October Spotlight: Mercury!

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Starfish
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October Spotlight: Mercury!

Post by Starfish »

It's the first day of October and therefore time for another character spotlight. This month, boys and girls, we present you: Mercury!

Cessily Kincaid, aka Mercury, was created by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis, the original writing team for the New X-Men comic title. Initially, she played the role of a background character as a part of the Hellions team (conceived as the school's troublemakers), which often acted as a rival to the main team back then.

A separate mini-series about the Hellions team met with critical acclaim and was popular among fans, with many preferring the secondary team to the actual New-Men. Here Mercury's character was fleshed out some more. We learned about her issues with her condition, her kindness and loyalty towards her friends, her brother-sister relationship with Hellion and not to forget her problems with her family, who rejects her despite all efforts made by her.

When the new creative team consisting of Chris Yost and Craig Kyle took over and almost changed the entire line up of the title, most of the former Hellions - including Mercury - took the spotlight. The change was controversially discussed, especially because of the dark and violent direction the book took. Nonetheless, this allowed Mercury's character to not only get more panel time, but also more character development.

So, what's to like about her. Basically, Mercury has appeal because she's a normal teenage girl who was thrown into a difficult situation – and is so repeatedly – that almost breaks her, but instead of giving up, she pulled through and overcame the challenges, thereby strengthening her resolve to protect her friends. So far she has to deal with her condition alienating her even from many other fellow mutants, the rejection by her parents, the loss of many friends and her crush Wither, and terrible torture at the hands of the Facility and Belasco.

She is fiercely loyal to her team-mates and friends and is guided by a strong moral code of what is wrong and right. Because of this she clashes more than once with Emma Frost about the way she treats her friends and handles things. People often see her as the heart and soul of the team and the way she deals with the challenges she's faced with are very believable. All these things make her a highly relatable character.

I'd like to start this off with scans from the finale of the big Hulk vs. X-Men fight from WWH:X-Men #3, because it's a defining moment for Mercury's character and portrays her selfless dedication and courage when it comes to protect those she cares about. After the combined teams of the X-Men have been defeated by a raging Hulk, Cessily confronts him once more – all on her own – as he is about to take Xavier.

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She's often criticized for not having had enough character development, but the same can be said about all the characters in New X-Men, a title that heavily emphasises action these days. However, the scene above wonderfully shows why I love her. I'm overjoyed to see that she gets a lot of spotlight in other titles outside New X-Men, for example in Carey's writing or the crossover above, and personally I think that she has great potential.

I'd like to post some more scans at a later point. But now, please discuss! Why do you like her? why do you dislike her? Let's hear it!
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October Spotlight: Mercury!

Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

I've not seen as much of her as I would have liked (mainly because I just started picking up new x-men a couple of months ago), but from what I've seen, I really do like her. As you said, she's sweet and caring, compassionate about others, looks cool and has an interesting power.

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October Spotlight: Mercury!

Post by Feuerstein »

Cessily is definitely The Awesome Chick of the New X-men. I started reading NXM because I saw some interesting banter between Santo and Anole, which always attracts me, and then I realized the magnitude of Cess's greatness.

I didn't know all her back history though. Guess I should go read up on her. Very cool.

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October Spotlight: Mercury!

Post by NachtcGleiskette »

Great job Star!! I really like Cessily. I loved that moment in New Xmen right after Decimation where she's looking in the mirror crying saying "Why not me?"

I should scan and post. In fact, I shall!
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October Spotlight: Mercury!

Post by wingyding »

Wow I love this scene. It really does show Cessily for what she is, passionate about herself and everyone around her. She's great as a character the readers can identify with and who speaks for the people left behind. She really does care about the mutants who've been killed, and she doesn't automatically get over it in the next issue.
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