GIANT-SIZE X-POSITION: The "Uncanny" Brian Bendis Returns - Part 1

[Sardorim]

She has a big enough role in this. Yet he doesn't name drop her once despite the current arc not ending anytime soon. Fact is that he could have spared to name drop her even once and say "so-and-so, Rachel, and so-and-so are dealing with such-and-such and the Will".

It literally only had pages and panels of the X-Men series and Rachel was in nearly all of them. Yet not one mention while other characters, that don't even appear in the series or are mentioned in the series,were name dropped multiple times. I disagree, Cyclops literally has nothing to do with the current X-Men series as the focus is about the team, what they're dealing with, and the such. Cyclops play no part in the story arcs they've been in.

I'll bring it up as many time as needed as this isn't an isolated issue. Rachel has been consistently been stuck in "Show but don't name or talk about" even when she's playing an important part, is in nearly every issue/story arc (Amazing X-Men, they couldn't even be bothered to put her on the cover while everyone else is on the covers for the most part), or is literally one of the Main Characters, the other is Storm, and Main Focus currently (X-Men). Than there's her mistreatment in AvX, BoTA, and even Trial(Rachel's entire Shi'ar stuff was literally ignored).

Or how QQ was pushed so hard, despite being very unlikable and everyone seeing how forced he is, at the school while Rachel is literally being ignored so that QQ can look better by not having Rachel do anything because of the fear that if she was utilized than they couldn't tell any stories with QQ due to lack of imagination.

[Bart]

ANYWAYS, back to the actual characters the writer is in charge o and actually matter to the books:

Looking forward to Cyclops' power upgrade and the Jean/Emma adventure!

[king of hybrids]

It would have made a lot of sense if they offered him Wanda to be put on trial for her crimes against mutants, cause the Avengers were never going to do it.

yeah, their gonna kill her off to coincide with age of ultron

if it does involve wanda, i'm gonna take a shot in the dark and wonder; maybe wanda (inverted or normal) joins the NXS? magik is hitting the road so the NXS needs a magical, between AXIS apaprently making some revalations and finally seeing first hand the depths of anti-mutant sentiment perhaps wanda finally does go down the anti-hero path she/bendis forced on the entire MU, because they need a reason she isn't happy slapping the illuminati/cabal/pro-shield avengers in time runs out and finally they presumably need pietro and wanda in a semi-standoffish mood to the rest of the avengers in line with AoU for the next avengers relaunch.

i mean, i'm utterly dreading bendis getting his hands on her again, but anything's better than remenderer

[Izanami]

This is fun so I will break down her speech patterns a bit.
1) She almost never uses contractions.

Stuff like I won't, we didn't, they haven't, etc. are things that she won't say. She will always say I will not, we did not, they have not, etc.
This was even used in the story one time.
In this page Gambit notices that this isn't the real Laura but Miss Sinister in disguise because she was using contractions which the real Laura doesn't do.
Attachment 10690

2) Questions or statements that can be answered by just saying yes or no, will be answered that way for the majority of the time.

"Are you OK?" "Yes."
"Do you need something?" "No."

3) She very rarely speaks more than one or two sentences at a time. She can speak more but those situations are very rare and when she does that than it is mostly because she is explaining something.

Here is another example that illustrates all three points.
Attachment 10692

Now there is likely more and if somebody wants he can add to that. It's 6 am here and Im tired so I could have missed something.

Dammit. I wish I saw this sooner. I finished it so if anyone is interested in seeing it. somacula where are you?

[aja_christopher]

Talking about the previews where she's being shown on multiple pages talking and preparing to make contact wit the Beyond Omega dude. So she's going to be talking as she kinda needs to since making contact and not saying a word would be freaky and not accomplish anything.

No, it was about the X-Men's current series called "X-Men". It has nothing to do with Cyclops. He literally had no reason to be mentioned and what was mentioned was old news as it was brought up before in other articles. While Rachel, one of the main characters alongside Storm, wasn't mentioned at all. Yet Storm was name dropped multiple times even when she's taking a less important role while the spotlight is all on Rachel at the moment. It's about equal representation and Rachel continues to be stuck in the "Show but not name or talk about" capacity even when she's a Main Character or playing a multiple role.

Hope did nothing to Rachel as Rachel hasn't been a Phoenix Host for years. Hope doesn't look like Rachel either and they don't have the same personality or even the same power set.

Clearly Rachel is a big enough draw considering that Storm and her are the Main Characters of the X-Men series, she's in multiple books, and everyone and their mother was raging about AvX and how Rachel was ignored despite being the #1 Phoenix Expert on the planet. She was also heavily demanded, alongside Nightcrawler and Colossus, to appear in Uncanny X-Men and All-New. Especially All-New since it's the common belief that no one can teach her teenage mother better than Rachel herself and that their last time together was pretty bad as they ignored the other.

All due credit to you for continuing to fight the good fight for Rachel. She was my second "comic book" fave (right after Illyana) and really hit her stride during her run in Excalibur.

I've generally just accepted that the "limbo" effect isn't even worth railing against anymore. Whether it's Transonic, Dani, Amara, Surge, Cipher, Husk, Warpath, Frenzy, Pixie (I'd name more guys but most that I like have been killed off or otherwise rendered unusable: Kenji, Bedlam, Bishop, Sunspot, and Synch for example), the writers would for whatever reason rather use the "old guard" -- even going so far as to bring "alternate" versions of them from the past into the present -- or create completely new characters which then generally serve as footsoldiers with the occasionally glorified cameo.

Where Rachel seems like an obvious choice for training both Hope and Jean, they go with Cyclops, Iron Fist, Kitty and Emma. I made the mistake of buying Sara Pichelli's (not Bendis') book where Emma "bonded" with Jean, which was just as riveting as the earlier (non)"conversation" between Rachel and (Teen) Jean. It just seems like the easy way out of showing any real character development -- as much as some people might complain about Claremont's penchant for long exposition, at least he was telling a story rather than turning serious issues into a punchline with no real setup.

Bachalo, Immonen and Pichelli are the only reasons I would even considering buying these books but I'm sure someone out there likes them, so I don't bear Bendis any real grudge -- he's just not my thing. My only real regret in that respect is that we don't see more of said artists on other (non-Bendis) X-Titles.

That said, maybe it's a good thing that Bendis is sticking to his "favorites" and leaving Rachel to others who might enjoy writing her more, since little to no character development is highly preferable to bad character development (just ask Bishop and Husk).

[aja_christopher]

This is fun so I will break down her speech patterns a bit.
1) She almost never uses contractions.

Stuff like I won't, we didn't, they haven't, etc. are things that she won't say. She will always say I will not, we did not, they have not, etc.
This was even used in the story one time.
In this page Gambit notices that this isn't the real Laura but Miss Sinister in disguise because she was using contractions which the real Laura doesn't do.
Attachment 10690

2) Questions or statements that can be answered by just saying yes or no, will be answered that way for the majority of the time.

"Are you OK?" "Yes."
"Do you need something?" "No."

3) She very rarely speaks more than one or two sentences at a time. She can speak more but those situations are very rare and when she does that than it is mostly because she is explaining something.

Here is another example that illustrates all three points.
Attachment 10692

Now there is likely more and if somebody wants he can add to that. It's 6 am here and Im tired so I could have missed something.

NYX Laura was like that and so was Liu's (relatively definitive) take on her in her solo series.

That conversation between her and Angel seemed to be so out of character for her that I thought I was reading a comic book version of Twilight. I can't even picture Laura going to a club (unless Jubilee dragged her there), much less out on the floor dancing. I get what Bendis is trying to do (to his credit he seems to enjoy exploring relationships) but there are other characters much more suited to the direction he seems to want to go with them.

Teen Angel and Paige (Husk) seems like it would make for a more realistic and interesting storyline continuity-wise, while Rachel and Jean is a relationship just begging to be explored. He has taken the time to get Kitty and Illyana back together, which is a good move, but characters like Emma should be dealing with issues like Sebastian Shaw more than Teen Jean.

Or, at the very least, show me why these two would become friends with more than just a silent conversation.

[From The Shadows]

"Of all the characters, he does seem to be the one where if he went full bad guy, people wouldn't be surprised. If he went full good guy, people wouldn't be surprised."

Well, I sure as hell was surprised and I'm not the only one. I used to be a Scott fan. Did he even read older Scott? What Paul Smith issues? Anyway, I really am not the type of person who likes quick stories, I LOVE build up with care - when it comes along as natural! But some of these plots dont need to be stretched out so long. It seems Bendis only finds characters with no clear direction/personality interesting but I dont need to be shocked by a character all the time for my interest. You can still be complex even if you arent a wildcard all the time.

[grinningdemon]

She has a big enough role in this. Yet he doesn't name drop her once despite the current arc not ending anytime soon. Fact is that he could have spared to name drop her even once and say "so-and-so, Rachel, and so-and-so are dealing with such-and-such and the Will".

It literally only had pages and panels of the X-Men series and Rachel was in nearly all of them. Yet not one mention while other characters, that don't even appear in the series or are mentioned in the series,were name dropped multiple times. I disagree, Cyclops literally has nothing to do with the current X-Men series as the focus is about the team, what they're dealing with, and the such. Cyclops play no part in the story arcs they've been in.

I'll bring it up as many time as needed as this isn't an isolated issue. Rachel has been consistently been stuck in "Show but don't name or talk about" even when she's playing an important part, is in nearly every issue/story arc (Amazing X-Men, they couldn't even be bothered to put her on the cover while everyone else is on the covers for the most part), or is literally one of the Main Characters, the other is Storm, and Main Focus currently (X-Men). Than there's her mistreatment in AvX, BoTA, and even Trial(Rachel's entire Shi'ar stuff was literally ignored).

Or how QQ was pushed so hard, despite being very unlikable and everyone seeing how forced he is, at the school while Rachel is literally being ignored so that QQ can look better by not having Rachel do anything because of the fear that if she was utilized than they couldn't tell any stories with QQ due to lack of imagination.

Bendis barely spoke about the current storyline (the ONLY one involving Rachel) at all...he talked about future stories almost exclusively...almost none of the questions that were submitted involved Rachel...for him to talk about here would be a POINTLESS namedrop...she does not have a significant role in this book and, if she were going to, I'm sure he WOULD have mentioned her.

If he were writing the "X-Men" series that prominently features Rachel, THEN it would seem out of place...that said, did the other article you mention namedrop everyone ELSE that appears in the book and only leave out Rachel? Because I kind of doubt it. As for Cyclops not having anything to do with that book, I disagree...that team, and the entire gold side, exist as a counterpoint to Cyclops and what he's doing...there are entire threads devoted to how the franchise revolves around him...it's not a surprise if he comes up in some fashion when talking about other x-books especially if they happen to prominently feature his family members.

I like Rachel and I wish she got more spotlight but, as I've said, a lot of writers see her as redundant when Jean or Hope are involved...this goes all the way back to when Jean came back in X-Factor and probably the only reason she got as much screentime as she did back then was because she was out of the way in Excalibur...I'm not saying it's right but that's how it's been a long time...that she does have some devoted fans is probably the only reason she was brought back after she was lost in the timestream and probably the only reason she hasn't been killed off...so I'm glad she's still around and not going to get upset because if a writer uses her in a supporting role for a single story arc and doesn't push the character in interviews...would you prefer Bendis left her out of this story entirely? Because I imagine he would have used Jeen in her place if he hadn't shipped her off to Ultimate land to keep the O5 away from AXIS.

And, yes, they always push certain pet characters that either the writers or editors want to see front and center...that's the way it's always been and Rachel was arguably one of them when she was first introduced as an X-Man...she was all but dead for years and now she's appearing in multiple series...in fact, she's probably appearing in more books at the moment than she ever has in the past.

[somacula]

NYX Laura was like that and so was Liu's (relatively definitive) take on her in her solo series.

That conversation between her and Angel seemed to be so out of character for her that I thought I was reading a comic book version of Twilight. I can't even picture Laura going to a club (unless Jubilee dragged her there), much less out on the floor dancing. I get what Bendis is trying to do (to his credit he seems to enjoy exploring relationships) but there are other characters much more suited to the direction he seems to want to go with them.

Teen Angel and Paige (Husk) seems like it would make for a more realistic and interesting storyline continuity-wise, while Rachel and Jean is a relationship just begging to be explored. He has taken the time to get Kitty and Illyana back together, which is a good move, but characters like Emma should be dealing with issues like Sebastian Shaw more than Teen Jean.

Or, at the very least, show me why these two would become friends with more than just a silent conversation.

Knowing bendis it probably was a conversation in a motorcycle but he didn't have space to put it on a panel, so he'll explain later on his tumblr or another interview saying that it happened and its canon but he didnt felt like writing it, wich is good news since he didn't got to write more x 23 dialogue

[From The Shadows]

"Of all the characters, he does seem to be the one where if he went full bad guy, people wouldn't be surprised. If he went full good guy, people wouldn't be surprised. "

As a Cyclops fan since the 70s when i read reprints of the original x-men run, the character assassination of Cyclops makes me sad. Bendis' quote is so WTF. Cyclops is the X-men's Captain America. I'm curious how he attributes Cyclop's current characterization steaming from the Paul Smith run. He was barely seen in that run.

I wonder if he meant that little panel where Scott reluctantly agreed about the Brood in that Paul Smith issue but since then he was still pretty "straight laced" as he didn't approve of Magneto as headmaster (which was pat of the reason he fought Storm) or Cables X-Force. Though, I could be very well missing something. My memory isnt what it used to be.

[Galerion]

Knowing bendis it probably was a conversation in a motorcycle but he didn't have space to put it on a panel, so he'll explain later on his tumblr or another interview saying that it happened and its canon but he didnt felt like writing it, wich is good news since he didn't got to write more x 23 dialogue

"Oh yeah I didn't include that scene because I thought not enough people would care about why they came together. And it's the same with the scene explaining how X-23 ended up amnesiac in the streets of Miami after being taken in by Wolverine and SHIELD and why they don't deem it important to contact each other after that.

- Bendis

[Sandman]

Those events aren't as spaced out as you might remember...the end of the Brood saga was UXM 167...then, of course, UXM 175...and XM/AF was only a year or so later...all Paul Smith stories and all within a couple years of each other. I agree Cyclops did maintain his high moral beliefs in those stories but some of the actions he took as a result were a bit on the edgier side than had been previously seen from the character...nothing on par with his more recent appearances but I can see it kind of starting there.

That's pretty spaced out to me. 6 months between 167 and 175 and and year after that for XM/AF. That would be an eternity back then as a elementary school kid. These days not so much, especially with the millions of other things to keep us busy in the meantime.

[Anarchist]

Jean grey = sentry

Nothing can even come close to Sentry's plot device'ness.

Well, maybe Red Hulk.

[grinningdemon]

That's pretty spaced out to me. 6 months between 167 and 175 and and year after that for XM/AF. That would be an eternity back then as a elementary school kid. These days not so much, especially with the millions of other things to keep us busy in the meantime.

The character has been around for 50 years...6 months is nothing...there was really only 1 storyline in between.

[Emerald_616]

"Oh yeah I didn't include that scene because I thought not enough people would care about why they came together. And it's the same with the scene explaining how X-23 ended up amnesiac in the streets of Miami after being taken in by Wolverine and SHIELD and why they don't deem it important to contact each other after that.

- Bendis

So much this. I don't understand how a single PAGE couldn't have been added to a single ISSUE quickly explaining these things on panel.