I am a Marvel fan preferably cosmic storylines, especially Thanos or Dark Phoenix related, when both the Avengers and the X-Men are involved count me in, loved the original Uncanny Avengers series.
Not a fan of any of the new characters.
(Marvel/DC fan for 44+ years)
I think there's been a disconnect because people were expecting this to seem more like a continuous story with a clear progression from a to b to c but instead it's being treated more like 'the new status quo' with no clear endgame in mind and the stories simply taking place in this world rather than furthering the overall narrative.
I don’t know how many posters here read Hickman’s run on Avengers but it’s structured fairly similarly. Tons of world building and plot over character development with pay off way down the road. For me it just made me excited for every issue but the wait can be brutal sometimes. Reading this run by Hickman when it’s all done is going the be a great day or two of just comic book goodness.
It wasn't just cleaning up Apocalypse mess, they were also in the direct line of fire of where the invasion would land, plus it IS still their world too.
However the problem perceived here is not about what ever the X-men (i just use it synonymous for the heroic mutants of the Krakoan Nation, because it's still the X-men comics) are still heros or performing heroic deeds. Saving everyone regardless of what ever they like or dislike them. They very obviously still do.
It's the shift in attitude on why they are doing these deeds.
The "Sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them", line has usualy been understood as that the X-men, as classic super heros, are doing what they do because they believe in bettering the world above all else, beyond self interest or ideologies.
That they were given great powers by chance (the X-gene), which they could use for mere self interest or evil, but instead they use them for the good of all people. To make the world a better place for everyone.
But in the current state of their comics, the attitude of the mutant heros feels often less like they are doing the right because it's what they want to do, but more because it's what they should or have do it. There is this strong sense of a "noblesse oblige" attitude at the core of their actions now. That self interest and ideologies are now governing their actions primarily.
Which isn't helped by them directly talking of being "superior" and better than normal humans and considering themself and mutants as completely seperated species from them now.
Basicly the super hero core has been lost and replaced with a collective anti-hero direction.
So it feels like their tagline is now "Obliged to protect a world that hates and fears them, because humans are too dumb to realise mutants are the future, but mutants are better so they still do the right thing, duh!"
Which, as some have pointed out, seems to have really become the dominant presentation since House of M, where the focus of the X-men and mutants shifted towards self interest by necessity.
EDIT:
I mean "noblesse oblige" in the original sense of "nobility has to lead by example".
Last edited by Grunty; 04-05-2021 at 07:32 AM.
I'm VERY much looking forward to that. This will all read better in trade than it does single issues.
But that's the same for every comic these days, not just Hickman's output. There are no serialized comics that are fully satisfying reads until they are collected in trade.
Yassss! Hunty!!!
GrindrStone(D)