On January 23 at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, Marvel's mighty mutants experience an animated rebirth when "Wolverine and the X-Men" slashes its way onto the Nicktoons Network! Until then, stay glued to Marvel.com every day for sneak peeks, clips, exclusive art and looks back at the history of the X-Men in animation!
By Chris Bramante & Ben Morse
Next Friday,
Wolverine leads the X-Men into their latest animated adventures when "Wolverine and the X-Men" hits the air. However, in 1982, Logan paved the way for his fellow mutants in another manner when he became the first Child of the Atom to star in his own solo series. Many others have followed in his footsteps since, but none have gained quite the prominence of the wild man from Canada.
We asked an array of Marvel creators and editors which X-Men they'd like to see star in their own titles.
It's Friday, so kick back, relax and enjoy.
JOHN BARBER (Marvel editor): I think Wolverine could use one, maybe two more solo comics.
JASON AARON (writer of GHOST RIDER): I'd love to see more solo adventures for
Longshot, and even more than that, I'd love to write them. Something that harkens back to the original Ann Nocenti/Art Adams mini, with
Mojo as the villain.
KEVIN GREVIOUX (writer of ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL): Colossus! Ever since I was a kid I thought he was far and away the best X-Man. He was the strongest and the most visually interesting. And his rich
Russian background provides fantastic potential for great stories.
PAUL CORNELL (writer of CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13): I'd like to see a new
Nightcrawler ongoing that grapples with him being a priest who looks like that! It was entirely the most interesting move for the character, back in the day, and could form the basis of something very exciting.
NICK LOWE (Marvel editor): Rockslide. Definitely Rockslide.
WILLIAM MESSNER-LOEBS (former writer of THOR): I always liked the
Iceman. Possibly because no one else liked the Iceman. It seems to me he teamed up once with the
Human Torch, but they didn't use my title: STEAM!
MICHAEL HORWITZ (Marvel assistant editor): Polaris! Mistress of the Magnets!
What's that? No one else wants?
Okay, listen: she's stranded in space with a bunch of alien pirates and her flaky ex-boyfriend, her dad is the mutant equivalent of Genghis Kahn, and her hair looks like seaweed salad. Plus she has an inferiority complex the size of Genosha. I smell drama!
MARC SUMERAK (writer of WEAPON X: FIRST CLASS): Cannonball. Sam Guthrie has really come into his own since his early days as a founding member of the
New Mutants. He's graduated to become a valuable member of the X-Men team, and has inspired many of his former teammates and even some of his siblings
to follow in his footsteps. Add to that his family's unique genetic make-up—including a number of mutant and former mutant siblings—and you've got some really interesting ground to explore! This is one Cannonball that definitely deserves to get launched!
KAARE ANDREWS (writer/artist of SPIDER-MAN: REIGN): I'd love to bring back
Cypher and
Warlock and stick them in their own adventures. Maybe start them off with an epic battle against
Arcade. But that's just crazy talk...
WELLINTON ALVES (artist of NOVA): I think a series about
Rogue would rock. She is a great character with great powers and she's so beautiful—I think with a good creative team, people would really like to see her in her own book.
CHRISTOS GAGE (writer of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE): I'd love to see Nightcrawler in a solo series. He's got a rich history that opens up a lot of story possibilities, and I feel like there's a lot of unexplored potential with him.
JIM MCCANN (writer of NEW AVENGERS: THE REUNION): Raise your hands if you
don't know what my answer is going to be. No one? Really? So, yeah, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the X-Person I would most like to see in their own solo title is
Dazzler. She carried her own solo series before and can do it again, darn it! There's a ton of potential in this character and I think it's time to put the spotlight on her...or would she be the one providing the light? Hmmm...
ANDY DIGGLE (writer of THUNDERBOLTS): Wolverine! …Just kidding. Would
Domino count?
GERRY CONWAY (former writer of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN): I've always been a fan of
Kitty Pryde. And Nightcrawler.
MIKE CHOI (artist of X-FORCE): X-23, but only if Craig Kyle and Chris Yost write it, I get to draw it and Sonia Oback colors it.
RALPH MACCHIO (Marvel Senior Editor): The guy I would most like to see get a solo series is Bobby Drake because I've always loved his ice powers and have never felt they've been exploited. It's the same way I feel about the Human Torch. You consider what could be done with ice or fire powers and it's potentially unlimited. Bobby is much more powerful a character than he's been shown to be.
I do recall a Marc DeMatteis Iceman series about 15 years ago in which the cosmic character Oblivion was introduced, I think. It was an interesting read, but I never felt that Bobby's actual powers were getting the full treatment they deserved. So, let's give the Iceman a chance to shine on his own. And give him his own rogue's gallery of villains to battle.
We could start with Ice Pick. There you go.
STUART MOORE (writer of SPIDER-MAN: FEAR ITSELF): I've always liked Nightcrawler. The trick is to keep his personality light while testing him in dark situations.
JORDAN WHITE (Marvel assistant editor): I think it would be great to see solo adventures of
Sage. I think, out from the shadows of the entire enormity of the X-Men and such, she could shine. Espionage, manipulation, politics—she could get into some really interesting adventures. People overlook her as just a "living computer," dismiss her as another X-brainiac who sits back at base and talks over comms to the people doing the exciting work. Well, you know what? I think Sage could do that exciting work. This is a woman who was under cover for years. She can hold her own.
TODD NAUCK (artist of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY): I'd like to see a Longshot series. I think his "luck" power is a cool concept. His connection to the media-frenzied Mojo World could make for interesting stories with our current uses of the Internet.
And Longshot has a great design. Though his mullet might need a little tweak to get him out of 1984.
MIKE PERKINS (artist of THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS): I'd love to see a Betsy Braddock/
Psylocke series tracing her origins from being
Captain Britain's twin sister through to the English bird in an Asian ninja body that we're all familiar with today. She needs to be doing the shadowy work for some shady government or third party along the way. Of course, the perfect team for this series being Mike Carey and that guy who's illustrating THE STAND at the moment...oh, what's his name…
MIKE CAREY (writer of X-MEN: LEGACY): Okay, outside of the obvious choices, I think it would be cool to give one of the relatively neglected young mutants a solo book—someone like Trance, say, or Indra. Or
Blindfold, for that matter. There's so little we know about these characters, and so much potential in their powers and backgrounds. It would be fun to put one of them on a bigger stage, and you could do a lot of interesting things with a narrative like that.
REILLY BROWN (artist of NEW WARRIORS): I really think Iceman should have his own limited series. He was the second X-Man, has one of the most creative and visually interesting powers on the team, and yet he's frequently marginalized or pushed to the background. I think he deserves to have his own spotlight for a while, to show what his powers are really capable of, and to get to the heart of his personality.
TOM BREVOORT (Marvel Executive Editor): Are there any X-Men characters left who've never had their own book? Cecelia Reyes?
Marrow?
Bishop's Evil Twin?
DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI (writer of CABLE): Warren Ellis.
I know he's not an X-Men team member, but imagine how much it would piss him off to suddenly wake up in uniform, with
Cyclops barking orders at him.
FRED VAN LENTE (co-writer of INCREDIBLE HERCULES): Wolverine, definitely. Why they haven't given him one by now is a mystery to me. People really like him!
Check out the official Marvel Shop for everything X-Men!
Don't forget to tune in to Nicktoons Network at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on January 23 for the debut of the "Wolverine and the X-Men" animated series! Also, get up to speed on Wolverine's Greatest Battles on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited!
Check out the official Marvel Shop for everything X-Men!
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