X-Men: Life Story

[Kingdom X]

In this week's X-Men Monday, JDW indicated that he would like to do an "X-Men: Life Story" book at some point. "Spider-Man: Life Story" was one of my favorite books in 2019 as it actually allowed the characters to grow up and experience the passage of time.

If this book were to ever happen who would you want on writing and art? What events and characters would you highlight in each issue (one issue=one decade)? How would the X-Men's stories change if they were actually allowed to grow old?

Here's a youtube video that describes the book in case anyone is unfamiliar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvTu5M2gVzw

[salarta]

Gonna throw my post in the ring figuring people can ignore it if they don't want to see it.

I've always felt Polaris offers a great mutant metaphor example that hasn't really been tapped for her. If we looked only at her very first couple issues, she's a young woman who had no idea of her latent powers or heritage, but DID have her green hair - and felt she had to hide it to avoid attracting the curious. This raises a lot of "why" questions. Why did she feel she needed to hide it? Why didn't she consider the idea that she might be a mutant? What experiences did she have growing up prior to her powers awakening, and how did they shape her worldview?

Lorna grew up as someone who could "pass" as human but required hair dye to make it happen. Or in this day and age, she could theoretically keep it green, but she'd have to pretend she's dyeing it if she wants to pass as human.

When you add in her origin story of causing the plane crash that killed her parents, she demonstrates the dangers of her powers in the hands of someone too young for those powers.

In terms of passage of time, Lorna does also have the "heir of Magneto" aspect to her through which you could see her take to the role. Think of things like Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh. In younger years, before proving herself, Jamie Lee was known largely as "Janet Leigh's daughter." Lorna could likewise start out her "heir of Magneto" reveal largely known for who her father is, but over time in a story of her life, overtake her father's reputation and stand out as her own icon.

In regular 616 comics, that would be difficult to do on account of Marvel keeping both characters alive and wanting to retain Magneto as such an icon (and deservedly for him). 616 comics need to do more work to balance out Lorna as Magneto's heir and Lorna as her own character. But a life story, could allow passage of time to make it work better.

In this sense, Lorna in an "X-Men life story" would juxtapose the other X-Men (mainly the O5) in that she takes a different path from them in her life.

[jwatson]

Gonna throw my post in the ring figuring people can ignore it if they don't want to see it.

I've always felt Polaris offers a great mutant metaphor example that hasn't really been tapped for her. If we looked only at her very first couple issues, she's a young woman who had no idea of her latent powers or heritage, but DID have her green hair - and felt she had to hide it to avoid attracting the curious. This raises a lot of "why" questions. Why did she feel she needed to hide it? Why didn't she consider the idea that she might be a mutant? What experiences did she have growing up prior to her powers awakening, and how did they shape her worldview?

Lorna grew up as someone who could "pass" as human but required hair dye to make it happen. Or in this day and age, she could theoretically keep it green, but she'd have to pretend she's dyeing it if she wants to pass as human.

When you add in her origin story of causing the plane crash that killed her parents, she demonstrates the dangers of her powers in the hands of someone too young for those powers.

In terms of passage of time, Lorna does also have the "heir of Magneto" aspect to her through which you could see her take to the role. Think of things like Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh. In younger years, before proving herself, Jamie Lee was known largely as "Janet Leigh's daughter." Lorna could likewise start out her "heir of Magneto" reveal largely known for who her father is, but over time in a story of her life, overtake her father's reputation and stand out as her own icon.

In regular 616 comics, that would be difficult to do on account of Marvel keeping both characters alive and wanting to retain Magneto as such an icon (and deservedly for him). 616 comics need to do more work to balance out Lorna as Magneto's heir and Lorna as her own character. But a life story, could allow passage of time to make it work better.

In this sense, Lorna in an "X-Men life story" would juxtapose the other X-Men (mainly the O5) in that she takes a different path from them in her life.

This sounds good. I would also add in the exploration of the Dane's. Apparently lorna must come from money money on her mother side because magneto in his giant size said that namor didn't really have any attachment to the island he was on because he inherited from some Dane's in a poker match. I just assumed that those danes must be related to lorna. On top of that i would love the jewish aspect of lorna explored, i would assume she chose to go brunette rather than a blonde or something because of her jewish ancestry (not saying that jewish people can't be blonde or any other hair color.), so maybe she ended up with a nice jewish family. To top it off as much as lorna wanted to hide someone must have instilled some pride in her for her green hair because i always wondered if she hated it, why use a wash out dye rather than a permanent dye. So in my mind something in lorna was prideful of the green hair that made her different.

[Triniking1234]

This is easy.

- Start with O7.
- Continue into GSXM.
- After the team changes into All-New, kill off Havok, Sunfire, Thunderbird. Angel, Beast and Iceman continue as active heroes but retire later
- Contiune until Phoenix and have Cyclops and Jean leave and have Rachel and later Nathan.
- Xavier and Magneto retire. Cyclops takes over as Headmaster but Storm takes over the X-Men. Polaris takes over Brotherhood. New characters after either go to Storm's X-Men or Polaris' Brotherhood.
- Dani and Sam take over X-Men. Rogue and James join the Brotherhood.
- Dani's generation is replaced by Gen X then replaced by New X-men and the final Generation is led by Cyclops and Jean's son, Nathan as the new Phoenix versus the Brotherhood's Quentin Quire as Dark Phoenix.

Gimme your money.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Why do X-Men: Life Story when you have Ed Piskor's X-Men Grand Design?

I don't think there's any real interest or appeal in the idea of an X-Men Life Story unlike Spider-Man Life Story. Spider-Man's a character who grew up to a certain point but then plateaued. He and his cast were regular humans without powers or immortality, so the issue of him aging up had more inherent novelty than in the case of X-Men.

You can't do a Life Story with a character who cannot age and grow old because of his powers.
-- For instance, Wolverine's an immortal and a century old.
-- Magneto has been de-aged multiple times. As has presumably Xavier.
-- Given the nature of some characters mutations and X-Gene it's likely many of them will exceed normal human lifespan and aging anyway.

[salarta]

Why do X-Men: Life Story when you have Ed Piskor's X-Men Grand Design?

I don't think there's any real interest or appeal in the idea of an X-Men Life Story unlike Spider-Man Life Story. Spider-Man's a character who grew up to a certain point but then plateaued. He and his cast were regular humans without powers or immortality, so the issue of him aging up had more inherent novelty than in the case of X-Men.

You can't do a Life Story with a character who cannot age and grow old because of his powers.
-- For instance, Wolverine's an immortal and a century old.
-- Magneto has been de-aged multiple times. As has presumably Xavier.
-- Given the nature of some characters mutations and X-Gene it's likely many of them will exceed normal human lifespan and aging anyway.

That would just mean the life story isn't focused on an immortal character like Wolverine. Makes more sense, to me, to focus on the lifespan of the O5 since they're the team of the first issue.

I don't think characters getting de-aged necessarily matters, because that de-aging has typically been used in the 616 purely to keep the character around, not from any inherent capacity to their character or powers.

There's also Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow. What happened in that scenario could happen in a similar manner to X-Men characters.

[WhitePhoenix]

This is easy.

- Start with O7.
- Continue into GSXM.
- After the team changes into All-New, kill off Havok, Sunfire, Thunderbird. Angel, Beast and Iceman continue as active heroes but retire later
- Contiune until Phoenix and have Cyclops and Jean leave and have Rachel and later Nathan.
- Xavier and Magneto retire. Cyclops takes over as Headmaster but Storm takes over the X-Men. Polaris takes over Brotherhood. New characters after either go to Storm's X-Men or Polaris' Brotherhood.
- Dani and Sam take over X-Men. Rogue and James join the Brotherhood.
- Dani's generation is replaced by Gen X then replaced by New X-men and the final Generation is led by Cyclops and Jean's son, Nathan as the new Phoenix versus the Brotherhood's Quentin Quire as Dark Phoenix.

Gimme your money.

Love it!!!

[Kingdom X]

That’s a good point about Lorna being able to develop on a different path than the 05.

I would look forward to seeing younger generations (New Mutants, Gen X, New X-Men) actually graduate and become X-Men. This would make the book pretty different than Spider-Man’s because the roster would change each issue with characters actually getting conclusions to their stories and only a few sticking around for all 6 issues.

[Factor]

I'd love this. I've actually pitched this in a "create an alternate universe" thread here.
It would be so much fun to see the X-men evolve through the decades.

I'd have every character debut at the time of their creation (at the age they were supposed to be back then). So the O5 would have been 15 in the 1963 and would age "naturally" from there.
This would allow for the New Mutants/Gen X and other student teams to actually grow up to replace their mentors eventually.
Every in-universe decade would be a homage to the publication history of that decade. So the 90s would be focused on Cable, X-force and the Gen X kids, for example. 00s would be all about Morrison's high concepts and evolution of mutant society etc.

I guess it could all culminate in a Dawn of X scenario as an ending and restart to the greater story of mutants.

[Kingdom X]

I'd love this. I've actually pitched this in a "create an alternate universe" thread here.
It would be so much fun to see the X-men evolve through the decades.

I'd have every character debut at the time of their creation (at the age they were supposed to be back then). So the O5 would have been 15 in the 1963 and would age "naturally" from there.
This would allow for the New Mutants/Gen X and other student teams to actually grow up to replace their mentors eventually.
Every in-universe decade would be a homage to the publication history of that decade. So the 90s would be focused on Cable, X-force and the Gen X kids, for example. 00s would be all about Morrison's high concepts and evolution of mutant society etc.

I guess it could all culminate in a Dawn of X scenario as an ending and restart to the greater story of mutants.

Exactly! My only difference is that I would probably end with a protest/ demonstration similar to how Bendis ended his run (don’t worry nothing else from there is making it in). I like the idea of the X-Men’s story ending with a focus on the mutant minority metaphor.

[Rzerox21xx]

Exactly! My only difference is that I would probably end with a protest/ demonstration similar to how Bendis ended his run (don’t worry nothing else from there is making it in). I like the idea of the X-Men’s story ending with a focus on the mutant minority metaphor.

I would so buy the hell of that if it happens, I swear spider-man life story.... I look forward to the most every month coming out on 2019 i brought it 3 times, twice as floppies and 1 as graphic novel. hell i would buy the hardcover if that comes out

[anyajenkins]

Dane is lorna’s last name, but it also means someone from Denmark. I think that’s what he meant.