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Friday Recommendation: Claremont’s X-Men – The Early Years

By | December 9th, 2011
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There’s been a lot of hubbub about the return of the Phoenix Force. By a lot of hubbub, I of course mean our slightly silly editorial from the other day. No matter how much vitriol I have for Jean Grey as a character, though – read the editorial for more on that – there is no doubt that the Phoenix/Dark Phoenix Saga is one of the most memorable X-Men stories of all time, and part of the most legendary run on the core title. That run, of course, is by Chris Claremont, the man who reinvigorated the X-Men franchise and single-handedly made it perhaps their most famous property. It may seem a bit dated these days, but no one who considers themselves an X-Man fan can be without at least the first few years of this most memorable run. Follow the cut to find out why.

Of the many characters that we know and love today to come from the early years of the House of Ideas, the X-Men perhaps came the closest to being forgotten and remembered only as ancient artifacts occasionally scrounged up in back 25 cent issue bins. Starring a core team of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Ice Man, Beast, and head honcho Professor X, the book would add other characters such as Havok and Polaris to the cast in an attempt to increase sales, but within a few years, the title became a book of reprints for a handful of issues, before being canceled entirely. No matter how unique the idea of a team of heroes who were hated and feared by those who they would protect was at the time, the comic-reading market just wasn’t interested. At least, not yet. Enter Chris Clar– wait a minute, Len who?

Yes, as much as Chris Claremont gets credited as the sole man who reinvigorated the X-Men franchise – including by myself – we wouldn’t have his X-Men run if it wasn’t for Len Wein. The first big push to bring back the X-Men was in Giant-Sized X-Men #1, written by Wein, which introduced characters of multiple different nationalities who have since become so iconic that many newbies think that they were there the whole time; characters such as Nightcrawler, Storm, and – you guessed it (if you didn’t already know) – Wolverine. The story involved this new team of X-Men being called upon to save the old guard from Krakoa, the living island – any Wolverine and the X-Men fans out there? – and ended with the two teams combining, minus a couple of characters. This radical shakeup brought new readers back in droves, but it was Wein’s follow-up writer, Claremont, who kept them there, and even attracted more.

Claremont is single-handedly responsible for some of the most well-known X-Men stories to exist. There is, of course, the aforementioned Phoenix Saga, which involved a handful of issues where Jean Grey became host of the terrifying Phoenix Force and tried to adjust to the power it contained, a few standard adventures with Jean as a nigh-omnipotent force, and then the final act where her absolute power corrupted her absolutely, and no choice could be made but to put her down. Just as influential, though, is the magnificent “Days of Future Past,” perhaps the one story to kick off the franchise’s adoration of alternate future storylines. Perhaps the biggest change Claremont brought, though, was his reworking of Magneto as an anti-hero. Jean, despite jokes otherwise, has died twice and returned once, whereas Magneto has jumped back and forth across the good/evil line more times than I can recall. If it weren’t for Claremont, you can be damn sure Matt, and a ton of other X-fans, would be short a favorite X-Men.

X-Men has long been identified as one of the most soap-operatic superhero franchises, which is saying something considering the fact that the genre already tends to lean that way. This is in part due to Claremont’s influence, but don’t let that fool you: Claremont did soap opera in the best way possible. Under Claremont, the X-Men became more than just forces of nature; no, they were living, breathing people, with emotions, strengths, flaws, and desires. The best example of this is Storm, who Claremont managed to make into one of the Marvel Universe’s strongest and most well-known female characters. I might have complained in Wednesday’s editorial that Claremont didn’t make Jean any more interesting, but between truly strong female characters such as Storm and Kitty Pryde, the X-Men franchise was one of the few superhero comics of the time to provide the reader with female characters that were more than just trophies to be won. Sure, the relationship drama would get a bit crazy sometimes, but Claremont did it in a way that drew you in. Sure, it was a bit ridiculous, but it was juicy and enticing.

You can’t talk about Claremont’s run without mentioning the great artists who appeared within the pages of Uncanny X-Men. As you might imagine, Claremont worked with quite a few artists over the twenty long years of his first run, but the early years were marked by two artists in particular: Dave Cockrum and John Byrne. Even though he was only on the book for a few years, Cockrum was one of the most defining members of the Uncanny X-Men creative team, and the influence of his style could be seen in the book well into the 90’s. Byrne was no slouch either – as one might expect, considering his resulting fame that has lasted to this day – and would often contribute to stories and character ideas. Claremont was definitely a key component of the franchise’s rebirth, but he would not have been near as successful without the help of the great artists he was paired with.

Claremont’s run on the main X-Men book – titled X-Men originally, but changed to Uncanny X-Men partway through – lasted over two hundred issues, and that’s not counting his runs on New Mutants, Excalibur, and a bunch of miniseries featuring those he came to know as “his” characters. I’m not saying that you need to read every single issue of his run, but I highly recommend the first few years of his run – through “Days of Future Past,” at the very least – to anyone who loves classic superhero stories, and insist that they’re a must-have for anyone who loves the X-Men. And if you love those first few years? There’s plenty more to choose from.


//TAGS | Friday Recommendation

Walt Richardson

Walt is a former editor for Multiversity Comics and current podcaster/ne'er-do-well. Follow him on Twitter @goodbyetoashoe... if you dare!

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