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        | Greg Kirkman Byrne Robotics Member
 
  
 Joined: 12 May 2006
 Location: United States
 Posts: 15772
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          The inherent absurdity of that statement is borne out by the fact that the original team graduated in issue # 7!
           | Posted: 11 April 2019 at 7:23pm | IP Logged | 1 | post reply |  
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        | John Byrne 
   Grumpy Old Guy
 
 Joined: 11 May 2005
 Posts: 135209
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          A point Chris and I made!
           | Posted: 11 April 2019 at 7:30pm | IP Logged | 2 | post reply |  
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        | Richard Palmgren Byrne Robotics Member
 
  
 Joined: 31 May 2009
 Location: United States
 Posts: 328
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          “students of Charles Xavier” (which was part of the top copy) was what defined the book
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 7:54am | IP Logged | 3 | post reply |  
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 |  -------- 
 a Prep School where the majority of the class are over 18! 
 For me, the idea of Prof. X being able to consider the New X-men students ended when he tried to give Wolverine "demerits" .  That one scene summarized the change.  Scott's body language was brilliant when he was trying to reason with Charles | 
       
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        | John Byrne 
   Grumpy Old Guy
 
 Joined: 11 May 2005
 Posts: 135209
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          As some of you already know, Kitty was introduced as the first member of a second team, kids who would function as students, with the older members being the teachers.  (Hm, why does that sound familiar?)
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 8:27am | IP Logged | 4 | post reply |  
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 |  This was an attempted to give Shooter what he wanted, while we stayed true to the identity of the book as seen since GIANT-SIZED X-MEN 1.  Shooter immediately quashed this idea, declaring it the "Legion of Substitute X-Men".  He wanted what he wanted. This was one of the things, among many, that contributed to my departure.
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        | Richard Palmgren Byrne Robotics Member
 
  
 Joined: 31 May 2009
 Location: United States
 Posts: 328
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          Here's a couple of questions:
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 8:34am | IP Logged | 5 | post reply |  
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 1. With Elsewhen, there's always questions about the original ending of 137 and how things would have gone had that ending been published, but, did you have any plans for story lines or characters after the published 137 and before you knew you were leaving the book with 143? 
 2. Did Chris end up using anything you guys had planned to do after 137? 
 
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        | John Byrne 
   Grumpy Old Guy
 
 Joined: 11 May 2005
 Posts: 135209
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          1)  Of course.  We weren't plotting the stories issue to issue!!
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 8:39am | IP Logged | 6 | post reply |  
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 |  2)  He did his own version of PROJECT WIDEAWAKE, which was introduced at the end of 142.  (That's what led to the Sentinels taking over the world, and was the basis for "Days of Future Past".  I'll be addressing it in ELSEWHEN, since it was basically my idea.)
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        | Richard Palmgren Byrne Robotics Member
 
  
 Joined: 31 May 2009
 Location: United States
 Posts: 328
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          Of course. We weren't plotting the stories issue to issue!!
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 9:44am | IP Logged | 7 | post reply |  
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 |  --------- 
 Oh, I didn't mean to imply that you were, but issues 139 - 143 never felt like they were building towards anything, but, rather, with hindsight, seemed more like an epilogue to everything you had done before.  And after the fun of 143, the book seemed to meander here and there for like 20 issues, so I had been curious if there was some sort of "grand plan" that you guys were working on that fell apart. | 
       
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        | John Byrne 
   Grumpy Old Guy
 
 Joined: 11 May 2005
 Posts: 135209
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          The one thing I remember is that after I left, Chris seemed to be doing all the things I hadn’t wanted to do—in order!
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 10:33am | IP Logged | 8 | post reply |  
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        | John Byrne 
   Grumpy Old Guy
 
 Joined: 11 May 2005
 Posts: 135209
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          Another note on the Seven Year Rule:  it didn’t take long before the microbrains started to “do the math” and figure if it was seven years in 1977, then in 1985 it should be ten years, and in 2000 it should be....
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 11:18am | IP Logged | 9 | post reply |  
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 |  GUK!
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        | John Byrne 
   Grumpy Old Guy
 
 Joined: 11 May 2005
 Posts: 135209
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          Yeah, you also showed Reed Richards celebrating his 40th birthday in FANTASTIC FOUR (which jibes with Stan stating that he was in his mid-30s during the early days of the series), and just prior to that made a reference to the initial Skrull incursion from FF # 2 as having taken place "six years ago", so the seven-year-rule seems like a good fit.
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 11:26am | IP Logged | 10 | post reply |  
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 |  ••• T’was in a lettercol that Stan told us Reed and Ben were in their “late thirties” while Sue was “in her twenties.”  This was what set in my mind that Sue and Reed were no closer in age than 10 years.  Of course, Stan forgot this, and had Reed as 18 in WW2, with Sue the “girl he left behind”.  Eight year old Sue? (I sort of referenced this by having 8 year old Sue have a huge crush on the shy, bookish, 18 year old Reed.)
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        | Richard Palmgren Byrne Robotics Member
 
  
 Joined: 31 May 2009
 Location: United States
 Posts: 328
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          Isn't there also a big age gap between Mac and Heather?
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 11:36am | IP Logged | 11 | post reply |  
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        | Brian Miller Byrne Robotics Member
 
  
 Joined: 28 July 2004
 Location: United States
 Posts: 31699
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          Yes. She was 18 when Mac stole the suit back from Jaxon and they went to the govt with it.
           | Posted: 12 April 2019 at 11:56am | IP Logged | 12 | post reply |  
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 Edited by Brian Miller on 12 April 2019 at 11:57am
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