Very '80s, Very Scary, Chris Claremont's X-Men Movie Pitch

Chris Claremont's pitch for an X-Men film had some surprising choices...and far more Kitty Pryde than Wolverine. I explore his 1982 proposal this week at CBR.

Rogue's Lost Supervillain Past (And Potential Romance)

 

This week at CBR, I look at Rogue's two-year stretch as a villain, appearing in mid-list Marvel titles...and the teased romance with a Bronze Age hero Marvel doesn't have the rights to. 

Psylocke's Shocking Connection to a Deadly X-Men Foe

 

An alt-reality version of Psylocke has lived in the 616 continuity for decades, but apparently, only her creator's noticed. I explore a stunning revelation from Chris Claremont this week at CBR. And, hey, on a related note, you can check out my archive of "X-Men Revolution" reviews at this link (assuming Blogger hasn't screwed them up over the years.)

Before Avatar. Before Titanic. James Cameron's...X-Men?

 

This week at CBR, I examine a screenplay for what would've been the James Cameron produced X-Men film of the early 1990s. The way it gets the X-Men so right and Magneto so wrong is pretty interesting. Also, I'm continuing my look at the classic TV ads for the G. I. Joe comic over at Gentlemen of Leisure. Let me know what you think...

Did a Marvel/Image Crossover Title Establish Critical X-Men Lore?

 

A long-running X-Men mystery surrounding Mr. Sinister's most evil plots had an unexpected resolution in Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S/X-Men crossover. I look at the odd Easter egg this week at CBR.

The One Issue That Changed X-Men Stories Forever

 

At CBR this week, I look back at  how a last-minute story change inadvertently altered how readers perceived the most important X-Man forever...

Chris Claremont's Shocking Choice in a Classic X-Men Love Triangle

 

The love triangle is now established lore, but when did Chris Claremont decide Wolverine and Jean Grey were a match made in heaven? I cover Claremont's views this week at CBR.

Professor Xavier's Forgotten Role in the Dark Phoenix Tragedy

 

This week at CBR, I'm looking at an aspect of "Dark Phoenix Saga" that Chris Claremont intended to have major repercussions for Xavier, if only John Byrne and Jim Shooter agreed.

Jim Lee Explains a Decades Long Mystery Surrounding His X-Men Art

 

This isn't merely a clickbait title -- I was genuinely stunned when I came across this. I think I even mentioned years ago when reviewing Lee's X-Men how odd the printing could be...

An Obscure X-Men Comic Offered a Dark Hint into Storm's Past (Or, Claremont Ain't Workin ' on Your Time)

 

A dark moment from Storm's past was unveiled in an obscure X-Men story by Chris Claremont, and this week I detail how he didn't pay the idea off until almost eight years later. Also, this page from Special Edition X-Men was referenced in the text of my article, but didn't seem to survive the final edit...

X-MEN #104 (September 2000)

Painted Ladies

Credits: Chris Claremont (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Mark Morales (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Liquid! Graphics (colors)

X-MEN #103 (August 2000)

The Goth

Credits: Chris Claremont (writer), Tom Raney (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Liquid! (colors)

X-MEN #102 (July 2000)

The Cruelest Cut

Credits: Chris Claremont (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Mark Morales (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Liquid! (colors)

Summary: Wolverine and Dani Moonstar investigate the remains of Mr. Sinister’s base in Sage, Nebraska. Using her powers, Moonstar recreates Domina’s assault on Sinister and Sabretooth. In Brooklyn, Cecilia Reyes attempts to fight off the Neo with the aid of the drug, Rave. Rogue’s team of X-Men arrives as backup, soon joined by Archangel and Wolverine. Domina channels the powers of her fellow Neo, embarrassing the X-Men in battle. The Neo known as Barbican seals up the church complex, forcing the X-Men to escape through a disappearing tunnel, leaving Reyes and Charlotte Jones behind. Elsewhere, Senator Kelly visits his wife’s grave. Tessa appears, broaching the subject of his presidential run.

X-MEN #101 (June 2000)

Hard Landing

Credits: Chris Claremont (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Mark Morales (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Liquid! (colors)

X-MEN #100 (May 2000)

End of Days

Credits: Chris Claremont (writer), Lenil Francis Yu (penciler), Mark Morales (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Liquid! (colors)

Summary: Praying inside his church, Nightcrawler is ambushed by Rax, a member of a mysterious collective known as the Neo. Wounded, Nightcrawler locates Dr. Cecilia Reyes, unaware another Neo, Jaeger, is now hunting him. Reyes, panicked, shapes her forcefield into a spike and impales Jaeger. Elsewhere, a team of X-Men has joined Dr. Peter Corbeau’s crew in repairing the High Evolutionary’s orbital base. Seth, an undercover Neo, plants explosives and destroys the base. Combining their powers, Psylocke and Thunderbird rescue the crew inside a shuttle. Left behind, Shadowcat uses Seth’s spare space suit to return to Earth, certain it will take her to the Neo.

You Say You Want an X-Men Revolution?

Okay, I'm relenting. I'm submitting to the public's demand of...2014 or so and finally delving into the rather infamous return of Chris Claremont to the X-Men in the year 2000.

Or am I?

The truth is, I've avoided looking back on these titles for a reason. I felt the comics internet of the time had already thoroughly dissected the aborted run...and wasn't eager to look into comics firmly not associated with the 1990s anyway.

As time has passed, I've noticed much of the commentary of that era has disappeared. And we're now approaching the twentieth anniversary of these comics. Also, I can't deny I've felt an increased desire to revisit this failed launch. To examine why it didn't connect, the context of the times, if there was anything of merit the cool kids overlooked...

There is a catch, though. I am an independent novelist. With a new book out. As such, I am in need of reviews for my novel, Black Hat Blues.

Amazon forbids bribing readers for reviews. Meaning, I can't promise to email you some exclusive story or blog post in exchange for leaving an Amazon review.

What I can do is predict a feeling that I'd be willing to post a review of an X-Men Revolution comic, for free for all to read, for every Amazon review of Black Hat Blues I receive, as of this date. These will be posted in appreciation -- to the universe -- sometime in May.

At the time of this writing, I'm at ten reviews. Amazon's algorithm apparently ignores books that have under 15 reviews. (Some people say you need as many as 50 reviews for Amazon to notice you.) To review the entirety of Claremont's return, that would take around thirty blog posts. So, that would mean 40 reviews on Amazon, given that I'm already at ten. But, hey, I'll throw in five freebies.

Understand you're not being obligated to purchase anything. My book is available for free to Kindle Unlimited members. Which itself offers a free trial membership. And you're not obligated to pretend you love the book if you don't.

I do think the novel is of interest to comics fans (you can read more about it here.) But everyone has different tastes and I respect that. All I can ask is for an open mind.

So...to sum up. Expect at least five X-Men Revolution reviews in May. Whether or not there are any more after that...this depends on forces beyond my control. But for everyone who's supported me in the past, you do have my appreciation.

There's An X-MEN Toy Commercial Compilation After All...

Please enjoy Wolverine on a jet ski, a moment I missed entirely, perhaps because I wasn't paying a lot of attention to kids' TV at that time.  I don't remember most of these commercials, actually, even though I watched every episode of the show as it aired.  I'm assuming the FCC regulation against toy ads airing during the shows they spin off from was still in effect.

Also, I'd be curious to know why Wolverine's look during "Inferno" inspired that Missile Flyer toy.  What is that thing?

Finally, here's an interesting collection of animated Batman commercials from the late 1980s, which apparently only aired in Canada.  They used Mike Zeck art as the inspiration!

X-MEN: The Pizza Hut Days

Clips from the X-Men roundtable interview, featuring Stan Lee, Bob Harras, Scott Lobdell, and Fabian Nicieza:

Also, the original commercial that ran with Pizza Hut's X-Men promotion:

"Now, Sentinel -- You will be De-Feeted!"

One thing I’ve rediscovered when going through old issues of Wizard is just how successful the X-Men toyline was in the 1990s.  I’m assuming it was a massive success, because how else could you justify virtually any character to ever cameo in an X-book receiving his or her own action figure?  Kids had to be desperate for more X-toys if they were buying Slayback figures, right?

The X-Men toy commercials, though -- who even remembers those?  Looking on Youtube, every Masters of the Universe, Super Powers, G. I. Joe, and Transformers toy commercial seems to have been lovingly archived.  

X-Men toy commercials are there, but I don’t sense any enthusiasm around them.  Is this true for all toy commercials of this era; is it just accepted as fact that ‘80s toy commercials are superior to ones made in the ‘90s?  Did the FCC impose some strict regulation on toy commercials that just made them dull after the ‘80s?  Or were toy companies no longer willing to pay for higher-quality animation to use in these spots?  Also, given the money flying around the industry at this time, I now wonder why Marvel didn’t produce high-quality animated ads for X-Men comics, like the ones Hasbro bankrolled years earlier for G. I. Joe.

Two commercials I do distinctly remember from the early ‘90s:

The commercial for the X-Men Sega Genesis game.

And the commercial for the second edition of the Marvel Universe trading cards.

(This is where I would've posted the commercial, but I can't find it online.  Anyone up for finding this one?  It aired during the summer of 1991 fairly regularly.)

Which is another memory triggered by old Wizards -- trading cards were a phenomenon during this era.  Yet, no one produced any first-rate animated ads for Marvel or DC cards, either.  The ‘80s really were the Golden Age of selling kids stuff, weren’t they?

Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade's Revenge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn7fQKm3O3w

Another entry in the Terrible ‘90s Marvel Video Game folder.  A Spider-Man/X-Men team-up game should’ve been the fulfillment of any kid’s dream during this era, but instead we got this pile of mediocrity.  I can’t say they were all terrible, the X-Men had their Sega Genesis game, and Spider-Man’s Maximum Carnage was well-received, but too often a Marvel video game in the ‘90s meant wasted allowance money.