A NON-Apocalyptic/Dystopian X-men Future - What Would It Be?

[MarvelMaster616]

With the upcoming release of X-men: Days of Futures Past, the current events in Uncanny Avengers, and the recent events in Age of Ultron, I've noticed something about the various AUs and future timelines of the X-men and the Marvel Universe in general: they're all pretty darn sad. They're either apocalyptic, dystopian, or built around a massive lie. Now I get why Marvel does this. There aren't too many stories to be told about a future that isn't terrible or flawed. At least, that's the excuse they give. I'm not sure it's valid. But it got me thinking about what a non-Apocalyptic/non-Dystopian future would be like.

So I'm opening up this thread for discussion, speculation, and ideas. Let's think for a moment about all the ways the future has gone bad for the X-men and consider for a moment what would constitute a good future. At times, we've had only brief glimpses. In X-men: The End, we saw some hope when Kitty Pryde became President, albeit after many other X-men died. In X-men Battle of the Atom, we saw a future where Dazzler became President in a very Barack Obama type moment, but that went bad very quickly. I think it's a bit simplistic, a mutant becoming President being the gauge for a successful future for mutants. And then there's Planet X and House of M, futures where humans are either extinct or subordinate. Even when they're non-dystopian, these futures are pretty grim.

So let's picture a future where the X-men actually try to put Charles Xavier's dream into a real, coherent world. How would they accomplish that? How would it function? What would the lives of the X-men be like in this world and could it be a viable story? Let's say the X-men in the current 616 visited this world. It would be so overwhelming to them that some probably wouldn't want to leave. That's the thought experiment I think is worth having because I don't know about everyone else on this board, but I'm really tired of sad, dystopian futures. We get enough of that in the real world. I would like there to be at least one future in the Marvel universe, or comics in general, that embodied a sense of hope for the future of the world. But that's just me. I'm interested in what others have to say.

[Ambaryerno]

There aren't too many stories to be told about a future that isn't terrible or flawed. At least, that's the excuse they give.

I think Marvel's execs should go back and watch the full run Star Trek: The Next Generation. I've actually been working my way through the last couple months, and it's a brilliant example of how you can have a happy and hopeful future, but still have conflict. Anyone who says that the future it presents is dull and boring hasn't really been paying attention. It's been a while since I've watched the series, but as I've gone back through it again I've been astounded by just how RELEVANT the issues it explores remain: The Drumhead could easily have been written about the War On Terror. The Hunted might well have been a parable about the struggles faced by veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Outcast touches on issues society faces today in regards to sexual orientation and gender identity. There's a LOT of fertile ground to explore and tell relevant stories.

And I agree, I'm tried of dystopia. I'm certainly a bit cynical about the state of the world, but I like having that hope that things can get better, as that makes dragging myself through the present worthwhile. It's why I stopped reading A Song of Ice and Fire after the third book, and didn't bother with the series (well, that and I don't have TV right now). I like to see HOPE. There's no reason Marvel can't present a hopeful future and still find stories to tell.

[motherofpearl1]

With the upcoming release of X-men: Days of Futures Past, the current events in Uncanny Avengers, and the recent events in Age of Ultron, I've noticed something about the various AUs and future timelines of the X-men and the Marvel Universe in general: they're all pretty darn sad. They're either apocalyptic, dystopian, or built around a massive lie. Now I get why Marvel does this. There aren't too many stories to be told about a future that isn't terrible or flawed. At least, that's the excuse they give. I'm not sure it's valid. But it got me thinking about what a non-Apocalyptic/non-Dystopian future would be like.

So I'm opening up this thread for discussion, speculation, and ideas. Let's think for a moment about all the ways the future has gone bad for the X-men and consider for a moment what would constitute a good future. At times, we've had only brief glimpses. In X-men: The End, we saw some hope when Kitty Pryde became President, albeit after many other X-men died. In X-men Battle of the Atom, we saw a future where Dazzler became President in a very Barack Obama type moment, but that went bad very quickly. I think it's a bit simplistic, a mutant becoming President being the gauge for a successful future for mutants. And then there's Planet X and House of M, futures where humans are either extinct or subordinate. Even when they're non-dystopian, these futures are pretty grim.

So let's picture a future where the X-men actually try to put Charles Xavier's dream into a real, coherent world. How would they accomplish that? How would it function? What would the lives of the X-men be like in this world and could it be a viable story? Let's say the X-men in the current 616 visited this world. It would be so overwhelming to them that some probably wouldn't want to leave. That's the thought experiment I think is worth having because I don't know about everyone else on this board, but I'm really tired of sad, dystopian futures. We get enough of that in the real world. I would like there to be at least one future in the Marvel universe, or comics in general, that embodied a sense of hope for the future of the world. But that's just me. I'm interested in what others have to say.

Interesting topic.
I think it would be a future something akin to Star Trek, where different species co existed peacefully. But would it last?

[wvchemteach]

I think in a non-Apocalyptic/non-Dystopian future you'd have the following:

1) The original X-Men reunited in common cause. I'm sick to death of Cyclops being a mini-Magneto. Have Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Iceman, and the real Jean Grey back, alive, and in harmony.

2) Have the school in Westchester be a school that takes all "gifted students": mutants, super-powered, or just academically gifted. Have it be a premiere preparatory school that students compete for admittance.

3) Have the X-Men be an official sanctioned group like the Avengers operating under the umbrella of S.H.I.E.L.D.

4) Have with some of the first couple of generation of X-Men/New Mutants get their happy endings. Have Cyclops and Jean married again and have two small children named Nathan and Rachel. Have Angel regain his "self" and settle down with one of his true loves. Have Iceman and Shadowcat mend the rift that Bendis caused.

5) The older generation with the exception of those who don't really age like Wolverine be moved firmly to being mentors/teachers or as general goodwill ambassadors. Have younger mutants step into the leadership roles that they've longed for and craved. Have Husk as one of the field leaders of the X-Men. Have Quentin Quire finally find his own beliefs instead of parroting whatever revolutionary thinker of the day. Have some of the villains truly reform and be a positive force for change.

That is what I could come up with in just a few minutes.

[vitamin]

X-Corporation and Xavier School getting bigger and being opened on another worlds, educating, helping and preaching about peaceful coexistence and non-violent ways.
Mutants Sans Frontiers helping mutant crises.
XSE keeps the peace between all the species.
Telepathic stations across the world connecting people. #thoughtnet?
Earth being phoenix egg.

Interesting topic.
I think it would be a future something akin to Star Trek, where different species co existed peacefully. But would it last?

It wouldn't. Beast would take the Kick and destroy the heaven.

[anthony_lynch15]

We do occasionally get to see a non-dystopian X-Men future/reality.
Just not very often.

X-Men #98's Ages of Apocalypse story had quite a bright future for the X-Men.







Of course it was never visited again and I think it was supposed to never be an actual reality/future.

Then there was Battle of the Atom's future which was supposed to be bright.
President Dazzler did indeed die and that was clearly a dark time for the future X-Men.
But while the Brotherhood faction seem to see it as a bad future everyone at the Jean Grey School seemed to be happy with the future.

Also the end of the last volume of Wolverine and the X-Men even showed that an old Logan was still running the school in that particular timeline.
And that the students and staff had all moved on to bigger and better things.

There's also X-Men the End. Which until the actual story began had the X-Men all living pretty good lives.
Then we followed them through three volumes of being attacked to leave them yet again in a more ideal future.
Albeit with less X-Men than they began with.

I think the MC2 Universe with Spider-girl and the Fantastic 5 etc was supposed to be pretty good as well.

Of course like you say MarvelMaster616, we more often than not only get a glimpse of these happier future story lines.

[MarvelMaster616]

Of course like you say MarvelMaster616, we more often than not only get a glimpse of these happier future story lines.

Nice find! Very nice concept, an entire artificial world created for mutants and outcasts alike. This is the kind of future that we only get hints at, but is never explored. A number of posters have brought up Star Trek. I think that embodies the kind of idealism that nobody thinks can appeal anymore. I don't agree with that. I think the reason why fans are so jaded is because they're used to it. I think we've gotten to a point where the most novel thing to do is create something that's hopeful. Now I'm not saying an entire new line has to be built on it, but why not explore this world? Why not go beyond a simple What If story and create a vision that shows what can happen if things are done right? A while back, there was another thread that asked whether Charles Xavier's dream was even possible. I think that this being a discussion shows how jaded X-men fans and comic fans in general have become. The time is definitely right for something more hopeful. I just don't think Marvel wants to think outside the box and explore those possibilities just yet. Hopefully, that changes down the line.

[vitamin]

The bottom line is: the target audience eats up cynical dystopian futures and hopeful ones don't bring in enough cash.
Americans love their apocalypses.

[bat39]

The funny things is, a movie as maligned as X-men The Last Stand actually ended on a very optimistic note indeed. Sure Professor X died, but his legacy lived on through the school, which Storm and Wolverine ran together (that's what the ending implied). Hank McCoy became US ambassador to the UN, both as a gesture of peace by the President and also as gratitude for the X-men's efforts in preventing a human-mutant war. Magneto had been defeated and de-powered, and in any case, seemed to have learned the error of his ways. Had this movie been the true end of the series, things would actually have ended on a pretty good note.

Of course, we know now in hindsight that it wasn't a happy ending after all; with Wolverine being haunted by the 'ghost' of Jean Grey and leaving the team to live in the Canadian wilderness, and within the next decade or so, the Sentinels coming to power and exterminating most of the mutant race...

[All-New Valar Stercus NOW.1]

A happy future for the X-men is one where they don't exist.

[vitamin]

A happy future for the X-men is one where they don't exist.

Spoken like a true X-Fan!

[MarvelMaster616]

A happy future for the X-men is one where they don't exist.

I wouldn't go that far. I think X-men The End had at least one idea right. The end really only comes when the X-men aren't necessary. They can still exist, but if they aren't necessary, then that means they no longer need to fight for peace and understanding in a world that hates and fears them. It's one thing to have the X-men be victorious. Remember, Cyclops received a Presidential Metal for his efforts in Second Coming. A few years later, he's a wanted fugitive. And the X-men were still necessary to some degree. Stopping Magneto or Apocalypse alone doesn't make for a non-dystopian future.

It reminds me somewhat of this debate Wolverine had with Cyclops shortly after the Utopia arc. He said that they had won the war, but now they needed to win the peace. The X-men have been great at winning wars against enemies, but not against peace. They can defeat Magneto, but the man still has his powers and still is not in jail. They can stop a mutant cure, but not its nasty side-effects. They can have mutant representation in the UN, as was shown in Schism. That ended disastrously. They can even brainwash Magneto into being peaceful, like what was done in Ultimate for a while. This was only a temporary bandage that horribly backfired later on. So in that sense, it's not enough to merely defeat the enemy and ride off into the sunset. An actual foundation for a non-dystopian future has to be laid and that's something the X-men have never done. I think they at least tried to make an effort with things like Utopia and X-Corp, but they never went far enough with those. I think for any future where the X-men achieve any degree of their goal, they have to go much further than just beating Magneto and stopping a war. They need to actually build a peace, which has never been meaningfully attempted in any medium. But I personally think it can be done. And at some point, I hope it is done.

[useridgoeshere]

I don't read UA, but from what I've heard, Planet X sounds like it would be pretty good if Alex and Jan weren't there.

[anthony_lynch15]

The bottom line is: the target audience eats up cynical dystopian futures and hopeful ones don't bring in enough cash.
Americans love their apocalypses.

Not just Americans. I love a good Apocalypse and surviving the Apocalypse story too.
That said I like a nice tale of a bright future as well. Just so long as there is the occasional conflict for the characters to face.

I don't read UA, but from what I've heard, Planet X sounds like it would be pretty good if Alex and Jan weren't there.

LOL, they do appear to be disturbing the peace.

[Valeficent]

there was that (horrible) image (really horrible art) in All New of that AVX parade where everyone seemed happy and accepted. Maybe the way for the X-Men to finally achieve Xavier's dream of coexistance is for all of them to join the Avengers.