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Steven Queen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 February 2020
Location: United States
Posts: 938
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 8:21am | IP Logged | 1
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Beautiful and unexpected twist in the story line. It's great seeing Eric the Red again too. When these characters reappear, even in flashback, it makes them that much more "real".
Thank you.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133280
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 8:45am | IP Logged | 2
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These two pages are really more of a self-indulgence than a plot twist. As some of you know, I was thinking about including such a sequence in HIDDEN YEARS, albeit considerably less blatant.
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David Haight
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 September 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 57
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 8:59am | IP Logged | 3
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I'm really enjoying this look at the X-Men that "could've been". I vaguely recall Mr. Byrne talking about how to address Magneto's altered personality either on a discussion thread on this site or through an interview several years ago, but I never thought I'd actually get to see it played out. This seems far more consistent with who Magneto was as a villain than what was presented in the published issues like X-Men 150, 161, 200, etc. with the retcon of him being a holocaust survivor.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 9:06am | IP Logged | 4
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Making Magneto a holocaust survivor walks right into the trap of tying characters to specific time periods. (Slipped on that one a few times myself!)WW2 ended some 75 years ago, and even allowing for Magneto to have been rejuvenated by Erik the Red. the sliding scale of "Marvel Time" has him having his first battles with the X-Men as a very old man--Ian McKellan old.* - * The basic stupidity there was dragging in the Holocaust "origin" without having access to the rejuvenation card.
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Steven Queen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 February 2020
Location: United States
Posts: 938
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 9:49am | IP Logged | 5
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If Mr. Claremont had just been less specific and/or more creative and just used the trick of making up a "death camp" in some unspecified or purely fictional conflict, then the time-trap could have been avoided.
We could all be assuming "some-genocide" instead of Auschwitz without, I think, having lost much (except for a properly evil arch-villain for a poor-man's Dr. Doom).
Which regards to the comments above, has Prof X's stature been diminished by Marvel, as counter-point to Magneto's having been elevated?
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Andrew Bitner
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 01 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 7526
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 10:01am | IP Logged | 6
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I think that would have been a better approach. Having it be some eastern European country engaged in "ethnic cleansing" of one kind or another would have provided an equivalent tragic backstory.
Maybe it was just irresistible to tie Magneto to the best-known example of mankind's potential for horrifying inhumanity.
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Andrew Bitner
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 01 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 7526
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 10:04am | IP Logged | 7
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As to Professor X, the 80s on have been rife with stories portraying Charles as a manipulative, even Machiavellian figure not averse to using his powers in unethical ways.
Even the current version is more sinister than the classic interpretation of our favorite school-teaching telepath.
God forbid he should develop a moral code against using his powers however he pleases, the rights of others be damned...
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 10:13am | IP Logged | 8
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Which regards to the comments above, has Prof X's stature been diminished by Marvel, as counter-point to Magneto's having been elevated? X has fallen victim to the tarnishing of authority figures thats been going on for a long time now. Magneto is the bad boy, and therefore more appealing to the crop of fans that have arisen in the last few decades. Fans who have come to run the show.
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Steven Queen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 February 2020
Location: United States
Posts: 938
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 11:29am | IP Logged | 9
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Very sad. Thanks Andrew and JB.
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 15945
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 1:13pm | IP Logged | 10
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That is a pretty cool fix. The intended subtlety of it works better than I expected -- was worried that it would lean too much towards Prof X tampering, but the 'working in the background' notion is less morally murky. Still the hint of a question mark over whether this is subverting Magneto's free will, but the way presented is akin to preventative medicine, it could be argued.
Edited by Peter Martin on 19 April 2021 at 1:15pm
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Steven Queen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 February 2020
Location: United States
Posts: 938
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 1:52pm | IP Logged | 11
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Raises questions with respect to Nature vs. Nurture too. Good food for thought!
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David Haight
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 September 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 57
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| Posted: 19 April 2021 at 2:46pm | IP Logged | 12
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This development with Magneto fits far better with how he was shown to behave immediately after his rejuvenation by Eric the Red. From the first two pages of X-Men 113...
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