The Hellfire Gala

[gonnagiveittoya]

What do you mean bring everyone together? Are you actually saying that Stark,Avengers,FF,Doom,and Shield and the rest of the beautiful people should've been given free headquarters space on Mars, while the rest of the riff-raff should continued to be ignored and left behind on earth?

I'm saying that I'm frustrated that the constant statements of "well bring everyone together", "building forward together with humanity" and solicits hinting at "the day we united", which were all huge red herrings and misdirects to hide another instance of humans and mutants being more separate and distant than ever before.

Especially since the event also ends with spoilers:

a mutant, likely somebody in Krakoas leading government body, murdering a member of the Avengers

end of spoilers

[RamaBird]

I agree. I think when it comes to the current X-books it is important to stay with the main titles and ignore the rest. Everything else, unfortunately, is just annoying filler material to inflate the event and sell more. I don't get why it is so difficult to really tell a story in ALL books part of such an event?!

I think the Gala works beautifully and is quite concise if you only read what is necessary: Marauders, X-Men, Planet-Size X-Men, & S.W.O.R.D.

Same happened to X of Swords. I really wished Hickman's writing and work would claim more centrality.

If that was the case, his story would've probably been told in less than two years. Seems pretty obvious to me that it's editorial who pushed for all these extra books to extend the time Hickman was on. Since HOX/POX was so successful, they probably right then decided to milk out the buzz as much as they could.

[JB]

We're on the same page. I'm going to be cutting down on my X-titles after tomorrow's "X-Factor" #10. I will continue to buy physical copies, just less of them. Like you said, a lot of it was just filler.

My hope is that the ship runs a little tighter now. I remember Hickman saying that they were experimenting and playing around as they built Krakoa's foundation and then, "there's going to be a shift coming, and when that does it will kind of go back to a structure with what we're talking about: X-Men, heroes of Krakoa. Then other things will happen."

So I'm really excited by the prospect that we're now on a direct track with his master plan.

[GeneTitan]

My hope is that the ship runs a little tighter now. I remember Hickman saying that they were experimenting and playing around as they built Krakoa's foundation and then, "there's going to be a shift coming, and when that does it will kind of go back to a structure with what we're talking about: X-Men, heroes of Krakoa. Then other things will happen."

So I'm really excited by the prospect that we're now on a direct track with his master plan.

Yes, I like the fact that "Inferno" is going to be its own book and not filtered throughout all the books. That's honestly more of the story I want to read. That and the Duggan/Larraz X-Men.

[Grunty]

My hope is that the ship runs a little tighter now. I remember Hickman saying that they were experimenting and playing around as they built Krakoa's foundation and then, "there's going to be a shift coming, and when that does it will kind of go back to a structure with what we're talking about: X-Men, heroes of Krakoa. Then other things will happen."

So I'm really excited by the prospect that we're now on a direct track with his master plan.

I get the impression they are actualy becomming increasingly less focused and there are two dissonant circles in the X-offices.
The young pitchers, who seem to use this whole status quo to just throw stuff at the wall in the hope that something sticks and encourage each other blindly to do so instead of actualy reflecting if the ideas have any lasting value, while the editor stamps his okay on it with little resistance. Also that they believe this status quo is going to last long.
The other being the experienced plotters, who have their focused stories and are trying to get them through in spite of how the other circle is derailing the overall situation. Who might see the writing on the wall and know they need to make the best out of it while it lasts.

I see Hickman being in the later and after over a year of having to stretch things out, is now basicly given the chance to get his plots done, even if it doesn't result in the outcome he original wanted, though only in one or more mini series. Otherwise being there to hold the reset button story ready for when sales have gone so low they need to relaunch the line, or when the movie projects are finaly starting and they need a more movie worthy status quo to reflect them.

Meanwhile i'm seeing Duggan somewhere in the middle with his X-men. He is not a bad writer, but his track record is mixed and his work on Marauders has elements of the "throw stuff at the wall" mentality aswell. So it's difficult to tell if he will make the X-men feel "right" and build them up in a way that it can outlast the "X of X" status quo, or if it will inherit the problems of Marauders.

We will see if my bleak outlook has truth to it, or if they can indeed tighten their focus towards something to bring excitment and success back.

[RamaBird]

I have faith in Duggan's XMEN because it resembles Uncanny Avengers (this is where his writing was really good) better than Marauders (the book where he's so so) does.

[Sutekh]

I get the impression they are actually becoming increasingly less focused and there are two dissonant circles in the X-offices.

Yeah, I feel like Hickman came out strong and dropped multiple really compelling story beats, and then stepped back and allowed other writers a chance to adopt their favorite and run with it, only to see many of them just completely ignored while various writers just sort of farted around doing whatever they wanted instead, leaving his plot elements (like King Broo, in charge of seventy billion Brood, or all of Arakko and it's mutants) just lying there spilled on the ground like Onan's seed, wasted potential.

So he has now come along and wrapped some of it up (Arakko's mutants, tucked away on Mars, since SWORD with what's-her-name-of-the-Burning-Heart was the only Arakki to be seen since he introduced them, that I know of), disappointed with the rest of the writers for ignoring the plot elements he handed them at the outset in favor of their own Terra Verde plant-nonsense or Captain Britain whatever.

Obviously Hickman couldn't write a half-dozen monthly titles all at once, but he set up enough to get them started, and not enough of the other X-writers bothered to pick up what he was putting down.

[gonnagiveittoya]

Khora seems to be the "Arrakoan that will be important in other books" token for SWORD

[Vishop]

I have faith in Duggan's XMEN because it resembles Uncanny Avengers (this is where his writing was really good) better than Marauders (the book where he's so so) does.

You are right. This actually makes make me realize how much I don't want to read another shadow Avengers book which is X-Men now. Heck despite all the hoodo attention Sword is getting so far due to Erik and Wanda. Technically Sword is Shield as Space based organization. F#@? everything is so much so much non X-Men right now even though they brought back Hellfire Gala. Colonizing Mars was a step forward for the X-Men to become New Inhumans.

[Exodus]

If that was the case, his story would've probably been told in less than two years. Seems pretty obvious to me that it's editorial who pushed for all these extra books to extend the time Hickman was on. Since HOX/POX was so successful, they probably right then decided to milk out the buzz as much as they could.

I would have preferred that. I really love reading Morrison's run entirely.

I like to re-read a good run in general. I cannot see myself going back and re-reading Hickman's X-Men at this point. too much mediocre filler content that is still somehow necessary to enjoy the entire story. I personally think this is a mistake from a creative standpoint but of course it inflates the market and sells more books.....I personally prefer a solid writer giving me a concise and good storyline for some years before the next author comes along with a new take and interpretation of the X-Men.

[Exodus]

I have faith in Duggan's XMEN because it resembles Uncanny Avengers (this is where his writing was really good) better than Marauders (the book where he's so so) does.

Right now I do not have a lot of hope for this book. Honestly, using the High Evolutionary as a villain already sounds like a boring superhero story without creativity behind it. Had this villain any good story ever?!?!?!

--

Also: Why should I care about the X-Men as a superhero team book at this point?!?! They just have terraformed bloody Mars. I, as a reader, want to go there NOW!!!

[MarvelMaster616]

Wow. That last page of X-Factor #10...that's going to get people talking. And it's a hell of a way to cap off the Hellfire Gala.

[gonnagiveittoya]

Right now I do not have a lot of hope for this book. Honestly, using the High Evolutionary as a villain already sounds like a boring superhero story without creativity behind it. Had this villain any good story ever?!?!?!

--

Also: Why should I care about the X-Men as a superhero team book at this point?!?! They just have terraformed bloody Mars. I, as a reader, want to go there NOW!!!

That sounds like a person who doesn't think itll be fun to have the X-Men fighting dinosaurs

[loke13]

You are right. This actually makes make me realize how much I don't want to read another shadow Avengers book which is X-Men now. Heck despite all the hoodo attention Sword is getting so far due to Erik and Wanda. Technically Sword is Shield as Space based organization. F#@? everything is so much so much non X-Men right now even though they brought back Hellfire Gala. Colonizing Mars was a step forward for the X-Men to become New Inhumans.

Wow you're basically saying that the X-Men have to literally conform to what YOU view the X-Men as in order for an X-Men but to be in X-Men book? I'm sorry but that's ridiculous.

And this type of thinking is exactly why the x-titles declined over the decades we have fans of these books who grew up with these books during the 70s 80s and the 90's for some strange reason are stuck in that same cycle of storytelling. "This is what the X-men are and this is all they will ever be." Is literally the death of creativity.

[gonnagiveittoya]

I mean the mutants absolutely are more like the Inhumans now. That's just a fact.