X-Men Forever



X-Men Forever (2009-2011) is an old-school Marvel Comics title written by Chris Claremont set in an alternate reality similar in places to the 1990s era of the mainstream Marvel Universe. The title allows Claremont to tell the storylines he had intended to tell within the pages of X-Men Vol. 2 before a dispute with Bob Harras forced him to depart Marvel for a brief period.

The title is intended to reflect the X-Men's journey through a more consequential and more grounded world, where characters not only die, but stay dead, certain characters also go through new, even questionable, changes and never revert back to their status quo.

Claremont insists that all changes are permanent.

The series lasted only two years before being cancelled for low sales.


 * Alternate Universe: The continuity remains more or less the same as the 1990s era of the Marvel Universe, with changes occurring only when an X-Man makes a life-changing decision (Peter Rasputin beginning a relationship with The Black Widow). Interestingly, recent 616 events are also covered and better explained or abruptly ended (the dwindling Mutant population and Storm's marriage).
 * Anyone Can Die: The series kicks off with the death of Wolverine, and later kills off
 * Body Horror: Both played straight and inverted in the case of
 * Cast From Lifespan:
 * Cartwright Curse: Jean Grey is having a hard time keeping her boyfriends alive.
 * Cloning Blues: There is at least one Storm clone running around. It's either the Evil Storm or the Kid Storm.
 * There's also an evil(er) Sabretooth clone. He's leader of the Marauders, an entire team of cloned mutants.
 * Die for Our Ship: Crazy enough as it is, Jean and Logan's love story is kiboshed as soon as it's introduced so Claremont can pair Jean up with Hank.
 * Dramatic Irony: Homo Superior are the flawed creation, not the next stage of evolution.
 * Face Heel Turn: Ororo is revealed as Logan's murderer. Later, Iliyana Rasputin, upon the restoration of her demonic powers, reveals her true loyalties lie with Count Belasco, and willfully remains evil even after Kitty briefly turns to the dark side and rejects it.
 * is the second leader of the Consortium,
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: Storm has a huge scar that came right across her face and between her eyes as a result of Kitty slashing her across the face in retaliation for Storm killing Logan.
 * Handicapped Badass: Sabretooth can kick your ass blindfolded and with only one hand. In fact, he sort of has to.
 * It's Been Done: Aspects of Claremont's most famous unused storyline, Wolverine being killed and later used as a sleeper assassin for an enemy, were inevitably used twice. Once for "The Twelve" crossover story, and again for the "Enemy of the State" storyline in Wolverine's own title. The "Mutant Burnout" storyline, designed to explain why the Mutant race does not expand in greater numbers, is a more grounded version of the reality warps Marvel used to diminish the Mutant population at the conclusion of House of M.
 * Killed Off for Real: The revolving door on mutant heaven has been shut -- nobody to die in this series has ever come back, and Claremont says it'll stay that way.
 * Kudzu Plot: But of course. Chris Claremont has a reputation for these.
 * And again, with the series' cancellation, we have more Kudzu plot that seemingly will not be resolved.
 * Non-Indicative Name: For a series where people die and stay dead, the "Forever" part of the title is ironic.
 * Power Creep, Power Seep: Averted. Claremont was not a fan of the ridiculously-strong Healing Factor of Wolverine, who's shown having trouble healing from broken ribs. Similarly, Sabretooth is blinded and isn't sure his eyes will ever heal.
 * Protection From Editors: Being an Alternate Universe gives Claremont a lot more freedom than he ever enjoyed on shared universe titles, and he takes full advantage.
 * Put on a Bus: Claremont dismisses most of the existing student body that was active in the 1990s by having them be placed in secret sub-groups and never mentioned again.
 * Psychic Radar: In #7, Jean Grey and Professor X work together to maximize their psychic radar scope and power and get around teh interference from a mountain range.
 * Really Gets Around: Jean Grey. In less than twenty issues, she bounces from Scott and Logan to cockteasing Hank McCoy. While mourning Logan's death.
 * Ship Sinking: In only a few dozen issues, Claremont dropped an anvil on Jean/Logan, Jean/Scott, Kitty/Peter, Ororo/T'Challa, and Jean/Hank.
 * Be fair -- the Kitty/Peter ship had already taken quite a few torpedo hits courtesy of Jim Shooter back in '84, and was pretty much dead in the water when Kitty went to England. All Claremont did was turn what was left of the hull into an artificial reef.
 * Take That: A metric ton of it. Claremont wasted no time in using his creative freedom to snipe established mainstream continuity, which resulted in established and current developments and mythologies being swept aside so Word of God can set the record straight on what should have happened. Cable was never Nathan Summers, Nathan never went into the future, Sabretooth is Wolverine's father, Mr. Sinister is really a child, and so on.
 * Xenafication: Kitty Pryde, full-stop. Justified in that she's taking on Wolverine's personality traits and Lampshaded non-humorously by her friends and family worrying about the darker turn her character's taking.
 * Xenafication: Kitty Pryde, full-stop. Justified in that she's taking on Wolverine's personality traits and Lampshaded non-humorously by her friends and family worrying about the darker turn her character's taking.