New X-men #154 ** SPOILERS **

[DareDevil_13]

Ok, if you didn't read it or were just confused, here's some clarification:

-The 'Beast' really was Hank McCoy/Beast, but in actuality, Hank McCoy was gone and the Sublime bacteria was using his body.

-The reason why Cassandra Nova Xavier is around was because she was around 150 years before, she's Ernst. She explains this to Martha in #153.

-After Jean Dies, Hank tries to continue teaching, but succumbs to depression. He uses the 'Kick' drug, which is actually a form that the Sublime Bacteria uses.

-Jean remains dead, but I guess she saved the future from becoming the one she was in.

We end with Scott and Emma at Jean's Grave. Emma makes some wisecrack and the asks Scott if he'll help her mold the next generation of mutants. Scott finally says yes and we're left with Scott and Emma kissing.

So, to explain all of the events during his bombastic run, Morrison pretty is pretty much saying: "A bacteria did it."
WTF?!

Despite the strange way Morrison decided to end his run, I definitely enjoyed it. Lets hope that we'll be able to enjoy more of his explosive writing style in the future.

[DareDevil_13]

Oh, and Kudos to Marc Silvestri, his art made the arc just that much more interesting.

[Numeral]

in the end, pure beast ended up, taking a lot of punishment from morrison story arcs beaten, metally raped, devolving acording to cassy nova, using a sandbox, unable to use his hands on a computer (kitty paws), his x gf telling the world he was "gay", and consumed by a bacteria :)

ps: i'd like to have the old school beast back, i dont like his cat looks

[specialty dish]

why not "cat" beast looks more like a beast than a guy with blue fur and undies...

[Clikzilla]

I'm a big fan of the Morrison run (as well as the rest of his work). I think he took a lot of things in the X-Universe to some new and interesting levels. High points of the run for me (in no particular order):

1.) The continued evolution of Emma Frost and her relationship with Scott.
2.) Taking the X-Men public through Cassandra Nova and the attendent social consequences for mutants.
3.) The idea of secondary mutations that develop later. (Emma's Diamond form, Beast's continued physical changes).
4.) Humans strip-mining mutants for genetic material to improve themselves (the Nu-Men from early in the run).
5.) Really dealing with genetics in a book that is about the next stage in genetic evolution.
6.) The idea of "next generation" Omega-level mutants (Quentin Quire, Cassandra Nova).
7.) Making Professor X a cool character for a change.
8.) Showing more of the younger students from the school and making them viable characters in multiple stories.
9.) Bringing back Phoenix.

I guess he's signed an exclusive deal with DC to write for them...I wonder what he will do there? Hopefully they'll put him on something where he can really shake things up.

[cyberglum]

I thought it was awful...

Don't get me wrong, been a big Morrison fan since Zoids, but this was rubbish.

The story had to be explained in the letters page for heavens sake.

What the hell was Sublime? Did I miss something from before?

Fantomex being Apollyon, how was this relevant?

Jeans not dead...shes really living an existance outside reality with a whole host of other Phoenix Force Users? Oh right....I should have guessed!

And as for Marc Silvestri's artwork? Pah, I bet an artist who can draw sequnetialy could have made the whole arc *much* more enjoyable.

Just my 2p worth...

[Ignatz_Mouse]

Who's Apollyon? And Sublime?

I enjoyed what I could understand of this last arc. I enjoyed most of the run, in fact, with the exception of Planet X and the Magneto stuff. And even then, I can apprecieate (if not like) the idea of making Magneto a bufoon to undermine how much he has been pumped up over the years. Reading his early appearances, he's pretty much just like Morrison depicted him.

[Ignatz_Mouse]

Oh, I think Jean's dead. I think that was Phoenix Heaven.

[ugh]

i think morrison's run sucked. He specialized in ruining characters. Screw you beast - as stated ealier. Screw you nightcrawler - you're dad's satan, oh wait, Marvel already has Mephisto. etc.

His stuff was so full of holes and didn't work with continuity. I hope somebody can clean it all up.

[Ignatz_Mouse]

Morrison didn't have anything to do with Nightcrawler.

[ugh]

sorry, i was combining morrison with austin. I guess I ####. But austin really sucks. I don't like cat beast though.

[DareDevil_13]

Yeah, Austin screwed up NC, not Morrison. It was never explained if Apollyon was Fantomex, but he looked a lot like him.
Sublime was a bacteria with intelligence, which was created when Earth was first formed. Sublime could control people if it got into their bloodstream, first he was "John Sublime," which he used to create the Nu-men. Later, Sublime took the form of the "kick" drug, which Beast started using after Jean's death. The Sublime bacteria in the Kick drug took over Hank's mind, turning him into the Beast in the story.

[cyberglum]

Dunno DareDevil_13, as E.V.A. is dying she questions if Apollyon's Fantomex after he cuts the Beasts head off...I figure after the repeated mention of "...after what happened to Fantomex..." and the fact Morrison has finished his run, I'm (and I may be wrong) assuming he wrapped-up the sub-plot by revealing Apollyon was Fantomex...Can't think who else Apollyon was meant to be...the way Silvestri draws it could have been any bald-headed geezer...

I think the best thing to come out of Morrisons run was Fantomex (cool name, cool costume, cool powers).

Oh yeah, and Xorn. Xorn was a great character and now he'll just be remembered for that rubbish, didn't-quite-hit-the-spot shock revalation.

Oh well, can't wait to see what Wheldon and Cassaday does with the X-Men.

Now Cassaday, he can DRAW!


:laugh:

cyberglum

[DareDevil_13]

Yeah, Cassaday is a great artist. His work on Planetary is great. Who's this weldon guy, never heard of him. Nobody is really sure who Apollyon is/was, but "beast" said that he created E.V.A. and called her weapon thirteen. Fantomex said he was weapon thirteen, so now I'm confused.

[Phil Dixon]

Originally posted by DareDevil_13
Nobody is really sure who Apollyon is/was, but "beast" said that he created E.V.A. and called her weapon thirteen. Fantomex said he was weapon thirteen, so now I'm confused. Fantomex and EVA were symbiotes. Weapon 13 was both of them put together.

I don't see how Apollyon could look a lot like Fantomex, incidentally: we've never seen Fantomex unmasked.

[Rokk_Krinn]

I think what's really discouraging about the run is the return of Scott/Jean/whomever Love Triangles. It's like Marvel Management decided that unless Logan and Jean can have that sexual tensions, the X-Men Movie Joiners will revolt. Being you can't have that triangle if there's still a marriage. we'll move Jean off-screen for a bit, turn Scott into a philanderer and in a couple months we can go back to Love Triangles.

Am I the only one who was thrilled in the early 90's to see these two finally get to settle down and be a happy non-angsty married couple?

[CyberVenom]

You aren't the only one, Rokk. :)

I feel that Austin and Morrison have both made the X-Men books they were on into utter plop. That's sooo disappointing. I've never cared for Morrison, and I really don't see the big deal about him.

[DareDevil_13]

What made Morrison good was the fact that he had new ideas. You can only fight off a new wave of Sentinels so many times before it got boring. Not only that, but he can create or change a character unlike anybody else has ever done. Fantomex was a really cool character.

I mean the guy actually made Scott Summers somewhat interesting. SCOTT FREAKING SUMMERS!

[Phil Dixon]

Originally posted by CyberVenom
I feel that Austin and Morrison have both made the X-Men books they were on into utter plop. That's sooo disappointing. I've never cared for Morrison, and I really don't see the big deal about him. Well, it's pretty obvious why. You think X-Men was good before Morrison arrived. You obviously prefer what Claremont is doing (as he is the only current X-writer you fail to criticise). These two observations lead to an inescapable conclusion: you have no taste.

Grant's been coasting on X-Men for about a year, but what he's been doing is still better than any other X-Men published over the last twenty years. Frankly, the franchise jumped the shark shortly after Dark Phoenix.

[AtomSmasher]

I'm way confused...I thought Fantomex was Weapon 13 and was part of the Weapon X program? Also, what does he have to do w/ makeing Cyclops cool? Who is Apollyon? Never heard of him/her or EVA? What is pure Beast and regular Beast. What has happend to the Regular Beast that is blue and fuzzy? Is he diffrent now? Is Dark Beast still roaming about from AOA? How did Jean Die? Who Avenged her if anyone? Is she set up to come back as the Phoenix? Is there any word/News on Psylocke coming back? Can anyone answer all or most of these questions?

[CyberVenom]

Originally posted by Phil Dixon
Well, it's pretty obvious why. You think X-Men was good before Morrison arrived. You obviously prefer what Claremont is doing (as he is the only current X-writer you fail to criticise). These two observations lead to an inescapable conclusion: you have no taste.

Grant's been coasting on X-Men for about a year, but what he's been doing is still better than any other X-Men published over the last twenty years. Frankly, the franchise jumped the shark shortly after Dark Phoenix.


Can you say overdramatic? To tell someone they have no taste is disrespectful, and I'd appreciate an apology.

The reason I didn't bring up Claremont is that he wasn't mentioned in the post yet. But bringing him up, here's my feelings on him:

Claremont is just OK. His older stuff was waaaay better than any of the newer books he's doing. I feel he's past his prime.

And you put it best. "Grant's been coasting". He's doing mediocre. Mediocre doesn't make a person great.

[Ignatz_Mouse]

I agree Morrison's been coasting, but I have to give him credit-- he got me to read X-Men again (aside from Ultimate X-Men) for the first time since the late 80's.

I agree that X-Men stank shortly following Dark Phoenix. I am one of the few who didn't like the Brood storyline, the morlocks were ok, and everything else was a blur. Claremont had fallen to formula, and from what I've followed by dropping in or reading about X-Men since, most everybody's just been trying to copy that formula.

Morrison has his own formula, but at least here it was something new. I'm glad he's leaving though, becuase any formula gets old. He shook enough stuff up that perhaps the next wave of writers will be inspired.

[cyberglum]

*Looks dreamily into the past…*

Yeah, the Claremont/Byrne run is un-surpassed in my opinion. They are arguably the *best* superhero comics ever published. I sold mine years ago (#96-142…I know I know not all Byrne by a long shot…give Cockrum some credit guy!) but have recently been hunting them down. They really are so bloomin good!

Time and perspective can be a funny thing. I rate these issues very highly (as you can probably tell) and I always wonder if the fact that ‘I was there’ when they were being published puts them so high in my all time favourites. Meanwhile possibly younger readers may wonder what the fuss is all about, and cite the Jim Lee issues as the stand-out ones in the X-Men’s long history.

It’s amazing how important and influential these comics are when you consider Byrne and Claremont were only on the run together for what? 35 issues….

[AtomSmasher]

Originally posted by AtomSmasher
I'm way confused...I thought Fantomex was Weapon 13 and was part of the Weapon X program? Also, what does he have to do w/ makeing Cyclops cool? Who is Apollyon? Never heard of him/her or EVA? What is pure Beast and regular Beast. What has happend to the Regular Beast that is blue and fuzzy? Is he diffrent now? Is Dark Beast still roaming about from AOA? How did Jean Die? Who Avenged her if anyone? Is she set up to come back as the Phoenix? Is there any word/News on Psylocke coming back? Can anyone answer all or most of these questions?

can someoneanswer these questionsm pretty please?

[DareDevil_13]

-Fantomex and E.V.A. were weapon XIII
-Morrison actually made Scott seem like more than a automaton.
-We're not sure who Appolyon is, but I'm guessing it's Fantomex
-Read issues 151-154 to understand, E.V.A. was Fantomex's mutation, she first appearred as a flying saucer-like thing.
-Beast used Kick, which contained the Sublime bacteria, and took over his body and mind.
-Not too sure about AOA beast
-Jean was killed by Mags, and came back as Phoenix 150 years later.
-Psylocke is under the "once dead stays dead rule," much to Claremonts dismay.

I agree that this wasn't Morrison's best work, but he's still shaking things up. Besides, he's much better at taking third-string characters and making them interesting.

[Phil Dixon]

Originally posted by CyberVenom
Can you say overdramatic? To tell someone they have no taste is disrespectful, and I'd appreciate an apology. Yeah? Well, I'd appreciate a Ferrari, but life's just full of disappointments.

Originally posted by CyberVenom
And you put it best. "Grant's been coasting". He's doing mediocre. Mediocre doesn't make a person great. I wouldn't describe Grant as "great", although some of his work has been. There's only a handful of comics creators who deserve that adjective. But he is a competent craftsman, and far better than the average X-Men writer. Even coasting, he's produced the only worthwhile run of X-Men comics for many years.

It's nothing compared to his work on Animal Man, Doom Patrol or JLA, but it's still just about the best mainstream Marvel book at the moment.

[malephoenix]

-Psylocke is under the "once dead stays dead rule," much to Claremonts dismay.

I believe---if I understand correctly---that Betsy will be returning during or shortly after the X-Men Reload.

[Kaitouace]

Not sure about Psylocke anymore. Most people thought the "mystery" telepath being controlled by Bogan in X-Treme X-Men was Psylocke. But it ended up to be Rachel Summers.

Morrison's run had it's good points but overall I thought it was pretty overblown and shook things up just for the sake of being shaken up.

The secondary mutation thing was basically a convienent gimmick to keep Emma alive and change Beast. It hardly had any impact with anything else.

The approach was different but there was nothing all that fresh with Morrison's stories. Sentinels show up and wreck things. Wolverine goes in search of his past. Magneto returns from the dead.......again. Phoenix returns and dies........again.

In retrospect there were good things (I used to think it was ALL bad) but his whole run just kind of reeked of self-importance. Changing characters on a whim, giving them new powers out of nowhere, totally disregarding continuity at times. It's a nice story in itself but doesn't really fit with ANY of the rest of the X-Men stories. The idea of Sublime as a bacteria was interesting but too bad he didn't explain it at ALL and we're just supposed to accept it. Especially since Sublime has died TWICE in the past year or so (once in New X-Men and once in Weapon X).

The final arc was pretty terrible. If it weren't for the art it hardly would have been worth reading. All these weak characters we know nothing about get thrown at us in some post-apocalyptic future (also been done in Days of Futures Past) that get killed off in an issue or two. E.V.A. turns into Void from WildC.A.T.S. and sort of falls in love with some guy with an attack Sentinel. The last issue was next to incomprehensible and multiple readings are pretty much required to get it.

The whole concept behind Morrison's run was basically "The X-Books will never evolve under the old management so lets shake things up". So he proceeds to bring in a host of old villains and concepts and either kill them off or totally change them. Then he warps into the future and kills everything there but has Phoenix bring everyone back so he can say "Here. Clean slate. Don't be dumb and make everything all old again." Fair enough of an idea but the way it was done left a lot to be desired.

[DareDevil_13]

I know this is an old topic, but I noticed something new.

When Appollyon takes off his mask, he has Blue and Green eyes....

Is he somehow related to Mastermind? Or was this some random thing?

[Phil Dixon]

Originally posted by DareDevil_13
When Appollyon takes off his mask, he has Blue and Green eyes....

Is he somehow related to Mastermind? Or was this some random thing? Neither. Apollyon's powers are derived from radical transplant surgery. One eye will have been taken from one mutant (or cloned mutant) and the other, from another.