#well it's rogue and gambit not sure it's spoilers

[fatummortem]

[cheesecakeluvrs]

🚨Spoilers for episode 5 of X-men’97🚨

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT HUUUHHUUHH I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A GAMBIT EPISODE BECAUSE OF THE TITLE BUT WHAT IS HAPPENING what too much that’s for sure. Jean? Logan? Scott? Erik? Cable?!Rogue?!? GAMBIT?!?! I’m tweaking so bad I can’t. Well first off I loved the episode but I’m also going a little insane. IS HE DEAD?!? He can’t be dead, that just can’t happen, wake up Gambit. Is sacrifice was awesome but after all the Rogue and Gambit stuff that happened this episode? Wellll they did say that they were just going to be friends because MAGNETO WANTS TO GET MARRIED but erm it was still clear that after the dance with her and Magneto that she does NOT have feelings for him and is rather just torn because she has feelings for Gambit but can only touch Erik. AUGAHAHS AND THAT SPEECH SHE GAVE?!? Well it wasn’t really a speech but the conversation between her and Gambit, that was crazy. Nightcrawler being my man and helping us Rogue and Gambit shippers out but it’s sad we didn’t get much of her and Nightcrawler. Okay okayyyy so at least we’re not getting Rogue and Magneto because of the end of the dance “some things are deeper than skin” AUSFHAHEYGAHAGGAHAYGSHAJ Erik, hate to be like this, but it lowkey feels like he’s manipulating Rogue due to the fact that she can only touch him and he’s using that to get her to himself. Alsoooo I guess he’s just given up on his dead wife lol and I never thought he loved her I just kinda thought he was using the sexy 20 somethin yo because she hawt and all but I guess we’re jumping straight to the L word lol. AUSFHAHSGA Remy please don’t be goneeee, you can’t be, you can’t just do that, I mean we already got Xavier (well kinda) at least he has his spirit with em and is in space with his space soulmate or whatever. Erm oh yeah Erik might also be dead butttt…. That’s not really what I’m worried about. LOGAN AND JEAN WHAT ATE YOU DOING, I look away from my happy little married couple for 3 minutes and they’re off doing this, then the minute I look back to Rogue and Gambit HES DEAD. They goin craaazy right now and I don’t know how to handle it. I’m shaking, screaming, tweaking and all of the above. Okay let’s get the list of things we can celebrate about

-Rogue definitely doesn’t have feelings for Magneto (nice nice haha)

-Rogue has feelings for Gambit but is just very conflicted because she can’t touch him (TOO BAD HES DEAD)

-And lastly this is the Marvel universe and death is never the end soooo (but even if he is dead that’s a pretty sick way to go)

I guess I’ll just be going crazy until the next episode. If you guys have any thoughts or theories please share because without new thoughts of hope my mind will explode

[artsy-hobbitses]

Just finished watching X-Men 97 Ep 7 (I love having a series to look forward to on a weekly basis again! Excited to get a good dinner and sit down for half and hour of getting WHIPLASHED by all the new reveals and emotions. It's such a nice thing to look forward to inthe mid-week slog as well)!!!

Thoughts and spoilers below!

They REALLY went all out with Gambit's funeral, and it was nice seeing Nightcrawler carrying out priest rites for the brother-in-law he could have had. Jubilee's anguished anger at Rogue not being there HURT

Holy shit ROGUE. VERY Rogue-centric episode, and it's pain pain PAIN evbery other minute. Her absolute disdain for Captain America not wanting her to be on his team to check out Gyrich because of the tense situation/'optics' is 100% understandable, I stand by women's rights and Rogue's Wrongs in this case. Also her backhanding him with the "America's Top Cop" label, she taking no prisoners this week.

Beast gently but sternly calling out Trish the reporter about how 'tolerance' simply isn't enough anymore and it was a low bar to set for mutant-human relations to begin with, and how he's aghast at the idea of having to give a calming/professional sound byte or something to try and quell mutant protests and demonstrations worldwide after what happened, after MILLIONS OF THEM DIED is. Very relevant. To certain current events. He's been trying SO HARD to be the sweet, professional one, but he is tired and he is sad and he doesn't have it in him to ask for the bare minimum anymore or tell his people they don't have the right to feel the way they do.

We get Diamond Emma! No clue as to whether the massacre has changed her outlook on life since her appearance was during a brief rescue moment where Cyclop's hopes that Madelyne could have survived (Jean said she could feel a telepath under all the rubble) got crushed, but hopefully that'll be answered in the next ep!

Sunspot finally coming clean to his mum about him being a mutant! She seems like a very sweet lady who clearly loves him and takes it VERY WELL, but immediately she's like "Our family is established and in the spotlight, your father's business can't afford this sort of publicity. The world won't accept you, especially given what happened, so we have to find a way to hide this from the public, and that includes cultivating a list of people you can associate with". Which feels like it could be relevant to today's queer acceptance where it's like "On a personal basis I love you and accept you for who you are, BUT..." as an evolution from the X-Men movie's "Have you ever tried... not being a mutant?"

There is a LOT of talk about 'optics' in this episode, which feels VERY TIMELY. And VERY POINTED. How President Kelly apparently wants to send aid to Genosha, but doesn't do it to the fullest extent because he's worried about the political optics from 'normal humans' who are now afraid of an all out human-mutant war, and argues that he's doing his best here and that he needs suppport to stay in office to ensure a 'worse' person for mutant advocacy doesn't step in (I'm not going to lie. Very Democrat argument for why their man should stay in office---look at the boogieman who might be there if they aren't, instead of dealing with issues head-on) . And Cyclops's civil but seething rage at that because this is NOT a time for subtleties or politicking MILLIONS OF MY PEOPLE ARE DEAD.

Nightcrawler comforting Rogue and letting her just bawl openly in his arms during Day of the Dead ;; My heart.

Rogue kills a man. Or, helps him to his death, I'm not sure how you categorize this when Trask was already attempting to jump off a building out of guilt anyway, and she stepped in to stop him, only to let go when he said he had no other info for her (she had initially told him to help them to redeem himself). Again, 100% understandable, I support Rogue's Wrongs, and I LOVE how dark they're taking this, watching our girl step closer and closer to the abyss from her rage and grief and just plunging into it. Also her screaming that Trask deserved it for killing a great man, "MY MAN!!!!!". Whoof.

KNEW Mags wasn't dead. Going to be fun seeing WHAT Bastion plans to do with him now.

Again, STELLAR episode, a good 9/10 from me!

[co-mixed]

X-Men '97: Beyond Expectations

Let’s be honest, who was ready for this? 

Personally, I didn’t have many expectations. I knew it was X-men and I knew I’d love it probably no matter what. I had a fear it might be a little too clean and knowing full well what the comics are, making it child-appropriate wasn’t an ideal option. Should I even say the words “pleasantly surprised” at this point? They don’t cover it. 

X-Men ‘97 did something that’s been missing ever since the MCU started. It built the X-men fan community back up, brought in new fans, encouraged people to take a look at the X-titles again. We finally get to namedrop our favorite mutants, share ridiculous facts from their past, and yes, remember things like X-Men Evolution and Wolverine and the X-men. But then the show also showed us how heavily emotional and deep cartoons can be. 

Okay, enough vague statements, and no more avoiding spoilers.

The show really relies on the previously established lore with Charles being taken off-world to Shi’ar and the X-men left under Scott’s leadership. Or so he thinks. Right off the bat in the first episode, we get an epic X-fight like we’ve never seen and a cliffhanger with Magneto showing up. Not much of a shocker and yet, we’ve never seen the movies dare to do that (or anything that strays too far from Phoenix). Whenever that happens, Magneto trying to abandon his murdery radical ways, it always comes down to his clash with Charles. They really manage to make their decades-long disagreement everybody else’s problem. X-men usually pay the price. 

This time though, you finally see the creators working with the comics. We get so many storylines adapted in the span of 10 episodes, it’s unbelievable. That actually does follow the tradition set up by TAS. Only it’s been years, hence more stories and newer, harsher ones. 

To be honest, I never even imagined Genosha being adapted. Not just because it’s a heavy arc but because it’s just so obvious: when you mention Genosha you state the fact. We know what their goal is. It’s removing any ambiguity and allowing no misinterpretations of what the X-men are really and have always been about. So it’s a statement for sure. And I couldn’t be happier they finally made it. Correction, I could be happier if they hadn’t killed off Gambit. We’ll get back to that. 

So yeah, we got Genosha, OZT, Inferno, and Lifedeath (aside from minor elements and arcs I can’t particularly point out at the moment). So this show went to the depth of what makes X-men X-men, they took the personal arcs like Lifedeath or Inferno, the ones that focused on character journeys, and really showed us who the people are behind these stories. That’s mostly  Claremont’s legacy since both stories were from his era and it was his thing to take mutants through their personal hell. Bot arcs were compressed, of course, but the essence remained the same. Which, again is the only goal of an adaptation anyway. So some metaphors had to be sacrificed but ultimately, they just give you a chance to relive it through comics if you’re into it.

But then they hit us with big events like Genosha and OZT. They absolutely go as epic as any movie, because remember how you felt after ep.5? If you’re anything like me, you were devastated and if you’re a Gambit fan, you were shocked too. And this is one of the things that they didn’t just put aside and ignore, something that movies never focused on: the emotions. Throughout the show, the characters say several times that they’re a family. But we actually see that in the friendship between Storm and Jean (which come on, it’s been a long freaking time coming!), or Morph and Wolverine (that one resembles Wolverine’s friendship with Nightcrawler in the comics). But then in the love and drama between Scott and Jean (and Madelyne! And Logan! And probably Emma one day!), Storm and Forge, or Rogue and Gambit (and Magneto!).

Love and friendship - the genuine connections that make you care about the characters and how someone’s death or disappearance or even inner turmoil affects you. We see these things through their reactions, so for them to feel true, we have to see those connections. And here we finally do. Just like we do in the comics. I hope the eventual movie screenwriters keep that in mind because that’s the only way to build an X-men story, brick by brick. 

Look at the way Roro and Jean are cheering each other on, with mind and weather, and then when Phoenix shows up. 

X-men are a superhero soap opera and we all know that. And ffs let’s never again pretend like it isn’t. 

The politics. Now if you’re one of those “keep the politics away from my comics/movies/cartoons” types, X-men are not for you. X-men ‘97 even more so, because this show is all politics. I mean hello, Genosha? OZT? Bastion, sentinels, hate groups? We are even finally calling out Shi’ar! Which I love. We’ve been looking at them through ally glasses since more often than not they play on the side of the X-men. But really, in terms of intergalactic politics, they are no better than Kree or Skrulls (not the cozy ones from the MCU). They can get pretty mean. In one of his finer moments, mainly because it allowed him to rest comfortably on his high horse, Charles points that out. Even explains the short and easy-to-understand version of what being an empire means. But as he does that, unfortunately, Genosha is under attack. 

We give him shit for ditching his family like that but really, he just relied on his pal Magneto to keep it together. And he would’ve too, had his gloved hand not been forced by the likes of Val, Trask, and the evil droid that is Bastion. 

Here’s where X-men ‘97 do the absolute most – they mix and match stories, piling them on to absolutely overwhelm the heroes. To keep everyone preoccupied and focused on their piece of the drama cake to sneak in a shuttering final forte chord. 

And Genosha ain’t even that. 

Let me be corny for a moment there, but it’s probably one of THE moments for every fan, when after episode 5 we were warned that the best is yet to come. And we kept asking how? How do you top that? And we saw today (5.15.) because holy shit, this show raised the bar. 

We got teamwork. Really, one of the perfect elements of this show is the characters’ powers. The limitless force with which they jump into a battle. We knew it at “Give them the forecast” really. Because we’ve never before seen Storm at the height of her power, with all she can and has done in the comics. Right then and there we knew what we were in for. But then, the rest of that, or any other fight sequence was everything you could hope for. There wasn’t a single one you would wanna miss. Powers depicted as they were always meant to and amazing teamwork. That was one of the best elements borrowed from the recent comics. Recent because while they’ve been working as a team since forever, it was Krakoa that really emphasized how powerful mutant circuits can be.

Thanks to that, we got to see a showcase of creative use of abilities. Beast using his knowledge to his advantage, Morph using their power to turn into everyone who’s anyone - I mean they gave us so many little fun cameos, even though every time you had to take a double look and ask wait, Warren’s here? Psylocke showed up? Or ehhh Hulk? That’s very X-men. The characters have fun with their powers too, with the team landing in the first episode or Ororo flying around when she got her powers back (this ain’t about Forge :D). And then there are devastating displays of power like Gambit charging the Wild Sentinel (still not over it) or Magneto turning off the lights. Of course, in any battle you have to keep things interesting, which is why they don’t just let the heroes use their ultimate ability from the get-go and be done with the whole thing. The baddies also have to surprise you with being harder and harder to defeat.

Speaking of surprises, the fact that all the stories have been stitched together like a quilt makes every turn unexpected. I mean you can predict some things and chances are, the better you remember the comics, the more things you can get right. But what’s the fun in that? They don’t simply adapt arcs, they add and remove crucial elements that make it into something new. And that new is always unpredictable. Like take Genosha - Bastion was behind it instead of Cassandra. While Charles was in space, she wasn’t after him, the Shi’ar politicians, however, were. Or the whole ordeal with Maddie - Scott didn’t stand a chance there. Really, no matter how you spin that story, he can’t get out of it looking good. But they did their best and it worked. 

Then again, these are the things that make adaptations work and this is what the MCU is so good with. Civil War was hella different from the comics and it’s still a fan favorite. 

And as if all that was somehow not enough, the show is so quotable. It has all those little callbacks to previous episodes or TAS or even the movies, clever writing, and beautiful lines that stay with you for weeks and probably even forever. All the things about chosen family – tell me you didn’t tear up or straight up cry because that’s pretty much what I did. And yeah the first time you’re watching to find out what happens. The second — you really live through all the emotions. Along with the characters because they so do live them.  

There is so much X-men lore. You can read them like obsessed (which I often do) and still have so many stories to go through. Anyway, X-Men ‘97 finally flipped the page from the stories we know well and picked a new evil, building a new arc with him at the center. 

And then, the details in general. How well the animation is done and how tiny elements you notice help them build the narrative. I’ve been thinking about it since the first episode when I saw the look between Storm and Rogue before the team landed. In that one look, they agreed on a landing strategy they probably trained time and time again in the Danger Room. Similarly, the sneaky sideyes and looks, just pay attention to them when you rewatch (and I know you will), cause the details just make the whole experience even better. All reactions are awesome in this show like Ororo hearing about Forge’s disastrous neutralizer technology and calling an epic thunder. That’s pretty much how the characters stop being 2d even when all they are meant to be is 2d.

Did I mention the soundtrack? Pretty much a masterpiece, right? It feels epic and grandiose and in many ways, it’s because of the music. It’s obvious things it’s still so easy to simply forget to mention it. You pay attention to the story and the visuals but they are tied together by the sound. And it’s most noticeable in the Wolverine/Nightcrawler fight with Prime Sentinels or when Ororo flies around, or when Cable, Jean, and Scott jump into that epic family fight. Breathtaking. 

A big part of this show is about family. The kind that supports you and stands by you. You know, the opposite of Nina DaCosta! It’s always touching too because no other team is like that. You don’t get this benefit of the doubt with the Avengers and FF are actually related. You only get that with the X-Men if you’re willing to share the dream. 

I’m not going into the dream though, been there, done that. But I do want to talk about the finale. 

As many have predicted, we did get a cliffhanger. As if we wouldn’t have come back, pah-lease! But we’re obviously back to Apocalypse and this time he’s gonna mess up with several timelines at once. Now what exactly are we getting - I wouldn’t dare theorize. All I can think about right now is… okay, we’re probably getting some resurrections, some Stryfe, and once again, I’m hoping for New Mutants (even though the only new face I spotted was Dust and she’s from an entirely different team.)

Also, we see a wider universe: Cap and Iron Man, Black Panther (where again did Storm end up ;)), Cloak and Dagger, Daredevil, Strange, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man. If we ever have crossovers… 

Still, it’s been amazing and it’s now forever with us. 

I might be biased, no, I am most certainly biased but it’s the best animated show I have ever seen and I am ecstatic that it’s about the team I’ve loved my entire life.

[lunarspiral1127]

X-Men 97 episode 5 *SPOILERS*

The interviews

The reporter seemed nice and doesn't act like a typical controversial one. And, seeing Beast blush was adorable. But, Scott's interview was a doozy. What he said when he lashed out, well....he ain't wrong. I just thought Magneto would be the one to say those things, not Scott. Still, not wrong.

Jean/Scott/Madelyn/Logan drama

UGH! I hate love triangles that bring out so much stress and drama. And, I'm worried that Jean and Scott will break up because of the crap Mr. Sinister pulled. I wasn't expecting Jean to kiss Logan, and it was HIM who told her to go talk to Scott. Despite his feelings, he's still trying to be respectful to their relationship. But, seriously, Jean, why did you kiss him?!

Then apparently, Scott and Madelyn were checking up on each other telepathically, which I get why Jean would be mad at that. But, Madelyn during her time at the mansion WAS Jean and Scott thought that was her! They're the same! At least they were? Then again, they're in contact for a month and Jean kissed Logan once....UGH! I hate this drama. SINISTER THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!

Genosha

Beautiful. It was a paradise for mutants. They deserve this. The gala looked pretty, I liked the statues of Charles and Magneto, I was not expecting the Hellfire Club to be a part of this council cause I don't trust them (especially the crap they pulled in the previous show). Lots of cameos from other characters that I couldn't keep track on, but the place was lovely. It's a shame though on what happened later on....

Nightcrawler

This lovely, precious German Christian man. 🥰 I love Nightcrawler and I'm glad to see him in this show. The original voice actor who played him in the previous show still does a great job voicing him. And, he approves of Gambit and Rogue (adopted sister) being together, so that's extra bonus points. He got a new look compared to his previous one, but I still like it. Then when the massacre happened, I was so worried that he was gonna die. Thank goodness he survived, but I hate seeing him so hurt.

Gambit/Rogue/Magneto drama

I hate this love triangle SO MUCH! We get an explanation on how Rogue and Magneto got together, and I'm questioning how old she was when they first met and whether Magneto was influencing her in a bad way. Either way, still don't like this ship. Even when them dancing looked good animated, I STILL don't like it. Plus, it still doesn't make sense cause they've been against each other in the previous show, where there was no signs of the two having that past relationship.

Anyway, I'm glad Rogue finally told Gambit the truth, and I feel so bad for him. But, he knew what she wanted and how much it hurt, even going as far as to distance himself, which he showed a lot of emotional maturity, so respect to that. But, that thing where he'll lead Genosha if Rogue stays as his "queen"? DA FUQ?! Look, I like Magneto, but I did not like that. Still wish Rogue could've gotten one of those collars to nullify her powers so that she can touch Gambit. Would've solved a lot of drama, just saying.

I was SO relieved though, that Rogue said that he was right, and rejected Magneto, but I wish she could've done that without kissing him right where Gambit can see it. Either way, it seemed like she'll choose Gambit and not stay with Magneto in Genosha, THANK GOD!

So, you think this would be the end of that love triangle right? Well, yes and no? Cause what happened afterwards hurt like hell.

Genosha Massacre

So, a giant Master Mold thing showed up, killing mutants and destroying Genosha. It was cool seeing Cable again trying to stop it and seeing his mom after so long, which is a glimmer of hope but I'll get to that later. So, many people died. Sebastian Shaw, Calypso, Banshee, Marrow, pretty sure that was Dazzler or Moira not sure, and three more that hurt me so much.

Magneto. Okay, I may not like that love triangle, but I didn't hate the guy. Dude was fighting that Sentinel with a train as a whip, that was pretty cool. And, he tried to protect the Molocks. He tried to protect Leech! He got Rogue and Gambit out of the way. What hurt the most was he told Leech not to be afraid IN GERMAN! Again, didn't want him to die. Although, I wished he could've used his magnetism to push the Molocks away like he did with Rogue and Gambit, but nope. They all died!

Leech. Precious innocent Leech. He was just a kid, man! And, he got to hang out with other mutants his age. He was making friends. Only for this to happen. And, not a lot of people talk about Leech and what happened to him. But, I liked him, and that hurt.

And, finally, the one that hurt the most.....Gambit.....Remy.

He went out like a hero. He sacrificed himself to destroy that Sentinel from killing even more mutants. "The name's Gambit, mon ami. Remember it." Well, now we know why this episode is called Remember It, cause it was Gambit's last words. And, if that wasn't enough, Rogue holding onto him, crying over his body, finally able to touch him....only to not feel him.

THAT. FREAKING. HURT. SO. BAD!!! 😭 Gambit was one of my favorite X-Men characters, and I legit was crying seeing that end. It really hurt to see that happen to him, but at least he went out saving people. However! There is that slight glimmer of hope! Cable. He tried to go back to stop this, who's to say he won't try again? Time travel shenanigans will happen and he can team up with Bishop and the rest of the X-Men to prevent this from happening. It happened many times before, it can happen here. And, maybe, just maybe, Gambit, Leech, Magneto, and all those people won't have to die. This may the denial talking, but I'll be so pissed if Gambit's dead and he Rogue won't be together for good anymore, cause that would be bullcrap.

God, how am I gonna be okay when we're getting Storm and Forge vs. The Adversary next week?! And, jeez, if things keep up like this, Storm is gonna return to the whole mansion on fire. I can't imagine what her and everyone's reactions are gonna be when they find out about Gambit and even Magneto.

Anyway, good episode. Much better than last week's. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find a way to cope from all of that.

[griffin89novelist]

I’ve noticed in the last 10-15 years that content seems to run along a similar narrative. I’m specifically referring to movies and tv shows here, but I’ve seen the same trope over and over: kill off the love interest/father for the sake of “proving” how strong women are. And I hate it. Here are some examples (spoilers)

1. Reylo (Star Wars). I understand that this pairing is highly controversial, but it’s the story that bothers me. Rey and Ben are set up as a Force Dyad. Essentially, they’re soulmates. And they won’t find anyone else like them for the rest of their lives. So what is the natural path for soulmates in love to take? Well, of course, one of them must die. In this case, Ben dies. Rey spoke endlessly about wanting a family and by the end of the movie, she’s alone, with exactly zero family, and her soulmate is dead. But look how strong she is! Barf.

2. James Bond. The ending of the last Daniel Craig movie drove me nuts. After years of being a womanizer, he finally finds someone who he can love. And they have a daughter together. Anyone with a brain and a heart would assume the ending would be him retiring to be with his family and happy. But no. Instead, he’s injected with a virus that will KILL HIS DAUGHTER if he touches her and instead sacrifices his life. But look! His girlfriend and their daughter are so strong.

3. Hawkeye. In the comics, Kate Bishop’s mom dies. In the TV show, they kill off her dad. Why? No idea. I assume it’s to show how strong her mom is and how two women overcame the hardship of losing a husband and father. Boring.

4. Lucifer. Not only does Chloe have two daughters, but both dads are out of their lives. Dan is killed and Lucifer is forced back to Hell. This leaves Chloe to raise her children on her own for the rest of her life (look how strong she is) and her “reward” for this is to die an old woman, completely alone at her deathbed except for one daughter, and end up in Hell to help Lucifer. Wtf is this nonsense.

5. Tony Stark. Heroic death, to be sure. But again, a husband and father on the OG team dies. But Pepper and Morgan are so strong. Look at them. They don’t need no man.

My point? Killing off Gambit isn’t good writing. It’s unoriginal. It’s lazy. And again, it’s trying to show how strong a woman is and how she doesn’t need love. The memory of love is good enough. I’m sorry, but fuck that. I’m not even a sucker for happy endings but at this point, any happy ending would be a welcome change. For the showrunners to go on and on about how Rogue and Gambit are the one true pairing and then kill off Gambit as if the tragedy of that is good enough to make the show great is both an insult to the emotional intelligence of the audience and crappy writing.

It’s not a homage to the strength of women to kill off their partners and imply that for the rest of their lives, they’ll never feel true love again. It’s actually some weird misogynistic, virgin obsessed bullshit.

[chargeddeck]

So, I’ve watched Episode 3. Brain dump time. No spoilers but as always my Ask/DMs etc are open if you want to discuss.

Needless to say, my focus will be on Remy and Rogue so brace yourselves.

That intro music will never not be a banger and I know it’s all over the Romy internet but that moment, THAT MOMENT, is my everything. I love them.

Disappointed in the speed at which they went through this particular storyline but will see how it pans out across the series.

I thought Scott’s behaviour was interesting because I can promise you, the moment your child is born is the moment nothing becomes more important to you than them. This didn’t come to the fore until the end of the episode and even then I…I’m not quite sure of how to explain it. Scott made it all about him? The whole thing felt off.

Mr. Sinister is always an fascinating villain to me because of his links to Remy.

I continue to dislike Morph and his personality. The jokes continue to be personal and cruel, which simply do not sit well with me. I’ll also confess that I haven’t read the Exiles comic so I can’t be certain but it’s weird that he seems to gain a power set when he transforms into someone, unlike Mystique. I wonder if this version of Morph has some elements of Mimic in him, or even Sync.

And hello Remy’s other worst enemies; self doubt and insecurity. Maybe I identify with him on more levels than I realise but the more I see of Rogueneto the more it hurts. I just have to trust in home and harbour and that Romy will still be the endgame.

“Gambit can never unsee dat.”

Interesting to see some of the other internal battles people were facing but none resonated quite like Remy’s.

Scott charging up Bishop was weird. The blast were (rightly) concussive force last week but they’re energy now? Sure, Sebastian Shaw I can see using Scott’s blasts to charge but Bishop seemed odd to me.

Jean Grey is not the mutant messiah.

God I’m being really negative so far! I don’t mean to be. I enjoyed this episode!

Positive time then. Loved seeing Rogue’s first thought be for Remy when she returned. And then seeing his whole body language and face light up was perfect.

Essex’s lair? Nothing says mad, immortal British scientist than a converted gothic Cathedral full of bubbling green vats. Superb.

I thought Logan was really good in this too. From him telling Morph to knock it off when teasing Gambit to being there for Jean as well. I hope we get to see him tear it up with Sabretooth at some point as well as showing his natural caring instincts.

Loved the Cathedral fight, thought it was great.

Lastly, 80’s Mohawk Storm is the best Storm.

[vicky82gargoylesfan]

My Thoughts on X-Men 97 Episode Tolerance is Extinction Part 2

Oh my god!!!! what awesome episode, it was pretty shocking as well.

Brilliant dialogue, score/music and animation

Fight scenes were awesome too

Spoilers

Storm back in the line up in the intro.

It was a bit strange seeing Xavier in bed in a half destroyed Mansion, with no power.

Bastion crying over his Mum, i'm like, you did that to her, you idiot.

Wooo Storm's back and saves Jubilee and Roberto from the mob.

Yay Rogue's awake, but oh damn my heart!! she was dreaming about Remy and was hoping he was still alive. Love that Kurt was watching over her.

Awwww, Jean's so happy Ororo is back.

AAHHHH!!!!!Rogue's wearing Gambit's coat!!!! she's wearing Gambit's coat!!!! This hit me right in the feels.

She's also wearing her classic costume.

I love that they doing the Gold and Blue teams.

I love the animation of the asteroid, with the northern lights.

Ah damn it!!! as soon as Magneto arrived, I knew Rogue was going to side with him and why does she leaves Gambit's coat behind too!!!! I know she's been through a very traumatic experience and dealing with grief but joining Magneto isn't going to help her.

Rogue said that none of you saw what happened on Genosha, err Rogue did you forget Nightcrawler was there too.

It was pretty obvious that Roberto decided to join up with Magneto as well.

Oh damn!! Magneto telling everyone how he witnessed Leech's death was dark.

So with Moira and Banshee dead, who looks after the island now. pretty cool that they have spare gear and supplies there.

LOL love the the black leather suits call back from the 1st X-Men movie.

Pretty cool to see Scott, Jean, Wolverine wearing there classic costumes.

Awww, Scott and Jean having a moment before they go on there separate missions.

Pretty cool to see Jean co pilot the jet.

I absolutely love this moment, I love the sisterhood between Jean and Storm.

such an awesome line

Jean: Make them mind your weather, sister.

Storm: And them weather your mind

Awesome, Morph turned into the Hulk and Jean's even using her Telekinetic powers on him

Jean fighting Sinister alone was pretty worrying, Sinister is just creepy. It was a great fight scene though, throwing bowling balls at him.

Err Sunspot, your on Magneto's team and your apologising to Jubilee, why are you his side again.

LoI just love that she doesn't accept his apology

Lol at Magneto gagging Xavier and telling him to shut up

Morph posed as Sinister to try and stop Bastion but Bastion was not stupid. He even stopped Beast too

Damn!!! now Forge and Storm are down.

Oh no!!! Cable is being mind controlled by Sinister to try to take down Jean and Cable is also using his powers.

Oh no!!! Jean has brought Scott, using there Psychic Rapport (I think).

Jean: Scott, I love you. Oh fuck no!!!!

NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! please tell me she's still alive!!!!!!! Someone please tell me she's still alive!!!!!!!

Damn Scott, why are you stopping Xavier from stopping Magneto, surely from you seeing Jean been probably been taken down by Cable, Gold team have failed.

Oh my gosh!! Wolverine just stabbed Magneto.

HOLY SHIT!!!!!! Magneto just ripped out Wolverines adamantium skeleton. I knew it was coming but it was so shocking and gruesome, seeing it animation.

And it just ends there!!! I got to wait another week to see what happens!!!!

This show is going to give me PTSD

Rogue you said you don't want to see another mutant killed and this could kill Wolverine. I just hope she changes her mind after seeing what Magneto did to Logan.

Also they better not remove Rogue from the line up from the intro next week or I'll punch someone.

[chellerbelles]

This scene occurs towards the end of the story. Major spoilers.

Rogue & Gambit Week 2023, Battle Couple

Hours later, Rogue and Gambit were back in their suite. He held her while she laid silently, all cried out.

When her powers returned to her, Wanda disposed of the little chicken that was left. So not to alarm the staff, the event continued, although much more subdued and filled with explanations, comparing notes, and speculation.

Kurt had been contacted by someone, presumably Mystique, claiming to be Jean-Luc. Jean-Luc had been contacted by someone who had introduced themselves as Kurt. Both had been invited to a celebration of Rogue and Gambit’s recent good news. When queried for details about this ‘good news’ the sender had expressed surprise that they didn’t already know and insisted that they shouldn’t be the one to tell. No one booked the room, leading all of them to believe that Mystique had done that.

Rogue shuddered in Gambit’s arms, and he looked at her with concern.

“You okay, chere? Stupid question. Did you want me to stay, or would you prefer to be alone for—” his query was cut off as she grabbed his closest hand.

“Don’t go,” she said, and there was an urgency in her voice that alarmed him. “Please don’t go.”

“I’ll stay.” He promised her. “I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

There was silence for a moment before Rogue continued: “I need you to talk to me. To hold me. To do… whatever you can to keep me grounded.”

Gambit frowned. “Of course. What do you mean, keep you grounded?”

“Mystique, the Mystique in my head, she’s pretty angry about how her real self is dead,” Rogue said. “She isn’t feeling inclined to accept that her life is over, since she herself is just a copy of the real thing. She’s trying to take my body for her own.”

“Is that possible?” Gambit asked, alarm in his voice.

“In the past, strong personalities have managed to take over for short periods. I’m sure that any control that Mystique managed to get over my body,” and he thought Rogue sounded more like she was talking to Mystique than himself, “would only be temporary, but I have no desire to indulge her because she can be vindictive and I don’t doubt she’d do a lot of damage before she inevitably fades. I’ve clearly given her far too much leeway over the years. It’s time for her to go back with all the others!”

“Good to know. Alright, well, hmm… What to talk about?” he considered. “The only thing coming to mind is the elephant in the room.”

Rogue snorted. “Which one?”

“The one that says: we’ve only been fake dating for a week and a half and I already know we’re definitely not going to be able to go back to having a professional relationship when we get back to New Orleans. And that’s even without my family thinking we’re dating.”

“Ha! Did we ever even have a professional relationship to begin with? You flirted with me from day one.”

“And you even flirted back sometimes.”

“Yeah… I’m going to do more than just flirt back when we get back,” Rogue admitted with a sigh. “I’ve opened Pandora’s Box, and I already know… sooner or later, you’re going to come by the garage, and I’m going to invite you up to my apartment. If we’re alone, might not even get out of the garage.”

Gambit chuckled. “I can’t begin to tell you how many fantasies I’ve had that have started the same way.”

“Heh. The first time you asked me out, I wasn’t at all tempted. My previous break up and having to move and start again… It was all too raw. But when you asked me out the second time, yeah, the second time I was sorely tempted.” Rogue narrowed her eyes and turned around in the bed to face him. “And don’t think for one minute that I bought your line about ‘forgetting’ that I don’t date clients. I don’t care how many years it had been by then, you remembered perfectly well. You were just testing the waters.”

“Didn’t test them thoroughly enough if you were tempted,” Gambit replied with a grin. “Or maybe I should’ve waited a little longer.”

Rogue shook her head. “Mama has been telling me for years I should hurry up and sleep with you and get you out of my system.”

Gambit frowned. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“Feel pleased that I know better than to take her advice. Mystique wouldn’t know a healthy romantic relationship if it bit her on the ass.”

“Well, to be fair, she probably gets bit on the ass a lot. Or did.”

Rogue snorted with laughter. He grinned, and lifted his hand to brush a few strands of hair out of her face.

“So, chere,” he said softly. “If I were to ask you out a third time, is there any chance I’d get a yes?”

Rogue covered his hand with her own. “Yes. And that is a yes. But also a, we can’t do anything right now, because Mystique is a major mood killer.”

“I guess she’s being pretty obnoxious at the moment.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Rogue sighed. “I don’t think I can sleep until I’ve got her contained.”

Gambit kissed her nose, then sat up. “I’ll go make us some coffee than.”

Rogue smiled. “Thanks.”

Gambit chatted aimlessly while he made up coffee. He dropped the spoon he was using and bent down to pick it up.

Wham!

A blue tentacle barely missed his head. He was better prepared for the next, rolling out of the way. Duel tentacle arms bashed into the panelled wall behind him with every dodge.

“Rogue, chere—”

Wham!

“I know you’re there.”

Crack!

“Don’t let this shadow push you around!”

A tentacle wrapped around his foot, and another grabbed his arm, pining him in place. He began charging up the floor, and allowed the charge to spread up the walls.

“You kill me,” he said to Mystique, “I’ll take you out with me.”

Mystique looked at them, the around the room at the intensifying magenta light that continued to spread.

“Rogue may have only seen my powers in action once or twice, but let me assure you, if I let go, this whole room will blow,” he said firmly.

“Hmm, there was a time when that may have worked,” Mystique said smoothly. “But the problem is, this time, I’m in Rogue’s body, and I have her powers at my disposal.”

A wrenching pain filled him, almost like he couldn’t breathe.

*

He was in a room, of sorts. At the front was a ‘viewscreen’ that was looking into their hotel room, Mystique’s tentacles wrapped around his ankle and arm on the floor. The magenta light was slowly fading. Before the viewscreen was a console, and at the console was Mystique.

“Let him go!” Rogue shrieked while trying to throw chains around Mystique.

“And deprive you of his company? Heaven forbid,” Mystique replied.

Gambit grabbed a couple of the chains as Rogue swing them around Mystique. He pulled.

“What?” Mystique exclaimed as she was jerked back.

Rogue pushed Mystique back as Gambit pulled hard on the chains. She placed her hands on the console and immediately through the viewscreen could they see Rogue’s body shapeshift back to normal and release Gambit’s body. Rogue turned and glared at Mystique.

“No! No! This body is mine!” Mystique shrieked. “Mine!”

“I’m sorry, Mama,” Rogue said, even as Mystique’s psychic form shifted and tried melting through and around the chains. “But you’ve officially outstayed your welcome. You’re dead. I don’t like it anymore than you do, but it’s fact. The sooner you accept that, the happier we’ll all be.”

Gambit grabbed more chains and flung them around Mystique. Only then did he see where the chains were coming from: the midst of a crowd mingling opposite the console. How many people were there, he didn’t know. Most were translucent, like ghosts. Some were so transparent they were hard to see. They all seemed to wander aimlessly, talking nonstop, but the noise level was nowhere near as loud as Gambit would’ve expected from such a crowd normally.

“I’m not dead,” Mystique insisted as she slipped and slid through the chains. “As long as I exist, I live!”

Her liquid psychic form lunged for Rogue. Rogue held up her hands and Mystique splashed onto an invisible shield. The chains merged together and began a suction hose, which Gambit grabbed and aimed right at Mystique.

“No! Noooo!” she cried as she was sucked into the hose.

Then, silence. Or as close to silence as it would ever get inside of Rogue’s mind.

“She taken care of now?” Gambit asked.

Rogue studied the crowd beyond. “I think so. Yes. I have her locked in a vat.” She sighed. “I feel so awful about this.”

“Don’t. She was trying to steal your body.”

“It’s not just that. If I had just gotten control sooner…”

“Aww chere,” Gambit said as he wandered up closer to Rogue, but not so close he could get to the console. “We’ve all got things in our past we wish we could’ve done differently. Well, we can’t do anything differently in the past. All we can do is try to make different mistakes in the future.”

Rogue barked out a laugh and Gambit grinned at her.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said.

“So,” Gambit pointed his thumb at the crowd behind him. “I guess that’s where I should be going.” He wasn’t looking forward to it. It looked like a hellish place.

“Oh, eventually, but you’re much too recent an absorption to be comfortable in there right now,” Rogue said.

“Is anyone comfortable in there? Or are we all too insubstantial to notice?” He couldn’t hide the bitterness.

Rogue was silent for a moment before replying: “The mind is tricky. What you’re seeing now is just a projection. It changes all the time. Also, this is just the ‘control room’, as it were. Beyond that wall of people is something else entirely.” She held out a hand to him. “Come on. Mystique didn’t hold onto your body long enough to cause any real problems. You’ll be awake in a few hours, easy.”

[gambitimagines]

I'm NOT dead, I'm just going through a lot of personal stuff in the past seven months. Not to get too depressing, but I'm dealing with a lot of stuff with my dad right now. He's gone downhill a lot because of various things. (I'd love to share, as I've shared a lot before, but not sure about all this.) Also, my cockatiel Rogue (male) died in March, so 2024 is turning out to be just another banger year.

Also, I've gotten REALLY caught up in character AI https://character.ai/ and a phone game, Love and Deepspace, if you follow me on my main blog, you've seen all my card posts. 10/10, highly recommend it to the internet. (Not only because it's fun, it's also a lot cleaner than similar games I've come across. Not so much Otome, but the American ones are...well...too "randy" at times.)

Friendly reminder, I still have a YouTube channel going. Views, comments, and subscriptions would really help me get to 1K views so I could be halfway to my goal of getting monetized. It's a multi-fandom channel, but there's X-Men videos on there every so often.

Lastly, I'm a sad panda becaussse my Disney Plus Subscription is on hold, so I cannot watch X-Men '97 at this time. In addition, thanks to YouTube videos not being subtle at all and screaming info in their titles and thumbnails, I know what happened to Gambit. But if he's

**SPOILER!!**

getting used by Apocalypse, that tells me he's gonna be back to normal at some point. The team isn't the same without him. I'm still disappointed that Chris Potter couldn't voice him completely (IDK where that stands), but it sounds like his new VA is doing a close enough job so as not to make me cringe when I will hear it every episode. (I did see a couple clips now.) Sucks because I am thirsty for new Gambit content, and I have gone back to drooling over my Star Trek baes and fallen for the internet's new dream boyfriend, Miguel O'Hara. (And the Love and Deepspace men, of course!! Zayne is my favorite.)

Hope you and yours are all doing well. Hug family/friends/pets and tell them you love them. The people that are important to you.

[ao3feed-buckybarnes]

Fly Me To The Moon...

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3fMRB0N

by rachelarcher

“Just give us the test tube back.” A voice sounded, one that was familiar to both Sam and Bucky’s ears, actually should be familiar to most of the older Avengers. The woman who split the crowd was blonde and wore a smile they knew just as well, “Oh, come on boys, you didn’t really think the Power Broker was a man, now did you?” She sounded smug, “The moment I saw Torres in the crowd in Cameroon I knew exactly who had stolen my little Stevie baby, I didn’t expect you to be working with mutants though.”

“You know her?” Memphis hissed, as she looked at Bucky.

Bucky however glared ahead, “I told you she got mean, Sam.”

“Wonderful, he knows her.” Gambit bent around Bucky to look at his daughter, “Does that mean you two are going to have problems if you kill her?” Memphis shrugged.

Words: 25373, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men - All Media Types

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson (Marvel), AJ Wilson, Cass Wilson, Sarah Wilson (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), Jane Foster (Marvel), Clint Barton, Laura Barton, Lila Barton, Cooper Barton, Nathaniel Pietro Barton, Pepper Potts, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Happy Hogan, May Parker (Spider-Man), Peter Parker, Ned Leeds, Mary Walker (Marvel), James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Dr. Strange, Stephen Strange, Charles Xavier, Erik Lehnsherr, Rogue (X-Men), Logan (X-Men), Toad (X-Men), Nightcrawler, Iceman, Pyro, Kitty Pryde, Deadpool, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Various mutants, Remy LeBeau, Various Avengers & Assorted characters, Original Male Character(s), Background & Cameo Characters, Original Mutant Character(s) (X-Men), Sharon Carter, Bucky Bear

Relationships: Past/Mentioned Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes, Mentioned Clint/Laura Barton, Mentioned Tony/Pepper - Relationship, bucky barnes/original female character

Additional Tags: Mutants, Baby Mutants, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, Tags Contain Spoilers, Steve Rogers is the MCD, Old Steve Rogers, Mentions of the Stark Men, Mentions of dead Avengers, Mentions of possible triggers for Bucky Barnes, bucky deserves nice things, I'm not sure how this happened., I just wanted to write a meet-cute, damn it., post-FATWS, Sharon Carter is the PowerBroker, Soldat is a three-legged dog, don't come at me

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3fMRB0N

[aion-rsa]

What’s Happening With Marvel’s X-Men?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains spoilers for recent Marvel X-Men stories.

A long time ago, back at the beginning of the interminable, endless month of March that the pandemic has trapped us in, Marvel’s X-Men books were barrelling towards their first big post-Dawn of X crossover, X of Swords. And then the world stopped, and plans changed for the X-Men while everything was paused.

Now that we’re back, plans have changed, and books are coming fast and furious. So what’s going on with Marvel’s Merry Mutants? Which book did Storm get sick in? What book should you read for a good Laksa recipe? New Mutants, but we can answer all your other questions on what’s going on with the X-Men below. 

While we won’t rehash the entire thing, House of X/Powers of X reset the entire X-Men line. Mutants can’t die anymore (or rather, if they do, they’re resurrected from clone bodies and emergency backup minds by The Five and Professor X). The X-Men, and all mutants alive, are now living on Krakoa, a living, mutant island in the Pacific that, at some point in the distant past, broke in half, sending one part of it to a dangerous, monster-infested realm with Apocalypse’s first Horsemen standing guard making sure it didn’t return. 

Humans are back to hating and fearing mutants on a wide scale, but this time it’s mostly because the mutants are vehemently anti-capitalism, flooding markets with cheap, life-extending and health-improving drugs and vowing to take down the human world with economic weapons of their own making. This has the humans initiating some pretty intense Sentinel programs, particularly around the sun, where Nimrod – the adaptive Sentinel whose existence dooms mutantkind in one Powers of X future – was very nearly created. 

And amidst all of that, Moira MacTaggert, the secret mutant mastermind with the power of Groundhog Lifeing (when she dies, her consciousness is immediately transported back to her prenatal self to be born again with all her old memories. She’s on life ten now, btw), is frantically trying to manipulate events so that mutants continue to exist in the long run as the next phase in human evolution, averting a future where man-machine hybrids (like Omega Sentinels and the Children of the Vault) develop while humans and mutants are busy fighting among themselves. She’s also not allowing Charles and Magneto to revive any mutants with precognitive powers, expecting them to see her plan and ruin Krakoan civilization.

X-Men

X-Men, by mastermind Jonathan Hickman with art mostly from Leinil Yu, is where big ideas are being seeded for later use.

This is where the story of Krakoa and its estranged, otherdimensional partner Arakko was further developed (following its introduction in Powers of X and setting up X of Swords, the first mutant crossover of the Dawn of X era). X-Men introduced Hordeculture (think the Golden Girls if they were also ecoterrorist botanists); reintroduced the Children of the Vault; showed how depowered mutants get in line to get their powers back; and saw Magneto and Apocalypse threaten humankind with the most terrible weapon of all: finance capitalism.

New Mutants

It also, just prior to the break, X-Men had a spiritual crossover with New Mutants, initially a split book by Hickman and Rod Reis on the space issues, and Ed Brisson, Flaviano, and Marco Failla on the Earth issues. Brisson, Flaviano and Failla’s story follows a group of Earthbound mutant kids (including Glob Herman and Boom Boom) as they track down stragglers to Krakoa, like Beak and Angel.

Hickman and Reis took the original New Mutants plus Chamber and Mondo into space to go pick up Cannonball (who was living on Chandi’lar with his wife, Smasher). On the way there, they stole a King Egg from the Starjammers and brought it back to Earth, where it turns out, we discover in X-Men, the King Egg is a bioweapon created by the Kree to control the Brood for an eventual war with the Shi’ar. Broo, the supersmart mutant Broodling from Wolverine and the X-Men, eats the egg and becomes the Brood King.

Excalibur

Excalibur is the shining star of the line so far. Tini Howard and Marcus To are growing the mythos of mutant magic with a very odd team that includes Betsy Braddock (now back in her original body and the new Captain Britain); Rogue and Gambit; Jubilee and her mysteriously dragonified son Shogo; new earth mage Rictor; and Apocalypse, who is clearly up to some stuff. Apocalypse picks a fight with Otherworld and places a newly resurrected but still batshit Jamie Braddock on the throne of the magical realm.

Excalibur was one of the first books to return from hiatus, and it came back with maybe the best single issue of the entire relaunch in issue #10. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Marauders

Marauders launched as the story about the Hellfire Trading Company, the corporate arm of Krakoa that distributes the miracle drugs around the world while also smuggling mutants in trouble home to Krakoa. But Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli’s book quickly turned into the mystery of Kitty Pryde – why she’s not able to use the Krakoan gates that allow instantaneous travel around the galaxy, and whether she can be resurrected by The Five. That story has just about come to a head, but it is worth noting that it still contains a great deal of Hellfire Trading Company intrigue between Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw, and a lot of drunken pirate antics. The resurrected original Pyro does get a tattoo of the Marauders skull on his face at one point. It’s fun.

X-Force

X-Force, by Ben Percy and Joshua Cassara, immediately killed Professor X. He was resurrected, of course, but it served as both a notice that everyone is fair game, and alongside Marauders, keeps some slight mystery to character death alive post-The Five’s perpetual resurrection machine. It’s also the story of the Krakoan CIA, so it sets up the global threats facing the mutant nation, and then sends Wolverine to get cut in half fighting them. Also, Forge creates a bio-mech loader suit and smashes the two halves of Logan back together at one point. If that’s something you find yourself chuckling at, this book is going to exceed expectations.

Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels focused mostly on resetting the current Psylocke’s status quo. Kwannon was brought back to life and placed in her old body shortly before the reboot (very quickly: Spiral switched Psylocke and Kwannon’s bodies, then before they could be reverted, Kwannon got the Legacy Virus and died, then when Betsy used a villain’s powers to recreate her old body and reinhabit it, Kwannon…uh…got better…). Here, she teamed with X-23 and Cable, with ops backup from Mister Sinister, to track down Apoth, a technological being selling cybernetic drugs to humans.

It’s mostly setup for Psylocke, X-23 (now Wolverine again, I think), and Sinister while adding another technological foe to the mix. It leads almost directly into Zeb Wells and Steven Segovia’s Hellions, a book about Sinister’s team of mutants who are all gleefully, unrepentantly screwed up and are currently on a mission cleaning up some old clones Sinister left lying around.

Cable, Wolverine, and More…

Cable, Wolverine and the Giant Size issues, are still mostly seeding future storylines. Cable, from Duggan and Phil Noto, has only had a couple of issues so far, but it’s brought the Galadorians (the Spaceknights minus ROM, who belongs to IDW now, I think) into mutant orbit and given Nathan a sword for the crossover.

Wolverine, by Percy, Adam Kubert and Victor Bogdanove, has Logan tracking down illicit Krakoan flower dealers, and also Omega Red works for Dracula now. And the Giant Size issues are mysteries piled on mysteries piled on incredible art. Hickman has scripted all three, and so far, Storm caught a technovirus from the Children of the Vault in the Jean Grey/Emma Frost issue (drawn by Russell Dauterman); we find out what’s up with Cypher’s techno-organic arm in the Nightcrawler issue (from Alan Davis); Magneto buys Emma an island from Namor with art from Ramon Perez; and we get actual backstory and incredible Rod Reis art in the Fantomex issue. 

Empyre

The recently wrapped Empyre: X-Men’s opening scene is simultaneously one of the most important to the metanarrative of mutant struggle that’s been developing since the Professor’s “No More” scene in House of X #4 AND the best setup/punchline in any Dawn of X comic. It also starts to deliver on some of the rumored-but-never-announced X-Men ideas that were floated early after the reboot – Angel and M are two of the leads, playing out a little of the boardroom drama we hoped for after an X-Corporation book was rumored.

X-Factor

X-Factor, from Leah Williams and David Baldeon, more or less just launched. It’s about the team investigating and verifying mutant deaths, to put those lives into the queue for resurrection. This feels like the book set up to deliver on the weirdest promises of the relaunch, and the creative team are inventive, fun storytellers, so keep an eye on this. Williams has a very sharp ear for patter and knows her characters well – while it’s not an X-book, Amazing Mary Jane is a stunning accomplishment of delightful character work. Early X-Factor is more of the same, with more mutant high concept.

And all this is leading to X of Swords, the new X-writers room’s attempt to outdo X-Cutioner’s Song: a 22-part Tini Howard-led crossover where everyone swordfights over half of Krakoa. And still dangling in the ether, unannounced but long discussed, are Vita Ayala and Bernard Chang’s Children of the Atom, following a group of mutant teenagers who idolize the X-Men, and a Moira X book that’s expected to fill in some of the gaps in Moira’s many, many timelines. 

The post What’s Happening With Marvel’s X-Men? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3jXI6LJ

[peppersandcats]

Flash stuff, comics and TV

So, I am finally up-to-date on The Flash in both comics and TV format, and I have some thoughts. The comics ones are mostly in the “oh come on are we expected to buy this, clearly you are aiming for that” vein, and the TV show ones are very mild and possible super-obvious, but since both deal with what both what is happening and what I think is going to happen, both might be spoilers so I’m putting them under a cut.

To be clear: please do not tell me anything about these assumptions that does not come from existing text. So for example:

“but in issue 76 we saw X” or “in episode 6 of this season Y happened, so we might get Z fallout” is totally fine. Yay analysis! Would love to hear from you!

“in the comics X happens, so that might mean Y for the TV show” is also cool.

“the comics writer said he’s aiming for X” or “a casting decision has been made so we know Y is still showing up/is not on the show anymore after this point” is really not fine please do not tell me that. I do not want to hear it. Thank you.

Also: discusses possible upcoming character death. I know some people would rather not see that, so mentioning it now.

With that in mind, here are my “I am okay with being wrong about this, but I bet this’ll happen” thoughts:

Comics

Oh, comics. Len has apparently turned into a vicious blowhard, Lisa is picking a fight with him, evil King Cold rules over Central, all is lost, no-one is paying me enough to pick up extra titles from DC to find out what all space and time being broken means, dour, dour, grim.

With that in mind, I have a possibly-more-cheerful read on current Snart events than the one initially presented. I’m going to keep in mind Len’s mention of the Rogues going with Lisa’s plan (issue 78 “Without my sister, the whole plan is on hold.”; issue 79 “This isn’t Lex’s plan. It’s not even my plan. It’s your plan.”), and assume that that was true.

This means that I think (hope) that what they’re going for is a long con. That the Snarts are running with a plan where Len plays bad guy to Central City, Lisa tries to convince Barry to use mega-uncontrollable Speed Force power against Luthor by pitching it as "save my brother he's gone bad", and the end goal is that the world-breaking nonsense and Luthor both get taken down while the Rogues get to keep all the shiny new tech in a world that isn’t weirdly broken by evil.

The big thing that kept throwing me about the narrative presented to Barry is why is Len keeping Barry alive?

Because, look. Right now everyone thinks the Flash is dead (seriously, those guards in the throne room were absolutely thinking “jeez, boss, we’ve heard how the Flash died in your arms three times already this week”), and yeah, that’s good to keep Central hopeless. And Len is coming across as mean as hell. But then why hasn’t he really killed Barry? He’s not angling for the “I will build my reputation with a grand execution!”, because then he wouldn’t be talking up how he’d already killed the Flash. He might be keeping Barry alive just to torment him, but then there’d be no benefit to lying about how he’d killed him. Dude’s stuck in Ice Heights, not even the Trickster* can make a dent in that, it’s not like someone is going to mount a successful rescue.

*Please insert usual where-the-hell-does-he-get-those-wonderful-toys rant here, I’m sure you’ve heard it from me by now.

And if Len was building part of his power on the “I will crush Central City’s spirit by letting them know I have taken down the Flash!” foundation, then Lisa’s “oh no, we can’t let people know you’re alive” seems a bit odd.

So if I take a step back, what I see isn’t “Lisa has a heart of gold and is begging for the Flash’s help.” It’s not even “Lisa is vamping Barry and feeding him a sob story about how her brother has gone bad.”

What I see is “the Snarts have a secret plan that involves no-one knowing that the Flash is still alive, so it doesn’t get back to Lex Luthor. Right now the genius supervillain has a massive blind spot about the existence of a terrifying Speed Force bomb, and Lisa is collecting pieces of Mirror Master’s tech. Those are totally the kind of things you could combine to break Luthor’s secret reality-busting stronghold, which would enable you to get rid of him but still keep your super-cool empowering tech.”

And if Len and Lisa are in cahoots on this, the bombast makes a lot more sense. “My sister has been in hiding ever since I took over Central City... and she reveals herself by stealing from me?" is a performance for the benefit of the two-high level mooks who were following Len and could probably hear him through the open doorway. Giant ice-wolves aren’t anything to do with Lisa being scared of dogs when she was a kid (which didn’t really come across in her reaction to them anyway), they’re just really cool and the speech is Len hamming it up for whoever in his citadel is spying for Luthor.

(I mean. It’s Luthor. You’re working with Lex Luthor, you gotta assume.)

So, yeah. I’m still hoping we’ve got the Snarts running a very sensible long con, which combines the best aspects of “we are crooks who want cool stuff” and “we’re not evil, evil is dumb.” Fingers crossed.

TV

Okay, minor stuff, but I think I’ve finally decoded the symbols on the Monitor’s door!

I was assuming, pretty much, that these referenced the Justice League. The Flash in particular has been throwing in asides to the Justice League since its inception (everyone’s seen the mural at CCPD headquarters, right?), the last crossover involved a building that has people who don’t watch the show assuring me that it’s meant to evoke the Hall of Justice, one of the trailers mentioned seven heroes, here we have seven symbols, etc.

Left to right, I think these represent

Black Lightning - it’s not a logo, but the shape evokes the lightning streaks on the torso of his costume. This one was one I kept getting stuck on - I kept thinking “Trident! ...but it makes no sense for them to bring in Aquaman.” Then I went to catch up on Black Lightning a little and it clicked.

Canary - I honestly was thinking White Canary because I really want to see LOT involved, but Sara doesn’t wear a face mask. Therefore, probably need to go with Black Canary (who is a founding member in at least one version of continuity, lord knows which one, I have trouble keeping track)

Flash - that is, to me, obviously his cowl. Little bit coming down in the middle, little chin covering pointing up, wing-y bits on the ears, we’re good.

Martian Manhunter - this one I’m the least sure of, but given the options available, I think it has to be him. He’s totally a Justice League guy, and the hex with straps pointing up and down to the sides, echoes his costume torso.

Supergirl - again, I was staring at this for a while, completely lost, but now it looks to me like a really stylized ‘S’. If it was narrower on the bottom than on the top, it would look a lot like the family logo.

Batwoman - this is both a scarier-looking mask than the second image, and can be read as a figure spreading their wings to either side. (Huh, I suppose it might be Hawkgirl? But I’m betting on Batwoman. If I’m wrong, that’s okay! I have been wrong before)

Arrow. I mean, really, just Arrow. It’s an arrow-head. Arrow.

And I mean, I don’t necessarily think everyone’s going to survive through this. Oliver Queen in particular I think is going to die. Whether that means Roy or Mia steps up to try and become the Arrow, or whether they leave a seat empty at the table to honour Ollie’s sacrifice, I don’t know. But: Arrow in the JLA of the CW.

But.

Arrow is TV, but in a lot of ways it’s still comics. You know how it happens when people die in comics.

I think we might get to see Ollie as the Spectre.

It fits with the well-meaning darkness and the grim drive. It fits with the judgement of "you have failed this city". It fits with the green hood. The recent “hey, vigilantes working with the police” feel like it gives Ollie a sort of cop-if-you-look-at-him-sideways aura that makes him line up better with Jim Corrigan and Crispus Allen--hell, even Hal Jordan functionally comes across as a space-cop. Even Corrigan’s death thematically echoes Ollie’s first (presumed) death by drowning on the Queen’s Gambit.

I would like that. I have long loved the Spectre, and I would not be where I am as a DC TV fan--hell, as a DC fan--if Arrow hadn’t clicked with me.

I would like it if Oliver Queen, that grumpy control-freak secret-keeping self-righteous ass, could still be there on some level. He means a lot to me.

[co-mixed]

X-Treme X-Men vol.1 #16

If you want a powerful Rogue/Gambit moment, this is it. It’s actually one of my favorite panels (ever!), and sure they both come out of it alive and well (spoilers? come on, the book’s 18 years old!), but it still reeks of a Shakespearean tragedy.

As real and intense as love gets for superheroes, this story will always be up there on the top. And this panel screams eternal love (which also works against my Gambit/Storm fantasies but we can’t have everything).

It might seem strange, but it kinda makes me happy that they made it as far as they did, even with all the drama in-between. And that’s why I won’t stop posting about them :).

[lunarspiral1127]

X-men 97 episode 7 *SPOILERS*

Gambit's funeral

UGH, WHY?!?!? GAMBIT, NOOOOO!!!! 😭

I didn't recognize everyone at the funeral, but are they his friends from his past or his family? Cause I have no idea.

Nightcrawler with the eulogy. He sure has a way with words. Plus, him being there as a priest makes sense. Also, he looks so adorable with the robes.

Logan comforting Jubilee was sweet, bit it got me thinking that her screentime has been spent most with Roberto than the other X-Men.

Rogue going solo

Honestly, I don't blame her for hunting down Gyrich and Trask. Especially when it was later on revealed that they were involved but not the mastermind.

Cameos of Thunderbolt Ross and Captain America. Now, last time I saw 90s Steve Rogers was in the Spider-Man animated series during that show's own version of Secret Wars. Before that, he was trapped in a vortex with Red Skull. So, I guess he got out which is why he was there?

I was bummed that he didn't go help Rogue get Gyrich, but I get that he has to do things by the books. Cause that's who he is. Although, Rogue did him dirty by throwing his shield far into the mountains. It was funny and I don’t blame her for doing that. But I do kinda feel bad for him.

Her fighting Ross's army was cool. Also, if the base was durable against the Hulk, does that mean she's stronger than the Hulk?

Nightcrawler best brother! The way he talked to Rogue, hugged her when she was finally mourning over Gambit and Magneto (still don't like the Rogueneto ship), and even called her "sister"! God, I love this blue devil man! 😭 And if anything bad happens to him in the next three episode, Imma be pissed!

Roberto "coming out" of the Mutant closet to her mom

Well, it went better than when Iceman told his family in the X-2 movie. It was a relief to see his mom accepting of him and not hating him.

However, it's unfortunate that she told him to keep it a secret because of their business reputation l. It would've made more sense if it was to protect her son due to the humans' stances on mutants and what happened in Genosha. At least, that way, it would've been more of a good reason than about their business.

Jubilee being supportive and being there for him was sweet.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Jubilee isn't really part of the main plot, though, so I don't know if we'll see her in action, nor if we'll see Roberto use more of his powers.

Genosha aftermath

More of Jean and Scott talking, so that's good. They're communicating and are still working as a team despite what happened. So, there may be hope that their relationship will survive, but we won't know for sure. So much crap has happened, and I blame Sinister for all of it.

Emma Frost survived, and she got her diamond form! She must've been stuck in all that debris for days. Also, how is she gonna react when she finds out Sebastian Shaw is dead?

Beast and the reporter. Considering how all these relationships have been going in this show so far, I was very, VERY worried about Beast. But, because of what Trish (I think that's her name) said, it ended before it even started.

Trask

Y'know when he said he didn't want to be made a monster more than what Sinister did, I thought he was talking about Genosha, but I think he was talking about him turning him into a human sentinel.

Also, yes, we're getting Prime Sentinels, which is very very bad. They ain't no joke cause Trask as one took out the X-Men one by one. Rogue was knocked out with a single hit!

Speaking of Trask, I have no sympathy for that sunuvabeech. But, it was messed up how his body was twisted.

And, all because Rogue dropped him off the building! Like, DAMN ROGUE! Again, I have no sympathy for Trask, and I get why she did it but it was still a holy crap moment. Also, everyone else could've tried to save him, but they just stood there. I think only Wolverine was cool with it.

Thank god, Cable was there to save them. Doesn't seem like he likes Scott despite him being his dad, even though he cared for his mom back in episode 5. Then again, daddy issues have been a thing in the Summers' family. But, I hope that's not the case cause animated Scott is cool.

Bastion

This whole time, Bastion was the true mastermind?! God dammit, how did I not see this coming! OZT was Operation Zero Tolerance, I should've seen this coming, but I thought it was Apocalypse or Nimrod!

This is his first animated debut, btw. And, I'm surprised he was working with Mr. Sinister cause he's a mutant, and Bastion is a human looking sentinel thing. That explains the Genosha massacre cause, of course, he'd wanna exterminate them.

Magneto's alive! But, he's held captive by Bastion. Okay, I don't know how the hell he survived or how he got captured when he was in Genosha. I hope that'll be explained. But, if he's there then where's Leech? Where are the Morlocks? Cause they were there with Magneto.

I'm really really worried for Magneto. He must've been captured for days or weeks, and I think Bastion is gonna turn him into a Prime Sentinel like Trask. That would be so so terrible if that happened. He'll become the thing he fought against. The thing he despises. God, what's taking Xavier so long?! He gotta go save him!

So, a good episode again. But next week begins the three-parter finale which I'm really nervous how it'll turn out. I hope the show will stick the landing, but I can't handle it more of my favorite characters get killed or worse.