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So, my friend Rusty Armour introduced me to this Alphabet Meme. She picked a letter, and I have to list ten things that I love which begin with that letter. Of course, always wanting to make things difficult, I dared her to give me a difficult letter like X or Z.
So, X. So few practical words and names begin with it. But wow - it's disproportionately big in geek culture.
1. X-Men: I'll start with the obvious one. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created this comic book about mutant heroes back in the 1960s. It was lacklustre compared to their other great creations like the Fantastic Four. But in the 1970s, nearly the entire cast of characters was replaced with new international X-Men, including the Canadian hero Wolverine. Len Wein and the recently-deceased Dave Cockrum created these new X-Men, but it was writer Chris Claremont and artists Cockrum and his successor John Byrne that turned the X-Men into the hit of the 1970s, 1980s and well even today. I've been an avid comic book fan since before I can remember, but I hadn't really encountered the X-Men until the summer of 1980. Then while on vacation near Wiarton, I saw the cover to (Uncanny) X-Men #136 where Cyclops held the broken body of Dark Phoenix. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Uncanny136.jpg It was a striking (and much imitated) cover, and a few weeks later I saw an ad for these All-New, All-Different X-Men. Amongst the team photo was a tombstone for Thunderbird, who I mistakenly assumed was the red-clad woman on that great cover. The first issue I bought was issue 138 - a pretty good jumping on issue as it was the funeral for Jean Grey/Phoenix, where her lover Cyclops reflected on the whole history of the X-Men. Basically, it was the comic book equivalent of a clip show. But it did introduce me to the soap opera nature of the title. But while all the X-Men were at Jean's funeral, a new member turned up at the X-Mansion - Kitty Pryde. A spunky, geeky computer whiz - Kitty's the closest I ever came to a crush on a comic book character. I was 10, but she was 13-1/2 - the older woman. Now, I'm 36 and Kitty is still seriously jailbait. Sigh. Still I'm not the only person to have a crush on Kitty, Joss Whedon based Buffy (and almost certainly Willow) off this strong-willed, fully-characterized teenage heroine. And now, Whedon is writing Kitty's adventures in the new Astonishing X-Men comic. Soap opera, teen angst, allegories for any minority or awkwardness -- it's not surprising that these guys have been the stars of hit movies and TV shows.
2. Xeen Arrow: Ha, didn't think I could get an archer on this list, did you? Hurray for comic book geekdom! Xeen Arrow is the counterpart of Green Arrow from Dimension Zero. From the 1940s to the late 1960s, Green Arrow was a bland Batman clone. He hadn't yet acquired his socialistic, angry, feces-disturbing personality that made Green Arrow my favourite superhero. One of the few bright spots in Green Arrow's first two decades was when comic book superstar Jack Kirby took over the title. Kirby's past glory days as co-creator of Captain America were behind him. His future glory days as co-creator/creator of the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Hulk, Thor and Darkseid were still a few years away. The Xeen Arrow appearance was Kirby at his most trippiest - a strange dimension of giant elf-eared archers where Green Arrow and Speedy hitch a lift on a giant arrow. Even Rocket Robin Hood wasn't this bizarre.
3. X-Ray Vision: Sure it's not Superman's best power. I'd take flight and/or superspeed any day. But still with Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lori Lemaris and other LLs around, it's got to be one of Superman's most fun powers. Well, unless it's that weird-ass skeleton-viewing interpretation of X-Ray Vision that Smallville has. Oh, and when you turn X-Ray Vision up to full strength, it becomes heat vision. Lechery and ass-kicking all in one power -- nifty!
4. Xena, Warrior Princess: Leather, battle cry, evil past and a withering gaze that says "you men are scum, and I'll crush you under my heel." What's not to love? I'll admit that the ahistorism of the show threw me at first, but it did blend humour and darkness with some enjoyable camp, angst and nifty supporting characters.
5. X Chromosome: In particular, people who have two of them. Need I say more?
6. Xander Harris: I'm probably in a small minority who would pick Xander as their favourite character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Well, maybe not favourite. But he's certainly the one I identify with the most, and not just because I don't possess superpowers. Xander is driven by frustration and insecurity, and uses sarcastic humour as his defence mechanism. But because it's tied into darker emotions, his humour can sometimes be quite poisonous. I can relate. And I can tell the difference between dialogue that honestly reflects the character and times when the writers just want a Xanderish quip. Joss Whedon has also said that he relates most to Xander.
7. Xanadu: No, not the place where Kubai Khan decreed a stately pleasure dome in Coleridge's poem. Nor the delightful song by Olivia Newton-John and the ELO. I mean the fictional home of Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane, a damn fine film. Although now I have the song stuck in my head.
8. The X-Files: Wow, I nearly overlooked this one. I lost interest around the fourth season or so, but in the early days, this was a fun show. Mulder and Scully's chemistry was particularly good.
9. Xenu: Okay, I expect people to show up at my apartment with picket signs tomorrow. And I won't even get into what these nutjobs have done to journalists who report on them. But well, I found it a bit disappointing that X was a mythology-lite letter. None of my favourite gods -- such as Hermes -- had names beginning with X. But then, I forgot the one mythological figure that's so beloved, because it's so easy to mock. More stupid and messed-up than an episode of The Tomorrow People, I give you Xenu, a concept that scientology wants to keep secret because its sacred, copyrightable wisdom. Or maybe just because they know we'd all laugh at them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu
10. Xoanon: Yes, I could only manage 9 legitimate choices before I had to start reaching for it (without double-dipping with X-Men related characters). Anyway, I mean the editor of theonering.net website, a geek's paradise that gave me much pleasure when the Peter Jackson films were coming out. But also, even cooler, the webmaster is named after an evil computer in Doctor Who.
So, X. So few practical words and names begin with it. But wow - it's disproportionately big in geek culture.
1. X-Men: I'll start with the obvious one. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created this comic book about mutant heroes back in the 1960s. It was lacklustre compared to their other great creations like the Fantastic Four. But in the 1970s, nearly the entire cast of characters was replaced with new international X-Men, including the Canadian hero Wolverine. Len Wein and the recently-deceased Dave Cockrum created these new X-Men, but it was writer Chris Claremont and artists Cockrum and his successor John Byrne that turned the X-Men into the hit of the 1970s, 1980s and well even today. I've been an avid comic book fan since before I can remember, but I hadn't really encountered the X-Men until the summer of 1980. Then while on vacation near Wiarton, I saw the cover to (Uncanny) X-Men #136 where Cyclops held the broken body of Dark Phoenix. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Uncanny136.jpg It was a striking (and much imitated) cover, and a few weeks later I saw an ad for these All-New, All-Different X-Men. Amongst the team photo was a tombstone for Thunderbird, who I mistakenly assumed was the red-clad woman on that great cover. The first issue I bought was issue 138 - a pretty good jumping on issue as it was the funeral for Jean Grey/Phoenix, where her lover Cyclops reflected on the whole history of the X-Men. Basically, it was the comic book equivalent of a clip show. But it did introduce me to the soap opera nature of the title. But while all the X-Men were at Jean's funeral, a new member turned up at the X-Mansion - Kitty Pryde. A spunky, geeky computer whiz - Kitty's the closest I ever came to a crush on a comic book character. I was 10, but she was 13-1/2 - the older woman. Now, I'm 36 and Kitty is still seriously jailbait. Sigh. Still I'm not the only person to have a crush on Kitty, Joss Whedon based Buffy (and almost certainly Willow) off this strong-willed, fully-characterized teenage heroine. And now, Whedon is writing Kitty's adventures in the new Astonishing X-Men comic. Soap opera, teen angst, allegories for any minority or awkwardness -- it's not surprising that these guys have been the stars of hit movies and TV shows.
2. Xeen Arrow: Ha, didn't think I could get an archer on this list, did you? Hurray for comic book geekdom! Xeen Arrow is the counterpart of Green Arrow from Dimension Zero. From the 1940s to the late 1960s, Green Arrow was a bland Batman clone. He hadn't yet acquired his socialistic, angry, feces-disturbing personality that made Green Arrow my favourite superhero. One of the few bright spots in Green Arrow's first two decades was when comic book superstar Jack Kirby took over the title. Kirby's past glory days as co-creator of Captain America were behind him. His future glory days as co-creator/creator of the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Hulk, Thor and Darkseid were still a few years away. The Xeen Arrow appearance was Kirby at his most trippiest - a strange dimension of giant elf-eared archers where Green Arrow and Speedy hitch a lift on a giant arrow. Even Rocket Robin Hood wasn't this bizarre.
3. X-Ray Vision: Sure it's not Superman's best power. I'd take flight and/or superspeed any day. But still with Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lori Lemaris and other LLs around, it's got to be one of Superman's most fun powers. Well, unless it's that weird-ass skeleton-viewing interpretation of X-Ray Vision that Smallville has. Oh, and when you turn X-Ray Vision up to full strength, it becomes heat vision. Lechery and ass-kicking all in one power -- nifty!
4. Xena, Warrior Princess: Leather, battle cry, evil past and a withering gaze that says "you men are scum, and I'll crush you under my heel." What's not to love? I'll admit that the ahistorism of the show threw me at first, but it did blend humour and darkness with some enjoyable camp, angst and nifty supporting characters.
5. X Chromosome: In particular, people who have two of them. Need I say more?
6. Xander Harris: I'm probably in a small minority who would pick Xander as their favourite character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Well, maybe not favourite. But he's certainly the one I identify with the most, and not just because I don't possess superpowers. Xander is driven by frustration and insecurity, and uses sarcastic humour as his defence mechanism. But because it's tied into darker emotions, his humour can sometimes be quite poisonous. I can relate. And I can tell the difference between dialogue that honestly reflects the character and times when the writers just want a Xanderish quip. Joss Whedon has also said that he relates most to Xander.
7. Xanadu: No, not the place where Kubai Khan decreed a stately pleasure dome in Coleridge's poem. Nor the delightful song by Olivia Newton-John and the ELO. I mean the fictional home of Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane, a damn fine film. Although now I have the song stuck in my head.
8. The X-Files: Wow, I nearly overlooked this one. I lost interest around the fourth season or so, but in the early days, this was a fun show. Mulder and Scully's chemistry was particularly good.
9. Xenu: Okay, I expect people to show up at my apartment with picket signs tomorrow. And I won't even get into what these nutjobs have done to journalists who report on them. But well, I found it a bit disappointing that X was a mythology-lite letter. None of my favourite gods -- such as Hermes -- had names beginning with X. But then, I forgot the one mythological figure that's so beloved, because it's so easy to mock. More stupid and messed-up than an episode of The Tomorrow People, I give you Xenu, a concept that scientology wants to keep secret because its sacred, copyrightable wisdom. Or maybe just because they know we'd all laugh at them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu
10. Xoanon: Yes, I could only manage 9 legitimate choices before I had to start reaching for it (without double-dipping with X-Men related characters). Anyway, I mean the editor of theonering.net website, a geek's paradise that gave me much pleasure when the Peter Jackson films were coming out. But also, even cooler, the webmaster is named after an evil computer in Doctor Who.
