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  1. #1
    Jean Grey Scholar Mercury's Avatar
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    Default Final thoughts on "Year One" of X-Men (2021-22)?

    While I have my criticisms of "Year One" of Duggan's X-Men, I'm reticent to lob them squarely at him. After all, for most of the year, he was tiptoeing around four major events (i.e., Williams' Trial of Magento, Hickman's Inferno, Percy's X Lives/X Deaths of Wolverine, and Gillen's upcoming Judgment Day). Who's to say Duggan wasn't somewhat limited to or bound by these ongoing stories? Nevertheless, I think the character development and teamwork could have used some tightening and embellishment, if that makes sense.

    Ultimately, I had fun reading Duggan's first year on X-Men. He gave each character at least one big moment to shine, if not more, clued us in to their motivations, and introduced intriguing new villains and ongoing plotlines. Moreover, he kept the overall plot moving, and no issue was ever dull or uneventful. Lastly, as a Jean fan, I am pleased with what he did with her and has alluded to doing with her in the near future. He gradually reestablished her image, identity, and power, along with her skills, generosity, and effectiveness as a formidable leader.

    Jean Grey in the words of Walt Whitman, from his masterpiece Leaves of Grass, "Song of Myself" (51 and 52):

    "Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)"

    "Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged, Missing me one place search another, I stop somewhere waiting for you."

  2. #2
    Sarveśām Svastir Bhavatu Devaishwarya's Avatar
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    While I really enjoyed it and liked the one-and-done format...I would have liked much more time with this team to see them develop and Duggan to give more care and attention to individual members like Rogue and Sunfire. And because of the "in-real-life yearly" schedule I felt the pacing of the main plot specifically to be a bit off.

    That whole "New X-Men Team reveal at the annual HFG" idea should have been nixed very early on. The in-universe Sliding Time Scale doesn't really allow for in-real-time scheduling and pacing.

    The Art Teams were STELLAR and FABULUSH!!!
    My Summer rain. My rooftop in Japan. My quiet in the storm. *cries* Al Ewing is GOD...Praise His name! Uplift Him in song! Glorify His works!

  3. #3
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    It was fun and it was nice to see the X-Men be outright Superheroes again in a book, although I had my issues.

    Duggan gave a lot of cool moments and spotlighted Synch, Sunfire, and Lorna but overall some characters he either didn't get as well (Laura) or barely did anything with (Rogue).

    We did get some great stuff with Scott and Jean as the flagship for the team, and Jean finally ditching the Marvel Girl outfit for a long overdue modern costume.

    Also the idea that the roster has to get such a dramatic change and vote every IRL year was I think a bad decisions because just when the team is starting to really gel and come together they're immediately going to move into the next team with new members and only a few carryovers. That just shouldn't be a how a team book should be handled in my opinion.

  4. #4
    Fantastic Member thechronic92's Avatar
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    Overall, meh. Too much filler and I don't like the roster changing already.

  5. #5
    Julian Keller Supremacy Rift's Avatar
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    Pros:
    • We got some nice, short arcs that didn't drag.
    • Synch was great.
    • Scott was good, for the most part.
    • Jean was really good.
    • Sunfire didn't get much screentime, but he showed off his strength, got some focus as a character, and looked really good. Now I want to read more of him.
    • Polaris had a good issue.
    • Great art.


    Cons:
    • Laura barely did anything, and she's tied to the stupid Vault storyline. And it felt like Duggan was struggling to get her character.
    • Rogue who? I was giving the book a chance, but after a while it became clear that she was irrelevant.
    • Where was Hellion? Why were the characters not asking where he was? I find it hard to believe everyone wouldn't vote him in. Unless Jean threw out his vote out of revenge.
    • Stasis is a boring villain.
    • Aside from a few pairings (Scott/Jean, Scott/Synch, Synch/Laura, Jean/Polaris in one issue), we didn't get enough of the team bonding and being friends.

    I guess it was good. But overall, it felt like much of what we got was only skin-deep. Which isn't too much of a problem for plots, since I was expecting this to be standard fare. But I wish we got more for the individual members. I feel like we should have gotten a smaller team of five, and focused more on their characters and interactions with each other. If they're planning on keeping up with the Synch/Laura stuff, I'm hoping Hellion and maybe Monet come in to stir up the drama and add more to the group dynamics.
    2024: The Year of Hellion

  6. #6
    Braddock Isle JB's Avatar
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    I thoroughly enjoyed it, the writing and the art. It's been one of my favorite books in awhile. I agree though in that I wanted more for some of the characters and that's the issue with the "yearly" roster change. But as an OG Synch fan, I've been over the moon for him. I've waited a long time for his return and Duggan wrote him really well and I enjoy his growing relationship with Cyclops. I'm glad he's staying onboard with Scott and Jean, both of whom I've loved during this run. Lorna as well was a breath of fresh air in the early issues.

    Duggan gave us heroics 101 at a high level, while also advancing the overall Krakoa plot with the resurrection protocols. Though I don't like the yearly change, it is what it is so I'm looking forward to seeing who he will be writing next.
    "Danielle... I intend to do something rash and violent." - Betsy Braddock
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  7. #7
    Invincible Member Havok83's Avatar
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    It was a great run and Duggan landed the plane. If this was the last issue, the 12 issues stand solid in telling a complete story arc

  8. #8
    Extraordinary Member Factor's Avatar
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    Eh. Not terrible by any means, but I do think the book is a victim of its own premise to keep changing the cast every 12 issues. In this age of decompression, that’s not really enough to really give every character and relationship the focus they deserve.
    Unless you’re a true comic master, which Duggan isn’t.
    I do really value the focus on creating new villains, even if I don’t like that most of them need to be connected to the same organisation. But all that said, it’s still one of the best purely “X-men” series we’ve had in years, since Hickman’s run wasn’t really about the team and the series that preceded it were complete garbage.

  9. #9
    'Sup Choom? Handsome men don't lose fights's Avatar
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    Gorgeous art, but a big "meh" as far as storylines go. I like that it was mostly episodic in nature, but it felt like every story had the same outcome. Something bad would happen, the X-men would stop it, and then they'd go party. Is it possible for an X-book to be TOO positive?

    Synch and Jean Grey were used pretty well, but Sunfire was, as always, a sad misfire. The guy has a great visual design and really cool powers but no one can ever do anything interesting with him. Uncanny Avengers was the last time he seemed to matter. Polaris too, should be much cooler than this.

    X-23 brought down every scene she appeared in. Waif brutes are not interesting in 2022.

  10. #10
    Mighty Member Krakoa's Avatar
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    I don't think it's at all fair to really blame the events, to be honest. Trial of Magneto was barely an event.

    The good:
    - An exciting new status quo for the X-Men that felt of the Krakoa era but new and what people wanted
    - A stronger back half that developed Orchis, set up some good mysteries and stories moving forward (Dr. Stasis, Sunfire/Redroot, whatever is going on with Rogue)
    - An interesting through-line about resurrection and a strong, interesting choice for Scott for the first time this era
    - Strong character voices for most of the cast except Laura. Fun displays of power for everyone. And a really nice moment for Jean about the Phoenix.
    - Great art, great new costumes for those that got them, and putting Polaris and Sunfire on the board in a way that will hopefully get picked up.
    - Wonderful development for Synch in a way that truly elevated the character to be higher-profile.

    The bad:
    - Almost everything to do with Laura except some of her focus issue.
    - No real arcs for Lorna, Jean, Rogue, and Shiro. They had voices and moments, but none of them really had direction.
    - The first half was kind of meandering, the book gained way more direction around issue 9.

  11. #11
    Incredible Member Mutant X's Avatar
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    A completely waste of Larraz talent with stupid Kaiju fights.

  12. #12

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    All I can think of is poor Sunfire and his five lines.

  13. #13

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    I pretty much said what I had to say in other threads, and my focus is Lorna-centric since I'm a Lorna fan and Marvel hasn't done enough to get me invested beyond her. Best writing 616 Lorna's had in about a decade but not enough to have any actual impact, and she was only on the team for effectively half a year with how she mostly disappeared after #5.

    I did pick up that he was trying not to conflict with other writers, which I understand him doing as a professional doing a job with other professionals, but it made the little time Lorna did have on the book mostly empty given how badly other writers handled her (Lorna and Magneto acting OOC so they can have a flimsy conflict? Lorna getting jobbed by a metal enemy? Why?). The net effect is I think Marvel didn't want her to have a real chance to stand out with the spotlight she got from winning the X-Men vote, and I'm further convinced no amount of evidence regarding Lorna's potential and interest will prove to them that she deserves better.
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    Ghosts of Genosha minicomic focused on Polaris, written by me and drawn by Fin_NoMore.

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  14. #14
    see beauty in all things. charliehustle415's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mutant X View Post
    A completely waste of Larraz talent with stupid Kaiju fights.
    Same this is my jumping off point, I thought that Duggan may continue some of the larger plot points but with Hickman's departure and the upcoming AvE the title is and was in a holding pattern.

    It's a filler run for a flagship title

  15. #15
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    I wanted Jean, X-23, and Rogue in something meatier, more epic. It was a comic, not terrible or anything. About the same as Marauders.

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