To be clear, I read the first arc of Whedon's X-Men. That's what I described earlier. I downloaded the rest just now and skimmed it. The art got better — as one would hope it would considering how late it was — but the story became a mixed-up mess. Something about the computer-woman from Superman III in the Matrix, then Colossus is prophesied the doombringer of some alien race and Kitty phases a giant bullet through the Earth. Or some shit. Lots and lots of kewl posing, boring talking heads and eyeroll-inducing snarks.

It's OK that you didn't like Joss Whedon's ASTONISHING X-MEN, Allen.

But it was "a continuation of the existing material within the same continuity," just like Alan Moore's SWAMP THING. Whedon was writing the same X-Men from the same Marvel Universe that everyone else had been writing, from Stan Lee to Chris Claremont to Grant Morrison. He picked up some plot threads and he left some plot threads.

I don't understand why -- regardless of whether it's comics, books, movies, music, whatever -- you can't just say, "I didn't like it." That's a perfectly acceptable answer. Nobody can challenge you on "I didn't like it." Instead, you have to invent these ridiculous theories to undermine whatever you didn't like, and the theories usually collapse under the weight of examination.

Let's not overlook that Allen apparently thinks Whedon also drew those X-Men comics. It's possible we're dealing with some sort of perceptual disability.

Mike

Iron Man II wasn't horrible, but it's got exactly the same problems Allen is bitching about in The Avengers.

CGI? Check.
Pre-determined elements forced into the story? Check.

Mike

It had a much better villain, though. That's all it had, really.

Rockwell's Justin Hammer and Rourke's Whiplash were individually better than Hiddleston's Loki, but squeezed together in the same story along with War Machine and the Black Widow?

Mike

Please illustrate from where you would make that assumption.

If so, my mistake then. I thought it was his own Elseworlds take. I don't recall those costumes from anywhere else, the Beast looking like that, Kitty being an adult or any of the supporting new student characters, etc.

A lot had changed from the period you and I read UNCANNY X-MEN.

The Beast "evolved" into a lion-like creature some time ago, maybe during Grant Morrison's run. I dunno for sure; I didn't read any of the comics. Kitty is an adult because, I presume, enough years have passed in the Marvel Universe since her introduction. Emma Frost evidently joined the team. The costumes change all the time.

I'm told that, since we left the book, Jean Gray was alive again for a while, and then she was killed again. This cycle actually may have repeated twice.

The costumes were new for the run. The Beast's appearance is from Morrison's run. For the decade or so before Whedon, there'd been a couple hundred or so students at the school, and it was convention that whatever writer was on the book at the time created or used whatever students they wanted for supporting characters. In that vein, Wing and Armor were new for Whedon's run.

Kitty's age has been kicked up a notch or so at a time down the years, starting with her first several-year jump in a letter's page, when a reader asked, "Um, why is Colossus making out with a thirteen year old?" and the editor basically responded, "UM GOOD QUESTION"