Dandesun

The thing I wonder about with Jean and the various Phoenix references is if they're going to go full bore with something that has been danced around for decades only to be really solidified now. That 'now and forever' Jean is Phoenix. It got real convoluted in the comics and even though the animated series did the best version of the Phoenix storyline it also dropped some major points. Other people have been Phoenix. They've gotten rid of it, they've brought it back but, ultimately, Jean has been written to be the primary host/that level of strength at her full powers. She doesn't have to go dark anymore, she went through that already, but to accept that part of her might be the thing for her moving forward. Maybe I don't understand the complaints about pulling too much from the comics. They've always done this. The characters are from the comics. The villains are from the comics. Mutants fighting for a world that hates and fears them are from the comics. The Sentinels, the Friends of Humanity, Genosha, the Blackbird, the Shi'ar, the Xavier School, the Savage Land, Master Mold, Henry Peter Gyrich, Bolivar Trask, the Morlocks... all of these are from the comics. And none of these stories are direct translations from the comics. The fact that there has been 30 MORE years of storytelling since this show was on just gives them more to pull from. The story that's being told isn't comic specific. Mutants are fighting for acceptance and even though they've been fighting to protect humanity they continue to be targeted. That was the whole jist of Magneto's speech in episode 2. They work to create a homeland so they have their own nation and it gets destroyed. People die, people are hurt, now they're all struggling with the idea of 'why did we ever try to play nice when this is what you want for all of us?' It's the cycle of hatred. It's the constant need for a scapegoat or to Other an entire group of people Just Because. That is what the X-Men have been about since the 70s and it continues here. I know what these references are but I have seen and heard from many people who don't who still think the show is killing it without knowing the references. All that being said... if you don't like it, that's fine too. It's not a requirement.

So they went with Bastion and Operation Zero Tolerance... very interesting. Again, the melding of stories really works for me here. And Lord... Bastion with the 'Flying Purple People Eater' song playing. Wrapping something horrible and vile in this veneer of wholesome novelty just makes it creepier. It's like the beginning of Bioshock: Infinite. What is Bastion going to do with Magneto. And will we have a Steve and Bucky moment when Charles comes back and he and Erik see each other again? Speaking of... hey Steve! They did Emma's diamond form reveal! That was a part of the E is for Extinction story where Genosha got razed so I was actually happy to see that. Rogue unleashing her fury... that woman is a power house and it was actually fun to see. Nightcrawler being the one to oversee Remy's funeral and then reach out to Rogue over her grief and feelings (loved the Dia de los Muertos going on during that) and also Jean and the rest of the X-men were there. X-men is all about found family after all particularly when dealing with parents who are all 'oh I'm so happy you finally told us but don't tell anyone else because shareholders!' Oh 'Berto... Jean and Scott had a good conversation about the complications of their relationship and I love Jean's hair down. ALSO loved Jean getting to be a powerhouse too in the fight with Prime Sentinel Bolivar Trask. And Rogue dropping Trask? Well that goes along with this overall sentiment of the X-men just being done with begging for a place at the table. It's something they go through cyclically in the comics, the last go round being Krakoa, so I'm actually enjoying seeing it here. And it's said the last three episodes are going to be pretty hard core. Can't wait.

Storm's non powered era lasted years but I understand how adaptations work so I wasn't expecting it to be particularly drawn out. I really wasn't expecting it after losing Gambit and Magneto. Do I believe those deaths will stick? Not really but status quo is that they're dead so Storm is needed again. I do like that they had Forge involved and was surprised that they brought the Adversary into it. For me? The Fall of the Mutants storyline was a really interesting one and it was the catalyst for bringing Storm's powers back and it led to one of my favorite periods which was the Outback period before Inferno. That's just me. And even in the books it wasn't an instantaneous thing... it was fast but it played out a little bit like here where she had access and it took her a hot minute to actively reach out and grab them again. I have had issues with XTAS doing comic storylines before in the initial installment of the show simply because they were using a current team with previous storylines but it never felt complete. I think at this point I've adapted myself and I think they're doing better taking pieces from different storylines and working them into their own established canon. Charles in Space, for example. The elements from a very specific storyline were there but altered enough to work for what they're doing. Charles' return to the X-books after some 70 issues after Lilandra came to get him to save his life was some more crazy space-faring stuff that involved Skrulls, a new re-aged and fully powered Storm (Claremont put Storm through the wringer, y'all) and another confrontation/cross-over on Genosha. Shit was INSANE! And then the X-Men got shunted off to space quite suddenly and crazy ass stuff was happening there! So while I'm glad we're not getting the Skrull storyline I was enjoying the nods to it all what with Charles' war costume and stuff. Although him going 'Okay, class is in session' was so quintessentially Charles I was laughing out loud. Oh... is that you Death-bit? Or just another nod? Storm's looks over the years have generally been cool as fuck (actually one of the ones I like least is the white 90's one that Jim Lee did that we all know from this series) but man that classic Byrne costume is classic for a reason. And they animated it beautifully. Sinister is responsible for the Genosha attack? Yeah, that works. Again, elements of comic stories combined into a new canon for XTAS97. I'm down with it. One thing I hope for? Scott to not stand for any shade Charles throws upon his return.

The Native American is James Proudstar aka Warpath and the (kind of bullshit) reason he's in the villain line up is that he started out as an antagonist because the "All New All Different" X-Men involved his older brother John aka Thunderbird who ended up dying on an early mission. James blamed Charles and actually did some serious damage to the X-Men's reputation in his quest for revenge as part of Emma Frost's Hellions. He did eventually see the light regarding Emma and left the Hellions and ended up with the New Mutants and then joined X-Force in the 90s with Cable and a bunch of former New Mutants. I do find it interesting that they replaced Jimmy with Emma... who also eventually became an X-man. Emma, at least, was a flat out villain for a good long time. Warpath was an antagonist because his reasons for hating Charles were valid and also he was a kid who was mourning his brother's death. AND he caught onto Emma and the Hellions stuff pretty quickly and told them all to fuck right the hell off. I don't think anyone knows who the bald guy was supposed to be.

Gen X here. Saw Bambi in the theaters when I was quite wee. Believe me, NO ONE missed out on what happened. The panic? The echoing gunshot? Bambi searching for her in the snow and becoming more and more scared when she didn't answer? And finally... "Your mother can't be with you any longer." It's traumatizing for a reason. We all got it.

I loved the first run of Marauders. When they went to space and Cassandra Nova was there... I struggled and then just flat out lost interest. I loved X-Factor and wish that one had continued.

Scott beginning to lean into his revolutionary period is something I'm here for. And as much as I don't like triangles I think the Scott centered one actually makes sense and is emotionally complicated and that is coming across. It's not as simple as 'well so and so is a hypocrite' to me. What I'm seeing is a group of people dealing with a lot of insane shit and that's totally okay for me. Could it get tired? Yes but I have a real fondness for Scott and Jean separately and together and while I never connected much with Maddy in the books I think she did get screwed and her coming back in Krakoa and Jean making peace with her was really really good stuff. And yes, I think Maddy/Alex works and I root for those two kids. Except that's not the case here in X97 so I'm interested in what comes next, I really am. In regards to Magneto and Rogue. Show-runner has gone on record to say that Rogue was in her early 20s when all of this initially went down with Magneto. I've never been a fan of this pairing simply because of the power imbalance and, gods, when they went whole hog with it in AoA I feel it was even grosser but... whatever. It's in the past and I don't give it a hell of a lot of thought anymore. Rogue ultimately making her choice and then realizing what she really wanted only to have it be too late is pure romantic tragedy. I've loved Rogue/Gambit since the 90s y'all, I wrote fanfic back in the day. I'm still friends with that crew! But man, the episode was so good that I can't even be mad at any part of it. I know in comics no one dies for long (there are precious few exceptions to that rule... like Uncle Ben or the Waynes... once upon a time I would have said Bucky but man Brubaker wrote the hell out of that one and I ain't sorry at all) and hell, they killed off Morph in the original series and brought him back. I've seen Magneto use his powers to keep his own heart beating when most of his chest was ripped out. I've seen him fall from orbit in Asteroid M and survive. I've seen Gambit going into the light while Rogue chased him and physically pulled him back. I've seen Gambit become the Horseman of Death for Apocalypse. I don't expect either of these deaths to take but that doesn't take anything away from how good they went out in this episode. X-Men are hard to kill. X-Men have trouble staying dead. Both of these things are true. And I can't wait.

Oh there were some rough patches and stuff I skipped but I went all in during the Krakoa Era. It was exciting in a way the X-Men hadn't been in ages. I will admit to being very frustrated with the Fall of X... I feel like it has draaaaaagged on so much but there are things in the Krakoa Era that I have just loved. Doug in the Inferno mini. The resurrection of Destiny and finally playing out the fact that Kurt is the son of Mystique and Destiny as Claremont intended back in the day. Maybe not all of Claremont's ideas should be kept sacred (*cough* Jean/Logan *cough*) but that one was a great idea and the seeds planted where Mystique had no problem killing Rogue but couldn't pull the trigger on Kurt when she worked on attacking the X-Men in whatever Danger Room-esque set up she had going on was good stuff. Lorna coming back into the spotlight. Apocalypse took a real interesting turn. The entirety of X-Men Red. Jean bitch slapping Nightmare and coming back to acknowledge that 'now and forever' she is Phoenix. What they did with Moira was amazing at the beginning. I'm not as thrilled with the now but, whatever, I'm interested in seeing what comes next far more than I have been in other eras. Gail Simone writing Uncanny where we have Gambit and Rogue taking the lead and starting down in New Orleans? YES! Kurt will be there too? YES YES!!

What an incredible episode. Really. I found Nightcrawler being the guide through Genosha for Rogue and Gambit to be very meta considering that he was the one being introduced to Genosha by Wanda in 'Wolverine & the X-Men.' Also, I still full on ship Kurt/Wanda because of that show. And I always LOVE seeing Kurt, he's one of my all time faves. The complicated mess that is Maddy/Scott/Jean... oh and Logan, I guess... is really rich and made far more complicated than I feel it was in the comics. As far as Scott knew, he WAS with Jean. And Maddy didn't die so his continued connection to her makes sense. Jean struggling with it also makes sense. In comics, Jean and Scott didn't just immediately reunite in X-Factor, it was messy and complicated because Jean had lost YEARS of her life as well as her telepathy and Scott was reeling from Jean being back and then Maddy and Nate being lost. Here is even more of a mess. Interesting that they went with the psychic affair that Scott had with Emma but switched it out with Maddy here. Although Emma looking on in Genosha was... interesting. The Scott/Jean showdown was really well written, I could see both sides of the argument. Logan. *ugh* I hate every incarnation of Logan/Jean. I really cannot stand it. But I could see the choices made here... Logan checking in, Jean struggling with her memories, and I even understand the choice to have Jean kiss Logan while she's struggling with her memories and the fact that Scott won't talk to her (and then find out he's psychically macking on Maddy and has been for the past month) especially since when he was trying to help in the Goblin Queen episode he gave her his feelings to focus on. But I am NOT rooting for Logan/Jean. That will never happen. Y'all saw the shadow of the Watcher in the skies, right? You know something is about to go down. I'm glad Rogue finally told Remy about her past with Magneto (although I was all 'Rogue, girl, you fucked your professor from college... that's what this looks like' in the flashbacks) and I'm also glad he pointed out that he followed her lead in not making it official between them and then saying Magneto would probably break her heart but until that they wouldn't be anything other than friends. (Pulling from a period in the comics where he let her go because he was tired of the push/pull and told her to go live her life but not to come back to him until she was ready to commit.) Then we have sexy mutant dancing between Rogue and Magneto (that dress she wore a callback to X-Men 4 and a date she went on with Remy. It got interrupted by Omega Red.) before Rogue admits that Gambit is right... some things go deeper than the skin, meaning, yeah she can touch Magneto but she's in love with Remy. Not that Remy saw, he noped out of there pretty quickly. Cable sighting! Maddy recognizing him as Nathan. Whatever he's trying to do doesn't work and then we get... ...a truly harrowing attack that includes elements of the last Hellfire Gala, the Mutant Massacre and E is for Extinction. That they were on the ground so you could see the fighting, the death, all of it was an amazing choice. It was all so visceral. Magneto's 'have no fear' in German as his last words... and Remy coming through with saving Rogue's life and then sacrificing himself to take out the tri-Sentinel. "Remember It" was always going to showcase Gambit, he used the words often enough in the original series but this was beautifully devastating. The way they showcased his fighting and then charging up the motorcycle to save Rogue and then charging up the tri-Sentinel to destroy it. Gambit is one of my favorites as well. I loved this episode for him, I truly did. Rogue weeping over him, 'I can't feel you' fade to black and the somber credits music. What an incredible episode.

Yeah, well, Claremont did write Kitty getting seduced by an evil version of Courtney Ross (Sat-Yr-9) on her 15th birthday in Excalibur. They didn't do anything overtly sexual but Claremont was very clear about what was happening and has used the term 'seduction' in reference to that story in the years since. So... yeah... look, like I said there are definite problematic elements in his writing and there are very definitely things that didn't age well AT ALL. As for Ellis, yes, I always assumed that Kitty was at least 18 when the stuff with Wisdom went down. I believe Ellis assumed the same. The age difference didn't bother me too much because considering Kitty's life she was wildly more mature and experienced than your every day 18 year old. I'll bring it back to the show, Jubilee is officially declared to be 18 which I appreciate but also consider all the things she's been through since she joined the X-men. On the upside, Roberto is clearly not over a decade older than her. They seem to be the same age so, yeah, kids... do what you're gonna do. Use protection!

I love that they highlighted several times that Jubilee was turning 18. Let me tell you, in comics she seemed to be 14 FOREVER, then they seemed to age her up then they de-aged her again. Yes, yes, sliding timescale but it was just weird af. Similar shit happened with Kitty. Hell, Claremont, who wasn't even writing her anymore had very specific opinions as to how old she was and wasn't shy about saying so. Look, I respect the hell out of Chris Claremont's work, problematic though a lot of it is, but there were some hills he chose to die on that I just can't even with. Kitty's age for one and deciding that Logan/Jean were the OTP after editorial decided to resurrect Jean and bring the OG5 back together. That is a bitter bitter road for me and the fact that we still have to deal with that toxic shit in this day and age is frustrating as fuck. Also... did anyone else get the impression from that fade to black kiss that 'Berto and Jubes might have banged it out? That's where my mind went. Messy, horny soap opera man.

That was the X-men at their messy finest!

Jean clone Maddy was not the first time Claremont used the name for a character. She was a character in Avengers Annual 10 - just a kid character with no connection. He got the name from Steeleye Span singer Maddy Prior. Sidenote, in the first Genosha storyline in Uncanny X-Men, Maddy is seen as a child singing a Steeleye Span song. Claremont loved doing shit like that. Okay, so... here's the deal, not only am I impressed that they even attempted to take on Inferno but they did it in one episode. Maddy being a clone was never the intention when she appeared in comics. She was meant to usher Cyclops off the scene completely because Claremont believed in characters that change, grow, move on and such so new characters could come in. Jean was dead in canon and that was against Claremont's wishes... he wanted her to be de-Phoenixed and basically 'psychically lobotomized' and the intention was to have her and Scott leave the team for good. Editorial decided that a) Phoenix had to die after eating the sun and killing the planet of broccoli people and b) let's get the original five back together... woo hoo! I have a lot of opinions about the canon story. First, I thought it was weird as fuck that Scott would meet someone who looked exactly like Jean, get involved with her and ultimately marry her and everyone was totally fine with it. You had people be really startled by the 'uncanny resemblance' but no one even suggested that this was maybe a tiny bit unhealthy? Second, the sheer amount of editorial nonsense that had Scott go alone to see Jean after she was pulled out of Jamaica Bay was kind of insulting. For one thing, the woman he watched kill herself in front of him is suddenly back, one of his oldest friends is the one to call him and tell him, and he's expected to... not do anything about it? Maddy herself should have recognized how important it was and GONE WITH HIM. But instead, he goes to see Jean in the flesh and then immediately returns to Alaska but discovers that Maddy (and baby) is not only gone but all trace of her existence is wiped out. And a significant amount of those early X-Factor stories are about Scott trying to find his son and any trace of Maddy. Was he perfect? No, but I never saw that initial 'I have to see this for myself' moment as character destroying the way Claremont insisted it was. So here we have a situation where we don't know WHEN or HOW Maddy and Jean were switched or anything. I like the mystery of that. I also like Maddy not wanting to stick around, after all she was trying to get Scott to leave the X-Men just one episode before. That all fits for me. And also, Jean reaching out to her at the end made me think of the very recent situation in comics canon where Jean advocated for Krakoa to bring Maddy back and after a Dark Web crossover involving Limbo and more than one clone absolutely had no issue with sharing all of her memories of raising Nathan with Maddy who was very much robbed of it. First by Sinister trying to kill her (several times) and then her deal with the devil bullshit with the Inferno demons S'ym and N'astirh. The entirety of the Inferno storyline is so rife with nonsense that I'm actually glad that they whittled it down to the core essence. We already know Sinister in the show. He's already fucked around with Scott and Jean. But this does open some questions and leave room for Maddy's return. Then they went ahead and did the Nate infected by the techno-organic virus and having to be sent to the future which was a big Apocalypse story so I wonder what's to come of that. Morph turned into Illyana? Have we even seen her in this series at all? And then Maddy turns Illyana/Magik into Darkchylde which is PERFECT for an Inferno story but if you don't know then it's just an Easter Egg for the rest of us. Gambit's vision of Rogue and Magneto was GROSS! Nice touch with the outfits being based off the UXM 269-275 Savage Land story arc but the skin melting? Ewwww. And we end with punk!Storm getting approached by Forge. Bring it.

That was Morph when they were falling from the jet. He also turned into Lady Deathstrike, Colossus and Kwannon/Psylocke in the fight at the courthouse/Hague or whatever. Yes they had the OG5 in the picture and it doesn’t necessarily go along with show canon but, you know what, whatever. If you know the X-men you know the original 5. They did establish Bobby/Iceman as a former student and I’m just going to say that the scenes with Warren centered more on Rogue interacting with him as opposed to Hank, Scott or Jean. It’s a reach but that’s what I’m going with.

Roberto is from Brazil, he speaks Portuguese and given how rich he is it doesn’t surprise me that he would speak excellent English with little to no accent. Claremont wrote his international team with heavy accents and phrases to show they were international but that was the 70s. ’Berto tossing in some Portuguese is fine, I don’t think he needs a heavy accent to drive the point home. Rogue has that covered.