King in Black: Marauders #1: Queen in Red

[superboyprime]

Comments

[donnblake]

One assumes that Callisto gave them a slightly more detailed explanation of which places they were and weren't allowed rather than leaving it as some sort of fraught guessing game, but that's a quibble. Good on the Quiet Council for making the right call here.

"You need not tell stories of my rock-skipping prowess... Many will, but you need not."

[themajesticmoose]

Ultimate rock skipping skill is Magneto's secondary mutation

[angelophile]

Except he clearly sucks at it. He's just yeeting them.

[stubbleupdate]

The splosh is a really satisfying noise.

[themajesticmoose]

I loved seeing Kate, Emma and Magneto come to the rescue of these people here. What they did here for them was so lovely and it just goes to show what bullshit it is when some people are like "Oh the X-men are acting like villains now" because they don't like the fact they stopped taking mankinds shit and actually grew a backbone

And I also loved the way that they dealt with the worthless trash that were trafficking them. I mean personally I'd have fed them to Knull's dragons and laughed while I did it but leaving them stranded like that is also a fitting punishment for these scum as well

Also I love how Magneto is written here and Kate looks so fierce and so glorious and I am loving Iceman's attitude here

Only thing I'm not a fan of is that Beast continues to be a jerk but that's pretty much his canon characterisation these days and has been ever since just before A vs X sadly

[blueprintstyles]

Exactly! The Avengers can have 'worlds' and can have giant robots capable of fighting gods, but the X-Men are finally able to protect themselves by forming a community and suddenly they're crossing a line?

[coldfury]

To be fair, the X books have been a bit self centered lately, and this has been one of the few exceptions of them going out of their way to be purely altruistic.

(At least from the books posted on S-D)

I think the things that bug people about the latest X-turn is how its turned into a compromise between Xavier & Magneto's ideals. Which is great for good stories, I just think people get a bit iffy when Apocalypse and Sinister are now protagonists.

The Avengers has definitely had their turns at the navel gazing problem, though. Civil War II, anyone? Oof.

[themajesticmoose]

I mean Sinister is not a "Protagonist", The books aren't trying to claim he's not a complete monster. The very first mention of him in HOX/POX was estabishing he's a backstabbing evil bastard described as being "The devil himself"

Xavier and Erik basically brought him on board because they thought having him where they could keep an eye on him was safer than letting him run loose. Personally I think they should have just killed him as soon as they had access to his research and he no longer served a purpose but Charles has never really had the stomach for that kind of thing

The stuff he's getting up to behind the scenes isn't sanctioned or approved by Krakoa any more than Shaw or Shadow King or Omega Red's evil deeds are. He is very much still a villain and the narrative and the rest of mutantkind treat him as such. We've seen that absolutely no one trusts him, likes him or thinks he's anything other than a rabid maniac that they've got tied to a leash and I'm sure as soon as they find out what he's up top they'll be eager to toss him in the pit with Sabretooth

As for the whole compromise thing, I've always liked Magneto's ideals way WAY more than I've ever liked Xavier's so seeing Xavier finally get a clue and realise that Erik has been right about a lot of things over the years makes me very happy. I've been rooting for Magneto for years and I love that the comics are embracing the fact that Magneto Was Indeed Right

[deh_tommy]

Wasn’t the whole sad irony of Magneto pre-character development (before HOX/POX reverted him back, anyway) that his experiences had turned him just as hateful, bigoted and prejudiced as the people he was against?

[themajesticmoose]

I love what mutantkind has done with Krakoa. It's the first thing Xavier has ever done that I've ever actually agreed with. I have to admit I never liked Xavier before HOX/POX. All that hippy nonsense he used to spout just made me think "I can really see why his own brother wants to kill this guy. If he was my brother and I'd had to grow up listening to this nonsense I'd want to kill him too"

But finally he did something right. Bringing mutantkind together and not just politely asking their oppressors for something. DEMANDING it. Saying "This is the way things are going to be". THAT'S the kind of attitude I can get behind. Because literally nothing, for any minority in the history of the world, has ever been made better by us Asking Politely. The only people who have ever changed the world for the better for any oppressed minority are the ones who took a stand and said "We're not taking this shit anymore"

From civil rights to the Stonewall Riots. From womens suffrage to the heroes of the White Night Riots. Direct action and people who weren't afraid to stand up and say "You are either going to give us the freedom, rights and respect we demand or there will be consequences" are the heroes who changed things for the better

And that's the other thing I like about the current X-men status quo. They are CHANGING the world. That to me is far more interesting than idiots in tights who are only interested in "Saving" it.

[agent8]

This^, almost all of this^. Which makes me dread even more the inevitable punching of the Reset Button, the destruction of Krakoa, the undoing of all the recent growth and change, and the return to the blessed Status Quo.

[themajesticmoose]

I really hope that does not happen. I love the current set up of the various X Men titles and I really don't want to see it going back to the same old crap. It was bad enough when that awful Uncanny X Men series a few years ago tried to turn Cyclops back into a gutless weakling instead of a bad ass revolutionary

[deh_tommy]

Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware of when one should take a stand and say “no” and the turn to more drastic action when all else fails, but didn’t the particular brand of militancy displayed by groups like the suffragettes hurt and hinder their cause just as much as that might have helped (if not moreso)?

[lencannon]

No.

[mastermahan]

Not really. Someone pushed away because they disagree with "uncivil" tactics was probably opposed already.

[deh_tommy]

Because that’s an eerily cultish community built on antagonisation and vilification of the other that for some reason just about every single mutant except one guy in Excalibur buys into 100% who’s crimes against basic humanity get pretty much swept under the rug. That and judging by Hickman’s past work, the other shoe is very, very clearly going to drop eventually and the real villains will be their own hubris and the whole “the ends justify the means/for the greater good” mentality.

The Avengers or the Champions or what have you don’t sit around on their butts all day circlejerking each other over how superior and perfect they are compared to the unwashed masses, and the real questionable stuff that slips through the cracks is meant to be the exception, not the rule. We call out the Avengers faults, why can’t we do the same with the X-Men?

[themajesticmoose]

I am all for pointing out actual faults and flaws that Krakoa has. I don't think it's perfect. There are problems that clearly very deliberately exist as a way to create drama and propel stories forward. Krakoa is not a perfect utopia or a paradise. There are things that need improving and fixing and that I hope are going to be addressed because I think the flaws are clearly intentional and there to create drama and propel the stories forward in showing how the heroes react to and try to deal with them.

What annoys me is when people make up stuff about it like claiming everyone's brainwashed or evil or acting like the X-men are bad guys now when in fact what they actually did was cure countless terminal diseases and help humans live longer and all they demanded in return was "We want to live in peace and actually be treated like people and not like inhuman monsters that must be hunted down and killed"

[donnblake]

But themajesticmoose, these are humans they're rescuing, and therefore they're "...utterly vile and repulsive," "cannot be trusted," and are "full of hate." They're "at best, complete idiots and at worst literally the worst people you could ever meet."

[themajesticmoose]

I don't think every human in the Marvel universe is bad. Just most of them. These humans are ones whose lives actually deserve to be saved.

[deh_tommy]

Why? I mean, I believe they deserve to be saved, but for argument’s sake, why?

[donnblake]

So these exploited refugees are humanity at their best "complete idiots," then? That's kind of the thing- when you level your accusations of being hateful, vile, repulsive, morons at *humanity*, as you repeatedly and consistently have, that includes groups like exploited refugees.

[shadowpsykie]

generally speaking they are not wrong. however, these are refugees. they tend to agree with this view as well.

[laughing_tree]

What they did here for them was so lovely and it just goes to show what bullshit it is when some people are like "Oh the X-men are acting like villains now" because they don't like the fact they stopped taking mankinds shit and actually grew a backbone

Well, I mean, they still aren't willing to let these refugees step foot on Krakoa, not even briefly as a stepping stone to another location, like was done with the slavers. There's no reason they couldn't -- more like shouldn't -- just let those humans walk through the Marauder's gate to the Krakoa gate hub, and from there go to Canada or Island M or wherever. But no, instead they have to take the long way by sea when they're no doubt in bad medical condition and the world's being besieged by alien dragons.

When you're willing to break your 'no humans' rule to punish people but not to actually help those desperately in need... well, there's a word for that.

[themajesticmoose]

They saved innocent lives, took them to a safe haven and offered them indefinite amnesty there and are going to make sure they can start new lives where ever they want. The Marauders are heroes here

There is no rule against humans coming through the gates. They just have to be accompanied by a mutant to do so. I imagine that the reason they took the boat was that Kate didn't want the team splitting up a second time. Or it could be she wanted to see them get to safety herself and as she can't use the gates that means the boat was the only option

[arilou_skiff]

If you start to compare it to actual refugee policies (which I am not sure they were actually thinking about, tbf) this isnt exactly great. Its not the worst treatment of refugees in the world, but settling people temporarily and not allowing permanent residence or naturalization is pretty bad.