Monday, November 30, 2015

Comic Extreme Makeover - Marvel (X-Men) Part 1

Over the years, there are not many comic characters that maintain they way they look. Sometimes these changes in appearances are integral to the stories the creators are trying to tell, most often, it's a well-disguised marketing ploy to get fans talking and hopefully excited about these characters again.

I have compiled a list of characters that I think fit the bill of Extreme Makeover. Unless you're a geek, chances are you'll not likely think that they are in fact the very same character at all.

We now continue on with Marvel's Merry Mutants - the X-Men:


We'll start with the Beast (Hank McCoy), who has the privilege to be both an X-Man and an Avenger long before it became a trend to belong to more than 1 team (Yeah, I'm talking about Wolverine).

He's 1 of the 5 Original X-Men and started off looking pretty much human. Then in the 70's when Marvel was going thru' it's Monster Phase, Beast was transformed into a hairy beast that fans like me loved. 

Then when Marvel thought that X-Men needed something new and brought in Grant Morrisson to write the New X-Men Series in 2001, he further mutated him into his current more feral and feline form.
Next on the list is another X-Men founding member - Angel (Warren Worthington III)

Very similar to Beast, Angel (along with Iceman) also became members of another super-team called Champions in the 70's when the X-Men comic wasn't selling well (right before Chris Claremont and John Byrne hit the jackpot and made the X-Men Marvel's hottest property for over 20 years before the Avengers took the crown).

Then in 1 of the earliest Marvel Events - the Mutant Massacre, Angel was a serious casualty and had his wings literally clipped by the Marauders. That's when he was transformed by Apocalypse (Yup, THAT guy...) into Arch-Angel, 1 of his 4 Horsemen - Death.
This was one of the lesser known Marvel Teams called the Champions, along with Iceman, Black Widow and Ghost Rider.
 Of course, we then have Jean Grey. One of the most controversial characters from the X-Men. I guess this was mainly due to the massive changes to the character and the entire X-Men lore brought about by the Dark Phoenix Saga. Just like the Wasp in Avengers, she's really had so many changes to her looks.This was the line-up of the team that Claremont and Byrne had that rocketed the X-Men into the stratosphere.
And we round things off with Cyclops (for the original team that is). Similarly, Cyclops has also gone thru massive changes especially in the last 10 years. From being the natural stand-in for Charles Xavier in continuing his dream to being a semi-villain as a result of the AvX event when both the Avengers and the X-Men were at odds when the Phoenix Force returned.

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