X-Men Monday #271 – Gail Simone & Jed MacKay Talk ‘Raid on Graymalkin’

Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!

Professor Charles Xavier has been locked in Graymalkin Prison — formerly Xavier’s own X-Mansion — for his crimes against humanity. Love him or hate him, you better believe prominent mutants are going to have opinions about members of their species being imprisoned. But how do the casts of X-Men and Uncanny X-Men — specifically, their leaders Cyclops and Rogue — feel about it? Well, we’re going to find out in the first crossover of the “From the Ashes” era, “Raid on Graymalkin,” which kicks off in December’s X-Men #8 and concludes in January’s Uncanny X-Men #8.

To learn more about “Raid on Graymalkin” and how it impacts two squads of X-Men, I spoke to Uncanny X-Men writer Gail Simone and X-Men writer Jed MacKay. Let’s see what they have to say.

AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Gail and Jed! Before we dig into the X-Fan questions, I was wondering if each of you could share why “Raid on Graymalkin” is such a pivotal moment for your individual X-teams at this point in the “From the Ashes” era.

Jed MacKay: At the opening of the “From the Ashes” era, our mutants were scattered around the world, with different groups finding their new places in it. Louisiana, Alaska, Chicago, New York — we’re looking at a mutant world that’s been fractured, and “Raid on Graymalkin” is where we see two important pieces come together for the first time in a big way.

Gail Simone: Right, it’s the first real substantial connective tissue of any of the titles, and we strongly felt it was an opportunity to show the stark contrasts in our books and the teams in them. I love that stuff. Also, we don’t really have the Xavier/Magneto contrast in the mix at the moment, so it’s compelling to see where the books go without that core concept.

AIPT: Let’s talk about your collaborative process for this crossover. First, X-Fan KrakoanGrootFan asked what the writing process has been like, and second, X-Fan MunchkinMarauder was curious to learn what you’ve enjoyed most about working together on this story.

Gail: We discussed everything, and threw a lot of ideas back and forth. I have a lot of respect for Jed, even if he mistakenly thinks Cyclops is better than Rogue. For me, it was a little taste of what writing Jed’s book would have been like, and to see what a really fine writer is doing with the characters in mine.

Jed: It’s been an interesting process, going back and forth on what the story needs and the best way to approach it. It’s also been a very different experience than what writing a script usually is — trading ideas back and forth has allowed me a few springboards into directions that I wouldn’t have thought of originally, such as the Jubilee and Calico section of “Raid on Graymalkin” part 1.

AIPT: Gail, as you invoked Scott’s codename, X-Fan Harry G said Jed has been writing some amazing Cyclops stuff in his book — has it finally brought you over to the side of the Cyclops fans?

Gail: God, no.

AIPT: We had to try! OK, so X-Fan Mike Trobaugh assumes the two teams fight in “Raid on Graymalkin.” When creating the fights, was there any combination of characters fighting that surprised you based on their interactions?

Jed: I think there are a lot of personalities thrown together, along with power profiles — Gail threw Psylocke and Nightcrawler together, which led to some fun contrasts, for instance. Similarly, we’ve got the four new Outliers, who present a whole new set of complications!

Gail: Jed suggested a great moment that I got to do the payoff to, it was very collaborative. And there might be sparks flying between a couple members of the teams!  Also, if I could just write Magik all the time, that’d be a delight.

AIPT: Gail, X-Fan Will Foote wanted to know which of the Outliers you’re most excited for readers to see in “Raid on Graymalkin?”

Gail: Well, it’s fun because Deathdream literally barely understands what’s happening, he just is barely aware that he’s involved. But my favorite scene in the entire event is with Calico, in Jed’s book. It’s a scene where I had a germ of an idea, but he really made it burn.

AIPT: X-Fan Annalise knows the conflict between Rogue and Cyclops has been brewing for a long time — there have been a lot of smaller conflicts over their time in the X-books (especially their arguments in X-Men Legacy). What was your process for fleshing out a larger, more dramatic confrontation between the two characters?

Jed: These are two characters who each lead what they believe to be the X-Men, so there’s going to be an obvious ideological clash there. Each group goes about being X-Men in their own way, and we’re going to see how those differences will create friction between them. Cyclops and Rogue both believe that they’re right — which is where the problem lies.

Gail: I think the most interesting conflict between hero characters is the one where both sides are rational and coherent and even ethical, but the divide is still deep.  And it’s thematic that the X-Men have separated themselves from each other after Krakoa, it’s almost a grieving process for them, a healing mechanism. But there are consequences. Some of those processes leave a mark.

AIPT: Speaking of Cyclops and Rogue’s conflict, X-Fan Mary Lu said that when it comes to Xavier, it seems Rogue is on ‘Team Believer’ while Scott is on ‘Team Sceptic.’ However, among their teams, Juggernaut and Magneto have been on better terms with Charles lately and may not wish to throw stones. Meanwhile, this Beast missed out on experiencing a lot of Xavier’s worst revelations. On the other side, discovering the origins of his birth left Kurt unhappy with the professor, and Logan tried to kill him the last time they interacted. SO, with all that said, will every team member fall in line with their leader?

Gail: I don’t think so. I think there are going to be doubters on each team. Right now in Uncanny X-Men, Rogue is the glue, she’s the one trying to build a sand castle without a shovel. And everyone on her team loves and respects her. But they’re adults, they’ve been through everything, and they’re not blindly going to take orders they don’t agree with forever.

Jed: The Raid is going to cause those questions to be raised, the repercussions of which will echo forward through the X-line (and perhaps in a bigger way than anyone might expect). So while “What Do You Do With a Problem Like Xavier” is raised in a big way during Raid, it’s not one that’s going to be answered so cleanly right away.

AIPT: Jed, X-Fan Revolution pointed out that Cyclops and Beast were brought up by Charles in the school. Will we see their reactions to the place where they were educated becoming a prison for mutants?

Jed: We’ll see a bit of it as we go through, but the conversion of their old home into a prison is more of an unspoken backdrop for the conflict to come — as in, you literally cannot go home again.

AIPT: Speaking of Hank, X-Fan Mungho pointed out that on the cover for Uncanny X-Men #7, Beast and Wolverine look like they’re glaring at each other. Is Wolverine still sore over what the bad Beast did to him?  Besides Cyclops and his team, we really haven’t gotten any impressions on how the rest of the X-Men feel about Beast now (except Rogue, who told Cyclops to tell Beast she said ‘hi’). Will we be seeing anything about how the others feel about Beast in this event?

Jed: As we’re going to see, Beast and his past/future deeds will feature heavily in the early stages of “Raid on Graymalkin,” so stay tuned for that!

Gail: That’s more in Jed’s book, but I am really happy to see his Beast play out.

AIPT: X-Fan GambitsBoyfriend was curious if you’d say Cyclops is the one who’s most challenged during this event.

Jed: I think that he and Rogue are similarly challenged throughout our little crossover — we’re seeing two people who are discovering that their irreconcilable differences are going to cause real problems in their lives moving forward.

AIPT: Gail, X-Fan Marcel said your dialogue for Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, and Jubilee is so spot on and reminiscent of the ‘90s group. How did you research or prepare to develop the characters within the team in such a dynamic way?

Gail: Kind of the opposite, really. I did give this a lot of thought, and I know a lot of writers skip the accents, for instance, entirely. But that’s not how we fell in love with these characters. The fun of comics is the outrageousness of it all. I think if Rogue says something heartbreaking in her distinctive, familiar voice, it’s 10 times as emotional as if she sounds like everyone else. But thanks, Marcel, getting voices right is a big deal with me. I want the dialogue to surprise, above all.

AIPT: As we wrap up… this secret weapon that Warden Ellis thinks will protect Graymalkin against any attack… Is that who we see on the cover of Uncanny X-Men #8 and what can you tease about this new X-antagonist?

Gail: Oh, cripes, it’s a dark day when that vault door opens up. 

AIPT: Finally, Marvel’s announcement for “Raid on Graymalkin” promised it “solidifies the X-Men’s post-Krakoan world!” What can you tease about where these two teams of X-Men are following this crossover?

Jed: Well, smashing into a mutant prison is going to bring some heat, and in X-Men #10, we’re going to see the form that heat takes: Agent Lundqvist and O*N*E are coming back to Alaska, and they’re looking to clap the X-Men in irons for their actions. 

Gail: It’s literally a bit of a game-changer for a lot of the books in our line. Some mutants are going to choose a side, despite that being the last thing Cyclops and Rogue wanted. It’s not Civil War, it’s more like the divisions families have due to politics currently. Like two mutants can have Thanksgiving dinner together, but if this subject comes up, someone’s taking their leftovers to GO.

AIPT: Arguing politics with Wolverine, Psylocke, and Magik? Definitely an experience you won’t survive. But is there anything else you’d like to add?

Gail: It’s been great fun, I’ve said many times that this might be the funnest job I’ve had in comics. It’s an ungodly amount of work, but, you know, we’re writing the damn X-MEN, and that’s about as fun as it gets.

AIPT: And it’s been fun to read as well! Gail and Jed, thanks for stopping by X-Men Monday!

Remember, X-Fans, “Raid on Graymalkin” kicks off December 4, 2024 in X-Men #8. As this week’s X-Men Monday eXclusive, here are four of Ryan Stegman’s pages from the issue…

And two David Marquez pages from “Raid on Graymalkin” part 2 in Uncanny X-Men #7…

There’ll be no new edition of X-Men Monday next week as everybody in comics will be at New York Comic Con (except me, sadly). I was there at the outset of the First Krakoan Age in 2019 and had a blast. In case you missed it, here’s X-Men Monday #31, featuring many interviews from Artist Alley with past X-creators. If you’re going, I hope you have a great time!

Until next time, X-Fans, stay exceptional!