WW PHILLY: X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY

[MattBrady]

by Steve Ekstrom

Yesterday, at the Mondo Marvel panel at Wizard World Philidelphia—Marvel announced the next story arc involving the X-Men will be titled Manifest Destiny. Details are sketchy at the moment; but, similar to the Divided We Stand arc which crossed through the X-line, Manifest Destiny will cross through the core books, touching upon various mutant characters of the Marvel Universe in different ways. Further, Marvel will be releasing X-Men: Manifest Destiny, a four issue mini-series which boasts a hefty list of creators.

Newsarama contacted X-Editor Nick Lowe as well as Executive Editor Axel Alonso to discuss particulars in regard to Manifest Destiny.

Newsarama: The term Manifest Destiny beares a significant amount of weight in the history of the U.S. and the expansion of civilization to the Western shores of North America--how does this metaphor apply to the X-Men beyond the obvious move to San Francisco?

Axel Alonso: The X-Men’s move to San Francisco is more than just a change in scenery – it’s a change in strategy. It’s a large part of Cyclops' vision for what the X-Men should be – and one thing they should not be is sitting ducks in a hostile world. The X-Men’s new HQ, which we’ll unveil in July, is a fortress that offers the type of seclusion and security that they need at this juncture; their move offers a fresh start as they march forward with the faith—but not the knowledge—that there is a future. The Avengers can have New York, the X-Men have the Bay Area.

NRAMA: Is the Manifest Destiny storyline leading to a larger premise or will the titles be dispersing into their own singularity (somewhat) in the fall? Fans were seemingly pleased by the cross-over event of Messiah Complex--is the House of Ideas being mindful of reader sensibility in regards to being overwhelmed by large events and the lurching economy?

AA: What we're mindful of is making each book count. The one thing we don't want any X-title to be is redundant. Each book has its own mission statement, and its own vibe. And each book should contribute to the larger tapestry that is the X-Men universe.

NRAMA: Fair enough. Nick, who will be some of the key players featured in the X-Men: Manifest Destiny mini-series?

Nick Lowe: X-Men: Manifest Destiny will be structured somewhat like X-Men: Divided We Stand with one key difference—There will be one story that has chapters in each issue. That story centers around one of the first X-Men, Iceman. Other characters are Karma, Colossus, Mercury…

NRAMA: What information can you release in regards to creators involved with the mini-series?

NL: Mike Carey is writing the Iceman portions. There are many artists, but Humberto Ramos is going to do the covers.

NRAMA: Is Iceman a neglected character? Bobby Drake has always been this guy on the verge of breaking out of an ancillary role--then a regime change occurs and he falls back down a rung or two on the ladder of importance. Care to discuss?

NL: A lot of it has to do with his character. He’s never been the guy to stand up and take the reins. He’s the wiseacre. A lot of the reasons for him not taking center stage is that, I don’t think he wants it. Will that change? Well, he has been going through a lot in the last year.

NRAMA: Getting back to the idea of a mutant 'Manifest Destiny'--could there be a change in the way the X-Men represent themselves to the public? Are they going deeper undercover like the later years of Claremont's run or is this another declarative, "We're here, get used to it." kind of moment for the Children of the Atom?

NL: That’s something we’ve been pushing at in a big way. Cyclops is assertive and confident and he’s not going to let mutants go quietly into the night.

NRAMA: In your opinion are there other X-characters that you, as an editor, would like to see writer's tackle? Are there characters that writers seem to shy away from? And if so, why?

NL: Of course, I have my favorites. I’m a huge Cyclops fan and have a soft spot for Nightcrawler. But the ones I want to push into the spotlight are sometimes the smaller characters like Pixie, Pete Wisdom, Neznho, Dazzler, Strong Guy, Mercury…

NRAMA: What kind of threat will present itself in X-Men: Manifest Destiny?

NL: There are a ton of threats that are coming as part of Manifest Destiny. When they go to SF and state that this is their home, they know they have to be ready for anything. Some highlights? Magneto, The Hellfire Cult, Professor X… what? Professor X? Wait and see!

[heyitsbrian]

I wish the interview would have addressed the MD artwork, which has drawings of characters that have recently changed, or are otherwise going through some changes.

Edit: First?! Oh common... I didn't think it was that early.

[LazarusMan]

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Too bad that Angel is already wrong if you're reading X-Force.

And if you're not, may you wake up and start reading that and X-Factor and open your eyes to something so awesome that it hurts. Seriously.

[LazarusMan]

Originally Posted by heyitsbrian

I wish the interview would have addressed the MD artwork, which has drawings of characters that have recently changed, or are otherwise going through some changes.

Edit: First?! Oh common... I didn't think it was that early.

Or dead in the case of Banshee or not wearing the wing-dings like Havok.

But I think it's probably a Legacy cover or something. Otherwise, what the hell sense does that cover make? It's characters from various times in the X-history (look at Angel's costume, Warpath's costume, and Beast's face).

[PhilipAMoore]

YEA KARMA'S BACK! here I just posted a question about her at comic book resources

WOO WHOO!

good day

[hithereeveryone]

He seems to like Mercury and Pixie. Cool!

&^)%*ing Unicorns!

[ryanrhome]

I just took the cover to be the men of the X-Men, maybe with a woman version to follow.

[djshalope]

bring on the Neznho! i love the character concept but it's a bit too early to say i love the character yet.

[caats19]

i love all these dramatic symbolic sounded xmen titles. like x-men: messiah complex.

[HomerdaBorg]

Raise your hands when (insert mutant threat here) discovers the X-men's location and sends Sentinels after them?!

[xmen510]

X-Men new fortress is Alcatraz maybe?

[protege]

Whoops, didn't see the post above. Sorry.

[Bevbos]

I'll give this a shot, but it sounds like the X-Men are just kinda shuffling around. It would be cool to see them relieved of the burden of fighting "mutant haters" and "evil mutants" exclusively, since there's only, what, 200 of them?

(also, coming from Marin county, right north of SF, I'll be curious to see how they treat that. Visually it's a great city to set a comic in, but if they go with the "everyone is gay and drinking wheatgrass shots" angle it'll be a canned-in)

[WTHIOTina]

In the picture....where is Forge?....

[Wormdrink]

SF is almost like a second home for the x-men. i remember them spending quite a bit of time there in the early 200's i believe. when they were staying with lila cheney and rachel was struggling with the phoenix force.

[motteditor]

Nick Lowe: X-Men: Manifest Destiny will be structured somewhat like X-Men: Divided We Stand with one key difference—There will be one story that has chapters in each issue. That story centers around one of the first X-Men, Iceman. Other characters are Karma, Colossus, Mercury…

Hmm. Not a huge Iceman fan and I've gotten a bit bored with Piotr over the years, but Karma and Mercury might be enough for me to get this. Also liked his later comments about wanting more of Mercury, who I grew to really like in New X-Men.

Still need a lot more info on this, but I suppose we need to see issue 500 first so we can get a glimpse of the new status quo.

[AnthonyL]

Nick Lowe: X-Men: Manifest Destiny will be structured somewhat like X-Men: Divided We Stand with one key difference—There will be one story that has chapters in each issue. That story centers around one of the first X-Men, Iceman. Other characters are Karma, Colossus, Mercury…

I sure hope this means it will be like Endangered species, which had the story in the back running through the x-books. I REALLY don't want to collect every x-book again just to get a story. That was annoying. If it's like Endangered Species, I could just ignore it in the books that I do get, and get the inevitable trade...

Anthony L

[Burnt Frog]

This event just feels completely off. The X-Men pack up their bags from Westchester and move to San Francisco.... why, exactly? I mean, as a temporary change of scenery I can understand that, but surely the whole damn point of the X-Men is to co-operate with mankind. With that in mind, how does cowardly fleeing their home for well over 10 years of Marvel time help their cause or produce any respect for them? Cyclops is off his rag and he and Emma are just turning the X-Men into a big steaming pile of cow dung.

And considering Ororo, Forge, Moonstar, Warpath, Karma et al's connection to countries or ethnicities that were threatened/conquered by marauding imperial powers, "Manifest Destiny" is a woefully inappropiate title to for Marvel to use. "Hey guys, lets just pick buzzwords out of a hat and plan months of filler out of it without actually thinking about any characterisation or thematic depth!"

I mean, look what "Manifest Destiny" did to the Native Americans. If Cyclops or Emma actually use that phrase in story, and Dani or James happen to be in the same room as those morons, they'd be completely justified to me in knocking the seven shades of ____ out of those domineering retards.

Wonder if any German translations of this arc will use the word Lebensraum...

[bluedevil2002]

By scrolling over that picture, it shows it's the Uncanny 500 cover by Turner, which I'm assuming is similiar to Finch's X-Men 200 cover, completely symbolic and nothing else.

There are many artists, but Humberto Ramos is going to do the covers.

As long as he stays away from the insides.

[Legend437]

Iceman, Karima, Mercury, and Colossus? Oh happy day! I'm all for them pushing Iceman and Mercury more, I want these two to be bigger characters! They deserve it! I'm definitely on board for this one. Should be exciting, especially with Carey writing the Iceman part. I wonder who is writing Mercury's though, I can hope for Brubaker or Fraction, would love to see what either could do for her.

[CaptainCanad]

Originally Posted by Burnt Frog

This event just feels completely off. The X-Men pack up their bags from Westchester and move to San Francisco.... why, exactly?

Because the X-Mansion is just a huge target and full of bad memories from all the years of friends suffering and dying.

And considering Ororo, Forge, Moonstar, Warpath, Karma et al's connection to countries or ethnicities that were threatened/conquered by marauding imperial powers, "Manifest Destiny" is a woefully inappropiate title to for Marvel to use. "Hey guys, lets just pick buzzwords out of a hat and plan months of filler out of it without actually thinking about any characterisation or thematic depth!"

I mean, look what "Manifest Destiny" did to the Native Americans. If Cyclops or Emma actually use that phrase in story, and Dani or James happen to be in the same room as those morons, they'd be completely justified to me in knocking the seven shades of ____ out of those domineering retards.

Wonder if any German translations of this arc will use the word Lebensraum...

Uh, yeah, that's massively overthinking it.

[Grimral]

Originally Posted by heyitsbrian

I wish the interview would have addressed the MD artwork, which has drawings of characters that have recently changed, or are otherwise going through some changes.

Edit: First?! Oh common... I didn't think it was that early.

Clearly this is an early 90's tribute cover. None of the costumes are current. Thanks for making me feel like the old comic guy at 30.

[ausuran]

Originally Posted by LazarusMan

Or dead in the case of Banshee or not wearing the wing-dings like Havok.

But I think it's probably a Legacy cover or something. Otherwise, what the hell sense does that cover make? It's characters from various times in the X-history (look at Angel's costume, Warpath's costume, and Beast's face).

It's a variant for UXM 500.

[Roy Batty]

Originally Posted by LazarusMan

But I think it's probably a Legacy cover or something. Otherwise, what the hell sense does that cover make? It's characters from various times in the X-history (look at Angel's costume, Warpath's costume, and Beast's face).

According to to name of the file, it seems to be an alternate Turner's cover for Unacnny # 500.

Edit: Oh, ausuran beat me to it.

[Nas-Vell]

Originally Posted by Bevbos

I'll give this a shot, but it sounds like the X-Men are just kinda shuffling around. It would be cool to see them relieved of the burden of fighting "mutant haters" and "evil mutants" exclusively, since there's only, what, 200 of them?

(also, coming from Marin county, right north of SF, I'll be curious to see how they treat that. Visually it's a great city to set a comic in, but if they go with the "everyone is gay and drinking wheatgrass shots" angle it'll be a canned-in)

Considering that Brubaker lived in SF for a long time, I think he's more likely to write it gonzo-style and play it up as some kind of strange, urban counter-cultural center, rather than a drug-addled, hippie-filled (ironic, i know, considering the current arc) town with an entirely homosexual population.

As for 'Manifest Destiny', I really just hope this doesn't mean that the success of Messiah CompleX will see a rollout of endless X-events, like back in the 90's. If the events are in backups and separate mini-series, I'm cool with that, but if they start crossing over even some of the X-books on a regular basis, and constantly shaking up the status quo, I guess I'll have to read the X-books sparingly (again). Right now they've won me back (i'm on for UXM, AXM, XM and X-Factor), so I hope they don't lose me (or 'us') again.