What if there was a X-men universe without strict "cape" super hero comic rules?

[Grunty]

Tl;Dr version:
"What if there was an Ultimate Universe style X-verse which had more freedom from typical western "cape" super hero comics standards?"

Back in the early 2000's, Marvel launched the Ultimate Universe as a sort of retelling of their classic super heros and teams based on (then) "modern" standards inspired pop culture, movies, tv shows and other general trends.

I don't think i need to elaborate further on it's rise and fall, why it worked at first, why it ultimately failed and so on

Never the less the Ultimate Universe is an interesting example of a full blown multi-title alternate universe take on Marvel comics which worked on a scale that was almost rivaling the mainstream version for a while.

And i wonder if something similar could be repeated with the X-men as franchise?

Mainly, the idea of having a X-men universe free of the convention, tropes and fundamentals of the the so called "cape" comics (meaning classic super heros)?

Now of course there is the old and worn debate on what exactly "defines" a super hero. So for the purpose of this topic i would propose simply seperating between "cape comic" and "general" super heros.
"General super heros" being basicly any main characters with super natural powers or equipment and qualify as heros either by moral standards or being the central characters of their stories.
"Cape comic super heros" meanwhile are main character with super natural powers or equipment who adhere to the visual, story telling, narrative and world building standards set by the ... well classic super hero comics of the 1930-1950s.

Because make no mistake, regardless of how much some might argue that the X-men are no longer "super heros", their books, presentation and stories still clearly ahdere to the cape comic standard even now.

So what i'm thinking about here is a universe in which the Marvel mutants and the X-men characters exist, but the world doesnt "need" to follow the rules of cape super hero comics. Things don't need to look like super hero comics, the world is actualy allowed to change because of the presence of mutants and so on.

Basicly take the range that many seinen, shonen and shojo manga featuring super powers allow themself to make us of and think what a stand alone X-men universe with them could look like.

Of course this doesn't mean that certain styles of fancy outfits, code names, good vs. evil stories (albeit many grey shades would be the prefered morality), over the top elements, formations of teams with code names (hence still having something akin to "x-men") and narrative beats can't exist too.

They just wouldn't be the standard by which that universe needs to work.

[Alan2099]

So basically you just want to replace American superhero cliches with Japanese superhero cliches, right?

[Grunty]

So basically you just want to replace American superhero cliches with Japanese superhero cliches, right?

No. That bit was just thrown in as example for a wide variation of general super hero stories which do not feature the the "classic" cape comic standards and which many people are now aware of thanks to these comics having become part of the mainstream in the west too.

Do you want me to throw in a second wall of text to elaborate on the exact convention of the cape comic standards i'm refering to and what i have in mind when i propose the idea of a X-men based universe which is not bound to it like the main continuity comics have to be?

I'm kidding on the later of course.

[HeartofTheStoriesWeTell]

I wonder if it wouldn't just look like the 2 live action shows we got... mutant X and Gifted

[Wolverine12]

I mean you listed the best example in the first sentence. The Ultimate Universe was outselling 616 for a decent amount of time. A lot of people didn't like the heroes because they were all "jerks" for lack of a better term but I thought the early UU is some of the best comics ever produced. They completely screwed up by killing all the big name X-Men and then replacing them with their kids/knock off versions but even then we got some really good stuff.

[Jackraow21]

I mean you listed the best example in the first sentence. The Ultimate Universe was outselling 616 for a decent amount of time. A lot of people didn't like the heroes because they were all "jerks" for lack of a better term but I thought the early UU is some of the best comics ever produced. They completely screwed up by killing all the big name X-Men and then replacing them with their kids/knock off versions but even then we got some really good stuff.

Agree with all of this. The Ultimate U was a great reboot until it went off the rails. Had more care gone into maintaining the line and its quality I think it would’ve endured.

Of course, they then went about “Ultimatizing” the 616 Marvel U a bit, trying to borrow the things that worked or were working in the Ultimate U and transplanting them over to the 616, which also hurt the Ultimate line around the same time as the quality dipped. So then they just opted to kill it via Ultimatum and used Secret Wars to salvage Miles Morales and bring him over. I’m actually hoping to see the MCU borrow some things from the Ultimate U, and if rumors are true it looks like they might. Things like the X-men being younger, and Weapon X being a recent thing versus in the past. Stuff like that.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Tl;Dr version:
"What if there was an Ultimate Universe style X-verse which had more freedom from typical western "cape" super hero comics standards?"

Back in the early 2000's, Marvel launched the Ultimate Universe as a sort of retelling of their classic super heros and teams based on (then) "modern" standards inspired pop culture, movies, tv shows and other general trends.

I don't think i need to elaborate further on it's rise and fall, why it worked at first, why it ultimately failed and so on

Never the less the Ultimate Universe is an interesting example of a full blown multi-title alternate universe take on Marvel comics which worked on a scale that was almost rivaling the mainstream version for a while.

And i wonder if something similar could be repeated with the X-men as franchise?

Mainly, the idea of having a X-men universe free of the convention, tropes and fundamentals of the the so called "cape" comics (meaning classic super heros)?

Now of course there is the old and worn debate on what exactly "defines" a super hero. So for the purpose of this topic i would propose simply seperating between "cape comic" and "general" super heros.
"General super heros" being basicly any main characters with super natural powers or equipment and qualify as heros either by moral standards or being the central characters of their stories.
"Cape comic super heros" meanwhile are main character with super natural powers or equipment who adhere to the visual, story telling, narrative and world building standards set by the ... well classic super hero comics of the 1930-1950s.

Because make no mistake, regardless of how much some might argue that the X-men are no longer "super heros", their books, presentation and stories still clearly ahdere to the cape comic standard even now.

So what i'm thinking about here is a universe in which the Marvel mutants and the X-men characters exist, but the world doesnt "need" to follow the rules of cape super hero comics. Things don't need to look like super hero comics, the world is actualy allowed to change because of the presence of mutants and so on.

Basicly take the range that many seinen, shonen and shojo manga featuring super powers allow themself to make us of and think what a stand alone X-men universe with them could look like.

Of course this doesn't mean that certain styles of fancy outfits, code names, good vs. evil stories (albeit many grey shades would be the prefered morality), over the top elements, formations of teams with code names (hence still having something akin to "x-men") and narrative beats can't exist too.

They just wouldn't be the standard by which that universe needs to work.

The Ultimate universe was the closest but the issue is Marvel than the concept.

You would need to go indie.