Summary
- Marvel's new 'From the Ashes' era brings back many ideas from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's 2001 New X-Men run.
- The return to these ideas - especially in the context of leaving behind the Krakoan Era - suggests Marvel is now treating it as the franchise's baseline status quo, with major implications for movies.
- Marvel has denied before that movie projects drive comic creation, however it's clear that at the very least, 'From the Ashes' is concerned with all the same things a new movie franchise will be, being designed around clarity for new readers.
Warning: contains spoilers for X-Men #1!Marvel is in the process of launching an ambitious new era of end-credits scene of The Marvels debuting an alternate reality with mutants, including the X-Men's Hank McCoy (Beast, played by Kelsey Grammer.) Beyond that, very little is known about what stories and era the MCU will adapt for its movie mutants.
However, X-Men #1 offers a compelling answer. The comic is the de facto launch of Marvel's new 'From the Ashes' era, establishing new teams and a new status quo. Throughout the issue, Marvel keeps coming back to characters and ideas introduced in Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's enormously influential New X-Men series, which began in 2001.
What's crucial about this observation is how it combines with widespread fan belief that Marvel has structured its new 'From the Ashes' era around synergy with its MCU plans. While Marvel is always quick to deny that the movies are driving the comics, the hurried end of the prior 'Krakoan Era' and other behind the scenes events have given good cause for fans to think that, at the very least, 'From the Ashes' has insights to offer about how Marvel plans to introduce movie fans to its new version of the X-Men franchise.
X-Men #1 (2024) |
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X-Men History Is Made, as Cyclops its He's Proud of Juggernaut (& For the Perfect Reason)
A new era of X-Men has officially begun, and Scott Summers' Cyclops is marking the occasion by doing something that would once have been unthinkable.
X-Men's New Era Is Returning to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's New X-Men Lore
The Beloved 2001 Series Has Influenced the Franchise Ever Since
In 2001, Marvel upended the X-Men franchise with Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's New X-Men. Basing the X-Men in the Xavier School under Cyclops' leadership, the series was (typical to Morrison) full of huge ideas and creative new characters. It introduced Charles Xavier's evil 'twin sister' Cassandra Nova, new teammate and healer Xorn, the power-enhancer drug Kick, the horrific eugenicist villains the U-Men, and Wolverine's reluctant new apprentice Quentin Quire (as well as his partner-in-crime, the skeletal Glob Herman.)
Cassandra Nova doesn't explicitly appear in the issue, but it certainly looks like she's one of the four "3K" villains shown in shadow on the final page.
Not only does X-Men #1 include all these elements, but it also draws particular attention to them. Quentin references his former use of Kick in a way that seems designed mostly to reintroduce the mutant drug to readers. Likewise, Glob Herman and Xorn are included as staff living at the base, managing to give them page space even though they're not on the actual team. I've written already on how awesome it is to see Xorn being given a second chance - Marvel tied itself in knots trying to undo New X-Men's original twist that Xorn was Magneto in disguise, but X-Men #1 essentially gives fans permission to forget almost everything and just welcome Xorn back.
X-Men Just Brought Back Its Most Controversial Hero of All Time (& This Time He Can Work)
As X-Men's new era begins, Marvel is bringing back a hero many fans thought was ruined forever. But this one last chance looks good so far.
What makes this return to New X-Men's ideas particularly notable is that the preceding Krakoan Era - in which mutantkind formed a united mutant nation - was essentially a spiritual sequel to Morrison's run. When I learned that Marvel was revamping the franchise for a new era post-Krakoa, it seemed natural to assume it would be moving away from Morrison's ideas, since the Krakoan Era was already so focused on evolving them. That the opposite is true suggests that Marvel's main concern isn't so much mining Morrison and Quitely's work for great ideas (those were already being used), but establishing their New X-Men run as the baseline for the franchise - the version fans should expect to see on-screen.
2001's New X-Men introduced a host of exciting new ideas. However, 20 years after their introduction, they can't possibly be received with the same sense of awe.
What Would the Morrison Era Mean for the MCU?
Genosha, Weapon Plus and Emma Frost's Redemption Were All Big Morrison Moments
Morrison's X-Men era is the era of the Genosha massacre, Cassandra Nova and a vast expansion in the lore surrounding Weapon X (the organization that gave Wolverine his adamantium.) It's unlikely that Marvel plans to use Charles Xavier's sister as a villain - she just appeared in Deadpool and Wolverine - but the recent X-Men '97 shows how Morrison's ideas can be easily adapted for another villain (in the show's case, Bastion and Mister Sinister.) However, more than the big plot events, Morrison and Quitely emphasized the idea of mutant culture, with mutants developing their own fashion, art and philosophy.
Grant Morrison and Igor Kordey's New X-Men #128 redefined Weapon X, revealing it was only one project of the nefarious Weapon Plus organization (with the 'X' actually standing for '10.') This allowed the introduction of many new living weapons created by Weapon Plus, including the suave thief Fantomex, who became a breakout character of Morrison's run.
"Professor M": Magneto Has a Surprising New Role On The X-Men
Magneto embraces a very different role on the brand new roster of X-Men - one that puts Charles Xavier's legacy directly on his shoulders.
The Morrison era saw the X-Men based out of their school, but with a focus on points of conflict between the rebellious student body and their 'original X-Men' teachers. Xavier's school is a concept most mainstream fans know, but it's often just treated as a base for the team. Morrison's run focused far more on Cyclops, Beast and others trying to inspire and lead young mutants, many of who are more interested in the extremist rhetoric of Magneto. Morrison also put a major focus on the psychology of well-known heroes, exploring the psyches of Cyclops, Beast and Jean Grey in gritty, psycho-sexual detail.
One of the best parts of Morrison and Quitely's run was their focus on mutants with pointless or harmful powers. It helped create the sense that for every Storm or Colossus, there are 20 mutants who just have multiple faces or skin made out of wax. This concept helped give Xavier's School new purpose and cemented the X-Men as not just superheroes, but the protectors of a culture.
There were also plenty of horror elements - Cassandra Nova's attack on Beast, forcing his prize student to brutally attack him - is still the most sincerely horrifying moment I've ever read in a Marvel comic. Similarly, Cyclops being trapped in 'the Black Bug Room' - a psychic space where you're forced to confront embodiments of your own self-loathing - was part of a dark approach to Scott Summers that revivified the character as more than someone for Wolverine to growl at. New X-Men also pursued huge stakes, building to a post-apocalyptic story where a redeemed Cassandra Nova leads the final incarnation of the X-Men.
X-Men: The 10 Most Powerful 'Beyond Omega Level' Mutants, Ranked
X-Men's most powerful mutants are termed 'Omega-level,' but there IS a category beyond even that - one precious few heroes have achieved.
It's easy to see how these ideas could be used to both mainline X-Men movies and solo-hero spin-offs. It's also possible that the Morrison era's ideas could be merged with other eras of X-Men. X-Men '97 combined the Genosha massacre with elements of the legendary Claremont run, with characters like Madelyne Pryor and the Morlocks receiving a lot of focus. Given the show's success, it's likely that Marvel's movie executives will be taking cues from how the animated show adapted X-Men comics.
X-Men senior editor Tom Brevoort has made it clear that 'From the Ashes' was designed to be ultra-accessible to new readers, including putting mutants with confusing origins on the backburner
Ultimately, We Don't Know How Closely X-Men's New Comic Era Is Tied to the MCU
But It Certainly Seems Like Marvel Wants the Same Things from Both
It's vital to say that Marvel has reiterated on many occasions that it doesn't allow MCU plans to dictate the creative direction of its comics, though not all fans are sold on that idea. Most recently, Marvel writer Cody Ziglar stated that the controversial death of Ms. Marvel was ordered by president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige, with her resurrection used to turn her into a mutant (as she is in the movies.) Marvel was quick to disagree, stating that the story was a collective decision by Marvel editorial which had been planned far in advanced.
Ultimately, it would be strange for Marvel not to be deeply concerned with comic/movie synergy. Movie fans being able to go out and buy comics with characters they recognize is the easiest way to create new fans, and initiatives like the recent wave of Deadpool and Wolverine team-up stories around the launch of Deadpool and Wolverine show that synergy is alive and well, at least in the short term. Indeed, there are other decisions which certainly look like synergy calls from the outside - even just last week, Marvel's new One World Under Doom era was announced alongside Robert Downey Jr.'s MCU return as Doctor Doom.
How Tony Stark Became Doctor Doom in the Original Comics (EVERYTHING You Could Possibly Need to Know)
Tony Stark has become Doctor Doom multiple times in the comics, but one Iron Man corruption story is by far the most likely to be the MCU's blueprint.
Whether X-Men #1 is meant to directly synergize with the MCU or not, X-Men senior editor Tom Brevoort has made it explicitly clear that 'From the Ashes' was designed to be ultra-accessible to new readers, including putting mutants with confusing origins on the backburner - even in the case of popular new additions like Rasputin IV. To whatever degree you believe Marvel's movie plans are influencing the comics, it at least makes sense that - as a linewide revamp concerned with accessibility and new readers - 'From the Ashes' was designed around the same concerns Marvel will have about the team's MCU debut.
Going back to a golden age is still going backwards, especially with a franchise that has social commentary baked into its foundations.
Morrison's X-Men Is Legendary, But It's Also 20 Years Old
Did Marvel Junk Its Cutting-Edge Krakoan Era Just to Turn Back Time?
For the majority of X-Men fans (including me), Morrison and Quitely's run is one of the definitive eras of X-Men comics. Noticing the inclusion of New X-Men's key ideas in 'From the Ashes' filled me with hope for how the movies will dive into the huge world of X-Men, which has traditionally been more ambitious and interconnected than that of the Avengers.
At the same time, I find it hard to ignore the fact that the New X-Men comic run is now 20 years old, and those 20 years have been filled with stories that took major cues from Morrison and Quitely's work and built on its characters and themes. This isn't just true of the comics - X-Men '97 fans have already seen the Genoshan genocide, Deadpool and Wolverine fans just met Cassandra Nova, and Emma Frost's redemption is such old news, she's now thought of as a normal member of the team (as opposed to the longtime villain she was before Morrison and Quitely settled on her as a second-choice teammate, having been told they couldn't use Colossus.)
X-Men Get "Disney-fied" Redesigns in Genius Animation-Style Fanart
The X-Men have iconic character designs that have defined their appearances for decades, with new fanart bringing some Disney flair to their costumes.
Going back to a golden age is still going backwards, especially with a franchise that has social commentary baked into its foundations. Morrison and Quitely's run hit fans like lightning because of its new ideas and fresh ways of seeing a franchise that is often prone to treading water. Sadly, replicating those ideas after 20 years of them soaking into fan consciousness can't have the same effect.
For all its references, it's clear that 'From the Ashes' isn't a total return to the Morrison era. At worst, it's a Morrison-era sequel.
There's a Difference Between Adaptation and Inspiration
The MCU Needs to Embrace Morrison and Quitely's Attitude More Than Their Ideas
Of course, it's worth noting that X-Men #1 isn't simply a return to the Morrison era. It's clearly concerned with many of the same ideas, and it explicitly rolls back the clock in some respects (no-one thought the U-Men, Xorn and Kick would be major X-Men players in 2024.) However, it's just as clearly attempting to use these ideas as a foundation to build something new. This isn't a full return to the Morrison era's status quo - at worst, it's a Morrison-era sequel.
10 Things I’ll Always Be Grateful That X-Men’s Krakoa Era Gave Us
The X-Men franchise is moving into a new era, but I'll always be thankful for these elements that the recently-concluded Krakoa Era gave us.
As someone who loved the Krakoan Era (and agrees that Marvel seems a little too keen to put it totally in the rearview mirror), I can't resist pointing out that X-Men already did amazing things using New X-Men's ideas as a foundation, and that the franchise could have simply kept building from there. But there's still a big difference between an MCU that wants to repeat the ideas of Morrison's New X-Men and an MCU which is inspired by the ideas of New X-Men - or even, best case scenario, the approach of New X-Men.
X-Men #1 is compelling evidence that Marvel sees Morrison and Quitely's New X-Men as a strong foundation for the X-Men's MCU status quo. Hopefully, the movies plan to use this pivotal era as inspiration to be creatively ambitious and dig deep into its heroes' heads, because after 20 years, a more direct adaptation would run counter to the spirit of what made the New X-Men era so amazing in the first place.
X-Men #1 is available from Marvel Comics now.
