Friday, May 28, 2010
Speculation Time
The news that Wolfsbane is returning to Peter David's X-Factor is welcome to say the least. The question now is, how to write a mutant that is pregnant? What do you think will happen after the dust clears between her and Ric and (whatever Shatterstar's real name is)? How has Marvel written pregnant characters in the past? Will it carry on for about 3 years? 9 real-time months? What do you think?
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Marvel in general hasn't had much of a track record with pregnant superheroes. However, within X-Factor, PAD has shown the willingness to not only have one of his characters go through an entire pregnancy, but has also been willing to keep that character active in the comic.
Part of this is the unique nature of X-Factor. It would be hard to ethically justify having a pregnant woman in your stereotypical charging-into-battle set of capes. But a private investigation business is an entirely different matter.
That said, there are many tropes they could end up going with, some better than others.
They could just undo Rahne's condition -- have the Asgardians magic away the child from her womb, for instance. (Personally, I would loathe this. Rahne has been victimized enough by Kyle and Yost already. Although, and worse, such a pre-natal kidnapping would probably be followed with your classical "wiping everyone's mind for their sakes".)
If the pregnancy is allowed to continue (and, with Rahne's power upgrade, I see no reason it couldn't), then they could end up doing the Conner (per "Angel") route -- having the baby thrown into the future/an alternate dimension/whatever... and return at an older age where he (she, or even possibly they!) can take a place in the character line-up right my mommy's side. The thought makes my brain hurt, but it's a common trope for Marvel. They did it with Illyana. And with Hope. And it could be fairly easily justified in this case, considering that one parent is from Asgard. (Ugh, now I'm imagining a f'ed up custody arrangement: "I get him for the first fifteen years of his life; then, a week later, you get him for the rest.)
Finally, they could actually have the baby (litter, maybe?) actually remain young. Marvel would probably not allow the child to remain a baby for long, but he could become the eternal child of X-Factor. I'm thinking like Franklin Richards.
What I am actually expecting most from PAD is a fast-tracking of the pregnancy and the child's initial development until old enough be a character (again, like Franklin Richards) through the utilization of "dog years". A canine pregnancy is typically about two months, and puppies grow up fast.
I'm going to refrain from speculating.
If I predict good things done with Rahne's character, I rick being disappointed as I have been in the past.
If I predict bad things, I'll just depress myself.
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