Astonishing X-Men Annual 1 (2018)

[Psyknight]

Wouldn't you want Betsy and Warren on UXM or another X-Men title Post-Disassemble? And idk, I think grouping them with X just means they'd be the morally compromised X-Men, and that's a bit of a tired concept, especially in regards to Archangel.



They don't "get a pass". I certainly haven't said that, and I can't find anyone else saying as much either. They've both done committed horrible acts in their time, and they've atoned for most of them. Xavier always reminded me of a politician- and that's not a compliment. And I think your logic there is flawed, why would him becoming even worse help win favor? As for a Xavier/Magneto/Emma Frost trinity, they're too alike in their stubbornness and self-motivation to work together. Not to mention the numerous occassions they've been at odds in the past.

Well Psylocke is going to be in Uncanny, which doesn’t appear to have X. Don’t know or care much about Warren, but it does look like at some point X will play a part in their stories and that’s what I’m neutral about at the moment.

[silence.]

I don't think Xavier was imprisoning his fellow mutants into re-education camps in New Tian or working with Bastion and Miss Sinister to infect mutants with the mothervine formula. Oh but I forgot that was all for the benifit of mutantkind. Everything Emma does is for the betterment of mutants. She is not manipulative, conniving, vindictive and spiteful at all. She's a saint and Xavier is the devil. What a joke.

I suppose that's an accurate enough description of someone who spent a significant amount of his life perving on underage girls, abusing his position as a caretaker to sleep with an unwell woman, was a negligent father, inflicted multiple traumas on the children in his care by faking his death (multiple times), erased the existence of one of the only surviving family members a student he calls his favourite because he got his whole team killed, and raised child soldiers knowing full well his decisions will lead to their death.

I'd personally go with Psychopath but that's just me.

[PsychoEFrost]

Someone brought it up on Twitter that the Annual also contradicts Phoenix: Endsong.

The whole thing just feels awful for everyone involved.

[Heroine Addict]

Oddly enough, fictional characters are being vilified in this very thread, for the same. Make of that what you will, smh. But I suppose, human behavior is nothing, if not contradictory.

[Abbz_A]

The difference between Erik, Emma n Xavier.. is that Erik n Emma aren’t hypocrites.
Xavier just comes off as hypocrite. I’m not saying he is a bad character, I like what they r doing to him but it’s still hypocrisy.

P.S Yall need to chill, this is just comic n fiction .. don’t take stuff seriously.

Peace, Love and Unity to u all <3

[Wiccan]

I'm just adding fuel to the fire for the sake of it, but:

You can't use Xavier perving on teen Jean(as gross as it is) as him being lower on the moral scale than Emma, when she was doing the same with Tyke on the Secret Empire arc on Blue. Yeah that storyline has been glossed over, but so has Xavier's feelings for Jean outside that one time on Onslaught lol.

[yogaflame]

Oh, the time she tried to mindcontrol a teenaged boy into being her lover?

[King_Thor13]

Well Psylocke is going to be in Uncanny, which doesn’t appear to have X. Don’t know or care much about Warren, but it does look like at some point X will play a part in their stories and that’s what I’m neutral about at the moment.

He still might. Legion is in Uncanny, and he wasn't in the teaser. I hope not personally, as I don't think he ought to be standing among the heroes. I love Warren, even if he's often overlooked. And yeah the story has indicated X may still have plans for the two of them, which I'm not a fan of. He should do his own dirty work, or hire the Weapon X crew, rather than compromising the morality of goodstanding X-Men he happens to be fond of.

[Conn Seanery]

Folks taking swipes at each other had better stop. One of you is now on a forced vacation, and I'm sure they'd love some company.

Stay on topic, don't get personal. If you can't be civil don't post.

[Abbz_A]

I'm just adding fuel to the fire for the sake of it, but:

You can't use Xavier perving on teen Jean(as gross as it is) as him being lower on the moral scale than Emma, when she was doing the same with Tyke on the Secret Empire arc on Blue. Yeah that storyline has been glossed over, but so has Xavier's feelings for Jean outside that one time on Onslaught lol.

Lmaooo xD True that. And I also once read somewhere that she was kinda hinting sexual things towards Wiccan n Speed during CC but I do think that person was reaching n exaggerating but it ain’t too far fetched from Ms.Frost.
The X-Men are creeps!

[LeonardEugenius]

I enjoyed the art. I liked X’s speech to them at the end and agree that a life of doing good would and should be fulfilling; aside from that, so much of this felt off to me. A lot of the dialogue at the beginning and between the 05(4) and X read like fan fic or if it had been taken straight from these boards. I don’t get why Warren states he has to control himself when that issue was resolved. Bobby being written as his younger self also made no sense to me. The “everyone hates the professor” angle is beyond tired. As always, Rosenberg disappoints

[WallStreeter]

I didn't think he mindwiped them. I thought the purpose of him having them help him beat Lucifer was to teach them a valuable lesson on how feeling sorry for themselves and moping won't achieve anything. They all should have been glad to be alive and should be glad Jean was back . Jean should have been happy to be back. Xavier did what he needed to go. I think a slight mental push is all he gave them on top of his lesson.

[butterflykyss]

issue was awesome. so cool he mind wiped jean considering her power level.

[Grey]

The crown jewel of this annual was Bobby comparing his 2lbs-in-under-a-minute-burger-consumption to Jean's phoenix-driven-eating-disorder.



NAW Gurl.

Completely forgot about that. Hilarious.

[Grey]

Pros:

• The table is set for five, the fifth spot being symbolic of Scott Summers and how much he means to them.
• The entirety of the conversation where they're speaking of what they've lost. It's rather somber but important in terms of addressing where they're at. I love that Jean pointed out that Bobby was mostly okay, who took it as a compliment. But it is sad when you look at their lives and what they've got.
• Hank's fondness for Hawaiian shirts
• X residing in New York, so close to the X-Men and the rest of the superhuman community. Who knows what else he's been up to... Depending on the route they take with his character, he could be a very capable antagonist. Maybe even moreso than Magneto or Cassandra Nova, who obviously don't know he's back yet
• The panel of Archangel decapitating Lucifer is pretty badass.
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Cons:

• 'X' is still a stupid concept, and it bothers me that they're continuing to run with the Xavier/Fantomex hybrid with all of the negative traits of each- dishonesty, manipulation, arrogance. Regarding Fantomex, it's unclear what happened in regards to his powers of misdirection, and EVA. Did X inherit these abilities? Or does Fantomex possess them in the Astral Plane?
• How was X able to mindwipe Jean so easily? Being an omega-level telepath at the height of her power sans Phoenix, I would've thought she'd at least be able to resist his telepathic advances, if not overcome them altogether.
• So we get an entire issue devoted to a reunion of four of the original five, and somehow their interactions with each other still feel somewhat minimal? Idk I feel like this is only scratching the surface. I hope that Extermination and Uncanny continue to showcase them together as a unit, after so many years as X-Men and friends.
• Warren struggling to control his Archangel persona. Again. After this exact dilemma has been resolved on multiple occasions. I'm so over that story. It's been one of the only issues his character has dealt with since he became a Horseman of Apocalypse. I personally liked him best as a rich pretty flyboy and the Archangel on the side. As a mopey tagalong with minimal character interactions, he serves no purpose. It's unclear if he's still in a relationship with Betsy too (I hope so), but if he is then should be thankful for that at least.
• The cover is slightly misleading, as none of the characters are in costume throughout the issue.

That's completely invasive. He's got no right to mindwipe them or anything of the sort, but the audacity in attempting to rewrite someone's personality and manipulate their emotions is incredibly dark.

Regarding jean being easily mind wiped: the same way Karnak knocked her out with a pebble in ivx. When you’re not looking for something to happen I guess it’s easy for it to go by unnoticed.

I mean the pebble in ivx was more of a stretch but I could see jean here not having her guard up and getting mindwiped. She had no reason to be on guard.

Edit: apparently The writer even confirmed this is the explanation