Deep down in places they don't talk about at parties, they want to be enforcers. They need to be enforcers.
“Generally, one knows me before hating me” -Quicksilver
Never had that much sympathy for the team concept, and I say this as someone who likes Northstar and Iceman as characters. Not in the "this is a bad idea for a book" sense, but "these people are all assholes in this world and I'll enjoy the team for being assholes". Department X always looked like something insidious, so I'm actually looking forward to them being creepy and the book having some unsettling behavior.
Leah Williams has mentioned on tumblr that she intentionally picked some characters that were famously anti-fascist and anti-authoritarian to be the X-Man’s horny police. Especially because it just shows how much the 616 X-Men aren’t in control of their lives while their “new” versions are put under different circumstances and living entirely new lives. Plus, when Northstar gets his memories back, he’s gonna kick Nate’s ass.
She DID!
http://handaxe.tumblr.com/post/18262...t-queerness-in
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT QUEERNESS IN AOX: X-TREMISTS?
then ok here goes.
Marvel comics aren’t “largely written by editorial” (this just came up on my dash in a different context) but the way it works is they approach writers based on voices they think are right for projects. That’s why everything I’ve worked on for Marvel has been like a dream come true for me in particular. Bc all my editors are great and get me.
So with X-tremists it was like “Here’s this utopian mutant society where all love is forbidden–would you be interested in telling the secret police story angle in this world?” and I responded with “Can I have canonically gay characters on my team? And Jubilee?” because I’m a queer woman. Obviously my approach to “all love is forbidden” is first going to be “Well, what what happens to the love that was already forbidden?” because that’s a compelling story I can immediately see.
X-tremists is a love story in many ways, and most aren’t romantic. But no matter what it isn’t going to ignore the experiences of characters who would already know what forbidden love feels like. X-tremists is A Lot™️ for me to write emotionality, in part because it explores the consequences of queer erasure on the page in a way that feels like I’m walking a tightrope, just barely getting away with doing it.
Also, X-tremists is largely about what happens when they wake up in this alternate reality because the way I imagine these characters in particular reacting to what they’ve been forced to be complicit in is a wildly exhilarating and cathartic story to tell. (Jean-Paul? The openly gay, anti-authority, rebellious anarchist!? Are you kidding??? Of course I want him on the Horny Cops team for an important reason!!!)
tl;dr here’s tweets i randomly encountered on twitter that sum it up better than i could
the only thing i’ll add is that the team members in X-tremists did not choose this role–it was forced on them, and their memories tampered with. X-tremists is not the name of their team, but it has a different significance in the story. I am only interested in telling a story that gives justice and weight to both their actions as Department X, and their resulting reactions once they wake up.
X-tremists seems exactly the kind of story I want to see in the X-Men. Very interested.
Lol that is great lol
The Horny Cops LOL
But I've said this before, but I can only imagine how much harder this would be for gay characters. The very concept of romance is supposed to be removed from these characters. At least biological attraction between men and women can be understood as a biological need for procreation, but same sex relationships are just sort of are. You can't control it, it's just what you understand.
I agree.
This series so far has felt so much more interconnected and meaningful than most of the stuff I have read since beginning comics 5 years ago.
I think it’s likely a combination of two things:
1.) it’s an AU so the writers have a little more freedom
2.) it’s separated from the rest of the MU so it can play by its own rules.
Regardless, the seamless transition and connectedness between the books could really serve as a guide on how to improve the x-line after AOXM is over.
In a way it kinda makes me wonder if the books would be a lot more consistent and connected if the xmen were in their own universe instead of 616. But I guess that’ll never happen so not much use in wondering.
Your favorite superhero- the one you visit these forums to talk about. Would they talk to others the way you do on this message board?
Agreed, when weird is done well there's not much better!
Theory: with her true name not being revealed, what if Unveil is really...
... Joanna Cargill, AKA Frenzy. I say this with her retaining her AoX memories in mind, and that somehow leading to this new incarnation, in AoXM.