I totally agree. I really liked Claremont's stuff prior to him taking a haitus from doing X-men (around #3 I believe). I picked up the first few Extreme issues, and it just didn't clikc for me. It was getting too involved in technical gadgets, and it felt like characters were being introduced for the sake of being introduced. It just didn't click with me. It felt like he was trying to use an old forula or something to the stories and it just didn't work. Plus he tried to toss a some "cool" stuff ..like rogue's powers working oddly (she'd pop out wolverine ish claws for no reason) ....

You're thinking Doom Patrol. Which was fantastic. Xorn is nothing like Robotman btw. I think Grant has a real good take on the X-men ... doesn't seem like he' rehashing old storylines like the writers of the past 10 years have been (though we'll see where the Phoenix force storyline goes) .....

I think it was indeed the X-gene that gave the X-men their name.

However, I agree with your thoughts on the Weapon X program. I thought it was a nice twist on an old concept (which morrison does really well). Who is to say that the Weapon X program didn't result in several subjects?

I think Grant is doing a really fresh take on the x-men ... its good stuff .....

After the onslaught storyline in the 90s, I NEVER thought I'd read another x-book ...but when Morriosn took over I had to give x-men a try again ....

Lo Bizzaro,

My point is, the 'X-Gene" wasn't a term used in those early x-man, they were just reffered to as mutants

Don't think the term X-Gene was used for at least a decade and a half...

If someone can post a link to something that can convince me otherwise I'm sticking by this hypothosis...

Try the marvel directory,Im not sure how acurate it is but it says the Xmen were named so because each member of the team posessed an "extra" power that normal people lacked.Not so coincidentally (probably planned) the professors name starts with X and he adopted the code name professor X.

So it looks like both you,cyberglum,and also you,bizzaro are correct in your statements.

Here's something I pulled from an X-men movie review which may actually indicate that we're both correct.

"These denizens of this subterranean society get their name because they carry an X gene that distingishes them from everybody else. The "X" itself comes from Xavier -- Professor Charles Xavier, a visionary and a mutant himself, who trains young mutants, people he sees as gifted, to control their powers in the pursuit of good."

http://www.movieclub.com/reviews/arc...xmen/xmen.html

I like the explanation ... X-men was named for the X-gene, which was named for Xavier. Ultimately though the X appears to come from "Xavier" ....

Problem is, some of you are talking about a marvel-sanctioned official timeline, probably created in the 90's to describe characters created in the 60's, and some of you are talking purely about the creation of a comic book and comic book names.

It's interesting in that you may both be correct -- the X-Men Comic, in the 60's, may have been named purely after Professor X, since there was no talk, at that time, of the X-Gene.

BUT...

By the time the "Weapon X" program was taked about (80's?), with the exploration of Wolverine's shady past, the "X" most certainly referred to the "X" gene.

So, while the "X"-Men may well have been named after Prof. "X," the Weapon "X" program was probably named after the "X" gene.

Morrison's explanation, placing Wolvie as "Weapon 10," would then, presumably, make Sabretooth & Maverick "Weapon 9" and "Weapon 11" (depending upon which one came before or after Wolvie), and put Deadpool around there somewhere as well. Since previous comics have labeled these folks (not sure about Deadpool) part of the "Weapon X" program, Morrison may have some explaining to do.

UNLESS,

In the "Weapon X" program, "X" is not named after a gene after all, but rather is simply a variable, where "X=sequential number of the mutant altered." In which case, all of those dudes could be part of the "Weapon X" program, and Wolvie just happens to be the 10th subject.

WHEW. Now my brain is tired.

First about where the X came from. Ine Marvels, Monsters and Mutants DVD interview Stan Lee says he wanted to call the books the mutants, but he wasn't allowed to since no one would know what a mutant was. Since their teach and leader was named Xaiver and they had "eXtra" powers they became the X-Men. Thats how Stan Lee tells it and I'm willing to take his word for it.

And yes Morrison had added to the X-Men character development but hasn't contracted anything that has been done with their characters in the past (if anything I think hes gotten back to what they are susposed to be like). For years in the 90's you would never know that Cyclops and Jean had a relationship if you just picked up any given book.

"Grant uses just as many villian of the week types but he tends to make them up himself as opposed to using known villians. His stories are very brief so a fight against a single group of enemies that lasts a few days may take 6 issues where as a similar fight in Uncanny would be 1 or 2 issues."

Like who and when? It took over a year for the Cassandra Nova storyline to start and end (where most writers wouldn't have done it in 3 months). He has introduced one or two characters (like the U-Men) but he does as part of a large storyline - so the X-Men are dealing with Nova and the U-Men rather then just the old, episodic, one-at-a-time style that use to be used all the time. And if it takes him 6 months to tell a story (where it would take another author less time (though they wouldnt be told as well)) it doesn't make it storys bried but longer, deeper and more detailed. And don't look at something like Weapon X becoming Weapon Plus as a contridiction, its not. Its just giving us new information we didn't have before, hes enhancing the story and making it better. If comic writers didn't do that the storys would get very old, very fast. Look at Origin, did they change contunity by making Wolverines name James instead of Logan? No they just added something we didn't know before.

"Also Gambit and Rogue haven't been in the last few issues because they're powerless right now"

I know, but it was never dealt, it was never stated, we've seen nothing about them etc.... He just wrote them out. Same with Lifeguard, Red Lotus and now it seems Thunderbird. It really is the worst writen of the X-Men books right now. I also agree that Clarmont can't write Dialog anymore. I'm sick of Wolverine saying "Its a good thing I have this mutant healing factor or would have been dead there eh Storm" or Bishop thinking "if not for my ability to aborb engery I would been killed there".

I currently read Uncanny, Ultimate, New and X-treme.

Uncanny used to be my favorite, but lately it's been to all over the place both artisticly and storywise.

Ultimate is one of the best written and the easiest for new fans to get into. I've let my manager borrow the first three trades and the issues that followed and she loves it.

I really enjoy the school type setting for New X-Men and there are some big things happening in this book right now. It's tied with Ultimate as my favorite X book. I really enjoy reading about Zoron and the "special" class.

X-treme is the best looking of the books. Salvador Larocca does incredible work in this book. But lately Claremonts writing has let me down. I'd like to check in with Rouge and Gambit occasionaly as well as the other characters that were just dropped at the end of the arc.

The "X" in X-Men comes from X-Men Vol. 1, #1, defined on page 8, panel 4 as the "new" X-Man, Jean Grey is introduced by Professor X to his existing X-Men; "You possess an EXTRA power...one which ordinary humans do not!! That is why I call my students ...X-MEN, for EX-TRA power!" I guess he could also be alluding to the fact that mutants have the X-gene. but for however it helps, there it is.

Throw my 2 cents in. Iread Uncanny, New, Xtreme and XStatix. I personally like Uncanny the best. Just straight superhero stories with superheros. I love the addition Chuck Austen has made to the team (Husk, Northstar, Juggernaut and Havok). Iread New X-men for Emma Frost . And I read Xtreme in the hopes that it will get better soon . And XstatiX is just to interesting to pass up. I buy the Ultimate TPB's every now and then but I like my 40 years of X-continuity and the 100+ x-characters. That's just me.