X-Men’s Professor X finally ended nuclear war in the Marvel universe

Patrick Stewart is a perfect choice to play the role of Professor X. But between audiences knowing him as the kindly paterfamilias of space opera and the X-Men movies going with a somewhat softer Xavier, it’s created a mainstream understanding of Charles Xavier as a good man.

As they say in comics, Professor X has a jerkish personality. He’s an emotionally detached, ethically compromised, absent father whose response to problems is to fake his own death and not tell anybody about it; leave his students in the hands of an only recently reformed supervillain to abscond to space with his sexy alien wife; or non-consensually alter the memories of his closest allies and most hated enemies alike.

And in this week’s The Immortal X Men #10: Professor Xavier would appreciate credit for not being Worse. After all, he’s the reason there will never be a nuclear war.

Were there other things happening within the pages of comics we love? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of the books that our comics editor enjoyed this past week. It’s part society pages of superhero lives, part reading recommendations, part “look at this cool art.” There may be some spoilers. You may not have enough context. There will still be some great comics. You can also read the previous edition if you haven’t seen it yet.

#10: Immortal Men X-Men

Image: Kieron Gillen, Lucas Werneck/Marvel Comics

In a broader editorial sense, The Immortal X MenIs a leading-in story Sinister Sins, the upcoming X-Men crossover in which we get to find out what happens when evil gene-wizard Mister Sinister gains full control of Krakoa — but it’s told through the narration of Charles Xavier. It’s a monologue that begins to seem like an admission of his own flaws, right up until the point where Charles once again shows that even in a field as crowded as “mutants with a god complex,” he is an outlier.

Monologue issues are difficult because text and images can become completely disconnected. But writer Kieron Gillen, and Lucas Warneck maintain a balanced approach. This is a wonderful thing, as it would have been a shame if Professor X had just taken it upon himself psychically locking every person on each nuclear weapons chain of command around the world.

Nightwing #100

Image: Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo/DC Comics

As a DC veteran, I’m used to the setting promising reboots and rebirths and future states and dawns of all sorts — but I wouldn’t be a DC fan if I didn’t line right up for a ticket every time, with hope in my heart. Will the Teen Titans replace the Justice League as Earth’s premiere superteam forever? It’s not possible.

Am I interested to see what happens with this acknowledgement that the Titans — thanks to quite popular animated and live action adaptations — are more present and beloved in current nerd hearts than their mentors? Yes. But even more than that, I like the way that this significant expansion of Nightwing’s editorial responsibilities seems to be integrated right into his whip-smart solo series. Please, less cosmic crisis continuity and more character continuity.

Punisher #9

Image: Jason Aaron, Jesús Saiz/Marvel Comics

Writer Jason Aaron’s Punisher (drawn by Jesús Saiz and Paul Azaceta) is an interesting book. This sounds like faint praise, but given the co-opted state of the character, it’s actually a pretty significant achievement. Issue #9, for example, creates a rise and fall of emotion around Frank’s wife Maria — who’s been resurrected by the Hand cult, bullet scars and all.

Maria has spent the series dazed and gaslit, and the issue does this trick where it makes you think she’s going to be horrified when she finds out that Frank has literally become an avatar for two different gods of murder, only to reveal that Maria has the kind of view of Frank’s deeds that would make the gothest Gothic romance author blink. She’s Look down for this, and offers herself as a high priestess of the god of the Hand — you know, Daredevil Comics: The Undying Ninjas?

No PunisherThe comic will have an impact on wannabe cops and officers who put his skull on cars and tactical vests. There’s a reason why NotYou can make him completely unrecognizable. It’s not possible.

Batman — One Bad Day: Bane

Image by Joshua Williamson/DC Comics

I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for Bane. He’s maybe the most problematic character that I truly love, from his fake-Latino-country-invented-by-a-white-guy exterior to his buckwild comic-book psychology as a guy born in a jail who just decided to hate Batman one day. I love this man. It’s great when stories are told. This is the guyTake him seriously.

Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter’s exploration of him checks a lot of my favorite Bane boxes: It reminds the reader of the things he has in common with Batman, it brings up his crusade against the drug that was his greatest strength and weakness, it’s got him ripping a man’s jaw off with his bare hands. This is what I think.

Dark Web #2: X-Men

Image Credit: Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto/Marvel Comics

Do you feel bad? Want to see an example of Cyclops being incapacitated or restrained? Are you sure that supervillains share these thoughts with one another? Does it seem like they have created networking groups to discuss ways to come up with more deadly death traps. They should, I believe.