You spoke about the world needing the X-Men. But it works both ways, Prof. The X-Men need the world, too. We need to be part of it, as, well, Scott and Jeannie and Bobby and Hank and Warren, not just as Cyclops and Marvel Girl and Beast and Iceman and, and Angel. We've been a team so long, we've forgotten how to be individuals.
— Cyclops
X-Men: 1970 is a X-Men Alternate Universe fanfiction written by DarkMark.
After spending seven years fighting for a world that hates and fears them, the original X-Men decide it's time to move on. Scott, Jean, Warren, Hank and Bobby leave Professor Xavier and go their separate ways. What has the future in store for them?
This fanfiction is hosted in FF.Net
and Dark Mark's Marvel fanfiction site. It received a greater-scope sequel of sorts involving the entirety of the Marvel universe called FIRE!.
Dark Mark has also authored Hellsister Trilogy, Kara of Rokyn, A Very Kara Christmas, A Force of Four, Superman of 2499: The Great Confrontation, Dance with the Demons, With this Ring... (Green Lantern), Funeral for a Flash, The Vampire of Steel, Superman and Man, Here There Be Monsters, A Prize for Three Empires, The Unfantastic Adventures of Bizarro No. 1, Devil's Diary, Everybody's Gotta Leave Sometime and Maybe the Last Archie Story.
Tropes:
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Canonically, Vera Cantor and Zelda Morton are two obscure X-Men secondary characters who vanished into comic limbo after the 60's. Here, they're dating Beast and Iceman respectively.
- Alternate Universe Fic: The Original X-Men quit after their final mission in Uncanny X-Men #66 (1970), and the next X-Men team is made up for Havok, Polaris, Banshee, Sunfire and Mimic. Additionally, real world time is very much in effect here, so the fic is set in 1970.
- Babies Ever After: In the beginning of their chapter, Jean implies she may be pregnant. In the two-years-later sequel, it's confirmed she and Scott have become parents.
- Battle Couple: Cyclops and Marvel Girl get married, move out of New York and become a crime-fighting couple in the town of Ector.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Scott and Jean get theirs after uttering their vows:"I now pronounce you man and wife."
The minister didn't get to the part about "You may kiss the bride." Scott Summers and Jean Grey were already in each other's arms and defining the term "soul kiss" anew. - Big "NO!": Uttered by the leader of an extremist group when Cyclops asks if he just afraid of the draft.Cyclops: So, you're doing this because you're afraid of the draft?
Carter: NO! - Breaking the Fellowship: The story kicks off when the original X-Men agree to quit the team and go separate ways.
- Broken Tears: Angel breaks down and starts weeping uncontrollably after being reminded of his father's death.He buried his head in his arms and his shoulders began to shake.
"Warren," said Kathryn, gently, touching his shoulder. He shrank back.
He was crying.
"Dammit to hell, my father is dead," he said. "My father is dead and we sit here and, talk, and..."
He couldn't say any more. By that time, Kathryn was crying, too. - Calling the Old Man Out: Scott calls Professor Xavier out on letting them believe he was dead and, on top of it, being completely unapologetic about their pain.
- Chandler's Law: Jean's temp job is so boring she actually prays for super-villains attacking.The temporary supervisor walked off. Lord, if You are listening, she thought, have Factor Three assault the main gate so I can put on my green miniskirt and yellow mask and save the day and not have to finish all this dad-blamed steno work.
Neither Factor Three nor any other sort of registered super-villain made an attack on the electric company that day. Sighing, Jean grasped her coat with frazzled fingers at 5:45 and resolved to hit church on Sunday with a prayer request for evil mutants.
Them was the days. - Comic-Book Time: Averted. The original X-Men's comic-book run lasted from 1963 to 1970. Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast and Iceman have been the X-Men for seven years, which is because they have become worn out.
- Coming of Age Story: The original X-Men decide that it is time to grow up, leave the Mansion behind and face the real world. Scott and Jean get married and move to another city, Warren proposes to his girlfriend Candy and starts running his father's company, and Hank and Bobby set off on a journey across America.
- Continuity Porn: Obscure X-Men secondary characters like Bernie, Zelda Morton and Vera Cantor, and forgotten villains like Merlin make cameo appearances.
- Curse Cut Short: It happens when a phone call interrupts Scott and Jean right when they are getting intimate.Jean felt the delicious sensation of his hands on her bare skin, easing up her nightdress, approximately three seconds before the phone rang. He said something she never heard him say in front of Professor Xavier.
- Death Seeker: As trying to reason with the leader of an activist group who threatens blowing a building up, Cyclops realizes the guy actually wants a martyr death; and he intends to take as many people as possible with him.The guy had no intention of letting anyone in this building leave alive. Including himself.
A deathwish? The lust for posthumous fame? Or just a more fitting, final Statement? The motivation didn't matter. All that would matter was the result. - "Die Hard" on an X: Cyclops and Marvel Girl have to rescue several hostages kidnapped by an extremist group.
- Draft Dodging: A group of activists hold people hostage among other reasons because they are afraid of being recruited and forced to fight in Vietnam.
- Fiery Redhead: Jean is fierce and spirited as shown when she chews Scott out after he suggests her to sit a mission out.
- Friendship Moment: Cyclops berates his brother Havok after the latter hurts his friend Iceman in a fit of jealousy.
- Happily Married: A month and a half after their wedding, Scott and Jean can't keep their hands off each other, and the latter is worried about their lack of arguments.
- High-School Sweethearts: Scott and Jean, who met and fell in love when they were sixteen, get married in the third chapter.
- Hostage Situation: An activist anti-Vietnam War group takes over a building, holds hostages and threatens to set a bomb off."Scott," said Donny Tallent. He didn't sound hyper. He sounded, Scott noted, damned tense. "The boss phoned, wants you down to the campus. Now."
Scott sat up and Jean, able to hear enough of the conversation to follow along, eased to the side of the bed and looked worried. "What's up?" asked Scott.
"The SAVI group's taken a building over. They've got a few hostages. They say they've got bombs." - Intrepid Reporter: Scott Summers is hired as newscaster for WESR, Empire State Radio.
- Laser Cutter: Scott mentions having used his power beam to cut and rivet steel girders.
- Mind-Control Eyes: A leader of an extremist group believes Marvel Girl has been captured by one of his men... until he sees his glassy eyes and realizes he has been under her control all along."Walter," said Carter. "You were gone a long time. What went down up there, Walter? Walter?"
Walter wasn't answering. Jean moved away from in front of him. Carter saw Walter's eyes, as glassy as a zombie's. - Mindlink Mates: After getting married, Jean creates a mind-link between Scott and herself.
- Moment Killer: In the fourth chapter Scott and Jean are about to have sex again... when the phone rings.Jean felt the delicious sensation of his hands on her bare skin, easing up her nightdress, approximately three seconds before the phone rang. He said something she never heard him say in front of Professor Xavier.
- Mundane Utility: Scott and Jean's powers turned to be useful when they got a job in construction.Jean: (snickering) That makes me think of the time we had to, oh, you know...
Scott: What?
Jean: When we had to go to Europe to save the Professor and Banshee from Factor Three. And we didn't have the money?
Scott: Oh, nuts!
Jean: And, and both of us tried to get a job in construction, I levitated those girders, and you riveted...
Scott: Yeah. With my power beam. - No Antagonist: There's no real antagonist, since the plot revolves around the original X-Men growing out of the team and going separate ways. Although Hank and Bobby run into two old enemies, and Cyclops and Marvel Girl take some terrorists -mostly misguided, frightened youths with sensible ideals-, they're coincidental events unrelated to the main story.
- Parents as People: Although Scott is angry with Professor Xavier's manipulations, he still thinks his surrogate father tried to do his best, and all told, he was a pretty decent father."For five years, and more," he said, "I was father to all of you."
"And you did a good job," Scott continued. "I can't say you were perfect, but no dad is. And I needed that. I'm the only orphan here, Prof." - Period Piece: The story is set in 1970.
- Romantic Runner-Up: Angel is handsome, chivalrous, good-natured and rich. He believed he had a very good chance to win Jean Grey's heart until he realized she loved their neurotic, shy teammate Cyclops. Then Warren decided Scott and Jean were meant to be together and stepped out of the way voluntarily.Angel: "At one time, I was convinced I was in love with her. So was Scott, so, I guess, was just about everybody there. I swept her off her feet a couple of times, figured I'd have a clear field with her. Turns out she and Scott were meant for each other. So I tried hanging in there for awhile, but I eventually gave it up."
- Shout-Out: At some point, a cop calls Jean Mary Marvel.
- Spared By Adaptation:
- Warren's girlfriend Candy Southern doesn’t get murdered.
- Thanks to their early retirement, neither Jean Grey nor Scott Summers go through their many canonical deaths.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Scott believes he can get his wife stay in home while he takes cares of an emergency. Jean disabuses him from that notion very, very quickly (and loudly).She began to get out of bed on the other side. "I'm coming with you, Scott."
"No, you're not," he said, heading for the closet.
A second later, he found himself lifted off the floor and propelled backward. "Don't you ever tell me 'No, you're not!' about something like this, Scott Summers. I mean it!"
"Jeannie, this could be dangerous!"
"And Magneto wasn't? Or Sauron, or Quasimodo, or the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, or any of those others?" She walked over to face him, still holding him six inches off the ground. "Well?"
"Damnation," he said. "All right. But..."
"But what?"
"Where do you have our uniforms?"
"I'll go get them," she smiled, and lowered him to the ground as she went to the dresser. - Talking in Bed: In the fourth chapter, Scott and Jean have a post-sex talk regarding the possibility of being super-heroes again.
- Touché: Professor Xavier utters one after Scott points out it's kind of unfair that he expects them to fall in line and keep doing whatever he says after he faked his death for one entire year.Scott: Damn it, Professor, I've got a lot I need to say.
Professor X: Apparently you thought this was to be a one-sided conversation. I will not play the role which you have written for me in your mind, Scott.
Scott: Then, Professor— Then, Professor, how can you expect us to play the role you've written for us?
Professor X: Touché. - True Companions: Inverted. The original X-Men are extremely close, but they decide they have outgrown the super-hero lifestyle and go separate ways.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The "Students Against the Vietnam Insanity" group want to stop the war, which is understandable. So they take over a building and threaten innocent lives, which is not.
- You Didn't Ask: A terrorist demands to know why Cyclops didn't tell them about his partner sneaking in the building. Cyclops' answer is, of course, predictable:There were two sets of footsteps. Cyclops turned in their direction. So did most of the others, including several hostages.
Marvel Girl was walking in front of the guard Carter had sent to find her. He had his gun pointed at her back.
Carter spoke into the phone. "Hold it, something's come up. Be back in a moment." He hung the phone up and looked at Cyclops. "You didn't tell us about her."
<Scott, are you reading me?>, sent Marvel Girl.
<Acknowledged,> thought Cyke. Then, aloud, he said, "You didn't ask."
