S.W.O.R.D. #6 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
S.W.O.R.D. #6
“This is What Comes Next”
by Al Ewing, Valerio Schiti & Marte Gracia
COVER / PAGE 1: Abigail Brand distributing mysterium to assorted aliens (who we can see reflected in its surface).
PAGES 2-6. Captain America and Dr Doom.
Although this is a “Hellfire Gala” tie-in issue, we open with the Gala itself already finished, and Captain America looking up at Mars, terraformed an hour or so earlier in Planet-Size X-Men #1. We previously saw some of Captain America’s reaction in the epilogue to Marauders #21: “Well, you solved one big problem, but I’m worried you might have made an even bigger mess. I just hope you all know what you’re doing.” The “one big problem”, we now know, was what to do with Arakko.
In sharp contrast to the triumphalist tone of Planet-Size X-Men, the tone here is almost mournful, laying all the stress on the fact that the non-mutants are being excluded from the sort of interplanetary expansion that he always saw as a hopeful vision of the future. Cap sees the main lesson here in terms of division and separation instead. And he’s right, of course – the mutants will be in full-on hubris mode for most of this issue too, so this is a very interesting way of starting the issue. It’s no accident that Captain America, the Marvel Universe saint, is being used for this role.
At the same time, the suggestion here is that the regular superheroes are going to wind up allied with Dr Doom against Krakoa. We previously had a quotation from Doom at the end of issue #1, after S.W.O.R.D. first retrieved mysterium: “You have stolen fire from Heaven to hold in your hands. How could I object? I have done the same myself – with one significant difference. I wore gloves. Be careful.” Clearly, Doom believes that the mutants are going to screw it up somewhere along the line.
Meanwhile, Guardian is completely overwhelmed by the whole thing, and Henry Peter Gyrich takes the opportunity to try and recruit him into Orchis. (Captain America overhears this and seems to have some idea what it’s referring to.)
That said – note Gyrich’s sales pitch. The X-Men aren’t humanity’s friends; Krakoa is a “rogue nation”; they want to “take our place as Earth’s dominant species”. Pretty much everything the mutants do in this issue – unilaterally declaring their planet the capital of the solar system and the sole representative of Earth to the interstellar community – backs him up. The mutants may not be trying to wipe out humanity, but they absolutely are trying to marginalise and sideline them.
PAGE 7. Recap and credits, with the Hellfire Gala tie-in design.
PAGE 8. Abigail Brand addresses the diplomats.
Abigail has come directly from the Gala, as has Frenzy next to her; they’re both still in their Gala outfits. That presents Brand as a pirate, of course.
The ambassadors are identifies on the upcoming data page.
PAGE 9. Data page listing the ambassadors. These are basically the same groups who appeared at the conference in Ewing’s Guardians of the Galaxy vol 6 #7-8, representing the Galactic Council.
- The Galactic Rim Collective debuted in those issues. On that occasion, they were represented by a guy called Zoralis Gupa, who was a kind of lizard man. He looked nothing like the spherical robot seen here, which is a new character. Evidently the Galactic Rim Collective is quite diverse.
- Great Kymellia. The horse-like aliens from Power Pack. Nymbis Sternhoof represented them in the Guardians story too. “Bhadsha” was the name of a former Zn’rx emperor, so the war that Sternhoof served in was presumably something to do with that.
- House of Rigel. Mentacle was part of the Lethal Legion who debuted in Avengers #676 (another story co-written by Ewing). He was already serving as Rigel’s ambassador in the Guardians story.
- Zn’rx Empire. Empress Kuga was installed through the intervention of S.W.O.R.D. last issue. They were invited to the Guardians conference, but didn’t attend, due to an incipient civil war. The fact that the Zn’rx are represented by their actual empress, rather than an ambassador, might reflect her dependency on mutant support.
- Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda. From Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther run, the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda is an imperialist version of Wakanda founded by Wakandan explorers who accidentally wound up thousands of years in the past on an alien world. I’m not quite sure when they made contact with the mainstream Marvel alien races – they weren’t in the Guardians issue. Their representative, Riitho, is a new character as far as I know.
- Kree/Skrull Alliance. Represented here by Paibok the Power-Skrull, a regular supporting character; at the previous conference, they sent the Super-Skrull.
- Shi’ar Empire. Represented this time by Smasher, presumably because she’s human. In the Guardians story, they sent Oracle.
- The Astrologers of Spartax. Represented by Star-Lord, who has ascended to that role in Guardians of the Galaxy since the previous conference (where Empress Victoria showed up).
- The Utopian Kree. Represented by their founder Marvel Boy, who served that role in Guardians too.
- Earth. Nova, whose standing to represent the planet has always been a bit wonky, but was doing the job in Guardians. He seems to serve as an Earth representative mainly by virtue of his position in the Nova Corps, and a few that Earth is problematic enough that it’s worth inviting a human along.
Present in the Guardians story, but absent here, were the Badoon and the Chitauri. The Badoon ambassador in that story turned out to be a disguised Profiteer; the Chitauri tried to kill everyone and have presumably been excluded from diplomatic communications.
Out of ten attendees, no fewer than four are humans. In fairness, two of them represent human societies.
PAGES 10-14. S.W.O.R.D. tell the diplomats about mysterium.
“We’re all wrestling with an economic crisis on a galactic scale.” This storyline has been going on in the cosmic titles since Empyre.
“Off saving seven billion other people.” In Guardians of the Galaxy vol 6 #10, their King in Black tie-in issue.
“And stopping some homicidal gods.” Guardians of the Galaxy vol 6 #11.
Mysterium. This is the material that S.W.O.R.D. retrieved from Who Knows Where in issue #1, and had assembled in vast quantities by the end of the previous issue. Basically it’s a wonder metal.
Secondary adamantium is basically a slightly cheaper version of adamantium – not quite as indestructible as true adamantium, but close enough unless you’re going to do something silly like fight the Hulk.
There are very obvious parallels between this offer and the pharmaceutical offer made to humans on Earth. Not only is it an incredible wonder material, but the mutants themselves don’t use it (“We have our own technology”) and the Wakandans are instantly sceptical and politely turn down the offer. Where Krakoan drugs were used to buy recognition for the mutant state, mysterium is being used to buy recognition of mutants as the dominant race of the solar system.
Note also that the mutants go out of their way to sideline Nova.
PAGES 15-17. Doctor Doom interrupts.
Not unreasonably, Doom would like to know who’s actually speaking on behalf of humanity. Somewhat oddly, it turns out to be Storm. This will doubtless be unpacked further in due course, but bear in mind that Mars is populated almost entirely by the people of Arakko, who already have a ruling council, and who view the Krakoans as a bunch of well-intentioned wimps. Have they really just agreed to accept Storm as a ruler? You suspect there has to be more to it than that.
“She who swam with Acanti.” In Uncanny X-Men vol 1 #165-166.
“Hadari Yao.” A Wakandan storm goddess who some Wakandans identified Storm with. See Black Panther vol 6 #17.
PAGE 18. Another data page. Paibok reports back to the Kree-Skrull Emperor (Hulkling) about the response of the interstellar community to the Krakoan deal. Again, there are very obvious parallels here with the Krakoan drug offer, and in particular the data page in House of X #5, where Wakanda was listed as rejecting the deal because “They do not need mutant drugs.”
“…suffered disproportionately at the hands of the symbiote god Knull.” In King in Black.
“The Sol has already become an informal term for a proposed ‘new credit’.” In less than three hours?!?
“[T]he Wanda Maximoff situation … which many consider an intolerable insult to the dignity of the throne.” The Krakoans regard the Scarlet Witch as a hate figure because of M-Day, when she removed the powers of most mutants. Since her reincarnated son is married to Hulkling, this is a diplomatic issue.
PAGES 19-22. The Scarlet Witch arrives to see Magneto.
Apparently Magneto invited her to the Gala proper, in an attempt at mending the relationship. Quite how the other mutants would have reacted if she’d shown up is anyone’s guess.
Anya. Magneto’s daughter. Her death is shown in Classic X-Men #12.
“You know I’m not really your [daughter].” This seems to be an attempt to smooth out a convoluted piece of back story without retconning it further. Wanda learned that Magneto was her father in Vision & The Scarlet Witch #4 (1983). That state of affairs lasted until 2015 when it was retconned in Uncanny Avengers vol 2 #4. The only discernible point of that retcon was to try to detach Wanda (and her brother Pietro) from the X-Men mythology for licensing reasons, making it easier to use the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The approach here is not to reverse any of that but simply to acknowledge that Magneto and Wanda haven’t simply forgotten the relationship they had established over 30+ years of continuity.
Wanda’s admission into the mutant community is certainly a turning point for her. The only other time we’ve seen her active in the Krakoan era (in the X-books) was in Empyre: X-Men, where she made a very ill-advised attempt to revive the population of Genosha and wound up raising a zombie horde.
Way of X #3 reveals that Nightcrawler is still in the room for this scene, but he’s completely insensate and presumably remains unaware of Wanda’s return.
PAGE 23. Trailers. The Krakoan reads NEXT: REGENT.
Typo: The paragraph on Mysterium cuts off abruptly mid-sentence (“Basically it’s a wonder metal, and the”)
So… Magneto is supposed to kill someone before the end of the Gala event. But Trial of Magneto is supposed to involve X-Factor and it would be a rubbish mystery if the person everyone thinks is whodunnit at the start turns out to actually be the person whodunnit.
Having said that… I wonder if Wanda was brought in to the Gala just to die next week? With Magneto being positioned as the culprit (he’s the only one with her, not counting Kurt) but not actually guilty?
The cover to Inferno #1 is quite interesting.
I begin to think that Hickman is planning a swerve.
“The rulers of Krakoa have been playing a dangerous game with a dangerous woman.”
Obviously, everyone thinks this refers to Mystique.
I wonder why the solicitation text doesn’t refer to Mystique though. It’s not a spoiler. Anyone who has followed the Krakoa-era knows it is talking about Mystique.
Unless, it isn’t in reference to Mystique, but rather Moira.
Have Xavier and Magneto been playing a game with Moira? Are they not following Moira’s plan? Do they have their own agenda?
We know they, at least, refused to follow Moira’s advice about Sinister.
It seems too soon to tear Krakoa apart, but it makes me wonder if “Inferno” is going to be the end of the island-nation of Krakoa, and that mutants are going to have to look for a future in space going forward.
As far as the murder, I was thinking that might be the swerve with Mystique.
I was thinking maybe Namor is the one to be murdered.
We saw Namor and Magneto on poor terms at the start of the gala.
Perhaps Mystique’s revenge ends up being disguising herself as Magneto and killing Namor, so that one of Krakoa’s last two rulers takes the fall.
Maybe?
An interesting sharply written issue, though I wish we’d have seen more of the cast interacting by now.
So now the Krakoans have stolen a planet, given it to millions of war mutants from Hell, installed their own dictator on not just the planet but to solar system, blackmailed a galaxy on the verge of collapse, and introduced a new monetary system they totally control.
That’s some Roxxon level shit.
Am I the only one who doesn’t believe Magneto’s dramatic change of heart about Wanda for a damn second?
Doom’s new roll as sassy frenemy is just fantastic.
If you like this book you really need to pick up this week’s GotG, it’s directly tied into it.
I thought the trial of Magneto might be about him killing one of Exodus’s crazed followers to stop them from killing Wanda – but maybe this is some kind of retcon where he kills Wanda, faces trial for killing a human, and then Wanda is reborn because she was really a mutant all along and Magneto knew he couldn’t be convicted of killing the unkillable.
I’ll echo wishing we could get more time for the broad cast between the crossovers they have to deal with. But all in all I was very happy with the amount we got to see things through the eyes of non-mutants. I keep feeling not entirely sure if the writers know how badly the Krakoans keep coming off at times. Except for this and the FF/X-Men book we keep seeing the POV of either the Krakoans or people we are definitely *not* meant to sympathize with (Orchis, evil British cultists, etc). So even if it seems like there can be no way that the writers don’t see how the Krakoans come off, I can’t help but wonder…
I really liked Wanda popping up, and now I’m facepalming at not getting that this probably means she’s going to be the murder target. It certainly makes sense for the setup.
CitizenBane-That would be a prolonged five issues.
“Magneto, we are sorry, but we must arrest you for the crime of murdering a human.”
“Oh? Try to resurrect her.”
They do.
“Our mistake. Magneto you are free to go.”
Jon R-Oh, they do.
One of Hickman’s themes throughout has been to compare Krakoa with Orchis, for one.
Also, with Al Ewing and Si Spurrier’s politics, they have no sympathy for nationalism. So, they are definitely quietly critiquing Krakoan society without being obvious and making the mutants look like outright villains.
“Am I the only one who doesn’t believe Magneto’s dramatic change of heart about Wanda for a damn second?”
I don’t think it was a change of heart. He hasn’t actively disparaged her — only sighed, “yes, the great pretender” with some resignation in SWORD. He doesn’t like that she’s an enemy of the state, but knows he can’t really alter it.
There was an issue of Strange Academy where Wanda’s e-mailbox was open, and a letter from Magneto indicated that he wanted to maintain a relationship with her. I don’t think it’s particularly suspicious that he loves his daughter.
And why not? In the “real world,” parents love children who hurt their siblings, who steal from them, who murder. Magneto might know how Krakoans feel about Wanda, but since House of M he has been shown to care for her and her children. (And not for Pietro.)
“I’ll echo wishing we could get more time for the broad cast between the crossovers they have to deal with.”
Part of me wishes that the Gala were a crossover for all the mainline books, and not merely the X-titles. It’s nice to have a setup where heroes can socialize without the interruption of a cosmic demon fight or whatever. But more importantly, there are simply so many characters I want to see react to Krakoa.
It has long bothered me that after the arrival of Arakko, we did not see Strange or anyone show up. A new nation coming in from a hell dimension composed of a million superhumans seems exactly what the Sorcerer Supreme is expected to at least take a look at.
How Black Panther reacts to his wife becoming the Queen of Mars feels like a 22 page story. Franklin’s time at the Gala after losing his powers and how his parents react to that feels like a 22 page story. Cap seeing Selene walking free after the Power Elite stuff sems like a 22 page story. I know the Gala seems like a lot already, but there’s a lot more from it I’d like to see.
This is what’s so compelling about the Krakoa grand storyline. The mutants have been downtrodden for years, and now they finally have the upper hand… It’s what they and we have perhaps longed for. Only now, they are acting like villains. But we the readers have sympathy due to history and attachment to the characters. The dissonance is fascinating.
Meh. None of this is going to matter once the X-Men are introduced in the MCU. However Feige and company decide to set them up, the comics will most assuredly follow suit and that likely means a rollback to the Claremont era.
I don’t know, the comics have always had a very cavalier relationship to the movies. Which some would applaud, it must be said. So the status of the X-Men and mutants in general in the comics might be unrecognisable.
I mean, Wandavision is still riding high as one of the big MCU events, and it looks like they’re about to casually murder Wanda in a non-Avengers book …
Evilgus-There’s not a lot of narrative within the wider Marvel Universe with how things are progressing though.
Krakoa is gaining more and more power.
There’s probably only so far this will continue, although within a self-contained science fiction novel there would be a lot of room for plot from here.
It seems that this forward-momentum is going to come to a halt with “Inferno”.
Most likely, that will be the end of the island-nation of Krakoa, and the mutants will be forced to flee the planet.
Earth will be established as a place for humanity, putting mutants on the opposite side of the equation again.
Mutants will be forced to attempt to make a new home in space.
Events will start to look more like Moira’s sixth life again, where mutants were left with no presence on Earth again.
Personally, I think it is too soon, but “Inferno” is being built as the “culmination of Hickman’s vision for Krakoa”. Then, Hickman only has one year left on his contract to write the X-books.
So, it’ll be the time to build up tension for the final chapter.
Has Moira failed again? Are mutants always doomed to fail and extinction?
To be continued….
As for Captain America and Selene, it’s downright disheartening that a good, recent story written by an A-list author can just be ridden over rough-shod like that. I don’t want anyone shackled down by continuity, but come on.
Which makes Al Ewing all the more valuable. He calls back to the Acanti for goodness sake. The homework this guy must do.
Si-I don’t think Wanda is dying.
Marvel already has a “Death of Dr. Strange” mini-series scheduled for September.
That is why I chose Namor.
They can resurrect him, so it’s not two major Marvel deaths in a row. Yet, Namor is a character that would be affronted that anyone would dare harm him and will demand justice.
Krakoa would probably be forced to try Magneto to avoid a war with Atlantis. Something they want to avoid.
Plus, if the dead character can be resurrected, he can say that he saw Magneto kill him, adding to the mystery, since it’s doubtful Magneto would be the real killer.
Hey it would be pretty cool if Mars was reset at the end of this by Galactus showing up. It would be a real Canute and the tide kind of story.
We’ll see. I just recall how the X-Men comics failing to capitalize on the success of the first film (ironically, while Claremont was writing them) was cited as one of the big reasons Bob Harras was shown the door.
I would be happy to see Mr Nimbus killed off instead of Scarlet Witch, yeah. I personally have no idea what’s going to happen.
That was a lifetime ago. How many Marvel movies have there been since then?
They have their own continuity now.
Disney bought Marvel since then. Disney barely cares about their little comic publisher. They want to own Marvel so they can stripmine Marvel’s history for ideas.
The movies (and related merchandise) are where the money is at now.
Back then, the money still had to come from comic books.
In the latest solicits, there’s covers for Trial of Magneto #2 that suggest strongly to me that it’s Wanda who’s dead, and also a new miniseries called Darkhold where she’s the main character. And in the same solicits, they have the second issue of the Ewing Defenders miniseries which stars Dr. Strange, and also a solicit for a mini called The Death of Dr. Strange. I wonder if they’ll be both be dead at the same time in Strange Academy?
Yes, fair enough. The situation is drastically different now with Disney owning Marvel and the publishing division now basically operating as R&D for films and Disney+ streaming content.
But I still believe they’re going to get the books in line with whatever the MCU setup turns out to be and then just R&D from there as their new starting point.
If Marvel publishing didn’t have a bottom line they had to adhere to, they wouldn’t cancel well regarded low selling books or do so many shit symbiote events.
They don’t have a blank check from Disney to do whatever.
There’s a reason after FalCap hit the MCU they’re trying to sell Cap books by putting him on the cover. There’s a reason they are releasing a (very enjoyable) Black Widow book to capitalize on the movie. There’s a reason Black Panther is in charge of the Avengers.
The might have a little bit of a buffer now, but they still need to make money and justify their existence to the people upstairs.
You can bet whatever they do with the X movies is going to be reflected in the comics at least somewhat.
————
Why is the Skree Empire so mad at Krakoa and Wanda? Avengers Disassembled.
They have to make a profit, sure. They can’t be losing money.
They still have people to pay.
They put out lots of Captain America comics when there is a Captain America movie to piggyback off of the chance for extra sales coming in to Marvel from the movie or TV show. That’s how businesses work.
They aren’t in the same situation they were in prior to their purchase by Disney though.
They aren’t expected to slavishly for everything that the MCU is doing though.
The MCU has their own continuity now.
I think the MCU is looking for a new direction for the X-Men when there is a movie.
They don’t want to just redo the original X-Men movies again.
I certainly hope they don’t want to redo the old movies, though I’d be curious to see them let Simon Kinberg take another stab at the Dark Phoenix Saga without anyone mentioning to him (for a third time) that it’s a love story.
Anyway if what the comics are doing is completely removed from how they intend to set the X-Men up in the MCU then that could pose problems going forward, especially if they’re looking to adapt newer stories.
It depends on what direction they choose to move in with the mutants.
First, they have to explain why mutants have never been mentioned in the MCU before, then it would depend how they move the characters afterwards.
The movie creators usually choose major stories for the characters to adapt.
I mean, they’re not going to make a huge X-Men movie based around Trevor Fitzroy.
Krakoa is now considered one of the most important moments in X-Men history, and it is a soft reboot for the comic franchise.
I still think that the rumours may be true, that the MCU is interested in doing something like Krakoa when they introduce mutants.
I agree the new X-Men movies could possibly be bizarre and un-X-Men similar to what they did to poor Spider-Man.
Boy that’s a badly worker sentence, I must be in Excalibur.
Anyway, I certainly think the books will at least casually reflect whatever they do.
Who wouldn’t want to make a movie where 1/3 of it is just partying day and night on an island?
My only hope for Endgame was that it end with the surviving Avengers standing around the newly opened Avenger’s Mansion and someone says like “Tony put everything back exactly how it was. I’m surprised he didn’t change the name to New Stark City.”
And then we pan out to see the a crowd of people holding signs that say shit like “No muties in the Avengers”, “Let Deadpool Join”, “Doom for President” etc with the Baxter Building in the background.
I truly set my self up for disappointment.
Maybe there’s something that can be done for the movies. A mysterious island appears. People who go to it are reborn from pods, with strange powers and often bizarre physical shapes. These new people are called “mutants”. But the island’s sapient and evil! The X-Men have to save their new species.
Just have Deadpool do a walk-on in the first MCU FF or X-Men film and have him explain to the audience that the reason the X-Men and the FF didn’t exist in the MCU previously was because Fox owned their film rights but Disney eventually acquired Fox and so now we’re just going to pretend that they existed all along…
….and so are you! (points to the camera).
Easy peasy.
I would like that one best.
Except the MCU is geared towards the largest audience possible, not the dwindling remnant who still read comic books.
I know that a majority of people know the X-Men now because there already had movies.
They’re going to wonder how the X-Men fit in to their version of the Marvel Universe though.
No, they won’t. When you speak of “the widest audience possible”, you’re speaking of people who, though they may enjoy seeing Marvel films, they don’t read the comic books, they don’t hang around comic forums like this one discussing every detail of everything into the ground, and they certainly won’t lie in bed awake staring at the ceiling wondering how something fits into “their version of the Marvel Universe”. They won’t even think along along the lines of “their version.” It sounds like you’re talking about us, actually.
So, if Deadpool turns up in a movie and tells them just to go with it, they likely will. They’ll enjoy the movie for what it is (assuming it isn’t crap) then go home and proceed to think about other stuff that people who aren’t us think about (whatever that is).
Then why is Marvel bothering with their own continuity?
People are going to watch the movies anyway, right?
They’ve tapped in to something that people enjoy in films, just like we enjoy it in our comic books.
The same sort of appeal as George Lucas has had with the Star Wars films.
It’s how you get such large audiences going to all these different films, by having them tie in to each other.
X-Men is one of the most popular properties that Marvel owns.
Mutants are going to play a large role in the MCU going forward.
I’m sure they plan to make a huge deal about introducing mutants in to the MCU.
Look, my Deadpool meta-explanation pitch wasn’t intended to be taken seriously. Whatever they end up doing, I’m sure it won’t be that.
But I really do think that they could get away with it if they wanted to. The wider audience doesn’t give nearly as much of a fuck about MCU continuity as you seem to believe they do. Large audiences don’t go see Marvel films because of the interconnectivity. That’s not the reason they go. Loads of people saw Iron Man because they heard it was good, and there wasn’t any interconnectivity back then because it was the first film.
They go because Marvel’s known for making entertaining films. Witty banter, big action, lots of eye candy, fun story, etc. They’re usually worth the money, and so they go. Interconnectivity? Hell, most of the people who see them probably still aren’t even aware of any distinction between Fox Marvel and Disney Marvel.
I’ve seen every Marvel movie with the same two friends, neither of them comic readers, but they enjoy the films. Still, if I were to hold up pictures of every Avenger and Guardian of the Galaxy and asked them to identify each character, I *know* they’d fail that test. They’d get the obvious ones, sure, but there’s no way they’d be able to identify (for example) Nebula from a photo.
That’s your wider audience.
And Star Wars? There wasn’t any shared universe, tie-in, interconnecting, sandboxing, etc. when Star Wars became a phenomenon. It was one film! I remember when there was only one film out. It was a phenomenon straight away.
What do normal people think about?
I just assumed everyone filled their quiet moments thinking about who the coolest villains to put on the Sinister Six would be.
Yes, but George Lucas ended up telling the story of Luke Skywalker going from a farm boy to a Jedi hero.
Lucas didn’t just skip to a different character and plot for the other Star Wars films. People enjoy seeing the story continue and grow.
Then, George Lucas returned to Star Wars with the story of Darth Vader’s journey from innocent child to psychopath.
I’m not saying people obsess over these films, but they do like the inter-connectivity and how things are shaped and grow across multiple films. It draws in the viewer, the same as a popular TV show.
I’m sure you are right that the average person doesn’t know anything about the FOX and Disney situation.
Considering that Dark Phoenix barely made a profit (and New Mutants actually lost money, although there are extenuating circumstances) though, I think they need to work hard to make audiences want to see mutants in a movie again.
Anyway, I’m sure Marvel plans for a major introduction to mutants in the MCU because that is going to appeal to audiences more than acting like mutants have always been part of that universe.
“What do normal people think about?”
Good question. I’m going to guess porn, since that’s #2 on my list after “superheroes and their universes”.
“I’m not saying people obsess over these films, but they do like the inter-connectivity and how things are shaped and grow across multiple films. It draws in the viewer, the same as a popular TV show.”
Well, yeah, it can. It’s a nice feature (especially for the fans), but pointing and saying “Look everyone! Sandbox universe franchise starting here!” didn’t work out so well for Universal when they tried to kick off their “Dark Universe” with 2017’s The Mummy. If friggin’ Tom Cruise can star in a failed attempt to launch a cinematic universe, then I guess it’s more important that the film is actually good.
And Marvel’s got a great track record where quality is concerned. *That’s* the main draw. Not the interconnectivity (hardcore fans get more out of that than casuals). They’d still be doing well even if they chose to keep everything self-contained (though the comic fans would be screaming “crossover” to the heavens).
As for your Star Wars point, you’re talking about serialized storytelling not shared universe interconnectivity. And if Star Wars sucked, nobody would’ve cared what happened next.
Yes, but I’m talking about expanding the universe.
They might be doing perfectly fine if everything was self-contained, but it is the Avengers films, and especially Avengers: Endgame, which have brought in the largest audiences.
It’s the build up which has the most appeal…all these characters were introduced in their own movies and now they’re all together in one mega-blockbuster.
What I’m saying is that it makes more sense to introduce mutants in to the MCU.
Starting from scratch appeals more to a wider audience than, say, starting off a movie with Luke Skywalker a Jedi hero.
Eventually, whatever end point the MCU is building towards once they do get around to starting their own X-Men franchise will heavily involve the X-Men, just like the Avengers ended up bringing together the different MCU characters for the big finale.
So, in that context, it doesn’t really matter if mutants are introduced as living on an island.
Of course making a quality film is important. That goes without saying.
What I am saying is that there is no reason why introducing mutants as living on an isolated island can’t be turned in to a quality film that superhero movie fans could enjoy.
I know I read this somewhere but I can’t find the article (of course):
They’ll be introducing some of the mutant characters in other movies before doing a “proper” X-Men movie. I’m fairly certain that Storm is going to appear in Black Panther 2 and Rogue will be in Captain Marvel 2. There are others I’m sure, but those are the ones I remember. Like the way they introduced Black Panther and Spider-Man in Cap: Civil War.
@Chris V – Err… you lost me on that last post. Though it seems like you’ve already decided that the Krakoa setup is a reasonable place to start the MCU X-Men even though, historically, reboots tend to take things back to basics. Krakoa isn’t basics. I haven’t read an X-Men comic since 2005 but I was able to follow along what’s been going on since by way of Paul’s reviews, more or less, until Hickman showed up. Now my eyes just glaze over, and I feel like I owe the 90’s era of X-Men an apology for ever accusing it of being convoluted and too wrapped up in itself.
@Col_Fury – Sounds good. Hope it’s true.
I’m saying that the MCU is “their universe” and anything is a reasonable set-up for introducing mutants.
It’s only expectations on the part of us comic book readers as to what a “basic” X-Men story should be considered.
The movies already used Xavier and his school fight the evil mutant Magneto. Do they want to go back to that?
To the general public, there’s no need for that to be “mutants in the Marvel Universe”. As long as the movie is compelling, they’re not going to say, “That’s not what Chris Claremont would have done!”.
I’m not saying that Krakoa will be what happens.
I’m also not saying that it needs to be convoluted like Hickman’s direction.
“Xavier feared that mutants would be feared and hated by humanity. Xavier and Magneto found an isolated island where mutants could live safely away from humankind. Xavier sent a group of mutants around the world, secretly setting up gates to rescue mutants. Xavier used Cerebro to detect a mutant when their powers develop, and he uses his mutant powers to call them to live on Krakoa. Now, something happens and the Marvel Universe discovers that mutants exist.” Something like that.
Okay so you’re just trying to say that something (in this case, a Krakoa setup) is possible.
Fine, it’s possible.
But there’s a lot that’s possible. I’m speculating as to what I think is likely. Krakoa (or some other island scenario) just doesn’t strike me as a likely starting point for MCUX-Men. Like, at all. The San Francisco setup seems likelier to me than that. What’s most likely to me is an X-Men setup that’s reminiscent of the ’80s.
And again, I’m speaking purely setup. School in Westchester, core cast of around seven give or take, you know the drill.
Doesn’t mean they have to tell the same stories Fox told. There’s plenty of material to adapt that they haven’t, and it doesn’t all need to be from Claremont. Even Fox adapted a Whedon story (albeit, dipped in Phoenix).
Marvel has finally managed to keep a version of Peter Parker in high school for more than one movie – why would they make another movie franchise set in a slightly more preppy high school?
I don’t know. Why do you see the classic X-Men setup as being too similar to the classic Spider-Man setup?Can’t say I’ve ever heard that criticism before.
Col_Fury said what I came here to say: Marvel is going to introduce mutants gradually in other movies starring established characters. Then they will presumably gather the mutants together in some fashion for the X-Men movie.
That method worked for the Avengers, so why not do it the same way for the X-Men? Nothing says that “mutant” as a concept has to be announced in some big flourish. It can be subtly introduced and expanded upon. Not only does that give Marvel more flexibility with the idea moving forward, but it also allows them to make more movies/money.
I doubt that Krakoa is going to appear in the cinematic universe. A sentient and/or mutant island is maybe a little too weird for the grounded feel the MCU has had so far. A school in New York would not only fit the aesthetic of the Marvel movies so far, but it would put the X-Men in close proximity to the other heroes. I presume that’s why Stan and Jack put the X-Men there in the first place.
“Even Fox adapted a Whedon story (albeit, dipped in Phoenix).”
I come here for Paul. Then I keep coming back to see what new thing Moo’s written that’s probably gonna make me laugh.
Honorable mention to Uncanny X-Ben for “What do normal people think about?”
Thom-You are right. That makes sense.
That’s the inter-connectivity that has worked so well for the MCU.
I know that they’re going to want to build the X-Men franchise to a similar level as the Avengers.
Then, when they have set up the pieces for their next huge blockbuster equivalent to Avengers: Endgame, it is going to feature the X-Men.
Anyway, X-Ben got me really curious so I checked in with those normal friends of mine that I mentioned earlier. Apparently whenever they’re thinking about stuff, they mostly think about (in no particular order): 1) bills, 2) wife and kids, 3) work, 4) sports.
Pretty lame. To be fair though, I think about their wives from time to time as well.