Like many people who work in the comic book retail industry who try and read beyond superhero comics and Silver Age sci-fi, Neil Gaiman's work was one of my go-to recommendations when someone came in looking for a safe entry point into comics. While there was always a Trigger Warning for some sexual assault content in Sandman, I would always mention that the sexual assault wasn't glorification or pornographic, it was a plot point where the victim was given agency and that the incident felt like a necessary part of the story, and not something the writer threw in to make a male character seem more heroic.

I loved recommending Sandman, The Graveyard Book, 1602, Coraline, and Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader? to people. The books themselves are still wonderful, and I haven't thrown out my copies of them but I don't know that I'll read them again, and I certainly won't be buying any more of his work.

I understand anyone's reticence to support a sexual predator. Sadly, that looks to be what Gaiman is. The unmasking of Gaiman is the most disappointed I've been in someone who was outed as a predator. He has always been supportive of shops I've worked at, writers and artists I've enjoyed, and he even plugged this website once or twice. His social media account was wholesome, progressive, and important for many years. All of my interactions with Gaiman were pleasant and uplifting. Of course, I'm not a twenty-year-old white woman.

If you were a big fan of Gaiman's who is looking for similar stories to replace the Neil sized hole in your reading experience, or if you're someone new to comics, looking for some fun non-superhero comics to consume without the sexual predator baggage, here's my list.

Sandman is the series most comic book retailers will suggest as a starting point to non-superhero comics. Luckily, this is the easiest series to find alternatives for. Sandman is a myth-based fantasy series with a lot of religious trope-twisting and hugely-flawed characters trying-to-be, and getting, better by the end of the story. Dream, the protagonist of Sandman, mostly sucks. He's spent centuries being a power-hungry sad-sack-dick. The story is mostly his redemption amongst a community that's mostly apologized for his behavior, anyway. Talk about a self-insert.
The most obvious replacement for this is Mike Carey's Lucifer, which is actually a spin-off of Sandman. During Sandman (which you do NOT have to read to follow any of this story), Lucifer renounced his position in Hell, left Dream in charge, and went off to start his own Creation. Lucifer is the story of  the drama around that new creation. I have always recommended this as an addendum to Sandman. It's a better-written story. The narrative is more focused, the plot easier to follow, and the characters more likeable, even though they are just as flawed. It's currently available in five trade paperbacks, and I recommend the entire series.

Mike Carey has also written an amazing series called Unwritten, which would be perfect for a list of fantastic magic books to read in place of either Neil Gaiman's Books Of Magic or JK Transphobe's Harry Potter books (which, if you can throw off your childhood-nostalgic glasses, aren't written very well, anyway).  Unwritten follows a boy whose father wrote a series similar to the Harry Potter books, which he based on his son's likeness, and it's not long before the events of the children's books start spilling over into the protagonist's real life. I adore this series, and have reread it several times.

Some people might suggest Bill Willingham's Fables as an alternative to Sandman. While Willingham is not a sexual predator to my knowledge, if you're trying to be progressive and support writers and artists without right wing baggage, you're going to want to skip out on any of his work, too.

Fables is a series of diminishing returns anyway, so you're not missing much. 

Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's Wicked + Divine is another fantastic series based around mythology that you can feel good about reading. It focuses on a pantheon of gods who are reborn every ninety years, and their 21st century versions are revered as pop stars. 

Flawed characters? Check. Religious themes? Check. Violent conflict? Check. Are the flawed characters likeable? Mostly. Is the art amazing? Hell YES. Visually, this is a much more striking book than anything I've listed so far. Written or drawn by irredeemable kaiju? Not that I've heard. 

The best part of this recommendation for me is that if someone loves Wicked + Divine, it's really easy to recommend the creative team's work on Young Avengers, which is a superhero book with a similar feel. And if you love that, too, I can tentatively recommend Phonogram, which was also written by the creative team but isn't as polished as the other books. But if you like British Pop, British Rock, or are just fans of writers who infuse their comics with music, then Boy Howdy is this series going to bring you joy.

I think most comic book retail employees engaged with reading recent and/or current non-superhero comics will recommend Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda's Monstress. It's a matriarchal fantasy story with some of the most gorgeous art in comic history. Takeda is about one or two series away from being my all-time favorite artist. She has backgrounds that are more complex and beautiful than most peoples' covers.

That said, I have a hard time staying engaged with Monstress. I like the characters, I love the concept but the story gets a bit jumbled for me, and apart from the first couple of volumes, I couldn't tell you the overarching plot of the series, even though I've read the first six or seven volumes several times.

Luckily, the same creative team also puts out Night Eaters. While the first volume has the dumbest subtitle in all of literature: She Eats The Night, the story is awesome. Mythology, generational trauma, and Sana Takeda's art make this one my favorite series from the last couple of years to recommend to people.

​I refuse to spoil anything about this book. Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá is my #1 reality-grounded fantasy book recommendation. I think everyone who wants to read comics but not engage with superhero comics should read this book with no preconceptions. It's just one volume, and I have yet to have someone I've recommended the book to come back and tell me they didn't love it.

​Though more like Gaiman's American Gods than Sandman, Jonathan Hickman's East Of West is a mythology-based, post-apocalyptic fable about an America split into seven parts after a Civil War. Some of it hits close to reality but most of it is just excellent world-building on top of a fallen empire.

This is the third Headcanon I've done for the X-Men in the past fifteen years.

The first Headcanon "The X-Men In Ten Seasons" was just me looking at X-Men related collections and trying to remember which ones were good or seemed important to continuity, and dividing them up into seasons. It was fun but it was only moderately informed. I was a huge X-Men fan but I wasn't an exceptionally knowledgable one.

The second Headcanon was based on The Most Important Stores In X-Men History. The most impactful, iconic stories that, if you asked any comic book store employee who had even a passing knowledge of the X-Men, they probably would recommend virtually the same list.

In 2017/2018, I read most of the X-Men related books that had been released in trade paperback. But I'd get bored during the silver age stories, and start skimming pages, and I'd get frustrated in some of the 90s books, and start skimming pages, so I sort of read most of the X-Men chronology but not really. 

At the beginning of 2024 I started rereading earnest. Every volume of X-Men related book currently available in trades (and some stories that haven't yet been collected in trades but which I have the issues of). Weirdly, this improved my experience of reading some of the terrible books because I was really invested in how characters got from point A to point B, even if the story was jankily written, poorly drawn, or just a complete narrative mess. I am reading everything.

I'm currently nearing the end of the 1990s, having read every available issue of X-Men (which will become X-Men Legacy), Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants, Excalibur, X-Force, Wolverine, Cable, Deadpool, Generation X, and related miniseries for characters like Storm, Longshot, Bishop, and many more. My current posts about X-Men Headcanon are reviews of Every Book I've Read as part of this project.

This is the first post of The Best X-Men Stories that I've enjoyed. While I certainly weighed the cultural importance of these volumes to larger X-Men lore, I haven't included books that were deemed important but that I don't think aged well compared to other books of the time. I haven't included The Mutant Massacre, even though it resonates through the X-Men lore for decades. It's just messy and difficult to keep track of if you haven't read many of the books before it. Likewise, I've left off Inferno which is a book I'd never been able to get through before, and now that I have read every page, I wish I'd spent the time doing something more fun, like dancing barefoot in a room full of thumb tacks and barbed wire.

If you want to experience the best Inferno story, "X-Men '97" condensed the entire storyline into a single episode, and it's amazing. Watch that, instead of reading the original crossover event.

This first season contains ten books, mostly written by Chris Claremont, that I could sit and have a long conversation with someone about why I liked the story, its political importance, why it made me care for the characters, and how it influenced other books for better or worse.

With the exception of the first book, Magneto Testament, all these books are currently in print (or about to be put back into print in early 2025) and should be available for cover price or cheaper. It might also be possible to find Magneto Testament floating around your local comic book store or looking at sites like Thriftbooks and Bookshop Dot Org.

1. Magneto Testament by Greg Pak & Carmine Di Giandomenico

X-Men: none

​1st Appearance: Magneto

If you've seen an X-Men movie, you've almost definitely seen a scene of a youngish Magneto in an office of a concentration camp using his powers of magnetism to kill someone. You've seen iron gates ripped from the ground, projectiles launched at Nazis.

That's not what this book is.

Interspersed with historical data about The Holocaust, we get the story of a young teenage Max (he has not yet taken the name Erich...his father's name) who's targeted at school because of his Jewishness, as the nation of Germany descends into anti-semitism and genocide. We get brief glimpses of important moments in his young life. He falls in love based on almost nothing. He rebels when it seems convenient. He protects his family when he can. But his powers are a hint, not a weapon.

When his family is murdered, he survives presumably because of his power of magnetism but we don't know. They could have just missed him or not delivered a fatal wound. He ends up in a concentration camp where he eventually is in charge of leading other Jew to their deaths.

It is, of course, a grim book. There is no moment of catharsis where he rips open an iron gate. He does not kill any officers by hurling cutlery at them. He survives. He does what he has to do to survive and to try and save a girl he loves, even though he doesn't seem to know very much about her.

I think this is a great starting point for a read-through of the Marvel Mutant Universe. It clearly sets the tone that, despite what your drooling, all-caps, anti-woke, right wing nutjob uncle thinks, this is a story about overcoming the harms of prejudice, bigotry, and racism/anti-semitism. Marvel's mutant sector, in particular has ALWAYS been about civil rights. Anyone who tells you otherwise lacks reading comprehension skills, and you should never give credence to anything they tell you about literature or writing because they're clearly too stupid to understand the basic premise of a comic series that's mostly directed at children and teenagers.

Carmine Di Giandomenico's art is superb, and I think the muted grey color palette helps the book feel like something from our past without that visual metaphor overwhelming the story.

The story is affecting but not devastating to read. If you're familiar with the basic horrors of The Holocaust, you're likely to learn some new details, and maybe get a better feel for the timeline but it doesn't delve so deep into the story that you're likely to be weeping.

or  ​2b. X-Men First Class Mutants 101 by Jeff Parker, Roger Cruz, Kevin Nowlan, Nick Dragotta, Paul Smith, Colleen Coover, Victor Olazaba, Michael Allred, Laura Allred, Val Staples, and Pete Pantazis

X-Men: Prof X, Angel, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, Jean Grey

1st Appearances,: Lizard, Jarvis, Dr. Strange, The Vanir, Ymir, Skrulls, Gorilla Man

​Also Featuring: Blob, Sentinels, Juggernaut, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Bernard, Zelda

If you just can't stomach the Silver Age comics, this is an alternative introduction to the first proper team of X-Men. Written in 2007, it takes place during Children of The Atom. While it never contradicts the stories there, it does muddle history a bit by including more modern technology. Also, the characters are more in-tune with their modern selves rather than everyone being a reactionary fool like they are in The Silver Age.

There's a ton of fun tie-ins to the original X-run, but none of them are necessary to follow the stories. Also, each issue is a one-off story, usually featuring a member of the wider Marvel Universe. 

4. X-Men Epic Collection The Fate Of The Phoenix by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and John Romita Jr

X-Men​: Prof X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Shadowcat

​1st Appearances: Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, Dazzler, Smasher, Stevie Hunter, Rachel Grey, Franklin Richards, Mystique, Destiny, Pyro, Avalanche

​Also featuring: Banshee, Moira, Madrox, Mastermind, Angel, Donald Pierce, Candy Southern, Dr Strange, Lilandra, Araki, Jarvis, The Watcher, Gladiator, Skrulls, Vindicator, Shaman, Snowbird, Wendigo, Blob, Magneto, Sentinels, Robert Kelly

​This volume contains Chris Claremont's two most popular stories from his decade plus run on the X-Men books. First and foremost, the space saga surrounding Jean Grey's original time as The Phoenix, which is the mose soap opera-y soap opera in late 20th century comics. The story has been retold in the X-Men movies, in the X-Men animated series, in video games, and has been satarized and/or homaged in a billion different comics and webcomics. It's probably the most important event in X-Men history, and while it's not THE BEST EVER story, it still stands as Very Entertaining To Read, forty years later.

Before we get to the second classic story, Wolverine and Alpha Flight clash a few times.

Then Mystique and Destiny debut during "Days Of Future Past" where we get to see the post-apocalyptic future of (checks notes) 2013! This is also an important piece of Marvel history that generations of X-Men writers reference or blatantly steal from even now, when we're over a decade past when this futuristic story was supposed to take place.

Apart from being a collection of classic stories, this volume is also where Wolverine started to become The Most Important X-Man Ever (to marketing people and editors, mostly).

If you're only ever going to read one twentieth century X-Men story, this is probably the one. But really, you should read at least two, and hit up X-Men Epic Proteus before this one. The pacing and unfolding storylines are prime twentieth century comics.

​5. X-Men Epic Collection God Loves Man Kills by Chris Claremont, Frank Miller, Paul Smith, Bob Wiacek, Walt Simonson, John Romita Jr

X-Men: Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue

1st Appearances: Madelyne Pryor, The Morlocks, Callisto, Yukio

​Also Featuring: Magneto, Lilandra, Stevie Hunter, Binary, Magik, Silver Samurai, Viper, Carol Danvers, The Starjammers, Mystique, Destiny, Candy Southern, Amanda Sefton, Angel, Lee Forester, Mariko, Mastermind, Sebastian Shaw, Tessa
​
This book mainly makes the Headcanon for the title story. Despite it having its own issues with institutional racism, the story presents Claremont's anti-bigotry themes in clearer and more nuanced ways than his usual hammer-to-the-head delivery. It has many strengths, one of them being the evolution of Magneto from villain to anti-hero. 

We also see Wolverine's first solo outing which will lay the template for decades of dull rehashes of the formula: Wolverine goes to Japan to check in on the love of his life only to find himself embroiled in yakuza clan warfare. 

What follows is one of the weaker parts of Claremont's run on X-Men. It has some important plot points but to get to them, it asks the reader to immediately care about new characters as quickly as it introduces them.

The biggest ask is that the reader cares about Madelyne Pryor, a woman who Cyclops meets and immediately falls in love with because she looks like Jean Grey. But is she Jean Grey? Is she The Phoenix? Not enough time or story is included to make her a fully fleshed out character. Also, Scott just slowly fell in love with another character we didn't know much about, and she is quickly discarded for this new Jean Grey fill-in.

We're also introduced to Callisto and The Morlocks in a decent story that will continue to bubble under the surface of X-Men comics for decades.

The Rogue story is interesting but not given enough time, and the Wolverine material would probably have been better without editorial interference. Reportedly, Jim Shooter, the worst person to ever stain the Marvel masthead with his name, wouldn't allow Claremont or any other writer to portray any queer relationships. Claremont had intended on having Storm fall in love with Yukio, a Wolverine side-character. Instead, Claremont writes Storm so that she meets Yukio is enamored of her, then cuts her hair into a mohawk and starts wearing leather, which is about as obviously coded as you can get. Cheers to Claremont on that. May Jim Shooter trip today, chipping a tooth and having one of his eyes fall out. The entire comic industry would rejoice in the news.

​6. New Mutants Epic Collection The Demon Bear Saga by Chris Claremont, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bob McLeod, and John Buscema

New Mutants: Professor X: Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot, Magik, Magma, Cypher, Warlock

1st Appearances: Magus, Lilah Cheney, Legion, Guido, Reverend Craig, Sharon Friedlander, Tom Corsi

​Also Featuring: Karma, Shadow King, Lockheed, Binary, Lilandra, Corsair, Ch'od, Waldo, Stevie Hunter, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Selene, Sebastian Shaw, Magneto, Lee Forrester, Moira MacTaggert, Cloak, Dagger, Rogue, Banshee, Madrox, Gabrielle Haller, Emma Frost, Dazzler, Rachel Grey

​I'm putting this in headcanon purely for the first part of this collection. The Demon Bear Saga, is one of the best New Mutants stories. Much of this is the arrival of Bill Sienkiewicz as artist. Through a 2024 lens, his artwork is odd, anatomically jarring, a little sharp angled, and with a bit of a DC Vertigo or mid-90s MTV cartoon edge. But when it debuted in the 80s it was revelatory. I imagine traditionalists hated it but as a kid, I wanted more.

It does help that his first story is when the series pivoted from The Next Young Group Of Mutants Tries To Find Their Way In The World to a collection of stories that explore the effect of trauma on minority youth.

There is a noticeable dip in quality of story (but not art) as we transition to the arrival of Warlock, and then the fallout of a Cloak and Dagger story. The stories are fine, and do an admirable job of pushing the characters in new directions but they feel scattered after the focused and brilliant Demon Bear Saga.

Next up is the introduction of Legion, a character who can be used super creatively, and was the focus of one of the best Marvel related TV shows they've come up with. Certainly the best pre-streaming TV show. Unfortunately, much of the first Legion arc uses a dated, problematic trope that makes it cringey to read. While this trope is only introduced so that Claremont can invert it is admirable. The end of the story does make it so that the characters using the problematic language and ideals turn out to be wrong and learn a lesson. That doesn't make the journey there any easier to read. It's not quite as bad as Claremont dropping the N-bomb in X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills to prove a point about racism but it's pretty close and it's drawn out for Much Longer. 

​7. X-Men Vs Fantastic Four by Chris Claremont,  John Bogdanove, Barry Windsor-Smith, Jackson Guice, Marc Silvestri, and Dan Green

X-Men: Magneto, Storm, Havok, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Psylocke, Longshot, Dazzler

Fantastic Four: Mr Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing, She-Hulk, Franklin Richards

​Also Featuring: Dr Doom, Malice, Juggernaut, Madelyne Pryor, Polaris, Lila Cheney, Moira MacTaggert, Banshee, Alicia Masters, Sharon Friedlander, Tom Corsi

I'm including X-Men issues #314-#319, which have not yet been collected into trade paperback but serve to bridge the gap between Mutant Massacre and X-Men Vs Fantastic Four. I presume this material will be colelcted in X-Men Epic Collection Vol 11, when that comes out.

This issues not included in the Fantastic Four Vs The X-Men feature the X-Men battling Malice, then Wolverine goes berserk while Storm lives out The Most Dangerous Game against some WWII era heroes who've aged into unethical vigilantes, and then Dazzler and a bunch of the X-Men on Muir Island battle Juggernaut. They're all fun, if not Important To Continuity, and help setup the interpersonal relationships we see in Fantastic Four Vs X-Men.

​​This was the first comic series I ever read. So there's definitely some nostalgia inspiring my review.

The story involves the X-Men needing a device from Reed Richards of The Fantastic Four in order to save their youngest member, Shadowcat during the aftermath of The Mutant Massacre. Through a series of dream sequences and a jubilantly nitpicky Doctor Doom interventions, Reed doesn't trust that his machine will help. Thus the Vs. part of the title, as the teams do squabble a couple of times. But, mostly, this is a team up book that doesn't have Universe Changing Consequences. It's superhero friends calling superhero friends to help solve a very specific team-focused problem. I enjoy that level of stakes.

The dialogue is Chris Claremont hokey. But I think it's some of his better hokey work. The art is standard 80s Marvel.

I recommend this more for X-Men fans than FF fans, as that's Claremont's wheelhouse, and if you do love continuity, there's a ton of fun events in this self-contained mini-series. If you're the type that gets really frustrated that Jennifer Walters behaves in a different manner than you would imagine based on She-Hulk Issue 31, maybe steer clear of this one.

8. New Mutants Epic Fallen Angels by Chris Claremont, Jo Duffy, Jackson Guice, Bret Blevins,  Kevin Nowlan, Alan Davis, Rick Leonardi, Sal Buscema, Kerry Gammill, Marie Severin, and Joe Staton

New Mutants: Prof X, Magneto, Wolfsbane, Dani Moonstar, Sunspot, Cannonball, Karma, Magik, Magma, Warlock, Cypher

1st Appearances: Siryn, Renegade, Gomi

​Also Featuring: Stevie Hunter, Magus, Kate Power, Sym, Carol Danvers, Corsair, Lilandra, Ch'od, Hepzibah, Waldo, Sikorsky, Storm, Sebastian Shaw, Selene, Tessa, Impossible Man, Sabretooth, Scalphunter, Vertigo, Harpoon, Empath, Roulette, Catseye, Shaman, Jetstream, Boom Boom, Ariel, The Vanisher, Beast, Iceman, Moon Boy, Devil Dinosaur

After the Mutant Massacre (a crossover event which is technically Very Important to the X-Men narrative but isn't an enjoyable enough read to make this headcanon), the New Mutants were separated and shunted through time with Magneto and the remaining X-Men thinking they're dead. Each team has ended up in an alternate future while Magik, who was separated from both teams, ends up encountering Professor X and the Starjammers.

The alternate future timelines where each team sees the aged-up versions of their missing teammates living in a different type of dystopia is a ton of fun, as is Professor X becoming part of the story again.  We also see the showdown between Magus and Warlock before we return to the X-mansion in the proper timeline for a mediocre retread of the New Mutants vs The Hellions, and a very odd adventure with the Fantastic Four villain, Impossible Man.

This is the volume where the New Mutants series veers away from the horror, and into the usual Claremont wheelhouse of superhero time travel/space epic. I think it's an improvement. We do have the typical team infighting, resulting in a brief spin-off series featuring Sunspot, Warlock, Siryn, Madrox, Boom Boom, Ariel, Renegade, and Gomi. It isn't a great story but it does let some lesser used Marvel mutants and lobsters shine.​  ​

​​9. X-Men Epic Mutant Genesis by Chris Claremont, Fabien Nicieza, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Peter David, Ken Laminski, Kirk Jarvinen, Tom Raney, Terry Shoemaker,  Paul Smith, Andy Kubert, Jerry DeCaire, Ernie Stiner, and Steven Butler

X-Men: Professor X, Forge, Storm, Banshee, Wolverine, Psylocke, Gambit, Jubilee

X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel

1st Appearances: Foxbat, Gauntlet, Psynapse, Barrage, Hard-Drive, Askani, Shinobi Shaw, Fabien Cortez, Delgado, Birdy

​Also Featuring: Magneto, Apocalypse, Cable (as a baby), Captain America, Thing, Human Torch,      She-Hulk, Cameron Hodge, Tusk, Opal, Trish Tilby, Charlotte Jones, Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Crystal, Karnak, Lockjaw,  Sebastian Shaw, Shadow King, Lian,  Rogue, Strong Guy, Moira MacTaggert, Legion, Siryn, Madrox, Colossus, Stevie Hunter, Val Cooper, Mystique, Polaris, Chief Magistrate Anderson, Matsuo, Nick Fury

There's a ton of story packed into this penultimate Claremont storyline. Unfortunately, this trade starts with Fabien Nicieza's "Kings Of Pain" storyline, which doesn't do justice to the stories that come after it.

From there we dive into the conclusion of the original X-Factor/Apocalypse storyline, which adds the Inhumans into the mix, and has big consequences for everyone, especially baby Cable.

From there, it's time to finally piece the X-Men back together (they've been seperated for a couple of years worth of comics) as The Shadow King's rule over Muir Isle leads to the return of Professor X and a whole slew of changes for every X-Team besides Excalibur.

This collection also features X-Men #1-3. Personally, I would have put this in the next collection, as it truly feels like the beginning of a new era, even if it also wraps up Claremont's FIFTEEN YEARS-long run on the title. But it is a blast and shows the next evolution of Magneto from villain to anti-hero to terrorist-with-a-pretty-solid-reason-to-be-upset.

13. Generation X Epic Collection Back To School by Scott Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, Joe Madureira, Roger Cruz, Andy Kubert, and Chris Bachalo

X-Men: Banshee, Jubilee, Emma Frost, Sabretooth

Generation X: Banshee, Emma Frost, Jubilee, Husk, Sync, Monet, Skin, Blink, Chamber

1st Appearances: Penance, Emplate, DOA

Also Featuring: Prof X, Jean Grey, Cameron Hodge, Steven Lang, Beast, Cyclops, Bishop, Angel, Iceman, Gateway, Nanny, Orphan Maker

This is an intriguing X-Men storyline about the Phalanx that becomes the origin story for X-Men Gen 4 (Gen 1 is the original team, Gen 2 is the Uncanny Team from the 80s, and Gen 3 is New Mutants/X-Force).

The adventure for How The Team Comes Together is fun, and once the actual Generation X story gets started, we get to see a nice evolution in how mutant teams exist. This isn't gorgeous Jean Grey, the psychic and telekinetic, with her nerdy suck-up boyfriend, the athletic Cyclops. There's no bouncing gymnast with snappy patter who is ostracized because he has big feet. Nobody looks like an angel, and nobody looks like a regular teen until he turns on his ice powers. When Paige is injured, she has to peel off her skin to reveal a new, uninjured body. Angelo's body has too much skin. And while Monet, Jubilee, and Everett look like normal teens, Jonathan appears to have a nuclear furnace where most people has a face, and the girl known only as Penance has a razor sharp body, not cool claws that they can push in and out of their skin like Wolverine, her whole body is razor sharp. It's basically a team of Nightcrawlers, in that they can't really hide that they're mutants.

In their first set of storylines, they battle the parasitic Emplate, they have to figure out how to interact with one of Emplate's non-verbal victims, Penance, and then they're sent to rescue a mutant teen who's taken a class hostage because the school kicked him out. His powers? He doesn't have any. He's just physically deformed and has trouble breathing. But he's treated like he's a violent criminal who the police assume is bulletproof because he's a mutant.

Despite a lackluster ending (The Holiday Spectacular is slightly holidayish but not at all spectacular), this is a worthy volume for my headcanon as we get to see a new team get together and we see new sides of Banshee and Emma Frost, who serve as the heads of the new Massachusetts Academy (you know, the school where Emma Frost was training The Hellions until she fell into a coma and most of her team died). The only negative caveat I have for this book is that if you really like the series, you should know that most of it hasn't yet been collected into trades. ​

I decided to end the first "season" of the Headcanon with the first volume of Generation X, as it told an interesting story and had a definitive end that didn't involve a major cliffhanger.

​I advised skipping all of the Onslaught event, and I stand by that recommendation. As we cool down from that event, there isn't a ton of stuff to get excited about. While I enjoyed Howard Mackie's X-Factor run, which is from this era, it hasn't been collected yet. Really, the only title firing on all cylinders is still Generation X. 

I regret not yet having a review up for the first volume in this era. I found a used copy of it a few years ago, and worry I may have lost it in the move, and am not really willing to repurchase it. But I'll update it when I either find it or surrender to my previous copy being gone for good.

14. Generation X Epic Emplate's Revenge by Scott Lobdell, Chris Bachalo, Todd Dezago, Michael Golden, Jeph Loeb, Stan Lee, Michael Wright, Bill Roseman, Ashley Wood, Tom Grummett, Val Semeiks, Pasqual Ferry, Mitch Byrd, Jeff Johnson, Shawn McManus, Jeff Matsuds, Rurik Tyler, and Kevin Lau
Generation X: Banshee, Emma Frost, Jubilee, Sync, Chamber, Skin, Husk, Monet, Penance, Mondo, Leech, Artie, Franklin Richards
Also Featuring: Emplate, Howard The Duck, Gayle, DOA, Bishop, X-Cutioner, Stan Lee, Toad, Nathaniel Richards, Bastion, Graydon Creed, Beast, Fenris, Hulk

The first three issues are a repeat from the end of Generation X Classic Vol 2, which seems like it was ages ago. I didn't reread them here, nor include characters who only appeared in that section.

Beginning with the return of Emplate, this collection is banger after banger featuring the youngest class at Xavier's school for gifted mutants. There are a ton of good character moments including a road trip where Skin and Chamber eventually cross paths with Howard The Duck, the arrival of Franklin Richards to the team, a surprising twist where a mutant problem ends up being a real life disability instead of a made up mutant disease, and, most importantly, Emma Frost kidnaps most of the team to keep them out of the Onslaught nonsene. I wish she'd taken me, too, so I wouldn't have had to read that crap.

While all the artists on this book are solid, the highlight is definitely Chris Bachalo's return for the latter portion of the book. His layouts and storytelling techniques made the stories brighter and more fun, and he never kept a gimmick going for more than one issue.

This is a no-questions-at-all addition to the Headcanon.​

Wolverine Epic Tooth & Claw by Larry Hama, Howard Mackie, Jeph Loeb, Scott Lobdell, Ralph Macchio, Mark Jason, Dan Slott, Joe Kelly, Joe Mad, Val Semeiks, Adam Kubert, Ed McGuinness, Anthony Winn, Jow St Pierre, John Paul Leon, Tomm Coker, Mark Buckingham, Mike Wieringo, and Tommy Lee Edwards
X-Men: Prof X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Iceman, Wolverine, Cannonball
Also Featuring: Elektra, Venom, Expediter, Ozymandias, Mojo, Silver Samurai, Bastion, Sunfire, Red Ronin, Yukio, Amiko, Carol Danvers, Shinobi Shaw, Sabretooth

Just nonsense. There's some pre-Onslaught stuff involving Cannonball and Apocalypse that spills out of the last Wolverine volume. This is followed by a ton of Wolverine & Elektra in Japan with ninjas and the usual Wolverine continuity.  There's then a break where Wolverine and Venom cross paths in one of the loudest, ugliest books in this chronology. There are some cool panel ideas in the Wolverine/Venom crossover but the anatomy is atrocious and it's hard to follow the action, which is fine, as the writing is pretty abysmal. We then travel back to Japan before the volume closes with an odd Wolverine/Carol Danvers pseudo-noir story that involves Shinobi Shaw and Sabretooth in such a way that it seems entirely out of continuity.

There is no reason to read to read this book. I did a Venom readthrough a couple of years ago, and read the Venom/Wolverine crossover and I dreaded having to read it again. I was impressed that it somehow seems worse and more confusing on the second read.

Cable & X-Force Onslaught! by Jeph Loeb, Peter David, Terry Kavanaugh, John Francis Moore, Ben Raab, Ian Churchill, Angela Medina, Steve Skroce, Anthony Castillo, Bernard Chang, Luke Ross, Kevin Lau, and Ed Benes
X-Force: Cable, Domino, Siryn, Sunspot, Boom-Boom, Shatterstar, Warpath, Rictor, Caliban
Also Featuring: Mojo, Cyclops, Longshot, Dazzler, Gog, Magog, Spiral, Kane, Copycat, GW Bridge, Deathbird, Charlotte Jones, Doctor Strange, Risque, Blob, Mimic, Psycho Man, The Micronauts

​Half of this book is also collected in the Complete Onslaught series, and while the story isn't good in any format, it reads better in those volumes than it does here.

The additional material in this book suffers from a tonal disonance between art and writing. While Jeph Loeb is hardly writing the team as testosterony and grunty as Fabien Nicieza or Rob Liefeld, it's still supposed to have an edge to it as the story revolves around time travel, stolen identities, alternate universes and a mental institution where two of the characters were briefly tortured. Why, then, would anyone pair that script withartists using a manga-infused soft art style? Were they trying to appeal to a new audience? Did anyone actually think it would work?

The opening salvo of a lifeform trying to escape the Sh'iar and ending up in the Danger Room, similar to the first issue featuring Warlock is silly and fun, and was a welcome follow-up to the overly complex Onslaught story. Then there's an entire issue of Cable and Cyclops talking about their relationship that doesn't evolve any storyline nor does it have any emotional resonance. The Mojoverse story about Shatterstar's identity is completely flat, despite including some well-loved characters who hadn't been seen in a while. The volume closes with a story that crosses Cable's old friend Kane with Deadpool's old friend Copycat and...The Micronauts? I don't know who demanded this storyline but I'm pretty sure I've never met them.

Despite some long-term continuity threads coming into play in this volume, there isn't much, aside from the Sh'iar/Danger Room arc that has an appealing hook to it. The volume just mainly treads water in the shallow end of a puddle.

X-Factor Underground Vol 1 by Howard Mackie, Jeff Matsuda, Eric Battle, 
X-Factor: Forge, Valerie Cooper, Polaris, Mystique, Sabertooth, Wildchild, Shard
Also  Featuring: Havoc, Graydon Creed, Bastion, Madrox, Strong Guy, Dark Beast, Fatale, Pyro

After so many crossover events and cameo appearances in other X-books, this was a really satisfying, contained story about X-Factor divorcing itself from the government that's been funding it ever since the group was known as Freedom Force.

Sabretooth and Mystique's storyarc in this collection makes them much more grounded, sane, and empathetic than either of them have been in a long time, without de-fanging either of them. Their involvement with the assassination at the center of this storyarc is smartly and engagingly written. I'm disappointed that Marvel hasn't collected this arc into trade paperback yet. It wouldnm't quite have made the Headcanon but it is easily my favorite work by Mackie so far. If you can track down these issues (#127-133), they're likely to be cheap and definitely enjoyable.

It also feeds directly into the next collection.

X-Man Dance With The Devil by Terry Kavanagh, Tom DeFalco, Ralph Macchio, Steve Skroce, Roger Cruz, Alan Davis, Pasqual Ferry, Manny Clark, Terry Dodson, and Casey Jones
Featuring: X-Man, Threnody, Madelyne Pryor, Spider-Man, Abomination, Selene, Trevor Fitzroy, Sebastian Shaw, Tessa, Bastion, Scribe, Bishop, Sugar Man, AoA Forge, AoA Magneto, AoA Mastermind, Morph, Ben Urich, MaryJane Watson, Aunt may, Morbius, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Amanda Sefton, Wolfsbane, Kitty Pryde, Pete Wisdom, Moira MacTaggert, Dark Beast, Havok, Fatale

After a tortorously shakey first volume, this second collection of stories surrounding Nate Grey was fun and held my interest the entire time. Terry Kavanagh doesn't dig into Nate Grey, so much as he digs in to all the characters and continuity around him and lets us like Nate for his reactions more than his heroism.

Kavanagh makes smart use of his side characters in this book, too. While Sinister's shadow looms, it's Threnody and Madelyne Pryor that shine in this volume, and the surprising use of Spider-Man, The Abomination, Morbious, and The Hellfire Club keeps the story interesting.

While I don't think this is a revelatory comic book for anyone, it's certainly a fun 90s nostalgia read if you find it in a discount graphic novel bin.​

X-Men Stormwatch by Ian Hedgerton, Jim Kreuger,John Francis Moore, Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr, Liam Sharpe, Gene Ha, and Steve Yeowell
X-Men: Prof X, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, Storm, Jubilee, Gambit, Bishop
​1st Appearances: Karima
Also Featuring: Shinobi Shaw, Candra, Banshee, Forge, Lilandra, Deathbird

A collection of X-side stories featuring Storm. We begin with an annual from 1994 (so it's a little out of continuity but consider it a flashback that's relevant to another issue in the book) about Shinobi Shaw trying to use the Hellfire Club to seduce Storm. It's a thoroughly mediocre story of its time.

X-Men Unlimited #5 thrusts the X-Men into the Shi'ar Empire to deal with more fallout from Professor X's time in space, and also give us some moments between Storm and Forge, who should be busy heading up X-Factor at this time. It's completely forgettable but not awful.

Finally, X-Men Unlimited #7 has Storm going back to her roots as a pickpocket in Egypt, only to encounter Candra, who was in the background of the Shinobi storyline from the annual. It doesn't add anything exciting to the X-lore.

Nothing in this faux-collection (I'm not sure how they'd collect any of these stories) is necessary reading but if you're always on the lookout for Storm-centric X-books, this would be a great run to read.

X-Men Rifts by Jorge Gonzalez, Scott Lobdell, Ralph Macchio, Cedric Nocon, Chad Hunt, Andy Kubert, and Duncan Rouleau
X-Men: Prof X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Angel, Iceman, Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Psylocke, Gambit, Bishop, Cannonball, Joseph
Also Featuring: Havoc, Dark Beast, Morlocks/Gene Nation, Graydon Creed, Trish Tilby, Hercules, Quicksilver, Candra, Karima, Sebastian Shaw 

​This is for the, thusfar, uncollected run of comics of X-Men Legacy #58-61 and the 1997 Annual: After protecting the former Morlocks (now Gene Nation) from anti-mutant terrorists, Storm returns to the Morlock tunnels only to find a seemingly grieving Gambit. Hmmm. Soon, Gambit finds himself caught in the familiar Magneto/Rogue/Gambit love triangle, only know Magneto is the younger Joseph.

There's a bit of fallout from the Stormwatch storyline as well.

None of this is essential, or, honestly, very interesting, but it's capably told and I wasn't so bored that I was skipping pages.

X-Force Revelations by John Dokes, John Francis Moore, Kevin Lau, Anthony Castrillo, Mark Pajarillo, and Mark Morales
X-Force: Cable, Siryn, Domino, Sunspot, BoomBoom, Rictor, Shatterstar, Warpath, Caliban
Also Featuring: Karma's siblings, Shinobi Shaw, Mindmeld, Clearcut, Spiral, Nathaniel Richards, GW Bridge, Risque, Blob. Mimic

This review is for issues #62-65 by John Dokes.

The manga-era of X-Force was tonal whiplash. The cutesy art and the dark storytelling could have worked if the title had launched with that discordance, or if there was a storyline reason why the entire look of the book changed. Alas, the reason was bad marketing, and poor editorial decisions. Over the course of the book the art evolves from manga to just smooth lined 90s comics to a Mark Morales-penciled issue where, for the first time in ages, the art and the writing merge into an interesting story.

Luckily, you're not missing anything if you just skip these books entirely. There are some intriguing ideas, including bringing Karma's family back into the mix but none of the stories end up going anywhere.

The entire run can be skipped. Issue #65 returns X-Force to a more famlliar art style, as well as returning to the setup of X-Force Epic Collection, Vol. 7: Zero Tolerance.

An exhausting follow-up to the Age Of Apocalypse and the lull before this era, I'm just putting the Prelude to Onslaught and Onslaught books together as an era. It's simple. Much more simple than the convoluted mess of the actual crossover.

This was the first point where I began to doubt I could finish this project. 

X-Men Prelude To Onslaught by Scott Lobdell, Jeph Loeb, Terry Kavanaugh, Josh Ostrander, Jim Lee, Fabien Nicieza, Larry Hama, Mark Waid, Todd Dezago, Warren Ellis, Andy Kubert, Ian Chuchill, Pasqual Ferry Steve Skroce, Val Semeiks, Rick Leonardi, John Romita Jr, Tom Grummett, Adam Kubert, Jeff Matsuda, Adam Pollina, Nick Gnazzo, Bryan Hitch, Mike S Miller, Steve Epting, and Casey Jones
X-Men: Prof X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, Iceman, Wolverine, Storm, Psylocke, Bishop, Cannonball
X-Force: Cable, Domino, Sunspot, BoomBoom, Siryn, Warpath, Caliban
Generation X: Banshee, Emma Frost, Jubilee, Chamber, Husk, Monet, Skin
1st Appearances: Bastion
Also Featuring: X-Man, Threnody, Madelyne Pryor, Seline, Trevor Fitzroy, Post, Gateway, Dark Beast, Juggernaut, Holocaust, Robert Kennedy, Blob, Genesis, Blaquesmith

This is a fairly well-edited primer for the upcoming Onslaught event. Containing some whole issues of X-Men, Cable, and X-Man, it also has highlight sections of the other X-books that influence this event, going as far back as the 1991 relaunch story involving Bishop and Fitzroy.

You could conceivably start reading here and only be sort of confused about all of the continuity that feeds into this event, as opposed to completely lost. Unfortunately, the entire event that follows is an unsatisfying read, so you're honestly better just skipping this era completely.

Onslaught The Complete Epic Vol 2 by Warren Ellis, Larry hama, Howard Mackie, Todd Dezago, Tom Defalco, Terry Kavanagh, Jeph Loeb, Josh Ostrander, Casey Jones, Randy Green. Val Semeiks, Jeff Matsuda, Herb Trimpe, Stefano Raffaele, Mike Wieringo, Mark Bagley, Joshua Hood, John Romita Jr, Steve Skroce, Anthony Castrillo, and Tom Lyle
X-Factor: Forge, Polaris, Random, Mystique, Wilc Child, Sabretooth
X-Force: Domino, Siryn, Sunspot, BoomBoom, Warpath, Shatterstar, Caliban, X-Man
Also Featuring: Moira MacTaggert, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, Psylocke, Wolverine, Elektra, Gateway, Onslaught, Dark Beast, Havoc, Fatale, Spider-Man, Mary Jane, Sentinels, Ben Reilly, J Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, Ben Ulrich, Philip Ulrich, Mr Sinister, Arclight, Harpoon, Vertigo, Scalphunter, Threnody, Punisher, GW Bridge, Dum Dum Duggan, Dr Strange, Juggernaut

Even worse than the previous volume, this collection is bogged down by stale writing, The Clone Saga era of Spider-Man, a focus on The Sentinels which leads to Onslaught barely even being in this collection, and a couple of issues focused on nobody's favorite X-Man, X-Man.

There is a fun Green Goblin issue betwixt the Spider-Clone nonsense but it's not enough to make this collection worth reading. This is a definite Skip in the X-Men chronology.

​Vol 4
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Human Torch, Thing, Franklin Richards, Scott Lang, Nathaniel Richards, She-Hulk
X-Men: Prof X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Best, Angel, Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Psylocke, Gambit, Bishop, Cannonball, Joseph
Avengers: Captain America, Iron Man, Vision, Hank Pym, Hawkeye, Falcon, Quicksilver
Inhumans: Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Karnak, Gorgon
X-Force: Cable, Domino, Caliban
Also Featuring: Dr Doom, Sentinels, Onslaught, Puppet Master, Alicia Masters, Cassie Lang, Kang, Psycho Man, Lyja, Super Skrull, Paibok, Blastaar, Mad Thinker, Namor, Black Panther, Agatha Harkness, X-Man, Uatu, Hulk, Bastion, Graydon Creed, Spider-Man, J jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, Val Cooper , Trish  Tilby

I guess if you've read this far, why not finish with this volume where they throw everything at a giant climax which they then show you will be completely meaningless and instantly undone in the next event. But if you haven't started, man, you can dodge a pretty big bullet by not reading any of this series.

As soon as The Age Of Apocalypse event ended, writers upped the ante on dropping Onslaught references in their books. There had been a few even before Prelude To TheAge Of Apocalypse but now we're planting major seeds for the storyline about this mysterious new villain.

The fact that we don't have A Major Event in this era means we get some down time with some mutant teams, some storylines with minor villains, and some weird side quest books like X-Men: Wolverine/Gambit: Victims which slightly reference continuity but could really take place almost anywhere on the X-Men timeline.

It's not a bad era. Only one out of thirteen titles makes the Headcanon but there are a couple of near-misses that make for fun reads if you're looking for some hits of 90s mutant nostalgia.

Generation X Classic Vol 2 by Scott Lobdell, Chris Bachalo, Todd Dezago, Roger Cruz, Tom Grumett, and Val Semekis
Generation X: Emma Frost, Banshee, Jubilee, Husk, Chamber, Monet, Synch, Skin, Penance, Mondo, Artie, Leech
Also Featuring: Gateway, Penance, DOA, Cordelia Frost, Mondo, Sebastian Shaw, Marrow, Dark Beast, Omega Red, Wolverine, Moira MacTaggert, Gayle Edgerton

This is a fun respite after The Age Of Apocalypse and a welcome change from the overly serious, crossover heavy, all-muscled, sexied-up, million characters per issue X-books.  We get a bit of spillover from that as Dark Beast and Marrow have crossed into the regular universe. I also enjoy Emma Frost being fleshed out (not like that) as a character as we see her empathy for Banshee and her complicated relationship with her sister.

There's a very Chris Claremont two-issue fantasy story shoved into the midst of this collection. While it does feel like a story more aimed at young readers, it's handled much better than the Claremont stories it pays homage to. It's a fluid read that doesn't take itself too seriously while still putting the focus on developing the main cast, even if they're in an absurd side quest from their usual adventures.

There aren't Universe Changing Stakes, there are just small adventures, sometimes against familiar X-villains. 

I can't emphasize enough the importance of Bachalo's art in this series. He was someone whose art I hated in the very early 2000s but the softer linework he used in the 90s still looks great twenty years later, and the way he toyed with panels, backgrounds, and showing mutants' powers is vastly different from any other 90s art.

X-Factor Wreaking Havok by John Francis Moore, Todd, Jeff Matsuda, and Jerry Bingham
X-Factor: Forge, Havok, Polaris, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Random, Mystique, Wild Child
Also Featuring: Fatale, Scarlet, Lila Cheney, Yukio

This is a review for X-Factor #111-114, a storyarc called "Wreaking Havoc" that hasn't been collected yet but will probably end up in an Epic Collection in the next few years.

It takes place directly after Legion dispatches the team from Israel during X-Men: Legionquest, and continues just after X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 4.

It mainly takes place in Japan and Madripoor, and focuses on Strong Guy and Lila Cheney facing off against some aliens she stole from, and recovering Havoc, whose lost control of his powers and is being hunted by a variety of mutant assassins.

It attempts the humor of Peter David's run but it often misses the mark. The continuity is fun, though, and I was always curious what would happen next. It does employ a bit of DC's One Year Later tactic, where some time has passed between the end of Age Of Apocalypse and the second half of this arc, so we miss the inciting incident that changes the team roster, imperils Havoc, and ships Wolfsbane off to Excalibur.

Excalibur Visionaries: Warren Ellis Vol 1 by Warren Ellis, Scott Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, Terry Dodson, Bill Sinkiewicz, Daerick Gross, Ken Lashley, Larry Stroman, Jeff Moy, David Williams, Mike Miller, Mike Christian, and Carlos Pacheco
Excalibur: Moira MacTaggert, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Captain Britain, Meggan, Ahab, Amanda Sefton, Douglock
​First Appearances: Pete Wisdom
Also Featuring: Bishop, Professor X, Margali, Magik, Wolverine, Trish Tilby, Iceman, Jubilee, Synch, Husk, Robert Kelly, Sugar Man, Jenny Ransome, Spoor, 

Technically, Warren Ellis's run on Excalibur starts before the Age Of Apocalypse but the event doesn't really interrupt the story other than suddenly Sugar Man exists in the universe and is responsible for much of Genosha's complicated history. 

The most jarring part of Ellis's run is him tossing Pete Wisdom into the book and making him a main character. He's a sort of watered down John Constantine who works for an espionage organization focused on magic.  He immediately takes center stage with Kitty, Moira, Nightcrawler, and Amanda as b-level characters and occasional cameos of Captain Britain, Meggan, Ahab, and Douglock.

It never commits to being a fun X-book, a wannabe Hellblazer, or a dark anti-hero book, instead just sort of dabbing its toes in different comic genres. It doesn't really work. I don't see it as being something that a fan of either Claremont or Lobdell's Excalibur would like, it's definitely not cool enough for Hellblazer fans, and it's not a pivotal or important work from Warren Ellis's catalogue. It's just kind of an okay story that's easy to follow but hard to love.

X-Men: Wolverine/Gambit: Victims by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
Also Featuring: Rogue, Martinique Mastermind, and Arcade

​I'm usually a fan of Tim Sale's art. While he still delivers his noirish style here, which is appropriate for the story, I just don't enjoy the faces in this book, particularly Gambit's. There are also some very sparely paneled pages that look less like an artistic decision and more like an artist wasn't using the space properly. So it's three stars for the art for me.

I rarely, but not quite never, enjoy Jeph Loeb's storytelling. This was far from his worst superhero comic but the dialog was really clunky, and the story quite trite and uninspired. Barely two stars.

This is a big Skip It for me. By the standards of the time, it's a mediocre comic, but compared to Loeb and Sale's work on Batman, it's awful.

Cable & X-Force Classic by Jeph Loeb, Scott Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, Arnie Jorgensen, Adam Pollina, Ian Chuchill, Salvador Larroca, Wilfred Santiago, Jeff Matsuda, Gary Frank, TIm Sale, Joel Thomas, Rob Haynes, Randy Green and Ben Herrera
X-Force: Cable, Domino, Siryn, Sunspot, Boom-Boom, Warpath, Shatterstar, Rictor, Caliban
Also Featuring: Cannonball, Blaquesmith, Professor X, Storm, Sabertooth, Jean Grey, Stryfe, Mr Sinister, Sugar Man, Cyclops, Storm, Renee Majcomb, Deadpool, Pipeline, Hawkshaw, Phillip Moreau, Jenny Ransome, Beast, Mimic, Wolverine, Grizzly, Rachel Grey, Jenskot, Holocaust, Shinobi Shaw, Threnody

The first half of this book is a pretty excellent set of character studies involving members  X-Force. The Boom-Boom/Sabretooth, Cable/Domino, and Rictor/Shatterstar being the best of them. We get a chance to see Siryn on an undercover mission that ends up involving Deadpool, and we learn a bit more about Genoshan history, which was rewritten by The Age Of Apocalypse era. I was expecting to add this volume to my headcanon but it gets weighed down in the latter half by typical Cable clone time traveling destiny shenanigans, and then the Genoshan story gets a bit twisted around itself.

There's also two "We took a wrong turn at Albuquerque" gags that have also popped up in other X-collections around this time. This seems incredibly excessive for a book that never even threatens to take place in Albuquerque. Unless you're really Bugs Bunnying up your mutant book, I don't understand the repeated use of this reference.

X-Man The Man Who Fell To Earth by Jeph Loeb, Josh Ostrander, Warren Ellis, John Rozum, Terry Kavanagh, Steve Skroce, Carlos Pacheco, Ian Churchill, Luke Ross, Phil Hester, Scott McDaniel, Rob Haynes, Lee Weeks, Jan Duursema, Casey Jones. and Eric Battle
Also Featuring: Sugar Man Rex, Madelyne Pryor, Blacquesmith, Bishop, Professor X, Selene, Dark Beast, X-Cutioner, Rogue, 

Not only is it bad, it's considerably worse than all the other X-titles coming out at this time. There's next to no logic in the story, there's no depth to any of the characters, it's just Jeph Loeb dropping characters X-readers might have been nostalgic for, and then removing them before they could be interesting parts of what one might generously call a plot. The use of Madeline Pryor, and the intersections with Cable's story, and the 616 X-Men are intriguing as premises but uninspired and flat in execution.

That the main character is an alternate reality half-clone of a time displaced character who already has at least TWO clones running around our universe? Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. 

There is no reason to read this book unless you feel ayou absolutely have to read every issue about Nate Grey. Otherwise, skip it.

Wolverine Epic The Dying Game by Larry Hama, Chris Golden, Ian Edginton, Josh Ostrander, Adam Kubert, Fabio Laguna, Duncan Rouleau, JH Williams III, Ben Herrera, Jan Duursema, Chris Alexander, Ramon Bernardo, Val Semeiks, Luciano Lima
X-Men: Wolverine, Gambit, Cannonball, Prof X, Storm, Beast, Psylocke, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Angel, Bishop
Generation X: Banshee, Emma Frost, Jubilee, Chamber, Skin, Synch, Husk, Monet
1st Appearances: Dirtnap
Also Featuring: Cyber, Sabretooth, Maverick, Rose, O'Donnel, Archie, Chief Tai, Tyger Tyger, Deadpool, Kane, Vanessa, Ghost Rider, Trish Tilby, Vindicator, Guardian, Nightcrawler, BoomBoom, Slayback, GW Bridge, Rahne, Moira MacTaggert, Spyne, Lifeforce, Genesis, Juggernaut, Caliban, Hurricane, Expediter, Deabolt

Taking place in the background of all the other books from this season, this should be a better book. A few pivotal moments involving Sabretooth, as well as The Legacy Virus take place in this volume but it's an absolute chore to read. Every issue we see at least one X-Men member tossed into a Wolverine trope with him. There never feels like there's any developement in the characters. Technically, this all leads up to a major event at the end of the book but it's an incredible anti-climax.

There must have been fans of Larry Hama's 70-something issue run on this title but it's definitely not me. I will be thrilled to see someone else do something with this title.

X-Men Road To Onslaught Book 2 by Scott Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, Terry Kavanagh, Larry Hama, Alan Davis, Mark Waid, Bryan Hitch, Andy Kubert, Roger Cruz, Val Semeiks, Joe Mad, Gary Frank, Luke Ross and Jeff Matsuda
X-Men: Prof X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, Wolverine, Storm, Psylocke, Gambit, Bishop, Cannonball
Generation X: Banshee, Emma Frost, Jubilee, Synch, Skin, Chamber, Husk
1st Appearances: Joseph
Also Featuring: Sabretooth, Juggernaut, Kitty Pryde, Colossus, Josh Guthrie, Bolivar Trask, Nimrod Sentinels, Robert Kelly, X-Babies, Dazzler, Gog, Magog, Lee Forester, Bloodscream, Belasco, N'gari, Val Cooper, BoomBoom, Caliban, Thing, Dark Beast, Sugarman, Fatale 

The conclusion to the Sabretooth In The Mansion storyline that began well before The Age of Apocalypse is a mostly solid adventure featuring a ton of X-characters. Unfortunately, it starts off with the narratively dull and chronologically unimportant X-Men/Clandestine story. There's no reason to read it unless you love the idea of Alan Davis writing a bunch of new, uninspiring characters and putting them into situations similar to his toothless Excalibur run.

The rest of the book is classic 90s X-ventures. Apart from the Sabretooth story, we see Cannonball return home and battle an anti-mutant cult with their own Nimrod Sentinels, the X-Babies return and cause chaos in NYC, Lee Forrester and her boat play host to a trio of X-Men trying to save the world from one of Belasco's schemes, Bishop goes slowly mad because of his time in The Age Of Apocalypse, and we see a little more of what the Age Of Apocalypse refugees are doing in the regular universe.

Cable & X-Force Onslaught Rising by Jeph Loeb, Todd Dezago, John Ostrander, Terry Kavanagh, Matt Ryan, Terry Dodson, Adam Pollina, Luciana Lima, Ian Churchill Steve Skroce, Rurik Tyler, Daerick Gross, Eric Battle
X-Force: Cable, Domino, Siryn, Sunspot, BoomBoom, Shatterstar, Warpath, Caliban
1st Appearances: Post, Risque
Also Featuring: Prof X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Blacquesmith, Cannonball, Impossible Man, Grizzly, Arcade, Sebastian Shaw, Tessa, Holocaust, Bishop, Storm, Beast, Gambit, X-Man, Moira MacTaggert, Threnody, Exodus, Blob, Gideon, Crule, Absalom, Saul, Selene, Dum Dum Duggan, Cyclops, GW Bridge, Deadpool, Gamesmaster

The build to Onslaught is very much in the background of this collection where the recently trimmed down team slowly comes into their own. After a very silly but enjoyable downtime issue involving Impossible Man and his ... children?, we see the recently returned Sebastian Shaw make a play at leading X-Force against Cable. It's typical mind-control shenanigans but it's brief and played more to show off the team's tactical maturing than for emotional melodrama. Then we dip into the Cable/X-Man storyline that we've already read in X-Man: The Man Who Fell To Earth before some rendez-vous with B or C-level villains, including the Externals who, it turns out, can die. The collection closes with Siryn returning to the asylum where Deadpool disappeared in Cable & X-Force Classic, where it looks like we'll start to understand Shatterstar's origin.

All-in-all, this is a fun book. It doesn't add too much to the upcoming Onslaught crossover, and, apart from the X-Man/Cable issues, it doesn't drag out the Age Of Apocalypse threads, either. It's part of the pleasant improvement in X-Force books that happened during Jeph Loeb's run on the book. It's not quite great enough to add to the headcanon but it's a solid read.

X-Factor Forging The Futute by John Francis Moore, Howard Mackie, Steve Epting, Stefano Raffaele, Bryan Hitch, and Mark D Bright
X-Factor: Forge, Val Cooper, Havoc, Polaris, Mystique, Wild Child
Alpha Flight: Aurora, Northstar, Puck
Also Featuring: Cyclops, Dark Beast, Random, Fatale, Haven, Roma, Naze, The Adversary

A tedious entry in the otherwise fun X-Factor of the 90s, Howard Mackie snoozingly pits the team against half of Alpha Flight in an attempt to make Wild Child interesting, and then reaches all the way back to Chris Claremont's "Life/Death" series to bring out the most boring part of Forge's history. They also try and plop Haven into the Forge backstory only to immediately remove her. There's nothing fun or interesting to grasp on to in this run of issues that, unsurprisingly, haven't been collected yet. 

Excalibur Visionaries Warren Ellis Vol 3 by Warren Ellis, Carlos Pacheco, Casey Jones, Randy Green, Rob Haynes, Terry Dodson, Karl Story, and Aaron Lopresti
Excalibur: Moira MacTaggert, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Colossus, Capt Britain, Meggan, Douglock, Pete Wisdom, Wolfsbane
1st Appearance: Scratch, Scribe
Also Featuring: Alistar Stuart, Mountjoy, Onslaught, Margali

Black Air has captured Douglock, Captain Britain infiltrates the European wing of The Hellfire Club to flush out Mountjoy.

After the first three issues, put this serviceable but unremarkable book down, as we fully commit to Onslaught in the next post.

Xmen Age Of Apocalypse Prelude by Fabien Nicieza, John Francis Moore, Todd Dezago, Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, Andy Kubert, Jan Duursema, Steve Epting, Terry Dodson, Roger Cruz, Ron Garney, and Ian Churchill
X-Men: Prof X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, Angel, Storm, Rogue, Psylocke, Gambit, Bishop,
X-Factor: Forge, Havok, Polaris, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy
Also Featuring: Sabretooth, Carter Ryking, Adam, Mystique, Nightcrawler, Val Cooper, Nick Fury, Avalanche, Legion, Gabrielle Haller, Destiny, Belladonna, Lillandra, Magneto, Wolverine, Cable, Domino

The beginning of this collection was so much better than I remembered. It begins with my favorite Fabien Nicieza story yet, as he pulls together a bunch of continuity strands to set up his Legion Quest event. Everything's spelled out pretty clearly and it really draws you into the impending story.

The X-Factor issues surrounding Mystique's quest to kill Legion are decent, and also prep the reader for a killer crossover. We then get a few Uncanny and adjectiveless  X-Men issues with strong character beats and tension that ramps up to the actual Legion Quest event.

Which sucks. Legion Quest is an uneven mess that throws you into the middle of a battle scene and then winds back to the inciting event, and then goes back to the battle scene, and then does a poor job of handling a trite time traveling story.

It's really disappointing, given how good the lead-in is. Unlike most of Nicieza's misfires (which make up at least 90% of his output), the problem here is that he had a very clear endpoint but no idea how to get there.

I do think that one of the benefits of the entire Age Of Apocalypse experience is that, if you love alternate reality tales, you can revel in this expansive universe, but if you don't, well you can just skip this entire event and miss almost zero continuity.

The Great X-Periment of the 90s was this mega crossover alternate reality story: The Age Of Apocalypse. For six months, all the X-related titles went on hiatus and were replaced by similarly named books featuring reimagined versions of X-characters who lived in a world where Charles Xavier had been killed before he recruited the X-Men. In his absence, Apocalypse rose to power and conquered North America and ruled over mutants and humans. 

Many of Marvel's giant crossovers suffer from having clear beginnings but getting muddled in the middle and never really recovering. This story is kind of a mess at the beginning with a ton of timejumps and an invredibly vast world of characters to set up but as it continues along, it gets sharper.

After a slow build to the ending, the final issue is sort of a whirling chaos of a conclusion. It's not overly satisfying nor narratively fun but it definitely wraps up the mission statement served up in Volume 1 of the series.

We also get a preview of some future AoA-related books, and we get an X-Men issue that reminds us where all the characters were before AoA and what they were up to . And then we see them all swept towards new storylines. It's a lot to digest but it's fun.

Overall, I wouldn't put this series in continuity because it is A Lot. But it's not a bad read on its own.

Before I worked in comic book stores, I was  biased reader. I liked most Marvel team books, and I liked Batman and his various close associates. That was pretty much it. In my earliest twenties, I got into the Vertigo line, but still didn't branch out that much, mainly as I was a casual reader who rarely spent time in shops.

I started working in stores in 2007, and made it a point to read Whatever I could so that I wasn't a cliche, gatekeeping asshole like some of my peers. Some of this I owe to the fact that I was hired by two strong women (not like Wonder Woman strong, one was Carol Danvers level cool, fun, and in control, and the other was Mystique: confident, powerful, definitely needed mental health counseling that she wasn't getting). 

Apart from a few select stories, I couldn't get into Superman. I enjoyed some 90s and 2000s era Wonder Woman. I loved most of the Teen Titans. I liked The Flash when he wasn't battling villains whose power was that they could run. (I felt this way about the TV show in the 2010s, too.) I wanted to like Green Arrow and Black Canary but never did. And Green Lantern? Who could be bothered with color-coordinating space caps with magic jewelry?

Geoff Johns helped change my perspective on both The Flash, and Green Lantern. And it was the lead up to Blackest Night that got me to go back and read as much post 70s lantern books as I could get. This Headcanon will be about building up to Blackest Night, and then have maybe a season or two of dénouement. While I haven't enjoyed much of the post-Blackest Night Lantern Mythos, there are still some books worth reading.

This chronology isn't going to be precisely by publishing date, as reboots, reimaginings, and flashback stories get printed that improve on a legacy story to the point where the legacy story isn't really necessary to read anymore. If you're someone who loves the silver and early bronze age material, I'm sorry, there isn't going to be much of it here. This is going to be focused on modern storytelling.

I'm setting up each entry as a television season of 15 "episodes", often contained in 5-7 trades...I'm not suggesting people read fifteen different books for each "season"...This is based on my readthrough of the series in 2015 but I'm rereading it and removing any books that are so out of print that you'd have to pay a small fortune on EBay for them. You should be able to get these at libraries, any store that carries graphic novels, an on DC Universe Infinite.

Green Lantern Hal Jordan Volume One by Gerard Jones, Keith Giffen, M.D. Bright, Jim Owsley, and Romeo Tanghal

Also featuring Carol Ferris, Abin Sur, Legion, Tomar-Re, The Guardians, Salakk, Kilowog, Sinestro, Tomy-Fai, Guy Gardener, Katma Tui

Episodes 1 & 2: Emerald Dawn. The first arc is serves as a modern origin story about how Hal Jordan, who absolutely sucks in this story, becomes the Green Lantern. I like including this as a starting point because I think it's important to see what a bad person Hal Jordan was before he received the ring. It makes his downfall and later redemption more interesting when his origin story presents him as, not a heroic everyman, but a drunk driving loser who ruins his friends' lives. Also, the ridiculous Green Lantern trope of "willpower doesn't work on the color yellow" is laughably present.

My own sidenote, when Grant Morrison took over this title in 2016ish, his first story was called "Intergalactic Lawman", and I always read it as "Intergalactic Lawnman". There is a wonderful panel in this book of Hal mowing a lawn with his ring.

Episodes 3 & 4: Emerald Dawn II. Serving time for his DUI in the first volume, Hal breaks in and out of jail to foil bank robberies and other petty crimes until his cellmate is killed and he needs a lawyer to defend him. I honestly never knew Guy Gardener was a lawyer, and I feel like I've read dozens of books with him in it. We also get to see more of Sinestro, who briefly appeared as a background lantern in the the first arc. Now we see that he's a bit of a fascist on his own world. The jail storyline, and the Sinestro training storyline are nice counterpoints to one another. 

Green Lantern Green Arrow Vol 1 by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams

Also Featuring: The Guardians, Black Canary, Appa Ali Apsa

Episodes 5-7: Green Arrow. A collection of fifty year old stories that you can share with an comic "fan" who complains that comics are "too woke" now to show them that comics have always been progressive. The collection starts with Hal Jordan, who still sucks, rescuing someone who turns out to be an evil landlord. Green Arrow shows him who the real heroes and villains in the real world are, and Hal agrees to try and help him. It doesn't go particularly well, and then The Guardians seek to punish Hal for not being an obedient slave to the law. He and The Green Arrow convince The Guardians to send one of their members to watch them as they travel across America battling racism and capitalism. Several times they remind us that Nazis and Hitler were bad. So, if you missed that memo, it's here. It goes a bit off the rails at the end when Hal and Black Canary end up in a dimension full of Greek mythology, but it's a nice way of developing Hal Jordan's character by playing him off of Green Arrow.

Green Lantern Green Arrow Vol 2 by Dennis O'Neil, Elliot S! Maggin, Dick Giordino, and Neal Adams

Also Featuring: Black Canary, Carol Ferris, Black Hand, Speedy, Guy Gardener, John Stewart, Lobo, Appa Ali Apsa

Episode 8: Peril. Lantern, Arrow, and Canary deal with an evil school, and we see what's happened to Carol Ferris in Lantern's absence in the most underwhelming issue of this collection. This is followed by a showdown with Black Hand, another underwhelming villain who's going to be important down the line.

Episode 9: Speedy. A classic hokey anti-drug story where Green Arrow discovers his former ward is a heroin addict. It was groundbreaking in the 1970s. Now, it's...well-intentioned. This very important issue for Green Arrow lore is not very impactful for our Green Lantern story.

Episode 10: What Can One Man Do. Finally, meet John Stewart. No, not the Daily Show Host, the second Green Lantern in our chronology. Another case of "well--intentioned" and "didn't age well", it is nice to see a Black Person Of Color  getting his own Lantern Ring. Also, you will be shocked to learn that Hal Jordan absolutely sucks as a trainer of lanterns, and has a severe case of Institutional Racism Bias. Meanwhile, Green Arrow witnesses a riot that takes a Black child's life, and decides to run for mayor.

Episode 11: Savior Complex. We begin with a Bad Story with, again, good intentions. An anti-pollution/anti-Capitalism story that ends with a character you've just met being crucified on a plane, along with Hal Jordan and Green Arrow. They survive, he doesn't. There's another story after this, but my brain was so rotted by the pollution/crucifixion story that now, two minutes after reading it, I can't remember what it was about.

Green Lantern Sector 2814 Vol 1 by Len Wein, Dave Gibbons, and Gil Kane

Also Featuring: Carol Ferris, Javelin, Shark, Predator, The Monitor, The Flash, The Wrecking Crew, Predator, Jason Bloch, Green Arrow, Superman, The Guardians, Kama Tui, Wonder Woman, Mister Smith, Arisia, Tomar Re, Xax, Arkkis Chummukk, John Stewart

Episodes 12-15: Take This Job And Shove It. We end the season with a somewhat hokey 1980s set of stories where Hal Jordan returns home from space (I know, I know, why didn't we get to see more space stories in this series about a space cop? Well, um, they didn't collect many decent space stories from this era. I promise we'll get there.), after a year away and ends up protecting Ferris Aircraft from some really low-rent villains like The Javelin, and The Shark. Meanwhile, The Monitor, who is going to wreak all kind of havoc in the DC universe is sort of hovering in the background. Well, Ferris Aircraft is destroyed, and Hal Jordan, who, remember, SUCKS, decides to give up his ring so that we can spend next season with a better Green Lantern.

Marvel editorial has never been interested in streamlining their stories in graphic novel form so that you don't have repurchase stories that are contained elsewhere. This isn't the worst of their crime but it can make reading a chronology of sections of their universe difficult.

While we are about to get into one of the very easiest eras to follow, we first have a few odds and ends to clear up before The Age Of Apocalypse. None of these books made the official Headcanon.

​Cable & X-Force Omnibus by Fabien Nicieza, Tony S Daniel, and Terry Dodson

X-Force: Cable, Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Rictor, Warpath, Shatterstar, Domino, Siryn

Also Featuring: Prosh, Thornn, Feral, Professor X, Beast, Emma Frost, Banshee, Jubilee, Husk, Dani Moonstar, Reignfire, Locus

This review is purely for X-Force #39-43, which aren't collected elsewhere, for the other issues, check out my reviews of The Origin of Generation X: Tales of the Phalanx Covenant, Cable Classic Vol 2, Cable Classic Vol. 3, and Cable & X-Force Classic Volume 1.

This is an odd weird reset after the Phalanx Covenant where Nicieza decides to move the team to a new homebase by making "The Professor" (Cable's AI interface) sentient, similar to what they did with Danger a decade or so later, and then having The Professor have to leave, meaning X-Force loses their computer system and Cable's ability to bodyslide. It's the most interesting thing Nicieza has done with the team so far. It does seem a bit clunky to give the Professor sentience and immediately remove him from the title, especially so close after the Phalanx storyline, but it's at least an interesting clunky.

We then see a focus on Thorrn, a Morlock whose sister was the former X-Force member, Feral. Because no 90s X-Team could lack a canine- or feline-like hero with an aggressive streak. (See Wolverine, see Wolfsbane, see Kylun, etc.)

Eventually, the team gets some downtime with the new New Mutants, Generation X, and then has an uninspiring adventure in NY.

None of it is terrible. It moves the team in a new direction, as the entire X-corner of the Marvel Universe is about to be thrown into The Age Of Apocalypse. It's just kind of eh.

If you like 90s X-Force, this is a perfectly acceptable story but it's neither crucial to continuity nor intriguing enough for someone who isn't a die-hard reader.

Cable Classic by Jeph Loeb, Larry Hama, David Brewer, Adam Kubert, Steve Skroce, and Ian Churchill

1st Appearances: Marrow
Also Featuring Mikhail Rasputin, Colossus, Storm, Bishop, Thornn, Domino, Cannonball, Siryn, Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Phalanx, Stephen Lang, Psylocke, Caliban, Foxbat, Beast, Dark Riders, Genesis, Gambit, Rogue, Angel, Professor X, Lilandra

This review is focused on issues Cable #15, and #17-20. My review concerning Cable #16 and Wolverine #85 are in The Origin of Generation X: Tales of the Phalanx Covenant, and can best be summed up by the fact that I mentioned the best of The Phalanx Covenant issues in Origin Of Generation X were also collected in Generation X Classic, Vol. 1, with the worst issues missing. They're in this collection.

The non-Phalanx portion of this collection focuses on Cable forging a stronger bond with his father, Cyclops, and on trying to figure out what happened to The Morlocks when Mikhail Rasputin seemed to kill himself, and take The Morlocks with him. Issue #15 is listed as the first appearance of Marrow but she's sort of a non-entity only referred to as Sarah in this collection. Thornn is the remaining Morlock, who we get a better look at in X-Force. Later, Caliban joins in the Morlock research, which leads to The Dark Riders and their new leader creating a new problem for Cable and the X-Men.

This is a decent book. Especially if you skip over the Phalanx storyline. It's clearly laid out to bridge the gap between the Phalanx and Age Of Apocalypse, and it does so, even if it does so a little unevenly and without an interesting throughline. Cable fans may enjoy it for the lore, casual X-Men fans probably won't be too excited by it.​

X-Factor Epic Afterlives by Kurt Busiek, JM DeMatteis, Todd Dezago, Scott Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, John Francis Moore,Mtthew Friedman, Amy Meyer, Pat Broderick, Jan Duursema, Mat Broome, Bryan Hitch, Tony S Daniel, Ken Lashley, Paul Broges, Kerry Gamill, Roger Cruz,and Steve Epting

X-Factor: Forge, Havoc, Polaris, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy, Random
Also Featuring: Spider-Man, Flash Thompson, J Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, Prof X, Storm, Moira MacTaggert, Val Cooper, Quicksilver, Haven, Prof Power, Malice, Mr Sinister, Ruckus, Hairbag, Slab, Gorgeous George, Blob

Another book where we're going to skip some repeated issues because of the Phalanx Covenant. So this review is for Spider-Man & X-Factor Shadowgames, and X-Factor #101-105 & 107.

There's a typical Marvel editorial snafu where this book is supposed to focus on what happens after Jamie Madrox died in the previous volume but this story begins with a Spider-Man crossover where Jamie Madrox is very much alive, even though he contributes very little to the story.

The Spider-Man crossover is not super pertinent to X-Factor fans. It mainly reminds you that they work for the government, and it involves some inconsequential villains who I don't think we ever see again.

Once we get to the main X-Factor title, it's mainly about how they are all very sad that Madrox is dead, which is appropriate and makes sense for the title. It then sees a long-term member decide to leave, has Storm and Forge resolve their love storyline from X-Men, tosses in a good old government conspiracy that ends up involving Malice and Mr. Sinister, and even gives us Professor X trying to determine Haven's intentions in the last collection. It's decent continuity but not an exciting set of stories. Skipping, the Phalanx stuff, there is a battle with the former Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants/Freedom Force that will feed into LegionQuest, which kicks of The Age Of Apocalypse. That's a lot of plot description for some fairly boring stories.

I enjoyed David's run on X-Factor but, several creative teams later, it is definitely falling victim to the law of diminishing returns. The villains are forgettable, the grief and self-examination gets tiresome as it continues to dominate the story long after its expiration date, and the jokes get flatter and flatter as the title is passed to other writers.
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​The whole collection is sloppy, as it collects several different storylines that don't so much intertwine as interrupt each other. None of them are bad but it's neither fully coherent nor incredibly entertaining. If you're not a completist, this is a real easy collection to skip, since the best parts are collected in The Phalanx Covenant or Age Of Apocalypse Prelude​.

Rogue by Howard Mackie and Mike Wieringo
Also Featuring: Gambit Belladonna, Storm

A completely forgettable Rogue & Gambit adventure that I've often wondered where to place in the continuity. In the Age Of Apocalypse Prelude, it's mentioned several times that this adventure takes place between issues. While it should be an important milestone in Rogue's history, the writing is just so flat, and the plot is so drawn out (there's about eight pages of story in this ninety-six page collection) that I can't recommend anyone track it down to read it, even if you're super invested in Rogue & Gambit's relationship. There's nothing here worth reading.

This is a very focused, if not very good, section of the X-Men readthrough. The first three collections focus on trying to untangle the Summer Family Tree by first sending Rachel Summers into a new future, then having her pull Jean Grey and Cyclops in, so that they can raise Cable, then showing us Jean Grey and Cyclops traveling back in time to interfere in the origin of Mr. Sinister, and wrapping the whole time travel angle up by showing us a bit more of Cable growing up after his parents and sister are removed from his life.

The second half of this era shows unusual X-Men teams battling The Phalanx, leading to the introduction of the fourth Generation of X-Men: Generation X. This is a bit more straightforward and entertaining than the first half, except when, in the midst of a Phalanx battle, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Cable, and Wolverine end up having to take the entire time traveling saga and having all the characters figure out how that impacts their lives in this timeline. It's clumsy as all hell, and distracting from an otherwise fun story.

The title in Boldface is something I consider Headcanon, meaning that if you're only going to read, say forty(?) of the over 500 X-books, this one should be on your list.

X-Men Phoenix by John Francis Moore, Pascal Alix, and Alan Evans
1st Appearances: Ch'Vayre
Also Featuring: Apocalypse

If Marvel editorial really wanted people to get the full story of the Summers family's time traveling adventures in a sensible order, they would release a collection that began with Phoenix, then had The Adventures Of Cyclops & Phoenix, followed by the Further Adventures Of Cyclops & Phoenix, and ending with Askani'Son. Four underwhelming time travel stories that attempt to make sense of Rachel Summers, Cable, Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister, and how they fit into Cyclops & Jean Grey's family history.

The Phoenix story picks up after Rachel disappears from Excalibur, introduces us to Ch'Vayre, who's going to pop up in two of the other three chapters of this story, and tosses in Apocalypse for a humdrum future timeline story. We also meet other characters who we know not to get attached to because this is just a setup story designed to let us know how Phoenix becomes Mother Askani. It does a real disservice to Apocalypse who's supposed to be being setup as this time conquering super-villain but who comes off as one of those weak 1960s punching bag villains. It's really difficult to imagine this version of Apocalypse becoming the focal point of X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 1.

X-Men Cyclops And Phoenix Past & Future by Scott Lobdell, Tom DeFalco, Peter Milligan, Gene Ha, Kyle Hotz, and John Paul Leon
Askani Tribe: Cyclops (aka Slym), Jean Grey (aka Redd), Cable (aka Nathan Dayspring), and Rachel Summers (aka Mother Askani)
Also Featuring: Ch'Vayre, Apocalypse, Stryfe, Jubilee, Mr. Sinister

I remember reading comics when this book was coming out, and seeing "see Cyclops & Phoenix limited series #1" and wondering if the Cyclops and Phoenix go into the future to raise Cable story would be interesting. There is a ton of story potential, and I knew nothing about it.

Twenty years later, when Cable went into the future to raise The First Mutant Born After Decimation, I remember thinking "I wonder if this is anything like that old Cyclops and Phoenix story. Maybe the whole thing is a cool homage."

No, Cable time traveling in the future to raise Hope was am interesting storyline, where they gave us new glimpses of characters' personalities, and seemed to be having fun writing an adventure story.

Cyclops & Phoenix in the future is a dull slog. While it's interesting to see what happened to Rachel Summers after she disappeared in Excalibur, the main plot of Cyclops & Phoenix in the future doesn't add anything to their lore, Apocalypse's lore, or the Ch'Vayre who we initially meet in X-Men: Phoenix #1. Really, the only interesting thing is finding out that Rachel is Mother Askani, which...ehh.

The second half of the book, where Cyclops & Jean end up in the past where Nathan Essex is slowly evolving into Mr. Sinister is also a slow-moving, uninteresting story which manages to add things to Sinister's lore that just don't make the character any more exciting. He had a sick wife? Ok. His kid died? Sure. He knew Charles Darwin? What is their relationship? Oh, they argue a couple of times when it's convenient for the plot but otherwise don't have a relationship? I guess that's fine.

The best part of the Mr. Sinister story is John Paul Leon's art, which evokes Mike Mignola in the best possible ways.

Overall, though, unless you're a completist, this is a completely skippable pair of side stories.​​

X-Men/Excalibur Road To Phalanx Covenant by Scott Lobdell, Chris Cooper, Richard Ashford, Eric Fein, Kim Yale, John Royle, Ken Lashley, Amanda Conner, Klebs Jr, Paul Abrams, Daerrick Gross, Hannibal King, Yancy Labat, John Romita Jr, Lee Weeks, and Joe Madureira
Excalibur: Moira MacTaggert, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Captain Britain, Meggan, Ahab, Douglock
X-Men: Prof X, Beast, Iceman, Angel, Storm, Banshee, Psylocke, Jubilee, Gambit, Forge, Bishop
Also Featuring: Zero, Jamie Braddock, Amanda Sefton, Selene, Yukio, Emma Frost

​This is a review of a Trade Paperback Collection That Doesn't Exist But Should. X-Men/Excalibur: Road To The Phalanx Covenant featuring Excalibur #78-81 and Annual #2 & Uncanny X-Men #311-315.

At the end of Excalibur #77, we get two pages of story that show Zero, a weapon left behind by Stryfe after X-Cutioner's song is on a mission of repair when we see a fusion of two dead New Mutants, Warlock and Doug Ramsey, seemingly fused into a new creature called Douglock.

Issues #78-81 mainly focus on a pedestrian, poorly paced story about Zero and Douglock trying to Pinocchio into real boys while being doubted by Kitty Pryde and the newish form of Captain Britain. I can see why the story hasn't been collected, as it's not on-par with Lobdell's other work from the era. It does however feed into the Phalanx story which is big enough that it introduces a whole new X-team soon.

Uncanny X-Men #311-315 mainly focuses Storm, Yukio, and Gambit crossing paths with Phalanx in New York and struggling to find its weaknesses. We learn that a few previous villains have merged with The Phalanx and that they are concerned that Douglock doesn't seem to be falling in line with their plans. This is also not Lobdell's best work but is a bit better. We also see Sabretooth briefly loose, get some more character time with Bishop, and we see how The White Queen adapts when she inhabits Iceman's body and learns to use his powers in ways he hadn't before. This is also not necessarily Essential X-reading but I am surprised it hasn't been collected in some form.

The Origin Or Generation X by Scott Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, Larry Hama, Todd Dezago, Joe Madureira. Andy Kubert, Jan Duursema, Roger Cruz, Ken Lahley, Steven Epting, Tony S Daniel, Adam Kubert, and Steve Skroce
X-Men: Banshee, Jubilee, Emma Frost, Sabretooth
Excalibur: Prof X, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Meggan, Captain Britain, Moira MacTaggert, Douglock, Amanda Sefton (as Daytripper)
X-Factor: Forge, Havoc, Polaris, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy
​X-Force: Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Rictor, Warpath, Shatterstar, Siryn
Generation X: Monet, Husk, Blink, Skin, Synch
Also Featuring: Jean Grey, Cyclops, Wolverine, Cable, Beast, Storm, Bishop, The Phalanx, Cameron Hodge, Steven Lang

The beginning of this origin story for Generation X is really intriguing. All of Lobdell's issues in this collection are above-average X-Men stories about specific characters in the X-Men franchise trying to deal with a crisis where technology is evolving to kill them. They're well-paced, introduce the characters who will become Generation X, and are really fun to read.

Fabien Nicieza's issues aren't quite as good but they're ok. He crams in too many characters and they get a bit disjointed but they're still recognizably part of the overall story and have some fun moments.

Larry Hama's issues are unreadable garbage by a writer who wasn't up to the assignment of working on this crossover. In addition to dealing with the Phalanx storyline, he also tries to work in all of the time-hopping Summers family adventures which he does clumsily and unnecessarily.

The first few issues had me thinking I was going to put this into the X-Men headcanon but it really goes too far off the rails during the Hama issues for me to recommend this to anyone.

I'm not including the final issue in this collection (Generation X #1) because it also appears in the next book.

​13. Generation X Classic Vol 1 by Scott Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, Joe Madureira, Roger Cruz, Andy Kubert, and Chris Bachalo
X-Men: Banshee, Jubilee, Emma Frost, Sabretooth
Generation X: Banshee, Emma Frost, Jubilee, Husk, Sync, Monet, Skin, Blink, Chamber
1st Appearances: Penance, Emplate, DOA
Also Featuring: Prof X, Jean Grey, Cameron Hodge, Steven Lang, Beast, Cyclops, Bishop, Angel, Iceman, Gateway, Nanny, Orphan Maker

I mentioned that there were some really good issues in The Origin Of Generation X that were bogged down by some terrible ones. While this collection doesn't have all of the good issues from that volume, it has most of them, and none of the bad ones. So you get an intriguing X-Men storyline about the Phalanx that becomes the origin story for X-Men Gen 4 (Gen 1 is the original team, Gen 2 is the Uncanny Team from the 80s, and Gen 3 is New Mutants/X-Force).

The adventure for How The Team Comes Together is fun, and once the actual Generation X story gets started, we get to see a nice evolution in how mutant teams exist. This isn't gorgeous Jean Grey the psychic and telekinetic with her nerdy suck-up boyfriend, the athletic Cyclops. There's no bouncing gymnast with snappy patter who is ostracized because he has big feet. Nobody looks like an angel, and nobody looks like a regular teen until he turns on his ice powers. When Paige is injured, she has to peel off her skin to reveal a new, uninjured body. Angelo's body has too much skin. And while Monet, Jubilee, and Everett look like normal teens, Jonathan appears to have a nuclear furnace where most people has a face, and the girl known only as Penance has a razor sharp body, not cool claws that they can push in and out of their skin like Wolverine, her whole body is razor sharp. It's basically a team of Nightcrawlers, in that they can't really hide that they're mutants.

In their first set of storylines, they battle the parasitic Emplate, they have to figure out how to interact with one of Emplate's non-verbal victims, Penance, and then they're sent to rescue a mutant teen who's taken a class hostage because the school kicked him out. His powers? He doesn't have any. He's just physically deformed and has trouble breathing. But he's treated like he's a violent criminal who the police assume is bulletproof because he's a mutant.

Despite a lackluster ending (The Holiday Spectacular is slightly holidayish but not at all spectacular), this is a worthy volume for my headcanon as we get to see a new team get together and we see new sides of Banshee and Emma Frost, who serve as the heads of the new Massachusetts Academy (you know, the school where Emma Frost was training The Hellions until she fell into a coma and most of her team died). The only negative caveat I have for this book is that if you really like the series, you should know that most of it hasn't yet been collected into trades. 

Despite an epic moment in X-history: the wedding of Jean Grey and Cyclops, this is a solidly forgettable era of X-books. While The Legacy Virus looms in the background, we spend these volumes following Cable and the X-Force through a series of Fabien Nicieza anti-climaxes, and experiencing an actually entertaining storyline where we learn about Nightcrawler's family history while also seeing what happens when Sabretooth ends up at the X-Mansion.

I would absolutely read a collection that only included the Excalibur and X-Men Unlimited Nightcrawler stories and the Sabretooth parts of Uncanny X-Men (along with his first mini-series) but the way they're collected in these volumes includes a lot of dull stories that either don't lead anywhere or else don't have a humongous effect on any other titles.

None of these books made Headcanon, though The Wedding Of Cyclops & Jean Grey came fairly close.

​Bishop Mountjoy Crisis by Josh Ostrander and Carlos Pacheco
1st Appearances: Mountjoy
Also Featuring: Storm, Prof X, Gambit, Shard, Forge, Bantam, Psylocke, Angel

What should have been a story running in the background of X-Men: The Wedding of Cyclops & Phoenix, Mountjoy Crisis sees yet another time traveler from Bishop's future flung into the current X-timeline to wreak havoc.

Theoretically, this expands on Bishop's origins and gives his character more depth but there isn't really anything interesting to add from this collection. It's told well, there just isn't really a full story's worth of plot here. Certainly not four issues worth.

Ostrander is a decent storyteller and Carlos Pacheco's art is better than most of the ongoing titled, so it's a shame there isn't enough story to make this worth the read.

​Excalibur Epic Days Of Future Yet To Come by Scott Lobdell, Dan Slott, Evan Skolnik, Richard Ashford, Steve Buccellato, Ken Lashley, Terry Shoemaker
Excalibur: Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Summers, Meggan, Cerise, Kylun, Micromax, Feron
Also Featuring: Corsair, Hepzibah, Raza, Ch'od, Lilandra, Fang, Gamesmaster, Moira MacTaggert, Siena Blaze, Ahab, Spoor, Mr Sinister, Amanda Sefton, Captain Britain, Mystique, Graydon Creed, Rogue, Forge, D'spayre, Margali Szardos, Zero

(I reviewed issues #59-67 as Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis, Vol. 3, I read #68-77 in issues)

I struggle to think of many positives to this run on Excalibur. As someone who was already not a fan of the series, the constant shifting of a team I didn't really care about gave me a bit of motion sickness. Characters I didn't like or care about were given dramatic sendoffs, and then, remarkably, not replaced until the team dwindled down to a bare bones ancillary X-Men team.

Once that happened, I actually started enjoying the book. I don't imagine that's the case with the people who loved Excalibur up until this point but, for me, a team of Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, and Rachel Summers trying to figure out their places in the X-Men universe was way more interesting than shifting through magic and fairy-themed alternate universes.

The highlight for me was the issue where Nightcrawler joins up with Rogue to learn more about his parents. This is connected to a storyline in Sabretooth, and feeds into another storyline in the X-Men. This is the type of story I connect to more than A Bedpost With A Face Gains Sentience And Chews Through Barriers Between Worlds, Some Featuring Nazi Versions Of Heroes. If the latter sounds awesome to you, then you're a better match for Excalibur than I am.

By the end of the story, (view spoiler) it seems like we're going to get a new status quo with a team more similar to the original Excalibur lineup than the trio we focus on at the end of this volume.

We also get a peek at a villain who's going to be an important part of the next X-Force story.

X-Force Child's Play by Fabien Nicieza, Jim Kreuger, Tony S Daniel, Darick Robertson, Paul Pelletier, Mike Weiringo, Brandon McKinney, and Arnie Jorgensen
X-Force: Cable, Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Rictor, Shatterstar, Warpath, Domino, Siryn
New Warriors: Thrash, Justice, Nova, Firestar, Kymaera, Speedball, Rage, Silhouette
​Also Featuring: Gamesmaster, Siena Blaze, Magma, Empath, Dani Moonstar, Husk, Icarus, Trevor Fitzroy, Shinobi Shaw, Graydon Creed, Fenris, Mantek, Forge, Banshee, Nimrod, Apocalypse, Saul, Gideon, Feral, Forearm, Wildside, Jade Dragon, Collective Man, Reignfire

Fabien Nicieza's plots are usually inconsistent and tenuous. The first half of this collection is a focused storyline. Unfortunately for me, as a reader, it also heavily features another of Nicieza's teams, The New Warriors, who I'm not very familiar with, and who aren't very interesting in this volume.

The overall plot of the first half, that The Gamesmaster and The Upstarts have set a contest to kill all the original members of The New Mutants and The Hellions is interesting. Unfortunately, like most Nicieza stories, it doesn't really end so much as fizzle out. There's no satisfying comeuppance but also no cliffhangers for any future storylines, it just sort of ends, mostly off-panel.

The rest of the book is short stories about Nimrod, the Mutant Liberation Front, and the Externals. None of them are terrible but none of them are conclusive, either. Once again, Nicieza introduces some intriguing ideas and then gets distracted and the stories just end so we can move on to the next idea.

I think you have to be a die-hard fan to enjoy the main Child's Play Story and/or the annual issue, which focuses on the Mutant Liberation Front. The rest of the stories in this volume are forgettable no matter how much you love X-Force continuity. There just isn't enough in this volume to care about ever reading it again.​

11. X-Factor Epic X-Aminations by Peter David, Scott Lobdell, Skip Dietz, JD DeMatteis, Shana David, Joe Quesada, Jae Lee, Chris Batista, Buzz, Jan Duursema, Terry Shoemaker, Paul Ryan, Greg Luzniak, & Cliff Van Meter
X-Factor: Havoc, Polaris, Rahne, Quicksilver, Madrox, Strong Guy, Val Cooper, Forge
​1st Appearances: Haven, Monsoon
Also Featuring: Doc Samson, Random, Trish Tilby, Moira MacTaggert, Crystal, Prodigal, Amelia Voght, Unuscione, Katu, Colossus, Milan, Frenzy, Scanner, Kleinstock Bros, Rusty, Skids, Spoor, Sentinels, Robert Kelly, Cortez, Archangel, Icaman, Colossus, Cyclops, Prof X,  Lila Cheny

I'm skipping the X-Cutioner's Song issues in this volume because I already talked about them when reviewing X-Men: X-Cutioner's Song.

The next issue is the story the collection takes its name from. It's part of David's farewell storyarc, and it's fantastic. It's each of the members of the team meeting with psychiatrist and Hulk antagonist, Doc Samson and trying to work out their benefits/problems with being part of X-Factor. It's a very twenty-first century issue but it came out in the early 90s.

The team's trip to Genosha ends up adding a fascinating angle to the Havoc/Rahne issue as well as introducing the team to The Legacy Virus, which is going to ravage the X-portion of the Marvel Universe for years. We even see the introduction of a questionable guru character whose motivations and behaviors don't precisely align, as well as some inner-team turmoil when there's a possible betrayal.

This is just a really solid collection of stories, especially if you skip the X-Cutioner's stuff. Nothing against the overall X-cutioner's story, it's a decent crossover but you only get three non-consecutive portions of it here which makes for a choppy and unsatisfying read. Otherwise, this is a must-have for Peter David fans while also being a decent primer for Scott Lobdell who does his best to keep David's charm while also adding his own ideas into the story.

Cable Classic Vol 2 by Fabien Nicieza, Scott Lobdell, Glenn Herdling, Darick Rbertson, Dwayne Turner, Aron Wisenfeld, MC Wyman, Mike Miller, & Steve Skroce
Also Featuring: Cannonball, Siryn, Sinsear, Zero, Domino, Mr Sinister, Askani, Tolliver, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Prof X, Kitty Pryfe, Rachel Summers, Moira MacTaggert, Omega Red, Amelia Voght, Unuscione, Katu, Colossus, Milan, Frenzy, Scanner, Kleinstock Bros, Rusty, Skids, Lee Forrester, Senyaka, D'spayre, Belasco, S'ym

It's impressive that this book ends up falling victim to The Law Of Diminishing Returns given how terrible it begins.

This is just a hodge-podge of half baked continuity ideas in a desperate attempt to make Cable seem interesting. It's a shame because Cable was interesting the moment that Louise Simonson introduced him. The idea of a time traveling military-styled leader of a generation of mutants is cool. The idea of him being the son that Cyclops had to send into the future to save him from a technovirus is also cool. But Nicieza's story about Cable being a clone of a villain or maybe the villain is a clone of him or maybe the moon is a potato clone of a dinosaur in chili sauce blah blah blah.

Nicieza strikes me as someone who has never, in their life, completed a sentence. His ideas constantly shift, and they seem interesting on the surface but there's rarely any depth to them.

He was sort of Vince Russo before Vince Russo was Vince Russo.

This story is a mess. There's no reason to read it. Every time an interesting idea shows up (Lee Forrester is somehow back in the X-narrative?) it's squandered by bad 80's action dialogue (in a 90s book) and an aimless plot that doesn't take you to any of the potentially interesting destinations promised by the premise.

If you love Cable, I guess you might like this. Otherwise, there's no real reason to bother with this.

Deadpool Classic Vol 1 by Fabien Nicieza, Rob Liefeld, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, Joe Madureira, Ian Churchill, Lee Weeks, Ken Lashley, and Ed McGuinness
1st Appearances: Slayback, Blind Al, T-Ray
​Also Featuring: Kane, Weasel, Copycat, Juggernaut, Black Tom, Banshee, Siryn, Sluggo, Sasquatch, Expediter

Deadpool is as divisive a character in the comics as he is a beloved character in the Marvel movie franchise. It takes a really gifted writer with a particular turn of phrase to make Deadpool funny. Fabien Nicieza was never going to be that writer. And Mark Waid, one of my favorite superhero comic writers wasn't up to the task, either.

While the comics in this issue aren't precisely terrible, they're just not very engaging. Whether it's Nicieza drowning anything interesting with the stupid Tolliver/Cable-adjacent storylines, or Waid's barely passable Juggernaut and the Cassiday family drama, I found myself waiting for this collection to be over, rather than hoping to see where it went.

The jokes are mostly flat ginger ale. The pop culture references pick up a little at the end with Joe Kelly's issue but it still felt like an underwhelming beginning to Mr. Wade Ryan Bea Arthur Chimichanga Reynolds Wilson.

I know the books get better because I've read them all before but I'm not sure I would have kept reading them if I'd started at the beginning. If you really love Deadpool and want to see his early appearances, I don't think this book is going to make you hate him, it's just not on-par with later volumes.

Wolverine Epic Inner Fury by Larry Hama, Bill Sienkiewicz, Kent Williams, Mark Texeira, and Dwayne Turner
1st Appearances: Tribune
​Also Featuring: Jubilee, Rogue, Sauron, Sabretooth, Psi-Borg, Birdy, Mystique

Apart from a very eventful issue that's also contained in Fatal Attractions, this is a collection of dull Wolverine stories that add nothing of interest to the character nor are they particularly fun or intriguing.
I don't know why it's impossible to tell an interesting story in The Savage Land but it is. I feel like the writers who enjoy writing about The Savage Land eat a lot of Corn Flakes and think black pepper is a bold spice choice.

Sauron should be an interesting character but his ties to the Savage Land make him a half-note dud.

There's also some Jubilee background that I didn't need. I enjoy that we saw her in a mall scene, and then she followed a band of mutants to Australia, and was like "I'm going to hang out with Wolverine until they make me an X-Man." It makes her teenage aloofness/rebellion tenable when we only know the bare bones of her tragic backstory. I didn't need it explained upon. It isn't as disappointing as when they finally revealed Wolverine's origin but I do think it devalues her story rather than improving it.

Sabretooth James Bond is a silly concept that doesn't work very well but it does include a ton of continuity points that are going to show up in various X-books including a pivotal Nightcrawler story in Excalibur.

There are also some trite one-shots, including an environmental story that I believe was written and drawn by children.
​
This is a hard pass for me. The only moderately interesting story is a collected in another trade. If you're not a completist, there's no reason for this to take up real estate on your bookshelf.

12. X-Men Fatal Attractions by Scott Lobdell, JM DeMatteis, Fabien Nicieza, Larry Hama, Joe Quesada, Brandon Peterson, John Romita Jr, Richard Bennett, Greg Capullo, Jan Duuresma, Andy Kubert, Adam Kubert, Ken Lashley, Roger Cruz, Cliff Van Meter, Jae Lee, Chris Sprouse, Paul Smith, Darick Robertson, & Matt Ryan
X-Men: Prof X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, Iceman, Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Pylocke, Revanche, Jubilee, Gambit, Bishop
X-Factor: Val Cooper, Havoc, Quicksilver, Polaris, Madrox, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy, Random
X-Force: Cable, Cannonball, Sunspot, Boom-Boom, Rictor, Shatterstar, Feral, Warpath, Siryn
​Excalibur:Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Summers
1st Appearances: Exodus, Kleinstock, Neophyte, Spoor, Milan, Seamus Melloncamp, Empyrean
Also Featuring: Magneto, Colossus, Forge, Moira Mactaggert, Banshee, Magick, Reed Richards, Thing, Captain Britain, Sunfire, Fabien Cortez, Frenzy, Unuscione, Amelia Voght, Sanyaka, Trevor Fitzroy, Shinobi Shaw, Gamesmaster, Tribune, Toad, Blob, Pyro, Phantazia, Gabrielle Haller, Charlotte Jones, Trish Tilby, Robert Kelly, Sharon Friedlander, Tom Corsi, Lilandra

As you might guess by the volume of names above, this is a messy mega-crossover. While it has one excellent issue, and a couple of very important plot points for many future storylines, I have a difficult time recommending this. Mostly because it pivots around Magneto being a villain again. Yes, Magneto started as a villain, but he evolved into an anti-hero, an actual hero, and then into the murky era of being an opponent to the X-Men for a very valid reason that didn't cast him precisely as a villain. And then he died, fairly heroically. So to bring him back as a villain again felt really tacky, lazy, and not very believable.

I've grown to like Scott Lobdell's books more than I thought I did, and I do think he tells some compelling stories in this volume, but the conceit of Magneto being a villain just doesn't work for me.

There is a death, from The Legacy Virus, in this volume that was devastating when the issue was written, and it's devastating now. The story of grief from the perspective of Jubilee, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde is possibly Lobdell's best comic. It's certainly the best Jubilee story I can think of.

But then we have a character I most remember from The Age Of Apocalypse (which hasn't happened yet), Magneto and his Acolytes, a couple of minor but recurring character deaths, and a huge Wolverine moment.

So, I think I'm going to begrudgingly put this volume as a recommendation with the caveat that there's a lot of material, and not all of it is great, but all of it does feed into the major storylines, and it does make sense. We're about to enter an era of X-Men where most logic goes out the window, so I guess you should check out this, as one of the last bastions of decent, if complex and sometimes annoying, X-books before that era begins.

Avengers/X-Men Bloodties by Bob Harras, Scot Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, Roy Thomas, Jan Duursema, Steve Epting, Andy Kubert, John Romita Jr, and Dave Ross
Avengers/West Coast Avengers: Captain America, Black Widow, Black Knight, Crystal, Darkhawk, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, US Agent, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Hercules, Sersi
X-Men: Prof X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Storm, Rogue, Revanche, Gambit, Bishop
1st Appearances: Renee Majcomb
Also Featuring: Magneto, Quicksilver, Colossus, Nick Fury, Peter Gyrich, Exodus, Fabien Cortez, Luna, Jenny Ransome, Trish Tilby

Another messy crossover. This one is mercilessly shorter but has a ton of plotholes and doesn't really enrich the X-Men's storyline. I can't say for sure about the Avengers storyline, as I'm not super familiar with the 90s Avengers & West Coast titles.

The weirdest plothole is that there is a very tight team of specific X-Men throughout this story. They go to Genosha to stop Magneto's Acolytes, as well as some rogue mutates, and then in the middle of a battle Angel and Revanche are just there, even though they did not accompany the X-Men to Genosha, nor were they already there. I think there was just a miscommunication between writers.

I also couldn't keep track of all the Avengers characters.

This is mainly the story of Acolytes wreaking havoc in Genosha and kidnapping Quicksilver and Crystal's daughter, Luna. This continues some of the fracturing of The Acolytes that we saw in the previous volume. It doesn't really have much of a bearing on future X-stories other than further connecting Genosha with Magneto, who is still suffering the effects of Fatal Attractions for the entirety of this volume.

I do not recommend it unless you're an Avengers/X-Men/Acolytes/or Genosha completist.

The end of X-Cutioner's Song is the beginning of a several year long era where the X-Men learn of, are effected by and must figure out how to overcome The Legacy Virus, a fatal disease with the impact of AIDS but nobody quite knows how it's spread.

Stories involving the Legacy virus have varying degrees of impact. At this early stage in their understanding of the disease, it's more of a concern than a tragedy.

Apart from the quirky but intriguing Skinner Of Souls storyline, this is a pretty tepid, wheel-spinning section of the X-Men Universe. It is almost entirely skippable, although the X-Force Assault On Graymalkin is fun if you're invested in the Cable/Cannonball/Sunspot storyline.

As usual, anything boldfaced represents a highly recommended book that I include in my actual headcanon.

Excalibur Epic Days Of Futures Yet To Come by Scott Lobdell, Alan Davis, Skott Collins, Mark Farmer
Excalibur: Captain Britain, Meggan, Kitty Pryde,  Nightcrawler, Cerise, Kylun, Micromax, Feron
Also Featuring: Black Panther, Captain America, War Machine,  Widget, Knight Errant, Galactus, Alysdar Stuart, Death, Roma, Saturnyne, Ahab, Sentinels

This book is split pretty evenly between an Alan Davis storyline, and some Scott Lobdell stories. Weirdly, it begins with Lobdell for two issues that take place in Wakanda and attempt to make the title feel more like an X-Men book, then we return to Alan Davis playing Chris Claremont's whackity-schmackity-doo, ain't-I-zany stories, and finally Lobdell returns and we're back to trying to tie stories into X-continuity.

While I'm not usually a Lobdell fan, I do enjoy his work on this title more than Davis's. So far, no writer has been talented enough to make me care about Widget and the magic/dimension-hopping shenanigans of Captain Britain and friends. I think Tini Howard is very talented but I still found her run on Excalibur a snooze. The Wakanda storyline was, for an early 90s superhero book, a progressive story that toyed with tropes in a way that felt like it was from the early 2000s.

If you're a fan of Alan Davis's work, you might love this. While I do enjoy his art, I'm not a fan of his writing so this wasn't for me. Lobdell fans will be disappointed that after the second issue the story goes in a wildly different direction, even though it seemed like Lobdell was setting up some interesting threads before Davis's return, and then introducing even newer ideas when he returned to the title.

10. X-Men Skinning Of Souls by Scott Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, Dan Slott, Andy Kubert, Brandon Petersin, Richard Bennett, Eliot R Brown, Kris Renkewitz, Henry Flint, Steve Alexandrov, and Darick Robertson
X-Men Blue: Professor X, Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Psylocke, Gambit, Jubilee
1st Appearances: Revanche
Also Featuring: Jean Grey, Iceman, Storm, Darkstar, Magik, Omega Red, Shinobi Shaw, Matsuo, Silver Samurai, Psynapse, Foxbat, Gauntlet, Tusk, Barrage, Mesmero, Banshee, Moira MacTaggert

After the team goes to Russia to deliver bad news to Colossus's family, bad news is delivered to them in the form of a mutant who has time-locked a town and enslaved Omega Red. This is followed by some nifty continuity tweaks explaining some characters' backgrounds and setting the stage for the complicated future that awaits everyone courtesy of The Legacy Virus.

Cable Classic Vol 1 by Fabien Nicieza, Art Thibert, Ron Lim, Paul Smith, Klaus Janson, Brandon Peterson, Kerry Gammil, Ian Churchill, Paul Ryan, Bill Wylie, Jim Reddington, Rob Liefeld, and Scott Koblish

Debut: Sinsear, Weasel

Featuring: Kane, Hammer, Bridge, Grizzly, Vanessa, Domino

The first four issues of Cable, are really the story of his sometimes sidekick/sometimes antagonist Kane who Cable rescued to the future. We follow his adventures in the future with Cable's dull team of cliche warriors, who somehow manage to be less interesting than his team of cliche warriors from Cable: Blood and Metal, until Cable shows up and we get returned to the "present" portion of the timeline.

It's all fine. The plot is predictable, none of the characters besides Cable, Domino, and Vanessa, are particularly interesting. I also find the "mystery" of Tolliver's identity that runs through Cable, X-Force, and Deadpool fairly tedious.

If you love Cable or Kane, and really want to see one of the many futures they exist in, this is worth picking up. It's never terrible. It's just never very interesting either.

Before I started working in comic book stores, I had read a handful of DC graphic novels and a few of the more famous Vertigo books but I'd mostly dipped in and out of the X-Men titles between 1986 and 2005ish. 1991 was probably the year I felt most invested in. I read X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, and X-Factor in issues. When trade paperbacks became a regular things, I bought what I could find of the 90s X-runs.  I was fully invested in what is, by and large, not a very good period of comic book history.

These four books have some fun stories that are going to lead into yet another big X-crossover. While three of them don't make my headcanon, and I am highly critical of them, they're all still ​very representative of this time in comics. X-Force being representative of the absolute worst of 90s comics, and while it has been trendy to mock Rob Liefeld's art for over thirty years, an equal amount of blame must go to Fabien Nicieza who has brazenly moved from terrible idea to terrible idea for over thirty years now, and he still somehow gets work.

X-Factor Epic All New All Different by Peter David, Larry Stroman, Dale Keown, Tom Raney, Kevin West, and Brandon Peterson
X-Factor: Val Cooper, Havoc, Polaris, Madrox, Wolfsbane, Quicksilver, Strong Guy
1st Appearances: Slab, Gorgeous George, Ramrod, Ruckus, Hairbag
Also Featuring: Mr Sinister, Stryfe, Hulk, Rick Jones, Betty Ross, Forearm, Reaper, Wildside, Thumbelina, Strobe, Tempo, Zero, Cannonball, Professor X, Cyclops, Cyber

While not as iconic and near-perfect as his second run as X-Factor scribe in the 2000s, Peter David's 90s run did a wonderful job of fleshing out Madrox, Strong Guy, and Quicksilver who had always seemed fairly flat before this run. He also is the first writer to make a compelling Polaris storyline that isn't "she's crazy" or "she is too powerful and is therefore tied to some sort of portal so as not to make her an important part of the story." Her obsession with Havoc at the beginning makes it so that she Wolfsbane fail to pass the Bechdel test but as the series goes on, each of them is defined less by who they're in love with (Havoc, in both cases), and more with how their actions in battle affect them. 

The villain and hero names in this book are purposefully dreadful: Strong Guy, Hairbag, Ramrod? It's part of Peter David's career-long dad-joke plotting and narration. It is sometimes distracting in this early part of his X-Factor run but it's still a thousand times better than the non-plotting ADHD nonsense happening to The Extreme in some of the other X-books.

For me, the art is the weak spot of this book. I don't think anyone, including Larry Stroman's mother, thinks his blocky anatomy is in competition with the Image Founders who are working on the other X-books, apart from Liefeld. Stroman and Liefeld are on equal terms as neither of them are exceptionally talented but they both have committed to stylistic choices that have defined their careers. That said, this book is easy to follow and not at all ugly, which can not be said about Stroman's return to X-Factor in the 2000s, which looks like it was drawn by a four year old with a bad cocaine habit and no concept of anatomy.

This almost made my Headcanon. It's not the art that keeps it off the list, though, nor the dad jokes. It's just nowhere near as good as David's return to X-Factor fifteen years later, and I'm going to be including a bunch of those books. But I do recommend this, if you're jonesing for a 90s X-book, this is on-par with the two flagship books and miles better than the rest of the X-spinoffs.

X-Force Epic Under The Gun by Rob Liefeld, Fabien Nicieza, Todd Macfarlane, Greg Capullo
X-Force: Cable, Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Warpath, Shatterstar, Feral, Domino
1st Appearance: Kane, Bridge, Tyler Tolliver, Phantazia, Thornn
Also Featuring: Stryfe, Forearm, Zero, Kamikaze, Wildside, Reaper, Thumbelina, Deadpool, Gideon, Sunspot, Black Tom, Siryn, Spider-Man, Juggernaut, Toad, Blob, Sauron, Pyro, Masque, Hydra, Baron Von Strucker, Sumo, Rictor, Wendigo

Much critique of this title in particular, and this era of the X-Men in general, focuses on how bad Rob Liefeld's art is. While I'm not a fan of his, this fails to take into account that Rob Liefeld is a considerably better artist than Fabien Nicieza is a writer.

There are no decent ideas anywhere in this book. Sure, there are plot points in issue #9 that are sort of relevant to other X-books, but is it necessary to read them here? Nah.

I recognize that "Hey, there's a bad guy, let's have a two issue fight scene about it," isn't a surprise when you're reading a mediocre comic but the X-books were usually much more focused on characters and tended to keep fight scenes just a few pages long while building up things like suspense. Nicieza doesn't know how to do that now, and certainly had no idea how to do that thirty years ago. So we get sprawling battles with occasional weird reveals that are quickly retconned by better writers (which is most writers).

If you like dumb, extreme violence from the 90s with the puzzlingly frequent use of the word zit, then this is the kind of book to pick up and laugh at. But if you're looking for a story? This is not the book for you.

Wolverine Weapon X Unbound by Larry Hama, Marc Silvestri, Fabien Nicieza, Gerald DeCaire, Andy Kubert, and Darick Robertson
Also Featuring: Jubilee, Sabretooth, Silver Fox, Professor X, Jean Grey, Nick Fury, Jubilee, Cyclops, Forge, Mystique, Albert, Elsie-Dee, Spiral, Mojo, Shatterstar, Gambit, Matsuo, Mariko, Sunfire, Skullbuster Cylla

I haven't laughed so hard at unintentionally bad writing in a long time. The first issue deals with a bad boy who murders his dad, roughs up his mom, and kills indiscriminately to get his sweet, sweet drugs. It's written with the nuance and subtlety of a fourth grader who has never left their house, where they've been subjected to 1950s and 60s filmstrips about "greasers" and "pill poppers."

I don't know that I can ever take Larry Hama's writing seriously again. I hope he also gets a good laugh when he remembers he got paid to publish this steaming pile of cow patties.

Once the Don't Do Drugs Afternoon Special is over, Hama gets back on familiar turf, and while I don't love the story, it's miles better than that first issue. There are some decent character moments with Mystique, and an assortment of X-Men but the overall plot didn't grab me. The fact that the Elsie-Dee/Albert story keeps going even though it seemed like it was mercifully ended in the last volume is also disappointing.

Unless you read this as a kid and have some nostalgic fondness, I don't see this being the kind of book a casual or moderate comic fan would enjoy. Marc Silverstri and Andy Kubert's art is Incredibly 90s but in a Top Of The Class at 90s Comic Art School sort of way. I wish the stories were coherent enough to be worthy of their art.

If you liked the previous Larry Hama stories then I think you'll enjoy this one (apart from the first issue), and it does play off well against the early 1990s X-Men series fairly well, consistently using members of both the blue and gold teams.

This was an overwhelming mess when I read it without the full context of the thirty years of comics that preceded it. It's a mistaken identity clone story, it's a family drama, it's a medical mystery, there's a few pages dealing with refugees, it's an intergenerational conflict, it's an action movie, it's A Lot to have to process without all the proper history before it.

With the proper history, it's ok. It's real strength is the combination of writers on this. Peter David had been writing dad-joke centric noir satire in X-Factor, Jim Lee and company had been writing classic superhero drama in the adjectiveless X-Men, and Fabien Nicieza had been writing family drama and time travel adventures in Uncanny X-Men while writing bland and unfocused action movie dialogue in X-Force. Together, the writing team tempered each other really well. David had to get focused on the intricacies of plot and inter-personal drama to balance Nicieza's action movie style so he dropped the dad jokes while finding a way to include the parts of his ongoing story that didn't seem like they meshed with the crossover. Lee and Lobdell seemed to be guiding the overall arcs to get the various books to move in new directions. Nicieza mostly got the fight scenes, which is clearly what he wanted to be doing. It made for a pretty fluid read. Again, if you've read everything before it.

There was also an odd but smart visual connection that all of the artists did for this book. While many of them had differing styles, they all took the second and third pages of their stories and paneled them landscape style instead of portrait style, so you had to turn the book sideways after you read the intro page, and then turn it back for the rest of the book. It didn't add anything other than a visual connective tissue but it was a neat device.

I had never realized before that Jae Lee, whose work I didn't start recognizing until he and David teamed up on The Gunslinger Born well over a decade later. Much of his work here is also focused and engagingly staged characters with minimal to no background images, which is a stark contrast to the noisy paneling of most 90s X-books. I'm going to have to do a read through of as much of his art as I can at some point.

I also forgot that Greg Capullo was involved with this era of X-books. I've always loved his DC work, particularly on Batman, and I even appreciate his work on Spawn, even if that isn't my favorite series to read.

So there's a lot to love, art-wise and editorially in this book. And if you're an X-pert (sorry) on Marvel's mutant section, I think this is a fun read but it was really frustrating as a reader who'd only read many X-books before, as opposed to pretty much all of them. So if you're a completist or deep into X-lore, this is a great pick. But if you're new to the X-books or a casual reader, this isn't where you should start.

It's also annoying that these volumes heavily overlap but they also each include stories pivotal to the readthrough that aren't published anywhere else.

Hoof.

I'm almost at a major turning point in X-history, the Muir Island Saga/X-Men #1 relaunch. An era of complex storylines, new characters, bold reimaginings, and a lot of storylines that were just dropped because 90's X-scribes Fabien Nicieza and Scott Lobdell generally never have any idea what they're doing from page to page, nevermind issue to issue.

But before we can get there, Alan Davis tries to make Chris Claremont's Excalibur run make sense, Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri change the focus on how Wolverine books are written, and Chris Claremont concludes his sixteen year run on Uncanny X-Men.

I want to just write "ibid".

I'll at least credit the creative teams who tried out new ideas that were just too similar to Claremont's previous ideas. None of them made me care about any of these characters nor did I express surprise when every time a friend shows up it turns out to be a Nazi dimension duplicate or a war wolf. I find the whole 20th century Excalibur title an absolute chore to read.

Excalibur Epic Girls School From Heck by Chris Claremont, Scott Lobdell, Mike Higgins, Simon Furman, Sue Flaxman, Dana Moreshead, Dave Ross, Ron Wagner, Tom Morgan, Bryan Hitch, Mark Badger, Dave Hoover, Gavin Curtis, Ron Lim, Brian Stelfreeze, Dwayne Turner, Butch Guice, Mark Leonardi, Erik Larsen, and James Fry

​Wolverine by Larry Hama & Marc Silvestri Vol 1 by Larry Hama, Marc Silvestri, Mike Mignola, Walt Simonson, and Alan Davis
Also Featuring: Apocalypse, Archie Corrigan, Tyger Tyger, Puck. Lady Deathstrike, Donald Pierce, Bonebreaker

This is a collection of stories from a series that you can tell is trying to get better but hasn't reached there yet.

The opening story with art by Mike Mignola suffers from Walter Simonson's thirty years out-of-date storytelling. I don't mean that I am looking at it in 2024, and thinking it's thirty years out-of-date, that would be fine, it was written over thirty years ago. The thing is, I was alive and reading comics in 1991, and this seems like it came out thirty years before that. Well-intentioned maybe but definitely racist tropes, twists you can see coming from outer space, none of the characters behaving like they do in other books. It's just terrible, and while it's a cool look at what Mignola could do with Wolverine thirty years ago, it's not nearly as cool as what this book would have looked like if he'd made it ten years later.

The Alan Davis material could have come right out of his or Claremont's Excalibur Classic, Vol. 1: The Sword is Drawn run. That's not a compliment.

As for the thrust of the collection, Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri slowly move the Wolverine story out of Madripoor and into the wider Marvel Universe. That's a great thing. And while I enjoyed how they brought Puck into the series, I just don't have an affinity for Nazi storylines, particularly not after having read so many of the terrible Claremont Nazi-Universe Excalibur stories. Still, the story is good enough that I have hope for the next volume by this creative team.

​Wolverine by Larry Hama & Marc Silvestri Vol 2 by Larry Hama, Marc Silvestri, Peter David, Andy Kubert, and Larry Stroman
1st Appearances: Albert, Elsie Dee
Also Featuring: Storm, Forge, Jubilee, Cable, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, Donald Pierce, Bonecrusher, Nick Fury, Masque, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Rictor, Warlock

The saga of a widduh chiwud andwoid and a duplicate of Wolverine is better than I remember. I don't like it but I managed to get through it this time. I think I put it down after the second or third cutesy-wootsy turn of phrase the last time I tried to read this run.

While hardly The Best Wolverine Story, it does feel fresher now that the series isn't stuck in Madripoor. Getting to see Storm, Forge, Cable, and Jubilee drop in and out of the plot was certainly more interesting than Jessica Drew and Lindsay MacCabe. Still, the story kept going well past the point of interesting. I felt like once they blow up a character, they'd be done with, but two characters have big finale explosions, only to pop again a couple of issues later.

The collection ends with another fantasy-based Wolfsbane story. This is the first one in the Wolverine series but there were a few when she was a member of The New Mutants. I didn't care about those. I don't care about this one. I enjoy Wolfsbane the mutant with conflicted feelings about her religion and her place in a superhero team. I don't care about how she dreams of being a fairy princess and just might actually be one.

While this is an improvement over the previous books, and I would definitely say Wolverine fans should peruse this and see if it speaks to them, it's not enough for me to add it to the Headcanon. Nor do I imagine I'll be reading it again.

8. X-Men Epic Mutant Genesis by Chris Claremont, Fabien Nicieza, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Peter David, Ken Laminski, Kirk Jarvinen, Tom Raney, Terry Shoemaker,  Paul Smith, Andy Kubert, Jerry DeCaire, Ernie Stiner, and Steven Butler
X-Men: Professor X, Forge, Storm, Banshee, Wolverine, Psylocke, Gambit, Jubilee
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel
1st Appearances: Foxbat, Gauntlet, Psynapse, Barrage, Hard-Drive, Askani, Shinobi Shaw, Fabien Cortez, Delgado, Birdy
Also Featuring: Magneto, Apocalypse, Cable (as a baby), Captain America, Thing, Human Torch,      She-Hulk, Cameron Hodge, Tusk, Opal, Trish Tilby, Charlotte Jones, Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Crystal, Karnak, Lockjaw,  Sebastian Shaw, Shadow King, Lian,  Rogue, Strong Guy, Moira MacTaggert, Legion, Siryn, Madrox, Colossus, Stevie Hunter, Val Cooper, Mystique, Polaris, Chief Magistrate Anderson, Matsuo, Nick Fury

There's a ton of story packed into this penultimate Claremont storyline. Unfortunately, this trade starts with Fabien Nicieza's "Kings Of Pain" storyline already collected in the New Mutants Epic End Of The Beginning. Good news is, you can definitely skip it this time, if you didn't previously.

From there we dive into the conclusion to the X-Factor/Apocalypse storyline, which adds the Inhumans into the mix, and has big consequences for everyone, especially baby Cable.

From there, it's time to finally piece the X-Men back together as The Shadow King's rule over Muir Isle leads to the return of Professor X and a whole slew of changes for every X-Team besides Excalibur.

This collection also features X-Men #1-3. Personally, I would have put this in the next collection, as it truly feels like the beginning of a new era, even if it also wraps up Claremont's FIFTEEN YEARS-long run on the title.

I'll be calling the next post something akin to The Transitional Era, but that could have served to describe these books to. Cable shows up and helps The New Mutants evolve into X-Factor, Wolverine continues to do Wolveriney things, there's time travel shenanigans involving the Summers and Richards families, and even though Cable's been around for like ten minutes, we are already introduced to two villains who look like alternate versions of him. Oh, and we have another death, and some more roster changes on teams.

Sadly, none of these books make the Headcanon.

X-Men Visionaries Jim Lee by Chris Claremont, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Klaus Janson, John Byrne, Rick Leonardi, Marc Silvestri, Michael Golden, Larry Stroman
X-Men: Storm, Wolverine, Banshee, Forge, Psylocke, Jubilee, Gambit
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel
New Mutants: Cable, Cannonball, Sunspot, Boom-Boom, Ricctor
Also Featuring: Professor X, Shadow King, Rogue, Magneto, Lillandra, Captain Marvel, Moira MacTaggert, Polaris, Amanda Sefton, Legion, Nick Fury, Trish Tilby, Gladiator, Deathbird, Corsair, Ch'od, Hepzibah, Smasher, Raza, Titan, Tempest. Bolt, Oracle, Lila Cheney, Ka-Zar, Brainchild, Skrulls

The last couple volumes featuring the X-Men had the team split up into solo adventures. Here, they are brought together, along with X-Factor to set up  Claremont's grand finale on the title, which is also the beginning of Jim Lee's tenure on the book.

It is fun to see Claremont's hand gently nudged by Jim Lee's ideas, as we still get the intense continuity Claremont built over a decade but the stories feel more focused than they have since The Mutant Massacre

Ignoring the issues repeated from Dissolution & Rebirth,, this volume sees Rogue battle her inner-demons (who happens to be Carol Danvers) before being shunted off to The Savage Land to help Magneto and Nick Fury battle the same ol' Savage Land shenanigans that always seem to be taking place. 

The rest of the X-Men, X-Factor, and New Mutants are trying to work out how to share the mansion, and maybe set themselves up as a functional military unit (Cable's idea) when Lila Cheney shows up and tosses the somewhat reunited, somewhat new X-Men team off into space where they are either saving Professor X from Deathbird or vice-versa. 

It's fun to see the new characters: Jubilee, Gambit, and Forge, have zero loyalty to Professor X, whom they've never met before, and thus help the rest of the team figure out the twists and turns of this plot. 

I would totally make this headcanon but I've had this trade paperback forever, and the few editions available online start used at over $50. But if you're an X-Men fan, and you can find this trade or the issues it contains, it's a treat that you deserve to read. Hopefully, it will pop up in an Epic Collection soon.

​New Mutants Epic The End Of The Beginning by Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Jon Bagdanove, John Caponigro, Jim Lee, Rick Leonardi, Rob Liefeld, Fabien Nicieza, Marc Silvestri, Guang Yap, Mark Bagley, Terry Shoemaker, Tom Raney, Kirk Jarvinen, Jerry DeCaire, and Steven Butler
X-Men: Forge, Banshee, Storm, Gambit
New Mutants: Cable Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot, Warloc, Rictor, Boom-Boom, Thunderbird
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel
New Warriors: Nova, Speedball, Firestar, Marvel Boy, Silhouette, Night Thrasher, Choro, Namorita
X-Terminators: Archie, Leech, Wiz-Kid
1sr Appearances: Deadpool, Domino, Gideon, Feral, Shatterstar
Also Featuring: Trish Tilby, Stevie Hunter, Strong Guy, Lila Cheney, Cameron Hodge, Genegineer, Havoc, Wolverine, Jubilee, Psylocke, Moira MacTaggert, She-Hulk, Reed Richards, Dr Moreau, Robert DeCosta, Rusty, Skids, Blob, Avalanche, Crimson Commando, Super Sabre, Pyro, Polaris, Siryn, Madrox, Legion, Tower, Frenzy, Stryfe, Wildside, Forearm, Reaper, Zero, Masque

The bridge between New Mutants and X-Force takes us back to Genosha for the decent but not wonderful X-Tinction Agenda, and then we get a series of issues where the old New Mutants leave the team, and Cable beings to recruit/offer refuge to an almost entirely new team rebranded as X-Force. It's a steady, if not spectacular series of stories.

While the debut of Cable, in the previous volume of New Mutants provided us with an interesting new character, Deadpool debuts here and is nothing special. Liefeld had envisioned him as just another assassin with 1980s style action quips, and it would be a few years before he became an irreverent, fourth wall breaking character. Still, Liefeld's brief run as the head writer for New Mutants is decent, if not exceptional.

Unfortunately, it's followed up by a series of annual stories called "Kings Of Pain" by Fabien Nicieza, one of the hackiest hacks to dribble his quarter-baked ideas over the X-Franchise. He doesn't get off to a good start here, as he throws New Mutants, New Warriors, X-Factor, and the X-Men into a nonsensical crossover where the government and two shadowy masterminds set out to...checks notes...create a new Proteus, a character the government has previously had nothing to do with? Sure. And on the last page, the two shadowy figures are revealed to be...Gideon, the advisor to Sunspot in the New Mutants, and Toad, the long ignored and mostly forgotten member of the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants. It's a crusty goosehonk of a reveal that, like many of the ideas introduced during Nicieza's time with the books, goes absolutely nowhere.

While I didn't love this period of X-books, it was a nice change of pace from the preceding era of Magical Silliness and movie homages.

This is the decline of the Claremont/Simonson era of X-books, as the titles are transitioned to Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, and Fabien Nicieza. While none of those writers are destined to be my favorites, they all, at the very least, bring something different after Claremont's decade-long stranglehold over the X-Men portion of the Marvel Universe. It takes to the end of this section for their voices to start to creep in, but their impending creative injections begin to crack the foundations here.​

You may note that, again, there aren't any books here that make Headcanon. That doesn't mean these are all bad. I'm just not going to suggest anyone but me buy/read 100 X-Men graphic novels, even that's not even 1/5th of what I'm going to read for the project. 

Wolverine Epic Madripoor Nights by Chris Claremont, John Buscema, and Peter David
1st Apprearances: Roughhouse, Bloodscream, Nguen Ngoc Coy, Archie Corrigan
Also Featuring: Jessica Drew, Lindsay McCabe, Silver Samurai, Karma, Hulk, Sabretooth

Wolverine's  first ongoing series is the basis for a million future Wolverine cliches. The adventures take place in Madripoor, they have an element of noir, Wolverine battles organized crime and political power, he gets amnesia for a time, he runs into women from his past, and he's the best there is at what he does, and what he does ain't wearing Bret Hart onesies.

After the initial issues by Chris Claremont, there's a tonal shift when Peter David comes in, drops in some humor and even has a few issues where Wolverine torments the Gray, Mr. Fixit-era Incredible Hulk. 

Since this is the template of most Wolverine stories for the next thirty years, you could do worse than pick this up and see if the title is going to be for you. But it's not necessary to understanding the X-books around it, and it's not so much fun that you should make an effort to read it.

Marvel Comics Presents Wolverine 2 by Chris Claremont, Marv Wolfman, Erik Larsen, and John Buscema
Also Featuring: Spidier-Man, Mary Jane Watson

Even though this is a new, and very talented creative team, this is the same lather, rinse, repeat that we've seen in the previous Wolverine books. Madripoor, a woman in danger, corrupt police, a teamup with a big hero (this time it's Spider-Man instead of Hulk). 

If you love Wolverine comics, this is probably great.

While there are some Wolverine comics that I love, and am excited to read soon, the early stuff just isn't for me.

X-Factor Epic: Judgment War by Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, John Byrne, Art Adams, Paul Smith, Terry Shoemaker, Rob Liefeld
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel
Post Inferno Storyline Also Featuring: Artie, Leech, Rusty, Skids, Rictor, Boom-Boom, Ship, Cable (as a baby), Wiz-Kid, Nanny, Orphan Maker, Blob, Mystique, Pyro, Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot, Warlock, The Celestials, Professor X, Lilandra, Sikorsky, Apocalypse, Loki, Caliban

 The end of the Claremont Era, which was also the end of Louise Simonson's era in the X-titles, was sad to experience.

The X-books went from a longform tale about overcoming prejudice with a subcurrent of soap opera relationships to a weird take on magic and alternate dimensions that just wasn't fun to read. After the dull but not terrible X-Men: Inferno, Vol. 1 crossover the X-Factor team has a brief battle with gold-greedy demons in the UK, and then is shunted off into space by their Ship for reasons neither it, nor the writers can explain. They just wanted a space story and couldn't figure out how to move from New York Is Overrun By Demons to Let's Go To Space And Have Conan The Barbarian Story logically, so they just tossed in a random plot device.

In theory, I was happy we were moving on from the Jean/Madelyne/Phoenix storyline, as well as getting out of Magic New York. But this wasn't the direction I was hoping it would go. I was incredibly bored by the entire space saga. When I finished reading the last issue, I tried to think back to what I liked and didn't like, and my mind was blank. It was as though I'd sleepread this.

This runs parallel to Excalibur hopping around the multiverse with Widget, and the X-Men each doing their own things while presumed dead in Australia. None of it was fun to read, and none of it has really been revisited in any other popular or fun storylines. I can't really recommend this to anyone but completists.

​Wolverine Epic Back To Basics by Archie Goodwin, John Byrne, Peter David, Walter Simonson, Mike Mignola, Jo Duffy, Gene Colon, John Buscema, Klaus Janson, Barry Kitson, and Bill Jaaska
1st Appearances: Tiger Shark, La Bandera
Also Featuring: Storm, Gateway, Roughhouse, Bloodscream, Tyger Tyger, Archie Corrigan, Daredevil, Nuke, Havoc, Psylocke, Colossus, Dazzler, Magneto, Karma, Jessica Drew, Lindsay McCabe,  Nguyen Ngoc Coy

More of the same from the first volume. Wolverine is in Madripoor, sometimes in his Patch disguise. He's battling criminals and assassins. His stories border on noir. The only slight difference between these volumes is that we are given two quick glances of his life outside Madripoor that firmly set this as the time when the X-Men are believed dead and operating out of the Australian Outback. Otherwise, these stories could have taken place at any time.

If you love Wolverine books, this is part of the early template but it's neither the very first nor anywhere near the very best of Wolverine's solo books, so it can easily be skipped over.​

Marvel Comics Presents Wolverine Vol 3 by Rob Liefeld, Fabien Nicieza, Michael Higgins, and Dave Ross
Also Featuring: Wildchild, Heather Hudson, Hulk, Mimic

Wolverine's solo adventures finally move away from Madripoor for a bit, as he ends up back in Canada and embroiled in more Alpha Flight drama, as Wildchild goes on a killing spree, and Heather Hudson joins in the investigation to take him down. Because it's a Fabien Nicieza story, it doesn't really go anywhere in the end, and proves inessential to Wolverine continuity.

The second storyarc brings The Hulk and Mimic back into the fold for an interesting, if inessential Wolverine story. This is actually the kind I prefer. Even though it's by no means great, you can tell the author, [author:Michael Higgins|243378] is having fun, and the low stakes story seems to serve as a bit of a model for how The Animated Series treated Wolverine and Mimic's relationship.

Worth it for Wolverine fans, and pretty decent if you skip over the Nicieza story.

When I started this project, I mentioned that I had never made it through The Silver Age X-Men books before. I'd tried several times but only ever made it four or five books in.

Inferno is only two volumes, but I sturggled to get through them, too. As I will mention below, Chris Claremont saw Ghostbusters and Nightmare On Elm Street and decided to insert blatant, literal, homages to them as a magic New York Is Taken Over By Demons (instead of ghosts, see, it's different from Ghostbusters) storyline.

It's an absolute mess of a story. It has several writers, and it's pretty clear that Claremont is the only excited to be working on the project.

There are a couple of fun moments in many of these books but overall, none of them are even close to being in my Headcanon.​

​Excalibur Epic: The Sword Is Drawn by Chris Claremont, Alan Davis, Michael Higgins, Herb Trimpe, Ron Lim, Marshall Rogers, Arthur Adams, and Erik Larsen

Excalibur: Captain Britain, Meggan, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, Rachel Grey, Lockheed

1st Appearances: Widget, Kylun 
Also Featuring: Saturnyne, War Wolves, Juggernaut, Gatecrasher, Bodybag, Joyboy, Thug, Waxworks, Scatterbrain, Courtney Ross, Arcade, Miss Locke, Madelyne Pryor, Nastirh, Crotus, Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot, Warlock, Magik, Jean Grey, Moira Mactaggert, Callisto, the X-Babies, Major Domo, N'Astirh,

This is a book to be read almost in halves. Something I don't want to recommend too often in this readalong. But....

The Sword Is Drawn special and  issues #1-5 introduce the Excalibur Team, Widget, Gatecrasher, the War Wolves and more. It's a decent primer for the absolute weirdness that is going to be this title. Then we get a couple of issues that take place during Inferno, and then...well...then we get the beginning of Dimension Hopping Excalibur, and it begins with the team being all Nazis! So...*whew*...yea.

Regarding the first portion: I don't know whether Chris Claremont intended Excalibur for a younger audience than X-Men but I've always felt Excalibur was the bottom of the barrel X-title. It's villains are silver age throwbacks, the dialog is more wooden than usual, Claremont relies on the absolute laziest of tropes in their stories (no comic writer should include Alice In Wonderland characters/references/storylines, it's been a stale cliche since the 1970s), and I just can't care about the magical world of Saturnyne or Merlyn or any of his other ideas of sorcery. My eyes glaze over almost immediately.

I understand that the childlike wackiness of the title appeals to some people, and I don't begrudge them. There are plenty of people who don't like/understand the appeal of the superhero comics I love. If I'm allowed to like often satirical sci-fi and fantasy, people are certainly allowed to love this tedious doggerel.

X-Men Inferno Book 1 by Chris Claremont, Louise Simons, Jon Bogdanove, Sal Velluto, Walter Simonson, Terry Shoemaker, Marc Silvestri, and Bret Blevins

X-Men: Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Havok, Psylocke, Longshot, Dazzler, Madelyne Pryor
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel
X-Terminators: Rusty, Skids, Artie, Leech, Rictor, Boom-Boom, Wiz-Kid
New Mutants: Magneto, Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot, Magik, Warlock
Power Pack: Destroyer, Molecula, Counterweight, Starstreak
1st Appearances
Also featuring: Mr Sinister, N'astirh, Malice/Polaris, Gateway, Sabretooth, Scrambler, Vertigo, Arclight, Scalphunter, Riptide, Prism, Blockbuster, Harpoon, Trish Tilby, Candy Southern, Cameron Hodge, Nanny, Orphan Maker, Blob, Mystique, Pyro, Spiral, Avalanche, Crimson Commando, Ship, Frenzy, Tower, Stinger, Timeshadow, Cable (as a baby), Jim Power, Maggie Power, Bogeyman, J Jonah Jameson, Slug, Kofi, Yrik, Byrel, Friday, Shatterbox #1, Shatterbox #2, Speed Freak, Big Top, Monitor, Crotus, S'ym, Gosamyr, Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, Selene

There's a lot of mediocre but not terrible story crammed into this volume. Compared to some of the 90s crossovers, it's positively coherent and streamlined, but compared to the crossovers that preceded it, it's a bit messy.

The crux of the story is that New York has been turned into more of a hellscape than usual where inanimate objects come to life and eat people. Most of the scenes are silly, and you can tell that Chris Claremont had just seen Ghostbusters when he wrote this. He even tosses in a parody team of them. Most of the violence is corny and hard to get behind but there is a lovely two page spread at the very beginning of Uncanny X-Men #239 where a family is visiting the Empire State Building and, after some typical family bickering, they are eaten by the elevator, their blood seeps out, and is mopped up by a custodian wearing headphones who appears not to notice the horror that just occurred. Honestly, it's one of the smartest Claremont pages I can remember reading. It's legitimate horror.

Most of this volume focuses on X-Factor, which has been broken up into two teams: X-Factor (the original X-Men) and the X-Terminators (their trainees). X-Factor tries to track down Cyclops's missing son, and runs into Nanny and Orphan Maker, two of the least interesting villains in the X-Men universe. They have the potential to be interesting: a mutant locked in a cybernetic suit of her own making who kidnaps children, and her partner, an armored mutant she kidnapped who now assists her in capturing other children. They were used extensively during the Krakoan era in the 2020s, and they were somehow boring in that series as well.

While X-Factor tries to save babies from Nanny and Orphan Maker, the X-Terminators battle baby-kidnapping demons, and end up teaming up with The New Mutants, who have their own problems with the demons.

Also, the Marauders and Mister Sinister are involved somehow with the babynapping, and helping and hindering Madelyne Pryor from ascending into The Goblin Queen who is kind of sort of maybe responsible for the demon infestation.

While all of the pages and issues seem straight-forward while reading them, I felt like a lot of logic was missing in the connective tissue between the various very similar stories.

I was delighted when X-Men '97 boiled this whole crossover to about three minutes in a larger episode.

If you love big event crossovers, there are definitely worse X-crossovers than this one, but it's also probably the weakest crossover Claremont and Simonson were involved in.

X-Men Inferno Book 2 by Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Terry Austin, Julianna Jones, Mark Gruenwald, Marc Silvestri, Alan Davis, Walter Simonson, Bret Blevins, Mike Vosburg, June Brigman, Rob Liefeld, and Jim Fern
X-Men: Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Havok, Psylocke, Longshot, Dazzler, Madelyne Pryor
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel
Excalibur: Captain Britain, Meggan, Nightcrawler, Rachel Grey, Kitty Pryde
X-Terminators: Rusty, Skids, Artie, Leech, Rictor, Boom-Boom,    Wiz-Kid
New Mutants: Magneto, Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot, Magik, Warlock
Power Pack: Destroyer, Molecula, Counterweight, Starstreak
Also featuring: Mr Sinister, N'astirh, Malice/Polaris, Sabretooth, Blockbuster, Nanny, Orphan Maker, Ship, Cable (as a baby), Jim Power, Maggie Power, Bogeyman, J Jonah Jameson, Crotus, Cloak, Dagger
​​
Even less intriguing to me than volume one, this volume focuses mainly on Excalibur's trip to NYC for the Inferno event, as well as giving us a sort of After Dinner Mint X-Men/X-Factor story, as they have their final final battles with Sinister and what's left of The Marauders, even though Inferno technically ended for them in the last volume. The Power Pack/Bogeyman storyline is also resolved with the help of The New Mutants and The             X-Terminators. We also see Cloak & Dagger's involvement in the event, which is confusing if you haven't read the Cloak & Dagger series leading up to this, as I haven't.

Unlike many Giant Crossover Events in the Marvel 80s and 90s, there are major repercussions from this. Teams are rearranged, characters are altered. As far as resonance, this is an important event but it was so widespread and silly that I lost interest in most of the characters. There's a ton of expository dialogue that seems hacky, even for the late 80s. I don't blame the creators, apart from Chris "I Just Saw Ghostbusters And Nightmare On Elm Street" Claremont, I don't think any of the other writers wanted to be involved in this, and it shows. 

Excalibur Epic: The Sword Is Drawn by Chris Claremont, Alan Davis, Michael Higgins, Herb Trimpe, Ron Lim, Marshall Rogers, Arthur Adams, and Erik Larsen

Excalibur: Captain Britain, Meggan, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, Rachel Grey, Lockheed

1st Appearances: Widget, Kylun 
Also Featuring: Saturnyne, War Wolves, Juggernaut, Gatecrasher, Bodybag, Joyboy, Thug, Waxworks, Scatterbrain, Courtney Ross, Arcade, Miss Locke, Madelyne Pryor, Nastirh, Crotus, Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot, Warlock, Magik, Jean Grey, Moira Mactaggert, Callisto, the X-Babies, Major Domo, N'Astirh

Now that Inferno is over, we can pick up the second half of this book. If you really want to. This is the beginning of Excalibur's Weird World Tour, where we learn about similar dimensions. In this one, a dimension where lizards are the primary human-like lifeform, shows up (I'm on board), and the dimension of evil Nazi versions of the main characters show up to create havoc because Claremont ran out of ideas long before this series started, and is basically just spewing TV tropes and movie cliches during this era.

​I wish I'd skipped it.

This era of X-books is so full of Huge Events that there's barely time to breathe between The Mutant Massacre, The Fall of The Mutants, and The Inferno. And while there are some huge shakeups during these events, it's tough to recommend them. There are so many characters involved with intricate backstories who just keep repeating the same expository dialogue in every issue while chaos occurs around them. If you keep counting how many times Jean Grey or Scott Summers explains their history and Cyclops's abandoned family, you'll get lightheaded and pass out two issues in.

​This is also the beginning of The X-Men are "dead" and living in the Australian Outback era, which has not yet been collected in trade paperback form, which says a lot about its importance to canon.

No books in this section end up making my Headcanon, even though a couple of them have plot points that have major impacts on the X-Universe. 

X-Men Fall Of The Mutants Vol 2 by Louise Simonson, Walt Simonson, Ann Nocenti, Peter David, and Marc Gruenwald
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Rusty, Skids, Artie, Leech, Caliban, Rictor, Boom-Boom
1st Appearances: 
Also Featuring: Angel, Apocalypse, Cameron Hodge, Trish Tilby, War, Pestilence, Famine, Starstreak, Molecula, Counterweight, Destroyer, Hulk, Rick Jones, Clay Quartermain, Hulkbusters, Betty, Doc Samson, Daredevil, Black Widow, Karen Page, Captain America, Falcon, Redwing, Nomad, Vagabond, Battlestar, Black Panther, Thing, Human Torch, Crystal, Carol Danvers, Dr Doom


This will probably not come as a shock to people who've spent years reading Marvel and DC graphic novels: This should actually be volume one of Fall Of The Mutants as all the stories take place before the events in X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, Vol. 1. I often wonder if the collection editors at The Big Two comic companies even read comics.

This volume mainly focuses on X-Factor's first major battle with Apocalypse (they faced him once before in X-Factor Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Genesis & Apocalypse but he's a much bigger threat in this collection). We also see Warren as Archangel/Death for the first time.

This is a battle scene comic where much of New York is destroyed in a battle between mutants. We even get to see the events from the perspectives of Captain America, Daredevil, and the Power Pack. It's...fine. Like most of the early X-Factor run, Scott and Jean Grey spend a great deal of time talking about the various Jean Grey clones that Cyclops dated and/or married while she was "dead". And there's a b-story where X-Factor is hired to hunt down a mutant who turns out to be the new grey Incredible Hulk. Those stories are also okay.

Despite the big stakes, and the Worthington storyarc, not much of this volume grabbed me. I mentioned this in my review of the other Fall Of The Mutants story: I just don't know if I can get excited about any of these X-books until we're past X-Men: Inferno, which I remember hating when I've tried to read it before.

If you like X-Factor or Apocalypse, this is a nice little romp, even if it's not quite as good as its much more concise Animated Series counterpart.​

X-Factor Epic Angel Of Death by Louise Simonson, Walt Simonson, Marc Gruenwald, Tom DeFalco, Sal Buscema, Jon Bogdanove, Terry Shoemaker, Steve Lightle, Tom Artis, and Paris Cullins
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Rusty, Skids, Artie, Leech, Rictor, Boom-Boom
1st Appearances: Ship, Infectia, N'Astirh
Also Featuring: Caliban, Angel, Cameron Hodge, Trish Tilby, Apocalypse, Pestilence, War, Famine, Energizer, Lightspeed, Zero-G, Mass Master, High Evolutionary, Blob, Mystique, Destiny, Spiral, Avalanche, Pyro, Crimson Commander, Super Sabre, Stonewall, Thor, She-Hulk, Black Knight, Dr Druid, Lord Zano, Tower, Time-Shadow, Frenzy, Orphan Maker, Nanny, Candy Southern

This volume leans heavily on the X-Factor trainees: Rusty, Skids, Victor, and Boom-Boom, as they try and navigate their relationships with their mentors while also being curious teens. We see them help the rest of X-Factor bond with their new base of operations: Ship, a piece of Apocalypse's technology that almost literally fell into their hands.

The focus on this book is X-Factor deciding to try and win people over by publicly working to repair a city broken by a fight with a supervillain, as opposed to their previous plan: pretend to be humans hunting dangerous mutants, and then training them. The new technique works much better.

While the Archangel version of Angel is on the cover, and the book is named after him, he's really more of a background character in this book, trying to decide how reintegrate into society with his new appearance and wings.

While this didn't quite make it into my headcanon, it's a solid read that I recommend to fans of B-level mutants having some main character moments.

X-Men issues #228-234 (Not collected in trade yet) by Chris Claremont, Tom DeFalco, Rick Leonardi, and Marc Silvestri
X-Men: Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Havok, Rogue, Psyclocke, Dazzler, Longshot, Madelyne Pryor
1st Appearances: Gateway, Bonebreaker, Pretty Boy, Skullbuster, Wipeout
Also Featuring: The Brood, Henry Peter Gyrich, Roma, Dani Moonstar, Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Magik, Warlock, Magneto, S'ym, Jean Grey, Cable (as Baby Nathan), Trish Tilby, N'astirh

​There's a lot of story packed into these ten issues as Claremont bridges X-Men: The Fall of the Mutants and the first part of the X-Tinction Agenda. The heroes end up in Australia, then Genosha. The world believes them dead, so a bit of magic makes them invisible to technology, enabling them to operate with more impunity.

It's an interesting concept that I don't really remember, even though I'm pretty sure I've read much of this era before. There is also the best pre-Broo Brood storyline I remember reading. It's not a classic but it's not as formulaic as most of the X-Men vs Brook encounters, as the Brood in this instance are all made from mutants so they have different powers and personalities. It was fun to read.

I have a newfound respect for Claremont's run because of this read-through. I've always been impressed by his decade plus run on the flagship book but I don't think I've read it as closely. Very little of it is bad. I understand why both X-Men The Animated Series and X-Men '97 draw so heavily from this era of stories.

If you can find these issues in a library or a comic book store, by all means grab them, or check them out online. But it's not The Best of Claremont's run.

Introducing the original X-Men as a team called X-Factor eventually ended up letting the proverbial "breath of fresh air" in, but it takes a while for the circulation to get going. Especially since the background for much of the first few years of the series is: Cyclops abandoned his wife and child for his high school sweetheart who happens to look precisely like the wife he abandons. It's weird. And it plays out much better in the X-Men '97 cartoon.

The Mutant Massacre, itself, is the first epic tragedy in X-history where a huge swath of mutants are killed off. And it's by a set of villains who weren't used before this crossover, and most of them don't get used too long after this event.

​The highlight for me, though is how the X-Men interact with other teams in the post-Massacre status quo.

All numbered titles in BOLD are those I'd consider part of the Headcanon of X-Books I recommend. Anything not boldfaced or numbered is a book I read but will probably skip, should I ever do another readthrough. Understand MOST books will not be numbered or boldfaced. There are going to be at least 500 books on this readthrough. At most, 50-100 will make Headcanon. At most. I hope.​

X-Factor Epic Genesis & Apocalypse by Roger Stern, John Byrne, Bob Layton, Bob Harras, Louise Simonson, Tom Defalco, Chris Claremont, John Buscema, Butch Guice, Keith Pollard, Paul Neary, Rick Leonardi, Marc Silvestri, Terry Shoemaker, John Bolton, and Mike Collins
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, Beast, Iceman, Cameron Hodge, Rusty, Arthur
1st Appearances: Cameron Hodge, Rusty, Arthur, Skids, Tower, Frenzy, Apocalypse, Crimson Dynamo, Trish Tilby, Apocalypse
Also Featuring: Captain America, Photon, Hercules, Namor, Black Knight, Wasp, Mr Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, She-Hulk, Madelyne Pryor, Cable (as a baby), Vera Cantor, Carl Mddicks, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Spider-Man, J Jonah Jameson, Jon Robertson, Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant, Mystique, Blob, Avalanche, Pyro, Spider-Woman

I struggled with whether or not to include this in Headcanon. I don't believe in needing to include Important Moments in my chronology, so I didn't really care that an early version of Apocalypse is seen here for the first time. He's not interesting in these issues.

The real story is that they bring Jean Grey back from the dead, and Scott has a crisis of "My first ever girlfriend died, and then I dated an alien entity that I thought was here but was actually an evil cosmic monster using her appearance, and while I was mourning the dead monster I stumbled into someone who I don't yet realize was just a clone of my first girlfriend who I married and had a kid with, then my original girlfriend was discovered alive somehow and I abandoned my wife and son to be a superhero with her and now I'm too much of a coward to tell her about the family I made while she was dead and too much of a coward to tell my family that my dead girlfriend is back and booooohooohooo life is hard. Cyclops has been The Worst X-Men since X-Men Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Children of the Atom but he's particularly loathsome here.

The other major storyline is that the original X-Men team are posing as mutant hunters in order to hunt mutants. It could be an interesting story but they keep bringing up how conflicted they are but they don't ever do anything about it in this volume. Their time is split between pretending to be the mutant hunting group, X-Factor, and being a mutant terrorist group called X-Terminators. Eh.

In addition to Apocalypse, this volume introduces Rusty, Skids, Cameron Hodge, and Trish Tilby, who are all a bit important to the late 80s/early 90s X-cast. It also feeds directly into the events of the next big crossover, X-Men: Mutant Massacre​

X-Men Mutant Massacre by Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, John Romita Jr, Sal Buscema, Alan Davis, John Bogdanove, Jackson Guice, Rick Leonardi, and Bret Blevins
X-Men: Magneto, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Rachel Grey, Psylocke
New Mutants: Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Cannonball, Magik, Magma, Warlock, Cypher 
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, Iceman, Beast, Cameron Hodge, Rusty, Arthur, Skids
1st Appearance: Malice, Scalphunter, Riptide, Scrambler, Arclite, Harpoon, Sabretooth, Boom Boom
Also Featuring: Dazzler,  Sebastian Shaw, Selene, Callisto, Vertigo, Analee, Sunder, Moira MacTaggart, Magus, Beautiful Dreamer, Caliban, Leech, Blob, Mystique, Trish Tilby, Candy Southern, Apocalypse, Plague, Prism, Blockbuster, Thor, Hela, The Power Pack, Franklin Richards, Masque, Vanisher, Sharon Friedlander, Tom Corsi

​The first megacrossover of the X-books delivers a ton of death, radical shifts in storylines, and action. If you haven't been reading the X-Men, New Mutants, X-Factor, and Power Pack, this is Not the place to start. If you're only reading one or two of the titles, then at least a third of this book is going to be very confusing as ever issue is pretty much in media res from a previous storyline. The action is dizzying and feels, sometimes, like it's being told slightly out of order across issues. There are also way too many characters to keep track of if you weren't already keeping track of them in their various titles, plus the Thor book.

It is rewarding if you have been keeping track of everything, though. There are character debuts, and newish characters finally getting fleshed out. The tone switches weirdly from time to time, as one of the titles in this collection is Power Pack, a group of elementary school aged powered kids who've dealt with The Morlocks before. Having them show up and battling a group of villains who've brutally murdered thousands of Morlocks before they arrive, and who've also taken down some of the X-Men, seems a bit odd. There's no way The Power Pack is strong enough to take on this level of villains, and yet...it happens right before an X-Men issue where the characters who get outbattled by first graders then nearly kill Wolverine. It's very odd.

I recommend this highly to X-fans who've read much of the material that leads into this, but I do Not recommend this to those who aren't already invested in 80s X-Men. This is an absolutely terrible jumping on point.

6. X-Men Vs Fantastic Four by Chris Claremont,  John Bogdanove, Barry Windsor-Smith, Jackson Guice, Marc Silvestri, and Dan Green
X-Men: Magneto, Storm, Havok, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Psylocke, Longshot, Dazzler
Fantastic Four: Mr Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing, She-Hulk, Franklin Richards
Also Featuring: Dr Doom, Malice, Juggernaut, Madelyne Pryor, Polaris, Lila Cheney, Moira MacTaggert, Banshee, Alicia Masters, Sharon Friedlander, Tom Corsi

I'm including X-Men issues #314-#319, which have not yet been collected into trade paperback but serve to bridge the gap between Mutant Massacre and X-Men Vs Fantastic Four.

This uncollected storyline is not an epic but it's a fun series of two-issue stories where the X-Men battle Malice, then Wolverine goes berserk while Storm lives out The Most Dangerous Game against some WWII era heroes who've aged into unethical vigilantes, and then Dazzler and a bunch of the X-Men on Muir Island battle Juggernaut. They're all fun, if not Important To Continuity, and help setup the interpersonal relationships we see in Fantastic Four Vs X-Men.

​​This was the first comic series I ever read. So there's definitely some nostalgia inspiring my review.

The story involves the X-Men needing a device from Reed Richards of The Fantastic Four in order to save their youngest member, Shadowcat during the aftermath of The Mutant Massacre. Through a series of dream sequences and a jubilantly nitpicky Doctor Doom interventions, Reed doesn't trust that his machine will help. Thus the Vs. part of the title, as the teams do squabble a couple of times. But, mostly, this is a team up book that doesn't have Universe Changing Consequences. It's superhero friends calling superhero friends to help solve a very specific team-focused problem. I enjoy that level of stakes.

The dialogue is Chris Claremont hokey. But I think it's some of his better hokey work. The art is standard 80s Marvel.

I recommend this more for X-Men fans than FF fans, as that's Claremont's wheelhouse, and if you do love continuity, there's a ton of fun events in this self-contained mini-series. If you're the type that gets really frustrated that Jennifer Walters behaves in a different manner than you would imagine based on She-Hulk Issue 31, maybe steer clear of this one.

Not Yet Collected
X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel, Rusty, Arthur, Cameron Hodge
1st Appearances: War, Famine, Ariel, Rictor
Also Featuring: Skids, Boom Boom, The Vanisher, Callisto, Caliban, Leech, Masque, Ape, Master Mold, Apocalypse, Plague, Trish Tilby

​***As of this writing, X-Factor (Vol 1) #12-17 haven't been collected in trade paperback form. So this is a review for those six issues.***

These six issues follow X-Men: Mutant Massacre all the way until X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, Vol. 2. It involves the pivotal story of Apocalypse recruiting the first Four Horseman we encounter as readers, it sees the amputation of Angel's wings, and the rise of X-Factor's second wave of characters: Rusty, Arthur, Skids, and Boom-Boom, in more pivotal roles. We also see how The Morlocks recover from The Mutant Massacre.

So why hasn't it been collected?

It's two issues' worth of story spread across six very repetitive stories. I don't, in any way, blame Louise Simonson for this. This was the Jim Shooter (commonly regarded as the worst editor in the history of Marvel Comics) Era of crossovers and there were clearly plans for the main characters of this book to be heavily involved in the crossovers. 

The most interesting part of this story takes place in the final two issues where the B-team of X-Factor make a deal with Masque, the most ethically bankrupt Morlock since Analee the childsnatcher was killed, to heal a woman that Rusty accidentally burned when he received his powers. Instead of the usual Victim Of Mutant Crime Hates Mutants And Refuses Help, the burn victim blames her aggressive sexuality for why she was burned, and is devoting her life to the healing power of Christianity, which she then decides to spread to The Morlocks. It's creepily sweet? Sweetly creepy? I disagree with what the character's intentions but she clearly thinks she'll be doing good.

Even if this were a tight, two issue story, this wouldn't be a terribly exciting storyarc. It progresses the story in an interesting direction there is neither a ton of action, nor much character growth (apart from, perhaps, the burn victim). Apocalypse is in the background of several of these issues recruiting his Horsemen but since we don't know why, and since he hasn't yet been A Major Villain, it's hardly riveting. I understand now why they've released all of the issues around this storyline but haven't bothered to collect these particular issues yet.

X-Men Vs Avengers by Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, Jim Shooter, Marc Silvestri, and Keith Pollard.
X-Men: Magneto, Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Havok, Dazzler, Longshot, Psylocke
Avengers: Captain America, Thor, Photon (as Captain Marvel), Black Knight, She-Hulk, Dr Druid
1st Appearances: Ursa Major, Titanium Man 2, Vanguard, Darkstar
Also Featuring: Crimson Dynamo

​A solid follow-up to the Trial Of Magneto. Like most Heroes vs Heroes book, there are minor kerfuffles between the teams but they mainly end up working together because they're heroes.

There's also a fun additional dynamic to this series in that it's X-Men vs Avengers vs a Russian mutant superhero team. Their involvement is hugely important to the action and the plot.

The centerpiece of the battles is that Magneto has been led to a remnant of Asteroid M and has decided to destroy most of it, lest it fall into "the wrong hands", while keeping some mind control circuitry for himself.

Apparently, the author of the first 3/4 of this story intended to turn Magneto back into a villain at the end of the series and refused to rewrite his ending so notoriously evil editor Jim Shooter put a new creative team on the final issue.

While I do hate editorial interference, the use of Magneto as an anti-hero, as opposed to a villain, was a great transition in Marvel history, and Claremont definitely needed him not to be evil for at least a few more years of his run. I don't dislike the ending of this series, even if it conflicts with Stern's original vision.​

​7. New Mutants Epic Fallen Angels by Chris Claremont, Jo Duffy, Jackson Guice, Bret Blevins,  Kevin Nowlan, Alan Davis, Rick Leonardi, Sal Buscema, Kerry Gammill, Marie Severin, and Joe Staton
New Mutants: Prof X, Magneto, Wolfsbane, Dani Moonstar, Sunspot, Cannonball, Karma, Magik, Magma, Warlock, Cypher
1st Appearances: Siryn, Renegade, Gomi
Also Featuring: Stevie Hunter, Magus, Kate Power, Sym, Carol Danvers, Corsair, Lilandra, Ch'od, Hepzibah, Waldo, Sikorsky, Storm, Sebastian Shaw, Selene, Tessa, Impossible Man, Sabretooth, Scalphunter, Vertigo, Harpoon, Empath, Roulette, Catseye, Shaman, Jetstream, Boom Boom, Ariel, The Vanisher, Beast, Iceman, Moon Boy, Devil Dinosaur

After the Mutant Massacre, the New Mutants were separated and shunted through time with Magneto and the remaining X-Men thinking they're dead. Each team has ended up in an alternate future while Magik, who was separated from both teams ends up encountering Professor X and the Starjammers.

The alternate future timelines where each team sees the aged-up versions of their missing teammates living in a different type of dystopia is a ton of fun, as is Professor X becoming part of the story again.  We also see the showdown between Magus and Warlock before we return to the X-mansion in the proper timeline for a mediocre retread of the New Mutants vs The Hellions, and a very odd adventure with the Fantastic Four villain, Impossible Man.

This is the volume where the series veers away from the horror, and into the usual Claremont wheelhouse of superhero time travel/ space epic, and I think it's an improvement. We do have the typical team infighting, resulting in a brief spin-off series featuring Sunspot, Warlock, Siryn, Madrox, Boom Boom, Ariel, Renegade, and Gomi isn't a great story but it does let some lesser used Marvel mutants and lobsters shine.​  

This is a pleasantly weird but mostly unnecessary chunk of the Claremont era. Lots of subplots, and the beginnings of stories that will become more important later, this was the first section of my read-through that I started to struggle through.

All numbered titles in BOLD are those I'd consider part of the Headcanon of X-Books I recommend. Anything not boldfaced or numbered is a book I read but will probably skip, should I ever do another readthrough. Understand MOST books will not be numbered or boldfaced. There are going to be at least 500 books on this readthrough. At most, 50-100 will make Headcanon. At most. I hope.

6. New Mutants Epic The Demon Bear Saga by Chris Claremont, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bob McLeod, and John Buscema

New Mutants: Professor X: Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot, Magik, Magma, Cypher, Warlock
1st Appearances: Magus, Lilah Cheney, Legion, Guido, Reverend Craig, Sharon Friedlander, Tom Corsi
Also Featuring: Karma, Shadow King, Lockheed, Binary, Lilandra, Corsair, Ch'od, Waldo, Stevie Hunter, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Selene, Sebastian Shaw, Magneto, Lee Forrester, Moira MacTaggert, Cloak, Dagger, Rogue, Banshee, Madrox, Gabrielle Haller, Emma Frost, Dazzler, Rachel Grey

​I'm putting this in headcanon purely for the first part of this collection. The Demon Bear Saga, is one of the best New Mutants stories. Much of this is the arrival of Bill Sienkiewicz as artist. Through a 2024 lens, his artwork is odd, anatomically jarring, a little sharp angled, and with a bit of a DC Vertigo or mid-90s MTV cartoon edge. But when it debuted in the 80s it was revelatory. I imagine traditionalists hated it but as a kid, I wanted more.

It does help that his first story is when the series pivoted from The Next Young Group Of Mutants Tries To Find Their Way In The World to a collection of stories that explore the effect of trauma on minority youth.

There is a noticeable dip in quality of story (but not art) as we transition to the arrival of Warlock, and then the fallout of a Cloak and Dagger story. The stories are fine, and do an admirable job of pushing the characters in new directions but they feel scattered after the focused and brilliant Demon Bear Saga.

Next up is the introduction of Legion, a character who can be used super creatively, and was the focus of one of the best Marvel related TV shows they've come up with. Certainly the best pre-streaming TV show. Unfortunately, much of the first Legion arc uses a dated, problematic trope that makes it cringey to read. While this trope is only introduced so that Claremont can invert it is admirable. The end of the story does make it so that the characters using the problematic language and ideals turn out to be wrong and learn a lesson. That doesn't make the journey there any easier to read. It's not quite as bad as Claremont dropping the N-bomb in X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills to prove a point about racism but it's pretty close and it's drawn out for Much Longer. 

X-Men Epic The Gift by Chris Clarement John Romita Jr, Dave Cockum, Paul Smith, Steve Leialoha, and Barry Windsor-Smith

X-Men: Professor X, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Rogue, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Gray
1st Appearances: Nimrod, Talisman, Kulan Gath, BAMFs
Also Featuring: Storm, Colossus, Madelyne Pryor, Alpha Flight (Northstar, Sasquatch, Aurora, Puck, Vindicator, Shaman, Snowbird), Selene, The Hellions (Empath, Roulette, Warpath), Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, Loki, The New Mutants (Magik, Cannonball, Magma, Dani Moonstar, Sunspot, Magneto, Arcade, Miss Locke

An absolute mess of tonal whiplash in this collection as we see the X-Men books, under Claremont's pen twist in odd directions, and we get an annual, a crossover, and a couple of miniseries that each have very different feels despite Claremont writing most of them.

We begin with a magic storyline where an old Conan The Barbarian villain arrives and turns New York into a fantasy hellscape (this is not the only time Claremont uses this plot device). We see The Morlocks return to rescue Professor X after he's beaten up by anti-mutant college students, while one of their subsects kidnaps The Power Pack, and an assortment of X-Men try and rescue them.

There is some turnstile turnover in these volumes as Storm, who was depowered just before this collection returns to Africa to reconnect with her roots, Rachel Grey becomes a more permanent member of the team, and Wolverine and Kitty Pryde return from Japan part way through this collection. Plus, Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor pop up twice.

The first time we see Cyclops in this collection, he and Madelyne Pryor end up being sort of captured and reprogrammed by Loki, who tries to balance the power between mutants and humans. This pulls in both The X-Men and Alpha Flight as his plan involves using magic to to transform New Y...sorry...Canada into a fantasy utopia. The second time is a rehash of every Arcade and Miss Locke storyline.

In Africa, Storm is shot and had a hallucinogenic journey before she rescues a pregnant woman and learns things from a dying shaman in an inoffensive but fairly appropriative story by a couple of white guys who probably hadn't spent time on the continent of Africa but had seen some Disney movies that took place there.

The volume closes with a goofy Nightcrawler story where a Danger Room accident results in him traveling through dimensions, playing pirate, and running into a dimension filled with tiny teleporting creatures that look and smell like tiny versions of him. It's very silly but not quite fun.

Longshot by Ann Nocenti and Arthur Adams
X-Men: none
​1st Appearances: Longshot, Spiral, Gog, Magog, Mojo, Arize, Major Domo, Quark
Also Featuring: J Jonah Jameson, Robbi Robertson, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange

Usually, an X-Men miniseries gives you the origin story of a beloved or fairly new member of the team or someone associated with them. For, I think the only time, Longshot presents the origin of a character we haven't met yet but who is destined to meet the X-Men.

Longshot, like Wolverine, is a character whose mind has been wiped and who doesn't know who he is or where he's from, so we learn with him as the series progresses. It's a pretty fun ride by Ann Nocenti, with ruminations on fantasy vs reality, gun control, violence in the media, and the Spineless Ones who run the media in the world Longshot is from.

It's not really good enough for Headcanon status but it is one of the strongest X-Men origin stories Marvel has ever put out. 

X-Men Ghosts by Chris Claremont, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Romita Jr, Rick Leonardi, June Brigman, and Arthur Adams
X-Men: Professor X, Magneto, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Rachel Grey
1st Appearances: Fenris
Also Featuring: Madelyne Pryor, Gabrielle Haller, Corsair, Lilandra, Carol Danvers, Ch'od, Hepziba, Mystique, Destiny, Blob, Pyro, Avalanche, Spiral, Val Cooper, Jessica Drew, Amanda Sefton, Cable (as a baby), Cannonball, Cypher, Warlock, Wolfsbane, Dani Moonstar, Magik, The Watcher, The Beyonder, Arcade, Miss Locke, Sentinels, Lady Deathstrike, Energizer, Jessica Drew, Lyndsey McCabe, Selene, Sebastian Shaw, Black Bishop, Tessa, Nimrod, Mojo, Major Domo


This collection would have benefitted from including some New Mutants issues as there are quite a few wholes in the narrative. There are also a ton of twists and turns as we go from Beyonder to Lady Deathstrike to the Hellfire Club to Mojo at a breakneck pace with the X-Men being moved to San Francisco, then the Morlock tunnels, and then we're suddenly back at the X-Mansion like none of the other events ever happened. It's a bit dizzying.

I would have loved to have included this as Headcanon, as having Magneto in charge of The New Mutants, and on equal footing with the X-Men is a major change to the StatuX Quo but it's just not on par Claremont's best work.

If you're desperate for the first appearance of the X-Babies, have the urge to see how easily The Beyonder, supposedly the most cosmically dangerous villain ever, is easily defeated by nonsense, maybe you want to see every Arcade appearance for some reason, or you need to read why there's a member of Power Pack present for Lady Deathstrike's first battle with Wolverine, this is the book for you. Otherwise, you can skip this one.