X-men: Forever #10 (aka 'X-Men: Corrections') w/SPOILERS

[Flâneur]

It's a sad day for Chris Claremont, isn't it? To have fallen into such a situation and, after hearing his passive aggression last week it's quite obvious to see how he feels about this.

All of this, however, has given me a brilliant new perspective on what X-men: Forever well and truly is. It's not simply a continuation of Chris Claremont's prior work as the absence of the Dark Wolverine Saga demonstrates but it is not the simple sniping one could construe from a work which inherently dismisses all other writer's stories as not real ('real' in the sense of a canon wanker on the net, at least). No, Claremont has, in the publication of X-men: Corrections, perfected trolling of the 'fans' to a fine art. Let us have a brief recap of what's happened so far:

• Claremont trolls Wolverine fans by killing Wolverine in the very first issue.
• Claremont trolls Psylocke fans by deporting her azn arse to Britain off panel.
• Claremont trolls Scott/Jean shippers by having Jean in an open affair with Wolverine while married to Scott. Plot still ongoing.
• After the extended battle with Sabretooth in issue 2, and the battle with Storm in issue 3, Claremont decides to troll Storm/Black Panther shippers by turning Storm into a lying duplicitous bitch who faked all feelings. The Storm/BP romance now never happened.
• Claremont trolls Sage fans by having Kitty, the Jew, take on the visage and part of Afghani Sage but with extra claw.
• Claremont trolls Fraction's endorsement of Namor, and his fans, by declaring that there were no old mutants, as all mutants were dying, burnt out by their powers. He also ends up trolling himself in the meanwhile.
• Claremont trolls good sense by (failing in the effort of) building up Sentinels designed by a neo-Nazi who sounds like a David Bowie lyric pronounced with a broken jaw.

So, now that we're all caught up, let's turn to the latest issue, X-men:Forever #10:

• Claremont ego strokes New Mutants fans with a brief appearance of these alumni (in-house advertising!) as they arrive to Wolverine's funeral (TROLL) along with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.
• Claremont trolls Forge fans (are there any?! Maybe he made a misstep) by having Forge experience a brief Lolita/pedophile moment regarding dwarf Ororo.
• Claremont trolls Rachel Summers fans by having her not exist when Excalisuck comes to the funeral. Incidentally, Betsy appears with Excalisuck and shares a light headbutt with Kitty.
• Claremont trolls Hulk fans by turning Bruce Banner into a delivery boy who thinks about how Hulk wasn't capable of helping Wolverine.
• Claremont trolls all fans with any taste by referencing True Friends as the Queen sends a torque to the X-men for Wolverine's funeral.
• Claremont then goes for the absolute double whammy, trolling both Scott/Jean shippers and Rachel Summers fans with ... aw, heck, I'll just post the page:
  

So yeah, Scott either has a second family which he didn't tell Jean about or faked the whole baby Nathan into the future thing and amidst all this family dramaz, Rachel still doesn't appear. HARSH.


You know, it really is a pity about the story, I mean, the dialogue is hokey and this just doesn't require a certain 'taste', it genuinely is poorly written but ... if you're an avid fan then you can pull the wool over your eyes and pretend if it was well plotted but it isn't. It simply plays to a Claremont following who want to read their own fan fiction validated by Claremont and it's an immense pity to see such great art wasted on that, and makes no mistake, the art is really good compared to previous issues but it's still such a waste.

Patient Diagnosis:

D - recommended only for explicit Claremont fans.

[Jake V]

Sigh.

Cable existed prior to Claremont's departure in X-Men #3

Claremont plotted the issue of X-Factor where Cyclops sends baby Nate to the future.

This isn't "Claremont picking up where he left off in 1991" its Claremont giving the finger to everyone who ever enjoyed an X-Men comic after he left.

[Flâneur]

Originally Posted by Jake V

Sigh.

Cable existed prior to Claremont's departure in X-Men #3

Claremont plotted the issue of X-Factor where Cyclops sends baby Nate to the future.

This isn't "Claremont picking up where he left off in 1991" its Claremont giving the finger to everyone who ever enjoyed an X-Men comic after he left.

I think what we're seeing is that he's actually using this as the opportunity to invent continuity at will, rather than write from a certain point in time. I am actually wondering if things like the Byrne-retcon and even Jean's original death, which was not planned by him, are still in play or if they've been wiped in this new ultimate cc-verse.

[ZNOP]

Wed May 20, 2009 — by Glenn Hauman
Interview: Chris Claremont on 'X-Men Forever', part 1

ComicMix: X-Men Forever Alpha is a reprint of the first three issues plus an eight page bridge to the new series, correct? What do we need to know going in?

Chris Claremont: Essentially nothing. Those were the issues going in, to establish all the fundamental parameters: the X-Men are a team of heroes that are based at Xavier school for gifted youngsters at Salem center, outside of New York City.

CM: So you’re starting up right from where you left the book in 1991.

CC: Yes.

CM: Is this House Of C, then, as compared to House of M?

CC: No, it’s the Marvel Universe, there’s no real change to it, other than the fact that in a very practical sense that the subsequent sixteen, seventeen years of material following my departure doesn’t exist.

CM: So this is a new forked off continuity.

CC: Yes. We’re essentially picking up where I left off and the only acknowledgment we are making to the passage of time is that if a label needs to be placed on #1, #2, and #3, they occurred in the opening months, weeks, whatever of 2009.

CM: Then everything that happens since in mainline Marvel continuity has not happened and is not going to happen?

CC: Everything that relates to the X-Men specifically has not happened. The origins of characters that were established after I left are not necessarily the origins that we will encounter here. For example, the reality in this book is that Sabretooth and Wolverine are father and son. Betsy Braddock has not been transferred into a cloned dead Asian body.

CM: Do you find it strange that people are looking at this series and referring back to your original run as the time when X-Men continuity wasn’t convoluted?

CC: It’s intriguing, it’s challenging. Hopefully it’ll be fun.

CM: After all, when you left you had so many different balls in the air, and now you compare it to current X-Men continuity and we look at your day as, “Oh, gosh, it was all so simple then, there were only two alternate futures we had to worry about.”

CC: And also the foundation of the work was derived from me and Louise Simonson and Larry Hama doing Wolverine. That was it. What we’ve had since then is a score of books and far more writers contributing material, incorporating their stories into the Canon, rejected by the Canon, revised - - you know, the passage of time since then has not been perhaps as smooth as it had been up to then. So we’re kind of going back to a simpler time in the firmament, but on the other hand, once for their we can go tearing off into all sorts of fascinating possibilities… none of which necessarily incorporates the future history as we know it. A lot of the things that are happening in X-Men Forever have to do with the X-Men’s fundamental perception of the world around them, which is about to change on a significant level. That can’t help but have repercussions with the rest of the marble universe; the only thing we have to bear in mind is that were going to see those repercussions from a single focus perspective, that of the X-Men - - or that of the eight or nine characters on whom this series is focused. Were not going to be cutting back and forth to, “this is the Avengers’ view of things”, “this is the Fantastic Four’s view of things”, “this is Spidey’s view of things”. We only see them through the X-Men’s eyes.

CM: When last you left the X-Men, we had the blue team and the gold team and their roster of about a dozen mutants.

CC: And a very crowded school.

CM: Which leads some to believe that you’ll be clearing off some cast members.

CC: No, the way it works here is that the blue and gold teams were a proposal on Charlie’s desk at the time of X-Men #1 through #3. The initial expectation was that post #4 they would be incorporated and that was how the future progresses. However, things are going to happen in four and five and six and seven - - well, I say four and five and six and seven. Things are going to happen in the first arc of Forever that knock those plans into a cocked hat. The other thing to know is that the first five issues take place in a single night. And that night is going to change the X-Men’s world completely. And with each change their they will get all other farther and farther away from the history as it evolved because this is a totally different future, totally different mindset, and a totally different world. My vision is not the vision of the fifteen guys who followed me.

CM: Why did you decide to fork continuity rather than take over the X-Men the way they are now?

CC: I had a vision of where I wanted the book to go. Jim [Lee] and Bob [Harras] and I disagreed vehemently. The vision never came to pass. In going back and starting over again, picking up where I left off, I took the vision that I had and incorporated the world as it evolved since then, and why things are the way they are and what it means. And it’s proved, to me anyway, to be a surprisingly fascinating and vital direction for the characters and the series that is very true to the essence of the extent, but casts the whole concept into a totally different light and differentiates it from what exists in Uncanny and the rest of the line. It’s not the idea that I’m copying their stuff, or showing how I can tell their stories better. This is my vision, these are my stories. And the ideas, I think, our new ideas people haven’t thought of this before. So I thought, far better to go with something new for better or worse and surprise the audience and hopefully intrigue them, especially in a reality when the happy ending is not guaranteed.

CM: Because you don’t have to worry about continuing characters or keeping things the same all around for licensing reasons.

CC: Right. Not my problem. Death is not a marketing inhibition.

[Flâneur]

And? I'm quite sure we're all aware CC has marketed this as a direct continuation.

[JohnSD]

Originally Posted by Flâneur

Patient Diagnosis:
D - recommended only for explicit Claremont fans.

Thanks for another helpful review Flâneur - it's nice to read some critique instead the just detailed spoilers. Like a moth drawn to flame I'm still interested in this book, despite being increasingly turned off it since the first arc. I genuinely don't mind Claremont's writing style (I'm still working my way through the 80s and enjoying it), but I've been put off by the sheer dishonesty and conceit of this title - it is not what it was advertised as, and it is not what Claremont described it as in the interview quoted above, which is just frustrating. The first arc showed potential, but since then it has gone from being "dumb but fun" to just straight out dumb...

If it had the good grace to be honest about its status as a complete re-imagining of the X-Men concept (along the lines of the animated series) then it might actually be quite good. At times it does work well as an adventure comic. But its biggest weakness is that it proudly claims to be a continuation of 616 history, which is just blatantly is not, and as long as that claim is there it distracts hugely from any strengths in the book....

[KiplingKat]

Rachel is from the Day of Future past universe and jumped into the 616. She was kidnapped by the Body Shoppe shortly before the Mutant Masscare. She did not appear again until the first issue of Excalibur.

EDIT: Oh wait, I see. He did show Exalibur (which started in 1988) but he did not show Rachel. That is odd.

[timbox]

Originally Posted by KiplingKat

So there is no reason for her to be there.

I think we can all agree that Rachel should not be there.

[KiplingKat]

Originally Posted by Flâneur

It's a sad day for Chris Claremont, isn't it? To have fallen into such a situation and, after hearing his passive aggression last week it's quite obvious to see how he feels about this.

All of this, however, has given me a brilliant new perspective on what X-men: Corrections well and truly is. It's not simply a continuation of Chris Claremont's prior work as the absence of the Dark Wolverine Saga demonstrates but it is not the simple sniping one could construe from a work which inherently dismisses all other writer's stories as not real ('real' in the sense of a canon wanker on the net, at least). No, Claremont has, in the publication of X-men: Corrections, perfected trolling of the 'fans' to a fine art. Let us have a brief recap of what's happened so far:

• Claremont trolls Wolverine fans by killing Wolverine in the very first issue.
• Claremont trolls Psylocke fans by deporting her azn arse to Britain off panel.
• Claremont trolls Scott/Jean shippers by having Jean in an open affair with Wolverine while married to Scott. Plot still ongoing.
• After the extended battle with Sabretooth in issue 2, and the battle with Storm in issue 3, Claremont decides to troll Storm/Black Panther shippers by turning Storm into a lying duplicitous bitch who faked all feelings. The Storm/BP romance now never happened.
• Claremont trolls Sage fans by having Kitty, the Jew, take on the visage and part of Afghani Sage but with extra claw.
• Claremont trolls Fraction's endorsement of Namor, and his fans, by declaring that there were no old mutants, as all mutants were dying, burnt out by their powers. He also ends up trolling himself in the meanwhile.
• Claremont trolls good sense by (failing in the effort of) building up Sentinels designed by a neo-Nazi who sounds like a David Bowie lyric pronounced with a broken jaw.

So, now that we're all caught up, let's turn to the latest issue, X-men:Corrections #10:

• Claremont ego strokes New Mutants fans with a brief appearance of these alumni (in-house advertising!) as they arrive to Wolverine's funeral (TROLL) along with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.
• Claremont trolls Forge fans (are there any?! Maybe he made a misstep) by having Forge experience a brief Lolita/pedophile moment regarding dwarf Ororo.
• Claremont trolls Rachel Summers fans by having her not exist when Excalisuck comes to the funeral. Incidentally, Betsy appears with Excalisuck and shares a light headbutt with Kitty.
• Claremont trolls Hulk fans by turning Bruce Banner into a delivery boy who thinks about how Hulk wasn't capable of helping Wolverine.
• Claremont trolls all fans with any taste by referencing True Friends as the Queen sends a torque to the X-men for Wolverine's funeral.
• Claremont then goes for the absolute double whammy, trolling both Scott/Jean shippers and Rachel Summers fans with ... aw, heck, I'll just post the page:
  

So yeah, Scott either has a second family which he didn't tell Jean about or faked the whole baby Nathan into the future thing and amidst all this family dramaz, Rachel still doesn't appear. HARSH.


You know, it really is a pity about the story, I mean, the dialogue is hokey and this just doesn't require a certain 'taste', it genuinely is poorly written but ... if you're an avid fan then you can pull the wool over your eyes and pretend if it was well plotted but it isn't. It simply plays to a Claremont following who want to read their own fan fiction validated by Claremont and it's an immense pity to see such great art wasted on that, and makes no mistake, the art is really good compared to previous issues but it's still such a waste.

Patient Diagnosis:

D - recommended only for explicit Claremont fans.

The Storm-BP romance was something that was retconned into continuity the 2000's, why should it exist in Claremont's Universe?

An X-tile without Wolverine? Yay!

Rachel is from the Day of Future past universe and jumped into the 616. She was kidnapped by the Body Shoppe shortly before the Mutant Masscare. She did not appear again until the first issue of Excalibur.

EDIT: Oh wait, I see. He did show Exalibur (which started in 1988) but he did not show Rachel. That is odd.

[timbox]

Originally Posted by KiplingKat

The Storm-BP romance was something that was retconned into continuity the 2000's, why should it exist in Claremont's Universe?

CC is including the Storm/Black Panther relationship in this, but he shows us that Storm is faking it.

[KiplingKat]

Originally Posted by timbox

CC is including the Storm/Black Panther relationship in this, but he shows us that Storm is faking it.

Ah...so what's the problem? It's a different continuity, things will be different.

My only problem with XMF so far is Claremont's pace. He's moving so damn fast he has lost those little dramatic beats that made his writing so great in the first place. And I can't say I am impressed with the "Kitty becoming the hew Logan" claw thing. Otherwise, it's fine to me.

Like I said, an X-Title without Wolverine, not to mention Claremont has promised that "dead means dead". I'm totally cool with that.

[Flâneur]

Originally Posted by KiplingKat

The Storm-BP romance was something that was retconned into continuity the 2000's, why should it exist in Claremont's Universe?

The Storm/BP following has informed me that moments of their love existed throughout Claremont's entire run. I'm just delivering the bad news since Storm is a fake now.

Rachel is from the Day of Future past universe and jumped into the 616. She was kidnapped by the Body Shoppe shortly before the Mutant Masscare. She did not appear again until the first issue of Excalibur.

EDIT: Oh wait, I see. He did show Exalibur (which started in 1988) but he did not show Rachel. That is odd.

I know, right?

[timbox]

Originally Posted by KiplingKat

Ah...so what's the problem? It's a different continuity, things will be different.

There's no problem. I think it's hilarious.

I believe it is an accurate representation of their relationship in the 616 as well.

[KiplingKat]

Originally Posted by Flâneur

The Storm/BP following has informed me that moments of their love existed throughout Claremont's entire run. I'm just delivering the bad news since Storm is a fake now.

Uh..having read all of Claremont's initial run on the X-Men, that would be a big fat, "No." BP did not even appear in Uncanny during CC's tenure that I remember (and I am thinking really hard about this...no, I don't remember him appearing in Uncanny at all). I think the BP appeared on one Marvel Team-Up issue with the X-Men in the early 1980's and I don't remember any grand romance.

[Azure]

The Winter Guard are imminent.