X-men #1 reviews (spoilers)

[GeneTitan]

In a forum where we have no idea of all of the identity markers of those speaking on representation, and how it affects them, we will never have a truly productive conversation about the make up of this new roster of X-Men.

If we knew more about one another (age, race/ethnicity, gender expression, religion, etc.) and shared our positive and negative experiences related to those identities than we'd probably be a little more understanding of what people are posting.

For example, I'm 47 (as of this post), Black, male, American and gay. Growing up in the 80's, there was no great representation of LGBTQ folks in comic books. Understanding the metaphor of the X-Men when I started reading it when I was 12, the mutants I saw (The Outback Team) was enough to meet my need of representation.

I'm also the oldest of 4 brothers and I got straight A's in school and I always hid parts of myself so nobody would know I was gay. Then finally I just said, "**** it." So, naturally Cyclops became my favorite character b/c his arc mirrored my life, even though he's a straight White guy. Always having leaned into my Blackness, I love the fact that Synch is on the team. So, for 3 of my strongest identity markers Black, male and gay, I get direct and metaphorical representation and the team works for me. However, I can see how it doesn't work for everyone. Sunfire is Asian, but he's more associated with his mask than his actual face. I hope we see more of him behind the mask and flames as the book progresses. And why haven't we seen any Trans mutants? Where are the LatinX mutants on the team? There are lots of other examples, but I'm sure you all get the point.

If I were in my 20's and actually grew up with more positive examples of LGBTQ people on television, I'd probably want a more direct piece of representation for my gay identity. The metaphor worked in my youth and I still hold onto that, but today people need more than metaphors because they know what is available to them in terms of representation. I think we all look for representation in different ways based on how we've experienced and navigate our own identity. But, we don't know that much about each other to really have that conversation in this thread. It was nice to see people begin their posts sharing their identity markers b/c it gives the comments context.

I love this board and reading the thoughts of others.

[CoCoBandz]

I’m a big white guy with graying hair. Ha. We’re not so different, buddy. We’re all human beings, comic fans and enjoy seeing someone that looks like us in the pages. It’s all good. No need to get defensive about it. I totally get it.

I’m also a veteran. But not a cyborg or time traveler unfortunately.

There's still time.

Just get two broken clocks and 5G.

[Big Joe]

In a forum where we have no idea of all of the identity markers of those speaking on representation, and how it affects them, we will never have a truly productive conversation about the make up of this new roster of X-Men.

If we knew more about one another (age, race/ethnicity, gender expression, religion, etc.) and shared our positive and negative experiences related to those identities than we'd probably be a little more understanding of what people are posting.

For example, I'm 47 (as of this post), Black, male, American and gay. Growing up in the 80's, there was no great representation of LGBTQ folks in comic books. Understanding the metaphor of the X-Men when I started reading it when I was 12, the mutants I saw (The Outback Team) was enough to meet my need of representation.

I'm also the oldest of 4 brothers and I got straight A's in school and I always hid parts of myself so nobody would know I was gay. Then finally I just said, "**** it." So, naturally Cyclops became my favorite character b/c his arc mirrored my life, even though he's a straight White guy. Always having leaned into my Blackness, I love the fact that Synch is on the team. So, for 3 of my strongest identity markers Black, male and gay, I get direct and metaphorical representation and the team works for me. However, I can see how it doesn't work for everyone. Sunfire is Asian, but he's more associated with his mask than his actual face. I hope we see more of him behind the mask and flames as the book progresses. And why haven't we seen any Trans mutants? Where are the LatinX mutants on the team? There are lots of other examples, but I'm sure you all get the point.

If I were in my 20's and actually grew up with more positive examples of LGBTQ people on television, I'd probably want a more direct piece of representation for my gay identity. The metaphor worked in my youth and I still hold onto that, but today people need more than metaphors because they know what is available to them in terms of representation. I think we all look for representation in different ways based on how we've experienced and navigate our own identity. But, we don't know that much about each other to really have that conversation in this thread. It was nice to see people begin their posts sharing their identity markers b/c it gives the comments context.

I love this board and reading the thoughts of others.

Thanks for this post, it's a very refreshing read.

I'm 57, a white male from the UK, I'm married with five kids. I'm also an ex member of the British armed forces. As well as that I'm quite a committed socialist.

I'm a fervent believer that comics have a very important role to play in influencing society into accepting social justice as an absolute necessity. I further believe that, for the most part through little fault of their own, so far that hasn't really happened. To move towards addressing some of the imbalance in society as a whole there must be far more representation of all minorities. Whether they be minorities because of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, sexuality, disability or anything else. Of course, to even start to achieve this inclusivity has to be key, that's for everyone, but my thought, and I suppose it's controversial, and might well be shouted down, is that what some might call over representation is required. So for example far more than what is the statistical average of particular minorities. Comics should bring to light the very real difficulties of the lives of real people, I want to see societies where everyone accepts everyone else and loves each other celebrating their differences, rather than hating each other for being different.

Thanks again for giving me a chance to express this.

[GeneTitan]

Thanks for this post, it's a very refreshing read.

I'm 57, a white male from the UK, I'm married with five kids. I'm also an ex member of the British armed forces. As well as that I'm quite a committed socialist.

I'm a fervent believer that comics have a very important role to play in influencing society into accepting social justice as an absolute necessity. I further believe that, for the most part through little fault of their own, so far that hasn't really happened. To move towards addressing some of the imbalance in society as a whole there must be far more representation of all minorities. Whether they be minorities because of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, sexuality, disability or anything else. Of course, to even start to achieve this inclusivity has to be key, that's for everyone, but my thought, and I suppose it's controversial, and might well be shouted down, is that what some might call over representation is required. So for example far more than what is the statistical average of particular minorities. Comics should bring to light the very real difficulties of the lives of real people, I want to see societies where everyone accepts everyone else and loves each other celebrating their differences, rather than hating each other for being different.

Thanks again for giving me a chance to express this.

You're welcome and thank you for that insightful response.

[loke13]

I’m a big white guy with graying hair. Ha. We’re not so different, buddy. We’re all human beings, comic fans and enjoy seeing someone that looks like us in the pages. It’s all good. No need to get defensive about it. I totally get it.

I’m also a veteran. But not a cyborg or time traveler unfortunately.

Like I said big difference

[Hizashi]

It matters in a case where people are talking about history in a country that glorifies white history and ignores black history. Why do i know more about colombus discovering something that was already here than land being stolen from fellow americans that just happen to be black. Context matters.

I don't think there's a connection between representation in comics and the American education system failing to teach about Black excellence - I independently educated myself about Booker T. Washington, the Tuskegee Airmen, a little about Du Bois, etc. I like to learn, I read as much as I can, but I think conflating these two things doesn't work.

A few thoughts on the conversation happening in the last few pages of this thread:

• It doesn't make sense to use the demographic statistics of the USA as a comparison. Krakoa, and by extension the X-men, represent mutants worldwide. Any mutant around the world can join Krakoa, so it makes more sense to use the demographics of the world as a comparison. (If you care about that kind of thing in the first place).
• I'm VERY glad to see pushback against white women supposedly making a team diverse. It doesn't. Maybe Bill Burr's iconic SNL monologue is starting to make a difference in people remembering historically which side of the oppressor/oppressed fence white women belong on. A link to Burr's famous monologue: https://youtu.be/O1xgXJ5_Q34?t=195
• This is especially true in the context of Central Park and Seneca Village. Let's not forget the white woman who became famous because she saw a black man in Central Park and called the cops on him.
• With all that said, we have to remember that for 40+ years now (ever since Claremont took over), the X-Men are about predominantly white people who are beautiful and live in luxury standing in for oppressed minorities. That *is* the X-Men. That's the brand. I'm not saying people shouldn't criticize it or try to change it -- by all means do so -- but after 40+ years, it's like complaining that when you order a Coke, you get soda instead of a berry smoothie. It's the brand!

Bill Burr is a genius.

Also, your fourth point is exactly why I've argued repeatedly that the X-Men shouldn't be pigeon-holed into one interpretation.

I agree with you up to a point. If the story is what mattered the most and we are talking about fantasy characters, then why don't we have X-Men team books that happen to have a majority Latino, Asian, or African American members with 1 or 2 white members on? Most of us understand that most of these powers are duplicated amongst so many of these mutants that it really doesn't matter.

I guess on the surface there's nothing stopping a book from taking that approach - except that we have the paradoxical problem of "popular characters sell" and "more panel-time = more popularity". Storm is the undisputed most popular black X-Man, but if you had to name the "big four" among the X-Men, it would be her, Cyclops, Jean, and Wolverine. I think Duggan might actually be trying to give Synch more of a spotlight, and if he has to ride the coattails of the more popular characters until the larger audience see what Synch's fans see, that's a win.

I've just never been concerned with this issue in comics myself - my favorite characters (Cyclops, Daredevil, Captain America, Hawkeye, Superman, Nightwing, etc.) don't "represent" me except for the fact that they hold ideals as characters that I identify with. That's what matters to me, and I think if that was the priority with new characters, and that they were handled with care and respect, they would catch on more consistently.

[Jackraow21]

There's still time.

Just get two broken clocks and 5G.

Hoping for the cybernetic enhancements in my lifetime at least. I’ve got a bum knee from shattering my tibia plateau years ago, with a metal plate and screws in it already. So fingers crossed.

[Hizashi]

Is there any consensus on whether the first villain introduced, Kelvin Heng, is different from the third villain, Dr. Stasis? I just assumed they were different when I read the comic but the starting post in this thread is saying they're the same. (I'm not knocking the original poster, as I can see why it could be confusing. One of the reasons why I give the comic a 4/5 rather than a 5/5. Very good, not great. But still exceeding the low expectations I had of Duggan).

I mean, the sales numbers are available. It's not like Marvel is faking them.

But I would agree that the Big 2 companies might be too beholden to sales numbers. Batman does sell, so DC is publishing like 50 books with Batman, lol. That's overboard and not great strategy long-term.

Yeah, I'm pretty sick of the Batman overflow.

Sales numbers can and should be a consideration, just not the only one.

[Jackraow21]

In a forum where we have no idea of all of the identity markers of those speaking on representation, and how it affects them, we will never have a truly productive conversation about the make up of this new roster of X-Men.

If we knew more about one another (age, race/ethnicity, gender expression, religion, etc.) and shared our positive and negative experiences related to those identities than we'd probably be a little more understanding of what people are posting.

For example, I'm 47 (as of this post), Black, male, American and gay. Growing up in the 80's, there was no great representation of LGBTQ folks in comic books. Understanding the metaphor of the X-Men when I started reading it when I was 12, the mutants I saw (The Outback Team) was enough to meet my need of representation.

I'm also the oldest of 4 brothers and I got straight A's in school and I always hid parts of myself so nobody would know I was gay. Then finally I just said, "**** it." So, naturally Cyclops became my favorite character b/c his arc mirrored my life, even though he's a straight White guy. Always having leaned into my Blackness, I love the fact that Synch is on the team. So, for 3 of my strongest identity markers Black, male and gay, I get direct and metaphorical representation and the team works for me. However, I can see how it doesn't work for everyone. Sunfire is Asian, but he's more associated with his mask than his actual face. I hope we see more of him behind the mask and flames as the book progresses. And why haven't we seen any Trans mutants? Where are the LatinX mutants on the team? There are lots of other examples, but I'm sure you all get the point.

If I were in my 20's and actually grew up with more positive examples of LGBTQ people on television, I'd probably want a more direct piece of representation for my gay identity. The metaphor worked in my youth and I still hold onto that, but today people need more than metaphors because they know what is available to them in terms of representation. I think we all look for representation in different ways based on how we've experienced and navigate our own identity. But, we don't know that much about each other to really have that conversation in this thread. It was nice to see people begin their posts sharing their identity markers b/c it gives the comments context.

I love this board and reading the thoughts of others.

Nice post. Well said. And cheers. One of my best friends is 45, Black, male, American and gay. I’ve tried to get him into X-men comics, thus far unsuccessfully. Iceman coming out awhile back did pique his interest a bit, though.

[Hizashi]

Indie readers are probably more intellectual and thus, less bigoted. There are a lot of racists, homophobes, misogynists, etc. in the general public and that's who the Big 2 cater to. Plenty of comments on these boards casually drip with all of those, and a lot are not called out. Look at all of the crying about Laura using Wolverine as a code-name instead of X-23.

This seems pretty presumptuous. Intellectual does not equate to less bigoted; the Big Two hardly "cater" to the lot you describe, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find evidence; anonymity gives some people all the license they require to post their hot-takes. That last point is why I avoid social media entirely, this forum is about as close to social media as I get.

[Mercury]

Reread this again and absolutely love it now. After seeing the previews for next issue, I don't think there is any other X-book I'd rather be nestled in right now.

[pkingdom]

I don't think I ever got an answer. Were there people living on Mars before the terraforming like that data page implied?

[Mercury]

I don't think I ever got an answer. Were there people living on Mars before the terraforming like that data page implied?

I haven't seen anything indicating this, but then again, I haven't been paying that much attention.

[JB]

I don't think I ever got an answer. Were there people living on Mars before the terraforming like that data page implied?

From Planet-Size it would seem there were not. "The issue is the atmosphere. You need a hot and heavy core to enable everything that dusty rock needs to support life."

Unless there are Martians somewhere on the planet but I don't ever recall seeing any.

[Hizashi]

I don't think I ever got an answer. Were there people living on Mars before the terraforming like that data page implied?

Wasn't there some group on Mars during Hickman's Avengers? Or did the Avengers kick them out? I can't remember.