Fallen Angels by Bryan Edward Hill and Szymon Kudranski Appreciation 2019

[WebLurker]

Said Laura's relations ship with her friends(mainly new xmen) would be brought up, and a few of them would fit the book.

Okay, then.

Depends on the reason why they don't want to accept her; some people were going on about how Psylocke was Betsy's true name as revealed by Spiral, therefore it shouldn't be used by Kwannon... I have no idea as to the validity of that claim.

Though the iconoclasm of this series might give it a boost.

Thing is, how many people see "Psylocke" as "Betsy Braddock who got trapped in an Asian woman's body" and not just "an Asian martial artist who likes purple leotards?"

[Rosebunse]

I think most casual fans think Betsy was Asian. I mean, her history is so complicated anyways.

[Hi-Fi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=aUSnuf4H2o8

Here's a great interview with Bryan Edward Hill. The Fallen Angels talk starts at 56:30.

[Snoop Dogg]

Kwannon:

The Kwannon OC Hill's created in his head:



pls lord bring tabby back to the book you can pitch her as knockoff misfit jubilee I won't mind

[Anduinel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=aUSnuf4H2o8

Here's a great interview with Bryan Edward Hill. The Fallen Angels talk starts at 56:30.

Hill: What Fallen Angels really is, it's a story about how warriors deal with the enemy that is peace... You know, it's a story about "What purpose does a warrior have in a utopia?" And it's also a story about what happens in the vacuum left by the absence of evolution. And it's those vague ideas funneled into what I believe is a very emotional story about Kwannon/Psylocke/Revanche figuring out where she belongs, not only in Krakoa, but also post the experience of not being herself. And it's a story about kind of rediscovering your identity and reconciling with your history, and paving the way for your future. And Laura and Kid Cable, as he's called, factor into this because these are characters that have almost a base level of aggression kind of woven through them. They are characters that need more in some way. And readers can expect to see how they react to this vision of Krakoa and this promise of utopia. Yeah... as to the Fallen Angels title, it's a little wink-wink, nudge-nudge at the previous series, but I wouldn't look for lobsters in this one. (laughs)... When we think about fallen angels, we think about Lucifer. And when we think about Lucifer, we think about someone who was not satisfied with the status quo of heaven itself. And it's about those who are not satisfied with heaven. (laughs)

[On the team being legacy characters and their having difficulty finding fan acceptance]

I like the misfit characters. I like the the characters who are a little punk rock. A little hip hop. That play their music a little too loud, you know? That's been my relationship to comics and I really do appreciate, you know, Marvel and Hickman and, really you know, all the other writers, giving me the space to do this kind of story because I do think the book is somewhat unique in terms of lineup because of the intimacy of the narrative and just kind of the way we are approaching it. And Simon, the artist, is doing some really fantastic visual work and readers can see some of my Frank Miller influences in the book... I don't go to the level of abstraction that [Elektra: Assassin] goes to, but some of that visceral, sort of poetic storytelling, I think we employ a little bit in this book. And I'm excited for people to see it because I think they are going to see something different, I think you're going to see a different side to how I approach storytelling. But there is a continuity, I think, of intensity and characterization that I think sort of permeates all of my work.

[on the success of HoX/PoX]

...to be frank, I was the sort of person who would occasionally want to pick up an X-Men comic and not know what to buy or, you know, how to get started. It felt like the continuity was so deep that I was absolutely lost. So to have this broad sort of event come in and tell people "You can start here!" (laughs) You know, you can start here, and you're not going to miss anything because we're doing major paradigm shifts, you know, and I think that is a great way to get people invested in these characters again. So I am glad to see all of the excitement there... It's neat to be just a small part of this thing and watch it all unfold.

Good stuff. Don't know that I'd use "aggressive" to describe Laura per se, but she is definitely driven by her self-appointed missions. So yeah, I can see her not being able to settle into the groove of Krakoa.

[Strong Girl Daken]

Bryan Edward Hill keeps saying all the right things in interviews.

[CGAR]

The thing is: has he always viewed Kwannon as Psylocke even though she's been Revanche for the last 20 yrs. I wish he had brought up something about Betsy Psylocke.
I'm definitely picking it up so see how they pull of this transition. But it seems more likely that they are going to sweep this under the rug. And Kwannon is going be thought of as the one Psylocke.
I just really hope they delve into this big change. And don't expect us to just take it and deal with it. I want this to be a damn story arc for both characters.

[Tycon]

Interesting to note, BEH himself frames Krakoa as a “Heaven for Mutants” per his analogy. I wonder how exactly that will show in his story as whether or not the distance that this team is putting with Krakoa has less to do with the general fan grievances of Krakoa (“theyre clones!” “theyre evil!” “theyre brainwashed!”) and more to do with how they define their self-worth to even stick around and just relax.

[CrystaliaArmadia]

Those images of Kwannon's past make me feel like they are going with the "Mulan angle" for her backstory. AKA she was a rebellious girl from a traditionalist family that expected her to simply be a wife. While I have nothing against that backstory, I hope it doesn't end up being cliche as that storyline is often written stereotypically for Asian women.

[Ambaryerno]

Interesting to note, BEH himself frames Krakoa as a “Heaven for Mutants” per his analogy. I wonder how exactly that will show in his story as whether or not the distance that this team is putting with Krakoa has less to do with the general fan grievances of Krakoa (“theyre clones!” “theyre evil!” “theyre brainwashed!”) and more to do with how they define their self-worth to even stick around and just relax.

That worries me a bit as far as characterization is concerned. Laura should NOT be okay with the casual cloning like that.

[Tycon]

That worries me a bit as far as characterization is concerned. Laura should NOT be okay with the casual cloning like that.

But it isn’t “casual cloning.” There is a bigger context with what The Five are doing compared to Facility and all the other organizations that she took down with Scout. For all intents and purposes, these are the same mutants and not separate beings just getting cloned over and over. I would get if she was a little uncomfortable with it, but there’s a huge difference in what’s happening.

[powerpax]

IMO, waiting for Laura to be the Krakoan rebel who doesn't accept the entire setup just bc you invented that premise in your head is waiting for disappointment.

[Ambaryerno]

IMO, waiting for Laura to be the Krakoan rebel who doesn't accept the entire setup just bc you invented that premise in your head is waiting for disappointment.

Pretty much her ENTIRE last book was about stopping people from cloning her, and clone identity (IE, guys like Rice abusing her for no other reason than she was Logan's clone* and that means she's the same) has been one of her central themes since she was first introduced. This isn't something I'm just pulling out of my ass.

But it isn’t “casual cloning.” There is a bigger context with what The Five are doing compared to Facility and all the other organizations that she took down with Scout. For all intents and purposes, these are the same mutants and not separate beings just getting cloned over and over. I would get if she was a little uncomfortable with it, but there’s a huge difference in what’s happening.

I'm sorry, but the ethics of what the X-Men are doing are even WORSE in context. Either you're growing brain-dead clones as empty receptacles for the psyches of dead X-Men, or if the clones are developing their own minds and psyches while being grown, they're outright killing whoever that person is when they overwrite them with the "original." The former was not too different than what Chandler was doing with the X-Assassins, and the latter Laura herself almost experienced at the hands of both Sinisters during the Liu book.

This is VERY MUCH casual cloning. "Ooops, Iceman died. Oh well, Krakoa can just poop out a backup, no biggie."

[powerpax]

Pretty much her ENTIRE last book was about stopping people from cloning her, and clone identity (IE, guys like Rice abusing her for no other reason than she was Logan's clone* and that means she's the same) has been one of her central themes since she was first introduced. This isn't something I'm just pulling out of my ass.

That's nice, but it has no bearing on what Fallen Angels will or won't actually do. You have your heart set on Laura rebelling against Krakoa. You should prepare for that not happening.

[Strong Girl Daken]

I'm sorry, but the ethics of what the X-Men are doing are even WORSE in context. Either you're growing brain-dead clones as empty receptacles for the psyches of dead X-Men, or if the clones are developing their own minds and psyches while being grown, they're outright killing whoever that person is when they overwrite them with the "original." The former was not too different than what Chandler was doing with the X-Assassins, and the latter Laura herself almost experienced at the hands of both Sinisters during the Liu book.

This is VERY MUCH casual cloning. "Ooops, Iceman died. Oh well, Krakoa can just poop out a backup, no biggie."

This is not how I interpreted the situation at all, especially given Proteus's role. Krakoa has effectively rendered the strategy of killing mutants to keep their numbers down ineffective. The process is ceremonial and a product of mutant potential, not the Facility that used cold science to create Frankenstein's monsters.