r/xmen • u/leaf57tea • 2d ago
Humour Narrator: "He didn't"
In the preceding issues he..
makes a reckless decision
that seemingly kills Storm
in his drunken depression
knocks himself out
becomes increasingly unhinged and violent
not the birdies to Alex
mounts a daring infiltration
that is almost immediately uncovered
and captured
is still trigger happy as ever
and almost kills everyone
the origins of his infamous M-Word speech?
goes through the Siege Perilous
and joins anti-mutant fascist state
that does lead to Warlock death
88
u/Otherwise_Report2428 Brotherhood of Mutants 2d ago
God the older I get and the more I screw up, the more I love Havok
Never stop trying to change, Alex. It’s always a pleasure to read
50
u/leaf57tea 2d ago
Maybe Havok appreciation is something that comes with age, guy spent past 40 or so years in a perpetual mid-life crisis.
18
u/Otherwise_Report2428 Brotherhood of Mutants 2d ago
Man’s had a historically rough time. I mean him and Lorna were basically the first two additions to the team besides the 05, Scott got a big power up and new visor after the first Krakoa encounter, and Alex got to…go live on Muir Island? I figure he must’ve been disappointed not to get called up to the Giant Size roster. Story of his life
20
u/leaf57tea 2d ago
Actually Alex, Lorna and rest of the 05 where present in Giant Size. It was their choice to leave the team and move on it was only Scott who decided to stay.
15
u/Otherwise_Report2428 Brotherhood of Mutants 2d ago
Yea I know they were there. I’m saying editorial shafted them
Always the bridesmaid type thing
10
5
36
u/kindokkang 2d ago
Reading through this era made me realize how much of an acquired taste Alex is. I geniunely love how much his messes up but always ends up stumbling upwards. Eventually, he's able to figure it out. Whenever someone harps on him for being a fuck up or insecure I get so confused since that's why I love him so much, he's very human.
21
u/leaf57tea 2d ago
Yeah for the longest time I was indifferent as I only really knew Alex as "Scott's brother" with the goofy headpiece with the only discussion around him being that modern writers had seemingly ruined him, only to go back find he's always been a screw-up.
Ironically the things fans complain about are the things that actually made him finally interesting and relatable to me.
17
u/kindokkang 1d ago
I also think there's been a misunderstanding in the wider x-men fandom about Alex's relationship with Scott. Yea, they have a tenuous relationship, but I wouldn't necessarily say Alex is jealous of, or living in the shadow of, Scott. They way they handle the burden of responsibility is so different that they kind of bring out the worst in each other, which is always fun to see. I think the M-Word speech kind of ruined Alex's perception in the x-men fandom for generations to come and recent depictions lean into the inferiority angle of his relationship with Scott which is pretty boring, and doesn't do him any favors regarding characterization.
5
u/leaf57tea 1d ago edited 1d ago
While I think their relationship a lot more nuanced than some fans tend to paint it saying jealousy isn't a big part of it from Alex's side simply isn't true, Alex has openly admitted to resenting having to live in his brothers shadow and constantly be compared to him and when Rogue asks why he agreed to take Cap offer to lead the Avengers he admits to her he mainly did it as "Fuck you" to Scott.
Even his continued to devotion Madelyn reads less about him being in love with her and more about having finally "won" something over Scott.
It's not pretty but it's honest to how petty sibling rivalry can get.
5
u/kindokkang 1d ago
I guess what I meant to say was that the super intense jealously stuff is a lot more modern and takes away a lot from Alex's character since the fandom focuses on that and disregards everything else. Even at the end of Inferno Scott and Alex have to put aside their differences and learn to lean on each other. I think that's my favorite part of their relationship, and it's encapsulated well with how Alex and Scott only had each other to hold on to when they fell out of that plane. He's obviously hurt with how Scott got to find a family and he felt like he was left with the scraps. I just don't like how modern writers make it about Alex wanting to be a better person or leader than Scott when the hurt runs a lot deeper.
27
u/Logical_Access_8868 2d ago
I just loved how Claremont would randomly pick a character and explore them so thoroughly until they reach an ultimate low and sometimes rise back up. Couldn't forget how storm had a mental breakdown and run naked in the streets during mutant massacre
1
u/Abysstopheles 1d ago
It was a forest, and after the massacre was over, in a dress, but otherwise completely agreed.
14
u/Lost-Address36 2d ago
Hilarious. My favorite era of X-Men period.
9
u/flanker44 1d ago
I remember this particular arc as kind of lowest point for X-men - not in terms of story quality, but just how messed up and depleted the lineup had become. Zaladane even commented it: how they seemed weirdly subdued and without their usual leadership. And this particular operation wasn't exactly stunning success either.
32
9
u/AltAlt1973 1d ago
For me, X-Factor (David & Stroman) was peak Havok. Loved that entire team, and Havok was given his time to shine as a leader (even when he wasn't good at it...)
6
10
u/Heavy-Attorney-7937 Gambit 2d ago
Not the best look for any of them but it was hilarious watching him and bobbys love triangle with lorna. Some good old soap opera shenanigans to shut your brain to.
8
u/leaf57tea 2d ago
It's kind of surprising no one's ever done Lorna/Alex/Maddy love triangle, the two women have never even really interacted I think.
Though I suppose they could always have Alex come-out bi and Lorna and Bobby are now the ones fighting over him.
11
u/cipher1331 1d ago
Alex can totally be the best. He just needs to find a good alternate dimension. Or, you know, go back to working for the government only to once again learn gasp anti-mutant hate runs deep and he alone cannot change the system from the inside. That whatever small victory he's managed to eke will be forever negated by his "don't call us mutants" press conference. Not to mention that weird habit of turning around and trying to join and save the people and institutions that try and kill him and family. Oh well, at least he has that cool helmet
6
u/Kelsouth 1d ago
I love how they showed two sides of the "don't call us mutants", with Kitty telling some of the students why she completely disagrees with him.
4
u/stormantic Storm 1d ago
Outback X-Men are such a vibe. Everything felt unhinged back then. I loved all of the characters, especially Alex. Threatening to dismember and cauterize his enemies was wild to read as a kid.
3
u/peppefinz 1d ago
Some people believe Claremont "ruined" Havoc.
While the mind control stuff was a bit abused, I think we need more characters like him.
Failure can be a big part of life, and poor Alex experienced it like no other, without being miserable.
2
u/Abysstopheles 1d ago
And went on to pull his shit togethet and lead a great XFACTOR team for years before they wrote him going all to crap again!
... then jumping over to the MutantX world where he was a pretty solid leader for a while before getting thrown back to 616 and going all to crap again. Again. Again again.
13
u/AlarmingDinner2780 2d ago
Havok & Maddie is the ultimate ship. But Havok & Dazzler are pretty underrated. They’re both very insecure
12
u/leaf57tea 2d ago
I kind of liked that Alex and Ali relationship was never romantic, male/female friendships in fiction are such a rarity.
Though I'd say Ali insecurities are more based around a lack of confidence in her status as a superhero outside that though she still has a very strong sense of self and what she wants out of life while Alex problem has always been he's never really know who he is.
3
2
2
u/Sea_Violinist3328 22h ago
Havok has always been one of my favorite X-men. Some of it was superficial. As a kid, TAS cast always had the spotlight, so of course I needed to be different and find a more “obscure X-man”. I also liked “blast powers” (I was like 9) so he was the perfect fit.
Poor Alex gets shafted from the get go. He joins the team in the very last issues of the X-men before the series is cancelled, so the majority of his original stint on the team happened off-panel.
6
u/TheOneTrueZippy8 2d ago
Havok, as a character, peaked in Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown.
9
u/leaf57tea 2d ago
Did he?
He spends the entirety of it being unknowingly kidnapped and fooled by a Russian spy and is basically playing the "damsel in distress" Wolverine trying to save throughout.
6
u/AmericanPortions 2d ago
Yeah, in the images above I think he's being mind controlled (or when he shoots Storm down, just emerging from mind control) in the majority of storylines. That he's crashing out when he's not mind controlled is understandable.
14
1
u/Chico__Lopes 1d ago
Issue nr please. I had the brazilian version as a kid but numbering was different
2
1
113
u/greendart Iceman 2d ago
Man, silvestri's art was so so fire during this era.