With other X-Books concentrating on the high-stakes interpersonal drama that has driven the X-Men saga for the past few years, "Amazing X-Men" was tasked with playing up the mutants' adventurous side in its very first issue. With big action named priority number one, this team -- comprised of classic X-Men like Nightcrawler, Storm and Colossus as well as relative newcomers like Firestar and Rockslide -- has gone up against everything from a nation of Wendigo beasts to a bajillion-foot-tall Juggernaut. With the conclusion of its most recent Cyttorak-centric storyarc, "Amazing X-Men" has just one more adventure left to go on before this raucous run comes to a close in April with issue #19.
X-POSITION: Chris Yost Reveals His "Amazing" Mission Statement
This week, "Amazing X-Men" writer Chris Yost joins us once more and answers your questions about everything from Northstar and Nightcrawler's friendship to his personal feelings towards Rachel Grey and his upcoming Marvel work.
CBR News: Welcome back to X-Position, Chris! First up, cinnaminion has a few questions about your "Amazing" X-Men.
Did you have any plans where to go with the hilarious bickering between Nightcrawler and Northstar, or were they just pretty good foils for each other? If "Amazing" ends so soon, I'm sad not to find out if they'll finally become besties or if JP will try to feed Kurt to the warwolves first.
I like those two because they're like the mutant Odd Couple. Jean-Paul's ultra cynicism goes against Kurt's innate faith in humanity so well, it's hard not to play off it. Sadly, my time with them hasn't allowed for that 'road trip' kind of issue, but one day, who knows? I think they'd each have a lot to teach one another.
Do you have any good Rockslide jokes? Because they're my favorite thing recently.
Everything that Rockslide says is generally my favorite, he's incredibly fun to write. I resisted putting him on the team initially because it felt like me just trying to recreate "New X-Men," but it made sense.
Juggernaut Makes an Unstoppable Return in Yost's "Amazing X-Men"
Next up, Brad has a question about a plot point teased in "Amazing X-Men" #18.
Hey there, Chris. I was excited to see Juggerlossus vs. Cyttorak. Will we see this in the next issue? That's a twist I can get behind!
Nope! Sorry to disappoint, but Cain Marko is the once and future Juggernaut.
The most recent arc of "Amazing" found the team going up against a giant foe, and N'Dare has a question about one aspect of Storm's... strategy?
Why did you write Storm sitting down right after the Juggernaut took over the Living Monolith? That was weird, but then again it was the funniest and the most gloriously touching moment for the X-Men this year (well, for me). Thank you.
I think Storm was tired, and realized that the whole team needed a minute. And realistically, there was absolutely nothing that anyone could do about the Living Monolith at that point. So why not take a sit-down and breathe? Every once in a while, it's nice to have that kind of human moment.
Next up, Sardorim has a question about Rachel, the ex-Phoenix X-Man.
I only have one question which I know wont be picked but I'm asking anyway. Why do you hate Rachel Grey-Summers so much? Please elaborate.
Where do I get started? Probably the rat-tail is her biggest offense, but the list of reasons I hate her -- I'm just kidding. I don't hate her, but she's a difficult character for a number of reasons. Her backstory is complicated. Her actual storyline kind of played itself out and she's even more redundant now with young Jean Grey running around. So, for all you Rachel fans out there, sorry. But chin up! I didn't kill her.
With "Amazing X-Men" wrapping up, Jennifer has a question about unfinished storyline.
Are there any untold stories/story lines you wish you could finish up from previous runs?
There are two or three "New X-Men" stories that I didn't get to, but beyond that no.
In that same vein, berserkerclaw wants to know how you planned out "Amazing X-Men's" trajectory.
Did you have more stories planned or did you always know you were stopping after the Juggernaut story?
We planned "Amazing" one story at a time. If the powers that be said they needed another one, I'd come up with another one. It makes it harder to do the overarching character stuff, but we really wanted to deliver the big, fun stories here.
Now we're going to journey into hypothetical territory with a question from Agent Scarlet.
If Marvel offered up your choice of any mainstay X-character not currently in use in another book, who would you use?
Jean Grey. The dead one. I'd call her Phoenix and give her a solo book where she just hit the road trying to have a normal life, away from all the X-Men.
Darkgreed has questions regarding both evil and love.
Who is your favorite X-Men Villain?
I always liked Mister Sinister.
Which X-Men would you like to make a couple?
X-23 and Hellion.
RELATED: Yost's "MODOK: Assassin" May Be Designed for Killing and Kissing
Lastly, Alucard2099 has a question that looks past "Amazing X-Men" and into the future.
"Amazing X-Men" is ending before "Secret Wars," so are there any other X-related projects in your near future?
Not strictly X-related is "MODOK Assassin," coming out in May. [It's] a "Secret Wars" tie in, there's also a well known mutant -- who might be played by Channing Tatum in a future movie -- as well as some purple X-villains in the first issue.
Special thanks to Chris Yost for taking on this week's questions!
Next week, "Magneto" writer Cullen Bunn will return to X-Position. Have a question for Cullen? Go ahead and send 'em in via an e-mail with the subject line "X-Position" or if 140 character questions are more your speed, try Twitter. But get 'em in quickly, because the deadline's Friday! Make it happen!