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As we go deeper into the Lobdell/Nicieza Legacy Virus era of the X-Men, things are about to get fairly confusing. This is sort of a last gasp of logical stories for quite a while. While there are some phenomenal issues in some of these stories ("X-Aminations" and "Fatal Attractions", in particular, there's a lot of filler and a ton of continuity porn that ends up not being terribly important. There's also a ton of Genosha storylines which at least gives this era a strong feeling of purpose. As usual, anything boldfaced represents a highly recommended book that I include in my actual headcanon.   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.
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