![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
X-Men: Schism betting pool.
So, flist, help me figure this one out.
So everybody and their dog is talking about Schism and how Marvel told everyone at SDCC that Cyclops and Wolverine are about to become the new Charlie and Magneto. Yes, in those exact words. Which... BWUH?! How is this supposed to happen? I mean I am truly, honestly baffled as to how Scott and Logan could actually have a philosophical difference as deep and wide as "let's peacefully co-exist with humans" versus FUCKING GENOCIDE.
And I'm sitting here (after having read Schism #1) and still not sure what the two of them are eventually going to fight about. I'm coming up with various scenarios in my mind and having a hard time imagining how any of them could, you know, happen.
So after reading Schism #1 - which basically just recapped Scott and Logan's character arcs since the beginning of Uncanny X-Men and went to great lengths to show how deeply both Scott and Logan admire (and depend upon) each other even if they're never going to get all Buddy Movie with each other - I'm still not sure what the Big Fight is going to be about, but I have some guesses. Anybody want to place bets?
1. The conflict will be a literal rehash of Professor X versus Magneto, with one side wanting to earn the trust of humans and the other side waving the "FUCK YEAH MUTANT SUPERIORITY" flag. Odds that this will turn out to be true: Three hundred and fifty-four zillion to one. Unless half of the X-Men are replaced by Skrulls.
2. The conflict will be some variation of "mutants with powers are obligated to protect humans from supervillains/aliens/dinosaurs/zombies/shark-people/whatever" versus "screw risking our lives to protect humankind, it hasn't made them stop hating and fearing us for the past fifty years so let's just leave them alone." Odds that this will turn out to be true: Two to one, as I think it's the most likely conflict that Schism #1 has set up. But. BUT. I do not see how either Cyclops or Wolverine could take the "screw protecting humans" position without that being an enormous disservice to each of their respective character arcs. Yes, ESPECIALLY Wolverine. But then again Marvel loves to derail character arcs and regress character development (heeeey, remember Magneto in the 80's?) so it's still not unlikely that this is going to happen.
3. The conflict will be some variation of "mutantkind needs to unite and stay on this island where we can be safe from human hatred" versus "we're never going to solve anti-mutant prejudice unless we get off this island and integrate with humans." Odd that this will turn out to be true: Fifty to one. The mutants have had this argument before, so at this point a re-hash would be boring. Also, the very argument itself is a gross oversimplification of what Scott is trying to accomplish with Utopia, and Logan is smart enough to understand that.
4. The conflict will be some variation of pro-mutant/superhero registration versus anti-mutant/superhero registration. Odds that this will turn out to be true: One hundred to one. I doubt that Marvel is going to re-hash Civil War all over again. Not even Marvel is that lazy.
5. The conflict will be based around the discovery of some Plot Element that can either undo M-Day or in some other way ensure the continuation of the X-gene and the mutant species. Possibly a Plot Element that comes covered in a sticky goo of Unfortunate Ethical Implications. And it is the Unfortunate Ethical Implications that somehow causes a disagreement and falling-out between the two groups of X-Men. Odds that this will turn out to be true: Four to one. I have no doubt that either a reversal of M-Day or some event that signals the rebirth of the mutant species (I mean, above and beyond just Hope) will happen sometime in the next year or so in one of the X-books, but for some reason this doesn't ping me as the event that Schism is going to be based on.
6. The conflict will be Cowboys fans vs. Steelers fans. Odds that this will actually turn out to be the One True Conflict that tears the X-Men apart: Two to one. Well, it makes about as much sense as either Wolverine or Cyclops leading half of the X-Men to abandon the whole "sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them" concept. And anybody who has ever been caught in the middle of a fight between a Cowboys fan versus a Steelers fan knows that football is serious fucking business.
So those are my guesses. The only thing that we know for sure right now is that Schism is going to end with a split between a team led by Logan and a team led by Scott, an event which will apparently be so dramatic that it causes Emma Frost to stop wearing pants.
Does anybody want to add more guesses to the betting pool?
If you feel so inclined you can place your bets in the comments. Just be aware that this is one of those betting pools where there are no tangible prizes other than the smug satisfaction of knowing that You Were Right and You Totally Called It.
So everybody and their dog is talking about Schism and how Marvel told everyone at SDCC that Cyclops and Wolverine are about to become the new Charlie and Magneto. Yes, in those exact words. Which... BWUH?! How is this supposed to happen? I mean I am truly, honestly baffled as to how Scott and Logan could actually have a philosophical difference as deep and wide as "let's peacefully co-exist with humans" versus FUCKING GENOCIDE.
And I'm sitting here (after having read Schism #1) and still not sure what the two of them are eventually going to fight about. I'm coming up with various scenarios in my mind and having a hard time imagining how any of them could, you know, happen.
So after reading Schism #1 - which basically just recapped Scott and Logan's character arcs since the beginning of Uncanny X-Men and went to great lengths to show how deeply both Scott and Logan admire (and depend upon) each other even if they're never going to get all Buddy Movie with each other - I'm still not sure what the Big Fight is going to be about, but I have some guesses. Anybody want to place bets?
1. The conflict will be a literal rehash of Professor X versus Magneto, with one side wanting to earn the trust of humans and the other side waving the "FUCK YEAH MUTANT SUPERIORITY" flag. Odds that this will turn out to be true: Three hundred and fifty-four zillion to one. Unless half of the X-Men are replaced by Skrulls.
2. The conflict will be some variation of "mutants with powers are obligated to protect humans from supervillains/aliens/dinosaurs/zombies/shark-people/whatever" versus "screw risking our lives to protect humankind, it hasn't made them stop hating and fearing us for the past fifty years so let's just leave them alone." Odds that this will turn out to be true: Two to one, as I think it's the most likely conflict that Schism #1 has set up. But. BUT. I do not see how either Cyclops or Wolverine could take the "screw protecting humans" position without that being an enormous disservice to each of their respective character arcs. Yes, ESPECIALLY Wolverine. But then again Marvel loves to derail character arcs and regress character development (heeeey, remember Magneto in the 80's?) so it's still not unlikely that this is going to happen.
3. The conflict will be some variation of "mutantkind needs to unite and stay on this island where we can be safe from human hatred" versus "we're never going to solve anti-mutant prejudice unless we get off this island and integrate with humans." Odd that this will turn out to be true: Fifty to one. The mutants have had this argument before, so at this point a re-hash would be boring. Also, the very argument itself is a gross oversimplification of what Scott is trying to accomplish with Utopia, and Logan is smart enough to understand that.
4. The conflict will be some variation of pro-mutant/superhero registration versus anti-mutant/superhero registration. Odds that this will turn out to be true: One hundred to one. I doubt that Marvel is going to re-hash Civil War all over again. Not even Marvel is that lazy.
5. The conflict will be based around the discovery of some Plot Element that can either undo M-Day or in some other way ensure the continuation of the X-gene and the mutant species. Possibly a Plot Element that comes covered in a sticky goo of Unfortunate Ethical Implications. And it is the Unfortunate Ethical Implications that somehow causes a disagreement and falling-out between the two groups of X-Men. Odds that this will turn out to be true: Four to one. I have no doubt that either a reversal of M-Day or some event that signals the rebirth of the mutant species (I mean, above and beyond just Hope) will happen sometime in the next year or so in one of the X-books, but for some reason this doesn't ping me as the event that Schism is going to be based on.
6. The conflict will be Cowboys fans vs. Steelers fans. Odds that this will actually turn out to be the One True Conflict that tears the X-Men apart: Two to one. Well, it makes about as much sense as either Wolverine or Cyclops leading half of the X-Men to abandon the whole "sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them" concept. And anybody who has ever been caught in the middle of a fight between a Cowboys fan versus a Steelers fan knows that football is serious fucking business.
So those are my guesses. The only thing that we know for sure right now is that Schism is going to end with a split between a team led by Logan and a team led by Scott, an event which will apparently be so dramatic that it causes Emma Frost to stop wearing pants.
Does anybody want to add more guesses to the betting pool?
If you feel so inclined you can place your bets in the comments. Just be aware that this is one of those betting pools where there are no tangible prizes other than the smug satisfaction of knowing that You Were Right and You Totally Called It.