Would Sage have worked if she hadn't been Tessa?

**Tenebrae** · 07-13-2005, 09:32 PM

Some of the talk in the Thunderbird III thread got me thinking about Sage. She (along with Emma) is one of the few new members of the X-Men who has stuck in recent years. She may not be with the team currently, but she served with them for some time and there isn't a sense that she's likely to disappear into limbo and never be seen prominently again, as there is with characters like Lifeguard and Cecilia Reyes. She feels, I think, like a real X-Man.

So, it can be said that Sage is a success and, on the surface, you could argue that this is because she already had a history in the X-world as Tessa, Xavier's spy in the Hellfire Club. However, she was by no means a major character before joining the team as Sage and received little serious character development as Tessa. It strikes me that Sage works as an X-Man because she has a strong personality, unusual powers, and has developed interesting relationships with other X-Men that are unconnected to her past and, I think, that's the reason she's a success as a character.

So, do you think I'm right? And therefore does that mean that new characters can be introduced into the X-Men successfully and that the Thunderbird III/Lifeguard/Slipstream/Maggot etc pattern of new characters failing is just coincidence? Or do you disagree? Would we have been accepting of Sage if we didn't already know her as Tessa?

**mattbib** · 07-13-2005, 09:45 PM

I agree that without the Tessa backstory that Sage, like so many other new X-Men, would likely have not lasted.

**chicainery** · 07-14-2005, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by mattbib

I agree that without the Tessa backstory that Sage, like so many other new X-Men, would likely have not lasted.

d.i.t.t.o

It's more of an "oh, I recognize her!" moment than a "hey, this new guy/girl sucks, they're trying too hard" moment.

**milhouse123321** · 07-14-2005, 12:18 AM

Can't really comment, I HATE Sage.
My least fav X character EVER.

**North** · 07-14-2005, 12:56 AM

while it wasnt also being new that killed off lifeguard/slipstream/maggots time

they kind of sucked

And yeah Sages past history with the Xers did make her a lot ooler to have in the teams.

Who was the last new charcter to be made a regular member anyways?

**MrBiggs7** · 07-14-2005, 02:42 AM

Yes Sage would have worked if she wasn't Tessa first. She was thrown into a situation where she was given a more important role. Slipstream/Lifeguard/Maggot were just role players there for firepower or just for that one story-arc.

**Blackcat** · 07-14-2005, 03:02 AM

Originally Posted by North

while it wasnt also being new that killed off lifeguard/slipstream/maggots time

they kind of sucked

And yeah Sages past history with the Xers did make her a lot ooler to have in the teams.

Who was the last new charcter to be made a regular member anyways?

To be honest I think she was accepted by the fans because they knew her and she had a long history. She wasn't a 'major character' she was a sidekick of Shaw, but never had a big role on Hellfire Club. You could compare her to Ms. Locke (Artcade) or Lian Chen (Shadow King).

I thought it was a great thing when they gave her a totally new role and a long history in X-Treme. Because they did this, I think most fans excepted her as 'a member of the family'.

Other characters that get introduced always seem to have to prove themselves over and over again before most fans 'accept' them. Come on guys, you have to give them a change. When a wrtiter doesn't develop a character good enough, maybe another writer will do a better job later on.

Sage is a 'frontline' character. T-Bird, Slipstream, Maggot etc are more 'sidecharacters'', like Dazzler and Longshot once were.

Cecilia and Marrow are more developed characters now and I like both. To me it seems a new character barely get a change from the fans nowadays. The 3 X-Treme characters just need some more time, but at least give them that time/ change.

**darknessatnoon** · 04-29-2008, 01:58 PM

I'm just really glad that CC "gave Tessa a chance." In my mind, she has a lot of potential.

**claimtosubclaim** · 04-29-2008, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by darknessatnoon

I'm just really glad that CC "gave Tessa a chance." In my mind, she has a lot of potential.

Um, didn't Claremont create her? It's not like she was a pre-existing character who went into limbo, and CC dusted her off and gave her a second lease at life. That being said, every character has a lot of potential.

**darknessatnoon** · 04-29-2008, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by claimtosubclaim

Um, didn't Claremont create her? It's not like she was a pre-existing character who went into limbo, and CC dusted her off and gave her a second lease at life. That being said, every character has a lot of potential.

CC created Tessa? I did not know that!

I am thanking The Creator for creating her and for giving her a new, prominent, role.

**Matthew K.** · 04-29-2008, 02:23 PM

Who's to say she really worked, or is working. She's sticking around, yes, but only through Claremont's pen.

Tessa wasn't a bad character...more like wallpaper or something lacking definition and spark though, and when Sage really came out in the early X-Treme issues (and some previous X-Men issues) I thought she kind of neat...but then CC really overdid the Mary Sue factor and Sage become overkill, and easy to joke about.

Not to say that her, or some other character like Davis Cameron, cannot be salvaged by another writer in the future, though.

**darknessatnoon** · 04-29-2008, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by Matthew K.

Who's to say she really worked, or is working. She's sticking around, yes, but only through Claremont's pen.

Tessa wasn't a bad character...more like wallpaper or something lacking definition and spark though, and when Sage really came out in the early X-Treme issues (and some previous X-Men issues) I thought she kind of neat...but then CC really overdid the Mary Sue factor and Sage become overkill, and easy to joke about.

Not to say that her, or some other character like Davis Cameron, cannot be salvaged by another writer in the future, though.

I think Sage works. "Buzz" might have quieted a bit during New Excalibur, however, I think Sage has found her second wind in New Exiles.

**emmabe** · 04-29-2008, 02:34 PM

I think Matthew raises an interesting point... Sage has the interest of CC so she stays around. Ceclia Reyes has quite a fan following but because no writer has plans/ an interest in the character, she doesn't get written and has fallen into limbo.

Doesn't having a writer's interest factor into the staying power of the character? Wolverine would not have risen to the upper echelon of Marvel if not for Byrne's interest as a co-plotter with Claremont.

**darknessatnoon** · 04-29-2008, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by emmabe

I think Matthew raises an interesting point... Sage has the interest of CC so she stays around. Ceclia Reyes has quite a fan following but because no writer has plans/ an interest in the character, she doesn't get written and has fallen into limbo.

Doesn't having a writer's interest factor into the staying power of the character? Wolverine would not have risen to the upper echelon of Marvel if not for Byrne's interest as a co-plotter with Claremont.

Sure,

of course, writer interest makes a difference. But Cecelia Reyes is dead. Sage isn't.