Post by Atom(ica) Discord on May 26, 2017 15:19:37 GMT
The intellectual with large hands and feet - capable of incredible feats of strength and agility...
The earnest young man who projects ruby-red, uni-beams of concussive force from his eyes - uncontrollably...
The snow-covered, comedian who hurls icy projectiles and lowers the temperature whenever he enters a room...
The rich kid with hollow bones and a 7-meter wingspan...
And the girl next door who uses her mind to gain mastery over the matter...
Just as they were billed in 1963 in their debut issue, theses are indeed, the strangest superheroes of all.
Okay, before we get started proper, the premise of this post is an examination of how best to re-imagine the X-Men for inclusion into the MCU. If that notion offends you, I would strongly recommend that you read no further. And, before you point out, with wicked glee, that the X-Men won't ever appear in the MCU - save it - it's fun to fantasize.
I'm going to do my level best to avoid impugning the work of any studio or other entity currently handling the IP. It's not a productive exercise, and I don't care enough about their output to get into it with their fans. If you like what the licensees are doing, more power to you. I hope they keep making films you enjoy, however, in all honestly, we don't have much to talk about, and there are boards dedicated to discussing their offerings.
People have tried to address this issue from a logistical standpoint, and that's great. I'm really psyched that fans are thinking the details through. I would like to look at this issue more from a broadly, thematic standpoint.
The X-Men have been robbed of their WEIRD factor. Being a mutant has been captured from two distinct angles cinematically thus far; as an exalted gift and a dreaded curse. There has also been a lot of drum beating about fear, hatred, and bigotry (to the point of where it sounds hollow to my ear with overuse). These are relevant themes when it comes to portraying the Children of the Atom in any media, and I would never say otherwise but, I think we need a new angle.
Mutancy is a very strange thing. It can be a disability just as much as it is anything else.
While the distinguished competition is thinking of taking their handsome crew of young people to the stars with the Phoenix Saga, I think Marvel should go smaller with the IP. Start with the core team and tell a more intimate story (to be expanded from there). Four boys and one girl all struggling with strange disabilities and their venerated, wheelchair-bound coach who is going to open up a new world of discovery and freedom for them. He will teach them to use their powers for good, and they will do so with heart and conviction (not manufactured doubt, hesitation, sarcasm or irony). He shelters them and protects their existence with the awesome power of his mind (which quickly explains where they've been all this time by the way) until he no longer can. After that, they have to grow up fast and face the world and others like themselves who would seek power and material gain.
Let's lose the clichéd shadowy military organizations, the on-the-nose preachiness about bigotry, the ultra-competent use of abilities that occurs after a 2-minutes pep-talk. Let's lose some of the overhead and free these kids up to be heroes before they learn the ultimate lesson - first hand - that they won't be accepted into the human family that they are sworn to protect.
Mutants are not "meta-humans" or "enhanced" they are the victims of bizarre disabilities that are sometimes beautiful, hideous, and destructive. The MCU should focus on that instead of putting the characters into an endless, reactionary loop where they're always responding to external stimulus.
Put succinctly, the X-Men are freaks, not refugees from an 80s music video. Let's embrace that.
SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
The earnest young man who projects ruby-red, uni-beams of concussive force from his eyes - uncontrollably...
The snow-covered, comedian who hurls icy projectiles and lowers the temperature whenever he enters a room...
The rich kid with hollow bones and a 7-meter wingspan...
And the girl next door who uses her mind to gain mastery over the matter...
Just as they were billed in 1963 in their debut issue, theses are indeed, the strangest superheroes of all.
Okay, before we get started proper, the premise of this post is an examination of how best to re-imagine the X-Men for inclusion into the MCU. If that notion offends you, I would strongly recommend that you read no further. And, before you point out, with wicked glee, that the X-Men won't ever appear in the MCU - save it - it's fun to fantasize.
I'm going to do my level best to avoid impugning the work of any studio or other entity currently handling the IP. It's not a productive exercise, and I don't care enough about their output to get into it with their fans. If you like what the licensees are doing, more power to you. I hope they keep making films you enjoy, however, in all honestly, we don't have much to talk about, and there are boards dedicated to discussing their offerings.
People have tried to address this issue from a logistical standpoint, and that's great. I'm really psyched that fans are thinking the details through. I would like to look at this issue more from a broadly, thematic standpoint.
The X-Men have been robbed of their WEIRD factor. Being a mutant has been captured from two distinct angles cinematically thus far; as an exalted gift and a dreaded curse. There has also been a lot of drum beating about fear, hatred, and bigotry (to the point of where it sounds hollow to my ear with overuse). These are relevant themes when it comes to portraying the Children of the Atom in any media, and I would never say otherwise but, I think we need a new angle.
Mutancy is a very strange thing. It can be a disability just as much as it is anything else.
While the distinguished competition is thinking of taking their handsome crew of young people to the stars with the Phoenix Saga, I think Marvel should go smaller with the IP. Start with the core team and tell a more intimate story (to be expanded from there). Four boys and one girl all struggling with strange disabilities and their venerated, wheelchair-bound coach who is going to open up a new world of discovery and freedom for them. He will teach them to use their powers for good, and they will do so with heart and conviction (not manufactured doubt, hesitation, sarcasm or irony). He shelters them and protects their existence with the awesome power of his mind (which quickly explains where they've been all this time by the way) until he no longer can. After that, they have to grow up fast and face the world and others like themselves who would seek power and material gain.
Let's lose the clichéd shadowy military organizations, the on-the-nose preachiness about bigotry, the ultra-competent use of abilities that occurs after a 2-minutes pep-talk. Let's lose some of the overhead and free these kids up to be heroes before they learn the ultimate lesson - first hand - that they won't be accepted into the human family that they are sworn to protect.
Mutants are not "meta-humans" or "enhanced" they are the victims of bizarre disabilities that are sometimes beautiful, hideous, and destructive. The MCU should focus on that instead of putting the characters into an endless, reactionary loop where they're always responding to external stimulus.
Put succinctly, the X-Men are freaks, not refugees from an 80s music video. Let's embrace that.
SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave