Chris Claremont

Claremont is considered a defining writer for Marvel Comics, particularly for his sixteen-year run on the Uncanny X-Men title. He transformed it from an obscure comic into a major success. A recurring theme in many of his stories was the social commentary on mutants as a persecuted minority. He also championed strong female characters like Rogue, Storm, and Moira MacTaggert. His extended tenure on X-Men, longer than any other writer, significantly shaped the characters long after he departed Marvel Comics. Claremont's literary works also include several novels, such as the novelization of the X-Men sequel film, X2. He makes a cameo appearance in the movie X-Men 3 during the prologue featuring Jean Grey, where he is credited as "Lawnmower man."

Claremont's entry into the world of comic book writing began in 1974 with the then-new title Iron Fist, where he collaborated with John Byrne. Subsequently, Len Wein entrusted him with the writing duties for the X-Men relaunch. Claremont strategically sidelined Professor X in the narrative, addressing a flaw in the original series where the Professor often appeared late in the story to resolve the X-Men's problems through deus ex machina.

During his time as the writer for X-Men, Claremont either wrote or co-wrote numerous iconic storylines, including the "Dark Phoenix Saga" and "Days of Future Past." Furthermore, he played a role in launching successful spin-off titles like X-Men, New Mutants, Excalibur, and Wolverine. In 1986, Marvel introduced an X-Men spin-off called X-Factor, which altered the Phoenix/Jean Grey continuity that Claremont had established. In 1991, a second X-Men title, simply named X-Men (often called "adjectiveless" X-Men), was launched with Claremont as the writer. However, he only penned three issues before departing Marvel due to editorial disagreements with the X-Men editor at the time, Bob Harras.

He made his return to Marvel in 1998 as an editorial director and the primary writer for Fantastic Four. He also authored a Wolverine story arc. In 2000, as part of the company's "Revolution" event, he took on the writing duties for both Uncanny X-Men and X-Men until he transitioned to X-Treme X-Men.

In 2006, Claremont was compelled to postpone the commencement of a planned run on Exiles and the launch of GeNext due to cardiac issues. His run on Uncanny X-Men was also prematurely concluded, with Tony Bedard completing it using Claremont's plot outlines. Similarly, writer Frank Tieri temporarily replaced Claremont on New Excalibur.

Claremont made his comeback to New Excalibur in 2007, crafting a story arc centered around the character Nocturne's stroke. He also wrapped up his initial arc on Exiles, introducing Psylocke to the team.

Claremont has also contributed stories to other publishing houses, including the Star Trek graphic novel Debt of Honor, his creator-owned series Sovereign Seven for DC Comics, and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also penned several issues of the series WildC.A.T.s at Image Comics, introducing his character Huntsman.

Beyond the realm of comics, Claremont collaborated with George Lucas to co-author the The Shadow War Chronicles trilogy, consisting of Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999). This trilogy continues the narrative of Elora Danan from the film Willow. He also wrote a science fiction trilogy revolving around Nicole Shea, a female USAF pilot/astronaut, comprising First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont also made contributions to the Wild Cards anthology series.

• Star Wars: Luke Skywalker, Last Hope for the Galaxy
• " Blaster " · — Star Wars Insider 152

• Chris Claremont on Wikipedia
• Interview at Scifi Dimensions (2003)