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Part five of my X-Men line-up series.
This roster is roughly based on the one seen in the pages of Uncanny X-Men during the first half of the 1980s, featuring Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, Shadowcat, Wolverine, Rogue and Phoenix.
Having survived a harrowing conflict against the alien race known as the Brood, the X-Men experienced many growing pains. Storm suffered through an identity crisis, Kitty's crush on Colossus deepened, Wolverine became engaged and the X-Men had to overcome their hatred and distrust for new member Rogue.
As Chris Claremont entered into a new era in the comics, he shook up the status quo for his characters. The X-Men stopped fitting into the neat little boxes that they'd become defined by since he came aboard the title in the 1970s. This deeper exploration of the characters led to a darker and more tumultuous experience for our mutants. They faced greater losses than they'd ever experienced before, both in the battlefield and in their personal lives.
Everyone's favourite lone wolf Wolverine began maturing into a more honourable and, dare I say, genteel man who was changed by his love for the beautiful Mariko Yashida. Though still an aggressive and unpredictable character, he was influenced more by the samurai code and took on the role of mentor for the newest generation of mutants. He took Kitty under his wing and helped transform her into a formidable warrior, he was the first to place his trust in Rogue, and was instrumental in preventing Rachel from murdering the Black Queen.
On the subject of Kitty Pryde, she continued to mature, though not always gracefully. As she entered into the older teen years, Kitty became much more hormonal and had become prone to outbursts. She looked down on the New Mutants, infamously called Professor Xavier a jerk, was adamant about Rogue not joining the X-Men, and had the mother of all meltdowns when Storm cut her hair into a mohawk. All of this, paired with Colossus' falling in love with someone other than her, contributed towards Kitty's sobering new attitude. During a hiatus from the team, Kitty trained to become a ninja and became a much more offensive fighter on the battlefield.
The status quo was further changed by the recruitment of Rogue and Rachel Grey (then Summers) onto the team. Both were former villains whose past crimes made them dangerous and untrustworthy. Rogue in particular created a rather nasty schism between the X-Men and Professor Xavier, the latter pulling rank in order to justify Rogue's entrance onto the team. Rogue would eventually earn their trust back by regularly putting herself in harm's way in order to protect her teammates. Rachel, however, proved to be much more erratic and detrimental to the team. She was overly emotional and was so deeply affected by her past that she often became crippled by it.
Despite the new members and maturation of the old guard, no one character's evolution was quite as drastic in this era as Storm's was. Having become the leader of the team, Storm recognized that she could no longer abide by a pacifist manifesto if she intended to protect her allies and mutants at large. She became more aggressive, to the extent that she stabbed Callisto in order to gain control of the Morlocks and rescue her then-teammate Angel. Then, while in Japan for Wolverine's ill-fated wedding, Storm became influenced by the mercenary Yuriko and after an implied fling with her changed her style to that of a punk rocker. This outward change served as a visual representation of just how jaded and aggressive she'd become, but also how much more confident she was as a woman and how little she started to care about what others thought of her. Storm would further be put through the wringer when her powers were nullified by an experimental weapon created by the mutant Forge. This sent her into a tailspin, leading to her resignation from the X-Men. After a personal quest to re-discover herself and her roots, Storm returned to the team with a bang. She faced off against Cyclops for sole control of the team and, even without her powers, whooped his ass to become leader once more.
This era is really defined by the bookended stories about the Morlocks. It begins around Uncanny X-Men 169 and ends at the conclusion of the first ever major X-Men crossover "Mutant Massacre." The former features the debut of the Morlocks and Storm's subsequent fight against Callisto, while the latter is one of the darkest and most soul-crushing X-Men stories where the Morlocks are all but exterminated by the Marauders. This particular section of Chris Claremont's legendary run is worth the read and is a major step-up in terms of quality over his output in the Post-Dark Phoenix Saga years, which would only be topped following "Mutant Massacre" with the introduction of Psylocke and Dazzler onto the team. For fans of Rogue, Storm or Kitty Pryde, this era is a must read! It also helps that there is some stellar artwork done by Paul Smith and John Romita Jr.
Of all of the rosters I've done thus far, this one is probably the "coolest." The characters are very edgy, which really reflects the changing sensibilities of the 1980s. The X-Men (and Chris Claremont) were on the forefront of this shift. Trying to capture the general aesthetic of that era was hard. My greatest challenges were with Kitty and Rachel. The one that turned out best, though, was probably Rogue.
Either way, I hope you all like this piece and I hope you all took the time to read through the description. As always, feel absolutely free to leave a comment below.
Enjoy!
This roster is roughly based on the one seen in the pages of Uncanny X-Men during the first half of the 1980s, featuring Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, Shadowcat, Wolverine, Rogue and Phoenix.
Having survived a harrowing conflict against the alien race known as the Brood, the X-Men experienced many growing pains. Storm suffered through an identity crisis, Kitty's crush on Colossus deepened, Wolverine became engaged and the X-Men had to overcome their hatred and distrust for new member Rogue.
As Chris Claremont entered into a new era in the comics, he shook up the status quo for his characters. The X-Men stopped fitting into the neat little boxes that they'd become defined by since he came aboard the title in the 1970s. This deeper exploration of the characters led to a darker and more tumultuous experience for our mutants. They faced greater losses than they'd ever experienced before, both in the battlefield and in their personal lives.
Everyone's favourite lone wolf Wolverine began maturing into a more honourable and, dare I say, genteel man who was changed by his love for the beautiful Mariko Yashida. Though still an aggressive and unpredictable character, he was influenced more by the samurai code and took on the role of mentor for the newest generation of mutants. He took Kitty under his wing and helped transform her into a formidable warrior, he was the first to place his trust in Rogue, and was instrumental in preventing Rachel from murdering the Black Queen.
On the subject of Kitty Pryde, she continued to mature, though not always gracefully. As she entered into the older teen years, Kitty became much more hormonal and had become prone to outbursts. She looked down on the New Mutants, infamously called Professor Xavier a jerk, was adamant about Rogue not joining the X-Men, and had the mother of all meltdowns when Storm cut her hair into a mohawk. All of this, paired with Colossus' falling in love with someone other than her, contributed towards Kitty's sobering new attitude. During a hiatus from the team, Kitty trained to become a ninja and became a much more offensive fighter on the battlefield.
The status quo was further changed by the recruitment of Rogue and Rachel Grey (then Summers) onto the team. Both were former villains whose past crimes made them dangerous and untrustworthy. Rogue in particular created a rather nasty schism between the X-Men and Professor Xavier, the latter pulling rank in order to justify Rogue's entrance onto the team. Rogue would eventually earn their trust back by regularly putting herself in harm's way in order to protect her teammates. Rachel, however, proved to be much more erratic and detrimental to the team. She was overly emotional and was so deeply affected by her past that she often became crippled by it.
Despite the new members and maturation of the old guard, no one character's evolution was quite as drastic in this era as Storm's was. Having become the leader of the team, Storm recognized that she could no longer abide by a pacifist manifesto if she intended to protect her allies and mutants at large. She became more aggressive, to the extent that she stabbed Callisto in order to gain control of the Morlocks and rescue her then-teammate Angel. Then, while in Japan for Wolverine's ill-fated wedding, Storm became influenced by the mercenary Yuriko and after an implied fling with her changed her style to that of a punk rocker. This outward change served as a visual representation of just how jaded and aggressive she'd become, but also how much more confident she was as a woman and how little she started to care about what others thought of her. Storm would further be put through the wringer when her powers were nullified by an experimental weapon created by the mutant Forge. This sent her into a tailspin, leading to her resignation from the X-Men. After a personal quest to re-discover herself and her roots, Storm returned to the team with a bang. She faced off against Cyclops for sole control of the team and, even without her powers, whooped his ass to become leader once more.
This era is really defined by the bookended stories about the Morlocks. It begins around Uncanny X-Men 169 and ends at the conclusion of the first ever major X-Men crossover "Mutant Massacre." The former features the debut of the Morlocks and Storm's subsequent fight against Callisto, while the latter is one of the darkest and most soul-crushing X-Men stories where the Morlocks are all but exterminated by the Marauders. This particular section of Chris Claremont's legendary run is worth the read and is a major step-up in terms of quality over his output in the Post-Dark Phoenix Saga years, which would only be topped following "Mutant Massacre" with the introduction of Psylocke and Dazzler onto the team. For fans of Rogue, Storm or Kitty Pryde, this era is a must read! It also helps that there is some stellar artwork done by Paul Smith and John Romita Jr.
Of all of the rosters I've done thus far, this one is probably the "coolest." The characters are very edgy, which really reflects the changing sensibilities of the 1980s. The X-Men (and Chris Claremont) were on the forefront of this shift. Trying to capture the general aesthetic of that era was hard. My greatest challenges were with Kitty and Rachel. The one that turned out best, though, was probably Rogue.
Either way, I hope you all like this piece and I hope you all took the time to read through the description. As always, feel absolutely free to leave a comment below.
Enjoy!
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Comments61
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Great picture. Would you do a few more X-Men team ones from the mid-1980s? I may have a few ideas. Respond ASAP please, please, please! Thanks!