Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities X-Statix

Well, I guess it's making some sort of waves if even the AOL splash page is "reporting" on it... the upcoming appearance of a resurrected Princess Diana in the pages of X-Statix, that is.

According to the blurb (actually from Entertainment Weekly online), Princess Di will have mutant powers and join X-Statix to fight a bunch of Euro-trash villains. The story arc will be titled (no joking) "Di Another Day."

There was also a poll about whether people thought this was appropriate. I dunno... I don't think using a dead "real life" personality is inappropriate per se -- would anyone really complain if Benjamin Franklin were brought to life to fight alongside X-Statix? (Well, maybe the legion of rabid Ben fans who bought out all the copies of the special Ben Franklin issue of Time last week might...) I think the issue here is the perceived exploitation of a recent (and still) raw wound for commercial purposes.

What do y'all think?

P.S. Allred's rendition of Diana leapfrogging over Phat was pretty memorable...

I'll probably pass. I've avoided this title since it started and don't see a reason to start now. I'm happy with Exiles and Ultimate X-Men as my only X titles.

I'm all for freedom of speech and creative freedom, so they should publish whatever the hell they want. Personally, I can't help but feel that even the title itself is tasteless. If this were a movie or something that needed to attract a lot of business, I'd say that it was a mistake because the public would be put off, but since it's a comic book which is a niche market and will probably only attract readers by the publicity rather than drive off anyone who normally buys X-Statix, then it's fine for them.

I think the Di thing is too far...but I stopped buying this title when X-Force ended...so no big shake for me.

I just think it's in poor taste...as I've seen mentioned elsewhere, her death was at least in part caused by media, and now she's being brought back in a comic book...

I'll trust Milligan and Allred to do right by me in the 'Di Another Day' arc.

Their X-Force/X-statix has thoroughly entertained me thus far and there's no reason to doubt this arc for me.

Where was this uproar when Princess Di put in an appearance in Penthouse Comix? Though I can't remember if it saw print before or after she died, and I don't think there was any nudity for her, there was an implied lesbian encounter, and much nudity and sex otherwise. All this to-do is INTENTIONAL, part of Nu-Marvel's self-promotion. :rolleyes:

Whether you were for or against the Di storyline is all moot now. The latest from Marvel via CNN:

Marvel scraps plan for comic book Princess Di

Storyline was to be called 'Di Another Day'

Friday, July 11, 2003 Posted: 5:47 AM EDT (0947 GMT)

Marvel intended to introduce the Princess Diana character as one of a team of super-powered mutants.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A U.S. comic book publisher has decided to let Princess Diana rest in peace, dropping plans to reincarnate her as a mutant comic superhero this fall, the company said Thursday.

Marvel Enterprises Inc. said in a statement that "upon reflection" it will remove Diana and all references to the royal family in its upcoming "X-Statix" monthly comics.

The about-face follows a recent announcement by Marvel Comics that it planned to introduce Diana as one of a team of super-powered mutants in a five-series storyline called "Di Another Day."

Company spokespeople were not immediately available to elaborate on the decision.

Diana was to have been a character in a satirical look at fame and pop culture, Marvel said earlier this week.

Buckingham Palace called the idea "utterly appalling" and a "cheap attempt to cash in on Diana's fame and the tragic circumstances surrounding her death."

Wow, I can't believe Marvel folded so QUICKLY. Obviously, Lawyers got involved.

I'm sure Milligan will proceed with the story anyway sooner or later, changing certain names.

Yeah, they'll probably just pick another dead icon instead. Maybe he'll use Katherine Hepburn. This is not the Marvel I grew up with.

How about Jackie O? She's been dead awhile -- she can come back as "Jackie X" (or is that in bad taste as well?)

Never heard about that one.

It is looking more and more like that mighty Marvel machine is rollong through fandom again. Publicity for all!!!

It's one thing to parody a celebrity when they are alive, within reason, but I think it was pretty tacky to have planned a storyline like this in the first place. The woman was loved and respected the world over, and she died a tragic death. To resurrect her as a mutant for a story arc was just in excessively poor taste... regardless of how they planned to tell the story. There are limits to the lengths one should go to shock and inspire interest, I think, and I believe that Marvel nearly went beyond them.

You know, I'm really of two minds about this. On one hand, you have "X-Statix," where something like Diana coming back would fit right in to the book's satirea nd underground charm, and I honestly think Milligan and Allred would have handled it well.

On the other hand, you have a practically universally-beloved still recently-departed cultural figure. You have to admit, without knowing what X-Statix is about, it sounds to the casual observer as a shameless attempt by Marvel Comics to raise sales and make a few bucks by sensationalizing a tragedy that is obviously more fresh in people's minds than they thought.

My question is, what was Marvel Comics THINKING??? They must have KNOWN Buckingham Palace wouldn't stand for that kind of story. We all know Bill Jemas's taste is kind of suspect, but I would have given Joe Q credit for having a little more sense than that.

Oh, and good speed on breaking the story over here, Scott. That report couldn't have been more than an hour old on CNN before you brought it over here.

If I had a suspicious mind, I might think they KNEW they couldn't get away with it, but it would STILL generate a lot of publicity, and maybe some sales.

This thread should be retitled "X-Statix: now without Princess Diana"...

Anyway, I just got the latest issue of X-Statix (#11), and it was mighty enjoyable stuff. Although I enjoyed the Wolverine/Doop two-issue interlude, it was also nice to get back to the rest of the gang.

I liked how the character of El Guapo, which is cheesy on the surface (he uses a flying skateboard), is actually quirky and offbeat and more than he appears. There's also a funny little interlude between Myles and Billy-Bob. And the art, as usual, is very pleasing to the eye.

It reminds of the the soap opera Passions. A couple of years ago, when the show premiered, one of the main characters made a point of talking about how close she was with Di and had even visited with her the night Diana died.

They did the whole sensationalism thing where this character actually had a car accident in the same tunnel and then had an out of body experience where she talked with "Di."

There was a similar furor that happened to Marvel. Soon, all references to Di were eliminated on the soap.

thanks for all the info guys !!!

i have to say, that i hadn't seen anything in the papers or on TV about this storyline, before it was pulled !!!

Matthew.

Well, yank down my drawers and paddle my rosy patoot!

After bitching about the recent lack of X-STATIX, I went to the CBS tonight and there were TWO issues in my pull... 13 & 14!

WOO HOOOOOO!!!!

[paddle paddle]

Yeah, I haven't even gotten around to reading #13, and already #14 is out!

It seems pretty obvious that the back-from-the-dead girl was supposed to be Princess Diana... in fact, in certain panels, it's downright EERIE how much she looks like Diana! I guess giving her black hair doesn't really change her overall appearance that much...

Yep, it didn't dawn on me until I was READING issue 13 that this was the altered "Return of Princess Di" storyline... I guess some changes had to be made which caused the delay in shipping.

So far it is rather interesting.

Hurry up and get # 14 so we can discuss it, Stuey!

I really like this title though I do miss U-Go Girl!

I've got both of 'em in my hot little hands and will read through them properly very soon (I've skimmed) -- along with a HUGE stack of issues I've accumulated. It's gonna be a busy weekend!

Just finished reading #13... once you know that Henrietta was supposed to be Diana, there are a lot of things in the book that seem like they weren't changed much in the editing.

Like the profile of Henrietta/Diana at her ancestral home... or the "tunnel" that she walks down to come back to life -- which seems like it was probably originally a depiction of the tunnel in Paris where Diana died. The biggest gaffe was probably the mention of "British taxpayers' money"...

I have 4 words for you:


Surrender Monkey? tee hee!

OMG -- another issue of X-Statix already?! But I just barely finished reading the other two!

(This is the one with the cover that we'd seen before with Princess Diana "leaping" into action -- though now, of course, it's "pop star Henrietta.")

Still, it's cool -- kind of like when a friend gets you hooked on a new title, and you buy a couple of back issues all at once and read them one after the other over the course of an enjoyable weekend...