One and two Redux

When I started this blog it was my intention to read the X-Men books chronologically - and I still intend to do so - however, as I was poking around X-Men history I discovered that in 1995 Marvel decided to publish a "modern take" on the original X-Men stories entitled Professor Xavier and the X-Men. I was intrigued, since I had no memory of this book. Little surprise there as it lasted only 18 issues.

If you'd read my last entry, you noticed that I'd talked about a particular storyline and what it may look like 30 or 40 years later, or more precisely, how it might have been handled in our more "politically correct" era. After writing that, I felt I needed to read these "modernized" tales and compare them to the originals. I'm curious how a writer might handle this same plot and charaters 33 years later. That's causing me to change this blog just a bit.

For this entry, I'm just going to catch up by discussing the first two issues of Professor Xavier and the X-Men and how they compare to the first issues of the original series. For the duration of this series (and probably into the run of Classic X-Men later on) I'm going to read both issues and compare them as part of the blog. I won't need to take up two separate entries AND I'll get to see and discuss how a writer looked at the stories years later. Seems like a win-win to me!

Professor Xavier and the X-Men #1 - By Fred Schiller and Jan Duursema

The first big change is this version of the story is told from Jean Grey's point of view. It begins with Jean in a taxi and she has a quick opportunity to display her power even before reaching the school. She's nervous and has her doubts about attending this school and meeting other students with "abilities."

After her arrival, she's ushered into the library telepathically by Professor Xavier. On her way, she encounters Scott Summers (Yes, Scott. No mention of "Slim" except in a biography page at the end of the issue.). This is a big divergence from the original as we are first exposed to the fact that Scott can't control his eye-beams without his glasses - a fact never mentioned in the original story. Jean also gives readers a hint at her attraction to Scott here, that is also not present in the original.

As Professor Xavier introduces Jean to the other students things follow along with the original tale. The modernization here is that instead of looking like that rat pack, the boys and their mullets look like they could be belting out "Achy Brakey Heart" at any moment. I think poor Iceman was modeled directly on Billy Ray! The most significant thing here is that Professor Xavier makes no mention of his origins or his injuries. I won't speculate on things happening in 1995 and why this omission was made, but perhaps by then the title had "ret-conned" the Professor's origins away from the original. The one thing that remains is an easily-missed reference to Professor Xavier controlling the plane the team is in with his mind. I'm curious why this was kept, but the origin material dropped. Again, something to keep in mind as I read my way through continuity.

The Danger Room is actually identified as such in this issue and is no longer part of the Professor's study or library and stands as its own entity. Jan Durrsema's art is actually quite nice and detailed, but an example of her more stylized work. The hazards are modernized here as well - now boxing robots and attack spheres - but the focus is still on teamwork. Jean is also present at the training excercise in a control room with the Professor.

Magneto's appearance is probably the most disappointing for me here. Gone are his long monologues to himself and his constant threats to the military. He boldly states that he's setting an example by taking over the military base and is just too straight-forward in his dialogue. Honestly, the original interpretation had more character and fun to it. He does state that if he's had more time (and really, what's so pressing he can't TAKE the time), he'd have converted the X-Men to his side. Unlike in the original, he mentions the Brotherhood here - if only to himself!

Other then that, the story follows closely to the original. Telling if from Jean's perspective gives us little that's new except for her attraction to Scott and her decision to join the X-Men. Her character, along with Cyclops have more depth then the others. Cyclops is definitely the leader of this team, where it is unclear in the original.

Overall, I think more is lost in this retelling then is gained. Xavier's backstory and Magneto's character were sacrificed to give more time to Jean and Scott. Again, I won't really speculate about 1995, but I'm sure the focus was more tightly on Jean and Scott in the regular books, so featuring them here probably made more sense.

Professor Xavier and the X-Men #2 - By Fred Schiller and Jan Duursema

This issue is amazingly similar to its predecessor in most ways. The updates to the 90s are fine, but for most of the issue they don't change the plot, or even events most of the time. Gone are some of the silliness such as Iceman and Cyclops catching a ride home in the ice cream truck and the Danger Room threat of the giant medicine ball.

Again, Schiller left out Professor Xavier's use of devices. There is no contact in the FBI using a special headband to communicate with Xavier. He only mentions that he's been monitoring the Vanisher's crime spree and the reader is left to assume this is via telepathy, rather then government contacts.

The greatest improvement in this re-imagining is the Vanisher himself. Unlike the previous issue in which Magneto was handled horribly, this story sees the Vanisher as a much deeper character and much more interesting then in the original. Vanisher is almost like Xavier's opposite here (much like Magneto should have been), as he studies up on the X-Men and even tells Xavier that he's been studying mutants and has several theories of his own to share. Vanisher one-ups Magneto again by already having a trained team of experts in his service and a mobile command center to boot! Unlike the thugs that rallied to him in the original, this trained team of military experts gains information for the Vanisher and backs him up in the final confrontation. Much more impressive then a bunch of gun-toting palookas from Lee's original tale. Jan Duursema even made the Vanisher's ridiculous costume look much better - he even gets a Spawn-like panel with billowing cape and smoke!

But the most significant change is the actual ending of the story. In Uncanny #2, Xavier uses his mental power to completely erase the Vanisher's memory of his power and his identity. In this update, Xavier stops short and simply removes the Vanisher's ability to control his power. This seems much more fair and "PC" then to completely decimate the man's mind. Again, I refer to the morality tale of Identity Crisis by DC Comics from a few years ago. It stresses the morality of removing memories and manipulating minds of those considered "evil." Does anyone have the right? Who says they do? Who Watches the Watchmen? This kinder, gentler Xavier makes more sense to me.

Overall, I think this issue was an improvement on the original. The ending "felt" better, the deeper characterization of the Vanisher was more satisfying and even Xavier's character felt mysterious, but in a better moral place then the villains he opposes.

Up Next: Uncanny X-Men #3 and Professor Xavier and the X-Men #3.