Same as I did then, which is not much. Actually, probably even more so. And apparently, I'm not alone, as that unfavorable view seems to be shared by many (in this thread).
So yeah, if I had to, I'd say my feelings would reflect the overwhelmingly negative sentiments already eXpressed here -- and elsewhere -- by the vast majority.
WILDLY decompressed, and therefore... directionless, which ultimately led to it being impotent & unmemorable. It was gimmicky, w/stilted, stunted, staccato-like dialogue, and that's about it.
Originally Posted by
BobbysWorld
And that was literally the problem with it, because it simply catered to the perception many straight people have that its a reasonable assumption to treat anyone saying they're bisexual as 'bargaining' or 'unwilling to commit to/accept being gay' rather than being innately predisposed enough to viewing it as a valid identity in its own right, that they're willing to even entertain the possibility that the person or character might have a point about themselves. It feeds into and perpetuates and validates the idea that the kneejerk impulse of reacting to someone who is exploring their sexuality or identity and saying 'I could be bi' by default assuming this person is wrong or self-deluding.....that this impulse, this reaction is the normal or correct response. Rather than assuming that well okay, this person is more likely to have a better sense of themselves than I have of them, so let's hear them out as to why they think they're bi instead of gay like I was assuming.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset that Bobby's gay instead of bi, but that label should have come from him. It is never anybody's place to respond to someone suggesting they might be bi by telling them they're wrong. Even a telepath only has her own frame of reference to work off of, and someone's identity should not be decreed based on someone else's frame of reference.
As I've always said, my big issue with the way Bendis wrote Bobby coming out was he had the character for YEARS and never made the slightest effort to suggest there was something more going on under the surface with Bobby until his literal last two issues with the character. Years where Bobby could have been laying groundwork for the reveal, exploring his identity on his own terms, and in all that time Bendis showed zero interest in using the character for anything but generic fight scenes, jokes, and to be a dumbass essentially, and then shoehorned in this change to the character's status quo in the very last two issues writing him, that forever cemented Bendis as being credited by plenty of people for making one of THE most impactful character developments Bobby's ever undergone.....
All without Bendis ever actually having to use his character or do any actual character development or growth with him in the several years time he was writing Bobby.
THAT'S the part I'll always resent, because he made Bobby a backseat passenger in what'll go down in comic book history as pretty much the most sizable shift in the character's overall direction, granting him no agency in the storyline that was ABOUT him. And that's one hundred percent on Bendis, not Jean, and so I'm not mad at Jean about it, I just think its annoying when writers write stories about a gay character's sexuality where the gay character has the least to do in the story itself. Nope, that bar is way too low for me. Like yeah, maybe without Bendis' clout we wouldn't have gotten gay Bobby, but there was literally nothing stopping Bendis from using his clout to make Bobby gay while actually giving him the dignity of a starring role in his own coming out narrative. It didn't have to be one or the other, Bendis just....didn't care enough about the story he was writing with Bobby to invest more time and energy in it than a few pages across two whole issues, and while other peoples' mileage may vary, that prioritization or lack thereof will always mar that particular story and character development for me.
ALL of THIS - WELL SAID!! And ACCURATE, but that you had to (point out something so painfully obvious)... is INSULTING AF!!! Bobby's OWN story, HIS personal journey, was highjacked & then presented as nothing more than a mere afterthought... in the ongoing adventures of a narcissistic Jeen Preys.
That's why I can't take anybody who defends it seriously, and/or in good faith. Not just as Iceman or even general X-Men fans, but as good people in general. For IMO, they must lack even the simplest of social graces, and y'know... just common decency.
2 WORDS that immediately come to mind, re. Marvel & X-fandom... DISMISSIVE... DISRESPECT!!