X-Men Red #1 Spoilers and Review

[yogaflame]

I strongly disagree, Storm has literally been a head of state and actually worked with the UN. The most Jean or Kitty ever really did was pretend they were Xavier.

Forget Jean inviting Storm, it should be King Ororo running this with her +1 redhead arm candy sitting by her side.

You are unusually wise for this forum! I agree in both cases.

Remember, Ororo was a leader among her peers in the den of child thieves as a child in Cairo(under Achmed's tutelage, of course), and she was a goddess to the people in the Great Rift Valley region, bringing rain and easing their burdens. Meanwhile Jean is getting her friend killed by throwing a firsbee into the road and Kitty is to busy being a spoiled brat to care about anyone else. Ororo was always the elder stateswoman, even as a child. In the fullness of time, I like Claremont's idea that Kitty would become a politician(and USA President), while Storm and Phoenix were more embroiled in superheroics(as seen in X-Men:The End), but we have also seen Storm as the leader of the United State of Africa in the future too(Earth X), and her powers make her a natural globalist humanitarian.

I agree it should have been Ororo making the move with Jean by her side, but I would have accepted them working together, too. It would be a better use for Ororo compared to being Kitty's servant in Gold.

[KurtW95]

Let's not pretend that the whole thing wasn't a game of the colonial powers to begin with(particularly the British, who previously owned Palestine prior to the creation of Israel).

Again, you’re leaving out a lot. First there were the Kingdoms of Israel. Then the land was it was colonized by the Greeks. Then the Romans. Then the Turks. Then the British. Then we get the modern state. But Jews were there for all of it. In fact, if you go back to before the establishment of the modern state of Israel, Palestinian was a term that was essentially synonymous with Jewish. Arab nationalists even rejected the term. They called themselves Jordanians. It was only recently that they reinvented themselves under Arafat.

[yogaflame]

Again, you’re leaving out a lot. First there were the Kingdoms of Israel. Then the land was it was colonized by the Greeks. Then the Romans. Then the Turks. Then the British. Then we get the modern state. But Jews were there for all of it. In fact, if you go back to before the establishment of the modern state of Israel, Palestinian was a term that was essentially synonymous with Jewish. Arab nationalists even rejected the term. They called themselves Jordanians. It was only recently that they reinvented themselves under Arafat.

There have been many twists and turns over the years, but it remains a game of colonial empires, as I said.

[remydat]

Let's not pretend that the whole thing wasn't a game of the colonial powers to begin with(particularly the British, who previously owned Palestine prior to the creation of Israel). There won't be peace until they both realize they are both Abrahamic faiths from the same source and at the end of the day their primary differences come down to greed and tribalism, not some divine crusade.

Oh, and Israel gets a huge, disproportionate amount of military aid, relative to population/square footage, compared to any other country. While Iraq and Afghanistan do get more than Israel, it is only because they are active war zones(that we initiated)!!

But of course, it was a game of colonial powers. My point was simply Muslims made the mistake of thinking they didn't have to take the deal and could just wipe out Israel hence why they had the Palestinians refuse and then war broke out. That war ended up with the new state of Israel winning and not only keeping the land granted to them by the UN but almost 60% of the land that was to be part of a Palestinian state. That was the cost of waging war and losing. They then lost again in 1967 and lost more land. However the issue goes beyond recognizing they are both Abrahamic faiths. Israel wants to keep the land they won in those wars whereas Muslims want the land to revert back to what was agreed to in the 1940s. So that is a huge gap to bridge.

And yes they get a huge amount of aid. My point is they are the only Jewish state surrounded by Muslims that want to wipe them out. If you added up the aid to Muslim countries excluding Iraq and Afghanistan, it is still a lot of aid. Egypt and Jordan alone combine for 2.5 billion which is comparable to Israel's 3.1 billion. Aid isn't determined based on population. It is determined based on strategic importance to the country providing aid as aid is not a charity.

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/11/spends-billion-foreign/

[remydat]

X-Corp was just local X-Men offices. Storm’s X.S.E. actually comes closer as that was a mutant oriented police unit with a global U.N. mandate over national jurisdictions.

Again, Red would’ve worked so much better with Storm heading it.

Not really. This presumes that there is only a single mutant capable of coming up with and executing such a plan which is illogical. One of the fundamental problems with the X-men is acting like there are only a small number of these guys that can do certain tasks which is just absurd to me. What you really mean to say is you would prefer if it was Storm which is fine.

However, plenty of X-men are capable of leading or putting together something like this. As is someone like Magneto. The distinction is simply who the writer wants to do it.

[rutog98]

I think Cassandra is going to get her ass kicked by Jean in order to establish Jean's power level sans Phoenix. Cassandra making note of Jean being not the Phoenix was too obvious of a giveaway imo.

I really hope this doesn't happen. I don't want to see Cassandra Nova devalued like this for Jean. If Jean manages to beat Cassie Nova in a straight up fight without anything boosting Jean's power or anything weakening Cassandra's abilities, then it should be PIS. The X-Men have a weak rogue's gallery as it is. They don't need to weaken one of their strongest foes to try and prop up Jean.

[Sundowhn]

In more ways than one, apparently. Jean & Kurt bonding, was the most moving scene for me, and probably my favorite development overall. Long felt they were kindred spirits, and have always wanted it to materialize, and be eXplored.

I absolutely love these two working together. I agree, it makes sense that they should be close friends because of similarities in outlook. This is my favorite scene from the book.

Their friendship was touched on, in a different way, in Remender's revisit to AOA during his UXF run. (AoA)Jean and Kurt were in Atlantis with the remnants of the X-Men, but that world's version were very different characters -- jaded and wounded. The 616 guys still have hope.

[DDM]

They made out in The End. Other than that I’ve never gotten much connection out of Jean and Kurt. Maybe they can bond over being Logan’s soulmates.

[Sundowhn]

They made out in The End. Other than that I’ve never gotten much connection out of Jean and Kurt. Maybe they can bond over being Logan’s soulmates.

Yeah, there hasn't really been one shown. It just makes sense that these two people would probably be friends, given that both have been characterized as the "heart and soul" of the X-Men over the years. I'm glad a writer is finally exploring this.

[Wiccan]

I strongly disagree, Storm has literally been a head of state and actually worked with the UN. The most Jean or Kitty ever really did was pretend they were Xavier.

Yeah, and Wolverine was headmaster of the school. I'm not comparing what each of them has actually done, just staying that I don't think this sort of position is the most fitting thing for Storm's character.

[ExodusCloak]

But of course, it was a game of colonial powers. My point was simply Muslims made the mistake of thinking they didn't have to take the deal and could just wipe out Israel hence why they had the Palestinians refuse and then war broke out. That war ended up with the new state of Israel winning and not only keeping the land granted to them by the UN but almost 60% of the land that was to be part of a Palestinian state. That was the cost of waging war and losing. They then lost again in 1967 and lost more land. However the issue goes beyond recognizing they are both Abrahamic faiths. Israel wants to keep the land they won in those wars whereas Muslims want the land to revert back to what was agreed to in the 1940s. So that is a huge gap to bridge.

And yes they get a huge amount of aid. My point is they are the only Jewish state surrounded by Muslims that want to wipe them out. If you added up the aid to Muslim countries excluding Iraq and Afghanistan, it is still a lot of aid. Egypt and Jordan alone combine for 2.5 billion which is comparable to Israel's 3.1 billion. Aid isn't determined based on population. It is determined based on strategic importance to the country providing aid as aid is not a charity.

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/11/spends-billion-foreign/

This is not even accurate. The PA and even Hamas have accepted the 1960 borders however Israel are currently illegally occupying land under international law where they also have control over food, sea, air and the borders pg Gaza and the West bank.

At present they are annexing more and more land under the pretence pf a two state solution. Additionally, within Israel there is a two tier system (apartheid system) where Arab Israelis in jeresulalam do not have the right to vote in muncipality elections. Anyone who is non Jewish cannot rent or buy housing in certain areas as well. Additionally, there are camps where african refugees are detained. And their human rights in fringed. Israel also enjoys close friendships with Arab Nations such as Egypt and Saudia Arabia. Due to the seige on Gaza the UN have declared it uninhabitable. Israel are Also currently occupying the Golan heights illegally by international law.

I realize the USA is like one of the last countries in the world that still conflates Zionism with Judaism. But they are not ssynonymous. Israel is not for a two state solution. They used that as a guide to annex more and more land. As a one state they can either choose to be a secular state where both parties live together and have equal rights and allow refugees the right of return under the declaration of human rights. Which by the way they do not want. Or they can wipe out Palestine and take all the land which is what they are currently doing


Yogaflame is the voice of reason in a sea of ignorance

There's also a difference between the sephradic Jewish people who are cousins of the Palestinians in Israel and the European ones who are generally lighter skinned and the ones who have control over the government.

[Harpsikord]

Yeah, and Wolverine was headmaster of the school. I'm not comparing what each of them has actually done, just staying that I don't think this sort of position is the most fitting thing for Storm's character.

I agree with this, and I actually think that it would be in character for Storm if this were around the X-Treme era... but it's not, and Storm has been changed a lot since back then, or at least she hasn't been written as explicitly in character. There's also that Storm has been around for a long, long time and hasn't really ever spent any extended amount of time... well... dead. That's what made Jean so uniquely equipped to be the one in this position. She's been away long enough for her to come up with all of this, whereas Ororo has been alive and here for all of it and was even in the position of 'leader of mutantkind' and didn't do well with it.

I think Storm would come around eventually to Jean's side but she wouldn't be in the right place to be there now, and definitely NOT in the lead position.

[Bart]

In your opinion, is Jean and her crew "Hiding and Protecting" or "Trying to Change Things" more? Because clearly those are contradictory no?

I mean if Jean's goal is to get humanity to accept and approve of allowing mutants to be at peace and unmolested, would creating a deep undersea secret HQ really be a good way to achieve that? And only going "topside" as it were when it's time to rescue one new mutant (like in Bendis' runs)?

I feel like the RED team has clear parallels to the Cyclops-led squad under Bendis, not as overtly "extreme" etc and a lot less overall controversial (Jean is a softer figure than Scott) but yeah, some similarities there.

You could argue Kitty is doing a better job of attempting what Jean's goal is, by proudly publicly demonstrating that mutants are "good" and can and will help humanity out. Even if Kitty hasn't really coherently articulated a vision the way Jean has.

I dont know enough about it yet. I have to see what happens next issue to get more of an idea of where the team is headed.

[5cents]

This book is doing what it’s suppose to do. Get people interested and talking. I hope it sparks some interesting debates/talk but I hope it stays respectful.

[KurtW95]

This is not even accurate. The PA and even Hamas have accepted the 1960 borders however Israel are currently illegally occupying land under international law where they also have control over food, sea, air and the borders pg Gaza and the West bank.

The 1967 borders. Also known as the Auschwitz borders. And “international law” is BS. The UN lets some of the worst countries on Earth govern its trash organization. It’s existance is laughable. And the two-state solution (which has been rejected by the Palestinians every single time) is a total sham. Why would we want another terrorist state? Besides, they hold no historical claim and the contested land was won in a defensive war. And anti-Zionism is antisemitism. Plain and simple. The former is just a new term people use to make it seem like they’re not giant bigots.