Readthrough: Classic X-Men 5
3 Feb 2019 06:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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x_men_classicToday: Colossus's complicated feelings about leaving his homeland, and a doomed romance.
This story opens with Piotr Rasputin experiencing culture shock. He grew up on a collective farm where he knew everyone, and assumed he’d spend his whole life there. Now he’s a superhero, living in a city of millions, and a bit overwhelmed. So he visits Little Odessa, to at least hear his own language again.
However, he is a superhero, so of course he witnesses a kidnapping and immediately springs into action.
The driver purposefully crashes into a wall (apparently not hard enough to injure him or his “passenger”, though the car is a bit squished), and Colossus falls off—only to pick up the car physically, preventing it from backing away. The kidnappers decide that this is too much for them, get out, and run away, shouting, “We can’t fight that metal monster!” as they do.
The bystanders must have seen his transformation, but they’re kind enough not to mention it as they congratulate him on his heroism. And one fellow has even has kindly held onto his bag and sketchbook for him! (Piotr mentions that he means to send the pictures home to his little sister Illyana, as he finds his words inadequate to describe his life these days.)
The young lady he rescued thanks him and introduces herself as Anya Makarova. She’s a ballerina, and just moved to New York in order to pursue her talents to the furthest. (Piotr is scandalized when he learns she defected, but not enough to break off the conversation.) Anya is impulsive, always following the dictates of her heart, and trusting her impressions of people; she instantly takes a liking to Piotr. (And gets so lost in their conversation that he has to pull her out of the way of an oncoming train.)
A particularly telling part of their exchange:
Of course, those words will prove true of him: Piotr will never return to Russia for more than a brief visit. Despite his love of his homeland, his home is “the world”—or, for better or worse, the X-Men.
At first she claims not to know why those men tried to kidnap her, but shortly she admits that she’s certain they were hired by her father, who doesn’t approve of her life choices. “I love him. But I’m glad my leaving hurt him.”
Anya dances her debut, the performance she believes will assure her future, with Piotr in the audience. She comes out from backstage late, having taken the time to clean up, and with a huge bouquet of flowers in hand. He gives her a sketch he drew; in return, she gives him a rose. They kiss.
Later that night, she asks if he’ll stay with her forever—and before he can answer, the kidnappers are back. Once more, he transforms and fights them off—but this time, Anya sees.
And as quickly as it began, it’s over.
It’s the flipside of last week’s story: Nightcrawler feared the reactions of people in general, and the vast majority surprised him; Colossus pins his hopes and worries on one person, who reacts with terror and betrayal when she discovers what he truly is. (Notably, though, the admiring bystanders must have also seen him turn to steel and back. Even just within this story, Anya's reaction isn't the only one possible.)
Anya calls him a monster, but never uses the word mutant—that word appears only in Piotr’s own voice. The world of Classic X-Men is one where mutants exist, but only in small numbers—and very much out of the public eye. Hardly anyone knows what they are, and the only true mutant-hater is Steven Lang—whose own colleagues don't take his furor seriously.
It’s hard to see this relationship as anything but doomed, even before the reveal: between Piotr's choice to keep something so vital a secret, Anya's impulsivity (particularly in contrast to Piotr's own approach) and the speed with which things progress, it seems destined to flare out quickly. But the emotions of the story are believable enough. And while Anya herself never appears again (as far as I know, anyway), she’s referenced in later issues of Classic X-Men, which goes a long way towards making this retconned-in relationship believable.
What did you think about this story?
Alternately, any thoughts on Colossus in this era?
This story opens with Piotr Rasputin experiencing culture shock. He grew up on a collective farm where he knew everyone, and assumed he’d spend his whole life there. Now he’s a superhero, living in a city of millions, and a bit overwhelmed. So he visits Little Odessa, to at least hear his own language again.
However, he is a superhero, so of course he witnesses a kidnapping and immediately springs into action.
The driver purposefully crashes into a wall (apparently not hard enough to injure him or his “passenger”, though the car is a bit squished), and Colossus falls off—only to pick up the car physically, preventing it from backing away. The kidnappers decide that this is too much for them, get out, and run away, shouting, “We can’t fight that metal monster!” as they do.
They are the criminals…
… Yet they call me a “monster.”
Would she?
The bystanders must have seen his transformation, but they’re kind enough not to mention it as they congratulate him on his heroism. And one fellow has even has kindly held onto his bag and sketchbook for him! (Piotr mentions that he means to send the pictures home to his little sister Illyana, as he finds his words inadequate to describe his life these days.)
The young lady he rescued thanks him and introduces herself as Anya Makarova. She’s a ballerina, and just moved to New York in order to pursue her talents to the furthest. (Piotr is scandalized when he learns she defected, but not enough to break off the conversation.) Anya is impulsive, always following the dictates of her heart, and trusting her impressions of people; she instantly takes a liking to Piotr. (And gets so lost in their conversation that he has to pull her out of the way of an oncoming train.)
A particularly telling part of their exchange:
Piotr: Anya, you may never be able to return home!
Anya: The world is my home.
Of course, those words will prove true of him: Piotr will never return to Russia for more than a brief visit. Despite his love of his homeland, his home is “the world”—or, for better or worse, the X-Men.
At first she claims not to know why those men tried to kidnap her, but shortly she admits that she’s certain they were hired by her father, who doesn’t approve of her life choices. “I love him. But I’m glad my leaving hurt him.”
Anya dances her debut, the performance she believes will assure her future, with Piotr in the audience. She comes out from backstage late, having taken the time to clean up, and with a huge bouquet of flowers in hand. He gives her a sketch he drew; in return, she gives him a rose. They kiss.
Piotr: This is very sudden.
Piotr: Things are happening so fast.
Anya: Perhaps too fast?
Anya: I know.
Anya: I don’t care.
Later that night, she asks if he’ll stay with her forever—and before he can answer, the kidnappers are back. Once more, he transforms and fights them off—but this time, Anya sees.
And as quickly as it began, it’s over.
It’s the flipside of last week’s story: Nightcrawler feared the reactions of people in general, and the vast majority surprised him; Colossus pins his hopes and worries on one person, who reacts with terror and betrayal when she discovers what he truly is. (Notably, though, the admiring bystanders must have also seen him turn to steel and back. Even just within this story, Anya's reaction isn't the only one possible.)
Anya calls him a monster, but never uses the word mutant—that word appears only in Piotr’s own voice. The world of Classic X-Men is one where mutants exist, but only in small numbers—and very much out of the public eye. Hardly anyone knows what they are, and the only true mutant-hater is Steven Lang—whose own colleagues don't take his furor seriously.
It’s hard to see this relationship as anything but doomed, even before the reveal: between Piotr's choice to keep something so vital a secret, Anya's impulsivity (particularly in contrast to Piotr's own approach) and the speed with which things progress, it seems destined to flare out quickly. But the emotions of the story are believable enough. And while Anya herself never appears again (as far as I know, anyway), she’s referenced in later issues of Classic X-Men, which goes a long way towards making this retconned-in relationship believable.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9
How do you feel about retconned-in relationships with new characters?
View Answers
Mean: 2.71 Median: 3 Std. Dev 0.88
Mean: 2.71 Median: 3 Std. Dev 0.88
| Nay 1 | 1 (14.3%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 (14.3%) | |
| 3 | 4 (57.1%) | |
| 4 | 1 (14.3%) | |
| Yay 5 | 0 (0.0%) |
How much do you like the public to know about mutants in an X-Men story?
View Answers
Hardly anyone knows about mutants.
0 (0.0%)
Most people are aware of mutants, but don't think about them that much.
7 (77.8%)
Everyone knows about mutants, and has an opinion.
2 (22.2%)
What did you think about this story?
Alternately, any thoughts on Colossus in this era?
no subject
Date: 2019-02-04 02:13 am (UTC)In the poll I chose "Nay" for retconned-in relationships, but due to the story I was thinking romantic relationships. I actually like extended world-building in general because it expands the universe in small but real ways, but so much of it is romance-focused and that's off-putting, like the only connections that are valid are romantic ones.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-04 02:37 am (UTC)The way very early Classic has almost no one know about mutants really surprised me—it's so different from the attitude people have in later stuff. But here, no one seems to even think "oh, maybe that clearly super-powered person I just met might be a mutant!" Whether they're scared or not, that's not the explanation they think of. It's an interesting choice.
I think I agree that other sorts of relationships generally work better in this context. And a bit more variety would be nice! I'm trying to remember if there are retconned-in friendships and such later on... Not sure. I remember one informal adoption, though. I really liked that one. (Storm picks up a mother-figure who lives in an alternate dimension and it's both vaguely WTF and extremely charming. And, I mean, superheroes; a bit of WTF is entirely appropriate.)
Romantic retcons like this can feel awfully claustrophobic—I think that's the word I mean, anyway. And this is one of the better/less jarring ones, because at least it makes sense that the relationship ran its course that quickly and that he wouldn't mention it to anyone.
And yep, that was an ambiguous way to phrase it, in retrospect. (I almost didn't have a poll this time, but I've liked doing them and didn't want to get out of the habit... It's not one of the better thought-out ones, though.)
no subject
Date: 2019-02-04 07:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-02-04 07:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-02-04 03:06 am (UTC)In later X-Men comics, everyone seems to have at least heard of mutants, which fits with those models too. I think that's part of why everyone at least knowing they exist makes more sense to me. The X-Men have always really leaned into the "metaphor for being a minority" aspect, and while certainly there's ways where you can be one without society having ever heard of you (small religions, etc), in general for me that works better if people all know mutants exist and have varying opinions on them.
I really like the parallel with Nightcrawler's very different experience.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-05 11:16 pm (UTC)This era uses the theme of prejudice, but it's also a lot closer to their sci-fi origin story, and the combination feels a bit odd to me. Even though of course mutants had to be unknown sometime, given the premise!
And yeah, the contrast to Nightcrawler's story is really interesting; I think the parallel there makes me like this story a lot better than I would have otherwise.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-04 09:21 am (UTC)I really like the parallel you draw between Nightcrawler's experience and Colossus's, here! I hadn't thought of it that way, but it's very true.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-05 11:11 pm (UTC)Something set later would have to do a lot of work to use this kind of attitude convincingly. Maybe if it was set in a very isolated area? But even then, the Internet exists.
I'd never thought of the parallel before writing this post, but they really do read like a set now that I think about it...