X-POSITION: Mike Carey - Four for Four!

Last week I was ecstatic to see another question of mine posted on CBR for the 3rd time. This week the tradition continues. My question was once again posted for Mike Carey, writer of X-men Legacy. Of all the ongoing X-titles, Mike Carey is one of my favorite because he does characterization better and more consistently than any other writer. He's done more for Rogue and Charles Xavier than any writer in decades and it's very satisfying getting an answer from him. The question I asked wasn't easy, but I felt it was pertinent and it involved Mystique.

MarvelMaster616 is dying to know more about Mystique's mystique - what secrets can you divulge?

I've noticed that for all the history revealed about her, there is still a good deal of mystery surrounding Mystique's past. There is no story that reveals what she was like as a child or how she came to be the twisted shape-shifter we all know and love. Will we ever get a chance to see the story of Mystique's childhood?

That would be very cool, MM. I don't know of any current plans to delve into Mystique's past (was "The Draco" in 2003 the last time this was done?), but clearly there's a lot more to be revealed about her - not least what experiences in life have made her so mercilessly manipulative of others. You'd need the right platform, though; unless it was a self-contained miniseries, there'd have to be a reason in terms of current events for delving into and uncovering her past. That was the sort of story I loved telling when "Legacy" was Professor X's book.

CBR X-Postion: Mike Carey

It's been a question I haven't heard many people ask. Mystique is one of the most notable characters in the X-men's class of villains. Her history is pretty extensive and she's been behind some pretty destructive moments in the past. That being said there's very little insight into her past. There's no comic in the 616 continuity (or any continuity for that matter) that describes where she came from, who her parents were, and what she was like before she became a shape shifter. With the death of Nightcrawler in Second Coming, I was hoping this would be a good medium to tell that story. It doesn't look like that's going to happen. Mike Carey's response seems to imply there's no room for it at the moment and I can see where he's coming from.

I still hope that story gets told. I certainly plan to tell it in X-men Supreme when the time comes. In the meantime he'll be one of the writers I'll be following even after Second Coming. His work remains a standard by which other X-men writers are measured by. Now there's Jason Aaron in the mix for X-Position. Guess I better find something to ask him as well! Nuff said.