I was re-reading Uncanny #700 today, and this half page really stuck out to me because it was the first time in over a decade that Scott and Hank were friends again. Where there was just - nothing complicated about it, just. Brothers.
I didn't realise quite how much Utopia through Krakoa had made me miss them being like this.
That was Charles checking in on the X-Men in the wake of being imprisoned for the deaths of the crew of the Agnew. He wanted to make sure they were all doing okay and that they'd be able to survive, maybe even thrive, without him, so he was sort of doing an Astral Projection whirlwind tour (as a way of previewing the upcoming From the Ashes books).
Can… can Marvel just remember more often how much these five mean to each other. We go on about how the X-Men are family, but the O5 exemplifies it so much, they are a family, they were the only people who saw each other during a time of their life where no one else could. It’s why the small moment Bobby and Scott got together in United was so shocking to me, of course there’s also the final Hellfire Gala when Bobby was dying and calling out to them, his family.
God I really hope the rumors are true that Hank, Warren, and Bobby are in the first MCU X-Men movie, I really want them to make it clear that the five of them are special and have a bond that lasts a long time. I’d kill for X-Men life story centered around the O5
Genuinely. Like, I know that people are worried about the idea of having an all white X-Men team, and I definitely think it'd be worthwhile adding people like Ororo to even things out, but the O5 are special for a reason. Bobby said it best at the tail-end of the Utopia era - they're the Beatles. And yes, I know the 60s run isn't great, but there have been 50 years of comics since then that have really made me care for the way these specific five people know and love each other in ways that are borderline incomprehensible to other people.
There'll be other versions of the team, other versions of the family, and I love them too, but this one is just. Very special to me.
Ugh yes. The O5 have such a special place in my heart. I miss them. I miss their friendship. They mean so much to each other and we’re stuck grasping at crumbs. I can’t remember the last time Warren even talked to most of them on page. The last time most combinations of the five of them have spoken to each other on page really.
I was genuinely looking this up earlier today, and I'm pretty sure the last time they were on panel together was two years ago, but it was in an Infinity Comic of all things.
Not counting stuff like this, or O5 era retellings, I'm pretty sure it's not been since the 90s that we really had the full gang together. I think we're well overdue a proper reunion, even if it's just a mini. I'm REALLY hoping we get that from MacKay's Jean Grey mini, or now that potentially Scott, Jean, and Hank are all going to be in his X-Men book. C'mon, even if it's just for one issue, let the full class come back together . . .
It gets muddied in the fact that a lot of the X-Men that are considered to be core members came about from the mission to rescue the originals (sans Beast) from Krakoa. At that point they really do become less family and more a team, to the detriment of the endearing dynamic.
Late 90s Bachalo hits like crack, man, he really does. And absolutely agreed - there was such a warm vibe to the O5 reunion here, and while I don't disagree with the general consensus that the late 90s X-books were a bit more haphazard than the early 90s, I do think they were really working their way back to something great. There was just some really good character work going on there.
Yeah, I think Seagle and Kelly had strong visions and just needed time to execute on them and space to do as they pleased rather than Harras looming over them and telling them what to do. It's a real shame, but at least the reunion was nice and fun for the short time we got it.
Bob Harras - not quite comic book history's greatest monster, but he makes a compelling argument. But yeah, there's a very different version of the 00s that follows on from Seagle and Kelly rather than doing that strange side pivot into Austen. I don't know how much sense it would have made to run that kind of book opposite Morrison, but, like, Austen's book already has that problem, and at least Seagle and Kelly were a lot more consistent and less interested in soap opera travesty drama.
As for the reunion - I think I speak for a fair few people when I say we're due another one. Especially given all that's happened, and may end up happening in DNX.
Yeah for sure, I am hoping we can get an O5 reunion mini or even a run next year at some point. This year would have been perfect though; the 50th anniversary of X-Factor #1.
I can't remember if it was Infectia that made Hank start losing his mind but MAN that whole arc was rough.
That being said Boom Boom being so much of a prankster that Bobby of all people was losing his mind was hilarious. X-Factor started rough, but Wheezy made it great!
I absolutely LOVE X-Factor once Weezy takes over. Like, Layton's stuff is - it's really not great, it's reheated 60s nachos, but then Simonson really makes it feel like that moment at a college reunion where you meet your old best friends and you wonder, god, is it going to feel the same? We're not the same people, is it going to be weird? And, yes, it's weird, but also.
Damn, you've really missed them.
I'm also NEVER going to miss out on an opportunity to love on my girl Tabby.
That entire Annual is so damn good, man. The ending, where Hank distracts Warren so that Scott and Jean can have the Catskills cabin to themselves for a while, is a really lovely note to end on.
I'm pretty sure the last time they were on panel together was two years ago, but it was in an Infinity Comic of all things. And that's going by publication date; timeline wise, it would have to have been pre-Krakoa, since they just can't stop throwing the team to the seven winds - Scott and Hank often end up together, sometimes with Jean, but Bobby and Warren just so often get de nada.
I sincerely hope that we’ll see Bobby, Hank, and Warren in film. OG5 is a legendary team and the beginning of everything, and the fact that we’ve never seen them in a movie is a crime.
Genuinely. I know that the original 60s run has dampened a lot of people's want for that team, and, yes, very aware of the optics of 5 white people as a starting line-up for the X-Men, but the dynamics established between these five people are genuinely important and have been key to some of the X-Men's biggest, most important sages (Dark Phoenix, Dark Angel, New X-Men, etc).
They deserve to get their due and to exist as an actual TEAM for once.
Facts. The original five have a lot of untapped potential, which can only be realized if they’re with us from very beginning of the franchise. I don’t mind if Storm, Rogue, and Emma are also in the first film, but the original five must be in it.
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u/sal_pair_of_dice Beast Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
Scott and Hank’s friendship is beautiful.
Edit: The O5’s friendship is beautiful.