X-Position Returns with X-Men Editor Jordan D. White

Not a hoax, not a dream -- X-Position is back!

CBR asked you to focus the totality of your collective will and send in questions for X-Men line editor Jordan D. White, and you came through like Harry Leland standing on a weak piece of flooring!

In the first X-Position Q&A column of 2018, Jordan is here to answer your questions about Wolverine, X-Men Red, X-23, Astonishing X-Men, Rogue & Gambit, the New X-Men (of course) and so much more -- so without further ado, let's head straight to your questions!

CBR: There's only one way to kick off X-Position's return, and it's with the most-asked question in the history of the column. The Dying Detective asks, “Will there ever be a New X-Men: Academy X revival?"

Jordan D. White: I cannot answer that, as “ever” is a long, long time. I know that book certainly has loyal fans, I would imagine it is only a matter of time until someone who loves that book as much as you do is writing the X-Men and makes it happen.

Many of the questions we received were from fans asking for status updates on their personal favorites, so just this once could we ask you about what's in store for some of the most requested characters?

White: I’ve done a few Q&A sessions on my twitter (@cracksh0t -- that’s a zero for the 0) since becoming the head of the X-Group, and every time I specify that I obviously won’t answer spoiler questions. People don’t get that “Will we see CHARACTER X soon?” is a spoiler. That said, what the heck, let’s see what I can spoil for people real quick! It’s not every day X-Position returns.

Challenge accepted! Here's a three-in-one. Alilotron used their indomitable will to ask, "With her time in Astonishing X-Men coming to an end, can we expect to see Psylocke on a new team or book soon?" Dementia5, asked "[Marvel Editor-in-Chief] C.B. [Cebulski] has stated on Twitter that Jubilee will have a role in the X-titles going forward. I know you can’t spill on where and when, as that’s too spoilery, but could you at least give a cryptic hint?" Finally, Wind Rider asks, "With Jean and Kitty getting some time in the leadership seat are there any upcoming plans for a new and more critical role for Storm in the X-Verse?"

White: All three are in Mystery in Madripoor... and an upcoming as-yet-unannounced book!

Angrel-San asks about the third Summers Brother: "Will we see more of Havok once Cyclops returns? Havok has been quite active lately and I like Alex and would like him to remain active once his brother returns."

White: Havok is about to star in Astonishing X-Men!

Henry Winkler's mortal enemy Jumpshark asks, “As X-Group Editor, what would you say is your mission statement for the X-Men going forward?”

White: If you read the many years of Deadpool I edited or have heard me talk about them, you’d see what glee I took in making Wade suffer as much as humanly possible. It’s not because I don’t love Wade -- I do. It’s because I love him and love seeing him shine that I helped punish him so very much. Because adversity is one of the most important parts of storytelling. So... let me just say that I love the X-Men just as much as I love Deadpool and leave it at that for now.

Greg Thelen asked a question which many CBR readers were wondering: “Laura Kinney is returning to her old codename, X-23 (at least her book is). Laura killed the last person to call her X-23 in a very dramatic scene in All-New Wolverine #18. Can you give us some insight as to why she's using her old codename again?”

White: You’ll have to read the book to answer that question, but I can say that obviously she’s reconsidered her position on it. Laura has a lot of history under her belt, like we all do, and at different points in one’s life one reckons with their history in different ways. She’s taking her past head-on in this series.

Love is in the air, as R0d asks, “What are the odds for a Rogue & Gambit Volume 2? A five issue miniseries wasn't enough, we need more of them and from Kelly Thompson, she is great.”

White: I will say that I would certainly enjoy that as a reader. I’ve heard from a lot of fans who feel the same way. It’s certainly something we will consider. R&G are one of the most fun couples in the X-Universe, up there with Scott & Jean in my heart.

Unsurprisingly, rogueisbae asks as follow-up: "With Rogue finally back with the X-Men after more than six years of being away, can we expect something “big” with regards to her return?"

White: She will be getting featured soon and she is also currently in Mystery in Madripoor.

After pondering all the angles, The Supernaut asks, "Is there anything you can tell us about our man Cyclops?"

White: Adult Cyclops is super dead. Not sure how a dead character could appear in anything.

As we're in the midst of Pride Month, Pikachunicorn asks: “What can you say about LGBT representation in the X-books at the moment? Part of the reason that I -- and a lot of the other LGBT+ fans I know -- fell in love with mutants was due to how relatable they were for us. And the X-Men have always been so great with diversity within their ranks. But since the cancellation of Generation X (which was my favorite X-book in recent years! So good!) and Iceman, I've really started to miss that sense of representation!”

White: The X-Men have a great history of inclusion since Giant-Size came out and made them into an international team instead of a small group of American teenagers... and that has only grown over the years, and will continue to do so. I think you will be happy in the months to come that there are a few LGBT characters who are going to be showcased coming up.

And yes, we will see Iceman featured prominently soon.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Updates on Northstar, the return of Wolverine and a cameo from Matthew Rosenberg']

SJNeal asks, "Can we get status updates on Archangel, Psylocke and most notably, Northstar?"

White: I just read a script with Northstar in it.

Weird, this next question was written on the back of a $5 bill. Matthew Rosenberg asks, “You've worked on so many influential titles -- Deadpool, X-Men, Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy. Why am I your favorite person in the world?”

White: Because you are one of the few writers to truly recognize how amazingly influential my works have been.

Now Jean's back, there are questions about who she might meet up with next, and Askani’s Flame asks, "Will we see an actual reunion of the living Greys happen? It would be great to have all of the Greys in the same space interacting as a unit.”

White: There are no plans for a single large Grey family reunion, but a couple of them meet up in the X-Men Red Annual, a few cross paths in "Extermination" and a few meet up in another mysterious book we have yet to talk about. No plans for an X-Men Grey book made of the whole family, sadly.

ExodusCloak asks about Jean's fellow telepath: "We have seen Emma Frost very scarcely over the last few years -- can we expect her in a regular book soon?"

White: I know where her next appearance after X-Men Blue will be!

Here's an update for Starleafgirl and several others, who asked, “Any update on when we can expect the Storm solo book from Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jen Bartel? I've been especially excited to see Jen Bartel draw Storm, would love to see more of her art!”

White: They are both very busy folks, and while I have no doubt that they fully intend to do this book at some point, I don’t believe there are currently plans for it to happen.

Ed Piskor's cover for X-Men Grand Design #5

Following the success of Ed Piskor's X-Men: Grand Design, Sungila asks, “Grand Design was a huge departure and oddity for the X-Franchise. There has been a lot of critical acclaim and interest in the book -- is there any hope for more indie style X-Men books and graphic novels in the future?”

White: Again, anything is possible. Grand Design is such an amazing and special book that came together through a perfect storm of things... it’s the kind of lightning in a bottle we would absolutely love to capture and put out on a regular basis, but that’s not how lightning in a bottle works. But it does show that both we and the fans are open to a more indie-style book when the stars align. We certainly won’t be closing ourselves off from the option.

And finally, one last question from me, to round things out. Wolverine is everywhere right now. He's being hunted, he's got an Infinity Stone, he's wandering around in the most unexpected places -- what do you think Wolverine's return means for the X-Men as a team, especially at a time when Xavier, Jean, and several others have come back too?

White: Wolverine might not have been the first X-Man (unless you ask the First X-Men miniseries, I suppose) but ever since he joined in Giant-Size X-Men #1, he’s become one of the most important. And it might be strange to call the X-Man who has killed the most people of anyone on the team the “heart” of it... but in many ways he became just that.

The X-Men allowed Logan to take control of himself and his life in a way he didn’t know was possible before them, and once he did, it revealed the man who was at his core -- a man who cared deeply for the people around him, his adopted family and who would do anything to protect them. But a lot has happened since his death… not least of all to him. Is he still that same man? From the glimpse we got at the end of Hunt for Wolverine #1... I don’t know that we can say he is.

Many thanks to Jordan for his time, answers -- and spoilers! Have fun on the forums, and just wait until you find out whose turn is next on X-Position!