Madelyne Pryor: Red Queen Appreciation 2019

[ermac]

Maddie could easily be a member of a rival faction that while heroes are at odds with the main team's philosophy, like Alpha Flight back in the day or X-Factor and X-Force later on. Alex Summers (Havok) could also benefit from this type of situation because in general he gets the short end of the stick when compared to Scott

I guess that could work. Your description reminds me of Xavier/Amelia Voght's dynamic (which I find very interesting).

[Havok83]

when thinking of Maddie and Nate I always thought it was gross bc he hooked up with someone that looked exactly like his mother. I cant believe it never really hit me until now that Maddie hooked up with someone that looked exactly like her son, like his genetic brother. and her ex husband's son. Ewwwww.

[spirit2011]

when thinking of Maddie and Nate I always thought it was gross bc he hooked up with someone that looked exactly like his mother. I cant believe it never really hit me until now that Maddie hooked up with someone that looked exactly like her son, like his genetic brother. and her ex husband's son. Ewwwww.

Maddie has the same DNA that his mother and Nate has the same DNA as Cable

It was all messed up who the hell wrote and aproved it

[powerpax]

I've always loved Maddy. And I hated Scott and Jean for years and years for what the books and Scott did to her. My antipathy for them was so illogical as a kid that I managed to convince myself that Maddy and Jean were not quite identical in appearance even though they quite clearly are. I thought Jean was a cardboard saint with no personality and Scott was a pious hypocrite. And for many years that was true, until Morrison deconstructed them in a way I could enjoy and made them rootable for me again. (It didn't hurt that I liked Scott and Emma a lot, or that Jean died.)

Today I have no issue with Jean. They both got what they deserved from their past with Morrison so that's settled, and Jean is more interesting and human now (somewhat). But as for Maddy, I don't see how she can be used longterm. Her entire character is built around Jean and Scott - first by being the Vertigo-esque consolation prize/fantasy happy ending for Scott that Claremont had originally intended for him, then by being betrayed by Scott and being the righteous-to-demonic woman scorned, one of the few humans hardened enough to join the X-Men in one of their roughest periods. She has no personality or function beyond being that dark reflection of Scott's original sin and Jean's late '80s-thru-'90s vanilla divinity. You can't separate Madelyne Pryor from her background stories because she is those background stories - literally, in her case. That is the sum of her character. So I like the idea of the challenge - perhaps having her be a mystery/masked figure whose identity is hidden from others on a team - but I wouldn't know where the hell it could ever go. I do think pairing her with Kid Cable could be very interesting (and uncomfortable for Scott).

(I did think the X-Man romance was a very kinky but neat twist, though )

[JudicatorPrime]

I can't see another viable role for Maddie besides villain / Goblin Queen...

To some extent I agree, but then again, I'm also a big proponent of Maddie having a life of her own outside of the X-village. I would write her as the "Jean that we'll never get to see." Joining the Avengers. Having relationships with men not linked to the Summers family. Integrating her adventures into the very society that "fears and hates" mutants, instead of having a quasi-segregationist/separatist approach to attempting to resolve a problem that requires a more shared community between humans and mutants.

It wouldn't be difficult to feature Maddie in that light, but for the fact that she's a clone and the X-writers would hate it if Jean's clone got more shine than Jean.

Of course, there's also a remedy to Maddie being a clone, too, but it would entail a retcon... something along the lines of Maddie unknowingly being Jean's twin sister, not merely her clone. It wouldn't be the first time that parents who could barely afford to have one unexpected child deciding to give up one of the twins for adoption, while keeping the other to raise. Sinister co-opting the adoption process would also be an easy rewrite.

But it's work, nonetheless, and I don't think the Marvel writers care to put in any more work on Maddie at a time when her story doesn't hold any value for Jean's development and legend.

[Huntsman Spider]

To some extent I agree, but then again, I'm also a big proponent of Maddie having a life of her own outside of the X-village. I would write her as the "Jean that we'll never get to see." Joining the Avengers. Having relationships with men not linked to the Summers family. Integrating her adventures into the very society that "fears and hates" mutants, instead of having a quasi-segregationist/separatist approach to attempting to resolve a problem that requires a more shared community between humans and mutants.

It wouldn't be difficult to feature Maddie in that light, but for the fact that she's a clone and the X-writers would hate it if Jean's clone got more shine than Jean.

Of course, there's also a remedy to Maddie being a clone, too, but it would entail a retcon... something along the lines of Maddie unknowingly being Jean's twin sister, not merely her clone. It wouldn't be the first time that parents who could barely afford to have one unexpected child deciding to give up one of the twins for adoption, while keeping the other to raise. Sinister co-opting the adoption process would also be an easy rewrite.

But it's work, nonetheless, and I don't think the Marvel writers care to put in any more work on Maddie at a time when her story doesn't hold any value for Jean's development and legend.

Pretty much. It's also why Ben Reilly got the shaft over in the Spider-Man corner of the MU, though I suppose he and Madelyne could definitely relate on those grounds. Personally, there should be a storyline where the Marvel clones all unite to take charge of their own lives and futures, and heroes and villains alike have to grapple with how they've treated clones in the past. It could be a whole new movement similar to the mutant struggle, only the heroes have to acknowledge they don't have clean hands, either.

[powerpax]

Just getting in on this week before it's hot...

[RachelGrey]

Just getting in on this week before it's hot...

hehe, did you read Powers of X, there was a hint of something there, I wonder if it's going to come up in HoX/PoX or later.

[PhoenixStudies]

What did she leave behind? Phoenix Egg? Baby Cable? Demons?

[phoenixzero23]

I haven't read the issue yet
but did the issue mentioned Maddie or just hinted at her?

[MarvelMaster616]

hehe, did you read Powers of X, there was a hint of something there, I wonder if it's going to come up in HoX/PoX or later.

I saw that too. I hope it does. Madelyne Pryor becoming part of the X-books again can only make things more dramatic in the best possible way.

[PhoenixStudies]

I haven't read the issue yet
but did the issue mentioned Maddie or just hinted at her?

Sinister's gossip page (instead of data page) mentions a "red headed pretender" who "made a pact with the devil" and how she left behind more than secrets. Later, Sinister references Inferno directly.

[phoenixzero23]

Sinister's gossip page (instead of data page) mentions a "red headed pretender" who "made a pact with the devil" and how she left behind more than secrets. Later, Sinister references Inferno directly.

thanks, that is clearly Maddie.
I thought Hickman showed her alive or something

[HeartofTheStoriesWeTell]

Someone on the main thread about pox said maddy soul nd memories was absorbed into jean...anyone know when or how this happened?

[Havok83]

Someone on the main thread about pox said maddy soul nd memories was absorbed into jean...anyone know when or how this happened?

Maddie didnt have a true soul. She was animated with a portion of Jean's soul that the Phoenix had taken. Jean had that returned to her and absorbed Maddie's memories and persona in Inferno





For a time, Jean, Maddie and Phoenix shared the body with Jean being the dominant personality but occasionally the other 2 would get control until Jean was able to fully integrate all 3 during Judgement War



Paul Smith was a good artist that was able to convey the changes in Jean's personality without the text to tell us. You can see that clearly in this scan. X-Factor was lucky to get him back for this arc bc he was the one that created Maddie and her iconic look