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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-Men Road To Onslaught by Scott Lobdell, Fabien Nicieza, JM DeMatteis, Ralp Macchio, Howard Mackie, Matt Idelson, Paula Foye, Rob Tokar, Bryan Hitch, Terry Dodson, Tom Grummett, Paul Smith, Andy Kubert, Roger Cruz, Joe Mad, Dan Lawlis, Mike C=McKone, Jeff Matsuda, Ben Herrera, Gary Frank, Paul Pelletier, John Paul Leon, Ramon Bernardo, Douglas T Wheatly, and Salvador Larroca X-Men: Prof X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel, Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Psylocke, Gambit, Bishop, Cannonball Acolytes: Exodus, Colossus, Amelia Voght, Rusty, Skids, Frenzy, Kleinstock Brothers, Scanner, Unscione 1st Appearances: Sack, Vessel, Hemingway Also Featuring: Sabretooth, Callisto, Marrow, Juggernaut, Sinister, Charlotte Jones, Holocaust, Graydon Creed, Emma Frost, Gauntlet, Hurricane, Lifeforce, Deadbolt, Spyne, Genesis, Capt Britain, Monet, Jubilee, Skin, Moira MacTaggert, Nightcrawler, Meggan, Douglock, BoomBoom, Renee Majcomb, Val Cooper  Excalibur Visionaries: Warren Ellis Vol 2 by Warren Ellis, Josh Ostrander, Casey Jones, Carlos Pacheco, David Williams, Mike Wieringo, Jeff Moy, Mike Miller, and Steve Skroce Excalibur: Moira Mactaggert, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Capt Britain, Meggan, Douglock, Ahab, Amanda Sefton, Pete Wisdom, Wolfsbane, Colossus Starjammers: Corsair, Hepzibah, Ch'od, Keeyah, Raza, Also Featuring: Reverend Craig, Karma, Psylocke, Nate Grey, Threnody, Mr Sinister, Lilandra A collection of diminishing returns. Ellis sets a great scene after the storyline from the previous volume. We get a sense of how the new characters will interact with the established members of Excalibur while the team bonds at a pub. It's well-paced and full of character growth instead of melodrama. In the second issue, the melodrama arrives in the form of Colossus who immediately destroys the team's comraderie. As soon as everyone struggles to set yet another status quo, Nate Grey (aka X-Man) shows up and the quality of the book and the team go down the drain. It would still be a solid three star book but the entire back half of the volume is a completely unrelated to Excalibur run of Starjammers. It's in the collection because it was also written by Warren Ellis but that's the only thing that connects it. The story is dull. I have a hard time caring about any of the Sh'iar or Starjammers storylines that don't directly involve the X-Men or the Avengers, and this story didn't help endear me to them.  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.
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January 2025
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