X-Men Monday #175 – X Me Anything With the X-Office AIPT – AIPT

Welcome, X-Fans, to the 175th edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!

How do you recognize 175 installments of X-Men Monday and celebrate this marvelous mutant milestone? You do a special edition of X Me Anything and see what X-Men Senior Editor Jordan D. White and the rest of the X-Office have to say!

So grab a snack or beverage of choice and get comfortable next stop

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Welcome to X-Men Monday #175, everybody! Lets kick off this special anniversary edition with an introspective question from X-Fan Scott Redmond, who said with A.X.E.: Judgment Day almost complete and some titles already wrapped, there are for sure some changes in store for the X-line as a whole. While status quo changes in comics can often fade or change quickly, to what do you attribute the longevity of the House of X/Powers of X/Krakoan status quo, which is still going strong over three years later?

Kieron Gillen: Weve decided as a group to not move on from the status quo until I can reliably spell Arakiii correctly.

Jordan D. White: It is taking everything in my power to not correct that spelling. Deep breaths.

Kieron: Really, as a latecomer, I was watching it from the outside for the majority of it, and it does what any status quo should do give a lot of unique possibilities made possible by it. As there were so many, its not a surprise that one wants to explore them. On a personal level, I admire the set-ups ability to have people who actively hate each other forced to be in the same room, so they can do scenes together. Thats golden.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Jordan: Yeah I think its a really successful status quo in every sense in that audiences have really responded to it and also the creators really feel like the stories theyve been able to tell in this status are working out well. The other thing to think of is to ask what counts as a status quo I know some would argue that the X-Men Disassembled status quo and the Blue & Gold status quo and the Extraordinary status quo and the New X-Men and Jean Grey School and Utopia and O*N*E overseers that all those are different status quos. And I can understand why but from another point of view, I think everything after Decimation was all so affected by that that to me those are all phases of one long status quo that we only moved out of by making the seismic shift of House of X.

So I think there is a question to be asked about what actually defines this era. Is it that there are a lot of plants around? Is it the gates? Is it the island? Is it resurrection? Or is it more about how the mutants position themselves in the world and their attitudes towards what theyve been through? I think only time can tell.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Si Spurrier: One of the really genius aspects of this eras setup is that it exponentially broadens the scope of the metaphors we can play with. Mutantism has been used over the years to speak to a whole gamut of profoundly important social issues: race, sexuality, gender, class, mental health, and so on. Incredible and moving stories that dont preach, but do punch.

Sidenote: The keep politics out of comics! crowd have not been paying attention for [checks notes] 60 freaking years. In the Krakoan era, those possibilities are still very much on the table they always will be, so long as there are fascinating mutant characters doing fascinating things. But now we also have access to a far grander and more abstract canon of metaphors. Now we can speak to civilizations, cultures, polities, policies, faiths, and fates. Its an extraordinarily clever widening of the micro to the macro.

Al Ewing: Theres a richness of potential to Krakoa. The fact that so many stories have burst forth from the concept, blasting off in so many different directions, really speaks to how much bigger the horizons are now and really, it was just tweaking the dial marked mutants survive and thrive up a couple of notches. That alone sparked so much, in-world and out of it. At the time House of X and Powers of X hit, I remember doing some to-camera for marketing, talking about how this was the dawn of a new era of the X-Men and it really was. I dont believe the genies weve unleashed will go meekly back to their bottles.

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AIPT: They better not! Now, X-Fan Robert Furey said X-Men is often described as a never-ending soap opera, and sometimes storylines last for years before coming to a definitive conclusion, if at all. As writers and editors, what are some of the challenges of both creating stories without an ending and managing characters who have so much history?

Steve Orlando: I think the key is that while the story doesnt end, the characters and their arcs can still reach satisfying resolutions again and again. Kate Prydes story may never be OVER, but the core of her character tells us what types of situations challenge, and thus teach her. Thats where arcs can be drawn from, where characters can struggle, overcome, learn, change, and sacrifice to come out the other side a little different just like us in our own lives! And just like life is always challenging us as we think weve got it all figured out, the next character, or concept, to challenge your cast is always on the horizon. The story of the X-Men may never definitively end, but its characters are constantly evolving and changing theyre not who they were 60 years ago when they debuted.

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Kieron: Everything above is true, but I actually dont try to think about it too much almost the opposite. I just do a story with a start, beginning, and end, and leave the before and after to other people. As I hope Immortal X-Men shows, I take character history seriously, but I view that as actually a historical record Im using to develop a character. I tell a meaningful, closed story with them, and then get out. This is part of my aesthetic, but also part of how I try to make my stories accessible. If Immortal is the only X-story you ever read, I want you to be cared for. I want everything else to be additive.

Gerry Duggan: The Marvel Universe may never end, but our orbits through these books are finite. Since Deadpool, Ive been pitching stories that have beginnings, middles, and ends. Its very sweet to write and end, and not everyone in comics gets to enjoy getting to that finish line. Well be privileged to get to our end someday.

Victor LaValle: In the case of my very specific little sandbox, I found Sabretooths history (and that of many of the other mutants who ended up in the Pit) to be a treasure chest of intriguing, exasperating, and inspirational choices by the writers who came before me. Its amazing, in fact, to imagine that any of these lives have as many twists and turns, highs and lows as they do. Its freeing as well though because, in the end, youre just adding to that long history, to be enjoyed and forgotten, like all life is eventually.

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Jordan: Yeah exactly. Its really interesting how comics as a medium has changed. Its gone from something that was undeniably thought of as a disposable medium by everyone involved to a huge part of culture whose beginnings are lovingly restored and put out in gorgeous high-end hardcovers. I doubt anyone involved in creating X-Men #1 in 1963 thought we would still be reading about the concept of the X-Men 60 years later, let alone still reading and republishing that specific issue. So now, here we are with 60 years of history and its all we can do to make the best stories we can possibly make and hope that they resonate in that long tradition of the series and that someone will be excited to reference it in the future the way were excited to refer back to the rich past weve loved.

AIPT: These answers have been so thoughtful so far time to get silly. X-Fan Chuck wanted to know, X-writers: Whats the funniest editorial note youve received about your X-work you can talk about at this time?

Steve: We did discuss the right color for Somnuss underwear in the broken baths for a while in Marauders Annual #1

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Kieron: The early teething experiences with Nick Lowe in my first time in the X-Office were a joy. BRITISHISM ALERT! just splattered all over the document whenever I let my stiff upper lip show. My favorite is when I had to spend time finding pictures of a rockery to mail him so he could tell me what the U.S. word for it is (rock garden).

The most embarrassing was my second script, which was a Sabertooth story, which I had entitled SABERWULF. Kieron, asks Nick, Is there a reason why its called Saberwulf? To which I had to answer No.

Also the time that I spelled Hepzibah as Hezbollah. That may have been an autocorrect though. I hope it was.

In short, my brain is rubbish. Its lucky Ive got blackmail information on all the editors, or Id be in trouble.

Al: Im drawing a blank on getting notes that arent Britishisms, but I did fail to give an editorial note at the right moment and thats why Nova is wearing a shirt in X-Men Red. My original intention was to have him topless except for the jacket. (In a different world where I was slightly more on the ball than I am, hed be getting a lot of beefcake shots and the X-fandom would like him more as a result.)

Leah Williams:

Courtesy of Leah Williams

Jordan: I cannot believe we are showing this.

Gerry: I read the question and couldnt see this yet, but thought to myself, if Leah didnt chime in on this, I should go rally her. Perfect. I recall one of my first emails from Tom Brevoort way back when I was on Deadpool was very short and simple: We will not humiliate Kang in this way and I cant even remember what it was we asked to do. Its been a decade since Marvel Now. Woof.

Tini Howard: It was the phone call where Jordan had to explain to me that the very cool name Id given to a recent character was also the name of an adult performer, for sure. I had no idea! Just two cool names put together! Zeitgeist, I guess.

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Victor: In the first issue of Sabretooth, when he ruled his own personal Hell, I remember we had to throw some shadows over a few of the X-Mens torn limbs. A little too much bone and sinew was showing.

Si: Most of mine are to do with trying to sneak curse words into print, because Im extremely grown up and not at all immature. There was an issue recently where Banshee says feck a whole lot. It was quite fun watching Jordans margin-notes go from I dont think we can say this to again, no to eventually just a bunch of unhappy emojis.

Jordan: When we discussed it later and Si was surprised because feck was so much more of a problem to Americans, I told him to us it just sounds like saying f--k with an accent. To which he replied that was fair because thats what it is.

Si: I did once get an email that just said SI, STOP TRYING TO USE GRAWLIX SO THEY LOOK LIKE RUDE WORDS. I cant even remember which @$$#0! sent that.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Amazing. OK, were several months into Destiny of X X-Fan Rasputin IV Fan Ben wanted to know how its decided to change from one Krakoan era to another. For example, from Reign of X to Destiny of X.

Jordan: So far, its been when a big X-story happens and shifts things in the world. We had House of X/Powers of X start things, then we kicked off Dawn of X. That ended when X of Swords broke out and youll notice that XOS is not in either the Dawn or Reign trades, it exists between them. Then Reign of X runs until both Inferno and X Lives/Deaths of Wolverine, which again are collected separately. Then we pick up with Destiny of X and where that will end remains to be shown.

Gerry: Tho we did announce Fall of X at NYCC or did I hallucinate that?

Al: We find ourselves in fall, Gerry. And I fear winter.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: X-Fan Minnie said the X-Office has been really great with connectivity across the line and finding ways to use all of Krakoa across X-series. What is your favorite concept or world that another X-writer has introduced?

Steve: For me, its been Sis work on THE SPARK, which the group knows, I recently raved about not only has it given us a really clear motivator for Captain Prydes grand actions coming up in Marauders #11-12, but its also formed a nice prism with which to challenge any characters actions is this mutant thinking? Or is this latent human socialization? Am I reacting to something like a mutant, or like my life among humans taught me to? And its all the more challenging as a writer since, of course, spoilers were human, too!

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Charlie Jane Anders: Theres so much! Not to jump on the Si praise train, but I love the holodeck inside Legions head, the Altar, that Si created in Legion of X. Its such a cool concept and a weird setting to have things happen in, and a really neat use of Legions longstanding ability to contain multitudes. Love it. Also, so much of the stuff that KG and the others have been doing with Sinister has been so fun to watch.

Si: The Si Praise Train sounds like a really mopey session at a megachurch. Im here for it. (Thanks, guys.) To speak to the general stuff thats going on here, I think were all reacting to the sheer fertility of the Krakoan experiment. Jons genius was to simultaneously reduce mutants and mutantkind to units of utility uniquely tooled cogs in a beautiful hard-sci-fi machine and to let them express their characters and hearts as explorative beings within that new context, all at once. The first part of that paradigm throws up some incredible ideas to do with mutant powers behaving as technologies (I think of Kierons recontextualization of Moiras abilities, Gerrys plans with Darwin, Leah and the Waiting Room, Victor and the Hole) while the latter part cracks open endless possibilities to do with characters exploring new social dynamics Vitas work in particular stands out there or creating incredible new cultures from tabula rasa, where Al, Tini, and Steve have all made big, beautiful swings.

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Kieron: Its not a specific, singular idea, but as a body of work, what Al has done to make Arakko a credible and coherent place with its own philosophy is a hell of a thing.

Al: Ta! That was something I felt strongly about. For me to speak a little selfishly there are almost too many things to count, its such a big soup. Weaponless Zsen is a fascinating character who dovetails well with the Fisher King I think that started as me and Si having a conversation about how Arakko would treat those without powers or without useful powers, implementing our thoughts on the page and then connecting the dots in a way thats built a fun side-story in the background. I hope I do her justice in X-Men Red #8-10. Similarly, Leahs Waiting Room is very fertile soil to tell the kind of story I love to tell way down the road, and what Tini did with Apocalypse was a great bit of character growth that I cant wait to build on.

Gerry: Honestly, were crushing it.

Victor: Agree with all that was said above and I would add Vita Ayalas arc in New Mutants, particularly the nuanced and surprising twists and turns in the Amahl Farouk/Shadow King storyline. The story of Amahls eventual freedom and the start on the path to recovery/redemption was beautiful.

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AIPT: And all that just scratches the surface. Next up, X-Fan Dave (Comic Book Herald) said that some of his favorite X-potential is from all the Powers of X sci-fi. Dominions. Phalanx. Rasputin IV. Concerningly cute Nimrods. Without spoiling anything, how eager is the X-Office to take the Krakoa era into the distant future?

Steve: Distant future? Distant past perhaps

Kieron: Three words. Sins of Sinister. Three more words. Will Include This.

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Al: I think about this a lot. I think about all the moving parts a lot. I think about crashing them together. I even think about them when Im writing other books sometimes

Gerry: Same. And Im not the only one that is thinking, Forge is also thinking. And tinkering in his shop in fact.

AIPT: Well, we just got some teases so lets get a few more. X-Fan TheMidNightKing17 asked, which characters will have a big 2023?

Kieron: Rasputin. Also, now that I think about it, Emma Frost will be big in Sins of Sinister.

Al: A lot of fans were upset when Storm moved from the seat of Peel Me A Grape While I Tell You How To Run Your Planet to the seat of Come To Me When The Crap Really Hits The Fan. And theyre right shes only going to have a big 2023 now if the crap absolutely hits the fan for Arakko in a spectacular way. And what are the chances of that?

Anyway, Genesis is going to have a big 2023.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Gerry: Forge, Synch, and Bring On The Bad Guys. 2023 is a big year for Black Hats. Stasis has a revelation that I cant wait to get to. Firestar burns bright.

Si: Silver Sable.

Jordan: There are some Kate Pryde plans that I am both excited and scared by.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Speaking of fear, youd be surprised how often nervous X-Fans submit questions about this next topic so Im going to do them a solid one last time. X-Fan Mr. Shoebill said, with Gerry Duggan taking over Iron Man, has there been any discussion regarding the Tony Stark/Emma Frost wedding? Mr. Shoebill pointed out that the last time this was mentioned was X-Men Monday #104 in May 2021.

Gerry: I remember that being a late addition to that book? Maybe Im crazy, but I dont think anybody was asked? It was just Oh, yeah, future s--t? Okay, have fun. I think its a terrible idea and I think fans would rightly be all over me for it.

AIPT: And thats the last time well ever talk about that in X-Men Monday. Thank you, Gerry. Now to the big screen X-Fan Wilberd Gijzel wanted to know, what was everybodys first reaction to the news Wolverine will be in Deadpool 3 and finally in the MCU?

Charlie Jane: I love it! I think Deadpool always needs a straight man to drive to distraction, and it cant always be Cable. Plus, I can already tell that Hugh Jackman will be having a lot of fun cutting loose. But Im waiting until we can see the whole Wolverine family in live action.

Kieron: I laughed a lot. What a way to announce it, right? Beautiful. Applause.

Al: Great, now I have to watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine so I can get all the X-Men Origins: Wolverine jokes.

Alyssa Wong: WOLVERINE! WOLVERINE! WOLVERIIIINE!!!

Mark Basso: Im hyped! And hey, if they want any inspiration, Ben Percy wrote Deadpool into a bunch of the last years Wolverine issues

AIPT: Weve officially entered the #SeriousComicsJournalism portion of the interview (are you paying attention, Eisner judges?). X-Fan Ensign Ro said, from Mister Sinister to Forge to Fred Dukes, the Krakoan mustache appears to signify salient members of the national infrastructure. Who will be the next mutant to have this honor bestowed upon their lips?

Mark: Wolverines had it a bunch, he just keeps shaving with his claws between panels.

Steve: I think the closest we got is Horsepowers powerful beard, hmm

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Al: Theres a certain mutant I very much want to grow a beard, but I warn you now, it will be the most traumatic beard ever grown in X-history. Mustache only I mean, is it time Roberto grew his own Tom Selleck in honor of his TV hero, Magnum P.I.? Or is that too dangerous? I mean, Ive seen Stefanos art from X-Men Red #9. Putting a mustache on that could kill someone.

Jordan: I am sold.

Si: Covid lockdown ie, mask-wearing combined with zero barbershops being open made me wonder what Juggernaut would look like if we went the full Alan Moore. Like would the beard jut out of his mouth- and eye-slits? Would he look like some sort of creepy hairy smoke-breathing diving-bell? Would there be an audible pop sound, like a champagne cork leaving the bottle, every time he takes off the helmet? We need to explore this. We could have something to rival SNIKT and BAMF on our hands here.

AIPT: X-Fan mole the morlock said Judgment Day has all this action at the North Pole. But where is the magical merry mutant Santa Claus? Someone should tell him the Progenitor is trying to steal his thunder! This guy even made a naughty-or-nice list!

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Kieron: Im not sure who leaked the team-up that ends Judgment Day to you, but we will hunt them down and punish them. This kind of spoiler ruins stories for everyone. Im outraged.

Gerry: As an aside, I saw Harbour as Santa in Violent Night and its really fun and a lot more brutal than I thought theyd swing for.

Jordan: Now I am sad its too late to do a Holiday Judgment Day parody of all the heroes getting visions from Santa about whether they deserve presents or not.

AIPT: Its never too late for an idea that good, Jordan. OK, as we wrap up, lets say Mister Sinister gets his hands on the X-Offices DNA. What are some of the X-Office chimeras he whips up in his lab?

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Steve: Just imagine how deep the cuts would go on a book written by Stephal Ewingdo.

Kieron: My mutant abilities are my appendix was on the wrong side of the body and I have acidic enough skin to slowly melt metal glasses. I hope that other people in the X-Office are bringing more to the gene-party than I am.

Al: Im shoe size 12 in the U.K., I wear glasses, and Ive listened to Stevie Wonder in a bedsit, so in some ways you could say I have all of Beasts mutant powers.

Gerry: Im really adept at finding parking.

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X-Men Monday #175 - X Me Anything With the X-Office AIPT - AIPT