#krakoa north

[evilhorse]

Not in Krakoa North, that’s for damn sure.

(Alpha Flight #2)

[lovecatsys]

I really like this. its the bare minimum but it feels... real at least. even if he's not necessarily acting like himself, it feels like a good explanation for how he feels about Krakoa and Logan.

[tournament-of-x]

The Tournament of X

Contestants Index

[evalulu]

Jean/Scott/Warren!

There was never a dull moment in the lives of the X-Men.  Even though Warren wasn’t part of the active team anymore, he was one of the first five - Xavier’s first students and the first X-Men that existed.  It was hard not to feel like part of the X-Men still, to not consider himself part of the team, especially when he was frequently called on to help, whether that was with the X-Corp business, defending Krakoa, or just generally being a hero overall.  He really wasn’t supposed to be an active fighter, but it was what he was trained to do since being a teenager.  And besides, there was still an almost unbelievable amount of danger in the business world, cutthroat didn’t even do it justice.  He really enjoyed the simpler moments of just doing good and not being questioned at every turn, or having to watch his back for any hint of betrayal.  

He was thankfully a tough guy, though, able to withstand a decent amount of punishment while being lightning fast in the air.  Maneuverability was his practiced strength, and he was sure he was the best at flying with all of his training.  But even with all of his prowess and a healing factor to back him up, he still got hurt.  While things rarely ever let him rest properly, he could push through it.  He had to when Scott had called, and needed the aerial superiority that Warren had.  He had to push aside singed and missing feathers, but at least transitioning his wings to the sleek metal regrew them in an instant.  And now, he could focus on taking care of strange monsters from another dimension, a rift opened as the result of playing with powers far outside of mortal comprehension.  

Traveling through a Krakoan gate and flying fast to the north Californian coast, it didn’t take Warren long to rendezvous, already seeing Scott and Firestar waiting.  The young Mutant was proving to be a skilled X-Man So far.  

“So, what are we looking at?”

Scott, arms crossed, lets out a soft hum.

“One moment.”  

Warren tilts his head, moreso just wondering what they were waiting on until Magik's characteristic stepping disc appeared.

“Now,” Scott starts, “Rictor and Magik will prioritize closing the rift.  Firestar and Angel, you'll keep them engaged and limit their destruction.  Jean has located them traveling north. Don't let them get any farther.  Firestar, are you alright with staying in telepathic contact?”  

Simple enough; And Firestar gives a nod of confirmation at Scott's question.  Warren knew she wasn't the fondest of telepaths, or at least of Emma Frost.  Which was probably a story for another day.  And besides, he was keen to take off and get into the action.  

“As always, be careful.  We don't have much solid information on what these creatures are capable of, but they've so far been largely difficult to spot via visual contact.” 

Another brief response of confirmation was all Scott was looking for, and Warren knew that.  He kept himself alert, trying to spot anything that just didn't seem right.  Firestar, to her credit, was using her powers to fly and as a sort of detection if anything was disrupting the air unseen to the eye.  And if he were anyone else, he would've missed it; the glimmer of light that just didn't look right.  

“Firestar, there!”  Warren directs, and the heated blast hits something full force that lets out a horrible shriek.  Whatever camouflage it had faded, revealing a creature similar to a manta ray albeit without a stinging tail.  It was like its skin reflected the light, and newfound burns disrupted it.  These things definitely couldn't stick around.  There were probably more of them too, but Warren wanted to be careful with his flechettes.  While a few blades hit their mark on the injured creature and quickly work to paralyze it, that’s when he gets a good look at the underside of the creature revealing a large maw of colossal razor sharp teeth and tucked claws shaped like scythes.  And finding out how deadly those were was not on his agenda.  

He caught sight of another creature, and darted for the more open ocean off the coastline.  Keep them distracted; that was the goal.  While their course had turned back towards the rift, probably sensitive to whatever work Rictor and Magik were doing, this was the time to really let loose and not let a single of these monsters do anything more.  He turned to climb skyward, a few flechettes making sure that he drew the monster’s attention.  But as he climbed, he could see the way light reflected off the creature and how quickly it gained on him.  Maybe he couldn’t outspeed it, but he could outmaneuver it.  He moves into a loop, seeing the monster speed past him and try to turn around to dive on him.  But it just takes one powerful beat of wings to send more flechettes towards the now extended claws, while enough hit their mark, the feeling of those sharp claws scratching against his wings were not at all pleasant and forced a grunt of pain from him as they managed to cut him.  

But he’d heal just fine, and now he sped back towards the coastline to get sights on more of them.  

“Scott, how’re things there?”  

“Fine,” He says back, but Warren could tell that something was up.  And it wasn’t that much of a surprise to hear Jean’s voice in his head, with her maintaining the telepathic connection.

“Hurry back, more of those creatures are trying to stop Rictor and Magik.”  

No time to waste now; Warren pushes to his maximum speed to get back as quickly as he can.  Classic Scott, having a plan already that wouldn’t call for backup.  But he was already on the way, and already able to see the familiar blasts hitting some of the monsters.  And he was handling it perfectly, though Warren could see a creature coming in for a dive bomb.  Easy enough to intercept, he figured, as he climbed higher and focused on the beast.  

“Scott, incoming!”  

He collided directly with the monster and turned to open it up to a direct blast from Scott.  It shrieks from the hit, and the claws fully extend to reveal the jagged teeth (for lack of a better term) on the inside of the limb.  It tries to grab hold of Warren’s wing, managing to tear a good chunk of the metal feathers to pieces.  He lets out a shout then, but he’s able to still recover and keep himself from crash landing.  

“Warren, are you okay?”  

Jean’s voice in his head was concerned, and he let out a breath to compose himself.  

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”  

He’d worry about it later, and besides - this was far from the worst he’s ever experienced.  He could still fly fine, and with Firestar reconvening back at the shoreline and helping with the monsters, it was a simple task to hold them off long enough for the rift to be closed.  The creatures went with it, vanishing with little more than a screech to signal their departure.  At least that was that, and Warren for once was glad to land.  

“You look a few pounds lighter, Angel,” Magik spoke up, and he couldn’t help rolling his eyes.  

“Veeery funny, Magik.  I’m fine.”  “You seem so, so I wasn’t asking that.  Time to head back home.”  

She opens a stepping disc once more, bringing them all back home to Krakoa.  Warren’s priority now was to find a spot where he could relax and worry about his wing.  Scott was sure to have to report to the Council how things went, and that would give Warren some free time.  Or at least, he was assuming, until he heard Jean’s voice in his mind again.  

“Warren, you’re hurt.”  

He knew that tone, that obvious worry when Warren’s first solution would be to isolate himself and handle it himself.  And he knew he really shouldn’t if he didn’t want one of the most powerful telepaths he knew to come looking.

“It’s not that bad, Jean, really.  The damage’ll heal when they transform back.”  

And that was true, they would.  It’d hurt like hell, but they’d be pristine white feathers again with hardly any indication that something happened.  He’d be exhausted, sure, but he didn’t have anywhere to be.  

“I know, but still.  You know we’ll worry.”  

He can’t help a soft laugh then.  She wouldn’t force him, he knew, but it was also painfully clear that she would much prefer if he spent his time resting in the Summers house on the blue side of the moon.  And while he adored the breeze he felt on Krakoa often while flying, the moon wasn’t so bad.  

“Alright, alright, I’m on my way.”  

He was definitely a bit amused.  He wasn’t that reckless young guy anymore, charging headlong into danger.  And he was tougher now, with a healing factor that helped him and his much stronger form that he had learned how to control.  But, in the same breath, it’d be nice to be able to relax with the people he had known the longest, and trusted wholeheartedly without hesitation.  It was an easy enough task to fly to the gate that would take him to the house, landing once he was right outside the gate and stepped through.  That was one thing that was always sort of interesting - suddenly being in a brand new place altogether.  But then again, all the times traveling through them at least made them feel more normal.  

The moment he was in the Summers home, he was aware of just how quiet it was.  The kids must be busy with something, Alex out somewhere, and Gabriel off to God knows where.  But he wasn’t going to worry about that at all, especially when he was keen to lay back and relax.  He sat down on the couch and let out a soft hum then, and it didn’t take long for Jean to meet him.  

“Warren, it’s always great to see you.”  

He gives a soft laugh then, waving to Jean as she steps around the couch.  “You too, always.  But I mean it, I’m fine!”  

Jean answers him by running a hand over the still metallic feathers, gentle and careful though it was very clear that she knew how to avoid being cut by the flechettes, and stopped right at the part where the feathers had been ripped off.  He took that memo clearly enough.  

“Okay, it will be fine.  Is this the part where you offer to keep me from feeling the pain of them shifting back?”  

“If you want, I’d like to help.”  

And he knew that Jean meant it wholeheartedly, but wouldn’t push it if that wasn’t something he was comfortable with.  He generally disliked anyone messing with his mind, but there were a select few he trusted.  So he lets out a soft breath, nodding.  “That’s fine, just dull it so it’s more bearable, maybe.”  

She nods at that, only dampening Warren’s ability to feel pain as he willed his wings to change form again.  Like this, it still hurt, and he could still feel the way the feathers rapidly regrew to fill in the empty space, but it wasn’t as bad as it once was; when his wings first became white feathers again.  He had to make sure to keep taking steady breaths, stay focused and composed.  Once they were back to their normal form, he leaned back against the cushions in relief. 

“Are you sure you feel okay, Warren?”

Jean asks, and he can't help a laugh.  

“Yeah, I feel alright, especially thanks to you.  I appreciate you, Jeannie.”  

 “That’s good to hear.”  Scott’s voice makes Warren jump, because hell, wasn’t giving a report on things more time consuming than that? “Sorry Warren,” Scott says as he comes around the back of the couch, standing off to the side.  “I just wanted to come and check on you myself.” Warren can’t help a laugh at that, shaking his head.  “I’m telling you both, I’m fine!  I’m not fragile!”  

But he knows why they worry so much, and it’s not as if it’s unwarranted.  With all the pain they’ve all had to endure over the years, it was natural to worry about each other.  Scott worried about others, sought to make sure they were okay and safe.  It was what the leader did, so his own tone wasn’t upset; it was more playful and lighthearted.  

“I know, but still.”  Was the unsurprising answer from Scott.  Even after all these years, some things didn’t change.  

“Is this going to lead into a question of staying to take some time off?”  He can’t help teasing, and while Scott shakes his head, Jean lets out a hum.  

“Not if you don’t want to,” Scott starts, but Jean picks up.  “But it’d be nice to have some time with you.”  And Warren understands that sentiment.  They would generally have plenty of time to enjoy the peace and quiet, if all things went well, but taking moments now while they fought to keep themselves safe day in and day out was always a warmly welcomed respite.  And if there was anything that Warren appreciated, it was a comfortable night in with his loved ones.  

“Alright, I’ll stick around.  You’re lucky I love you both.”  He jokes, and Jean gives him a warm smile and tousles his hair just a bit as she stands.  “Love you too, Warren.”  And she even goes as far as pressing a kiss to his forehead before she walks off.  That leaves Warren just a bit dumbfounded, because that was new.  And when Warren looked over to Scott, he was sure the stoic leader had an amused smile on his face.  There was definitely a whole conversation that those two had that he missed out on entirely.  

“What did you two say?”

Scott just hums.  “Nothing.  You heard us, didn’t you?”

Warren rolls his eyes dramatically at that.  “Alright, you cheeky weasel.  You know what I meant.”  

Scott laughs then, only moving to follow after Jean with a wave to Warren.  Some sort of movie night or otherwise relaxed time seemed in order, reminding him when things were much simpler and they were just heroes doing all they can.  And truthfully, it was a welcome familiarity -  and Warren was just fine with that.  

[thequiver]

Who is....Ruth Aldine | Blindfold? A Reading Guide

Ruth Aldine in an X-Men affiliated mutant from Marvel comics first introduced in 2004. She was born with no eyes or open eye sockets and due to her mutant condition her father left her, her mother, and her older brother only a week after her birth. Spending her childhood tormented by her abusive older brother, Ruth would eventually find freedom and happiness only after her mother had died protecting her from her brother's attempt on her life. Now living with her aunt, Ruth would begin to teach herself to harness and control her extensive mutant powers, but her brother's execution would result in him stealing half of her powers and her being sent to the Xavier Institute, where she first received her codename, Blindfold.

Ruth is currently the girlfriend of Professor Xavier's son, David Haller, and does not have a corporeal form on Krakoa, instead living inside of David's head. David has however as of 3. May. 2023 blinked himself out of existence and Ruth's fate is unknown.

Ruth was born in North Carolina and it is implied that she is from the Appalachian region of the state!

Below the cut you'll find a mostly complete reading order for Ruth!

First Appearances

Ruth's first appearances are found in the lead-up to M-Day/Decimation and its immediate aftermath. It may be beneficial to read Astonishing X-Men (2004/Vol. 3) #1-6 for context before reading Ruth's first appearance if you would like a better understanding of the run.

Astonishing X-Men (2004) #7-8 New X-Men (2004) #23-24 X-Men (1991) #201-204 [A stories only] New X-Men (2004) #37-41 Astonishing X-Men (2004) #15-18

Divided We Stand, Manifest Destiny, and Utopia

In the wake of Messiah Complex Charles Xavier is presumed dead and X-Men are disbanded. There is no home for mutants, no trust and no purpose to live for. Scott Summers is at this time the leader of mutantkind...things are going about as well as you'd expect. This gets picked back up following Necrosha (explained below).

Young X-Men (2008) #1-6 X-Men: Manifest Destiny (2008) #3 [C Story] Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus

Necrosha

Necrosha is a crossover event that deals with mutants being resurrected for the dark purposes of Selene Gallio (an old enemy of the X-Men, first appearing in New Mutants (1983) #9) who intends to use these resurrected mutants in her quest to become a goddess.

X-Necrosha (2009) #1 X-Force (2008) #21-22 X-Men: Legacy (2008) #231-233

Utopia Continued

The following issues are a continuation of Utopia!

Nation X (2010) #2 [C Story] X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back (2010) #1-3 <- this a 4 issue story so I would personally recommend reading #4 as well ;) X-Men: To Serve and Protect #3 X-Men: Legacy (2008) #244

Age of X (sort of)

The mutants are almost extinct, tortured by a strike force led by Colonel Graydon Creed. The first signs of the Age of X appeared in X-Men: Legacy #244; the events were removed from the Earth-616 mainstream continuity, with no memories of the alternate lives. If you've taken a look at my David Haller Reading List you'll see this event explained as "David’s desire to be loved forces him to grapple with reality," and as a story that "places David in a role where he has to choose between a false universe where he is considered a beloved hero and reality where he must choose to be a hero despite the fear others feel about him." Ruth's appearances here are still pretty connected to the X-Men: Legacy (2008) plotline we've been following now for a bit.

New Mutants (2009) #22, 24, 27

Curse of the Mutants

In what can only be described as the "oh shit we've run out of ideas" last resort of any creative company putting out too many crossover events in a short period of time..... the X-Office put out Curse of the Mutants. The arc centers on a human bomb exploding in San Francisco's Union Square, covering dozens in vampire-converting blood. It then becomes the mission of the X-Men to track down Dracula's son Xarus, now "Lord of the Vampires", even if that means enlisting vampire-hunter Blade. Yeah.... I don't know either.

X-Men (2010) #11

Schism and Regenesis

Schism follows the break-up of the X-Men at a moment of peak anti-mutant sentiment. Regenesis is the period of regrowth and reorganization following Schism.

X-Men: Schism (2011) #5 <- May be helpful to read #1-4 as well! X-Men: Regenesis (2011) #1 X-Men: Legacy (2008) #259, 261, 263

Avengers vs. X-Men

When the Phoenix Force approaches Earth, Hope Summers is assumed its next host. The X-Men and the Avengers are divided on how to handle the situation. The X-Men believe that the Phoenix Force will herald the rebirth of the Mutant Species, while the Avengers believe that it will bring an end to all life on Earth. This leads to a war between Marvel's two powerful superhero factions.

Avengers vs. X-Men (2012) #3

Legion: Son of X

This is where Ruth's path first crosses with the professor's son, David Haller, in any real meaningful way. It does however mold her story around his and start the descent of her story into being focused around David rather than Ruth.

X-Men: Legacy (2013) #1-24

Ruth has a handful of blink and you'll miss it appearances between Son of X and This is Forever but they aren't..... really important at all and don't really do anything to tell Ruth's story.

This is Forever

The X-Men are all presumed dead, but this isn't the case.

Uncanny X-Men (2019) #11

Legion of X and Before the Fall

Ruth Aldine is back from the dead.... and is now living inside of David Haller's head rather than having a body, and oh did we mention that she now pretty much has no motivations that don't revolve around David and is only seen when she can promote David?..... As a David fan, I am exhausted.

Legion of X (2022) #1-10 X-Men: Before the Fall- Sons of X (2023) #1

Reading list is current up until 6. November. 2023!

[crascet]

Recent Comics I've Read Pt. 1 (Marvel-616)

Alright, now that movies and art are out of the way, I can now go into comics. As someone that wants to be a comic writer and artist, I first started getting really into them back in January as a way to study how those writers and artists do them. I technically started reading comics way before as well as having some information on certain story events thanks to Comicstorian (RIP Benny), but now I'm starting to collect them.

Because there are a lot of them, I will just divide the books I've read in parts by company and in alphabetical order.

Starting with main universe Marvel:

Deadpool #1-5 (Ziegler/António): A pretty good series that covers Wade starting his own merc business with Taskmaster and his blood symbiote dog daughter named Princess and trying to be a father to Ellie. Good moments of Wade being a dad to Ellie and Princess, and I really like the coworker relationship between Wade and Tasky. Death Grip is pretty much a death cult leader cliche with an obsession over Wade's healing factor and this isn't the first time Wade had his healing taken from him. I also tried Ziegler's Miles run with #20, but I didn't get into it as much as these DP issues.

Fantastic Four #10, 14-17, 19-20 (North/Fiorelli/Mortarino/Gómez): A nice collection of sci-fi stories featuring the four in some way. Highlights goes to the two-parter with Metamind's creation, sentience, and slow cruel death in 14 and 15, the noir-style story in 19 which I enjoy as a massive noir fan, and 20 being my favorite in showing the relationship between Johnny and Ben as well as having my favorite cover by Alex Ross. I have #23 now since I skipped 21 and 22 since they're tie-ins to Blood Hunt, which is the recent Marvel comic event at the time I'm writing this, and I don't have an interest in it. I am, however, missed a storyline that involve the 4 going into a superhero-dinosaur dimension against Doctor Doom and his variant which is a freaking T. Rex, so I am very disappointed that I didn't get those issues. Maybe when the trades get released, I can get those. If anyone know those issue numbers, I highly appreciate it!

The Spectacular Spider-Men #1-6 (Weisman/Ramos): I am a huge Spider-Man fan since I've seen the first two Raimi films when I was 5 and I have loved him for all I can remember. So, you can imagine the absolute anguish I felt when I heard about his current run by Wells and how horrible the entire run is. However, when I heard that Weisman, who previously made Spectacular Spider-Man, which is an animated Spider-Man series that I highly recommend, I was cautiously optimistic about the whole thing until I got it, and it was great! Definitely felt like a sorta continuation of the series, now with Miles there. I heard there was some problems with pacing mostly with the first issue, but the second issue actually imples about it. I do like how the first arc uses transitionals with Meanwhile... and Now... and how it goes into the plot. I also really liked the villains being some that aren't used as much.

X-Men: From The Ashes #1 (MacKay/ Stegman): I only have the first two volumes of X-Men during the Krakoan era done by Hickman since the only reason I had interest was because of him. However, I'm not sure if I would like the second half since Hickman left X-Men after Inferno, so I missed out on the whole thing, with the only information I got was "Mutant kind had an island nation... and then lost it due to humans (Orchis) and themselves." I'm not sure if that's all of it, but that is what I thought. So, for this post-Krakoa era of X-Men, I enter it with well... X-Men and I've really enjoyed it! The team layout is nice with a combination newer and older mutants and as well as fan favorites. Scott leads as usual, love him. Psylocke and Magik are here and they're pretty cool here. Temper is new to me, but I like her ability to use both fire and ice. Surprisingly, Juggernaut is a member which is strange since to my knowledge, he was never a mutant in the first place, only getting the powers due to the Stone of Ciamarrat, unless they retconned him into being a mutant and that flew out of my radar. Like the friendship between him and Magik. And then there's Quentin Quire aka Kid Omega, he is a shithead... and I love him. I also like the callbacks to the Morrison era, which is nice I'm also reading that in my library. I have #2 now and I hope it'll still be great (especially with Quentin).

Uncanny X-Men: From The Ashes #1 (Simone/Marquez): Also released during the post-Krakoa era, UXM got my attention with Simone writing. I never read anything from her before, with only hearing that DC's Secret Six being one her best works and she did a great job here. At first, the issue gives a fantastical feel that would come from the titles previous years during the Claremont era, until it hits you with an emotional gut punch during the second half (iykyk). The prologue gives a very worrying and haunting feel with Warden Ellis making a mutant prison from the remains of the X Mansion, and with the forced help of a certain psychic mutant, which is even more messed up. I like this more than XM and I can't wait for issue 2.

As for other X titles, Exceptional may have some interest from me, but I never read anything from Eve L. Ewing, although I think they're related to Al Ewing who I know did Immortal Hulk and currently doing Immortal Thor. X-Factor is a mild interest for me since it has Angel, Havok, and Pyro, but I ended up not getting it this week.

[heckcareoxytwit]

The Alpha Flight are deployed by the anti-mutant government to arrest more mutants in Canada. Of course, the Alpha Flight members were reluctant and uncomfortable about this because their former mutant teammates (especially Northstar and Aurora) are their friends but they had to do their job in working for the government as a misguided attempt to keep Canada "safe". Thus the Alpha Flight are branded as sellouts/government stooges by both mutants and mutant-loving humans alike.

The Alpha Flight were about to arrest a mutant when they get stopped by Northstar, Aurora, Daken and Nemesis. Once the mutant resistance vanished, the Alpha Flight questioned themselves before flying away from the crowd. As they came back to Department H the government agency, the Alpha Flight get scolded by the new director for making a fool of themselves and failing to apprehend a mutant. Later in Krakoa North the mutant refuge at Manitoba, the young mutant was discussing with Northstar when the Alpha Flight came into the room. It turns out that the Alpha Flight had been playing as double agents all along as they pretend to work for Department H so that they could find out their plans on what they might be doing to mutants. The Alpha Flight informs the mutants that the Department H might start deploying their own Sentinels to hunt down the local Canadian mutants and the refugee mutants so they need to work fast in getting the mutants out as soon as possible.

Alpha Flight v5 #1, 2023

[monsieuroverlord]

November Solicits are up!

Source here

And BOTH Alpha Flight #4 and #5 are included!

Alpha Flight #4 Written by Ed Brisson, Art by Scot Godlewski, main cover by Leonard Kirk

"NO MUTANT IS SAFE!

ALPHA FLIGHT is boxed in by the very BOX SENTINELS they serve with! What secret agenda causes this schism within DEPARTMENT H, and how does it involve the mutants of Krakoa? Find out in the latest installment of the most surprise-packed series in the FALL OF X era!

PLUS: Discover the fate of the hero known as NEMESIS!"

Also a homage to the original Alpha Flight #4 variant by Rom Lim

Alpha Flight #5 Written by Ed Brisson, Art by Scot Godlewski, main cover by Leonard Kirk

"FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT!

As it all goes south in the Canadian North, can ALPHA FLIGHT at last stand united? Or will DEPARTMENT H shut them down for good? Don’t miss the conclusion of this FALL OF X epic, rife with sacrifice, SURPRISE APPEARANCES…and DEATH?!"

Homage Variant by Davi Go (my brain can't place it at the moment)

Nightmare Variant by Peach Momoko

[racefortheironthrone]

Hello. I was recently reading your "People's History of the Marvel Universe" series (an excellent read btw).

You made reference to critiques of Xavier and his political strategies, which got me thinking. Has anyone ever brought up the idea of a mutant advocacy group in the comics? Something akin to a NAACP, or an NGO? It feels like something that should exist, but I genuinely can't remember a writer ever attempting to create one.

This is an excellent question!

So I have certainly mentioned the issue in the past. If we think of the Marvel Universe as being roughly co-terminous in time with our own universe, as it was before the invention of the sliding timescale in the 90s, there should have been a mutant rights movement founded in the 70s during the "movement of movements" that saw the explosion of gay rights movements, women's liberation movements, environmental movements, etc. coming out of the 60s civil rights movement and New Left/anti-war movement. (I certainly would have been fascinated by how the All-New X-Men would have wrestled with the concept of "intersectionality" when it was brand-new coming out of the Combahee River Collective.)

In the comics, there have been sporadic mentions of mutant advocacy groups and NGOs - mostly in the context of campus organizations - but often very sporadically. Grant Morrison really changed the game completely by making X-Corp (a global mutant rights NGO) a significant element of his celebrated New X-Men run, and creators who followed their work have gone on to invent new groups with examples like Super Trans (a support group for trans mutants), Mutantes Sans Frontières (a mutant medical NGO), MUSE (a mutant rescue and shelter NGO), and Magnetic North (a pro-Magneto radical student group).

Whether the Krakoan Response Team (disaster relief) or the Marauders (refugee and black market pharmaceuticals) count as social movements or NGOs probably depends more on your theoretical perspective on social movements. Both organizations are state-sponsored, but aren't formal state institutions, but then again Krakoa doesn't have a well-developed political system. Most theorists insist that social movements have to be outside the political system, but I tend to agree with those who argue that social movements and political movements overlap, and that a lot of social movement work historically and today is done within the system of electoral politics.

[thevindicativevordan]

Following up on my question about the world as remade by the Maker, do you feel like the worldbuilding of the new Ultimate Universe is a bit… odd? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the North American Union was dissolved and anexed by three different territorries and there is no apparent political repercussion on the streets. In Ultimates #1, the moloids seem to be a persecuted species, but in Spider-Man #8 we found out that the Mole Man works for the Kingpin, who ultimately works for the Maker. I don't know, but sometimes it also feels like the Maker changed the world but not by that much? Like, it seems similar to ours but the narrative sells it as an all different world, with the heroes (initially) wanting to go back to how things should be. What do you think?

They want to have their cake and eat it. As you say, on one hand it's a world that has a widely divergent history from ours, but also it's recognizable as similar to what life is like for us. Yes it's a bit disappointing that there hasn't been a lot of Krakoa style data pages from Hickman to flesh out what life is like, but you would have to make that the focus of an entire book to do it justice. Besides, Hickman knows that the people who rushed to get USM are more interested in character relationships than the political dynamics of the North American Union. I think Camp is doing a good job showing us what life is like on Earth 6160, but I do wish we had gotten a book focused on the Council. If we had, that would have been the best place to explain how exactly this government system Maker created works in terms of how exactly do you split up North America between foreign powers without people rebelling.

[jakethesequel]

I really thought the end of the Krakoan Era of X-Books would cause a significant downturn in how many Marvel comics I keep up with weekly, but they've just got so many great writers on the payroll right now! Like, I've cut out all the X-Books except X-Men proper (which I'm only reading because of my longtime crush on Magik) after keeping up with everything during Krakoa, so you'd expect I'd be taking my Marvel more slowly, but just look at the lineup:

My man Jonathan Hickman killing it on Ultimate Spider-Man (honestly doing it better than 616 Spidey) plus apparently an upcoming Wolverine mini, and joined by rising star Deniz Camp on Ultimates doing real interesting stuff with Marvel hero archetypes (the recent issue touching on nuclear testing fallout in Polynesia reminding me of his incredible comic 20th Century Men, which is probably better than any Marvel comic mentioned here, go read it right now!) for a real dream team;

The always impressive Al Ewing keeping Venom's energy high following up a massive crossover event (a tall task), while also crafting a landmark run in Immortal Thor just like he did for Immortal Hulk previously;

Jed MacKay with the unenviable job of writing both X-Men AND Avengers after finishing his recent run on Doctor Strange, but despite those heavy hitter titles his standout work has been his several-year-run on Moon Knight (and spinoffs Vengeance of the [MK], Phases of the [MK]) which I think is going to be remembered as one of the character's better runs (despite it having to handle the leftovers of the controversial Age of Khonshu);

Garth Ennis (who can be very hit or very miss for me) back in his element on the Get Fury mini despite the success of The Boys' TV show, a MAX universe Vietnam war story with Nick Fury and Frank Castle, exactly the kind of thing you want Ennis writing (he's even so far avoided his unfortunate habit of transmisogynistic humour);

And certainly not least, Ryan North (of tumblr @ryannorth fame) on Fantastic Four, easily the best work on the title since Hickman's defining run in the lead-up to Secret Wars (2015), calling back to the weird-science-fiction-family-adventure vibes of the original run by Jack Kirby (...and Stan Lee, whatever...), and the only series on this list I actually went out and bought a floppy for instead of reading digitally (issue #7/LGY700, because I love Dr. Doom and North fucking nailed depicting his character, which is a trickier task than people expect), PLUS: the first two years/24 issues of this run has beautiful cover art by industry legend Alex Ross, what more can you need from a comic book!‽?

DC's got some good stuff coming out too (Zdarsky Batman, Spurrier Flash & Hellblazer, Russel/Allred Batman: Dark Age, personal fav JT4's Nice House by the Sea, and I always love Action/Superman), but the Marvel bullpen is just in top fuckin' gear recently.

[evilhorse]

It’s clobberin’ time!

[lovecatsys]

Some Random, unorganized, Academy X Headcanons

Because I've been thinking about them a lot lately, again.

More under the cut cuz this is really long, also cw for one headcanon that talks about self harm, grooming and sexual trauma (because. Kevin) it's the 7th dot.

Laurie should have a period of being besties with and being corrupted by Esme Cuckoo, this could take place either during or post Krakoa, or in an au where she doesn't die/m day doesn't happen, probably after the Garrison arc would have concluded.

Kevin has a slight southern accent, probably not super strong because he's from Atlanta, but enough to tell that he's not from the north. This goes in contrast with his style of course which makes it more interesting.

On naturally windy days, Sofia likes to train herself by going outside and immersing herself in the wind, and playing around with her powers, seeing how she can make her wind flow with, and against the natural wind. She likes to think of it as "flirting with mother nature." She even talks to "her" sometimes.

Brian playfully flirts with David when their squads still have a rivalry, long before David discovers his own bisexuality. He is completely clueless, has no idea that Brian is flirting with him. Sometimes this pisses Julian off, usually because HE'S supposed to be the one who has a rivalry with David, but when its a little more rude, they often play off of each other. This only adds to David's insecurity about himself, along with confusing him.

Nori has a lot of difficulty with relationships after she and David break up. She has an on again, off again thing with Julian that's really messy and toxic, mostly fueled by older teenage horniness and the close bond they develop post M day. She struggles with trusting that the people she gets close to aren't going to die or get terribly hurt, so she either pushes people away or clings to them really hard in an attempt to protect them. When Julian loses his hands, she's not only incredibly devastated but she begins to avoid him and push him away even more, which furthers his own complex about losing his hands, thinking that she's avoiding him because of his disability.

Nori also explores her sexuality as she gets older, becomes progressively more masculine, gets an even shorter haircut, probably an undercut, and has a lot of casual sex with a bunch of her female classmates, but never allows herself to get close to them or for it to mean anything other than meaningless sex to get by. While she tries to wear her sexuality with pride, she's still insecure about it, and thinks of her relationships with guys as more meaningful than those with girls, mostly because she's still scared of getting too close and losing them. She finds it easier with guys to pull off a complicated relationship like the one she has with Julian. She deeply longs to have a healthier relationship with a girl or a boy, like the one she had with David, but she's convinced herself that it's not safe because of the trauma she's endured.

I don't think Kevin should learn to control his powers, kind of in the same way I don't think Scott should ever lose his visor. But I think he would grow into learning how to live with them. I think he has a really complicated relationship with his own body, which was furthered by his sexual trauma from Selene. I think it also takes him a LONG time after he's resurrected to not think of Selene as like. the love of his life, because of the grooming and also because he craved the fact that she could touch him. I think Kevin also struggles with self harm, the fact that no one can touch him and he has to keep himself covered most of the time makes it really easy to get away with, and because of his complicated relationship with his body, he takes comfort in it. I think it would take a really long time and a lot of therapy for him to unlearn this habit like it would for him to learn that Selene had abused and traumatized him.

More on the first thing in the last note: I personally ship Kevin and Josh as endgame, and while I think their relationship would be unhealthy and weird for both of them at first, I think they could grow to be very healthy for each other. I imagine they would have a specialized house built with as few organic materials as possible, and if they had biological children somehow, their children would be immune to Kevin's powers. I think they would both work at some sort of mutant clinic, figuring out how to use their powers in tandem to cure cancer and other diseases, while Josh works there full time doing other things, Kevin would only do part time and spend his spare time making his industrial art. I think as he improves, his art would become a reflection of his pain. Frida Kahlo is probably his biggest inspiration, though she painted instead of sculpted.

Julian was able to bounce back from his bad post schism era with Emma's help at the start of Krakoa, I imagine she kind of fished him out of the gutter and helped him start his life anew, attempting to make up for the way she neglected him when the X-Men first moved to San Francisco. He mostly went along with it at first because of the promise of seeing Sofia again, but he becomes sold when he learns that Brian is going to be resurrected. (Also, meeting the OG Hellions was a motivator for sure, but he's a little disappointed when he learns that most of them were just nice, chill people, except for Empath, who he likes at first, but then upon learning how Truly awful he us, despises.) Brian's resurrection ends up proving to be not what he had hoped, because Brian is still a teenager, and is overwhelmed by how much Julian has changed, how much older he is and how all the traumas he went through after Brian's death affected him. When Sofia returns, they get back together very quickly, and while they both have pain about what they both endured after M Day, it gets easier and better for them quickly.

Jay and Laurie become closer after they've both been resurrected, they can both relate to the disconnection from their friends and previous romantic interests due to the age gaps and gaps in experiences. I think they could end up becoming one of those couples who you don't necessarily think would be into each other at first, but they just become close and it ends up working. I think Jay could be a very forgiving person for Laurie, especially because he was never personally attached to the drama she had with Josh and Kevin. I think he could also make her better in a weird way, and she could bring out a much happier side in him.

When Kevin is resurrected on Krakoa, I think he is isolated from the hellions and other academy x kids at first; they all try to forgive him and help him out, but he simply isn't ready to be helped yet. He doesn't want to believe that he was a victim of Selene like they all say, and he hates that they try to treat him as such. Emma however, feels incredibly guilty for what happened to him and as he was like a son to her before m day, she invites him to live in her castle and has a specialized room built for him with no organics. He mostly isolates himself there, especially because the island is almost entirely organic. While there, he interacts with Julian a lot, and while they try to avoid each other at first, they end up becoming like brothers, and Kevin likes interacting with him more than the other people because he doesn't treat him like a victim or walk on egg shells around him, he says things like they are, despite his own guilt complex about what happened to Kevin. Emma considers them both to be like the sons she's never had, so she encourages them to be close again as well.

When Selene is elected onto the council, Emma sends Kevin off of the island, not telling him why, but he agrees to it because he's tired of being cooped up on an island where he can't do much. She pays rent for his apartment, while he goes back to getting a job in a junk yard, and taking online high school classes so he can eventually go to art school. Julian visits him occasionally to hang out, even though its awkward, he's the only person that Kevin allows to make an effort to spend time with him. (Emma is able to keep Kevin well shielded and safe during the Orchis nonsense, of course.)

Okay I'm gonna have to continue this in reblogs lol. See the rbs for more!

[weirdsciencecomics]

Alpha Flight #5 Review

Written by: Ed Brisson Art by: Scott Godlewski, David Cutler Colors by: Matt Milla Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham Cover art by: Leonard Kirk, Edgar Delgado (cover A) Cover price: $3.99 Release date: December 6, 2023 Alpha Flight #5 concludes the team’s mutant refugee adventure when Alpha Flight has no choice but to blow their cover to save the inhabitants of Krakoa North. Is Alpha Flight…

[katatonicimpression]

Hopefully you can help me with something i've been stuck on for a while, is Monet American? I know she was born in the Balkans but the dialogue seems to suggest that was during a holiday so I don't know if she actually lived there or not. I know her parents aren't American either but I could never find any information about where her family grew up (obviously her teens are spent in the states but before that I have no clue).

Not remotely. But thanks for asking!

The Balkans line is an Easter egg alluding to an alternative, discarded backstory for Penance. But yes, they were on a trip (holiday or work thing for her dad).

She grew up in Monaco (very small, very wealthy country on the Mediterranean, bordering France). Her dad is Black and French, and an ambassador. Her mum was Algerian and also wealthy.

Monet spends a couple of years of high school in the US (I.e. during the events of Generation X). After that she's been shown to move between Paris and New York and (more recently) Krakoa. It's implied that she considers Paris to be her primary residence still.

English is at most her third language (after French and Arabic, possibly others). She'd probably speak with a french-ish accent, and her dialect would be more European than North American, as she learnt before she moved. And she'd definitely pronounce her name the French way (rhyming with "excusez moi?"), not the American way (rhyming with "boy").

[darkholme]

Hii! I hope it's okay to ask but, do you have any current series recs that would be a good place to start for reading comics from recent releases? I had a look myself and got super overwhelmed ;-;

its totally okay to ask, but the truth of the matter is that there is no right way to start reading comics! i know they're intimidating and can be hard to navigate at times, and there are definitely "easier" starting points than others, but there is no one true correct starting point. if you like a character or a team, start at an issue one or at an iconic story line and go from there!

if that's still too overwhelming, there are tons of guides all over the internet that help put things in a more organized order: i have a tag for some here.

but since you asked for my own recommendations: the current books that i am most enjoying are fantastic four by ryan north (which is actually a good jumping on point if you want to start reading FF!), scarlet witch by steve orlando, immortal x-men by kieron gillen, and x-men: red by al ewing. however, i don't think i would recommend the x-men books to a brand new reader just because they make the most sense if you have read the entire krakoa era starting from house of x/powers of x from summer 2019. (also the krakoa era has been... interesting. lol)

comics that have just started today (8/23) that i am already loving are jean grey by louise simonson and the immortal thor by al ewing. for slightly older comics (as in they were released and finished in the last few years), ewing also wrote the immortal hulk which is one of my favourite comic series of all time - highly recommend it and the run can be read without having read any hulk comics prior.

hope this helps!