Academy X: New X-Men Appreciation 2023

[Sutekh]

I'd love to see the X-Kids get their own book. And I have an even bigger complaint in that there is no school based books anymore. Like, mutants in a school learning how to control their powers and become both heroes and adults. Sneaking out to do cool things while the adults worry about them. That's what got me into X-Men, versus Avengers. Now there's really no difference except the costumes. I miss that so much!

And that would be a neat role for the Academy X era X-peeps to take on. Just as the New Mutants kind of recognized that there was a need not being filled with all these mutant kids running around and getting into trouble, with no one to look out for them or provide any sort of guidance, I could see Hellion, Prodigy, Surge, etc. come to the conclusion that someone needs to be helping train both themselves and the newer mutants among them, finding new ways to use their powers, or combine them for synergistic effects, or just enhance their own (or others) lives with them. Unlike a traditional 'school,' there wouldn't necessarily be 'teachers' or 'students,' everyone would be there to learn. (Hellion, for instance, while an 'alpha' telekinetic, generally isn't known for fine detail work, and even has come across as a bull in a china shop at times, since his powers were unlocked to their highest potential, which he could learn from a 'weak' telekinetic like Stitch, or a more experienced older one, like Link. So he wouldn't just be 'a teacher,' since part of the whole deal would be to find *new* ways to explore and educate each other.

And, being me, I immediately find ways to not only include the Academy X mutants, but also deeper cut mutants like Stitch and Link.

[Rift]

The Academy X kids should be new political leaders. Time for them to start a revolution and execute the ineffectual and corrupt leaders they've had until now. They won't rest until they have Xavier and Emma meet the guillotine.

[Sutekh]

The Academy X kids should be new political leaders. Time for them to start a revolution and execute the ineffectual and corrupt leaders they've had until now. They won't rest until they have Xavier and Emma meet the guillotine.

Heck no. Whoever becomes a leader is stuck being blamed for whatever crap falls on them next (and it's a serial comic book where crap *has* to fall on them, regularly! Because the writers can't think of any other challenge for the protagonists, from the, like, *six* traditional options available to writers...).

It's a thankless job that can only end up making them look horribly incompetent (for letting all this **** rain down on them, and never doing anything effective to anticipate or prevent any of it), or actual bad actors (like some X-leaders have either been, like Sinister, or become repeatedly over the years, like Xavier).

[Ulysian_Thracs]

Heck no. Whoever becomes a leader is stuck being blamed for whatever crap falls on them next (and it's a serial comic book where crap *has* to fall on them, regularly! Because the writers can't think of any other challenge for the protagonists, from the, like, *six* traditional options available to writers...).

It's a thankless job that can only end up making them look horribly incompetent (for letting all this **** rain down on them, and never doing anything effective to anticipate or prevent any of it), or actual bad actors (like some X-leaders have either been, like Sinister, or become repeatedly over the years, like Xavier).

This reminds me of something I was saying to someone the other day. Krakoa is a paradise...for everyone BUT the X-Men, the Quiet Council, and the Five. Those are the only poor bastards who have to put in an honest day's work while everyone else decides whether it's a beach day, a pool day, a bar day, or an orgy day. lol

[Sutekh]

This reminds me of something I was saying to someone the other day. Krakoa is a paradise...for everyone BUT the X-Men, the Quiet Council, and the Five. Those are the only poor bastards who have to put in an honest day's work while everyone else decides whether it's a beach day, a pool day, a bar day, or an orgy day. lol

I know, right? The Five, in particular, are treated like a resource, not people. Oh, we're kidnapping y'all again because you're so darn important we have to get you to a safe place... Then it's back to resurrecting people 23.9 hours a day. Even you Egg, despite doing literally nothing during the resurrection process (since you made the eggs days ago). You've got to stand there and hold hands with Proteus and Hope while they do their woo-woo dance.

[Rev9]

Yeah, I really liked how Hellion was volunteering in Inhumans hospital. I loved that whole arc, honestly. Of course he was out by himself after being **** on and abandoned by Cyke, Logan, and all the other X-Men. And when he was dying he wanted to use his powers to save them all anyway. I think he should get more credit for showing Inhumans the cost of their Mists. And then him and Synapse were cool together in that later hospital scene. It showed him growing up...

I don't really understand why Julian would even need to residence or go to med school at all. Like Harry leland just got 25 years of world history downloaded into his brain to be Krakoa's UN ambassador. I mean, after the way Emma used and abandoned him, the absolute least she can do is take all the knowledge and experience of the top ten surgeons in the world and download it into Julian's brain. Right?

And I think it would still be outside his parent's expectations because it is TELEKINETIC surgery. And his parents would hate to see him getting success and publicizing his mutant abilities. He goes in with that (unappreciated Exodus like Omega) subatomic TK and blasts apart glioblastomas by ripping apart the molecules. No chemo or radiation or months in the hospital. 'Thank you so much Dr. Keller! What would St. Jude's Children's Hospital do without you?" (And he's cocky and on television all the time talking about how Mutants are curing cancer...

What was the falling out with Prodigy, or was it just their teenage rivalry in Academy X? I thought they were all kinda cool now.



I'd love to see the X-Kids get their own book. And I have an even bigger complaint in that there is no school based books anymore. Like, mutants in a school learning how to control their powers and become both heroes and adults. Sneaking out to do cool things while the adults worry about them. That's what got me into X-Men, versus Avengers. Now there's really no difference except the costumes. I miss that so much!

Initially when I noticed the 'Akademos' habitat on the Krakoa map, I thought training would be part of the stories ,I couldn't be more wrong.

[Ulysian_Thracs]

Initially when I noticed the 'Akademos' habitat on the Krakoa map, I thought training would be part of the stories ,I couldn't be more wrong.

100% agree. And it bears mentioning that while sales are very down that there are no really 'authentic' X-books, meaning a school setting and teens coming of age as they develop powers and learn how to be heroes. Now, the X-men are just another superhero team like the Avengers. And while Red and Immortal are doing something new and different, all of us who grew up on the 'old' X-Men books don't have anything like it. (Even if it's not the Main Team, there should be some School based book...)

Hope all is well, Rev!

[Sutekh]

Initially when I noticed the 'Akademos' habitat on the Krakoa map, I thought training would be part of the stories ,I couldn't be more wrong.

Yes! From the fact that they had a cool 'school-themed' name for their habitat suggested that the intention was there, the seed planted, but nobody really took it anywhere. (And Hickman couldn't humanly cultivate every single seed he planted himself. He just set up a possible scenario for them, and left it to any writer who had interest and could pitch something that would interest the higher-ups enough to greenlight it.)

That said, I rather no story about great characters, than something along the lines of what was done to Nature Girl...

[Starfish]

After the older X-Men did such an abysmal job of looking after for the younger mutants on Krakoa, I could see the New X-Men decide step up and try to do a better job of protecting and preparing the newer generations.

On an unrelated note, I'd love to see Kamala and Mercury team up at some point to unleash the full potential of their combined cartoony powers.

[Ambaryerno]

After the older X-Men did such an abysmal job of looking after for the younger mutants on Krakoa, I could see the New X-Men decide step up and try to do a better job of protecting and preparing the newer generations.

On an unrelated note, I'd love to see Kamala and Mercury team up at some point to unleash the full potential of their combined cartoony powers.

You mean like the abysmal job the older X-men did protecting them after Decimation? Considering how THAT has been swept under the rug, I don't expect any lasting repercussions from this one, either.

[scourge]

You mean like the abysmal job the older X-men did protecting them after Decimation? Considering how THAT has been swept under the rug, I don't expect any lasting repercussions from this one, either.

Of course not. I mean look how things went in New Mutants where they wrote the X-kids terribly just to make Magik and co look good again despite how badly they did protecting the younger crowd.

[Sutekh]

After the older X-Men did such an abysmal job of looking after for the younger mutants on Krakoa, I could see the New X-Men decide step up and try to do a better job of protecting and preparing the newer generations.

I'd definitely want to see it as a one-and-done, 'though. This is a serial medium, and no hero gets to be successful at anything for long. New challenges will arise and bad writers will try to fluff up the 'cred' of new villains by having them utterly wreck the heroes in their first appearance, catching them off guard, blowing up their base, killing people they were protecting, trashing their reputations, etc. all as part of 'establishing' some schmuck that nobody's ever heard of before and making them see like a real threat. Anyone placed at 'the top' tends to get smeared by these events, Cyclops, Xavier, Bishop, etc. all end up looking like trash leaders because they *can't* be consistently portrayed as strong effective leaders who just occasionally get challenged by worthy foes, and weaker writers instead just fluff up their new villain by having the heroes ignore them until it's too late (hello, Orchis!) or make other bone-headed decisions instead of preparing for or dealing with stuff going on around them.

It's just the nature of the medium. Nobody gets to stay 'up.' (Unless there's some sort of will to not make them 'look bad' on the part of the publisher, but our Academy X peeps are hardly on par with iconic figures like Captain America, Wonder Woman, Superman or Storm, who have some small amount of reputational plot armor.)

So while I'd love to see these mutants in particular go do *a thing* that's cool and proactive and effective, I wouldn't want to see them tied to one place or circumstance, since some other writer will come along in a minute and tear it all down, and make them look like hapless chumps in the process, to stink up some newly-minted villain that we'll never have heard of before, and likely never see again.

On an unrelated note, I'd love to see Kamala and Mercury team up at some point to unleash the full potential of their combined cartoony powers.

Those two stretching and arcing their flexible limbs all over the panel could indeed be visually cool!

[Starfish]

There's still some time to ask about our kids and most likely get a dismissive answer: https://aiptcomics.com/2023/10/03/x-...-d-white-nycc/

[CGAR]

oh i did

definitely wanted to ask if the Academy X-Men can get a one shot OR a unlimited xmen arc

[Fokken]

If a group of time-traveling mutants from the future came to our present to prevent some such awful event or baddie -- which FIVE (limiting it to five)-- mutant YOUTHS would you like to comprise that team?

For me, I would enjoy a mix of Wind Dancer, Indra, Cipher, Hindsight and Leech.