X-BOOKS Solicitations for October 2021

[Grunty]

We won't care basically because we never cared about any of the Wakanda nonsense to begin with. Most of us never found it to be all that interesting.

Silly,yes. Interesting,no.

I have the feeling there are plenty who feel the same about Krakoa and the current attempt to make mutants/X-men something intergalactic, with likely a majority of Marvel comic readers in general feeling that both space Wakanda and space mutant civilization being equaly silly.

[rcaguy]

I have the feeling there are plenty who feel the same about Krakoa and the current attempt to make mutants/X-men something intergalactic, with likely a majority of Marvel comic readers in general feeling that both space Wakanda and space mutant civilization being equaly silly.

Difference being the X-books has always sorta treated the space stuff sort of like the orginal Star Trek.You don't get that feeling from space Wakanda.

[Pulp Fiction]

The most technologically advanced civilization on earth can't go to space because?...

T'challa has a penthouse in your head, rent free

[MAR420X]

Lethal Legion was from avengers #676. Mentacle a member of them was last seen in SWORD #6. Looks to be an ALL NEW team of them coming in SWORD.

score another one for ME!!! just read SWORD #7!

[JB]

Hello, Captain Glory

[Grunty]

Difference being the X-books has always sorta treated the space stuff sort of like the orginal Star Trek.You don't get that feeling from space Wakanda.

It's true that the X-men have a stronger history of occasionaly going into space and having adventures there, with the Shi'ar empire essentialy created to be their exclusive playground, giving them a foothold and role there.

Plus there is S.W.O.R.D. which was created in the orbit (pun intended) of the X-men franchise, because it had that foothold.

Though X-men was never fully Star Trek, but just occasionaly walking in it's footsteps.

Compared to that, while he has also occasionaly visited space (like many Marvel heros), Black Panther never quite managed to get narrative foothold there, therefor space Wakanda likely feels much more odd to many readers or marvel fans.
Either in a "now they ran out of ideas" (the idea of a long running franchise going to space has become a running gag with many film fans, see the second Machete movie where it was used as joke at the end because of exactly that repeating pattern) or "now they are pushing it" situation.

However in case of the mutants i still argue for them to become a space power or at least power player there, has the chance of being equaly odd to many fans and readers. Because while the X-men have a playground there as mentioned above, they are still primarily earth bound in their pop culture image and the mutants as a collective even more so.

Because as far as i see it, the marvel mutants as a concept are inherently something tied to the cosmopolitical situation of our modern urban environments (most american readers will be of urban origins and either familiar with knowing the "foreign" and "odd" people found in modern cities or being part of these groups themself).
Yes there have always been ancient mutants, mutants from otherworldly places and so on. But the vast majority of "basic" mutants are usualy from the mirror of our modern day world and civilization, specifically of urban environments.

So to collectively take them out of there (first with having a magic wonder island where 99% of them live on now, away from the "human" civilization where their narrative roots still are) and trying to put them into the galactic marvel setting, runs the high risk of taking them out of where they work well and shine.

Similar it's also why i don't see much of a chance for the Arrakii to become a lasting "stable", because being so far away from where the core strength of mutants as a narrative concept in the marvel universe lies, the Arraki are essentialy just another race of "aliens" (with a thin connection to humanity) and now that they are put on Mars, they might easily get written of as "Inhumans 2.0" of all things.

They essentialy have to compete with the Skrulls, Shi'ar, Kree and other established alien races for recognition by the reader and since nothing established after the 70's and 80's ever has an easy time to become accepted as "equal" to the established powers, they will have a hard time to stay around once the protective hands of Ewing and the X-office will be gone.

Which is also something i've been thinking about a bit since Planet Sized X-men. Because while we clearly have mutant characters who work well for a space setting and are powerhouses there as much as they are on Earth. As collective the mutants are not suited to be a space power.

If their role and power in space are based on their natural super powers, we once again have over 90% of the mutant population as unsuited or without any real advantage in space. On Earth having super powers of any kind makes someone special. It's a small pond and even basic mutants have the chance to be big fish there. But in space with the various super technologies and alien species who have natural super powers which can't be easily supressed as mutant powers are, mutants as a collective "species" are not very powerfull.

So the majority of mutants if push comes to shove would just be your average "person with a rifle and space suit" that heros and villians alike are throwing around like ragdolls and in that regard the mutants are far smaller in number and lower on resources than true galactic powers.

And since the galactic side of the Marvel universe is also full of "countless" (on account of writers being free to constantly create new ones) alien species of various forms, shapes and powers, the mutants are also narratively not as special there as they are on Earth. Same goes for the magic wonderlands (funnily reinforced only a short while ago in New Mutants).

So as much Ewing and co. try to hype up mutants going intergalactic, i feel it won't find too much ground with fans and readers, because i think it's not where mutants as a collective shine.

Bottom line. X-men in space are an established entity. Mutants as galactic civilization are not and infact it goes counter to their strength.

And Wakanda in space equaly does not look like it will feel fitting.