REVIEWS: The X-Axis - 11 November 2007

External Since: Nov 13, 2007 Posts: 12

grinningdemon wrote:

>
> I guess I just think playing with someone's memories is a bigger
> betrayal the rest of you do...and Xavier is like a father to the
> X-Men...Cyclops in particular...and he's been lying to him almost
> since the beginning...I wouldn't be able to forgive something like
> that.
>
> Also, if I were one of the X-Men, I would really have to ask myself
> what else Xavier has done...if he could alter Scott's memory in such a
> major way...and so long ago...who's to say that was the only time he
> did something like that...I mean, one Skrull impostor is enough to
> make all the Avengers paranoid as hell that everyone and their uncle
> is a Skrull but the X-Men's founder seriously altered the memories of
> his very first student and none of the others even wonder about the
> other skeletons in the closet? It just doesn't seem like a realistic
> reaction to me.

This is a recurring theme in Brubaker's work. He is basically taking
established Marvel history and inserting "new" prior history in order to
create conflict. Telling untold tales of the pre X-Men not to reaffirm
the character but to deconstruct the character - to actually question
the underlying concept itself.

At times it "works" (I use apostrophes because I actually disagree) like
in Captain America but on others it becomes problematic. It becomes
problematic for the future certainly.

Xavier right now is a prick. He is so much of a prick but Phoenix (Jean
Grey) couldn't see it. Magneto was around at the time but never
revealed it to the X-Men, even though it would have been to his
advantage. Did Xavier do "it" to them as well? That would make him
even worse.

Xavier is willing to re-write memories (ala Zatanna) but specifically of
his friends (even "WORSE" than Zatanna). This is a very bad precedent
for Brubaker to make. Why doesn't Xavier do this on anyone who is a
threat to the X-Men? The writer cannot unmake this situation and
whenever the X-Men or mutants in general are threatened, Xavier "should"
always use this option. There is no moral or ethical component to
contradict Xavier' choice because he is clearly working without a sense
of ethics.

Are we now willing to accept that he has now seen the light and won't do
it again? I would piss on the writer who makes such a cowardly proposition.

badbad

External Since: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 107

On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:27:18 +0000, badbad wrote:

> grinningdemon wrote:
>
>
>> I guess I just think playing with someone's memories is a bigger
>> betrayal the rest of you do...and Xavier is like a father to the
>> X-Men...Cyclops in particular...and he's been lying to him almost since
>> the beginning...I wouldn't be able to forgive something like that.
>>
>> Also, if I were one of the X-Men, I would really have to ask myself what
>> else Xavier has done...if he could alter Scott's memory in such a major
>> way...and so long ago...who's to say that was the only time he did
>> something like that...I mean, one Skrull impostor is enough to make all
>> the Avengers paranoid as hell that everyone and their uncle is a Skrull
>> but the X-Men's founder seriously altered the memories of his very first
>> student and none of the others even wonder about the other skeletons in
>> the closet? It just doesn't seem like a realistic reaction to me.
>
>
> This is a recurring theme in Brubaker's work. He is basically taking
> established Marvel history and inserting "new" prior history in order to
> create conflict. Telling untold tales of the pre X-Men not to reaffirm
> the character but to deconstruct the character - to actually question the
> underlying concept itself.
>
> At times it "works" (I use apostrophes because I actually disagree) like
> in Captain America but on others it becomes problematic. It becomes
> problematic for the future certainly.
>
> Xavier right now is a prick. He is so much of a prick but Phoenix (Jean
> Grey) couldn't see it. Magneto was around at the time but never revealed
> it to the X-Men, even though it would have been to his advantage. Did
> Xavier do "it" to them as well? That would make him even worse.

Didn't Xavier do "it" to Jean already? When her childhood friend was
killed, didn't Xavier do something to her to suppress her telepathy powers
and her memory of the incident? Apparently she had no problem with what he
did when she learned about it later.

Xavier wiped Magneto's entire mind once, after Magneto did the magnetic
pulse thing. But Magneto doesn't seem to hold that particular thing
against him, despite going ballistic against Moira when he thought she'd
tinkered with his genes.

> Xavier is willing to re-write memories (ala Zatanna) but specifically of
> his friends (even "WORSE" than Zatanna). This is a very bad precedent for
> Brubaker to make. Why doesn't Xavier do this on anyone who is a threat to
> the X-Men?

That's a good question. In the early days of the X-Men, he couldn't do
that on a grand scale, but he often did erase certain details from
enemies' minds, like the location of the X-Mansion or what the X-Men
looked like without their masks.

>The writer cannot unmake this situation and whenever the X-Men
> or mutants in general are threatened, Xavier "should" always use this
> option. There is no moral or ethical component to contradict Xavier'
> choice because he is clearly working without a sense of ethics.
>
> Are we now willing to accept that he has now seen the light and won't do
> it again? I would piss on the writer who makes such a cowardly
> proposition.
>
>
> badbad