Hey! It's the X-men! I haven't seen you guys in YEARS!

[angelophile.insanejournal.com]

From CBR's preview of X-men Forever #6.

X-men Forever has been a blend of boggling and pure squee. But for me, this is the most recognizable the characters have been in years.

And what finer way to celebrate that than with an X-man tradition?

Written by Chris Claremont with art by Paul Smith and Terry Austin. It's like 1982 all over again.

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Comments

[foxhack.insanejournal.com]

My god.

A FUN X-Men book?

INCONCEIVABLE!!!!111

[angelophile.insanejournal.com]

Well, I wouldn't describe the book as pure fun, but it is reminiscent of Claremont-at-his-prime (although not equal to) in my opinion, which means there are fun little moments like this in the book as well as overblown interpersonal drama, moments of pure WTFery and some genuinely good stuff. It's Claremont from the early 90s now. Whether that's appealing depends on personal tastes, I guess.

Uncanny X-men: First Class is intended as a FUN book too, but that's missed the mark for me because very few of the characters ring true to me, whereas this... I'll take the worst Claremontisms because they're balanced with some genuinely great moments and the X-men characters being recognizable as those I read as a kid instead of the angst 'n' violence porn mix in the current X-book line with none of the heroes being particularly heroic.

[foxhack.insanejournal.com]

Compared to the angstfest that X-Men has been for several years, this is fun.

Very, very fun.

You don't get to see this sort of scene in the newer books very often anymore.

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

I originally heard that Claremont had intended for Sinister and Gambit to be manifestations of Scott's friend from the orphanage (basically, what a ten year-old would think a cool villain and superhero would look like) but this clip from youtube has Claremont stating that kid!Sinister would have cloned Gambit as a grown-up version of himself, but the clone would have gained independence and rebelled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuIqMtB4J3M

Anyway, I wonder if Claremont will use any of those ideas in X-Men Forever.

[angelophile.insanejournal.com]

Did he not already in X-men: The End?

It'll be curious to see how Claremont handles Gambit and whether he's revealed to be the Third Summers in this continuity. He's already stated that he's quite happily ignoring revelations made after he left the book and he has done so already. So we might see those original plans for Gambit - my guess is that he will be the third Summers brother - but through Sinister's cloning of Scott and Alex's DNA rather than any natural birth.

Anything that retcons Vulcan out of existence gets my vote.

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

He did, but that was incorporated into the "19th Century Sinister" origin.

[starpiper.insanejournal.com]

Hang on a second...the cast page in the CBR preview says that Gambit's name is Remy Picard. Wha?

[statham1986.insanejournal.com]

By the point they revealed Gambit's second name in the books back in the 90's, apparently, Claremont had already left. So this is just him leaving his stamp on it.

And frankly, it's no worse that 'LeBeau', I think, which is just hamfistedly declaring 'PRETTYBOY'.

[starpiper.insanejournal.com]

Ahhh...thank you! I was really confused about that.

Personally, I'm used to LeBeau, since that's all I've ever known him as, but I'm oddly fond of Picard now, too, since it let's me imagine that Gambit is some sort of alternate-universe ancestor of Star Trek's Captain Jean-Luc Picard. :D

[angelophile.insanejournal.com]

Well, Gambit's adoptive dad is called Jean-Luc.

[gabyrips.insanejournal.com]

Huh. Does anyone think Remy looks a bit like Nathan Fillion in the last panel of the 3rd scan?

[geoffsebesta.insanejournal.com]

yeah, looks like it could be.

[darkknightjrk.insanejournal.com]

"Your turn, Gambit."
"Do I have a choice?"
"Nope."

You guys are turning me--my first thought after seeing that was: "Buttsecks as punishment?"

As for Forever...from what I've read it's so hilariously awful that it's awesome. It's not the epitome of the 90s, but pretty damn close.

[angelophile.insanejournal.com]

I find it more 80s than 90s (not enough pouches) myself.

[skitty_kat.insanejournal.com]

'Did I mention I'm a switch-hitter?'

No, Remy darling, but I think we always suspected.

[geoffsebesta.insanejournal.com]

I think that's one of them fancy cajun double-entendres.

[naebler.insanejournal.com]

I'm still surprised he killed wolverine and kind of has Sabertooth as a positive character. Course I am confused on lil ro and the fact Kitty isn't bleeding to death or suffering from Adamantinum poisoning from Wolvies Claw...


Course I didn't really read Xmen in the 90s so I am coming in after the fact.

[ashtoreth.insanejournal.com]

Thinking is bad.

[faile_neume.insanejournal.com]

AH! Why is this so adorable? I don't want to start buying more comics.

[suzene.insanejournal.com]

Paul Smith. It's alllll his fault.