Comic Corner: Cable and X-Force

The first issue of Dennis Hopeless’ Cable and X-Force is sheer excellence. I have never been this psyched about a new comic book series before. It has a very militarized attitude, but with enough drama and heroics that brings it to a nice stealthy finish. The cast thus far is brilliant, all of  their personalities mesh well together in the sense that none of them are actually heroes, with the exception of Cable of course; I don’t care what anybody says that man is right up there in the superhero hall of fame with Captain America. Anyway these individuals just try to good and whoever doesn’t like it can shove it. From the looks of it, it seems as though that Hope will be playing a very big role in the series, as she tries to find a balance between normalcy and heroics, which is going to be really hard considering what she just went through in Avengers Vs. X-Men. To shed a little light on the story; Cable and his goons find themselves in quite the predicament, as they go toe to toe with the Uncanny Avengers. Hope wanting to stay close to her father finds herself wrapped up in the midst of whatever Cable and his team are going through. Cable suffering from severe headaches, reveals that he may actually hold the power of premonition. But what does the future have in store for Cable and Hope?Instantly, I found it rather interesting that the Summer’s family are all over the place; Rachel at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, Scott starting a “mutant revolution,” Nate with the New Mutants, Alex leading an Avengers’ sec, and Cable and Hope tangled in this new Marvel Now! world. Whatever Hopeless plans for Cable and X-Force, some people aren’t going to make it out alive.

Comic Corner: All New X-Men

They’ve made their debut, now its time for us to follow them into the new world! Mutants are popping up everywhere, and from the looks of it, their powers are proving to be quite exciting. But, with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants back, the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning open for business, and Cyclops out of prison, it looks likes its going to be a classic game of capture the mutant, as each side tries to recruit valuable mutants to join their cause. Cyclops says the mutant revolution has begun, Beast says he’s gone off the deep end. Xavier’s dead, and his first class of X-men are plucked out of the past and into future. Don’t forget about Captain America and the Uncanny Avengers; there’s a lot going on, I honestly think a day of peace is needed!Cyclops has always been a man of his word, and he’s never let us down before; so I believe a little patience is all we need before things get the rolling. So far he has reunited with the core of his X-Tinction team, lastly breaking Emma Frost from the government’s grip. But shocking revelation, makes this story a sad one for our veterans. The Phoenix Force, always keeps to its nature, and when you play with fire you get burned.But as the story continues, I can’t help but think about some things that don’t seem to add up. For example, in All New X-Men #1 things seemed okay with their powers, as the event that happen in that issue took place after All New X-Men #3; So are their powers different or not? I don’t know.So far we’ve come across three new mutants, with powers that just might make them X-Men material: Eva who posses the control over time and space, Chris who can heal and possibly revive a person from death, and Ben who can apparently change his appearance and voice to that of another. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned out to be a sleeper skrull left behind after the events of Secret Invasion. He’s probably looking to fit in, now that Mutants are back in style. Anyway, Cyclops has plans; so get ready, because you have no choice but to join the Mutant Revolution.

AVX: The Shocking Conclusion!

So for those of you who were away on a trip to outer space, lets say the Kree Empire; the Avengers Vs. X-Men war has ended, and with quite a bang I might add. So you’re probably wondering what happened. In Short, Scott, the last of the Phoenix Five to remain standing, becomes the Dark Phoenix, and sets worldwide havoc on the Avengers, and even his fellow X-Men.Iron Man, in a last desperate attempt to set the world straight, puts all his faith in Hope, and together with the rest of Marvel’s heroes, Hope and Wanda attacked Cyclops head on. At one point, things seemed to grow unstable as Cyclops embraced the raw power of the Phoenix. The world started to deteriorate, as Earth’s mightiest heroes were running out of time, and just when it seemed to be the end, a very unexpected guest appeared. Now I’m not saying it was “her,” I’m also not saying it wasn’t. But in times like this, you never want to rule out your imagination, as Jason Aaron, the concluder of Avengers Vs. X-Men said, “Well, either it’s Jean Grey or it’s not Jean Grey. I’m not going to say one-way or the other. He sees Jean, or maybe he sees Hope? Who knows? Some things are best left ambiguous.” To which we can agree, some things are best left unanswered, but not when the question’s name is Jean Grey, if you catch my drift. I couldn’t help but be disappointed that Jean Grey never made an actual appearance, in which we knew for sure it was her. Now I’m not asking for her to come back and put Humpty Dumpty back together again, as she surely can. But an explanation as to what happened to her would have been nice; actually I believe its absolutely necessary considering the Phoenix Force is directly connected to Jean. Jean’s story is like an open wound that has never been closed, and left for bacteria to fester in. Marvel says AVX was the end of a story that started back in the pages of House of M, but to be frank, this story goes way back, back to Jean’s ascension in Phoenix: Endsong, back to the pages of  Grant Morrison’s New X-Men. The Marvel Universe has grown to live without Jean Grey; we no longer cling to her for fandom or drive in a story, so why not give us closer? Anyway that’s just one perspective. After Cyclops is purged of the Phoenix’s power, Hope finally embraces her destiny and becomes the White Phoenix of The Crown, the very same persona we last saw Jean Grey claim. It was then that Hope’s true destiny was revealed, and so the repopulation of Earth’s mutants began.

Towards the end, it seemed like the future for both the X-Men and the Avengers were looking bright. But this time around it was all worth it, because it came with a price. It is out of the darkness that light comes to be.In some sense, Scott has committed great atrocities. For example, the murder of the man who was like a father to him (while under the influence of the Dark Phoenix), which he is more than willing to pay the price. However, with him sitting in jail, it may look as though Scott’s the ultimate loser, but is he really? Scott was right about Hope all along, and that counts for a lot. He also handle this entire situation without the help of the Avengers, to which he shamed them for, because the X-Men was always there to lend a helping hand. Now without a doubt he’s made a lot of mistakes, but in the end he got what he wanted. Scott’s main and only objective was to bring the Mutant population back from the brink of extinction, and that happened. It may not have happened in the way he had anticipated, but it happened; and there’s that last line of the book about how the Phoenix is a cycle of destruction and rebirth, but before you can get to the rebirth, you’ve got to have the destruction. This whole ordeal definitely had plenty of both. Cyclops was brought to justice. As for his followers, Emma Frost, Magik, Colossus, Magneto, and Namor; well they remain at larger, but we’ll catch up with them soon enough. If you asked me, Cyclops’ faith in Hope was always justified. His work as the leader of the Phoenix Five was a necessary evil, but some may argue evil is never necessary. And Professor X’s death may have a lot in store for the rest of the world. Avengers Vs. X-Men is redeemable, if Scarlet Witch can achieve favor and mercy than so can the Phoenix Five, especially Scott Summers. But, whatever happens, it will be decided by the Avengers and the X-Men.

Comic Corner: Embracing the Future of Marvel

So this week has been pretty chaotic with the announcement of Marvel’s plans for the future, and if you are a true fan, I’m sure you are a bit distraught at the moment; in fear of what Marvel’s plans mean for some of your favorite characters, titles, and writers. On one hand a fan can appreciate the thoughtfulness that goes into the creative process of a character’s wellbeing, but on the other hand it can be a little terrifying to not know what that process involves. Sort of like being a responsible driver who has built quite a record of avoiding accidents when driving, who is suddenly placed in the passengers seat while a lunatic takes the wheel. You have no idea what that said lunatic is going to do next. That’s kind of how most of us die-hard fans feel when a relaunch is in the works. Scary, right?

Now speaking from a more supportive and mature perspective; I agree with Marvel’s ideas to bring the Marvel U together, and to go back to the bronze and even silver age, when things were a little more sane. It was noticed that somewhere down the line one of Marvel’s biggest franchises if not the biggest, was torn from the rest of the Marvel U. Yes, we’re talking about the X-Men. But although that maybe true, it is understandable as to how that happen. The X-Men have always been popular, but it was during the 90s that they became famous, and with that recognition, a target was put on their heads both in story and publication.The X-Men were seen as the underdogs who where changing the game, and I bet my bottom comic that this provided a lot of untapped potential to expand on. The X-Men were to the comic book world like a bubble to the stock market. Now I was only a kid when all this was going on so excuse me if I seem to not make any sense in what I’m saying, but from that very same perspective I know for a fact that the X-Men were every where from the pages of Uncanny to the animated series to the big screen in 2000, not to fail to mention my backpack, and every wall in my room; and I was just one of millions of little boys who thought by the time they hit puberty their x-gene would activate and over night they’d become an X-Man.

Marvel says its time for change, and that they want this change to have a impact for decades to come, but what does that mean for all the stories we’ve lived through, all the bonds we formed with our favorite characters? Jean Grey, yes we want her back, but I think I speak for a lot of like-minded fans, when I say not like this. Jean Grey was taken from us two times too many. Our obsession with her return was not to simply have a super hot green-eyed redhead with a super powerful mind running around the Marvel U again. We wanted her back so she can take back control of her life. We wanted to see that argument with Emma Frost, or that painful divorce with Scott Summers as she approached new horizons, even if it was with Wolverine.  We wanted another chance to see her grow. I cant help but feel that Jean’s return to Marvel U (via time travel) is a bit cheap for Marvel’s creators, not to fail to mention it leaves a very loose end with Phoenix: Endsong and Warsong.

But like I said before, I support Marvel’s decision on where they are taking things. So long as they don’t assume that the Avengers are everybody’s favorite super hero group and continue to over use some characters, like Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow, and give the reins to more interesting characters than the future of the Marvel U should be very bright.