Originally Posted by
Gray Lensman
I think we have people who are too far in both extremes on a lot of this. I feel there is something sinister underneath a lot of this (and not just the pale guy in the underground lab), but on the other hand a lot of posters concentrate on that part and aren't willing to take a look at how things might seem on behalf of those going through it.
For example, the crucible is brutal, but also offers people who have lost a literal part of themselves a chance to become whole again. And the 'regular joe' mutant (as much as one CAN be a regular joe) has what looks like proof that death in it is merely a momentary inconvenience, it might not come across as anything worse than the hazing one gets in the military or a school sports team, or, depending on what they remember going through, not even that bad as the crucible is over quickly.
Then you have people like Scott and Kurt questioning what's underneath it all, making the reader ask questions and setting up a slow burn. I'm pretty sure somewhere along the line Scott (and probably others) is going to go rogue - there are only two real storylines for a 'true believer' - the first is what do they do when they lose faith, the second (and much darker) is what are they willing to do in order to deny anything that makes them question that faith? I'm pretty sure Scott is being set up to take the first path, and I wonder if anyone is being set up to take the second - it would make for a thematic villain for the arc if anyone was.