And An X-Man Will Die . . .
If you’re new to comics, get use to this phrase because you’ll hear it . . .
Over . . .
And Over . . .
Again!
This probably the most written slogan in Marvel marketing. It generally occurs every time a new creative team takes over or, in this case, every time a major story is published. 
“Endangered Species” is said to provide the much-needed boost for the X-Men, who are currently lagging behind their Avenger counterparts. But if IGN’s exclusive findings are any indication, there might not be much of an X-Men left.
I have a hard time believing such a body count is indeed legitimate, although the impact of this one is on par with “Days of the Future Past”!
I will say one thing - I don’t really know the New X-Men at all. I know the Astonishing team, the Uncanny team and so on and so on, but the New X-Men, comprised of, well, the new characters are a lagging property. This is perhaps because we don’t need to know them - comic fans have either embraced the Whedon-written Astonishing or the Cary-written X-Men.
What “Endangered Species” could do is wipe the slate clean, killing (at least) one major character and leaving multiple gaps for the new X-Men to occupy in existing teams, giving readers no option but to at least familarize themselves with these faces.
“Endangered Species” looks to be for X-Men what “Avengers Disassembled” was to the A-Team, but let’s hope Marvel doesn’t forget - it wasn’t the the death and destruction of “Disassembled” but instead of the fan-favorite roster which followed that put the Avengers back on the map.
In terms of comic book sales, death is just a quick fix - something both of the big boys tend to forget.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:03 am
I’ve got a crazy idea: How about Marvel stop over saturating the market place with X-Men. I used to love X-Men everything, but after a certain point it became too much.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:49 am
The best tag line I’ve ever seen on a cover was the Great Lakes X-Men (formerly Avengers) reading something along the lines of “We’re the only X-Men book that DOESN’T have Wolverine on the cover, so you must buy it!”
You’re right, Paul - a crapload of teams probably became too much. I only read Astonishing and X-Factor, and from what I’ve read on the Wizard forums, that’s pretty much it.
Let’s hope Endangered Species doesn’t screw it up further, or the Merry Mutants won’t have much to be Merry about.
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:29 pm
So soon after Civil War.
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I agree 100% Richard. I used to love Wolverine, but I got too much of him. I want to like the guy, but how can he be on so many teams!