The X-men Thread (spoilers)

[Podmark]

nope nothing from me. Don't pick up Wolvie or Defenders and I decided against getting the next Spidey. might do Amazing by trades eventually.

Next week is Divided We Stand book 1 which i am greatly looking forward to.

[Previsionary]

Sorry it took awhile; it's just no comic this week really caught my attention and I haven't even read Secret Invasion yet. So, these will be pretty short (ill add the other part later).

Spider-man #556:
[spoiler]
Continuing on from last week, Jonah is fine from his second heart attack and he's forced to accept that he no longer owns the bugle. Good for him. If you believed that, then you haven't been reading comics, much less literature, very long because nothing is ever that simple especially with JJJ. He walks out of the hospital in a gown, right into the snow, and...is captured by hospital staff before he wonders off too far. Stubborn old man.

Meanwhile, Spidey is still looking for that guy's friends from last issue. He hates the cold and wishes he was bitten by a radioactive polar bear. Fun.  The doctor or explorer, I forget what he was (mathematician apparently), is being tossed in jail because he's obviously in cahoots with spider-man even though he was rescued and dropped off. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks the heavens that carlie, new spidey cast member, was there or he'd be tossed in a cell with the people that tried to kill him.

Anyway, the math guy and his colleagues apparently realized that space goes beyond the time dimensions we can perceive and claims that the universe has over ten dimensions. Suprisingly enough, binary numbers no longer worked in the algorithms and the team began using pictures which brings us to his attackers. His attackers, the popul voh, believe that the pictures the math guy was using were sacred glyphs. To get the rest of that story, read the issue or find a more detailed review, I won't be tackling it. :P

Ok, just to wrap this up, spidey falls into the snow, meets a man hiding from shield, complains about a jacket and realizes it's not his jacket, Carlie helped keep the doctor out of a cell because his story amazingly checked out, subplot about peter needing a roommate is brought up by carlie and a cop that likes her,  spidey and shield-runny walk around in the snow, spidey is attacked by the guy the Popul Voh warned the math guy about, um...spidey finds the people he was sent to get only to be warned about someone else, that someone else ends up in the police station and confronts the mayan and that's where we end. Oh, I think the cops that were there died.[/spoiler]

Um.............I've nothing really to say about this issue. I didn't like the art and it was confusing in some places for me (something attributed to bachalo's style) and Wolverine didn't show up at all. So, 2 out of 5, I guess. Also, we get another webbing issue. Spidey can't use his webs during the cold because he didn't bring the thinner fluid...elasticity issues.  I do enjoy rookie spidey so much, you guys. Who lobbied for the mechanical web shooters again because it's becoming more and more of a joke in my eyes. I mean, this excuse wasn't exactly a bad one...but those web shooters are really pulling me out of the stories because now the first thing that crosses my mind is, "hrm, wonder how those things are gonna be useless this week."

Wolverine review to appear laterzzzzz.

Edit:  Astonishing X-men #25 colored pages  -- I think those are some costumes I'll have to get accustomed to...

[Podmark]

So was looking at the solicitations for July and...
[spoiler]ARCHANGEL RETURNS!! Colour me super interested![/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

Pod:

[spoiler]As in blue archangel or just the code name since I don't think he ever abandoned the name.[/spoiler]

Anyway:

Wolverine #64:

This is clearly the better serial wolverine book at the moment and I wish marvel would cut down on wolverine because his history is confusing enough without the constant retcons. All I'm saying is, I don't see a major point to origins right now since most of the stories in that book are pretty poor and I haven't even made it through the deadpool arc. I lost interest one issue in and from the mini reviews ive seen...deadpool and wolverine are still fighting away and I can't deal with that. :P

[spoiler]Anyway, in this issue, we continue down memory lane with mystique and wolverine. Mystique wants to rob a federal bank so her and her crooneys can escape the grind of everyday life and apparently, wolverine and mystique were very close at one time if the pic of wolverine feeling up her back end while making out with her is anything to go by.

Back in present time, Wolverine is  driving through Al Anbar while some people with guns watch from the mountains overhead. Wolverine relates that people think he can't feel anything just because he has a healing factor, but in actuality, he can feel every wound and the healing process hurts him the most. This book is really powering him down back to a level where he isn't so uber. I think that's a good idea because he was really ramped up in the 90s/00s. And then he explodes...

That's obviously a ploy because wolverine can't die in a car explosion. Get real, people! Wolverine set up a plan to have himself "killed" with an old friend from a war. The plan, you ask? Wolverine planned to have himself blown up and ID'ed as a suicide bomber while his friend and his crew steal some IDs and get them into the military headquarters of Baghdad which would allow him access to mystique. Isn't that the smart wolverine we all know and love?

Obviously the plan works without a hitch and wolverine and mystique (in disguise) come face to face and have the inevitable showdown. Obviously mystique escapes again and wolverine is left in another compromising position where he has to fight the good guys.  We then get the visual of wolverine stabbing mystique and it's pretty bloody.

Finally, to wrap this book up, we go back to the past where wolverine and mystique + crew break into a bank. We're left with mystique abandoning her crew and wolverine as the police arrive. In the final scene, either mystique clothes are morphing on, or morphing off, while she goes Rambo with a bunch of guns and bullets and waits for Wolverine to come to her again.[/spoiler]

My thoughts on this arc aren't dropping and this is probably the best wolverine book in the serial format that I have read in awhile as I mentioned earlier. If this book comes out in trades, as of now, I'd suggest grabbing it. 3.5 out of 5.

Some extra stuff you x-fans might like:

X-factor Preview

UXM #500 interview with Alex Ross

X-force 3 preview

[Podmark]

[spoiler]The blue faced, metal winged Archangel. Now its just the cover so I don't know what the deal is but I'm sure it'll be interesting. He appears on the cover to X-Force #5.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=15975[/spoiler]

[Podmark]

Picked up X-Men Divided we Stand Book 1 today

[spoiler]There's 5 stories in this book.

Cannonball: Sam returns back to Guthrieville and meets up with Paige. Sam decides to stop for a drink at a bar but what he really wants is a fight. The guys he fights are the Cabots from Chuck Austen's story that introduced Icarus. Sam beats the four guys and explains that he needed a fight to him work things out, then he flies off. He's pretty angry after the events of the past few story lines.

This might have been the weakest story in the book. Art's ok but lacks anything exciting, it's all just civilian stuff.

Gentle: In this story we get our first real glimpse into who Nezhno is and what his life is like. He returns home to Wakanda and gets updated tattoos to control his powers. Nobody but Storm and the Black Panther will talk to him, and it's not because he's a mutant, it's because he's half Russian. He meets his mother and a younger brother he never knew about but neither will talk to him. He's really alone. We learn that he can't feel any touches because of his condition. He desires order and found the school too chaotic but at the same time it's the only place he felt accepted.

This was probably my favorite story in the book. Art was very nice and we got to learn alot about an interesting character thats only had very limited panel time.

Anole: Northstar is called to look in on Victor who has been out of contact for 3 months. He's returned home and everyone has welcomed him back in open arms but something is wrong. Victor finds that after the X-Men he can't go back to being a normal kid. The X-Men turned him into a soldier and now he's behind on his education and attacks his dad when he makes an expected sound. The X-Men have abandoned him and he's ticked. Northstar tries to get through to him but Victor leaves his home telling Jean-Paul and everyone else to leave him alone.

I had one issue with this story, Victor used to be the well adjusted one and here he's about as emo as Hellion is. Wasn't what I expected. Still it's a great piece about lost childhood and an abandoned soldier. This will probably lead into his upcoming appearance in Young X-Men. Art is similar to Young's work in Children of the X-Men, I love his work but it's not for everyone.

Hellion: Julian wakes up in a hotel room recovered from his injuries in Messiah Complex. Emma explains what happens and then leaves him. His parents have disappeared, not wanted him anymore. Lost and abandoned Hellion seeks out Magneto and offers his service. But Magneto doesn't want him. He tells him to enjoy his time away because the war is coming and it will consume him.

This was the story I was most interest in because Messiah Complex really left Hellion in an ambiguous place. It was an unsolicited bonus story. It's similar to the Anole story in it's themes and excution. Arts a little different but I liked it.

However I'm really disappointed in the portrayal of the X-Men in this and the Anole story. They come off as extremely callous and uncaring. Purifiers could be murdering these kids at any moment and Cyclops has just totally left them out to dry. It's one thing to just not acknowledge this fact, but another thing entirely to actually have it be part of the story. My respect for Cyclops plummets with this issue. Hopefully this will be fixed when Uncanny 500 comes out.

Nightcrawler: This isn't really a Nightcrawler story, it's a Scalphunter story. Scalphunter is hiding out from the X-Men at a little dinner in the middle of nowhere but Nightcrawler finds him. There's some religious discussion but the end result is that Nightcrawler lets him go because he's only a clone. Scalphunter actually comes off as redeemable here.

In theory I shouldn't like this story all that much. Of all of them it seems the least likely to actually lead somewhere it's fairly well written. Art's nothing special though.
[/spoiler]

I'd probably give the book an 7 or 8 out of 10. It's short character pieces so you got to go in expecting that but they're pretty good and will set up some interesting stuff later on.

Also today CB Cebulski revealed that the bonus story in Divided We Stand book 2 we be about [spoiler]Magik.[/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

thanks for the reviews, podmark. It means I don't have to do as much this week except...X-factor. :P

Those stories, for the most part, sound interesting. I would rather have an Iceman story rather than cannonball right now because the guy just disappeared off the face of the earth...again. Does no one have any iceman love? The omega mutants are so mistreated. :P

Book 2, from what I remember, will probably be more serious than this book from the cast list + the spoiler Pod posted. Just a little clue, Havok is supposedly in it (meaning polaris will probably be in it too) and his story didn't end off in a good place at all.

[Silver Shocker]

I read X-Factor this week.

[spoiler]Arcade's client is revealed to be a former Purifier who's fallen on hard times and blames X-Factor because he got kick out of the group after recruiting Rictor during Messiah Complex without realizing who he was. The town has been sealed off from the outside world and the town has been rigged with bombs set to go off if the former Purifier dies. The issue ends with him poisoning himself. [/spoiler]

I found this issue can be summed up in a single word: peril. From Goldfinger style death traps to Indiana Jones style boulders, this issue has the characters placed in dangerous situations with more of a light-hearted approach to the danger. I got more of a sense of "Oh for the love of..." than "Oh my god we're gonna die!" from this issue and I think that's what the creative team was going for. There is one notable exception in the issue though, where a civilian meets a fairly grisly fate. This story kept me entertained and excited for the next issue, which is good for me as my interest in this title wanes and waxes based on the storyline or direction.

I'd give it a 6 or 7 out of 10. It probably would have gotten a higher rank from me except I wasn't a huge fan of the art.

[Previsionary]

since i don't have anything to add this week, haven't read the books yet, I'll just show off this pic I found from here


EDIT:  Captain britain and the MI:13 interview  <----I can't wait for a [possibly] good book about Captain Britain.

[Silver Shocker]

Actually that pic's been making the rounds lately. It also was among the pics from the NY comiccon reports at Comicscontinuum, Newsarama and Comicbookresources. I think it was also in the Newsarama article that revealed that Divided We Stand book 2 would have a Magik story. But I might be wrong about that.

[Podmark]

Spoilers for Wolverine and his stabbity friends AKA X-Force #3:
[spoiler]Bastion has the Purifiers gather known mutant haters both living and dead, while Risman decides to continue his own plans while supporting Bastion. Bastion reveals that he has no knowledge of Risman's associate Eli Bard the man who led him to Bastion's head. X-Force finds Rhane alive, despite Risman's earlier assurances that he killed her. She's been pumped full of Heroin but not to a lethal level and Wolverine tells Angel to go find Elixir to help her. Bastion uses a part of Magus he found last issue and implants the bodies of the gathered mutant haters with the technarchy virus. And thus he reveals his new zombie army of Graydon Creed (Mutants killed 147), Donald Pierce (348), Stephen Lang (29), Reverend William Stryker (414), The Leper Queen (221), Cameron Hodge (178), and Bolivar Trask (16,521,618)[/spoiler]

This issue is a little slower than the last two, but still it's exciting with two big surprises and alot of intrigue with the two main villains. And so far thats what X-Force has all been about big surprises and exciting villains (and lots of blood). I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

[Previsionary]

thanks for the review, sir Pod. Lot of interesting stuff going down in that book.

Wolverine first class #2:

Ok, yet another x-book this week and this one is wolverine first class. Pod already took care of the mainstream book for this week, so I'll do the other. Today, we're in for another treat...a sabretooth treat...and a birthday. Why is it a treat, you ask? Let's take a look...

[spoiler]This book starts out with young kitty asking the professor for his limousine. She and her girlfriends have tickets to go see a dazzler show and Kitty wants the night to be special to show up those stuck up Chicago brats she used to hang with. The life of women; so complicated, so unique. The professor agrees if Kitty can find a license driver to escort her and her friends. As a sidenote, I'd like to mention that this book's timeline still isn't clear to me since I don't know if Jean is "dead" or why kitty and Kurk are friends at this point, but I'll roll with it.

Anyway, of course Kitty can't find anyone to take her so she goes to the most obvious choice in this book—Wolverine. I find it amusing when Logan said, after Kitty was bugging him, "You never want to spend time with just me"

Kitty: Do you want me to spend more time with you?:

Wolvie: "NO."

I dunno. I found it amusing, but I am comfortable in admitting I find a lot of small things amusing. SHUTUP! Moving on...Kitty, having not found a driver, refuses to give up. This girl MUST go to that lame Dazzler concert (current dazzler bias creeping in), so here comes her handy computer skills. A few seconds later—literally a panel later--, Kitty finds out the most interesting news on Wolverine she's ever known...it's his birthday. SURPRISE! Cue one of Wolverine's lovers showing up plus some more "All New" X-men cameos.

Several pages later, Wolvie and his lady friend, and Kitty for w/e reason, are on a date at a ninja themed restaurant. Cue Sabretooth's appearance. I think we all know what happened next so that's where this summary/review ends.

I will say that the mini marvel backup was kinda cute. Earth season 3 dvds...the skrulls are silly stupid and I like that. :P
[/spoiler]

Overall, I didn't like this issue as much as number 1. I'd give it a 2.5-2.8 out of 5. Sabretooth stories really don't hold my attention long because no one has breathed new life into him in forever...I did kinda enjoy him on Carey's run, but that's only because he was forced into a situation he didn't want to be in...his old shtick is just that...old. Don't let that sway you out of the book, it did have some awesome and creative scenes (wasabi in the nose), but I'd rather not have another sabretooth appearance for a few good issues. However, this is good for those readers that don't remember how cunning sabretooth used to be in his original appearances.

New Exiles #5:

First thing that catches my attention from the cover alone...giant green dragon. It flashes me back to Rachel as a dino. Second, Kitty is in a dress and Sage is baring most of her torso...yeah, let's dig in. I'm going by memory of what I scanned so apologies to those that actually care for the book.
[spoiler]
As of this book, the team is effectively up to 8 members. This should be interesting, I suppose. The book starts out with a bloodied sage fighting for her life against some odd creatures and robots. From the looks of it, it looks like the crystal palace now has a danger room. How many other teams have that thing now? Anyway, the dynamic between Morph, Kitty, and Sage is pretty easily described as...Ice, lemon, and sugar. All three can work together well enough, but lemon and ice taste horrible without the sugar. I think that analogy works, I didn't put much thought into it. What I'm saying is, Kitty is pretty nonchalant about Sage and Sage wants to fight stuff on her own. Morph wants to help Sage but Kitty says no. Got it?

During her fight, Sage remarks that Kitty seems to hate her and they've never met. I'm inclined to say that current sage has that affect naturally...it's her other mutant power. I'll stop now. :P Anyway, sage is still fighting with her other identity from the final story arc in new Excalibur. I don't know how many of you read it, but she became Diana Fox in that series and took on a captain Britain type moniker and style. You'd have to read it to get it...and you'd only be disappointed.

Back to the story, Sage is taking a bath when she hears Cat and Morph screaming. She contemplates whether or not there is really danger and runs off. We got a shot up her towel and are greeted to blackness...it was quite an unnecessary angle and image. Anyway, Cat and Morph have fallen into a "rabbit hole" which I assume is a break in time and Sage just jumps in with her towel. She's a brave woman. We then get another sexy shot of sage getting out of the water she landed in as the towel fits snuggly around her chest and a bird flies directly across her lower area...ridiculous really. There's also a scene of kitty in a giant pink dress.

Moving on, the team eventually comes upon a scene of a dragon being attacked, they assumed, and the exiles decide to help out. We then get a full page dedicated to sage taking off her towel, fighting a knight fully nude,  and having her butt and other sensitive areas covered by bushes and trees...it's...beyond ridiculous. Sage makes emma look tame and I already hated sage enough.

Sage finally puts a fabric over her body that covers all her naughty areas and we meet a prince. The prince was sent to kill the dragon but he fell in love with it and...im done.[/spoiler]

This book...I don't know what this is. It's not the exiles book I used to enjoy and I thought it'd get a little better after last issue...but...I didn't even finish scanning through this because my limit was reached. I've no rating for this book at all. If you enjoy Sage fanservice and Claremont writing, this is your cup of tea. Be careful of how you drink it.


More reviews to come laterzzzz.

[Podmark]

Oh Claremont, how far you've fallen.

[murs47]

[spoiler]Sage finally puts a fabric over her body that covers all her naughty areas and we meet a prince. The prince was sent to kill the dragon but he fell in love with it and...im done.[/spoiler]

WTF? Now I'm really glad I dropped this. &lt;_&lt;

[Previsionary]

Uncanny X-men #497:

Let me preface this by saying one of you awesome skinners need to skin hippie Emma. I like it...this is probably the only time I will say something positive about Emma until...she does something else I like. :P

[spoiler]The book starts out with the trio of NC, Colossus, and Wolverine on the train. Wolverine wakes up, has a majorly bad feeling, and wakes up the others. Wolverine realizes that they are the only passengers on that section of the train and fears they may be jumped/attacked soon. You gotta love that wolverine, as he was completely correct with his assumption. Three giant mechs land outside and kidnap a section of the train. MYSTERY!

Wolverine, not being one to surrender even out of costume, jumps out the window and attacks his "giant-sized" kidnappers. Eventually Colossus and NC join in and....they are completely overwhelmed. We now know that Wolverine can survive a fall from hundreds of feet in the air while carrying an unconscious NC and acting as a pillow or buffer system. There's also quite a lot of blood from Wolvie but NC is as clean as a bar of soap. Nice. Suffice to say, all three mutants are captured and taken in.

The scene then shifts to Emma and Cyclops walking through hippie town. Emma, tired of being mocked for their far out appearances, uses her telepathic powers to create illusions (see the cover) so her and Cyclops can easily blend in. Cyclops loves his new look while Emma cringes. We then get a line so perfect, imo, that I must commend Cyclops for once, "Although, it is a bit less...naked...than your usual look." and then he follows it up with, "that's a definite minus". It is indeed, Cyclops...a minus for you! *only thrown in to taunt Beyonder*.

Anyway, Emma realizes Cyclops wanted to be a "filthy" hippie and tells him to be quiet. That's interesting since Cyclops actually was around during the hippie movement...and he didn't want to be one then. How times have changed. Anyway, Emma focuses and tries to find the source of this citywide illusion.

Another scene shift and we finally get to see the goddess who's doing this...and another Eli for those that read X-force this week. The goddess and Eli speak a bit and we get confirmation that Emma was trying to crack her thoughts...call in...the police!

Seconds after Emma is repelled from the goddess's mind, the police show up and ask Emma and Cyclops to freeze. Emma tries to force them asleep, but someone is blocking her powers. If someone can block one of the more powerful telepaths around, then you know they're probably near the omega rank. Anyway, Emma realizes the cops aren't going to arrest them and a barrage of bullets heads towards them. Emma goes diamond and Cyclops "does his thing". At this point, it's X-men vs. Goddess woman.

Back to the trio, Colossus finally wakes up and his capturer wants to know one thing: How did he and his friends survive M-day....end![/spoiler]

I enjoyed the issue a bit, but I wish Angel or Hephzibah would have shown up for a scene or two. Next issue should be interesting. Overall, I'd give this issue a solid 3. I'd suggest reading it as I did leave out some details, not many, but a few.

X-men- First Class #11:

You all know I love me some first class. If I ever get my modding spirit back, I might just have to do some more work on my x-men classic mod and expand it a bit more...yeah, that won't be happening.

This book starts out with a girl heading to a comic shop and we get some nice little easter eggs referencing Stan and Kirby.  Anyway, there's some type of threat going around that would usually be handled by the fan4 or the avengers, oddly enough, they're not around right now so...it's up to the x-men to help save the day with the help of...3 continuity nerds! That's right people, CANON is attacking the x-men!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111o1n1e1eleven111! So, you kids sit right back and listen to a tale of the Continuiteens...because continuity is being threatened and these kids made a choice of fighting it!

[spoiler]I'm not joking, that's their actual team name. In this issue, we get a bunch of villains appearing and even Galactus makes a showing when he tries to grab the x-jet, and he later shoots it out of the air.  Anyway, the x-men crash land and have a minor spat with green goblin that refers to Iceman as, "a pathetic stand-in for spider-man". The spat is short lived before goblin disappears and the Continuiteens reappear to help our favorite X-teens. They "hit the books" to help the x-men come up with a way to stop Galactus and correctly informs Iceman that Cyclops doesn't have laser eyes, but force beams. CLARITY, people!

Moving on, eventually, Galactus begins to lose his appearance and it turns out to be a giant Mysterio asking for spider-man. Angered by the x-men's interference, he warns them that he will return because they have earned his wrath. He then disappears and Xavier realizes that his powers have grown.

Back to the continuiteens, they realize, by reading an issue of x-men first class, that the x-men can help solve their little problem by going back to the Nexus of Reality (#9)  and they even remind us that this book is NOT the original series, if anyone was confused. The teens want you all to know this. They also want you to know that the Prof should have detected Mysterio back in that issue...lazy writing they say. Hard critics and conspiracist. Reminds me of some actual comic fans. They kids even referenced Jean's Phoenix drama...yay!



So who are the continuiteens you asked? They are three kids who used to work in a comic shop in Brooklyn. One day, a shipment was delayed so the kids had to get them from DIAMOND DISTRIBUTION located in the Florida everglades (#9). Eventually the kids realized that some of the books shouldn't have been published yet. MYSTERY! Another little joke is also thrown out there, "Luckily, marvel created few new characters in the future so we could make sense of the special tie-ins and crossovers!"

Anyway, the continuiteens took it upon themselves to intervene whenever their continuity was threatened. Quite a noble gesture. Eventually, they realized that they were beginning to effect natural events and...well...
Anyway, the kids explain who they are and what they do and they + the x-men head towards the water tower to deal with mysterio. Jean also finds herself in her second costume and is flabbergasted. Ok, I'm just gonna skip ahead because many people/villains showed up and a lot went down. Jean figures out a way to stop mysterio's illusions as the continuiteens read the issue they are starring in.  Doop then randomly appears, as does Venom for a few panels, before everything disappears and the continuiteens are cut off from their reality. They want you to know that the first class of x-men + wolverine (bleh) are the greatest x-men around...and then they're erased from time and will only be remembered through a single comic that Jean and Bobby find. Sad.[/spoiler]

I enjoyed this issue. Not so much for the plot, but because of how many villains/heroes were played with and how mainstream continuity was jabbed at. You couldn't do an issue like this in mainstream so it'd only fit in a book like this. The Continuiteens were ok for the most part, but they didn't really do much. I think the writer was just jabbing at the general concept and clichés of a comic fan and I found it interesting. Anyway, this book, I say 3.5 out of 5. Fun issue and not heavy. If you want the heaviness of Mainstream, just skip it...as you already do! :D And...I think I got every x-book so...

Next Week, all Angel, all the time!

[Silver Shocker]

Wow, Claremont really HAS fallen far.

[Podmark]

Quick review of Legacy
[spoiler]Xavier fights Exodus and wins. Exodus offers him leadership of the Acolytes but Charles declines. Charles goes out on his own leaving Erik and Karima. Somethings going on with Shaw and Rogue, separately.
[/spoiler]

This issue is about on par with the others, arts a bit weaker. There were two things that bugged me in this one [spoiler]That Xavier turned down Exodus I'd have liked to have him and the Acolytes continue on, and more so that Karima and Magneto were cut loose. I really liked those characters being part of the cast, in fact it might have been the main reason I liked this book. [/spoiler]

I give this a 6/10 might have given it a 7 if the art was better.

[Previsionary]

Ultimate X-men #93:

Well, here we are...the conclusion of the apocalypse storyline. Just to catch up the few of you that care, Beast returned and everyone was surprised even though some of them knew he was back already. Sinister returned and killed ten mutants to bring about the apocalypse. Xavier and Cable return and Jean went phoenix...finally.

[spoiler]We pick up where last issue left off. The fan4/x-men are still responding to the x-men not being under mind control while Xavier is getting his butt kicked. Meanwhile, carol orders shield off attack mode and tells them to run around and save the civilians while Phoenix and apocalypse have a showdown. They'll worry about the outcome of it later. Just a note, Phoenix looks like magma in a way.

Phoenix makes quit work of apocalypse and literally melts his armor, and later his skin, with very little effort. It reminds me of when apocalypse first showed up, a little bit overpowered in a short amount of time. If the x-men couldn't handle Apocalypse and he's uber level, how are we supposed to think they can stop and help with Phoenix? Anyway, Phoenix begins using her full powers while everyone just stands back and watches. She plans on killing apocalypse and he's begging for help. Wolverine, who seems to be the only person of wisdom lately, asks how do they expect to handle Jean if she defeats apocalypse.

Anyway, Jean has merged into phoenix and she has more important things to do that don't concern the x-men. She then tells Xavier that he set mutant kind back 100 years. She then tells Xavier she expects him to start over. She then sends everyone back to the mansion as if nothing happened. Only one thing is different...Jean is gone. In addition, Manhattan is calm and angel is alive and is sharing an intimate moment with dazzler. Wolverine also has his arm back so I don't know what to think about the cable situation. Anyway, the book ends with Xavier and all the active x-men in a room and Xavier announces that they're going to change the world.[/spoiler]

This book was very um...rushed. He built this giant threat up for 3 freaking issues then tosses him away with an even bigger threat known as Jean "I've been in waiting for almost 10 issues" Grey. I'm not impressed. 1.5 out of 5. The art didn't help, but im not gonna deduct points for that. The story did enough to make me dislike it.

[Previsionary]

Double post. I guess I should have included the free x-men comic in this post, but I read it awhile ago and hey...it's free. To sum it up, it's a pixie adventure in her home town and she joins the x-men at the end of the book. The astonishing team is pretty much the same minus Kitty. Pixie, in that book, was a bit more violent and confident and she looks older now. Moving on...

Cable #3:

Well, I can honestly say that cable hasn't interested me since Carey's run and that's a little sad since Cable has a small little curse behind his character. No matter how interesting he becomes, his solo stories usually end up failing and this book seems to be on a similar path right now. Until this book finds a legitimate reason for existing and pushes that story to the forefront, I really don't see a reason to be following this book as messiah complex barely plays a part in the context of things right now. Anyway, in this book, we continue the bishop/cable battle for yet another issue.

[spoiler]We last left off with a giant truck hurling towards cable and the red headed baby. Well, this issue picks up there and all cable has done is sit in place with a horrified look upon his face...like any scared human that had a huge truck ready to aerial stomp their body into the pavement. I want to pause for a second and say the art style is hard for me to take and I think they're misusing the space they have. 3-4 large panels on a page really reduces how much story you can get across, but I also realize the stylized art wouldn't work in a regular format. Anyway, the truck lands nose first where cable was...

Meanwhile, Bishop is standing back and hoping the truck killed cable and the baby. While he's vomiting, the people that were shooting at him earlier hit him on the back of the head. They then surmise that Bishop is a mutie and they haven't been around for awhile. So, they calmly drag bishop down the street while random blonde woman screams at the scene and comments that cable had a baby.

Obviously, cable is all right and he seems to be covered with a shield of some sort. I assume it's telekinetic, but I'm not sure. Point is, Cable lives and blonde woman takes him somewhere safe so he can bleed in private. Nice. Able then shows how protective he is of the baby by yelling at the woman for trying to touch her and then coaching her through removing a bullet from his arm...

Back to bishop, who still reminds me of a bald akuma with a large metal arm, he's chained to a wall with a bunch of men standing around him. Bishop is out of energy so he attempts to antagonize the cops/men holding him captive. He gets what he wanted as the men pound the living daylights out of him unaware that he's absorbing their energy.

We then flashback to Cable who has just got the last bullet removed from his arm and is no longer bleeding up a storm. We finally get some information on this new timeline and learn that the rich are the new government. This continues for a while and we learn that blonde girl, from the diner iirc, is named sophie and she wants cable to help them or whatever. Meanwhile, Bishop is still getting beat up by pretty much everyone that talks to him. He finally fully recharges and I assume he cut off someone's head with those newly equipped tentacles. Bloody. Bishop kills everyone in the room with the reasoning, "you don't exist. You won't exist once the baby is gone," and walks out of the room that contained him.

Back to Cable, he and Sophie continue to talk and Cable wonders if the "cops" have an aircraft. Before Sophie can fully answer, trouble arrives and we're left with...future cannonball![/spoiler]

Despite my starting pgraph, I did enjoy this issue because it moved stuff along while finally giving out details. The book still needs to define its direction so I can know the point of the series other than leaving it a "bloody" cable/baby vs. Bishop in the future book. If that's all it's going to be, it could have been a small arc or subplot in one of the many X-books we have already...X-force perhaps so they could play with blood and death all they wanted. I give this issue a solid 3 just for entertainment value. Oh, can someone confirm whether Bishop is able to gain energy back from physical attacks? I didn't think he could and that's kinda a Sebastian Shaw power...not a Bishop power.

Logan #3:

The final issue of this marvel knights miniseries. If you read my previous summaries/reviews—sumviews?—you'd know that I pretty much like this book and wolverine in general is on an upswing with me for the most part until I read spider-man and new avengers. Anyway, last book we left off with wolverine surviving a nuclear explosion as his rival died. This issue, we pick up wit wolverine falling through the air and breaking a tree branch. Let's see what happens, why don't we?

[spoiler]After breaking the tree branch and landing in the snow, Wolverine muses to himself for a few short moments and confronts the fire creature from his past with his claws. He slices through its neck and realizes he didn't do any damage at all. That's when he begins using his words to try to calm the beast, which he calls Warren, down. That's right kids, violence and fatal attacks first, and if that doesn't work, talk about it. Very important actions from a very important man: Get it, learn it, and know it!

When then flashback to Logan and Atsuko (his woman pal of japans descent) in the tub. Wolverine fell hard for the girl, as he wanted her to come with him to somewhere peaceful. After a few panels of dialogue, and a full page of Atsuko standing in the sunset while Logan tells us how much of her he remembers, we return to a scene of the fire creature holding wolverine's bleeding heart. Toasty. If that wasn't enough, the creature then eats said heart. I don't think Mortal Kombat has crossed that line yet so I've no appropriate quip yet.

Anyway, somehow Warren regains his full body and taunts wolverine a  bit. He also doesn't know how his body reformed, but he doesn't care. Wolverine growls and Warren tries to force him away with some sort of energy (plasma/heat?) blast. It's obvious that warren doesn't know wolverine's abilities well enough at all as he's shocked that wolvie is still standing and contributes it to spasms until he's thrown into a wall and plows into the snow. Sad. He then begs for mercy. How the mighty have fallen. I mean that as literally as a head falling into the snow before the rest of its body. Welcome to Mortal Kombat: Wolverine edition, folks.

Wolverine passes out and awakens in a dreamscape with his lost love who offers to remove his memories of Hiroshima and Warren. I'll leave you to guess what he did as he lies in the snow. The answer is never stated. :P[/spoiler]

This was an ok end for the series and those that thought the fire demon was his Japanese love will probably be disappointed. However, I didn't like the usage of Warren, really. I thought they could have done a little more with him in the final issue, but it's ok. I give it a 3.

The other xbooks will have to wait. I'm sure Pod will have young x-men done before I even return. :P

EDIT:

Quick review of X-factor: The Quick and the Dead:

If you've been wondering where Pietro was, well, here's the book for you and it's quite a good read. It's basically a character study on pietro's current mind frame and his path to redemption. He's falling off the evil path he's been on for the past two years and heading back to the good guy he's been for the majority of his career. There's also some cameos by Wanda, Magneto, Layla, and his daughter and ex-wife. I suggest you Quicksilver peeps check it out. 4 out of 5.

Extra:

Check out this new thing marvel is trying out. Astonishing number 1...with a multimedia twist: http://www.marvel.com/news/comics.3515.Astonishing_X-Men_%231_Like_You%27ve_Never_Seen_It

It's ok...but some of the voices were way off, imo. Emma comes to mind.

[Silver Shocker]

I am very much a "Quicksilver peep". Good one shot but I found it was less fun during the final act where there wasn't much words. Layla and Pietro play off each other so well.

I read Young X-Men #2 this week. It was a bit better than the last issue as a little more happened and a good deal more happened to make you question what's really going on.

[spoiler]Cyclops puts the team through a simulation of the X-Men's first encounter with the original New Mutants to practice fighting them, and he stresses the point that the New Mutants are much more experienced and would beat them badly in a fight. They're given miniature versions of Cerebro to scan for the New Mutants, but during a scene where new character Greymalkin is spying on them, the scanner only picks up 5 mutants meaning two of the characters present are not mutants, which only serves to aid fan belief that Cyclops is an imposer. Blindfold and Ink go after Moonstar while Rockslide and the other go after Magma. Things don't go as planned at all as Magma unleashes her powers right in the middle of a street causing a panic among citizens, and Blindfold is knocked out by Ink, who seems to be a traitor. [/spoiler]

There seems to be some funky characterization with Cyclops, Amara and Dani, but it's hard to judge by that because things might not be as they seem. Ink was considerably less annoying and Wolfcub wasn't trying to emulate Wolverine. Characterization could have been a bit better especially since Wolfcub didn't really say or do anything memorable, but there was a moment in the book that fits Rockslide's previous personality to a tee. I'm pleased with this book for the moment but this is definitely the kind of book that you need to give at least an arc before passing serious judgment on. I'm definitely be looking forward to future issues, especially since Anole's supposed to show up at some point.

[Talavar]

What is up with Young X-men?  Either something funky is going on, or this is the worst characterization of Cyclops & the Old New Mutants I've seen.

[Silver Shocker]

Something funky is going on.

[zuludelta]

Logan #3:

The final issue of this marvel knights miniseries. If you read my previous summaries/reviews—sumviews?—you'd know that I pretty much like this book and wolverine in general is on an upswing with me for the most part until I read spider-man and new avengers. Anyway, last book we left off with wolverine surviving a nuclear explosion as his rival died. This issue, we pick up wit wolverine falling through the air and breaking a tree branch. Let's see what happens, why don't we?

[spoiler]After breaking the tree branch and landing in the snow, Wolverine muses to himself for a few short moments and confronts the fire creature from his past with his claws. He slices through its neck and realizes he didn't do any damage at all. That's when he begins using his words to try to calm the beast, which he calls Warren, down. That's right kids, violence and fatal attacks first, and if that doesn't work, talk about it. Very important actions from a very important man: Get it, learn it, and know it!

When then flashback to Logan and Atsuko (his woman pal of japans descent) in the tub. Wolverine fell hard for the girl, as he wanted her to come with him to somewhere peaceful. After a few panels of dialogue, and a full page of Atsuko standing in the sunset while Logan tells us how much of her he remembers, we return to a scene of the fire creature holding wolverine's bleeding heart. Toasty. If that wasn't enough, the creature then eats said heart. I don't think Mortal Kombat has crossed that line yet so I've no appropriate quip yet.

Anyway, somehow Warren regains his full body and taunts wolverine a  bit. He also doesn't know how his body reformed, but he doesn't care. Wolverine growls and Warren tries to force him away with some sort of energy (plasma/heat?) blast. It's obvious that warren doesn't know wolverine's abilities well enough at all as he's shocked that wolvie is still standing and contributes it to spasms until he's thrown into a wall and plows into the snow. Sad. He then begs for mercy. How the mighty have fallen. I mean that as literally as a head falling into the snow before the rest of its body. Welcome to Mortal Kombat: Wolverine edition, folks.

Wolverine passes out and awakens in a dreamscape with his lost love who offers to remove his memories of Hiroshima and Warren. I'll leave you to guess what he did as he lies in the snow. The answer is never stated. :P[/spoiler]

This was an ok end for the series and those that thought the fire demon was his Japanese love will probably be disappointed. However, I didn't like the usage of Warren, really. I thought they could have done a little more with him in the final issue, but it's ok. I give it a 3.

I was trying to avoid this thread for fear of reading anything Logan #3 related (I usually get my comics a week or three late), but I couldn't resist seeing what anybody else though of this mini-series so far.

Oh well.

My previously high expectations for the story were tempered somewhat by the developments (or lack thereof) in the second issue, so seeing you give it a mediocre grade (I'm assuming when you say you give it a "3" that means you're grading it on a five-point scale and not a ten-point one) doesn't really surprise me. Somewhat disappointed that the mutant Warren (and not the deceased Atsuko) turned out to be the flame creature... I thought Vaughan was trying to tell a superhero-flavoured take on the classic American horror/ghost story (à la Washington Irving), wherein a chance encounter with the supernatural re-contextualizes the protagonist's life experiences and the American cultural perspective. I guess it was too much to hope that a writer of Vaughan's impressive resumé and record would attempt to write a more unconventional Wolverine story. By your description of the issue, it doesn't really expand on the character anymore than, say, issue #47 of the 1990s Larry Hama series... a decent "character-driven" Wolverine story, but nothing to get excited about either.     

In any event, I'll still be picking this up... already have the first two issues, might as well complete the set. And the Eduardo Risso line art and Dean White colouring is still worth the price of admission, no matter my concerns about the story.

[AfghanAnt]

Is anyone else extremely bored with Young X-Men and Uncanny X-Men?

[murs47]

Is anyone else extremely bored with Young X-Men and Uncanny X-Men?

Yes to Young X-Men, last week's issue was terrible enough for me to drop the title. However, I'm sticking with Uncanny even though this whole San Francisco/Hippie arc is a fiasco, I'm more then sure the next will be decent.

[Podmark]

Didn't bother with the hippie arc but I'll probably check out 500. Young X-Men certainly isn't anything special but I found the 2nd issue was slightly better than the first and I do believe the book will get better.

Wasn't too impressed with this week's Legacy either.

[Previsionary]

Didn't bother with the hippie arc but I'll probably check out 500. Young X-Men certainly isn't anything special but I found the 2nd issue was slightly better than the first and I do believe the book will get better.

Wasn't too impressed with this week's Legacy either.

what happened in legacy? I don't plan on doing reviews this week. :P

edit:

Captain Britain:

I found this book to be an awesome read and the scene with captain britain and that skrull were pretty awesome. It was a bit skrull-gory though as each of the main characters in the book got rid of a skrull in a pretty hardcore way. I had high expectations for this book and they were met for the most part. I guess I am also a bit lenient because I wanted to see Brian and the British heroes shine for awhile, but I liked what I read. 4 out of 5.

Wolverine:

Twas a good end to a nice arc. Lots of blood and stabbing and oddly enough, vomiting. Wolverine came off as his usual self in the end and I don't really understand why Mystique choose to stay nude the whole fight. She may have caught the sage disease. Whatever. 3 out of 5.

[Podmark]

what happened in legacy? I don't plan on doing reviews this week. :P

I don't have my issue here, and my memory is shoddy, but here's what I remember

[spoiler]Juggernaut is hit with a psychic attack more powerful than Charles.
Charles goes to see Carter Ryking (a character I've never heard of before) who is part of his past. Ryking is a former mutant and going kind of nuts and then dies. Xavier is attacked by assassins who are stopped by Gambit.
Shaw tells Roberto about the device mentioned last issue, it's detected something but we're not told what. [/spoiler]

[Previsionary]

Ultimate X-men 94 preview: http://comics.ign.com/articles/874/874171p1.html

I must say that since Kirkman basically retconned his whole run for the most part and this writer seems to be ignoring more of it, I think I might actually pick up the next few issues. I'll just keep my hopes very low as a guard. :P

Speaking of which, Ultimatum and Ultimate Origins, from what I've seen thus far, don't seem to have anything to do with Loeb anymore...or he's not involved in the whole run, so that pleases me.

[Podmark]

Ultimate X-men 94 preview: http://comics.ign.com/articles/874/874171p1.html

I must say that since Kirkman basically retconned his whole run for the most part and this writer seems to be ignoring more of it, I think I might actually pick up the next few issues. I'll just keep my hopes very low as a guard. :P

Speaking of which, Ultimatum and Ultimate Origins, from what I've seen thus far, don't seem to have anything to do with Loeb anymore...or he's not involved in the whole run, so that pleases me.

Origins is Bendis, Loeb is the Ultimatum mini. Also I don't like Loeb. Not big on Bendis either for that matter.