The Crooked Treehouse
  • Tips From The Bar
  • Honest Conversation Is Overrated
  • Popcorn Culture
  • Comically Obsessed
  • Justify Your Bookshelves
  • Storefront

The X-Men In Ten Seasons, Season 1: Uncanny

10/5/2015

0 Comments

 
The X-Men franchise has had a few animated series, and is on their way to a sixth live action movie. But how would you put together a ten season live action show with continuity and including the best stories from the various X-books over the years?
​
Personally, I’m skipping all the silver age comics. No offense to silver age fans. The silver age X-Men books are fun but the book didn’t really hit its stride until the 70s, where we’ll start off Season 1. In place of episodes, I’m calling each book a serial, like old school Doctor Who storylines because you shouldn’t try and cram a Chris Claremont story into forty-five minutes.
Picture
The Uncanny X-Men
art by Dave Cockrum
Season 1: Uncanny
(showrunner: Chris Claremont)
Serial 1: X-Men Epic Collection: Second Genesis
(written by Chris Claremont, art by Dave Cockrum, Bob Brown, Tony Dezuniga, and John Byrne)

Chris Claremont isn’t The Father of The X-Men (Stan Lee and John Byrne are the My Two Dads for our mutant heroes) but he’s the mentor who raised them into what they’ve become.

We start off with Professor X recruiting a team of mutants to rescue his previous team of mutants (the original X-Men) who went on a mission to Krakoa and, apart from team leader, Cyclops, did not return. This is a very 1970s shot at diversity. There’s an eastern European demon-looking guy, a Russian who seems to be made of metal, an African storm goddess, a Japanese flamethrower, a Canadian with adamantium claws, a Scottish guy with a debilitating scream, and a super strong Apache. By 2015 standards, their characters and origins are hugely problematic, but this team was incredibly progressive for 1975. In this volume, the team comes together, suffers a tragedy, integrates with the original X-Men and hits all the tropes from the original run of X-Men in a slightly more modern manner.

We’re then introduced to The Phoenix, the Sh’iar, we spend some time learning about Professor X’s backstory via Juggernaut and Black Tom and some other crucial X-Men villains make appearances. A lot of what will become important X-history is laid down here by Claremont, Cockrum, and Byrne, and though its over-exposition is dated, the actual story is worth the read.

This serial is called Hope You Survive The Experience. 4 episodes


Serial 2: X-Men Proteus
(written by Chris Claremont, art by John Byrne)

This serial presents us with the first Claremont-conceived villain. Moira Mactaggert discovers something bad is going down on Muir Island, and it isn’t long before the X-Men show up to help some of their beleaguered comrades. The hardcover collection also contains some issues of Classic X-Men that delve deeper into the Proteus story, and have some fun artistic takes on what happens to mutants when you bend reality. Polaris and Havoc show up in this volume, and we also get to meet Madrox.

Proteus. 2 episodes.



Serial 3: X-Men The Dark Phoenix Saga
(written by Chris Claremont, art by John Byrne)

This is pretty much the ultimate X-story. Every time the X-Men have crossed into another media, the writers tell some version of this space saga. Phoenix (formerly Marvel Girl/Jean Grey) is manipulated by members of The Hellfire Club. In this volume you meet Kitty Pride, Emma Frost, Dazzler, and more (but who needs more than them?), you get to see Wolverine be all Wolveriney for the first time, and the Sh’iar show up to put a stop to a villain who threatens their very existence. There are also some cameos by Oatu The Watcher and Dr. Strange.

The Dark Phoenix Saga can not be containted. 4 episodes



Serial 4: X-Men Days Of Future Past
(written by Chris Claremont, art by John Byrne)

This is not quite like the movie of the same name. We start at a funeral (omg, did someone die in the last storyline? I wonder if it’s forever), then we spend some time with Alpha Flight, and then we get into the storyline that the movie is based on. Sentinels. Mystique. Destiny. The future. And how to keep all the X-Men from being massacred by a corrupt government. The series closes off with a Christmas story where Kitty Pride battles an alien that is in no way at all inspired by the xenomorphs in Alien.

Days Of Future Past. 4 episodes.


Serial 5: God Loves, Man Kills
(written by Chris Claremont, art by Brent Anderson)

We take a break from Byrne (but not Claremont) for what was originally a graphic novel with art by Brent Anderson. We see how religion and politics are at odds with the science based mutant X-Men. This graphic novel was the basis for the second X-Men movie, with the main difference being that the villain (Stryker) is a minister, not a military guy. Also we get to see Magneto be more of a good guy, as his aim doesn’t seem to be “kill all non-mutants”.

God Loves Man Kills. 2 episodes



Serial 6: From The Ashes
(written by Chris Claremont, art by Paul Smith, Walter Simonson, and John Romita Jr)

“Professor X is a jerk!” is one of the most iconic Kitty Pride moments. In this serial, we spend more time with The Hellfire Club, Mystique and Destiny. Rogue joins the X-Men, Wolverine goes to Japan, the X-Men meet The Morlocks, Storm gets a mohawk, and Cyclops meets Madeline Pryor who looks just a teensy bit like his ex. There is a metric ton of story packed into this volume, and not just because of Claremont’s exposition. This is a good closing spot for season one, not just because many of the characters are at rest points in their stories, but because there is a vast amount of X-Men books after this that haven’t been collected anywhere.

From The Ashes. 4 episodes



This puts Season 1 at 20 episodes.
BUT WAIT. One of the recent traditions in Doctor Who is to have an Interseason (usually Christmas) special. I’ll be using this device as a setup for a coming season.



Interseason Special: Fantastic Four By John Byrne Vol 07.
(written by John Byrne, Roger Stern, and Bob Layton, art by John Byrne, John Buscema, and Jackson Guice)

It’s possible that I’ll do an FF chronology someday, but for now, you don’t need to know anything to pick up this book. It opens with the Fantastic Four (Reed Richards, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and She-Hulk) calling in The Avengers to fight a bunch of Skrulls. Once that crossover is finished, The Beyonder shows up and then the FF and The Avengers find a cocoon in the ocean. Inside the cocoon? An X-Men believed to be dead. Yeup, Phoenix is back and she joins up with the original X-Men team (Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Angel) to form a new superhero group: X-Factor. Yeup, Cyclops leaves his wife and baby boy (born between seasons) behind to bro out with his high school friends and his ex-girlfriend. Scott Summers has always been an egocentric piece of shit.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    February 2023
    July 2022
    December 2021
    May 2020
    April 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2015
    October 2015
    October 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    Subjects

    All
    Alan Davis
    Alan Grant
    Alfred
    Andy Diggle
    Aquaman
    Avengers
    Barbara Gordon
    Barry Windsor Smith
    Barry Windsor-Smith
    Batman
    Batmite
    Bizarro
    Black Panther
    Blockbuster
    Books Of Magic
    Boone
    Brian K Vaughan
    Brian Michael Bendis
    Brother Blood
    Brotherhood Of Evil
    Bryan Talbot
    Calendar Man
    Carmen Infantino
    Catwoman
    Chris Bachalo
    Chris Claremont
    Chuck Dixon
    Dan Didio
    Daniel Way
    Dan Slott
    Daredevil
    Darwyn Cooke
    Dave Gibbons
    Dave McKean
    David Mazzucchelli
    Deadman
    Deathstroke
    Dennis O'Neil
    Dick Grayson Robin
    Doug Mahnke
    Ed Brubaker
    Excalibur
    Fabien Nicieza
    Falcones
    Fantastic Four
    Francis Manapaul
    Frank Miller
    Frank Quitely
    Geoff Johns
    George Perez
    Grant Morrison
    Green Lantern
    Gregory Wright
    Greg Pak
    G Willow Wilson
    Harley Quinn
    Harvey Dent
    Hellblazer
    Hellboy
    Holiday
    Hugo Strange
    Jack Kirby
    James Robinson
    Jason Aaron
    Jason Todd Robin
    Jenny Noblesse
    Jeph Loeb
    Jh Williams Iii
    Jim Gordon
    Jj Birch
    J Michael Straczynski
    Joe Chill
    Joe Quesada
    John Byrne
    John Constantine
    John Romita JR
    Jonathan Hickman
    Joss Whedon
    Judd Winnick
    Julie Madison
    Keith Giffen
    Kelly Sue Deconnick
    Kieron Gillen
    Klaus Janson
    Kurt Busiek
    Leslie Thompkins
    Lex Luthor
    Louise Simonson
    Lucius Fox
    Man-bat
    Manga
    Mark Millar
    Mark Waid
    Marv Wolfman
    Matt Fraction
    Matt Wagner
    Mike Allred
    Mike Barr
    Mike Carey
    Mike Mignola
    Mindy Newell
    Mr. Freeze
    Mr. Whisper
    Neal Adams
    Neil Gaiman
    New Mutants
    Norman Madison
    Paul J Tomasi
    P Craig Russell
    Peter David
    Peter J Tomasi
    Poison Ivy
    Ras Al Ghul
    Rick Remender
    Robert Kirkman
    Ron Marz
    Roy Thomas
    Sal Maroni
    Sandman
    Shrike
    Solomon Grundy
    Stan Lee
    Superman
    Teen Titans
    The Flash
    The Joker
    The Killer Moth
    The Mad Hatter
    The Monk
    The Penguin
    The Reaper
    The Riddler
    The Scarecrow
    The Vigilante
    Tim Sale
    Todd Macfarlane
    Two Face
    Ultimate Universe
    Valiant Comics
    Venom
    Vertigo
    Warren Ellis
    Whilce Portacio
    Wonder Woman
    X-Factor
    X-Force
    X Men
    X-Men
    Young Justice Cartoon

    RSS Feed

All work on the Crooked Treehouse is ©Adam Stone, except where indicated, and may not be reproduced without his permission. If you enjoy it, please consider giving to my Patreon account.
  • Tips From The Bar
  • Honest Conversation Is Overrated
  • Popcorn Culture
  • Comically Obsessed
  • Justify Your Bookshelves
  • Storefront