Ever since the news about Magneto, Nightcrawler and now Cyclops getting their own solo series has come out, how come Marvel is suddenly releasing solo series for most of the X-Men characters? I mean, I'm happy that the other X-Men characters (besides Wolverine) are finally getting their own solo series, but is Marvel planning something big for the X-Men with releasing all of these solo titles or are they trying to find another character who could replace Wolverine?

Technically only Magneto and Cyclops are getting a solo series. I have heard Nightcrawlers solo series will actually be a X-Men Legacy (which I think is great). Plus, one can argue that only Mags is getting a solo series because Cyclops' solo series is not "the real" Cyclops.

Lastly, as you stated each X-Man deserves a solo series; however I believe Marvel is doing this now because it is a good business decision. Parker is coming back just in time for the Amazing Spider-Man 2(ASM2) movie (Shocker! *sarcasm* damn crybaby fanboys).

Why is Parker coming back just in time for ASM2? Because, it is a great time for "new" fans to want to read about Parker. At the same time, ASM2 isn't the only Marvel superhero movie coming out. Captain America: Winter Soldier is coming out. Therefore, Winter Soldier: Bitter March is coming out as well even though Winter Soldiers previous solo series got cancelled 6 months ago. Why? Because, it will be a opportune moment to gain new readers.

Now, we also have, X-Men: Days of Future Past coming out as well. Thus, making it a great time for gaining new readers which explains Magneto. Nightcrawler and Cyclops to me seem like just another Gamit series experiment. Marvel is giving the fans what they've been asking for to see if these series end up being a success or not.

that's just me tho (+)

That's a good theory! It would make sense for Marvel to release these titles because Days of Future Past is about to come out and that would mean that many people would check out the movie, so this would be a great time to get some more X-Men titles out once the movie hits. Although I wish that there was a solo series for Colossus and some of the X-Women like Storm, Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey, but only time will tell and it would be wiser for Marvel to just release these titles one at a time rather than all at once.

@rabbitearsblog: It is only 3 new titles and Nightcrawlers might not even be titled Nightcrawler it might be a X-Men Legacy title. However, I personally believe Marvel is currently trying to find out which other X-Man can grow on his/her own like Wolverine.

I am fairly positive if Nightcrawler's, Magneto's, and/or Cyclops' run ends up getting the same sales as Gambit's or Legion's series got, then Marvel will just cancel them and try 2 other X-Men solo's. If any of them turns out to be a huge success they will be the next Wolverine.

I honestly think Magneto is a excellent choice since he has a fairly important role or fairly big role in the newest X-Men movie. But, Nightcrawler and Cyclops aren't even going to be in the newest X-Men flick. I can understand Nightcrawler since he just came back from the dead but for Cyclops I only see this as, "it's about damn time" series. (+)

I agree with all this. I think Magneto does have the most potential to outshine Wolverine (depending on whether or not the fans want him as a villain or as a hero) and having him get his own solo series once Days of Future Past is coming out, is a good idea for business. It would be interesting to see what other X-men characters they will try out next if these titles don't sell well.

It does seem a bit off - I agree. Having Young Cyclops have his own on-going (let alone the premise which is just...mind-boggling) seems like a random decision although it does get the X-Men into the cosmic side of things in a more substantial way.

I guess they want to put out feelers and see which character generates the most money. Pretty much what @yung_ancient_one said.

Honestly I'm not happy with the decision, because if they are trying to test the waters on solo characters then an O5 solo series set in space wasn't the way to go.

On the other hand Magneto is interesting with or without the movie, but with movie then casual, dedicated and new fans will have something to jump into. And Nightcrawler I believe has popularity on par with Gambit so I feel they may want to see how well he performs and pass or fail it builds interest in his character like it did with Gambit before X-Factor.

Still I generally don't like the solo X-Men idea, because it usually takes the character away from the team dynamic and the things going on within the other books. And I believe that the X-Books in mid 2014 are going to suffer greatly because of all the character moving away from the books.

Yeah, I've heard about the new Cyclops solo series is going to be about young Cyclops, which is weird because it's like they are shoving the older Cyclops to the background instead of developing him a bit more.

I do have some concerns with the number of solo titles being release also, because if this means that all the characters are going on their own adventures, then where does this leave the X-men team books as a whole?

@rabbitearsblog: I feel like the only time the solo idea worked was Rouge's X-Men Legacy...because it was always set in the same place as the other X-books so it felt more like a "day in the life of" type of thing. I always excepted it with Wolverine because his stories don't effect his presence within the X-Men

With Cyclops and Magneto I believe it's going to hurt both books since it makes it seem like what the team was doing at the time wasn't important enough to have their attention.

If you pay attention it has nothing to do with the X-Men. Marvel is just pushing a lot of all new solo books. Moon Knight, Black Widow, Electra, She Hulk, etc.

Fingers are still crossed for a Human Torch solo after the synopsis for Fantastic Four 1.

That's the problem I also have with some solo books. Sure, I want the characters to go on their own adventures, but when it starts steering away from the present times of the other books, you have to wonder where these stories are actually taking place and sometimes, the characters' solo adventures don't really affect their character growths in the main stream comics.

@rabbitearsblog: My thoughts exactly. The only positive I can get from a solo series is exploring more about the character, but even my favorite example of this (Rouge's Legacy) suffered from the fact that as soon as it was over then they went back to writing her like It didn't happen. I'd rather they just explore the character on the team then go through a bunch of developments that don't effect the overall world or even the character when the book is over.

I don't know why we're getting so many X-Men solo books but I am so happy over it.

also, and perhaps more relevantly from a creative perspective, Magneto, like Wolverine, has spent a lot more of his adult life not being an X-man but still having adventures. For me, that's always been what made Wolverine stand apart from the other X-men, that he had a whole back story as an adventurer before he even joined the team. He's been around for a long time, and you can have him in stories set in or revisiting several different periods from before he even met the X-men, and this certainly applies to Magneto as well.

Before Wolverine and other characters started getting their own mini series, and even for a long time after, it used to be that characters would leave the team to have their own adventures and those adventures would still be in the main books, because the characters themselves were central to those stories, so their solo adventures were too. I guess it's for this reason that I've always seen X-men solos, even Wolverine's, as being essentially superfluous to the main stories.

Maybe it's that I think of it more like I'm an X-men fan than a fan of any of the characters individually, but what I really like about the individual characters is largely how they interact with each other, meaning it's rare that any of them interests me outside of that context. I've never even read a Nightcrawler series, and he's my favorite character.

I agree with this. Even though I have enjoyed Wolverine's solo series, I always enjoyed the X-Men better as a team and some of the solo stories were a little out there for me because they would always drop the characters into situations that are not apart of the mainstream stories (not that it upsets me too much if I don't even like what's going on in the mainstream stories and I wanted to read something that has the same characters from the mainstream series, but are not tied to the situations in the mainstream comics) .

Maybe is cause they're planing to come up with few origin movies? Since Magneto origin been on hold, it look they have other plans. I'm just suggesting.

Probably, although I haven't heard any plans for any solo films for the characters yet.

Instead of all these solos, it would seem to me that incorporating the stories into the current team books would be just as effective. Just produce the team books more than monthly and you could get the same benefit. Also Marvel doesnt have the movie rights to the xmen...... so Im not sure how producing more books helps them benefit.

yeah, I mean I have read Wolverine comics I liked, but my favorite roles for him are with the other X-men characters, as those seem to be the roles that most define what I like about him.

Similarly, I've read some great Storm, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, etc.. solo stories, but the best of those (in my experience) tended to be the ones that happened in X-men comics anyway.

Now, that's not to say that any character, X-man or otherwise, can't be in an interesting story independent of their original context, but if the only reason to do a solo series is to appeal to that character's popularity, it just seems besides the point. Young Cyclops, for example, is already one the main characters of All-new X-men, so what is it about his upcoming series that makes the story not fit in that book? To me, it seems like giving Reed Richards his own series or something.

I do wonder about this also. I mean, Marvel can still get money from the X-Men movies, even though it will only be some partial earnings, so I guess making all of these solos would make up the difference.

1. I personally think that would be even more effective.

2. They still make money from those movies, though. Also, the movies get people interested in the comics, so if they know the movies are going to focus on, say, Magneto, it's still in their interest to capitalize on that exposure by putting Magneto in more/his own books.

I wonder about young Cyclops' new solo series too. If they were going to make a solo series for Cyclops, why not be about his older self since he had already had enough experience and history in the Marvel Universe, then use a character who barely made an impact on the Marvel Universe? It's seem so out there for me.

Well, I mean old Cyclops already has a lot of responsibility with protecting his new school and so forth; I'm really into that book and I would hope that anything important to old Cyclops would be played out in the pages of Uncanny X-men, since that's sort of his X-men book anyway.

With young Cyclops, it sounds like he'll be temporarily leaving the rest of the All-new' team to have an adventure with Corsair. I still feel like if that story's really important to Cyclops, why not just have it be a parallel story thread within All-new'? it's not like he won't be back.

Then again, for me, the whole "O5" just seem like they should be a package deal. I'll admit, I haven't been reading All-new' since BotA, but isn't the draw that it's about the original X-men? Seems like it's just losing one of it's main characters to tell Cyclops' side of that story in a separate book.

That's not to say that Cyclops' solo book can't/won't be good, it just doesn't sound interesting to me.

@oldnightcrawler: I still think its best to run the stories in the team book. I vote for more double issues and more issues per month.

yeah, that would be good. Or, even in some cases more story per issue..

Marvel is just making a shitload of solo titles in general now, Black Widow, She Hulk, Iron Fist, the 5 Wolverine solo titles, and more.

I just wish it was adult Scott getting his own series, he deserves one. Not too thrilled about O5 Scott getting his own, but I'll give it a shot. Magneto's is going to be amazing I'm sure, if there is one X-Man that deserves a solo title and has the depth, backstory, and fan base to pull it off, it's him.

O5 Scott should have stuck with the team. They should have sent Adult Scott on a space trip with his dad instead.

nah, adult Scott has to much going on planet earth...with all his hyper focus on his mission, it would way to weird to just move him to space, even if it was just a mini-series. Plus Scotts now a grown man, and was able to meet his father...if they were going to do this Cyclops solo with the starjammers, O5 scott was the proper choice...that father-son element holds a lot more weight when the son is 16 and up until that exact moment thought his father was dead

All that said...I still don't like the idea. It just feels wrong to me to remove Scott from the rest of the O5....as much as I like the idea of a Cyclops solo, especially the nice story and character moments that are possible with him reuniting with his father, and his father likewise having another chance with his son, I just cant help but hope its a mini-series or something and that scott will quickly rejoin the rest of his team.

One other good thing might come of this though...There is so much drama and history around Scott and Jean that the other 3 members really don't get much time to shine. Hopefully when the trial is over and scotts in space, Bobby, Hank, and Warren will be able to get a bit more page time. Warren in particular could use some love...I find it hard to believe he just forgot that the future version of himself is basically a completely new person, and apparently has metal wings.

I just hope they go back so we be done with this silliness. Honestly having multiple Scotts and Hanks and Angels and Icemen running around is a stupid idea. In fact I would say you dont even have to cancel the book altogether, just get them out of the 616. Let them go back with the knowledge theyve acquired and tell stories based on that. Or maybe they go back and Apocalypse has taken over starting a whole new AOA and now the O5 have to deal with it. Or maybe in trying to get home they end up traveling to other universes and dimension and having adventures there. Or they could even do a story similar to the extermination event in which the time travel dumos a whole bunch of monsters and villains in the past and now they have to straighten it out. Like I said if the concept of the O5 is to get more fans onboard with the origins, then fine, just dont make a convoluted mess. Tell some stories with them but put it somewhere not the current 616 destroying continuity

Yeah, I agree that Magneto needed a solo title since there's so much history to his character.

@hawk2916:

Yeah this is a complete mess. Not good to have 2 or 3 of the same people running around in the same place at the same time.

This is what I wanted and even expected from the start... I believed that by 2015 we'd be getting ready to send them home or they'd be home already and we'd get to see whatever payoff for the event there is. But this spin off shows me they havn't got an end date for this because if (BIG IF) the Cyclops series is successful then there not going to cancel it because All New is ending.

Instead we've got something from DC 10 years ago, where I picked up a comic and had to put in hours of research to figure out how come there are 3 Flash's eating donut's together.

If they were doing this for the sake of the story I'd try to defend it, but All New X-Men is a top seller and Marvel is doing a spinoff for the money....and revisiting 20 year old Cyclops development to do it

I actually wished that the New X-Men were the ones at the center of the story lines and not the younger versions of the O5 because it feels like they are copping out at making a good series about the New X-Men during this time. I think the whole premise about the younger versions of the O5 would have worked better if it was either a miniseries or worked as an alternative universe title like "Ultimate X-Men."

I always figured it was just going to be a temporary thing, that's why it never bothered me. It just seems like for all the times that alternate timelines and future kids have been involved everyone should recognize that this isn't going to last.

The All New X-Men was going to be about what every time travel story is about in the future:
1.Meet your future self
2. Explore how great/sucky the future is
3. Find out about some incredible thing your destined to do for good or evil and angst about it
4. Save the Day

I could respect that because it's a story that hasn't been told before, as compared to reading the New X-Men facing old X-Men threats.
But now, I'd rather see the New X-Men meet with Corsair and have nothing to talk about then have them redo a 30 year old story with the exact same characters.

I think the "o5" Summers solo series is a good idea because of the common view point that Cyclops is the X-Men (in a way). Many, fans, users, or people see Cyclops as the leader of the X-Men and/or is mainly defined as being a member of the X-Men. His identity is being a X-Man so it is rather hard to take him away from that image.

I think his "05" Young Scott getting a series makes sense, since they will explore Young Summers identity when he isn't totally defined as being the leader of the X-Men.

Yes, it would be ideal for Marvel to focus on developing 616 Summers (I don't want to argue about the 616 concept) instead of the Young Scott but... it makes sense to me, especially business wise.

The cosmic adventure is also understandable in my eyes because Young Scott will get a chance to create a new identity for himself without being attached to the X-Men outside of the world of Earth. The X-Men have their own corner of the world in Marvel and they play a fairly huge role on Earth so it makes sense to me why it be ideal for Young Scott to leave Earth.

It is a new world where S.H.I.E.L.D. has Sentinels, X-Men are in the Avengers, and Young Scott is in a pinnacle moment in his life to discover who he wants to be. It is the best time to get in touch with his father.

Again, 616 Summers would be better, but... his story is complicated and his father is... complicated (:P). I can see Cosair wanting to spend time with his son given the fact he wasn't able to previously and what better age than when he is in his defining stages of his life.

Lastly, I wouldn't say Marvel is shoving 616 Slim into the background, when he is leading the Uncanny X-Men.

II.

The X-Men team dynamic may be taken away from having all of their characters go solo instead but it would be different and I am always open for change.

I can also see them getting back together later which would be awesome in my eyes.

That's actually the thing, I think Magneto is the best as a Anti-Character whether it is a Anti-Hero, Anti-Villain, or better yet, always jumping from Anti-Hero to Anti-Villain. I think Magneto would be best as a character that isn't binded by the constraints of what is good or bad. I see him best as a Macbeth-esque type of character where he always see's himself in the right.

However, that is also his biggest flaw. Many of Magneto's fans prefer him to be a Villain. I do not. I think he is best as a Anti-Hero and I have never viewed Magneto to be a Villain but a Anti-Villain.

That's a great point. I have always overlooked that. However, technically we can say that about a couple of X-Men as well, like, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Gambit, and/or Storm.

(+)

@yung_ancient_one: My problem with your statement lies mostly in the fact that it's young Cyclops that will be explored here. The idea that the old Scott is bogged down by the fact that he's always associated as the leader of the X-Men makes it hard for me to see why a version of Cyclops who doesn't even have the "leader of the X-Men" thing as part of his history would be interesting.

The fact is it would be more interesting to see 616 Cyclops expanded and explored outside of the X-Men because of the value and attachment he has to the team, and because of the enemies and developments he's accumulated over the years. And it bothers me that in a period where 616 Cyclops has reached a zenith of importance within the narrative and the business side of things and has yet to truly define his new role, were taking time to give character development to his younger counter part.

As both a fan of All New X-Men and a BIG fan of Cyclops, I find it annoying that O5 Cyclops is trading off of the name of 616 Scott and the characters that are important to Cyclops development. But I doubt even that would bother me if this was taking place between the pages of All New X-Men, as it's part of what the book is about, exploring the future world of characters through the eyes of the O5.

However this idea that O5 Cyclops should go off and have his own adventures isn't just bad for All New because its losing a important cast member, but also for regular Scott because the characters that are essential to him are being used not for his benefit but for the benefit adding debt to a new character with his name.

@yung_ancient_one said:

well, Gambit anyway.

Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus seem like they've had their adventures pretty well chronicled. There's not a lot of mystery behind them compared to Wolverine, Gambit, or Magneto.

Yeah, I think that Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus would have better luck in their solo series if they had some mystery to their characters, but it has to be written in a way that fits with their characters instead of going too far out of their characters.

Maybe. As it is, it just means you'd have to come up with some reason they weren't with the other X-men. But, even then, all of those characters have had great solo stories in X-men comics, so why give them solos at all? Why not just tell those stories as threads in X-men comics? was more my point.

I guess it's because many fans want to see their favorite characters get their own solo series or just read stories that has nothing to do with the X-Men and more with the characters. Wolverine was able to succeed as a solo character because he didn't get his start in the X-Men, but in the Incredible Hulk comics that helped him set himself apart from the other X-Men.

Wolverine may have had success as a solo character, but I'm more inclined to think that had to do with how he was developed as a loner with a mysterious past, in the X-men comics, than anything to do with his one (barely recognizable) appearance in the Hulk prior to that.

I see your point about fans being more interested in a specific character than in the X-men as a group, but when a character's sole development has been in that context, it still begs the question on what basis does one base that interest? Especially when characters like Storm, Nightcrawler, Rogue, etc, have had amazing solo stories in the main books that were just as strong or stronger than their solo books.

Now THAT I wonder myself. I believe is cuz Marvel don't find nothing else to do, so they sound like they need to do these whole solo thing. Actually, that's what Marvel do when they don't find themes lol.

For a lot of solo characters I get it, but for most X-men characters it usually just looks like a cash grab.

Not that they're not always good, but if they're good, why aren't they the main title? it's kind of how I feel about a lot of miniseries that are set at the same time as the main book. Why wasn't Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha & Omega just 5 issues of WatX-men? Did that book really need all those AvsX tie ins when this story was being released at the same time?

Or why couldn't they just let Mike Costa write All-new X-men for a couple of months to tell his The Arms of The Octopus story there? I bet more people would have read it. And it would have been an extra few months for both X-men and Uncanny X-men to gain some traction before diving into BotA.

I don't know. I just find out about Magneto having one coming soon.

I don't know. I just find out about Magneto having his coming soon.

I understand this point, especially about why would fans want to see more solo adventures from these characters when they already had strong enough stories told in the main series about their solo adventures. I guess some fans want to see even more stories being told with the characters outside the main series and they feel that the main series might not do them justice since they have to share the panel time with other characters.

One of the problems I do have with solo series sometimes is that whenever the character has their own adventures in their solo series, the moment they come back to the mainstream stories, their solo series seem to not exist anymore, or they don't mention anything that happened to that character in their solo series in the mainstream stories. Sometimes I do wonder what's the point of a character having their own solo adventures if it's not going to affect their personalities or life styles in the mainstream stories?

Let's just appreciate