As I sit down to write this, I'm turning 22. Happy Birthday to me... OK,
enough of that. As I do, a young man's mind (mine) turns to thoughts of love, and
then, to thoughts of the X-Men, as it invariably does. So....
Happy (early) Valentines Day everyone! You're probably not wondering "What's
the deal with love in the Marvel Universe?," but I'm going to tell you anyways.
Love more often than not does not work in the comics. "But why?" you may ask.
"I wanna see my favorite characters live happily ever after!" Well, if they live
happily ever after, then there isn't much reason for buying the comic, now is there?
Let's look at a few examples.
Scott Summers and Jean Grey, circa Uncanny 137. If you're an X-fan, you
recognize the issue number, and should have some clue as to where I'm going with this.
For those that don't some background. Scott and Jean had been getting real close,
especially since Claremont took over in issue 94. Their relationship had slowly escalated during
the entire Phoenix Saga, having it's ups and downs. When Scott believed Jean to be
dead, he dated another, but they reunited when the truth was found out. But then,
Jean got the late night munchies one issue, and ate a planet of asparagus people,
called the D'Bari. Marvel couldn't let the total and utter genocide of a race go
unpunished, so Jean Grey had to die. And she did. Scott left the X-Men, to grieve,
life went on.
Then we come to Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor. Scott met her while flying
planes for his grandparents, and they fell in love. Scott, still haunted by his
memories of Jean, found a great resemblance in her, and started thinking she was Jean
reborn.
And this seemed to be the case, until it was revealed that Mastermind, an illusion
caster, was the um...mastermind behind it all.
They were married, and all seemed to be going well, until the Avengers
discovered a cocoon in Jamaica Bay, where the X-Men had crashed lo those many years
ago. The cocoon contained the body of Jean Grey. Hilarity ensued.
Someone called up Scott in Alaska (I admit to not knowing who) and told him
Jean was back. He went racing back to her, and was confused for a good 25 issues. He
went back to Alaska in issue 13 of X-Factor, to find Maddie, but Mister Sinister had
chased her off, and she was now with the X-Men.
And so the X-Men apparently died in Dallas, along with Maddie. Then she came
back, as a demon sorceress mutant telepath, tried sacrificing her son to open a portal
to Limbo, and found out she was a clone of Jean Grey, made by Mister Sinister to create
a Summers-Grey offspring. And then, finally, she died. For awhile.
Scott asked Jean to marry him, and she declined, seeing as she still had the
whole Phoenix/Madelyne/Jean stuff to sort out. As many fans still are trying to do.
This made sense. A few years later, our time (making it what, a day or two, Marvel
time?) she proposed to Scott, saying she was ready now, and so, they got hitched.
And yes, there is a rant in here somewhere. Wait for it... Here it is!! I
agree with something I read Chris Claremont said in an interview awhile back.
Basically, he feels Jean would never marry Scott, due to his leaving Madelyne. How can
she be sure that he won't leave her as well? And also, once they're married, what do you do with
`em? All the tension is gone, there aren't many ups and downs you can put them
through. The fun is over.
They're married now. So, now what? They go to the future for four issues of a
limited series. This could have been done without them being married. Absolutely
nothing unique has been done with them, that couldn't have been done when they were
still a single couple.
OK, so this kind of went from "Love amongst the X-Men" to "The Romantic History
of Scott Summers" but he's the only guy who's had much luck. Rogue and Gambit have
been on again off again for years now, losing their spines and becoming clingy to each
other. Something that Scott and Jean also were under Lobdell's reign. They just couldn't
function without each other. I've heard of being joined at the hip, but this was
almost taken literally. Storm and Forge fell apart a few times. Cable has had his
share of messed up romances. The list goes on.
Anyways, it's time for me to go, so once again, have a Happy Valentine's Day,
and remember: Love is a rare enough occurrence, it is. Don't ignore it when it calls
you by name.
