X-Position: X-Editors

CBR: Joining us for some fun are Senior Editor and X-Men Group Editor Nick Lowe, along with editors Daniel Ketchum, Jordan D. White and Jeanine Schaefer. Let's quickly get started before they leap away…

 

How is Husk dealing with Angel's new identity? We haven't really seen them interact for a while, and I, for one, loved their relationship. And on the topic of Angel, what will Psylocke's reaction be when she sees the young Angel that comes from the past post-AvX?

Nick Lowe: Husk isn't really dealing very well with anything, frankly. She's not in the best shape mentally or physically right now, so Angel hasn't weighed too heavily on her mind. As for Psylocke, I'd imagine she'll react much like any adult would if a time-traveling version of someone you love showed up. Here's my summation: "Ah! That's weird. He looks so young! What's going on here? I think I'm going to peace out and go get a cup of coffee and collect my thoughts."

When Two Tribes Go To War: "AvX" - The Telepathic Advantage?

CBR: In today's edition of WHEN TWO TRIBES GO TO WAR, CBR's in-depth look at "AvX," we take a look at the X-Men's seemingly telepathic advantage over the Avengers. What are the X-Men's telepaths capable of? What kind of strategic advantage do they give the X-Men leader, Cyclops? And how will the Avengers work around and fight back against the mental might of their adversaries? Helping us answer these questions and more are Senior Editor Nick Lowe who's in charge of the X-Titles, and Senior Vice President of Publishing and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort whose office oversees the Avengers titles.

CBR News: Nick and Tom, the X-Men have several powerful telepaths in their ranks including Emma Frost, Psylocke, Rachel Summers, and their founder, Charles Xavier. I can't really think of any Avengers with comparable psychic abilities, though. Am I missing any? And why is it that telepathy and its related powers seem to be associated with mutants and X-Men instead of Marvel heroes with other origins?

Tom Brevoort: The Avengers have had a few over the years, characters such as Moondragon -- but telepathy really hasn't been a regular part of their arsenal. As for the X-side, I think that comes from two interconnected things: Jean Grey and her status as not only a founding X-Man but as the lynchpin of probably the book's best-remembered storyline, and the fact that Chris Claremont was a heavy SF reader during a period where numerous authors were exploring the idea of telepathic and telekinetic powers and how they might plausibly work within a SF context. Chris adapted, adopted and improved on a number of those ideas as he wrote "Uncanny X-Men."

Nick Lowe: Let's read between the lines, here. It's because the X-Men are the best.

Telepathy in its most basic form is the power to send and receive thoughts, which is a useful communication tool with a number of strategic uses in battle. What kind of advantage does it give Cyclops and other characters in terms of communication and coordinating troop movements?

Lowe: It certainly doesn't hurt. Cap and the Avengers know going in that the X-Men have this advantage, so you've got to think they've got some defensive planning in place to keep Emma from just shutting their brains down. And the coordination helps, but you have to remember how training centered Cyclops is. You can't go more than an issue of X-Men back in the day without Cyclops drilling his team in the Danger Room and that hasn't changed. He's always training his crews and they operate like well oiled machines. No one does as much teamwork as the X-Men (heck they have well-known moves like the fastball special).

Telepathy also allows a person to reads the thoughts of others, which makes it a useful to gather intelligence. Of course, many mutants have a personal code that keeps them from reading the thoughts of others. How would a conflict like "AvX" affect that code? Are there some heroes that won't have qualms about reading the thoughts of Avengers once things heat up and get tough?

Brevoort: I think it depends entirely on the individual character. My expectation is that the Avengers and the X-Men both are going to comport themselves as heroes, no differently than they've ever done. That said; the stakes they're fighting for are so important that they will push our heroes to the wall in terms of what they will and will not do. And certainly some of the X-telepaths have used situational ethics to guide their actions in the past. Of course, keep in mind that Tony Stark has a lot of experience in building tech to protect himself from telepathic intrusions or attacks.

Lowe: Tom is right (yeesh that felt weird coming out of my mouth) about how the X-Men are going to behave. They're still heroes. And like I said before, Cap would have to be an idiot not to have something in place to defend his team from this on some level. And he's no idiot.

Powerful telepaths have another morally gray ability, the ability to erase and control minds. This begs the question, when things get tough will there be some X-Men tempted to use this ability? Or is this seen as a last ditch "nuclear option?"

Lowe: This would not be something Cyclops would be down with unless there were no other option and even then -- but, and sorry to repeat again, the Avengers need to have some sort of plan for this.

Brevoort: Again, I wouldn't think this would be an easily-used option if it were ever seriously considered at all. The X-Men haven't done this sort of thing even to their most ruthless foes, so I don't think they'd be inclined to do it to guys they know are heroes but whom they happen to be in contention with.

We've talked a bit about how effective an ability telepathy is in general, so let's switch gears a little bit and talk about how effective it is against the Avengers in particular. Are there any Avengers who have a natural immunity to telepathic and psionic powers?

Brevoort: Iron Man's armor has been proofed against telepathic attacks in the past. The Vision's android mind is such that it's anybody's guess whether a telepathic strike would do him any harm. A telepathic attack on the Red Hulk is likely to just make him angrier and more savage, so if it didn't immediately take him down it would likely make things worse. There are a few other examples, but they're mostly the exceptions -- for the most part the Avengers are no more protected from a telepathic assault than anyone else would be.

How aware are the Avengers in general of the strategic applications of telepathy? Can we assume that leaders like Captain America are aware of what telepaths can do and are ready and able to work around them?

Brevoort: I'd say it's a certainty -- especially since there are present and former X-Men among the Avengers' ranks, who would be likely to disclose that information even if Cap wasn't already aware of it.

Lowe: They definitely know it.

The X-Men may have an advantage in the area of mental powers, but the Avengers have three of the greatest scientific minds on the planet in Tony Stark, T'Challa, and Hank Pym. How easy would it be for these guys to whip up something that makes them and their team mates resistant to telepathic powers?

Brevoort: Given that we've seen Tony at least do this before in the past, I'd say it'd be relatively easy. Doesn't mean that it'll work, though, or be 100% proof against a determined X-Man digging down deep and fighting for a legitimate cause.

Lowe: It's not going to really matter in the end as the X-Men are far superior in every way.

Uncanny X-Force's Final Execution

CBR: Today, Marvel wraps up a week-plus of Next Big Thing press conference calls on "Uncanny X-Force," with Rick Remender, Mike McKone, and Nick Lowe talking about what's coming up for the acclaimed series. Marvel Sales and Communications Coordinator James Viscardi controls the floor. The arc is called "Final Execution." Lowe joked that it was a "MEGA arc!"

Lowe also described it as "a huge target we're painting on the wall," along the lines of "Dark Angel Saga."

"We changed one element of the 'Dark Angel Saga,' and this was born out of that," Remender said. "This is like 9-issues, this arc, and it is kind of a continuation of what we're doing—the great thing about serial comics is that the story doesn't end," he added.

"Rick's pretty far ahead on this," Lowe laughed, noting Remender had turned in script for #30.

"Some of the big points, this story deals with the brand-new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants," Remender said. "They are the toughest band of Brotherhood of Evil Mutants you've ever seen." He added that consequences of earlier story arcs will continue to snowball.

"The Otherworld story wraps up in #23, and we wanted a palate cleanser," Remender said, saying Psylocke would end up in a very different place. But with "Final Execution," things get dark—"this is probably the gnarliest thing I've ever written," Remender said.

McKone said there will be "Deadpool on a shopping spree." "I've never seen anything like that, I've certainly never drawn anything like that..." he joked.

Remender said the shopping spree will be part of a recon mission, "but whenever Deadpool goes on a recon mission, every time, he opens a door and there's Darth Vader."

Remender said that #25 "reintroduces an X-Men villain we haven't seen in quite some time," and Lowe gave him the go-ahead to reveal: the Omega Clan, built from the remains of Omega Red. The Clan runs a shop called White Sky, where one can shop for "the type of assassin you want" and other goodies.

"Mike pretty talented, I didn't go easy on him," Remender said, adding he gave McKone lots of big action and double page spreads. McKone said he enjoys Deadpool's reactions, where he "keeps his calm until he loses it completely."

Remender said his arcs fall into place naturally, with ideas for one building from the last. "Nick and I have looked for logical reasons to double and triple the nightmare these characters are going through."

The writer did say, though, that "Final Execution" was not necessarily intended from the start. "This arc started to formulate in the midst of putting together the 'Dark Angel Saga,'" he said. Lowe said it's a "thematic destination," covering the issues of responsibility at the heart of the series.

"Yeah, tonally this is what I wanted to be doing from the very beginning," Remender said.

In response to a question about members of X-Force taking dubious advantage of White Sky, Remender paused before answering. "There is going to be a thread around a weapon—any organization that's turning people into weapons is going to strike a chord with some members," Remender said. He added that X-Force doesn't just go after bad acts, like "'I heard people were doing some bad things to donkeys in Tijuana, let's go stop that'—I want that donkey to have done something to you." At this point, the call broke down into laughter as Remender haltingly rolled out more of the metaphor. Bringing things back on track, Remender reiterated that there should be personal stakes to the X-Force missions.

Speaking to the anti-hero concept, Remender noted that it had been done well in the '80s, but in the '90s "everybody went 'so hard core! jump into the jacuzzi of blood and let's murder razor blades!'" For Remender, though, the appeal of Wolverine is fighting against popping his claws "until there's an absolute necessity to do it."

"I'm a Claremont X-Men guy; that's what I grew up with," he added, saying this has influenced his storytelling, "while dipping into the Grant Morrison era, for sure" and dabbling in Jason Aaron's stories.

"Warren Worthington killing somebody became so common that we just got used to it," he said, but going forward he wants it to "mean something" when any of these characters take a life.

"Psylocke's tragectory is a big one to watch," Lowe added. Remender said that "she's the least assassin-y, but she's been in that role for a while."

Remender noted that the ascension of a new Apocalypse—"hey! It's your buddy!"—was actually not the biggest consequence of the early issues. "Congratulations, you've made a terrible decision," Remender joked. And, creatively, one of the new developments is a big arc for Wolverine. "This ends with him in a very, very different place—Betsy and him come out of this story in an entirely different place from when this series began," he said. "They will not ever be the same—until another writer comes along," he laughed.

"I cannot wait to read people's reactions to this," Lowe said. "I can't wait to see the internet explode."

Of the Brootherhood, "some we have seen in X-Force, for sure," Remender said. "The others, they're all bigs." He added that, for each character, there was a lot of thought put into why he or she would be on the team and what that character's goals might be. And the leader? "We won't see who it is for a while, and people will say, 'whoa!'"

Lowe joked about commenters on the CBR forum suggesting "The Brick" was a great villain, because heroes are always getting hit in the head with bricks. "The Brick will be the last man standing," Remender joked.

Remender said the Omega Clan would have similar powers to Omega Red, but the powers would be "tuned to X-Force" and readers would start to see this in #25. "I kind of just want Mike's amazing pages, when you see exactly what we're doing here... they're pretty crazy," Remender said.

Asked about the future of the Genesis character, Remender joked about "giving Jason Aaron a taste and then taking him back—I don't like that guy, I don't trust him, his beard, his beady eyes... in his head he's still fighting the Civil War..." More seriously, though, Remender said that Aaron has plans for the character, "and those lips will definitely play a role."

Lowe: "Now answer that question about Genesis, the band."

"It's the Peter Gabriel / Phil Collins throwdown you've been waiting for!" Remender said.

"You've just spoiled two members of the Brotherhood," Lowe rejoined.

Lowe praised McKone's storytelling ability, and said he "jumped" at the opportunity to add him to the "Uncanny X-Force" roster of artists. Remender also said Dean White's colors have maintained a consistent tone for the series.

Remender said there was "a lot of talk" about tying into "Avengers vs. X-Men," but "there was no story." "We've got this trajectory, we've got this story we're telling in 'X-Force,'" he said, and he didn't want to jeopardize that even though it would be cool to do some of the fights.

"One of the strengths of 'X-Force' is that it has stood on its own," Lowe said. "Let's go forward telling this story. "We try to do a good balance here at Marvel, things that tie in and things that don't." Remender added that it of course would have been a sales bump to cross over with "Secret Avengers," but he thinks it was the right decision to leave the run uninterrupted at this time.

Asked about the art rota, Lowe said that McKone would not be illustrating the entire arc because of the multiple double-shipping months. "It's all dream team stuff," Remender said. He joked, though, that "there's a way to mail people methamphetamines without them knowing it, and then Mike could do four pages a day, but he doesn't know why he's constantly grinding his teeth."

"Uncanny X-Force" #25 is on sale in May.

X-Position: Nick Lowe & X-Editorial

CBR: This week we have Senior Editor Nick Lowe and his able Associate Editors Daniel Ketchum and Jordan D. White on hand to answer questions from the CBR readers about everything related to Marvel's uncanny heroes.

Given Psylocke's divided ties between the Uncanny X-Force team and Scott's X-Men, will she experience many moments of questioning her loyalties?
Nick Lowe: It’s a bit early to say whether she’s going to question her loyalties. The real fun of that will happen if the two sides ever come to blows.

The X-Perts: Psylocke

Marvel.com: This week, Kieron Gillen, Rick Remender, Nick Lowe and Jody LeHeup look at Psylocke, a woman with a complex past and variety of relationships as well as membership in both the X-Men and secret X-Force team. Where’s her head at and where does her loyalty lie?

How would you describe the core of who Psylocke is and what is most important to her?

Rick Remender (writer of UNCANNY X-FORCE): Betsy is, I think, somebody who [has] had a pretty spectacular life. [Her parents] were high level scientists. Her brother Jamie is a serial killing reality bender and her brother Brian is the shining hero Captain Britain. I think looking at her past, and then looking at who she is now, you see [a] character arc that goes from a child of affluence to somebody who’s had to make decisions to stick with her adopted family, the X-Men, at all costs. I think if you look at her character now and what she’s been through you can see the price all over her: She’s been killed, she’s had to change bodies, she’s now sacrificed all her former philosophies on killing and taking life to be a pragmatist and that sort of defines her I think from a nice English girl, who was supposed to become Lady Britain at one point, to becoming a shadowy ninja who’s working on an assassin squad.

Nick Lowe (X-Men Senior Editor): Betsy was a spy/fashion model for a long time, which is awesome. She has always seemed to me to be a carpe diem sort. Sure, she—like a lot of the X-Men—is driven by duty and responsibility, but she enjoys herself in the process.

Jody LeHeup (editor of UNCANNY X-FORCE): Betsy is a romantic. Deep down she is a passionate and caring person who values integrity and perseverance. I’d say that living up to the expectations of the ones she loves is very important to her, not letting them down.

What is Psylocke’s view of how the mutant race should conduct itself moving forward? How does this contrast or conflict with others?

Jody LeHeup: Betsy has an opinion but tends to leave those questions to the leaders she’s put her faith in. I think personally she’s very concerned with the endangerment of mutantkind, so much so that she’s driven to join an extreme response team like X-Force, but I think she’s wary of living too much by the sword.

Nick Lowe: I don’t think that Betsy gets too much into this sort of thing. She has an opinion, of course, but her duty to her species is what really matters to her. She lets others tackle the bigger philosophical questions and busts heads and enjoys life.

Rick Remender: Well I think the debate in her mind is if there’s any room for Xavier’s dream anymore. If there’s any possibility for cohabitation; the fact that there [are] so few mutants left really changes the parameters of all these sorts of things. I think that Betsy has become a bit of a pragmatist and though it goes against a lot of her philosophical upbringing, she’s made her mind up to protect what’s left of the mutant species at any cost. In her mind, Utopia is probably the best option they have in order to keep themselves protected and to stay together in a clan and huddle basically given that genetically speaking they’ll eventually be wiped out.

What toll have the radical changes in Psylocke’s body and mind over the years taken on her psyche?

Nick Lowe: I think they’ve demonstrated to her just how fragile life is and showed her how valuable it is.

Rick Remender: It’s become shattered I would imagine, so when I write her I try to think of somebody whose core has been broken into pieces and put back to together, and like a vase that’s been shattered and glued back together, it doesn’t entirely hold water. I think that’s the root cause of a lot [of] her turmoil and maybe some of the self-doubt we’ve seen with her lately in that she’s not quite sure if she’s herself or if she’s someone else. She’s got so many different pieces of other people that she’s picked up along the way, having housed The Shadow King in her mind and the body swapping and the x, y, and z’s of her story. I like the idea that there’s a core Betsy in there who’s always struggling to keep it together and find a way to salvage what’s left of what she considerers to be her core self.

Jody LeHeup: I think she’s weathered it remarkably well all things considered. She’s a very strong person and isn’t going to let little things like having her mind and body switched around like musical chairs slow her down. She’s who she is now and that’s all that matters.

Kieron Gillen (writer of UNCANNY X-MEN): I admit, as someone who's barely touched Psylocke, this is the part of the character which most interests me as a writer. The nature of identity and how it can be chewed up, re-created and generally made fluid fascinates me, and runs through a load of my writing, from my small press stuff no-one will—or should—have read to most of the cast of Phonogram to Kenji in GENERATION HOPE.

What I find most interesting about Psylocke is that she's come to terms with the fact. Normally, when we look at pop-culture, we've got characters panicked about who the real “you” is, trying to find some core “them.” Psylocke can't get stuck in such naval gazing. It'd drive her mad. Psylocke appears to believe the real you is simply who she is right now, and treats the bunch of thoughts and feelings in her head as fundamentally authentic—which is a sane response to her fairly insane situation.

In passing, it's one of the things that also interests me about Magik, but that's a different column.

How far away is the Psylocke of today from the Betsy Braddock who first joined the X-Men in terms of her values?

Kieron Gillen: To be blunt: English Rose Betsy Braddock wouldn't stab a dude in the head with a Walzashi.

Jody LeHeup: Pretty far. As a member of the X-Men she’s had to confront a great deal, both physically and mentally, and those experiences definitely change you. However I don’t know that her core values have changed so much as her understanding of the world, how it works and how best to maintain and implement those values in a complicated world. I think she’s more realistic about how she tries to affect change.

Nick Lowe: By that time she had already been messed with a lot. I mean, have you read those early Captain Britain-era stories? She was pretty full-formed before she joined the X-Men and the whole body-switch and what she’s been through have just reinforced all that.

Rick Remender: I think the character arc is pretty clear. She’s quite different. She’s become much darker and much rougher around the edges. I think that’s what’s interesting about the character: now that she’s gone and taken this arc, it’s to explore the other side of her that’s still in there and how the person who she was feels about the person she’s become. The character arc has been fairly extreme to go from who she was to who she currently is if you look at it like a point-A to point-Z and how many years it took to get there. I’m spending a lot of time writing about this in [UNCANNY X-FORCE] in an upcoming arc where the person Betsy was has to come to terms with the person she is and has to make a decision on if she’s going to continue or not.

Does Psylocke like being a member of X-Force? Why does she remain with that group? Why does she remain with the X-Men, for that matter?

Jody LeHeup: No member of the team likes being a member of X-Force. She remains with the group—and all the members for that matter—because in their mind, it’s a job that must be done and her unique abilities make her especially good at it. She believes that she is taking the burden of the wet work on herself in order to keep other X-Men from having to do it and at the same time ridding the world of those who present a clear and present danger to the survival of her now endangered species. She remains with the X-Men because there is still plenty of work to do that doesn’t involve killing.

Nick Lowe: She doesn’t like what they have to do, but she knows that somebody has to do it. She sees the importance of what they do and it speaks a lot louder than the moral conundrums that come along with it.

Rick Remender: These are questions that she’s always asking herself and I think they’re important. She definitely sees value in it and she sees value in helping to protect the remaining mutants. For me on some level, if you look at Betsy, if you look at her story going back when she joined the X-Men, she stuck with them through some craziness and they’ve become her family. So the question really is are the X-Men her family and is what she’s doing a necessary evil to protect her family, or is her family with Brian and Meggan? We’ll be answering those questions coming up in [UNCANNY X-FORCE].

Kieron Gillen: No, she doesn't like it. If she liked it, that's something she would be worried about. No-one should like being in X-Force. But she remains with X-Force because she believes its work needs to be done—which, coincidentally, the same reason she remains as the X-Men.

Does Psylocke have great loyalty to particular people on the X-Men?

Nick Lowe: Absolutely. Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Havok—they top my list.

Rick Remender: Obviously she loves Warren and that’s a very close relationship the two of them have established over the years and I see her as somebody who’s very close with Wolverine, almost like a family member and then with Scott and the rest of them as well. I think Betsy is one of the few characters who really does land in the middle of it all when it comes to feelings. When it comes down to her heart, it goes to Warren and Logan, but maybe her mind goes to Scott protecting those poor bastards on that island.

Jody LeHeup: I think so. There [are] certain people she’s closer to than others although she tries to remain as objective as possible when it comes to decisions that affect the team.

Kieron Gillen: Yes. Her relationship with X-Force is based on those personal ties. The question with X-Force is always “Who can we trust to do this?” and Betsy, Logan and Warren have that tight bond. But for me, that's almost not the question. Her involvement with X-Force isn't based on loyalty. It's based on beliefs. In some way, it makes her position on X-Force all the more striking and brave for her—it's not like she's Wolverine or Fantomax or even Deadpool. They lean that way naturally more than her. She's chosen to bend enough to do the job.

And it's also interesting to see where she chooses not to bend. And to wonder what other places she wouldn't bend, and which ones would surprise those she is abstractly most loyal to.

How does Psylocke’s relationship with Angel color her place among the X-Men?

Kieron Gillen: Really, anyone who's been reading UNCANNY X-FORCE—which should be everyone, yes?—knows the answer to this one. Read UNCANNY X-FORCE!

Jody LeHeup: You’ll have to keep reading for the answer to that.

Nick Lowe: In the way that any relationship does, I suppose. But it doesn’t define her.

Rick Remender: I’m not sure if it’s entirely out in the open. I haven’t addressed it with the other X-Men so I guess I haven’t put a lot of time thinking about it. I don’t think it’s out in the open, but if it were I don’t think it would matter too much. They’ve been on again and off again for a while so it’s something so simple as because it’s been on again and off again thing for so long and so many of those relationships happen in amongst in this little clan, I don’t think anyone would mind or see it as something that needs to be worried about.

Who among the X-Men does Psylocke trust? Who does she feel should lead the team? Would she ever want to?

Jody LeHeup: I think Betsy trusts Logan implicitly. But that’s all. She’s been through too much to not be guarded about who she puts her faith into. I don’t think Betsy’s interested in leading, at least not in any formal capacity. I think she thinks that Logan has grown into a position of great personal strength and would be far better at the job than even he knows.

Nick Lowe: She trusts them as much as a spy can ever trust anyone. She loves a lot of them and I don’t think she’d have any interest in leading, which makes her a good candidate to do so.

Kieron Gillen: Well, she trusts everyone on X-Force in a real way. Even before they signed that in the blood of kid Apocalypse, they knew they were joined together with a secret that could let any one of them put the whole lot in jail. We mustn't underestimate what level of trust that would require.

Who should lead the X-Men? Whoever does what's required to make the world a safer place, for humans and mutants both. Could she be it? Not now, is my gut feeling. I could see her in a Wolverine/Dani-esque team-leader role, but not the overall head.

That said, I think she's one of the people who could pull it off if she was forced into it.

Though I'd say she'd have to stop wearing her ninja outfit if she did.

Rick Remender: I don’t think she would ever want to lead the team. In my mind, she’s not the character that goes looking to take on responsibility. It always ends up in her lap and it’s always an ethical quandary and it’s something that she ends up having to take on. I think she could lead the team and I think she’d be terrific. Power level wise we’re building her up and grooming her to be just as powerful a telepath as Emma with different skills and different focus and a lot of that will be flushed out in the coming year. I think she could run an X-Men squad no worries. As for who she would have to choose, that’s a question that I would rather leave unanswered so people can see how Schism comes together.

"Uncanny X-Men" Ends In October

Marvel Comics announced this morning that "Uncanny X-Men" #544 publication in October will mark the end of the long-running series, due in large part to the events unfolding in "X-Men: Schism."

"Uncanny" editor Nick Lowe told the Associated Press, "The X-Men are getting torn apart from within. The events of 'Schism' do more damage to the X-Men than any villain has ever done." The sentiment was echoed by current series writer Kieron Gillen who called the end of the series a necessity, though "it's not taken lightly."

Jason Aaron, writer of "X-Men: Schism," explained that while his miniseries may detail exactly why the team breaks up and "Uncanny" ends, the actual team dissolution has been a long time in coming. "It's obvious that things are coming to a head between [Cyclops and Wolverine]...Whether you're a long time X-Men fan or a new X-Men fan, you can pick out and understand the nature of this conflict and how it breaks apart the two lynchpin guys of the X-Men."

"All things must come an end…even for the X-Men, and this October fans will bear witness the end of an era as Uncanny X-Men #544 concludes the long running series. It’s all come to this! Years in the making, the seeds of dissent finally bear fruit as the events of X-Men Schism tear the X-Men and the Marvel Universe apart! When the dust settles, the state of mutantkind will irreparably be changed forever. Don’t miss the historic final issue of the longest running X-Men title this October, in Uncanny X-Men #544!"

Uncanny X-Men #544
Written by: Kieron Gillen
Pencils and Cover by: Greg Land
On Sale: October!

X-Men MMXI: Year of the X-Men

Year of the X-Men: MMXI - Liveblog!

• As for the incoming "X-Men Prelude" series, writer Paul Jenkins will bring his own voice to the lead in to the next X-event. He's digging into the four main X-Dudes: Xavier, Magneto, Cyclops and Wolverine and each of their point of views. It really focuses on Cyclops and how everyone sees him.

• The books will dig into why Cyclops is the leader of mutants while also revealing new details about the past of each of the other characters.

• "X-Men Prelude" will have the full title "X-Men: Prelude to Schism" – news that came with a new teaser by Greg Land. It appears likely that "Schism" is the title of the incoming event.

• Classic villains return soon in the pages of "X-Men" as well as other places, and to keep fans interested, the editor said "Hellfire" will be a major key in 2011.

• Hellion continues to appear in "Age of X" and "X-Men Legacy".

• Sage won't be showing up in X-Men for a while. She's still dancing out in the multiverse.

• Domino is in "Age of X" in a minor role, but not too many plans lie ahead for her in the future.

• Elixir is still out in Genosha/Necrosha, and he won't be returning to Utopia in the future.

• Lockheed will play a large role in the Storm/Kitty/Beast thread of "Astonishing X-Men".

• Pixie will remain in the X-books but not in a major way for the next six months.

• Mystique continues her core role in Jason Aaron's "Wolverine" series.

• Prodigy has nothing major coming up, but he will appear in the "Uncanny X-Men" Annual.

Axel Alonso Named Marvel Editor-in-Chief

CBR: In an unexpected change to start the new year, Marvel Comics today announced that longtime editor Axel Alonso has been promoted to the position of Editor-in-Chief, replacing Joe Quesada in the job. After an over ten-year run at the helm of the company's publishing, Quesada will continue in his role as Chief Creative Officer for Marvel Entertainment.

Why is this important to us? Because Axel Alonso's favorite character is Psylocke!

John Barber: "Axel is a big Psylocke fan. He’s been wanting to get her into the book for a long time."
(X-Position: X-Editors, December 2008)

Nick Lowe: "[Psylocke popping up in a lot of places] It's definitely intentional and you have one man to thank for it - Axel Alonso. He loves Psylocke even more than Warren Worthington and CB Cebulski do… and that's saying a lot!"
(X-Position: Nick Lowe, November 2009)

Nick Lowe: "Axel loves Psylocke – plain and simple. He just loves her. So that's pretty much why she's there [in Uncanny X-Force]."
(X-Position: Nick Lowe, October 2010)

Axel Alonso: "At the X-Men summits, Gambit, Hellion and my personal favorite Psylocke always come up in discussion. I mean, I love Psylocke and I love Mystique – I would love to do a substantial series featuring them as leads, but before I do, I've got to know I can really deliver the goods."
(Cup 'O Joe: Marvel T&A, November 2010)

Axel Alonso is also the man behind 5 Ronin -- Out of all Marvel female characters, Psylocke was the one chosen to be part of it. Let's hope this unexpected change means more good things for Betsy Braddock.

X-Position: Nick Lowe

CBR: Nick Lowe got his football helmet on and is biting down on his mouthguard – he's ready to play! Let's kick a few queries his way and see if we can get one through the uprights.

"Uncanny X-Force" was amazing – easily the best X-book right now! Rick Remender mentioned that his X-Force team was already chosen when he was attached to the book. So why did you pick these characters? I'm especially interested in why Psylocke was chosen, but it's always a pleasure to read a good-written Betsy.

Nick Lowe: That's an easy question. Axel loves Psylocke – plain and simple. He just loves her. So that's pretty much why she's there. As for the rest, we knew that Warpath, X-23 and Wolfsbane weren't going to be signing up for such a team again, and we wanted to formulate a cast that would get people talking. Seems like it worked.

And please settle this debate for me – how do you say Psylocke? Is it pronounced like "lock" or "low-ke?"

Nick Lowe: We say "Sy-lock" up here at the House.

Nick Lowe Talks Psylocke/Angel

ComicVine interviewed X-Men editor Nick Lowe during SDCC. Nick Lowe talks about the future of the X-Books now that Second Coming is over. Here's what he said about Uncanny X-Force. And thanks Psychilde for the heads up :D

Who came up with the roster? Was this Rick's idea or your guys' idea?
Nick Lowe: Pretty much a lot of both. We had an idea of some of the characters we wanted in it and Rick threw a couple of suggestions of people he wanted in it as well.

Do you think we're gonna see any Psylocke/Angel... ?
Nick Lowe: You're gonna get some action. Don't worry.

~

Ps. In case anyone's wondering about Uncanny X-Men #526: Psylocke does not appear in Fraction's story, and she's only in the back up story in the two panels we have already seen. No lines. I'll post the Coipel's pages as soon as I can. :D

Nick Lowe Talks Uncanny X-Force

IGN wraps up their interview series with Nick Lowe with a look at the fallout of Second Coming and the future of the X-franchise.

IGN Comics: We saw the new X-Force roster in this issue. Can you go over how you guys decided who should be on the team from a tactical and team dynamic perspective?

Lowe: I don't want to get too much into that, because the book will answer a lot of that. Rather than go through one by one, how about this: some of the characters were already on X-Force, and we'll see their purpose for staying on the team. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag and ruin Rick and Jerome's story, but when people see why Fantomex and why Deadpool is there, they're going to find it quite interesting how it all works together.

IGN Comics: I believe in the announcement on Marvel.com you said that Warren is the co-captain and financial backer of the team now. Why does he see a continued need for X-Force?

Lowe: In the first arc of X-Force, you're going to find that he has a very personal investment in their first adventure. That's going to reflect a lot of his motivation for bankrolling and being a part of this team. It's going to come down to that. He's not quite in the same place that Cyclops and Wolverine were with the last X-Force, where it was a team put together to carry out the hard choices that needed to be made. This becomes a little more personal for him.

IGN Comics: As far as Wolverine's motivations, is he keeping Warren in that position in order to have someone to keep him honest and make sure they don't cross a line?

Lowe: I wouldn't say it's quite as cut and dry as that. He knows Warren has been a part of this conflict for a long time. Warren has been through some really terrible stuff and had to make tough decisions. Wolverine, in a lot of ways, trusts him, even though he doesn't always like him, as we've seen in the past. The two have never had a great relationship. I think he knows Warren is a good guy to have his back. That's mostly how it breaks down.

X-Position: Nick Lowe

CBR: This week we have editor Nick Lowe on hand to answer questions about anything at all X-Men related, and you took the opportunity to cover a broad array of X-topics.

Are we ever going to see any serious panel-time for Dazzler, Psylocke, Shadowcat or Northstar?

Nick Lowe: You'll be seeing more of Shadowcat right away in "Uncanny" #526 and Dazzler and Northstar have a big part of the arc starting in "Uncanny" #530. As for Psylocke, make sure you read "X-Men: Second Coming" #2 this week!

I am excited to see Psylocke back in the main X-titles after a long absence and to see her involved in major story lines once again! Is there a possibility she would be getting a new costume anytime soon?

Nick Lowe: Psylocke still has a closet-full of them from the old-days, so once she works through those, she'll get a new design. Waste-not, want-not, right?

We Are The X-Men: Vampiric Jubilee & Nate Grey

Marvel.com. X-Men editor Nick Lowe: "Nate Grey was the hope for the future, but he's been torn apart by the present. Can he get himself together and fulfill his destiny?"

"When The Scarlet Witch said 'No more mutants,' bubblegum-chewing X-gal Jubilee found out just how bad life can get. She's de-powered and depressed. But is the world done with Ms. Jubilation Lee?"

Find out more during Marvel's X-Men panel at the inaugural C2E2 expo on Sunday, April 18.at 2:45pm.

We Are The X-Men: Gambit & Elektra

Marvel.com. X-Men editor Nick Lowe: "Something scary is brewing inside of Gambit. But is it good scary or bad scary?"

"The scariest person in the Marvel Universe already has ties to Wolverine. Does Warren Worthington III have enough cash to hire Elektra to solve the X-Men's worst problems?"

Find out more during Marvel's X-Men panel at the inaugural C2E2 expo on Sunday, April 18.at 2:45pm.

We Are The X-Men: Hope Summers & Blade

Marvel.com. X-Men editor Nick Lowe: "What's Blade's beef with the X-Men?"

"Raised by Cable, baptized in fire by Bastion, and with the deaths of many mutants on her shoulders, is there any chance of Hope being normal?"

Find out more during Marvel's X-Men panel at the inaugural C2E2 expo on Sunday, April 18.at 2:45pm.

We Are The X-Men: Magneto & She-Hulk (Lyra)

Marvel.com. X-Men editor Nick Lowe: "The Savage She-Hulk is a total wild card. You may think she has nothing to do with the X-Men, but if history proves anything, Hulks are unpredictable."

"The X-Men's former archenemy, Magneto, has joined their inner circle. As consigliere to Cyclops, he may have the best chance ever to secure the future for mutantkind."

Find out more during Marvel's X-Men panel at the inaugural C2E2 expo on Sunday, April 18.at 2:45pm.

We Are The X-Men: Psylocke & Spider-Man

Marvel.com. X-Men Editor Nick Lowe: "Psylocke is a psychic ninja who can cut your mind in half with her psi-sword seconds before she cuts your body in half with a katana. You do not want to mess with her.

"The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is picking up a new neighborhood: San Fancisco. Will the hero who gets no respect joins the species that gets no respect?"

Find out more during Marvel's X-Men panel at the inaugural C2E2 expo on Sunday, April 18.at 2:45pm.

X-Men: Second Coming Damage Report // Act 1

IGN talks with editor Nick Lowe about the opening salvo of Second Coming and what readers can expect over the next three months.

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IGN Comics: This first issues deals with the entire X-Men roster in one form or another. Is that going to be the case for the whole crossover, or are we going to the team split into smaller groups as the story moves into the individual books?

Lowe: The crossover deals with the X-Men as a whole. We do see a little bit of splitting into groups at various points, but that really has to do with Cyclops' strategy. He's the main character in Second Coming. Him, Cable, Hope, and Bastion. If we had to boil it down to just one four-issue series, they would be our main characters. A lot of the X-Men have huge, important roles, of course, and big things happen to them, but as far as the main players it comes down to those four.

As far as the different sub-groups, Cyclops sends each of these smaller groups on missions to do different things he needs done. We're going to see what role the New Mutants play. There's the role X-Force plays at one point. In the first issue you see the team that we've been internally calling the Alpha Team. That's Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, X-23, Angel, and Illyana. That's the group Cyclops pulls together as his primary field team for the purpose of tracking Cable and Hope. So you have Wolverine and X-23 as your trackers. You've got a big strength force in Colossus. Psylocke is there not only because of her fighting skills but for the advantage of having a psychic on call. Angel provides air support and is someone who can move pretty darn quick. And then you have Magik as transportation for the whole team as well as her battle skills. So it's people Cyclops trusts and who can get around quickly and find Cable and Hope.

Uncanny X-Men #523 Preview
Chapter 2
Art by Terry Dodson



New Mutants #12 Preview
Chapter 3
Art by Ibraim Roberson

X-Men: Legacy #235 Preview
Chapter 4
Art by Greg Land


X-Force #26 Preview
Chapter 5
Art by Mike Choi

X-Men: The Days of Second Coming // Part 6

Source: IGN

O9. Namor

The Road to Second Coming: The proud and haughty monarch is less than willing to take orders from Cyclops. He has already shown a habit of making secret bargains with Magneto, perhaps the only man on Utopia less trusted than Namor. But whatever front he puts up, Namor knows deep down that he and his people need the X-Men's help.

Nick Lowe: "He's got to deal with the fact that he's a mutant and, frankly, facing a threat of extinction unlike any he's ever seen. This isn't good. Namor doesn't really care much about Hope, to be honest. Sure he hopes she can help these people, but it's not really his problem to solve, if that makes sense."

∞

X-Men: Second Coming Preview

X-Men: The Days of Second Coming // Part 3

Source: IGN

O5. Nightcrawler

The Road to Second Coming: If Cyclops has more faith than anyone that Hope will save the mutant race, Nightcrawler is a close second. Like many of his teammates, Nightcrawler probably won't be happy to learn about the dark choices Cyclops has made in the past year. The real question is whether his faith in Hope is tied to his faith in Cyclops.

Matt Fraction: "What happens when he discovers the lengths and depths to which Scott has gone and sank to make it possible? Would Nightcrawler abide by all of the decisions Scott made if he knew what those decisions were?"

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O6. Psylocke

Aliases: Elizabeth Braddock, Kwannon, Captain Britain, Lady Mandarin
First Appearance: Captain Britain Vol. 1 #8 (1976)
Basic Powers: Psylocke has both telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Because of her training as a ninja, sh most often manifests these abilities in the form of a psychic dagger that can incapacitate victims.

Did You Know: Betsy is an English-born woman and the sister of Captain Britain. However, her body was switched with that of an Asian assassin named Kwannon. Psylocke has generally remained in this new body ever since.

The Road to Second Coming: Recent years have been even more chaotic for Psylocke than the rest of her teammates. She died in Spain in an attempt to protect her fellow teammates from a villain named Vargas. She was then resurrected one year later. Then she was recruited by the Exiles in their continual quest to protect the Omniverse. In the midst of this newest mission, she was plucked back into her normal reality by Madelyne Pryor and the Sisterhood of Mutants.

After traveling across universes and through life and death itself, Psylocke is understandably confused and adrift. Adjusting to life as an X-Man has proven difficult for Betsy. Even a simple journey to Japan to re-inter the body of Kwannon proved more complicated than expected.

After battling The Hand and Selene's techno-organic slaves, Betsy has proven she is every bit the warrior she ever was. These recent battles have at least helped her assimilate back into the fold of the X-Men. But much like Kitty Pryde, Psylocke was absent when the conflict over Hope began. When Hope returns, Psylocke will have to decide who and what she fights for, and whether she has the same faith in the fate of the mutant race as some of her comrades.

On Psylocke's place in the X-Men:
Matt Fraction: "She hardly knows who she is let alone what her role is now that she's back. This is a catastrophe and a cataclysm, and coming out of it where she is coming out of it shapes the beginning of the next chapter of her life."

On adjusting to her return:
Matt Fraction: "It would be an adjustment for anybody. She's just barely gotten her sea legs and now the boat's under attack."

On the Colossus/Nightcrawler/Psylocke partnership:
Nick Lowe: "Three friends who are pushed into a tough situation and will be made stronger by it."

∞

X-Men: Second Coming Preview