X-Factor # 87, X-Men # 17-19, X-Force # 19, Cable # 1-2, Excalibur # 66-67
In the aftermath of the "X-Cutioner's Song," the X-teams barely have time to recover. So, let's roll with their punches.
X-Factor # 87
Peter David's best issue. Val Cooper has all over X-Factor pyscho-analyzed. We really get a true, pyschological look at Wolfsbane, Havok, Polaris, Multiple Man, Quicksilver, and Strong Guy. To really explain it would be impossible. Best of the bunch, though, and among the best X-books ever.
X-Men # 17-19
When a Russian town is taken over by the Mutant psychic-vampire named Soul Skinner, Omega Red is called in to deal with him. When he fails, the Russian government calls in the visiting X-Men - Cyclops, Colossus, Wolverine, Jubilee, and Psylocke. However, even they fail to defeat him. The Ruskies then activate a protocol that calls of the assassinations of Colossus' parents and the taking of Illyana. The hope is to jump-start Illyana's powers and destroy the entire town - taking Soul Skinner with it. Colossus fights back, frees his sister. Omega Red escapes. It's an okay story, but the premise is a little shaky. Colossus just can't catch a break.
X-Force # 19
The issue in a nutshell: Cannonball argues with Xavier as to whether or not X-Force are allowed to leave the mansion. Eventually, they do. It's a good issue and serves an interesting take of the whole Cable vs. Xavier's methods arugement. Emotionally grounded, this is a pretty good one.
Cable # 1-2
Oh come on, you knew he wasn't dead. Cable arrives in the future in the aftermath of his self-destruction in the time vortex with Stryfe. Cable rallies Clan Chosen, we learn some backstory of Cable. He then gathers up Kane and attacks the latest and final time machine project run by the evil Cannites. Cable and Kane then travel back in time. It's a fairly good story, if not slow and muddled at times.
Excalibur # 66-67
Rachel has returned, having seperated from Phoenix, yet still retaining its powers and name. To set things right in the future, then, she forms a connection with the creature Widget, which is really the transformed Kate Pryde. Through this connection, Excalibur travels into the "Days of Future Past" time peroid. Joining some old Marvel UK characters (really), the group is able to reprogram Master Mold and the Sentinals into protecting all sentient life. Anti-climatic, but neat.
For the most part, this is a fair time for the X-Teams. Not all of them are winners, but there are certainly worse peroids.
~W~
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 52: "X-Cutioner's Song"
Cable # - 1, Cable: Blood and Metal # 1-2, X-Cutioner's Song trade, Uncanny X-Men # 297, X-Men: Stryfe Strike Files
This crossover event is the first since the end of the Claremont/Simonson era and is the benchmark for the Lobdell/David/Nicieza peroid. The creative teams have finally settled down, establishing their own voice for their respective series, and have locked in until the end of the tenure.
I decided, for good measure, that I'd toss in Cable # -1. I figure it'll add context to the story. I also added in the "Cable: Blood and Metal" limited since it ties in nicely, plus the Stryfe Strike Files one-shot and Uncanny # 297 for a proper epilogue.
Years ago, Cable arrived in our era near Muir Island. He used his powers recklessly to save himself from a lynch mob and met up with Moria MacTaggert. The two became quick friends. Cable, as it turns out, was on a mission from the future. His goal is simple - to prevent the rise of Apocalypse and to create a peaceful future.
Present day, Cable has broken off his ties with X-Force to hunt down Stryfe and the MLF. As it turns out, the MLF is after certain artifacts bearing the symbol of Apocalypse for reasons unknown. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Cable learned that Stryfe came to this time peroid after him and has been planning on shaping his own future. Cable and his team at the time (Six Pack) were hunted down for years before Six Pack fell apart. Presently, Cable and his former ally/enemy Kane tracked down Stryfe, where Cable learned that underneath Stryfe's mask, he has Cable's face. Kane nearly dies helping Cable and Cable takes Kane back to the future with him to help him recover.
So, meanwhile, Professor X goes off to make a speech at a free World Unity concert in NYC. However, he is shot during his speech by a man looking just like Cable. The various X-Teams leap into action. At the same time, Cyclops and Jean are captured by Caliban and the Four Horsemen as the behest of who they think is Apocalypse, but is really Sinister. Sinister and Stryfe trades Scott and Jean for a canister with his the Summer genetic matrix within. Both are happy.
As Scott and Jean are treated like children by Stryfe, the X-Men and X-Factor hunt down X-Force for some answers. In short order, X-Force is captured and imprisoned in the Danger Room. At the same time, various X-Men go searching for Scott and Jean and eventually meet up with a barely alive Apocalypse (still recovering from the last battle). Both teams retreat and Sinister reveals to the X-Teams that it's Stryfe's who is behind the scenes, manipulating these events.
With Professor X dying the Techno-Organic Virus, Cable returns from the future and is confronted by Wolverine and Bishop. After a great battle, Cable convinces them to listen to him when he claims he didn't shoot Xavier. Wolverine believes him . . . for now. With these three trying to track down Stryfe, the X-Men, X-Factor, Cannonball, and Boom-Boom take down the MLF. As they do, Apocalypse and Stryfe battle it out, with Apocalypse heading the X-Mansion to offer his help. He cures Professor X.
Cyclops and Jean make their escape then and found themselves on the surface of the Moon. This shock causes Jean to unleash a psi-call for help, the call reaching Wolverine. A team consisting of the X-Men, X-Factor, Apocalypse, and Cannonball head to the Moon, confront the upserped Dark Riders, and it all comes to head. Stryfe, Cable, Havok, Cyclops, and Jean battle, trying to make sense of Stryfe once and for all. Cable eventually activates a self-destruct program and blows up while taking on Stryfe in a time vortex. They both vanish.
The X-Men return home. After spending an evening walking and rollerblading with Jubilee due to an after-effect of the T.O. virus, Professor X checks out a disc containing Stryfe's files. They hint that his legacy has been unleashed.
WHEW!
Okay, let's talk about this.
First of all, great story. Love the epic feel to it and I love the character arcs and the way that everyone moves across the chessboard. Apocalypse, Sinister, Stryfe, Cable, Wolverine, Bishop, Havok, Storm, Archangel, Cannonball, Polaris, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X . . . all just basically steal their scenes. Great character moments. Havok and Storm taking command. Cannonball's struggle with the hostility between the X-Men, X-Factor and his own X-Force. Archangel's hatred for Apocalypse. The bad-assness (word?) of Bishop, Cable, and Wolverine. The tension between Cable and Cannonball. The hard struggle of Cyclops and Jean as they try to figure out what Stryfe's problem is.
And let's talk about Stryfe . . .
Stryfe, at his best, comes off as a character who is driven by very primal and dark scars. At his worst, he's a rabbling, loud-mouthed super-villian. The point the writers are trying to make but never come out and say is that Stryfe may be Nathan Christopher, who Scott gave away (about a year ago, Marvel Time). Branching off from that, that would make Cable a pale imitation, a half-man. Stryfe's whole point of this attack was wipe out all those that he thinks harmed and destroyed him: Professor X (for creating the dream); Cyclops and Jean, for giving him up; Apocalypse, for raising him wrong; and Mr. Sinister, for screwing him over in the first place.
Between a great, intricrite plot and great character archs, the story is fantastic. Well-coordinated; makes you think you're reading just one big comic with different artists. Very character-driven - never forgetting about the small characters.
The art is mostly good, with Greg Capullo and Andy Kubert being the best. Jae Lee does his work on X-Factor, but it doesn't mesh well with the rest of the artists. Brandon Petersen works on Uncanny and it's . . . okay.
A great story. One that felt long in coming. The creative teams have finally hit the ground running, now establishing themselves from Claremont.
However, as indicated, Stryfe's legacy isn't dead yet . . .
~W~
This crossover event is the first since the end of the Claremont/Simonson era and is the benchmark for the Lobdell/David/Nicieza peroid. The creative teams have finally settled down, establishing their own voice for their respective series, and have locked in until the end of the tenure.
I decided, for good measure, that I'd toss in Cable # -1. I figure it'll add context to the story. I also added in the "Cable: Blood and Metal" limited since it ties in nicely, plus the Stryfe Strike Files one-shot and Uncanny # 297 for a proper epilogue.
Years ago, Cable arrived in our era near Muir Island. He used his powers recklessly to save himself from a lynch mob and met up with Moria MacTaggert. The two became quick friends. Cable, as it turns out, was on a mission from the future. His goal is simple - to prevent the rise of Apocalypse and to create a peaceful future.
Present day, Cable has broken off his ties with X-Force to hunt down Stryfe and the MLF. As it turns out, the MLF is after certain artifacts bearing the symbol of Apocalypse for reasons unknown. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Cable learned that Stryfe came to this time peroid after him and has been planning on shaping his own future. Cable and his team at the time (Six Pack) were hunted down for years before Six Pack fell apart. Presently, Cable and his former ally/enemy Kane tracked down Stryfe, where Cable learned that underneath Stryfe's mask, he has Cable's face. Kane nearly dies helping Cable and Cable takes Kane back to the future with him to help him recover.
So, meanwhile, Professor X goes off to make a speech at a free World Unity concert in NYC. However, he is shot during his speech by a man looking just like Cable. The various X-Teams leap into action. At the same time, Cyclops and Jean are captured by Caliban and the Four Horsemen as the behest of who they think is Apocalypse, but is really Sinister. Sinister and Stryfe trades Scott and Jean for a canister with his the Summer genetic matrix within. Both are happy.
As Scott and Jean are treated like children by Stryfe, the X-Men and X-Factor hunt down X-Force for some answers. In short order, X-Force is captured and imprisoned in the Danger Room. At the same time, various X-Men go searching for Scott and Jean and eventually meet up with a barely alive Apocalypse (still recovering from the last battle). Both teams retreat and Sinister reveals to the X-Teams that it's Stryfe's who is behind the scenes, manipulating these events.
With Professor X dying the Techno-Organic Virus, Cable returns from the future and is confronted by Wolverine and Bishop. After a great battle, Cable convinces them to listen to him when he claims he didn't shoot Xavier. Wolverine believes him . . . for now. With these three trying to track down Stryfe, the X-Men, X-Factor, Cannonball, and Boom-Boom take down the MLF. As they do, Apocalypse and Stryfe battle it out, with Apocalypse heading the X-Mansion to offer his help. He cures Professor X.
Cyclops and Jean make their escape then and found themselves on the surface of the Moon. This shock causes Jean to unleash a psi-call for help, the call reaching Wolverine. A team consisting of the X-Men, X-Factor, Apocalypse, and Cannonball head to the Moon, confront the upserped Dark Riders, and it all comes to head. Stryfe, Cable, Havok, Cyclops, and Jean battle, trying to make sense of Stryfe once and for all. Cable eventually activates a self-destruct program and blows up while taking on Stryfe in a time vortex. They both vanish.
The X-Men return home. After spending an evening walking and rollerblading with Jubilee due to an after-effect of the T.O. virus, Professor X checks out a disc containing Stryfe's files. They hint that his legacy has been unleashed.
WHEW!
Okay, let's talk about this.
First of all, great story. Love the epic feel to it and I love the character arcs and the way that everyone moves across the chessboard. Apocalypse, Sinister, Stryfe, Cable, Wolverine, Bishop, Havok, Storm, Archangel, Cannonball, Polaris, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X . . . all just basically steal their scenes. Great character moments. Havok and Storm taking command. Cannonball's struggle with the hostility between the X-Men, X-Factor and his own X-Force. Archangel's hatred for Apocalypse. The bad-assness (word?) of Bishop, Cable, and Wolverine. The tension between Cable and Cannonball. The hard struggle of Cyclops and Jean as they try to figure out what Stryfe's problem is.
And let's talk about Stryfe . . .
Stryfe, at his best, comes off as a character who is driven by very primal and dark scars. At his worst, he's a rabbling, loud-mouthed super-villian. The point the writers are trying to make but never come out and say is that Stryfe may be Nathan Christopher, who Scott gave away (about a year ago, Marvel Time). Branching off from that, that would make Cable a pale imitation, a half-man. Stryfe's whole point of this attack was wipe out all those that he thinks harmed and destroyed him: Professor X (for creating the dream); Cyclops and Jean, for giving him up; Apocalypse, for raising him wrong; and Mr. Sinister, for screwing him over in the first place.
Between a great, intricrite plot and great character archs, the story is fantastic. Well-coordinated; makes you think you're reading just one big comic with different artists. Very character-driven - never forgetting about the small characters.
The art is mostly good, with Greg Capullo and Andy Kubert being the best. Jae Lee does his work on X-Factor, but it doesn't mesh well with the rest of the artists. Brandon Petersen works on Uncanny and it's . . . okay.
A great story. One that felt long in coming. The creative teams have finally hit the ground running, now establishing themselves from Claremont.
However, as indicated, Stryfe's legacy isn't dead yet . . .
~W~
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 51: "The Tragedy of Wolverine"
Wolverine # 55-57, X-Men # 12-13
Wolverine goes to Japan to rescue Jubilee from customs, which sets off quite the terrible series of events. Hydra (led by his former love, Silver Fox) activates the former female Reaver Cyclia and has her hunt him down. Meanwhile, the Hand goes after Logan as well, and end up fighting Sunfire and Gambit - all the while, negotiating with Mariko to cut off their ties with his Clan (so she can ultimately marry Logan).
Both the Hand and Hydra catch up to Logan and manipulate Mariko into getting herself posioned. Once posioned, she begs Wolverine to kill her. He does and it's sad.
Meanwhile, Logan confronts Xavier over some of his files linking up with some of his own. This makes Logan mad, of course. Professor X goes off to investigate and eventually comes into contact with a childhood friend, Carter Ryking, whose father worked with Kurt Marko and Brian Xavier. Supposedly, the nuclear facility they worked at was a cover for a genetics lab. Unfortunately, Carter (aka Hazard) is unable to control his powers. Xavier helps him, but at the cost of the facility and any valuable information.
These are both interesting stories, though they really don't have much to do with each save Wolerine being a prominent connection. The Mariko story is interesting, though it certainly lacks subtly that I would have wanted from such a major Wolverine event.
The Hazard story is just as interesting and I can tell that the creative teams have stablized themselves since taking over the reigns from Claremont and Jim Lee. However, it lacks in the payoff (which it's touched on for nine years), and comes off pretty mediocre.
~W~
Wolverine goes to Japan to rescue Jubilee from customs, which sets off quite the terrible series of events. Hydra (led by his former love, Silver Fox) activates the former female Reaver Cyclia and has her hunt him down. Meanwhile, the Hand goes after Logan as well, and end up fighting Sunfire and Gambit - all the while, negotiating with Mariko to cut off their ties with his Clan (so she can ultimately marry Logan).
Both the Hand and Hydra catch up to Logan and manipulate Mariko into getting herself posioned. Once posioned, she begs Wolverine to kill her. He does and it's sad.
Meanwhile, Logan confronts Xavier over some of his files linking up with some of his own. This makes Logan mad, of course. Professor X goes off to investigate and eventually comes into contact with a childhood friend, Carter Ryking, whose father worked with Kurt Marko and Brian Xavier. Supposedly, the nuclear facility they worked at was a cover for a genetics lab. Unfortunately, Carter (aka Hazard) is unable to control his powers. Xavier helps him, but at the cost of the facility and any valuable information.
These are both interesting stories, though they really don't have much to do with each save Wolerine being a prominent connection. The Mariko story is interesting, though it certainly lacks subtly that I would have wanted from such a major Wolverine event.
The Hazard story is just as interesting and I can tell that the creative teams have stablized themselves since taking over the reigns from Claremont and Jim Lee. However, it lacks in the payoff (which it's touched on for nine years), and comes off pretty mediocre.
~W~
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 50: "Cutting the Old Threads"
Excalibur # 52, X-Men # 10-11, Uncanny X-Men # 289-293
In a similar way to the earlier post-Claremont issues, these books seek to cut off old plot threads and addresses sub-plots that have basically been left behind for a while.
In "Excalibur" # 52, Professor X and Jean Grey go to visit Excalibur in the hopes of reviving a comatose Rachel Summers. In doing so, they learn the origin of the Phoenix. Ready? Here is comes. Phoenix, as it turns out, is a powerful entity, uncontrollable and highly emotional. It was born out of the Big Bang, was on Earth for a while, but then disappeared. It returned when Jean called out for it. It took over/replaced her (I'll get to that at some point down the line), learned passion, love, and hate and became Dark Phoenix - and then died. It floated around - did the "Inferno" thing where it gave Maddie Jean's memoires. Meanwhile, Rachel's mind journeyed back in time to investigate how Kate Pryde's "Days of Future Past" mission got mucked up. The Phoenix was drawn to Rachel's mind as it was similair to Jean's. It hooked up with her and went into the future with her. Once there, she and Kate went to destroy a Sentinal/Nimrod facility. When things got despereate, Phoenix spirited Rachel into the past, where Rachel's memories were all a jumble.
WHEW!
A few things about this issue. First of all, I have to say that I like the origin story for Phoenix. This is one of the few post-"Dark Phoenix Saga" and non-Morrison Phoenix stories I like. It provides some interest for the character, despite my disagreement that Phoenix shouldn't even be alive. Secondly, I like that it roots ties together two of Claremont's finest stories: the "Dark Phoenix Saga" and "Days of Future Past." Finally, we finally get to understand Rachel and recieve the full explanation of her origins. I wish there was a little more - maybe even tightening the theory that Jean and Phoenix were on and the same, but it was good for what it was.
Next up deals with Mojo. Mojo is among my least favorite characters and this story is sub-pair. Big time. Longshot, Dazzler, and the X-Men Blue Team overthrow Mojo. Longshot and Dazzler are then revealed to be expecting a baby - that gets no development barely at all after this point. Baby? What baby? Anyways, it's also Jim Lee's last X-Men issues. There's an amazing two page spread that caps off his run. And what a run. Jim Lee is definetly among the very best artist ever to grace these pages.
Then comes Uncanny. First, we get a real soap opera story. Forge demands to know what is going on with he and Storm. This results in a marriage proposal. However, knowing that she will say "no," Forge leaves to take care of Mystique, breaking Ororo's heart.
This takes us right into the next storyarch, where we deal with the remaining Morlocks. Callisto has arrived at the mansion, asking for the X-Men's help. The Morlocks have gone insane, being mind-controlled by a traumatized Morlock telepath. Mikhail, tortured by his own demons, joins up with Callisto and floods the Morlock tunnels, killing off all those that remain.
The Morlock story is good, but it's the characters that shine through. Storm is heart-broken and unsure of her personal life and sacrifaces she has had to make for the X-Men. Colossus, as well, is presented in a great light. His hope for his brother and ultimately his loss, are portrayed nicely. Iceman also gets some of the spolight, as Mikhail shows him just what his powers can really do; not to mention his asshole of a racist father (and some stupid cyber-Ninja story). Archangel also deals with his own issues as he comes to terms with the fact that his inner rage has resulted in his wings "acting out." Heck, even Professor X has to handle the second loss of his legs.
Some good stuff here. An improvement by leaps and bounds from previous issues.
~W~
PS - I had this big thing planned out for entry # 50, but . . . well, I got lazy. Maybe when we hit 100!
In a similar way to the earlier post-Claremont issues, these books seek to cut off old plot threads and addresses sub-plots that have basically been left behind for a while.
In "Excalibur" # 52, Professor X and Jean Grey go to visit Excalibur in the hopes of reviving a comatose Rachel Summers. In doing so, they learn the origin of the Phoenix. Ready? Here is comes. Phoenix, as it turns out, is a powerful entity, uncontrollable and highly emotional. It was born out of the Big Bang, was on Earth for a while, but then disappeared. It returned when Jean called out for it. It took over/replaced her (I'll get to that at some point down the line), learned passion, love, and hate and became Dark Phoenix - and then died. It floated around - did the "Inferno" thing where it gave Maddie Jean's memoires. Meanwhile, Rachel's mind journeyed back in time to investigate how Kate Pryde's "Days of Future Past" mission got mucked up. The Phoenix was drawn to Rachel's mind as it was similair to Jean's. It hooked up with her and went into the future with her. Once there, she and Kate went to destroy a Sentinal/Nimrod facility. When things got despereate, Phoenix spirited Rachel into the past, where Rachel's memories were all a jumble.
WHEW!
A few things about this issue. First of all, I have to say that I like the origin story for Phoenix. This is one of the few post-"Dark Phoenix Saga" and non-Morrison Phoenix stories I like. It provides some interest for the character, despite my disagreement that Phoenix shouldn't even be alive. Secondly, I like that it roots ties together two of Claremont's finest stories: the "Dark Phoenix Saga" and "Days of Future Past." Finally, we finally get to understand Rachel and recieve the full explanation of her origins. I wish there was a little more - maybe even tightening the theory that Jean and Phoenix were on and the same, but it was good for what it was.
Next up deals with Mojo. Mojo is among my least favorite characters and this story is sub-pair. Big time. Longshot, Dazzler, and the X-Men Blue Team overthrow Mojo. Longshot and Dazzler are then revealed to be expecting a baby - that gets no development barely at all after this point. Baby? What baby? Anyways, it's also Jim Lee's last X-Men issues. There's an amazing two page spread that caps off his run. And what a run. Jim Lee is definetly among the very best artist ever to grace these pages.
Then comes Uncanny. First, we get a real soap opera story. Forge demands to know what is going on with he and Storm. This results in a marriage proposal. However, knowing that she will say "no," Forge leaves to take care of Mystique, breaking Ororo's heart.
This takes us right into the next storyarch, where we deal with the remaining Morlocks. Callisto has arrived at the mansion, asking for the X-Men's help. The Morlocks have gone insane, being mind-controlled by a traumatized Morlock telepath. Mikhail, tortured by his own demons, joins up with Callisto and floods the Morlock tunnels, killing off all those that remain.
The Morlock story is good, but it's the characters that shine through. Storm is heart-broken and unsure of her personal life and sacrifaces she has had to make for the X-Men. Colossus, as well, is presented in a great light. His hope for his brother and ultimately his loss, are portrayed nicely. Iceman also gets some of the spolight, as Mikhail shows him just what his powers can really do; not to mention his asshole of a racist father (and some stupid cyber-Ninja story). Archangel also deals with his own issues as he comes to terms with the fact that his inner rage has resulted in his wings "acting out." Heck, even Professor X has to handle the second loss of his legs.
Some good stuff here. An improvement by leaps and bounds from previous issues.
~W~
PS - I had this big thing planned out for entry # 50, but . . . well, I got lazy. Maybe when we hit 100!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 49: "Bishop"
Uncanny X-Men # 287, X-Men # 8, Uncanny X-Men # 288
I talked about last entry how a lot of these post-Claremont stories are rather mediocre and generally just really nice eye candy. Well, luckily, things take a turn for the better here.
The Gold Team tracks down Bishop as he takes on the rest of the prisoners. During the battle between the prisonors and the XSE officers, Randall and Malcolm bite it. The X-Men come in, then, and take Bishop down. The battle leads to some brutal injuries for Bishop and as he recovers, we're given a flashback to his past (aka, the X-Men's future).
In the future, while apprehending Fitzroy, Bishop and his pals stumble upon the X-Mansion. Once there, they uncover a message recorded by Jean Grey to the other X-Teams. The message, while garbled, reveals that the X-Men were betrayed from within. Bishop goes to someone who looks kinda like a really old Gambit (but calls himself "Witness") and questions him. This gets Bishop nowhere. He goes back to his HQ, only to find that Fitzroy has escaped. Bishop, Randall and Malcolm then travel back in time five issues to get him.
Bishop awakens from his flashback and Xavier invites him to join the X-Men. He accepts, finally realizing he has no other place in this past world. Plus, he'd be working with his idols. That's like an Elvis impersonator working with Elvis.
He meets up with the Blue Team and goes after Gambit, accusing him of either being the traitor or knowing who the traitor is. The X-Men convice Bishop that they trust Gambit more than they him and he partially concedes the point. Storm then takes Bishop under wing and the gang heads to NYC to live it up. Bishop still doesn't quite understand how the world of this era works, but he starts to make an effort.
Meanwhile, there's some actual character development. Jean is starting to worry about Scott's attraction to Pyslocke. Wolverine is questioning his place with the X-Men considering everything that has happened recently - the false memories and the Omega Red shit. Plus, there's tension between Forge and Storm. Not to mention the ever-increasing flirting between Gambit and Rogue.
We're on the right track.
~W~
I talked about last entry how a lot of these post-Claremont stories are rather mediocre and generally just really nice eye candy. Well, luckily, things take a turn for the better here.
The Gold Team tracks down Bishop as he takes on the rest of the prisoners. During the battle between the prisonors and the XSE officers, Randall and Malcolm bite it. The X-Men come in, then, and take Bishop down. The battle leads to some brutal injuries for Bishop and as he recovers, we're given a flashback to his past (aka, the X-Men's future).
In the future, while apprehending Fitzroy, Bishop and his pals stumble upon the X-Mansion. Once there, they uncover a message recorded by Jean Grey to the other X-Teams. The message, while garbled, reveals that the X-Men were betrayed from within. Bishop goes to someone who looks kinda like a really old Gambit (but calls himself "Witness") and questions him. This gets Bishop nowhere. He goes back to his HQ, only to find that Fitzroy has escaped. Bishop, Randall and Malcolm then travel back in time five issues to get him.
Bishop awakens from his flashback and Xavier invites him to join the X-Men. He accepts, finally realizing he has no other place in this past world. Plus, he'd be working with his idols. That's like an Elvis impersonator working with Elvis.
He meets up with the Blue Team and goes after Gambit, accusing him of either being the traitor or knowing who the traitor is. The X-Men convice Bishop that they trust Gambit more than they him and he partially concedes the point. Storm then takes Bishop under wing and the gang heads to NYC to live it up. Bishop still doesn't quite understand how the world of this era works, but he starts to make an effort.
Meanwhile, there's some actual character development. Jean is starting to worry about Scott's attraction to Pyslocke. Wolverine is questioning his place with the X-Men considering everything that has happened recently - the false memories and the Omega Red shit. Plus, there's tension between Forge and Storm. Not to mention the ever-increasing flirting between Gambit and Rogue.
We're on the right track.
~W~
Uncanny X-Periment # 48: "Gold Team"
Uncanny X-Men # 281-286
Important side-note: as of Uncanny X-Men # 286, I have officially lapped myself. Uncanny 286 was my very first X-Book. As I read it again the other night, I couldn't help but get a little nostalgic. I remembered how I poured over that comic day and night when I was a boy of mere 9 years old - trying to figure out what everyone was doing and who everyone was. It was the good ol' days.
Reading it again, however, I find myself going into "mature reader" mode and finding just how flawed 286 and many of the issues around it are.
Running parallel to the Blue Team's adventure with Omega Red, the X-Men meet up with Emma Frost and the Hellions at the Hellfire Club. There, Emma warns them of a new foe who has killed Sebastion Shaw and is after both the X-Men and the Hellfire Club. Seeking to make good on their alliance from about 80 issues ago, Emma has asked for their help. Unfortunately, we find out the enemy has struck again - sending oddly adaptive Sentinals after Donald Pierce and the Reavers. Pierce shows up at the meeting thanks to Gateway and the Sentinals follow. The Sentinals take Emma captive and kill Jean Grey.
Yep. Jean's dead.
For those keeping score that means it's time # 3 (the shuttle and Dark Phoenix).
But, of course, she's not really dead. She actually managed to move her mind into Emma's body. That's right. Emma Frost and Jean have switched bodies after an attack by Sentinals that have the ability to adapt technology to their own bodies (for repairs). This is a funny bit of history, considering what happens about ten years later.
But I digress . . .
The X-Men head off to get Emma's body (after Jean's body is made undead or something) and find out who the real culprits are - the Upstarts! Apparently, the Upstarts are a team of wealthy power players who gain leadership of the group by killing off X-Men and Hellfire Club related people. It's all moderated by a super-telepath by the name of the Gamemaster and my 2nd least favorite X-Villian, Selene.
Among the ranks of the Upstarts and the guy who ordered the attack on Pierce is the time traveler Trevor Fitzroy. By killing Pierce and Jean, and kidnappng Frost, he's in control of the Upstarts now. BUT there's trouble. As the X-Men attack the Upstarts, a time portals opens up and three people appear from the future to retrieve Fitzroy: Bishop, Randall, and Malcolm. They battle Fitzroy and the X-Men, then escape and hunt down other time travelling criminals.
After fighting Bishop and co. and getting Jean's head on right, the X-Men are side-tracked by a massive portal that opens between our world and some other world. Coincidently, Sunfire is there! Even more coincidently, Colossus' brother is on the other world! WOW! The X-Men rescue Colossus' brother Mikhail, close the portal and head on home.
It's hard for my to really define what's wrong with these issues, because there's more wrong than right. A lot more wrong.
Let's start with the right. First of all, there are some neat concepts here. The Upstarts feel like bad-asses. They've got Sentinals, they wipe out the Reavers, and they practically destroy the Hellfire Club. Second, the new characters are pretty neat too. I also liked Mikhail for some reason. Kind of a tragic character, I guess. Plus, there's Bishop, who is among my favorites.
The art is pretty cool, too. Whilce Portacio, take a bow.
On the bad . . .
The major problem with these stories here and in the last entry is that no one seems to know what they're doing. I'm well aware of the behind the scenes strife - with Claremont being fired, with Bryne scripting then leaving, and bringing Lobdell to finish these arcs off. The trouble is that a lot of that chaos is bleeding into the pages.
The charactes are 1-Deminsional. Even the ones that we get close up on - Colossus, Jean and Wolverine, in particular - all come off as cliched and uninteresting. They feel more like pieces being across a chessboard than characters that we've known and loved since Uncanny X-Men # 1 and Giant-Sized X-Men # 1.
The stories are okay at best and razor thin at worst. Sure, the Upstarts prove themselves as bad-asses early on, but the stories are so bad that they get pretty much ignored. Ten years later, Pierce and the Reavers are back and giving the X-Men Hell and no one remembers the Upstarts unless they read a back-issue or visit UXN. Mikhail's been sent into limbo and back so many times, it's not even funny. Even Sunfire's awesome new costume vanishes and gets replaced with his original one.
Plus, there's the death of Jean Grey - again. It's pointless other than to gives us some eye-candy. That pretty much speaks of this entire little run of issues. There's nothing new or interesting brought to the table that is good enough to stick - except for Bishop.
This is almost a rut, but I do know that given the right amount of time, the new creators solidify themselves and start to find their own voice. Until then, I'm stuck with some nice art, but extremely uninteresting stories.
~W~
Important side-note: as of Uncanny X-Men # 286, I have officially lapped myself. Uncanny 286 was my very first X-Book. As I read it again the other night, I couldn't help but get a little nostalgic. I remembered how I poured over that comic day and night when I was a boy of mere 9 years old - trying to figure out what everyone was doing and who everyone was. It was the good ol' days.
Reading it again, however, I find myself going into "mature reader" mode and finding just how flawed 286 and many of the issues around it are.
Running parallel to the Blue Team's adventure with Omega Red, the X-Men meet up with Emma Frost and the Hellions at the Hellfire Club. There, Emma warns them of a new foe who has killed Sebastion Shaw and is after both the X-Men and the Hellfire Club. Seeking to make good on their alliance from about 80 issues ago, Emma has asked for their help. Unfortunately, we find out the enemy has struck again - sending oddly adaptive Sentinals after Donald Pierce and the Reavers. Pierce shows up at the meeting thanks to Gateway and the Sentinals follow. The Sentinals take Emma captive and kill Jean Grey.
Yep. Jean's dead.
For those keeping score that means it's time # 3 (the shuttle and Dark Phoenix).
But, of course, she's not really dead. She actually managed to move her mind into Emma's body. That's right. Emma Frost and Jean have switched bodies after an attack by Sentinals that have the ability to adapt technology to their own bodies (for repairs). This is a funny bit of history, considering what happens about ten years later.
But I digress . . .
The X-Men head off to get Emma's body (after Jean's body is made undead or something) and find out who the real culprits are - the Upstarts! Apparently, the Upstarts are a team of wealthy power players who gain leadership of the group by killing off X-Men and Hellfire Club related people. It's all moderated by a super-telepath by the name of the Gamemaster and my 2nd least favorite X-Villian, Selene.
Among the ranks of the Upstarts and the guy who ordered the attack on Pierce is the time traveler Trevor Fitzroy. By killing Pierce and Jean, and kidnappng Frost, he's in control of the Upstarts now. BUT there's trouble. As the X-Men attack the Upstarts, a time portals opens up and three people appear from the future to retrieve Fitzroy: Bishop, Randall, and Malcolm. They battle Fitzroy and the X-Men, then escape and hunt down other time travelling criminals.
After fighting Bishop and co. and getting Jean's head on right, the X-Men are side-tracked by a massive portal that opens between our world and some other world. Coincidently, Sunfire is there! Even more coincidently, Colossus' brother is on the other world! WOW! The X-Men rescue Colossus' brother Mikhail, close the portal and head on home.
It's hard for my to really define what's wrong with these issues, because there's more wrong than right. A lot more wrong.
Let's start with the right. First of all, there are some neat concepts here. The Upstarts feel like bad-asses. They've got Sentinals, they wipe out the Reavers, and they practically destroy the Hellfire Club. Second, the new characters are pretty neat too. I also liked Mikhail for some reason. Kind of a tragic character, I guess. Plus, there's Bishop, who is among my favorites.
The art is pretty cool, too. Whilce Portacio, take a bow.
On the bad . . .
The major problem with these stories here and in the last entry is that no one seems to know what they're doing. I'm well aware of the behind the scenes strife - with Claremont being fired, with Bryne scripting then leaving, and bringing Lobdell to finish these arcs off. The trouble is that a lot of that chaos is bleeding into the pages.
The charactes are 1-Deminsional. Even the ones that we get close up on - Colossus, Jean and Wolverine, in particular - all come off as cliched and uninteresting. They feel more like pieces being across a chessboard than characters that we've known and loved since Uncanny X-Men # 1 and Giant-Sized X-Men # 1.
The stories are okay at best and razor thin at worst. Sure, the Upstarts prove themselves as bad-asses early on, but the stories are so bad that they get pretty much ignored. Ten years later, Pierce and the Reavers are back and giving the X-Men Hell and no one remembers the Upstarts unless they read a back-issue or visit UXN. Mikhail's been sent into limbo and back so many times, it's not even funny. Even Sunfire's awesome new costume vanishes and gets replaced with his original one.
Plus, there's the death of Jean Grey - again. It's pointless other than to gives us some eye-candy. That pretty much speaks of this entire little run of issues. There's nothing new or interesting brought to the table that is good enough to stick - except for Bishop.
This is almost a rut, but I do know that given the right amount of time, the new creators solidify themselves and start to find their own voice. Until then, I'm stuck with some nice art, but extremely uninteresting stories.
~W~
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 47: "Blue Team"
X-Men # 4-7
The X-Men face down a ghost from Wolverine's past: Omega Red. Fernis (remember them?) and the Hand have joined forces in the hopes of not only eliminating the X-Men, but also retaining a substance called Carbonadium - which is sorta like Adamantium, except more maleable. The X-Men are eventually all captured, but with the help of Wolverine's old partner Maverick, Logan escapes. To hunt him and Maverick down, the Hand calls in Sabretooth and re-takes control of Psylocke. A battle eventually follows and the X-Men take off.
While this story isn't too bad, it's a little too remeniscent of the "Shiva Scenario." There's some cool scenes, but at times, it's more substance than style. The story tries to be better than the art, but it ultimately fails. That's not a terrible thing as the story isn't as flimsy as others, but it's lacking a certain . . . something.
Character development is mostly geared towards Wolverine. Cyclops and Jean Grey get a little time, and Gambit and Rogue's "relationship" starts. Moria has a great sequence that really deals with the fall-out of Magneto's "death," and ultimately has her leaving, with Sean chasing after her.
Overall, a neat story and amazing art, but not up to par with what's one would expect from the X-Men. But this is still really in the fall-out of Claremont's departure. It gets better.
~W~
The X-Men face down a ghost from Wolverine's past: Omega Red. Fernis (remember them?) and the Hand have joined forces in the hopes of not only eliminating the X-Men, but also retaining a substance called Carbonadium - which is sorta like Adamantium, except more maleable. The X-Men are eventually all captured, but with the help of Wolverine's old partner Maverick, Logan escapes. To hunt him and Maverick down, the Hand calls in Sabretooth and re-takes control of Psylocke. A battle eventually follows and the X-Men take off.
While this story isn't too bad, it's a little too remeniscent of the "Shiva Scenario." There's some cool scenes, but at times, it's more substance than style. The story tries to be better than the art, but it ultimately fails. That's not a terrible thing as the story isn't as flimsy as others, but it's lacking a certain . . . something.
Character development is mostly geared towards Wolverine. Cyclops and Jean Grey get a little time, and Gambit and Rogue's "relationship" starts. Moria has a great sequence that really deals with the fall-out of Magneto's "death," and ultimately has her leaving, with Sean chasing after her.
Overall, a neat story and amazing art, but not up to par with what's one would expect from the X-Men. But this is still really in the fall-out of Claremont's departure. It gets better.
~W~
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 46: "Weaon X"
Weapon X trade; Wolverine # 48-50
Similair to the "Rise of Apocalypse" entry, I decided to go ahead and backstep to the limited series that preludes to the story at hand. In this case, it's "Weapon X" by Brain Windsor Smith to "Shiva Scenario" by Larry Hama and Marc Silverstri.
"Weapon X" made me a Wolverine fan when I first read it. I'm not the biggest Wolverine fan, simply because a lot of writers don't write Wolverine in a way that I can relate to him. Claremont may have made him interesting, but I never really felt the character was all he's cracked up to be.
However, "Weapon X" changes all that. In this story, we learn the secret origin of Wolverine (well, part of it anyway). It turns out that he was captured years by a shady organization and is physically and mentally transformed into a living, breathing weapon.
We see Logan stripped down from being a human being into, really, an animal. It really puts Wolverine in a new light for me, making all of the stories that have come before hand stand on more solid ground. Within the context of the big picture, this story makes Wolverine into a better character. We now know that him being a jackass is for a good reason.
The art is amazing and the way that it flows with the writing is great synchorization. It's a brutal story. The POV of the Weapon X heads (the sympathetic Hines; Doctor Cornelius; and the Professor) make it even darker, given us an insight as to what is happening beyond Wolverine's prespective.
Logan eventually busts out of the programming and goes off into the woods.
So, with "Wolverine" # 48-50, we jump ahead a number of years. Wolverine and Jubilee return to the Weapon X project sight and Logan finds certain memories triggered by the sight of the place. However, as he continues to look around - and eventually as Jean and Xavier enter his mind - Wolverine finds that some of his memories aren't even real.
Eventually, it's revealed that Logan had memories implanted into his mind thanks to the Weapon X project. As he gets closer to discovering this, he's attacked by Weapon X's Shiva robot, which is a safety to keep the secrets of the project from getting out.
The "Shiva Scenario" is okay and adds some interesting elements to Wolverine's mythos, but it's not nearly as good as "Weapon X."
~W~
Similair to the "Rise of Apocalypse" entry, I decided to go ahead and backstep to the limited series that preludes to the story at hand. In this case, it's "Weapon X" by Brain Windsor Smith to "Shiva Scenario" by Larry Hama and Marc Silverstri.
"Weapon X" made me a Wolverine fan when I first read it. I'm not the biggest Wolverine fan, simply because a lot of writers don't write Wolverine in a way that I can relate to him. Claremont may have made him interesting, but I never really felt the character was all he's cracked up to be.
However, "Weapon X" changes all that. In this story, we learn the secret origin of Wolverine (well, part of it anyway). It turns out that he was captured years by a shady organization and is physically and mentally transformed into a living, breathing weapon.
We see Logan stripped down from being a human being into, really, an animal. It really puts Wolverine in a new light for me, making all of the stories that have come before hand stand on more solid ground. Within the context of the big picture, this story makes Wolverine into a better character. We now know that him being a jackass is for a good reason.
The art is amazing and the way that it flows with the writing is great synchorization. It's a brutal story. The POV of the Weapon X heads (the sympathetic Hines; Doctor Cornelius; and the Professor) make it even darker, given us an insight as to what is happening beyond Wolverine's prespective.
Logan eventually busts out of the programming and goes off into the woods.
So, with "Wolverine" # 48-50, we jump ahead a number of years. Wolverine and Jubilee return to the Weapon X project sight and Logan finds certain memories triggered by the sight of the place. However, as he continues to look around - and eventually as Jean and Xavier enter his mind - Wolverine finds that some of his memories aren't even real.
Eventually, it's revealed that Logan had memories implanted into his mind thanks to the Weapon X project. As he gets closer to discovering this, he's attacked by Weapon X's Shiva robot, which is a safety to keep the secrets of the project from getting out.
The "Shiva Scenario" is okay and adds some interesting elements to Wolverine's mythos, but it's not nearly as good as "Weapon X."
~W~
Monday, July 17, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 45: "A New Era"
X-Men # 1-3
This story serves three purposes:
1) To bookend Claremont's run
2) To usher forth the new era of the X-Men
3) To tie together Magneto's character arc that reaches all the way back to Uncanny X-Men # 104 (Magneto's restoration)
A group of Mutants are on the run and are eventually chased into orbit, where they wish to seek sanctuary in Asteroid M with Magneto. They do so and Magneto allows both the Mutants and their human pursuers entry into his base. However, when the humans strike against the Mutant renegades, Magneto's animosity for humanity increases once more.
Meanwhile, the Russians are flipping out because Asteroid M is sitting right above their airspace. To avoid an international incident, Nick Fury and Val Cooper get in touch with the recently reoranized X-Men. The mansion has been reconstructed and X-Factor has been merged with the X-Men, created two X-Men teams: Gold Team (Storm, Iceman, Archangel, Jean Grey, and Colossus) and the Blue Team (Cyclops, Wolverine, Pyslocke, Beast, Rogue, Gambit, and Jubilee), with Forge, Professor X, Moria, and Banshee hanging around the mansion.
The Blue Team goes out and intercepts Magneto as he rasies the nuclear sub he sank years ago. Egged on by renegade Mutant Fabian Cortez, Magneto seeks to retrieve the nukes for protection from the human race. This confrontation leads to a radical series of events that eventually end up on the civil war torn Genosha. The X-Men Blue Team face off with the Mutant Renegades, who call themselves the Acolytes. The X-Men are eventually defeated and taken back to Asteroid M.
It's there that Mangeto and Cortez find problems with Magneto's powers. Cortez uses his own power to increase Magneto's, but Magneto is growing addicted to him. He goes off and faces down with Professor X and Moria, then, and kidnaps them. He finds out that Moria manipulated his genetic structure when he was de-aged. Magneto is pissed, now forced to question every decision he made since his restoration.
Magneto has Moria use the process used on him against the X-Men and he's able to get them onto his side. The X-Men Gold Team mount a rescue and fight their companions, only to find out that as soon as they use their powers, the effect is gone. Moria eventually reveals this to Magneto, but not before Cortez betrays them. High-jacking a plasma cannon weapon that was almost ready to destroy Asteroid M, Cortez blasts the orbital base. The X-Men take off as Magneto and a few remaining Acolytles stay aboard and start to burn up in the atmosphere.
Claremont brings his version of Magneto and the tremendous growth the character went through under his pen to manifest here, using this story to end his long run. The full amount of post-baby Magneto history is used here to create a great character-driven tale. From his frienship with Xavier in Israel to him being headmaster to his closeness with Rogue to his Bryne/Cockrum era, Magneto is presented at his finest.
Jim Lee renders the X-Men's new designs goreously, making all the characters look fresh and new. He also does a great job conveying the emotions of the script, from the intense battle scenes to Magneto's final words as he screeches into the atmosphere.
Magneto "ends" here, at least under Claremont's pen (well, for about a decade at least). However, for the X-Men . . . it's a brand new beginning.
~W~
This story serves three purposes:
1) To bookend Claremont's run
2) To usher forth the new era of the X-Men
3) To tie together Magneto's character arc that reaches all the way back to Uncanny X-Men # 104 (Magneto's restoration)
A group of Mutants are on the run and are eventually chased into orbit, where they wish to seek sanctuary in Asteroid M with Magneto. They do so and Magneto allows both the Mutants and their human pursuers entry into his base. However, when the humans strike against the Mutant renegades, Magneto's animosity for humanity increases once more.
Meanwhile, the Russians are flipping out because Asteroid M is sitting right above their airspace. To avoid an international incident, Nick Fury and Val Cooper get in touch with the recently reoranized X-Men. The mansion has been reconstructed and X-Factor has been merged with the X-Men, created two X-Men teams: Gold Team (Storm, Iceman, Archangel, Jean Grey, and Colossus) and the Blue Team (Cyclops, Wolverine, Pyslocke, Beast, Rogue, Gambit, and Jubilee), with Forge, Professor X, Moria, and Banshee hanging around the mansion.
The Blue Team goes out and intercepts Magneto as he rasies the nuclear sub he sank years ago. Egged on by renegade Mutant Fabian Cortez, Magneto seeks to retrieve the nukes for protection from the human race. This confrontation leads to a radical series of events that eventually end up on the civil war torn Genosha. The X-Men Blue Team face off with the Mutant Renegades, who call themselves the Acolytes. The X-Men are eventually defeated and taken back to Asteroid M.
It's there that Mangeto and Cortez find problems with Magneto's powers. Cortez uses his own power to increase Magneto's, but Magneto is growing addicted to him. He goes off and faces down with Professor X and Moria, then, and kidnaps them. He finds out that Moria manipulated his genetic structure when he was de-aged. Magneto is pissed, now forced to question every decision he made since his restoration.
Magneto has Moria use the process used on him against the X-Men and he's able to get them onto his side. The X-Men Gold Team mount a rescue and fight their companions, only to find out that as soon as they use their powers, the effect is gone. Moria eventually reveals this to Magneto, but not before Cortez betrays them. High-jacking a plasma cannon weapon that was almost ready to destroy Asteroid M, Cortez blasts the orbital base. The X-Men take off as Magneto and a few remaining Acolytles stay aboard and start to burn up in the atmosphere.
Claremont brings his version of Magneto and the tremendous growth the character went through under his pen to manifest here, using this story to end his long run. The full amount of post-baby Magneto history is used here to create a great character-driven tale. From his frienship with Xavier in Israel to him being headmaster to his closeness with Rogue to his Bryne/Cockrum era, Magneto is presented at his finest.
Jim Lee renders the X-Men's new designs goreously, making all the characters look fresh and new. He also does a great job conveying the emotions of the script, from the intense battle scenes to Magneto's final words as he screeches into the atmosphere.
Magneto "ends" here, at least under Claremont's pen (well, for about a decade at least). However, for the X-Men . . . it's a brand new beginning.
~W~
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 44: "Genetically Challenged"
X-Factor # 71-75, X-Force # 1-2, X-Factor # 77-78
Peter David makes me giddy.
He weaves together a great story during his X-Factor issues that take a realistic approach to the X-World. Great characters, snappy dialogue, and a great plot all make the new X-Factor a fantastic book.
Mr. Sinister is back and working behind the scenes against X-Factor. Manipulating Mutant Senator Shaffren, Sinister is looking to put the new, government-sponsered team of Mutants into big trouble by taking them out one by one.
The cast of X-Factor is suberb, ranging from across the Mutant board. Havok, Polaris, Multiple Man, Wolfsbane, Quicksilver, and Stong Guy (aka Guido) each get their moment in the sun and stand out as a team of loners among loners. Each one is interesting and complex and the way their interact is great.
Switching over to X-Force, we have a very different type of X-Team. While both X-Factor and X-Force pull from a wide spectrum of X-world, X-Force is the renegade team. Cable has brought together Cannonball and Boom-Boom from the remains of New Mutants, and teamed them up with Feral, Warpath, Dominio, and Shatterstar to serve as a Mutant strike-force.
Both X-Force and X-Factor encounter Stryfe and the Mutant Liberation. I can't help but get nostalgic about Stryfe and remember just how cool of a villian he is. This guy is bad-ass, pure and simple.
For the most part, as we enter into this new era of the X-Men, we're given a great first step. While X-Factor is better book, I found that I enjoyed X-Force quite a bit as well. Knowing what I know about what happens, it makes for some interesting reading.
Unfortunately, the art in both books isn't very good. Larry Stroman's work just doesn't suit X-Factor very well and some of the panels just look messy. Over in X-Force, Rob Liefeld's art continues to decline is quality. It's still not too bad, but I honestly can't stand the way he draws legs.
~W~
Peter David makes me giddy.
He weaves together a great story during his X-Factor issues that take a realistic approach to the X-World. Great characters, snappy dialogue, and a great plot all make the new X-Factor a fantastic book.
Mr. Sinister is back and working behind the scenes against X-Factor. Manipulating Mutant Senator Shaffren, Sinister is looking to put the new, government-sponsered team of Mutants into big trouble by taking them out one by one.
The cast of X-Factor is suberb, ranging from across the Mutant board. Havok, Polaris, Multiple Man, Wolfsbane, Quicksilver, and Stong Guy (aka Guido) each get their moment in the sun and stand out as a team of loners among loners. Each one is interesting and complex and the way their interact is great.
Switching over to X-Force, we have a very different type of X-Team. While both X-Factor and X-Force pull from a wide spectrum of X-world, X-Force is the renegade team. Cable has brought together Cannonball and Boom-Boom from the remains of New Mutants, and teamed them up with Feral, Warpath, Dominio, and Shatterstar to serve as a Mutant strike-force.
Both X-Force and X-Factor encounter Stryfe and the Mutant Liberation. I can't help but get nostalgic about Stryfe and remember just how cool of a villian he is. This guy is bad-ass, pure and simple.
For the most part, as we enter into this new era of the X-Men, we're given a great first step. While X-Factor is better book, I found that I enjoyed X-Force quite a bit as well. Knowing what I know about what happens, it makes for some interesting reading.
Unfortunately, the art in both books isn't very good. Larry Stroman's work just doesn't suit X-Factor very well and some of the panels just look messy. Over in X-Force, Rob Liefeld's art continues to decline is quality. It's still not too bad, but I honestly can't stand the way he draws legs.
~W~
Monday, July 10, 2006
UXP # 43: "Cleaning out the X-House # 5: Muir Island Saga"
The New Mutants # 99-100, Uncanny X-Men # 278-279, X-Factor # 69, Uncanny X-Men # 280, X-Factor # 70, Excalibur # 41
This wraps up the "Cleaning out the X-House" segment of the Uncanny X-Periment. As the last threads are (for the most part) wrapped-up, we close an era that I personally believe began with the end of the "Dark Phoenix Saga."
Let's look at the big picture . . .
In many ways, "The Dark Phoenix Saga" served as the resolution of the plotlines and stories that started with "Giant-Sized X-Men" # 1. In a similair way, this entire phase of the X-Men has gone back and touched on ideas and characters established post-"Dark Phoenix," bringing the many subplots and story archs to their end, allowing for a new wave of creativity to sweep over the books.
Now, for the books at hand . . .
"The New Mutants" # 99-100 brings the book to a close, and spends most of the time setting up for "X-Force." Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of time in the issues spent on developing this. Cable, driven by the idea that Mutantkind is at war, shakes up the New Mutants. In the end, only Cannonball and Boom-Boom are left. The team pulls itself together at the end with new additions Domino, Shatterstar, Feral, and Warpath. Sadly, the characterization and story is razor thin.
"The Uncanny X-Men" and "X-Factor" issues deal with the long-running Shadow King/Muir Island subplot that's been around since the 250s. It's nice to get some resolution to the subplot, despite the lackluster story. More changes here. Xavier can't walk again; Legion is in a coma; Shadow King dead; the X-Men, X-Factor, and a bunch of non-affiliated Mutants seek a new purpose. All great set-up for what's to come. There's a great moment when Professor X and the original X-Men decide that a change is necessary.
"Excalibur," I really just threw in because I've been ignoring the poor title. The team basically reacts to the X-Men being alive.
With everything now resolved, we officially leave one era of the X-Men and are about to begin a new.
~W~
This wraps up the "Cleaning out the X-House" segment of the Uncanny X-Periment. As the last threads are (for the most part) wrapped-up, we close an era that I personally believe began with the end of the "Dark Phoenix Saga."
Let's look at the big picture . . .
In many ways, "The Dark Phoenix Saga" served as the resolution of the plotlines and stories that started with "Giant-Sized X-Men" # 1. In a similair way, this entire phase of the X-Men has gone back and touched on ideas and characters established post-"Dark Phoenix," bringing the many subplots and story archs to their end, allowing for a new wave of creativity to sweep over the books.
Now, for the books at hand . . .
"The New Mutants" # 99-100 brings the book to a close, and spends most of the time setting up for "X-Force." Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of time in the issues spent on developing this. Cable, driven by the idea that Mutantkind is at war, shakes up the New Mutants. In the end, only Cannonball and Boom-Boom are left. The team pulls itself together at the end with new additions Domino, Shatterstar, Feral, and Warpath. Sadly, the characterization and story is razor thin.
"The Uncanny X-Men" and "X-Factor" issues deal with the long-running Shadow King/Muir Island subplot that's been around since the 250s. It's nice to get some resolution to the subplot, despite the lackluster story. More changes here. Xavier can't walk again; Legion is in a coma; Shadow King dead; the X-Men, X-Factor, and a bunch of non-affiliated Mutants seek a new purpose. All great set-up for what's to come. There's a great moment when Professor X and the original X-Men decide that a change is necessary.
"Excalibur," I really just threw in because I've been ignoring the poor title. The team basically reacts to the X-Men being alive.
With everything now resolved, we officially leave one era of the X-Men and are about to begin a new.
~W~
Friday, July 07, 2006
UXP # 42: "Cleaning out the X-House # 4: Endgame"
X-Factor # 65-68
More tying things up, this time with X-Factor and some of the goings on there. While the X-Men are off in space with the Shi'ar, X-Factor faces off with Apocalypse, who is out for revenge against X-Factor for his past losses.
Apocalypse infects Ship with a virus, which ultimately leads Ship to destroy himself - save for a small, living piece of itself. At the same time, Apocalypse captures lil' Nathan Christopher. Also, he unleashes the Riders of the Storm (aka, the Dark Riders and I'll be calling them that from here on out), a team of Mutant mercenaries. All the while? He's capturing Inhumans.
Apocalypse sets himself up on the moon, where he's contending with the attacks by the Inhumans. X-Factor and Detective Charlottle Jones eventually meet up with the Inhumans and join in on the battle against Apocalypse. As they do, a woman in the body of a robot has traveled back in time and has taken the name "Askani." She wishes to take the dying Nathan into the future - for only there can the virus that Apocalypse has given him can be cured. As it turns out, 'Poccy is up on Nate's potential to overthrow him.
If he only knew . . .
The story is by Claremont, Jim Lee, and Whilce Portacio. It's not bad, though I wish Simonson would have written it since she made X-Factor her's. Claremont does a decent job. He attempts to draw parallels of sacriface and loss in this story to those in "The Dark Phoenix Saga." It comes off as flat.
Scott is the star of the story, and his struggle to send little Nathan to the future is nice.
This is a key moment in the Apocalypse/Cable mythology. It'll be touched quite often for the next decade or so. While it's a fairly decent story, it's missing a something that I just can't put my finger on.
That is fab.
~W~
More tying things up, this time with X-Factor and some of the goings on there. While the X-Men are off in space with the Shi'ar, X-Factor faces off with Apocalypse, who is out for revenge against X-Factor for his past losses.
Apocalypse infects Ship with a virus, which ultimately leads Ship to destroy himself - save for a small, living piece of itself. At the same time, Apocalypse captures lil' Nathan Christopher. Also, he unleashes the Riders of the Storm (aka, the Dark Riders and I'll be calling them that from here on out), a team of Mutant mercenaries. All the while? He's capturing Inhumans.
Apocalypse sets himself up on the moon, where he's contending with the attacks by the Inhumans. X-Factor and Detective Charlottle Jones eventually meet up with the Inhumans and join in on the battle against Apocalypse. As they do, a woman in the body of a robot has traveled back in time and has taken the name "Askani." She wishes to take the dying Nathan into the future - for only there can the virus that Apocalypse has given him can be cured. As it turns out, 'Poccy is up on Nate's potential to overthrow him.
If he only knew . . .
The story is by Claremont, Jim Lee, and Whilce Portacio. It's not bad, though I wish Simonson would have written it since she made X-Factor her's. Claremont does a decent job. He attempts to draw parallels of sacriface and loss in this story to those in "The Dark Phoenix Saga." It comes off as flat.
Scott is the star of the story, and his struggle to send little Nathan to the future is nice.
This is a key moment in the Apocalypse/Cable mythology. It'll be touched quite often for the next decade or so. While it's a fairly decent story, it's missing a something that I just can't put my finger on.
That is fab.
~W~
Sunday, July 02, 2006
UXP # 41: "Cleaning out the X-House # 3: Crossroads"
Uncanny X-Men # 273-277
The X-Men are whisked off to the Shi'ar galaxy while Rogue and Magneto content with the Savage Land.
As Claremont continues to wrap up his old plotlines, the X-Men are teleported into the Shi'ar Empire - which, as you may recall - is in the thores of a civil war. Deathbird, having claimed the throne a good long while ago (over 100 issues ago, to the be precise), gathers the X-Men to kill Xavier. The X-Men are confused, but eventually join up with the Starjammers and Lilandra. Deathbird is taken of, the X-Men are reunited with Professor X, and Lilandra is running the show again. All is good, right? Wrong.
Turns out Xavier is a Warskrull. What is a Warskrull? I dunno. A bigger Skrull, it seems. The X-Men eventually defeat the Warskrulls, meet up with the real Xavier, and then hightail it back to Earth. And Lilandra is in charge again.
But that's only half the story . . .
Magneto, Rogue, Nick Fury, and Ka-Zar are all involved in a massive campagin against Zaladane and Magneto's old Mutates. While it's a high-adventure type story, the center spine of the tale is Magneto. Claremont brings Magneto front and center, giving us an understanding of the character that is vast and insightful. Magneto mulls over his past: from a holocaust victim to a super-villian to a terrorist to an X-Man, the reader is immersed in Magneto's memories and his feelings towards this current struggle.
I don't think I've seen such a great interpretation of Magneto as I did here. And while the Shi'ar story is pretty good, the Mangeto character arc is better.
In the end, Magneto is done with the X-Men, the Hellfire Club, and the Savage Land. He's breaking out on his own, out to save Mutantkind from tearing itself apart and being threatened from forces within itself. By killing Zaladane, Magneto is back as a bad guy.
At the same time, Storm questions her decision - even her place as a leader - to have the X-Men go into hiding. There's some nice interaction between Storm, Cable, Cyclops, and Jean regarding that.
Jim Lee continues to impress me with his amazing art. As good as he's gotten, this early X-Men work is just astounding.
This is probably the highlight of Claremont's later work. While he'll always be remembered for what he and Bryne did, he and Jim Lee did just as well.
~W~
The X-Men are whisked off to the Shi'ar galaxy while Rogue and Magneto content with the Savage Land.
As Claremont continues to wrap up his old plotlines, the X-Men are teleported into the Shi'ar Empire - which, as you may recall - is in the thores of a civil war. Deathbird, having claimed the throne a good long while ago (over 100 issues ago, to the be precise), gathers the X-Men to kill Xavier. The X-Men are confused, but eventually join up with the Starjammers and Lilandra. Deathbird is taken of, the X-Men are reunited with Professor X, and Lilandra is running the show again. All is good, right? Wrong.
Turns out Xavier is a Warskrull. What is a Warskrull? I dunno. A bigger Skrull, it seems. The X-Men eventually defeat the Warskrulls, meet up with the real Xavier, and then hightail it back to Earth. And Lilandra is in charge again.
But that's only half the story . . .
Magneto, Rogue, Nick Fury, and Ka-Zar are all involved in a massive campagin against Zaladane and Magneto's old Mutates. While it's a high-adventure type story, the center spine of the tale is Magneto. Claremont brings Magneto front and center, giving us an understanding of the character that is vast and insightful. Magneto mulls over his past: from a holocaust victim to a super-villian to a terrorist to an X-Man, the reader is immersed in Magneto's memories and his feelings towards this current struggle.
I don't think I've seen such a great interpretation of Magneto as I did here. And while the Shi'ar story is pretty good, the Mangeto character arc is better.
In the end, Magneto is done with the X-Men, the Hellfire Club, and the Savage Land. He's breaking out on his own, out to save Mutantkind from tearing itself apart and being threatened from forces within itself. By killing Zaladane, Magneto is back as a bad guy.
At the same time, Storm questions her decision - even her place as a leader - to have the X-Men go into hiding. There's some nice interaction between Storm, Cable, Cyclops, and Jean regarding that.
Jim Lee continues to impress me with his amazing art. As good as he's gotten, this early X-Men work is just astounding.
This is probably the highlight of Claremont's later work. While he'll always be remembered for what he and Bryne did, he and Jim Lee did just as well.
~W~
Friday, June 23, 2006
UXP # 40: "Cleaning out the X-House # 2: X-Tinction Agenda"
"X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda" tradepaperback
I would have to say that this is probably one of the best collaborations I've seen since Claremont and Simonson took over the X-books.
When several New Mutants and Storm are captured by Genoshans in response to the X-Men and X-Factor's interference with Jenny Ransome, X-Factor, the rest of the New Mutants, and what remains of the X-Men (with Jubilee, Wolverine, and Psylocke showing up later) leap into action. What follows is a sprawling epic that pits the Mutants against a corrupt society bent of turning Mutants into slave workers. Add to it the mad, undying cyborg Cameron Hodge who has his own agenda, and you've got a fantastic X-Men story.
The plot is solid and engaging, maintaining suspense and energy. There's never really a dull moment. It's great to see the teams interact (there wasn't a whole lot of room for it in "Days of Future Present"), the wide range of characters creating a nice amount of drama without overwhelming the story.
Probably the best portions of the story are when we focus in on various characters. The rivalry between Wolverine and Archangel is layered with the rivalry of Cyclops and Wolverine, which instantly pulls Jean into the picture. There are several great moments with these characters. The best is when Hodge forces Wolverine and Archangel to battle when their powers aren't working. Archangel slices up with Wolverine, who is pretty dying anyways. Jean steps in and stops them. As she cradles the severely torn-up Wolverine, she tells Archangel all this wonderful stuff about him. All the while? Poor rejected Scott watches on. Tension!
The subplot regarding Storm and Forge comes back up, and has a nice moment. I really liked how the Jubilee, Richtor and Boom-Boom subplot became important as time went on instead of just being brushed to the side as it easily could have been. The Havok/Cyclops dynamic is nice too. The combined teams working together made for some fine moments too, as small subplots would cross from chapter to chapter instead of just being resolved in just one chapter. Claremont also does a great job of bringing in real world-like touchs to the pages, including NPR-TV spots that discuss the politics of the story.
Now, let's talk about the art. The Jim Lee stuff is amazing. All the things I raved about two entries ago are present. Gorgeous stuff.
However . . . Rob Liefeld looks like he phoned in his work and it was a bad connection. Some of it is really good. Other times, it looks like crap. And why does he draw Cable with lady legs?
Besides the "Uncanny" chapters, the coloring is probably some of the worst I've seen. It's so bad, it makes me want to scan the pages in, bring them into Photoshop and use the very small amount of Photoshop knowledge I have to fix them.
But topping it all off? Probably the worst X-Artist I've ever seen: Jon Bogdanove. His anatomy seems to concentrate purely on the overly-sexual. Jean and Storm's boobs and butts have never been bigger. Havok and Cyclops look like Mexican wrestlers. Making it worse are those major coloring mistakes. It actually made the comic hard to look at.
Now, there are some problems with this story. At times, it seems as though there are too many shortcuts, too many "secret weapons." Toss on that Hodge gets really annoying and the battle with this guy is way too drawn out, and those are the shortcomings. But these are all overshadowed by the excellent writing done on this tale.
~W~
I would have to say that this is probably one of the best collaborations I've seen since Claremont and Simonson took over the X-books.
When several New Mutants and Storm are captured by Genoshans in response to the X-Men and X-Factor's interference with Jenny Ransome, X-Factor, the rest of the New Mutants, and what remains of the X-Men (with Jubilee, Wolverine, and Psylocke showing up later) leap into action. What follows is a sprawling epic that pits the Mutants against a corrupt society bent of turning Mutants into slave workers. Add to it the mad, undying cyborg Cameron Hodge who has his own agenda, and you've got a fantastic X-Men story.
The plot is solid and engaging, maintaining suspense and energy. There's never really a dull moment. It's great to see the teams interact (there wasn't a whole lot of room for it in "Days of Future Present"), the wide range of characters creating a nice amount of drama without overwhelming the story.
Probably the best portions of the story are when we focus in on various characters. The rivalry between Wolverine and Archangel is layered with the rivalry of Cyclops and Wolverine, which instantly pulls Jean into the picture. There are several great moments with these characters. The best is when Hodge forces Wolverine and Archangel to battle when their powers aren't working. Archangel slices up with Wolverine, who is pretty dying anyways. Jean steps in and stops them. As she cradles the severely torn-up Wolverine, she tells Archangel all this wonderful stuff about him. All the while? Poor rejected Scott watches on. Tension!
The subplot regarding Storm and Forge comes back up, and has a nice moment. I really liked how the Jubilee, Richtor and Boom-Boom subplot became important as time went on instead of just being brushed to the side as it easily could have been. The Havok/Cyclops dynamic is nice too. The combined teams working together made for some fine moments too, as small subplots would cross from chapter to chapter instead of just being resolved in just one chapter. Claremont also does a great job of bringing in real world-like touchs to the pages, including NPR-TV spots that discuss the politics of the story.
Now, let's talk about the art. The Jim Lee stuff is amazing. All the things I raved about two entries ago are present. Gorgeous stuff.
However . . . Rob Liefeld looks like he phoned in his work and it was a bad connection. Some of it is really good. Other times, it looks like crap. And why does he draw Cable with lady legs?
Besides the "Uncanny" chapters, the coloring is probably some of the worst I've seen. It's so bad, it makes me want to scan the pages in, bring them into Photoshop and use the very small amount of Photoshop knowledge I have to fix them.
But topping it all off? Probably the worst X-Artist I've ever seen: Jon Bogdanove. His anatomy seems to concentrate purely on the overly-sexual. Jean and Storm's boobs and butts have never been bigger. Havok and Cyclops look like Mexican wrestlers. Making it worse are those major coloring mistakes. It actually made the comic hard to look at.
Now, there are some problems with this story. At times, it seems as though there are too many shortcuts, too many "secret weapons." Toss on that Hodge gets really annoying and the battle with this guy is way too drawn out, and those are the shortcomings. But these are all overshadowed by the excellent writing done on this tale.
~W~
UXP # 39: "Cleaning out the X-House # 1: Days of Future Present"
Fantastic Four Annual # 22, X-Factor Annual # 5, The New Mutants Annual # 6, The Uncanny X-Men Annual # 14
We're getting into a very important time for the X-Men. We're seeing a lot of old plotlines getting resolved as the Claremont/Simonson era of the X-Men comes to an end. In celebration of that, I have decided that these next few entries will bare the name "Cleaning Out the X-House" as that is what is basicaly occuring: a lot of the old sub-plots, character arcs, and danglers are being resolved . . . or at least touched on.
For example, this New Mutants/Fantastic Four/X-Factor/X-Men crossover that builds from "The Days of Future Past."
An adult Franklin Richards appears in the past, seeking out his former one true love, Rachel Summers. Franklin - as it turns out - somehow used his powers right before his death in the future and sent himself back. Powered by Rachel (who has Phoenix powers) and young Franklin, adult Franklin causes all sorts of problems. Among them are trying to create his perception of the world.
Eventually, Franklin is tracked down by the Houndmaster, Ahab. Ahab had once had Rachel as his main Hound, so any opportunity to get at her is good for him. So, with all this happening, various factions of the X-World come together. We see a short clip with Excalibur (which I feel bad for ignoring with this blog); Cable and the New Mutants enter the fray; Storm and Gambit are reunited with the X-Men (or really, just Banshee and Forge); and X-Factor has to deal with their own emotional problems.
There are some good moments in this story, despite it being a fairly flimsy plot. True to Claremont/Simonson form, the characters shine out above all the others. Scott, Jean and Rachel make for interesting characters - Rachel and Jean esspecially. I'd even say that Jean steals the spotlight. Having turned down Scott's marriage proposal, the two are all bent outta shape. Add to that that Rachel decides to reveal to them that she's their daughter from the future, and Scott and Jean suddenly have a ton of issues to deal with.
Franklin is interesting character as he really doesn't mean any harm. I wish there was more time to get in the Richards clan's head. As good as a crossover as this is, it's nothing compared to "X-Men vs. Fantastic Four" limited series. Ahab is a bit of a generic character, though. A bit more depth into is origins would have been nicer.
The art is crap though, save for the Art Adam's issue. And is it just me, or is seeing the Phoenix effect for the 1 billionth time lessening the effect?
Pretty interesting. The use of two very prominent families in the Marvel Universe (Summers and Richards) is very well done.
~W~
We're getting into a very important time for the X-Men. We're seeing a lot of old plotlines getting resolved as the Claremont/Simonson era of the X-Men comes to an end. In celebration of that, I have decided that these next few entries will bare the name "Cleaning Out the X-House" as that is what is basicaly occuring: a lot of the old sub-plots, character arcs, and danglers are being resolved . . . or at least touched on.
For example, this New Mutants/Fantastic Four/X-Factor/X-Men crossover that builds from "The Days of Future Past."
An adult Franklin Richards appears in the past, seeking out his former one true love, Rachel Summers. Franklin - as it turns out - somehow used his powers right before his death in the future and sent himself back. Powered by Rachel (who has Phoenix powers) and young Franklin, adult Franklin causes all sorts of problems. Among them are trying to create his perception of the world.
Eventually, Franklin is tracked down by the Houndmaster, Ahab. Ahab had once had Rachel as his main Hound, so any opportunity to get at her is good for him. So, with all this happening, various factions of the X-World come together. We see a short clip with Excalibur (which I feel bad for ignoring with this blog); Cable and the New Mutants enter the fray; Storm and Gambit are reunited with the X-Men (or really, just Banshee and Forge); and X-Factor has to deal with their own emotional problems.
There are some good moments in this story, despite it being a fairly flimsy plot. True to Claremont/Simonson form, the characters shine out above all the others. Scott, Jean and Rachel make for interesting characters - Rachel and Jean esspecially. I'd even say that Jean steals the spotlight. Having turned down Scott's marriage proposal, the two are all bent outta shape. Add to that that Rachel decides to reveal to them that she's their daughter from the future, and Scott and Jean suddenly have a ton of issues to deal with.
Franklin is interesting character as he really doesn't mean any harm. I wish there was more time to get in the Richards clan's head. As good as a crossover as this is, it's nothing compared to "X-Men vs. Fantastic Four" limited series. Ahab is a bit of a generic character, though. A bit more depth into is origins would have been nicer.
The art is crap though, save for the Art Adam's issue. And is it just me, or is seeing the Phoenix effect for the 1 billionth time lessening the effect?
Pretty interesting. The use of two very prominent families in the Marvel Universe (Summers and Richards) is very well done.
~W~
Uncanny X-Periment # 38: "Gambit"
Uncanny X-Men # 265-269
One name defines these issues and it isn't the one in the title. It's Jim Lee. His art here is amazing. Breathtaking. Detailed. His renditions of Captain America, Rogue, Wolverine, Psylocke, and Magneto are top-notch - perhaps even making him the best X-Men artist to ever grace these pages.
Uncanny X-Men # 265-267 revolve around the de-aged Storm and her running away from both Nanny and the Shadow King. Gambit shows up, rescues her, and takes her in. Gambit (far from my fave character) comes off likeable and pretty damn cool. His taking of Storm under his wing happens a little too fast for my tastes, but it's a good story for the most part.
Uncanny # 268 deals with Wolverine, Black Widow, Psylocke, and Jubilee going after the Hand. This is coupled with a great flashback, in which we see Captain America fighting side-by-side with Wolverine. The story in the flashback is great, but the one in the present fizzles out.
Uncanny # 269 is one my favorite issues for no other reason than it made me like Rogue. I always felt that Rogue was a bit of an odd fit in the X-Men. She was pretty much regulated by whatever was going on around, never really doing her own thing. This really set her loose, and turned into a sexy, sweet, and tough southern gal.
~W~
One name defines these issues and it isn't the one in the title. It's Jim Lee. His art here is amazing. Breathtaking. Detailed. His renditions of Captain America, Rogue, Wolverine, Psylocke, and Magneto are top-notch - perhaps even making him the best X-Men artist to ever grace these pages.
Uncanny X-Men # 265-267 revolve around the de-aged Storm and her running away from both Nanny and the Shadow King. Gambit shows up, rescues her, and takes her in. Gambit (far from my fave character) comes off likeable and pretty damn cool. His taking of Storm under his wing happens a little too fast for my tastes, but it's a good story for the most part.
Uncanny # 268 deals with Wolverine, Black Widow, Psylocke, and Jubilee going after the Hand. This is coupled with a great flashback, in which we see Captain America fighting side-by-side with Wolverine. The story in the flashback is great, but the one in the present fizzles out.
Uncanny # 269 is one my favorite issues for no other reason than it made me like Rogue. I always felt that Rogue was a bit of an odd fit in the X-Men. She was pretty much regulated by whatever was going on around, never really doing her own thing. This really set her loose, and turned into a sexy, sweet, and tough southern gal.
~W~
Monday, June 19, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 37: "Cable"
The New Mutants # 86-94
Confession time: I love Cable.
I find him to be an interesting character, despite the insane amount of weapons he carries around with him in the early 90's and the amazingly convulted history, I think he's a fantastic character. Call me crazy and blame on getting into X-Men comics (and comics, really, in general) in 1992, but I just love that time-traveling, ass-kicking, son of a X-Man.
We're introduced to Cable at a point where the New Mutants are in a bit of jam. Hunted by Freedom Force and with the still-acting-strange-Moria threatening to take Rahne back to Muir Island, the New Mutants have no one else to turn to than Cable. Cable, being on the run himself from Freedom Force and knowing Moria from years past (we'll get to that in a later entry), takes custody of the New Mutants.
The New Mutants and Cable take up residence at the remains of the mansion - the sub-basement, really. From there, they learn to trust Cable during an encounter with Masque and the Morlocks; Caliban; and Sabretooth.
A little later, they head to Madripoor to stop new villains Stryfe and the MLF (Mutant Liberation Front) from releasing a new drug upon the populace. As they battle the MLF, Wolverine shows up (he's in Madripoor, too, remember?) and fights Cable. A classic battle. In the end, the MLF is stopped.
The story is surprisingly good, focusing equally on both Cable and the New Mutants, as well as their working relationship with each other. My major criticism is that the New Mutants become Cable's wards far too quickly. While it is later revealed that Cable has a history with Xavier and Moria, his taking of command of them is just a wee bit forced (pardon the pun).
I find Rob Liefeld's work pretty good, for the most part. I prefer him in this time period, because his characters still retain human qualities that become missing from his artwork sometime post-1994.
~W~
Confession time: I love Cable.
I find him to be an interesting character, despite the insane amount of weapons he carries around with him in the early 90's and the amazingly convulted history, I think he's a fantastic character. Call me crazy and blame on getting into X-Men comics (and comics, really, in general) in 1992, but I just love that time-traveling, ass-kicking, son of a X-Man.
We're introduced to Cable at a point where the New Mutants are in a bit of jam. Hunted by Freedom Force and with the still-acting-strange-Moria threatening to take Rahne back to Muir Island, the New Mutants have no one else to turn to than Cable. Cable, being on the run himself from Freedom Force and knowing Moria from years past (we'll get to that in a later entry), takes custody of the New Mutants.
The New Mutants and Cable take up residence at the remains of the mansion - the sub-basement, really. From there, they learn to trust Cable during an encounter with Masque and the Morlocks; Caliban; and Sabretooth.
A little later, they head to Madripoor to stop new villains Stryfe and the MLF (Mutant Liberation Front) from releasing a new drug upon the populace. As they battle the MLF, Wolverine shows up (he's in Madripoor, too, remember?) and fights Cable. A classic battle. In the end, the MLF is stopped.
The story is surprisingly good, focusing equally on both Cable and the New Mutants, as well as their working relationship with each other. My major criticism is that the New Mutants become Cable's wards far too quickly. While it is later revealed that Cable has a history with Xavier and Moria, his taking of command of them is just a wee bit forced (pardon the pun).
I find Rob Liefeld's work pretty good, for the most part. I prefer him in this time period, because his characters still retain human qualities that become missing from his artwork sometime post-1994.
~W~
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 36: "Acts of Vegeance"
Uncanny X-Men # 256-260, X-Factor # 51-53, Uncanny X-Men # 261-264
At this point, we pretty much follow the remains of the X-Men throughout their new adventures. And we start with Psylocke. Brainwashed and placed into an Asian body, Psylocke becomes an assassin for the Mandarin and the Hand. Wolverine and Jubilee intercept her, eventually, and break her free from the Hand's control.
We then check up on Colossus and Dazzler. Colossus helps defend Jenny Ransome and Phil Monreau, while being haunted by an image of a beautiful model. Dazzler restarts her career and is stalked.
Then it's over to X-Factor. Apocalypse puts in an appearance with Caliban. Sabretooth goes on the hunt, looking to finish off the remaining Morlocks. As Archangel deals with both Caliban and Sabretooth, Bobby and Hank go on dates. And . . . Scott proposes to Jean!
She promptly turns him down, based on all the new memories she's absorbed. She can't help but feel as though Phoenix and Maddie's memories are pushing her into Scott's arms, forcing her to make a decision.
Jean goes back to the mansion, where Banshee and Forge are at, searching for the X-Men and the Calisto. They encouter Jean and rescue her, Colossus, and Callisto from Masque's Morlocks. It's a little wierd. Then, after an encounter with some Genoshans, our story ends.
The character spines on these stories are Wolverine and Jean, who share the spotlight. We ride with their emotions. Jean, as she struggles with Scott's proposal. Logan, as he continues to recover from the attack in Australia. While Colossus and Dazzler live pretty much normal - and fairly boring - lives, the others are far more interesting.
It's nice to see Forge's background explored a bit. I enjoy his team-up with Banshee. It's also nice to have Claremont writing Jean again. Locust shows up, which is worth a laugh. Psylocke's story is fairly mediocre. But Jim Lee's art is amazing.
~W~
At this point, we pretty much follow the remains of the X-Men throughout their new adventures. And we start with Psylocke. Brainwashed and placed into an Asian body, Psylocke becomes an assassin for the Mandarin and the Hand. Wolverine and Jubilee intercept her, eventually, and break her free from the Hand's control.
We then check up on Colossus and Dazzler. Colossus helps defend Jenny Ransome and Phil Monreau, while being haunted by an image of a beautiful model. Dazzler restarts her career and is stalked.
Then it's over to X-Factor. Apocalypse puts in an appearance with Caliban. Sabretooth goes on the hunt, looking to finish off the remaining Morlocks. As Archangel deals with both Caliban and Sabretooth, Bobby and Hank go on dates. And . . . Scott proposes to Jean!
She promptly turns him down, based on all the new memories she's absorbed. She can't help but feel as though Phoenix and Maddie's memories are pushing her into Scott's arms, forcing her to make a decision.
Jean goes back to the mansion, where Banshee and Forge are at, searching for the X-Men and the Calisto. They encouter Jean and rescue her, Colossus, and Callisto from Masque's Morlocks. It's a little wierd. Then, after an encounter with some Genoshans, our story ends.
The character spines on these stories are Wolverine and Jean, who share the spotlight. We ride with their emotions. Jean, as she struggles with Scott's proposal. Logan, as he continues to recover from the attack in Australia. While Colossus and Dazzler live pretty much normal - and fairly boring - lives, the others are far more interesting.
It's nice to see Forge's background explored a bit. I enjoy his team-up with Banshee. It's also nice to have Claremont writing Jean again. Locust shows up, which is worth a laugh. Psylocke's story is fairly mediocre. But Jim Lee's art is amazing.
~W~
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 35: "The Team Falls Apart"
The New Mutants # 75, X-Factor # 40, The Uncanny X-Men # 244, 245, Annual # 13, 246-255
It's the aftermath of "Inferno." Cyclops and Marvel Girl reunite the kidnapped children with their parents and are ultimately reunited with baby Nathan. The New Mutants and Magneto split ways for real this time, with the New Mutants rejecting Magneto once and for all, based mostly on his membership with the Hellfire Club.
Meanwhile, we have the X-Men . . .
What's there to say about this era of the X-Men? It's probably one of the more complicated periods, but also a very interesting one. The X-Men take some down time. Logan takes the guys out and they encounter some rather ridiculas aliens. Storm and the girls, in the meantime, are teleported to LA. Upon their return, a certain fireworks-generating, 13-year-old Mutant girl follows them. That's right - Jubliee. The former mallrat remains hidden in the vast underground complex of the X-Men's Australian town, helping the team out here and there. These stories are fairly light-hearted compared to what is coming.
Wolverine leaves on "personal business." While this could be - at first - seen as a simple out for his character to running off in his own solo series, it is in reality a set-up for what's to come a few issues later. So, sans Wolverine, the X-Men take on Master Mold in New York City. Master Mold, having merged with Nimrod, is almost unstoppable. As the robot battles the X-Men, he takes down Sharon Kelly - Senator Kelly's wife. To stop Master Mold, the X-Men pull out the gift from Roma - the Siege Perilous (sidenote: this is a jewel that, upon entering, a new life starts over with no memories of their past). It takes Rogue (with Carol Danvers in her head) entering the portal with Master Mold to defeat the monsterious robot.
The X-Men then return to Australia, where they are attacked by Nanny and the Orphanmaker (ugh). This is shortly after Longshot leaves to find himself. Havok, confused and just released from Nanny's mind control, blasts Nanny's ship out of the sky. But in doing so, he accidently kills Storm. With Storm dead, Wolverine out on personal business, Longshot gone, and Rogue MIA, the team heads down the Savage Land and deals with Polaris and Zaladane.
After helping them out, they return home . . . and then decide to enter the Siege Perilous themselves. Psylocke pushes them into doing this, as the Reavers, Donald Pierce, and Lady Deathstrike are about to overtake them. As of the moment the Siege Perilous closes up, the X-Men are gone.
As of "Uncanny X-Men" # 251, the X-Men have basically been disbanded. And beyond that, all of the X-teams are off the planet: Excalibur is thrown across alternate realities ("The Cross-Time Caper"); The New Mutants are in Asgard; and X-Factor are doing something with the Celestials.
In what is probably one of the best issues of X-Men thus far, Wolverine returns to the town and is beaten, captured, tortured, strung up, and eventually crucified by the aforementioned villians. This is a powerful and psychological story, tearing layers off of Wolverine, but still retaining his character. His own pulling himself off of the wooden 'X' is intense.
He and Jubilee then escape from the town, a beautiful friendship being born. The remaining X-allies (Forge, Freedom Force, Amanda Sefton, Banshee, Moria, Legion, and a few others) then gather on Muir Island to muster a defense against the on-coming assualt by the Reavers. There are casualties, including Destiny. Banshee and Forge then decide to head off to find the X-Men.
Little do they know that a young teenager looking just like Storm has appeared in Cairo, Illinois. And that the Shadow King is hunting her.
This is a remarkable era for the X-Men. Plot points are set-up early, allowing for the story to twist and surprise. Personal stories come to manifest. All of the characters are well-defined. Magneto, Wolverine, Mystique, Rogue, Longshot, and Havok all have great roles and get some nice development. The introduction of Jubilee is fun. Sometimes the occassional movie and television references can date the story, but the plot keeps it fresh enough.
The art is fantastic. Marc Silverstri has a way of drawing that just keeps it all clean and exciting. His work overshadows the occassional fill-in, including Rick Leonardi, Dan Green, and even the then-fresh Jim Lee. And no one draws Sentinels as well as Silverstri.
~W~
It's the aftermath of "Inferno." Cyclops and Marvel Girl reunite the kidnapped children with their parents and are ultimately reunited with baby Nathan. The New Mutants and Magneto split ways for real this time, with the New Mutants rejecting Magneto once and for all, based mostly on his membership with the Hellfire Club.
Meanwhile, we have the X-Men . . .
What's there to say about this era of the X-Men? It's probably one of the more complicated periods, but also a very interesting one. The X-Men take some down time. Logan takes the guys out and they encounter some rather ridiculas aliens. Storm and the girls, in the meantime, are teleported to LA. Upon their return, a certain fireworks-generating, 13-year-old Mutant girl follows them. That's right - Jubliee. The former mallrat remains hidden in the vast underground complex of the X-Men's Australian town, helping the team out here and there. These stories are fairly light-hearted compared to what is coming.
Wolverine leaves on "personal business." While this could be - at first - seen as a simple out for his character to running off in his own solo series, it is in reality a set-up for what's to come a few issues later. So, sans Wolverine, the X-Men take on Master Mold in New York City. Master Mold, having merged with Nimrod, is almost unstoppable. As the robot battles the X-Men, he takes down Sharon Kelly - Senator Kelly's wife. To stop Master Mold, the X-Men pull out the gift from Roma - the Siege Perilous (sidenote: this is a jewel that, upon entering, a new life starts over with no memories of their past). It takes Rogue (with Carol Danvers in her head) entering the portal with Master Mold to defeat the monsterious robot.
The X-Men then return to Australia, where they are attacked by Nanny and the Orphanmaker (ugh). This is shortly after Longshot leaves to find himself. Havok, confused and just released from Nanny's mind control, blasts Nanny's ship out of the sky. But in doing so, he accidently kills Storm. With Storm dead, Wolverine out on personal business, Longshot gone, and Rogue MIA, the team heads down the Savage Land and deals with Polaris and Zaladane.
After helping them out, they return home . . . and then decide to enter the Siege Perilous themselves. Psylocke pushes them into doing this, as the Reavers, Donald Pierce, and Lady Deathstrike are about to overtake them. As of the moment the Siege Perilous closes up, the X-Men are gone.
As of "Uncanny X-Men" # 251, the X-Men have basically been disbanded. And beyond that, all of the X-teams are off the planet: Excalibur is thrown across alternate realities ("The Cross-Time Caper"); The New Mutants are in Asgard; and X-Factor are doing something with the Celestials.
In what is probably one of the best issues of X-Men thus far, Wolverine returns to the town and is beaten, captured, tortured, strung up, and eventually crucified by the aforementioned villians. This is a powerful and psychological story, tearing layers off of Wolverine, but still retaining his character. His own pulling himself off of the wooden 'X' is intense.
He and Jubilee then escape from the town, a beautiful friendship being born. The remaining X-allies (Forge, Freedom Force, Amanda Sefton, Banshee, Moria, Legion, and a few others) then gather on Muir Island to muster a defense against the on-coming assualt by the Reavers. There are casualties, including Destiny. Banshee and Forge then decide to head off to find the X-Men.
Little do they know that a young teenager looking just like Storm has appeared in Cairo, Illinois. And that the Shadow King is hunting her.
This is a remarkable era for the X-Men. Plot points are set-up early, allowing for the story to twist and surprise. Personal stories come to manifest. All of the characters are well-defined. Magneto, Wolverine, Mystique, Rogue, Longshot, and Havok all have great roles and get some nice development. The introduction of Jubilee is fun. Sometimes the occassional movie and television references can date the story, but the plot keeps it fresh enough.
The art is fantastic. Marc Silverstri has a way of drawing that just keeps it all clean and exciting. His work overshadows the occassional fill-in, including Rick Leonardi, Dan Green, and even the then-fresh Jim Lee. And no one draws Sentinels as well as Silverstri.
~W~
Friday, June 02, 2006
Uncanny X-Periment # 34: "Inferno"
"Inferno" trade paperback
I need to be rather blunt about this. When it comes to Limbo, demons, the Soulsword and all that jazz . . . I feel like it has zero place in the X-Men's world. It's a hard fit, it's far too silly, and it's just not something I feel like the X-Men (and co.) should face down.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed "Inferno." But it wasn't because of the conflict, though. It's because of the fantastic character arcs.
There are two basic aspects to "Inferno." The first is the resolution of the "Illyana" sub-plot. The other is the resolution of the Maddie/Jean/Phoenix relationship. In many ways, this story wraps up an era that stretches back to "From the Ashes."
Without a purpose in life and seeking revenge on both Cyclops and Mr. Sinister, Maddie becomes the Goblyn Queen (because "Goblyn" with a "y" is so much more evil than with an "i") and goes to serve Limbo-demons Sym and N'Astirh. Meanwhile, Illyana is tricked by those two into being an "evil Illyana" and opening a portal into Limbo, releasing tons of their little Ghostbuster-esque minions. Luckily, Colossus helps his little sister and the minions are mostly defeated.
With the Limbo-demons on the run, the X-Men and X-Factor are reunited to battle it out with Maddie and N'Astirh. As the two teams take down N'Astirh, the truth about Maddie's existence is revealed.
Turns out that Maddie is a clone of Jean. She was created as a duplicate of Jean to mate with Scott and produce a super-powerful Mutant offspring. This was done in the absence of Phoenix/Jean. Phoenix, as it turns out, upon her death gave Maddie her memories. Sinister's plans were going well. With Jean out of the picture, he tossed Scott Maddie and the two had a baby. But then Jean, it turns out, came back and Scott left his wife and son. Sinister swept in, tried to kill Maddie, steal Nathan, and wipe out all existence of Maddie and Nathan.
So yeah, Maddie has gone crazy and wants to kill her son so as to release Limbo once again. The X-Men and X-Factor stop her as loyalties are bent against them. In the end, Jean recovers both Maddie's and Phoenix/Jean's memories and Maddie dies. The X-Men and X-Factor then go the mansion and battle it out with Sinister and the Maraduars.
Despite the complicated Jean/Maddie/Phoenix story and the story elements themselves, the heart of this crossover are the characters. You reall feel bad for Maddie. Scott (as I mentioned before) was a terrible husband and if he had stuck around, all of this would have been prevented. Jean, too, shines very nicely as a woman who is suddenly battling her own evil twin-thing.
Colossus and Illyana also serve as great emotional anchors. Dazzlor, Longshot, and some of the newer X-Men seem to shake things up with X-Factor. Despite that, however, the interaction between both teams is fantastic.
It's cool to see all these long subplots that have only really been touched on finally come to a massive conclusuion. A lot of stuff since "From the Ashes" - "Mutants Massacre," esspecially - to now have finally reached their ending point. And while the story itself is not the best, the characters are solid gold.
~W~
I need to be rather blunt about this. When it comes to Limbo, demons, the Soulsword and all that jazz . . . I feel like it has zero place in the X-Men's world. It's a hard fit, it's far too silly, and it's just not something I feel like the X-Men (and co.) should face down.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed "Inferno." But it wasn't because of the conflict, though. It's because of the fantastic character arcs.
There are two basic aspects to "Inferno." The first is the resolution of the "Illyana" sub-plot. The other is the resolution of the Maddie/Jean/Phoenix relationship. In many ways, this story wraps up an era that stretches back to "From the Ashes."
Without a purpose in life and seeking revenge on both Cyclops and Mr. Sinister, Maddie becomes the Goblyn Queen (because "Goblyn" with a "y" is so much more evil than with an "i") and goes to serve Limbo-demons Sym and N'Astirh. Meanwhile, Illyana is tricked by those two into being an "evil Illyana" and opening a portal into Limbo, releasing tons of their little Ghostbuster-esque minions. Luckily, Colossus helps his little sister and the minions are mostly defeated.
With the Limbo-demons on the run, the X-Men and X-Factor are reunited to battle it out with Maddie and N'Astirh. As the two teams take down N'Astirh, the truth about Maddie's existence is revealed.
Turns out that Maddie is a clone of Jean. She was created as a duplicate of Jean to mate with Scott and produce a super-powerful Mutant offspring. This was done in the absence of Phoenix/Jean. Phoenix, as it turns out, upon her death gave Maddie her memories. Sinister's plans were going well. With Jean out of the picture, he tossed Scott Maddie and the two had a baby. But then Jean, it turns out, came back and Scott left his wife and son. Sinister swept in, tried to kill Maddie, steal Nathan, and wipe out all existence of Maddie and Nathan.
So yeah, Maddie has gone crazy and wants to kill her son so as to release Limbo once again. The X-Men and X-Factor stop her as loyalties are bent against them. In the end, Jean recovers both Maddie's and Phoenix/Jean's memories and Maddie dies. The X-Men and X-Factor then go the mansion and battle it out with Sinister and the Maraduars.
Despite the complicated Jean/Maddie/Phoenix story and the story elements themselves, the heart of this crossover are the characters. You reall feel bad for Maddie. Scott (as I mentioned before) was a terrible husband and if he had stuck around, all of this would have been prevented. Jean, too, shines very nicely as a woman who is suddenly battling her own evil twin-thing.
Colossus and Illyana also serve as great emotional anchors. Dazzlor, Longshot, and some of the newer X-Men seem to shake things up with X-Factor. Despite that, however, the interaction between both teams is fantastic.
It's cool to see all these long subplots that have only really been touched on finally come to a massive conclusuion. A lot of stuff since "From the Ashes" - "Mutants Massacre," esspecially - to now have finally reached their ending point. And while the story itself is not the best, the characters are solid gold.
~W~
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