X-Men in Video Games: Part 4

Let me tell you one thing, and I’m being completely honest.

X-Men, the 1992 arcade game, is incredible.  Despite what I may say in the rest of this post, the game is fucking incredible – and I try not to drop the f-bomb around here unless I’m really serious about something.  It’s my favorite X-Men game ever and I hope to one day own a copy of the 6-man cabinet.

There.  Now that we’re clear on that point – this game is a crazy hot load of mess.  But it’s the quirky kind of arcade mess that you likely never noticed in your youth, or simply didn’t care about.  Like where Shredder banished the Ninja Turtles into prehistoric times in Turtles in Time, yet still sent Foot Soldiers after them.

X-Men is an entire game of sending Foot Soldiers into the prehistoric past to defeat your enemies whom you’ve already defeated.

But let’s not dwell on the negative.  There’s a lot of positive to this game.’

Chuck Austen’s X-Men: The Draco, Part 1

Ah, the Draco.  This is the story you think of when you think “Chuck Austen’s X-Men”.  Now that Nightcrawler’s father has been revealed (via flashback), we now get to the story where Nightcrawler and his X-Men buddies interact with dear old dad.  This is good stuff, people.  And by good stuff, I mean bad.  Very, very bad.

Took Place In
Uncanny X-Men #429-431

Team Line-Up
Archangel (Leader), Havok (Leader, I think), Nightcrawler, Iceman, Wolverine, Husk, Jubilee, Juggernaut, Northstar

Others You Should Be Aware Of
Polaris, Nurse Annie, Professor X, Sammy the Fish Boy, Carter Ghazikhanian

In a Nutshell
Nightcrawler meets his maker (well, half of his maker, I guess), Juggernaut misses his goldfish and Polaris needs therapy.

Movie Review: X-Men: First Class

There’s a great benefit the follow-up to a bad movie has before it’s even been screened for the first time.  No matter how good or bad it may be, it likely cannot be worse than the previous one.  Fans went into Batman Begins knowing that whatever they saw would surpass Batman and Robin.  And those left disappointed by X-Men: The Last Stand likely went into First Class with the thought that it simply had to be somewhat better.

I make the lofty comparison between the Batman and X-Men franchises because just like the movie from the Distinguished Competition, Marvel’s merry mutants have pulled off a miraculous turnaround from the gratuitous action nonsense that Last Stand had been into an origin story filled with likable characters, interesting dynamics, and (if you can believe it) little-to-no Wolverine.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you should probably stop right here and avoid the SPOILERS I will be getting to after the jump.  If that’s the case, I’ll leave you with this.  X-Men: First Class is, in my opinion, the best movie in the franchise, only argued by X2: X-Men United.  Instead of reading this blog, you should go see it.  Actually, click on the jump link and give us the page hit.  THEN go see it.  And then come back.

Origins gone wrong

 The longer a character is used, especially when numerous creators are involved, the more likely it is that something will be added to their backstory that contradicts something else or comes across as pointless or convoluted.  Provided are five examples of such presented throughout the history of the X-Men.

BANSHEE
Originally
Irish mutant Sean Cassidy was captured by the mutant group Factor Three and fitted with a headpiece that would explode if he disobeyed them.  Placed under the care of the Ogre, Banshee became a small time crook until he went up against and was defeated by the X-Men, who freed him of his captivity.  He became an ally until eventually joining the team.

It Eventually Became
Sean Cassidy worked as an Irish agent of Interpol for years.  While on a mission, his beloved wife Maeve was killed and he left Interpol to travel the world.  Eventually he settled in New York, joining the NYPD, but did not stay in the force for a lengthy time.  After this period, he was captured by Factor Three.

What happened?
Wanting Banshee to serve as a more veteran presence on the “all-new” X-Men, it was written in a quick line that he had been an ‘ex-cop’.  The NYPD part was added when he was seen wearing an NYPD shirt while on a picnic with Moira MacTaggert and the X-Men.  The Interpol part was likely added in to keep the cop part going while playing up Banshee’s international heritage.

Why it Doesn’t Work
The Interpol/NYPD parts of Banshee’s origins overlook one of the main points of the character’s first appearance.  While under the watch of Factor Three, Banshee willingly took the part of the petty crook, happily stealing fine tobacco and paintings for his own personal gain.  Even his handler the Ogre chastised him for doing such crimes as it brought unwanted attention to their activities.  Even when recruited to the X-Men, Banshee commented that it would be nice to “tread the straight and narrow” meaning to turn away from his former life of crime.  By the time he had been established within Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s run on X-Men, this was all but forgotten, save for a single image on a Cyclops-narrated history of the X-Men.