X-Men Axis: a discussion about character 'inversion' in X-Books.

[sungila]

The collective character inversion in the upcoming Axis event which extends through the aftermath of Wolverine’s death raises a number of questions about what defines an ‘event’; what defines the X-Men; and what defines character development.

Whether it’s possession from demons, transitions from life altering experiences with powers greater than perception, recovery from trauma, rebounding from broken relationships, returning from the grave, dealing with loss or upheaval, or struggling through personal rites of passage …throughout the X-Books most characters have gone through periods of ‘inversion’ as a natural progression of growth.

From the Beyonder to M-Day; from the Siege Perilous to Skrull Invasion we’ve seen characters individually and collectively invert, swing from one extreme to the other and progress or regress in mind, body and soul. Alternate versions of the X-Men have been revealing these ‘inversions’ forever.

At best, fictional characters; especially super heroes and villains, embody extremes of themselves…go through periods of loss, doubt, change and inversion…it’s just part of what the human experience is. We are an ‘axis’ of extremes…who we are isn’t a stable thing at all, it’s a cadence…and comic book characters embody this to the ultimate. Just think about Illyana’s entire cannon and ongoing progression – there’s no way to ‘invert’ Magik because she already embodies her own inversion…and so do most of the well-developed X-Men.

I am looking forward to Axis but I have my misgivings about ‘inversion’ being anything revolutionary or new…and I also feel like it boils down to another hyped up ‘vs.’ sort of deal that should and already is woven into any good ongoing.

Is the proposed inversions of characters in ‘Axis’ an oversimplification and exaggeration of standard character development?
Can you think of periods in the past when heroes and villains have been ‘inverted’?
What are they and what would make this Axis event different than those prior twists of morality and reversals of normal characterization?

[Omegastorm]

Inferno comes to mind. That circus story in W and the X-men. Whenever the Shadowking takes over the world.


o

[dragonmp93]

Dont forget AvX.

And to be sincere, the only difference with other events is if these changes stick, at least, until May 2015.

[DurararaFTW]

Is the proposed inversions of characters in ‘Axis’ an oversimplification and exaggeration of standard character development?

Yes it is. But that doesn't make it a bad thing. Not like writers are committing to the otherwise needed years of slow character development needed otherwise these dats. Writers are putting Sabretooth on X-teams all the time, and wanting to Magneto to go mutant supremist again. I'd rather have their moral axis forcefully inverted for that to happen then these happening for no real reason. And I'd rather have Storm/Nightcrawler go kick Avenger ass or whatever then sit around moping about Wolverine's death too.

[Baron of Faltine]

Yes it is. But that doesn't make it a bad thing. Not like writers are committing to the otherwise needed years of slow character development needed otherwise these dats. Writers are putting Sabretooth on X-teams all the time, and wanting to Magneto to go mutant supremist again. I'd rather have their moral axis forcefully inverted for that to happen then these happening for no real reason. And I'd rather have Storm/Nightcrawler go kick Avenger ass or whatever then sit around moping about Wolverine's death too.

From the few clues i got i think that this "inversion" would not be that easy to guess.
I don't know why, but i keep thinkig about that episode of the Simpsons, where due a school test, and on-the-job experience, Bart find himself being Hall Monitor(70's Cop serial style) and Lisa instead fall down a rebellious almost punk phase. Well I think that for the MU heroes and villains would be something similar.
Expecially the heroes. Expecially if they start losing faith in the very people they strive to protect(I can see it as a reason for Tony going back to his full "Douchey" mode)

[Rising7]

I could see it working well if it's done as a sort of Id/Ego/Superego thing where hidden traits in characters' psyches are revealed or take predominance. The way I'd like to see it is maybe something similar to how when Agent X absorbed Deadpool's personality and possibly revealed Deadpool's more altruistic side in the course of his adventures. I suspect at least some House of M-ish reality warping would have to be done to make it all fit.

If the X-Men get inverted I could see the vilification taking hold even after things go back to normal to further pile on the oppression, esp to the JGS side.

[ohsnapulon5000]

Inverted Dazzler better slap on a wig, wash her face and get her punk ass back on that stage.



or mercy kill an Avenger. either one. i don't care anymore.

[sungila]

Inferno comes to mind. That circus story in W and the X-men. Whenever the Shadowking takes over the world.
o

There are so many. Every annual, every special edition, every major arc involves inversions of character and progressions from light to dark and dark to light.
I just find it sort of weak to build hype around an event by revealing that characters will find themselves challenging their own sense of identity and doing things that they never thought they'd do...of course they will! That's what character driven stories do.

Dont forget AvX.
And to be sincere, the only difference with other events is if these changes stick, at least, until May 2015.

Yes it is. But that doesn't make it a bad thing. Not like writers are committing to the otherwise needed years of slow character development needed otherwise these dats. Writers are putting Sabretooth on X-teams all the time, and wanting to Magneto to go mutant supremist again. I'd rather have their moral axis forcefully inverted for that to happen then these happening for no real reason. And I'd rather have Storm/Nightcrawler go kick Avenger ass or whatever then sit around moping about Wolverine's death too.

I could see it working well if it's done as a sort of Id/Ego/Superego thing where hidden traits in characters' psyches are revealed or take predominance. The way I'd like to see it is maybe something similar to how when Agent X absorbed Deadpool's personality and possibly revealed Deadpool's more altruistic side in the course of his adventures. I suspect at least some House of M-ish reality warping would have to be done to make it all fit.
If the X-Men get inverted I could see the vilification taking hold even after things go back to normal to further pile on the oppression, esp to the JGS side.

I have no doubt RR will do a good job working the psychological spins on these characters. It's what made Uncanny X-Force so good. I worry that vilifying the ANAD X-Men right now when nearly all of them are lacking identity or real defined purpose may only leave them more undefined and set them up to be written off. Hopefully Axis will have long term ramifications that do the opposite for the ANAD characters. I'd love to see all of them become more assertive and passionate.

Inverted Dazzler better slap on a wig, wash her face and get her punk ass back on that stage.
or mercy kill an Avenger. either one. i don't care anymore.

lol (the bolded) I so feel that, this whole axis inversion feels like a big chance to blow off collective pent up frustration! I wouldn't blame Nightcrawler for bamfing full-bore into a bezerker blood rage.
Remember Daz' after the Outback when she was staring in the title role of her own movie and being hunted down by that obsessive fan...such a great character arc...Alison triumphs by letting the creep go and discovering the potential her powers have to cure the mentally sick and transform people with light and sound...so good. That's what these events lose IMO, this sort of meaningful character development that happens outside the blockbuster arenas.

[DurararaFTW]

I have no doubt RR will do a good job working the psychological spins on these characters. It's what made Uncanny X-Force so good. I worry that vilifying the ANAD X-Men right now when nearly all of them are lacking identity or real defined purpose may only leave them more undefined and set them up to be written off.

Wolverine's dead anyway. Nightcrawler and Storm have solos. They really aren't the characters Marvel wants to do the least with and anyway after Wolverine's gonna W&TXM will be even more solely about Storm. Banshee can't really get worse. Remender has his claws on Havok, Sunfire and Rogue event or no event. And frankly, Colossus could any push back into the limelight.

[dragonmp93]

And while we are talking about AXIS, i dont know if this is real, but I just wanted to share this:

[DurararaFTW]

Ah, mindcontrol. Alex will finally be back to his only real normal.

[king of hybrids]

And while we are talking about AXIS, i dont know if this is real, but I just wanted to share this:

at long last we know what skull's O-face looks like

and they said this event would be useless. seriously though; short of having scott ally with sub-mariner and his amazing freinds; how much worse can the x-men be put through the wringer to support the avengers narrative

[berserkerclaw]

Looks like havok, cyclops, storm and kid omega will be the main inverted characters. Though with night crawler on the cover with apocalypse I'm not ruling out any x-men being changed.

I'm really curious for the changes to the x - line with Axis

[Beezzi]

I don't know how I feel about the whole inversion thing. I get that Marvel wants to shake things up - that's what crossover events are for.

One the one hand - as a reader, I prefer to see characters go through change naturally and as part of a story. I dislike sudden heel turns and switches in personality for no reason. I want to characters struggle with their demons - if a magical fairy just turns them good or bad....well that's development and story lost.

On the other side if the inversion is done well and Marvel writers properly and maturely address the aftermath, I can see it opening paths for more interesting stories in the future.

It's a weird one. Bad writing will kill this and I just don't have that much faith in Marvel right now after AU and BoTA and from the promotional bits I've seen so far.

[MarvelMaster616]

I've already posted my theories about AXIS in other threads. But I think the whole "inversion" concept remains too undefined to start making assumptions. We know the Red Skull is going to be armed with Charles Xavier's powers. There's going to be plenty of mind control involved. But it wouldn't be a full inversion for any character if their actions were the result of mind control. I think the point of AXIS is to have these characters make these tough decisions willingly. That means having no excuses like "I was being controlled" or "The Phoenix was influencing my actions." That's what will make it so much more powerful. I think the threat posed by the Red Skull is going to be so great that just being heroes is not going to be enough. The X-men, and the rest of the Marvel universe for that matter, are going to have to resort to much greater extremes to beat him. For the X-men, I think that's going to mean teaming up with their hated enemies, like Apocalypse. There's nothing too complex about the Red Skull's position. He wants to treat mutants the same way Nazis treat all minorities. There's no reasoning with him and now that he's armed with the power of Xavier's telepathy, he's too powerful to attack by traditional means. But it's because the Red Skull's solution is so severe that the X-men's enemies might actually have a reason to help. They gain nothing by allowing the Red Skull to throw mutants into concentration camps. That's what's going to make the "inversion" more compelling. They'll have to do it willingly rather than be allowed to make excuses.