Marvel's Senior X-Menhas a clear, concise message for members of the franchise's fandom arguing about the supremacy of one character vs. another: "knock it off." In particular, Editor Tom Brevoort has had enough of the rivalry between Jean Grey fans and Storm fans, noting that while it's okay for readers to prefer one character over another, it's not appropriate to put down others' favorites to elevate one's own.
Responding to fan questions on his Substack page, Brevoort vented about some comic book fans' tendency toward tribalism, in regard to their favorite characters, even noting that he nearly had to turn off the commons for several previous posts after the debate between Storm supporters and Jean Grey advocates became too contentious.
In a moment of total candor, Brevoort went as far as to suggest that divides like this in the fan community, especially when they devolve into incivility, gnaw at his motivation to do further fan Q&A sessions.
Marvel's Senior X-Men Editor Calls Out Fans For Pushing The "Storm/Jean" Debate To An Unacceptable Place
Tom Brevoort On "This Seemingly Unending Rivalry"
In his latest Substack post, Tom Brevoort – a Marvel Senior Editor with decades of experience, and current head of the publisher's X-Office – was pushed to the point of having to be brutally honest with his readers about his feelings toward fan disputes over characters. One fan asked for clarity about something Murewa Ayodele, author of Marvel's Storm ongoing series, said regarding the parallels between his lead character and fellow mutant powerhouse Jean Grey, who is currently starring in her own Phoenix solo series. In response, Brevoort laid bare his frustrations with arguments between the two heroes' fans.
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Brevoort wrote:
I am getting just a little bit tired of this seemingly unending rivalry between the Storm fans and the Phoenix fans. It isn’t a competition, they’re both important. And if you love one especially greatly, that’s fantastic. But we don’t need to knock down the other one in order to display love for the first. You’re asking me a question about something my writer said online. Just like the questions that I answer here, though, none of it is official until it appears in the actual stories. So I would say that in order to get answers to these kinds of queries, the thing to do would be to keep an eye on STORM and PHOENIX. But I’m not going to wade into this online rivalry and I don’t want it infesting this feature any more than it already has. I’m certainly not going to respond to a secondhand statement taken out of context like this. I understand that you simply want answers, but the answers that you and a bunch of others seem to want are those that pump up your favorite while putting down somebody else’s. But they’re all my responsibility, and so I don’t have a dog in this fight.
Notably, Brevoort's response boiled down to the idea that some readers are less interested in lore, and more interested in being "right" about the lore; that these readers are chasing after some kind of vindication for having the "correct" understanding of their preferred characters. This is an unfortunate extension of the classic "superhero vs. superhero" debate – one exacerbated, like many conflicts, by the internet – which Brevoort himself later acknowledged can be part of the fun of being a comic book fan.
Tom Brevoort Calls For Civility In Superhero Discourse, An End To "Sniping" Between Phoenix & Storm Fans
Brevoort: "This Is My House"
At a certain point in his response, Tom Brevoort apologized to the fan whose question prompted him to go off, noting that this issue has been simmering for awhile. It is important to note that Brevoort as more than just the editor in charge of Marvel Comics' X-Men line, but as the author of his personal blog, which he does not want to become yet another forum for internet vitriol. In the second portion of his response, the Editor explained:
I’m sorry to hit you with this, but over the last couple of weeks there have been a few times when I thought I was going to need to shut down comments as the Storm and Phoenix fans thought nothing about sniping at one another back and forth in them. Folks, this is my house, and you’re all invited. But don’t put your feet up on the furniture and don’t be rude to my other guests. We can all talk, laugh, and have a good time if we’re simply civil to one another. When that civility goes away, so does my interest in continuing to bang these pieces out every week. This isn’t really all on your Robyn, you just happened to be the person asking about it this time out, so I’m sorry if I’ve painted your interest with a broad brush. To everybody else: knock it off, okay?
Evoking the imagery of rude house guests, Brevoort made it clear that he expects more respectful discourse from his readers.
Tom Brevoort isn't wrong in this expectation; comic book fans should be able to engage with one another in good faith, without their different opinions leading the conversation to devolve into unkindness and antagonist. In this way, the comic book community can elevate itself above other fan cultures, and carve out a space where a plurality of viewpoints are not just expected, but encouraged. At a foundational level, this is all Marvel's Senior X-Men Editor is asking for, and it is a plea worth listening to
Movie(s)
X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
First Film
X-Men (2000)
TV Show(s)
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men '97 (2024)
Video Game(s)
X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine's Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
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