Madelyne Pryor 2024: Appreciation, Aspirations and Cheers for Her

[EmeraldGladiator]

Agreed. Maddie gets thrown out like trash why??? That's the part that NEVER made sense.

For me it was because it felt like any warmth grace shown to Maddy would be at the expense of Scott and Jean. If people cared a wit for Maddy then by definition they would think less of Jean and especially Scott. I don't think that would have been the case, the writers took the easier/lazier way out of a tricky corner they had painted themselves into.

[marhawkman]

For me it was because it felt like any warmth grace shown to Maddy would be at the expense of Scott and Jean. If people cared a wit for Maddy then by definition they would think less of Jean and especially Scott. I don't think that would have been the case, the writers took the easier/lazier way out of a tricky corner they had painted themselves into.

Yeah, this is the same logic where if I like pancakes I'm not allowed to like waffles.

Now it IS a good point that Scott couldn't marry both. but he was already married to Maddie at this point.

[Anodyne]

Wasn't the story basically Cyclops walked out on his wife because he found out Jean was alive,but gave his wife(Madelyne) no explanation which caused her to go insane? What different versions did future writers add to it?

That didnt make her go insane but learning her origin as a Sinister clone and a demonic deal however did

IMHO much tragedy could have been avoided if only Scott had blurted out "Jean's alive!" Maddie would have been upset, but she would have had time to get over her anger before she got ambushed by a demon.

X-Factor had been teasing a Phoenix connection to Maddie and how she may or may not actually be connected to Jean. At the same time, Claremont was building up Sinister in the background and the mystery behind why the mutant hunting Marauders targeted Maddie, a human was unrevealed. That teaser for Inferno suggested that these questions would be answered

The Marauders targeted Maddie because their boss Mr. Sinister ordered them to. He wanted the baby in his possession and Madelyne permanently out of the way before Jean could meet her.

UNCANNY X-MEN #215 by Claremont/Davis
Madelyne's flashback while being abducted by the Marauders...

"Rising star." Ha ha ha!

I didn't get to "rising star" until MARVELS.

And to throw in an observation about Madelyne: Back in 1983, when I was at a comic con in Ithaca, I saw the original art to the Paul Smith page where Madelyne appears the first time, and I saw a drawing he'd done of Jean as well, and I commented that it struck me as odd that she was being treated as looking exactly like Jean, since Paul was clearly drawing two different faces, different bone structure and everything. Paul replied that it said in the plot that she looked exactly like Jean, but he thought that was dumb so he gave her her own face. Not that it made any difference.

kdb

You're not the only one who noticed Madelyne's non-resemblance to Jean. I didn't even realize Maddie was supposed to look like Jean until a character in the next issue announced it.

There's a movie I'd like to recommend for we Madelyne/Jean enthusiasts. It's an Alfred Hitchcock film named "Vertigo" with Jimmy Steward and Kim Novak. In the film, Stewart falls in love with a mystery woman who falls to her death. Later on, Stewart finds a lookalike of he deceased love that he obsesses about. Said lady falls for Stewart and starts dressing like previous woman to make him happy. Then there's a big surprise at the end. And I'm not sure about about giving out spoilers. But Kim Novak's character is named Madelyne.
--jhree

IIRC, Claremont has said that the movie "Vertigo" was one of his inspirations. He was also partly paying homage to the singer Madeleine Prior, whom he admired.

I was surprised to see her again so quickly, though I wish they worked harder to give her a unique non-goblin queen design (maybe a nod to her classic outback era do)

I for one think Ms. Pryor would be happier in a flight suit. But the PTB at Marvel want to give male readers a near-naked woman to ogle.

Simonson's trying to get their lead character out of a bad situation, it didn't work. Scott didn't even investigate, in a way he seemed all to happy that fate/The Marauders had solved his problem for him. I read X-Factor back then and until Inferno was in the works Scott didn't show any signs of "nearly going mad" or even investigating the death of this wife and child. That page is just an example of the Simonson getting Scott's excuse in place for later (Inferno).

For me the Alex Maddy thing was written better, in particular Maddy was written better than any other character in Uncanny or X-Factor at the time. I guess since Claremont knew she wouldn't survive Inferno he felt an obligation to flesh out Maddy's motivations and do right by her. Even when Maddy broke bad we knew exactly why she did. If Maddy would have survived and her and Alex went the villain or anti-hero route afterwards I would have been all for it. The being absorbed as an aspect of Jean was a bs placating move that was disrespectful to Maddy as her own person. It made me no more a fan of Jean in X-Factor in fact it made me resent her.

Id have to disagree. Scott was having alot of hallucinations around that time and was questioning whether what he saw was real or his mind playing tricks on him. When he went to Alaska to look for her, his house was cleaned out and there were no records of her existing or Nathan's birth.

IA that he could have done more to investigate but he thought they were dead. I dont recall what the story given was but he had no reason ot believe she was alive. I think a failure at the time was not telling the X-Men. Regardless of how he felt about Magneto as headmaster, you'd think he'd still inform the people that went to his wedding and supported her, that she was dead. Had he done that, so many things would have been different but X-Factor working relied on the two teams not communicating

Scott couldn't find any record of Baby Nathan's birth because he evidently didn't care enough to remember that Madelyne gave birth, not under a doctor's care in an Anchorage hospital, but alone on the kitchen floor of the x-Mansion.

Scott thought Maddie was dead because a police officer showed him the corpse of a red-haired woman. Scott's first reaction was "NO!...It can't be!" It was the officer who said, "But it is." I wonder...was Scott expressing grief that his wife was dead? Or disappointment that the body wasn't hers?

And our Mr. Summers was VERY quick to write off his son as dead. Some parents have spent years searching for a lost child; Scott just wanted to get back to X-Factor and Jean.

[Havok83]

The Marauders targeted Maddie because their boss Mr. Sinister ordered them to. He wanted the baby in his possession and Madelyne permanently out of the way before Jean could meet her.

I know that but that was not known when it initially happened. It was a question that was answered when Inferno came around

Scott couldn't find any record of Baby Nathan's birth because he evidently didn't care enough to remember that Madelyne gave birth, not under a doctor's care in an Anchorage hospital, but alone on the kitchen floor of the x-Mansion.

Scott thought Maddie was dead because a police officer showed him the corpse of a red-haired woman. Scott's first reaction was "NO!...It can't be!" It was the officer who said, "But it is." I wonder...was Scott expressing grief that his wife was dead? Or disappointment that the body wasn't hers?

And our Mr. Summers was VERY quick to write off his son as dead. Some parents have spent years searching for a lost child; Scott just wanted to get back to X-Factor and Jean.

Yeah that not how that works. She gave birth at home but she most certainly would have gone to a hospital to have the baby checked in which case he would have been granted a birth certificate which would have been the acknowledgement that he existed. All records were destroyed. At least when the issue was written, Simonson was writin it from a place of him being depressed and that was evident when he was hallucinating Maddie, Jean and Phoenix. He wasnt thinking rationally. He even thought they never existed which showed you how messed up his mind was at the time

[Anodyne]

I know that but that was not known when it initially happened. It was a question that was answered when Inferno came around

Yeah that not how that works. She gave birth at home but she most certainly would have gone to a hospital to have the baby checked in which case he would have been granted a birth certificate which would have been the acknowledgement that he existed. All records were destroyed. At least when the issue was written, Simonson was writin it from a place of him being depressed and that was evident when he was hallucinating Maddie, Jean and Phoenix. He wasnt thinking rationally. He even thought they never existed which showed you how messed up his mind was at the time

A hospital in or near Salem Center New York. Not in Anchorage, Alaska.

[Havok83]

A hospital in or near Salem Center New York. Not in Anchorage, Alaska.

There are hospitals in Anchorage Alaska. Dont act like Madelyne never took that baby to a doctor. It makes her sound unfit to even suggest that. Regardless he would have had to have recieved a birth certificate at some point, which is what Scott was looking for

Anyways, you are mistaken as she actually mentions going to the hospital



It would have made NO sense otherwise

[K7P5V]

I for one think Ms. Pryor would be happier in a flight suit. But the PTB at Marvel want to give male readers a near-naked woman to ogle.

I know, right?! But yeah, totally agree about the flight suit. Maddie/Maddy fills it out quite nicely...

[Uncanny X-Man]

I hope Tom Brevoort and his teams don't sleep on Maddie this year... she's been so well received on X-Men '97 judging by the amount of discourse and fan art on social media, it would be a shame not to capitalize on her popularity.

[Thirteen]

Claremont and Silverstri poetically depict how Madelyne/Alex came together in Havok's dream (UNCANNY X-MEN #239). Dreamtime in the Outback really worked overtime...



(of note that Maddie shows up in a BLUE DRESS on the next page)

[Anodyne]

There are hospitals in Anchorage Alaska. Dont act like Madelyne never took that baby to a doctor. It makes her sound unfit to even suggest that. Regardless he would have had to have recieved a birth certificate at some point, which is what Scott was looking for

Anyways, you are mistaken as she actually mentions going to the hospital



It would have made NO sense otherwise

Would it have made sense for a woman who has just given birth in New York State to travel 4000+ miles to Alaska to get herself and her newborn to a doctor? Madelyne bore her baby in Salem Center; she would have taken him to a hospital in or near Salem Center, not one in Anchorage.

[Havok83]

Would it have made sense for a woman who has just given birth in New York State to travel 4000+ miles to Alaska to get herself and her newborn to a doctor? Madelyne bore her baby in Salem Center; she would have taken him to a hospital in or near Salem Center, not one in Anchorage.

I feel like you are arguing against it just for the sake of it. Madelyne and Christopher would still have had records in Alaska bc they lived there. All her pre-natal and post-natal visits would have been recorded and in files at the hospital along with a copy of his birth certificate which would have been added.

[Anodyne]

I feel like you are arguing against it just for the sake of it. Madelyne and Christopher would still have had records in Alaska bc they lived there. All her pre-natal and post-natal visits would have been recorded and in files at the hospital along with a copy of his birth certificate which would have been added.

My point is that Scott's own thoughts show that he did not care enough to remember where and how his wife had borne his child. "My son was born at this (Anchorage) hospital," he says.

Madelyne to Ororo: "I gave birth to my son on this (X-Mansion) floor. I was lucky ... My son could have died. I could have died."
But none of that mattered to Scott. All he cared about was leading the X-Men. And instead of celebrating his son's birth, he yearned for his own surrogate father, Professor Xavier.

[Havok83]

My point is that Scott's own thoughts show that he did not care enough to remember where and how his wife had borne his child. "My son was born at this (Anchorage) hospital," he says.

Madelyne to Ororo: "I gave birth to my son on this (X-Mansion) floor. I was lucky ... My son could have died. I could have died."
But none of that mattered to Scott. All he cared about was leading the X-Men. And instead of celebrating his son's birth, he yearned for his own surrogate father, Professor Xavier.

What issue was that bc in #13 when he goes to the hospital, this is the dialogue



It doesnt say that he thought he was born at that hospital, just that there were no records of Madelyne had ever being there. And thats easy enough to understand as she would have been going to the doctor before and after giving birth for regular check ups

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Maybe for some of the hospital problems maybe Sonister was already messing with things.

[JThree]

What issue was that bc in #13 when he goes to the hospital, this is the dialogue



It doesnt say that he thought he was born at that hospital, just that there were no records of Madelyne had ever being there. And thats easy enough to understand as she would have been going to the doctor before and after giving birth for regular check ups

Guys, let's be honest. One of the writers forgot that Maddie gave birth at the X-Mansion, and only remembered that Maddie, Scott, and the baby were in Alaska. That's the real reason for the discrepancy. But notice Scott's words, "Sometimes I wish she didn't (exist)" Again, That's low for Scott.

--jthree