My lifelong dream is to become a professional writer. And while I am currently working on a self-published comic book series — Gamer Girl & Vixen — I’m also constantly dreaming up ideas for new comics and stories and characters. And a lot of time, I do this daydreaming for actual, existing properties. Because someday, universe willing, I might get invited to pitch to Marvel Comics.

But I’m not getting invited to pitch tomorrow, so I thought a fun little game would be to share some of my X-Men comic ideas with all of you. I was inspired by the announcement last week that Leah Williams will be writing a new X-Terminators series, in which a bunch of cool characters will have a fun and wild adventure for five issues. That is exactly what I want to do: pitch a bunch of 5-issue, X-Men mini-series to Marvel, just to have some fun and write some cool X-Men.

So join me after the jump for a peek at my creator notebook for some random X-Men comic book ideas!

6. Secret X-Men

I’ve mentioned this idea before and it bares repeating. One of the things I think the Krakoa Era is missing is the story of the average person. The call went out at the very start of the Era for all mutants to move to Krakoa and join this mutant society. And we’ve seen how that affects all of the noteworthy mutant superheroes…but what about the average joes and jills who abandoned their lives to come live on Krakoa? Not all mutants are costumed superheroes. Some of them were just people living their normal lives who, apparently, decided to take the X-Men up on their island paradise offer. So what’s life like for the average mutant? Where do they live? What do they do all day? Are there day jobs on Krakoa? Do they need currency to do stuff? Are there intramural baseball tournaments? Do they get wi-fi? Are they happy to abandon their existing governments in favor of the self-appointed Quiet Council?

Secret X-Men would tell the story of a couple of new random mutant characters, teamed up with a couple of minor and obscure known mutants, to tell some life-on-the-island stories. They’d form a sort of neighborhood watch, to handle the low key stuff happening on Krakoa that the X-Men and X-Forces and Excaliburs of the island just can’t be bothered with.

5. The Brotherhood

I’ve talked about this idea before as well on this blog, and I really like it — even if the idea of the Brotherhood was finally re-introduced in the Krakoa Era as part of X-Men Red. So there’s no time like now to mention it! Basically, I would love a comic that focuses on all of the old Brotherhood members now living on Krakoa to see what they’re up to. We’ve seen pretty much all of them, but what’s life like for former Evil Mutants granted amnesty to live in paradise with their former enemies? Blob is working the bar, sure, but what’s that like for him?

The comic would star Toad and would basically be an exploration of his self-hatred. The dude has been so downtrodden in life that he’s developed a complex where he doesn’t feel like he deserves this paradise or any of this forgiveness. So he forms the Brotherhood, which would have two parts. On one front, it would be an island outreach program to help mutants acclimate to Krakoa, and on the other front, it would be a black ops team that travels the world and commits whatever crimes are necessary to see Krakoa flourish. The Krakoa Era is full of black ops teams, but those are all above board. The Brotherhood would exist in secret, and they’d be the ones that actually break the laws and kill people. And it would all be a big self-sabotage by Toad, where he’s so broken that the only way he thinks he can help is by being the bad guy.

4. X-Men: Unlimited

The one comic I have wanted more than anything else from the Krakoa Era is an anthology series exploring all of the non-A-List mutants now living on the island. Every mutant who has ever existed is now available, both good guys and bad guys, and yet most of the actual main comics still focus on the same leading X-characters we’ve always focused on. Sure, the likes of Tempo or Northstar are thrown a bone here or there, and I would love to see more day-to-day stuff for some characters. And I think the old X-Men Unlimited comic could be used for this idea. It used to be an ongoing telling one-off X-Men adventures, and I think that’s how it would be used again.

What’s life like for mutants who have been dead for a long time? There was an issue of X-Men that showed us that Petra and Sway spend all of their time wearing their old costumes and hanging out with Vulcan. Really? That’s what they choose to do with their lives? Why? Or what about the other members of the original Hellions? Do they really spend all their time just hanging out in those pink jumpsuits? How about a day in the life of Blob at the Green Lagoon bar? Or, frankly, any other comic on this list could be reduced to a single issue of X-Men Unlimited, I suppose. Maybe take a look at how education is going on Krakoa. There are a bunch of kids on the island, what are they doing? Is anybody training them in the use of their powers? Do the kids hope to become X-Men someday? Do the members of the Mutant Liberation Front spend all day just playing pool and not caring? Show us what the rest of the island is up to and not just the famous X-Men.

Though as I type all of this, I do believe the webcomic at Marvel Unlimited are doing exactly this. The X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic has had stories about Banshee, Multiple Man and Lila Cheney recently, just some self-contained stories looking at other mutants. So maybe that will suffice.

3. Next X-Men

What is the life goal for young mutants on Krakoa? I believe there is some kind of moratorium on traditional X-schools in Krakoa, and I know the New Mutants have a comic, but what about all the new young mutants we’ve met and pretty much abandoned over the years? The Armor/Dusk/Wind Dancer/Hellion/Bling!/Mercury/Pixie and such generation? Obviously they pop up all over the place with little cameo roles here and there. But what about all those young mutants who were murdered in that bus explosion after M-Day and who now get to live again as mutants? What are they getting up to?

Specifically, I’d want to track the life transition of young mutants on Krakoa. What are they working towards? Anything? How do they become popular enough to even be considered for an X-Men vote? Do they just go on random missions from time to time? Are they in constant competition with one another considering how few team slots there are? Why don’t they run away and join the Champions?

What’s the teenage wasteland like on Krakoa?

2. Dazzler and Lila Cheney’s Excellent Adventure

X-Men comics have teased a Dazzler ongoing in recent years, from that excellent one-shot by Magdalene Visaggio to this new X-Terminators by Leah Williams. I want Marvel to commit! But I don’t just want a Dazzler superhero comic. I want a Dazzler musician comic. She’s a rockstar. That’s integral to her character. And it’s also a very unique premise for superhero comics. How many superhero rockstar comics do we have? I think it would be neat! And then there’s Lila Cheney, who is also a rockstar mutant associated with the X-Men.

So my comic idea is to put Dazzler and Lila Cheney on tour together. Send them on an intergalactic adventure, playing rock shows across the Earth and throughout the stars. Obviously throw in some superhero-esque subplots and some behind-the-scenes intrigue, and I think that would be a really cool comic! Add some bonus characters like Strong Guy returning to his role as Lila’s bodyguard, and I think it would a neat adventure full of rock and roll mutant mayhem!

1. Nightcrawler: International Mutant of Mystery

I am not the biggest Nightcrawler fan. I like him just fine, but he was never around in the X-Men eras that really imprinted on my fanboy soul. So I’m not attached to any of the existing Nightcrawler lore, like the mythical stuff. In fact, I really like it when Nightcrawler is treated more like a person. I like it when he grows a beard or wears jeans. When he goes to do normal person things instead of always wearing the same skintight body suit. And that’s what my Nightcrawler solo series would be about: Nightcrawler being a cool, down-to-Earth, dashing chap.

I would turn Nightcrawler into an international diplomat for Krakoa. He would travel the world checking in on mutant allies in other countries, serving as a goodwill ambassador. He’d connect with people on a personal level, get up to some shenanigans, deal with other cultures reacting to his demonic looks, and basically just be a smooth operator on a global level. Almost like James Bond. I think it’d be a neat role for Nightcrawler, and something out of the ordinary for the character.

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