#illyana: explanations

[dailydamnation]

They Were Roommates... Eventually

An X-Addendum fanfic (The start of a story five nights long.) (This one is for Tyramir, who once also dedicated an X-fic to me.) (Also posted on AO3.) (Banner art by Chris Sprouse.)

THE FIRST NIGHT

Katherine Anne Pryde had been in advanced classes for as long as she could remember. (Figuratively, because her memory, even of her youngest years, was quite good.) So often in her life when not among grownups, she’d been surrounded by older kids. Even then she was used to being one of the smartest people in the room.

And there was nothing... nothing... that got on her nerves worse than when the older kids—by only one or two years—had treated her like a child.

Among the X-Men, she was once again the youngest, but she’d earned their respect as a teammate and an equal. Mostly. There were a couple of them who she was still working on. And Ororo mothering her didn’t count, no rational being could possibly object to that. The point was, they sometimes forgot how young Kitty still was.

And secretly... secretly one of her favorite things about living at the school in Professor Xavier’s mansion was the fact that nobody here ever thought to wonder if young Kitty Pryde ought to have a bedtime.

That’s how she found herself wandering the dark halls to fetch some soda she probably shouldn’t be having past 2 AM. She wasn’t the only night owl on the team, but perhaps the only one who hung around indoors. Logan was weird. And sometimes a li’l scary, if you innocently asked what he did outside all night. Kitty rubbed her eyes, bleary from staring at her computer screen for what even she admitted was too long. Let the Wolverine roam the grounds all he wanted—she was happy to have these halls all to hers—

“Yaaah!” she shrieked.

A figure had appeared in the doorway to the lounge, silent as... as Logan, but much slimmer.

“Hello, Cat.” The moonlight reflected in blue eyes as the figure stepped forward. “Tch. Kitty. Hello, Kitty.”

“Illyana!” Kitty said calmly and not at all in a shrill and terrified voice. “Still up? Couldn’t sleep?”

“No,” Illyana said without further explanation. She regarded Kitty with equally bleary eyes, staring through her as if looking for someone else.

Her teammate’s sister was not scary in the way that Logan was, but she was... unsettling. That was the best way to put it. And Kitty honestly wasn’t sure if she felt that way because Illyana genuinely did unsettling things, or because she was so different. A week ago, Illyana had been six years old (“almost nearly seven!” if you’d asked her, in Russian because that was the only language she used to speak) and now she and Kitty were of an age, or close enough. Seven years of her life lost to... another dimension, where time moved differently.

“Oh... all right, then.”

Neither of them moved. That definitely counted as unsettling, right? The way Illyana just quietly watched people now, with something like suspicion in her eyes, or... sadness? Longing?

Kitty shook herself and rubbed her eyes. Living with telepaths was giving her ideas—she couldn’t read this girl’s mind. Not even Professor Xavier could, he’d let slip as much. And Kitty wasn’t sure how she felt about him trying that sort of thing without a body knowing, but she couldn’t say it wasn’t warranted. Unsettling.

Then, because it was very late at night, she yawned.

Illyana yawned back. Kitty almost laughed. No matter how stoic or weird the other girl came across, she was human enough not to be able to stop herself from doing that, even if she briefly looked cross with herself for it.

“It’s getting way too late,” Kitty said. “I’m gonna go to bed. You really should too, y’know?” Great, now she was trying to enforce other people’s bedtimes.

From a moment, Illyana looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t, so Kitty turned around and started walking back to her room, holding herself back from glancing over her shoulder.

Halfway there she remembered she’d been on her way to fetch a soda. Eh, that had been a bad idea anyway. She’d get a glass of water from the bathroom and lie awake with her brain buzzing for another two hours anyway, whether she had any soda or not.

That night, though she couldn’t figure out why, she spent most of those two hours wondering whether Illyana had followed her advice and whether she was getting any sleep at all...

(Part two.)

#illyana rasputin #magik #kitty pryde #katyana #fanfic #they were roommates #writing #daily damnation exclusive

[sovaharbor]

still thinking about the hellfire gala . spoilers obviously. this turned into a massive fucking rant LOL

quite frankly ive gone off before about how much i hate shock value writing because i consider it to be lazy and the utmost sign of a writer who doesn't know what they're fucking doing, and that's. exactly. what this felt like. like reading it just felt insulting honestly. like i won't pretend that i didn't expect the krakoan era to end. i KNEW at some point they'd either get rid of it completely or just fuck them over somehow and taint the whole thing. but like, this was just......too much. and it was awful. lol. i keep using that word because it really was.

like 1) the deaths were graphic in a way i would not have expected for mainline x-men honestly. like that was a step beneath x-force imo. and it felt so ... idk. mean???? like it just felt like a slap in the face, "lol your fave that you voted for has just been violently eviscerated on panel the immediate next page after you were told they'd be part of the most diverse mainline x-men team we've had in recent years" anD THEN ALL THE OTHER ONES AFTER????? BOBBY MELTING TO DEATH IN FRONT OF HIS BOYFRIEND???? JEAN A PILE OF BONES IN THE WRECKAGE???? FUCKED UP FOR LITERALLY NO REASON OTHER THAN SHOCK VALUE

2) most of the deaths could have been entirely preventable, some of them didnt even make SENSE. illyana was not the only mutant capable of teleportation in the entire fucking gala, why did jean not stop everything sooner, why was lourdes the only one who died to the gunfire, etc etc etc. i mean it's a suspension of disbelief that's just. lazy. lmfao. because you HAVE to suspend your disbelief to not imagine this going any other way that didn't end in a literal massacre.

3) there were multiple plot points within this that just had zero build-up and were just thrown in to make things work, so, again, Lazy Writing. and again, we're supposed to just Roll With It.

4) i can't explain how fucked up it is to give the minority allegory people their own safe place to live and then absolutely DUNK ON IT the way they did in this. the x-men deserve a break. mutants deserve a break. this was just uniquely awful and i cannot explain how GROSS it just feels to see it happen.

ALSO SPEAKING OF MINORITY ALLEGORY PEOPLE????? the way they handwaved kamala being a mutant is also very fucking lazy and if they're really going to commit to it she deserved something better than the explanation we were given. her death was similarly handwaved in a way i *personally* really hate , like that should be legitimately traumatizing to her, she's just a teenager, idc about her being a superhero. she just pops out of an egg, finds out she's apparently a mutant, and is just .... chill with it??? also emma saying she's going to erase the memories of her being dead from her parents' minds is INSANE??? EMMA AND CHARLES PRESSURING A BROWN GIRL INTO ""COMING OUT"" AS A MUTANT WHEN SHE'S ONLY JUST LEARNED SHE'S ONE AND DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HER POWERS ARE YET IS EVEN MORE INSANE AND SO SO SO WEIRD??????? LIKE DON'T YOU TWO HAVE JOBS, STOP IT

and like i don't know man! i don't know!!! i feel like none of this is very succinct and it's because i'm still SO upset over it but i legitimately was grossed out by this. it felt so awful to read. i had to force myself through the second half of it and i am pretty sure i had a mild panic attack over it. i don't understand how something like this could get continuously greenlit to the point of it going to print. it feels uniquely awful and if the krakoan era genuinely ends with another mutant genocide i really don't think i'm going to ever buy another marvel comic lol. or even if they somehow reverse said genocide, or it turns out it never actually happened, i still don't think i will honestly.

like granted i haven't read a ton outside of x-men stuff, but within the bubble of comics i have read, what other "group" of superheroes so routinely gets storylines that end with things like genocide and decimation and on-panel evisceration? the shock value in this is so disgusting and lazy and i don't even want to acknowledge it. there were such better ways to go about this and it's just disheartening to know they genuinely thought this was...a good idea? and i can't tell if they LEGITIMATELY thought it was good or if they thought the shock value -> everyone hates it -> "bad press is good press" pipeline was worth it... either option is not good, though. so idk.

there are parts of modern x-men i've really enjoyed, and i love the CONCEPT of krakoa, but i think the problem is you get a bunch of (usually) cishet white male culturally-christian writers trying to tackle the Minority Allegory™ characters and you end up with things like this. krakoa could have been so beautiful and meaningful if they weren't so liberal (and i mean this in a derogatory Democratic Liberal sort of way) with it. i wish we got more. i wish we got something better. and i'm not planning to read fall of x to be so for real, i'm gonna read About it like i have been ASM because i value my sanity much more than forcing myself to read awful garbage.

those are my thoughts, thank you!

edit: no actually one more thought. why the fuck was duggan so insistent on inserting kingpin into shit. why did he even matter. i don't give a fuck about kingpin i do't give a fuck about mary THIS IS THE X-MEN AND HE'S A FUCKING DAREDEVIL/SPIDER-MAN VILLAIN WHY ARE WE PAYING ANY AMOUNT OF ATTENTION TO HIM!!!! WHO FUCKING CARES!!!!!! WHY ARE WE WASTING DIALOGUE AND PAGE SPACE ON KINGPIN. WHY DO YOU HAVE SUCH A HARD-ON FOR KINGPIN, DUGGAN. WHAT THE FUCK

#wednesday spoilers #summer's text tag

[orangedodge]

They're getting the Firestar stuff right out of the way then. All right. I think that was the right call. It's been weeks in story so it didn't need to be stretched out across multiple issues.

And within X-Men, it seemed mainly to be a story beat around Kitty's emotional state. I think that works! Last issue centered around her being off balance and needing to feel like she was doing something that mattered, but she also desperately wanted to think it wasn't a hopeless cause, and there was still a way for it to work out ("a plan"). So by confronting Angie, it leads to some renewed sense of purpose after weeks on the run.

With that in mind I liked that Kitty just believes Angie right away. She wanted any excuse to believe her. And I think at this point she still believes Bobby, Illyana, and Jean are all gone. She's not going to want to think that they (plus Scott and Laura) all made the mistake of believing in someone they thought was their friend.

However:

I'm not really a traitor, Jean just brainwashed all of your enemies into thinking I've been spying for them. I didn't ask for this, she made me do it. And then she died before she could tell you what she did. Please believe me 🙏

"That's the most Jean story I've heard in all my lives."

It just sounded like something Jean would do to one of her own friends, and that's a convincing enough explanation? Because it's Duggan, and not Bendis, it doesn't come off as mean. Duggan's Jean truly means well, and just falls into the trap of being essentially a higher being trying to manage with normal people.

Depending on how you feel about modern Jean though, it might still come accross as an unnecessary dig at her.

#kitty pryde #angelica jones #wednesday spoilers #x-men #comics #marvel #jean grey #comic books

[bamfdaddio]

X-Men Abridged: Slumber Party & Samberto (1984)

In the 'There is no heterosexual explanation for this' category...

Allow me to SamBerto on y'all for a moment, okay?

So the girl New Mutants (Dani, Illyana, Rahne, Magma) are hosting a slumber party at the mansion. This whole issue is very much an unintentional time capsule... (All from New Mutants 21)

I recognize MJ and Tom Selleck, but I have absolutely no clue who the middle two are.

Anyway, this issue is chock full of funny moments. The girls are doing all sorts of gossipy, light-as-a-feather-stiff-as-a-board shenanigans. My favorite moment might the horrific option Rahne has presented for her...

And what are the boys doing? Trying to infiltrate the party? Doing a panty-raid?

No, they're skinny-dipping.

baby got back

#x-men abridged #abridged x-men #new mutants #chris claremont #bill sienkiewicz #samberto #sunspot #cannonball #wolfsbane #sam guthrie #roberto dacosta #rahne sinclair #magik #danielle moonstar

[amagicdoctor]

"Wanda and Kurt (who have the whole Krakoa/work thing they have to deal with right now)" w-wait wait, krakoa is included here?? man I feel so bad for strange seeing his boy going through that and not be able to help cuz humans aren't even allowed on the island. tho, he wouldn't know much about what's been going on from how closed off it is especially government matters unless... oh my god. what if azazel kept dropping by to rant at him like "you'll never believe the last stupid thing kurt did.."

As a super quick explanation before I get into the actual response: As y'all obviously know, Krakoa has not been 'officially' introduced on the blog yet, but because y'all have been dropping some knowledge on me lately I had to include that one line in there so you guys know what Kurt/Wanda are getting up to these days. Besides the couple of posts I make on Strange Academy, this blog mostly takes place riiiiight after the Surgeon Supreme arc. I've been super behind on comics outside of Dr. Strange since 2019 so I'm trying to careful tip toe around what I know/don't know. I know Krakoa began early 2019/2020 so including it on the blog's current timeline is still feels a bit iffy. I'm not an expert on the Krakoa situation yet!! Which is super important to Doctor Strange because half his family is involved in that mess!

Okay back to the regular response:

Personally, I feel as though with Dr. Strange's friendship to Prof. X, who is an influential council member, and to Kurt, who is like a son to him, Dr. Strange would have SOME kind of idea of what's going on. At the same time, Prof. X has been super secretive with preventing news to leak out outside of Krakoa, and I think with their current 'friendship' that would have lead to some issues, because a rule like that would extend to Kurt, and Kurt wouldn't be able to tell Stephen all the hot tea.

Then again, with Stephen being the Supreme and having the Eye of Agamotto he would have found some way to either visit Krakoa* or listen in on some conversations. Though regardless of what canon says I like to think Dr. Strange has been inside the island at least two times: the first one was an invite from Prof. X himself, and that was to mostly show off what mutants have built for themselves on Krakoa (which had a bit of manipulative nature coming from Charles because he knows Stephen is worried about seeing Kurt). The second visit was one for Stephen to see Kurt (which Stephen would have asked for while meeting with Charles earlier), and I'd like to think they would have spent the whole day together.

(*I've seen a screenshot of Dr. Strange visiting Krakoa to see Illyana, citation is needed for that because I believe he was able to get to Krakoa through magic)

Overall, Dr. Strange is a bit hurt because of the society being so closed off. I don't know how many times Kurt would have been on earth during this event, but he definitely hasn't been to the sanctum, not even once. When Stephen first met Kurt, he was heavily involved with the school and the X-Men, and now Stephen's relationship with mutants has been flipped. Even with his connections it's not enough for Stephen to regularly keep up with Kurt and much as he wants to.

As for Azazel.. I don't want to talk too much about this because I'm trying to save that for a conversation for another time, but once getting to Krakoa, Azazel would find him and totally try to talk to him about Kurt or rekindle their old relationship.

#doctor strange #xmen #kurt wagner #azazel marvel #marvel comics #earth 616 #ask for admin #text response

[lesbianliutana]

whatever. ororo munroe 🌈

to No surprise i think she's bi but i also hc her as transfem and nonbinary !!

i dont think an explanation for the bi hc is expected but i Do want to talk about how in contest of champions ii (1999) which is written by claremont at one point a bunch of superheroes are having their minds messed with a bit and most are thinking of their partners and then ororo is thinking about yukio (+ kitty thinking about illyana iirc) bc it doesn't get mentioned much i dont think ?

her being transfem and nonbinary is just for fun :)

#marvel #ask tag #ask game #ororo munroe

[x-mencomics]

The Uncanny X-Men #165 - Transfigurations!

The X-Men are getting sucked out into space through the hole that Binary left in the side of Lilandra's ship. Cyclops goes into full leader mode: he tells Colossus to turn to metal and block the hole. He tells Nightcrawler to teleport Lilandra to a safe part of the ship. Finally, Cyclops uses his optic blasts to cut some metal inside the ship to fit over the hole. Everyone is safe. For now...

Back at the mansion, Stevie Hunter, Moira MacTaggart and Illyana Rasputin are enjoying a relaxing time at the pool. Moira goes inside to talk to Charles. She tries to convince him to reach out to Reed Richards who was written Charles a letter. Reed wants Charles to take in a mutant named Karma, but Charles is hesitant to do so after all the terrible things that have happened to the team over the years. Moira is angry, saying that she lost Proteus, her son, and that this "Karma" shouldn't have to suffer like Proteus did. Charles calls Reed.

Back in space, Storm pilots her escape craft which she fled in (last issue) in order to not be around her fellow X-Men when the Brood egg inside her takes over her body (that sounds SO crazy if you don't have the context of the last few issues!). Storm feels the Brood growing stronger. It tries to transform her body into a Brood. But then... it stops. Storm has luckily managed to reach the Galactic Core, a place of so much power it reversed the Brood transformation. But Storm feels that the Brood has only been held off temporarily. Storm uses her power to draw energy from the Galactic Core, just as she draws energy from Earth to manipulate the weather. It works. She feels the embryo is destroyed. But then... she blacks out.

Elsewhere in space, the X-Men continue repairing Lilandra's damaged spaceship. Wolverine suggests the X-Men go back to the Brood's world and destroy as many of the Brood as they can. Lilandra agrees and promises to kill any Brood she encounters for the rest of her life. Cyclops reluctantly agrees. Later, in a different part of the ship, Wolverine runs into Nightcrawler, who is praying and reveals that he is religious. Wolverine says he is NOT religious.

And in Kitty's room on the ship, she's having a nightmare that the Brood embryo successfully takes over her body. She wakes to find Peter comforting her. Kitty is scared of turning into a Brood and she hopes some part of her will live on inside of the Brood she eventually will become. Kitty and Peter kiss. And they're interrupted by a weird, ghostly-vampire-looking version of Storm!

Then everyone is seeing weird visions of Storm around the ship. Turn's out, it really is Storm. She's been trying to contact the X-Men by somehow projecting this ghostly version of herself onto Lilandra's ship. Suddenly, Lilandra's damaged ship is swallowed by a giant space whale! Storm's projection says that the space whale, which she calls an Acanti, swallowed the ship for their protection. Cyclops asks for an explanation. He wants to know how Storm knows the Acanti won't hurt them. Storm says that she knows because she is one with the Acanti...

#binary #storm #acanti

[vengeancedemons]

@ofmagikandlimbo

It was incredible, the amount of damage someone could do when given unchecked access to your life for months at a time. Robbie was still trying to sort out exactly what surprises Eli might have left for him, and while he seemed to be regaining some of the memories of his uncle’s time in his body, others were more slippery. 

When someone was glaring at him from across the bar, it was easy to assume Eli was probably the cause. Robbie felt the muscle twitch in his jaw, felt the irritation settle into his stomach. He didn’t know her. He had never met her. It was going to become harder and harder to keep up with who knew his face and who didn’t, he was sure, but he figured he might as well start somewhere. This seemed as good a place as any. Slipping off his barstool, Robbie made his way back towards the bathrooms, where it was quiet. If she followed him, maybe there was a chance they could talk this out. If she didn’t... Well, he’d made worse exits than ducking out a side door at a sleazy bar.

#ofmagikandlimbo #illyana: explanations

[bumblesimagines]

Imagine:

Being Illyana's crush

Request: Yes or No

I was wondering whether or not to make stuff for the movie. It wasn't horrible but could've been better. Illyana apologizing to Dani would've been nice and an explanation to Sam's changing accent would've been nice as well.

~

You gently touched the window, watching it slowly begin to ice over. You turned your head when Dani, the new girl, approached you.

"So, you have ice powers?" She asked, giving a small smile. It was obvious she was trying to make friends though considering the inhabitants of the hospital were all teenagers with traumatic pasts, making friends wasn't exactly on everyone's to-do list.

"Yeah, I'm (Y/N). Welcome to the asylum." You leaned back in your chair, staring up at Dani. She let out a small chuckle.

"Do you know the others well?" Dani asked, glancing over her shoulder. Rahne was reading a book while Sam hummed a song as he tried tidying up the lounge to keep himself occupied.

"Not really. I'm more of a loner.. Though, I never seem to be alone thanks to-"

"Get lost, new girl." You turned your head to look at the Russian, letting out a soft sigh. Dani blinked, glancing at you before walking away.

"You don't have to be a bitch." You looked at Illyana with a small frown. She took a seat on your lap, glaring holes at Dani.

"There's something off about her." Illyana muttered, wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

"She's just a typical mutant kid, Illyana. There's a chair right here, you're gonna numb my legs." You hooked your foot around the leg of a nearby chair, pulling it closer. Illyana gave a small pout but sat in the chair. Bobby entered the room, giving a small eye roll when he noticed you and Illyana. He still hadn't gotten over his 'crush' liking you. Illyana leaned forward, grabbing your arm and tugging on it.

"Let's go somewhere more private and away from these nosy assholes." Illyana sneered, looking right at Sam. Sam flinched and turned away from her, keeping his gaze down. Illyana grinned at his reaction.

"I'm not in the mood to be dragged around the hospital, Illyana." You huffed softly.

"I'm sure Bobby would enjoy some privacy with you." You pulled your arm away and stood up, passing by the others as you left the room. Illyana frowned, standing up. Bobby gave her a flirty smile.

"Hey-" Illyana walked past him, following you out.

"Jesus, you really need to make other friends." You sighed, glancing back at her. Illyana gave a grin, locking her arm around yours.

"I'm better off with you."

Gifs aren't mine.

#x reader #x you #x y/n #x male reader #x male!reader #x female reader #x fem reader #marvel #marvel x reader #marvel x male reader #marvel x you #marvel x female reader #marvel x y/n #marvel x mutant reader #the new mutants #illyana rasputin #illyana rasputin x reader #Illyana rasputin x you #Illyana rasputin x y/n #Illyana rasputin x male reader #Illyana rasputin x female reader #the new mutants x reader #dani moonstar #rahne sinclair #sam guthrie #bobby da costa

[pencilscratchins]

Camp Xavier’s caters to each campers individual, unique… skill. Like fishing! Or… ax wielding. And not telekinesis. Or anything. 

#I HAVE NO EXPLANATION FOR THIS LOL #i just love uniforms #camp xavier #charles xavier #scott summers #jean grey #bobby drake #rouge #anna marie darkholme #kitty pryde #logan howlett #kurt wagner #ororo munroe #piotr rasputin #illyana rasputin #jubilee #x men #x men fan art #my art #camp au #professor x #cyclops #pheonix #iceman #shadowcat #wolverine #rogue #1k #2k #3k

[phoenixes-and-wizards]

lifetime (cross-posted on ao3)

At three months and ten days old, Hongki Min is whisked away by a man with a monocle.

At three months and twenty-three days old, Hongki becomes Number Six.

At two years old, Number Six has a massive tummy ache the entire day. He can't quite explain why, but he cries and cries until he can't take it no longer and pulls up his shirt. The first tentacle bursts forth, and Number Six cries harder because he's just like the monsters in his storybooks now, and his siblings will be scared of him for sure.

When he goes to the man with a monocle--Dad, they all call him--for comfort and maybe an explanation, the man simply drags him into a room Number Six has never seen before, yanks off his shirt, and lets the monsters loose. And when Number Six asks him to stop, Dad smacks him across the face so hard that he loses all hearing in his left ear for the next few days.

This is just the beginning.

At four years old, Grace comes into their lives and asks him oh-so-sweetly if he'd like a name. Any name, she says. Number Six says he doesn't know that many, so she chooses for him instead. At four years old, Number Six becomes Benjamin Hargreeves. Three days later, he starts going by “Ben” instead because Two--no, Diego still has trouble pronouncing words sometimes, which often results in a slap from Dad, and Ben really hates it when Diego cries.

At six years old, Ben falls off a balance beam because he is afraid of being so high off the ground. As a punishment, Dad makes him walk the course, over and over again, until Ben falls to his knees and begs for no more, please, I can't do it anymore.

You are too soft, Number Six, their father tells him. This is why you are at the end of my list, and leaves him there until Vanya and Grace find him, half-lying in a puddle of his own vomit.

At eight years old, Ben finds a sick kitten in the dumpster behind the mansion. When Reginald catches him nursing it back to health, he orders Ben to snap its neck. And when Ben finds that he can't, their father does it for him.

Weakness is not an option in my household, Number Six. Either rid yourself of it or get out, he says and leaves Ben to cry over the cat's corpse.

(Five helps him bury it and they sneak out for a donut at Griddy's afterwards. The nice waitress takes one look at Ben's swollen eyes and insists on giving him a chocolate eclair, free of charge.)

At ten years old, Ben falls in love with books. Their father insists that he only read the classics. Books of value, as he calls them. But Ben manages to sneak a handful of MARVEL comics into his cart anyways. He devours everything in three sittings, falls head over heels for Illyana Rasputin, and goes back for more.

At twelve years old, their father invites a tattoo artist to their home. Ben stares at the staircase the entire time, where he knows their sister is waiting, forever hovering on the sidelines. He goes to Klaus' room after, and even though he says nothing, Klaus helps him put cream and ice on his wrist. It's one of the few living memories he has of his brother where he isn't totally wasted: Klaus shushing him as he sniffles and telling him hey, the bruises are starting to fade, look, you'll be alright, hush now.

(They sneak out to Griddy's for comfort food, but this time, Allison and Luther and the others come as well. They're a bit awkward around each other at first, but when the waitress plays a song that starts with "Children, behave..." Allison exclaims "Hey, I love this one!" and yanks Vanya and Diego to their feet, twirling them around despite the other customers' stares. The waitress smiles at them and gives them another round of donuts, on the house.)

At twelve, they save a bank full of hostages, and for the first time in his entire life, Ben doesn't think of himself as a monster ... until the next day, when he sees the magazines calling him "The Horror." Ben sticks to the back for press conferences and interviews after that.

At thirteen, Ben loses his best friend. He stays up, night after night, just waiting for Five. But Five never makes it home.

At fifteen, Ben overhears their father calling his sister 'average' while she practices her violin. And Ben can't deal with the heartbroken look on her face, so he takes to reading wherever she's rehearsing, just so she'll have an audience. She's shy at first, playing only for an hour or so before announcing that she's done for the day, but soon enough, she's asking him if he wants to "hang out" and Ben will grab another book off his nightstand with a smile. It's the few moments in his life where he truly feels peaceful, and he holds onto them years later while he bleeds out in an alley.

Ben Hargreeves never makes it to eighteen.

#i'm sorry #i had to #tw: child abuse #tw: abusive parents #tw: animal death #ben hargreeves #number six #justin h. min #the horror #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #tua #ua #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #reginald hargreeves #tw: slight gore

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Movie Review: The New Mutants (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the week following the movie first airing in the U.K, so if you haven’t yet seen The New Mutants do not read on until you have.

General Reaction:

A three year delay for the final instalment of a twenty-year franchise, was it ultimately worth it? Well as an X-Men fanatic I am always going to say yes, it wasn’t a swan song or a wrap up to the X-Men Cinematic Universe, far from as it was originally pitched as the start of a trilogy and does sew the seeds for that. However, while Dark Phoenix did feel like a sombre instalment not only for that “First Class” timeline but also the team movies as a whole, this had an air of sadness to it because this is the last time I will see anything X-Men related on the big screen for who knows how long.

In that sense, this was an emotional movie for me, more than just the fact that the emotion of fear is a running theme through the movie. However, in terms of my actual enjoyment of the movie, it was a very good movie for what it was.

When your very final movie is effectively an origin movie then there’s always going to be that sense of incompleteness, and what this movie teases both for these characters and who is the big bad behind all of this, it’s really frustrating to know it’s over before it truly starts.

With that in mind, The New Mutants is very slow to get started as there’s a lot of exposition and because it feels like it’s own branch of the X-Men Cinematic Franchise, similar to Deadpool, there is a level of “Beginner’s Guide to Mutants 101″ at play here with the explanation of what a Mutant is and when a young or “New Mutant” first discovers their powers that, to give this movie credit, I have never truly seen explored properly outside of the comics other than a quick explanation from Storm to Jubilee in the first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series.

It’s also disappointing to know that unlike X-Men: The Last Stand or Dark Phoenix, there isn’t a sense of finality for these characters as we have just been introduced to them. Outside of Sunspot who has briefly appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past, this is the first cinematic appearance for all of these characters. The X-Men are briefly mentioned and Professor X is alluded to quite cleverly but every character outside of Sunspot is debuting here and to know they’re never going to be seen in this continuity again with a chance to develop is very sad.

In terms of the “horror” aspects of this movie I have to say this is very comic-book horror as in how Blade in the late 90s was horror. If you know the jump scares in this movie are coming then there are no jump scares, so basically if you’ve seen the trailers you know the jump scares.

As a horror movie, it felt very much like It-lite in terms of the theme of bringing nightmares into reality, only without the hard R-rating of the blood and gore because outside of one maybe two scenes there is nothing truly horrific to look at here.

There’s also a great parallel to the Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer shown from their episode in this movie and the Smiley Men who are Illyana’s nightmare brought to life. They’re creepy like them but they’re not as sinister as them...and that is a great choice of wording considering who the big bad behind the scenes of this movie is.

As an X-Men movie, which is what this is as the New Mutants in the comics are basically younger versions of the X-Men, as I say the first half of this movie isn’t that power heavy but is about introducing and establishing this team, the second half/last third on the other hand is power heavy. Not exactly Days of Future Past or Apocalypse heavy but still heavy for the powers this group of Mutants have.

Overall generally as both an X-Men movie and a comic-book movie, this was really a great movie particularly for the first new movie I have seen since lockdown.

Characters:

So this breakdown will be easy as there’s only really six characters to talk about but I’m going to make it a seven-character breakdown as the looming presence in the shadows of this movie deserves their own section.

Illyana Rasputin:

Alright so it is somewhat difficult to say if Illyana is my favourite or if Rahne is my favourite but I ultimately landed on Illyana for first as Anya Taylor-Joy is really in the spotlight the entire way through this movie. Every time she’s in a scene she commands the attention, and all five of the New Mutants have solo scenes so for Illyana to stand out the most, this is why she is #1 for me.

I’m not entirely sure where this movie takes place in terms of the overall X-Men timeline...but considering it’s supposedly in the revised timeline and Colossus is a member of the X-Men in the late noughties/early 2010s, I imagine this is either around the same time or can even be modern day (2017 or 2020).

Anya Taylor-Joy is as suited to the role of Magik as Channing Tatum would have been as Gambit in my opinion. Not only does she have a reasonable Russian accent but she just simply looks like how Magik looks in the comics.

I loved the rebel teen angst she had all the way through from when we first meet her to the very end, not only is it fitting for the movie but in my opinion it’s fitting for the character. This is a girl that literally goes through some resemblance of hell and is effectively a serial killer so of course she is going to have this icy dark exterior.

In terms of powers, I am slightly disappointed she never fully armoured up, it was always just her left arm that she had armoured complete with Soulsword, whereas in the comics her main look is her entire body. I guess the argument could be made the majority of it is simply a uniform and her arm is the only part armoured but I would have liked to have at least seen her crown.

But Magik’s powers for me here are an interesting combination of Zatanna and Nightcrawler which is a very good combination. The scene where she first appears through limbo fighting the Smiley Men was very impressive.

I would have also enjoyed it if we had spent more time in Limbo, given that we always saw cameo flashes of it whenever she manifested a portal, but we never actually had a full scene of her in her “special place”.

Not being too familiar with the comics however, I am almost completely unaware of Lockheed as a character. My only prior knowledge is his appearance in Pryde of the X-Men as a pest and I have to say I much prefer him here. The animation of both Lockheed and the Demon Bear were stellar.

As I say, I feel we have only just scratched the surface with where this version of Magik could go. I doubt very much Kevin Feige would bring Anya Taylor-Joy back if/when he does bring the character into the MCU because he doesn’t like playing with used toys but if ever there was an exception I would hope it would be her.

Rahne Sinclair:

It is slightly obvious to think of when Maisie Williams was filming for this movie as her hair, unless it’s a wig, is in that “Arry” phase of her Game of Thrones tenure.

Because of the current entertainment climate and the non-starting stance this movie finds itself released in, I think the lesbian romance between Rahne and Dani is going to go unnoticed. But considering this is the first major LGBT romance in a comic-book property I feel this movie will be cheated out of that representation in favour of what is to eventually come from Marvel.

Outside of the romance, I feel Rahne’s story rooted in her religion and mutation was fantastic. I love me some werewolf action and I feel I saw enough actual wolf to satisfy Rahne spending most of her time in “halfway form” as the character has been known to do in the comics.

The fact her nightmare was that religious leader branding her as a werewolf and thereby a monster, not only was it believable given her character but also the parallels to devout religious views on homosexuality were subtle but there.

I do feel the character spent way too much time screaming towards the end of the movie. This girl is a werewolf but spent most of the final battle as the screaming protector of her unconscious lover, I mean she was I guess helpful in waking Dani back up but never truly let rip like I feel the character could have.

I’m not entirely sure if Williams has any Scottish heritage about her but the slipping in and out of the accent was slightly distracting at times. When she was able to be loud the accent was often broken but in her quieter moments or longer dialogue scenes you could hear it.

I do appreciate keeping the nationality of the character from the comics, considering the mess they made of Banshee and Moira MacTaggert, and I do understand having an at the time name talent like Maisie Williams in the role, but there are surely Scottish actresses out there and the casting pool wasn’t exactly high for this movie.

Dani:

The main character in this movie, or focal character I guess as it’s an ensemble movie, is either Illyana or Dani, but because we start with Dani and are introduced to the other characters through Dani I guess she is the focal character.

Again, I give credit to the movie for keeping the nationality of the characters from the comics, but while Anya Taylor-Joy and Maisie Williams border on appropriation as they are not Russian or Scottish themselves, although Anya is of Scottish Argentine descent, Blu Hunt is at least Native-American as Dani is. I think they come from different tribes but I don’t think people are going to focus too much on that technicality.

Similarly to all these characters I don’t really know much about Dani so have no frame of reference to compare her to. I remember she appeared in one episode of X-Men: Evolution and I know her powers involve dreams, which similarly to the majority of the characters in this movie lends itself beautifully to a horror movie, but that’s about it.

I felt her relationship with Rahne was genuine and her own “survivors guilt” over being the only member of her family still alive after the Demon Bear attack was well explained.

I just didn’t understand why it was decided that Reyes had to kill Dani because of the severity of her powers, maybe it was the unpredictability of her powers because their limitations are literally the power of imagination, but I thought Reyes was responsible for sorting out those capable of being killers...surely the power to bring nightmares to life as many times as it takes to kill the person qualifies?

With the Demon Bear being tamed at the end of the movie, I kind of don’t see anywhere for Dani to go if they did continue, she still has the power to solidify nightmares, and I guess she can always call on the Demon Bear, but unlike Rahne or Magik I do not see any further development for her.

Sam:

Sam Guthrie aka Cannonball was an interesting one for me as I knew the character and I knew the actor, but hadn’t properly seen either one fully explored before. I have not watched Stranger Things so do not really know Charlie Heaton’s acting potential...but what I do know is he is from Yorkshire and cannot really do a Kentucky accent.

As for the character of Cannonball, I thought that early scene of him strapping himself to that weight while zooming through the air to either test himself or hurt himself was really well realised. There wasn’t enough of him going full cannonball throughout the movie, mostly it just came across as a sort of super speed which in a way I guess it is but projecting that force-field while he is zooming about is what makes the power set unique.

Similarly to Dani he had guilt over his nightmare which was him causing a mining accident which killed his co-workers and dad, but unlike Dani who never really developed the thought of it being her fault for her family’s death because of her conjuring the Demon Bear, Sam did at least hold a lot of guilt over what had happened...despite his nightmare being probably the weakest as the main effect it had was totalling a washing machine.

I also didn’t understand the back-to-back scenes of Sam suggesting he was meant to be in the hospital and felt he had to be there, but then in the next scene him trying to walk out saying he doesn’t belong there. Maybe it was the editing but it just seemed like a complete 180 from scenes that were literally back-to-back.

Roberto:

As I said this is Sunspot’s second cinematic appearance and I guess in the revised timeline he has gone from being portrayed by Mexican actor Adan Canto to now Brazilian actor Henry Zaga.

I didn’t feel the boys in this movie had that much to do, with both Sam and Berto it did feel like them simply coming to terms with their powers. I did like how both had that fear of hurting people and both had to learn I guess to push past that fear.

With Berto’s fear though, I do feel his power first manifesting in conjunction to him reaching sexual maturity was very well explored, because of course the combination of testosterone and becoming a living solar flare are not exactly two things anyone wants to mix. So when the result is burning your girlfriend to a crisp it is going to shake you.

Outside of his powers though there wasn’t a lot to the character and it is hard to remember a good line that he or Sam had that weren’t douchey, but for what we got he was a good character.

Reyes:

Wow this woman deserved to be eaten by the Demon Bear, which by the way I found almost as humorous as Katie McGrath being carried away by a pterodactyl in Jurassic World.

But yes, this doctor was the “villain” of the movie as she was the agent of the big bad Essex Corporation in charge of determining the new mutants’ powers and whether or not they’re worth progressing to their facility.

Outside of that I didn’t really think much of her as a character, she wasn’t a sympathetic character, she wasn’t believing to be doing this for the benefit of these young mutants, she was simply following orders.

It’s a deviance from the comics where Reyes is a hero and member of the X-Men, whereas here she is far from it.

Alice Braga is also regionally appropriately cast as she is Brazilian whereas the character is Puerto Rican, although whenever she spoke I kept thinking about Gal Gadot a lot, even looks wise there are similarities.

Sinister:

Now let’s talk about the looming big bad who I imagine would have been the major big bad of this supposed trilogy. Despite the new mutants believing the facility to be owned and run by the X-Men, it is in fact run by the Essex Corporation...Essex as in Dr. Nathaniel Essex, a biologist obsessed with evolution who became the Mutate supervillain Mister Sinister.

I want to see Mister Sinister in a live-action movie so badly it’s unreal, they’ve done Apocalypse so why they can’t do Sinister I don’t know.

This isn’t the first time Sinister has been alluded to as the Essex Corporation was in an end credits scene of X-Men: Apocalypse that acquired samples of Wolverine’s blood presumably to create X-23, but because those events took place in the 80s and these events take place in somewhat modern day it’s hard to correlate the two.

Obviously we are no longer going to get X-Men movies in this universe and continuity, but with the seeds being sown for Sinister more than once now, the baton has been laid down for Feige to finally bring this villain to life.

Reccomendation:

If like me you are more or less interested in just completing the twenty-year franchise because you love these characters and any interpretation of them then this is the movie for you. However, don’t expect wall to wall action, and I would recommend not getting too attached to these characters. It’s too late for me with Illyana I already love her and already feel Anya Taylor-Joy has set a high bar for whoever plays Magik next.

But for me personally, this franchise has been my favourite movie franchise and my favourite property. Even the bad movies I can at least find something good about them regardless of if the overall movies have been good or not. But just to reiterate, I do feel this is one of the good movies.

In a ranking of the 13 movies (not counting Once Upon a Deadpool), this ranks somewhere between #6-8 for me.

Overall I rate the movie a solid 8/10, by no means the best or a perfect X-Men movie but by no means one of the worst. The movie benefits from new characters (aside from Sunspot) but suffers due to the inevitability of this being the definitive end for the current franchise.

So what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Movie Reviews as well as other posts.

#the new mutants #new mutants #x-men #x-universe #magik #wolfsbane #danielle moonstar #sunspot #cannonball #cecelia reyes #mister sinister #illyana rasputin #rahne sinclair #dani moonstar #roberto da costa #sam guthrie #nathaniel essex #anya taylor joy #maisie williams #charlie heaton #blu hunt #alice braga #henry zaga

[voyagerprobe]

remember how the night before kittys wedding illyana told kitty she loved her and didn't want her to marry piotr? remember how kitty left piotr at the chuppah and literally no explanation was given for this in the next 2 years? remember how kitty just kissed a blonde girl with bangs on panel? all very interesting facts i think

#x-posts

[ruleroflimbo-a]

Together || Discord

Events: Donna and Illyana finally talk about their feelings but they’re both idiots so still not dating Date: 03.06 Involved: Illyana Rasputin and Donna Troy @ofcosmicwonder Mentioned: N/A Trigger warnings: none that I can think of Word count: 1,465

ILLYANA: Talking to Donna was something she’d planned on doing a lot sooner, but she waited until she’d recovered from restoring Limbo and her ability to feel returned. When she finally talked herself into actually going to have the conversation with Donna the city had gone to hell, so after it was over she waited a few more days before going to see her. Illyana had gone to her apartment and asked to talk, she wasn’t sure where to start though, words had never been her strong suit.

It took her a few minutes of awkward silence before she finally spoke. “Okay, so I’m not- I’ve never been good with words and talking so I just-” she paused, searching for the right words and the right way to phrase. “I need to say something and I need you to just not talk because I’m not sure I can get out everything I want to say if you interrupt, okay?”

DONNA: Stubbornness. Not all Amazonian characteristics were ones of virtue, and if there was one thing that Donna Troy could be... stubborn was surely a word for it. So, no matter how much she'd moped over her rejection in private, Donna hadn't dared to cave and text Illyana first. As much as she'd wanted to. As much as she'd thought about it. But Donna Troy was an Amazon and a princess and a weapon of the Titans of Myth! She was what others sought after, not someone who spent their time pining after someone else...

And yet. Text messages were never deleted; pictures were looked at more often than she would admit; and when an exhausted Donna opened the door after a week of Hell on earth and saw Illyana looking back at her, a soft smile spread across her face despite the hurt that lingered from their last conversation. "Hey," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "What are -- would you like to come inside at least?"

ILLYANA: Maybe she should have started with a more normal greeting, at least said hello first but she'd put this off for some time now and if she didn't get right to it she might not get to it at all. "No, I mean not right now, I just need you to listen for a moment" Illyana replied, still not sure how to say what she needed to but she was going to try and hopefully some of it would make at least a little sense.

"You told me about your feelings at the worst possible moment, which might be funny later on, but I couldn't feel anything at all when you told me." If she'd had any way of knowing she'd be able to feel again she might have answered differently. She might have told Donna she did feel the same but that she couldn't at that moment. Maybe that would have been better. "I never meant to make you think I didn't feel anything for you, because I do. You make me feel something I haven't before and I can't... I don't really know what that feeling is but I know it's good. It's also exciting and terrifying all at once" now she was rambling, which she never did. "I'm rambling now, which is embarrassing... you can talk now, please talk now so I can shut up."

DONNA: She’d always been good at listening when others needed to talk — it had practically been her role with the Titans — but she’d never felt her stomach flipping inside of her at the thought as much as it was in that moment. She didn’t know what she wanted more: to never stop listening to the sound of Illyana’s voice or to stop the woman from speaking before she could find a way to fracture Donna’s heart yet again.

In the end, Donna would always listen to the ones she cared for the most, even when it hurt.

“I don’t understand,” she said when Illyana begged her to speak. None of the blonde’s words made sense, and the more Illyana rambled in the more confused Donna became. She’d tried to respect that Illyana didn’t feel anything for her, but now it sounded as though Illyana had felt something for her... maybe still did. “What happened? What changed?”

ILLYANA: If there was one thing she'd never been good at it was explaining things, she'd always been terrible when it came to words and talking, situations like this one only made it worse. Donna deserved an explanation though, deserved one that made sense so Illyana was trying her best, apparently she was failing.

"After I absorbed Limbo I was in a lot of pain, and I eventually lost my ability to feel anything other than that pain" Illyana said, trying to explain as best she could, though she still wasn't completely sure about what had happened herself, which again made it harder to explain. "I couldn't feel anything when you told me about your feelings, and while I knew- I remembered I felt the same before I lost the ability to feel my emotions... I wasn't sure if it was permanent or not so I- I didn't want to tell you I felt the same when I wasn't sure if I would be able to feel it again."

Illyana sighed as she ran her hand through her hair, not sure if was she was saying made any sense at all. "I do feel the same though, I do like you, as more than a friend but... I'd understand if you'd just want to be friends after all this, or even if you never wanted to see me again."

DONNA: She tilted her head pensively, biting her lip as she listened to Illyana’s words. Donna hadn’t heard Illyana speak so many words in one breath since their time in Limbo, after the attack from Belasco. Getting to know Illyana had always come in the space between words. A space that Donna had been too selfish to grant the blonde when it mattered most.

Reaching out, Donna gently caught the hand Illyana ran through her own hair, pulling it away so Donna could properly look Illyana in the eyes. “No.” Donna didn’t let go of her hand.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “You were in pain and I failed to even notice.” Her fingers brushed over the knuckles of Illyana’s hand, counting each finger as seconds to breathe before she continued. “You couldn’t understand your emotions, and I let you feel alone in a time when you needed support the most. You say that you couldn’t feel and yet you acted with nothing but selflessness. To spare my feelings.”

Slowly, she let go of Illyana’s hand. “I haven’t stopped wanting to kiss you since that night in Limbo, but maybe we could just start with this.” Donna leaned forward and cupped Illyana’s face with a hand before placing her lips on the blonde’s other cheek, letting them linger for just a moment before pulling back. “The Fates don’t often give out second chances, but I would like to seize this one. Together, if you’d have me.”

ILLYANA: There weren't many people who could touch Illyana and not have her shy away from the touch, only a handful of people could really. Jean, Zatanna, Katya and at some point Donna had been added to the list. Instead of tensing up when Donna grabbed her hand, like she often did when people touched her, she felt herself relax.

Illyana looked down, her eyes focused on their hands, though her attention shifted back to Donna when the Amazon spoke. "Don't apologize, I'm good at hiding it when I'm in pain" it was sad how good she'd become at hiding it because she was so used to it, both the pain and having to hide it. "I didn't know if it was permanent and you deserved the truth, even if I did a terrible job at telling it" maybe if she was better with words she would have been able to tell Donna without her believing Illyana didn't share her feelings.

"Limbo?" Illyana asked with a slight frown "why- why would you want to kiss me after what I let happen to you?" Donna had been hurt because Illyana brought her to Limbo, because Illyana hadn't taken the chance that her father was back in Limbo seriously enough. Donna had been hurt in Limbo and it had been Illyana's fault. She didn't understand why Donna would want to kiss her after that.

Donna kissed her cheek and Illyana didn't know what to do. When Donna pulled back Illy placed her own hand over the one Donna had against her face before she could remove it. Rubbing her thumb gently across the back of Donna's hand. "I like the sound of together" she smiled.

#c: donna #discord: together

[comicreadingorder]

Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont Reading Order

With each list made I felt better about trying harder ones, but this was still the most intimidating comic reading list there is. It encompasses so many years, titles, minis, GNs and characters that I didn’t know what to bother with and what not to, or where they led. It took me a long time and a lot of mixing and matching of other lists to find a basic framework that I could then nudge as I read it.

This is an attempt at presenting the entire mutantsphere as it evolves. When New Mutants/X-Factor/Excalibur start I add what you need to know to introduce them - things that you would’ve known about if you were reading at the time of release just because of the climate or through osmosis. That said, I only mention the basics for setting up the title before returning to UXM, rather than integrating them all. Because of that not everything is by Claremont, but I’d say at least 80% is, and if I included anything that isn’t then there's a reason.

I chose to start with Classic X-Men, a reprint comic published in the late 80s to catch people up. Each issue has some corrections and cleaning up of panels or dialogue, plus a new short story (usually by Claremont) taking place around the time of each issue. I read these instead of the original issues because of the extras and benefit of hindsight.

Bold=important parts of the main story Italics=optional (with explanations)

Classic X-Men 1

Giant-Size Uncanny X-Men 1 -- Even though Classic 1 is supposed to be a modified reprint, it skips a lot of stuff in here, so I think both portray a more complete picture. Not gonna lie, it’s pretty messy reading both of these back to back cause Classic rewrites like 2/3 of the story, but that kind of big overhaul and confusion is only for the first issue.

Classic 2-13 (UXM 94-105)

UXM 106 -- Wasn’t in the Classic run because it wasn’t part of the “main” story but it’s a fun one shot.

Classic 14-16 (UXM 107-109)

UXM 110 -- A fill-in story that also wasn’t included in Classic, which is a crime because it’s the first time they played baseball!

Classic 17-30 (UXM 111-124)

UXM Annual 3

Classic 31-44 (UXM 125-138)

Bizarre Adventures 27

Phoenix The Untold Story -- Sort of a high-end “what if” issue that contains round table transcripts of the creators and editorial team, plus artwork of how they came to the conclusion of the story, and other possibilities along the way.

UXM Annual 4

Classic 45 (UXM 139) -- The end of the reprints adding new content. They continue on but without bonus stuff.

UXM 140

Marvel Team-Up (V1) 100 -- Introduces a future new mutant plus a short backup story about the first meeting between Storm and Black Panther as children. Written by Claremont.

UXM 141-149

Avengers Annual 10

UXM 150

UXM Annual 5

Marvel Fanfare (V1) 1-4

UXM 151-153

Uncanny X-Men and the Teen Titans -- Out of continuity crossover written by Claremont. Takes place around this time but can be read anytime after the Dark Phoenix Saga.

Marvel Treasury Edition 26, 27 -- The short backups near the end of each issue.

UXM 154-166

The New Mutants Graphic Novel -- Introduces the new students.

New Mutants 1-3 -- Leads into 167 better than just the graphic novel.

UXM 167

UXM Annual 6

UXM Special Edition (1983) — Reprint of giant-size 1 but includes a new kitty Pryde backup story.

X-Men: God Loves; Man Kills -- Wasn’t meant to be canon but future writers retcon it in.

UXM 168-171

Wolverine (V1) 1-4 -- Relevant to the main story.

UXM 172-175

UXM Annual 7

Magik 1-4 -- Shows how Illyana grew up and what she went through.

UXM 176-180

NM 15, 16 -- These (and later 17) follow Kitty’s journey with the NM while the rest of the X-Men are on Warworld in SW.

Secret Wars One 1-12 -- If you’ve read this before or don’t want to read the whole thing you don’t have to, but you should at least skim it for the X-Men bits, as the Colossus parts are particularly relevant. Magneto and Prof X also refer back to it sometimes.

UXM 181, 182

NM 17

UXM 183-188

Kitty Pryde & Wolverine 1-6

UXM 189-192

UXM Annual 8

Firestar 1, 2 -- Introduction to the character from the Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends cartoon into comics canon. It takes place over years which is why I cut UXM 193 in between.

UXM 193

Firestar 3, 4

X-Men and Alpha Flight 1-2 -- Muddy continuity things prevent it from clearly being put anywhere. Apparently the explanation is that it takes places between the middle and end of a single issue... Becomes relevant later.

UXM 194

Nightcrawler (V1) 1-4 -- Cockrum writes and draws Nightcrawler fucking around for four issues. Gets the briefest of acknowledgements later.

Power Pack (V1) 12, UXM 195

Secret Wars Two 1

UXM 196-198

Longshot 1-6 -- Introduces Longshot, Spiral, Mojo and Mojoworld.

UXM 199

NM Special Edition 1 (1985), UXM Annual 9

UXM 200, 201

X-Men: Heroes for Hope -- Special charity issue by every big name writer/artist at the time. Self-contained.

UXM 202-206

Avengers 263, Fantastic Four 286, X-Factor 1 -- These show how the Original 5 X-Men members come back together to form X-Factor. Can be read anywhere between 202 and 210, I just stuck them here for an attempt at pacing.

Marvel Fanfare 33 -- Doesn’t fit super well anywhere because this issue was meant as a video game tie-in. Other lists put it after annual 11 but that’s publication order and definitely doesn’t fit there.

NM Annual 2, UXM Annual 10

UXM 207-209

Mutant Massacre

UXM 210, X-Factor 9, UXM 211, XF 10, NM 46, Thor 373, Power Pack 27, UXM 212, Thor 374, XF 11, UXM 213 -- NM adds some backdrop -- like creating a medical area -- to the events but doesn’t progress the main story.

UXM 214-219

Fantastic Four vs The X-Men 1-4

X-Men vs Avengers 1-4 -- Provides closure to the story in 200.

UXM Annual 11

Fall of the Mutants

I dropped some titles you’ll see in other lists like Daredevil and New Mutants because they either add nothing or have their own, unrelated story that really just keeps you from the main title longer. Everything italicized is related to X-Factor, which also tells its own story but has some links to UXM which carry over into Inferno. It’s broken up with UXM issues for impact and spoilers. If you don’t care about X-Factor you can skip all that and just read 220-227.

XF 18-23, UXM 220-224, Incredible Hulk 340, XF 24, 25, PP 35, UXM 225-227, Captain America 339, XF 26, FF 312 -- Hulk is mostly a transition issue between 224 to 225, Power Pack just shows an extended version of a fight, Cap closes a loose end, Fantastic Four is an epilogue.

UXM 228-231

Excalibur Special Edition (1988) -- Alternate title “Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn.” This shows what happens to the leftover X-Men members who weren’t around for FotM and ties up their loose ends before launching Excalibur.  

Marvel Comics Presents 1-10, Wolverine (V2) 1-8, 10 -- These take place over the months between 227 and 232. They’re just Wolverine solo stories I included because there are a couple easter eggs that distinctly place them during this time and because Claremont wrote them.

UXM Annual 12

UXM 232-238

Inferno

UXM 239, X-Terminators 1-3, XF 36, UXM 240-241, NM 71, XT 4, NM 72-73, XF 37, UXM 242, XF 38, UXM 243, XF 39

UXM 244, 245

UXM Annual 13 -- Atlantis Attacks tie-in that’s pretty confusing if you’re not following the whole event. Jubilee backup that shows what happens to her between 244 and her next appearance. The Jubilee story is kinda worth it.

Havok and Wolverine: Meltdown 1-4 — I didn’t add this originally because it’s disappointing and self-contained but eventually it’s mentioned again, years after these lists end, in X-factor 112.

UXM 246-267

Days of Future Present: FF Annual 23, NM Annual 6, XF Annual 5, UXM Annual 14

UXM 268, 269

X-Tinction Agenda: UXM 270, NM 95, XF 60, UXM 271, NM 96, XF 61, UXM 272, NM 97, XF 62

UXM 273-274

Kings of Pain: NM Annual 7, New Warriors Annual 1, UXM Annual 15, X-Factor Annual 6 -- Story across annuals about NW and X-Force with backups about Freedom Force. Totally skippable unless you’re reading those. Put here for breathing room between it and the Muir Isle saga.

UXM 275-277

Muir Isle Saga: UXM 278-279, XF 69, UXM 280, XF 70

X-Men (V2) 1-3

For some epilogue stories, see also

X-Men (V2) 4-11 -- Jim Lee stuck around on pencils through 11. And while I have opinions about his effect on the series, he drew the hell out of the book.

Weapon X (Marvel Comics Presents 72-84) — Barry Windsor-Smith tells the original story revealing Logan’s transformation and escape from Weapon X.

X-Men/Spider-Man -- A series of one-shots about crossovers between the team and SM across their careers. It’s fine by itself but excels at finding points in each title’s continuity to unite them. Like 4 issues of fun references and interactions.

X-Men: Grand Design -- A truncated retelling of the X-Men’s years from the start up to Claremont’s exodus, including most future retcons. It might seem weird to suggest a retelling of stories you just read but this is done so well while seamlessly including retcons and making small adjustments with the benefit of hindsight that it is itself a great reading experience. Sort of like when you watch a movie series after finishing the books to compare.

X-Men Forever: Alpha, 1-20, Annual 1, 21-24, Giant-Size 1, XMF 2: 1-16 -- This was an ongoing that Claremont started in 2009, picking up from X-Men #3 to tell the stories he’d had planned as if nothing happened afterwards, which he does for some (like pairing kitty with gambit) while others he just kills off because he decides he’d rather add some stuff he couldn’t have done back then. It’s still fun to see all the rumored plotlines and hints coming to fruition. Or being somewhat confirmed. The story itself isn’t satisfying, but at least it’s interesting. Alpha reprints those 3 issues from 1991 but also has a short story bridging the gap between it and issue 1. You should read it before starting the first issue because they didn’t even include that in the trade. After 24 it then has a giant-size one shot and reboots into X-Men Forever 2, which lasts up to 16.

I’ll occasionally add some stuff so if you didn’t catch something last time it might not have been there! Like the X-Men Forever entry, which I read almost 7 months ago but didn’t decide to put in until now.

#uncanny x-men #x-men #chris claremont #wolverine #logan #x-factor #new mutants #excalibur #cyclops #scott summers #jean grey #hank mccoy #iceman #bobby drake #storm #ororo munroe #longshot #dazzler #alison blaire #colossus #piotr rasputin #kitty pryde #shadowcat #rachel summers #warren worthington the third #reading order #reading list #banshee #sean cassidy #theresa cassidy

[grimoire-of-geekery]

Bitch with a Sword: a Spread for Cutting Through Bullshit

(Image by Leonard Kirk)

I’m not very good at being a victim.  How about you?

So, sometimes we get stuck in situations that frankly suck.  And they suck because certain people suck.  Maybe they’re just thoughtless and selfish, maybe they’re actively malevolent, but one way or another, they act in a way that causes us harm.

Now, I don’t know about all of you, but I tend to try not to cause unnecessary harm.  It’s a religious thing, and I’m pretty serious about it.  I tend to do whatever I can to avoid conflict, because I hate it.  It’s not hard to ruin someone’s day or cause destruction, but destruction has far-reaching consequences, and it’s far harder to build things and create them than to destroy them, so I prefer a more live-and-let-live philosophy.  Maybe I’m just getting old, I don’t know.

The point is, sometimes the horrible goose has it right:

In those situations, best not to get caught with our pants down, I think.  I believe in arming those I teach or offer assistance to, since this world is a dangerous place (especially now).  And in the Age of Misinformation, where it’s all too possible for abusers to create whatever narrative they want to protect themselves from consequences, even the kind and the gentle need a weapon that’s not going to let them down.  As my good friend (and ex-boyfriend from many years ago) said, "brace yourselves everyone, bitch with a sword, coming through!”

I created this spread a few years back, when I was doing some geekomancy work with Illyana Rasputina, aka Magik from Marvel’s New Mutants.  If there’s ever been a character more defined by her struggle to reclaim her self and her sovereignty after being victimized, I’ve never seen one.  She literally fights with demons and defies the malevolent will of someone hell-bent (pun intended) on sacrificing her to their selfish agenda.  And she wins, and takes over the hell-dimension she’s been bound to, transforming her own personal trauma and its birthing place into a weapon for good.

Mind you, I was also working with some other fiction surrounding badass swords: the Marla Mason series by Tim Pratt, the various magical swords from the classic 90′s anime Slayers, the three holy swords of the Knights of the Cross in the Dresdenverse, and so on.  Magik’s sword, however, was the main focus.

One draws the spread as a weapon against a malevolent force.  One must firmly fix in one’s mind the foe or toxic situation as one draws.

Lay seven cards in the following pattern, beginning with the line of five from bottom to top, and then with the two extra Guard cards from left to right.

We read in the following order:

The Base- the situation at hand, which helps identify why you’ve drawn the sword

The Edge- the power you are bringing to the situation

The Point- what you are putting an end to

The Handle- how you get a handle on the situation, your solution

Then you read the the three Guard cards, which will tell you how to protect yourself from fallout.  Read the center card as the primary advice, with the other two as follow-up instructions or further explanation of the solution.

The thing about this spread is, it starts moving your situation toward a solution as soon as it’s laid.  Keep it hidden from anyone who might sabotage your efforts, since knowing the make of your weaponry may give them the ability to counteract your efforts.  In fact, the seven cards you draw will become talismans protecting you in this situation.  They will keep liars from lying, weasels from weaseling out, and hypocrites from getting away with their bullshit.

Now, this spread was crafted as a weapon against evil, to counter the power of those who offer harm to oneself.  Like Illyana’s sword, it’s drawn forth from your soul.  If you seek to wield the sword, but wield it unwisely, pettily, or in arrogance, beware of the cost.  Above all, use good judgment and discernment when engaging with foes of any kind, and don’t get suckered in by someone else’s sob story.  The goal is not to be embroiled in constant conflict, but rather to move beyond the battlefield and find happiness on the other side.

And, like Illyana, and Marla, and any other of us “bitches with swords,” daring to defend yourself will likely mark you as a villain to some.  I hope you’re braced for that, as I’ve yet to find a way to protect myself without getting treated like the aggressor.  If you figure one out, please share it, I’m all ears.

May you wield your weapons wisely and with honor.

#anyone who wants to talk to me about personal stuff is welcome to message me privately #I don't answer anons about personal issues #but I do answer polite inquiry #thank you to everyone who is offering me support during these hard times