Week of Review - Mutant X

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A key evolution of the modern age of superhero blockbusters is that more and more the story of a film has become the story of the film’s behind the scenes drama.  Whether it’s the corporate mismanagement of the Amazing Spider-Man films, Josh Trank’s prima donna antics on Fant4stic, or the family tragedy & directorial scarpering of Justice League the behind the scenes stories are now the stories of those films.  

The oldest and largest looming example of this is the Fox/Marvel feud, a war between companies that’s raged for well over a decade.  The two absolutely loathe each other, to the point Marvel has canceled publishing Fantastic Four comics because Fox owns the movie rights and Fox, in turn, was willing to waste everyone’s time and money with Fant4stic.  But where did all this animosity come from, what’s the origin of their feud?  Well, it all goes back to a little show from 2001 called Mutant X- let’s dive in. 

Week of Review - Generation X

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In 1991 ­X-Men volume 2 #1 came out and became the highest selling single issue of all time.  It was a huge milestone for Marvel comics as well as the entire decade, cementing the ‘90s as a time for comic book opulence and speculator driven sales.  More pertinently, it was the comic that launched the X-Men from a popular franchise into a moneymaking juggernaut that would dominate the next half of the decade.  Within a year Marvel had partnered with Fox to produce X-Men the animated series and its toy line, one of the most successful brand exercises in the entire superhero genre. 

Of course, this kind of success can’t last forever and by 1996 the X-Men were a lot less stable a franchise.  They were still producing hits, like that year’s Age of Apocalypse story, but the writing was very much on the wall for them and for Marvel, with bankruptcy right around the corner.  Still, they managed to produce one last hurrah for the X-Men franchise in 1996 with a live-action pilot film for a proposed X-Men TV show: Generation X. 

Tala Ashe to play Isis on Legends of Tomorrow S3

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Of all the CW superheroes shows I’d count Legends of Tomorrow as one of the most impressive through its dedication to keeping a rotating cast from season-to-season.  It’s a bold approach but one that has worked well for the show as it’s turned in two very enjoyable seasons.  I’d actually count it as the best Star Trek show on the air right now, though we’ll see how Discovery turns out later this year.  Season 3’s upcoming cast rotation sees Rip Hunter exiting the main character ranks for a more antagonistic role while Citizen Steel and Vixen will be returning to the crew of the Waverider.   The newest member of the team comes to us from a relatively new direction for the series- the world of magic, although the ties to Ancient Egypt put her at least in tune with Hawkman and Hawkgirl from back in season 1.  The latest Legend to join the team is Isis- to be played by Tala Ashe. 

X-Men TV Show in the Works

Edited by Robert Beach

Fox is trying to produce a new X-Men TV show. This is honestly pretty surprising all things considered. Fox has always regarded X-Men at something of an arm’s length, usually unable to see any appeal to the series outside of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. In recent years, the trend seems to have really changed. The success of X-Men: First Class and the proven hit power of team superhero films like The Avengers have made Fox take a much closer look at the X-Men franchise. At the same time, Hugh Jackman’s recent health issues and advancing age are clearly leading him away from the Wolverine part, but it’s starting to look like his departure won’t spell the end of Fox’s X-Men projects. 

It’s currently unclear what this new X-Men show will be: whether it will be a new show, another period piece, or feature a connection to the announced X-Force and New Mutants projects. What is clear is Fox is having trouble getting the show off the ground thanks to the intervention of Marvel, who are making a big deal over whether or not Fox have the rights of a X-Men TV show.