The X-men Thread (spoilers)

[Podmark]

Well not really. They're helping to evacuate SF and get hit by the Skrulls' anti telepath device. It's their first appearance since Messiah Complex.

[Previsionary]

Well not really. They're helping to evacuate SF and get hit by the Skrulls' anti telepath device. It's their first appearance since Messiah Complex.

Blah. I was hoping they'd be bigger threats now...I mean, they have a bit of the phoenix trapped in them, iirc.

Minute reviews:

With that increda-long review out of the way, these reviews only took me a minute to write. Today's installments are X-men: First Class #14, New Exiles #9, and Astonishing X-men #26. I'll add more later...or something.

X-men First Class #14:

[spoiler]Starting from where last issue left off, the remaining X-men and Machine Man are confronted by Lava men. The battle doesn't go well initially, but once Machine Man joins in on the fray, they make quick work of them, though, they aren't defeated. Instead, the lava men travel through the soil towards their base and the X-men follow them. Meanwhile, Xavier alerts the team that the other robots in the X-series lab have become erratic and they should wrap up their investigation quickly before it's too late. Seconds later, Aaron/Machine Man begins to act weird and ask the mutants questions. Before they can give full answers, the team is attacked again by the Lava men who are much stronger in their environment than they were before. The X-men eventually prevail and Aaron snaps asking the X-men to return his humanity before he runs deeper into the cave. Suffice to say, Machine Man is destroyed by the lava men and the X-men escaped. The book ends on a positive note though. Machine Man will be rebuilt...but with a new outlook on humanity.[/spoiler]

It's an average issue. 3 out of 5. The backup strip is cute and ties into the situation/atmosphere of the series nicely. I enjoyed it.

New Exiles #9: 

[spoiler]It has a nice cover...from what I can make of it. This was a store browse, so keep that in mind. The books opened up with Rogue meeting Force X...which were mostly flipped versions of the original X-men, hank McCoy as Puma, and Peter Parker as...Spider. Rogue isn't impressed with the team, so to prove themselves, they fight. Rogue basically schools them and only Spider is any match for her...but he also loses. Storm and Aquagambit appear on the scene and remind us there's a war going on (I kinda liked Storm's simplistic costume). Um...a lot of dialogue I skimmed over about finding and capturing the queen. Over with Psylocke, she's finding it harder to keep her identity on this world. Basically what follows is a DBZ montage of her training including a room where she can meditate and learn years worth of lessons in a short amount of time. She even begins calling herself Lady Mandarin. Moving alone, basically the French capture the queen and imprison Sage and Morph and the remaining eXiles are left to save the day with Force X. Back in the crystal palace, Sabretooth and Cat discuss saving the omniverse and making decisions or something.[/spoiler]

Overall, minus all the dialogue, this is probably the better issue of this arc. Still, I'd pass on it unless you have a Claremont fetish...or something. 2.7 out of 5.

Astonishing X-men #26:

[spoiler]
First off...I'm not very fond of the art and it makes Storm seem manly from time to time. There, I said it. And darnit, why is her and Emma's hair ALWAYS FLOATING?! Ok, serious time now. Book opens with Emma giving the team the lowdown of what to do and what not to do in Indonesia though it wasn't necessary at all other than establishing it as a textbook method they've adopted. The place looks horrible, dirty, and run down.  They land and Emma does a search for the one guy who's thinking in English. We then get this odd panel with Emma pointing up and, going by the pic, screaming, "he's up there". The X-men head up and Armor/Wolverine do a Fastball special thing (maneuver is overused now, imo). The man and Wolverine eventually come face to face and do battle. The other X-men and Cyclops's girlfriend eventually show up (and it's nice to see Armor change her armor form from time to time) and basically do what amounts to just standing around and talking. The X-men retreat as the "firestarter" powers up the ship he's in. Storm hits the ship with lightning and it crashes and all the X-men (minus Storm) fall to their dooms. She catches them via wind but Wolverine crashes into the mud because he's too heavy (also, he's fond of "shaddap" this issue). Anyway, the X-men then discuss checking out the ship and finding the man's body. Storm has problems with this because she doesn't want to have killed the man and Cyclops basically doesn't care. He's more concerned with saving the mutant race, everything else is second place...though he does state he'd rather the man be alive than dead (though he'll lose no sleep either way). He basically tells Storm, if she can't handle a situation where she might have to kill...then to go home. The book ends with Cyclops telling Storm not to tell him he's changed and that they've both killed before. Also, the firestarter is still alive He says some things and pretty much sets his head on fire.[/spoiler]

Um...again, I don't know what to say about this issue and how I feel about it. I'm hovering around the 2-2.5 area really because I didn't really enjoy it. I don't care for the art, I don't like how Storm and some of the other member of the team are characterized, and in this book alone...Storm and Cyclops basically dominated this issue but didn't DO anything of note for over half of the time. I don't consider this a good follow up to Whedon's run, but I hope it gets better after this arc. I think my major problem with this run is that the transition was too great too fast. Also, I may not remember a lot of things perfectly right now, but I don't think Wolverine's adamantium has ever been a problem for Storm or any other "lifter" in the carrying department

-------------------

X-men Origins: Jean Grey:

[spoiler]If you ever wanted to relive some of Jean's developmental moments and have them expanded upon, this is the book for you. This book goes all the way back to when Jean was a little girl and first discovering her powers. What I found interesting about this book is that, even though it's fairly light, it showcased Jean actually learning to deal with her powers and being scared to try simple things like walking through a mall. It even shows how her family was affected by her powers developing. The mall accident is actually what drives Xavier to block off some of her powers. Simple, but effective enough. We eventually reach the scene of when Jean first joins the X-men. I found that panel to be pretty. Scooting on ahead, during one of their training sessions, Jean doesn't seem to be able to focus. She notes that something is missing and actually goes AWOL during one of their missions instead choosing to hang out in the city. An accident happens where an ambulance flips over and heads for a crowd of people and Jean showcases her powers publically and saves a woman and a child from being crushed. She also just barely stops the ambulance from sliding ahead. That scene particularly sticks out in my mind because it showed how powerful she was becoming in a short amount of time and she was able to accept that she was a mutant pretty early on.[/spoiler]

So overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a nice, quick read, but it doesn't really add much to Jean's background. It does end off early in her teen years, so if someone decides to pick it up, they won't have much trouble adding anything in. Also, I enjoyed her relationship with Xavier because I'm beyond tired of Xavier's current "good guy with a horrible past" shtick the writers are now utilizing. So, it's a 3 out of 5 for this book. Not something to rush out and buy, but something Jean fans can enjoy. Coming next: X-men Origins: Beast.

X-men: Odd Men Out:

[spoiler]This is just a tribute to Dave Crockum by using some of his art from unreleased stories. It's nothing more and nothing less. The first story is a reunion between Prof X and Fred Duncan. What basically happens is Professor X and Duncan catch us up on the past events and the forming of the X-men and their progression. In the long run, it's a fairly pointless story in today's age (Legacy is much better) and compared to modern comics, the dialogue will send you for a loop with its more innocent style. But really, it's nothing more than a history lesson.

The second story is still pretty pointless, but it's a New Mutants story and easily puts Young X-men to shame even with this bland story. What basically happens is that the New mutants ice skate while the Mad Thinker constructs a plan to take them out that involves creating a giant robot with ulterior motives. The robot knocks Mad Thinker out and we eventually get to the New Mutants battling it. The robot easily absorbs all of their abilities. Through teamwork, the team eventually overcome the robot who simply leaves for repair and all is right.[/spoiler]

So there you go. Two stories and really nice art that stands the test of time well enough. These aren't stories I'd recommend to anyone unless they A) wanted brief history in a short amount of time B) really adored Crockum's art C) had a fondness of New Mutants or D) just wanted to add this book to their collection for one reason or another. Other than some nostalgia moments, it's a complete pass as far as I'm concerned. 2 out of 5.

Cable #6:

This is more or less the book that would help me decide my final opinion on this series. Did it disappoint or will it keep me glued for a few more reads? Let's see...

[spoiler]The book opens up with Cable running about in a dystopian setting. His leg is shot out and he's kicked to the ground. Bishop appears before him and shoots him. BLAM, he's dead. Cyclops awakens and Emma asks if he's ok. He says he is, but in his head he feels guilty for letting the baby go with Cable. Then we get this very disgusting kiss that would disturb me even if it was Jean...or Maddie...or any other girlfriend in Cyclops's past.  Emma, being un-slutty for once, suggests Cyclops talk about his nightmare instead of trying to bed her. We flashback to the past with Cyclops telling Wolverine to track some woman down (Mystique). We then get a scene of Cyclops telling Warpath and Laura to find some guy and bring him back, dead or alive (Bishop, I assume). Cyclops realizes he overstepped a line in the heat of the moment and I'm glad someone acknowledges this. Laura and Warpath end up at Forge's lab who, after being attacked twice, is taking the initiative this time to setup a defense system. They eventually come to an understanding and Cyclops receives a list of items Bishop stole. Cyclops then deducted that Bishop returned to Muir Island to track Cable because Cable can no longer body slide all over the world.

Back in the present, Cyclops is still concerned over Cable and he notes that Emma doesn't know anything about his decisions and he tries not to think of it at all when he's around Emma. We immediately jump back into the past—3 weeks—and Beast is working on a way to track Cable. It's not looking well, but Beast has come up with an idea which he relates to the "message in a bottle" idea. He'll send a bunch of nanosized bottles through time and have them lock onto Forge's stolen mechanical arm and report back to them.

2 weeks ago, Cyclops is drilling Sam on Cable's plan and location. He basically got nothing from the talk. This sparks an epiphany in Cyclops he should have had years ago. He doesn't really know his son—or any of his children. Emma then brings up some particular events between Cable and Cyclops. 1. Cable telling Cyclops it'll take awhile to get over being dumped into the future and 2. Cyclops and Jean giving Nathan to Asanki/Rachel. Emma pushes him more and Cyclops eventually breaks down and rests his head on her shoulders (he feels helpless), but he still refuses to tell Emma the truth about how far he's gone. Eventually, Beast finds out that Bishop returned to the present for a short time and he has a chance to track him. Cyclops reports to Wolverine and Beast happens to catch the conversation. He hopes the X-men haven't become killers. Anyway, skipping ahead, Emma asks if Cyclops is regressing to "mopey" Cyclops because she assumed he was replaced with "alpha" Scott. So...Scott kisses her and begins the bedding ceremony. Bleh. The book ends with Cyclops returning to the X-mansion and leaving Cable a note that basically explains his thoughts and states that he believes in Cable because he's his son. While the note is shown to us, we get the obligatory Cable vs. random nobodies shots.[/spoiler]

Well, on the whole, this book was a major step up. It answered quite a few dangler questions that needed to be explained/asked since the ending of Messiah Complex. We also have some sort of timeline as to when Wolverine went after Mystique, how Cyclops is keeping secrets from Emma, and some reflection on Cyclops's relationship with other characters. I enjoyed it and that's a major plus in my book. My complaints is that this felt more like a Cyclops and the X-men book than a Cable book and because of that, it felt out of place. The pacing and art worked much better than whatever the previous artist was doing. But really, this story belonged in Uncanny or something more so than Cable. 3.2 out of 5.

[Previsionary]

The following reviews will be minute reviews and I hope someone else responds to them or expands them out.

X-factor #34:

This is part 3 of the She-Hulk/X-factor crossover and the skrull tie in. As you may recall, Longshot revealed himself to be a skrull after Darwin touched him and She-Hulk and Monet are fighting each other like the immature women they can sometimes be. Let's see how the story wraps up, huh?

[spoiler]-   Darwin's father feels like a horrible person and Rictor reassures him he's not.

-   Madrox and She-Hulk continue to fight and eventually escapes

-   Darwin is upset with Skrullshot for lying to him

-   The skrull explains to Darwin that he may be the missing link as he has abilities similar to the skrulls. Darwin needs allies. Darwin needs the skrulls

-   Monet, Jazinda, and the others attack the skrull

-   Skrull overpowers everyone and the group believes Darwin is their only hope.

-   Darwin absorbs skrull's powers and She-hulk knocks him out. Jazinda nullifies him and they load him up.

-   Tony being a skrull is brought up, She-hulk considers it.

-   Madrox and She-hulk's parting words aren't so...sweet.[/spoiler]

This is basically a 3. Nothing spectacular and the whole arc fits in the 3 category. I'm still not accustomed to the art, but I won't dock any points this time as I was already prepared for it. This also pretty much marks the "beyond" half point of Secret Invasion and I must say this event is so drawn out and not even answering the questions it should be answering. I mean, I recall in several interviews that Bendis said the Skrulls wanted to save the human race and some people embraced that...so why are we only at the "wanna help by invading" part and no one is embracing them yet? I figured someone would finally address it with all the SI books that came out last week. Speaking of, SI: X-men was pretty mediocre, but I liked that a book tried something new rather than the typical, "someone here is a skrull!"

Uncanny #501:

501, the first book with a purpose since Cyclops and friends went on vacation. Fraction is also added to the writing credits and we'll have to deal with Greg Land's "porn" faces for a bit. How well do they pull off this issue? Let's check it out:

[spoiler]-   Picking up from last issue, Pixie and her friend are leaving a Dazzler concert. They are attacked by the Hellfire cult and Pixie is beat up pretty badly (bat to the head), but she put up some sort of fight.

-   Back at the Worthington towers (k...), Emma is showing Cyclops her new sexy lingerie...which seems to cover nothing at all. They play under the covers which is typical of Emma.

-   Cyclops runs off to build a crib. This is basically a reference to Cable #6

-   Later, Cyclops and Angel take a drive. Angel has to fly off to a meeting. Cyclops continues on to Greymalkin industries while thinking about the new X-base.

-   Beast's happy his hands are working again (he can cook eggs!)

-   Bruised and bloody Pixie finally appears in the base.

-   Back with the hellfire cult, we get to see that they're a pretty large group run by the "Red Queen"...a dominatrix, leather wearing red head. Also, Empath is second in command or something.

-   Wolverine, NC, and Karma pull off a trap and attack a few goons.[/spoiler]

I dunno, this is an average read, but Land's art is a problem for me. Ignoring my usual quips with it, none of his art made me connect to anything that was going on. In general, the book was just bland and I could have done without it. It's a 3. Also, I'm a bit concerned. No new characters have really shown up beyond Karma and Dazzler has yet to even make an appearance. Longshot and Dazzler will actually need to appear someday, you know...I know, Dazzler can replace Storm and Longshot can replace Wolverine on Astonishing! Yeah, that'll work. Also, I don't appreciate pregnancy being brought up in the X-men. The last thing I want to read about is two certain characters having a kid when neither can handle the spawns they already have.

Young X-men:

[spoiler]No review. I'll just say some feral character may have bit the bullet...or however that saying goes. :P[/spoiler]

X-force preview: http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.4602.FIRST_LOOK~colon~_X-Force_%236

[detourne_me]

i actually really liked 501, the series is a bit more optimistic now and i like it. they're still setting up camp, so i don't want a deluge of x-men coming back into the fold.

i can live with the artwork for now,  at least it's clean, but we haven't seen any decent combat yet.

[Podmark]

Proto you missed the most important X-Book of the week...the Layla Miller one shot!

Quick [spoiler]Layla is in the future and uses her Laylaness to escape the camp and make her way to Atlantic City where she meets Cyclops (old with robot arm and leg) and his daughter Ruby. They've been waiting for her. We're told Layla will get back soon and Layla gets Ruby to start the Summers Rebellion (part of Bishop's history).

Admittedly not much of importance happened in this issue, but it's a fun read if you're a fan of Layla. Art is probably the best I've seen out of De Landro, much better than Stroman. Solid 4/5 for me.[/spoiler]

Read X-Factor too. Story's kinda meh but I can already tell I'll enjoy David's Darwin. a 3.

Also quick Young X-Men [spoiler]Greymalkin fights Pierce, Dust is broken in her glass form, Magma helps beat Pierce who escapes and fixes Dust by changing the bits of glass into sand with her heat. Magma and co meet with the fighting Young X-Men and Cannonball and Sunspot and tell them about Pierce. Young X-Men are all bummed out to find they were duped. Group are led by Ink to Pierce's base to save Moonstar and Blindfold. New Mutants split up leaving the Young X-Men behind. Greymalkin finds the girls, then Blindfold dream from issue 1 plays out. Wolfcub is killed, Santo is all set to kill Pierce but in his dying breaths Wolfcub tells him X-Men don't kill.

End of the issue features previews including Doug Ramsey, Spider-Man, Magik, and the Y-Men who all appear to have tattoos like Ink.

I wasn't happy with this arc, but I did feel this issue was an improvement. I'd give it a 3 maybe 3.5[/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

TY for the missing reviews, sir pod! Also...did you just call me proto? :P I was saving Layla's book for later when I got to read incredi Herc and Guardians. :P

Sir Det, going by interviews and the cover of last issue, Dazzler was supposed to have shown up already and be a part of the team...which is why I brought her up. Also, she has quite a few stories attached to her that kinda need to be resolved (maybe she needs to go to legacy?). I dunno, if they'd tone down on the "Cyclops/Emma bed each other a lot" scenes, they could work in a little more story.

[thanoson]

I like in 501 when Pixie does her kick and gets hit in the head by a bat, she looks like she's moaning in pleasure.

[Podmark]

Also...did you just call me proto? :P

:unsure: Seems I did. Sorry mate.

[detourne_me]

i dunno, maybe it's just me, but i like reading the relationship stuff in x-men...
i could tell you all about emma and banshee or paige and jono from the generation x years but i honestly couldn't name one villain they fought  (maybe penance's brother.... starts with an E?)
also, all the times in Uncanny when they went shopping in new york, ice skating at rockerfeller centre or blayed ball. i always remember those scenes... the only other direct stories i vividly remember are the morlock massacre, pete n juggs fighting in a bar, and a few wolverine/sabertooth scraps.  
to me the fighting isn't as memorable as the relationship stuff,
so when i see cyke freaking out because he wants to build a crib,  that just touches me.


ps what happened to pixie's friend. and if the greymalkin ind. complex is in marin, and it takes like 30 minutes in traffic from san fran, how does she get from oakland to the compound? maybe her teleportation spell?

[Previsionary]

Pixie's friend just ran away or something. You misunderstand me. i don't have a problem with drama because that's the X-men ammo since the 60s. I'm TIRED of being told Cyclops and Emma sleep together a lot. More is less with me there. I don't care if they sleep together all the time and that Emma buys lingerie that apparently covered nothing. I already have a general problem with the ways Emma is portrayed by every writer these days and I have more of a problem when Cyclops/Emma in bed keeps being thrown in my face. It has barely been a week since I last saw them in bed together. They've had a "sex" scene in 3 books and they've been one week apart each time. It's overkill to me. Also, Emma was written much better in Gen X than she is now, imo. She switches between witchy, snobby, and sex fiend currently and I only remotely liked her in Cable #6 which covered what you brought up (Cyclops and crib) a lot more effectively than this brief mention. In fact, this shot was probably only put in to make a connection to that scene cause, as I said, the story in Cable fit better in Uncanny.

So to sum up,

1) I don't care for Emma (current) and Cyclops to begin with

2) They can do a lot more together than play together under the sheets and I don't need it thrown in my face in EVERY X-book. Jean and Cyclops were barely shown in bed together and they were always going off somewhere. Why don't Emma and Cyclops try that sometime?

3) Instead of overloading those scenes, tell actual relevant information that could further the story. How Pixie got back and what happened to her friend could've filled that space.

4) If you want actual relationship drama and to see how Emma helps Cyclops, how Cykes feels about Cable, and the gratuitous sex scene, Cable #6 fulfills all of those and it's a much better read...surprisingly.

5) If Emma and Cyclops end up pregnant, I'm going to destroy someone because...
  A) Emma has yet to rebond with the cuckoos even though she holds an intense grudge towards the phoenix right now

  B) Cyclops JUST started thinking about Cable while his other daughter that saved Cable is in space with his brothers in trouble.

...Way to set off my rant, Det. :P

[Podmark]

5) If Emma and Cyclops end up pregnant, I'm going to destroy someone because...

Well considering the Layla issue....

[detourne_me]

heheh,  ruby quartz glasses, ruby is a precious mineral, like diamond... ;)

you know i live to see you rant prem!

edit: yeah,  cyke doesn't really seem to care about rach and alex...  where the heck's hepzibah? last we saw with her she was a hippy.   has she shown up in x-force to be with warpath?

[Previsionary]

Pod...blah! That's in the future. Emma and Cyclops are like...different there. They so don't count. NANANANANANANANA *closes ears* :P

Well, I need to get the thought of Emma and Cyclops very far out of my mind AND I still have one book to review, so let's move on to young Cyclops and his old love, Jean Grey. That's right, X-men First Class, coming at ya. Let's play catchup for you non-readers.

A few issues ago, Angel left the X-men because he wanted to stay with his aunt in a place that accepted mutants and was cut off from the general populous. The X-men were surprised, but ultimately accepted his decision. So they went home and pouted about it until Machine Man showed up. He was a guest member for two whole issues and ended up destroyed.  And now you're caught up, let's dig in:

X-men: First Class #15- Bad Hair Day:

[spoiler]•   This issue picks up mere moments after Aaron was destroyed. As the X-men head home, Prof X picks up distress signals at an airport and heads there.
•   A spacecraft is attacking the airport and the X-men abandon ship to take it down. Bobby is scared since he has no chute.
•   The X-men—Cyclops,  Beast, and Iceman—land on the ship and Iceman freezes it to slow it down. Jean also helps out with her teke while in the jet with Prof.
•   The ship lands and out steps...MEDUSA!!!
•   A fight immediately breaks out and Iceman makes a women being bad drivers joke and a hair joke while freezing Medusa's locks.
•   The X-men report that they're going to turn Medusa in and she asks what her crime is as she hasn't done anything. All she wants to do is figure out what she is.
•   Medusa and the others return to the mansion and Xavier tries to scan her mind for answers. It fails, more or less, and Medusa is offered a chance to stay at the mansion. This seems to worry Jean for some reason.
•   Back at the ship, two civs are checking it out before being tossed aside by a mysterious man
•   Medusa and Jean share a small talk about Angel and Medusa sympathizes with him.
•   While Beast tries to show Medusa around (FLIRT), someone rings the doorbell and attacks the X-men. It's Wizard.
•   Wizard dispatches of all the X-men with his antigravity discs and tries to retrieve Medusa who is now wearing an X-uniform
•   Wizard convinces Medusa to leave with him, but his victory is short lived as Cyclops returns and breaks his helmet.
•   It is revealed that Medusa has a contraption on her neck that is preventing her from reaching her memories. Medusa is reasonably upset
•   Meanwhile, Jean, beast, and Iceman are floating aimlessly pass the clouds and it's getting hard for them to breathe. Mark, the return of Angel, who saves them![/spoiler]

This is yet another average issue, but I like that they're developing storylines that don't HAVE to rely on previous issues.  I'll assume Angel and Medusa will have their stories pushed next issue, so I won't make any judgments on that right now. I will say that all these guest appearances so close together is pretty odd, but they couldn't do that with any mainstream book, so why not take advantage of it? Actually, going back to Angel and Medusa, I think they tied it up in the one page short and I guess that's ok. I'm semi excited for next issue though...Spidey, Iceman, and Human torch. Spidey and his amazing friends...version 2! Oh, this issue...3 out of 5.

Um...hepzibah hasn't been seen in X-force at all as far as I know and she was last seen in Uncanny #499. She Might just be a rotating member of Uncanny.

[Podmark]

 has she shown up in x-force to be with warpath?

Not yet but she's supposed to appear in future issues.

[Podmark]

X-Force #6 [spoiler]
Risman is confronting Bastion for control of the Purifiers when Archangel breaks in and starts killing the Choir. X-Force arrives shortly after and join the fight. Warren's not quite with them though, he's pretty much just killing the Choir.

Over at the Facility, Wolfsbane gets the drop on her father, after a confrontation Reverend Craig steps in front of Angel's hanging wings, creating the appearance that he is an angel triggering Rhane's programming and causing her to attack and kill (I'm pretty sure eat) him as she did Angel.

Risman tries to escape and comes upon his ally Eli Bard who is absorbing the Magus offspring and reveals himself to be...some kind of vampire thing that was luring the Purifiers as a offering for his queen. They fight but X-23 appears and puts a bullet in Risman's brain. Eli is able to dissipate  into smoke I think dodging several bullets and attacking X-23 seemingly absorbing her lifeforce or something. Warpath appears and saves her and Eli dissipates into smoke.

After fighting Archangel, Gabriel, the head of the Choir, and a few survivors escape. Wolverine fights Bastion but mostly just gets burned by energy blasts as Bastion escapes with the Zombie mutant haters (who aren't really zombies but I like calling them that). X-Force find Angel, white skinned again with white feather wings laying naked in a pile of bodies. Somehow he changed back. In the aftermath we find out that the team recovered Rhane and Elixir has healed both her and Angel, but Rhane is traumatized. Cyclops goes on to show Wolverine a board with all the escaped villains and asks him who's next.

Review:

• I was really happy with this issue. Lots of action, couple surprises, and a decent conclusion that keeps things still in play, which is what I wanted. I really like the art in this book, it fits prefectly but it is a bit darker than I'd prefer, sometimes hard to tell what is going on and makes for tough ref pics (wink wink).
• The Eli Bard reveal was interesting, honestly had no idea what to expect but I suspect he ties to Selene who will appear eventually in this book.
• 
  Was really sad to lose Matthew Risman, I'd realy grown to love him as a character especially in this book. Thankfully the rest of the villains escaped so there's plenty more toys for X-Force to play with.
• I expected something like this for Warren, and it's cool, but I'm curious how it will play out. In Uncanny he flies around as feathered Angel, but what triggers the change to Archangel for X-Force, should be interesting.
• I'm sad for Rhane, she's really going to be put through the wringer in this book it seems.
• I liked that Elixir had the cameo. I hope he sticks around in this book.

My final grade for this issue is 5/5 but admittedly I'm very biased. I'm really into this book so it's hard for me to really see any flaws. That said its dark, bloody book and certainly not for everyone.

[/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

Thanks for the sumview, Pod. It was an interesting issue and it's nice to see Angel get so much focus lately..and without his jailbait at that! YAY!  ;)

X-men Legacy #215-

Well, here we are at the lead in to the lead in of the big Wolverine + Son crossover or whatever. You know, it'd be nice if the X-books could like take a break or decompress before heading into another event. They JUST got a direction going for the main books and it'd be nice to actually "work" into that before dumping us into another adventure that won't get a proper aftermath because every event for the past few years has had this problem. Spider-man had this problem at one point recently and though I don't think BND is super great or anything, at least they took an adequate amount of time to build up their new world and set up some stuff before dumping us back into a new event. It doesn't feel jarring that way. Take a note, X-men. Yes, I am getting this out the way now so that I can focus on the book later when it comes out. :P

Actual sumview below:

To catch you peeps up, last issue Xavier finally broke free of Sinister's control with the help of Sebastian Shaw and Gambit. Once it was all over, Xavier ran off to talk to Cyclops as Shaw disappeared and had lunch with Ms. Sinister and Gambit...did something.

[spoiler]The book opens with Xavier returning to the remains of the mansion and contemplating what the x-men are now becoming now that they are scattered and are basically near extinction. We then flash over to Rogue in one of her retro outfits (90s style...you know...her iconic look) riding on a motorcycle in Australia. We then flash over to Cyclops and the astonishing X-men + friends building a new school/base/mansion...w/e function it serves these days. Cyclops and Emma talk a bit about testing possible points of attack and Emma makes yet another reference to sex...cause apparently it's all she thinks about these days. She's such a stereotypical man. At least she's drawn nice. Anyway, Scott rushes off to find Charles.

Xavier explains he pushed a thought into Cyclop's head to bring him there and Cykes is not amused. Cyclops does his typical rant thing he's so fond of lately, and never lets Xavier explain his situation, but Xavier forces him to remain in the clearing and talk. We then shift to the hellfire club and shaw has returned to them. I'm not gonna explain this short scene, sorry.

Moving back to Cyclops and Xavier, Cyclops threatens to break Xavier's jaw once he's released and Xavier calls his bluff. Xavier then tries to rebuild his memory. It's revealed that Sinister was toying with Cyclops for a very long time. In fact, Sinister was most of the people Cyclops met in the orphanage. They continue to talk and Xavier releases Cyclops from his psychic hold and Cyclops promptly tries to fire at him (warning shot as he missed or something). This scene ends with Cyclops doing the rant thing again.

Flash over to Rogue. We get a flashback to the past when Carol was able to take over Rogue for a short amount of time. Rogue is upset and Storm points out it was her fault for absorbing Carol. As Rogue ends her flashback and angsts all over the place, she asks someone if they have something to say and Mystique appears. Don't worry, it's just an illusion. Rogue states that for the first time, she was alone in her head and now she has her "mother" in there too. We return to Rogue's ammo of being tired of wearing gloves and now she plans to do something about it.

Meanwhile, Xavier continues trying to explain himself to Cyclops, but Scott refuses to listen and remains on his pedestal and chastises Xavier. Xavier is tired of arguing and tries to walk away only to find himself almost falling off a cliff. Cyclops retorts that Xavier doesn't just get to walk away once he's had Sinister in his head. Someone else can also read his thoughts and spot what's wrong...and that's Emma. [/spoiler]

So there we go. It's actually a good issue and much different that the previous issues of Legacy because it's not just focused on Xavier and his need to remember his past, but I'm tired of Cyclops. His cool factor wore off for me. He's not really much different from his portrayal post MC, but his constant need to rant is tiring. Also, while he may bring up good points most of the time, he continues to ignore the fact that he's very similar to Xavier and in some cases, worse. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Cyclops once all his little secrets start to flow out and how judgmental and self-righteous he'll be then. Also, Emma wasn't really annoying in this issue...but she wasn't really in it either. :P  3.5 out of 5. Basically, like Cable, this book got a bit better when the actual X-cast was involved again.

Hope this review actually made sense as I zoned out and kinda...just rushed through it. ^^

Also, just to note some stuff of interest:

1. How many queens are running around now? White, Red, Black...
2. The hellfire club (+variants) is getting a lot of prominent screen time lately
3. Cyclops and his many secrets. Others are catching on a bit now.
4. If Ellis would get his act together...Emma/Cyclops vs. Storm

I'm actually curious to see if they'll do anything big with the hellfire club and it could actually give Emma something to do other than oogle at Cyclops because she's lacking in development as of late. In fact, she hasn't had any development since New X-men ended as far as I can see as she became a caricature of herself.

[Podmark]

it's nice to see Angel get so much focus lately..and without his jailbait at that! YAY!  ;)

they're going to be in Secret Invasion X-Men together ;)

[Previsionary]

why do you keep ruining my happiness, Pod? You're so evil.  :angry:

[Previsionary]

Ok, here we are again. This week on "Minute Reviews", we find out if New Exiles can have an adequate ending with the new and improved Crimson Dawn-esque Psylocke, if Angel can handle his revelations, and if a certain feral canadian can handle a sleepover. Oh, and something about Ultimate X-men. Let's go inside...in 3, 2, 1:

Angel Revelations #4:

[spoiler]The book opens with Andrew and Warren coming up with a plan to scare Reynolds for molesting Andrew. They can't just report him, he's friends with Father Gavin. So instead, they'll test his fate and get him to stop. Cue, Angel appearing in the monastery with a sword and lack of clothing bar a cloth thing around his midsection. The plan works and Reynolds quits his job and turns himself in so that he would not continue to anger God.

After Reynolds is arrested, Andrew finds himself picked on again by the school bully as Amanda confronts Warren. Warren tries to move Amanda aside and reach palmer, but Amanda slugs him a good one in the jaw. Meanwhile, Palmer closed fist uppercuts the bully who's name i keep forgetting (Brandon). Of course, a giant fight breaks out and the 4 main characters are reprimanded.

Meanwhile, Mary Margaret and bad guy with name wait outside the school. Mary reports that Angel will be most vulnerable on Holy Saturday--day before Easter. Flash to that day and Warren, Andrew, Brandon, and his ex, Amanda are sitting in weekend detention when he [warren] begins to hear voices in his head. Brandon is annoyed and goes off on Warren forcing 
Warren to reveal his wings. Then the sprinklers go off. The building is on fire.

The kids run to the roof and Angel carries them to safety. The weight of them all is a bit troubling for him, so they fall to the ground. Andrew breaks his leg. The book ends with Mary and the man who believes he's doing God's work hovering over Angel with a shotgun pointed at him.[/spoiler]

It's honestly a good read and I haven't been let down once. I only hope the finale is as good as the leadup. Not much else to say other than I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

New Exiles #10:

[spoiler]Books open with a ridiculously dialogue ridden recap page and then MORE dialogue as Purge, a villain, threatens Sage and Morph. Suddenly, Sage takes on a new form and begins to fight Purge. It's noted that new Sage (Diana from New Excal...I guess) doesn't have Sage's soul.

Back on some ship, some men with partially translated french (-_-) are stuck in a storm. It's Storm and this world's X-men preparing to attack Napoleon's forces. They fight and one of the X-men equivs falls into the water where Gambit kisses her and gives her an oxygen pack. Fight continues.

Meanwhile, Psylocke, having finished her montage, sneaks into the French base or something. She reaches the emperor and finds she can't do anything to him. He says Ogun shaped her mind and she will be under his and Ogun's control. Psylocke is not amused and breaks free of their control and regains her body.

Back at the ship. The fight continues. Suddenly, the bad guys begin to disappear and Psylocke and the emperor appear as an hologram. The war is over. Book ends.[/spoiler]

Um, what to say...what to say. This book is full of dialogue, partially translated French, and fight scene after fight scene. It's so completely average that it's almost boring. Also, Sage taking on a new form and the Psylocke arc seemed more or less pointless to me. Well, it didn't deserve four issues to tell. 2 out of 5.

UXM #97:

[spoiler]Book opens with a flashback to 15 years ago. Xavier and Magnus are in the savage lands and a dino attacks. Xavier pops wolvie claws and takes it on. Xavier wins and we find out he's on banshee. Xavier states it's unstable and has addictive qualities. He then comes upon a test tube with Wolverine in it. He says he'll never remember this.

In the present, Colossus and Wolverine continue their fight. Colossus is upset with Wolvie for cutting out his heart. Colossus is so upset that he orders the X-men to battle the X-men. He then rips off Wolverine's leg. Colossus is so crushing.

Seconds later, Jean (who was just knocked out...) reappears with Jean-Paul. Jean-Paul is now paralyzed. Colossus breaks down and apologizes. While the X-men return home, Cyclops runs off to do something as he's still under the effects of Banshee.

Back at the Mansion, Jean replaces Colossus's heart and leaves as Wolverine and Colossus share a talk. Hulk vs. Wolverine is mentioned and the duo continue their heart to heart. Flip over to Cyclops in space as Jean tries to talk to him in phoenix form. Cyclops snaps and attacks her and then loses his high.

The book ends off on Wolverine tracking the vial of banshee given to him by Colossus to Xavier who's on Muir Island with Moira. Wolverine once again attacks without thinking and Xavier assures him he didn't distribute any Banshee though he discovered the technique. If he didn't, then who did?! Moira...and she lets him have a siryn blast. In retaliation, Wolverine destroys all the banshee he can find and the base basically explodes. Xavier and random mutants escaped, but Moira is greeted by Quicksilver in a new costume. Apparently, Magneto has another plan...

ULTIMATUM!!!one11![/spoiler]

Well, I dunno what happened, but this arc really took a nosedive for me. This book is more or less ok, but I didn't fully enjoy it. The alpha flight just disappeared from the story an issue or so in and then Colossus and his rage and Cyclops going power hungry and Wolverine running around attacking people while he's searching for the distributer of Banshee. It's just...I dunno. It's a 2 for me.

Wolverine First Class #6:

[spoiler]The story opens with Wolverine sitting on the couch watching his favorite sport of Hockey as the other X-men hang out with Moira and Banshee who have come for a visit. Colossus asks Wolvie to watch his sister as they head out. Kitty, Siryn, and the girl, Michelle/Amp, from W:FC #1 also remain behind. We then get this cute scene where Colossus gives Siryn a note and Kitty...must...kill...Siryn! I mean destroy.

So, Siryn wants to look into the dangerroom and Kitty isn't so sure about it...so she has a glimpse into the future where Siryn and Colossus are dancing around talking about her. She knows what she must do. She must...lead...Siryn...to the dangerroom. And since you can't be in the dangerroom without danger--enter the robotic Brotherhood of evil mutants version 1.0.

As the future X-women battle the robotic foes--and Illyana and Michelle take cover--, Kitty asks Siryn about Colossus and totally overreacts via thought. The Bhood eventually get the upper hand and Magik finds herself falling through a portal into the control room, bumping it, and setting it onto pause. Total cliche, but hey. Anyway, the villains fall and Siryn is so bored. So they leave....and the program resumes. Meaning the robots leave the dangerroom.

Meanwhile, the kiddies play spin the bottle with a rule modification. Instead of going in the closet and kissing, they'll go in the closet and reveal secrets. I'm sure there's a metaphor in there. There's not much of interest to note here, so moving along to Wolvy. Wolvy continues to watch his hockey game as robots fill the room. Wolverine is totally off his game today. Swinging back over to Kitty, she and illyana are in the closet now and Mahik shows her a picture of what happened in the dangerroom. Kitty is amused though she doesn't think it's true.

So, flipping over to Wolverine, he's so into the game that he doesn't care about the robots blocking the tv until they start advancing towards him. And back with the girls, Michelle and Siryn are in the closet now and Michelle reveals that she likes someone from Muir Island. Siryn reveals that she and the intern--guy Michelle likes--kinda have a thing going on and the intern is scared of Michelle. So Michelle overreacts and uses her empath powers to make Siryn angry.

And to wrap this up: Wolverine fights the robots and Siryn and tries to beat up Kitty. Wolverine destroys the robots while ranting about Hockey and Kitty and Siryn fall through the floor and break the tv. Wolverine snaps and chases the girls up the stairs. Michelle calms him down and rants at Kitty and Siryn over their boy problems and how no one will like her. Wolverine makes her feel better. The next day, as Amp and Siryn head home, Michelle reveals that she has a new crush and it's Logan.[/spoiler]

This was an eh issue. It's not something I'd recommend anyone buy, but a browse...maybe. It's like a downtime issue that lacks the main star and mainly focuses on Kitty and her crush + friends. Also, Illyana didn't play a big part in the story and that makes me a sad psychic. I dunno, it felt less like a Wolverine book and more like a Kitty book and that makes the name a little bit inappropriate. I'm not saying it's a bad issue, btw. This issue just wasn't for me, but it's always nice to see examples of old Logan and Kitty before they became the people they are today...a ninja that's written  like Buffy and "killed" and a "loner" that kills a lot. It's a solid 3.
----------------

And there we go folks. Most of the X-books were alright this week and I haven't read a truly horrific book in quite awhile. I will rant that all these X-vents going on in the next few months will irritate the heck out of me. We have Original Sins starting up soon with Xavier and Wolverine, Manifest Destiny which is in effect now, and a new Storm mini coming out to address Storm's latest position which, you know, could actually be explained in one of the 3 books she appears in now, but ok.

solicits for november: http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?date=2008-11  <---Emma should join X-force already if Cyclops is just gonna sic her on everything that moves.

manifest destiny (out this week): http://comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=943&disp=table

[Podmark]

solicits for november: http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?date=2008-11  <---Emma should join X-force already if Cyclops is just gonna sic her on everything that moves.

That's just silly. Emma doesn't have claws  :P

[Previsionary]

then what do you call those things that pop put when she's in a particularly witchy state? Icicles? ^_^

Some interesting quotes:

Which marvel couples would you like to settle down?

Havok and Polaris! These two have been through the wringer over the years, having little obstacles like death, insanity, exile in other dimensions, blood feuds, demonic possession, Marauder possession and more all getting in the way of true love. But even though they're being tortured by Havok's little brother right now in X-MEN: KINGBREAKER—on sale in December!—you know their love will be stronger than ever. Even in death. That's X-Men love for ya.

I really like Scott Summers and Emma Frost. I don't care if she's not actually British, she should be. She'd be a strict but fair Mum, although it'd be hard for her to tell a teenage daughter that they're not going out dressed like that. And her strength and interest in happiness are actually far better for Scott than Jean's investment in his angst. And she kept on dying and coming back, and what kind of absentee parent is that? Scott and Emma would have great kids.

Actually, can we arrange to have this happen? In the current Marvel universe, I mean? I'd write that.

How disappointing. :P You can find other responses here. Pete and MJ are mentioned a few times as well as some other wacky characters. Yay on a stick?

[Previsionary]

X-men: Return of Magik

The return of Magik. People have been clamoring for her return for ages and I must admit that I'm pretty impartial to her especially in her current form. Her being back doesn't affect me one way or another unless she sets out to bring back Kitty and make Colossus interesting again cause the boy's kinda lacking in that department especially since no one has seen fit to use him correctly and he barely even "fights" these days. Though, iirc, he's going to get some focus in the upcoming storylines in Uncanny/Manifest. Now, onto the story.

[spoiler]The book opens with Magik reflecting on her brother. This reflection takes us back to the Mutant Massacre. Magik is so upset that the morlocks have been killed and she plans to find a way to bring them back despite Colossus's protests. Ironically, Colossus is preaching the finality of death to Illyana and Illyana points out that they have friends that have returned from being dead. Colossus mentions time and Illyana instantly has an idea and goes to limbo to Colossus's disappointment.

Her stint back in the past is very short and she witnesses a morlock killed in front of her eyes. Her belief in saving them is shattered and she returns to mansion crying as she realizes she can't help them. So, she makes Peter promise he will never die or leave her. He does so.

We then go back to the present with Illyana standing just before Colossus's statue calling him a liar for promising that to her. Switch to Colossus standing at Magik's statue apologizing for telling her there was a finality in death. Colossus is wrecked with guilt and notes he'd do anything to get her back and even in death he's left her all alone. He asks for forgiveness and the chapter ends.[/spoiler]

Chapter 2:

[spoiler]You New X-men fans should be familiar with this section of the book. The book opens with Santo bragging about all the feats he's "accomplished" while being an X-man. And when I say bragging, I mean lying and the other New kids know this. The kids ask if Blindfold has a story to tell and she says she does. So...she does. She tells them the story of Magik and Belasco. I won't be reviewing anything that happened in this chapter as you can catch it all in the 5th  TPB. :P[/spoiler]

Chapter 3:

[spoiler]This section opens up with a young Illyana in Russia running around in a field of flowers asking to drive the tractor. We then get over small glances of her life as Illyana explained traits she possessed.

Flashfoward to the present and we have Illyana stating that she needs five bloodstones to get her life back. She refuses to put anyone else through what she experienced and she holds a major grudge towards Belasco...obviously. She remembers who she was and who she loved (pic of Kitty and Colossus) and points out that Colossus must have been so hurt to have seen her and be sent away so quickly. I wouldn't know, Colossus never got any spotlight after that. Magik explains that she couldn't allow him or Kitty to see her in her current form...but maybe they could help her feel human? But first, she has to reclaim her heart and she descends through a portal. She arrives...at the destroyed X-mansion and fears everything is gone.
             -Put up a sign already X-men. :P
She finds her bed and has a flashback of Kitty and Piotr reading to her and basically breaks down and comes to the conclusion that she'll only get her soul back through suffering...but she will not suffer alone! She'll find the people who wronged her and take their souls.[/spoiler]

Wooo! And there you have it, the Return of Magik, which isn't so much a return but an update to her storyline with some flashbacks and character notes. I enjoyed all three parts of the book and I hope this means she'll get a storyline in Uncanny soon enough and maybe she WILL bring back Kitty. Anyway, this book is a pretty solid 3.5 for me. It's enjoyable to read and you don't have to be a major Magik fan to understand anything that's happening in the book and you can easily go back and read the stories that are important to her story arc. Also, I like that they had a pretty good focus on Colossus, Kitty, Magik, Belasco, and the New X-men.

More to come...whenever.

[Podmark]

I'm pretty sure the 3rd chapter is a reprint of the Magik story from DWS book 2. Is the first chapter new content? I didn't recognise it but I thought the book was all reprints.

[Previsionary]

I'm pretty sure the whole book was reprints, but I didn't read any of the parts from book 1 or 3, so I'm treating it as new. :P I didn't read any of Divided we Stand (the compilation book), iirc, and I doubt I'll be reading Manifest Destiny for the same reason: the stories seem to hold no true importance to anything that's going on other than giving brief updates on characters. Also, from what I've seen, the Iceman story in manifest makes me question when it takes place because Iceman has been running around without power issues (for the 100th time) and the presence of a certain character makes me question its placement.

[Podmark]

I'm pretty sure the whole book was reprints, but I didn't read any of the parts from book 1 or 3, so I'm treating it as new. :P I didn't read any of Divided we Stand (the compilation book), iirc, and I doubt I'll be reading Manifest Destiny for the same reason: the stories seem to hold no true importance to anything that's going on other than giving brief updates on characters. Also, from what I've seen, the Iceman story in manifest makes me question when it takes place because Iceman has been running around without power issues (for the 100th time) and the presence of a certain character makes me question its placement.

The Iceman story takes place just prior to Uncanny 500. Though I think it will match up with 500 before it ends but I'm not sure. This is from interviews with Carey BTW.

[Previsionary]

I figured, but that still leaves me scratching my head a bit because of a recent arc in Wolverine. I just wasn't expecting that character back for a few more months...dunno why I expect it to make sense anyway. Wolverine has a messy timelime and the X_men have a messy timeline, so...*let's it slide until more is revealed*

[Podmark]

I figured, but that still leaves me scratching my head a bit because of a recent arc in Wolverine. I just wasn't expecting that character back for a few more months...dunno why I expect it to make sense anyway. Wolverine has a messy timelime and the X_men have a messy timeline, so...*let's it slide until more is revealed*

Yeah i was a bit surprised they brought that character back so quickly, but Aaron said he left the ending ambiguous purposely. He probably knew this was coming up.

Actually most of the timelines for the post MC X-Men stuff is starting to come together. And the book that I think helped the most was Cable of all books. It kinda set out some of the immediate aftermath.

Young X-Men could be a problem depending on how it and X-Force use Donald Pierce.

[murs47]

Any thoughts on the new Magneto mini? I'm not any good at reviews so I'll just leave it open for someone else *cough-cough-Prev-cough* I will say it's a nice start.

[Previsionary]

Any thoughts on the new Magneto mini? I'm not any good at reviews so I'll just leave it open for someone else *cough-cough-Prev-cough* I will say it's a nice start.

Say what now? I didn't think people actually wanted me to review things?! This changes nothing! :P On your request, I'll add it either tonight or tomorrow. Along with Deadpool as I know you love him. :P

[Zippo]

If anybody has read both X-Force and X-Men: Secret Invasion...

[spoiler]Can anybody explain to me just what the deal with (arc)angel is? I mean, first he has feather wings, then grows back metal ones and turns blue, then regains feathered in X-force. Now in SI we see him feathered at first (in his blue/white costume with halo on the chest) getting hit on by Husk (I believe), but later in the same issue ol' blue skinned, blue/purple costumed, metal winged archangel shows up (and is even acknowledged by some of the young x-men as "that new guy with metal wings"). Am I going crazy? HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY??? [/spoiler]

Seriously, this confuses me to no end.