Since this blog is titled "X-Man's Comic Blog", I think it's high time I post something about the impending return of the X-Man, Nate Grey! Come November, Marvel is bringing back my all-time favorite comic book character in the upcoming "Dark X-Men" mini-series. I can't stress enough just how big a deal Nate's return is to me. I not only have every issue of the "X-Man" comic series, I have every Marvel comic book Nate has EVER appeared in! That should give you some idea of how huge Nate's return is to me. Calling me a big fan of Nate is an understatement!
It looks like Paul Cornell(who will be writing Nate's triumphant return)is going to give us the post-Counter X shaman version of Nate, as opposed to the younger(dumber)post-Age of Apocalypse Nate. This is one of those cases where I'm fine either way. Both versions of Nate have tons of story potential. Shaman Nate actually fits into the post-Decimation Marvel Universe extremely well. Now more than ever the few remaining mutants need a savior type of character and shaman Nate can fill that role perfectly. The thing that worries me though is that it seems Paul is going to keep Nate at the almost god-like power levels he had prior to his death. I don't know if Marvel is going to allow a character as powerful as Nate to float around after the "Dark X-Men" mini concludes. I suspect(and I REALLY hope I'm wrong)that Nate will be brought in only for the length of the mini-series and then he'll wind up dead and gone again. Remember, after studying Nate at Muir Island, Moira MacTaggart(THE expert on mutants in the Marvel U)said that Nate's power levels surpassed that of the Phoenix Force! Roll that around in your head for a while! With powers that massive, where exactly can Nate go after the "Dark X-Men" mini-series?
In a perfect world, Nate would wind up on one of the plethora of X-related teams. How about this, why not separate the Dark X-Men from Norman Osborn, slot Nate in as the leader and make that a new ongoing series? You could have the Dark X-Men, led by one of the most powerful mutants in existence battling against Norman Osborn and his goose-steppers. That sounds like a sweet premise to me! Or how about Nate just slaps the hell out of Cyclops for cheating on Jean Grey? I'd pay BIG money to see that scene play out! What about tossing Nate in X-Factor where Peter David could use him? Peter David writing Nate would be a dream come true. You could always throw him on one of the main X-Men teams as well. I've been complaining about the lack of a young male character on the X-Men for the longest time now. Nate could fill that role in a heartbeat. Of course you could just flip him and place him at the side of somebody like Magneto... Nate as Magneto's second in command would be almost unbearably awesome! Yeah, I've given a lot of thought on where Nate would fit in the current Marvel Universe!
One of the things that always bothered me about Nate's initial portrayal in the Marvel Universe was that he wasn't a team player, he was always portrayed as a loner. For some foolish reason, Marvel went to great lengths to keep Nate away from the X-teams during the 90's. Since the X-books were practically the only franchise that was selling well for Marvel back in the 90's, I don't understand why The Powers That Be didn't think it would have been a good idea to connect Nate with one of the X-teams. What's the worst thing that could have happened? Nate joining X-Force always seemed like such a gargantuan missed opportunity, especially after the Onslaught storyline. He would have been a perfect fit on that team... Sure, he was on the X-Men for a cup of coffee during the second "Astonishing X-Men" series and he was on Havok and Dark Beast's evil Brotherhood for a while, but he was never given a true shot at being an X-Man. Hopefully this time around Marvel will finally rectify that error. So, I obviously have a lot to say about Nate's forthcoming return, the question is, what do you think? Where does he fit in? What should he do? What do you think the endgame is going to be? Do you care? As always any and all comments are appreciated!
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I'm so excited for this. I think he could be too powerful to be a team player. Do you what I mean? Why send in the x-men when you can just send in nate every time.
ReplyDeleteIf he was to join a book though x-factor would be cool, or i think exploring the relationship between him and cyclops could be cool as now cable is in the future, scott is missing his real son. Nate could come in and they could have a similar mentor student relationship like nate and forge did in aoa. quick question x-man75; did nate meet forge in the normal marvel u and if so what happened?
I think I saw Forge meeting X-Man on 616 myself, but to be honest I have no memory as to what happened...
ReplyDeleteI think he could be a team player if they lobotomize him or expose him to *random-depowering-plot device*. I mean, keep him at "I could've moved the Pyrenees yesterday" levels, but make him the baddest human on Earth.
Isn't that what that Vulcan jerkwad amounts to? X-Man with a ego complex and slightly different powers? (Beyond an Omega Class Mutant or some such thing.)
I meant keep him just below Silver Surfer brawling levels. Sheesh I oughta complete my thoughts before I post.
ReplyDeleteNope, believe it or not, Nate and Forge never met in the mainstream 616 universe, yet another missed opportunity in the old X-Man comic... He did meet a Forge, but it was the AOA Forge from the past in the X-Man Annual #1(maybe that's what you're thinking GL?). As always though, I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Matthew, I think Nate could still work out on a team. Jean and Rachel Grey were both longtime X-Men and they both possessed the uber-powerful Phoenix powers. Look at the stacked team the JLA used to be with Superman, Hal, Wonder Woman, etc together. The writers would just have to come up with bigger, more serious threats.
Actually GL, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Nate did wind up running around slightly de-powered. That would probably be the easiest way to stick him on a team and not worry about him overshadowing everybody. With Dark Beast working with the Dark X-Men I'd think he'd be able to rig up something that could dampen Nate's abilities.
That's another thing, Nate coming face to face with fellow AOA refugee Dark Beast could also lead to some cool moments.
You ask why Nate Grey had been portrayed as a loner, and not a team player. I think it may have something to tie in with how similar it is with Spider-Man.
ReplyDeleteI havent read all the actual comics but i did read a summary about Nates first meeting with Peter Parker, and the two of them have interesting traits that make for a good story. Ive read about their teams up during the 90s. Some were well written by showing thier similarities and differences in their respective characters.
Peter invited Nate to meet his wife and have Christmas dinner with him the Amazing Spider-Man #420 i believe it was. X-Man and Spider-Man kind of surprised me when they were being written in the same book. One interesting similarity is that when Peter criticizes Nate for using his powers out in the open for nonemergencies, Pete gives his speech about Uncle Bens death, and suddenly Nate can relate about irresponsibilty which cause the death of his father figure Forge.
Id side more with X-Man when it comes to killing villians who really deserve Death as their penalty!
You ask why Nate Grey had been portrayed as a loner, and not a team player. I think it may have something to tie in with how similar it is with Spider-Man.
ReplyDeleteI havent read all the actual comics but i did read a summary about Nates first meeting with Peter Parker, and the two of them have interesting traits that make for a good story. Ive read about their teams up during the 90s. Some were well written by showing thier similarities and differences in their respective characters.
Peter invited Nate to meet his wife and have Christmas dinner with him the Amazing Spider-Man #420 i believe it was. X-Man and Spider-Man kind of surprised me when they were being written in the same book. One interesting similarity is that when Peter criticizes Nate for using his powers out in the open for nonemergencies, Pete gives his speech about Uncle Bens death, and suddenly Nate can relate about irresponsibilty which cause the death of his father figure Forge.
Id side more with X-Man when it comes to killing villians who really deserve Death as their penalty!
Thanks for the comments! It's always great to hear from another Nate fan, there don't seem to be all that many of us out there!
ReplyDeleteI actually just posted a scene from Amazing #420 about a week ago here at the blog, and was able to get a few non-Nate fans talking about the character, so I'd consider that a win!
And as for Nate and killing, I agree with you wholeheartedly! Considering the world he came from, the hellish Age of Apocalypse, I'd definitely think it's in his character to kill villains who deserved it, like he did during Warren Ellis short run near the end of the series. With the end of thr whole Dark Reign storyline, I'm hoping that Nate resurfaces soon, angrier then ever after his treatment at the hands of Norman Osborn. I'd love a solo Nate series, but if he gets put on a team, I'd be fine with that, so long as Nate is SOMEWHERE! Anyway, thanks for the comments, I do love discussing Nate!