The X-Men Divided?

X-Men: Schism promises to "shatter the bonds that hold the X-Men together"...

Announced at WonderCon, X-Men: Schism is a new mini-series set to change the X-Men's universe. Written by Jason Aaron with a team of talented artists, Schism seems to be the conflict that has been brewing for.. well, like 50 years.

The X-Men have really evolved in the last decade from your run of the mill super team to a hardcore mutant militia, fighting for survival harder than ever. Led by Cyclops, with Wolverine backing his play, the team has never been more epic, or efficient.

But what happens when your leaders disagree with each other? Comic Book Resources reports:



Several upcoming X-Men stories will set the stage for "Schism," but Aaron wants to make sure that the series is as accessible as it is important. "It's a continuation of a lot of things that have been going on in the X-Men Universe for a while now. After 'House of M' this is going to be the next big step for the X-Verse," the writer remarked. "There will be threads from a lot of the X-Books, but I also think it will be a book that you can pick up and understand the big events that unfold, and the reasons why they unfold are right there in the book."

The conflict of "Schism" is set in motion with the surprise return of a character to the pages of the X-Universe. "Things kick into gear with the return of a character from Grant Morrison's 'New X-Men' run. This is one of my favorite characters from that run, and I'm a big fan of that run in general," Aaron explained. "That character's return sparks a worldwide resurgence of mutant fear and hatred. You'll see more Sentinels in an X-book than you've seen in quite a while."

When this crisis erupts, Cyclops is forced to develop a plan to deal with it, and his plan causes Wolverine, one of his most capable lieutenants, much concern. "At its core, 'Schism' is a story about Cyclops and Wolverine. There's a lot of other characters and elements swirling around them, but at the end of the day it really comes down to these two men and how they differ in a couple of fundamental ways," Aaron said. "Cyclops is the X-Men's leader and Logan doesn't want to assume his position. It's not his natural instinct. This book isn't about Wolverine coming in and suddenly deciding to lead his own branch of the X-Men. This story is really about a falling out between Scott and Logan and what brings that about. They find themselves at a real crossroads in their relationship and the differences that come between them pushes each of them in a very different direction."

While Wolverine and Cyclops have been comrades on the X-Men for many years, Aaron doesn't believe the two ever had a friendly relationship. "They were never friends, but Logan has come to look at Scott as his general. He's come to respect him much more as a leader these last few years as Scott has taken control and taken mutants to places they've never been before," Aaron said. "Logan has always been the good soldier, sometimes maybe a little bit begrudgingly, but he's always been right by Scott's side and gone out of his way to do everything he could to bring about Scott's vision. Now they find themselves at an impasse, and for the first time Logan says no. He feels the train has gone off the tracks."

Wolverine's perspective will be part of "Schism," but so will Cyclops.' Aaron wants his story to be as morally complex for readers as it is for the X-Men. "This is not a story about painting anyone as a villain or about one side being right and the other side being wrong. In some sense this is 'Civil War' with the X-Men, but it's not a civil war where there's a mustache twirling villain. We're dealing with two guys who have very strong principles and very strong beliefs," Aaron stated. "They also have definite ideas about what the X-Men should be doing and how they should be doing it. They just find themselves at an impasse. So hopefully we've created a situation where both sides will make complete sense in one way or the other.

The conflict in "Schism" will be brought to life by an all-star team of artists, each drawing different issue. #1 features art by Carlos Pacheco; Frank Cho is drawing #2; #3 will be brought to life by Daniel Acuna; Alan Davis provides art for issue #4; the fifth and final issue features art by Aaron's "Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine" collaborator, Adam Kubert. "We've got a murderer's row of talented artists," Aaron remarked. "We've got some guys who are new to the X-Universe and some who have done their fair share of Marvel projects this year. Just working with one of these artists would be great and I'm lucky enough to be working with several of them on one project!"

At its core, "Schism" examines the conflict between two veteran X-Men and the paths they believe in. Said conflict will ultimately change the way the Marvel Universe views the X-Men, and the way X-Men view themselves. "The events of 'Schism' will continue to play out in big way in the Marvel Universe going into next year. It will have a profound effect on the Marvel U going forward," Aaron explained. "Because of what happens in 'Schism,' the status quo and dynamics of the X-Men and mutantkind will change for the foreseeable future."

There's a lot more to the article which you can check out at the link above. It's definitely an exciting idea with a huge potential that could shape the X-books in a new way. The conflict between Cyke and Wolvy has been the highlight of the X-books for years, but the amount of grudging respect between the two was undeniable. Logan believes in the dream, which Scott is pretty much directly controlling right now. 
A confrontation between them is inevitable, and undoubtedly awesome. This could most likely lead to a set of X-Teams, each led by Cyke and Wolvy pursuing different goals, and occasionally butting heads. That sounds like good X-Men to me. I can already start picturing the teams, set by loyalties to their leaders. Exciting.


Welcome to the Year of the X-Men...

Assuming the teams were to split, give me your list of dream teams, one led by Cyclops, the other Wolverine. List your teams in the comment sections below and I will do the same!