Rachel Summers/Grey Appreciation 2019

[phoenixzero23]

Nevermind.

[Zelena]

I think considering what her character was coming from and her need for a relationship with her family the whining was justified when she was introduced into the books. I was always a fan as soon as it became clear she was Scott's and Jean's daughter it solidified for me. Her run in Excalibur still to this day is the best depiction of her in my eyes but to me that was her late teenage years and now we should be in her early to mid twenties. She should be recognized as one of the more established characters in the books having been around and experienced more then her fair share.

I reiterate that I think if she is going to be a background character in the X books then she should be elsewhere maybe in space as has been suggested but I really think there is a good spot available for her with the first family of the marvel universe. With the Fantastic Four she would be very good and she could serve as a bridge between mutants and the greater superhero community. An Uncanny Avengers run again would also serve her well. I always think back to AvX when she was fighting Cap and he says something along the lines of he thought she would be great and she responds with I already am. I thought that was a great example of her confidence and his belief in her power and character.

I "met" her during her Excalibur days and I was impressed by this strong and confident young woman. Maybe she lacked a bit of depth to feel like a 'real person': no real love interest, no relationships outside Excalibur… She was the cornerstone of Excalibur but without a life of her own.
Any incarnation of Rachel without including what she was during this time… it doesn't feel like Rachel for me anyway…

[Scott402]

I "met" her during her Excalibur days and I was impressed by this strong and confident young woman. Maybe she lacked a bit of depth to feel like a 'real person': no real love interest, no relationships outside Excalibur… She was the cornerstone of Excalibur but without a life of her own.
Any incarnation of Rachel without including what she was during this time… it doesn't feel like Rachel for me anyway…

On the first runs of Excalibur I have to admit I missed it. The art didn't appeal to me back then and the characters less so. I have always found Kitty..... annoying and I didn't know it was Rachel. I thought it was someone else until I pieced it all together years later. I then went back and read the entire run of Excalibur and enjoyed it.... until Rachel was lost in the time stream. I think she was largely used as a friend and showcase of the opposite nature between herself and Kitty during those days but her comfort with herself was something I found was a departure from her first appearances in Uncanny. Except of course for her need for a family. Her comfort in her power and appearance though was well written I thought.

[phoenixzero23]

Can someone with a twitter please ask JDW about Rachel's future appearances?
he answered about fallen angels being just six issues long maybe he can say something about ray

[Celestialbodies]

My earliest exposure to her was primarily Claremont and I hated how he wrote her. The whining and crying about Jean and Scott was bad in the 80s and worse in the 00s. She simply wasnt appealing. She seemed to be created to be Phoenix bc Jean wasnt around. I didnt read Excalibur bc it was so removed from the X-books, making her and stories feel overall irrelevant in the greater scheme of things. I did like her appearance in Cable's series in the late 90s but that went nowhere and she wasnt developed much from that.

I think I stopped disliking her after she returned to the X-men after her space adventure. She had the PF removed from her and under different writers which didnt emphasize her parentage, she started to feel like her own person for once. It was refreshing. Hated everything about Gold but I didnt dislike Prestige on principle bc Rachel taking an active step to not simply be a Jean legacy character was very much needed for her. Too bad the execution was so poorly handled.

With all that said, I have warmed up to her connections to Scott and Jean, although I dont think or need them to be close. Im more interested in exploring Rachel's connection to the younger generation of Summers/Greys aka Cable, X-man and Hope, but outside of Cable, there's been little to no interest there by the writers.

Currently with so many books, it would be great for her fans if she found a regular home but Im indifferent to that. There used to be a time where Id have hated for her to be in a book that I read, but now I dont mind.

I really appreciate you sharing that, very thoughtful explanation. And it helps me understand Rachel a little better, I was aware of her debut tenure within the X-men and adventures within Excalibur. But I think it's also why some writers don't have a strong connection with her. She was in the X-men during the latter part of the 80's only to be shuffled off into Excalibur which depending on the reader, some might not have read those adventures. She missed a great deal of the 90's only to return during a transitional period of the 00's then once again shuffled off into space. I feel like no one especially modern writers outside of Claremont have had the opportunity to delve into her motivations for a modern audiences. She's had small tastes here and there but nothing consistent enough to really define who Rachel is outside of Scott/Jean and the work that has been done is immediately forgotten by the next writer.

I don't want to blame Claremont, but it might have been a mistake to cast Rachel as the young inexperience novice, outside of his vision for her it didn't given other writers much to grab onto. Saddling her with the melodrama of Emma/Scott relationship put her at another disadvantage, because he didn't use it to advance her story it was used more to push Emma's narrative.

[Askani's Flame]

I really appreciate you sharing that, very thoughtful explanation. And it helps me understand Rachel a little better, I was aware of her debut tenure within the X-men and adventures within Excalibur. But I think it's also why some writers don't have a strong connection with her. She was in the X-men during the latter part of the 80's only to be shuffled off into Excalibur which depending on the reader, some might not have read those adventures. She missed a great deal of the 90's only to return during a transitional period of the 00's then once again shuffled off into space. I feel like no one especially modern writers outside of Claremont have had the opportunity to delve into her motivations for a modern audiences. She's had small tastes here and there but nothing consistent enough to really define who Rachel is outside of Scott/Jean and the work that has been done is immediately forgotten by the next writer.

I don't want to blame Claremont, but it might have been a mistake to cast Rachel as the young inexperience novice, outside of his vision for her it didn't given other writers much to grab onto. Saddling her with the melodrama of Emma/Scott relationship put her at another disadvantage, because he didn't use it to advance her story it was used more to push Emma's narrative.

I totally blame Claremont for some of what we see in today's writing. Claremont had plans for Rachel longer than the initial run on Uncanny, but with Jean being brought back in X-factor she had to leave. So when she reappeared in Excalibur he input into her, but eventually Alan Davis is who moved her character and story forward. He made her more that just the angsty teen who pinned for her mommy and daddy. After she left Excalibur and returned in Cable, she was a grown and strong woman. Weinberg wrote and AMAZING Rachel, and her inclusion with the Dark Sisterhood arc in Cable is still one of my favorite storylines as it featured them working together. Then Claremont got his hands back on her, much later than he wanted as he originally wanted Pyslocke to be the controlled telepath. But instead we went back to Rachel being controlled and juvenized so that she could be the novice girl on the team. Which doesn't work when you're writing a team with characters that have existed for 10+years already. And it just went from there.

I think most writers don't understand her motivators and therefore exclude her from stories that make sense, and job her in other stories to say "well she appeared".

[Askani's Flame]

Also, I really hope that Rachel appears in some fashion in the upcoming Fantastic Four X-Men crossover. it makes sense given her history with Franklin from her timeline, plus Days of Futures Present.

[Celestialbodies]

I totally blame Claremont for some of what we see in today's writing. Claremont had plans for Rachel longer than the initial run on Uncanny, but with Jean being brought back in X-factor she had to leave. So when she reappeared in Excalibur he input into her, but eventually Alan Davis is who moved her character and story forward. He made her more that just the angsty teen who pinned for her mommy and daddy. After she left Excalibur and returned in Cable, she was a grown and strong woman. Weinberg wrote and AMAZING Rachel, and her inclusion with the Dark Sisterhood arc in Cable is still one of my favorite storylines as it featured them working together. Then Claremont got his hands back on her, much later than he wanted as he originally wanted Pyslocke to be the controlled telepath. But instead we went back to Rachel being controlled and juvenized so that she could be the novice girl on the team. Which doesn't work when you're writing a team with characters that have existed for 10+years already. And it just went from there.

I think most writers don't understand her motivators and therefore exclude her from stories that make sense, and job her in other stories to say "well she appeared".

You know, I almost know why writers regress some characters, so that eventually they can develop them throughout their run and bring them full circle. The problem is in the execution, you regress them too far and sometimes that characterization is the one that sticks or worse. You never get the opportunity, due to external forces, to finish whatever developments you were doing in the character leaving them deconstructed. Rachel was a whole different animal, she needed a strong debut and even stronger run because she was out of the loop so long. Instead Claremont saddled her with so many OOC or embarrassing moments it started to wear on her character's integrity. Dino Rachel, Emma/Scott drama, falling down stairs, forgetting telepathic applications she knew in the 80's much of that was unnecessary.

I would like a writer who wants to focus not on her past but her future and work to carve out a path for her in the current climate. My personal opinion but giving her a harder edge with a simplify direction would be beneficial for the short term, then reintegrate factors such as her relationships to Scott/Jean. But mostly I'd like for her and Cable, ADULT Cable preferably to work together to establish their own direction.

[Havok83]

I really appreciate you sharing that, very thoughtful explanation. And it helps me understand Rachel a little better, I was aware of her debut tenure within the X-men and adventures within Excalibur. But I think it's also why some writers don't have a strong connection with her. She was in the X-men during the latter part of the 80's only to be shuffled off into Excalibur which depending on the reader, some might not have read those adventures. She missed a great deal of the 90's only to return during a transitional period of the 00's then once again shuffled off into space. I feel like no one especially modern writers outside of Claremont have had the opportunity to delve into her motivations for a modern audiences. She's had small tastes here and there but nothing consistent enough to really define who Rachel is outside of Scott/Jean and the work that has been done is immediately forgotten by the next writer.

I don't want to blame Claremont, but it might have been a mistake to cast Rachel as the young inexperience novice, outside of his vision for her it didn't given other writers much to grab onto. Saddling her with the melodrama of Emma/Scott relationship put her at another disadvantage, because he didn't use it to advance her story it was used more to push Emma's narrative.

That kinda make sense. We're at the point where alot of current writers are ones that grew up in the 90s (like me) when Rachel kinda fell off. If you have an affinity for that era and the characters that were prominent, then it makes sense why she wouldnt be a go to character in terms of wanting to write

[Celestialbodies]

That kinda make sense. We're at the point where alot of current writers are ones that grew up in the 90s (like me) when Rachel kinda fell off. If you have an affinity for that era and the characters that were prominent, then it makes sense why she wouldnt be a go to character in terms of wanting to write

I wonder if that's what several characters are suffering from, even if a character has had a definitive run under a great writer. The period between those runs and a modern writers using certain characters are so extended that when someone does get them they have not even the slightest idea who they are which result in character transplants.

[juan678]

art by Magickmarker

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Uncanny X-Men #188 Dec 1984
"Legacy of the Lost!"
Following their supposed victory against the Dire Wraiths, the X-Men and Forge find
themselves besieged by a manifestation of Shadowbeings that threaten to swallow them up.
As they struggle to free themselves from being assimilated, Storm uses the gun that
Forge gave her to shoot off his mechanical leg so he can get away and find some help.
As Forge calls out to Nazé, he is unaware that his tribe's shaman has been replaced by
a Dire Wraith who now is casting an evil spell in the inner sanctum of Forge's penthouse.
The Wraith-Nazé calls for a mystical being to aid the Dire Wraiths and offers the entire Earth in exchange.
This powerful nether being scans "Nazé's" body and learns the truth and mystically
strikes him down dead, finding that killing this pretender suits his purposes better.

Meanwhile, just above the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, Amanda Sefton is working her job as
an airplane stewardess when suddenly Nightcrawler appears and teleports her away onto the Blackbird.
He explains to her the X-Men's dilemma that the X-Men need her aid.
They quickly teleport into Forge's Eagles Next and Amanda goes to work.
With one mystical blast she frees the X-Men but fails to destroy the Shadowbeings.
Rogue transforms into a Dire Wraith due to her mutant absorbing powers and battles with Colossus.
Just then, Colossus's sister Magik appears and uses her Soul Sword to change Rogue back to normal
while Amanda unleashes her full power to mystically snare the Shadowbeings so
that Illyana can destroy them with her Soul Sword. However, they prove too powerful.
Realizing that a Wraith must still be alive, Storm remembers the one she locked up on the roof.
Forge and Nightcrawler teleport there and Forge finds and terminates the last Wraith, ending the threat of the Shadowbeings inside.

With the X-Men recover from the battle, Forge goes looking for Nazé and finds what he believes to be his old friend’s unconscious body.
Storm enters the room and tells him that the X-Men are leaving. Forge tries to stop her but she threatens to shoot him.
She tells him that he should not worry, as they will meet again. However she tells him he might regret it, and she leaves.

Meanwhile, out in deep sea near the Bermuda Triangle, Lee Forester's fish
crew is at work when they spot a man in the water being attacked by sharks.
Lee manages to fend the creatures off with a rifle and pull the man aboard the ship.
Getting a better look at the man she saved, she is shocked to see that it is Magneto.
The master of magnetism remembers her from their previous encounter and tells her that he is indebted to her.

While at the X-Mansion, Storm and the other X-Men have returned to the mansion from Dallas.
Storm is coming out of the pool after a swim and is met by Nightcrawler.
Kurt comes to tell her that the Professor has called a meeting for the X-Men.
Storm tells Kurt that since she is no longer a mutant she doesn't feel like she is part of the X-Men and declines to join.
However Kurt manages to convince her to join.

As the X-Men are having their meeting, outside Rachel, Illyana and Sunspot try to listen in to what's going on.
The Professor detects their presence and tells his young students to go to bed.

Rachel declines to accompany the younger students and decides to stay up a while longer.
Inside the Professor's study, the X-Men vent their frustrations over the United States government being responsible for stripping
Storm of her powers and discuss what they should do about the coming Mutant Control Act that is being pushed through Congress.

Nightcrawler airs his frustrations about the current state of human and mutant affairs

and points that anti-mutant sentiments were the reason Jean Grey died.
Hearing this from outside, Rachel lashes out telepathically, not willing to
believe that her mother had died years before she was born in the future.

The Professor manages to calm her down and Rachel explains the
story about her past, which may or may not be the X-Men's future.
She explains how when she was a young girl, anti-mutant forces gunned down most of
the students and blew up the mansion and that she witnessed Charles Xavier being shot herself.
How as an adult she was locked in a concentration camp for mutants and how the X-Men tried to save their future
while Kate Pryde was sent back in time to prevent their future from happening and how all the X-Men had died.

This vision from the future shocks all of the X-Men and the Professor is the most visibly shaken of them all.
Rachel explains that when the X-Men failed to stop the Sentinels in her time she
attempted to travel back in time, but found herself in a past that she does not remember.
She pleads to Nightcrawler not to give up their struggle and to continue to fight for human mutant peace.
Nightcrawler takes this to heart and agrees to keep on fighting.

At a New York shipping yard, a man named Jaime Rodriguez is hard at work hauling
crates of fish when one crate accidentally falls to the ground and breaks open.
Examining the spilled fish he notices that one of them has a strange golden amulet stuffed inside it.
Removing it, Rodriquez marvels at how much money he could get selling it when the amulet
suddenly speaks, telling him that if he dons the amulet he will have the power to rule the world.

Story by Chris Claremont. Art by John Romita, Jr. and Dan Green.

[askani_son]

Well, tomorrow is the last day of the year, we have to look back and take stock of the whole year as far as Rachel is concerned. It has not been the best year for us, it´s true, but we have had good moments, For me the best have been the inclusion of Rachel in the Marvel Future Fight game, it was a surprise! and maybe later we can have his hound uniform from Excalibur, there are many possibilities, as for comics ... it has not been the best year, but without a doubt I highlight the moment when I saw the cover of x-force # 9, without a doubt one of my favorite covers since then, to see Rachel so powerful I liked it, although perhaps I would have preferred that her story had ended there, in the future, as Mother Askani, but it is a personal opinion. Right now we have Rachel active, we know she is there and maybe sometime in 2021 they remember her. I also feel very proud to remain in this community, one of the most active in the forum despite all the setbacks, all the forgetfulness that this redhead fans suffer from marvel editors and screenwriters, but I guess maybe That is part of the charm of being a fan of this redhead, we admire her story, her past, her courage, her power and everything she has been, is and will become. I only want marvel flips through the forums a little, remember that we are here and that we will continue to be, and I am sure that Mother Askani will shine again. Happy new year to all friends! and sorry for my english xD

[Havok83]

Ironically, this has been the best year for Rachel in quite some time. Definitely better than 2018. 2019 leaves her in a very good spot, whereas last year her outlook was very negative

[Scott402]

Well, tomorrow is the last day of the year, we have to look back and take stock of the whole year as far as Rachel is concerned. It has not been the best year for us, it´s true, but we have had good moments, For me the best have been the inclusion of Rachel in the Marvel Future Fight game, it was a surprise! and maybe later we can have his hound uniform from Excalibur, there are many possibilities, as for comics ... it has not been the best year, but without a doubt I highlight the moment when I saw the cover of x-force # 9, without a doubt one of my favorite covers since then, to see Rachel so powerful I liked it, although perhaps I would have preferred that her story had ended there, in the future, as Mother Askani, but it is a personal opinion. Right now we have Rachel active, we know she is there and maybe sometime in 2021 they remember her. I also feel very proud to remain in this community, one of the most active in the forum despite all the setbacks, all the forgetfulness that this redhead fans suffer from marvel editors and screenwriters, but I guess maybe That is part of the charm of being a fan of this redhead, we admire her story, her past, her courage, her power and everything she has been, is and will become. I only want marvel flips through the forums a little, remember that we are here and that we will continue to be, and I am sure that Mother Askani will shine again. Happy new year to all friends! and sorry for my english xD

The inclusion of her in Future Fight was the highlight for me as well. I hadn't even heard of the game until I saw it on here and immediately downloaded and found myself learning the game while I ranked up her character. Now I am a regular player and recently unlocked Jean and now trying to rank her up. It's a lot of grinding but it's fun. The X-Force series was great in my opinion. When she broke lose and went after everyone it was a fantastic expression of her power. Just wish the art was better in that series. This past year I only got back into comics so it's a little tough for me to point out where the calendar years are but finding the X-Men Red Annual was gold for me not to mention unlike many on here I was just happy to have her in the Gold team from years ago but to me that was this year. Like Always I remain optimistic that she'll pop up, though with her not being mentioned in the upcoming Shi'ar and Brood run ins in X-Men I am more concerned about her exclusion. If a writer can't find a use for her there then they really don't know her character and have chosen not to know.