One of the silver chest plates flipped open and a man emerged, hands on his hips. He was dressed in a flowing cape and metal helmet that resembled those of ancient Rome.
“Today is the dawn of a new day! A new age!” he cried out. “All must submit or else feel the wrath of my harbingers of doom! So swears Dr. Apocalypse!”
A burst of crimson energy struck the mad would-be despot, knocking him from his platform. As the caped marauder fell to imminent doom, he was caught in midair, suspended by an energy signature that resembled a flaming bird.
“...did he just call himself Dr. Apocalypse?” Those words came from the mouth of a man made completely out of ice, suspended in midair by a bridge made of the same frigid substance. By his side hovered a man and a woman, both surrounded by flames. Another man hovered close by, with short red hair, his mouth wide open. Although no sound was heard from the Irishman's mouth, the truth of the matter was his powerful vocal cords emitted a high-frequency pitch nothing on less than four legs could hear.
A young woman with long, chestnut hair hovered seemingly with no external stimulus and by her side, a man in a blue cape surrounded by a pink field of energy. The other members of this group consisted of a man with long blond hair, several throwing knives hanging from his leather jacket and his left eye glowing with energy. With him was a young Chinese woman, wearing a short jacket made of yellow leather. Not far from this pair was a woman with flowing red hair, her eyes crackling with the flames of retribution. The three of them were surrounded by a similar fiery bird, as well as their leader—a man wearing a black leather trench coat with shaggy brown hair and a black visor with a single red lens concealing his powerful eyes.
“X-Men, let's get astonishing,” said Cyclops with a sly grin.
Phoenix released her hold on Jubilee and Longshot, who jumped into the fray. The young Asian shot a disgusted look at the knife-fighter. “Did he seriously just say 'let's get astonishing?'”
Longshot grinned at his companion. “Guess Cyclops has developed a sense of humor.”
“Ugh, just great. Now instead of endless hours in the Danger Room, he's going to be cracking bad jokes?” asked Jubilee, unleashing her pyrotechnics on the legs of one of the harbinger robots.
“Iceman's not gonna be happy that Slim's stealing his schtick.”
“Hey!” shouted the frosted X-Man from above. “My jokes are always gold!”
“Whatever you say, Frosty,” said Jubilee, leaping away as a harbinger fired an energy blast at her. She looked at Longshot, who nimbly dodged the blasts. “Do you really think knives are gonna work against these guys?”
Longshot winked at her and leapt into the air, gripping a light post and swinging around it. At the apex of his swing, he released, the momentum sending him soaring. In midair, he drew several knives and threw them as his eye crackled with golden energy. The knives struck the eyes of one of the robots, blinding it. When he landed, he smiled at Jubilee.
“Lucky bastard...” she muttered.
“Don't hate me because I'm better than you.”
Firestar took off like a rocket, encasing her body in a field of microwave radiation that allowed her to burrow into the chest of one of the robots. While inside, she extended the field, melting the harbinger to total slag.
Banshee soared through the air, stopping as he faced off against a harbinger. His mouth wide open, Sean Cassidy altered the frequency of his pitch, unleashing a powerful sonic scream that burst through the head of the harbinger.
“Do you have to do that when I'm within hearing range?” asked Iceman, sticking a finger in his ear.
“That's what yeh get for wanting to dress me like a leprechaun, boyo.”
“Oh come on! It's great for publicity!” said Iceman. He extended his hands, his ability to control temperature freezing the moisture in a straight line between him and a harbinger. The result was a giant ice spike that burst through the harbinger's back. He looked over his shoulder at Banshee. “C'mon, just say it once.”
“No.”
“Just tell me to stay away from your Lucky Charms.”
“If yeh don't start concentratin' on the robot armada, we'll see if me scream can shatter ice.”
“Jeez, paging Dr. Killjoy...” muttered Iceman.
“Could we stop with the ridiculous banter?” asked Sunfire. “Otherwise, I may remember my hatred for Americans.”
Several harbingers surrounded the Japanese mutant. He smiled as his solar field extended to encase the robots as well. Burning with the heat of the sun, the metal robots were quickly melted down to slag.
Shadowcat flew through the air, the molecules passing right through her in her phased state. She nimbly moved through several harbinger heads in quick succession, her powers disrupting their electronics and causing them to malfunction.
“So Justice, how's it feel being an X-Man?” she asked.
“Little odd, going from being loved as an Avenger to being feared and hated,” said the telekinetic mutant, forcing two of the harbingers to simultaneously punch each other through the head.
“You get used to it,” said Shadowcat. “I've been doing this since I was fourteen.”
Phoenix swirled around above the sky, disassembling several harbingers all at once, tearing them apart at the molecular level with her fast telekinetic abilities.
“Damn...” said Justice, watching the original X-Man with complete and total awe. “See, why can't I do that?”
“I just wish I could do what Sunfire did to those harbingers,” said Firestar. “We'll get there, babe.”
With all the harbingers down, Dr. Apocalypse stood amidst their wreckage, muttering a string of expletives. An optic blast struck him in the back.
“Watch your language, Doctor. This is a family program,” said Cyclops.
“You—you imbeciles!” shouted Dr. Apocalypse. “You destroyed my finest creations! You will surely pay for this...this insult! Encased in my armor is a nuclear core and I will now detonate it, turning Chicago into a wasteland!”
“You know something, Doctor?” asked Cyclops. “I knew a guy named Apocalypse. And the fact that you're using that name, prefaced with an inane title, doesn't make me too happy.”
“Stand back!” shouted Dr. Apocalypse, his hand moving to his gauntlet. “I'll do it, I sw—!”
Before he finished his threat, Cyclops fired another optic blast, striking Dr. Apocalypse in his chest, hurling him against one of the fallen harbingers. The impact knocked him unconscious.
“I could have taken care of him with my telepathy, Scott. You didn't need to risk him detonating that bomb.”
“I know, but this felt more satisfying.”
“Scott—”
“We won, Jean. Enjoy it.”
“Should we get going?” asked Shadowcat, jerking her thumb to the throngs of people approaching. “Traditionally, crowds haven't been good for the X-Men.”
“No, we're done running,” said Cyclops. He turned to face the crowd. A few beats of silence passed, the civilians eyeing the X-Men carefully. And then, a reaction the mutants could never have been prepared for.
Applause. Shouts of praise. Happiness.
“Welcome to fame, X-Men,” said Iceman. “Hope you survive the experience.”
|
#1
JAN 09 |
 |
“Astonishing”
Island X
Lake Michigan
Five Miles West of the Illinois/Michigan Border
The 1968 390 CID Ford Mustang, retrofitted with state-of-the-art technology, soared through Chicago airspace before touching down on the deck of a complex with a giant red X in a circle marking its location. The driver-side door opened and a man dressed in a navy-blue uniform with a white harness and matching belt and pouches. His short hair was a dark brown that went gray at the temples and he wore a black patch over his right eye. Despite his immaculate uniform, his face was unshaven.
He reached into one of his pouches, producing a Cuban cigar and a box of wood matches, one of which he used to light the rolled tobacco. A hatch opened on the deck and a platform rose up, holding Cyclops on it.
“Colonel Fury,” he said, offering his hand. “Thanks for coming.”
“Good to see you back among the living, Summers,” said Fury, shaking hands.
“You know what they say about us mutants,” said Scott. “We're like cockroaches on steroids. Come on inside.”
Fury stepped onto the platform and Scott pushed a button on the small remote he held in his hand. The elevator lowered below the deck, the hatch closing over them. They were inside a shaft now and when they reached their destination, doors opened revealing the foyer, a large round room with doors leading to various areas, each door adorned with a large X.
“Welcome to Island X,” said Scott. Fury cocked an eyebrow and the X-Man chuckled. “We're...still working on the name.”
“For all your good qualities, you heroes ain't exactly creative when it comes to naming your headquarters,” said Fury. “I'm actually a little surprised the FF didn't name their place the Four Building.”
“This way,” said Scott, leading the way to one of the doors. It opened to a short corridor and at the end was another round room, smaller than the foyer, with a round table and seats surrounding it. Only Phoenix and Banshee sat around the table. Cyclops took his seat as Fury leaned against the wall. There was another addition in the room, Warren Worthington III, dressed in a blue suit with a gold tie and an X pinned to his lapel.
“Now we can get started,” said Warren. “Thanks for making the trip out to Chicago, Nick. What have you got for us?”
“This whackjob, Dr. Apocalypse?” asked Fury. “First off, guy's not even a real doctor. He flunked out of community college, for crying out loud. Second, either he was bluffing or someone scammed him, because we didn't find any nuclear material in his armor. What was interesting is that, apart from his helmet that was based on Magneto's designs is where his 'harbingers' came from.”
“What did you find in them?” asked Jean.
“The technology is pretty outdated, but it looks like they were built from schematics created by Bolivar Trask,” said Fury.
“Sentinels?” asked Sean. “But he didn't seem like he was out for mutants, just the standard power-mad lad.”
“And he was that,” said Fury. “But what's interesting is that the Sentinel tech was missing the standard X-gene scanners. And this isn't cutting edge stuff, either. We're talking Mark 0 here.”
“If this guy had nothing going for him, where did he get the money to afford this?” asked Jean.
“That's what we're trying to find out,” said Fury. “Maybe he had some powerful friends but so far we haven't been able to turn up anything on him. A guy this stupid though, he had to have left a trail somewhere. We'll figure it out.”
“Thanks Nick, we appreciate it,” said Scott.
“Just watch your backs, kids,” said Fury. “Magneto's helmet design, Mark 0 Sentinels, and a guy using the name Apocalypse? Sounds like an X-Villain Tribute Album to me.”
Millennium Park
The Jay Pritzker Pavilion
A crowd of thousands gathered at the signature bandshell in the most prominent location of Chicago's Grant Park, located near the lakefront. Extending over the Pavilion's four thousand seats were a series of crisscrossing bars. Combined with the massive bandshell, it created the appearance of a blooming flower.
The seats were packed and the lawn area, which can accommodate an additional seven thousand people, was also jammed. The gathering overflowed into the surrounding areas of the park. Chicago's mayor addressed the joyous crowd from the stage. The speakers carried his voice across the park. “As mayor of the city of Chicago, it is my pleasure to welcome the Windy City's first team of superheroes to our historic city. Like other minorities in the past, mutants have begun flocking to Chicago to avoid persecution in other areas of the country. Their recent defeat of a would-be supervillain has proven that the X-Men are here to stand up for the residents of our great city. I'm proud to welcome here and I declare this day, August 12th, as X-Day in Chicago. And now, I'm going to turn over the stage to a man who needs no introduction. He is an Avenger and a world-renowned scientist but what many may not realize is that he started off as a student of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and a member of the X-Men. Ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming Dr. Henry P. McCoy, the Beast!”
Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd and shouts of “WE LOVE YOU, HANK!” However, after a few moments, no one emerged on the stage. Everyone began looking around and the mayor, growing nervous, spoke into the mic again.
“Hey Hank? You wouldn't want to keep your adoring public waiting, would you?”
Suddenly, a streak of blue flew through the air, swinging from the stainless steel pipes that crisscrossed the seating area. This drove the audience nuts as they cheered even louder. The bouncing ball of fur landed on the stage and took a bow before stepping behind the podium.
“Hello Chicago!” said the Beast. “I'm positively ecstatic to be here on this day! I'm most-known for my time as an Avenger but I'm here today as an X-Man to join in welcoming some of my nearest and dearest friends to this fair city. Many are not aware, but the X-Men were formed at the same time as the Avengers. However, we have continually operated in the darkness. That all changes today, thanks in large part to the efforts of Professor Charles Xavier and Warren Worthington III. However, as much as it pains me to say it, I cannot accept the honor of issuing the following statement. Only one man is worthy of that honor. So welcome to Chicago America's number one patriot, the Living Legend, the Sentinel of Liberty, Captaaaaaaaaaaaain Americaaaaaaaa!”
Steve Rogers, dressed in his familiar red, white and blue costume, his famous shield strapped to his back, walked onstage, greeted with just as many—if not more—cheers as the Beast. The two teammates shook hands before Hank offered him the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have known the X-Men for years. I've fought beside them and I've always known them to be nothing less than honorable and heroic. They have fought to protect a world that hates and fears them, and they have been attacked by supervillains as often as they have been attacked by the very people they have laid down their lives for. They've known incredible tragedy and hardship and it has always been my hope that eventually, they would earn the acceptance they so richly deserved. To that end, I have decided to do something that I should have done years ago. On this, the first X-Day, the Avengers are officially endorsing the X-Men. They are our allies, they are our friends, but more importantly they are our brothers in arms. Join me now in welcoming the uncanny, the amazing, the astonishing X-Men!”
The flames of the Phoenix illuminated the night sky. The ten X-Men were lowered to the stage by the power of Jean Grey and once their feet reached the stage, the flames vanished and Cyclops walked up to Captain America. The men shook and when he turned to offer his hand to the Beast, his old friend wrapped his massive blue arms around the X-Men's leader, giving him a massive bear hug. Scott stepped up to the podium and looked out at the gathered people.
“Assuming Hank didn't squeeze all the air out of me, maybe I can say a few words,” said Cyclops with a grin. He was greeted with laughter. “I've been fighting for mutant acceptance since I was a teenager. I've lost friends and loved ones. I watched as madmen corrupted the image of mutants everywhere. And I was beginning to lose hope that this day would ever come.
“But now it's here. That dream we've fought all these years for, the dream that we all devoted our lives to, is finally, at long last, becoming a reality. This is a great day for mutants everywhere and it's a day that will go down in history.
“However, we'd be naive if we assumed our work was done. No dream is realized without struggle, without sacrifice. And just as we haven't seen the end of racism or sexism or homophobia, we also haven't seen the end of genoism. It may be years—perhaps even decades—before these ugly words are eliminated from our vocabulary.
“But we'll keep fighting. And thanks to all of you, we've made excellent progress. We've made massive strides. We've won the day but the fight still continues. There are those on both sides—human and mutant—who are already plotting to reverse everything we've accomplished.
“Except we won't let them. Tonight we celebrate, but we celebrate with vigilance. Because we know that progress and victory are two different things. And we won't let any amount of positive media coverage convince us that those who stand against us have decided to stand down. They're still out there.
“To quote the great Martin Luther King, 'I must confess, my friends, the road ahead will not always be smooth. There will be still rocky places of frustration and meandering points of bewilderment. There will be inevitable setbacks here and there. There will be those moments when the buoyancy of hope will be transformed into the fatigue of despair. Our dreams will sometimes be shattered and our ethereal hopes blasted. We may again with tear-drenched eyes have to stand before the bier of some courageous civil rights worker whose life will be snuffed out by the dastardly acts of bloodthirsty mobs. Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'
“We are the Astonishing X-Men. And we're here to stay.”
Cheers erupted and Iceman offered a sly grin as he whispered, “...and the crowd goes wild.”
The End...
ASTONISHMENT
I thought this was a fitting title for this letters' column/author's notes. Most people already know who I am, so I probably don't need any introduction. What may surprise some is my decision to write Astonishing X-Men for Marvel Anthology.
Yeah, that's a good question, Dino. Why the hell are you writing this book? Haven't you already written about a gajillion X-Men issues?
Well, yes. Hell, if you combine all the mutant-related stuff I've done, I think I've written more X-Men stuff than anyone else who's ever operated in this community. Some of it good, some of it absolutely horrible, and some of it middle-of-the-road. But hey, when you've got something to say, you've got something to say. And I've got something to say here.
Tony Thornley actually approached me about coming onboard MA's X-Men initiative with him. And the timing was pretty perfect—I was beginning to plan out some ideas for a proposal to kick-start MA's X-line but I was stuck on some aspects. I just couldn't make the “protecting a world that hates and fears us” angle interesting to me anymore as a writer. It's something that, quite frankly, has been done to death. How many times have we seen the X-Men going up against Sentinels or Magneto or Apocalypse? How many times have we seen mutant lynch mobs and the like? Why not try approaching the outsider status from a different angle—one of celebrity?
This is an idea that Tony, Erik and MC came up with, but it also reminded me of conversations I've had with Derrick Ferguson and Tom Deja, who both maintain that if mutants were real, chances are you'd have quite a few of them enjoying a lot of celebrity.
Previous Issue | Next Issue
Lake Michigan
Five Miles West of the Illinois/Michigan Border
The 1968 390 CID Ford Mustang, retrofitted with state-of-the-art technology, soared through Chicago airspace before touching down on the deck of a complex with a giant red X in a circle marking its location. The driver-side door opened and a man dressed in a navy-blue uniform with a white harness and matching belt and pouches. His short hair was a dark brown that went gray at the temples and he wore a black patch over his right eye. Despite his immaculate uniform, his face was unshaven.
He reached into one of his pouches, producing a Cuban cigar and a box of wood matches, one of which he used to light the rolled tobacco. A hatch opened on the deck and a platform rose up, holding Cyclops on it.
“Colonel Fury,” he said, offering his hand. “Thanks for coming.”
“Good to see you back among the living, Summers,” said Fury, shaking hands.
“You know what they say about us mutants,” said Scott. “We're like cockroaches on steroids. Come on inside.”
Fury stepped onto the platform and Scott pushed a button on the small remote he held in his hand. The elevator lowered below the deck, the hatch closing over them. They were inside a shaft now and when they reached their destination, doors opened revealing the foyer, a large round room with doors leading to various areas, each door adorned with a large X.
“Welcome to Island X,” said Scott. Fury cocked an eyebrow and the X-Man chuckled. “We're...still working on the name.”
“For all your good qualities, you heroes ain't exactly creative when it comes to naming your headquarters,” said Fury. “I'm actually a little surprised the FF didn't name their place the Four Building.”
“This way,” said Scott, leading the way to one of the doors. It opened to a short corridor and at the end was another round room, smaller than the foyer, with a round table and seats surrounding it. Only Phoenix and Banshee sat around the table. Cyclops took his seat as Fury leaned against the wall. There was another addition in the room, Warren Worthington III, dressed in a blue suit with a gold tie and an X pinned to his lapel.
“Now we can get started,” said Warren. “Thanks for making the trip out to Chicago, Nick. What have you got for us?”
“This whackjob, Dr. Apocalypse?” asked Fury. “First off, guy's not even a real doctor. He flunked out of community college, for crying out loud. Second, either he was bluffing or someone scammed him, because we didn't find any nuclear material in his armor. What was interesting is that, apart from his helmet that was based on Magneto's designs is where his 'harbingers' came from.”
“What did you find in them?” asked Jean.
“The technology is pretty outdated, but it looks like they were built from schematics created by Bolivar Trask,” said Fury.
“Sentinels?” asked Sean. “But he didn't seem like he was out for mutants, just the standard power-mad lad.”
“And he was that,” said Fury. “But what's interesting is that the Sentinel tech was missing the standard X-gene scanners. And this isn't cutting edge stuff, either. We're talking Mark 0 here.”
“If this guy had nothing going for him, where did he get the money to afford this?” asked Jean.
“That's what we're trying to find out,” said Fury. “Maybe he had some powerful friends but so far we haven't been able to turn up anything on him. A guy this stupid though, he had to have left a trail somewhere. We'll figure it out.”
“Thanks Nick, we appreciate it,” said Scott.
“Just watch your backs, kids,” said Fury. “Magneto's helmet design, Mark 0 Sentinels, and a guy using the name Apocalypse? Sounds like an X-Villain Tribute Album to me.”
Millennium Park
The Jay Pritzker Pavilion
A crowd of thousands gathered at the signature bandshell in the most prominent location of Chicago's Grant Park, located near the lakefront. Extending over the Pavilion's four thousand seats were a series of crisscrossing bars. Combined with the massive bandshell, it created the appearance of a blooming flower.
The seats were packed and the lawn area, which can accommodate an additional seven thousand people, was also jammed. The gathering overflowed into the surrounding areas of the park. Chicago's mayor addressed the joyous crowd from the stage. The speakers carried his voice across the park. “As mayor of the city of Chicago, it is my pleasure to welcome the Windy City's first team of superheroes to our historic city. Like other minorities in the past, mutants have begun flocking to Chicago to avoid persecution in other areas of the country. Their recent defeat of a would-be supervillain has proven that the X-Men are here to stand up for the residents of our great city. I'm proud to welcome here and I declare this day, August 12th, as X-Day in Chicago. And now, I'm going to turn over the stage to a man who needs no introduction. He is an Avenger and a world-renowned scientist but what many may not realize is that he started off as a student of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and a member of the X-Men. Ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming Dr. Henry P. McCoy, the Beast!”
Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd and shouts of “WE LOVE YOU, HANK!” However, after a few moments, no one emerged on the stage. Everyone began looking around and the mayor, growing nervous, spoke into the mic again.
“Hey Hank? You wouldn't want to keep your adoring public waiting, would you?”
Suddenly, a streak of blue flew through the air, swinging from the stainless steel pipes that crisscrossed the seating area. This drove the audience nuts as they cheered even louder. The bouncing ball of fur landed on the stage and took a bow before stepping behind the podium.
“Hello Chicago!” said the Beast. “I'm positively ecstatic to be here on this day! I'm most-known for my time as an Avenger but I'm here today as an X-Man to join in welcoming some of my nearest and dearest friends to this fair city. Many are not aware, but the X-Men were formed at the same time as the Avengers. However, we have continually operated in the darkness. That all changes today, thanks in large part to the efforts of Professor Charles Xavier and Warren Worthington III. However, as much as it pains me to say it, I cannot accept the honor of issuing the following statement. Only one man is worthy of that honor. So welcome to Chicago America's number one patriot, the Living Legend, the Sentinel of Liberty, Captaaaaaaaaaaaain Americaaaaaaaa!”
Steve Rogers, dressed in his familiar red, white and blue costume, his famous shield strapped to his back, walked onstage, greeted with just as many—if not more—cheers as the Beast. The two teammates shook hands before Hank offered him the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have known the X-Men for years. I've fought beside them and I've always known them to be nothing less than honorable and heroic. They have fought to protect a world that hates and fears them, and they have been attacked by supervillains as often as they have been attacked by the very people they have laid down their lives for. They've known incredible tragedy and hardship and it has always been my hope that eventually, they would earn the acceptance they so richly deserved. To that end, I have decided to do something that I should have done years ago. On this, the first X-Day, the Avengers are officially endorsing the X-Men. They are our allies, they are our friends, but more importantly they are our brothers in arms. Join me now in welcoming the uncanny, the amazing, the astonishing X-Men!”
The flames of the Phoenix illuminated the night sky. The ten X-Men were lowered to the stage by the power of Jean Grey and once their feet reached the stage, the flames vanished and Cyclops walked up to Captain America. The men shook and when he turned to offer his hand to the Beast, his old friend wrapped his massive blue arms around the X-Men's leader, giving him a massive bear hug. Scott stepped up to the podium and looked out at the gathered people.
“Assuming Hank didn't squeeze all the air out of me, maybe I can say a few words,” said Cyclops with a grin. He was greeted with laughter. “I've been fighting for mutant acceptance since I was a teenager. I've lost friends and loved ones. I watched as madmen corrupted the image of mutants everywhere. And I was beginning to lose hope that this day would ever come.
“But now it's here. That dream we've fought all these years for, the dream that we all devoted our lives to, is finally, at long last, becoming a reality. This is a great day for mutants everywhere and it's a day that will go down in history.
“However, we'd be naive if we assumed our work was done. No dream is realized without struggle, without sacrifice. And just as we haven't seen the end of racism or sexism or homophobia, we also haven't seen the end of genoism. It may be years—perhaps even decades—before these ugly words are eliminated from our vocabulary.
“But we'll keep fighting. And thanks to all of you, we've made excellent progress. We've made massive strides. We've won the day but the fight still continues. There are those on both sides—human and mutant—who are already plotting to reverse everything we've accomplished.
“Except we won't let them. Tonight we celebrate, but we celebrate with vigilance. Because we know that progress and victory are two different things. And we won't let any amount of positive media coverage convince us that those who stand against us have decided to stand down. They're still out there.
“To quote the great Martin Luther King, 'I must confess, my friends, the road ahead will not always be smooth. There will be still rocky places of frustration and meandering points of bewilderment. There will be inevitable setbacks here and there. There will be those moments when the buoyancy of hope will be transformed into the fatigue of despair. Our dreams will sometimes be shattered and our ethereal hopes blasted. We may again with tear-drenched eyes have to stand before the bier of some courageous civil rights worker whose life will be snuffed out by the dastardly acts of bloodthirsty mobs. Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'
“We are the Astonishing X-Men. And we're here to stay.”
Cheers erupted and Iceman offered a sly grin as he whispered, “...and the crowd goes wild.”
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The End...
I thought this was a fitting title for this letters' column/author's notes. Most people already know who I am, so I probably don't need any introduction. What may surprise some is my decision to write Astonishing X-Men for Marvel Anthology.
Yeah, that's a good question, Dino. Why the hell are you writing this book? Haven't you already written about a gajillion X-Men issues?
Well, yes. Hell, if you combine all the mutant-related stuff I've done, I think I've written more X-Men stuff than anyone else who's ever operated in this community. Some of it good, some of it absolutely horrible, and some of it middle-of-the-road. But hey, when you've got something to say, you've got something to say. And I've got something to say here.
Tony Thornley actually approached me about coming onboard MA's X-Men initiative with him. And the timing was pretty perfect—I was beginning to plan out some ideas for a proposal to kick-start MA's X-line but I was stuck on some aspects. I just couldn't make the “protecting a world that hates and fears us” angle interesting to me anymore as a writer. It's something that, quite frankly, has been done to death. How many times have we seen the X-Men going up against Sentinels or Magneto or Apocalypse? How many times have we seen mutant lynch mobs and the like? Why not try approaching the outsider status from a different angle—one of celebrity?
This is an idea that Tony, Erik and MC came up with, but it also reminded me of conversations I've had with Derrick Ferguson and Tom Deja, who both maintain that if mutants were real, chances are you'd have quite a few of them enjoying a lot of celebrity.
And also, we need to remember that just because the X-Men are enjoying celebrity status in a city that accepts mutants, we have to remember that Chicago is not the rest of the world. The use of Chicago is actually very serendipitous. It's something Erik came up with before I was invited to join this project and it works out perfectly because I'm a born and bred Chicagoan (even though it's not where I call home these days) and it's a city that remains very close to me. And one of the things interesting about Chicago, which is something I'm not sure Erik knew about, is that it's got a very big minority population, with Wrigleyville earning the nickname of Boystown because of the gay population.
So here you have a city with a reputation of accepting outsiders into its midst. A city that just gave us the first African American President. Chicago is home to some of the most enlightened people I've ever met. And it's also home to some of the most ignorant people I've ever met.
What better playground for a writer to throw the X-Men into?
Welcome to the future.
Dino Pollard
December 2008
pollards-picks.livejournal.com
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