Academy X: New X-Men Appreciation 2022

[G-Man27]

I don't want to sound like Rift and his constant references to Hellion, but I really think that, if written properly, Wither could have an interesting storyline if brought back. Especially how his powers work in regards to keeping Krakoa safe.

[Rift]

I don't want to sound like Rift and his constant references to Hellion

You should want that, tbh.

[Fokken]

Wind Dancer stans, get yourselves into that X-Men unlimited issue today! She is serving HAIR and she is serving AIR~!

[Ambaryerno]

A hot take inspired by the X-23 Appreciation thread:

The Avengers Office needs to take control of the New X-Men. They're FAR more likely to regain their agency and actually get something to do under the Avengers side than the X-Office. Prodigy and Dust are both good examples of this, as both of them have had significantly more relevance on Avengers-adjacent books than they've had under the X-Books since Messiah Complex ended.

[AJpyro]

A hot take inspired by the X-23 Appreciation thread:

The Avengers Office needs to take control of the New X-Men. They're FAR more likely to regain their agency and actually get something to do under the Avengers side than the X-Office. Prodigy and Dust are both good examples of this, as both of them have had significantly more relevance on Avengers-adjacent books than they've had under the X-Books since Messiah Complex ended.

How can you say something so controversial yet so brave?

But after Arena and everything with Scarlet witch...

[Ambaryerno]

How can you say something so controversial yet so brave?

But after Arena and everything with Scarlet witch...

Controversial, but I'd argue there's some actual merit to it.

[Starfish]

The X-Office obviously has little interest in spotlighting these characters, so I say it's worth a shot.

[Dthirds3]

Controversial, but I'd argue there's some actual merit to it.

Do you really want Aaron writing her ?.

[mugiwara]

Do you really want Aaron writing her ?.

Yeah, better wait until Aaron goes away to make those wishes. He proved that he has zero interest in writing the New X-men.

[Rift]

Like on the main team, or in Academy X? Or maybe as part of a Unity Squad? Loa and Laura were already part of the Academy, it'd be cool if they could meet their friends again. Giv us Hazmat and Mettle back.

[Sutekh]

Yeah, better wait until Aaron goes away to make those wishes. He proved that he has zero interest in writing the New X-men.

Which is eerily better than Aaron being actually interested. We'd end up with the prehistoric New X-Men, caveman Hellion, and volcanic Dust, and dinosaur Anole.

[Rift]

Which is eerily better than Aaron being actually interested. We'd end up with the prehistoric New X-Men, caveman Hellion, and volcanic Dust, and dinosaur Anole.

Actually that'd be pretty awesome. I'd love to see Miguellión get clubbed by Laurantopithecus and brought to her cave.

Aaron's ideas can work if they're completely comedic and executed by someone else.

[BobbysWorld]

I mean, my opposition to the Avengers office swap would just be based on the fact that it all comes down to editorial's weird hang-up about this group of characters and not wanting them used. While another office taking control of their direction and usage would get around that, it still doesn't resolve my big issue of wanting to reach through the computer screen and dramatically shake Certain People while being like "what is your deal, why are you like this, what did these characters ever do to you, who hurt you and if it wasn't actually Hellion and Rockslide in some bizarre fourth-wall breaking bullying episode why are you taking it out on them" until the answers fall like candy from a piñata.

But for real, multiple writers have expressed WANTING to do stories with these characters only to get shut down, so its like, not necessarily a given that the Editors Cosplaying As Obstacles in this situation would be any more accommodating about letting others do stuff with them elsewhere either, unfortunately. Others have mentioned it feeling like some weird sort of power play in the past, and I mean. I do at times get where that sentiment is coming from. So my big want is not for any bit change or anything, but the one tiny, little one that is literally all that needs to happen for us to get more stories with these particular characters: that those who control their fates simply deign to....unclench, and be like, okay its over, it can be done now. People can do **** with them, we guess.

(I mean, at least they've started showing up more in Spurrier's stuff and occasional Unlimited stories, but its just like. Okay that, but more, and more often, and also with more of them.)

Anyway, tacking on a random topic that popped into my brain two point five seconds ago and now its all I can think of:

Anyone have any Academy X AU or 'what if' scenarios that would make for fun Exiles style story arcs? Like, say random squads of Academy X characters from other universes were out there reality-hopping like Blink and the Exiles, and for some reason they keep getting diverted to the 616 universe on their way home, meaning Krakoa becomes like, Grand Central Station for a month as various X-teams from other universes keep getting lost on their way home or forced to make a quick pit stop in this reality. Idk, maybe they're doing construction work on one of the major multiversal highways and traffic's all blocked up and there's a big sign telling reality-hoppers to please detour via universe 616, its fine, you'll like it there, mutants have bagel-bushes. Oh except for July through November, its gonna be a shitshow then, if you're headed that way one of those months, its better to skip 616 and take the next exit to universe 617 instead, even if it is a mostly barren wasteland because the Celestial that visited that prehistoric Earth had actually heard of Mucinex and thus alien space god phlegm never sowed the potential for superhuman life there.

But I digress.

Anyway, I think it could make for a cool story if at some point, a reality-hopping AU X-team visits the 616 Earth, and it turns out they're from a universe where the M-Day survivors and deaths were largely flip-flopped, if that makes sense? Like there might be some overlap of characters, but most of the Academy X kids to keep their powers and survive in 616 ended up depowered and/or dead in that universe, while the ones who died in 616 were the ones to stay powered and alive over there. So that universe's younger X-team is made up of like, idk, Kidogo, Tag, Preview, Network, Specter, DJ, Dryad, and instead of the Three-In-One from this universe, it was Sophie and Esme who lived there, and they go by Gemini. Oh and Laura, Hellion and Wind Dancer are fine too obviously, I know how to read a room.

But just saying, even with their formerly dead classmates all back via resurrection, there were a lot of missed years and missed experiences, while simultaneously, a lot of things happened to change the survivors in tons of ways. There's a gap now, between those who survived and those who didn't, that they can certainly still maneuver around in order to rebuild old friendships/dynamics or make new ones, but that's still always going to be there to at least some degree. And could be interesting story fodder, for the survivors of M-Day from two different realities, where the lists of who lived and who died are mirror-images of each other, to encounter each other and give both groups a kinda bittersweet look at how the friends they lost then might look or what they'd be like if they'd never died at all, and had those additional years and life experiences as well.

[Kingdom X]

I mean, my opposition to the Avengers office swap would just be based on the fact that it all comes down to editorial's weird hang-up about this group of characters and not wanting them used. While another office taking control of their direction and usage would get around that, it still doesn't resolve my big issue of wanting to reach through the computer screen and dramatically shake Certain People while being like "what is your deal, why are you like this, what did these characters ever do to you, who hurt you and if it wasn't actually Hellion and Rockslide in some bizarre fourth-wall breaking bullying episode why are you taking it out on them" until the answers fall like candy from a piñata.

But for real, multiple writers have expressed WANTING to do stories with these characters only to get shut down, so its like, not necessarily a given that the Editors Cosplaying As Obstacles in this situation would be any more accommodating about letting others do stuff with them elsewhere either, unfortunately. Others have mentioned it feeling like some weird sort of power play in the past, and I mean. I do at times get where that sentiment is coming from. So my big want is not for any bit change or anything, but the one tiny, little one that is literally all that needs to happen for us to get more stories with these particular characters: that those who control their fates simply deign to....unclench, and be like, okay its over, it can be done now. People can do **** with them, we guess.

(I mean, at least they've started showing up more in Spurrier's stuff and occasional Unlimited stories, but its just like. Okay that, but more, and more often, and also with more of them.)

Anyway, tacking on a random topic that popped into my brain two point five seconds ago and now its all I can think of:

Anyone have any Academy X AU or 'what if' scenarios that would make for fun Exiles style story arcs? Like, say random squads of Academy X characters from other universes were out there reality-hopping like Blink and the Exiles, and for some reason they keep getting diverted to the 616 universe on their way home, meaning Krakoa becomes like, Grand Central Station for a month as various X-teams from other universes keep getting lost on their way home or forced to make a quick pit stop in this reality. Idk, maybe they're doing construction work on one of the major multiversal highways and traffic's all blocked up and there's a big sign telling reality-hoppers to please detour via universe 616, its fine, you'll like it there, mutants have bagel-bushes. Oh except for July through November, its gonna be a shitshow then, if you're headed that way one of those months, its better to skip 616 and take the next exit to universe 617 instead, even if it is a mostly barren wasteland because the Celestial that visited that prehistoric Earth had actually heard of Mucinex and thus alien space god phlegm never sowed the potential for superhuman life there.

But I digress.

Anyway, I think it could make for a cool story if at some point, a reality-hopping AU X-team visits the 616 Earth, and it turns out they're from a universe where the M-Day survivors and deaths were largely flip-flopped, if that makes sense? Like there might be some overlap of characters, but most of the Academy X kids to keep their powers and survive in 616 ended up depowered and/or dead in that universe, while the ones who died in 616 were the ones to stay powered and alive over there. So that universe's younger X-team is made up of like, idk, Kidogo, Tag, Preview, Network, Specter, DJ, Dryad, and instead of the Three-In-One from this universe, it was Sophie and Esme who lived there, and they go by Gemini. Oh and Laura, Hellion and Wind Dancer are fine too obviously, I know how to read a room.

But just saying, even with their formerly dead classmates all back via resurrection, there were a lot of missed years and missed experiences, while simultaneously, a lot of things happened to change the survivors in tons of ways. There's a gap now, between those who survived and those who didn't, that they can certainly still maneuver around in order to rebuild old friendships/dynamics or make new ones, but that's still always going to be there to at least some degree. And could be interesting story fodder, for the survivors of M-Day from two different realities, where the lists of who lived and who died are mirror-images of each other, to encounter each other and give both groups a kinda bittersweet look at how the friends they lost then might look or what they'd be like if they'd never died at all, and had those additional years and life experiences as well.

Yeah I’m surprised the Krakoa era hasn’t capitalize on this story beat yet, especially for younger characters whose friends have reached adulthood while they were dead. It originally seemed like they were going to do that with Synch, but then they made him mentally hundreds of years old before he got to interact with any of his peers outside of a data page.

[Sutekh]

But just saying, even with their formerly dead classmates all back via resurrection, there were a lot of missed years and missed experiences, while simultaneously, a lot of things happened to change the survivors in tons of ways. There's a gap now, between those who survived and those who didn't, that they can certainly still maneuver around in order to rebuild old friendships/dynamics or make new ones, but that's still always going to be there to at least some degree. And could be interesting story fodder, for the survivors of M-Day from two different realities, where the lists of who lived and who died are mirror-images of each other, to encounter each other and give both groups a kinda bittersweet look at how the friends they lost then might look or what they'd be like if they'd never died at all, and had those additional years and life experiences as well.

Yeah, there's story fodder around the changed relationships of folk who died like Tag, Wallflower and Icarus, and friends / roommates / romantic interests that lived like Hellion and Elixir. In the case of Icarus, in particular, do the other mutants who died on the bus blame him at least in part for his minor role in siding with the dude that killed them? Does Elixir blame him for what happened to Wallflower, who was shot in the head and died in his arms, by Icarus' pals in the Church of Hatin' On Mutants? Tag, on the other hand, was pretty much Hellion's best friend. And then Rockslide was pretty much his best friend. And now, Rockslide is more or less gone, as an individual, but Tag is back. Did he slide back into the friend-slot, or is it 'weird?'

That said, we've barely even gotten a real exploration of how being dead for so long affects Doug Ramsey's relationship with the other New Mutants (assuming he even *has* any relationship with the other New Mutants, they certainly don't seem to spend any time together...), and Doug's kind of a breakout star of this era, and the New Mutants have their own book, so it's not for lack of opportunities, like with the New X-Men, who are Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Picture.