Posted in: Comics | Tagged: brian bendis, cullen bunn, HRL, marvel, x-men

Cullen Bunn Has a Crazy Idea That Could Retcon the Entire History of the X-Men and Magneto

Published Wed, 27 Dec 2017 10:30:58 -0600

The history of the Marvel Universe was forever changed when superstar writer "The Great One" Brian Michael Bendis decided to bring the original five X-Men from the past into the present in his All-New X-Men series alongside artist Stuart Immonen. Would these original X-Men, at some point, return to the past to live out their lives with knowledge of the future? That question seemed to be answered with the decision that the original five X-Men would make their own future in the present, and besides, it's time travel; like magic, Marvel doesn't have to explain it. If anything goes wrong, Wolverine can always go back in time and stab himself to set things right, like he did during Age of Ultron.

However, X-Men Blue writer and delicious pastry Cullen Bunn, in an interview with Marvel.com, has brought the question back to the forefront. Bunn was discussing January's upcoming X-Men Blue #20, part 4 of the Crosstime Capers story arc, in which the X-Men travel to the past and meet the past version of Magneto, despite working with the current version of Magneto in the present.

"I think they might be reluctant to fight Magneto, knowing that they will someday be allies," Bunn explained. "But…who says they'll be fighting AGAINST Magneto in the past? At least this time around, they may be siding with Magneto. Now, if you're talking about will traveling to the future and living with the modern X-Men make them reluctant to battle Magneto if and when they return home…well…we're addressing that a bit in this arc. A key point of this arc is that if the Original Five do anything different in the past, it will upset the present. With that in mind, they MUST fight Magneto, just as they did in the past."

And here's a real twist of the knife.

"And here's a real twist of the knife," Bunn continued. "Maybe the Original Five in the past fought Magneto in their earliest encounters BECAUSE they know how he'll end up in the future and they need to guide him to that moment."

So according to Bunn, all of the history of the X-Men could change… but not change… as the X-Men's ongoing saga with Magneto is given new meaning. What do you think? Could such a crazy plan work?

X-Men Blue #20 hits stores on January 24th.