So I have thrown this idea in my head for awhile now, and I guess I'm posting to see what you guys think.

So with in X-men there have been a few differnt X-men whos religion plays an important role in their life and their powers. And I think it would be.intresting if we had a team of X-men that would explore the themes of religion within the mutant community. How do differnt religions feel about mutants, for the individuals what does it mean to be religious and a mutant, etc.

Now in the context of the book the team wouldnt come together because of this, but in the conversations that they have with each other and the villans they face it will come up. Villans like he purifiers and the church of humanity can show up. Maybe even a new group of evil mutants called the church of mutants or something idk.

Anyway here is the working roster I came up with

1) Nightcrawler ( catholic)

2) Kitty Pryde ( Jewish)

3) Indra ( Hindu)

4) Wolfsbane ( catholic i belive)

5) Dust ( muslim)

6) M ( Muslim)

7) Oya ( some denomination of christian, I'm not sure which one though)

8) Forge ( trained to be a Cheyenne medicine man)

In this roster we have a diverse group of powers and abilities, as well as race, religion, Ideologies, and even age because we have students of Xavier academy from all different eras of the X-men mythos.

Now maybe it wouldn't work for a series, but maybe a mini series or something.

I just think it could be a really cool topic to explore.

Its a creative idea but I wouldn't buy it. I think the religion aspect can be included in stories but doesn't need a spin off or series or even a team of its own to deal with it

Wolfsbane is I believe Presbyterian.

It's fun to make up teams and stuff but if Marvel actually published that I think it would be a little odd. It just hits the whole diversity and discrimination on the head too much.

If religion is explored with an existing or more natural team of X-Men then fair enough.

@shadowx: I kinda like this idea, so long as it was properly researched, and the characters were sharing their own views on religion as opposed to being used as representatives of said faith.

I don't know if it's a thing I'd necessarily want to read a book just about that, but if it was a reoccurring theme explored through a comparative religious studies class at the school, as a subplot to the main story, that could be cool.

Maybe the class could be taught by Nightcrawler, with the characters who aren't students being guest speakers, it could make for a pretty interesting dialogue, and certainly fits with the X-men's ideology of tolerance and acceptance. In some ways it seems like what a book about the school should be doing; I mean, what other superhero comic could it be done in that would make as much sense?

I am all for this idea, but i don't trust Marvel with such a topic, especially with their stable of shallow writers.

Back in the day, Claremont could have delved into such a story and made it serious and poignant and well researched but now the stories I see come out of Marvel are so superficial and commercial. The closest event/story I can think of that reminds me of the topic would be the "God Squad" from Secret Invasion. But again it was not as deep as it could have been and it was a small mini-series.

The only writer that i am aware of that could pull of such a team book with different characters of different faiths coming together for a profound story would be Neil Gaiman. It would be real fun to see his take on Nightcrawler, Storm, Magneto, Shadowcat, Magik, Mirage, Wolfsbane, Oya, Dust, Indra, Genesis and Angel.

@silver_raven:

yeah You're right I'm not sure if Marvel would have somebody be able to tackle the discussions like this,.

@oldnightcrawler: Thanks and yeah after reqorking the idea and taking what You said. I see the main team being something like.

teachers: Nightcrawler and kitty pryde.

Students: Indra, Dust, Oya, Hope( so I can get some hope and nightcrawler interaction. Plus she is apart of the Askani tribe right or the thing cable was right?) and Anole( I don't think he is religious but I think it would be good to have maybe one or two members on it that aren't so religious)

and then like you said have other characters appear like M as guest speakers.

I really like the idea of Nightcrawler and Kitty running this class together, and it makes sense for Kitty to be there, since she also teaches ethics.

I really like your picks for students. I think Anole is an especially interesting choice, given that he's been written to be a character who has yet to define his sexual identity, so I'd be interested in seeing his perspective on how that is viewed by different religions. Personally, I would also add Bling to the class as well, if only to shed light on another perspective on that topic. And I think having at least one character who fundamentally rejects religion in general might be interesting; I can sort of envision Quire in this role, though I've never seen it implicitly stated that he's given it any serious thought.

@shadowx:

Your topic goes hand-in-hand with what I was talking about a couple of weeks ago here

Should it be necessary to flesh out these character descriptives (religion) or should we just appreciate the inclusion of a character full of depth and background!? I don't think a "team" of religion-based X-Men is suitable with the concept of mutants. It segregates them even further.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well when I suggested the idea of it being a comparative religions class. This way the characters could explore these themes in the safety of the school, where their identities as mutants would be less of a factor.

That would be an interesting and debatable class... but assuming it would be showcased in Wolverine and the X-Men, I highly doubt that the class would get any limelight. But interesting idea!

I actually really like that idea, It would be nice to see a comic explore different religions and philosophies seeing how they mix and how they can grow as a team. Might not last as an ongoing series but I think it could make a very interesting mini series they could even fight the Purifiers to see the horrors of blindly following faith?

its actually a pretty cool idea with a lot of different possibilities for stories. since religion is a sensitive topic i doubt marvel would do it but then again marvel now is pretty lenient and gives writers some more freedom. id check it out even if it was a mini series. great idea man. maybe storm would be good too since she was worshiped as a god

just one more reason the students should have their own book instead.

Professor X

Original Angel

Iceman

Storm

Night crawler

Emma Frost

Kitty Pryde

Cyclops

Jean Grey

Forge

I concur.