow some books I've avoided all capeshit since then, for the better from what I gather.

You should definitely read his solo after this. It's considered one of the best x-men books they've released. Follows little after Gambit returns to the x-men, explains how he survived, the consequences, and some adventures with his family in Louisiana.

Ignore everything that follows and read then Gambit 2012, by Asmus. Follows after he breaks up with Rogue and it's very James Bond like through more than half the run, ending with him competing to be the King of the Thieves.

Both books are superb comics that x-men writers haven't bothered to read when they write Gambit.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

There's riots when the police arrest a mutant on a crime rampage and the mutant dies.

I'm x-men 97, they adapted Magneto's Trial, which happened I think in the 80s.

The scene has Friends of Humanity storming the court house as an analogy for Jan 6th. This is not some interpretation, but rather what the writer said it was his intention, the bigots interrupting a legal process due to their hate and narrow views.

Thing is, Magneto is a terrorist. And an unapologetic bigot himself. In comics, he's killed millions. In the cartoon, he has definitely killed a bunch of humans out of pure hate for them.

So, he gives his speech of how humans are the real villains and he will behave only if we behave. Otherwise, he will act as the terrorist he is. And he's only doing this because he respects his dead friend's last wish, not because he believes in the dream himself. The UN gives in and he gets Genosha and they accept them as members of the UN as well.

Five episodes later, the mutants get nuked by Bastion, who's a mutant himself, one that hates mutants because he's partially a sentinel. The whole thing was a setup. Magneto decides to attack humanity. He sends a worldwide EMP, causing the deaths of perhaps millions of people off camera.

Very unintentionally based. Some mutants will never change and will take it on humanity despite we stopped hating them long ago (in the show, it's hinted that humans already started to accept mutants).

 

[Anon88]

For the new stuff I actually like the current Rogue mini. It's completely unreleased to the new stories and just fleshes out her old savage land story where she was running around with Magneto back in the 80s. Only thing I really would recommend, like the rest of you I hate the direction the line is currently going.

I used to love X-Men and all the spinoffs growing up. Watched the Fox cartoon and had a bunch of comics that are still stored in boxes in a shed. All of that ended the issue they did the trial in Antarctica with Gambit, who was always my favorite, where it's revealed he worked with Mr. Sinister and was responsible for the Morlocks getting killed and it ends with Gambit getting kicked out and left behind in Antarctica.

Honestly I thought the idea wasn't that bad but it execution was terrible. The idea of Rogue of all people to be upset about Gambit doing something bad in the past is so hypocritical as if she wasn't doing evil things before her time with the X-Men and just leaving him to basically die in Antarctica feels really out of character from the team. There seemed to be a interesting story starting with Marrow and Gambit but that didn't seem to really go anywhere either which was disappointing. Total waste of a story.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

Honestly I thought the idea wasn't that bad but it execution was terrible. The idea of Rogue of all people to be upset about Gambit doing something bad in the past is so hypocritical as if she wasn't doing evil things before her time with the X-Men and just leaving him to basically die in Antarctica feels really out of character from the team. There seemed to be a interesting story starting with Marrow and Gambit but that didn't seem to really go anywhere either which was disappointing. Total waste of a story.

The BTS for that story is that Marvel wanted to kill Gambit permanently (or as permanently as possible for Marvel). So far, they were selling the "mysterious" aspect of him not much for what they planned to do with him, but because they didn't have a real background for him. It's the 99 run that finally gives him a good origin. Before that, they were still not sure of where he came from, what was the big secret he was hiding (before that, it was revealed that he got a woman killed for being a moron, I guess they thought it wasn't bad enough), or where his character was heading. So, they just got tired of him.

They later tried to save it saying Rogue absorbed his guilt so she was influenced by him, yadayada, and made them break up amiably. But the character never recovered aside from those two numbers I mentioned above. He just became an accessory of Rogue.

 

[Anon88]

The BTS for that story is that Marvel wanted to kill Gambit permanently (or as permanently as possible for Marvel). So far, they were selling the "mysterious" aspect of him not much for what they planned to do with him, but because they didn't have a real background for him. It's the 99 run that finally gives him a good origin. Before that, they were still not sure of where he came from, what was the big secret he was hiding (before that, it was revealed that he got a woman killed for being a moron, I guess they thought it wasn't bad enough), or where his character was heading. So, they just got tired of him.

I believe it. Always thought it was weird that he basically rejoins the team like 5 issues later and they basically just acts like nothing happened. It might've been better for him to actually have died as it at least would've gave the story a little bit of meaning instead of just being completely forgotten right away. I'll have to try his solo at some point I skipped it back when I was reading through the 90s stuff.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

I believe it. Always thought it was weird that he basically rejoins the team like 5 issues later and they basically just acts like nothing happened. It might've been better for him to actually have died as it at least would've gave the story a little bit of meaning instead of just being completely forgotten right away. I'll have to try his solo at some point I skipped it back when I was reading through the 90s stuff.

The 99 run acknowledges what happened. They also explain they did try to find him. Nicieza wrote it and I'm sure he was as mad as the rest of us. And Gambit eventually did lash out against them. Very deservingly.

 

[BigBadBastich]

While caring about Marvel cawmics lore is about as futile as caring about the clean living chastity of the skankiest truck stop lot lizard west of Idaho, one thing I will say without hesitation about the X-men is that the whole "muh persecuted muhnority parable" schtick they have been mainlining since the 60s has proven to be ever more a fucking millstone around their neck when it comes to integrating them into the general Marvel universe.

When every nigger and their aunt either accidentally gets superpowers, intentionally is given superpowers, is randomly born with superpowers, or are part of a species whose every member has superpowers, the idea that the public would arbitrarily go apeshit over one specific subset of superhumans because they were born superhuman for a slightly different reason than a bunch other assholes who were born superhuman is shit the writers have been trying and failing without exception to justify for decades.

Either drop the muh persecuted muhnority schtick or drop the rest of the marvel universe as a whole and go with the vaguely less retarded "the public hates mutants for being super powerful compared to non mutants" schtick

All true but whats even more fucking funny is the stance other species or even magical entities have on mutants. Alien races with interstellar empires composed of orange plant or bug people or militaristic psychopathic birds like the Shiar, will hate mutants and express bigotry to mutants. I remember reading one comic either with Magik or another mutant associated with magic and a fire demon says he despises mutants and considers them a disease. Why would any of these things hate mutants? I could see thinking they're superior to humans overall but they share the same views people do? I think once even Asgardians expressed disgust at mutants but Thor is literally a halfbreed. Its generally retarded that theres no synergy or even internal logic and they just write everything in the universe as hating one small minority group on one planet. But the fags at editorial won't realize that.

 

[Kharash]

Everything I see of the modern X-men comics just looks terrible.
I'm currently reading through all the X-men stuff very slowly(though I skipped to the Claremont run). I'm around the Mutant Massacre event and I have to wonder where I should just stop reading. At the very least I should probably get a lot more selective once I reach that point.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

Why would any of these things hate mutants? I could see thinking they're superior to humans overall but they share the same views people do?

Each race has their own mutants. Warlock, the alien that hangs around the New Mutants, is a mutant of their race and they consider them the odd one.

I'm around the Mutant Massacre event and I have to wonder where I should just stop reading.

Trial of Gambit. Stop reading the main comics there.

 

[Anon88]

I'm around the Mutant Massacre event and I have to wonder where I should just stop reading. At the very least I should probably get a lot more selective once I reach that point.

I liked most of what was being written up until the revolution reboot that happened in the late nineties. That's the point I would give up on the series if you don't have any interest in Morrison's New X-Men. Some of the early 90s stuff when Linfield and Lee had a lot of control of the stories are pretty bad as well so maybe skip until Lobell and Nicieza take full control of the direction of the series.

 

[marvlouslie]

The "mutant as an allegory for minorities" thing worked when the X-Men had their own movies because the Avengers, Spidey, and Fantastic Four didn't exist in their cinematic universe.

You do realize that was never the intent of what the original book was about, right?

 

[MirrorNoir]

The BTS for that story is that Marvel wanted to kill Gambit permanently (or as permanently as possible for Marvel). So far, they were selling the "mysterious" aspect of him not much for what they planned to do with him, but because they didn't have a real background for him. It's the 99 run that finally gives him a good origin. Before that, they were still not sure of where he came from, what was the big secret he was hiding (before that, it was revealed that he got a woman killed for being a moron, I guess they thought it wasn't bad enough), or where his character was heading. So, they just got tired of him.

They later tried to save it saying Rogue absorbed his guilt so she was influenced by him, yadayada, and made them break up amiably. But the character never recovered aside from those two numbers I mentioned above. He just became an accessory of Rogue.

That's actually bullshit.

Gambit was created to be a new identity for Mr Sinister who was going to be revealed to be a mutant immortal stick in a 10 year body because he ages one year every 100 years, that uses avatars to interact with society. And Storm's love interest.

Editorial vetoed the story that would have introduced him/revealed him as Sinister (Mutant War) and Claremont pivoted to Gambit as Wolverine's rival for his "Logan is getting old and can't compete with the new hotshot Xman).

Jim Lee then took over the Xbooks and ditched the Gambit/Storm plan to ship him with Rogue. And set up the idea Gambit had a dark past by having Sabertooth recognize him and be puzzled Gambit was working with the X-Men.

Then Jim Lee left Marvel and Fabian N took over. Fabian wanted Gambit to be a spy for Mr Sinister, granted one who had great reluctance for it. But the character was a huge hit by this point and editor Bob Harras got. BERY protective of Gambit.

The Sabertooth relationship got explained away as Sabertooth killing a former lover when Gambit's cousin pissed off a crime syndicate and Gambit had to pick between his girlfriend and cousin for who would live and Gambit picking blood. But Fabian pushed HARD for the sinister spy at and ultimately quit when he was told he could reveal it but not follow up on it as far asep came frin wanting to keep it a dangling ala Portocio wanting to make Gambit either the Xtraitor or the last surviving X-Men who was sworn to silence over his failure to save the team.

The duck teasing over the reveal about Gambit and Sinister and the Rogue/Gambit/magneto love triangle caused a massive backlash against Gambit in the 90s as it became apparent he was Harras's poochie. Which is where his bad rep came from. Shit came to a head when Scott Lobdell quit the book and Seagle/Kelly were hired. Seagle and Kelly hated Gambit and asked to write him out and run with Rogue/Magneto as a couple. Harras agreed only because he saw this as his chance to finally launch a Gambit ongoing.

Lobdell agreed to write Gambit off ONLY if he got to resolve the Sinister storyline. So we got a massive continuity error filled "reveal" that Gambit organized and formed the Marauders for Sinister and led them into the sewers to killl the Morlocks, which directly contradicted the actual Morlocks Massacre story and how the Marauders found the lair. Gambit is kicked out of the X-Men and plans were made to launch Gambit's ongoing. But fan response to the pay off (and other aspects of the last Lobdell issue) was negative along with fans cheering Gambit's departure that Harras decided to delay Gambit's ongoing until after the 35th anniversary celebration, which saw MASSIVE backlash and generally seen as the was the 90s Golden Age of the franchise.

The hatedom of Gambit was solidified when Harras killed Excalibur to restore the pre mutant massacre X-Men line up for the 35th anniversary and then, to help promote Gambit's ongoing, ordered Scott and Jean cut from the lineup so Gambit could rejoin even though Seagle and Kelly only went through with the editorial ordered revamp on the promise they would still get to be able to do their Dark Phoenix 2 story.

So they refused to follow up the plan Harras forced upon them m to have Gambit possessed by Malice to continue teasing Sinister manipulating him and Fabian N was hired to write the Gambit ongoing, and he hated the Marauders retcon and made Malice be a generic Malice rip off iff and Magneto behind the possession.

The Gambit ongoing only worked if you enjoy Guild of Thieves junk as Fabian write really bad Gambit fanfiction and tried to isolate Gambit best he could from the Xbooks so it has very little crossover with them. Finally there was Wizard pushing Gambit as the third Summers Brother, which got a supreme "fuck no" from fandom

It would take a godly amount of time, until the miligan/Carey X-Men era, for Gambit to be rehabbed and made cool again. But even the , he was exiled from the main books because of how the character spiraled out in the 90s.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

Gambit was created to be a new identity for Mr Sinister who was going to be revealed to be a mutant immortal stick in a 10 year body because he ages one year every 100 years, that uses avatars to interact with society. And Storm's love interest.

There is a lot to answer about this post, but this is the important one: there are like three different alleged stories of that Gambit was meant to be. This one you mention, I never saw before, so add one more to the list.

He was also meant to be Kitty's love interest as well.

He really has no "real" origin.

ETA: in comics, we still don't know where he comes from, so there will always be a chance that he can still be anything they planned from him: Sinister's clone, Sinister's son, Cyclops's brother, anything. We know he was raised by the Guild, but no who his parents are, why he was abandoned, or if he was abandoned it all.

 

[MirrorNoir]

There is a lot to answer about this post, but this is the important one: there are like three different alleged stories of that Gambit was meant to be. This one you mention, I never saw before, so add one more to the list.

He was also meant to be Kitty's love interest as well.

He really has no "real" origin.

ETA: in comics, we still don't know where he comes from, so there will always be a chance that he can still be anything they planned from him: Sinister's clone, Sinister's son, Cyclops's brother, anything. We know he was raised by the Guild, but no who his parents are, why he was abandoned, or if he wase t abandoned it all.

Remy was never supposed to be a love interest for Kitty, it's been said that Remy as a traitor/lover to Storm was Claremont years after the fact taking a shit on the Judas Contract, as Claremont was and remained extremely butt hurt over how Perez and Wolfman DESPISED Kitty Pryde and wrote Terra as a take that towards Kitty via making an evil stand in for her. Claremont has always been upfront that Gambit=Sinister and Sinister always being conceived as having the embarrassing secret that he was an immortal who has the body of a kid and used avatars represent himself as an adult as a scary villain (Sinister) and as a lady's man (which was what Gambit was conceived as being a representing).

And Gambit as a Sinister clone was a half measure alternate earth origin from X-Men The End, which pissed off fans to a degree that Vulcan was created solely to close the door on Gambit as the third Summers brother.

Gambit's parentage remains a mystery but it's something that fans are ok with being left unresolved. Mainly because a lot of fans don't like the Guild of Thieves stuff with the character and prefer him as-is just having adventures with the X-Men or with Rogue/Storm.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

Gambit's parentage remains a mystery but it's something that fans are ok with being left unresolved. Mainly because a lot of fans don't like the Guild of Thieves stuff with the character and prefer him as-is just having adventures with the X-Men or with Rogue/Storm.

Do you speak for those lots of fans? Because many fans I know of are in fact mad that he spends too much time with rogue and prefer him go solo as the King of Thieves.

 

[Anon88]

Interesting read thanks for writing it all out for us. I’ve heard stuff about Gambit here and there but this is the first time I’ve seen an actual full write up on the topic.
Have to say I’m not surprised to see Harris’ fingers all over it. Dude could not stop interfering with what the x-men writers wanted to do back in the late 90s and it seemed like it was never for the better.

Do you speak for those lots of fans? Because many fans I know of are in fact mad that he spends too much time with rogue and prefer him go solo as the King of Thieves.

I’m kind of with you on this although I have to say I have no idea what the average fan of the series wants out of Gambit. It does seem like he’s forced to play as Rogue’s sidekick more than his own character a lot of times which is fine some of the time but kind of disappointing because it just happens so much. I liked the first Gambit miniseries from the 90s where he was doing thieves guild stuff while rogue was still there but was not playing a huge role in it. More of that would be cool.

 

[Hijo de D. Woodchucks Jr.]

I still hate the fact that they just decided Iceman was fucking gay all along. Sure, the only horndog to rival Spider-Man in either chasing tails or getting them dropped on his lap suddenly was a repressed faggot. Eat a dick, Marvel.