Welcome, everyone! Don’t really have all that much in the way of a preamble this week, I’m afraid, so we’ll dive right into things. And while I appreciate all of the questions, I am going to begin pulling back on just how many I answer every week, as it’s just beginning to take up way too much time to write this Newsletter every week otherwise. But every question is welcomed and valued nonetheless.
I never expected to hear about Gundam SEED Freedom here. I always liked the characters of Athrun and Cagalli, so I wish they were in it a bit more, but I am glad there was resolution there to their story.
Now that the X-Men line-up has been announced, I'd love to know the chicken/egg of relaunching a series like you're doing. Did you have an overall structure in mind (the three core pillars) and then reached out to creatives to tackle each pillar? Did you reach out to creatives first, got their ideas, and moulded it into a structure? Or was it some third thing, that's a mixture of the two?
I’m happy you won’t be angering every question. I love the Q&As burger tired of some of the same questions each newsletter and the section was feeling long. So I’m very in favor of you picking the ones you want to answer.
Man, the age issue is always going to be a problem with no great solution. If you start comics as a kid, the heroes are people you idealize and hope to be. Then you get older and find you are the same age as them with some similar problems. Then a few years later you are older and you realize you have nothing in common with the characters anymore. At that crossroads, you decide whether to keep going or to exit the fandom.
Fifteen years ago was post 9/11 and right at the peak of the Great Recession. Magneto is about to be 100. He's watched fascism rear it's head over and over again and has been completely disengaged from genocides all over the planet. The world is relentlessly saved by college age kids who never finished college.
I can hear Tom answering, "Well the problem is you are equating Marvel Earth with the real Earth." This is 100% true. But what made Marvel compared to DC was that it was supposed to be grounded in reality. It's functionally no more reality based than Krull. Characters are generally humans and a lot of physics is the same. There was a war in the 30s and 40s, but maybe no others?
This is why I think the MCU was successful. I'm not an Iron Man fan in the comics, but the character arcs over those films were excellent for lots of characters. It's not surprising that the films start having problems when they have to transition actors and characters because there is no blueprint to follow since the only character to ever die seems to be Captain Marvel.
Don't seems to at least think about this with five Peters presented in various phases of life, including the tantilizing tease of Mayday Parker one day being presented.
I'm not complaining. Marvel has done better than the Lucasfilm people. DCs answer, to reset the universe periodically, was done really well once, but not really since.
I don't have an answer other than a non-storytelling "let the IP breathe a little". The current result is that I don't read Spiderman because I cannot relate to him. I now have more in common with Miles Morales. When I started reading Spidey reprints in Marvel Tales from Waldenbooks in the 80s, that wasn't the case even though the stories were from 10 - 15 years earlier.
Have you checked out the streaming Hulu series EXTRAORDINARY? Its a comedic series out of the UK in which everyone has superpowers — except for the lead character whose power hasn't come in yet. In some ways it feels like it could have been an X-Men pitch that flowered into its own thing. Its a wickedly funny and a little twisted but with a lot of heart. If you haven't already checked it out, its worth an episode or two.
Since I was reading your retro All Flash reviews this week, do you have a favorite DC Golden Age villain, Flash or otherwise, esp if they don’t have an Earth-1 counterpart?
Mr. Brevoort, I love your column. There was something you wrote several weeks back I wanted to respond to but never got around to it. Since you answered a question about an X- character's heel turn, it triggered my memory. In regards to the X-men you wrote something about how the X-men were using lethal means during the conclusion of the Krakoan era - to be fair as you also mentioned the story was about a war between the X-men and Orchis so violence was expected. I think you wrote that some of the X-men were shown to be cruel (I'm paraphrasing).
I've never been a fan of the X-men killing - mutants or humans - even when it is justified in- story, but it is worse when the characters are written to make a deliberate choice to murder innocent people. Xavier in the latest story comes to mind. Though I am hopeful that it leads to an interesting story where it is possible Xavier may be redeemed or at least that the redemption feels earned. Another example that comes to mind is Percy's story with Beast where Hank attempted to murder a young girl who had recovered from cancer to clean up the mess he had with blackmailing her father. Maybe I'm getting too old for comics or I'm more traditional than even I want to be - but I just can't get over that one. Talk about a problematic favorite! I love that the X-men are antiheroes and I do not want them to be Avengers, but at this point too many X-men have committed murder and even mass murder. I couldn't name them all but other fans could provide an exhaustive list for each instance (along with the creators and the issue numbers, etc.). It is a long and surprising list at this point.
When I watched X-men 97 recently I longed for a Charles Xavier who was at his core a professor (teacher) though an imperfect and flawed man, and a Hank McCoy that would never attempt to harm an innocent child. It is difficult for some of us fans that are parents (or parental adjacent) to even like Beast even with the oh so convenient character reset. I can't champion a character or an X-men team where a character tried to harm a young child. I understand creators need to be able to take risks, but some of the choices that were made baffles me. Naturally with Beast there were a ton of other war crimes that were even more immoral than the attempted child murder. I also never liked the X-men having kill squads or being "ultra-violent". I feel like over the years the X-men have departed so much from their core. Maybe I'm being too emotional and need to intellectualize this more- but it is difficult to follow characters who partake in murder, mass murder, genocide, etc. The X-men are best as educators and social justice advocates but yet too many of the characters have more in common with some of the worst people (monsters) in history.
Having said all that - I have a lot of respect for comic book writers, editors, and artists. Unlike a lot of X-men fans on the internet I am not a wanna-be creator and I freely admit that I have zero talent for art or creative writing. Even though I did not enjoy what Percy did with Beast I can freely admit Percy is a huge talent and there were things about his books I liked. Overall I loved the Krakoan era especially the return and use of so many characters.
I'm a lifelong X-men fan and will continue to purchase X-men books and follow the stories even when I wince at some of the creative choices. I do have high hopes for your tenure and the new status quo.
Unfortunately, there is a (seemingly) growing section of fandom that can only enjoy darker renditions of these characters. The long-term success of DCs video game turned comic that features an evil Superman seems to be the best (worst) example of this turn. Those that grew up reading the books where newer creators experimented with how dark a character can go (post-Watchmen, Dark Knight, etc.) now want even darker stories and characters. Even if it goes completely against who that character truly is. To them, the comics have to change to excuse them still reading as an adult. It's infuriating.
Have to say Tom, there are more of us here I reckon that are continually disappointed with the way Hank Pym has been treated over the years than you might think.
A series of writers have continually done the character no good service. Retcons/revisions or retellings would be more welcome than what still stands.
Ironically the Avengers The Crossing storyline of all books provided the first decent explanation. And Hank was then a skrull during the Secret Invasion years (second chance) before Mark Waid wrote an excellent one off post Age of Ultron issue to explain Hank’s actions over the years (third chance), that was then steam rolled over by Remender’s awful Rage of Ultron end.
More recently Al Ewing almost course corrected with the enjoyable Ant Man mini, which has lead us to the predictable realignment now of the character with his movie version. Ah well.
I will personally counter that, as a longtime reader, I think Hank Pym was infinitely more interesting as a deeply flawed and mentally ill man who committed an unforgivable act of domestic abuse rather than a standard morally upright superhero who was temporarily mind controlled by a villain or something equally as goofy. Unlike Jan, Hank was never a natural hero. His costumed identities were always, always a bad fit. That was the point of the character. And as far as I’m concerned, Stern and Engelhart gave the character a definitive ending in the 80s. But because Marvel can never let go and retire any of Lee and Kirby’s creations, he’s stuck around for years after the natural conclusion of his arc, much to the detriment of the character.
Ghost Rider is 3 of the coolest things ever (skeleton, motorcycle man, fire) in one slick package. Why isn't he the most popular character in the Marvel IP portfolio?
Hi Tom, there have been rumblings of a new writers room being formed (possibly with Al Ewing? possibly with the Midnight Sons?). Could you elaborate on that a bit? I'd love to learn more about the growing corner of the Marvel universe with Blade, Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night, Blood Hunters, and vampire Miles Morales!
Hello Tom, what is your opinion or retcons? Is it something you don't do or just if someone comes to you with an interesting story that happens to retcon things. Especially retcons for what fans refer to as character assassinations or as you say bad stories and short sighted decisions that you say remain part of their legacies. I know you mentioned there are stories you wish hadn't been done, are you ever concerned with those stories being picked up by later writers?
Also, what book in you line are you most excited to come out? Which one do you think will be a surprise or a sleeper hit?
Always Never was a wonderful book. Glad you checked it out and enjoyed it!
I never expected to hear about Gundam SEED Freedom here. I always liked the characters of Athrun and Cagalli, so I wish they were in it a bit more, but I am glad there was resolution there to their story.
Now that the X-Men line-up has been announced, I'd love to know the chicken/egg of relaunching a series like you're doing. Did you have an overall structure in mind (the three core pillars) and then reached out to creatives to tackle each pillar? Did you reach out to creatives first, got their ideas, and moulded it into a structure? Or was it some third thing, that's a mixture of the two?
Tom, how would you describe Emma in this new era after all the mutants of Genosha have been resurrected?
I’m happy you won’t be angering every question. I love the Q&As burger tired of some of the same questions each newsletter and the section was feeling long. So I’m very in favor of you picking the ones you want to answer.
Um… answering. Not angering
Really depends on the question. Hahahaha
Hi Tom, will we have to wait long to see more of the original New Mutants appear in any of the upcoming X-books?
Man, the age issue is always going to be a problem with no great solution. If you start comics as a kid, the heroes are people you idealize and hope to be. Then you get older and find you are the same age as them with some similar problems. Then a few years later you are older and you realize you have nothing in common with the characters anymore. At that crossroads, you decide whether to keep going or to exit the fandom.
Fifteen years ago was post 9/11 and right at the peak of the Great Recession. Magneto is about to be 100. He's watched fascism rear it's head over and over again and has been completely disengaged from genocides all over the planet. The world is relentlessly saved by college age kids who never finished college.
I can hear Tom answering, "Well the problem is you are equating Marvel Earth with the real Earth." This is 100% true. But what made Marvel compared to DC was that it was supposed to be grounded in reality. It's functionally no more reality based than Krull. Characters are generally humans and a lot of physics is the same. There was a war in the 30s and 40s, but maybe no others?
This is why I think the MCU was successful. I'm not an Iron Man fan in the comics, but the character arcs over those films were excellent for lots of characters. It's not surprising that the films start having problems when they have to transition actors and characters because there is no blueprint to follow since the only character to ever die seems to be Captain Marvel.
Don't seems to at least think about this with five Peters presented in various phases of life, including the tantilizing tease of Mayday Parker one day being presented.
I'm not complaining. Marvel has done better than the Lucasfilm people. DCs answer, to reset the universe periodically, was done really well once, but not really since.
I don't have an answer other than a non-storytelling "let the IP breathe a little". The current result is that I don't read Spiderman because I cannot relate to him. I now have more in common with Miles Morales. When I started reading Spidey reprints in Marvel Tales from Waldenbooks in the 80s, that wasn't the case even though the stories were from 10 - 15 years earlier.
Have you checked out the streaming Hulu series EXTRAORDINARY? Its a comedic series out of the UK in which everyone has superpowers — except for the lead character whose power hasn't come in yet. In some ways it feels like it could have been an X-Men pitch that flowered into its own thing. Its a wickedly funny and a little twisted but with a lot of heart. If you haven't already checked it out, its worth an episode or two.
Hi Tom!
Have you started planning any events for the X Men? Or does that come further down the line once your books are established?
Since I was reading your retro All Flash reviews this week, do you have a favorite DC Golden Age villain, Flash or otherwise, esp if they don’t have an Earth-1 counterpart?
I must ask, is it Conductor in the bus sense or in the electrical sense?
Mr. Brevoort, I love your column. There was something you wrote several weeks back I wanted to respond to but never got around to it. Since you answered a question about an X- character's heel turn, it triggered my memory. In regards to the X-men you wrote something about how the X-men were using lethal means during the conclusion of the Krakoan era - to be fair as you also mentioned the story was about a war between the X-men and Orchis so violence was expected. I think you wrote that some of the X-men were shown to be cruel (I'm paraphrasing).
I've never been a fan of the X-men killing - mutants or humans - even when it is justified in- story, but it is worse when the characters are written to make a deliberate choice to murder innocent people. Xavier in the latest story comes to mind. Though I am hopeful that it leads to an interesting story where it is possible Xavier may be redeemed or at least that the redemption feels earned. Another example that comes to mind is Percy's story with Beast where Hank attempted to murder a young girl who had recovered from cancer to clean up the mess he had with blackmailing her father. Maybe I'm getting too old for comics or I'm more traditional than even I want to be - but I just can't get over that one. Talk about a problematic favorite! I love that the X-men are antiheroes and I do not want them to be Avengers, but at this point too many X-men have committed murder and even mass murder. I couldn't name them all but other fans could provide an exhaustive list for each instance (along with the creators and the issue numbers, etc.). It is a long and surprising list at this point.
When I watched X-men 97 recently I longed for a Charles Xavier who was at his core a professor (teacher) though an imperfect and flawed man, and a Hank McCoy that would never attempt to harm an innocent child. It is difficult for some of us fans that are parents (or parental adjacent) to even like Beast even with the oh so convenient character reset. I can't champion a character or an X-men team where a character tried to harm a young child. I understand creators need to be able to take risks, but some of the choices that were made baffles me. Naturally with Beast there were a ton of other war crimes that were even more immoral than the attempted child murder. I also never liked the X-men having kill squads or being "ultra-violent". I feel like over the years the X-men have departed so much from their core. Maybe I'm being too emotional and need to intellectualize this more- but it is difficult to follow characters who partake in murder, mass murder, genocide, etc. The X-men are best as educators and social justice advocates but yet too many of the characters have more in common with some of the worst people (monsters) in history.
Having said all that - I have a lot of respect for comic book writers, editors, and artists. Unlike a lot of X-men fans on the internet I am not a wanna-be creator and I freely admit that I have zero talent for art or creative writing. Even though I did not enjoy what Percy did with Beast I can freely admit Percy is a huge talent and there were things about his books I liked. Overall I loved the Krakoan era especially the return and use of so many characters.
I'm a lifelong X-men fan and will continue to purchase X-men books and follow the stories even when I wince at some of the creative choices. I do have high hopes for your tenure and the new status quo.
Thanks!
Unfortunately, there is a (seemingly) growing section of fandom that can only enjoy darker renditions of these characters. The long-term success of DCs video game turned comic that features an evil Superman seems to be the best (worst) example of this turn. Those that grew up reading the books where newer creators experimented with how dark a character can go (post-Watchmen, Dark Knight, etc.) now want even darker stories and characters. Even if it goes completely against who that character truly is. To them, the comics have to change to excuse them still reading as an adult. It's infuriating.
Have to say Tom, there are more of us here I reckon that are continually disappointed with the way Hank Pym has been treated over the years than you might think.
A series of writers have continually done the character no good service. Retcons/revisions or retellings would be more welcome than what still stands.
Ironically the Avengers The Crossing storyline of all books provided the first decent explanation. And Hank was then a skrull during the Secret Invasion years (second chance) before Mark Waid wrote an excellent one off post Age of Ultron issue to explain Hank’s actions over the years (third chance), that was then steam rolled over by Remender’s awful Rage of Ultron end.
More recently Al Ewing almost course corrected with the enjoyable Ant Man mini, which has lead us to the predictable realignment now of the character with his movie version. Ah well.
I will personally counter that, as a longtime reader, I think Hank Pym was infinitely more interesting as a deeply flawed and mentally ill man who committed an unforgivable act of domestic abuse rather than a standard morally upright superhero who was temporarily mind controlled by a villain or something equally as goofy. Unlike Jan, Hank was never a natural hero. His costumed identities were always, always a bad fit. That was the point of the character. And as far as I’m concerned, Stern and Engelhart gave the character a definitive ending in the 80s. But because Marvel can never let go and retire any of Lee and Kirby’s creations, he’s stuck around for years after the natural conclusion of his arc, much to the detriment of the character.
Ghost Rider is 3 of the coolest things ever (skeleton, motorcycle man, fire) in one slick package. Why isn't he the most popular character in the Marvel IP portfolio?
Also chains (that makes 4 of the coolest things)
Hi Tom, there have been rumblings of a new writers room being formed (possibly with Al Ewing? possibly with the Midnight Sons?). Could you elaborate on that a bit? I'd love to learn more about the growing corner of the Marvel universe with Blade, Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night, Blood Hunters, and vampire Miles Morales!
Hello Tom, what is your opinion or retcons? Is it something you don't do or just if someone comes to you with an interesting story that happens to retcon things. Especially retcons for what fans refer to as character assassinations or as you say bad stories and short sighted decisions that you say remain part of their legacies. I know you mentioned there are stories you wish hadn't been done, are you ever concerned with those stories being picked up by later writers?
Also, what book in you line are you most excited to come out? Which one do you think will be a surprise or a sleeper hit?