Rachel Summers Starchilde News

X-Men Divide We Stand #2 Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:00 +0000

Comic Continuum has posted a 10 page preview of X-Men: Divided We Stand #2, which includes the first two pages of the Havok & Vulcan story.

Rachel is not mentioned in either of the preview pages, and its highly probable she will not appear, but this story will likely set the stage for whatever comes next for the Starjammers and Vulcan.

Site Update- Fan Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Wed, 14 May 2008 02:59:00 +0000

A new video section has been added to the Gallery, featuring some fan made videos with Rachel:

http://www.rachel-summers.com/video.html

Check 'em out!

ClanDestine #4 Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:33:00 +0000

Comic Continuum has a six page preview of Alan Davis' ClanDestine #4. The time-lost Excalibur appears in the last 2 pages of the preview.

ClanDestine #4 is out next Wednesday.

Starjammers Not in Secret Invasion: X-Men :(

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:49:00 +0000

Mike Carey revealed to CBR that he originally planned on having the Starjammers in Secret Invasion: X-Men, the SI tie-in he is writing:

The X-Men may have connections in the interstellar Shi’ar Empire with groups like the Starjammers, but Carey is keeping the action in this series Earthbound. “I did toy with some ideas about bringing the Starjammers in and taking some of the action into Skrull space, but in the end it just weakened the drama,” Carey said. “We have this very compelling and scary situation developing on Earth and it seems like that’s where we should be focusing. So that what we decided to do in the end.”

Back in March at Wizard World LA, Marvel's Jim McCann revealed that the Imperial Guard would be playing a role in Secret Invasion, and the most likely spot seemed like Secret Invasion: X-Men. It was hoped then that the Starjammers would as well, but perhaps that isn't happening now. Bummer.

Starjammers Question in X-Position

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Wed, 07 May 2008 08:06:00 +0000

In this week's X-Position, X-Editor Nick Lowe was asked about the follow-up to Emperor Vulcan:

As long as we’re talking about Skrulls and aliens, EC sent in an email that reminds us there are mutants in outer space too.

1) I'm probably going to be hated for asking this, but with everything that’s occurred with Vulcan, the Shi’ar Empire, and the Starjammers -- and with all the Abnett/Lanning Marvel outer space craziness (not to mention the current “Secret Invasion”) -- is there any chance of seeing “Emperor Vulcan” evolve into something bigger? Like “Annihilation” bigger?

NL: Be careful what you wish for, EC.

The Latest on the Vulcan Saga, Divided We Stand #2, and MCP #8

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:21:00 +0000

In this week's X-Position, once again the future for Rachel, Alex and Lorna brought up, but no knew information to report:

2) Chris, has the third part of the “Emperor Vulcan” story been written? Will Polaris, Havok, and Marvel Girl be the ones to defeat Vulcan? Or will other X-Men join the fight?

Yost: There has been talk. I can say no more.

X-Position also had two pages from the upcoming X-Men: Divided We Stand #2 story featuring Havok and Vulcan, written by former X-Editor Andy Schmidt with art by Frasier Irving. So far no word whether or not Rachel will appear (someone needs to save poor Alex).

Also, next week Marvel Comics Presents #8 is in stores, and that features a story (also by Schmidt) about Cyclops dealing with the aftermath of Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire and the death of Corsair.

Marvelnoise.com has a multi-page preview, including a scene where Alex sends word to Scott about their father's death, but no indication yet if Rachel will or won't be mentioned in this.

Emperor Vulcan #1 Added to Marvel Digital Comics

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:27:00 +0000

Marvel.com has a short interview with writer Chris Yost about X-Men: Emperor Vulcan in their Digital Comics Creator Spotlight.

Yost has this to say about EV:

I had a blast working on this series, and really got to let loose with Havok, one of my favorite X-characters. My goals for the series were to blow up a planet, have Havok kick some butt and tell some classic X-Men space opera.

Marvel Digital Comics has added Emperor Vulcan #1 and you can view it for free!

Also, this week Emperor Vulcan is being released in trade paperback format.

Another Starjammers Question in MyCup o' Joe

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 05:03:00 +0000

Remember last week when there was a non-answer to the Starjammer question?

Well, this week Joe Quesada answered the question I asked in MyCup o' Joe:

Ashley's a big Rachel Summers fan and wants to know:

Hi Joe,
I was wondering what's next for the X-Men who were left in space (Havok, Polaris, and Rachel) and when they might be finally returning to Earth?

JQ: As far as Havok and Polaris go, Ashley, they're going to have to break out of the prison that Vulcan put them in at the end of X-Men: Emperor Vulcan. Can Rachel break them out? We shall see!

Quesada Asked About Starjammers

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:20:00 +0000

On the new MyCup o' Joe on Myspace, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada was asked about cosmic Marvel and the possibility of a Starjammers book:

3. whos_the_champ from Marvel.Com asks:
Is there a chance of a new cosmic revolution at Marvel if Guardians of the Galaxy sells well? Possibly a Starjammers book, or even a cosmic branch of the Avengers? Also, what in the world have S.W.O.R.D. been up to during Annihilation?

JQ: Hey there, whos_the_champ, I’m not the authority on the world of Marvel Cosmic, but the ever-hyperactive Bill Rosemann is the keeper of that quantum flame and he’s just dying to push me aside so he can ---

Bill Rosemann continues with a lot of information about Guardians of the Galaxy, Secret Invasion Inhumans, SWORD, Galactus, Silver Surfer and Nova, but never says anything about the Starjammers. Bummer.

If you would like to ask Joe a question (and hopefully he or one of the editors will actually answer it if asked), you can post your question on Myspace or on the Marvel Message Boards.

Secret Invasion Who Do You Trust - Rachel Banners

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:48:00 +0000

Marvel.com offered up templates to make your own Secret Invasion Who(m) Do You Do Trust banners.

So, I put together some Rachel related banners:

Feel free to use these online!

Phoenix Birthsong???

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:11:00 +0000

UncannyXMen.net posted a rather humorous April Fool's Day prank, with a fake interview announcing Phoenix: Birthsong, the sequel to Endsong and Warsong, which features some modified Rachel artwork. Make sure to click to the second page of the article.

ClanDestine #3 Preview - With Excalibur!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:35:00 +0000

After two issues of teaser cameo appearances, Excalibur finally guest stars in the third issue of ClanDestine. Marvel Noise has the six page preview. The issue is in stores next Wednesday.

It so cool to see the Excalibur gang again. I've forgotten how much I miss Meggan.

Andy Schmidt Writing Havok & Cyclops Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:30:00 +0000

Former X-Editor Andy Schmidt talked to CBR about writing the upcoming Havok & Vulcan story in X-Men: Divided We Stand #2 and a story about Cyclops' reaction to Corsair's death in Marvel Comics Presents #8:

"In Ed Brubaker's run on Uncanny X-Men, Cyclops's father died and he wasn't around to see it or react to it," explained Schmidt, "and Ed didn't have time to follow up on it in the book before we were running into Messiah CompleX, so I asked him if he was okay with me tackling how Corsair dying affects Cyclops. He was open to the idea so I cleared through him, then X-Men editor Nick Lowe and finally through Marvel Comics Presents' editor John Barber."

Following the Cyclops story for MCP, Schmidt is working with Frasier Irving [Gutsville, Seven Soldiers of Victory] on am X-Men: Divided We Stand story, following what happened to Havok in the Emperor Vulcan storyline called "The Hole." "Starts off with Havok, [also known as] Alex Summers, in a prison at the bottom of the ocean on a world that is an ocean world," said Schmidt. "Cut off from cosmic rays. You go in there, and you pretty much don't come out. He's in a prison cell, except there isn't any real point to have him in one. He's in one because they want to keep him isolated, to break him, more than anything else. Not because they're afraid he's going to escape, because if he opens up the door they all die."

Since the Havok & Vulcan story for DWS is only 8 pages, it seems unlikely that Rachel will appear.

Marvel Comics Present #8 is out on April 30, 2008. Divided We Stand #2 hits stores on May 21, 2008.

ClanDestine #5 Solicitation

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:03:00 +0000

Newsarama has posted some early Marvel solicitations for June, including the final issue of the ClanDestine mini-series, which the classic Excalibur team will continue to appear in:

CLANDESTINE #5 (of 5)
Written by ALAN DAVIS
Pencils & Cover by ALAN DAVIS

The Destine family is caught between the Cross-Time Excalibur and the Inhumans of another reality! While at home, Griffin's machinations harvest Destine DNA in a bid to live forever! And patriarch Adam Destine returns to where it all began--Yden.

ClanDestine #5 will be in stores on June 4th.

Wizard World Los Angeles Report

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:50:00 +0000

I received an email from an X-fan who attended the X-Men Panel at Wizard World yesterday and spoke the writers and editors in attendance, and has a bit of information for Rachel fans on the status of the Starjammers:

The only news on Rachel & the Starjammers from the X-Panel was that their story continues in the Divided We Stand limited series.

A Havok fan asked the panel a question about what was next for the Starjammers, and the way Jim McCann (Marvel's marketing director) answered the question made it seem like Havok may appear in both issues of Divided We Stand.

Matt Fraction was announced as the new co-writer of Uncanny X-Men, and he may be better suited to write Rachel than Brubaker. Fraction said he liked the Paul Smith/JR, Jr era Uncanny and characters like Magma that Brubaker doesn't like.

The panel was asked about Selene returning, and there wasn't a clear answer, but both Marc Guggenheim (Young X-Men) and Yost & Kyle (X-Force) said they might be using her. Since Wolverine nearly killed Rachel the last time an X-Man tried to kill Selene, X-Force facing off against her would be interesting.

A couple other things (not to get anyone in trouble for revealing this):

- Rachel, Alex and Lorna will return to X-books, eventually.

- Rachel & the Starjammers' story will likely continue in Uncanny X-Men.

- No Annihilation or Guardians of the Galaxy tie-in with the Starjammers are planned.

No idea when Rachel will return to Uncanny. It seems to be going in a completely different direction with the relocation to San Francisco. (The Uncanny X-Men will be based out of San Francisco starting in #500, which is the location where the X-Men were when Rachel faced off against the Beyonder).

Uncanny X-Men will have a new rotating penciling team of Terry Dobson (hurray!) and Greg Land (boo!). Dobson told Newarama that there are plans to do more than 12 issues a year, maybe 14, although both pencilers are known for being late...

Update:

Today at the Mondo Marvel Panel at WWLA, a question was asked about the Imperial Guard:

Q: Will we see the Imperial Guard on Earth?

McCann said that they'll be involved, somehow, in a Secret Invasion tie-in.

This could be in the X-Men Secret Invasion tie-in. Yesterday at the Secret Invasion Panel, McCann said that there would be an X-Men Secret Invasion tie-in but "but they're not going to announce anything specifically yet."

Tom Brevoort, the editor for Secret Invasion, talked a little about the X-Men's involvement in Secret Invasion to IGN last month, and mentioned that there would be a tie-in to avoid disrupting anything going on in the individual titles.

Although that is unlikely to be resolution readers have been hoping for, it is at least a positive sign...

Calling for Fan Fiction & Fan Art!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:26:00 +0000

Calling on all writers and artists! Rachel-Summers.com is currently accepting fan fiction and fan art submission!

If you have created any fan art or fan fiction related to Rachel, I'd love to feature it on the site. Any type of creative writing from short stories to poems, and fan art like drawings, digital art, wallpapers, etc, will be considered.

If you have any Rachel related art or fanfic, feel free to email them to: rs_starchilde@yahoo.com.

Guidelines:
Only G, PG and PG-13 rated material will be posted.
Art should be in .jpg or .gif format and less than 500kb

No end in sight for the Starjammers

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:50:00 +0000

Unfortunately, today’s X-Position with X-Editors Nick Lowe, Axel Alonso and John Barber didn’t give any updates on when the Vulcan saga might finally, at long last, be coming to an end.

And speaking of Polaris, John Crowley (along with several other fans) wrote to me with questions about the status of her and her associates.

Will we be seeing a resolution to the Shi’ar civil war by the end of the year? I thought I had read earlier that “Emperor Vulcan” was supposed to be the final act of the whole story with the Summers (at least for a while). What changed? And when will we see what happens with the Starjammers, Havok, Polaris, and Rachel?

LOWE: As the person who wrote the solicit text for “Emperor Vulcan” and did a lot of interviews about it, I don’t remember reading or saying that it was the final act of the Summers’ story. We always saw it as a middle chapter. As for when you’ll see them again, you’ll just have to wait and see.

How disappointing. I’m tired of waiting for this to be over. I wish they would just give us some sort of time frame for when this is ending.

Also, new Cable writer Duane Swierczynski will be answering questions in next week’s X-Position. Rachel fans need to send in questions (you can find the email address and instructions at the bottom of this page).

Although with Rachel stuck in the never-ending space story, it’s doubtful he’ll be able to answer questions about Rachel appearing in Cable, but it’d be nice if a question related to Rachel or the Askani was asked, but hopefully none of the monotonous "is the baby Rachel" questions.

Rachel Appears in ClanDestine #2

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:13:00 +0000

Michael Sean posted on CBR that Rachel makes an appearance in ClanDestine #2:

Checked out clandestine issue 2 advanced copy. don't want to get into big spoilers but rachel and the classic excalibur team make an appearance in this one too. So big rachel fans may want to keep looking at this mini.

Rachel and Excalibur made a cameo appearance in the first issue of ClanDestine, and are on the cover of #3. So this is turning into a rather major appearance for Rachel and the Classic Excalibur team.

ClanDestine #2 is due out next Wednesday.

Thanks to Michael for the heads up.

What's Next For Rachel & The Starjammers After Emperor Vulcan?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:54:00 +0000

So far, there hasn't been any word about what will be next for the Rachel and the Starjammers. With Emperor Vulcan’s cliffhanger ending with Havok, Polaris, Ch’od and Raza captured, and Rachel, Lilandra and Korvus regrouping and Vulcan announcing plans to expand the Shi’ar Empire and kill Professor Xavier, obviously the story will continue – the question is where and when.

A short story with Alex and Vulcan will be appearing in Divided We Stand Issue 2. So they haven’t been completely forgotten.

Emperor Vulcan scribe Chris Yost posted on CBR that “There are plans, from even before I came onboard”.

So what could those plans be?

In light of everything that’s happened in Messiah Complex, a Shi’ar invasion of Earth or even a rescue mission seems unlikely.

Professor Xavier is, for all intents and purposes, brain dead. X-Men becomes X-Men: Legacy and will for at least 12 issues be an Xavier solo book with Xavier trying to piecing his memories back together. Vulcan coming to kill him is rather pointless until he recovers.

Meanwhile, the X-Men are officially disbanded while Scott figures out what to do next.

Could Rachel returning to Earth with news of Alex and Lorna’s capture bring the X-Men back together? While it's nice to think that could happen, all signs point to the return of Magneto in Uncanny X-Men 500 as what will bring the X-Men together – a classic storyline for such a major milestone issue. Another space story in Uncanny any time soon seems highly unlikely.

Ed Brubaker stated at Wizard World Los Angeles in 2007 that he had no interest in finishing the story, preferring to leave it as a dangling storyline for another writer to pick up. So as long as he is writing Uncanny X-Men, it seems incredibly unlikely the story will continue there in any form.

That would leave the Vulcan story for either a crossover event (with the X-Men, Marvel Universe or Cosmic Marvel having to stop a Shi’ar invasion) or a separate miniseries.

Is Vulcan even popular enough to carry his own crossover event, whether it’s within in the X-books, Marvel universe or Cosmic Marvel? Space X-Men stories are generally unpopular, Vulcan himself hasn’t caught out with readers and Rise & Fall of the Shi’ar Empire isn’t all that well-regarded of an arc. Sales did steadily decline for Emperor Vulcan, and it wasn’t just fans of Rachel, Alex and Lorna who were thoroughly pissed off at the lack of an ending with Emperor Vulcan. Will that limit the possible avenues to finally end this story?

Some of the possible places for the story to continue:

Secret Invasion

One of the other problems with Vulcan and the Shi’ar attacking Earth is that they have to wait in line for the Skrulls to finish their secret invasion.

Editor Tom Brevoort told IGN that the X-Men will be involved in Secret Invasion, but it will be handled in a separate limited series to avoid disrupting the X-books’ plans for the aftermath of Messiah Complex. This likely will be similar to X-Men: Civil War and will deal with any X-Men revealed to be Skrulls. It's incredibly unlikely anything with the Shi'ar will be involved.

Could something following the Secret Invasion involve the Shi'ar, like a Skrull and Shi'ar alliance? Perhaps, but there is no proof of anything like that happening.

Starjammers Limited or Ongoing Series

From what we heard this time last year, some at Marvel are dead set against another Starjammers series because historically they’ve done poorly.

Emperor Vulcan has sold marginally well, but with sales to comic book stores around 36,000 copies and lots of unsold copies still on the shelves, is there a mandate for an ongoing? Probably not, unless it's another limited series killing time until the "plans" to finally happen. But with the backlash from the last non-ending, would Marvel put other another filler series?

Annihilation

Currently, Marvel is wrapping up the second Annihilation storyline, Annihilation: Conquest (the last issue is out in April). Sales have been okay, but nothing spectacular, with the Conquest books selling less than Emperor Vulcan. Hints have been dropped that there could be another Annihilation series, but it probably wouldn’t be for at least six months or a year. There are also hints that the cosmic Marvel characters could get involved in Secret Invasion.

Former Annihilation editor Andy Schmidt is one of the writers involved in Divided We Stand #2, prompting speculation the Alex story could be a bridge to bring the Annihilation/Cosmic Marvel characters into the Starjammers/Vulcan storyline.

It would be just like Marvel to want to prop up the sales of the Cosmic Marvel titles by adding the X-Men, Starjammers and Vulcan to the mix.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Out of Annihilation: Conquest is coming new Guardians of the Galaxy ongoing series in May, and there has been speculation that they could go and help the Starjammers.

Writer Andy Lanning told Marvel:

"One of our first stories will deal with somebody taking advantage of the aftermath of CONQUEST to expand their power base. [And] apart from the new threats and menaces, we're planning on the return of at lest one old, old foe and an even older hero."

If Vulcan is looking to expand the Shi’ar empire, he’s a likely candidate to be taking advantage of the aftermath of Conquest.

If the Starjammers and Vulcan are going to be part of Cosmic Marvel instead of the X-Titles, the Guardians getting involved in stopping Vulcan or rescuing the Starjammers is a strong possibility.

Uncanny X-Men and Legacy

Like previously stated, it’s unlikely that any Starjammers or Vulcan story would take place in Uncanny or Legacy this year since they are still dealing with the aftermath of Messiah Complex.

Once Xavier recovers from his brain injury, he could gather a team and go help the Starjammers in Legacy.

Or, the story could continue in Uncanny once Ed Brubaker is no longer writing the book.

In several years, there could be an X-crossover with multiple books getting involved in stopping Vulcan. The X-writers don't seem eager to do another crossover event any time soon, and the storylines coming out of Messiah Complex could play out for years to come.

One point often brought up in discussions about an X-Men rescue mission is Scott having to go save his little brother, and how Scott’s involvement would once again repeat the pattern of Alex never escaping the shadow of his older brother. Unfortunately, if the other X-Men are involved, it would be impossible for Alex to avoid being overshadowed by Scott, especially after Scott has solidified his role as commander-in-chief of the X-Men following Divided We Stand.

Astonishing X-Men

Axel Alonso mentioned that there will be a strong sci-fi theme in Warren Ellis’ Astonishing X-Men run (which is expected to start in July 2008). It seems unlikely that it will deal with Vulcan, since Astonishing is designed to be less continuity heavy than the other X-books and the sequel to a long running space storyline wouldn’t easily accessible to new readers.

My conclusion:

Unfortunately, I think all signs point to the Starjammers becoming part of Cosmic Marvel and the most likely scenario is that the rescue mission will be in a Cosmic Marvel title like Guardians of the Galaxy and then Vulcan will be the antagonist for Annihilation 3. Then in several years, Vulcan could target Earth and Xavier and that would be a storyline for one of the X-books or an X-crossover.

Last year at Wizard World Los Angeles, Rachel fans heard an ominous report from a fan who spoke to Ed Brubaker and got the impression that the characters left behind at the end of Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire would be in space for a very, very long time. It wasn’t merely them being written temporarily out of X-books, it was a permanent status quo change. Vulcan becoming Emperor seems to have been part of a long-term plan to establish him as a reoccurring, major villain, and it looks like those left behind were intended to become the new Starjammers for the foreseeable future.

Of course, WWLA '07 spurred the Bring Rachel Home Campaign. Whether or not that worked remains to be seen, but it appears that Emperor Vulcan was merely trying convince fans to like Vulcan and the new Starjammers, and filling time before whatever “plans” are going to happen.

For me, I absolutely hate space stories and wish this would all end as quickly as possible and Rachel would be back in one of the core X-books.

Marvel May 2008 Solicitations

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 02:55:00 +0000

CBR received advanced May 2008 solicitations from Marvel, including information about X-Men: Divided We Stand #2, whose cover was leaked last week. But it doesn't give us much more information about what the Havok short story will be about, or even who is writing or drawing each of the stories:

X-MEN: DIVIDED WE STAND BOOK 2 (of 2)
Written by MIKE CAREY, C.B. CEBULSKI, DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI & ANDY SCHMIDT
Penciled by SCOTT EATON, DAVID LAFUENTE, FRAZER IRVING & MORE
Cover by BRANDON PETERSON
Exploring the fallout of Messiah CompleX, the second part of this collection of short stories follows some of our favorite mutants as they make their way in a world without the X-Men. And only those who adapt will survive. Featuring Beast, Dark Beast, Havok, Vulcan and Surge!
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

It's likely that Mike Carey is writing the Beast and Dark Beast story as a follow-up to Endangered Species, Loners writer C.B. Cebulski would likely be writing the Surge story since he's good at teen angst, and Duane Swierczynski could be writing Forge (who might show up in Cable). That would leave former X-editor Andy Schmidt to write the Havok and Vulcan story.

Update: It's been confirmed that C.B. Cebulski and David Lafuente are doing the Surge story, but no confirmation on the Havok creative team.

Is the Messiah Complex Baby Rachel Summers? - Probably Not

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:25:00 +0000

There has been a lot of fan speculation about who the mysterious mutant baby is who sparked the Messiah Complex crossover event. While the X-writers initially said that the baby was a new character that is not related to any known characters, that didn't stop endless speculation on who the baby is.

One of the most common guesses is that the newborn baby girl is a reborn Jean Grey. While the baby's hair color seemed to change randomly in the first few chapters, as the series went on it became more apparent that the baby has red hair.

This has also sparked some speculation that the baby may be Rachel. It was even asked in an X-Position column on ComicBookResources:

Question: I have my own theory as to the baby’s identity. Since the baby was found in Alaska, original place of Madelyn Prior, perhaps the baby is Rachel Summers (and her mother is the aforementioned Madelyn). We have never really been told Rachel’s origin, since it may have occurred in a future that no longer exists thanks to her trip back to the past. Am I warm?

Peter David (X-Factor): I don’t know. I haven’t felt your forehead.

While Rachel's origin is actually quite clear, it could be possible (although highly unlikely) that Rachel would be some how randomly born on Earth-616 without being conceived by Jean Grey and Scott Summers. Although for years now there has been hints that Jean might eventually give birth to a Rachel-616, it's likely that plot line would be reserved for when Jean actually does return.

Also, keep in mind that time travellers are not impacted by changes to their futures. Any time a character like Rachel or Bishop or Cable travels back in time, even if their future changes, they remain the same. Their future becomes an alternate future. So anything that happens in current continuity will not impact Rachel's future (Days of Future Past, Earth-811), nor will it change Cable's past (the Askani future, Earth-4935).

The writers and editors working on Messiah Complex seem to be toying with readers and feeding this speculation that the baby may be a known character (especially Jean), but it may be nothing more than a misdirection to spark fan interest.

Mike Carey (X-Men: Legacy) had this to say to Newsarama on the topic:

In terms of the baby’s identity—I think at various points in this story some readers, to a certain extent, are starting to ask a bunch of questions—which is cool. There has been a certain amount of misdirection involved. Lots of people want to know who her parents are—if the union that produced her was significant—there has been fan speculation that she might be an old character brought back from the dead—reborn in some way.

Clearly, the baby is special. She’s definitely unique; otherwise, how could she be born with powers in spite of the Scarlet Witch’s edict? But it’s far from clear that her powers arise from her lineage – from her being, or being born from, somebody who was already significant in X-Men continuity. It remains a possibility, but I’m not sure that that’s the best way to look at it. I can’t say anything more than that at this point though.

Some readers have also guessed that the baby may be some how connected to the Askani, since there have been so many flashbacks to Scott having to give up baby Nathan Christopher to the Askani in X-Factor 67.

The flashbacks in X-Men 207 point towards the sacrifices Scott has had to made. The top is Scott having to entrust the Askani to save baby Nathan Christopher knowing he would never see him again. The left corner is when Scott had to say goodbye to Nathan a second time at the end of the Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix when Rachel's death forced Jean and Scott's psyches' to return to the present.

The member of the Askani Sisterhood sent back to bring baby Nathan to the future was never specifically named. It was revealed in Cable #7 that she was a volunteer sent by Rachel (Mother Askani), and she had died in the process of bringing Nathan to the future. So she had sacrificed herself to save baby Nathan.

While it could be interesting, albeit a bit confusing, to see the process come full circle - the person who sacrificed her life to save Nathan is the baby whom Nathan raised, it's difficult to say why the baby would end up as a member of the Askani Sisterhood 2000 years in the future as a member of a group formed by Nathan's sister.

There is one clue that the baby has nothing to do with the Askani from Chris Yost in X-Position 35:

Question: If the baby is so crucial to Cable’s future, why wouldn’t Cyclops know about it? He spent twelve years there – or is that motivating his decisions?

YOST: Cable’s future is much, much farther away. That baby’s role in his future is ancient history, something Cyclops wouldn’t have casually stumbled across. And we don’t know the baby’s full role yet – it might be something behind the scenes of history, but crucially important. Bottom line, most Americans can’t name more than seven or eight of our presidents. It’s possible this didn’t come up.

This makes it sound like the baby is firmly tied to the immediate future and specifically what potentially causes Bishop's future and mutants to end up in camps.

While that wouldn't directly prohibit her for eventually ending up in the Askani future, that may needlessly complicate the situation.

I think that the flashbacks are only references to what Scott is thinking about without resorting to thought bubbles, not some clue about who the baby is.

The baby could have a role in something mentioned in Askani lore though.

In the Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix , Mother Askani tells Jean and Scott, that "for almost a century before this, the world enjoyed an almost unprecedented racial harmony. The Age of Xavier was a time when all races lived in peace. A peace Apocalypse used against an unsuspecting, trusting planet. "

It could be that the baby grows up to have some role in causing the Age of Xavier, and Cable wants to ensure that history repeats itself. Or, could it be that Cable wants to alter history so that people aren't quite so peaceful and trusting that they can be prayed upon by a tyrant like Apocalypse?

If the baby’s connection to Cable is only due to her role in history, then what about the locket the baby is seen holding in the flashbacks? One of the clues readers point to that the baby may be Jean or Rachel is baby playing with Scott's locket that has a photo of him and Jean in it. Is it simply something the baby was playing with? A clue that the baby is Jean or related to Jean? Or that Jean was involved in restarting the mutant population some how from the White Hot Room?

Or, is the locket merely one of the "misdirections" Mike Carey referred to?

Marvel continued to toy with fans about Jean's return by releasing a cryptic "Phoenix Rising?" cover with no details. The image and post seem to imply Jean may be returning, but it is clearly a misdirection and a merely a cover for X-Men: Legacy.

I suspect that all of these hints about the baby being a known character is to simply increase reader interest in the new Cable series, since a major plot will be revealing the background of the messiah baby. Marvel staffers may assume that readers might pick up the book just to find out if the baby turns out to be known character, such as Jean or Rachel. But I think it's highly unlikely that she will be.

This also could be testing the waters for a return of Jean Grey. It seemed like as speculation grew that the baby was Jean, the more "clues" there were that it was her. Cynically, I'd say that was Marvel being mean spirited and messing with emotions of Jean's fans who are desperate for her to return. However, it could have been a light bulb going off at Marvel and the increased number of “clues” is to make sure they leave their options open for one possible way that Jean could return.

When Cable was first introduced, it was never intended that he turn out to be Nathan Christopher Summers. While more planning has likely gone into the story for the Messiah Complex baby then Cable‘s introduction, her ultimate fate, or even her name, might not even be decided yet or could deviate from plan.

So, is the baby Rachel? Or an Askani? It's highly doubtful. Is it Jean? I also highly doubt that, but you never know. My guess is that the baby is the indirect cause of the peaceful Age of Xavier mentioned in the Askani future and a new character.

Havok on the X-Men Divided We Stand #2 Cover

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Artist Brandon Peterson posted the cover for X-Men Divided We Stand #2 in his gallery, and it shows a very angry Havok in the upper left hand corner.

The first Divided We Stand issue was solicited last month, and featured short stories about what happened to various mutants following the end of Messiah Complex, as they went their own ways. The first issue included stories about Cannonball and Husk, Storm and Gentle, Anole and Nightcrawler.

It looks like the second issue will feature Havok, Surge, Forge and Beast.

So far it's unknown what the story will be about Havok. It's likely to be about his imprisonment at the hands of Vulcan. Rachel could possibly be mentioned, and it hopefully will give an update on what the situation is for the Starjammers following the cliff-hanger, non-ending of Emperor Vulcan.

Marvel's May Solicitations are due out early next week, so we'll likely know more about this then.

Askani Era Rachel Images in Thunderbolts 118

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:40:00 +0000

While Rachel isn't appearing in the core X-Books, she is showing up in some rather odd places - like Thunderbolts 118, which was written by Warren Ellis with art by Mike Deodato, Jr.

Several images of Rachel from X-Men: Book of the Askani are shown in Dr. Leonard Samson's office. If you recall, Doc Samson is the superhero psychiatrist who (rather unsuccessfully) tried to treat Rachel following the massacre of the Grey family in Uncanny X-Men 469. I guess he's rather proud of working with her if he has pictures of Ray all over his office.

Here's the panels with Doc Samson's office. It's like playing Where's Waldo with Mother Askani!

On the right hand side, in both panels there is the Rachel Summers: Askani Warrior painting. And in the upper left hand side of the bottom panel is the classic Mother Askani painting. Also, the cover of Excalibur 83 is on the coffee table in the middle of the bottom panel.

For reference, here's the images that are being shown:

Thanks to Cerridwen for the heads-up!

Excalibur Cameo in Clandestine #1

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:52:00 +0000

The solicitation for Clandestine #3 revealed that a timelost Excalibur would be guest starring in the new miniseries. But we get a sneak peak of Nightcrawler and Phoenix in the first issue, which was released last Wednesday.

Clandestine is written and drawn by Alan Davis, co-creator of Excalibur.

X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #5 - A Major Disappointment

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Keller) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:30:00 +0000

X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #5, the final issue of the mini-series, is out this week, and Rachel's fans have been anxiously waiting for the conclusion of the Shi'ar adventure and for news on which of the X-books Rachel will appear in next.

But, lost unfortunately, fans are going to have to be waiting much, much longer.

Spoilers for the issue are out and it ends with (scroll for spoilers):

A cliffhanger with Alex, Lorna, Ch'od and Raza captured.

So, like Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire, there isn't an ending, only set-up for another story.

This is incredibly disappointing, since it means Rachel will be out of X-books for most of this year as well, perhaps the rest of the decade. :(

So, Rachel-Summers.com's Bring Rachel Home Campaign continues, urging Rachel fans to boycott the issue and urge Marvel to wrap up with story as quickly as possible and bring Rachel back to the mainstream X-books.