May 29 2009
X-Men, the early years
So I recently bought the 40 years of the X-Men collection on DVD-ROM. I may be a collector, but it’s secondary to my love of simply reading the comics. So, not having the cash to buy, what, 485 comics(?), I decided to go digital and try to buy the ones I really, really wanted.
So, I’m only through the first 3 (they are f**ing long!), but it’s pretty strange to see so many differences. They took me completely by surprise. I mean, the only things I know about the X-Men’s early days are what the characters in today comics reminisce about, but the reality is slightly different.
When I watched the third X-Men movie, I remember scoffing at the portrayal of Jean Grey. I’d always thought of her as an oxymoron. Such a powerful woman, yet so dependent on others. I always got this impression of her as such a meek woman, always calling out for Scott to help her, even though her power was much more awesome. I mean, she can stop someone from exercising their power - right away that’s more formidable than optic beams. She can try her telepathy to make someone (even an enemy) defend her and, if that doesn’t work, she can move them with her telekinesis to use them as a human shield. Also, she’s the Pheonix. This is easy math, people.
Then I started reading Uncanny X-Men #1 and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. In the first issue, Jean Grey hasn’t even joined the X-Men. Only Angel, Cyclops, Beast, and Iceman are students at Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters (by the way, “youngsters” is such an antiquated word). Halfway through the comic, Professor Xavier reveals that a new student will be joining them and it’s a girl named Jean Grey. This is not the Jean Grey I’ve grown accustomed to over the year, however, but some red-headed vixen that would be better suited to some film noire. She enjoys the attention that ALL of the guys give her. Even Charles Xavier fancies himself in love with her. In the third issue, Xavier has a thought bubble that describes his love for her and the fact that he won’t voice his feelings because he’s leader of the X-Men and confined to a wheelchair. WTF?
I was really excited to see Beast before the hair, but, again, the character was so different. In the first two comics, you wouldn’t know Beast is educated at all. He speaks like some walking stereotype from the Bronx and acts like Ben Grimm does in the Fantastic Four movies - like a woe-is-me schmuck. As though Stan Lee and his creative team had, had a discussion about it, in the third issue Beast is changed. As though the first two issues didn’t exist, Beast became something that started to resemble the classics-quoting scholar that we all know and love.
Now anybody that’s read the comics or watched the movies can tell you that the “X” in X-Men refers to the X gene that causes the mutation in humans. Not according to the very first X-Men issue. Charles Xavier tells Jean that he calls his students X-Men because they have “ex-tra” abilities. How scientific of him. I understand that this comic is a few decades old, so that can slide, but it’s funny right?
Bobby and Warren seem to be essentially the same. Bobby is a bit younger and he’s always cracking jokes. Warren is a real ladies man, but there’s been no mention of his wealth yet. Professor Xavier, however, seems to be more serious, less lenient - okay, I’ll say it…an asshole. But, after having read these, I can see why the writers have chosen to portray him in such a light as of late. Xavier didn’t care so much about messing with people’s free will or idly reading their thoughts in the beginning. In the beginning he got the job done - by any means necessary.
Well, I’ve got a lot to read! Keep reading panelled pages people!
