{"id":65,"date":"2015-04-28T01:59:25","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T01:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/?p=65"},"modified":"2015-05-19T03:30:24","modified_gmt":"2015-05-19T03:30:24","slug":"all-new-x-men-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/?p=65","title":{"rendered":"All-New X-Men 40"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sigh<\/em>.\u00a0 Okay, let\u2019s\u2026 let\u2019s go ahead and talk about All-New X-Men 40.<\/p>\n

Brian Michael Bendis\u2019 run on the X-Men titles has\u2026 not numbered among my favorites.\u00a0 Without going into too much detail, I would consider Bendis\u2019 strongest Marvel works to be Daredevil, Alias, and Ultimate Spider-Man.\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice that these three titles have something in common: focus on one main character, <\/em>giving the reader abundant insight into this character\u2019s thought processes as they interact with their supporting cast.\u00a0 When it comes to team books, however, I feel like every issue written by Bendis devolves into a big yammery crowd scene, in which everybody yells \u201cfunny\u201d things over and over, every character speaks in essentially the same voice, and it\u2019s that much harder for all characters present to actually contribute<\/em> to the story in any meaningful way.<\/p>\n

Specifically, regarding his run on All-New X-Men, I have not enjoyed the introduction of the time-displaced Teen X-Men in the present day.\u00a0 The word that keeps coming to mind is \u201cirksome.\u201d\u00a0 It would have been fine for a single story arc, but they\u2019ve all just continued to stick around, haven\u2019t they?\u00a0 From a story perspective, it makes me anxious, as most clearly demonstrated during the Battle of the Atom crossover: Teen Cyclops was near-fatally blasted by a Sentinel, and the timestream nearly tore itself asunder due to paradox.\u00a0 But from a creative perspective, I feel it\u2019s been a huge missed opportunity to really distinguish these characters from their modern-day counterparts.\u00a0 What if the Teen X-Men were actually written<\/em> like they were from the \u201960s?\u00a0 Can you imagine how much fun<\/em> it would be if they just kept describing their powers out loud in abundant detail while they were using them, and the rest of the modern-day young X-Men just stared at them like they were foreign exchange students?\u00a0 But I feel like that would\u2019ve been too much effort; the only detail I recall liking was early on when Teen Cyclops was in a grocery store wondering, \u201cWhy is all the water bottled?\u00a0 Did something happen to the water?\u201d\u00a0 Otherwise, they all just read like standard-issue Bendis characters.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Teen X-Men served their intended purpose of facing the modern-day X-Men with their more youthful, idealistic selves.\u00a0 It was an interesting story arc in keeping with the feel of the X-Men (though I might argue that Beast\u2019s scientific expertise runs more towards the genetic than the trans-temporal).\u00a0 Yes, the Teen X-Men\u2019s time in the present has brought about changes to both their personalities and their powers, possibly irrevocably.\u00a0 Nonetheless, I feel like that story has been told, and that having two Cyclops, two Icemans, etc. hanging around only serves to dilute the X-Men \u2013 for example, I cannot immediately recall when we last saw modern-day Angel after he encountered his young counterpart in All-New X-Men 8.\u00a0 And some Teen X-Men stories can\u2019t help but feel like retreads: did we need to have Teen Cyclops relegated to awkward eager-to-please son getting to know his long-lost space-pirate dad?\u00a0 Did we need to have Teen Jean halfheartedly tried for her crimes as the Phoenix by the Shi\u2019ar Empire?\u00a0 Furthermore, why are these<\/em> characters hogging so much of the spotlight?\u00a0 If Bendis wanted to tell a story about idealistic teen mutants clashing with the dour mutant revolutionaries of the X-Men, why not focus on the VASTLY<\/em> more interesting young recruits in Uncanny X-Men \u2013 characters that Bendis himself created?\u00a0 Goldballs, Triage, and Benjamin Deeds (more on him in a sec) are only getting lost in the crowd, without getting a chance to really demonstrate their potential.<\/p>\n

But I consoled myself with remembering a valuable lesson I\u2019ve learned in my old age: comics are cyclical, and everything changes if you wait long enough, especially in this modern age of short creator attention spans.\u00a0 (I still proudly own every issue of Chuck Austen\u2019s run on the X-Men titles, because I knew that one day it would end, and that I would want to go back and remember everything we lived through.)\u00a0 And so I was relieved when it was announced that Bendis would be wrapping up his run as of Uncanny X-Men 600, due out in May, and no issues of All-New X-Men have been solicited past issue 41.\u00a0 I hoped that Bendis might not want anyone else playing with these toys after he was done with them, so perhaps my wish would come true and that Beast would face the consequences of his actions, the Teen X-Men would go away forever, and we wouldn\u2019t have to think about them ever again.<\/p>\n

And then Teen Iceman was outed as gay.\u00a0 Welp<\/em>, looks like the joke\u2019s on me!<\/p>\n

In this issue, all the Teen X-Men are relaxing after the events of Black Vortex.\u00a0 Surprisingly enough, I think Magik is the real stand-out in this issue: she explains that she\u2019s taking on mentorship of the Teen X-Men while Kitty stays in space, but while she\u2019s treating them to lunch as a one-time deal \u2013 \u201cYou save the galaxy, you get a hamburger\u201d \u2013 she is not responsible for feeding them, nor is she a taxi service.\u00a0 Her character comes through crystal-clear, and I like that.\u00a0 After she teleports away and Teen Iceman makes note of her hotness, Teen Jean pulls him aside and asks him why he keeps saying things like that, because they both know he\u2019s gay.\u00a0 She then argues the point<\/em> with him until he comes around, and they have some cutesy girl-talk and end up huggin\u2019 it out.\u00a0 This is followed by a scene where Teen Angel \u2013 still cosmically-empowered by the Black Vortex \u2013 flies away with X-23 to declare that he luh-luh-loves<\/em> her and they share a tender kiss on a mountaintop.\u00a0 The last double-page spread introduces a ragtag band of mutants on the former X-Men headquarters of Utopia, whom I\u2019m sure our heroes will encounter next month, but with only one issue left of the series, I\u2019m expecting more of a perfunctory and uninspired fight scene than a saga of conflicting ideologies.\u00a0 (P.S. Masque and Random, sure\u2026 Elixir, glad to see you\u2019re not dead after all\u2026 but Karma?\u00a0 Girl, what are you doing getting mixed up with these nutjobs?)<\/p>\n

It seems a bit thin when summed up, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Because when it comes down to it, not a whole lot actually happens<\/em> in this comic.\u00a0 As much as I like issues that take a break from events and crossovers to let our characters catch their breath, I did not like Teen Iceman, this character ostensibly from the \u201960s, calling Jean a \u201cnosy bitch<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 (Which she is, of course, no question.\u00a0 Teen Jean\u2019s #1 job has been to get a story rolling by 1) reading peoples\u2019 minds without permission, 2) throwing a big ol\u2019 melodramatic telekinetic hissyfit, and 3) repeat as needed.\u00a0 I submit that this does not make for a likeable character.)\u00a0 I did not like Bendis\u2019 quirk of having his characters tell him how funny he is, as \u201cBaby Tyke-lops\u201d was not as hilarious as Teen Jean would have you believe.\u00a0 I did not like going the easy sitcom-audience-laugh-track route with S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill repeatedly thunking her head<\/a> against a control panel when she receives\u00a0news of mutant hijinks.\u00a0 But because my heart is not completely made of stone, I did like Teen Iceman snowing himself in the face<\/a> with embarrassment, and I enjoy this panel<\/a> for the sheer understated simplicity of it. \u00a0Teen Beast, you… you are okay in my book.<\/p>\n

The thing of it is, believe it or not, there are already currently six<\/em> gay X-Men: Northstar, Anole, Karma, Bling!, Graymalkin, and Benjamin Deeds.\u00a0 If Brian Michael Bendis actually had anything of substance<\/em> to say about homosexuality, I\u2019m sure he would have been more than welcome to make use of any of these characters in order to say it.\u00a0 WHICH HE DID<\/em>.\u00a0 Uncanny X-Men 14 was a breath of fresh air after the non-stop bickerfest that was Battle of the Atom, in that it focused on Emma Frost taking new student Benjamin Deeds under her wing; she singles him out because she expects he has more potential as an infiltrator than a combatant, thanks to his power to unconsciously shape-shift and mimic the features of whoever he\u2019s talking to.\u00a0 (As demonstrated by this awesome montage<\/a>, not to mention this gorgeous cover<\/a>.)\u00a0 She takes him to Atlantic City to test out his powers, starting by telling him to go over there and seduce that lady:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to ask her out.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re not marrying her.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m gay.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t care.\u00a0 What does that have to do with this?\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s it.\u00a0 That\u2019s all the attention they devote to Benjamin\u2019s sexuality, and it\u2019s perfect, because it was incidental<\/em> to the main story.\u00a0 Now, am I arguing\u00a0that issues of sexuality have no place<\/em> in comics such as X-Men? \u00a0Quite the contrary. \u00a0I just think when it comes to gay X-Men\u2026 it benefits from being handled with subtlety, like in Uncanny X-Men 14 (a true anomaly, since Bendis is usually about as subtle as a hammer). \u00a0On the other hand, speaking of the Chuck Austen run, Northstar joined the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men 414, which was a seriously strong issue handled with maturity, but still true to Northstar\u2019s established character.\u00a0 Unfortunately, immediately after Northstar joined the team, it felt like nobody really knew exactly what to do<\/em> with him.\u00a0 He developed a catty friendship with the school nurse, Annie, and an unrequired crush on (sigh<\/em>) Iceman.\u00a0 While it was nice to see for those of us readers who have been there ourselves, it was as if even among his fellow mutants in the X-Men, Northstar didn\u2019t exactly fit in.\u00a0 It\u2019s awkward because mutant powers are a metaphor for the outsider, ostracized by a society that hates and fears you, and the metaphor applies just as well to race, religion, sexuality, nationality, planet of origin, artificial intelligence, and so on.\u00a0 As such, I think that having a character declare their homosexuality doesn\u2019t necessarily<\/em> add anything to their character in and of itself (and it\u2019s arguably newsworthy); unless the story is outright about<\/em> the character\u2019s sexuality \u2013 e.g., if Teen Iceman was actually going out on a date, or even actively crushing on somebody \u2013 maybe it would be better off just remaining as incidental<\/em> to the story, rather than the focus thereof.<\/p>\n

But to save this reveal until the second-to-last issue of the series?\u00a0 My god, why?<\/em>\u00a0 The actual coming out is crafted well enough, with these two Bendis\u00a0characters ostensibly wearing the labels of \u201cBobby\u201d and \u201cJean\u201d having a conversation as friends.\u00a0 But what\u2019s the point?\u00a0 Teen Jean herself confirms Iceman is indeed heterosexual. \u00a0There haven\u2019t been \u201chints,\u201d it\u2019s not an organic development for his character, it just leaves me frustrated and baffled.\u00a0\u00a0I suppose a case could – and that’s big ol’ dancing neon capital letters\u00a0COULD<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>– be made that this is a holdover from the Black Vortex crossover, where Teen Iceman spent some time as some kind of stupid-looking cosmically-empowered samurai elf<\/a>. \u00a0It adds nothing, and it only raises more questions than it answers, mostly about where this leaves poor modern-day Iceman, who didn\u2019t ask for any<\/em> of this baloney.\u00a0 And don\u2019t talk to me about Iceman not being good at dating ladies<\/a>, he<\/em> can\u2019t help it if Kitty Pryde is being written to vacillate wildly between lovestruck schoolgirl and judgmental harpy.\u00a0 (Not to mention poor Opal Tanaka getting all mixed up with those cyber-ninjas!) \u00a0I have no problem with\u00a0Bendis writing all the yammery teen coming-out stories he wants.\u00a0 I just have no idea why he elected to use these characters<\/em> to tell it.<\/p>\n

But for all this ado\u2026 no one knows what the landscape of the Marvel Universe will look like after Secret Wars.\u00a0 Either the Teen X-Men will be sent back to their rightful point in the timestream \u2013 in which case this issue, and hopefully the last three years, can be dismissed as a curious\u00a0sidebar to be puzzled over by historians at a later date \u2013 or it will be revealed that they\u2019re from an \u201calternate past\u201d or some such nonsense and they’ll stick around indefinitely.\u00a0 And all told, I\u2019m an X-Men fan who feels proprietary and protective towards these characters, and who might not\u00a0necessarily view these particular X-Men\u00a0stories\u00a0as \u201cmy <\/em>X-Men.\u201d\u00a0 So I guess all I can do for now is join everybody else in shrugging<\/a>,<\/u> staring vacantly into space<\/a>, and just waiting to see what happens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sigh.\u00a0 Okay, let\u2019s\u2026 let\u2019s go ahead and talk about All-New X-Men 40. Brian Michael Bendis\u2019 run on the X-Men titles has\u2026 not numbered among my favorites.\u00a0 Without going into too much detail, I would consider Bendis\u2019 strongest Marvel works to be Daredevil, Alias, and Ultimate Spider-Man.\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice that these three titles have something in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comic_round-up"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86,"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions\/86"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.codyscomiccorner.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}