Marvel has been busy these past few weeks, shedding light on the upcoming ResurrXion relaunch and the general future of the X-Men franchise after Inhumans vs. X-Men. The post-IvX X-Men line will be anchored by two flagship books, X-Men Gold (featuring a cast of familiar A-Listers) and X-Men Blue (the latest book to star the time-displaced original X-Men). The hope is that this relaunch will reinvigorate a franchise that's been in poor shape for the past two years. Perhaps it will. But at the moment it's hard to feel very enthused about the prospect of another comic focused on the original X-Men dealing with life in the future. It's past time for Marvel to send these characters back from where they came.
X-Men Blue art by Art Adams. (Marvel Comics)
To be perfectly clear, I loved and still love the idea of bringing the original five X-Men into current Marvel continuity. The X-Men have more experience than any super-team when it comes to dark, post-apocalyptic futures. And to those five teenagers, a world where mutants are battling extinction, Jean Grey is dead and Cyclops is the face of mutant terrorism is as horrifying as the worlds of Days of Future Past or the Age of Apocalypse. That's the type of story that's only possible when you have a property with decades of continuity and history to work with.
The status quo that was introduced in 2012's All-New X-Men #1 has yielded some great stories. We've seen these mutants adjust to a very unfamiliar and unnerving new world. We've seen the young Jean Grey put on trial for crimes she has yet to commit as Phoenix. We've seen all five characters change and evolve in ways that call into question how they can ever go back to living in "1963" again.
But that's the point. Sooner or later these characters have to go back to their own time. We can't see young and old versions of Beast and Iceman fighting alongside one another forever. The longer the original X-Men remain in the future, the greater the chance of creating the sort of irreversible temporal paradox that would make even Barry Allen blanch. More importantly, going back is a necessary part of this story. It's the next and really only logical step. Act 1 was bringing the original X-Men into the present. Act 2 was having them deal with this unfamiliar landscape and evolve in new and unexpected ways. Act 3 is sending them back to their own time and exploring what happens next. How do they move forward knowing what they know now? How will the younger Professor Xavier react? Do they try to take steps to change their future or simply let fate take its course? Is it even possible to send them back without causing rippling effects across the Marvel timeline?
The classic X-Men as depicted by Alex Ross. (Marvel Comics)
These are all questions that need to be addressed. But for whatever reason, Marvel seems very reluctant to take that inevitable next step. The publisher relaunched All-New X-Men with a similar status quo after Secret Wars last year, and they're essentially doing the same thing with X-Men Blue next spring. How long is this status quo supposed to last before something finally changes? Before much longer these teenage X-Men won't even be teenagers anymore. There was an eight-month time gap both leading into and following Secret Wars. Even conservative estimates would suggest the original X-Men have been in the future for at least two years of Marvel time now. Anyone who's gone through puberty no doubt remembers how drastically they changed between 15 and 17, both physically and mentally. How is the younger Xavier supposed to react when his entire student body suddenly ages several years overnight?
The general state of the X-Men franchise is pretty poor at the moment, and the stagnation surrounding the All-New X-Men is really a symptom of a larger problem. These books are rehashing tired old beats without really attempting to be bold or different. Even Brian Michael Bendis' original All-New X-Men/Uncanny X-Men run lost its impetus after a couple years. There was a point after "The Trial of Jean Grey" where both books essentially stalled and never recaptured their lost momentum again. Neither book felt like it received a proper conclusion in the lead-up to Secret Wars.
I think a lot of that had to do with the open-ended nature of the All-New X-Men status quo. Bendis and other writers accomplished everything they needed to with that status quo after a couple years. In hindsight, "The Trial of Jean Grey" seems like a fitting end-cap to the original X-Men's field trip in the future. That story should have paved the way for the characters to make their return and the next phase of that larger story to begin. Instead, here we are with 2017 knocking on the door, and the characters are no closer to returning home than they were in 2014.
All-New X-Men montage by Stuart Immonen. (Marvel Comics)
As much as I and many other X-Men readers want these characters to go home, there's no changing the fact that X-Men Blue is in the works. The original X-Men are sticking around whether we want them to or not. The new series does have one interesting wrinkle in its favor with the reveal that the characters will now be mentored by Magneto, a man who was still the X-Men's greatest enemy when these characters left their own timeline. The fact that the book is being written by Cullen Bunn, a creator with plenty of Magneto-related experience already, is also a promising sign.
Still, it's difficult to muster much enthusiasm for X-Men Blue regardless of the Magneto factor or the creative team. The general All-New X-Men concept is too stretched out and repetitive to keep going in its present form. If Marvel wants this book to inspire excitement, they need to make it clear one way or another that the original X-Men's days in the present are finally numbered. Perhaps their time with Magneto is their final mission before finally returning home and starting that next, crucial step in their journey. Having spent several years working alongside the current X-Men, exploring the universe and embarking on an extended cross-country road trip, maybe studying under the former leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is the last test our heroes need to pass.
Whatever the case, the franchise can't truly move forward until it finally stops dwelling on this well-intentioned but seriously overextended storyline. This fixation on the past is preventing the X-Men comics from embracing the future. Marvel needs to show readers that the days are numbered for the All-New X-Men.
"Between the Panels" is a bi-weekly column from Jesse Schedeen that focuses on the world of comics. You can see more of his thoughts on comics and pop culture by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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