Romeo & Iceman: A Mutant and Inhuman Tragedy in the Making?

[Assgardian]

The whole "Romeo" thing is kind of too much, but their dynamic seemed nice enough! I'm eager to see where it goes.

[kevinism]

But, were not talking about "today" -- damn the "sliding time scale" -- were talking about the year of Jean's birth being literally carved in granite, canonically...

In the 616 a year is only 100 days!

[Confuzzled]

I agree with this. I think it would be better if superheroes actually aged and eventually retired or just never age and everyone ignores it because it's superhero fiction. Claremont wanted Cyclops to retire with Madelyn Pryor and their son but editorial forced that Jean Grey was really alive the whole time and making Scott leave his wife bullsh*t. I personally just don't like the concept of the sliding timescale and it doesn't work when certain characters like Magneto are fixed to a specific point in time like World War II.

It's superhero comics lol. Eternal youth is not that hard to come by, especially in the X-Verse.

[Ambaryerno]

It's superhero comics lol. Eternal youth is not that hard to come by, especially in the X-Verse.

Still, it would become more significant for characters like Wolverine who HAVE it if we actually get to see it come into play, and not just via flash-backs and flash-forwards. Imagine how much more poignant the Phoenix Saga could be if there was an actual in-universe sense that it really did take place 30 years ago, with most of the players having retired or passed on, and only a handful such as Logan left (well, up until he got turned into a lawn ornament) who were actually THERE. It'd be like sitting down and talking to someone who made the landings at Normandy, because of that sense of HISTORY they bring, and the fact there's so few of them left (serious tangent: If you see a WWII vet, THANK THEM FOR THEIR SERVICE, and if they tell you a story about their service, you sit down and you LISTEN. It won't be long now before there's nothing left of the Greatest Generation but memories).

Anyway, I'm not saying to do away with the Sliding Timescale Main Verse, just have an imprint running alongside it operating in its own universe.

[Confuzzled]

Still, it would become more significant for characters like Wolverine who HAVE it if we actually get to see it come into play, and not just via flash-backs and flash-forwards. Imagine how much more poignant the Phoenix Saga could be if there was an actual in-universe sense that it really did take place 30 years ago, with most of the players having retired or passed on, and only a handful such as Logan left (well, up until he got turned into a lawn ornament) who were actually THERE. It'd be like sitting down and talking to someone who made the landings at Normandy, because of that sense of HISTORY they bring, and the fact there's so few of them left (serious tangent: If you see a WWII vet, THANK THEM FOR THEIR SERVICE, and if they tell you a story about their service, you sit down and you LISTEN. It won't be long now before there's nothing left of the Greatest Generation but memories).

Anyway, I'm not saying to do away with the Sliding Timescale Main Verse, just have an imprint running alongside it operating in its own universe.

The problem with even an imprint of such a sort is at what point of time do they exactly begin? Directly jump to NXM as the main X-Men and the New Mutants and Gen X fans are going to complain about being given the short end again. Begin with the New Mutants mentoring Gen X and NXM fans will complain about having to wait out the story yet again, till a point that may or may not even come depending on the imprint sales.

There's no way to do it without leaving at least one of the generations of fans wanting for more.

[Mike_Murdock]

It also might work in X-Men, but there's no way it would work in the Marvel Universe as a whole. If Daredevil was 25 in 1964, he would be in his late 70s now.

[kevinism]

Much of this could have been averted had Editorial in the earlier days allowed writers like Claremont to let their characters grow old and move on like they originally WANTED to, rather than hamfistedly enforcing the status quo. Immortal and other long-lived characters such as Wolverine and Thor could have then been used as a poignant examination of how the world changes around them. We also wouldn't be in the situation where we get a new generation of characters only for them to go right back into limbo so the old guard can continue hogging the spotlight. Imagine had the New X-Men been allowed to become THE X-Men mentoring the Bendis-Men, while Gen X, the New Mutants, and the others (except characters like Wolverine, whose longevity is part of their power sets) slowly passing into the twilight.

There's SO MUCH that could be done with that. There'd almost certainly be a less vicious reaction to Legacy Characters had the concept of characters retiring/dying and being succeeded by a younger generation been built in to the world from the start.

In fact, I'd LOVE to see Marvel create a line of comics built on that very concept: Characters age in real time. Dead means dead (except for EXTREME circumstances). People age, grow up, and move on in their lives. They retire and pass their mantles on to the next generation. Have the ages of all the characters be based on when they were introduced. So the O5 would be in their 60s New Mutants in their 40s, Gen X in their 30s, New X-Men in their 20s, etc. Extend it to the rest of the MU; Stark is back to being a Vietnam-era industrialist, Franklin and Val Richards CAN ACTUALLY GROW UP, etc. Make it a line separate from the main Marvel universe, and just let time run.

This. I want THIS!

This is one of the ideas that sounds good in theory but when you really think about it, it's absolutely horrible. Part of the reason we like these characters is because of their longevity. I don't want to see a 60 year old Spider-Man spending time with his grandchildren and telling stories about his heroics in the 60s and 70s. This is one of the times where the editorial was actually right.

Characters aging can work. But it would mean you have to actually finish the series in 10-15 years. Because new characters replacing old characters is still a terrible idea. And this is serialized fiction, meant to run forever.

So yes, I like this sliding time scale.

If Spiderman was a hero for 25 years and then was replaced by a kid or sidekick I would be fine with that.