Im not justifying or crucifying him for any of that but those are in universe reasons for why people havent trusted him. He's one of the heroes (that started out as one) that has flip flopped his allegiance the most.
Im not justifying or crucifying him for any of that but those are in universe reasons for why people havent trusted him. He's one of the heroes (that started out as one) that has flip flopped his allegiance the most.
Queen of Mutants, Mistress of Magnetism, Magnetrix and the MII, Pestilence of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, the Krakoan Oracle and creator of the Sanctus Sacrum Tournament Key, the Threshold Seed Shaper, Brood Queen of the Fall of the House of X, Lorna Sally Dane, Ph.D., of the House of M, Polaris of the X-Men
Going Green, Being an Alex fan, I often find it interesting how the Lorna-stans dunk on him in their thread. I never knew the hate ran so deep but ole Alex has done some heinous things in relation to Lorna, but I typically blame the bad writers and not the character of Alex himself. The ole Jessica Rabbit, I am not bad I am just drawn that way defense. First off let me state again I am a fan of the Alex Maddy pairing. I was totally into X-books when they fell for each other. Lorna and Alex to my recollection were the, yeah we have powers but we want a life outside of Super Hero adventures couple, good for them but not really endearing to kids who want to read Super Hero adventures. So I felt bad about the Malice related break up but wasn't broken up over it. Lorna stans hate the idea of Alex and Lorna on the same title but for me, Lorna and Alex on the same group book might be the way to give Lorna stans what they want. With a good enough writer depicting Alex and Lorna on the same team recognizing their history but feeling that they work best as friends. If one of them is in danger the other is the first to rush off to save the other might not be Maddy's favorite thing but complicated relationships happen as you mature. In my head canon Alex and Lorna are mature enough to work on the same team, and long to see each other in healthy relationships. Lorna keeps an eye out for Alex and on Maddy but not out of jealousy as would Alex over anyone who was fortunate to date Lorna. It might cause issues initially would Maddy but eventually they can bond over it as Lorna advises Maddy about Alex's stupid mindsets. If written correctly it would end the Lorna dependent on Alex narrative and prevent future writers to do the lazy, "Hi Alex" portrayal of the character. So while I am stanning for an Alex and Maddy title, I would have no problem with Lorna being on the team too, not for messy triangle reasons but for ways to give all three characters a deeper more nuanced portrayal but that would require a very good writer to pull it off.
Last edited by EmeraldGladiator; 04-18-2024 at 11:25 AM.
For me, he's had the best written chemistry with Warpath, with Kwannon and Greycrow in Hellions, with Cable -- briefly, during the first UA era -- here and there with Beast (pre-Krakoa heel turn), & with Captain America, Wasp, and Scarlet Witch under Remender -- though everything from the child with Wasp to his undoing of the world being destroyed by a Celestial got swept under the rug once Remender left Marvel.
Anyway, I'm not especially fond of the Alex/Maddy connection -- but a team with Warpath, Kwannon, Cable and maybe someone like Sunspot would be, I think, a lot of fun.
Space Havok was also a lot of fun for me, in part because Brubaker and the other writers on those Shi'ar/Vulcan arcs seemed to know how to handle Havok's power set.
Honestly? Most of them I don't think actually hate Havok. It's really about what Havok represents for Polaris. And this, I agree with - because a lot of writers didn't know what to do, they just tethered Polaris to Havok as his girlfriend (and in other instances, tethered her to Magneto as his daughter), and they didn't appreciate her as an autonomous character. That's part of why Austen, quite the controversial writer, is so often a topic in the Polaris thread, because she so rarely had such a prominent, autonomous role. And her role was still so unique, even WITH Havok there. It was rare. And while I don't love what Austen did with her in those early issues... I appreciate where he took her. So it's not necessarily about hating Havok, so much as hating what Havok represents - 1960s patriarchy. This is still prevalent because Havok has so many autonomous appearances that don't require Polaris, but Polaris is still so frequently shackled to Havok. Even in Krakoan X-Factor, she's shown drunk texting Havok, but that's never a thing Havok narrates in his titles. It's about the double standard, as opposed to Havok himself.
That said, I personally have plenty of umbrage against Havok himself, LOL. As someone who WAS a (very very young) reader of X-Factor as his was being released, I look back on it with adult eyes realizing how toxic their relationship was. They were incredibly abusive (granted, mostly due to mind control), and as Havok83 and I have commiserated over, Havok was in free will and mind during multiple attempts to literally kill Polaris, who was pleading with him to hear her and stop doing horrible things, and one of these incidents resulted in her flatlining. There are also so many instances, dating back to the 70s, of him being quite a controlling man (and I'm happy to admit there are many incidents in the complete opposite, where they are a perfect match, and she's allowed to be the feminist she was introduced as).
I try to favor the positive moments for them. As I always say, I really value their relationship, just as much as I value that they are no longer in a relationship. My biggest gripe is that Polaris' appearances are so frequently referencing Havok, but never the reverse. Which is wild. His ex girlfriend across four decades (on and off) is Polaris, now a doctor, responsible for throwing Krakoa into space. She literally held presidency in Genosha while he was "dead" and Magneto was incapacitated. She was the -only- person in all of Marvel to trust that he was still alive during the Mutant X years (because his powers were connected to his suit), and didn't care that everyone thought she was crazy. She is the daughter of Magneto, one of the most prominent X-Characters of all time. And she was by his side for decades. But for whatever reason, it's always her dreaming about him.
All this said... I do ultimately agree with you. I don't know if we're READY for a title that may feature Polaris with Havok and Madelyne? But eventually I think it will be fine. I think Havok and Polaris were shown so respectfully during X of Swords, for example. Working together as longtime co-leaders, each insanely powerful on their own, and surviving something others couldn't. I loved their time in the early 00s when they weren't in a relationship, but depicted as such valuable teammates who could so easily trust one another because they'd been doing it together for so long. So I agree, it could be great (especially if Polaris gets with my dream pairing with Sunfire...), again, I don't know that we're ready for it just yet. And I also wholeheartedly agree that the right writer and artist can work wonders in this situation...
Queen of Mutants, Mistress of Magnetism, Magnetrix and the MII, Pestilence of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, the Krakoan Oracle and creator of the Sanctus Sacrum Tournament Key, the Threshold Seed Shaper, Brood Queen of the Fall of the House of X, Lorna Sally Dane, Ph.D., of the House of M, Polaris of the X-Men
Queen of Mutants, Mistress of Magnetism, Magnetrix and the MII, Pestilence of the Horsemen of Apocalypse, the Krakoan Oracle and creator of the Sanctus Sacrum Tournament Key, the Threshold Seed Shaper, Brood Queen of the Fall of the House of X, Lorna Sally Dane, Ph.D., of the House of M, Polaris of the X-Men
A new title is born HIMBO OF X
Alex Summers is the resident Himbo of the X-Men
Love em and leave em Summers...
Protected by the Comics Code Authority
YES Capes. YES Masks. YES Secret Identities.
I agree, he shouldn't be faulted for those reasons. He was an undercover agent and being inverted was hardly his fault.
He and Logan seemed close back in the Outback days and they got along fairly well during their UA days. Logan and Alex seemed closer as friends than Logan and Scott or Alex and Scott ever were. And he and Dazzler were jogging buddies back during the Outback era even though they don't really have any notable interactions since then.
I used to be a hardcore shipper of Alex/Lorna until I realized how toxic the pairing was, usually because Alex had wronged Lorna too many times. Alex/Maddie actually grew on me and I think they work better now. I've also liked the idea of Alex/Betsy since there was definitely some sexual tension between them which was never explored after the Siege Perilous. I'm surprised he and Jean don't have much of an on-panel relationship, besides Alex saying he likes Scott better when Jean is around. Scott, Lorna, and Maddie all being so connected to Jean is one thing plus the fact that in the Mutant X universe, Alex grew up being in love with Jean and thinking he married her before she was exposed as Maddie. That seemed to suggest that if Scott wasn't in the picture, Alex would have had feelings for Jean but could never pursue her because of his brother.
I respectfully disagree. I think Maddy's favorite thing about Alex is he is one of the few X-Men to never carry a torch for Jean. For Alex, Maddy is his favorite red head. She isn't a stand in for Jean, for him. Mutant X Alex isn't our Alex. Funny thing about the Outback era is that there was such tension you could have seen any pairing working out.