Morrison's Magneto: Success or Failure?

[dianakingston]

While randomly trawling the Internet, I stumbled onto a blogger who's been analyzing Grant Morrison's run on "New X-Men". I can't seem to find the link now, but what got my attention at the time was a side remark he made during a review of one of the earlier issues: he considers Morrison's Magneto to be the great failure of the run, for obvious

Comments

[likeadeuce]

Scott Summers has a history of infidelity: he dated Colleen Wing when Jean was presumed dead (Claremont), took off with Lee Forrester when Jean really was dead (Claremont again), married Madelyne (still Claremont)

I know you're partly kidding (Achmed!) but I don't think that dating other people when you believe your significant other to be dead is good evidence of a history of infidelity. You can argue that the Colleen thing happened really fast, and that Maddy was just WEIRD with the looking like Jean, but Scott/Lee strikes me as the closest the guy ever got to an actual healthy relationship.

And I haven't read the Psylocke stuff, but I was under the impression nothing actually happened between them? (though the psychic aspect does seem to foreshadow Emma.)

[hdefined]

I agree with this.

When Morrison started the Cyclops/Emma stuff, it had come right off the heels of Joe Casey's first Uncanny issue - the one where Wolverine and Jean made out because, when facing a young new uncontrollable mutant, they feared they were going to die and hoped to go out hot and sticky.

Methinks it was just Marvel/Joe Quesada trying to get a rise out of readers by creating controversy. I dropped the book after the Imperial arc.

[likeadeuce]

Well, I like that issue. *is easy*

But I haven't read the whole Uncanny storyline, mostly only "New" from that period, so I don't know how it was resolved or how it tied into Morrison's arc -- his handling of Jean/Logan was one thing I did like. But the third Morrison trade basically left me with psychic scars, so I think you stopped in the right place.

[dianakingston]

That wasn't new, though - Jean/Logan had been going on for ages, all the way back to pre-Dark Phoenix. Actually, there's an amusing anecdote where every time Marvel published a story that had them getting together, the universe exploded ("Age of Apocalypse", "What If Phoenix Loved Wolverine", etc

[dianakingston]

Ah, but Scott was ostensibly with Lee when he met Madelyne. It's not something Claremont really developed - in fact, it's kind of a plot hole, because Scott goes to Lee after the Brood Saga, they have that whole making-out-on-the-beach-at-sunset scene, and at the end of the issue he meets Madelyne. And that's it, the next time we see him he's with Maddie. As far as I know, Lee wasn't even mentioned after that.

As for Psylocke, there was a bit of quasi-smut going on right before "Fatal Attractions"... it was actually pretty risque considering the audience at the time. I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember that Jean actually confronted Betsy about it and Betsy's like, "We're not having an affair, I just want him to bork me." (Though the prose was, IIRC, a bit purpler than that. ;))

[likeadeuce]

I thought Lee was dating Magneto? (or was that a reaction to Scott dumping her? He really needs to start noticing that the womenz he mistreats don't take it well.)

In any case, re: the initial post, I don't think that anyone would question that Scott's track record for fidelity is shaky; how exactly that translates to bitching to Emma about how Jean's sweaters aren't sexy enough is another question. I don't have a problem with the fact that Morrison wrote a Scott/Emma affair. I have a problem with the writing of said affair being atrocious.

[dianakingston]

Well, no wonder Magneto went insane - being the Rebound Guy for Cyclops?! That'd mess anyone up. ;)

I'll have to agree to disagree with you on that one; it's written in a roundabout way (ie: she doesn't dress sexy enough -> she's not even thinking about sex when it comes to her husband -> neither of them is particularly accessible in terms of physical intimacy), but I'm okay with that.