Summary
According to mid-2000sX-Menwriter Chuck Austen, his iconic predecessor Chris Claremont once dubbed him “the most hated man in comics,” for his controversialUncanny X-Menrun – but as I return to Austen’s work twenty years later,I have found that the author’s legacy with inX-franchise is more complex than some fans might want to admit.
When I heard Austen on theGraymalkin Lane podcast, it prompted me to reflect on the highs and lows of his tenure writingX-Men, and the extremes of fan reactions to his work.
Upon revisiting hisX-Menstories myself for the first time in decades, I can recognize a certain tone to Chuck Austen’s writing that might have inhibited some fans from enjoying his stories, many of which themselves – though notoriously, not all – effectively capture themes that theX-Menfranchise best embodies.
Chuck Austen’sX-Mencredits include issues ofExilesandUltimate X-Men, but he is primarily known for his extended run onUncanny X-Men, and for providing the two-issue coda to Grant Morrison’sNew X-Menrun. He wrote two more arcs following the book’s reversion to its originalX-Mentitle, in which he wrapped up some – though not all – of his ongoing works, before departing asX-Menwriter.
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I Get Why Chuck Austen’s “X-Men” Was Controversial (But There’s More To It Than That)
Austen’s Uncanny X-Men Run: Issues #410-#443
Looking back on his run on the Graymalkin Lane podcast, Austen noted that:
“There were people who loved what I was doing, and people who passionately hated what I was doing.”
In effect, this sums up the divisive qualities of hisX-stories – but it also leaves out a third category: those readers who have yet to develop a discerning palate forX-Men. As a teenage reader in the early aughts, I fell into this latter group; Chuck Austen’s time with the franchise was my introduction toX-Mencomics, and as a result, his work had a formative impact on how I came to interpret and understand the franchise.
As an adult reader, I have very strong tastes, when it comes to a piece of fiction’s aesthetic, vibe, style, and so on. Revisiting Chuck Austen’s early-2000sX-Men, I realized thatwere I to engage with it as a new release – without the mitigating influence of nostalgia – I would probably be highly critical of it.That is, I understand why there was a vocal negative response from portions of the fandom at the time.
Austen’s run is infamous for its melodrama, which included storylines like Polaris being left at the alter by Havoc, Cannonball’s younger brother Jay Guthrie’s ill-fated romance, and thetragic life of Sammy the Squid Boy. Perhaps most notorious of all, he was responsible for the “Draco” arc, which established Azazel as Nightcrawler’s father, at least untilfurther retcons clarified this ill-received revelation.
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Austen’s X-Men Run: Issue #155-#164
Twenty years later, there is still a great deal left to be dissected about Chuck Austen’sX-Menrun, but it’s safe to say I believe his overall legacy is more complicated than being the franchise’s “most hated” writer.
As much as it can be criticized, Austen’s run certainly had its positives, most notably starting Juggernaut’s redemption arc. The division between fans was as evident at the time as it remains in retrospect. “People would literally come up to me [at conventions] and yell at me, because I made them quit reading,” Austen said of the fan reaction he experienced as one ofX-Men’smain writers during the early 2000s. While he is more remembered for the negative fan reaction, in hisGraymalkin Laneappearance, he noted that the positive response from fans was just as strong.
Reflecting on it himself, Chuck Austen invoked his iconic predecessor, saying:
Chris Claremont used to refer to me as, ‘hey, you’re the most hated man in comics.“And I’d say, ‘Yup, thanks, I know.
While Chris Claremont’s title for him may be hyperbolic, it is a reminder of how challenging Austen’s time writingX-Menproved to be for both the audience, and himself. To his credit, I think that although the end result didn’t always satisfy fans, there was a certain fundamental insight into what it means to tell anX-Menstory motivating Chuck Austen’s creative decisions. His themes of alienation, and frustration, are admittedly well-articulated through the use of Marvel’s mutant characters.
I think that, if nothing else,Chuck Austen helped define one end of the spectrum of possibilities for theX-Menfranchise, the opposite end of which creators like Jonathan Hickman would explore to great success. His run came at a pivotal time inX-Menhistory, and for better or worse, it provided a great number of memorable additions to the franchise’s vast lore. Twenty years later, there is still a great deal left to be dissected about Chuck Austen’sX-Menrun, but it’s safe to say I believe his overall legacy is more complicated than being the franchise’s “most hated” writer.
Source:Graymalkin Lane podcast
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
