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- Summary: FAQ for rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks--X-Men comic books
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- -= REC.ARTS.COMICS.MARVEL.XBOOKS =-
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Part 3
-
- Version 2003.02 last updated November 2003
- URL: http://users.rcn.com/kateshort/faqs/racmxFAQ/faq3.html
-
-
- ------------------------------
- Subject: Table of Contents
-
-
- Part 3:
-
- X-MEN COMIC BOOK QUESTIONS
- * Who were the original X-Men? Who was the first X-Man? Who have
- been X-Men? (+)
- * How come Professor X has so much money?
- * What classes does the Professor offer at his schools, anyway? (+)
- * Wasn't there a title released in 1963 about a team of super-
- powered misfits who banded together under some smart guy in a
- wheelchair to fight against prejudice and the right to just be
- yourself ... by DC Comics?
- * When did Professor X start walking? Isn't he supposed to be in a
- wheelchair? (+)
- * Are there any gay X-Men? (+)
- * Why do people hate the X-Men when they love the Avengers and the
- Fantastic Four?
- * Why can't Cyclops just wear contact lenses?
- * Why doesn't Forge invent something that would neutralize powers
- so mutants like Cyclops and Rogue can live normal lives? And how
- can Rogue cut her hair, if she's invulnerable?
- * Did Psylocke dye her hair? What about Rogue's stripe?
- * I've got an idea! Why don't Rogue and Gambit use Leech so
- they can have sex? Have they already had sex? (+)
- * Is Rogue's inability to control her powers psychological in nature?
- * Why does Rogue have claws? When did that happen?
- * Was Rogue raped by the guards in the first Genosha storyline?
- * What is the relationship between Mystique and Nightcrawler? Why
- is Rogue involved in it, if she isn't blue? (+)
-
-
- ------------------------------
- Subject: X-MEN COMIC BOOK QUESTIONS
-
- Background information on the creators and the X-titles editorial
- offices is based on over a decade's worth of articles, interviews, and
- personal questions, and as such is not directly attributed here. Now
- that some of Marvel's staff members are on Usenet, they are welcomed to
- correct and amend any of the answers listed below.
-
-
- --- Who were the original X-Men? Who was the first X-Man? Who have
- been X-Men? (+)
-
- The original X-Men, in the oh-so-darling blue and yellow geek suits,
- were Cyclops, the Angel, the Beast, Iceman, and Marvel Girl.
-
- Deciding upon the first X-Man is a bit of a trick. While Xavier did
- bring Scott to his mansion first to become the first X-Man, it was
- revealed in the 1960's run of the title that he actually had already
- been helping Jean Grey cope with her telepathic powers. Thus, Jean was
- his first real mutant student, and, by extension, his first X-Man, even
- though Cyclops was the first of his mutant students to don a costume and
- call himself an X-Man.
-
- It should be noted that Scott Lobdell retconned this simple origin, by
- having Professor X planning the second team of X-Men (from Giant-Size
- X-Men #1) back before he had picked Scott for the first team. While this
- is an annoying anamoly, it doesn't change the answer to the question,
- since none of the second team of X-Men were ever contacted by Xavier
- until long after Scott and Jean became X-Men.
-
- As far as people who have been "X-MEN"...there are a few technical
- distinctions. The following have generally been considered X-Men, with
- asteriks noting the "sort-of" members: Professor X (Charles Xavier),
- Cyclops (Scott Summers), Marvel Girl/Phoenix (Jean Grey), Iceman (Bobby
- Drake), Angel/Archangel (Warren Worthington III), Beast (Hank McCoy),
- Mimic (Calvin Rankin), Havok (Alex Summers), Polaris (Lorna Dane),
- Changeling (posing as Professor X)*, Thunderbird I (John Proudstar),
- Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida), Storm (Ororo Munroe), Wolverine (Logan, a.k.a
- James Howlett), Colossus (Piotr Rasputin), Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner),
- Banshee (Sean Cassidy), Phoenix Force (posing as Jean Grey)*, Shadowcat
- (Kitty Pryde), Rogue (Rogue), Phoenix (Rachel Summers), Magneto (Erik
- Magnus Lensherr; also posing as Xorn), Dazzler (Alison Blaire), Psylocke
- (Betsy Braddock), Longshot, Jubilee (Jubilation Lee), Gambit (Remy
- LeBeau), Forge, Bishop (Lucas Bishop), Revanche (Kwannon), Cannonball
- (Sam Guthrie), Dark Beast (impersonating Hank McCoy)*, Marrow (Sarah),
- Maggott (Japheth), Cecelia Reyes*, Joseph (a Magneto clone), Quicksilver
- (Pietro Maximoff), Cable (Nathan Summers), Thunderbird III (Neal
- Sharra), Sage (Tessa), White Queen (Emma Frost), Chamber (Jono
- Starsmore), X-Stacy (Stacy X), Lifeguard (Heather Cameron), Slipstream
- (Davis Cameron), Northstar, and Cannonball.
-
- In the technicality department, Binary (Carol Danvers) was with the
- X-Men during the Brood Saga, but apparently didn't consider herself to
- be an X-Man. The New Mutants called themselves the X-Men in X-Men
- Annual #10 when they donned their graduation suits. Team members were
- Cannonball, Mirage, Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Karma, Magik, Warlock and
- Cypher. New Mutants teaching staff members Sharon Friedlander and Tom
- Corsi just helped the team, and Stevie Hunter was a dance teacher who
- regularly helped the kids. Maddie Pryor "died" with the X-Men, but did
- not consider herself to be an X-Man (during the Australian stories);
- likewise, Gateway was an associate of the team but not an official
- member. There was a team of "Muir Isle X-Men" circa the mid-late 200s
- of UXM, back when the X-Men were thought to be dead, including Forge,
- Banshee, Siryn (Banshee's daughter), Legion (Xavier's son), Amanda
- Sefton, Moira MacTaggart, Sunder, and Alysdane Stewart. The Eve of
- Destruction team that Phoenix assembled circa UXM #392 included Dazzler,
- Northstar (formerly of Alpha Flight), Sunpyre (Sunfire's sister Leyu
- Yashida), and a bunch of other new characters that haven't been seen
- since.
-
- Other characters have operated with the three main teams of X-Men. Dani
- Moonstar was allegedly a "part-time" affiliate of the X-Men as of X-Men
- #102, but since she was only around for one or two issues, it doesn't
- really count. Other characters such as Husk and Jubilee have shown up in
- Uncanny X-Men, but Paige said in a thought caption that she hoped to one
- day become an X-Man, indicating that she didn't have that status yet.
- Other associated characters have shown up as members of X-Corp. Time will
- tell whether these are full members or just associates.
-
-
- --- How come Professor X has so much money?
-
- Capitalism. The rich get richer.
-
- Apparently, the Xaviers are an old money family, since the Graymalkin
- estate (and the many-times rebuilt mansion) has been described as being
- in the Xavier family for ten generations. So, Charles Xavier inherited
- a lot of money. Xavier also has decent ties to the Avengers and to Reed
- Richards of the Fantastic Four to get cheap access to funky technology
- (as the easiest two examples: the image inducer was invented by Tony
- Stark, and the unstable molecule costumes were made of fabric obviously
- supplied by Richards). Finally, Professor X was formerly the consort of
- an intergalactic queen (Lilandra), and got a bunch of cheap, high-tech
- alien goods and repairs passed under the bed, as it were.
-
- Among the cheap, high tech alien goods was a handy-dandy costume
- machine, which presumably works with Reed Richards' unstable molecule
- fabric. Hence the X-Men aren't spending a lot of money on clothing.
- Which is a good thing, considering how costumes they go through on your
- average crossover.
-
- When Xavier's own money has been inaccessible, Warren Worthington has
- been there to step in. He had a lot of money to start with, and appears
- to have regained the money Hodge took from him when Warren "died". Note
- that Emma Frost and Betsy Braddock are also financially well off.
-
-
- --- What classes does the Professor offer at his schools, anyway? (+)
-
- Apparently, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters offered an accredited
- high school equivalency degree for its privately enrolled students. The
- "graduates" could try for a higher degree, now that Xavier also has an
- Institute for Higher Learning, if it wasn't for the fact that they're
- really the X-Men, and usually have other things to do than cram for
- finals. Some X-Men have tried for higher degrees--Jean Grey went on to
- Metro University--but generally there wasn't much higher learning going
- on at Xavier's. Some of the older X-Men have served as "guest lecturers"
- to Generation X at the Massachusetts Academy, but it's pretty likely
- that none of them has a teaching degree.
-
- Scenes from Claremont's run on the New Mutants showed classes being held
- in world history, economics, and physical education (above and beyond
- Danger Room training). Presumably the classes in biology would be
- top-notch. Even when she was with the X-Men, Jubilee was shown studying
- algebra.
-
- Tom Galloway has more help: "It's strongly implied that Hank McCoy (the
- Beast) earned his doctorate at Xavier's. He leaves the school directly
- for what amounts to a job as a Principal Investigator at Brand
- Industries, and there's really no time in his history when he could
- otherwise have earned the PhD they credit him with." On the other hand,
- X-Factor Annual #3 features a backup story where Beast is showing the
- kids pictures of his time at a college outside of Xavier's, earning
- degrees in biochemistry and genetics.
-
- Don't mess with Marvel time, kids. These men are professionals.
-
- As it stands, the promotional comic for Generation X had a whole list of
- classes offered at Emma Frost's school. It included lots of specialized
- PE, classes on leadership, cultural diversity, and physics with assorted
- guest instructors. Still, Gen X first showed the kids in a classroom in
- issue #21. More recently, both New X-Men and New Mutants showed students
- in flight class, and Professor Xavier was lecturing on mutant rights and
- politics, so students in Xavier's current school should be receiving
- general and specialized curricula.
-
-
- --- Wasn't there a title released in 1963 about a team of super-powered
- misfits who banded together under some smart guy in a wheelchair to
- fight against prejudice and the right to just be yourself ... by DC
- Comics?
-
- You're absolutely correct. The Doom Patrol came out in 1963 (the same
- year as the X-Men), and featured Robotman, Negative Man, and Elasti-Girl
- under the cryptic leadership of the Chief. Yes, the heroes were crippled
- or maladjusted by the nature of them being heroes--Robotman was an
- "omniplegic," Negative Man was wrapped in protective bandages, and so
- on. The Chief did rule from his wheelchair, and their whole point was to
- prove that even misfits and freaks could be a productive part of
- society, despite prejudice.
-
- The interesting thing is that so far as anyone can tell this was another
- example in history of pure coincidence. The Marvel and DC creative teams
- apparently came up with the ideas completely on their own.
-
- It's really not surprising when you think about when this was going on.
- Marvel had revolutionarized the comic book industry with the "Marvel"
- style of superhero, who had the complications of dealing with real life.
- Never ones to miss on the sales comparisons, DC began copying the Marvel
- style. Pretty soon we had families of superheroes with troubles,
- teenaged superheroes with troubles, clubs of superheroes with
- troubles... it didn't take much imagination to go to the next
- progression of "modern" superheroes, superheroes with physical troubles
- based on their physique, or prejudice.
-
- A man in a wheelchair would be the natural authority figure to lead this
- team, since he'd be an iconic reminder that people with disabilities can
- still be functioning people, while still not suffering from such a major
- disfigurement that the Comics Code of the time wouldn't accept him as an
- ongoing character. The wheelchair figure couldn't be one of the active,
- crime-fighting heroes, because giving him the power to leave his chair
- to fight crime would invalidate the whole reason to put him in a
- wheelchair in the first place. Finally, the wheelchair figure had to be
- a man, since this was still the 1960s.
-
- After the leader is set, you fill your team to taste with your choice of
- heroes suffering unwarranted prejudice. And after cancelling the book in
- the late 60s, bring it back later to large acclaim: as one final bit of
- trivia to further prove the existence of the Illuminati, both the X-Men
- and Doom Patrol came back in their first "new" forms in issues numbered
- 94--UXM #94 and Showcase #94, although Doom Patrol had to get cancelled
- one more time before they became highly acclaimed. Technically, the
- "new" X-Men debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1, but since we're allowing the
- Doom Patrol to slide on a technicality, we'll do the same for the X-Men.
-
-
- --- When did Professor X start walking? Isn't he supposed to be in a
- wheelchair? (+)
-
- Although Xavier first appeared in a wheelchair in X-Men (vol. 1) #1, he
- wasn't always disabled. A flashback in X-Men (vol. 1) #9 revealed that
- he was first crippled in a fight with Lucifer. He remained in the
- wheelchair until Uncanny X-Men #167, when his body was cloned by the
- Shi'ar after his original body was destroyed by the Brood Queen. The new
- body allowed him to walk, play sports, and serve as a member of the team
- (albeit in an ugly black-and-yellow costume) until his legs were crushed
- once again in a fight with the Shadow King in UXM #280. A year later, he
- was shot and was infected with a techno-organic virus by Stryfe in UXM
- #294. He was cured and was able to walk for a brief period in #297, but
- was soon wheelchair-bound again. Most recently, he was able to walk after
- mutant healer Xorn restored his legs, following Xavier's mind-switch with
- twin sister Cassandra Nova in New X-Men #126, although New X-Men #146
- revealed that it was a hoax--Magneto, as Xorn, had used nanotechnology
- to support Charles' spine, and removed the support at the end of that
- issue. Expect to see the Professor in a wheelchair for the time being.
-
-
- --- Are there any gay X-Men? (+)
-
- Yes: Northstar. As of UXM #414, he's part of a "real" team of X-Men,
- and the question should be settled. Right? Well, wrong; people seem to
- want to know about the sexuality of other characters in the main titles
- and of those in spin-off titles. And so, the debates continue.
-
- For years, Marvel had one officially gay mutant, which was Northstar of
- Alpha Flight. That's it. Technically, he wasn't even an X-Man until his
- stint in Uncanny circa UXM #392.
-
- Unofficial, but well accepted, was the Mystique-Destiny relationship.
- Marvel tried not to admit it, but Claremont did, and enough in-comic
- evidence exists to be certain on that score. For years, the most
- definitive evidence was UXM #254. In it, Irene said, "This is Raven as
- I know her, the spirit-soul within my dearest friend--full of strength
- and courage and passion--that I have loved from the moment we met."
- Later, Mystique said, "Irenie? You had a rough night..is anything the
- matter?" You can work it out for herself how Mystique would know that.
- In UXM #265, the Shadow King referred to Destiny as Mystique's leman--an
- archaic word meaning "lover"--which Chris Claremont seemed to have
- sneaked in under the censors' radar. As of the X-Men Forever miniseries
- (2001), the two are officially out of the closet, since the recap in
- issue #5 clearly states that Irene was Raven's lover. X-Treme X-Men #1
- concurs; Mystique is referred to as Destiny's "true love." Raven has had
- two children, of course, so there's strong evidence that she could be
- bisexual. She was a member of X-Factor, so she technically counts as an
- X-Man.
-
- The character Bloke in the relaunched X-Force title was identified as
- gay. His media packet in X-Force #117 covered a range of stereotypes (he
- lived in San Francisco, liked musicals, and used to be rainbow-colored
- before he turned bright pink). His kiss with a male mutant boyfriend in
- X-Force #118 confirmed it. Unfortunately, as with most characters in the
- relaunched X-Force team, Bloke's tenure was rather short-lived. Newer
- team members Phat and Vivisector at first seemed to be joking about being
- a gay couple (in order to gain more publicity), but as of issue #129 it
- was pretty clear that they "did the deed." In X-Statix #4, they finally
- decided that, while gay, they weren't actually interested in each other.
-
- The character Xi'an Coy Manh was another character whose sexuality was
- debated. X-Force #75 brought Karma in with short pink hair and female
- roommates in Greenwich Village. Conversation between her and Dani then
- suggested that Xi'an was a lesbian. Xi'an confirmed it herself in New
- Mutants (vol. 2) #4, where she also seems to have a crush on Kitty Pryde.
-
- The character of Mariko/Sunfire in Exiles revealed that she was gay in
- Exiles #11, but the title is not one of the core titles, and is set in
- an alternative universe.
-
- Speculation runs rampant regarding the sexuality of other X-characters,
- but here are the favorite candidates:
-
- * Hank McCoy. The events of his mutation into a more lion-like,
- bestial form left Hank feeling like "a Hindu sex god." After his
- longtime girlfriend Trish Tilby broke up with him because she felt
- the "bestiality" publicity would hurt her TV journalism career,
- Hank told her that he thought he might be gay. The line, in NXM
- #125, could be read sarcastically or literally. As of NXM #134,
- he admits that he is just playing along with the media, and not
- contradicting what anyone is saying about his sexuality.
-
- * Bobby Drake. He is by far one of the most mentioned as living in
- the closet. "Evidence" hinges on his lack of steady relationships,
- his lack of self-confidence, and the fact that he hasn't lived up
- to his potential. His confrontation with the White Queen in UXM
- #331 is also popular, where she says, "You finally realized you're
- not cut out to be an X-Man, so you've decided to use your mutant
- ability to pursue your first love: Interior decorating?" This is
- less flimsy that it might seem, since she has occupied his body,
- but hardly definitive. His relationship with Opal Tanaka is used as
- evidence both for and against, depending on how you rationalize
- their breakup. Bobby also had some strong sexual tension in his
- later dealings with Emma Frost, circa Generation X #57, where they
- attend a school dance together. In UXM #415, Northstar says that
- although he has a crush on Iceman, Bobby doesn't seem to be gay.
-
- * Ororo Munroe. Primary evidence here is X-Men Annual #11, where her
- heart's desire is to run off with Yukio. Supplementary to this is
- the fact that she completely turned her life around after running
- around with her for an evening (UXM #172-173), and Contest of
- Champions II #1, where Yukio and Storm meet again. If you buy the
- Storm and Yukio relationship, Yukio seems all for it. Otherwise
- Storm's relationship with Forge has been difficult, but over a long
- period of time. Again, she could be bisexual.
-
- * Dani Moonstar. Primarily, see X-Force #75. Circumstantial evidence
- for Dani's homosexuality or bisexuality has been sprinkled in other
- issues of X-Force, but never as heavily as #75.
-
- * Kitty Pryde. See her interaction with Karma in the Mechanix mini,
- where fans see potential in her words to Karma that Kitty's "not
- sure she feels that way" in response to Karma's crush on her.
- Kitty's probably hetero, due to her numerous crushes on guys and her
- relationship with Pete Wisdom over in Excalibur, but numerous fans
- saw a potential seduction of her by Saturnyne/Courtney Ross in
- earlier issues of that title.
-
- * Shatterstar. His highly emotional attachment to Rictor is proof for
- most. Others counter that he isn't of Western culture, so his
- emotions aren't necessarily as repressed. On the other hand, X-
- Force #56 indicates that his relationship with Rictor is much
- deeper than friendship; the caption says "She has lost Warpath.
- He [Shatterstar] has lost Rictor. Both see these missing
- teammates as 'friends.' Both too stubborn to admit they may mean
- more than that."
-
- Other names bandied about frequently include Magik, Rachel, and most of
- the X-Men universe at one time or another. Mr. Sinister's similarity to
- Frank N. Furter (of Rocky Horror) has also been noted on many occasions.
-
- The great trick with the discussion of gay X-Men is to avoid turning it
- into a flamewar. Discuss it by all means; just be aware this is a hot
- button for many people on both ends of the spectrum.
-
-
- --- Why do people hate the X-Men when they love the Avengers and the
- Fantastic Four?
-
- Andrew Ingle supports an interesting theory, one that works inside the
- Marvel Universe: "The people love superheroes. They dress up in spandex
- and save the world! They're celebrities to them, brilliant, beautiful
- celebrities. And you can see Cap or someone when they're coming. You
- KNOW they're Cap. Their powers are their powers and that's what lets
- them protect the world. They get their abilities for a reason. However,
- a mutant is someone born with their powers, and they DON'T always dress
- up in Spandex and advertise it. When you walk down the street, you don't
- know whether the person across the crosswalk will spontaneously shoot
- you with poisonous acid blasts from his eyeballs. Anyone can be a
- mutant, but only Johnny Storm is The Human Torch. The fact that mutants
- can be anyone is what scares people."
-
- As for the plots, Peter Lidkis reminds us, "There is hatred for mutants
- in the MU. The difference is that Avengers is not THE book that focuses
- on it. It only occassionally looks in on that hatred and then goes on
- its next story line." So it's not unusual for people to overall love
- the Avengers or FF--they're not *meant* to be hated as a matter of
- course. The X-Men were meant to deal with prejudice and hate, so they're
- going to end up being hated.
-
-
- --- Why can't Cyclops just wear contact lenses?
-
- As almost everyone known, Cyclops has a major vision problem. Namely,
- he can't open his eyes without blasting everything in sight. Xavier
- was able to create ruby quartz glasses to keep the powers in check.
- Readers figure that the ruby quartz happens to share complementary
- properties with Scott Summers' eye blasts, and contains the energy in
- some way. The energy could overload the quartz, allowing Scott to
- break through the visor in an emergency, but the quartz would normally
- keep the beams in check (which is why Scott's "casual" red eyeglasses
- don't come flying off his face from the blast force).
-
- But what about contact lenses? Why couldn't Scott just do that?
-
- For years, dedicated readers of the X-titles suggested this very idea,
- only to be confronted with the facts: Scott can't wear contact lenses
- because the beams come out of all of his eyes, not just the iris area.
- A number of back issues regularly showed Scott covering his eyes with
- his hands if his visor was broken, with red energy seeping out from
- around his eyes. Apparently Scott isn't susceptible to the damage of
- his eye blasts, just like he and his brother Havok were shown to be
- immune to each other's powers; something in his DNA ensures that his
- eyelids are not immediately blown to bits, so covering his eyes with
- his hands makes enough sense.
-
- The problem with contact lenses is that nobody can explain how they can
- effectively work in Scott's case. If his whole eyes need to be covered,
- he'd probably need full-eyeball contact lenses made out of ruby quartz
- crystal. Not only couldn't the eye breathe (which would cause major
- pain), but combat response time from Cyclops would be a bit hampered if
- he tried to take out his contacts while foes attacked. It's no wonder
- that Cyke carried a small pair of glasses, sort of like goggles, as an
- emergency pair.
-
- Of course, these reasons didn't stop Grant Morrison from providing
- Cyclops with a pair of "emergency" contact lenses in New X-Men #115.
- This created a whole new set of problems. The art portrayed the lenses
- as the everyday kind, not the full-eyeball style, so it's odd that his
- energy beams weren't already coming out all over the place. Readers
- likewise can't figure out how Scott got the lenses in his eyes in the
- first place. To put the lenses in, he'd either have to be in a very
- controlled ruby quartz room, which could stand the force of his beams,
- or he'd likely end up destroying the ceiling as he looked up and tried
- to place the contacts on his eyes. While Scott could put his glasses
- and goggles on without the need to open his eyes, the contacts don't
- quite provide that luxury.
-
- Contact lenses might be great for cosmetic purposes during a leisurly
- stroll in Manhattan, or for a day at the beach, but X-Man Cyclops is
- likely to get attacked, or need to help someone out, wherever he goes.
- Now, Cyclops calls these his "emergency" contact lenses. If these are
- supposed to be full-eyeball lenses, they should effectively shut down
- his powers. If he removes them, Cyclops can't really *see*, and thus is
- shut down as an effective fighter. If these contacts are for emergency
- situations, shouldn't they help him easily get out of a situation, not
- create more problems? This FAQ-keeper can just imagine the potential
- damage if Scott drops one of the contacts on the floor while he's trying
- to put it in...
-
-
- --- Why doesn't Forge invent something that would neutralize powers
- so mutants like Cyclops and Rogue can live normal lives? And how
- can Rogue cut her hair, if she's invulnerable?
-
- Okay, we all know the real reason this can never come true: if writers
- start giving our heroes solutions to their power-based problems and
- suddenly have to start worrying about writing real people, not just
- costumes with code names, all that keen, cheap angst is thrown out the
- windows. Still, we can think of a few Marvel Universe reasons why things
- haven't changed for the better in mutant home remedies.
-
- The best reason I've seen offered yet (and if you don't like it, go
- think up your own, Marvel Science is not exactly an exacting art) is
- that mutant powers are very strongly linked with genetic expression.
- That is, while Spider-Man was never intended to cling to walls, say, the
- whole point of Colossus' genotype is that he is designed to turn into
- living metal.
-
- Thus, any power nullifier that would allow mutants like Rogue or Cyclops
- to live their lives without the pressure of their powers would, by
- suppressing their power, cause large-scale cellular damage to their
- bodies that, while useful for short-term durations like cutting hair or
- an eye examination, would eventually end up depowering or killing the
- mutant in question using such a nullifier for a long time. Cellular
- disintegration doesn't seem like a fair price to pay for being able to
- take off your glasses, so this helps explain why Scott hasn't gone to
- Forge begging for a nullifier in a watch design.
-
- The long-term removal of Storm's powers after being shot by Forge's
- neuralizer circa Uncanny X-Men #189 might contradict this theory, since
- her powers were gone for weeks in our world and several months while on
- a parallel Earth (during the "Fall of the Mutants" crossover). However,
- Claremont was deliberate in highlighting that Storm did still possess
- her powers during that time, but that she was unable to consciously
- access them. Her powers weren't removed, and so she slips through a
- loophole.
-
- Now, the above hasn't been actually said in any Marvel comic, so, like I
- said, feel free to interpret it any way you want, although the above has
- the advantages of being logical, consistent, and doesn't contradict
- anything given in any Marvel comic, something tough to do with Marvel
- Science Theories.
-
- Now, considering the above theory as true, the mutants probably do have
- access to power nullifiers on demand, but very rarely use them, for the
- above reason. However, they'd be just what you needed if you wanted to
- style or cut your hair, like Rogue, assuming she has even had a haircut
- since absorbing Carol (in Avengers Annual #10).
-
-
- --- Did Psylocke dye her hair? What about Rogue's stripe?
-
- Psylocke's hair was certainly dyed in the beginning. She is naturally
- blonde, since in "Captain Britain" (Daredevils #3/CB Archives #3) Brian
- was shocked to see her hair purple. Remember, Betsy was a fashion model.
- All flashbacks to her childhood also have her as a blonde (UXM #256, for
- example). So we are fine up until the Siege Perilous. At that point it
- gets complicated. When Spiral messed with Betsy's mind and body in UXM
- #256, Spiral very easily could have made the color permanent.
-
- Rogue is a little simpler. Back around the late 100's of UXM, the
- letters column was answered by the characters for awhile. Wolverine said
- that Rogue dyed her hair. While you will occasionally hear rumbles along
- the lines of "peroxide in the Savage Land? I don't think so", there has
- not been any evidence to contradict Wolverine. Besides, it neatly
- explains why she mysteriously went from two white streaks to one, and
- occasionally just to white bangs without the stripe in back. Oh, and
- Rogue's hair is brown, colorists notwithstanding.
-
-
- --- I've got an idea! Why don't Rogue and Gambit just use Leech so they
- can have sex? Have they already had sex? (+)
-
- You may not believe this, but you are not the first person to have this
- brainstorm. As a matter of fact, you're nowhere near the first person to
- think of this. You could have been meditating on this particular
- solution to their troubles for centuries in a monastery in Attilan and
- you'd still be nowhere near the first person to suggest this. This is a
- suggestion which is offered so frequently by newbies to racmx that it's
- capable of infuriating the long-term inhabitants of racmx just from its
- frequent re-presenting, without even considering its innate
- distatefulness. Just how great an idea it is to use a school kid as a
- sexual aid? Ick.
-
- This is closely related to the above power nullifiers question, and much
- of the sage wisdom of that response applies here, as well. However...
- UXM #349 neatly sidestepped the problem by subjecting both Gambit and
- Rogue to a power-dampening field in Magneto's old Antarctic base. Of
- course, the Comics Code kept Lobdell from actually saying anything
- physical happened between them. The question that comes up next, then,
- is: Did Gambit and Rogue actually have sex between #348 and #349?
- The debate is far from settled, but the general consensus is that while
- they certainly had a good time together that evening, full intercourse
- probably didn't happen.
-
- Given that Rogue was left powerless after events in X-Treme X-Men, the
- question is possibly moot. In X-Treme X-Men #31 she shows up wearing
- skimpy clothes and sporting one heck of a tattoo, and kisses Bishop full
- on the lips. If she felt ready to take her relationship with Remy to the
- next level, she's probably done it by now... assuming that she felt ready
- to do so. Either way, it's her business, so until we see Rogue and Gambit
- on-panel being very specific about their activities during those months,
- the best one can assume is "probably." If her powers do come back, assume
- that they'd use a power nullifier for moments alone, and not bring Leech
- (or others) into their personal matters.
-
-
- --- Is Rogue's inability to control her powers psychological in nature?
-
- Probably, although the real issue is what "psychological" problems she
- might have had. The most popular theory is that Rogue suffered some form
- of physical abuse in her youth, causing her to subconsciously keep her
- powers on all the time to prevent it from happening again. Skids'
- problem deactivating her force field was revealed in X-Factor #16 to be
- a result of her father's physical abuse of herself and her mother, and
- the same logic is typically applied to Rogue's problem.
-
- However, the problem with Rogue's powers may just be a lack of practice.
- Steven Seagle in UXM #354 had Rogue giving mouth-to-mouth resucitation
- to Joseph, and she was able to partially control her absorption power in
- the process. At the time she claimed that since she was never allowed to
- use her powers except when needed in combat, she never had a chance to
- learn control, a rather obvious and clever solution to this longtime
- problem.
-
- Rogue's unexpected control over her powers isn't actually new, either;
- even prior to the Carol Danvers event Rogue could control her absorption
- to some extent (see Dazzler, for example). There is one panel in UXM
- #239 that is used to support this; Carol, having taken over Rogue's body
- after the fight with Nimrod, touches Betsy on the shoulder. When asked,
- Chris Claremont confirmed it was intended to indicate that Carol could
- control Rogue's power, even though Rogue couldn't. In addition, the X-
- Men '97 Annual portrays the Gamesmaster as able to "keep her power in
- check" by using his own. Since the Gamesmaster's powers are solely
- telepathic, this indicates Rogue's real problem is solely a matter of
- mental control.
-
-
- --- Why does Rogue have claws? When did that happen?
-
- Two words: "Maximum Security." In that storyline, Rogue absorbed a young
- Skrull girl. Because the Skrulls can change their form, Rogue's body had
- a severe reaction to the absorption. Basically, when trying to find a
- form to shift to, the shape-shifting power comes up with multiple
- examples: all of the people that Rogue has previously absorbed.
-
- So far, Rogue has manifested Wolverine's claws and healing factor most
- often, but she has also manifested powers and features of Cyclops,
- Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm and Magneto (in UXM #388, with Colossus
- and possibly Storm also in Bishop #16), and Cecilia Reyes (X-Men #108).
- This also explains the red glasses in X-Treme X-Men--she's compensating
- just in case Cyke's optic blasts return unexpectedly.
-
- As for why we're seeing the claws consistently... well, Rogue wants them
- (on panel) so she can be tough, and Claremont (off panel) is using her
- as a substitute Wolverine. Expect to see the new powers for a while.
-
-
- --- Was Rogue raped by the guards in the first Genosha storyline?
-
- No, she wasn't, and it says so right in the captions in the same issue
- (UXM #236) it supposedly happened in. Check the series of captions
- during the slow close-up to Rogue's cell. The guards slapped her around
- some and made fun of her, but nothing along the lines of actual rape
- happened:
-
- All they did was touch her.
- Rude hands, ruder glances--taunting promises of worse to come.
- She couldn't stop them.
- For so long, she dreamed of being able to touch another person,
- without her power absorbing his/her psyche.
- To hold, to caress, to kiss, just like any other-- normal--
- teenage girl.
- In those dreams, it was the most beautiful of moments.
- She never imagined being handled against her will.
-
- Note also that Rogue's Carol personality, as an "eyewitness," says in
- UXM #244 that "Nothing happened. But that wasn't the point."
-
-
- --- What is the relationship between Mystique and Nightcrawler? Why is
- Rogue involved in it, if she isn't blue? (+)
-
- The first inkling of a Mystique/Nightcrawler relationship came in UXM
- #141-142, the original "Days of Future Past" storyline, which introduced
- the whole "future ruled by Sentinels" idea to the X-titles.
-
- Mystique, who was a villain from the Ms. Marvel series, was trying to
- arrange the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly. Kitty Pryde was
- possessed by her future self, sent back in time by Rachel Summers, to
- try and stop Mystique. And somewhere in there, Nightcrawler saw
- Mystique... and recognized her from somewhere.
-
- The original plan from Claremont was that Mystique, a shapechanger based
- in feminine form, was actually Kurt's father. Drunk and amnesiac after
- the events of World War II, Mystique was taken in by Irene Adler
- (Destiny), and the two of them had a child, Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler).
- Marvel being a corporate-run company that, for a while, didn't even
- allow the word "homosexual" to appear in their books, quickly informed
- Claremont of the Great Displeasure he would find if he were to pursue
- that plot thread. It was thusly dropped, except for one scene in
- Murderworld (UXM #177) where Mystique showed that she was capable of
- killing anyone, even her adoptive daughter Rogue, except Nightcrawler.
-
- Cut ahead to the 1990s. Claremont was long gone, and Lobdell and Niceiza
- were left with the unpleasant task of cleaning up his loose plot ends.
- They decided that Kurt would be the son of Mystique, but Mystique would
- be his mother, not his father. The father, unrevealed, was implied to be
- some nameless German baron. Rogue, as Mystique's foster daughter, is
- thus Kurt's sister-by-law. It should be noted that the X-writers also
- have had Sabretooth briefly be attached to Mystique, with the offspring
- of that happy union being the nonpowered Graydon Creed, making him a
- half-brother of Kurt.
-
- All of the above was revealed in X-Men Unlimited #4, which is, quite
- possibly, the single most ignorable comic book in recent history, and
- thus highly suspect as a source of revelation on any subject. One hoped
- future Marvel writers would ignore the "history" revealed in X-Men
- Unlimited #4 just as blithely as X-Men Unlimited #4 ignored the history
- it was built on.
-
- Unfortunately, issues circa Uncanny X-Men #428 and following pick up
- on that same storyline, exploring Kurt's parentage in "The Draco."
- Now, apparently, count Christian Wagner and his wife (Mystique) wanted
- children, but Christian was infertile. Mystique then proceededs to see
- every available man in sight, as well as an in-vitro specialist, in
- order to get herself pregnant. Eventually, she meets the perfect man,
- has an affair, gets pregnant, and then realizes that the father of her
- child is Azazel, a red-skinned, pointy-eared guy who hails from "La
- Isla des Demonas" and has his own plans for the infant. Picking up from
- the events of Unlimited #4, Mystique gives birth, is pursued by a lynch
- mob, chucks the baby off a cliff, and doesn't notice when baby Kurt is
- rescued.
-
- There are still numerous issues left to this storyline, and it's not
- expected that it will make the best sense, but after all this time the
- answer seems to be in front of us. Meanwhile, in summary: Mystique and
- Azazel are Kurt's parents, making Rogue his foster sister and Graydon
- creed his half-brother (via Sabretooth).
-
-
-
- *** Continued in Part 4 ***
-
-
- Compilation Copyright 2000-2003 by Katharine E. Hahn
- SEND ADDITIONS / CHANGES / DEAD LINKS / MOVED LINKS / UPDATES TO:
- Kate the Short, racmx@yahoo.com (mailto:racmx@yahoo.com)
-
-
- --
- Kate the Short * http://users.rcn.com/kateshort/
-
-