"Misunderstood Characters Vol. 2 Pt. 3 - Marrow"
by David (Rhyme)

I had a request from someone to do more articles on misunderstood characters. And let's face it people, there are more than three misunderstood characters!
I was all set to roll out this month with my last misunderstood characters article being about two people, Cecilia Reyes and Maggott. I was all set to write a whole speal about how they never got a chance. About how the X-Writers just threw them in the garbage. But after seeing what I have seen, that can't happen. I have seen the destruction of my favorite character Marrow. And watch out, because I'm angry.
I know, I know...I'm contradicting myself. Last month I had written an article about how her metamorphosis might not have been that bad. But that was before I had seen the total results. The total results are laid before me now, in the form of X-Men #91.
I knew all hell was breaking loose when I got to page 7 (not counting ads), and Marrow shouted, "Yo, girlfriend!" to Rogue. My twisted in disgust, and I fell on the floor in agony. I knew that with that panel, the Marrow I had loved was gone forever. Marrow goes on to say, "It's so cool, rogue, I swear! I shoulda died out there...up there-wherever--but my favorite Remy here risked everything t' save me." And the words were not even the worst part. In this comic, Marrow smiled in EVERY SINGLE PANEL! I don't believe I've ever seen Marrow smile more than once in a comic, and even that's rare. But no, in this issue, she leans her head against Gambit's arm (who she's linking arms with), and she's has a big goofy smile plastered across her face. I know the whole issue looked like it was drawn by a 5 year kid in Chicago, but this! This was misinterpreting a character, totally.
Tell me, is this Marrow who shouts, "Yo, girlfriend!" to Rogue, the same one who shoved a bone into Wolverine's neck and said, "You can scream now, pops...well, you can try" in X-Men #72?! Marrow is an angry child who hates humans. Her Gene Nation was equivalent to the Black Panthers. She does not shout "Yo, girlfriend!" This is the same girl who wired a bomb to her chest and wanted to kill a human for every mutant killed!
A few people have said, "Are you trying to tell me that characters don't change?" To them, I say no. I'm not trying to tell people that. In fact, I love characters changing. The evolution of characters. Character development. It's what changed Iceman from an immature boy into a man who could very possibly be a leader. But that was done proffesionaly by Scott Lobdell. It is not proffesional to totally change how a character acts and feels in the course of one issue. Alan Davis was wrong to do such a thing.
The Marrow we know is gone. The Marrow who licked the blood off of her fingers when she was fighting Wolverine is gone. Now we have a Marrow who clings to Gambit like a baby clings to it's mother. Now we have a Marrow who yells, "Yo, girlfriend." RIP Marrow. Maybe someday a writer will come along who understands you and can mend some of the damage.