okay, then, X-men teams.

I've been really enjoying people's threads about their dream X-men teams, and which characters people think should be leading the X-men. With that in mind, I've been trying to work my opinions on the matter out for myself. Thinking in terms of major conceptual themes, character relationships, history, leadership, function/role, sustainable cast size, and what, as well as how many, X-men books I would currently be interested in seeing.

I haven't included things like X-force and X-factor because they seem like they should be, by their nature, conceptually far enough away from the key concepts of the X-men to warrant their own existence as distinct alternatives. I also haven't included characters who have moved on to the Avengers (Havoc, Rogue, Cannonball, and Sunspot), because I feel that the X-men have more than enough good characters to go around, and it does seem only natural that some of them would join the Avengers in a world where most super-powered people are mutants (although I do like that characters like Wolverine and Beast play at least minor roles in both).

the X-men

This is Storm's team, based out of Wolverine's school. These are the X-men that the Avengers like. These are the X-men who dare to live under public scrutiny to justify their ideals. These are the characters who have incorporated Xavier's dream into their own.

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the Uncanny X-men

This is Cyclops' team, based out of Emma's school. These are the X-men the world hates and fears. These are the X-men who live underground as outlaws to protect each other from the injustices of a cruel and unfair world. With respect and admiration for the work of Xavier, these are the characters who stand for mutant rights.

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the Next X-men

This is Kitty's team, based out of Wolverine's school. These are the next generation of X-men who fight both to protect their school and for the right to go on more field trips.

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the Astonishing X-men

For the threats that are too important for any faction of X-men to ignore, a sometimes uneasy alliance must be maintained between the various leaders of the mutant world. In the service of the greatest threats to mutants and the world, the world has the Astonishing X-men.

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YES for Prodigy with the Uncanny X-Men, and i'll allow the Cuckoos just as long as they've got their own distinct personalities that Asmus developed in Gen Hope, cause in that case, Phoebe probably wouldn't be with them, she'd be with the Next X-Men.

I like this teams! Astonishing X-Men would bring a lot of drama

@AgeofHurricane: Actually, though I do want to see the Cuckoos working with Cyclops' team, I picture them living at Wolverine's school, and helping Cyclops via telepathy and astral projection. So they'd be a bit in both worlds, but physically they would be out of the bunker and at the legitimate school.

@Veitha said:

I like this teams! Astonishing X-Men would bring a lot of drama

I'd like to see a title that reunites the two flagship teams into an epic super team for the really big stuff. The fact that the characters would be representing different contexts and interest groups could make it interesting and distinct enough from the main titles to warrant a cast that's already present in other books, sort of like the current direction of New Avengers with their Illuminati-style team.

I'd put Dust on Cyke's team and replace her with Mercury. Also add Elixer too Cyke's team. Other then that, thumbs up.

iceman and angel?

@darthphoenix said:

iceman and angel?

I like Iceman staying semi-active on the school's team, but I'd rather see Angel more as a free agent that had a different relationship with each of the main teams.

Awesome teams! Make these the X-titles and i'll buy!

@xmentas said:

Awesome teams! Make these the X-titles and i'll buy!

:v

ha! I wish.. speaking of which, does anyone have any ideas about who would make ideal creative teams for these groups?

My favorite is the first one.

Loving the Uncanny team. Can definitely see both Surge and Prodigy on that team. However I'd throw Phoebe onto the Next X-Men team and have Elixir & Pixie land on the Uncanny team, both characters have stuck by Cyclops for the most part so I'd definitely rather see them with him.

To be honest, I don't think so many squads need to exist at the same time - a lot of their missions are redundant. If I were to comment on your lineups, I'd say that you should remove Storm, Psylocke and Wolverine, and replace them with Dazzler and a few other mutants who integrate more with regular humans. Storm and Wolverine should be on the team that deals with major threats.

I'd give kudos to the first mutant team that doesn't use 'X' in the team name, though.

Liked the idea...but I really don't see Psylock in the "X-men" team...she should lead her own X-forece...would fave made more sense!

@UltraBiel said:

Liked the idea...but I really don't see Psylock in the "X-men" team...she should lead her own X-forece...would fave made more sense!

I wouldn't mind both. I like for her to be at least a minor player in the X-men at least partially because she's a major player in X-force. She's the secret mission member now that Wolverine can't be; she's the ninja. But I don't really see her, or Gambit, as being based at the school so much as being agents constantly in the field; they'd be members of the team, but not always around.

@dangallant984: YES! JUST YES! I love the Astonishing X-Men idea

Like the teams, but I'd chose differently.

@jojo111: it's not the most original line-up, but it was more having an excuse to have the core team united for bigger stories.

@John Valentine: thanks. how would you do it?

I think Rogue and Magneto would fit in the Astonishing X-Men. I can definitely see them working there.

@Sissel said:

I think Rogue and Magneto would fit in the Astonishing X-Men. I can definitely see them working there.

I actually thought of putting both of them on this team, but since I wanted this team for the bigger stories, and therefore more guest stars, I really wanted to keep the core cast as tight as I could. But I do envision both of them as helping this team for certain arcs, theoretically even the same ones (which would make for a pretty epic cast). They're both certainly classic enough and main character-y enough to fit the premise.

I think you should come up with a new Legacy team. A small team to work with or for Legion. Blindfold seems to be making the crossover. I would throw in other marginalized characters and the book would be much more interesting for me.

@Silver_Raven said:

I think you should come up with a new Legacy team. A small team to work with or for Legion. Blindfold seems to be making the crossover. I would throw in other marginalized characters and the book would be much more interesting for me.

eh, how about you do it? :v

@dangallant984: I'd love to see the Astonishing team work less as a field team and more as a group that pulls together their resources to deal with the threats. Not that they can't go out their a blow stuff up, but this way situations that call for specific X-Men could easily be gathered.

@Blood1991 said:

@dangallant984: I'd love to see the Astonishing team work less as a field team and more as a group that pulls together their resources to deal with the threats. Not that they can't go out their a blow stuff up, but this way situations that call for specific X-Men could easily be gathered.

I picture them being a bit of both, depending on the situation, but definitely leaning more to the side of what you're talking about for the most part. They're the big issues debate team.

@UltraBiel said:

Liked the idea...but I really don't see Psylock in the "X-men" team...she should lead her own X-forece...would fave made more sense!

Yea, I don't see Psylocke on the "X-Men" team at all. From those choices, she's definitely Uncanny.

For me this UXM group would be awesome:

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I think this is a very flexible group while using character that aren't getting much shine as of late. It'd be awesome to see Psylocke and X-Man work through their demons together or have Cyclops and Forge mentor Prodigy. Gambit work w/ Surge the way he did w/ X-23. A Hellion and Magik couple could be interesting too. Just a lot of possibilities here.

@dangallant984 said:

@Silver_Raven said:

I think you should come up with a new Legacy team. A small team to work with or for Legion. Blindfold seems to be making the crossover. I would throw in other marginalized characters and the book would be much more interesting for me.

eh, how about you do it? :v

I don't like making rosters and this is your thread but i will throw around some ideas.

Karma and Cypher/Warlock. Both are New Mutants, who are the closest people i can think of that Legion might trust.

Chamber and Husk could use a real team. And i like having Gen X represented in a book about the X-men Legacy

And throw in some young x-men: Transonic, Velocidad, Cipher (Ghostgirl), and Graymalkin.

@Silver_Raven: I think 10 characters is a pretty big class, but I totally dig the flavour you're going for there.

the Gen.Hope kids don't do a lot for me (but would Zero add too much crazy for one X-team?), but I really dig all of the others you mentioned, good job!

@Silver_Raven: what about this?

X-men Legacy

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@dangallant984 said:

@Silver_Raven: what about this?

X-men Legacy

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I like it. Even though I feel M is too good for this team. But maybe Hollow/Penance is available.

@Silver_Raven said:

I like it. Even though I feel M is too good for this team. But maybe Hollow/Penance is available.

One of the reasons I included M, besides the obvious Gen.X connection, was that I could picture this team replacing the niche of X-factor as the not-really-the-X-men-X-men.

I like all of the current X-factor characters, but, collectively, they're beginning to feel a bit played, and I wouldn't mind seeing most of them go into semi-retirement. And with M on this team, you could still have a book for any of them to guest star in, when there was a story that suited one of them. I'd especially like to see Layla and Madrox go underground a bit, give them a pseudo-happy ending, make it more of a cool thing when they do resurface.

Plus M is awesome.

Monet would be great on any team. If I could put her on any team other than X-factor, it would be Uncanny. She would be THE powerhouse of that team. And I love her and Emma's dynamic.

I do hope X-factor finishes soon. Or get some revamp. I feel like it ran its course and would like to those characters interact with the X-men again.

@Silver_Raven said:

Monet would be great on any team. If I could put her on any team other than X-factor, it would be Uncanny. She would be THE powerhouse of that team. And I love her and Emma's dynamic.

I do hope X-factor finishes soon. Or get some revamp. I feel like it ran its course and would like to those characters interact with the X-men again.

yeah, as much as I love the characters and the book, it has felt like it's run it's course for some time now. and I'd really like to see something else done with Monet especially. And Darwin. Those two really have the potential to be a breath of fresh air if they could get them into a fresh context.

skip to about :30-:33

I don't hate them, so that is a step in the right direction. :)

okay, now I've been thinking about this..

X-force

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I think I'd be more interested in seeing an X-force book where there isn't so much a team as a collection of solo characters who end up interacting for certain stories. I like the idea of Psylocke being a central character, largely interacting with Domino and other free agents, who would be chosen (or encountered) based on the type of mission that they're on.

@dangallant984 said:

the X-men

This is Storm's team, based out of Wolverine's school. These are the X-men that the Avengers like. These are the X-men who dare to live under public scrutiny to justify their ideals. These are the characters who have incorporated Xavier's dream into their own.

Gallery

the Uncanny X-men

This is Cyclops' team, based out of Emma's school. These are the X-men the world hates and fears. These are the X-men who live underground as outlaws to protect each other from the injustices of a cruel and unfair world. With respect and admiration for the work of Xavier, these are the characters who stand for mutant rights.

Gallery

the Next X-men

This is Kitty's team, based out of Wolverine's school. These are the next generation of X-men who fight both to protect their school and for the right to go on more field trips.

Gallery

the Astonishing X-men

For the threats that are too important for any faction of X-men to ignore, a sometimes uneasy alliance must be maintained between the various leaders of the mutant world. In the service of the greatest threats to mutants and the world, the world has the Astonishing X-men.

Gallery

man, these are some great looking teams!

I'd love to see the X-books come around to something like this!

@dangallant984: I LOVE UR IDEAS!!! Great line-ups that I'd read anytime anyplace! But no Mercury?!? :(

I couldn't decide which team she'd go with.

what do you think?

I'd jumble around the Next X-Men team:

• Hellion
• Mercury
• Dust
• Rockslide
• Anole
• Pixie
• Armour
• Blindfold (although she's supporting in Legacy)

Oya, Quentin, Genesis and the others can be on a different time. With the exception of Quentine, they're younger than the Academy X kids.

I'd go with....

The X-Men! -

• Storm (Field leader)
• Wolverine
• Rachel Grey
• Angel
• Iceman
• Beast
• Gambit
• Psylocke
• Chamber
• Shadowcat

(Rotating cast for field action. Shadowcat and Beast are more of a supportive role)

Uncanny X-Men - Summer's Rebellion! -

• Cyclops (Leader)
• Emma Frost
• Magik
• Magneto
• Frenzy
• Cuckoos
• Forge
• Blackheath
• (+ new mutants e.g. Tempus etc)

Next X-Men -

• Hellion
• Mercury
• Dust
• Rockslide
• Anole
• Pixie
• Armour
• Gentle
• Blindfold (although she's supporting in Legacy)

(That's all I have so far - will fill in rest tomorrow)

yeah, I was sort of picturing Oya and Genesis in more supporting cast roles for that reason, and Quire just sort of being around but not really on the team ('cause he's such a little smeg-head). So really you just switched out Bling for Mercury, though I wouldn't mind seeing more of either or both, actually.. Glad to see there's still some love for these characters!

Let's just have the original line-up of students from the New X-Men series...

Hellion

Mercury

Dust

Surge

Prodigy

X-23

Elixir

Pixie Armor

Anole

Rockslide

Gentle

Armor

add in Blindfold, Loa, Indra, Match, Trance, Bling!, and The Stepford Cuckoos and I'll be a happy camper!!!

I'd like that too but that cast is just too big. IMO, a team of maybe seven/eight at maximum would be ideal for the book with a few supporting characters.

I'd have a core team of Hellion, Dust, Mercury, Surge, Rockslide, Anole, Pixie and X-23.

I'm not sure how I'd reconcile this team selection with their stances on the mutant rebellion, though...

That's still a fine looking team right there!! I could see Prodigy acting as missions op, The Stepford Cuckoos acting as communications, Elixir slowing becoming unhinged and villain-like (like he was starting to do during the Childhood's End run) and characters like Gentle, Armor, Blindfold, Bling!, Trance, Loa, Match, and Indra would be supporting/reserve characters!

Would be great to see.

I'd focus the first six issues of the run on building Hellion back up to be the hero he was shown capable of being, amongst other things. I'd give these adolescent mutants a purpose. Have Surge take control of the team at the beginning and have Hellion unleash this potential when his team needs him the most. I'd also have Pixie show a romantic interest in Julian - have something happen to her such that her powers/personality evolve to reflect her AvX counterpart, Nightmare. Would serve as a great foil for X-23's rejection of him. So as not to sound unbalanced, I'd have plenty of focus on the other characters in later arcs.

Elixir has been made almost redundant now by Chrisopher Muse/Triage. It's a shame. I'm not sure what I'd do with him. I suppose having him unhinged would be interesting but I'm not sure how it would play out.

Sounds amazing... I think u meant to say "AoX" not "AvX' (too many acronyms but I got what u meant). I would love to see the students break away and start their own team like we said. I would want more character development for Indra, Loa, and Trance (because out of the rest.... these three's powers were amplified during the stint on Utopia but nothing further has happened since). I would also like to see one of the members act as a spy for Wolverine (most likely Armor) and one for Cyclops (maybe Pixie, idk). But Elixir slowing evolving into a villain for this team would be amazing, he watched his girlfriend be shot dead right in front of him, he witnessed the deaths of most of his classmates, he killed people and started to turn dark during his time on X-Force, he killed Wither, etc... he would benefit from being a villain!

@papad1992 said:

Oops! AoX.

Yeah, breaking away but having support from a mentor would be ideal. Have them tour the world!

I don't think Elixir should be a villain. If anything, I think he should be left alone. Maybe they should find him in some impoverished country healing the poor and sick, being worshipped and under the delusion that he's some sort of god.

I always thought Hellion would side with Cyclops' views for mutantkind, but clearly not.

Surge, Pixie, Dust and the Cuckoos obviously believed in Cyclops' pre-AvX vision. Probably too radical for Pixie/Surge to follow now.

I think the best thing would be to highlight their disillusionment with bother Wolverine and Cyclops' visions. Maybe they just want to be heroes?

The question remains as to who should mentor them? I'd vote for Cable, though his current series is pretty lame and I'm not sure that tutoring these younger mutants would fit in with his curent MO. I'd prefer a mutant, an X-Man, rather than another MU hero.

If only Xavier were alive!

That's sounds pretty cool for Elixir... and the spy thing is a bit cliched and overdone so out with that.

Cable is too rough, and reminds me of when he converted New Mutants to X-Force.

For the mentor, I'd like to either see one X-Man or a couple... Maybe:

Cecilia Reyes and Gambit or

Moonstar or

Dazzler and Sage (if/when they survive) or

Chamber and Husk or

Warpath and Hepzibah or

Cypher or

Rachel Grey

I'm routing for Moonstar! Hence my avatar...

Chamber and Husk are only just older than these New X-Men and they don't really have much more experience over them. Warpath, Hepzibah, Cypher and Gambit would not make good mentors. Not sure if CeCe Reyes is experienced or well-rounded enough to teach these characters a lot.

Cable would probably be too rough, you're right. They'd end up more like soldiers than straight down heroes.

Sage would be a good call. As would Moonstar - athough she's maybe only five years at most older than them she's had a lot of experience and has already functioned as a mentor of sorts at Academy X. If Emma weren't so heavily involved with Scott's rebellion, she'd also be ideal.

Banshee would be another great call if he were alive. Dammit.

Problem is that Kitty, Storm, Rachel and Beast, also good candidates, are so heavily involved in Logan's school to focus on them. What do you think about Psylocke?

Psylocke is not in a good place right now, actually for a few years she's been too dark for children. She even tried to be a teacher at the school but Kitty told her to leave because she's too dark and not-interested. I'm actually still hooked onto Moonstar as leader... but she needs someone to help her! Who!?

@john_valentine: @papad1992:

for this mentor role you guys are talking about, I think I would most like to see any combination of Kitty, Moonstar, and/or Gambit, all of whom have been previously great in the big sister/brother role. Any one of them, not so much, but any two of those three could be great.