You created the Days of Future Past two-parter right at the tail end of your run. Did you and Chris intend for it to be a disposable tale which could be read as a warning of a possible future, or was it always invisaged that you would return to it, in the way Chris later did on his own? (Was the last page added as an afterthought, or was it in the initial concept?) How do you feel about the repeated strip-mining of this concept over the years?
I plotted "Days of Future Past" with 2 things in mind. First, to show Chris that he was wrong, and that the Sentinels were not "lame villains", and second to finally give the X-Men a clear cut victory -- something they had not had as long as Chris had been writing the book.
Unfortunately, Chris slipped in what came to be known as the "lesbian-incest scene" (where Future Kitty "impulsively" kisses herself), which was nothing to do with what was in the pictures, and which indicated that the X-Men had failed again -- they had not eliminated the Sentinel ruled future, merely shunted it off into a parallel timeline.
The whole point behind the telepathic time travel element was that there would be no way an alternate time line could be created. Since Kate traveled through her own mind back to Kitty, there was no point at which a branch could occur. I even convinced Mark Gruenwald -- Mr. Multiverse himself -- that this was the case. Chris put in a line about "we may just create an alternate timeline" and, coupled with the "lesbian" scene, the story was rendered unfinished and open ended.
As you might imagine, I was furious when I saw the published version. It was at this point I demanded -- and got -- script approval, but before that could go into effect I hit my wall on X-MEN and left the book.
I guess Claremont wasn't very keen on the concept of "closure".
The immense number of dangling plotlines and unresolved situations was what killed the comic to me, around the 250s (that, and the birth of the "Image" look, on those very pages). Add insult to injury, the lack of definition on many a question raised paved the way to a lot of bad ideas from writers who succeeded him, especially in regard to Wolverine...
edited to ease up on the cliches
This message has been edited by DocCuttySark on Feb 27, 2004 10:07 AM
Unless I'm mistaken, at the time, Jean WAS officially Phoenix and WAS officially dead, so how was it that she was Rachel's mother in this future timeline?
Unless I'm mistaken, at the time, Jean WAS officially Phoenix and WAS officially dead, so how was it that she was Rachel's mother in this future timeline?
Follow-up question to that follow-up question:
Was Rachel even SUPPOSED to be Rachel SUMMERS? I believe the last name was added later. Did you intend her to be Scott and Jean's daughter?
I remember hearing that Days Of Future Past was the future for the world seen in PHOENIX: THE UNTOLD STORY, the original ending to the Phoenix Saga in which Jean was not killed. I don't know if that idea was introduced well after the publication or not.
Unless I'm mistaken, at the time, Jean WAS officially Phoenix and WAS officially dead, so how was it that she was Rachel's mother in this future timeline?
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Was Rachel even SUPPOSED to be Rachel SUMMERS? I believe the last name was added later. Did you intend her to be Scott and Jean's daughter?
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Rachel was originally intended to be Scott and Jean's daughter. "Days of Future Past" was plotted long before the Phoenix debacle.
After Shooter ordered the Phoenix storyline changed, we had to alter quite a bit of what followed, such as the funeral issue, but removing Rachel from "Days of Future Past" would have meant a major reworking of the story, so we opted for the easy solution, and did not give her a last name.
Unfortunately, since Chris never throws anything away, she remained "Rachel Summers" in his mind, and that was how he wrote her subsequently.
But, if you reread "Days of Future Past" as originally published, you will find no reference to the parentage of Rachel. She is merely a convenient telepath and Franklin Richards' girlfriend.
Going back to my thread about your FF run: Had you already envisioned Franklin from Days of Future Past as having powers similar to those he had in FF 24?'s "Childhood's End?"
As I recall, Franklin evidenced no powers in "Days of Future Past." Had I intended him to have the powers he demonstrated in "Childhood's End" Rachel would have been unnecessary. Franklin could have sent Kate back himself.
