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  1. #1
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    Post X-Women Power: What makes the X-Women so iconic over time?

    I often find myself thinking about what makes the X-Women (Jean, Storm, etc) so iconic through time, and not simply just "another female that appears in a comic book." Is it their individual personalities, or the manifestation and how they use their individual powers throughout the various storylines? Or is it a combination of some of these factors that make these characters so prominent and still wildly influential after all these years?

    Sure, we have the Cosmic Hero fact in the argument for why Jean Grey is powerful, but what is it that makes her (and the other women) iconic not only in the stories, but amongst fans as well? I'm interested in hearing peoples thoughts / comments.

  2. #2
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    It's that they had practically zero competition until fairly recently.

    They were blessed with a writer who loved to write supremely powerful female characters and wasn't shy about letting them over shadow the male ones in decades where that just wasn't done.

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    Extraordinary Member CRaymond's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carabas View Post
    It's that they had practically zero competition until fairly recently.

    They were blessed with a writer who loved to write supremely powerful female characters and wasn't shy about letting them over shadow the male ones in decades where that just wasn't done.
    No lies detected.

    Storm is unlikely to ever achieve the kind of esteem she had whilst being written by Claremont.

    The older I get, the more I wish Jean Grey would’ve died and never come back. She WAS a powerful story, and now she’s less than that: merely nostalgia, promise, and purposefully unfulfilled potential. She’s basically a red MXGA ball cap.

    Rogue was just a fun Supergirl next door with a silly accent and a tragic backstory that implied a tragic future. She was fun and sure of herself despite it all.

  4. #4
    Astonishing Member Askani's Flame's Avatar
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    I've felt that a great deal of the reason why the X-Women are so iconic is because of the writers they had penning them. Also for large chunks of their history they have been lead by women or have had a matriarchal vibe (even when Cyclops or X were leading I always felt that people still looked to Storm, Jean, Emma, Betsy or approval on things). You don't see that a lot with the other books or lines. Sure they have had women members, but they felt to me like they were the "pretty" Avenger and always a) overshadowed by the men; b) made to be the "silly woman" who personifies all the traits men liked to push on women (chatty, distracting, weak minded, all about fashion, etc); c) if powerful they have TERRIBLE things happen to them where they are put in their place (the rape of Carol Danvers comes to mind) because male writers are sometimes horrid.

    And if you think about it, most mutant life begins with a mother/woman/"female" giving birth to them. Unlike many other heroes how get their powers via exposure/bites/technology, the X-Men (for the most part) receive their powers through heritage/genetics. And in one of the futures the Clan Askani, a matriarchal mutant group fighting for all, was the group to fight against Apocalypse and hold the ideals of Xavier.

    That, coupled with the fact that their powers and personalities are also awesome, it's why they have been iconic or well remembered.

  5. #5
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    The fact that great female characters in x men are the rule, not the exception... Honestly from the top of my head I'd easily fill a top 10 x women chart, but an Xmen chart would be harder because many male characters are pretty bland. Also the X women, are smart, beautiful and powerful... A trifecta

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    CBR's Good Fairy Kieran_Frost's Avatar
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    The answer is obvious: the X-verse is the only place where the female heroes get to consistently take on and be better than the famous males. The X-verse allows it's female to be the best. That's what makes them great.
    "We are Shakespeare. We are Michelangelo. We are Tchaikovsky. We are Turing. We are Mercury. We are Wilde. We are Lincoln, Lorca, Leonardo da Vinci. We are Alexander the Great. We are Fredrick the Great. We are Rustin. We are Addams. We are Marsha! Marsha Marsha Marsha! We so generous, we DeGeneres. We are Ziggy Stardust hooked to the silver screen. Controversially we are Malcolm X. We are Plato. We are Aristotle. We are RuPaul, god dammit! And yes, we are Woolf."

  7. #7
    Twitter: @theprattlp donpricetag's Avatar
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    They were designed and created by a master story teller and drawn by some of the most influential artists at a time when comics were vastly more read than they are now...

    If Chris Claremont had been on the Avengers or just writing the street level Heroes, I think the same thing would have happened there imo.
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  8. #8
    Mugga, please. xhx23x's Avatar
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    Cause they felt natural and not a product of Marvel wanting to pad themselves on the back for being diverse.

    Also, they are not boring. With some exceptions sometimes (Spider-Gwen, Jane Foster Thor) I feel a lot of the female heroes that marvel pushes just feel so generic and boring (Kamala, Iron Snooze). Or trying too hard (Carol Danvers). And before it wasn't much in way of competition, Sue Storm, Wasp and maybe Wanda and She-Hulk.

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    Incredible Member Angrel-San's Avatar
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    Powerful, cool and sexy.

    Basic formula and it works.

    Also helps the characterization but that’s the long haul. Short term, the above 3 are instantly recognizable.

  10. #10
    Jubilant Member Dementia5's Avatar
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    The women are the best part of the X-men. They deserve to be appreciated, which is why they have their own appreciation thread.
    Quote Originally Posted by Fokken View Post
    Yer bonkers and you need a sandwich.

  11. #11
    Astonishing Member OBrianTallent's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by xhx23x View Post
    Cause they felt natural and not a product of Marvel wanting to pad themselves on the back for being diverse.

    Also, they are not boring. With some exceptions sometimes (Spider-Gwen, Jane Foster Thor) I feel a lot of the female heroes that marvel pushes just feel so generic and boring (Kamala, Iron Snooze). Or trying too hard (Carol Danvers). And before it wasn't much in way of competition, Sue Storm, Wasp and maybe Wanda and She-Hulk.
    pretty much this here.

  12. #12
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    You could make an X-Men fighting game with equal number of male and female characters with no problems at all, even with a big roster of more than 40 characters

    -Storm
    -Jean
    -Polaris
    -Psylocke
    -Emma
    -Rogue
    -X-23
    -Rachel
    -Hope
    -Dazzler
    -Domino
    -Jubilee
    -Magik
    -Wolfsbane
    -Monet
    -Husk
    -Blink
    -Frenzy
    -Danger
    -Pixie

    That is 20. Without villains like Mystique or Miss Sinister or Cassandra Nova or Selene or Maddie or the others. I didnt put Kitty because I dont know what her moveset could be because of her intangibility, and Dani Moonstar is still depowered. But you could put them too.

  13. #13
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    When you have ONE writer writing some of the most complex women in Marvel at the time, they had no choice but to become something more.

    Storm Street Urchin turned Goddess and Matriarch who sees the team as a family more than a team. Stern, Strong, vulnerable, Fun loving, Sexual, Smart.

    Psylocke( My Personal Biased Character), Went from a victim of her brothers' foes to reluctant heroine, to a woman scared to show a softer side again, to allowing herself to have weaknesses, but knowing her inherent strength and value.
    Protective, Stern, Cunning, Sexual, unafraid of her sexuality and person.

    Jean Grey went from being the "Chick" to the mother of the team, (which isn't a bad thing, I see Scott as the father). Powerful remorseful, caring, only wanting to do whats right and show Professor X she was in control.

    Kitty, destined to be the leader of some team. One of he smartest, and happiest team members. Can seem flighty, but is just trying to be as normal as can be. Tough in her own way, but able to make friends ad allies easily.


    Those are just a few. The X-women weren't just the powers and a costume. At least until the 90's. Which almost ruined most of them.

  14. #14
    Incredible Member Angrel-San's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dementia5 View Post
    The women are the best part of the X-men. They deserve to be appreciated, which is why they have their own appreciation thread.
    Correction.

    Cyclops is the best part of the X-Men.

    Then, the women, LOL!

  15. #15
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    Believe these piX say EXACTLY why, in the easiest way possible:




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