NYCC 2012: X-MEN Panel
At the X-Men Panel I sat in front of the big names controlling the future of our favorite Mutants. Nick Lowe- Editor, Rick Remender- Uncanny Avengers, Si Spurrier- X-Men: Legacy, Peter David- X-Factor, Jason Aaron- Wolverine and the X-Men, Gerry Dugan- Deadpool, and the most bad ass name Dennis Hopeless- Cable and the X-Force.
Even though Brian Michael Bendis was not there, there was still a good amount of talk about his new series, All New X-Men, which sees the first students of Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngster get transported to the present, the roster is (Human-like) Beast, Angel, Iceman, Cyclops and Jean Grey.
Even though I think time-travel is overused (especially in X-Men)... I think that the Young Cyclops will replace the corrupted one because Young Scott Summers’ ideals are still in the right place. The first 3 months of the comic will be bi-weekly -- which means, if you’re bad at math, 6 issues in all. 3 lucky fans got to read, or shall I say look at, the art without text for the entire first issue.
Next up was Uncanny Avengers, which from the mouth of Rick Remender himself, at its most basic is to remind humans and heroes alike that, “Mutants do good.” He also stated that the recent X-men books have fundamentally been about mutants trying to survive, these new ones though (aside from Cable and the X-force) are the opposite. Now they get to play hero again. The art is done by John Cassaday.
The first story arc for Uncanny Avengers will revolve around Red Skull trying (and maybe achieving?) to get his hands on Professor X’s brain. The first issue is on sale now!
Then the discussion moved on to Cable and the X-force, the X-title I am looking forward to the most, the lineup is Cable, Forge, Domino, Colossus and Dr. Nemesis. Forge is finally back! David Hopeless described the comic as having 90’s action, but with modern down to earth storytelling. The art will be done by Salvador Larroca and it looks spectacular.
As Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force comes to a close, it is time for some new blood to take the reins, with Sam Humphries as scribe and Ron Garney on the art. The team will be headed by Mohawk Storm (with reasoning to be explained in the near future) and Psylocke, with Spiral and Puck rounding out the cast. The first arc will see them go head to head with Bishop, one of my favorite X-Characters.
Next up was X-Men Legacy, which will see Legion front and center. For those of you who are unaware, Legion is Professor X’s biological son, and now that Professor X has died, Legion is looking for purpose. The title certainly fits. I am excited to see the events that transpire between the pages.
The discussion then moved onto Savage Wolverine. Both written and drawn by Frank Cho, this is a very pulp action/fiction style Wolverine book. He will be taken to the Savage Land where we will see him do battle with dinosaurs and mutated Gorillas. There were also mentions of rotating guest stars.
Then they talked about the lovably psychotic hitman you know as Deadpool. In case you didn’t love Deadpool yet the art will be done by Tony Moore, which in my opinion is a huge plus. The first major story arc will revolve around a necromancer reanimating all of the dead presidents into evil zombies with Deadpool left having to take out the trash. There was talk of an issue in which Deadpool goes head to head with FDR -- over the top and insane like always.
Then X-Factor took center stage with Peter David talking about the upcoming issue 250 which will be his 100th consecutive issue on X-Factor. The upcoming story arc will be one that has been hinted at in the pages of Venom. In which the Lords of Hell come to Earth to vie for the Devil’s throne. The story arc is called "Hell on Earth" and rightfully so.
Lastly, was the ongoing Gambit title and its future. They said it will be more gritty with mobsters becoming a real problem for Remy Lebeau.
Well that was all from the X-Men panel.
Which title are you most excited for?
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