The Claremont Run Profile picture
The Claremont Run is a SSHRC-funded academic initiative micro-publishing data-based analysis of Chris Claremont's 16 year run on Uncanny X-Men and spinoffs.
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May 30 10 tweets 4 min read
While the circumstances of Rogue’s absorption of the Carol Danvers persona are surreal and supernatural, they nonetheless provide an intriguing example of the concept of “restorative justice” in a manner that makes a compelling story at the same time. #xmen #rogue 1/9 Image Restorative justice is a system that focuses on “providing an opportunity for the parties directly affected by the crime – victims, offenders and communities – to identify and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime” instead of simple punishment. 2/9 Image
May 9 11 tweets 5 min read
As a collaborative medium, comics are sometimes denigrated for their committee approach to character-building, but a closer look at the 'committee' behind Wolverine shows how a character like Logan offers a multifaceted connection to creative genius. #xmen #wolverine 1/10 Image As noted by Marvel historian Sean Howe, Wolverine was first “named and conceived by Roy Thomas, who detected a need to exploit the Canadian market” before being “developed further by Len Wein and John Romita” ahead of Logan’s debut in “The Incredible Hulk.” 2/10 Image
Apr 11 9 tweets 4 min read
In UXM #220, Claremont takes a moment away from a chaotic era to touch back upon the longstanding, well-evolved relationship between Storm and Wolverine, giving readers another character-revealing scene between this iconic X-Men duo. #xmen #wolverine #storm 1/9 Image The scene initiates a journey of self-discovery for Ororo, one of many throughout the series but this one will specifically create the rising action for the “Fall of the Mutants’’ event. She has to go alone, but someone has to lead the X-Men in her absence. She recruits Logan 2/9 Image
Mar 21 7 tweets 3 min read
In an introductory essay penned in 1980, John Byrne recounts his personal perspective on Jean Grey and her transformation to Phoenix. His candid account paints a less grandiose view on the cultivation of the character within the series than we normally hear. #xmen #JeanGrey 1/7 Image “I’ve never liked Phoenix. There, I said it...It’s not that I don’t like Jean Grey. I have an abiding fondness for readheads, and have been in love with Jean since we first ‘met,’ about a millions years ago when I was 13.” 2/7 Image
Feb 1 10 tweets 4 min read
Placing Kitty Pryde into the position of viewpoint character has to represent one of the most groundbreaking decisions within the entirety of the Claremont run – a move that ultimately impacted the series, comics as a whole, and even Western media in powerful ways. #xmen 1/10 Image The Claremont run begins with Cyclops as the main viewpoint character. Kitty joins the team right at his departure and soon enough takes over as a main viewpoint character for the rest of her tenure, as reflected in our data (noting that Kitty’s only on for 70ish issues). 2/10 Image
Jan 25 10 tweets 4 min read
Despite having all manner of characters (good and evil) express romantic interest in her, Storm’s first canonical love is Forge, a possibly counter-intuitive choice. But this might be the point, as Forge can better connect Ororo to her humanity. #xmen 1/10 Image Storm is routinely courted (or abducted – or both) by the wealthiest, most powerful beings on the planet/cosmos. She could be a queen, a goddess, a vampire, you name it, but she rejects all of these suitors out of concern for her own independence. 2/10 Image
Jan 18 10 tweets 4 min read
Sharon Kelly is introduced to the readers in UXM #246 and is all-but killed in that same issue. She’s a character whose entire life and especially death exist in service to the plot, but, in spite of that, Claremont gives her story complexity, contradiction, and pathos. #xmen 1/9 Image We are first introduced to Sharon as she arrives at the Hellfire Club during a meeting between her husband (Senator Robert Kelly) and Sebastian Shaw. It’s revealed that Sharon was a Hellfire Club servant before marrying the senator. 2/9 Image
Dec 14, 2023 14 tweets 6 min read
In UXM #251, Wolverine is crucified by the Reavers and falls into a pair of fever dreams as a result. Claremont being Claremont, the dream sequences that unfold are not random, instead illuminating Logan’s character. Today we’ll talk about the first dream. #xmen #wolverine 1/14 Image Silvestri’s now iconic cover sets the tone with an homage to Buscema’s work from the 1970s Savage Sword of Conan, presumably, in illustration of a very famous scene from the Conan mythology, first published in 1934 in “A Witch Shall Be Born.” 2/14
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Oct 5, 2023 11 tweets 4 min read
UXM 139-140 features an impressive confluence of symbols in the service of exploring Wolverine’s ongoing character arc and evolution, all orbiting around an epic and reflective conflict with the cannibalistic monster “The Wendigo.” #xmen #wolverine 1/11 Image The Wendigo is based on a real Algonquin myth about acts of cannibalism leading to a horrific transformation into an insatiable monster. It was most famously popularized (or arguably appropriated) in Algernon Blackwood’s 1910 horror story “The Wendigo.” 2/11 Image
Jul 20, 2023 8 tweets 4 min read
Though separated by a galaxy far far away, Wolverine as we know him and the wildly popular Mandalorian TV series share a common ancestor in the form of a legendary 1970 manga series: “Lone Wolf & Cub” by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. #wolverine #xmen #Mandalorian 1/8
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The incorporation of samurai mythology into Wolverine’s character is frequently attributed to Frank Miller’s work with Claremont on the first Wolverine Mini-Series, and Miller has openly acknowledged that his touchstone for Samurai mythology is “Lone Wolf & Cub.” 2/8 Image
Jun 29, 2023 9 tweets 4 min read
Though innately dysfunctional, the Mystique/Rogue relationship combines profound affection, bad choices, and poor communication. Despite the extremes of the fictional world they occupy, the pair reflect a lot of how real-world parent/kid dynamics work. 1/9 #xmen #Rogue Image Mystique and Destiny took Rogue in after she was rejected by her birth family, but at the same time they also radicalized Rogue as a minor and placed her in very dangerous situations in service to Mystique’s mission. 2/9 Image
Feb 23, 2023 7 tweets 3 min read
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 "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, I'll give it a try." 2/6
Nov 17, 2022 5 tweets 3 min read
Hank McCoy’s presence in the Dark Phoenix Saga provides a nice continuation of that character’s development, ultimately accelerating his difficult transition to the Avengers, in part, by having him here witness the true end of the original X-Men. #xmen #darkphoenix 1/5 Image Hank reflects on his isolation within the Avengers and his longing for the found-family of the X-Men, just as the call for help comes in. Torn between allegiances, he ponders his obligation and chooses the X-Men. 2/5 Image
Aug 18, 2022 10 tweets 4 min read
In UXM #168, Nightcrawler is presented (and presents himself) as an object of sexual display to be consumed by both his on-panel girlfriend and by the reader, all in an homage to a landmark photographic spread with a deep impact on the sexual revolution. #xmen 1/10 The image references Burt Reynolds’ famous 1972 Cosmopolitan nude centrefold, an historic image that is credited with, among other things, inspiring Doug Lambert to create Playgirl Magazine the following year. Reynolds recounts the development as such: 2/10
Jul 20, 2022 10 tweets 5 min read
Knowing that Ricochet Rita is visually based on Ann Nocenti and that MojoVerse is a satire of media culture offers us the potential to read some aspects of Rita’s story as Claremont’s commentary on Nocenti’s role as X-Men editor. #xmen 1/9 The first thing to note is that Claremont sees Mojo as some commentary on the comic book medium. We see this quite clearly in Mojo Mayhem when the X-Babies escape into a Mojo-Verse building labelled “The House of Jack and Stan” as well as other Marvel signifiers. 2/9
Jul 19, 2022 5 tweets 2 min read
In an interview with Jon B. Cooke, beloved X-Men Annual/Special artist Art Adams offers his personal multi-faceted take on the classic “Mojo Mayhem,” one of the more polarizing books in Claremont’s canon. #xmen 1/5 “The one Marvel book that actually made a ton of royalties for me was the Excalibur special I did, which surprisingly enough, is the book I hate the most that I've done!” 2/5
Jul 18, 2022 10 tweets 4 min read
While Claremont left the series before unravelling his full plans for Meggan, we do get a sort of AU glimpse of the elemental nature of her powers and their symbolic potential in the background of Excalibur 17, presenting her as life/sex/joy/harmony incarnate. #xmen 1/10 Image The issue presents the aftermath of the legendary “Warlord” issue of the Cross-Time Caper. It’s essentially a denoument for that story mixed with an interesting new story about Rachel’s pursuit of identity. Meggan is barely in it, but there’s a lot happening for her still. 2/10 Image
Jun 22, 2022 9 tweets 4 min read
The core superhero fantasy is associated with simplicity (or juvenilia) and is often brought forward as reason to devalue or dismiss the entire genre, but that fantasy of heroic virtue and endurance can be lifesaving to those in need and that merits consideration. #xmen 1/9 The unplanned-for joy of the project has been the social component of the social media, of talking to people for whom X-Men meant a very great deal, as it did for me personally as well. This isn’t always literary valuation – sometimes it’s about getting by. 2/9
Jun 21, 2022 7 tweets 3 min read
As noted by scholar Jeremy M. Carnes, the debate over the ethics of killing off Thunderbird in UXM #95 began quite early, and may reflect a failure of imagination on the part of the character’s creators to acknowledge a modern Indigenous existence. #xmen 1/7 As Carnes notes “As early as The X-Men #97, Marvel printed a letter from Tom Runningmouth, a self-identified American Indian, who writes ‘I was proud to see one of my people, an American Indian – America’s First citizens – become a member….’” 2/7
Jun 20, 2022 8 tweets 4 min read
In the pages of New Mutants, Xi’an Coy Manh (Karma) can be seen to function as a constant disruption of some key elements of the superhero fantasy, most prominently through her sense of priorities, which essentially never include actually being a superhero #xmen #newmutants 1/8 Image First and most obviously, her backstory is truly horrific. She debuts in Marvel Team-Up #100, co-created by Claremont and Frank Miller with a backstory connected to the Indochina Refugee Crisis. Her parents died shipboard, and Xi’an was subjected to sexual assault. 2/8 Image
May 30, 2022 6 tweets 3 min read
According to former Marvel EIC Jim Shooter, where most Marel writers took a hands-off approach to recruiting artistic talent to work with them, Claremont instead actively participated in scouting artistic talent for UXM. #xmen 1/5 Shooter observes that “Chris was very good at finding artists. I mean, other writers, they just let the editor find an artist. Chris is out bird-dogging artists all the time.” 2/5