GIANT-SIZE X-POSITION: Bendis Ties Up "All-New X-Men's" Loose Ends

[Ambaryerno]

I don't have a vested interest in X-23, either, but I can certainly understand the anger on her fans' part because she's being apparently written completely opposite to how she was up until Bendis. If someone came along and had a character you like and follow start acting and talking completely different for no reason, would you praise this as a coup for artistic freedom or as a writer simply not understanding and respecting the history of the character? If characters are going to change at the drop of a hat for no reason, I'd be highly suspicious of the writer's ability to maintain any sort of narrative consistency.

This.

The fan criticism of Warren and X together was ALWAYS about how poorly established and OOC the behavior was. By contrast, the teasing between X and Tyke was actually quite sweet and builds on where both characters are coming from. It's possible to actually SEE why Laura might like someone like Scott. Warren, by contrast, was thrown into the mix without any prior interaction at all. Just for some reason all of the sudden despite having NEVER really talked with her at all he's suddenly making a play for her during the second Brotherhood arc. THAT has always been the problem. Bendis chalking it up to "Oh, they're just too different," demonstrates either just how out of touch he actually is with the fanbase, or that he willfully ignores what he doesn't want to hear.

Criticism about X and Warren being too different can be waved off like it's the READER'S problem and they just don't get it, which is essentially what he did. Criticism that the relationship was poorly developed and out of character is a criticism against Bendis as a WRITER. That's not something he can spin so easily.

Look at me, Pixie was totally ignored by Bendis, but i'm ok with that. Stories first! If he's crafting a yarn i'm interested in, why waste time campaigning for some imagined idea of what your favorite should or should not be doing?

And I'm sure had Bendis done with Pixie what he's done with X, you'd probably have a different opinion.

[Gray Lensman]

Look at me, Pixie was totally ignored by Bendis, but i'm ok with that. Stories first!

Are you OK that she was ignored by Bendis because of the stories, or because it was Bendis writing them?

[Flight]

It absolutely was.

The only upside was Bendis had better artists.

Correct.

Austen had "leftover" x-men and did some great work with some of them (Juggernaut, Northstar). Bendis had his pick of every x-man, excluded 90% of them and the ones he did use, he character assassinated them (Storm, Beast, Emma, Iceman, Dazzler...)

Bendis has dangling plots that he doesn't know how to finish (o5 time displacement, Dazzler, Mystique's madripoor plot, cyclops revolution...)
Austen came in, told a couple of mediocre stories, no damaging longterm effect.

[Park Slope Pixie]

This.

The fan criticism of Warren and X together was ALWAYS about how poorly established and OOC the behavior was. By contrast, the teasing between X and Tyke was actually quite sweet and builds on where both characters are coming from. It's possible to actually SEE why Laura might like someone like Scott. Warren, by contrast, was thrown into the mix without any prior interaction at all. Just for some reason all of the sudden despite having NEVER really talked with her at all he's suddenly making a play for her during the second Brotherhood arc. THAT has always been the problem. Bendis chalking it up to "Oh, they're just too different," demonstrates either just how out of touch he actually is with the fanbase, or that he willfully ignores what he doesn't want to hear.

Criticism about X and Warren being too different can be waved off like it's the READER'S problem and they just don't get it, which is essentially what he did. Criticism that the relationship was poorly developed and out of character is a criticism against Bendis as a WRITER. That's not something he can spin so easily.



And I'm sure had Bendis done with Pixie what he's done with X, you'd probably have a different opinion.

I really wouldn't and i'm being 100% truthful. I'm not beholden to any sort of idea what she should or should not be.

[SJNeal]

Correct.

Austen had "leftover" x-men and did some great work with some of them (Juggernaut, Northstar). Bendis had his pick of every x-man, excluded 90% of them and the ones he did use, he character assassinated them (Storm, Beast, Emma, Iceman, Dazzler...)

Bendis has dangling plots that he doesn't know how to finish (o5 time displacement, Dazzler, Mystique's madripoor plot, cyclops revolution...)
Austen came in, told a couple of mediocre stories, no damaging longterm effect.

Yep, to all of the above.

I'd honsetly rather watch Warren and Paige hump mid-air 100x over than read another issue of ANXM...

[DDD]

Bendis had his pick of every x-man, excluded 90% of them and the ones he did use, he character assassinated them (Storm, Beast, Emma, Iceman, Dazzler...)

That's what disappoints me, it's like he didn't even bother. It showed he had no real interest in the books unlike Carey who was constantly pulling out nice surprise appearances out of nowhere.

[DDD]

I didn't really have an invested idea of who x-23 should or shouldn't end up with.

I have one. Dead, buried and silent with whoever.

[just another user]

Bendis's run has been consistently enjoyable, up there with Claremont and Morrison.

[EmperorDoom]

Maybe I missed something somewhere, but I thought we still had Uncanny 34 and 35 before 600.

[Lethargyman]

Bendis can't win.

Which is it guys? Is he pandering too much to what the fans on Tumblr want, or is he not asking you directly where he should take these characters because you obviously know his job better than he does?

I'm a long-term X-23 fan, from her first appearance in NYX to today. I have no problem with how Bendis has portrayed her, because people don't actually stay the same. They grow, they take on aspects of the people around them. It's called cultural socialization, and you can read it in Laura in many ways - as a conscious act - she's attempting to blend in with her peers through calculated actions and language - or maybe she's simply starting to loosen up a little after surviving the horrors inflicted on her over and over, taking every opportunity to grab some small semblance of happiness while she still can, before it's all inevitably taken away again.

I just don't understand how many people want her to stay a mono-syllabic broken doll who can't ever step out of the role she was created for. It's supremely depressing that the people who claim to love her actually hate her that much.

For the record, I doubt she'll stay with Warren long. Her life could never sustain that sort of relationship, regardless of how tenuous it was in the first place.

[Songbird/Diamondback]

Uggggh, of course Bendis' waifus of Jean Grey and Kitty Pryde get the world at their feet.

And of course the Utopians are better characters turned evil
OF COURSE
OF COURSE
OF FREAKING COURSE!!!

The world just can't stop disappointing me.

[sagiravi]

I disagree re: the O5. They have worn out their welcome. Time for them to go back so writers can tell stories with their adult versions.

As much as i love Cyke, there are certain aspects about him that i don't like and would like to see change but know that it's not possible and those certain aspects that i think can be fixed with Tyke, so i'm looking forward to see that kind of development in Tyke. I still think Tyke will play the main role in the real redemption to Cyke's character in the future, and i also have this very unrealistic hope that through Tyke, Cyclops can somehow be redeemed in the eyes of all the Cyke-haters (yeah right...in my dreams) mainly those who still blame him for all the mistakes he has made over the years (especially the Madelyne incident) and other stuff.

[NexusTenebrare]

Huh, I didn't actually expect my question to be picked, I guess reverse psychology really works.

I liked the answer, not 100%, as he gets some stuff wrong. The bi erasure wasn't about Bobby being gay instead of bi. It's a little worrying that he thinks that was the problem there. It's about Jean dictating what he is when he wonders if he's bi.

He also keeps saying "But Bobby was okay with it" as some sort of justification. I don't really see how that works, as Bobby is a fictional character. I do think Jean did it as an act of friendship (with some hubris involved), but it's still not something we should put in a vaccum and say "this is completely fine".

Actually, Jean didn't dictate anything. She's psychic. She read the truth about Bobby's sexuality.
It actually really does come off as if people are just annoyed Bobby turned out gay rather than bi. Because heaven forbid gay people would actually have an important character Marvel can't just brush off into limbo.

As for his justification. His justification was that these kinds of things happen in real life. Even people who were complaining about it were telling him it happened to them. Fiction isn't supposed to be super happy with nothing bad ever happening. Sometimes it just mirrors the real world.

[Viteh]

Actually, Jean didn't dictate anything. She's psychic. She read the truth about Bobby's sexuality.
It actually really does come off as if people are just annoyed Bobby turned out gay rather than bi. Because heaven forbid gay people would actually have an important character Marvel can't just brush off into limbo.

As for his justification. His justification was that these kinds of things happen in real life. Even people who were complaining about it were telling him it happened to them. Fiction isn't supposed to be super happy with nothing bad ever happening. Sometimes it just mirrors the real world.

Jean being psychic kinda makes it worse in my opinion. It's like reading someone's diary and then confronting them about it.

I agree that they happen in real life, nor do I think it shouldn't have been shown. My problem is that it is happening without any acknowledgement that it's not "super happy" as you put it. When bad stuff happens, or characters act badly, it's usually said, or at the very least implied.

[Viteh]

Btw, it's Humphries who is taking over, correct? That's the feeling I got from this interview.