Madelyne Pryor: Red Queen Appreciation 2018

[Kurolegacy]

Hellfire Club makes sense. It's the perfect shade of grey, not overtly villainous while being (very) far from heroic. They always have their own motives and machinations and can be real wildcards. If Maddy returns, I want her as a source of disruption just like the Hellfire Club usually is.
That said, in a world where Cyke and real Jean are dead and Alex is missing/in limbo, I don't think her return would have such a big impact. It certainly didn't in X-men vol.4 when none of them were around.

Did they ever resolve the inverted Havok plot point? He was inverted just like Sabretooth, who's still acting as a hero, so he'd probably still be villainous, but that wasn't even mentioned in Death of X. Havok as a big time villain could be pretty interesting and maybe Maddie could play some part in his plans.

Nope the Havok inversion plot point was never resolved but it seems inconsistent considering that Sabretooth is still inverted while Tony isn't. It's also implied that Sabretooth is the way he is because of force of will that he's holding on to not slip completely back into who he was.

[Factor]

Nope the Havok inversion plot point was never resolved but it seems inconsistent considering that Sabretooth is still inverted while Tony isn't. It's also implied that Sabretooth is the way he is because of force of will that he's holding on to not slip completely back into who he was.

Tony technically died and was ressurected by all the Secret Wars crazyness, thought. I wish they explained what happened to Alex.
Making him a villain would be interesting. As a hero, Uncanny Avengers kind of ruined him, IMO. The inversion lets them have fun with an evil Alex without continuing his character assassination.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Alex needs to be univerted back to his old self and then his scars healed...it'd be cool to see him lead a team of X-men, with Lorna along for the ride, comprised of the X-men that aren't already booked for the upcoming books...

As for Maddy, not sure that the Club would be where she'd fit in best, imho it'd be more like Pete Wisdom to where you're never sure who she's working for...

[WallStreeter]

Thanks.

So I'm guessing that since she was a technically trained pilot, either Sinister pulled a Matrix and uploaded a number of skill packets directly into her brain, or Maddy used her psionic powers to rip those skills directly from someone else. Hmm, I prefer the latter. That would make for a pretty cool application of telepathy -- to not just read minds, but steal/copy another person's skill set and incorporate them into your own. Ripper Maddy could potentially amass an incredible amount of knowledge and skills. She could spar like a grandmaster of the martial arts in the morning, form complex eldritch spells like a sorcerer supreme in the afternoon, perform brain surgery on her break, and muse on dimensionless physical constants and other hyper-physics mysteries all before Happy Hour ended.

I've changed my mind. Let Jean Grey stay in the X-verse. It's Madelyne Pryor who belongs on the Ultimates. The team lacks a magic user and a psionic. She would perfectly fill both roles and make things really interesting for the rest of the team. The question is, would she be willing to leave that small, tragic pond for the deep blue sea?

I'd have no problem with this. We'll probably have to see her more as a villain, then if she becomes really popular something like this is possible.

[EmeraldGladiator]

For me Maddy works best as an anti-hero. Not evil by nature but not obsessed with wearing the white hat either. An ends justify the means type of character more along the Eddie Brock Venom, Punisher, or early Wolverine type vibe. However Maddy isn't trying to take over the world or anything like that.

[WallStreeter]

For me Maddy works best as an anti-hero. Not evil by nature but not obsessed with wearing the white hat either. An ends justify the means type of character more along the Eddie Brock Venom, Punisher, or early Wolverine type vibe. However Maddy isn't trying to take over the world or anything like that.

The Goblin Queen sure is. And so was the Red Queen and her Sisterhood.

[EmeraldGladiator]

For me Maddy was just a woman scorned. During Inferno, the whole Goblin Queen thing was, what are Scott and Jean trying to save? I want to destroy that. In X-Man she was happy having adventures with Nate until Jean and Scott show up and then all bets are off. I never really felt like she was written well in the Sisterhood or as the Red Queen so her motivations were never really fleshed out.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

The problem is that I don't want Maddy to be viewed as jealous of Jean or only doing this or that to get back at Scott even though she has every reason to and not be portrayed as evil so that they can't use her to say that Scott was right to leave her. If anything Maddy needs to shine and make Scott jealous once he's back...just not as a villain...

[EmeraldGladiator]

The problem is that I don't want Maddy to be viewed as jealous of Jean or only doing this or that to get back at Scott even though she has every reason to and not be portrayed as evil so that they can't use her to say that Scott was right to leave her. If anything Maddy needs to shine and make Scott jealous once he's back...just not as a villain...

amen to that, which is why I am kind of torn on the Alex thing, in a way I root for it because he liked Maddy for Maddy and not as a Jean replacement. I remember cheering inside for Alex when he (as the Goblin Prince) called out Scott for his mistreatment of Maddy. It was much better than the white washing the Simonson's gave the entire Scott/Jean situation. Then again in a way I can see wanting Maddy free from all things Summers as well (except for their kids Cable and Stryfe).

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Marvel went pretty far in trying to replace Maddy with Jean in imho one attempt to wipe Maddy out of existence as being anything but a villain and not Cable's actual mother...as for Alex he certainly hasn't gotten the best rap for dating Maddy over the years either so it'd be better for him to be apart from Maddy...which would free her up to date someone that isn't Scott or Alex...not sure who she'd date though but I'm not set on anyone for her like I tend to be with others...

[JudicatorPrime]

The problem is that I don't want Maddy to be viewed as jealous of Jean or only doing this or that to get back at Scott even though she has every reason to and not be portrayed as evil so that they can't use her to say that Scott was right to leave her. If anything Maddy needs to shine and make Scott jealous once he's back...just not as a villain...

I agree. And I never liked the whole clone deal. I'd retcon that out in a heartbeat if I could. I know it's cliché now that alternate reality versions are popping up everywhere, but that would have been my first choice: Maddy is the Jean Grey from an alternate Earth, who was transported to 616 the moment that she sacrificed herself to end the Dark Phoenix saga on her native Earth. She died there and was reborn instantaneously here as a tabula rasa. Unfortunately for her, Sinister found her first and the corruptions and brainwashing shenanigans began in earnest. Or something like that.

Oh well, we'll have to see what they decide to do with Maddy next. But if there is anyone out there who can influence decisions at Marvel, please do this old man a favor and put her in the pages of the Ultimates. She would be the cat's meow there.

[EmeraldGladiator]

What is everyone's favorite run on Maddy?

The Origin?
The Avengers/X-men crossover
The Wedding off to Alaska?
Alive and on the run with the X-Men
Goblin Queen
X-Man
Mutant X (alternate universe)
Red Queen
Sisterhood
X-Men the End

My favorite was the on the run with the X-men leading up to Inferno. I never was a Maddy fan up until then but the way Scott did her before then made me "Team Maddy" for life. The fact that she had no powers but was still the team's pilot, was all screw Scott but I am gonna find my baby Marauders be damned and hooked up with Alex. Maybe subconsciously out of spite or maybe because he wasn't looking for Jean in her. They kind of had to darken her up in Inferno otherwise the main heroes in X-Factor come off as irredeemable. For me her previous appearances were all about her being 'not' Jean. X-Man Maddy I liked but she always just seemed to be an aspect of Maddy not fully her. Why no mention or looking for Alex and just all about revenge on Scott? Inferno and every appearance afterwards has never felt like a nuanced deep portrayal of Maddy mostly simply one note villain protrayals which isn't really who Maddy is to me.

[Havok83]

I never liked her primarily bc I found her to be a blatant Jean Grey replacement. To answer your question, I would vote her time in X-man bc it gave her a purpose and some agency outside of being Scott's wife or Jean's clone, even though in many ways, the latter was the catalyst for why she was even in the book

I think its quite unfortunate that she never quite made peace with Jean as if she stopped to think about it, she really doesnt have a reason to hate her as they were all victims of Sinister's manipulations. Jean got that in Inferno, but Maddie carried her grudge with her dark heart in the followups. Of course Jean has been dead in the times since she's returned, buit it would be refreshing to have them both around and they arent automatically squared up as enemies. Genetically, they are as close as sisters and are family for the fact that they share a son. Jean and her family were open to Maddie. It would be nice to see Maddie open her heart and recieve them (well Jean since the family is dead)

[EmeraldGladiator]

that's true unless Jean's have memories of when Maddy made them her pet demons. I agree though her time with the X-Men post Marauders attack was the only time she was treated as a 3 dimensional character all other times, with the possible exception of time with Nate Grey in X-Man she was written pretty one note. Which is wild because in spite of that she is one of my all time favorite X-Men. I really took that Scott betrayal to heart, lol.

[Adam-X]

I never liked her primarily bc I found her to be a blatant Jean Grey replacement. To answer your question, I would vote her time in X-man bc it gave her a purpose and some agency outside of being Scott's wife or Jean's clone, even though in many ways, the latter was the catalyst for why she was even in the book

I liked Maddie when she first appeared, because she represented a mystery. I even like that she and Scott got married, had that whole adventure with the giant octopus thing.

When they turned her into the Goblyn Queen, Marauders killed her (but didn't?)... all of that brought the entire thing downhill.