The X-men Thread (spoilers)

[Previsionary]

Bah, I really was hoping things had changed around considering that's a large load for one subpar writer and his other book, Ultimates, is already months late (enter: the ultimates delayed curse). Whatever.

Ultimate X-men #94:

I don't feel like doing a long sumview today, so I'll just write a small summary and give a rating.

This issue was mostly about Colossus. His origins are explored a bit and a secret about him and his metal powers are revealed which causes a rupture between him and Jean (who's struggling with her powers and status among the team). Also, Ultimate Alpha flight made their appearance and came for their target which turns out not to be Wolverine like it usually is. At the end of the book, some mutants get power enhancements and go off to fight their newest foes, Alpha Flight! Oh, Iceman is in the book for like two pages but is generally useless...kinda like his 616 version is from time to time. Sadness.  :rolleyes:

Overall, I'd give this issue a 3.5. Much better than most of the kirkman issues, but it highlighted several problems that the ultimate marvel team needs to address. There's toooo many X-men at the X-mansion and inviting Alex and his friends made it much worse to show all the action during the x-men/alpha flight showdown. 25 good mutants vs. 5 threats could've been quite a showdown if all the action wasn't so jammed together and in a small space at the X-mansion. Besides that, several mutants didn't even show up despite being part of the team such as Toad, Psylocke, Pyro, Lorna (who's been missing for awhile really), etc.

[Podmark]

X-Force #4 came out today :D

[spoiler]Elixir heals Rhane but upon seeing Angel she attacks and eats his wings and leaves to return to the Purifiers. Risman has enlisted the Facility (makers of X-23 and Predator X) to extract Apocalypse's technology from the wings they retrieve from Rhane. They use it to create the Choir which appears to be an army of Archangels...to go along with their Robot from the future, Magus technology, Cyborg Zombies, and army of merciless religious soldiers. Meanwhile Elixir tells X-Force that he can't heal Angel's wings back because they weren't actually biological and that they were part of Apocalypse's technology just as the metal wings were (some more explanation on this might be necessary), Angel then goes through an agonizing transformation back into his blue skinned, metal wings Archangel personae.

I loved this issue. It's actually very frightening in a way, and would make an awesome transition to a film version. The art fits prefectly, Crain sets the mood just right. And the latest developments make me yet again go "how on earth can X-Force (3 X-Men with claws) beat the Purifiers??" Yost and Kyle are creating one of the most credible threats I've ever seen reading comics and I can only hope that the rest of the story will live up to the setup.

But I have some issues. One is that maybe not enough happened, but the mood and execution is so good I never noticed. Second is Elixir depiction. He's not golden in this, and instead just glows gold when he heals. This doesn't fit with what we last saw of him, however returning to his original pre-gold form is certainly possible in the context of his powers. But I liked him gold. My other complain is that there's no X-Force #5 next month :( it's going to a long wait.  [/spoiler]

I've been loving this series and I give this issue a 9/10. I was a big fan of Yost and Kyle's New X-men and was disappointed they left (which ended that title), but honestly X-Force totally makes up for it.

I'll probably post about Legacy later.

[Previsionary]

thanks for the post, pod. Marvel.com said no comics were coming out until the 29th so I didn't even buy any. You can post reviews to all the X-comics if ya plz. You know you want to. *hypnotizes podmark* :P

[spoiler]So archangel is actually back, eh? I guess it makes sense since, iirc, his old wings just grew back on his back and everyone just accepted it as his old wings without any thoughts about apocalypse...I dunno.[/spoiler]

[Podmark]

Comics are out Thursday in the US. But up here in Canada we got em Wednesday.

Just read Legacy
[spoiler]Gambit saves Xavier and then the two go to the hospital to find out about Carter Ryking's death. Then they travel out to the desert to see the power plant that Charles parents worked at (least I think that's the deal) where they are again attacked by assassins and Xavier has a flashback that seems to reveal he was experimented on by Sinister as a kid.

Well this was better than last issue, but it's a weak read. Arts fine, but too much of the story is filled up by seemingly irrelevant flashbacks. Plots not that interesting either but the Sinister tag intrigues me. I'll make a final decision when previews come out but this might be my last issue of Legacy for the time being. I gave it more leeway when Magneto, Omega Sentinel and the Acolytes were involved, and Gambit helped this issue but it's not enough. I'd probably give it a 5/10. It's not terrible, but its just not interesting enough. Carey can do better.  [/spoiler]

Didn't get Uncanny or Astonishing. Got New Warriors and it's as bad as the rest of the arc has been. I'm just holding on til the Counter Force issues (loves me some Old School New Warriors) then I'm done with this book barring some unforeseen awesomeness. Warriors was probably a 3 or 4 out of 10, but I like Medina's art (even though this is a weaker effort on his part). Grievoux is just terrible, he needs to go. His Young Avengers issue wasn't much better.

[Previsionary]

You probably won't like legacy because it's so continuity heavy. It really seems like a book for the hardcore fan with a lot of x-men/xavier knowledge and those people don't really exist in today's time. I assume New Warriors isn't trying to tie into Secret Invasion to boost its sales because the last sales numbers I saw were...really bad. *accepts that jubilee is going back into limbo*

I really really wish you'd have grabbed astonishing just so I could get a clue as to how this 2 year long story ended and what happened to Buffy...I mean Kitty. I guess I'll try to sumview it and angel: revelation later...some ultimate spidey might slip in too...if I love it enough. :D

BTW, when did divided we stand #2 come out? Last week? Blah, I think I might have missed picking it up.

[Silver Shocker]

As the mantra goes

I.....AM......JUSTICE CANADIAN!

I really really wish you'd have grabbed astonishing just so I could get a clue as to how this 2 year long story ended and what happened to Buffy...I mean Kitty.

I was this close to picking up the Giant Size Astonishing Man-Thing (I mean X-Men) but didn't really feel like it by the time I got to the store. But I'm by no means a regular follower of Astonishing anyway. The Buffy comment is kinda funny because Wheadon has cited Kitty Pryde as an source of inspiration for some of his strong female characters, among them Buffy.

[Podmark]

You probably won't like legacy because it's so continuity heavy. It really seems like a book for the hardcore fan with a lot of x-men/xavier knowledge and those people don't really exist in today's time.

I hardly have an encyclopedia like knowledge of the X-Verse but I love continuity and am totally willing to look up stuff, but the Legacy flashbacks just don't seem relevant enough. That wouldn't bother me that much if the present story seemed more interesting but currently it doesn't. I really wanted this book to be good too. I love Carey's approach to X-Men.

BTW, when did divided we stand #2 come out? Last week? Blah, I think I might have missed picking it up.

Yeah that was last week. I got it, so here's some quickie off the top of head spoilers:
[spoiler]Beast does cleanup duty at the Mansion, destroying files and whatnot, then closes shop.
Magik recaps her situation and laments how she wants to rejoin her loved ones. She returns to the Mansion only to find it abandoned and returns to Limbo thinking she can only get her soul back by stealing more souls like she did with Pixie.
Havok is imprisoned, Vulcan tells him a version of the events of Messiah Complext to demoralize him but instead it gives Alex hope.
Forge can't remember how to rebuild his time machine after Bishop steals his plans and components and goes after Cable.
Surge goes to see Dani looking for advice on how to handle everything she's been through, but doesn't like what she's told.

I found this issue was weaker than the first, but the Beast story was great and reminds why I love Carey's work even though it is sometimes hit or miss.[/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

Then I shall pass on Divide #2 as not even the stories I would be interested in are worth buying right now.

I have read Legacy and I liked it for the most part. Nothing really happened beyond Gambit entering the story and them being chased the whole time, so there's not really much to say about it without going deep into the overall story. I can see how you wouldn't like all the flashbacks because they don't serve to "this issue's" plot (don't know how it'll pan out since the flashbacks did answer questions and such which may be relevant later), but I  kinda see it as a unique take on writing someone with memory issues. In real life, our thoughts and flashbacks aren't always so logical and linear so I can appreciate Carey trying to write out his scenes like that. It just seems like Xavier is reflecting on a lot and his flashbacks are trying to...reflect/represent that without really adding much to the story, but it does add a bit to the character. I guess I'm trying to say that I don't know how else he could write a 12 issue reflection story with a partial amnesiac psychic while trying to move a plot simultaneously. I only really appreciate it because he's trying something that hasn't been done in awhile with a character that's not well liked at all in the comic community.

My only real problem is that he keeps introducing stuff and then never following up on it for issues on end. I can barely remember the plot of this story (as is the problem with long arcs) as is so don't bombard me with a new subplot/teaser every issue and then take forever getting back to it. What was the point of showing me Rogue last issue if I haven't seen her again? Was it to let me know her whereabouts and that's it? Why did I need to see Juggernaut in his hideout? Is it to let me know he's still in his suit and pretty much shut off from the world after Excalibur and WWH? I guess I'd appreciate it much better in trade when I can read it all at once.

[No rating]

*Sidenote*

[spoiler]I hear news that Lady Mastermind is still alive (credited to something Carey said apparently), so I think it'd be interesting if a certain uncanny villain and her meet up again.[/spoiler]

Giant Size Astonishing X-men #1:

Ok people, I'm gonna say it, I'm gonna shout it, I'm gonna take a picture and commemorate it. OH MY GAH, THIS BOOK IS FINALLY OUT AND WHEDON'S RUN IS OVER AFTER TWO WHOLE YEARS OF A LONG, DRAWN OUT STORY! Now that that silliness is out of the way, let's move on to the story. First, let's do a minor catch up.

The X-men traveled to the Breakworld directly after the Emma storyline ended to take care of Ord and Colossus's legacy. The team pulls off a brilliant plan to take down the big bads by sending Cyclops into space to die and sending the other X-men to other assorted areas to take down the main headquarters. Last issue, several months back now, we were left with a huge cliffhanger and rumors that Kitty was going to die. Let's see what went down. I'm going to mention this now: I won't go into my usual depth with this review.

[spoiler]
-The cover alone let's you know this will be a big crossover single issue book. Yay for more guest characters to keep up with.

-The first page starts with Spider-man. His "voice" seems to channel the old spidey before BND. Anyway, three of the X-men—Storm, NC, and Iceman (surprise)—appear before him and warn him that something is coming. Cue the giant mechanical demonic thing floating above them. It's a broken sentinel they use for transportation apparently.
   -I want to note that some of the voices seemed a bit off for these characters. I'll give Whedon a break since he hasn't worked with any of these characters.

-Next page, we see most of Marvel's big guns standing around in a room trying to figure out what's going on and warpath notes that the mutants are always the last to know anything even when it's affecting their own people.

-Random scene with Kitty still in the space bullet asking God for help. We then shift to Colossus confronting the big bad (Aghanne, the person the X-men originally thought was good) and threatening to pull the core to fulfill his "destiny".

-Emma actually punches someone! This isn't important at all, but I'm very accustomed to Emma just standing around like wallpaper during fights. I'm surprised.

-Agent Brand makes a joke about not being ganged raped and shows off her glowing fist again.

-Kitty is still laying around and I assume Dr. Strange is trying to teleport himself and the others to her. Strange is fried (most useless sorcery ever these days) and Ironman suggest doing things the old school way.
   -I must note that thing and reed are drawn oddly. Reed looks like a very old man in some of his scenes.

-Colossus is getting his tail kicked because he refuses to pull the core. The big bad refuses to accept this and will use colossus's arms himself to pull and drop the core!

-Agent Brand is hot for the furry man beast known only as Hank McCoy...freak.

-Ord breaks into the reactor and attacks Aghanne once he finds out the truth. He successfully helps Colossus overcome the foe but he basically sacrificed himself.

-Reed does a usually Reed action and stops the giant bullet in space by sending it into the negative zone. Now they must save Kitty.
   -very odd scene with everyone drooling...very odd. Even old Pixie was drooling. Freaks.

-Ironman, Sentry, and Spidey stop the bullet while Kitty and Emma discuss the situation telepathically. Kitty reveals she won't make it out since the bullet is affecting her. Poor Buffy. Stuck in the cage she saved Colossus from. Irony.

-Odd scene of Spidey punching Storm and them arguing over it...then more drooling

-Colossus confronts the powerlord and tells him to reveal the weakness/design flaw in the bullet. Wolverine then cuts off his arm and Colossus threatens he'll rule breakworld. Brand then says that if Earth is destroyed, they'll need somewhere to stay and he (powerlord) doesn't want a bunch of angry super people on his planet.

-More Kitty/Emma dialogue about what was supposed to happen. Emma tells Kitty that something should be in the bullets path in mere seconds: enter demonic robot thing. Big explosion. It doesn't work. Goodbye Earth

-Kitty asks for strength and begins to phase the giant Bullet through Earth. Colossus is told Kitty may never come back by Cyclops and Emma (scene shift) in the X-mansion.

-Kitty is said to have bonded with the bullet...

-Emma cries over Kitty. Aww, she has a heart.

-Armor punches a grieving Wolverine to stop him from becoming poetic and says, "You need to grieve, I need to train". I'm liking her more already.

-Beast and Brand talk, Beast tells her he's certain he hates her. Brand is happy to hear that...on the job. Off, she wants to break him like a pony...freak.
  -We find out she's part alien on her father's side...who was also blue

-Cyclops eyes begin to glow red again and emma gives him his visor while exchanging ILYs...sick. This probably hints at emma giving him temporary control...dunno.

-A few shots of the aftermath and Colossus is walking around holding his heart and thinking of Kitty. End!

-The next few pages are just variant covers. [/spoiler]

I really didn't plan on giving out that much info but, a lot did happen and some of it confused me. I'll have to reread it before I can give a clear rating or any real thoughts. I mean, the long delay and the general confusion this issue caused me is just making it very hard to give a definite review or rating at all. I guess most of my problems come from being tired, but the drooling scenes caught me a little off-guard. I don't know if that was some magical backlash or just general oddness.

[No Rating]


More to come later...I guess. Also, I might edit the astonishing review when I'm more awake...yeah.

[Previsionary]

Ok, I'm just gonna do a new post since the astonishing one was pretty long and I don't want to actually see that review until I have time to reread the issue and make sense of some of the stuff that broke my brain. The more I actually look at the review, the more my opinion begins to lower so, moving on.

Uncanny X-men #498:

Many of you are finding this filler arc (a 5 issue long san fran arc is really out there, imo. A 3 parter + 2 parter or 5 one part issues dealing with several members of the team would've been much more appealing to me) boring and to that I say, you got two more issues to go before #500.  Suck it up and let's take a look at what happened.

In the last issue, Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler were captured by someone in Colossus's past while Cyclops and Emma battle off the police the goddess sent after them.

[spoiler]The book starts by addressing that the goddess first appeared around the ending to House of M—when the mutants began disappearing off the face of the earth. We meet up with Eli (see last issue) who's talking to a man on the street about naivety, drug use, and being judgmental. While talking, the woman in their small little trio sees a woman on sitting near a wall rambling on about her inability to feel or hear "them". She apparently has amnesia and can't remember anything nor does she know anything. This is where her powers first show themselves and begins to change the world around her. Eli invites the woman to his home while his two friends stand in the street and wonder what just happened (or if they're tripping). Over several days, the goddess begins to change everything around her. After months, the people knew she was going to change the whole city. Flashback to the present and this is where we find out the goddess's real identity. Martinique...lady mastermind's sister.

Back in Russia, Wolverine is being electrocuted to force Colossus to talk. The X-men's captor warns he won't stop until Colossus reveals his secrets and Colossus says, "I'm sure he can take it". The man then reveals that he cares for mutants and they were highly useful until they all began losing their powers. He initially believed Russia was being targeted until he received reports that it was happening all over the world. He wonders how the X-men survived the brunt of the attack. The man then wonders if the X-men engineered M-day.

The man did reveals Kurt and tells him he will receive the same torture as Wolverine and if he tries to escape, 10,000 volts will surge through every cell of his body. Colossus still refuses to talk, so a gun is shot closed ranged at his head, nearly missing him because he teleported, and hit a fellow comrade. Kurt is then electrocuted, but he uses the machine he's tied to release Wolverine before passing out. You can imagine what happens next.

The old man that held the X-men captive runs away as Wolverine and the gang follow. After a few random guards are disposed of, Wolverine + gang are shocked to see the man they're chasing slammed into a wall by a pair of tentacles and dying before them. Welcome the return of Omega Red.

Back in San Fran, Cyclops and Emma are still following the path to the goddess using emma's telepathy. Emma comments that it's become too easy now compared to earlier and that worries her. We then get a scene of Running Sun (Warpath) and Frosty (ICEMAN! YAY). *sidenote: If I read one more "love" from emma or scott...I will destroy them* Iceman and Warpath seem to be under mind control along with Lady Kitten (Skunk! Hepzibah) and Angel (...angel). THE END.

Next issue, 4 vs. 2 X-fight and the conclusion to the Omega red showdown. [/spoiler]

Well, this issue was fine for what it is. I liked that more focus was given to Colossus and his story as opposed to the goddess and Cyclops. It's an even 3 and the people that are bored of it, will probably still by bored by it. Still a good issue though if nothing else.

[Talavar]

Well, Astonishing X-men was pretty good, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't realized the ending 5 months ago.

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]

Basically, what happened was exactly what I figured would happen. 

As to Uncanny X-men, the Wolverine/Colossus/Nightcrawler stuff is great; the hippy stuff is lame.  It makes for an odd storyline, but it's not terrible by any means.

[Silver Shocker]

Pre, I'm not gonna lie to you, half of that didn't make any sense to me. [spoiler]Why is everybody drooling? What, are they hot for Reed or something? Why the sweet heck would Spidey punch out Storm? What, is Spidey a woman-hating jerk now? You lost me. Brand wanting to jump Hank's bones intrigues me though. I loves me the Beast but that's pretty bizarre and kinda ick. I'm positive those two characters didn't get along at all in previous Astonishing X-Men issues (I seem to recall Beast jokingly considering eating her just out of sheer dislike of her) [/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

Pre, I'm not gonna lie to you, half of that didn't make any sense to me. [spoiler]Why is everybody drooling? What, are they hot for Reed or something? Why the sweet heck would Spidey punch out Storm? What, is Spidey a woman-hating jerk now? You lost me. Brand wanting to jump Hank's bones intrigues me though. I loves me the Beast but that's pretty bizarre and kinda ick. I'm positive those two characters didn't get along at all in previous Astonishing X-Men issues (I seem to recall Beast jokingly considering eating her just out of sheer dislike of her) [/spoiler]

I told you i read it late and i was gonna reread it...I just avoided editing the review because everytime i saw it, my opinion of whedon's ending kept dropping.

What basically happened is, Dr. Strange's attempt to get into the giant bullet Kitty was trapped in sent a magical backlash into every heroes mind and they all thought they were stopping the bullet. Spider-man broke the trance over himself and punched storm to break her trance (some nice dialogue was shared if it makes up for it). He then went around punching everyone else to save them. I assume the random drooling scenes was to indicate all the heroes being in a dream state.

Beast and Brand got a bit closer in Breakworld as they shared sometime alone in a cave. Beast still isn't really fond of her, but from reports, I think she and Beast are dating by the time Secret Invasion rolls around.

Finally, I would like to mention that this giant sized issue with all these cameos was totally pointless. Not only did all the cameo heroes just stand around and be totally useless, they didn't even add to the story.

Now, I'm gonna rant a bit so you all know why my opinion dropped after I read the final issue. This book took several years to get to this point and the wait time was ridiculous. When it got to the point where all the other X-books had to hold back on their stories to keep Astonishing's plot safe, then it became beyond ridiculous. The way Buffy, I mean Kitty, was trapped in a giant bullet that Dr. Strange couldn't penetrate, it really dwindled the number of options to bring her back unless she runs into a space team, Rachel, or Jean out there.  It also proves the point that writers don't know what to do with dr. strange because he fails much more than he wins lately. He's sorcerer supreme...show him as that or don't use him in the story. He's not the only mage around.

Not only did it take forever to get to whedon's ending, but he didn't even tie up plots he introduced THIS arc. Danger made a deal with Emma that apparently didn't go through, but she was only in one scene. Lockheed wasn't mentioned at all. Everyone got over Emma's weirdness and Casandra wasn't really mentioned. What emma did to give Cyclops temporary control over his powers and why she never tried it before wasn't brought up...just a bunch of danglers that probably should have gotten some type of resolution...but playing with cameos half the story and seeing Kitty on the floor of a bullet struggling was much more important.

So yes, I enjoyed a few arcs of Whedon's story and a few individual stories/issues, but I think I'm at the point now that I don't want Whedon to touch an X-book for a good long while because he got severely messy near the end.  Rant over...also, there's a few more x-books that haven't got reviewed so I may add those later.

[Previsionary]

Ultimate Spider-man #122-

It's ultimately just a filler issue until the return of venom which will finally begin the process of tying the game back into continuity like it was originally planned to be. I will say this is a great issue and really gave ultimate shocker some much needed development that he even lacks in the 616 verse where he's rarely used and probably won't be seen for a long time. Go out...buy it...read it. 4 out of 5.

[spoiler]*sidenote* Secret identities don't last forever in this universe...maybe they need mephisto.[/spoiler]

X-men First Class #12-

This is the all angel issue. I don't know if you guys know this, but I really liked Angel in his heyday right up until the end of X-factor. Then he just became fairly uninteresting and mostly a flying scouts man who hooked up with that girl known as Paige Guthrie...who he no longer mentions to my delight.

[spoiler]Anyway, this issue mainly focuses on Angel in search of his favorite relative who went missing in Brazil. Jean also is featured heavily and we get to see Angel's parents for the first time in this book. It seems that Angel's aunt went to a waterfall and went inside the "Devil's Throat" which turns out to be a secret passage into a city called "The Land of Mists". It's an interesting city where all the people have seen strange things and a mutant doesn't surprise them in the least bit. They also don't shake hands in this city and say hello by kissing. Eventually, the x-men arrive to save Angel, or so they think, and find out he's in paradise and doesn't want to return home.[/spoiler]

I rate this issue yet another 3. Not a bad issue, not a good one, just walking the borderline like most of the other issues. The backup issue was *cute* and was also Warren centric.

MK Angel: Revelations #1-

This book is supposedly the origins of Angel retold so I assume it will include his heroic career before joining the x-men. Origin books for the X-men really worry me because they fail more often than not. The latest failure, imo, that comes to mind is Colossus: Origins (which I didn't buy) which totally made him into something he's not. However, I will give  this and Jean Grey's book an honest shot because...I like them. Moving on...

I'll start off by saying this book has some interesting art that I wasn't expecting to see. I'm always glad when any mainstream company takes risks and tries out art that isn't super realistic, bright, and colorful. Something about this art really builds that atmosphere around it and it kept reminding me of a cartoon or something I used to watch earlier in my life. I can't think of the name right now, but I give the book 1 bonus point for even making me remember stuff I've long forgotten.

[spoiler]
The book opens with a preacher or priest praying to God. He's off to meet a woman who wants him to see her little daughter. Apparently she has a problem with her hands continuously bleeding. The bleeding began six months ago and she also has dreams about a boy with fire in his eyes (Cyclops) and snowman (bobby), and a boy that has wings (Angel).

The book then goes into the actual story. Warren is back in Vermont competing in a high jump competition with his teammates (The St. Joe Knights). Not only did he break the school's record, but also his stats are Olympic worthy. This alarms his coach and Warren informs him that he's never taken steroids in his life and maybe he should be more concerned with his teammates lackluster performances. I'll let you figure out how well that went with his friends.

Skip forward a few pages, Warren writes his parents a letter telling them he's afraid that he may be dying. Not only is he losing weight, but he's becoming faster, more agile, and stronger. Not to mention those huge bruises on his shoulder. Point is, he wants to come home and he's really scared.

We then zoom back to the priest talking to the little girl. She informs him about Angel a bit more and says he's "worthy". His name...it's "worthy". After getting all this information, the little girl is silenced with a BLAM and so is her mother. I have a minor issue with this scene, but I'm letting it pass. However, I'm slightly tired of the violent religious figures.

We're left off at a scene with Angel waking up and finding a feather on the floor in shock.[/spoiler]

This book...I liked it. It's an interesting setup that I wouldn't expect and I especially like that Warren is finally getting some more attention which may make him a relevant and 'top-billing' in the X-universe again. Not only is his original origin story pretty vague compared to the others, but this may play up as to why his original name was "The Avenging Angel". I rate it 4 out of 5.  3 out of 5 without the bonus point. I would advise people to wait on the trade, but it's way to early to suggest that *looks at wolverine*.

Wolverine FC #3-

You know, almost every week I write this little corny intro before I sumview a book. I think I'm gonna skip that for this issue. That's right, I'm not gonna make an inane little intro. You can sue me if you'd like, but those things are hard to continuously come up with. They're like...hard! With that said, I don't know why this is named wolverine first class or who it's really aiming at. The old school fans will be a bit happy since this was when wolverine wasn't annoying, but he's not nearly as violent in this book, so the kids can buy it and enjoy it as well. Violence is a vital part of wolverine, but ok. Anyway, this should be named "Kitty" or something since everything is from her POV...I'm just saying. Intro...over. *Bows*

[spoiler]Onto the actual book, Wolverine and Kitty travel to Wundagore to see if Magneto is anywhere near the vicinity. Two locals warn them that going there is hazardous to any God-fearing man and they should turn back. Wolverine and Kitty decide to go ahead anyway and we get our first shot of Cyclops (flashback) since the series began.

A few panels later, the duo manage to make it into the town. Before they can even check out the scenery, they're attack by a knight riding a mechanical transportation device. Wolverine takes care of him in typical wolverine fashion and crashes into a tree. Seconds later, he crashes into a window and is taken out of action. The second knight (whom I should've pointed out earlier) then goes for Kitty (who's hair magically grew longer for a few scenes) and she passes through the object with no problems and short circuits it.

Wolverine then re-emerges and goes right for the downed second knight and plans to make him pay. Kitty stops him and we find out the knight is just a talking rhinoceros. Wolverine, in inner monologue, scolds himself for not maintaining his rage. Seconds later, a bunch of hiding wundagorians appear and alert Wolverine and Kitty about a man with a cape levitating metal around in a cave. Wolverine decides to check it out and he sends Kitty to the X-jet to wait for the other "kids".

Wolverine and Bova (Bessie the cow) head towards the cave and stare at the round table of the Knights of Wundagor. Bova points out that Wolverine resembles Gulo who evolved from a wolverine. Seconds later, a lost wundagorian (who's been modified) attacks Wolverine and spits in his face (MYSTIQUE!). Wolverine easily subdues the reptilian beast until he begins to run for the sword of wundagore. Wolverine snatches it first and the high evolutionary is summoned.

Back to Kitty, she reaches the X-jet and notices a bunch of fallen men. She notes that two of them must be the men from earlier and that the jet's defenses didn't get them at all. Also, someone stole their radio. Outside, an opossum wundagorian watches from a nearby tree.

Back with Wolverine, the high evolutionary de-evolves the beast and questions Bova and Wolverine. H.E. then removes Wolverine's rage and knights him. Skip back to Kitty reaching the cave (another entrance I suppose) and being tricked into a trap by a lemur evolution. She's zapped by a ray beam just as Wolverine figures out that the missing villagers from Wundagore are being Re-evolved into new creatures. Upon seeing the purple caped figure, Wolverine figures out that the figure isn't wolverine, but is infact...MAN-BEAST! The last scene is Kitty finding wolverine and she's half dog...or cat...she's furry.[/spoiler]

And that was part 1. I really don't have a coherent thought on this issue. It's ok for what it is, so I guess it's another 3 out of 5. The art is fine and I guess I'd rank it over X-men first Class. The only thing that bothers me is that this could have easily been, "Kitty and the new class" or "X-men: New Class" or "X-men: Second Class" and worked in the New X-men because I liked them as a whole more so than just Kitty and Wolverine tales. That can only go so far without involving the other X-men.

[Silver Shocker]

I told you i read it late and i was gonna reread it...I just avoided editing the review because everytime i saw it, my opinion of whedon's ending kept dropping.

I didn't mean that you explained it poorly, I'm sure your explanation of it was pretty good seeing as you didn't seem to understand it yourself, it's just it sounded like some of the actual writing in the story was jimmies-to-the-wall ridiculous. I think I may have read fanfic that made more sense than that.

Yeah, I'm kinda happy I declined to pick it up last week in the shop as it doesn't sound like it would have been worth my money, plus reading a story built around "Sorry, Kitty's gone, there's no bringing her back" probably would have made me a bit sad as I have fond memories of reading the original Claremont stories (yaknow back when he was still sane) reprinted through the Essential line, including the first stories with Kitty Pryde.

It's funny about Dr. Strange. In Avengers Dissasembled he was a complete deus ex machina, explaining everything, wrapping the threat with his powers while making the Avengers look even more like chumps than they already were in the story. Now he shows up in an X-Men story and it's "I cannot help you." I guess we now know why the X-Men usually stick to thier own little corner of the Marvel U, eh?

Something I think is worth noting is though I havn't read any of SI I've looked at previews of the book and found that Bendis' version of Brand seems WAY too nice, compared to Wheadon's surly, snappy version. I'd almost figure he did it so Maria Hill would look more unfriendly in comparison, either that or I'd guess Bendis didn't read any of Wheadon's run of X-Men. However the way you described that issue, maybe she actually is nicer now.

[Silver Shocker]

Ultimate Spider-man #122-

It's ultimately just a filler issue until the return of venom which will finally begin the process of tying the game back into continuity like it was originally planned to be. I will say this is a great issue and really gave ultimate shocker some much needed development that he even lacks in the 616 verse where he's rarely used and probably won't be seen for a long time. Go out...buy it...read it. 4 out of 5.

Well, it's not an X-Book, but I'm glad you summerized it anyway, it's kinda cool to hear that Ultimate Shocker is getting a little respect. I remember fondly how much of a running gag he was in the book. I dropped Ultimate Spidey a fews ago after the really dragged out Venom and Carnage arcs but I've kinda missed it lately and have been considering picking up a few recent issues.

*sidenote* Secret identities don't last forever in this universe...maybe they need mephisto.

LOL. "Ultimate Brand New Day"

[Previsionary]

I like ultimate spidey enough to break the rules, dannit. :P Not only that, but Kitty was a moderate part of the story and she is an ex-X-man...so...the story applies, or something. I think my favorite X-story of this week was easily the angel solo book.

[Previsionary]

K, x-fans, check out Nick Lowe interview and Greg pak interview for what's to come for the x-men in the upcoming months. I'd just like to note that bishop has horrible luck. I don't think Peter Parker should complain anymore about his luck when his colleagues have it worse than him...ouch.

Cable #4-

We pick up on the finally moving plot where we left off...with the arrival of an old friend from Cable's past. I don't have a real intro for this, so I'll keep the actual summary short.

[spoiler]Bishop escapes his capturers and goes back to where he last fought Cable and confirms he's gone. He then goes into the restaurant and asks everyone if they know where cable is in an aggressively Bishop fashion. Meanwhile, Cannonball alerts Cable that he's one of the remaining mutants (also, last X-man) and he only found Cable because of using the remains of cerebra. Bishop eventually tracks down Cable and Sam/Cannonball stays behind to keep him occupied as Cable and the waitress high-tail it out of there. Scene shift to Sam and Bishop having a showdown as the two air their beliefs and hurl insults. I'll just say the ending to the fight made me hate Bishop more than I already did.[/spoiler]

It was an okay issue and it was at a much better pace than the first two issues. We got a little info on the world Cable and Bishop are occupying even though the story didn't progress very far at all. I'm really just holding out on this arc because X-force and Cyclops will be appearing soon and Bishop will get his just dessert. So, if I have to rate it, it's an even 2...out of 5.

Ultimate Origins #1-

The Bendis book the ultimate universe has been waiting for! The origins of the universe and certain characters that populate it. What could be better than this other than a sub-sandwich? Well...? Let's take a gander at what happens:

[spoiler]The book starts off with Spider-man being confronted by a crazy guy. "It's all connected!" he screams to a confused Peter Parker. Turns out crazy guy is Bruce Banner and the military is hunting him down (like a typical Saturday night for this guy) again. As the military men persist in trying to obtain Banner as Spidey tries to calm everyone down, Banner suddenly turns into the Hulk and hops across the city towards New Jersey.
We then get a flashback to 1942 during WWII, as the first super soldier tries to take out the opposition and ends up dead during the same page. The super soldier project was a bust. A year later, we're still in the war and we get out first scene of Wolverine as James Howlett. He and a couple other soldiers are in a home ransacking it. They're soon found out and one of the soldiers makes a run for it, but is quickly taken care of. I'll note that one of the soldiers was Fisk.

Shift ahead a few pages and we find Fury being picked out of jail for a special experiment. Whatever the scientists injected into his body makes him extraordinarily hot and he soon explodes. He doesn't die though, but he does manually take out the rest of his capturers before releasing all the other prisoners and escaping. As the scientists and military men recoup, we shift to a scene of a nude wolverine in a test tube. I think you know what this means...

Moving on, Wolverine escapes into the cold wilderness with the military grunts following him. He's eventually shot and is believed dead. We then get the first scene of his healing powers activating. Wolverine is dragged back into the base and we shift back to a scene with a scientist explaining wolverine's mutated DNA. That's right, people, in the ultimate universe...the mutant gene was created while they were trying to create a super soldier. They got wolverine instead...or mutant zero. END[/spoiler]

I left out quite a few details and it's kinda late, so I may have typed incoherently or something, but I enjoyed this issue. I would have liked a little more Spider-man/Hulk action, but I can live without it. It's a nice read and it does tie together quite a few things that were more or less vague before this issue came out. So, I'll give it a 3.2 out of 5.

On that note, it's been confirmed that one of the ultimate books is being canceled and their have been reports that Loeb is running wild and doing stuff that D. Finch can't believe. Reports of a lot of death especially in the UXM camp...typical.

[Previsionary]

TRIPLE POST!

New week, new comics. If anyone has any thoughts on any x-books this week, let 'em rip. Otherwise, expect to see this post updated with reviews on X-force and um...w/e other x-book is out. Maybe even some captain britain just because of the ever so lightly association with X-men.

Captain Britain and the MI-13:

I'm going to keep this short especially since I don't have the book near me right now. I'm glad that Cornell is working on this book and making me like the characters again while working in some old classic literature that's slowly falling out of the public's eye (IE: Green Knight). There was a certain scene with the Black Knight that I loved and he seems to have some issues with the avengers that I hope gets fleshed out later on. Also, Captain Britain is off meeting Captain America. I mean that metaphorically/symbolically, don't go crazy. Basically, this is the only side book that shows how calculating and cruel the skrulls can actually be and making them a viable threat WHILE advancing a plot. I can't say the same for the main book of SI that reads very quickly and has reduced half the dialogue into alien language. The skrulls in Captain Britain speak actual English and actually do damage...yay for that. I just feel a let down coming my way from this skrull invasion thing and I expect this from most Bendis events as sad as that may be.

[spoiler]Also, it's pretty much confirmed that a certain vampire is joining the team later on. You guys probably can guess who that person will be.[/spoiler]

In response to below...

Pod, that's true. It's more of an introspect/character development issue from what I've seen that probably could have been saved for later or used other members of the team like...um...Wolfsbane. I'm mostly giving it a try because Jason Aaron writes a VERY good wolverine. Consider him endorsed by me until he fails...then I'll deny this part of the post. :P

[Podmark]

Passed on the X-Force special. It's a one-shot with seemingly little to nothing to do with the current title. 

[Previsionary]

I was gonna write some more reviews but my pc recently decided to die, so i'm working on that...so, basically, consider me on hiatus for a bit.

[murs47]

Found this interview today. Some small insights. I'm definitely looking forward to what's ahead.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080618-Xforce05.html

This has easily become my favorite x-book since the conclusion of MC. There's a bitter sweet quote for me at the end of this interview. I can only imagine how much more I would love this title.

NRAMA: Are there any characters that you wanted to include in X-Force that were already being used? Are there any characters that you still would like to see in this motley crew of murderous mutants but you just can't land them?

CY: It rhymes with 'Fredpool'. We didn't even ask, actually, but Craig and I have talked about it. Just imagine the fun. But we're very excited to see him in his own bloody series again.

Totally random post, I know. :P

[Podmark]

Murs! Haven't seen much of you lately!
Also on X-Force there's this article at CBR: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16840
I agree Deadpool would have been a great addition.

Read X-Factor today and thought it was a great issue. No spoilers right now.

[murs47]

I've been logging on all the time. I just haven't been saying much.

More good info from that link, thanks Pod.

The way I see it is, if Way fails with Deadpool, CK and CY will pick him up for X-Force. If he doesn't fail, that means he's doing a darn fine job with the title. Win-Win situation.  ^_^

[Previsionary]

nice to see you posting again, sir Murs. Hopefully you'll be doing that more often?

[murs47]

nice to see you posting again, sir Murs. Hopefully you'll be doing that more often?

Yes, and in other threads as well. ;)

[Previsionary]

nice to see you posting again, sir Murs. Hopefully you'll be doing that more often?

Yes, and in other threads as well. ;)

YAY! And maybe we could work together again? Deadpool mod anyone? I'm kidding of course.

No, I'm still not doing any sumviews, but I do have links!!!

UXM 499

X-men Legacy

X-factor #33

That's about it for now, but Im at the point now where I want Legacy to end. 12 issues is a bit too much, me thinks.

note: Deadpool #1 has a Liefield variant cover. *prepares for loads of insults towards Liefield's cover when it shows up*

September solicits

[Podmark]

Pod not like Stroman :(

[murs47]

YAY! And maybe we could work together again? Deadpool mod anyone? I'm kidding of course.

:o Why would you joke with me like that? :(



:lol:

[Previsionary]

Pod not like Stroman :(

At first I kept reading that as "Strongman" and was thinking, "what an odd thing to say!"...but yeah, his art is...um...

Angel Revelations #2- Hell Night:

I'm still on break, but I seriously like the angel focus of late (and all the original 5 getting origin books is pretty cool), so I'll do a quickie even though my pc is possessed and still dead. Also, don't want this thread to die yet as it's pretty useful in keeping readers up on X-history, especially me concerning books I don't read.

I'll start with the cover. The angel books have some of the most unique marvel covers out right now. Pretty artistic and how many mainstream comics reference classical/mythological/religious figures on the cover while showing off a nude angelic mutant? NONE. Weird to mention but also noteworthy, I think.

[spoiler]The book opens up with Warren and Amanda (his girlfriend) sharing a private and intimate moment in her bedroom. They have to keep quiet unless they want to get caught and get in trouble with the administration. Just before they can get hot 'n heavy, Amanda notices two stubs on Warren's back and is freaked out. She covers herself with a blanket and questions the stubs that resemble bruises/injuries and Warren lies to her and leaves the room heartbroken.

Scene shift to a boy named palmer who is sweeping up the floor as a priest walks into the room. It's time for confessionals and Palmer doesn't want to do it this week. The priest is a little upset and chastizes the boy, but ultimately forgives him and we move onto a new scene.

Amanda goes to Brandon, Warren's teammate and rival, and vents after having been humiliated and dumped by Angel. She says that the perfect target for hell night would be her ex and Brandon asks why. He then figures it's for revenge but says seniors are untouchable on hell night...but Warren's friend isn't.

We then shift to Warren going to Mr. Walsh, a biology teacher, for help in identifying the species that may have produced (or have ties with) his feather. He surmises that the feather is strong and could support a lot of weight like an eagle, hawk, falcon, gull, or dove; but notes that it's too big to belong to a dove.

We finally get to a semi-action scene/partial-climax where Andrew Palmer, Angel's friend, is about to go through the ritual of hell night because what use is it to lock a door against tradition. The kids surround him and tell him if he screams, he suffers more. Meanwhile, Warren is studying molting to try and make sense of his situation when he hears someone calling for help. Jump pack to Palmer and we see him being held against his will in a bathroom where he's about to have his bare back scorched by hot water. Enter our hero and the inevitable rival vs. rival showdown.

In the final few scenes, Brandon returns to Amanda and reports what happens and claims Warren is "dead" while Warren and Andrew Palmer talk about his back stubs. END![/spoiler]

I'll say it again, this book has an interesting style and it's definitely not for everyone. Action junkies really won't like this book much at all. I think it's a pretty interesting book and it seems to have this dark tone going for it which really fits the art. I hope things get moving by book 3 since it's only a 5 part story and I'm not a big fan of stretching out a story for longer than it needs to be. But yeah, if you like angel, you'll most likely like this book. Solid 3...out of 5.
-------------

X-factor fans: click here

Quote of interest:

NRAMA: For those of us who are missing Layla Miller, what can you tell us about her one-shot coming up in August?

PD: It's set in the future, it features the advent of the fabled Summers Rebellion, and Layla has a significant role in it.

NRAMA: Will she be returning to the regular title?

PD: Yes, she will be back.

Astonishing fans

[Previsionary]

Only gonna do one book and one book only. I hope someone else takes up the rest or at least entertain me with some witty debate on my next review.

Astonishing #25:

Crappy? End.

2 out of 5.

....

Actually, I'm confused on how I really feel about this issue. I disliked the art and the costumes, the dialogue felt off for several members of the team, and the storm/emma interaction was such a let down to me because storm seemed to be anyone BUT storm. Let's get to what went down.

[spoiler]Basically, we open up with wolverine half nude on a tree as Armor talks via IM to someone about getting a new name. She then goes to see Beast and chats with him. meanwhile, Cyclops and Emma are in bed and he makes some sex joke and they get ready to meet Hisako and Wolverine. We also get to see their new car that was donated by the city. WOO. Moving on, Beast, Emma, Cyclops, and Hisako are standing around the base doing nothing of interest while they wait on Wolverine. Storm arrives instead and they all wonder how to address Storm.

- I'm going to take a break here and say this scene is odd when you consider they all ran across Storm several times AFTER her marriage by now. Why is this an issue all of a sudden? She was just in the last issue and spidey and iceman didn't have a problem with calling her Storm/Ororo. The fan4 kept calling her Ororo...get with it, X-men.

Anyway, Wolverine finally arrives and Storm notes that shopping and constant love making is boring and she wants to rejoin the team. She asks Emma to let her back on and says, "I missed all of you,". Emma is shocked by her love making comment and her claim of missing her and they get into a minor argument where emma says she's tired of everyone claiming she's an evil witch every time they walk through the door. Storm just wants someone to argue with her since no one will in Wakanda. Emma says shutup and drink her tea. WOW! FUN!

Anyway, the police call and Wolverine explains that the police of SF like them. Cyclops then explains their mission and tells storm the basics including the use of the new costumes. Instead of being costumed vigilantes, they wear certain costumes to bypass all that crap so no one can be upset. Storm says it's not like the old days and cyclops confirms it by saying, "No, it's not like Xavier would have done it."

- Another break, why are they writing Storm like she was an Xavier follower. Did they miss most of her progression AGAINST Xavier? Please.

I have no comments on their street gear other than they look like street clothes rather than costumes. Anyway, they meet up witht he police and come across a floating man on fire. The police can't put him out, so they ask Storm to help out. She does and the burnt body falls to the ground. Beast surmises that something must have been acting independently of the brain to keep the body floating. Beast asks WOlverine to cut out a sample of unburnt skin/organs so he can determine who the person was and whether or not he/she was a mutant. Emma does a bit of um...detecting and reads some conveniently written notes and figures out where the killer will go...spaceship grave yard: Chaparanga.

Moving on, Beast determines that someone was trying to create mutants because of the gene he found on chromosome 66 and such. HE also notes that cerebra can't track these fake mutants. Anyway, Beast stays behind and the other X-men take an experimental jetplane to the graveyard. Hisako vomits on the back of cyclops's mask. On the jet, we get more backstory on the spaceship graveyard. Nothing of note really happens here. END![/spoiler]

I don't know what it is exactly that turned me off so much, but I didn't agree with several things. Storm was drawn badly, the art in general fluctuated but was mostly bad, the dialogue...bad. Storm felt so out of character that I don't even know why they chose to use her and drop Colossus. Making Storm out to be an Xavier follower is completely wrong as she hasn't been that in years. That's cyclops's department and let's not flip the script since he recently refound his danglers. I liked some stuff, but...bleh, I hope things get much better. 2.5...out of 5. Maybe I'm just bitter? ^_^

I'll probably enjoy it better when I reread it...but I doubt it.

UXM interview and pics