Marvel Gender Benders

So I've been catching up on Mike Carey's X-Men: Legacy this week ("Sins of the Father" in trade paperback, the "Original Sin" crossover with Wolverine: Origins in hardcover), and just learned that there is now a female clone of X-Men arch-foe Mr. Sinister running around the universe called, wait for it, Miss Sinister.

Really, Marvel? Really?

She boasts Mr. Sinister's trademark pasty complexion/red forehead diamond, but displays none of his mystique (no pun intended) or scientific prowess. Where Mr. Sinister was a grand manipulator, playing a mad game of destiny dominoes to suit some vaguely Darwinist agenda - a cloning here, a misfit massacre over there - his feminine successor seems so far to be little more than a third-rate telepath in thrall to the Hellfire Club's Sebastian Shaw.

Of course, she's hardly unique; these trans-gendered villains are popping up all over the place. Spider-Man has recently been targeted by a new Kraven the Hunter, who happens to be the 12-year-old daughter of the original. Another old X-Men villain, the illusionist Mastermind, has two daughters running around, both having inherited his powers and squabbling over his name. Daredevil is sparring with a Lady Bullseye, and Thor's trickster-god brother Loki has actually become a woman himself.

Some of these characters feature in some very well-told stories. But looking at the trend on the whole, I can't help but wonder what message Marvel thinks it's sending by replacing a bunch of aging male villains with female proxies. Do they think this is fine feminism, to show sisters doing it for themselves just like the boys did it before them, with the boys' borrowed identities? If Marvel has a Femme Fatale quota to fill, wouldn't they get more points by creating some villainesses that are actually unique, with their own abilities and backstories? Or do they think the fans won't get excited about a new villian if she doesn't have some familiar hook, a connection to what's gone before?

Tell me your thoughts. I'd love to know what others are making of all this. In the meantime, I'll be over here trying to guess who Marvel will boobify next. Victoria Von Doom? The Queenpin? Magneta*?

- JC

*In fanfic she would be called Magenta and she would spend all her time hanging with her BFF Rouge.

Wolverine & the X-Men: Hindsight Part 1

Wolverine is the Gary Stu of the Marvel U. Everyone knows this. It's rare to see a month go by that he's not starring in at least 10 different comics. It's almost equally rare to see a month where some comic book writer isn't cracking this joke: "Gee, Logan, how do you find time to be an X-Men, an Avenger, run 3-4 solo ops, hang out with the Power Pack kiddies, kill folk with X-Force, and get your photo taken drinking milk (it does a body good)?"

The ridiculousness of Wolverine's situation was probably exacerbated by the X-Men films. I loved the first two as much as most comic fans, but they were never really about the X-Men as a team. They reinforced the idea that Logan was the only mutant really worth anyone's interest, both in the public consciousness and almost certainly in the eyes of Marvel marketing. They were, as a friend of mine pointed out, "Wolverine & Friends!"

And now we have a new animated series with almost that very title, that manages to take the Merry Marvel Marching Mary Sue to new depths. The show opens with Wolverine about to leave the X-Mansion for a sweet jaunt on his motorbike. On his way out the door he:

a) thoroughly trounces Shadowcat, Colossus, and Nightcrawler in the Danger Room - actually, from the Danger Room control room.

b) passes by Cyclops and Jean Grey, who just happen to be having an argument about him. (This is also poor Jean's only line of dialogue, before the mysterious explosion that causes Jean and Professor X to vanish so that Cyclops can become the brooding loner and Wolverine can become the one man who can put the band back together.)

c) has a heart-to-heart with Rogue so she can tell him, "It's not a home when you're not around!"

Then we cut to one year later, so we can watch Wolverine save an adorable big-eyed little mixed-race child and her kindly parents from a fire, and then from the government-sponsored mutantphobe soldiers who want to lock them up for thinking he might be all right, razors in his hands or not. Beast tags along in a purely sidekick capacity.

This isn't X-Men. It's Everybody Loves Logan.

I fell in love with the X-Men because of their family dynamic, because they were a group of fascinating people who came together to share their strengths and their troubles and make each other and the world better. Watching them all follow Wolverine around because only he has the hearts, the brains, and the courage to lead them down the yellow spandex road is just not that interesting to me. It's a little nauseating.

- JC

Wolverine/Power Pack #3

JC works at a bookstore, so he brings these things home and puts them on my bedside table. "Honey, you have to read this, it's hilarious," he says, and I'll do pretty much anything to make him happy.

I don't usually pay attention to the names of the artists, but I miss Gurihiru on this Wolverine/Power Pack. Somehow it's just not right unless the kids' eyes are at least 45% of their faces.

The time travel thing is cute, but Joss did it better with Runaways. Well, he did it first. Well, it's a nice story, but I want Gurihiru back. I'm a minimalist. ("Except when it comes to eyes." - JC)

- RD