The X-men Thread (spoilers)

[murs47]

[spoiler]I loved the way he drew the baby. :rolleyes:
I did like his Warpath, however. That opening shot of Cable was pretty cool as well.

All in all, great issue! X out doing Deathstrike was awesome for me. Now we see that Beast and the kids were covered in blood from operating, and their sad look was from exhaustion. What a relief. :wacko:
[/spoiler]

[Talavar]

When I saw the cover...
[spoiler]
I thought X-23 vs. Deathstrike would be lame - another case of an uber new character outdoing the character she was based on.  But when Wolverine was simply dismissive of Deathstrike in a, 'I don't have time for this,' kind of way, and X taking revenge for Hellion, those 2 details turned it around for me.

Having Elixir still be knocked out when all these people are at death's door is kind of a cop-out/authorial fiat sort of thing though, and it's kind of bugging me.
[/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

Talavar, X-23 isn't really new anymore. She was introduced shortly after she appeared in X-men Evo...so she's been around for at least 4-5 years. Of course, that's still new in comparison to Cyclops or wolverine, but I wouldn't really call her uber.  She's slightly less uber than Wolverine...usually. Just slightly.   ^_^

[murs47]

I love X-23, by far my favorite character of the X-kids. Verbally blunt, deadly, and flat out weird sometimes. The struggle for redemption also adds to her even though we've seen this kind of thing in other characters already.

[Previsionary]

This issue was pretty good and it's nice to see all of X-force characters interacting and showing some characterization in some shape or form since many people worried that a bunch of feral characters would be way too...similar and a bad idea in general. Though, I hope by the next arc of the actual X-force book, they add some non-feral members just to create some diversity. Perhaps they can take on Rachel? With news of a new X book in the horizons--Young Mutants--I'm actually hoping that Laura ends up there instead of remaining with X-force; but that's just me.

[spoiler]And isn't our little cable so smart and resourceful? He really is cyclop's son.  ;)[/spoiler]

[murs47]

[spoiler]And isn't our little cable so smart and resourceful? He really is cyclop's son.  ;)[/spoiler]

He must be, if he can find good uses for Deadpool. Who I must say was pretty hilarious in this month's C&D issue.

[thanoson]

Hmm... maybe the kid is Cable's son.

[Previsionary]

New book came out friday and all reports seem to point out that it was majorly interesting (and the next issue helps answer certain questions), but I'm not gonna talk about that right now. Instead, I'm gonna talk about Marvel Spotlight: X-men.

Twas a fairly interesting read and it's nice to know that everyone involved actually did a lot of planning with this event and it really does have several ties into the X-men histories. Not to mention a bit of info was revealed about upcoming books and it seems X-men Legacy will finally attempt to answer some danglin' plot lines from the X-men's histories. Also:

Cyclops was always my favorite character. When I used to play Freedom Force years ago--the video game where you make up a team of superheroes-- eventually you could go online and download different characters to play. I'd have Cyclops and Darkseid [the classic Jack Kirby DC villain] on the same team!

So, what I'm getting at is...Ed Brubaker is one of us FF players...or was. Also...FF was mentioned in a marvel book. Free advertisement. :P

[MJB]

Ed Brubaker played FF? Nice.

-MJB

[murs47]

[spoiler]Bishop's a skrull![/spoiler]

:P

[Podmark]

Gotta wait 2 more weeks to get my books. Must avoid spoilers....

[AfghanAnt]

Reading the newest issue made me want to finish skinning Carey's team. God, that man is very good a story pacing.

[Podmark]

Preview of X-Men Legacy:
http://comicnewsi.com/article.php?catid=231&itemid=10936

I'm pretty excited about Legacy. I really enjoyed Carey's run and what I've heard about this book sounds interesting. Currently it's the only post MC book I'm sure I'll get.

[Talavar]

Well, I don't feel like doing a whole synopsis of the latest issue, but there's two things I'm sick of in X-men comics in general...

[spoiler]
1. Mystique being presented as an uber-hardcase.  Sure, she's sneaky, and can shapeshift to look like other people - but that's it.  She's got no powers, yet she seems to have easily defeated Iceman earlier, and now apparently killed Mr. Sinister, who has a couple of dozen powers.

2. Wolverine stabbing someone in the chest, someone without healing powers or enhanced durability, and that person apparently walking it off.  I mean, Gambit got skewered what, a day ago in story-time?  It sure doesn't seem to be slowing him down any.  I bet Lady Mastermind will wince slightly after this issue, and then be fine.  I'm not someone who wants Wolverine to be the ultimate hardcase, & beat anyone in a fight - but if you get stabbed through the chest with the equivalent of 3, foot long knives have the common courtesy to require some medical attention.

[/spoiler]

Despite my quibbles, a good issue, but I'm getting eager for some resolution.

[Previsionary]

Tal, about gambit:

[spoiler]You forget that he's been augmented by Apocalypse so his durability may have been increased...even though he returned to his old look. Regardless, Mr. Sinister couldve helped with his healing. That probably won't be the case with Mastermind unless she's cloned [I don't think sinister will be 'dead' long] or she used her illusion based powers to throw Wolvie's aim off.[/spoiler]

[Agent]

Well, I don't feel like doing a whole synopsis of the latest issue, but there's two things I'm sick of in X-men comics in general...

[spoiler]
1. Mystique being presented as an uber-hardcase.  Sure, she's sneaky, and can shapeshift to look like other people - but that's it.  She's got no powers, yet she seems to have easily defeated Iceman earlier, and now apparently killed Mr. Sinister, who has a couple of dozen powers.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler]In fairness, all that was shown was that Sinister is dead (or at least really, really , really, badly injured  :P) and presumably Mystique was somehow involved.  That doesn't necessarily mean she offed him all by herself.[/spoiler] 

Despite my quibbles, a good issue, but I'm getting eager for some resolution.

I agree.

[detourne_me]

[spoiler]I definately understand all the troubles with some people being hurt for a long time (hellion, nightcrawler forge, etc.) but yeah,, others are just walking off life threatening injuries...
i also don't understand why everyone went after cable in the first place....
regardless this is turning out to be really interesting, and i can't wait for new x-men to come out.

hey did they ever explain what happen to madrox's second dupe?  i'm assuming he traveled to cable's timeline, while tatoo dupe went to bishop's.[/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

For those that care:

X-force previews on Marvel/java

or

X-force Preview on Newsrama/no java

Your pick.

[Podmark]

[spoiler]I definately understand all the troubles with some people being hurt for a long time (hellion, nightcrawler forge, etc.) but yeah,, others are just walking off life threatening injuries...
i also don't understand why everyone went after cable in the first place....
regardless this is turning out to be really interesting, and i can't wait for new x-men to come out.

hey did they ever explain what happen to madrox's second dupe?  i'm assuming he traveled to cable's timeline, while tatoo dupe went to bishop's.[/spoiler]

The second dupe is going to be used in a story down the road. I believe in X-Factor.

I've also been enjoying the story. It's got it's flaws, but it's been good overall. The last X-Factor was one of my favorite issues.

[thanoson]

Wow, so that's how Mystique did it. Interesting. And this whole thing has been for what? Didn't see that coming at all.

[Previsionary]

I actually liked the result of Mystique's planning as it's ironic and it goes back to something Rogue and the x-treme x-men learned long ago when chasing Destiny's diaries:

[spoiler]Rogue realized that Destiny's Prophecies were only possibilities and that trying to follow them was more dangerous than ignoring them. --Wikipedia[/spoiler]

IIRC, Gambit missed that lesson as he was close to death after being speared.

Since I read x-factor/new x-men back to back, it read pretty good to me. I was hoping for a little more madrox/layla action, but I guess they're leaving that for X-factor to tie up. Also...poor poor

[spoiler]Vertigo. Eaten by predator X that's done nothing of note until the last few issues.[/spoiler]

Oh, all of you that thought Lady Mastermind was gonna just shrug off that claw...I think, you got your answer. I won't say I was right or anything but... ^_^

[Talavar]

An interesting, action paced book, though Mystique still bugs me.

And is it just me, or...
[spoiler]
Is it pretty clear that Kitty Pryde dies in Whedon's last Astonishing Arc?  I think we've seen every other X-man accounted for by this point, with Armour showing up briefly in this issue.  Still no Shadowcat though, so I'm assuming something major happens to her.   
[/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

[spoiler]Yeah, kitty's only shown up in the messiah complex one shot and no one seems to care that she's missing so I don't *think* she's dead. If she were, I'd expect some grieving for her by Colossus or Wolverine somewhere during their downtime or after this arc. Perhaps She and lockheed stay on that planet or teamup with agent brand.[/spoiler]

Anyway, Kitty will be in wolverine first class so you can get your dose of her there and the amazing New Exiles.  :rolleyes:

[Podmark]

Kitty hasn't been in the crossove at all, her last appearance were X-Men 204 and New X-Men 43 which was the night of the baby's birth. According to the handbooks the Astonishing arc takes place after the Acolytes attack on the Mansion in X-Men 202 or 203. So technically the timeline doesn't work out but obviously something happens with Kitty in Astonishing.

I really liked the lastest, and last, issue of New X-Men. Lots of action and some good twists. Can't wait for the ending.

[AfghanAnt]

So anyone else read 207 because I was actually shocked.

[Podmark]

So anyone else read 207 because I was actually shocked.

Yeah some pretty crazy stuff went down.

[Zippo]

[spoiler]Me too. I was just reading along, nice brisk pace. Y'know, sort of reading with the action, then BAM, and I just stopped and sat there for a good minute.
Overall I thought it was pretty exciting and everything, but did anybody else think right away that Cable taking the baby into the future is just an excuse for it to come back somewhere down the line either at New (or rather, Young) X-men age or fully grown?[/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

[spoiler]Me too. I was just reading along, nice brisk pace. Y'know, sort of reading with the action, then BAM, and I just stopped and sat there for a good minute.
Overall I thought it was pretty exciting and everything, but did anybody else think right away that Cable taking the baby into the future is just an excuse for it to come back somewhere down the line either at New (or rather, Young) X-men age or fully grown?[/spoiler]

It's been confirmed for a (few) month(s) that cable and the baby would be in a new solo book and bishop would be chasing them through time. So, I think that may be the plan...eventually. This post will be edited later on tonight after i read young avengers and astonishing. So... *wanders off*

BTW, should I change this thread's name considering the main event is over or should I leave it as is or what?

Edit:

[spoiler]Ok, the final issue was pretty good. Wasn't really plot heavy nor did it really tie anything up beyond disassembling the team, getting the baby into the future, and setting up the new status quos, but it was handled fairly well and it gives them quite a bit of stories to work with as you can see by podmark's link (plus previews posted throughout this thread). Thank the heavens that it was done much better than both of the avengers disassembled arcs. I'm glad Rogue finally woke up and I feel bad that as soon as she realized she finally had her mind to herself, she had already drained mystique. This opens up quite a few rogue plotlines, though I was looking forward to her having to deal with sinister's intense/psychotic psyche. This also leaves the question of what power(s) she has now.

To me, messiah complex was also kinda messy with some of the characters reappearing and dropping throughout the issues for no reason. It heavily focused on a few characters, and I can understand that, but I would've loved if more people would've gotten shine time. I can live with the decisions they made [otherwise I'd be dead now, no?], I just wish there were a little more consistency. Storm surprisingly wasn't a major player and her and Emma didn't even interact, Darwin appeared in one issue then never again, nothing was really explained with Rictor and he just stopped appearing (I assume x-factor will tie that up as well), and etc. were just some of the things that stick out to me.

The ending: I wasn't expecting that and I even found myself rereading that page. It just made me want to pick up X-men: Legacy more quickly than I already wanted to. Though, I'm wondering why the previews keep saying magneto is depowered. I thought he was repowered by the collective? Was it only temporary? Not to mention that the diary he has reconfirmed he was a mutant. Maybe he'll be fully repowered down the line. Anyway, it should be a good read.

Speaking of mutant powers, I hope Quicksilver reappears soon and plays a part in an upcoming storyline, preferably with X-factor. He can time travel now, so he could possibly be used to get Layla back considering their rivalry.

So overall, I would say Messiah Complex was a hit. Unlike so many marvel events, it kept me entertained all the way through and I was able to ignore a lot of errors in the books itself. Also, it amazingly came out on time EVERY WEEK! That's amazing for a marvel event book that's been super hyped. When was the last time that happened? Annihilation? [/spoiler]

So my overall rating for Messiah Complex: 7.2 or on the star scale, 3½ stars. It has its problems, but you can mostly overlook them. If you missed the event, I really suggest you pick up the trades. Yes, I did pull a Zulu. Can you blame me?


Astonishing X-men 24:

I didn't really like this issue as much as issue 23. I hope the annual is much better. It's hard seeing Kitty living past this, but she'll probably return later this or next year if she does die. Illyana was brought up, Rachel is still around, and hey; she could just go hang with Jean [in the white hot room] for a year. :P

[Podmark]

Call it the X-Men thread?

Also people might want to read this:
http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.2272.Divided_They_Stand%3A_X-Men_Declassified

[Previsionary]

Thanks for the name, Pod.  ;)

Anyway, most of that looks interesting though Wolverine is appearing all over the place. Looks like he gained his power to appear in several books a month back. I must say, I actually like emma's look as a flower child. I guess I'm finally softening up to her...for now. Plus, Angel is finally back in action, though I'm assuming he's no longer seeing Paige. Side-thought, what happened to the soulsword angel was wielding? Also, it's very nice to see Arcade make his return since he's been MIA for a long while. Finally, I'm glad to see that the New X-men/Young X-men are getting some new recruits, though I don't know how I feel about cyclops sanctioning them to kill.

On to Messiah Complex, what would you guys rate the whole event on a 10 point scale [1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest]?