PREVIEW: Extermination #5

[Disciple of Redd]

None of the characters the O5 have significantly interacted with over the past six years (Laura, Kitty, Emma, Idie, Evan, Emma, Magneto, Polaris) have shown any emotional investment in them being either killed or sent back to the past, if they even have shown up in this story at all.

It's meta commentary on the fan base lol.

Just get rid them and tell stories about the present already.

[Maestroneto]

It's meta commentary on the fan base lol.

Just get rid them and tell stories about the present already.

Its sales suggest the fan base enjoyed the O5 just fine.

[gifted]

Its sales suggest the fan base enjoyed the O5 just fine.

Yes. We need to remember the X-Boards are just a small faction of the entire comic audience.

[Snoop Dogg]

The O5 were a group of iconic X-Men who had skipped over all of the tropes and continuity that have consumed the franchise. They were fresh and even recently were successful enough to hold a double-shipping book that got its run doubled from 18 to 36. Imagine what they could've done with a book not rife with editorial meddling that could have let a long outline come through. This is me arguing for why the O5 were a great idea they should stick with. Allow me to now put that aside.

The reward for readers who have been there for five years is going to be bad ending where the heroes beat the boring bad guy only to be anti-climactically rewarded with death with none of their impact on the Marvel Universe recognized and no genuine emotional payoff because this is a book actually about a bunch of characters who aren't the O5 written by a writer who has never touched nor seems to care about any of them. It did open with an abrupt fridging, after all. No matter how you actually feel about the O5, this is terrible storytelling. This is not how you reward reader investment. This is not going to endear people to future projects. All the praise on the internet I see for this book is from people who clearly express that they don't care about the lead characters and want them gone. Definitely the ones you want to be pleasing! The only boon for O5 fans is that even though Bunn seemed to revel in gently ribbing the incoming nonsense, the last issue of Blue was actually really heartfelt and positive, like an actual satisfying ending to a story.

If this project was being overseen by Brevoort, Lowe, or Moss, then there would without question have to be some kind of swerve or future plan, but this was all approved by Marvel's weakest senior editor, so I can absolutely see it going through exactly as readers expect it to, as if that's interesting. If there is a swerve, cool. At least the mediocrity will be less harmful. Still has fridging. Still is a huge waste of one of Marvel's best artists. And great covers.

Also, Rachel might be shelved as well. All to recreate 90's X-Force. Great. So excited about the future of the line where this is the biggest storyline they put out in 2018.

[ClanAskani]

None of the characters the O5 have significantly interacted with over the past six years (Laura, Kitty, Emma, Idie, Evan, Emma, Magneto, Polaris) have shown any emotional investment in them being either killed or sent back to the past, if they even have shown up in this story at all.

Hence why the audience isn't emotionally invested in the O5.

[Gray Lensman]

Yes. We need to remember the X-Boards are just a small faction of the entire comic audience.

Don't try to counter the haters with facts. They are immune to such things.

[PsychoEFrost]

Don't try to counter the haters with facts. They are immune to such things.

Calling out low quality insulting comics as such makes someone a hater? Good to know.

Rather be a hater and call out the bad stuff then be a fanboy and just blindly accept it all.

[Gray Lensman]

Calling out low quality insulting comics as such makes someone a hater? Good to know.

Rather be a hater and call out the bad stuff then be a fanboy and just blindly accept it all.

I was referring to the 'no one cares about the O5' line which gets repeated like some kind of mantra. I agree that the quality is low, but that isn't unique to any set of characters in the X line. It seems good stuff has become the exception rather than the rule.

[Disciple of Redd]

Its sales suggest the fan base enjoyed the O5 just fine.

It was the one ongoing somewhat-narrative we were allowed. It's not as if it lit the world on fire recently.

It's part of the unimaginitive regression that needs to go.

[sirmarkus]

I was referring to the 'no one cares about the O5' line which gets repeated like some kind of mantra. I agree that the quality is low, but that isn't unique to any set of characters in the X line. It seems good stuff has become the exception rather than the rule.

That's bound to happen with the number of books Marvel puts out monthly. Though I have personally enjoyed Extermination. I've liked the story, and I've loved the art. It's a beautiful book.

[DianaWw]

Domino do it and don't complain.

Sad for Mimic, glad it be ending and bearded Sexy Cyclops is coming back.

[jpmst17]

I will say this, I enjoyed the O5 under Bendis, but once he got off the book, the quality went down and so did my interest. It got to the point where i loathed them and wanted them to go away. if they could have just been around for bendis' run, then gone back tot he past, i don't think anyone would have had a problem, but they were around for 5 years and it got really dragged out and repetitive. Glad they are finally going and adult scott is coming back

[Grey]

I will say this, I enjoyed the O5 under Bendis, but once he got off the book, the quality went down and so did my interest. It got to the point where i loathed them and wanted them to go away. if they could have just been around for bendis' run, then gone back tot he past, i don't think anyone would have had a problem, but they were around for 5 years and it got really dragged out and repetitive. Glad they are finally going and adult scott is coming back

A lot of people share this opinion and is understandable.

What isn’t understandable is how very likely it is that their going back isn’t going to have near as much of an emotional impact as it should and it’s because how this series is playing out. Specifically how much has to occur in the last issue.

I wish the series would have a post-extermination one-shot issue for all of the emotional moments that should happen. Then people who don’t care about the 05 could just skip it. But those of us who donwoukd get proper closure.

I mean, theoretically, jean is going back to be psychically manipulated and kill a planet of people. and scott is going back to death sentences. And teen iceman May be going back into the closet. The characters know this and are still going to go back. It’s tragic and selfless. This should be an emotional sacrifice the 05 are willing to make. Will we get to see that in the issue? Likely not but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

[Snoop Dogg]

I don't even know how you could sell this "sacrifice" with a hundred pages when the characters are essentially dying just to avoid a bad timeline in a franchise where those are common and in the Marvel Universe where time is canonically broken without issue, branching timelines exist, and we can come back from the destruction of the multiverse just fine, but five kids are pushing it. When the characters don't care, creators haven't shown that they care, the positive reception is from members of the fandom who don't care, and the scenario is so contrived, you can't get a satisfying story out of this.

[jpmst17]

A lot of people share this opinion and is understandable.

What isn’t understandable is how very likely it is that their going back isn’t going to have near as much of an emotional impact as it should and it’s because how this series is playing out. Specifically how much has to occur in the last issue.

I wish the series would have a post-extermination one-shot issue for all of the emotional moments that should happen. Then people who don’t care about the 05 could just skip it. But those of us who donwoukd get proper closure.

I mean, theoretically, jean is going back to be psychically manipulated and kill a planet of people. and scott is going back to death sentences. And teen iceman May be going back into the closet. The characters know this and are still going to go back. It’s tragic and selfless. This should be an emotional sacrifice the 05 are willing to make. Will we get to see that in the issue? Likely not but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

I would like to see some impact, but i wouldn't shed a tear if somethings were just undone and forgotten. I'm not a fan of the outing of Iceman. I felt it was forced and executed poorly. I actually liked teen Beast quite a bit, so i'm sad to lose him. There will be no connection with adult Beast and magic. I definitely see your point. what is going to happen essentially makes the last 5 years of O5 stories meaningless.