Cullen Bunn on his time writing X-Men

We talk Magneto, Uncanny, Secret Wars II tie ins, and everything else X-Men!

The third in my series of interviews with Cullen Bunn as we slowly cover all the writings of his career! Today we are talking about all things X-Men! We won’t talk Deadpool as that is saved for another day, but we cover Blue, Gold, the tie ins, Magneto, and everything else!

Austin Allen Hamblin: You have worked on loads of X-Men-related titles over the years. Do you remember how you were first introduced to the characters?

Cullen Bunn: There are a few moments I think about when it comes to my early days with the X-Men.

First up, one of my first comic book memories was sitting on the floor of my home in Fayetteville NC (which would put this pre-kindergarten) reading an issue of X-Men. I remember the blue and gold costumes, though I don’t recall much of the story.

Years later, I walked into a comic book store (also in Fayetteville, though I wasn’t living there at the time) and I encountered a copy of Giant-Sized X-Men #1. I was enraptured by the amazing characters on the cover. Without reading their stories, I loved them. The book, though, was selling for like $8. Gasp! Shockingly pricey! And my mom wouldn’t spring for the purchase.

At some point, I was in a drug store, and I was flipping through a copy of Crazy Magazine that reprinted parts of the final Dark Phoenix Saga with re-written dialogue. I thought it was hilarious! But I also knew there was a much more important story that I needed to read.

Time passed, and eventually I started reading the series, and I got into collecting comics in earnest. My old man, who had no interest in comics but loved to support my hobby, helped me grab issues over the years. He loved wheeling and dealing at comic shops and at conventions. Together, we collected an entire run of the series, from issue 1 to whatever was current.

At some point, I sold that collection in order to pay for college. I hate that I did it. But I have been re-collecting them and (as of this writing) I only need two issues to call it a day and redeem myself.

Almost.

After X-Men, we decided to collect Spider-Man. At one time, I owned Amazing Fantasy 15 and the first 20 issues of Spider-Man. Those vanished in the pursuit of education, too, and I doubt I’ll ever get them again.

Anyhow.

X-Men has long been a part of my life, and I always regretted that my dad never saw me writing the book.

AAH: Do you remember how you got offered an X book? Were you excited or scared when you found out?

CB: Oh, I remember.

I was writing Magneto at the time. I was proud of that book. Very proud. But I had to fight for almost every creative decision I made. I was in the middle of a heated argument with my editor about the book. I was ready to call it quits, In fact, the words, “I quit” were on my lips when the editor said, “We were considering talking to you about writing Uncanny.”

I guess I was a little intimidated about the book, not about screwing it up so much as I was about letting myself down.

What folks don’t realize is that I fought for the “Uncanny” title, even though that was not the flagship at the time. My dad would have liked that. There was a moment, though, when they wanted to change it up. I stand by my book as the truest representation of the X-Men at the time, because I loved the characters, the world, and the story.

Wouldn’t it be an awesome world if that was always the case with the series?

AAH: You explored a lot of things with Magneto. What makes him so interesting as a character?

CB: Magneto is one of my favorite Marvel characters. What makes him so interesting is that, no matter what anyone says, he is not a hero. He is a villain. He just happens to be doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. I love villainous characters who readers can relate to. And that’s how I approached him. He was a bad guy you could root for. That’s fascinating to me.

Interestingly, I was writing Sinestro for DC around the same time. I set him apart by thinking of Sinestro as doing the right things for the wrong reasons.

By the way, if ever the day came where I could write Magneto AND Sinestro at the same time again, the world of comics would crumble under the weight of sheer awesomeness.

AAH: You wrote some tie-in X-Men comics for Civil War II. How different is writing something that is part of a much larger storyline?

CB: Well, when you write comics in a big universe, you are gonna get hit with crossovers. In Magneto, for example, I got hit with two big crossovers, including Secret Wars, which ended the series.

The important thing with any crossover is to write something that a reader can enjoy even if they are not reading the main crossover. That’s how I always approach them. That’s what I think the reader deserves. And that Secret Wars Magneto crossover was a banger in my opinion.

With X-Men: Civil War II, I was in the writers room when it was being discussed. Honestly, I saw myself as the bastion of X-Men comics defense at the time, so I quickly spoke up and said, “If anyone is writing this story, it’s me!” I would have fought anyone who disagreed.

AAH: X-Men comics always feature such a large cast of characters. Is it tricky to write dialogue scenes with such a large team?

CB: Not really. I feel like I’ve always heard the voices of those characters in my head, so I just trusted my instincts. All those characters sound different in my head, so I just stuck to that.

AAH: Was there a character you weren’t able to use, but wanted to?

CB: I wrote Magneto, Uncanny X-Men, and X-Men Blue. I also wrote some Wolverine arcs. I had the chance to work with so many characters, but there were definitely characters I didn’t get to write enough of. Rachel Summers. Apocalypse. Nightcrawler. Maggot! Nathan Summers!

Maybe more than that, I had so many stories I wanted to tell.

My original plans for my X-Men Blue team would have had them exploring the multiverse as the new Exiles team.

My original plan for Magneto was to have him leading an awesome new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

My plans for the space-exploring X-Men!

My plans for the Hex-Men! Gods, the Hex-Men!

It was not to be… and never will be.

AAH: Who is your favorite mutant?

CB: Magneto. Nightcrawler. Rachel Summers. Magik.

I love so many mutants, but those are my favorites.

They are my Mutant Mount Rushmore.

AAH: If you were a mutant, what would your powers be, and which group would you affiliate with? I think I’d be able to grow hair at will and be a Morlock. I’m halfway already…

CB: So, just considering it right at this moment, I think my powers would be similar to Dani Moonstar’s, only I just make people’s dark, intrusive thoughts come to life. It would sometimes be horrible, sometimes humorous.

And I would be in the Brotherhood.

Gotta call it like I see it.

AAH: Until next time, reporting from a corn field in Iowa, Austin Allen Hamblin is returning to his cave. Did you know I also write comics? Besides doing comics journalism for my Substack I also write for Comic Book Resources! If you are interested in checking out my work, you can find all that info out here: https://linktr.ee/austinallenhamblin

CATCH UP WITH MY PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS WITH CULLEN HERE:

Bone of Stars, Blood of Our World (Novel): https://articlesandinterviews.substack.com/p/cullen-bunn-on-bones-of-our-stars