Age of X-Man Alpha Preview

[Anduinel]

spoilers:

Whew...OK. I don't know if that was 10/10, but it had more emotional impact than all of Disassembled, and that's not meant to be damning with faint praise. The best elements that Thompson and Nadler bring into play aren't the omnipresent, unseen threats of elements like Department X/The X-Tremists, it's the quieter world-building touches - the language that implies there are no families, only vat-grown infants, nurses, and creches before a mandatory stretch of service to the state that begins in childhood, or the knowledge that Jean and Bishop aren't even being permitted to remember the crimes they're being punished for. It all combines to make the utopia represented by Rosanas' clean, warm art a very stark and uncaring place. In a recent interview, the writers compared what they were doing to David Lynch's tendency to present the familiar and comforting, then slowly flay away the facade to reveal the rot underneath. They're doing a good job so far, imo - I feel like one of the more interesting points as this book goes on will be discovering where everyone's breaking point is. Who actually knows about and abets Dept. X, and who's been memory-wiped so often that they're all but innocent? Who'd go along with it even if they did know? "At what price paradise?" isn't a new concept for sci-fi, and the X-Men have already riffed on it a few times before. But it's typically resulted in very good stories (the first X-Men/Alpha Flight crossover and New Mutants Summer Special come to mind), and I'm very eager to see where this stable of creators take the concept. It's creepy with a lot of potential for character exploration, and hopefully they'll be able to push some boundaries given that this is an AU spin. And yeah, I may be adding Marvelous X-Men to my buy pile for this event after all.

end of spoilers

[Tycon]

spoilers:

Whew...OK. I don't know if that was 10/10, but it had more emotional impact than all of Disassembled, and that's not meant to be damning with faint praise. The best elements that Thompson and Nadler bring into play aren't the omnipresent, unseen threats of elements like Department X/The X-Tremists, it's the quieter world-building touches - the language that implies there are no families, only vat-grown infants, nurses, and creches before a mandatory stretch of service to the state that begins in childhood, or the knowledge that Jean and Bishop aren't even being permitted to remember the crimes they're being punished for. It all combines to make the utopia represented by Rosanas' clean, warm art a very stark and uncaring place. In a recent interview, the writers compared what they were doing to David Lynch's tendency to present the familiar and comforting, then slowly flay away the facade to reveal the rot underneath. They're doing a good job so far, imo - I feel like one of the more interesting points as this book goes on will be discovering where everyone's breaking point is. Who actually knows about and abets Dept. X, and who's been memory-wiped so often that they're all but innocent? Who'd go along with it even if they did know? "At what price paradise?" isn't a new concept for sci-fi, and the X-Men have already riffed on it a few times before. But it's typically resulted in very good stories (the first X-Men/Alpha Flight crossover and New Mutants Summer Special come to mind), and I'm very eager to see where this stable of creators take the concept. It's creepy with a lot of potential for character exploration, and hopefully they'll be able to push some boundaries given that this is an AU spin. And yeah, I may be adding Marvelous X-Men to my buy pile for this event after all.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Love that everything is so intrinsically connected. The fact that the Original Five X-Men have been changed because Beast broke the law and was condemned to the Danger Room. Or the thing with Bishop...or the fact that Laura wouldn't remember Gabby because she's "gone" etc etc. Sucks that Glob is being set up to be the "AoA Bishop" of this event, will never understand the push for him. But it's interesting that both Moneta and Unveil both have "psychic" powers, sounds like the theory of them being two of Legion's personality is becoming more and more believable.

end of spoilers

[bladeofdarkness]

spoilers:

Whew...OK. I don't know if that was 10/10, but it had more emotional impact than all of Disassembled, and that's not meant to be damning with faint praise. The best elements that Thompson and Nadler bring into play aren't the omnipresent, unseen threats of elements like Department X/The X-Tremists, it's the quieter world-building touches - the language that implies there are no families, only vat-grown infants, nurses, and creches before a mandatory stretch of service to the state that begins in childhood, or the knowledge that Jean and Bishop aren't even being permitted to remember the crimes they're being punished for. It all combines to make the utopia represented by Rosanas' clean, warm art a very stark and uncaring place. In a recent interview, the writers compared what they were doing to David Lynch's tendency to present the familiar and comforting, then slowly flay away the facade to reveal the rot underneath. They're doing a good job so far, imo - I feel like one of the more interesting points as this book goes on will be discovering where everyone's breaking point is. Who actually knows about and abets Dept. X, and who's been memory-wiped so often that they're all but innocent? Who'd go along with it even if they did know? "At what price paradise?" isn't a new concept for sci-fi, and the X-Men have already riffed on it a few times before. But it's typically resulted in very good stories (the first X-Men/Alpha Flight crossover and New Mutants Summer Special come to mind), and I'm very eager to see where this stable of creators take the concept. It's creepy with a lot of potential for character exploration, and hopefully they'll be able to push some boundaries given that this is an AU spin. And yeah, I may be adding Marvelous X-Men to my buy pile for this event after all.

end of spoilers

Ok, this is neatpicky, and I'm pretty sure the only person on earth who'd be stupid enough to care about that would be me - but since they brought this up, I kinda want to address this.

spoilers:

So this is a world, where supposedly love is forbidden - and it has a school system where students are entered into at age 10. The solution is staring them right in the face and they missed it. The Westermark effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westermarck_effect? During the bit in the Summer's Institute, They specifically make mention that the farming sector is based on Israeli Kibbutz farming communities - they literally name that specific model - but one of the things they DON'T mention is an interesting side effect that those Kibbutzim had on the children raised there. In the Kibbutz, children were often raised communally, from a very early age - and studies into the effects have revealed that virtually NONE of the kids raised in these peer groups end up marrying anyone else within that peer group. But instead of raising these kids from infancy in the Summer's Institute, and thus fostering this effect to prevent the whole "love problem" in future generations, they only send the kids to the institute AFTER they pass the age where that effect would take place.

end of spoilers

Just felt like pointing it out.

[Anduinel]

spoilers:

I feel like that's a valid point up to a certain scale. But when the whole world is comprised of mutants and love is forbidden, it's not just a matter of managing one community. It's a matter of trying to tamp out sexual desire, species-wide, in a few decades. And short of the telepathic solution, I don't see it working.

end of spoilers

[bladeofdarkness]

spoilers:

I feel like that's a valid point up to a certain scale. But when the whole world is comprised of mutants and love is forbidden, it's not just a matter of managing one community. It's a matter of trying to tamp out sexual desire, species-wide, in a few decades. And short of the telepathic solution, I don't see it working.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Maybe, but it's bound to be more effective as a way of limiting the raise of love offenders then having the grammaton cleric kicking down the doors and mindwiping/excomunicating people.

end of spoilers

[Del torro]

Just once, I'd like to see a real utopia, where there isn't something messed up happening behind the scenes

[myownlittleusername]

Just once, I'd like to see a real utopia, where there isn't something messed up happening behind the scenes

You'd probably have to get rid of the pesky humans/mutants for that to work.

And, what would the story even be about in that case?

[Anduinel]

Just once, I'd like to see a real utopia, where there isn't something messed up happening behind the scenes

Check out the Old Woman Laura storyline in All-New Wolverine. I think that was played straight.

[Heroine Addict]

Avoiding any major spoilers, so can't join in on the discussion of its actual content yet, BUT:

... another favorable assessment, that steers clear of giving away details.

Whatta y'all think, was it good?

[Snoop Dogg]

a utopia cannot exist without mcdonalds mcmayo sandwiches

[MarvelMaster616]

I just read this comic. I really enjoyed it. I love that we finally have an AU where the line between utopia and dystopia is blurred. It's usually either one or the other with Marvel and the glut of dystopian timelines has really gotten excessive over the years. This one felt new, refreshing, and different. It has moments where you see just how great things could be in a world where mutants aren't hated and feared. It also has moments where you see just how high a price the people pay for this kind of utopia. Some characters had great moments. A few really stood out. I love what they did with Nightcrawler, being a celebrity of sorts in this world. I'll definitely be following him closely. I also like what they've done with Magneto. I feel like there's a lot of potential in this world. It's no Age of Apocalypse, but it doesn't try to be. It still manages to stand on its own and I think it works.

[Legaldrugdealer]

So this is some pocket universe where they exist or are they all in like x-man's mindscape and all the mutants are like in tubes like the matrix? I know we don't know, just wondering what others think

[bladeofdarkness]

So this is some pocket universe where they exist or are they all in like x-man's mindscape and all the mutants are like in tubes like the matrix? I know we don't know, just wondering what others think

Personally, I think the whole thing is taking place in Tommy Westphall's imagination.

[Heroine Addict]

To my knowledge, according to the creators, it's not this:

... in like x-man's mindscape...

... I think.

Interview with Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler at Battle of the Atom podcast: http://www.xavierfiles.com/2019/01/2...lonnie-nadler/...

- When asked if the AoXM is occurring in Nate’s mind they said no, no comment, and it’s complicated....

So much for the Heroes Reborn comparison...

[LoganAlpha30X33]

THough I would view it that he is still affecting their minds to some degree and rewriting their thoughts and their histories and such to suit his ends...