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‘Ultimate X-Men’ #7-9 is a black ops block party

Ultimate X-Men #7-9 goes for a more political look at the well-worn “mutant as a metaphor for oppressed minorities” story by making the formerly shady Weapon X folks completely aligned with the US government even if members of the government and military want to shut them down.

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‘Ultimate X-Men #4-6- Cyclops, Politics, and the Kubert Bros

With a dose of political satire, some soaring team-up action grounded in character moments (Storm struggling with her power; Quicksilver’s daddy issues; Wolverine the reformed assassin), and a robust arc for Cyclops, Ultimate X-Men #4-6 is definitely an improvement over the preceding three issues. The “death” of Beast is a cheap storytelling ploy, and I am still skeezed out from Wolverine’s sexual liaison with Jean Grey, but Millar and the Kuberts end this first arc on a triumphant, if dark note albeit with some skeletons in the closet waiting to be brought out for the following “Return to Weapon X” storyline.

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‘Ultimate X-Men’ #1-3 is an adequate, action heavy intro to the X-Men

Mark Millar and Adam Kubert’s work on Ultimate X-Men #1-3 really is the blockbuster action take on the X-Men, but there is enough flashes of characterization, pretty layouts (Not so much those ugly leather costumes.), and clever twists like Wolverine being a bona fide villain and Colossus’ old crime boss supplying Magneto with a nuke. It’s not a particularly deep comic and scratches the surface of the idea of “post-humanism”, but Ultimate X-Men #1-3 is adequate popcorn entertainment, which led to it selling like hotcakes. (Ultimate X-Men #1 was the number one book in December 2000 with 117,085 copies, and issues 2 and 3 stayed in the top 3 with numbers around the 90,000 range.)

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‘Astonishing X-Men’ Gifted is character driven superheroics at its finest

Astonishing X-Men “Gifted” is one of those storylines that will make long term X-Men fans purr with delight beginning the Claremont era flashbacks in issue one. (Cassaday mimics Byrne’s art quite well.) It also can turn fans (like me five years ago) of the films and cartoons into mutie and comics junkies. Whedon pays homage to older X-Men stories without getting mired in continuity and quickly places his own stamp on the franchise by creating a new alien foe for them (Ord of the Breakworld), exploring the mutant as outsider metaphor with the cure of the X-gene, giving SHIELD a new branch (SWORD), and also bringing a beloved character back from the dead (Colossus) in a touching, visceral way that serves the long term storyline. However, the best part of Astonishing X-Men “Gifted” other than John Cassaday’s detailed, cinematically composed art and Whedon’s insanely quotable dialogue is the character arcs for each X-Man nestled in the bigger plot.

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Cyclops #2 Continues the Series’ Strong Showing

Cyclops #2 Written by Greg Rucka Art by Russell Dauterman & Colors by Chris Sotomayor. Standard Cover by Alexander Lozano Published by Marvel Comics Picking up where the previous issue left off, Cyclops #2 finds the titular hero learning the ropes of space piracy from his dad, Corsair. Together, they journey to the planet Yrzt, …

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Cyclops #1 a fun start for a curious series

Despite being created in 1963 and having been a stalwart member of the X-Men for most of the intervening fifty plus years, this is the first time Cyclops (aka Scott Summers) has ever received his own ongoing series. Much of what defines the character – his taciturn nature, his strong leadership abilities, his devotion to Professor Xavier’s dream of peaceful co-existence between man and mutant – works best (or at all) when placed in a group setting, able to be compared and contrasted with the other X-Men. This series aims to sidestep that issue by taking advantage of the character’s current unique status quo: there are actually two Cyclops running around the Marvel Universe, the “real”, present day one, and a teenaged version, plucked from the past and deposited in his future as part of Brian Michael Bendis’ All New X-Men.

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Cyclops and Jean Grey, the Original X-Men Power Couple

“Once upon a time, there was a woman named Jean Grey, a man named Scott Summers. They were young. They were in love. They were heroes.” – Narration from Uncanny X-Men #137 by Chris Claremont & John Byrne For over thirty years, Scott Summers and Jean Grey, Cyclops and Jean Grey nee Phoenix nee Marvel …

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New X-Men “E is for Extinction” Changes Everything for Marvel’s Mutants

New X-Men #114-116 Writer: Grant Morrison Penciller: Frank Quitely Inker: Tim Townsend (114-115), Mark Morales (115-116), Dan Green (116) Colorist: Brian Haberlin (114-115), Hi-Fi (115-116) Publisher: Marvel Comics In 2001, the X-Men were both everywhere and nowhere. Bryan Singer’s X-Men film had been released the previous year and was a commercial and critical success. It showed that superhero films …

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Battle of the Atom Concludes with Big Consequences for the X-Men

X-Men Battle of the Atom #2 Writer: Jason Aaron Pencillers: Esad Ribic and Giuseppe Camuncoli Finishes: Andrew Currie and Tom Palmer Colorists: Ive Svorcina, Andres Mossa, and Guru eFX Publisher: Marvel There are lots of cooks in the Battle of the Atom kitchen which has four epilogues and a total of ten pencillers/inkers/finishers working on the …

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Uncanny X-Men #4 is Going Nowhere Fast

Uncanny X-Men #4 Writer: Brain Michael Bendis Pencils/Colour: Chris Bachalo Ink: Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, Al Vey & Victor Olazaba Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna Cover: Bachalo & Townsend Publisher: Marvel Comics The mutant revolution takes a baby-step forward this week with Uncanny X-Men #4. While the series has been a highlight of the Now! reboot for many, the …

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