Pitch a Direction: X-Men

[xman]

Enjoy alternate universe stories but not if they’re predicated on eliminating the alternate universes! That’s messed up! I’ve got affection for all these new characters and it’s weird that so many stories about functionally killing them.

Anyway, return to the bizarre Mutant X dimension and try to give those people a moon. (their moon got blown up in the last issue but no one seemed to mind) The people demand more Mutant X... somewhere... sometime... probably.

[zinderel]

Pitch: No More Hatred. Let's move in a positive direction, and instead of dwelling on and amplifying the parts of our world that suck and make life unbearable, let's present something optimistic for once, goddammit...

- The X-Men UNEQUIVOCALLY, and without any aid from any heroes outside the X-Line, save Earth that hates and fears them from calamity at great personal risk and possible loss, and the whole world witnesses it.

- Moira MacTaggart comes back and leads the public scientific charge against ignorance and hatred revealing that the reason so many power eruptions are devastating and traumatic is because of the lifetime of conditioning most kids in the 616 get. Internalizing all that hate and fear as they begin to feel strange and puberty hits, triggering their X-gene, lead to tragedy. Not the mere existence of the gene erupting. She reveals that if a child believes, even subconsciously, that they are monsters, that leads to a greater chance of devastation during eruption. If they feel loved and safe, their power manifests in less destructive ways. This can be written to shine a light on the rates of suicide among queer youth - particularly trans kids - who collapse under the weight of global and familial hatred, and provide people who are feeling lost and hopeless with a glimpse at a world where that ignorance and hate is being finally put away, making clear that the danger to humanity was never these young people, but the hatred and fear directed at them by shitty, shitty people.

- The rank and file idiot bigot trash fires that seemingly make up the majority of Marvel's baseline human race starts experiencing a radical, spontaneous shift in public opinion as hate is no longer chic. Stryker, the Purifiers, the Reavers, the Sapien League and all the rest start getting treated like the KKK, or the Proud Boys. Anti-mutant rallies start getting covered by media the way 'Unite the Right' rallies are in the real world. Young people that those groups have tried so hard to indoctrinate with hatred and fear start fighting back. Whenever anti-mutant protests rise up, large counter protests filled with young people - and led by long time human allies of the X-Men who finally get brought back to relative prominence as actual characters with purposes other than providing a shock death - can be found, countering the hate. This shows that not every human in the 616 is a dumpster fire deserving of genocide. It even shows that MOST 616 humans are decent people, and that what we THOUGHT was the majority is just a loud, pathetic minority.

- The X-Men become properly accepted heroes, fighting NOT just other mutants, but threats throughout the MU. They work with Tony and Reed publically to improve life, they work with Janet to introduce Mutant art and fashion to the world again. And with less ignorance and fear in the mass consensus, new mutants can be detected PRIOR to eruption except in the most extreme cases, and gotten to a safe place before anything can happen.

-Much like Stormwatch under Ellis, the X-Men teams (and thus, books) organize around cohesive directions and/or ideals. Some examples:

- Prime - a strike team of photogenic, powerful threats who are the public face of the X-Men and who the public thinks of when they think 'X-Men'. This is a classic super hero team book, and our 'flagship' title.
- Black - a covert ops team built around the idea of putting an end to threats that can never be made public. And not just anti-mutant threats, but HYDRA cells, AIM labs, alien invasions, etc. This is the grim, gritty, dark action title, obvi.
- New Mutants - Dedicated to furthering the education of the next generation, this would focus on the former new generation (New Mutants/New X-Men eras) who have more than proven themselves, teaching the NEWEST mutants, and would skew younger, akin to Moon Girl, and would operate mostly in a bubble, with very rare involvement in events or crossovers, because THEY'RE CHILDREN.
- Academy - The best and brightest minds of the mutant world assemble to brainstorm and create ways to improve society, and life on Earth, sometimes with tragic, hilarious, or otherwise unexpected results. This would be more high concept adventuring and super-science and tech babble, skewing more sci fi than super hero.
- Red - a strike team of some of the most powerful mutants ever to mutate, who go in when no one else can, and who are essentially Cyclops' extinction team, but less threatening to baseline humans. This team, being specialized, only sees use during crossovers and events, and is packed with Omega level mutants and other threats across the spectrum of powers, adjusting constantly to fit the enemy being faced.

Certainly, there will still be evil mutants, opportunistic villains, greedy corporations trying to monetize mutation, time travel and outer space shenanigans, but the focus will be less insular and instead will embrace the weirdness Morrison TRIED to give us before Quesada decided to start the never-ending mutant extinction chain of events that has made us all exhausted and sick to death of...death... it will allow the X-Men to influence the entire 616 in ways that don't involve direct appearances by core members.

[MYCMTSC]

After the X-Men return from the AoXM universe, Siege Perilous all of them and let humanity believe the X-Men are still gone. Let them have the chance at living their lives undetected--or at least live different lives--and let a new team emerge from there. Let some of the older X-Men retire because they safely can, let a big chunk of the X-Kids have families again, and have the remnants reignite the dream alive.

Keep the X-Men mobile (my 7 Person X-Team thread entry had one team in Wakanda and another traveling around the US) and don't revive the school aspect for a while. Let the kids be rogues or go to college and create a new niche book from there.

[DianaWw]

They all become care bears.....

[Indigo_Lady]

Pitch: No More Hatred. Let's move in a positive direction, and instead of dwelling on and amplifying the parts of our world that suck and make life unbearable, let's present something optimistic for once, goddammit...

- The X-Men UNEQUIVOCALLY, and without any aid from any heroes outside the X-Line, save Earth that hates and fears them from calamity at great personal risk and possible loss, and the whole world witnesses it.

- The rank and file idiot bigot trash fires that seemingly make up the majority of Marvel's baseline human race starts experiencing a radical, spontaneous shift in public opinion as hate is no longer chic. Stryker, the Purifiers, the Reavers, the Sapien League and all the rest start getting treated like the KKK, or the Proud Boys. Anti-mutant rallies start getting covered by media the way 'Unite the Right' rallies are in the real world. Young people that those groups have tried so hard to indoctrinate with hatred and fear start fighting back. Whenever anti-mutant protests rise up, large counter protests filled with young people - and led by long time human allies of the X-Men who finally get brought back to relative prominence as actual characters with purposes other than providing a shock death - can be found, countering the hate. This shows that not every human in the 616 is a dumpster fire deserving of genocide. It even shows that MOST 616 humans are decent people, and that what we THOUGHT was the majority is just a loud, pathetic minority.

- The X-Men become properly accepted heroes, fighting NOT just other mutants, but threats throughout the MU. They work with Tony and Reed publically to improve life, they work with Janet to introduce Mutant art and fashion to the world again. And with less ignorance and fear in the mass consensus, new mutants can be detected PRIOR to eruption except in the most extreme cases, and gotten to a safe place before anything can happen.

-Much like Stormwatch under Ellis, the X-Men teams (and thus, books) organize around cohesive directions and/or ideals. Some examples:

- Prime - a strike team of photogenic, powerful threats who are the public face of the X-Men and who the public thinks of when they think 'X-Men'. This is a classic super hero team book, and our 'flagship' title.
- Black - a covert ops team built around the idea of putting an end to threats that can never be made public. And not just anti-mutant threats, but HYDRA cells, AIM labs, alien invasions, etc. This is the grim, gritty, dark action title, obvi.
- New Mutants - Dedicated to furthering the education of the next generation, this would focus on the former new generation (New Mutants/New X-Men eras) who have more than proven themselves, teaching the NEWEST mutants, and would skew younger, akin to Moon Girl, and would operate mostly in a bubble, with very rare involvement in events or crossovers, because THEY'RE CHILDREN.
- Academy - The best and brightest minds of the mutant world assemble to brainstorm and create ways to improve society, and life on Earth, sometimes with tragic, hilarious, or otherwise unexpected results. This would be more high concept adventuring and super-science and tech babble, skewing more sci fi than super hero.
- Red - a strike team of some of the most powerful mutants ever to mutate, who go in when no one else can, and who are essentially Cyclops' extinction team, but less threatening to baseline humans. This team, being specialized, only sees use during crossovers and events, and is packed with Omega level mutants and other threats across the spectrum of powers, adjusting constantly to fit the enemy being faced.

Certainly, there will still be evil mutants, opportunistic villains, greedy corporations trying to monetize mutation, time travel and outer space shenanigans, but the focus will be less insular and instead will embrace the weirdness Morrison TRIED to give us before Quesada decided to start the never-ending mutant extinction chain of events that has made us all exhausted and sick to death of...death... it will allow the X-Men to influence the entire 616 in ways that don't involve direct appearances by core members.

Great idea, and much of what I was thinking about. I, like you, are sick to death of the constant extinction mentality. Imagine a world-wide threat, like maybe and alien invasion from a race never encountered before. The X-Men prove their worth as protectors of the planet. As I think that the registration of super beings will hopefully be suspended when the Avenger Infinity War movies finishes up, mutants too would finally be appreciated. There should be at least one team that is the public face of the X-Men, sanctioned by the U.N. to deal with hostile mutant threats and super villains. An attempt was made at that idea by Claremont with the Extreme Sanctions Executive lead by Storm.

I'm on board with your other book ideas, a little something for every type of X-men fan. Some books light and humorous and some books as gritty as it gets. For goodness sake, not all books have to be scorched earth. Hey Marvel, let it be so.

[MentalManipulator]

Mr. & Mrs. X really turned me on to the idea of an X-team that operates off-world. Just recruit a few more members, throw a Starjammer in there, and tell Earth to piss off. All or most of the drama could come from 5-6 people being cooped up on a tiny ship in space. Gambit, Rogue, Hepzibah, Colossus, maybe one or two of the kids.

Anything to get away from Earth and its nonsense for a while. Mutant Bebop is a book I'd read for sure.

I always dreamed of a Lost in Space team of X-Men. My ideal line-up would be:

Storm
Nightcrawler
Psylocke
Northstar
Jubilee
Colossus

[9th.]

eXtrodinary X-Men (International team):
Emma Frost (leader), Sunfire, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Monet, Northstar, Manifold

Stopping terrorism (both against and from mutants)

X-Men Legacy (Superhero team):
Surge, Rockslide, Anole, Mercury, Dust, Genesis, Oya, Karma (sponsor)

First responders and premiere superhero team, saving mutants and humans alike from dinosaurs, alien invasions, evil geniuses etc...

Uncanny X-men/ X-Men Xeno (Space team):
Cyclops, Broo, Lifeguard, Warbird, Cannonball, Atom Smasher, Kid Gladiator, Lila Cheney

Exploring the great beyond and helping mutants from different galaxies.

X-Factor (Police/Detective squad):
Bishop, Frenzy, Psylocke, X-23, Dani Moonstar, Magik, Hindsight, Morph

Exploring the crimes against mutants and tracking down the people behind it (murder, trafficking, missing persons, etc...)

X-Force (Eco squad):
Beast, Jean Grey, Storm, Namor, Creep, Nature Girl, Gentle, Pixie, Shark Girl

Front line against eco terrorism

[RachelGrey]

I had a long term story idea from my feeling about the poor treatment a couple of my favourite characters that I feel both need a new direction. I think I might even write it myself as fan fiction because the story appeals me.

I want Emma Frost to rescue Rachel Grey from Ahab and during Rachel's rehabilitation they start to develop a mother and daughter bond that leads to Rachel staying with Emma permanently. For Emma and Rachel I keep going back to when they ended up in Hong Kong together and Emma convinced Rachel to allow Emma to teach Rachel how to use her powers more effectively and to improve Rachel's mental defences. This thread of a story ended with Emma introducing Rachel to Rachel's grandparents on the Grey side of the family. I would like it if they revisited that, did Emma feel like she was starting to be accepted as Rachel's stepmother? What would happen if they started that relationship again, where would it go if Rachel wanted to finally have a parent who wanted to accept her as a daughter. I kind of want to have a two perspective story, Emma's efforts to help mutantkind through Frost International and the HFC, and Rachel's efforts to find a different path for herself in the face of all the tragedy and misery she has had in her life. I was even thinking that Rachel would decide to go in a totally unexpected direction like joining the police force to try something else for once in her life. But through it all they would start treating each other as mother and daughter because for both of them it fulfills a need they have.

I also want to explore something about Rachel from her days in Excalibur, the phoenix said that her and Rachel would be forever connected to each other but the Phoenix has never attempted to take Rachel as a host since Rachel returned from the end of time. Why is that, if Rachel was the best host for the Phoenix and the most mentally stable why has the Phoenix never taken Rachel as a host again. Because the Phoenix did something when she resurrected Rachel after the battle with Necrom, she merged a part of herself into Rachel to turn Rachel into her daughter. She could only stay with Rachel for so long before she would have to leave because the inherent Phoenix force growing inside Rachel eventually pushed the "mother" out. Rachel can't be a host for the Phoenix any longer because in a sense Rachel herself is a baby Phoenix. It always struck me as strange why the Phoenix never tried to join with Rachel again when Rachel would honestly welcome being the host again, Rachel was the only one who was never truly overwhelmed by the Phoenix Force.

[Offbeat]

Keep everyone in Age of Xman out of main continuity for a full year. Have them stuck in that world but with their full memories trying to find a way home while also protecting the innocent mutants trapped there from the villians or other invaders.

Rebuild the Xmens image in main continuity with Scott and Logans team saving the world somehow. Just add Rogue and Gambit and that’s 4 A-list heavy hitters to carry Uncanny Xmen.

Once the mutants escape from Age of X, have Wolverine, Cyclops, Rogue and Gambit be one half of the new Uncanny Avengers - the world’s premiere superhero team. Fill the roster with Captain Marvel, Photon, Captain America and Living Lightning.

All the kids in Age of X graduate. New teams with mixes of old guard and new guard. Abandon the focus on the school. Have it exist but far in the background. I don’t want teachers and students anymore. The cast is big enough and the school is too big a liability and restrains the X-men from branching out to other areas. They need to go Global. X-Men: Worldwide

[CRaymond]

Rebuild the Xmens image in main continuity with Scott and Logans team saving the world somehow. Just add Rogue and Gambit and that’s 4 A-list heavy hitters to carry Uncanny Xmen.

You don't say?

X-Men
setting: ruins of Xavier Institute, Salem Center
cast: Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Toad, Blob, Frenzy
concept: Bucking the hands-off USA approach that the New Mutants espouse, Rogue recruits Cyclops and Wolverine to assist in liberating mutant criminals from American super-prisons and turning them into a team of proactive world-saving superheroes.

I'd have Gambit a recurring guest star, playing international thief whose goals sometimes align and sometimes cross Rogue's X-Team.

[ermac]

Uncanny X-Men (XSE) - Led by Ororo, it's the UN-backed team for some classic super-heroing.
Rosenberg / Larocca

Storm
Nightcrawler
Colossus
Havok
Psylocke
Northstar
X-23
Monet

Astonishing X-Men - a more political book with a team of leaders and geniuses doing advocacy, mutant rights campaign and effectively improving the lives of mutants worldwide
Tom Taylor / Juan Cabal

Cyclops
Emma
Kitty
Banshee
Forge
Madrox
Polaris

New Mutants (Westchester school) - let the school be run by the best students of past generations
Yost / Neves

Moonstar
Cypher
Husk
Cuckoos
Elixir
Armor
Dust
Pixie

X-Force - a team formed to destroy Sinister's lab worldwide
Mike Carey / Opena

Rogue
Gambit
Cannonball
Iceman
Magik
Lady Mastermind
Archangel

[TheDeadSpace]

Don't know if it has been done, but what if the X-men finally achieved acceptance. Who sticks around and what becomes of the x-men? What happens when the hate gets redirected at another group? Would the x-men risk their acceptance to save lives?

[DarkMagnus]

The xmen save the world alone akin to second comming but more bigger. Rogue and Wolverine are saw as the world savers and the onu oficially declares mutanphobia a act of crime against the "humanity" making all the anti mutants groups illegal
The Avengers leaded by the Caps and Ironman make a pardon speech for mutankind for Genosha (Whats make Emma smile) the MDay and leave the Xmen figth bigotry alone.
The Unity Squad is reactivated Rogue is a double team membrr being a Avenger and main team Xmen. The Xmen got Onu sponsored and start to live a much better live.

[PwrdOn]

Don't know if it has been done, but what if the X-men finally achieved acceptance. Who sticks around and what becomes of the x-men? What happens when the hate gets redirected at another group? Would the x-men risk their acceptance to save lives?

The thing is, despite the narrative constantly trying to tell us otherwise, the X-Men have largely been accepted by the wider world in all the ways that matter. In real life, oppression goes way deeper than just being teased in school or getting called names in public, it has to do with economic deprivation, exclusion from "normal" society, and living with constant reminders that nobody wants you around and that you should feel ashamed just for being who you are. The X-Men, or at least the characters that get the most attention, tend to live mostly normal lives seeing as they look like insanely fit and attractive versions of regular people, and while there is always some shadowy government organization or another going after them, that's more a function of the story needing conflicts rather than anything to do with them being mutants, since you see much the same with other superheroes. We are also constantly reminded that mutants could easily use their powers to wipe out humans, but simply choose not to, which is hardly relatable to members of most minority groups whose lives are clouded by a feeling of powerlessness and endless struggle.

[ARkadelphia]

Onslaught returns. Franklin sends them to a pocket universe controlled by liefeld and Lee for a year. I’ll get back to you on the rest after year 1 is done.