A few notes about how I picked these. These were chosen based on the following criteria: the quality of the comic overall (writing and art), characterization, how well it keeps to the titles core ideas, and how important the story is. Furthermore, this list only includes stories from Uncanny X-Men, X-Men Legacy (X-Men/New X-Men), X-Men Unlimited, X-Treme X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, X-Men, All-New X-Men and X-Men: First Class. There are two exceptions to this list, but they are limited series and, damn it, I say they count! Now, I will count spin-off titles only during crossovers. Sorry. I'm mean.
Okay, so here we go!
50) Giant-Sized X-Men # 1
Summary:
Professor X gathers Nightcrawler, Sunfire, Banshee,
Storm, Colossus, Wolverine, and Thunderbird from the four corners of the
globe. Their mission: rescue the missing
original X-Men after a strange disappearance on the mysterious island of
Krakoa. The new X-Men, led by Cyclops,
overcome several obstacles to reach a temple, where the original X-Men (except
Beast) are being held. The X-Men are
freed, but they reveal that Krakoa – an actual living, Mutant island – let
Cyclops go to bring back new Mutants. Professor
X helps the X-Men concoct a plan to unite their powers and send Krakoa into
space. The X-Men – all thirteen of them
– then back on home.
Why’s It’s # 50:
In terms of being iconic, this comic has got it. From the exciting, bursting cover to Angel’s
quip about 13 X-Men, this is a classic story.
Len Wien and Dave Cockrum knock this out of the park. There’s so much story in this comic and it fits
so well into this big, giant-sized format.
We get nice, long introductions to our new characters and full and
concise reintroductions to our old schoolers.
There’s tons of little nods to everything that’s come before – Weapon
X/Wolverine’s fight with the Hulk, the Iceman/Havok rivalry over Lorna, Scott
and Jean’s relationship, etc etc. it’s
all good.
Let’s not forget Dave Cockrum’s amazing art. Lots of fluid action, lots of amazing
character designs. Dave Cockrum has
delivered his best in this book.
The negative side is mainly in the villain. Krakoa is a big living island. Not a bad idea, but it’s just kinda
silly. I know this is the Marvel
Universe and we are asked to accept a lot, but this . . . eh . . . this pushes
the envelope. Also, I found some of the
characterizations to be a little racist – especially Thunderbird and
Sunfire. And I also doubt that even a
small village in Germany would resort to using torches and a hammer and stake
to deal with a monster. Guns and flashlights are the way to go.
Bottom line:
It’s iconic status and it’s full, action packed
storytelling coupled with great artwork makes it a classic. It’s silly, English speaking living island
villain and vaguely stereotypical clichéd characterizations drag it down. But hey, this is just the beginning of the
list! And hey, out of all of the
ka-billion X-Men stories, this is 50th best! Yay!
Side-Note: I’m not a fan of how this comic has kinda been
retconned over the years into a much darker, grimmer story. I like what Classic X-Men # 1 and Giant-Sized
X-Men # 3 have done for it, in elaborating the character moments that grow out
of the plot. It’s stories like Deadly
Genesis and Original Sin that add a dark, more sinister tone that kinda hurts what
is such a celebratory and proud moment in the X-Men’s history. Bah!
Retcons!
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