"The Beginning Of The End Of Krakoa"

[scouse mouse]

I wish they had explored Omega Sentinel more and really juxtaposed her properly with Moira when she was still a mutant. We also should have had Moira book because we saw so little of her before she was degenerated into a moustache twirling psychopath! Making her a robot then also took away from what was Omega's USP as a female cyborg ally turned enemy. I keep forgetting that Omega is actually the true creator of Orchis, so much time has been spent on Essex and Fei Long instead.

[danielsan52]

I wish they had explored Omega Sentinel more and really juxtaposed her properly with Moira when she was still a mutant. We also should have had Moira book because we saw so little of her before she was degenerated into a moustache twirling psychopath! Making her a robot then also took away from what was Omega's USP as a female cyborg ally turned enemy. I keep forgetting that Omega is actually the true creator of Orchis, so much time has been spent on Essex and Fei Long instead.

I hope Firestar goes nutz and melts it.

[RAWRlrus]

Conceptually I get why a lot of people enjoyed the Krakoa era and breathing new life and direction in the line and characters.

For me while I liked a lot of the stuff I read there were a lot of instances where it felt like the writers were forcing me to take things at face value (like characters mending fences off-panel, characters reuniting/reconciling off-panel, relationship revamps, or characters being okay with some of the shadier and problematic parts of Krakoa or not doing anything about them, turning death into something that happens super frequently) that I could never completely jive with it. Or anything Ben Percy did with Beast and X-Force.

But I hope it ends well and the next era of the franchise is a good one and not doom and gloom (because even Krakoa wasn't immune to that in the end).

Yeah, I think there were a lot of missed opportunities when it came to the relationships. When we saw them they were good (the early Summers family dynamics, Kate and Emma) but it felt like there were so many missed opportunities. It also felt like Hickman jsut ignored a lot of what came before if he didn't like it (I'd rather something in story or an editor's note explaining/retconning it). Supposedly there was an interview where he said there were 6 months that had passed and everyone mended fences, but from the very beginning we still see there are old relationships that haven't healed. We had so many characters brought back from the dead with the on demand resurrections (which I like the concept of even if I don't like the execution) but in the end there were a ton of missed opportunities there as well and the long dead characters often went into the background with it just being a way to kill the popular characters and get them back immediately. I liked it for what we got, but there were some issues I had with the very bedrock of the era.

[yogaflame]

The fact that they brought back Synch, and never had a conversation with him and Monet, is criminal. Bringing back Synch and Skin and never having a proper Generation X reunion is also criminal(no, that stupid Unlimited webcomic didn't count!). Bringing back Synch and sticking him in some alternate timeline lovesick 'relationship' with X-23?

[davetvs]

There have definitely been a lot of missed opportunities re: character-building relationship moments and important interactions we literally only have access to because of this era, which is disappointing. For me though the worst misfire of the whole thing has been trying to convince us Xavier has always been telekinetic instead of just saying he had The Five update his genome using the resurrection protocols. I also hoped The Six would play a bigger role in SWORD/X-Men Red but they seemed to just come and go. Justice for Risque.

[RAWRlrus]

The fact that they brought back Synch, and never had a conversation with him and Monet, is criminal. Bringing back Synch and Skin and never having a proper Generation X reunion is also criminal(no, that stupid Unlimited webcomic didn't count!). Bringing back Synch and sticking him in some alternate timeline lovesick 'relationship' with X-23?

IIRC the only Gen X moments for Synch was one line about Emma telling him to train with Jean and one panel between him in Unlimited right before the Nimrod crash. So much missed potential.

There have definitely been a lot of missed opportunities re: character-building relationship moments and important interactions we literally only have access to because of this era, which is disappointing. For me though the worst misfire of the whole thing has been trying to convince us Xavier has always been telekinetic instead of just saying he had The Five update his genome using the resurrection protocols. I also hoped The Six would play a bigger role in SWORD/X-Men Red but they seemed to just come and go. Justice for Risque.

I forgot how much I dislike the power boosts from the resurrections. I don't remember who started that but honestly I hope it gets retconned out.

[Askani's Flame]

There have definitely been a lot of missed opportunities re: character-building relationship moments and important interactions we literally only have access to because of this era, which is disappointing. For me though the worst misfire of the whole thing has been trying to convince us Xavier has always been telekinetic instead of just saying he had The Five update his genome using the resurrection protocols. I also hoped The Six would play a bigger role in SWORD/X-Men Red but they seemed to just come and go. Justice for Risque.

OK but they've hinted and showed this as a latent ability for decades? I mean, that's how Cassie Nova has it? I don't disagree that they didn't execute it well but it's not like it came outta nowhere.

[JB]

IIRC the only Gen X moments for Synch was one line about Emma telling him to train with Jean and one panel between him in Unlimited right before the Nimrod crash. So much missed potential.

There's a mini Gen X reunion for Jubilee's birthday in MU but it's crumbs. I've been waiting for Angelo to show up in X-Men at least for a quick beer with his best friend.

[yogaflame]

Hickman's HoX was incredible, even if there was a LOT of handwaving to get the whole concept off of the ground. That Davos issue of X-Men was great, as were those first issues of New Mutants. A few of his little stories here or there were nice, but wasting all the capitol of HoX on X of Swords? Hmm. That certainly was a choice.... I wish editorial hadn't messed with his plans so much(stretching this out another year or two didn't amount for much beyond Al Ewing's amazing work) and he got to tell his story the way he originally wanted to, but I guess we'll never know if it could have actually lived up to the potential. At the very start of his run, I thought he would eclipse Morrison for #2 X-run of all time, but alas, it was not to be so. Still, I will give him the #3 spot for his ambition alone, even if the execution was wildly uneven.

Hellions was a cute ride. Greycrow x Kwannon was neat. And Tarn was incredible! Too bad it was not long for this world. Children of the Atom was another unexpected hit, despite looking horrible upon first presentation. I'd shout out Ayala's New Mutants too, at least what I read of it.

Percy's X-Force started off very strong, even better than Hickman's X-Men monthly at first, but he faltered along the way and never really recovered. I liked his Wolverine book far more, but even that wasn't spectacular. I do like that he brought Sage back into the fold, even if his execution left a lot to be desired. I despise his take on Quire and Beast, though, and for the love of the Goddess, someone save Piotr!

Duggan has done essentially nothing for me(other than Planet Size, although, I swear to the Bright Lady that he didn't actually write that, maybe Hickman ghost-wrote it...?), nor Gillen, other than perhaps that one issue with Nightcrawler during the Judgement Day thing, or Spurrier, beyond that first issue of the Nightcrawler as Spider-Man, which unfortunately made a ton of this era unpalatable to me. Orlando, Howard, and Williams writer didn't work for me either.

Luckily Lord Ewing served up a multi-course feast of the highest caliber in his SWORD/X-Men Red/Storm & the Brotherhood extravaganza! How he wasn't given the keys to the X-kingdom when Hickman stepped down, I will never understand. Give him the full team along with Storm and we could have a serious situation on our hands. That said, I've relished the attention Ororo has been given under his pen, even if it has all felt a bit ancillary, off to the side of the main line on Arrakko/Mars/in space. I'll miss his contributions to this era the most. Not just for his Ororo, but for his Magneto, Roberto, Cable, Thunderbird, Vulcan, Brand, and all the neat Arrakko mutants too. Hmm, now that I think of it, maybe Hickman has to share his #3 spot with Lord Ewing, or else give it up entirely to him? I will have to contemplate that.....

Overall, this Krakoa era wrote a check it couldn't cash, but I liked some of the ambitious concepts. I don't know if it could ever have been actualized within the constraints of a company line like Marvel, acting within the larger corporation of Disney, but good on them for even trying, I suppose.

[yogaflame]

OK but they've hinted and showed this as a latent ability for decades? I mean, that's how Cassie Nova has it? I don't disagree that they didn't execute it well but it's not like it came outta nowhere.

Yeah, I'll agree on this too. He had tk-like abilities even back in the original run.

[Hakka84]

Yeah, I think there were a lot of missed opportunities when it came to the relationships. When we saw them they were good (the early Summers family dynamics, Kate and Emma) but it felt like there were so many missed opportunities. It also felt like Hickman jsut ignored a lot of what came before if he didn't like it (I'd rather something in story or an editor's note explaining/retconning it). Supposedly there was an interview where he said there were 6 months that had passed and everyone mended fences, but from the very beginning we still see there are old relationships that haven't healed. We had so many characters brought back from the dead with the on demand resurrections (which I like the concept of even if I don't like the execution) but in the end there were a ton of missed opportunities there as well and the long dead characters often went into the background with it just being a way to kill the popular characters and get them back immediately. I liked it for what we got, but there were some issues I had with the very bedrock of the era.

This. This.
Krakoa has so much potential but its architect, in his well-planned project, forgot to include the relationships - which is was made X-Men interesting and alluring in the first place. We needed less enemy-of-the-day and crossovers, and more issues focused on friendships and rivalries - and hatred.

[Frontier]

One thing I won't miss is constantly revamping the team every year and including a fan voted member. The novelty wore off pretty fast, not helped by Duggan's own issue writing team books in general.

[lefthanded]

Duggan has done essentially nothing for me(other than Planet Size, although, I swear to the Bright Lady that he didn't actually write that, maybe Hickman ghost-wrote it...?), nor Gillen, other than perhaps that one issue with Nightcrawler during the Judgement Day thing, or Spurrier, beyond that first issue of the Nightcrawler as Spider-Man, which unfortunately made a ton of this era unpalatable to me. Orlando, Howard, and Williams writer didn't work for me either.

I agree with your post aside from the Gillen slander. His Immortal X-men series was the only one doing the heavy lifting of telling "only on Krakoa" stories (aside from the perfection of Ewing's story, but his Arrako based stories are far removed from Krakoa). Its weakness was too much of a focus on political infighting, but still, it utilized the ingredients of Krakoa era that Hickman created.

Every other X-book writer post-Hickman, I agree have done nothing, as the stories they have written could have existed in largely the same form even if it was set in San Francisco or in the original X-mansion. Beast could have his evil clone lair under the mansion; Cap Britain could be entering and exiting Otherworld in San Francisco; Duggan's Hellfire Gala's could have just as easily taken place in New York City.

[yogaflame]

To each their own, but I did not slander Gillen. I was quite reserved in my criticism, actually, and just said it didn't work for me. Quite the opposite of slander(don't tempt me... I'd be happy to oblige ).

[BroHomo]

I wish that the DoX writers had tried harder to think outside the box at launch. There were so many missed opportunities.

I wish they had done more with the War Captains and I think there should have been more of them.

I wish they had done more with the younger generations. GenX / Academy X-men / Gen Hope

There could have been so much exploration but they failed to execute that.

Honestly looking back at the those first two years the writers should have not done their slow burn stories and tried to do more focused arcs that could have evolved from now having Krakoa.

Yuuup Totally all This