Exceptional X-Men —Ewing/Carnero— “Keep the Next Generation of Mutantkind Alive”

[Factor]

Really? Ugh... I really hate this format, but that's where all the cool kids are nowadays.

The team is pretty weird. It's a Juggernaut legacy, Escapade, Blade's daughter, Aaron Fischer (the gay Captain America legacy) and Moon Girl. I might be forgetting someone.

[Technopriest]

The more is revealed about this title the more uninterested I become. You really couldn't combine the cast of NYX with this premise? You would have young mutants with already established personalities and fanbases, and Emma and Kitty with a clear role. This insistence of adding new characters to an already bloated franchise isn't helping things, especially considering that each new title has at least a new character right off the gate, but this one has 3. I give it a year to be canceled and these characters shunted to limbo.

[Zoks]

The more is revealed about this title the more uninterested I become. You really couldn't combine the cast of NYX with this premise? You would have young mutants with already established personalities and fanbases, and Emma and Kitty with a clear role. This insistence of adding new characters to an already bloated franchise isn't helping things, especially considering that each new title has at least a new character right off the gate, but this one has 3. I give it a year to be canceled and these characters shunted to limbo.

The NYX mutants are basically in college, you want them to hang out with high school kids?

[RAWRlrus]

I get why people aren't happy about the new students, but that's kind of the dilemma the X-books have. New/young mutants learning about themselves and their powers are crucial to the theme so you're either forced to add new characters to do so or ignore the past and have the same lessons be learned by the same characters over and over and over.

[Kurolegacy]

So going off of the info about the book calling her Kitty rather than Kate, I guess that she’s done with the whole unexplained Kate phase that she was going through throughout Krakoa. Hopefully she also feels less like someone going through a midlife crisis with this book.

[Rift]

Tbh I don't think we even need to tell stories about new people coming into their own and becoming experienced X-Men. There's a 99% chance that their journey will be cut short and not amount to anything, because they'll just be demoted to wallpaper. For veteran fans, they know not to get attached to these characters because they're doomed. I can see the value of having a newcomer to help new audiences, but we don't need three of them. That's just taking up space and making it harder for each of them to shine individually.

Like I know it's a classic X-Men story idea, but the franchise clearly can't handle it. You don't need to compound a bigger issue (an overly large cast that's being neglected) to tell a story that everyone's already read and will likely not be satisfying.

EDIT: And I like the writer. I read her Champions and I'm one of the few people who read her Ironheart. They were good. But I don't think she'll do anything groundbreaking, especially under a franchise that's going to put a lot of limits on what she can do. At best, I expect the characters to have sympathetic stories that make me enjoy them to an extent, but they'll otherwise be a novelty to put on the shelf.

[Technopriest]

Why not, is not like it hasn't been done before in both NM and Gen X (not all of the young mutants were the same age, Karma and Chamber were already "college age" and hanging out with high-schoolers). But what I really meant was these new characters were not necessary, they could just use the NYX cast and tweak the concept a little.

[cranger]

There will be over a dozen "X" books every month, if someone's fave is not in a book it is not because one of the many rotating books decided to focus on one of the aspects of X-Men comics that a lot of people do like, it is because no one wanted to use them.

[Zoks]

Why not, is not like it hasn't been done before in both NM and Gen X (not all of the young mutants were the same age, Karma and Chanber were already "college age" and hanging out with high-schoolers. But what I really meant was these new characters were not necessary, they could just use the NYX cast and tweak the concept a little.

I'm not talking about the age difference, but the lifestyle difference. The NYX comic is basically these kids embracing being independent for the first time. Having Emma and Kitty around to hold their hands kind of ruins that.

[Rift]

There will be over a dozen "X" books every month, if someone's fave is not in a book it is not because one of the many rotating books decided to focus on one of the aspects of X-Men comics that a lot of people do like, it is because no one wanted to use them.

Even if no one wanted to use those characters, you don't need to compound the problem by adding more bloat. At best, they're just taking up spots that could have been used for other characters. At worst, they also fall into the background and get nowhere - so while their existence doesn't pose a threat to other characters, their addition doesn't really add anything, either. Eventually, these characters will be in the background, fighting for scraps with the rest.

Not that I think there should never be new characters ever. But like, it really depends on the situation.

I can't say how this go, since I haven't read EXM yet. The story could hinge on there being three kids. But I would have gone with Bronze and cut the other two. Have her be the Kitty/Jubilee, and the other two spots could have gone to more veterans, or older students who could relate to her in ways the adults can't.

[cranger]

Even if no one wanted to use those characters, you don't need to compound the problem by adding more bloat. At best, they're just taking up spots that could have been used for other characters. At worst, they also fall into the background and get nowhere - so while their existence doesn't pose a threat to other characters, their addition doesn't really add anything, either. Eventually, these characters will be in the background, fighting for scraps with the rest.

Not that I think there should never be new characters ever. But like, it really depends on the situation.

I can't say how this go, since I haven't read EXM yet. The story could hinge on there being three kids. But I would have gone with Bronze and cut the other two. Have her be the Kitty/Jubilee, and the other two spots could have gone to more veterans, or older students who could relate to her in ways the adults can't.

Don't get me wrong, Kitty, Emma and three randoms is not what I am hoping this book is coming up with either. I expect, and this is because the marketing says so, that some characters we already know will show up.

[Technopriest]

I'm not talking about the age difference, but the lifestyle difference. The NYX comic is basically these kids embracing being independent for the first time. Having Emma and Kitty around to hold their hands kind of ruins that.

That is why I said they should just have tweaked the premise and combined the casts.

[Zoks]

That is why I said they should just have tweaked the premise and combine the casts.

But you cannot do that with Emma and Kitty around. That isn't a tweaked premise, but a straight up deletion. NYX is supposed to be the young adult mutants figuring out things on their own. That means you cannot have the seasoned X-Men around to offer them advice or assistance.

[Uncanny X-Man]

Ehhhh... this is probably the book I'm least excited about due to the focus on new characters. It's so hard to get invested in new creations knowing how they fared in the last couple of decades or so.

Still, Emma and Kitty are solid gold, I liked what little I've read of Eve Ewing and Carmen Carnero always brings the goods, so I'll have a look at the first few issues and see if it grabs me.

[Galen Nycroft]

This is the book I have the most interest in, mostly because there are brand new characters, which always means somewhat clean slates that I can watch develop, hopefully into popular characters. I have never been a fan of Eve Ewing, but I don't dislike their work. As for Carmen Carnero, they're a perfectly serviceable artist, I was just never "wowwed".

This cover is gorgeous though, though Emma Frost's outfit looks kind of "stank", y'know? I think she left the "panties" look behind years ago. She also looked less than fresh in the Sins of Sinister miniseries, where Paco Medina put her in an ill fitting panty girdle thing. I like the other costumes, even if the characters look a little generic.

Bronze looks like Willow Smith, so I supposed this is Eve's way of getting Willow in an X-Men comic. Axo looks like an old X-Force baddie, and Melee looks like a giant female wrestler from Street Fighter.

I guess this will be the slice of life girlbook of the new era, as everything is leaning heavily feminine from the designs, to the team makeup, to the creative team, etc. As someone who reads Yuri/Girlslove and loves Peach Momoko, I don't mind that, but it may make this title a bit niche for traditional male X-Men fans who are looking for action based team dynamics.

I am in for at least five issues to see how things come together.