The MCU X-Men: News, Speculation and Discussion

[ChildOfTheAtom]

IMO Fox has tarnished the X-Men brand with the exception of Deadpool. Disney has an uphill battle to gain back viewers and you might win when the audience doesn't come back for more X-Men movies. The Dark Phoenix might be the final straw that breaks the camel's back.

Which is why Dark Phoenix should be cancelled. If it sucks like Apocalypse X-MEN might never recover regardless of studio

[Havok83]

Sort of. One thing that got Bob Harras fired as Marvel EiC is that the X-Men books, while still selling well, kept going down in sales and saw no boost from the X-Men movie, partly because the books were so dense and hard for new readers to understand (but mostly because they weren't very good). When Joe Quesada came in he was under orders to make the X-Men comics more accessible to people who had seen the movies but not the comics, and so we got the X-Men dressing more like in the movies, fewer crossovers, Morrison's New X-Men as the flagship, etc.

Ever since then there's been a pattern of Marvel being under pressure to make the comics get a boost when the movies come out, even though everyone knows that movies can't actually provide a long-term sales boost. It's not healthy, but management was right that the line needed a shakeup back then.

But that was during the original OT (2000-2006). Quesada's changes were a response to the lag from the late 90s. To answer Wiccan, the X-books were not struggling during the OT. That's most defined as the Morrison/Whedon era which culminated in HoM. Spinoff titles like Gen X, Cable and X-Force didnt do well (and were axed early in that time frame) but the core titles did. If anything they struggled from clear direction before Quesada came on board and things got more streamlined

[Heroine Addict]

Pryde of the X-Men was bad but also good for it's time given the level of story telling for most cartoons/animated shows.

X-Men TAS was the purest translation of the comics ever and some of the best episodes of any X-Men series but the 1 season was a little rough at times.

Evolution IMO was pretty bad season 1, got better with season 2, and hit it's stride in season 3 and 4. I do enjoy the series a lot because it had the New Mutants and I think out of all the shows it had the best endings.

Wolverine and the X-Men had the most cohesive storyline of any series IMO.

YES, the CARTOONS have taken over! Just as I hoped... planned...

Wish PotX got more than one ep, that would've been cool.

[yogaflame]

So your point is that the X-Men movies didn't bring new readers at all?

Negligible. It is well documented that comic book movies have little to no influence on comic book sales. MCU films are killing it at the box office, but their corresponding titles don't see the same success. Movie goers rarely become comic-buyers. The Fox-Men films may have brought some new buyers to the market, but not many, and certainly nowhere near as many as TAS did(there's even a thread in here somewhere with votes to prove it). Which is precisely why a new X-cartoon series(a good one) is desperately needed to get a new generation to fall in love with the franchise.

[Havok83]

IMO Fox has tarnished the X-Men brand with the exception of Deadpool. Disney has an uphill battle to gain back viewers and you might win when the audience doesn't come back for more X-Men movies. The Dark Phoenix might be the final straw that breaks the camel's back.

IDA. People said this about Spidey after ASM2's abysmal showing but there was tons of hype going into Spider-Man Homecoming which was critically acclaimed and a financial success. The MCU turns anything it touches into gold and regardless of Fox, the X-men are still very well revered with genuine interest in seeing how the MCU tackles them. Disney also knows how to market and promote their properties quite well. All it would take would be starting to tease the arrival of the X-men in an upcoming film to kickstart that hype train. The X-men arent tarnished and will do fine

[Uncanny X-Man]

I must say... as an X-fan, I really want to see Dark Phoenix and New Mutants. They have been completed, reshoots aside, so there's no way I'm not curious to see them as a fan.

But from a brand management perspective, since the Disney acquisition is all but confirmed, it would serve the studio better to just keep them for their streaming service. Put as much distance as possible between Fox's take and Marvel Studios', especially because they feature characters and concepts Disney will want to explore at some stage. And while DP's medium-big budget might be a concern, keep in mind that Disney's service will feature tv shows with Game of Thrones-level budgets, so it might not necessarily be an issue if it's not released in theatres. If towards the end of the year Fox announces another post-poning, I guess we'll know what to expect.

[Tofali]

Disney needs to put New Mutants and Dark Phoenix in the VAULT. Never to be seen again. NEVER! LMAO!

[Colossus1980]

Negligible. It is well documented that comic book movies have little to no influence on comic book sales. MCU films are killing it at the box office, but their corresponding titles don't see the same success. Movie goers rarely become comic-buyers.

I wonder though take away the MCU films, would the comic book division still be publishing? Would Marvel have published and taken so many chances on obscure titles? Isn't all this money made from films/tv and merchandise preventing the demise of comics for now?

[Havok83]

I wonder though take away the MCU films, would the comic book division still be publishing? Would Marvel have published and taken so many chances on obscure titles? Isn't all this money made from films/tv and merchandise preventing the demise of comics for now?

I think so as I dont think comics are big money makers. They are a very neglible amount compared to their film division. Disney likely isnt too critical about failures from Marvel Comics bc they have the MCU as a large buffer to not affect the company

[Wiccan]

Negligible. It is well documented that comic book movies have little to no influence on comic book sales. MCU films are killing it at the box office, but their corresponding titles don't see the same success. Movie goers rarely become comic-buyers. The Fox-Men films may have brought some new buyers to the market, but not many, and certainly nowhere near as many as TAS did(there's even a thread in here somewhere with votes to prove it). Which is precisely why a new X-cartoon series(a good one) is desperately needed to get a new generation to fall in love with the franchise.

I feel like it's a lot about the times too. Comics in general just don't sell as much these days, because kids don't really read them. MCU movies are popular with kids and as you said it hasn't helped that much. While the original movies may not have brought as much as TAS, I doubt MCU or another cartoon will bring much more than that either.

[yogaflame]

I wonder though take away the MCU films, would the comic book division still be publishing? Would Marvel have published and taken so many chances on obscure titles? Isn't all this money made from films/tv and merchandise preventing the demise of comics for now?

I mean, Disney bought Marvel years ago, so yes, their other revenue streams allow for this antiquated, barely profitable medium to continue, but make no mistake, it is seen largely as just a IP development sector for the actually profitable mediums, like film, tv, video games, merchandising/licensing, etc.

[CRaymond]

The more I think about this the more doing Dark Phoenix in the MCU would be a waste of time. The money is in doing an MCU AvX... with a resurrected Jean in the place of Hope Summers.

The threat of Phoenix is the only way to outdo the buildup of the Infinity stones and Thanos.

[Tofali]

I wonder though take away the MCU films, would the comic book division still be publishing? Would Marvel have published and taken so many chances on obscure titles? Isn't all this money made from films/tv and merchandise preventing the demise of comics for now?

comic books now are ads for the movies. Marvel Comics should just be incorporated to the marketing machine in Marvel Studio.

[yogaflame]

I feel like it's a lot about the times too. Comics in general just don't sell as much these days, because kids don't really read them. MCU movies are popular with kids and as you said it hasn't helped that much. While the original movies may not have brought as much as TAS, I doubt MCU or another cartoon will bring much more than that either.

Notice I said 'franchise', not 'comics'. I do believe comic books are a dying medium. But they will linger on for a little while longer, and the X-Men comics may get at least one more artistic and commercial bump before the end.

[Havok83]

The more I think about this the more doing Dark Phoenix in the MCU would be a waste of time. The money is in doing an MCU AvX... with a resurrected Jean in the place of Hope Summers.

Most of the big Avengers will be gone by the time the X-men are established to do that (as thats not something you do early on). Not sure if it would be worth doing with the B-team whom will be more prominent going forward

And if they were to do AvX, it wouldnt be a riff of the comics. Hope's role wouldnt make sense in the MCU. Like Captain America: Civil War, it would only be AvX in name only. The MCU doesnt have the foundation to set up the comic story