Being a mutant and an X-Men is not as glamorous as it used to be. Even though mutants were always considered menaces, the X-Men were still considered heroes by most of the public. They put their lives at risk in order to prevent evil mutants and other bad guys from harming innocent lives.

These days, the shift for the X-Men has changed. They still want to protect the innocent but it turns out they themselves are now at risk. The hatred towards mutants and the fact that there are under two hundred in existence puts their very survival at risk.

After the events of Schism, the mutants are split with some leaving Utopia with Wolverine to start up a new school and others staying with Cyclops to fight for their survival. With the relaunch and release of Uncanny X-Men #1, Cyclops has revealed his new direction. How different will things be for the X-Men and is this the best approach to take?

Heroes' lives are always at risk. Yet it's the X-Men that have enemies that actually gunning for them. That's what he tried telling Wolverine. He isn't crazy about the idea of kids being soldiers but what guarantees of survival are there in sitting in a school with a giant target on it?

His solution is the formation of his Extinction team. For the future of mutants, Cyclops believes they need to make a larger statement. You would think with all the good the X-Men have done, they would me more accepted as heroes. Yet, as time has gone by and they've even come out publicly so they aren't hiding behind masks, the public still fears them. He wants to prove that they can save humanity from extinction and that they are Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

What Cyclops is basically saying is he wants the world to realize just how great of heroes they are. He knows all their past deeds haven't shown the public that they shouldn't be feared. To prove they're heroes, he gives his squad a fearful name. He selects mutants with incredible firepower that would be an asset in the field.

It's Storm that actually points out Cyclops' questionable direction. These aren't the most friendly members of X-Men. Their name isn't one that will inspire trust. Cyclops' reply was they will prove the public wrong. And those that hate mutants should also fear them. But isn't that the problem? People hate mutants because they're different and they also fear them. Being afraid of them isn't going to make people think of them as heroes.

What should Cyclops do?

They've already tried hiring a public relations person. It didn't quite workout but that doesn't mean they should throw out the idea. Kate Kildare has handled many scandals in the Marvel Universe. Think about Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers. When they were first introduced, it was a public event. The X-Men need to be seen in public instead of hiding behind closed doors on Utopia. Magneto was thought to be a major problem but when he publicly saved many, his 'ratings' went up a little.

Matching uniforms? They've had them before. If they show a sense of unity, they might appear more appealing. They are a 'team' and most of the time athletes appear together in their uniforms. Magneto running around in his familiar costume will just bring back too many memories and fears. There's also the Fantastic Four that has matching uniforms. They are perceived as a family but the X-Men are essentially family as well.

Utopia should be opened to the public on occasion. If the X-Men stay hidden on a far off island of their own, the public will have no idea what they're doing there. They could be plotting the destruction of humanity for all they know. Even if they had a controlled televised tour, it might put the public's mind at ease. They have had people on before but they should do it more regularly, provided they can make it safe.

Reality shows and public appearances? What if Emma Frost appeared as a guest judge on American Idol? Maybe Storm could be on hand at the grand opening of a new car dealership. This goes along with the PR angle but that's what they need to do. They need to sell themselves as heroes. People fear them because they're mutants but the X-Men need to show that even though they're mutants, they are still human.

The most important thing is what Scott had in mind. They need to keep being heroes. They need to prove the world is wrong to hate and fear them. It's unfortunate if being nearby San Francisco invites the likes of Mister Sinister or other X-Men villains but that's the price of having heroes nearby. Having a name like "Extinction team" isn't going to win over the public. They do need to show they are tough but trying to instill fear in some will only result in scaring everyone.

Overall, the X-Men shouldn't really concern themselves with what the public thinks. They didn't worry about it too much in the past and shouldn't now. They are heroes and they don't need the praise. They want to do the right thing. They just need to be able to do it without everyone trying to kill them just for being who they are.

And maybe Emma should put on some more clothes.

Taking off the giant blue condom would be a start...

....

I would think the public would be grateful their home base isn't putting an American population in the firing line.

WTF Namor - "To sit in a seat so fine, namor would take it from any man"......

Like every other Marvel series, I'm hesitant to start Uncanny X-Men because of the fact that they have big crossover events like every week. And my budget doesn't allow for it. But it looks like it will be off to a good start.

I actually like the idea of them being psuedo celebrities. Emma should be on the top 100 sexiest women list, and she and Scott should be talked about in magazines, shows, and tabloids considering that two of the most famous mutants and leaders of the largest group representing the mutant race.

@JoseDRiveraTCR7: Exactly. People need to get to see and know them personally. They don't necessarily have to sell themselves out but let people know they're more than just a costumed person with incredible power that could kill them.

Well not having Greg Land make them all look the same is a good start. But the pseudo celebrity thing is a good idea, even though it would mean some bid event, they should team up with tams like the FF, Avengers and Spider-man to get into the spotlight more. Also if Cyclops wasn't so pessimistic, that might help the general mood of Utopia.

Seriously, comics are expensive? It's not like buying new shoes. I never quite understand when people say they can't afford comics.

Anyway, loving the Regenesis of the Xmen.

The idea of Emma on American Idol or Magneto at a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new Red Lobster kind of makes me want to vomit. They are superheroes, not politicians. Namor kissing babies and smiling for the camera is stupid and waaay out of charecter. I get that they need the public to respect/ fear/ accept them, but at what cost? I like the idea of the PR lady to a point. A spin doctor isn't a bad idea at all. Leave the spinning to her and keep doing what you do. Kicking @ss and chewing bubble gum.

@shrmntnk62: And they're all out of bubble gum, right?

@shrmntnk62: Well, Dazzler did have a great run being a superstar. I guess, the other X-men can be one too. Also, it adds more personality or depth to them. Kinda like how Spiderman managed his normal life and crime fighting day and night.

yea its good and il definetluy pick it up. This is a great storyline so far and one thing that i like about it the most is the fact that they're not in New YOrk. Dont get me wrong New York is cool and all but its like the Marvel Universe's heros are only exclusively confined to New York and that for me as always put me on edge about the Marvel U so its nice to see something new. I always thougth it silly to have so many heros yet have the majority confined to one state, but yea so far so good

The former White Queen, a man who looks a lot like Juggernaut (with helmet on), Magneto, and Namor all in prominent positions in their organization...  Public relations nightmare?  As I mentioned in my blog, nothing could go wrong!

LOL you know it G-Man!

Well, not be primary comprised of tools and terrorists would probably help, but that doesn't seem likely to happen

With a team full of former villains and mutants teetering on the edge, I highly doubt the general public will warm up to this team. Cyclops' militaristic attitude won't help anything either. He pretty much wants everybody to fear them to the point where they begin to like them. Something tells me Cyclops will be humbled in the future.

They need to get rid of that A-hole Cyclops.

well i see y not in the ultimate universe there were respected untill magneto went off deep in

Illyana, you know what needs to be done. It's simple: We kill the Cyclops.

@shrmntnk62 said:

The idea of Emma on American Idol or Magneto at a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new Red Lobster kind of makes me want to vomit. They are superheroes, not politicians. Namor kissing babies and smiling for the camera is stupid and waaay out of charecter. I get that they need the public to respect/ fear/ accept them, but at what cost? I like the idea of the PR lady to a point. A spin doctor isn't a bad idea at all. Leave the spinning to her and keep doing what you do. Kicking @ss and chewing bubble gum.

Word, let Kate handle the PR work. I really like Cycke's position. He knows short term that mutants will NEVER be accepted so as of now they need to make a statement that says "don't frak with me!". As a real world reader I know mutants can't be accepted by Marvel's society because that's the whole crux of the X-Men books. Gillen had a recent interview where he addresses this really well.

@HotSauceCommittee said:

Taking off the giant blue condom would be a start...

this and

storm and emma need to show up as guest on ellen and the oprah winfrey network shows and hope should appear as a guest on Disney in a teen sitcom and namor at saturday night live awesome

@Edgeworth_11 said:

Seriously, comics are expensive? It's not like buying new shoes. I never quite understand when people say they can't afford comics.

I don't understand it either. It's not like the economy is bad and people don't have mortgages, rent, bills and kids to pay for either.

well since magneto is turning evil soon... i dont think there gonna win the public anytime soon lol

@Shamelesslysupportinaznballers said:

@Edgeworth_11 said:

Seriously, comics are expensive? It's not like buying new shoes. I never quite understand when people say they can't afford comics.

I don't understand it either. It's not like the economy is bad and people don't have mortgages, rent, bills and kids to pay for either.

Yes, but it's a $4.00 book for crying out loud.

They won't ever be accepted.

@Shamelesslysupportinaznballers said:

I don't understand it either. It's not like the economy is bad and people don't have mortgages, rent, bills and kids to pay for either.

Yes, but it's a $4.00 book for crying out loud.

I never thought about it but 'extinction team' does have a rather menacing tone to it for an attempt to win back the public's favour. All they can really do is hope to come up a really bad super villain that casts them in a far better light.

I LOVE the team in this book. It warms my heart that some of m favorites from when I first started reading comics back in 85 have made it onto the powerhouse team (Colossus and Magick) and my adult favorites (Magneto and Cyclops) are there with them. The concept of Cyclops having to wrangle a team that could easily mudstomp the Avengers is captivating. This is the ONE Regenesis book that I was most excited about and I was beyond pleased with the first issue.

actually staying around to help rebuild things after the latest mutant/monster/threat to come around demolishes stuff would probably be a good idea.

Have a meeting with the president.

Helping with public works or something.

Not have guys like Magneto on their team. I mean, he WAS the guy who's tried to obliterate the human race on more than one occasion. Add to that the fact that, as far as the public's concerned, he tried to massacre the entire city of New York. Hard to have a good public relations image when you have the mutant equivalent of Hitler on your team.

The only part of Scott's plan I actually thought made any sense was the statement of Utopia being the target so Wolverine's school wouldn't be. It's an interesting statement and shows how much more mature and calculating the writers are trying to make him. He doesn't want a split mutant population but if its going to happen better his half (with the bigger guns) be the target than those less prepared to fight. So even if Utopia takes a beating to make people see them as heroes than at least Wolverine's students won't have to (as much at least). Its an interesting look into his leadership style.

He could start by not calling his team the "Extinction team". Seriously, how is that a good idea? You have a team full of former supervillains, including a former mutant supremacist, and you call your team the "Extinction team"?
 
I don't care who you sided with, that is incredibly stupid. If his goal is to win the public's heart, he is off to a bad start.

@Xenozoic Shaman: @Edgeworth_11:

Is it really only $4.00? How many people go to the comic book store and only buy just 1 book? I don't know anyone that does that and I've never seen someone just buy 1 book. Personally I'll spend anywhere from $15-$50 a trip and I know people can't afford that in a week or even a month. $50 can pay 2 of my bills there, 1 tank of gas (which is friggin expensive!) etc....

If you want to follow Regenesis than that's 8 books right there. If that's all you can afford then you're missing out on Fear Itself (or not missing out depending on how you look at it). Then you have the Avengers and the New 52 oh and Walking Dead and all the other stuff you are missing because comics are so expensive.

And then that's where people start to say, well if its so expensive then don't buy it and unfortunately that's what happening.

I don't know, I mean the X-Men having been doing this, trying to appear as heroes to convince the world in a visible way that mutants are not monsters to be hated and feared since they started. The original and 2nd launch of the team had this a major theme, and I remember when Astonishing X-Men was launched Wheldon gave this need to appear as heroes as the in-universe reason why the X-Men ditched the black leather and went back to the spandex costumes. So it's an idea that has been raised pretty often in the X-Men comics as part of the purpose of the X-Men, not really sure what will realistically change now (particularly with those making it's membership now)

Emma Frost on American Idol ... she would be a lot better than the current cast, I still like them... but its Emma!!!

I haven't picked up this issue yet, but agree in principle to what others are saying...too villianious of a cast - the name: Extinction Team? Won't people wonder about who is going to be extinct when the team finds them? Stupid. Magneto, still in his old costume. Stupid. It's important to be feared? Really? Are the Fantastic Four feared? The Avengers? Shouldn't have Magneto interjected by saying: "Scott, I've tried the fear route, and where did it take me?" I wish one of the editors would get his/her head out of his/her @$$ about this...

@Morpheus_: Hmm, in that case he needs to be careful just how much of a show of force he's going to bring to the table. He goes to far, and he just increases the fear part of mutants so far that Utopia will follow Genosha as the next mutant homeland to be raised to the earth. Storm might have been more on the money about Cyke being sure whether he should be raising his hand to her question about who was not mainly known as a 'super-villain', not sure if that approach will get the public to respond to them as a 2nd Avengers (more likely it might setting a point for when the Avengers and X-Men battle, which will be an interesting situation to test Storm's loyalty given she is joining the Avengers, and BP is also a member).

I think to be feared is to be respected. Victoria Hand could help improve their image, but that doesn't necessarily mean they should succumb to acting 'normal,' that which they are most certainly not.

@Morpheus_: Hmm, in that case he needs to be careful just how much of a show of force he's going to bring to the table. He goes to far, and he just increases the fear part of mutants so far that Utopia will follow Genosha as the next mutant homeland to be raised to the earth. Storm might have been more on the money about Cyke being sure whether he should be raising his hand to her question about who was not mainly known as a 'super-villain', not sure if that approach will get the public to respond to them as a 2nd Avengers (more likely it might setting a point for when the Avengers and X-Men battle, which will be an interesting situation to test Storm's loyalty given she is joining the Avengers, and BP is also a member).

@Lonestar88 said:

He could start by not calling his team the "Extinction team". Seriously, how is that a good idea? You have a team full of former supervillains, including a former mutant supremacist, and you call your team the "Extinction team"? I don't care who you sided with, that is incredibly stupid. If his goal is to win the public's heart, he is off to a bad start.

lol

They don't have to kiss babies and open restaurants, but they should make public appearances just so the public knows them, so they can tell they're real people. I honestly don't think Scott is going the right way, then again I don't like Cyclops since I found out he abandoned his wife and son to go chase after an old flame (whom he cheated on)

@GothamRed: And I love that Storm brought that up in their meeting. Storm's definitely the moral compass of Cyclops's team, which is why I'm glad she stayed and hope she stays around when she becomes an Avenger in a couple of months.

@Morpheus_: Sorry, my phrasing left the last part of my post unclear, sorry about that. I meant that the overall approach Cyke might be taking his new team could lead to an eventual confrontation with the Avengers, and that would be an interesting test of Storm's loyalty.

@Morpheus_: Sorry, my phrasing left the last part of my post unclear, sorry about that. I meant that the overall approach Cyke might be taking his new team could lead to an eventual confrontation with the Avengers, and that would be an interesting test of Storm's loyalty.

Didn't Magneto kill Jean Grey? So why would Cyclops, Jean's husband, ever be OK with Magneto in any way?

@ArtisticNeedham said:

Didn't Magneto kill Jean Grey? So why would Cyclops, Jean's husband, ever be OK with Magneto in any way?

That wasn't Mag, wasn't it Xorn?

Didn't Magneto kill Jean Grey? So why would Cyclops, Jean's husband, ever be OK with Magneto in any way?

I think the point is to have humanity respect them and the power they possess. Scott wants them leave the X-Men be while they save humanity's ungrateful ass, the world, Avengers and possibly the Universe's ass. Nothing else worked so far so they must take a slightly harsher approach. I don't see the problem here. Scott wants to protect his people including Logan's school (which shows great maturity as someone else mentioned.) Very good writing on Gillen's part. Very pumped up about Uncanny! It's in the right hands!