Welcome, X-Fans new and old, to the inaugural edition of X-Men Monday at AiPT! Getting a chance to host #XMenMonday on a weekly basis is a huge honor for us and we’re eXcited to help you kick off every week on the most uncanny note possible!
Speaking of weeks, how ’bout that last one? Logan finally got his head straight in Return of Wolverine #5 and a beloved X-Man fell in battle in Uncanny X-Men #12 (for now). Meanwhile, over in the “Age of X-Man,” mutant celebrity Kurt Wagner BAMFED on to the scene in The Amazing Nightcrawler #1. This Wednesday, we get to spend some quality time with Psylocke, Iceman, Blob, Northstar, Jubilee and Monetta in X-Tremists #1. There better not be any kissing or X-Man’ll be a very unhappy camper.
While Nate Grey’s sexually repressed fantasy world makes for great reading, I’m happy not to live there and fortunate to be in a world where Marvel Senior Editor Jordan D. White controls the fate of the X-Men and answers your questions. So, without further ado, let’s see what X-Fans and Jordan are discussing this week (with a few eXclusive preview images sprinkled throughout)!
AiPT!: Let’s kick off X-Men Monday with Ross Hutchinson (@RPHutch1975), who wanted to know if there are plans to resolve the mystery of the non-mutant among the X-Men–a plot that was teased at the end of Tom Taylor’s Hunt for Wolverine: The Adamantium Agenda mini-series.
Jordan: First off, let me just kick things off by thanking AiPT! for hosting me for #XMenMonday! It’s been a lot of fun to share previews with people online and answer questions on Twitter, but I wanted to give the day somewhere more permanent to live. But yes, on to the answers!
Image Credit: Marvel Comics
I have a lot of thoughts on how and when we reveal the identity of the sleeper. There is definitely a portion of X-Fandom that would be calling for my head if they heard them. That mystery is something that was hotly debated here. There are definitely plans to address it, but it’s much more of a slow-burn mystery–it likely won’t be resolved until you’re least expecting it.
AiPT!: Hiago Miranda (@hiagovmiranda) was wondering if the current version of Jamie Madrox has the memories of the Madrox “Prime” that died at the beginning of Death of X.
Jordan: He does not! The Jamie who is now the Prime is a dupe of a dupe who was duped quite a while back. It’s not 100% clear when, but it was definitely before Madrox got the “M” tattoo on his face.
“But, Jordan!” you say, “The new Madrox DOES have the ‘M’ tattoo on his face!” Yeah, it turns out that’s something that shows up in a number of alternate terrible futures.
Here’s the quick breakdown, I will try to streamline it–spoilers for the recent Multiple Man mini-series, available in trade paperback now. It’s gonna be loopy, though, so hold on tight. Sometime before he got the “M” tattoo or fell in love with Layla Miller, Madrox made a dupe. That dupe went missing for a long time, only emerging after the Prime died desperately trying to survive his Prime’s death. That dupe created another dupe, sent him off on a mission through time–that’s our current Prime. He wound up in the world of Marvel Swimsuit Issues, where he stayed for many years. Apparently, the swimsuit timeline eventually goes dark, and mutants are rounded up and branded with the “M.” Eventually, the now tattooed dupe comes back to the present, sees all the other Madroxes (including his own maker) are dead, and makes himself the new Prime.
Image Credit: Marvel Comics
The scene of him hanging out with Layla in Uncanny recently? That was him trying to get to know the woman he knows another version of him married and had a child with. Likewise, Layla knows he is not her husband, but she was getting to know him as well. Whether anything comes of that remains to be seen.
AiPT!: Thanks for that explanation! Speaking of Mr. Madrox, here’s an eXclusive look at an upcoming scene featuring multiple Multiple Men!
Image Credit: Marvel Comics
So, Perilous Siege (@perilous_siege) is loving “Age of X-Man” so far and asked if this event is a sign that X-Men stories are headed in a more subversive and perhaps envelope-pushing direction moving forward.
Jordan: I think the X-Men titles are always trying to push the envelope… but, yes, we have very big plans to push things in a way no one is expecting. Subversive is definitely a good word for it, although it’s funny, because I think it’s kind of double-subversive, in that it’s going to be subversive in a way you don’t expect?
Also, I just looked up the origin of the phrase “push the envelope.” It apparently has to do with pilots pushing the limitations of their aircrafts which is a way more awesome origin than I was picturing. I imagined a parent being like, “leave this envelope here” and a child trying to get away with pushing it across the table. The pilot thing is way better. Captain Marvel, in theaters March 8th!
AiPT!: Can’t wait to see Carol on the big screen. And speaking of movies… check out the posters in this eXclusive image…
Image Credit: Marvel Comics
OK, back to the questions. Osvaldo Eaf (@osvaldoeaf) thanked you for bringing Sage back in “X-Men Disassembled” and wanted to know if she might appear in a regular title after “Age of X-Man.”
Jordan: She is definitely in what will likely be the biggest X-Men book of the year.
AiPT!: You really know how to get X-Men Twitter talking, Jordan. And thanks for this eXclusive image of Sage in… something coming up!
Image Credit: Marvel Comics
Oh, and speaking of X-Men Twitter, Zack Jenkins over at Xavier Files (@XavierFiles) had concerns. He said, and I quote: “Y’all ever gonna let Colossus and Wolverine’s Savage Land kids hang out and be friends?” Think of the children, Jordan!
Jordan: NOPE! Never.
In all seriousness, there are no plans. Giving super heroes kids is one of those things that seems awesome in the moment, but always ends up very awkwardly because GENERALLY SPEAKING the audience does not want to read a book about their favorite hero getting bogged down in the real-life responsibility of having a child. There’s a reason the stories almost always end up bending over backwards to get rid of the child one way or another. >cough<Cable>cough<
AiPT!: Wheelchair X-Tremist (@OneWheelchairX) was also concerned… about Havok and Polaris’ level of post-secondary education. Will Alex and Lorna ever finish their university degrees?
Jordan: Well, here’s the thing–when we named the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, I pointed out to Nick Lowe that “Higher Learning” is traditionally used to mean college. We stuck with it anyway… but that means that it must have been accredited as a college-level place of education. So, I am sure at some point it just awarded them their degrees.
Actually, I am going to assume every X-Man over 18 has been given an honorary doctorate at this point.
AiPT!: Very interesting… just like this eXclusive image of Lorna in the Age of X-Man (probably wishing she could be in school… ya know, instead of prison).
Image Credit: Marvel Comics
Speaking of school, Rafael Martins (@rafaradar) wondered if there are upcoming plans for the Academy X kids like Surge, Hellion, Mercury and Dust.
Jordan: Three of those characters appear in a book we’re sending to press last week. The fourth is in a script I read recently, and I think her fans will be very happy with that appearance.
AiPT!: Meanwhile, Dexter Brown (@brown_invictus8) needed to know when Sunspot will return to the X books. Any idea, Jordan?
Jordan: I do. I know the next THREE series he is going to appear in.
Image Credit: Marvel Comics
AiPT!: Joshua Chayne (@JoshuaChayne) had a question about Jean Grey (who appears in that Marvelous eXclusive image above) and her powers. Since both teen and adult Jean are the same character, does adult Jean now have the pink psi-body and psi-raptor power-up that the time-displaced Jean developed?
Jordan: The answer is yes, but in regards to whether she will start using it, that remains to be seen. If you look at it from her point of view, it’s like she just remembered about this thing she used to do when she was a teenager. She hasn’t used it in a decade… well, I guess less, depending on how long she was dead, but you get my point. It’s not part of her routine, it’s not part of how she normally does things. I am sure there are things we all did all the time 10 years ago that we could still do, if we give it a go, but which are no longer our go-to things. For example, I used to play the keyboard a lot. I am sure if I sat down at one, I could work out how to do it again… but when I want to play music now, I play the ukulele.
AiPT!: This week’s final fan question comes from Christopher Fokken (@cpfokken) who knows you’re a Sailor Moon fan and was wondering which Sailor Scout would be the best to adapt into a mutant student at Xavier’s? Excluding Moon!
Jordan: Definitely Sailor Jupiter. She is a tough fighter, has great powers, and is absolutely ready to jump into the soap opera of the school by being reminded of her ex-boyfriend by every member of the team.
AiPT!: Before I let you get back to work… you and your fellow Marvel editors recently made a widely publicized trip to Marvel-loving Wendy’s. So, serious comics journalism question here: What’s your favorite item on the Wendy’s menu?
That’s right, on Friday @marvel crew @chrisrobinson, @EDevinLewis, me, Jake Thomas, @nick_lowe_ and @CBCebulski (taking the pic) went to @Wendys! Also there but at another table because there were so many of us were @lauren_amaro43, @writeneski, and @DannyKhazem! pic.twitter.com/SBAutTwtcu
— Jordan D. White (@cracksh0t) February 9, 2019
Jordan: Over the years, there have been a number of Marvel editors who swear by the Spicy Chicken Sandwich. I am not one of them–I am what I would call a “spice wuss.” I don’t even like black pepper on my food, if I can help it. So I gotta go Baconator. Also, shout out to the fact that you can get a baked potato, even though I am usually too lazy to bother.
AiPT: Finally, I’d like to give you a chance to help shape the soundtrack to X-Fans’ week. What’s today’s song recommendation?
Jordan: Ooh, I love sharing music. There is literally always music playing in my office.
Let’s go with this cover of “Thank U, Next” by Scary Pockets, the funk cover band of the founder of Patreon, Jack Conte.
AiPT!: Funky! Thanks for stopping by, Jordan and have a great week! And thanks to all the X-Fans who submitted questions. We’ll start to collect new questions for Jordan to answer tomorrow (Tuesday, February 26) on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages–so get those questions ready and be sure to report back here next X-Men Monday!
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