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The Claremont Run

11 Nov, 10 tweets, 5 min read

Today was Dave Cockrum’s birthday, and it’s Nightcrawler’s unofficial one in his honor. Cockrum's powerful affinity for the character he created is exemplified by the '85 Nightcrawler limited series, which Cockrum both wrote and drew. 1/9 #Xmen #Nightcrawler

Besides being relentlessly zany (remember the six shooter-wielding sentient gator-dino "Cretacious Sam"?), the ’85 Nightcrawler series reflects Kurt's “Creator Favorite” status, inventing a space particularly suited to showcasing what makes him unique and loveable. 2/9

In issue #1, Kitty accidentally opens a dimensional portal that sends Kurt (and Lockheed) to various fantasylands, with callbacks to “Kitty’s Fairy Tale” (including the return of the Bamfs). The original Fairy Tale reckoned with Jean's death. But this story is all about Kurt. 3/9

In this story, Kurt is a POV character within adventures constructed around his character. Unsurprisingly, then, this series highlights many things that have since become common and important features of Kurt’s personality and rhetorical function, including… 4/9

Kurt’s love of pirates: This spotlights his theatricality and fantasies of being an Errol Flynn-esque leading man, but also his rapport with outsiders. As he says in the later Excalibur #16, in conflicts between "order" and “outlaws,” “My own nature sides toward the pirate.” 5/9

Kurt’s emotional intelligence: This is reflected in his recruitment of allies and fourth-wall-bending self-deprecation. Kurt is a part of but apart from this zany world, often stepping back to editorialize on the proceedings and even reflect on his own strangeness. 6/9

Kurt’s complex sexuality: His masculine triumph (a date with the princess) is undercut when he’s suddenly stripped naked by Kitty mistakenly teleporting his costume. Yet the princess welcomes this (off-panel) nudity, suggesting Kurt's unusual body isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. 7/9

These 4 comics published 35 years ago have had a significant afterlife, influencing Excalibur and Nightcrawler’s resurrection, and perhaps even the X of Swords event, which similarly has the X-Men fighting a sentient gator in a pocket universe with lots of sexy swashbuckling. 8/9

The ‘85 Nightcrawler series may also complicate the project at hand, by showing the vital influence of other creators during Claremont's tenure on Uncanny X-Men. Even if Claremont's influence is dominant, serialized comics are always collaborative, individually and over time. 9/9

@peppard_anna

Today's post was written by (e)visiting scholar, Dr. Anna Peppard (@peppard_anna), whose book on sexuality in superhero comics can be pre-ordered by individuals or their favorite library's here: utpress.utexas.edu/books/peppard-…

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The Claremont Run

@ClaremontRun

12 Nov

In a 1982 interview Claremont describes his unique portrayal of women in comics as a conscious decision, made under epiphany. The result of this is one of mainstream comics most important and influential experiments in representation. #xmen 1/6

"And in terms of my writing there was a moment I think when I made a conscious decision by looking around seeing how few people were portraying heroic rational sensible women in books and comics. I thought, "I'll fill that vacuum - since no one else is doing it" 2/6

"Because in a sense I wondered in the ultimate kind of fiction, science fiction, could I put myself in the head of this being who was totally unlike me?" 3/6

Read 6 tweets

The Claremont Run

@ClaremontRun

27 Aug

Roberto Da Costa, created by Claremont (with Bob McLeod on art) for the New Mutants Graphic Novel in 1982, is currently the centre of white-washing accusations in the wake of the New Mutants film adaptation, so here’s some context from the comics: #xmen #newmutants 1/10

Roberto is the son of an Afro-Brazilian businessman and a White American archaeologist. In his earliest appearances, Roberto is consistently rendered with a dark skin complexion, nearly identical to that of his father. 2/10

Comics colouring in this era was not really reliable, though, so we need to turn to the narrative elements and, indeed, Roberto’s skin colour is directly referenced in his first ever appearance, where it plays a key role in defining the character from the outset. 3/10

Read 10 tweets

The Claremont Run

@ClaremontRun

22 Jul

In UXM 142, Claremont uses Storm’s relationship with Wolverine to validate Ororo’s new role as the leader of the X-Men at a time when no female superhero had ever been appointed the leader of a mainstream superhero team. The result is a character-defining scene. 1/5 #xmen

Storm orders Wolverine to sheathe his claws. Famously insubordinate, he refuses. Storm stands firm even offering to sacrifice herself: “Sheathe them – or use them on me.” Wolverine doubles down, pointing his claws directly at Storm, declaring “That can be arranged, babe!” 2/5

Again, Storm stands her ground, despite recognizing the genuine danger she is in. Logan informs her “I wouldn’t take that from Cyclops!” a fact that continuity of the time had established quite clearly through the constant power struggle between Scott and Logan. 3/5

Read 5 tweets

The Claremont Run

@ClaremontRun

14 Apr

Callisto is one of the most gender-deviant characters in the entirety of Claremont’s run, to such a degree in fact that later authors (and even Wikipedia) failed to grasp Claremont’s complex treatment of the character’s relationship to her gender in a notable story. 1/8 #XMEN

In Greek Mythology, Callisto was a follower of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Zeus falls in love with Callisto and transforms into Artemis to trick Callisto into sleeping with him. The gender-queer symbols of the myth are thus extensive and well-documented/well-painted. 2/8

In UXM 259-263, Callisto’s rival Morlock, Masque, captures her and alters her appearance to that of a supermodel, a highly feminized symbol. Colossus becomes obsessed with her, and sees beyond the illusion (through a combination of suppressed memories and his artist’s soul). 3/8

Read 8 tweets

The Claremont Run

@ClaremontRun

24 Mar

@seanhowe

In the 1970s, Marvel was a bit of a boys club, as documented by @seanhowe. Claremont was a student of 2nd wave feminism and, as such, injected a great deal of gender commentary into a bullpen and a medium that wasn’t otherwise hearing it. 1/9 #xmen

His mantra of “is there any reason this character can’t be a woman?” is so legendary that it appears at least twice WITHIN Marvel comics of the era (Strike Force Morituri 13 and Marvel Fanfare 2). As a starting point for character development, this is unique. 2/9

C practiced what he preached, with women frequently occupying traditionally masculine roles at a level that transcended tokenism. This includes background characters (such as both pilot and co-pilot) and more featured characters (such as the genius scientist). 3/9

Read 9 tweets

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