How would you write the X-men after Bendis?

If you got creative control of the X-men after bendis has left the X-books. what would you do with the team?

Well.

Reunify them and have less titles.

More Lesbians

Aside from ending schism, lots of retconning.

in synch x-titles

Someone who doesnt want a PR stunt

I would sync up the titles. JGS would be gone. I would also end the Schism though the teams would have distinct missions. There would be less titles/x-books maybe only 3-4.

Rogue, Sunspot and Cannonball would be back.

Wolverine is back but written correctly and not as a babysitter

The O5 would be gone as would all the Bendis and Aaron creations, along with Quentin Quire and Fantomex.

Re-power Jubilee, Dani Moonstar and others.

Actually have some villains instead of infighting.

@hawk2916: It pains me to say it, but Sunspot is so good as an Avenger, not sure I'd want to mess that up.

@materiel: Sunspot should be in Xmen not the Avengers. He could do the same or similar things in the x-books. There's really no need to mix the two.

I'd end schism. Have it all operate under one roof with different factions. Each faction/group would have different goals but work together. Storm leads a hero/ mutant strike team that protects the planet when they can. Nightcrawler and kitty as headmasters of the school to train the newcoming kids. Cyclops and his revolution. X-force. 4 main books. I'd make magneto a villain again he'd have his solo where he's going around building up a mutant army. I'd have a cyclops/storm team up book where as leaders of mutant kind they'd address mutant affairs and go on adventures together(I'd be the perfect book to bring adult Jean back in because of what she meant to them both.) Add a wolverine solo and give another x-character a shot at solo done and that's how I'd run the x-office/book. So about 7-8 books in total.

Magik and Shadowcat duo title. They already introduced a good jumping off point for it

@koays @hopesummersforthefuture : I enjoy seeing you two discuss X-stuff. What would you do?

Hmm. 4 books 2 leads and 2 juniors.

Uncanny X-Men- Lead team book, crossover with Marvel U. tone setter for the other titles. Small All-Star team.

X-Men- Secondary team, crosses over with other X-titles. Fights traditional X-Men enemies with a less elite squad.

X-Kids - Young mutant centered and driven focusing on their lives with X-Men as a backdrop.

X-Men World- Story following several groups of X-Men and mutant characters which change focus from issue to issue. Sometimes showing Characters like the Morlocks and Genoshains and other times focusing on odd pairings of X-Men in seemingly random events.

First year is mostly standard story arcs and team building without much roster change aside from "World".

World is the book that sets things up as teams like Hope Summer's X-Force and members of Polaris's X-Factor face off with challenges that begin to encompass the other characters in the book. Eventually the events lead to The makeshift group in World failing to stop the big bad (Let's say the Evil Bendis) and we end up with the characters spilling out onto the lawn of the X-Mansion where the story would lead into the 1st X-Men crossover of the Koays Era as the X-Men battle the evil Bendis as he attempts to reach the world that the mutants from "No More Mutants" escaped to.

Boom "Drops Mic"

Replace storm with M and bring back Synch.

Make Emma frost the leader

Cyclops becomes evil after he finds out jean grey got pregnant by wolverine

add bishop and beast to the team.

Add psylocke to the for sealth missions

Give Dani Moonstar & Wolfsbane a duo title exploring Dani's connection to the Valkyrie and Rahne's relationship with Hrimrari and her demi-god son.

It'll never happen, I just think it sounds cool.

I'd read that book. New Mutants Vol. 4 FTW

Cyclops that is not a pussy, Magneto that is doing something unexpected, Emma Frost that is on her own, "Higher learning" that is becoming a worldwide brand (that myopic Americanism only has to stop), Colossus wearing something appropriate, that for the starters.

Hey! You stole my idea...and by "stole" I mean you just had the same idea I have. Because we all know with 7 billion people living in the world there is no way two people can have similar ideas...right?? I mean, that can't be possible--unless of course it merely boils down to the old "great minds think alike" axiom, but that might be considered self-admiration--but I digress.

Anyways, yeah, my idea has always been pretty uniform to Koays idea. Only 4 books are needed, no more that that. I would even argue that 4 is too many but with so many X-Men characters floating around, I would be ok with a 4th. The main books should definitely be "X-Men" proper, and as for the secondary X-Men title I would just have another team, although, the difference would be I would call the book "X-Factor".....the actual team wouldn't call themselves that in the book or anything, it's merely the title. I just have always thought having two books with the same title give or take an adjective in front of it is confusing, especially to somebody who is unfamiliar with the books.....that is actually the reason why the X-Factor title was originally titled that....to avoid confusion, additionally, I have always thought a team calling themselves X-Factor is dumb, the definition of that term is that you have a talent or a quality that gives you an edge, I just feel like calling your team that is bragging, lol, it's like starting a sports team and calling them "the winning edge" or something. I know it's supposed to be a play on the fact they are an X-related spin off, but it's just over thinking, something I always tend to do, on my part.

There should be a book that focuses on the students and the school and the X-Men and training. Potentially with a student body you can do a lot of interesting things. It wouldn't just about the mutants that are in tactical training but their interactions with all the other students that could lead to teenage, school drama....ideal maybe for younger/female readers I guess. As for the last book, like Koays idea I have always propositioned that there be an "X-Men Unlimited" type title, or "X-Men World" in his case, where it would have random adventures of random X-characters not affiliated with the team.....but the adventures would intertwine with the main books and actually have purpose. You could also have the book serve as back stories to accompany off panel stuff or even write a single story about one of the villains.

As for the rosters, as I have said on this site ad nauseam, they should just retire the old guard and have them as background roles, there virtually isn't that much more interesting things you can do with some of those characters, Cyclops, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm.....gone. The two primary X-Men teams would consist of teams with Cannonball leading Rachel Grey, Kitty, Warpath, and the other team would have Dani Moonstar leading the likes of Karma, Magik etc.

As for story lines I would just have one take the piss out of Bendis by having the original X-Men return to the past of their reality only to discover that in the present of that reality everyone has grown to be all snarky and repeat themselves all the time and characters reveal themselves to be randomly homosexual for media attention and stuff like that......just to parody all the Bendis stuff people love.

I like to think of myself as a great mind, and if you had the same idea then you must have a great mind and the idea is actually better then what the "great minds" at marvel has then we must have even greater minds.....and that's not self admiration, thats just simple mathematics - (Bendis + Crappy Run = Supposed Genius < Koays + Good Idea = Greater Genius = Cattlebattle + Great Idea)....i mean duh

Lol i'm not even gonna pick the usual fight about retiring characters, because for one....I'm feeling quite exhausted with the current crop of X-Men not being interesting (for the most part), and two because I'd love to see a main team of Moonstar, Magik, Rachel Grey and some other lower key members that actually can do something beside "exist" in a story for a while.

Make the old guard an X-Council or spread them out through the World/Unlimited title until it's time to dust them off for an event.

I'm thinking the evil "Bend Us" (Trademark pending) alters time and changes all the old characters into snarky children with no character motivation beyond random sexuality changes, but luckily the new team manages to avoid the change and goes on a mission to restore respect to the X-Men name and undo the evil that is Bend Us.

But thats just a rough draft...

Ha, "Bend Us", that's pretty good right there. His dialogue bubbles could just be him repeating himself over and over again for 8 panels on a whole page.

Bendis: Did you get that thing??

Bendis sidekick: What thing?

Bendis: That thing!!

Bendis sidekick: How am I supposed to know what the thing is if you don't tell me??

Bendis: Did you get it though??

Bendis sidekick: I give up man.

Bendis: Ha, somebody just paid like 4 dollars to read like two whole pages of this sh*t. I'm a comic book legend.

My references---

@cattlebattle: @koays: If both of your ideas were actually being used, I just might start reading some modern X titles. I don't know why the idea of at least one group of characters with a streamlined and organized set of books is so hard to accomplish.

And as much as I like the original X-men, I do think they should try to rotate the main cast a little.

I'm a bit tired of how they always introduce new, young mutants( 'Hope, Five lights, New Mutants' ), show them grow from troubled noobs to actual heros and then just drop them once they finally grow into mature characters.

They're like a clogged recycling water fountain. Constantly filling itself up with fresh water without allowing the old water to go down the drain and come back around filtered and fresh.

As for koays idea for an evil Bendis, it would take some MAJOR PIS to defeat him. I mean his roots are deeply entangled within the very core of the Marvel omniverse.

Reunite all the various factions, first of all. Then, bring back the real Jean, and kill off Scott for at least the first year of my run. Get rid of the O5 X-Men, all of the new mutants Bendis introduced in UXM, and get rid of Emma who I have no interest in writing. Unless it's as a villain. Then rename the Jean Grey School the Xavier Institute with Jean as its headmistress. From there, start over with four titles:

1. X-Men: focusing on Jean, Beast, Iceman, Angel, and Havok(who has mysteriously been un-inverted, and gained Scott's powers since his death. Remember when the mysterious "Summers bloodline" was a thing?). Actually address the relationship between Jean and Hope. Fix Angel. This book would be where all the major world-development and character work happens, and it serves as the focal point for X-crossovers

2.Uncanny X-Men: Squad led by Storm, following her team in the "X-Men attempting to be superheroes" mold. This team would be active in the superhero community, interacting with the Avengers and FF and such, and because of this is the book that would tie into all of Marvel's incessant Events

3. Astonishing X-Men: Squad led by Nightcrawler, focusing specifically on X-men/mutant problems. This team would handle most of the X-Men's traditional adversaries, like the Brotherhood, Hellfire Club, Sentinels, etc. They would also be the team that travels the world finding and rescuing young mutants and bringing them to the Institute for training. In the first extended arc, they would face a revived Weapon Plus Program, who are kidnapping and experimenting on many of the young new mutants the X-Men are trying to find and help.

4. New Mutants: A book focusing on the various students of the Xavier Institute. I figure by this time allof the students from New X-Men and WatXM have all graduated, so I would be creating and entirely new cast of characters as they learn to control their powers while dealing with the angst and drama of high school. I'd have either Kitty or Rogue, or both, mentoring the main group of students.

The squads in Uncanny and Astonishing would be a mix of classic X-characters, New Mutants, and graduates from the Academy X days, with a lot of the character development focusing on the newer/younger characters. Long running plot lines from both Uncanny and Astonishing will impact the major crossovers and events that happen in X-Men

I think Bendis actually had a great idea with this Mutant Revolution stuff. I'd like to see Cyclops actually do something with it, though. Follow through on all of his threats, be proactive and radical. Magneto in his series went off and started picking the enemies of mutantkind apart, the revolution should have been doing the same. Cyclops had no issue with X-Force crossing the line and getting their hands dirty for him, it's far past time for this run of his to venture into that territory. I think Scott and Emma's interaction with him basically telling her to halt all of the "progress" she's made and start to slide backwards would have been a better crescendo that culminated in their fracturing.

Schism annoyed me like everyone else, but in effect it doesn't really bother me. What bothers me is that Scott would step on the JGS grounds all the time, get dirty stares, maybe screwed with by Krakoa, but if they were going to go hard on him they should have went all the way. Cyclops should have been attack on sight. If members of the X-Men are trying to improve mutant standing in the super hero community and world in general, consorting with him, no matter how poor the relations might have been, flies in the face of that.

Ultimately though, I could only see his descent ending two ways. One: he's martyred. Killing people does not end well in comic books. There are always repercussions. He'd make more enemies than friends and eventually it would catch up with him. Or Two: over the course of his revolution he sends mutants in need to the JGS. Slowly and steadily communication develops between the two factions and a tenuous relationship starts.

I think Uncanny was always the best when it was led by Storm. Cyclops is better off independent or a bit rogue. I like when the ladies are in charge and the guys are heavy hitters and love interests.

I really need a solid writers. I am picky I don't even care for Willow G Wilson. Give me a Brian K Vaughn or Warren Ellis any day! I did like how XX-men started in Marvel NOW! But those writer changes and art changes needed to stop.

I want some consistency and still some nice throwbacks as well as new suprises

Fewer books. IMHO anything over 3 titles is overkill.

Greater concentration on a few characters - I'd like to see 2-4 member teams, with only one recognizable senior member, and a greater focus on the group interaction. The "team" can stay at home - focus on team members going on smaller missions.

More interesting villains that don't always have to be global or reality-level threats.

No more focus on "Schism." Re-power any mutant w/interesting powers and/or backstories.

Completely pare down the number of mutants calling themselves X-Men, and get rid of those that are also-rans. No more dumb mutants such as "Goldballs."

I would clean house...... Lots, and lots of dead mutants.... Where is a Purifier with a rocket launcher when you need one?

@judasnixon: hell yeah!!!!

Pretty spot on analogy actually. Thats a big thing for me since I was a big fan of the New Mutants original team. As you read the adventures of those characters you watched the team grow and evolve and learn with the impetus that would make one believe that these characters would one day have integral roles to not only the X-Men but possibly the whole Marvel Universe. However, 30 years later, most of those characters are C list X-Men at best...kind of a shame.

It's hard to think of characters after Bendis, he destroys them so well that it's almost better to let them stay in limbo for a few decades.

I think the x-men would need a new start and the best way to do it would be with some big story. I think an interesting story would have the X-men tricked into triggering the big human/mutant war that they are always trying to prevent. (My idea would have a regular team on a mission when they attack the main enemy it turns out that they were hallucinating or something like that and assassinate the president or some other major figure) This would trigger a storyline simply called "War" which instead of having a specific story, all of the titles would show what is going on in the X-universe and that kind of interesting alliances that would form including traditional villains fighting along the heroes. In the end the mutants would be the losers and it while it wouldn't come to anything like days of future past or anything like that it becomes illegal to use powers in public.

Knowing that not all mutants are bad other heroes push to have the law revoked and under the watch of the Avengers (they wouldn't be involved with the day to day, but rather just to make sure nothing goes wrong and to assure the public that is now very against mutants) a small team of X-Men is put together to show that mutants are not all bad. While this team has their missions you would see another team come together that would know that the war a trick and would be more rebellious against the law against mutant powers. This would eventually lead to a conflict between the groups which would lead to the formation of three different groups.

1) would be the group that is working with the government

2) would by the second team would be the more rebellious group that would have a very traditional roster

3) Magneto would form a new brotherhood which is for mutant rights, but is more like a proactive X-men than a villain group (although he would attract villains to the cause which could cause tension in the group)

These groups would by the x-men for the next few years. They would not be fully united, but they wouldn't have the rift between them that they had with schism. They stay in touch and will at times work together but would still be very separate groups. They would have their own storylines while also slowly having a buildup to a big conclusion though and after sometime the mastermind of the was would be revealed (My thought would be Apocalypse with the whole survival of the fittest thing, but a number of major villains could fit) and the twist would be that they have been undercover with the X-men all along and take control of the traditional team which the other teams would start to realize and would eventually lead to a big story that the other two teams would need to team up to rescue their friends and expose what really happened revoking the law against mutant powers and truly reuniting the team completely.

This would be a long term story, like 5 years with buildup and with a number of events where you don't realize what is building until you look back when it was all said and done and there are all different little hints along the way.

Bump

Here's what I would do:

1. Stop the schism between the X-Men. This has gone on far enough and I would like to see the X-Men as a family again instead of being at each other's throats all the time.

2. Restore some of the older relationships.

3. Have the X-Men be in different teams like X-Force and Uncanny X-Men, but still have them communicate with each other.