Summary

• In an interview, Chris Claremont emphasized his approach to X-Men storytelling, which prioritizes character-driven narrative progression over regular crossovers and major story events.
• The increased reliance on crossovers and story events in recent years is at odds with Claremont's approach, though he has continued to work for Marvel within the confines of their grander plans.
• The Krakoan Era has allowed for character-focused storytelling, but it has also been dominated by crossovers. A return to Claremont's classic approach may be worth considering as the franchise looks to the post-Krakoa era.

Legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont once explained the critical distinction between his series-defining work on Uncanny X-Men and modern X-storytelling. Though his comments predate the franchise's highly acclaimed Krakoan Era, they're still a highly perceptive analysis of classic vs. contemporary X-Men tales, highlighting distinctions that have persisted, and in some ways grown more pronounced, in recent years.

Claremont's appearance on the Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men podcast proved to be full of exciting insights into the formative years of the X-Men franchise, which the author shaped into Marvel's most profitable, and recognizable, property through the 1980s and early '90s.

As Claremont noted at one point during the interview, his stories have proved so enduring, in large part, because they emphasized character-driven narrative progression over regular big event series. He explained that an over-reliance on crossovers and story events can result in characters being reduced to "instruments of a greater plot."

Crossovers Are Fun, But They Interrupt Long-Term Storytelling

"There doesn't seem to be as much development, and focus on the characters as people," Chris Claremont explained during his Jay & Miles appearance, "rather than instruments of a greater plot structure." He cited this as a major difference between his long increasing creative differences.

Claremont left the X-Men, and Marvel in 1991, after just the third issue of the newly launched second X-Men volume. His finally issue of Uncanny X-Men for over a decade was #279. By that point in the franchise's trajectory, an increasing editorial focus was already being placed on major crossover storylines, rather than fostering the ongoing development of individual titles. As Claremont explained, this was, and is, at odds with his approach:

The disadvantage over the years has been...for me, as a creator – and to a certain extent as a reader – as the X-Men [franchise] has expanded...it gets far more complicated, and suddenly the crossovers become more important than the ongoing story arcs in the original series.

Though Claremont returned to Marvel in the late 1990s, and Uncanny in the mid-2000s, the increased reliance on crossovers and story events has continued to grow more acute.

Claremont's subsequent X-Men work, in recent decades, has remained character-focused, in his signature style; nevertheless, his ability to craft organic stories for his characters remains contingent on the X-Office's overarching plans.

Claremont's 1991 Departure From X-Men Was Truly A Seismic Shift

The Krakoan Era has played in Chris Claremont's sandbox, so to speak, and it has been profligate with stand-out, character-driven storytelling. It has also been a churn of relaunches and crossover events.

Perhaps in the early '90s, had Claremont remained at Marvel, he could have had a tempering influence on the crossover model of comic book storytelling. More than likely, however, the shift was inevitable, and unstoppable. Claremont's subsequent X-Men work, in recent decades, has remained character-focused, in his signature style; nevertheless, his ability to craft organic stories for his characters remains contingent on the X-Office's overarching plans. The same can be said of all current X-Men writers. The franchise's current epoch has been an unparalleled success – but it has remained dominated by crossovers throughout.

The Krakoan Era has played in Chris Claremont's sandbox, so to speak, and it has been profligate with stand-out, character-driven storytelling. It has also been a churn of relaunches and crossover events. It has balanced both approaches as deftly as the franchise ever has. That said, with the end of the Krakoan Era approaching, and fans speculating about what will come next, it is worth considering a return to the classic Claremont approach, which defined X-Men storytelling in the first place.

Source: Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men Episode 100 "Unexpected Wonder, with Chris Claremont"