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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.   (To Be Added Later)  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.  Excalibur Visionaries Warren Ellis Vol 3 by Warren Ellis, Carlos Pacheco, Casey Jones, Randy Green, Rob Haynes, Terry Dodson, Karl Story, and Aaron Lopretsi Excalibur: Moira MacTaggert, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Capt Britain, Meggan, Douglock, Wolfsbane, Colossus, Pete Wisdom, Amanda Sefton, Ahab 1st Appearances: Scribe Also Featuring: Alistaire Stuart, Lockheed, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, Shinobi Shaw, Mountjoy, Margali Szardos Pretty standard X-fare, which is a step above standard Excalibur fare. Warren Ellis's run ends with the spotlfight firmly shining on Kitty Pryde and Pete Wisdom whose relationship isn't particularly exciting. There are some fun moments in this book, and I appreciate that they acknowledge the Onslaught story without tossing this title into the middle of it. There's nothing must-read about this collection but if you're looking for some dumb fun to distract you from something, this book is unlikely to annoy or bore you.  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.  XSE by Josh Ostrander, Chris Gardner, Mike Deodato, and Mozart Cuto XSE: Bishop, Shard Also Featuring: Trevor Fitzroy, Emplates, Gambit, Storm This inoffensive but inessential story by Josh Ostrander gives us some more background on the relationship between the time traveling X-Man, Bishop, and his sister who was killed in action but who, at the time, had been resurrected as a holograph and was a member of the X-Factor team. It's not a bad book but it doesn't break any new ground, doesn't show us anything that adds to the larger X-lore, and it could basically be summed up by Bishop saying "Hey Shard, I'm glad you're sort of back. I missed you. Do you want to be in the X-Men?" And her replyiing, "Nah, I'll keep hanging out with X-Factor." That would have been just as impactful. It would be nice if they collected this as part of an X-Factor Epic Collection that includes Shard. Otherwise, I understand why they haven't rushed to put out a collection of this title and keep it in print.  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.
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