| "New Worlds" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Publication date | August – December 2002 |
| Genre | |
| Title(s) | New X-Men #127-133 |
| Main character(s) | List of X-Men members |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Grant Morrison |
| Penciller(s) | John Paul Leon Phil Jimenez |
| Inker(s) | Bill Sienkiewicz Andy Lanning |
| Letterer(s) | Richard Starkings |
| Colorist(s) | Hi-Fi Design Chris Chuckry Dave McCaig |
| New Worlds | ISBN 0-7851-0976-5 |
"New Worlds" was the third story arc from Grant Morrison's run on the Marvel Comics title New X-Men, running from issues #127-133. In the aftermath of both the Genoshan genocide and Cassandra Nova's revelation of Charles Xavier's mutant powers, as well as his school's function as a mutant haven, the X-Men must try to broker peace amidst rising human/mutant tensions, while still combating the mutant threats arising worldwide. This story arc not only dealt with the fallout of Genosha's destruction, but also began the psychic relationship shared by Cyclops and Emma Frost.
YouTube Encyclopedic
-
1/1Views:3 872 291
-
How to build a fictional world - Kate Messner
Transcription
In J.R.R.'s world, Gandalf is one of five wizards sent by the Valar to guide the inhabitants of Middle Earth in their struggles against the dark force of Sauron. Gandalf's body was mortal, subject to the physical rules of Middle Earth, but his spirit was immortal, as seen when he died as Gandalf the Grey and resurrected as Gandalf the White. According to the Wachowski's script, an awakened human only has to link up and hack the neon binary code of the Matrix to learn how to fly a helicopter in a matter of seconds. Or if you are the One, or one of the Ones, you don't even need a helicopter, you just need a cool pair of shades. Cheshire cats can juggle their own heads. iPads are rudimentary. No Quidditch match ends until the Golden Snitch is caught. And the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is most certainly 42. Just like real life, fictional worlds operate consistently within a spectrum of physical and societal rules. That's what makes these intricate worlds believable, comprehensible, and worth exploring. In real life, the Law of Gravity holds seven book sets of "Harry Potter" to millions of bookshelves around the world. We know this to be true, but we also know that ever since J.K. typed the words wizard, wand, and "Wingardium Leviosa," that Law of Gravity has ceased to exist on the trillions of pages resting between those bookends. Authors of science fiction and fantasy literally build worlds. They make rules, maps, lineages, languages, cultures, universes, alternate universes within universes, and from those worlds sprout story, after story, after story. When it's done well, readers can understand fictional worlds and their rules just as well as the characters that live in them do and sometimes, just as well or even better than the reader understands the world outside of the book. But how? How can human-made squiggles on a page reflect lights into our eyes that send signals to our brains that we logically and emotionally decode as complex narratives that move us to fight, cry, sing, and think, that are strong enough not only to hold up a world that is completely invented by the author, but also to change the reader's perspective on the real world that resumes only when the final squiggle is reached? I'm not sure anyone knows the answer to that question, yet fantastical, fictional worlds are created everyday in our minds, on computers, even on napkins at the restaurant down the street. The truth is your imagination and a willingness to, figuratively, live in your own world are all you need to get started writing a novel. I didn't dream up Hogwarts or the Star Wars' Cantina, but I have written some science thrillers for kids and young adults. Here are some questions and methods I've used to help build the worlds in which those books take place. I start with a basic place and time. Whether that's a fantasy world or a futuristic setting in the real world, it's important to know where you are and whether you're working in the past, present, or future. I like to create a timeline showing how the world came to be. What past events have shaped the way it is now? Then I brainstorm answers to questions that draw out the details of my fictional world. What rules are in place here? This covers everything from laws of gravity (or not) to the rules of society and the punishments for individuals who break them. What kind of government does this world have? Who has power, and who doesn't? What do people believe in here? And what does this society value most? Then it's time to think about day-to-day life. What's the weather like in this world? Where do the inhabitants live and work and go to school? What do they eat and how do they play? How do they treat their young and their old? What relationships do they have with the animals and plants of the world? And what do those animals and plants look like? What kind of technology exists? Transportation? Communication? Access to information? There's so much to think about! So, spend some time living in those tasks and the answers to those questions, and you're well on your way to building your own fictional world. Once you know your world as well as you hope your reader will, set your characters free in it and see what happens. And ask yourself, "How does this world you created shape the individuals who live in it? And what kind of conflict is likely to emerge?" Answer those questions, and you have your story. Good luck future world-builder!
Plot
In Mutant Town, New York City's growing mutant ghetto, a monster is on the loose. At least, that's the public sentiment. When Xorn investigates the incidents sparking rumors of a "mutant, dog eating killer," he finds twelve-year-old Sonny Bean, in the midst of his adolescent mutation. Grown to a behemoth, dragon-like form, Sonny is looked after by his mother, who has decided to poison herself and Sonny rather than have him be persecuted by humanity. Though Xorn tries to save them both, his attempts are stopped by a confused Sonny's rampage, ending with Sonny's death by police shooting. Xorn reflects on this experience as something far removed from his meditations in a Chinese prison.
Due to the rising violence and aggression against mutants worldwide, Charles Xavier founds the X-Corporation, a global organization meant to provide support to "civilian" mutant populations. The Paris branch, largely consisting of Banshee's X-Corps members, is dispatched to the Channel Tunnel after a train wreck possibly involving a "gene-hazard." Jean Grey and Professor Xavier meet to discuss Jean's recent manifestations of the Phoenix, but their conversation is interrupted by a group of paramilitary officers searching for Fantomex, the self-proclaimed "most notorious mutant criminal in Europe," who is hiding in the X-Corp offices and asking for the asylum promised by Xavier. Fantomex warns Xavier that his emergency response team in the tunnel is probably already dead, killed by something called Weapon XII.
Cyclops sits in a darkened room, discussing his doubts about his current relationship with Jean Grey. It is revealed that his confidante is teammate (and telepath) Emma Frost. Back at the X-Corp offices, Jean and Xavier use their abilities to stall the armed task force, while Fantomex calls on his "partner:" E.V.A., a biological craft resembling a flying saucer, and apparently Fantomex's external nervous system. Sneaking away to an undisclosed hideout, Fantomex reveals the true incident emerging in the tunnel. Weapon XII is the latest experiment in the Weapon Plus program, a human-sentinel hybrid developed in "the World," a time-accelerated laboratory manufacturing new ways to deal with the "mutant threat." Fantomex corrects the professor's mention of Wolverine as Weapon X: "...it's Weapon Ten, not Weapon X."
Despite feigning the intention to sell all information on Weapon XII to Xavier for one billion dollars, Fantomex eventually reveals his true intention is not to make money on the deal, but kill Weapon XII. After arriving at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, Jean Grey is able to subdue the weapon, but only temporarily. Fantomex fights his way through the crowds of passengers that had been taken over by the viral mental control of Weapon XII, including X-Corp member Darkstar. Xavier asserts control of Multiple Man's bodies to oppose Weapon XII on equal mental footing. Upon finding the surviving passengers as well as the containers housing the weapon, Jean Grey discovers the truth behind Fantomex: he was never a European super-thief, but Weapon XIII gone rogue. Fantomex activates Weapon XII's off-switch, then convinces Jean Grey to let him flee to England.
As Darkstar is laid to rest, Archangel teaches a class of fliers, including Beak and Angel Salvadore. Beak wishes to journey along with the Xavier students travelling into space to help the Shi'ar relief efforts, but his self-consciousness is limiting his potential to fly (or so his teacher argues). With antagonist prodding from Angel, Beak leaps from the starting cliff...only to fall like a rock. Angel meets him on the ground, and rather than see him wallow in self-pity, grants him a passionate kiss to liven his spirits. Angel hauls Beak up to the spaceship in low-atmosphere orbit. While Beak is ecstatic enough to quit the space mission, Angel quietly collects winnings from her bet to kiss the ugliest member of the flying class. Elsewhere, Scott takes his private telepathy sessions with Emma Frost to a much more personal and physical level...
In the wreckage of Genosha, Unus the Untouchable is found huddled, shivering, gasping of "ghosts... millions of ghosts all buzzing... millions of voices... following her." Unus' descriptions lead the professor to believe Polaris is on the island, but other matters concern him. Several other life signatures have been found in ruins and with the giant remains of the wild sentinel morphing into a face of Magneto, the X-Men confront Toad and his followers as they construct a monument to their fallen leader. Eventually, Xavier and the X-Men find Polaris wandering naked, somehow conjuring electromagnetic "ghosts," revealed to be the last surviving thoughts of those killed on the island, preserved by Magneto to be put in an airplane flight recorder.
In Afghanistan, Wolverine busts up a mutant slave ring, only to bump into Fantomex, stealing rich people's names for blackmail. In response to Wolverine's disgust, Fantomex dangles the secrets of the Weapon Plus program in front of him, even using his birth name, "James." Before they are interrupted by reinforcements, Fantomex tells Wolverine the young Afghan girl unconscious in the tent is responsible for the slavers' deaths, not he. In Mumbai, India, Jean Grey stops an assassination on Professor Xavier after he averts a plane hijacking. Oddly enough, the marksman was none other than his lover and wife, Lilandra, who believed Cassandra Nova still possessed Xavier's body. After the professor leaves to deal with Shi'ar representatives, the rest of the X-Corps team meet Wolverine and Jean Grey at the Mumbai offices, as well as learning the rescued mutant refugee is Sooraya, a sand elemental.
The Shi'ar ship in orbit returns the Institute students preparing to travel into space, spokesman Araki 6 claiming that the troubles the X-Men bring wherever they go have caused the empire too much harm, and ties must be severed. Even Lilandra ends her relationship with Charles Xavier, and Araki mentions the Phoenix being a looming threat once again.
Major consequences
- X-Corp is founded.
- Fantomex and Dust are introduced.[1]
- Weapon X is retconned into the Weapon Plus Program
- Darkstar is killed.
- Professor Xavier's marriage to Lilandra is annulled.
- Mutant Town, also known as District X, is introduced as a mutant ghetto in New York City. This would later become the setting for District X, a short-lived comic series.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperback:
- New Worlds (collects New X-Men #127-133, ISBN 0-7851-0976-5)
As well as:
- New X-Men Omnibus (collects New X-Men #114-154 and Annual 2001, 992 pages, December 2006 ISBN 0-7851-2326-1)
- New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection: Volume 2 (collects New X-Men #127-141, 360 pages, August 2008, ISBN 0-7851-3252-X)
References
- ^ Corley, Shaun (2023-12-13). "Every Arc from Grant Morrison's New X-Men, Ranked". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- New Worlds at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
This page was last edited on 11 March 2024, at 01:01