Academy X: New X-Men Appreciation 2022

[BobbysWorld]

Yeah, them not being on the same squad led me to the notion that they might have by choice not been roommates either, and maybe it was because they shared a room at home and just wanted to break with that, or maybe they fought like only siblings can, or maybe they just wanted to meet new people and broaden their horizons and were absolutely fine with each other?

In any event, Preview was mostly ignored in favor of Blindfold, who was more visually distinctive with the bandage over her face, and the various technopaths (Milan, Network, Trinary) generally seem to get short shrift. Given how prevalent technology, and especially information technology, is in our modern day, it's an amazing power, but probably even more so for crime. "Yeah, I just made that ATM spit out all it's money, and now I'm making it lose all video footage of me, so it's, like, the perfect crime!"

Although, I do like noodling around ideas for Arakki mutants, and I'd imagine that even if there are sixteen million of them, they have exactly zero cyberkinetic/technopath sorts. Probably wasn't a big call for that sort of mutation in the demon-haunted Bronze Age wastelands of Amenth.

Not necessarily. With the paradigm shift Krakoan technopaths have experienced thanks to the naming-as-magic phenomenon once they started internalizing the inclusion of mutant circuits into their view of technology, there's nothing saying there can't be Arakkii technopaths whose powers just work according to a different societal view of technology. Alternatively, there's the fact that the exact connection between a mutant's genetics and what power they manifest has always been handwaved and vague. Who's to say some mutants aren't born in time periods or places that lack the right conditions for their power to be useful, or even make itself known at all?

Krakoa and Arakko could both have mutant inhabitants who spent most of their lives thinking they got a dud when it came to their X-gene, with no real powers they're aware of. They figure whatever their mutation is, its so minor they've never even noticed. And one such Arakkii mutant who always considered themselves weaponless happens to walk past Pixie coming through the gate from Krakoa, busy with something on her phone....which this Arakkii can 'feel' or 'hear' or is getting some kind of sensory input from, in a way that seems to align with how they've heard other mutants describe their powers or how using them feels. They're like "wait, whatever you just did...do that again!" And Pixie's like....umm what? I'm so confused.

Meanwhile, there could be a mutant who can use the gates and lives on Krakoa because they do in fact have an active X-gene.....but they maybe only found out because they accidentally fell through a gate, expecting to just pass through it like other people it doesn't work for, only they actually ARE a mutant so it let them through. If not for that though, they wouldn't have had a clue because they've never actually figured out what their mutation even is. And once exchanges of information or casual social interactions between both mutant nations become more common, an Arakkii might be telling that Krakoan about the history of the Summoning Schools where some mutants learned how to use magic to summon different types of demons...and somehow this leads to that Krakoan discovering their mutant power is a natural connection with those same kind of demons or an ability that closely mimics what Arakkii Summoners do. They'd just had no way of knowing before, because they had no exposure to the demons or magic that would make such an ability reveal itself.

Its like....with how many mutants there are who can wield Darkforce energy or access the Darkforce dimension....imagine a reality where at some point in its past, one of the cosmic entities or forces native to that reality had some reason to block or cut off its Darkforce Dimension's access to the rest of that universe....and vice versa. Even if Darkforce related mutations only appear in a population in response to that Dimension being some kind of environmental influence on a population, or because Darkforce energies were the mutating agent that triggered some mutants' X-genes and they ended up synced or sensitive to those particular energies as a result...with the way not all mutants end up with powers that are distinct from any parents or ancestors they inherited their X-gene from, but instead inherit exact copies of said gene or near enough that they have the same powers as earlier generations of their family....mutations that only exist because the Darkforce Dimension USED to affect a universe or be accessible from it. Like, those specific powers could still be passed down to later generations, even if a cosmic FUBAR way above some poor little X-gene's paygrade had flipped the universe's circuit breaker and cut off the flow of any Darkforce energies to or from it, without CCing said X-genes in the memo that got passed around about it. Idk, maybe it was one of those situations where its like that info is on a Need To Know basis only, and X-genes didn't make the cut.

But yeah, that universe could have gone through several generations of mutants who got the family X-gene with zero awareness of the power that used to go with it, because how're you supposed to detect or know about a power that lets you plug into a particular dimension's socket when somebody moved a sofa in front of said socket or that dimension has left the building entirely, and it took the whole damn socket with it? And then maybe the latest generation of that family line ends up on an Exiles style team of reality hoppers, nervously asking whoever drafted them if they're sure they got the right draft pick or like, did they need someone to handle the team's coffee runs or what exactly was the reasoning here?

And they're just told nah, don't worry about it, just wait til we reach our next stop and it'll all make sense then. There's nothing wrong with your X-gene, your universe just has shitty wiring and you're all plug, no socket there. You can flip the lightswitch all you want, its just never gonna turn on. But don't blame the lamp, the lamp's not the problem, y'know? You don't need a different one, the one you got is great, its just if you want the lamp to work you're gonna have to move to a different house where the right socket for it isn't hidden behind Oblivion's couch. Like that's just all there is to it. You can have a working lamp and a new house, or you can keep the house and the lamp but the lamp's never gonna work cuz your house is a piece of ****. You get that the lamp is a metaphor right? There is no lamp, Alan. The lamp is your power. Your power is fine. The only problem with it is your universe is busted as hell. No offense.

[Sutekh]

Not necessarily. With the paradigm shift Krakoan technopaths have experienced thanks to the naming-as-magic phenomenon once they started internalizing the inclusion of mutant circuits into their view of technology, there's nothing saying there can't be Arakkii technopaths whose powers just work according to a different societal view of technology. Alternatively, there's the fact that the exact connection between a mutant's genetics and what power they manifest has always been handwaved and vague. Who's to say some mutants aren't born in time periods or places that lack the right conditions for their power to be useful, or even make itself known at all?

There is certainly story potential for some Arakki who always thought they were 'weaponless' to be hanging around the diplomatic zone, listening to communication signals in their head and discovering that they had a mutant power all along, there just weren't any high-wavelength EM signals to overhear (or receivers to get their own untrained broadcasts of same).

But it's also fun to dream up Arakki mutants and sort of limit them to powers that would 'make sense' to a bunch of Bronze-age folk (or even to flavor them according to the knowledge of the times. A mutant who generated hard radiation that could kill someone without visible manifestation might be thought to control some sort of deadly curse, or 'unseen fire', since the concept of radiation didn't really exist yet).

It also seems possible that mutations that are more common on Earth (telepathy, but also strange outliers like force field chicklets or time manipulators or bug-winged gals) might not be as prominent on Arakko, and there might be *different* mutations that 'seem more common.' People who turn into sand or stone, like Dust or Rockslide, could be a notable 'sub-tribe' of the Arakki, with thousands of different members, many with quite different expressions of their power (much as Dust and Rockslide are quite different, and yes, I picked Dust and Rockslide in a vague attempt to flutter back to the thread topic).

[Tycon]

#10 cover

[Rift]

https://newx-menfan.tumblr.com/post/...pletely-misses

I found this write-up about Helix and how it compares to some of Laura's other romances. While I think there's more to Helix that's covered here (which I'm tempted to write about), and Synch and Warren don't get enough of a fair shake here, I thought it was pretty interesting. It adds more to the Helix dynamic than I noticed before.

[Ambaryerno]

https://newx-menfan.tumblr.com/post/...pletely-misses

I found this write-up about Helix and how it compares to some of Laura's other romances. While I think there's more to Helix that's covered here (which I'm tempted to write about), and Synch and Warren don't get enough of a fair shake here, I thought it was pretty interesting. It adds more to the Helix dynamic than I noticed before.

Yeah, NXM Fan is very astute with his observations about the character dynamics. It helps to show what I've felt about Laura and Julian together: that their character dynamic is much more balanced and equal, with each bringing something to the other. Whereas with Sync and Warren, Laura was pretty much relegated to a tool to prop them up.

[Ulysian_Thracs]

https://newx-menfan.tumblr.com/post/...pletely-misses

I found this write-up about Helix and how it compares to some of Laura's other romances. While I think there's more to Helix that's covered here (which I'm tempted to write about), and Synch and Warren don't get enough of a fair shake here, I thought it was pretty interesting. It adds more to the Helix dynamic than I noticed before.

Yeah, NXM Fan is very astute with his observations about the character dynamics. It helps to show what I've felt about Laura and Julian together: that their character dynamic is much more balanced and equal, with each bringing something to the other. Whereas with Sync and Warren, Laura was pretty much relegated to a tool to prop them up.

Damn, you guys are absolutely breaking my heart! I miss the characterization of Hellion and X-23 back when they were written by authors who respected that generation and those characters.

I've always thought Liu destroyed both characters. She didn't just do her damnedest to crap all over Hellion, she also took away what I saw as the core motivation for Laura to improve herself and stay on the path from the 'animal' she began as to the 'human' she becomes in OWL. It was pretty clear how much the adults like Cyclops failed her--knowing this abused child hated being a weapon and not giving a damn because she was useful. Even Wolverine wasn't all that concerned with taking the weapon out of her, at least as much as Hellion was. . And he should've known better. ('This is Laura. She's my clone. Mess with her and she'll kill you!)

I always saw Hellion as the first one who saw her entirely as a person and not a weapon. It was so sweet how him and Mercury latched onto Laura and were there for her while they all tried to overcome the crappy adults who screwed them all up. I thought we were going to get a really touching story about two traumatized child-soldiers overcoming their trauma together by leaning on each other and wanting to be better people to deserve one another. But even if Liu did kill the relationship, it could've at least been a friendship where they cared about each other not giving into their respective demons!

Instead, Liu changed both characters into something totally different that is still felt to this day. Hellion is...someone to hurt, clown, or just generally nonexistant. And for all the screen time Laura gets, the post-Liu trajectory was to turn her into Logan with boobs. And I thought the whole point of the character originally was that X-23 wasn't Logan.

Synch and Warren don't get enough of a fair shake here, I thought it was pretty interesting. It adds more to the Helix dynamic than I noticed before.

I think the Warren relationship was described pretty much on the money. It always struck me more as a big nothing burger. Just a rebound hookup in-world, which would make sense if she was lying to gambit about not having feelings for Hellion anymore. (But that was what made Liu’s writing so damned bad even beyond the editorial decisions I very obviously disliked. She just doesn’t know how to tell a coherent story that gets the reader from Point A to Point B to Point C. One issue Laura is bargaining her soul to save the love of her life, and the next she inexplicably nukes his feelings in such an uncharacteristically vicious way. You can write a ‘breakup’ story of these characters with any number of reasons that would make sense and shows us why she feels differently--which might also have the added effect of developing one or both characters. But we didn’t get any of them. We got a forced, OOC interaction designed to showcase a character Liu didn’t like in the absolute worst possible light.)

Synch and Laura, however, is just total cringe for me. Much worse than even they criticized in the post. He comes off (to me) as domineering, stalkerish, doesn't take no for an answer, and just plain uncaring about the woman he supposedly loved. Quite frankly, this read to me like a villain's romance arc a lot more than a hero's.

Synch is a great character on his own, but with Laura he has been such a creep. Like, everything that was supposedly wrong with HeLix times one million. He doesn't sound like he is in love with her; he just wants to be in love even if it destroys the woman he wants so badly to love.

Hellion grabbed her hand? Synch was pressuring her to rewrite her entire persona so that she could love him back. That was the most abusive thing I can think of—change everything about yourself so that you can validate me. They shouldn’t be a couple just for this, even if they otherwise made sense.

We saw Laura and Hellion’s relationship evolve pretty naturally, but Synch says he chased her for 200 years before he wore her down, and then pretty much joined the X-Men just to be close to her and pressure her to alter her mind to take him back, which seems quite a bit creepier than staring at her playing football one afternoon right after their breakup.

And again, no explanations or reasons given for their relationship. Like, why Synch and not Darwin? Why did it take 200 years and what changed? Was there really this fairy tale romance Synch remembers, or was Laura thinking about Hellion every time they did the deed, because in my experience people don’t magically escape the friend zone to true love all that often.

I think the best twist they can do is that Synch was allowed to ‘escape’ through death and all his memories in the Vault were implanted specifically for the resurrection. That would make more sense than whatever the hell they supposedly did that evaded the Children for five or 6 centuries while they played house?????

[mugiwara]

Damn, you guys are absolutely breaking my heart! I miss the characterization of Hellion and X-23 back when they were written by authors who respected that generation and those characters.

I've always thought Liu destroyed both characters. She didn't just do her damnedest to crap all over Hellion, she also took away what I saw as the core motivation for Laura to improve herself and stay on the path from the 'animal' she began as to the 'human' she becomes in OWL. It was pretty clear how much the adults like Cyclops failed her--knowing this abused child hated being a weapon and not giving a damn because she was useful. Even Wolverine wasn't all that concerned with taking the weapon out of her, at least as much as Hellion was. . And he should've known better. ('This is Laura. She's my clone. Mess with her and she'll kill you!)

I always saw Hellion as the first one who saw her entirely as a person and not a weapon. It was so sweet how him and Mercury latched onto Laura and were there for her while they all tried to overcome the crappy adults who screwed them all up. I thought we were going to get a really touching story about two traumatized child-soldiers overcoming their trauma together by leaning on each other and wanting to be better people to deserve one another. But even if Liu did kill the relationship, it could've at least been a friendship where they cared about each other not giving into their respective demons!

Instead, Liu changed both characters into something totally different that is still felt to this day. Hellion is...someone to hurt, clown, or just generally nonexistant. And for all the screen time Laura gets, the post-Liu trajectory was to turn her into Logan with boobs. And I thought the whole point of the character originally was that X-23 wasn't Logan.

I wouldn't just blame Liu for that. It's Kyle&Yost who, after they developped Julian, seemed to stop caring once they got the X-Force gig.
They had him maimed by Lady D, so Laura could be angry.
THey had him abducted by Leaper Queen, so Laura could be worried.
They had him mutilated by Bastion, so Laura could be distressed.
ZERO AGENDA.

It even makzs me think that he was just a prop for Laura from the beginning and that all that development was just a happy side effect.

[Ulysian_Thracs]

I wouldn't just blame Liu for that. It's Kyle&Yost who, after they developped Julian, seemed to stop caring once they got the X-Force gig.
They had him maimed by Lady D, so Laura could be angry.
THey had him abducted by Leaper Queen, so Laura could be worried.
They had him mutilated by Bastion, so Laura could be distressed.
ZERO AGENDA.

It even makes me think that he was just a prop for Laura from the beginning and that all that development was just a happy side effect.

I think it is fair to say Hellion was ALWAYS a prop for other characters since his inception. Originally, he was Sofia's love interest and David's rival. He wasn't supposed to be the breakout star of W&D New X-Men, but an important supporting character to contrast out the mains. But W&D are really great writers and they gave many of their supporting characters real personality. (More personality, in my opinion than their leads. I like Cessily better than Sofia, too.)

The difference, at least to me, is that Liu despised the character and actively tried to destroy it, a figment of imagination that was as important to other people as Jubilee was to her. And it wasn't that she made him lash out at everyone. After everything Hellion had been through, that was a legitimate way to write the character. It made sense he was flailing and no one was helping him and he took it out on X-23 when she carpet bombed his feelings.

My issue is that she purposely wrote every single POV or fan favorite character to have exactly zero sympathy, if not outright hatred for Hellion. Often inexplicably and completely out of character in doing so! Liu was terrible in the forced hatred of Hellion to make the reader want to see Laura leave him so she could ship her preferred pairing. And, even worse, at the same time every character went out of their way to excuse everything Laura ever did as a product of her trauma, those same characters heaped scorn and picked on Hellion for one 'mistake' that wasn't even really a mistake.

And I admit that it isn't Liu's fault the Karima fallout makes absolutely zero sense. But it is her fault for expanding on that to X-23, whom he was always there for throughout her run.

-Cyke sends X-23 on assassination missions without any moral qualms, but thinks Hellion--a 17 yr old child soldier in an impossible situation who did his best and saved the day--refusing to say sorry is some kind of a cardinal sin? He threatens to exile Hellion for saving people he cared about? And then when Logan asks why he came to Westchester it's because Cyke would label him some kind of out of control mutant terrorist if he stayed in Utopia or went out on his own. A mutant terrorist, like Magneto? That isn't Cyke...

-Wolverine has killed more people than heart disease and wouldn't have even tried a non-lethal way to put down Karimain the first instance, but he hates Hellion because...why? Seriously, why does Logan hate the kid who supported his daughter for the past year and saved her life almost as much as she saved his? I mean, Logan was there for every teenage girl character going through some kind of angst, but Hellion has a mental health issue Wolverine should've completely understood and he not only refuses to help him (Logan's job as headmaster), he mocks him and tries to goad him into running away. That isn't Logan...

-Gambit hating Hellion instantly why...was he jealous of the teenage quasi-boyfriend of the student he was spending an inordinate amount of time with? I don't get how another former villain who is morally grey just instantly despises a child for...what exactly? Karima? Trying to touch Laura's hand. (As if she couldn't have taken care of that herself?)

-But worst of all, Liu wrote Laura so out of character to force her Laura/Jubes ship.

HeLix was always focused on her problems, not his. (Because he was the prop in her story.) But Liu didn't show the breakdown of Laura's feelings, she just told us afterwards. That is bad writing. It is telling instead of showing.

And she made Laura so out of character in how she made the relationship break down. Remember, for all his faults, Hellion was her best friend and always there for her. She saved his life and he saved hers. They leaned on each other during some of the worst times in their lives.

And then--all of a sudden and without any explanation--Laura just checks out of the most important relationship in her life? That isn't writing Hellion badly. That's writing Laura badly!

And Liu made it so that she was checked out long before Babysitting. Up until this point she was unable to express her love verbally, but she very clearly loved Julian to the point she would sacrifice herself without thought and kill anyone who hurt him. He was really important to her...until he suddenly and without explanation (see a theme) wasn't. Laura just disappears and never bothers with Hellion again? Dropped him like a bad habit without a second thought once the 'cool kids' took her in? She didn't even come back to see him in Westchester. She kinda of got caught and was surprised she ran into him, which I read as she had already ghosted him long before Babysitting and he just couldn't take the hint.

That wasn't Laura's character. hell, that was the opposite of Laura's character pre-Liu. She was loyal and caring and protective of her friends. Then, she drops all of them, not just Hellion, without a second thought or a single care. Lone Wolf--worse than Logan. The disloyalty and cruelty was the polar opposite of everything we'd seen to that point. So, I think Liu wrote Laura terribly--cruel, selfish, and out of character. And she destroyed Hellion because she just didn't like Laura with him.

[Rift]

As an aside, I didn't get that impression from Synch, tbh. He pined for her, but it didn't seem like he was pressuring her into anything. He didn't chase after her; they didn't properly discuss their past until near the end of the first run; he decided not to telepathically show her their time in the Vault together, knowing it would mess her up and age her 500 years; and he gave up when it became clear that there was no future between them. Laura herself was also curious about her Vault memories, albeit for like two scenes in two separate issues. And Laura was pretty friendly with him in issue 8, so she doesn't seem to hold anything against him. So as bad as the pairing was, I think Synch handled it fairly well.

[Rift]

Also unrelated, but if you guys could write your own Academy X run, what would it be like?

[K7P5V]

Also unrelated, but if you guys could write your own Academy X run, what would it be like?

For what it's worth, I wouldn't mind restarting what Weir/DeFilippis were attempting during their run on New Mutants/New X-Men

[Ambaryerno]

That wasn't Laura's character. hell, that was the opposite of Laura's character pre-Liu. She was loyal and caring and protective of her friends. Then, she drops all of them, not just Hellion, without a second thought or a single care. Lone Wolf--worse than Logan. The disloyalty and cruelty was the polar opposite of everything we'd seen to that point. So, I think Liu wrote Laura terribly--cruel, selfish, and out of character. And she destroyed Hellion because she just didn't like Laura with him.

Like it or not, it's BECOME her character now:

She abandoned the NYX kids. All it takes is a single line of dialogue to fix: "I offered them a place at Xavier's/Utopia/Krakoa/my apartment but they refused. They preferred being on their own," and yet not a single writer could bother. So instead she up and cuts them out of her life, even though Kiden literally saved her from a life that could very well have ended up killing her.

She abandoned Hellion and the rest of the NXM.

She abandoned her friends in Avenger's Academy.

Let's be honest, it's now become one of Laura's character traits that she is a really INCREDIBLY shitty friend.

[Ulysian_Thracs]

Also unrelated, but if you guys could write your own Academy X run, what would it be like?

I would love to see a core New X-Men team abandon Krakoa and set up a mutant Heroes for Hire type team in NYC or San Fran or something. Like, they’re sick of waiting for a turn that never comes and they ‘borrow’ some money and go start their own street-level thing that lets them shine and also serve as a vehicle for mutants/human relations on a smaller scale, since we really only see massive Mutants vs Orchis or Mutants vs Eternals now.

The main team would be co-led by Surge and Hellion, who are probably in a relationship from all the time they’ve spent together just doing nothing. There would be a lot of bickering and conflict about how to do things, but in a couples way. He would defer to her (because Hellion loves strong women) even though he complains about her being bossy, and she would always ask him his input and seek validation that she is being a good leader from him. But they'd always come together in time to get **** done because they both genuinely care about each other as human beings and work really do well together.

The team would include Wind Dancer (for some teen angst drama and because she is a great character), Mercury and Wither (always loved them together), as well as one or two of the depowered dead MDay mutants like Tag, Wallflower, and/or Icarus.

Each issue would have a ‘case of the week’ that requires the team to call in their other New X-Men/Academy X friends (the more the merrier), so we get a rotating cast of guest stars that are always hanging out and giving a tether back to Krakoa.

Dani Moonstar would be around a lot as a mentor and elder stateswoman. She would also be their liaison to the team’s secret financial backer and legal fixer…Emma Frost, who is very involved behind the scenes to make the ‘children’s’ dreams come true while keeping them safe. Each issue would have her going out of her way to do something to protect them, and then mind wiping them so they don't know its her and they keep thinking she's out to get them or doesn't care while really she wants this to be 'their thing' but just can't stop being an overbearing overprotective mother.

Like it or not, it's BECOME her character now:

She abandoned the NYX kids. All it takes is a single line of dialogue to fix: "I offered them a place at Xavier's/Utopia/Krakoa/my apartment but they refused. They preferred being on their own," and yet not a single writer could bother. So instead she up and cuts them out of her life, even though Kiden literally saved her from a life that could very well have ended up killing her.

She abandoned Hellion and the rest of the NXM.

She abandoned her friends in Avenger's Academy.

Let's be honest, it's now become one of Laura's character traits that she is a really INCREDIBLY shitty friend.

It is sad. I really loved the initial characterization because I love troubled characters with strong loyalty to their friends who work to overcome their demons. Then inside of like two runs they solved all her problems, made her perfect, made her too much like Logan, and made her callously blow up ALL her meaningful relationships up to that point.

"Oh, you thought you were my friend? Psych! I was just using you to get over some drama. You really meant nothing to me...so little I didn't even say goodbye."

They didn't just turn her into a shitty friend. They turned her into a shitty person and a pretty bland character who had no problems or difficulties in her 'life'. Laura is awesome when she is written well. It took her being a good sister to Gaby for me to come back somewhat to being in her corner, but I never got onboard like I used to absolutely love her character in pre-Liu. :c)

[shugahfree]

Also unrelated, but if you guys could write your own Academy X run, what would it be like?

I'd have Frenzy start a Young Krakoan Ambassadors program that has a few mutants living in old Mutant Town in a nice treehouse-esque loft. Armor (since she was an apprentice of sorts to Frenzy in S.W.O.R.D.), Dust, plus the Marauders group of Wind Dancer, Birdy (sorry Wallflower), Triage, and Brutha Nature. This program exists alongside Bishop's War Academy and some of its most prominent recruits - Hellion, Tag, Bling!, Surge, Cipher, and Wiz Kid. Gentle is one of the few that's been chosen to belong to both.

I'd keep Mercury/Loa as recurring but unaffiliated, David/Eye Boy w/ background X-Factor stuff (because I want them to continue to feel 'graduated'), Pixie w/ the Legionairres, Wrongslide on Arakko, and the Lost Club as its own entity.

[rhaenylis]

Some news from the New York Comic Con
Surge and Armor will be part of the main cast in the upcoming Bishop: War College mini