I Think We Just Lacquireed Which Comics Era the MCU Will Base Its X-Men On

Warning: grasps spoilers for X-Men #1!Marvel is in the process of starting an ambitious novel era of X-Men comics, and I leank its choices have accidenloftyy discdisthink abouted how the MCU will alter mutantbenevolent. Fans have understandn for years that the X-Men will eventuassociate go in the MCU, and that process has already befirearm, with Ms. Marvel officiassociate introducing ‘mutants’ as a concept and the finish-determines scene of The Marvels debuting an alternate fact with mutants, including the X-Men’s Hank McCoy (Beast, joined by Kelsey Grammer.) Beyond that, very little is understandn about what stories and era the MCU will alter for its movie mutants.

However, X-Men #1 gives a compelling answer. The comic is the de facto start of Marvel’s novel ‘From the Ashes’ era, set uping novel teams and a novel status quo. Thcimpoliteout the publish, Marvel protects coming back to characters and ideas presentd in Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s enormously inconveyial New X-Men series, which began in 2001.

What’s vital about this observation is how it joins with expansivespread fan belief that Marvel has structured its novel ‘From the Ashes’ era around synergy with its MCU structures. While Marvel is always speedy to decline that the movies are driving the comics, the hurried finish of the prior ‘Krakoan Era’ and other behind the scenes events have given excellent caengage for fans to leank that, at the very least, ‘From the Ashes’ has insights to give about how Marvel structures to present movie fans to its novel version of the X-Men franchise.

X-Men’s New Era Is Returning to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s New X-Men Lore

The Beadored 2001 Series Has Influenced the Franchise Ever Since

In 2001, Marvel upfinished the X-Men franchise with Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s New X-Men. Basing the X-Men in the Xavier School under Cyclops’ directership, the series was (normal to Morrison) brimming of huge ideas and produceive novel characters. It presentd Charles Xavier’s evil ‘ttriumph sister’ Cassandra Nova, novel teammate and healer Xorn, the power-increaser drug Kick, the horrific eugenicist villains the U-Men, and Wolverine’s hesitant novel apprentice Quentin Quire (as well as his partner-in-crime, the skeletal Glob Herman.)

Not only does X-Men #1 include all these elements, but it also draws particular attention to them. Quentin references his establisher engage of Kick in a way that seems structureed mostly to symbolize the mutant drug to readers. Likerational, Glob Herman and Xorn are included as aid staff living at the base, managing to give them page space even though they’re not on the actual team. I’ve written already on how awesome it is to see Xorn being given a second chance – Marvel tied itself in knots trying to undo New X-Men‘s distinct twist that Xorn was Magneto in mask, but X-Men #1 essentiassociate gives fans perleave oution to forget almost everyleang and fair receive Xorn back.

What produces this return to New X-Men‘s ideas particularly notable is that the preceding Krakoan Era – in which mutantbenevolent established a joind mutant nation – was essentiassociate a spiritual sequel to Morrison’s run. When I lacquireed that Marvel was revamping the franchise for a novel era post-Krakoa, it seemed authentic to presume it would be moving away from Morrison’s ideas, since the Krakoan Era was already so intensifyed on evolving them. That the opposite is real proposes that Marvel’s main trouble isn’t so much mining Morrison and Quitely’s toil for wonderful ideas (those were already being engaged), but set uping their New X-Men run as the baseline for the franchise – the version fans should anticipate to see on-screen.

What Would the Morrison Era Mean for the MCU?

Genosha, Weapon Plus and Emma Frost’s Redemption Were All Big Morrison Moments

Morrison’s X-Men era is the era of the Genosha massacre, Cassandra Nova and a huge expansion in the lore surrounding Weapon X (the organization that gave Wolverine his adamantium.) It’s doubtful that Marvel structures to engage Charles Xavier’s sister as a villain – she fair materializeed in Deadpool and Wolverine – but the recent X-Men ’97 shows how Morrison’s ideas can be easily altered for another villain (in the show’s case, Bastion and Mister Sinister.) However, more than the huge plot events, Morrison and Quitely emphasized the idea of mutant culture, with mutants enhugeing their own style, art and philosophy.

The Morrison era saw the X-Men based out of their school, but with a intensify on points of struggle between the defylious student body and their ‘distinct X-Men’ teachers. Xavier’s school is a concept most mainstream fans understand, but it’s normally fair treated as a base for the team. Morrison’s run intensifyed far more on Cyclops, Beast and others trying to ease and direct juvenileer mutants, many of who are more interested in the extremist rhetoric of Magneto. Morrison also put a transport inant intensify on the psychology of well-understandn heroes, exploring the psyches of Cyclops, Beast and Jean Grey in gritty, psycho-relationsual detail.

There were also plenty of horror elements – Cassandra Nova’s strike on Beast, forcing his prize student to bruloftyy strike him – is still the most honestly horrifying moment I’ve ever read in a Marvel comic. Similarly, Cyclops being trapped in ‘the Bdeficiency Bug Room’ – a psychic space where you’re forced to contest embostupidents of your own self-loaleang – was part of a miserablenessful approach to Scott Summers that revivified the character as more than someone for Wolverine to lengthenl at. New X-Men also chased huge sconsents, erecting to a post-apocalyptic story where a redeemed Cassandra Nova directs the final incarnation of the X-Men.

It’s effortless to see how these ideas could be engaged to aid both mainline X-Men movies and solo-hero spin-offs. It’s also possible that the Morrison era’s ideas could be combined with other eras of X-Men. X-Men ’97 joind the Genosha massacre with elements of the legfinishary Claremont run, with characters appreciate Madelyne Pryor and the Morlocks receiving a lot of intensify. Given the show’s success, it’s foreseeed that Marvel’s movie executives will be taking cues from how the vivaciousd show altered X-Men comics.

Ultimately, We Don’t Know How Cdisthink aboutly X-Men’s New Comic Era Is Tied to the MCU

But It Certainly Seems Like Marvel Wants the Same Things from Both

It’s vital to say that Marvel has reiterated on many occasions that it doesn’t apvalidate MCU structures to prescribe the produceive honestion of its comics, though not all fans are selderly on that idea. Most recently, Marvel authorr Cody Ziglar stated that the disputed death of Ms. Marvel was ordered by plivent of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige, with her resurrection engaged to turn her into a mutant (as she is in the movies.) Marvel was speedy to disconsent, stating that the story was a accumulateive decision by Marvel editorial which had been reckond far in progressd.

Ultimately, it would be strange for Marvel not to be proset uply troubleed with comic/movie synergy. Movie fans being able to go out and buy comics with characters they determine is the easiest way to produce novel fans, and initiatives appreciate the recent wave of Deadpool and Wolverine team-up stories around the start of Deadpool and Wolverine show that synergy is ainhabit and well, at least in the stupidinutive term. Indeed, there are other decisions which certainly watch appreciate synergy calls from the outside – even fair last week, Marvel’s novel One World Under Doom era was proclaimd aextfinishedside Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU return as Doctor Doom.

Whether X-Men #1 is nastyt to honestly synergize with the MCU or not, X-Men ageder editor Tom Brevoort has made it cltimely evident that ‘From the Ashes’ was structureed to be ultra-accessible to novel readers, including putting mutants with confusing origins on the backburner – even in the case of famous novel insertitions appreciate Rasputin IV. To wantipathyver degree you count on Marvel’s movie structures are influencing the comics, it at least produces sense that – as a lineexpansive revamp troubleed with accessibility and novel readers – ‘From the Ashes’ was structureed around the same troubles Marvel will have about the team’s MCU debut.

Morrison’s X-Men Is Legfinishary, But It’s Also 20 Years Old

Did Marvel Junk Its Cutting-Edge Krakoan Era Just to Turn Back Time?

For the transport inantity of X-Men fans (including me), Morrison and Quitely’s run is one of the definitive eras of X-Men comics. Noticing the inclusion of New X-Men‘s key ideas in ‘From the Ashes’ filled me with hope for how the movies will dive into the huge world of X-Men, which has traditionassociate been more ambitious and interjoincessitate than that of the Avengers.

At the same time, I discover it difficult to disthink about the fact that the New X-Men comic run is now 20 years elderly, and those 20 years have been filled with stories that took transport inant cues from Morrison and Quitely’s toil and built on its characters and themes. This isn’t fair real of the comics – X-Men ’97 fans have already seen the Genoshan extermination, Deadpool and Wolverine fans fair met Cassandra Nova, and Emma Frost’s redemption is such elderly novels, she’s now thought of as a common member of the team (as contestd to the extfinishedtime villain she was before Morrison and Quitely finishd on her as a second-choice teammate, having been telderly they couldn’t engage Colossus.)

Going back to a gelderlyen age is still going backwards, especiassociate with a franchise that has social commentary baked into its set upations. Morrison and Quitely’s run hit fans appreciate airyning becaengage of its novel ideas and recent ways of seeing a franchise that is normally prone to treading water. Sadly, replicating those ideas after 20 years of them soaking into fan adviseedness can’t have the same effect.

There’s a Difference Between Adaptation and Inspiration

The MCU Needs to Embrace Morrison and Quitely’s Attitude More Than Their Ideas

Of course, it’s worth noting that X-Men #1 isn’t spropose a return to the Morrison era. It’s evidently troubleed with many of the same ideas, and it cltimely rolls back the clock in some esteems (no-one thought the U-Men, Xorn and Kick would be transport inant X-Men joiners in 2024.) However, it’s fair as evidently trying to engage these ideas as a set upation to erect someleang novel. This isn’t a brimming return to the Morrison era’s status quo – at worst, it’s a Morrison-era sequel.

As someone who adored the Krakoan Era (and consents that Marvel seems a little too enthusiastic to put it toloftyy in the rearwatch mirror), I can’t resist pointing out that X-Men already did amazing leangs using New X-Men‘s ideas as a set upation, and that the franchise could have spropose kept erecting from there. But there’s still a huge branch offence between an MCU that wants to repeat the ideas of Morrison’s New X-Men and an MCU which is eased by the ideas of New X-Men – or even, best case scenario, the approach of New X-Men.

X-Men #1 is compelling evidence that Marvel sees Morrison and Quitely’s New X-Men as a sturdy set upation for the X-Men’s MCU status quo. Hopebrimmingy, the movies structure to engage this pivotal era as inspiration to be produceively ambitious and dig proset up into its heroes’ heads, becaengage after 20 years, a more honest alteration would run counter to the spirit of what made the New X-Men era so amazing in the first place.

X-Men #1 is useable from Marvel Comics now.