X-Men: A Primer

My wife is a big fan of Joss Whedon and the television shows he's produced/written: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly. When Angel wrapped up its final season, and with the Firefly movie still months away, she found herself bereft of the entertainment that Mr. Whedon can provide. As regular readers of this blog (hi mom!) know, I have watched his career with some interest and noted on several occasions the fact that he is writing an X-Men comic. Fortunately for her, my wife is not as big a geek as I am and doesn't possess the requisite fan boy knowledge that would allow her to enjoy Mr. Whedon's current project. So I wrote this primer to accompany the trade paperback of the first six issues of his X-Men comic book.

I include the text of the primer here for you to enjoy. Heck, you might even learn something!

The first thing a new reader must keep in mind when starting Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men is the fact that the X-Men are part of a story that has run for over thirty years and is told in many different titles every month. There are hundreds of characters that have faded in and out of importance over that time, and the core group of characters in Mr. Whedon's comic does not have the same members as the group in the movies. Unfortunately for the new reader, Mr. Whedon writes as a fan boy to other fan boys and he does not spend a lot of time in exposition. As a result, his narrative can be confusing to someone who doesn't have a background in the X-Men soap opera.

Fortunately, Mr. Whedon is the man who created and wrote many episodes of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Angel. Those shows use the same tropes, plots and archetypes found in super hero comics. Anyone who enjoyed those programs will find his X-Men comic very accessible once they have a basic understanding of the characters and their relationships with each other.

Wolverine, or Logan. Hugh Jackman plays him in the films. He is a loner and a fighter, with regenerative powers, heightened senses, a metal skeleton and claws that extend from the back of his hands. Since he cannot be hurt easily there is very little suspense or genuine conflict in the stories that concern him. He is a very popular character among young boys who wish they could be as tough as he, so there are a lot of stories about him. I think he is handled as well as he can be in the films and in this comic, both of which emphasize his innate humanity and his loyalty and empathy with people he cares about.

Cyclops, or Scott Summers. He has the ability to shoot powerful energy beams from his eyes. He cannot control those beams and must wear either a visor or special glasses to prevent his power from destroying everything he sees. He is often the leader of the X-Men. He is also portrayed as straight-laced and disciplined, often in counter-point to Wolverine's histrionic nature. The two men do not get along.

Beast, or Hank McCoy. He and Cyclops are the two original X-Men in this comic. Dr. McCoy began as a heavy-set, almost simian young man with great strength and agility, as well as a quick mind and sharp wit. Over the years, his mutation “worsened” and now he is a blue-furred, cat-like humanoid. He retains his quick mind and wit, as well as his strength and agility. I admit that he has always been a favorite of mine; he is important to the story not for his ability to kick the snot out of people but for the skills he acquired through study (and are thus available to anyone who sets her mind to acquiring them too). As one might expect, he is very torn between enjoying the advantages his mutations grant him and the alienation he feels as the result of being so different from everyone else around him. He is also a fun read. Mr. Whedon's quirky sense of humor is very evident in this character.

The White Queen, or Emma Frost. Ms. Frost began her career as a villain, a mutant who used other mutants as a means of gaining power over others. She is a telepath and can control minds. She manifested the power to turn her skin into a diamond-like substance recently, although I am not familiar with the details. Like Spike and Angel in Mr. Whedon's tv series, she had a change of heart along the way and joined the good guys. And like those characters, she retains several “villainous” flaws: a haughty disregard for other people's feelings, especially those of normal people, a very direct “ends-justifies-the-means” approach to solving problems and a refreshing willingness to use her powers to solve any problem that presents itself. She recently became involved with Cyclops and does not have a good relationship with the other X-Men, who have painful memories of her stint on the dark side.

Shadowcat, or Kitty Pride. Anyone familiar with Buffy, the Vampire Slayer will recognize this character instantly by her personality, if not her powers. Ms. Pryde is a young woman with a snarky sense of humor, super powers and a sense of duty. She has the ability to “phase” through solid objects and allow others to do the same if she touches them. She was the particular favorite of a long-standing X-Men writer and, as a result, has endured ninja training, a pet dragon and a tempestuous love affair with another mutant, a Russian (code name: Colossus) with the ability to turn into a powerhouse of living steel. The poor Russian died a few years ago and Ms. Pryde fell into obscurity. Mr. Whedon, with his famous knack for writing about interesting, vibrant young women, saw Ms. Pryde as the perfect point-of-view character and put her back into the story.

That rounds out the main cast. New readers who saw the movies and pay attention to such things will notice several major characters are missing from Mr. Whedon's narrative. The reasons for their absence are long and (unnecessarily) complex and I don't have time to get into all of that. However, I will mention one character who is not among the living (for now) but whose presence is felt in Mr. Whedon's comic from the very first issue.

Phoenix, or Dr. Jean Grey. Dr. Grey was once a telepath and a telekenetic (she can move stuff with her mind). She continued to evolve over many years until she became a god-like being. She has died and come back to life so many times that the events lack impact or emotional heft. For the time being, she is dead. Her importance in this story lies in the fact that she and Cyclops enjoyed one of the longest and most stable relationships in comics. Wolverine also carried a torch for her, although I cannot say if anything ever came of that. This love triangle resonates among many of the characters, as becomes apparent pretty quickly in the story. You have been warned.

Many of the characters in the supporting cast, including the first story arc's “Big Bad” are new to the series, as far as I can tell. You are on your own there. But, as a fan of Mr. Whedon's tv work, I must ask: is this villain the real villain? Does this story lead to something much grander in scope?

I can't help you there either. But I certainly hope so!