marvel comics – Page 2 – PopCult Reviews

Comic Book Review – X-Men: Days of Future Present and The X-Tinction Agenda

X-Men: Days of Future Present (1989)
Reprints Fantastic Four Annual #23, The New Mutants Annual #6, X-Factor Annual #5, and Uncanny X-Men Annual #14
Written by Walt Simonson, Louise Simonson, and Chris Claremont
Art by Jackson Guice, Geof Isherwood, Terry Shoemaker, Chris Wozniak, Scott Williams, Allen Milgrom, Art Thibert, Harry Candelario, Jon Bogdanove, Arthur Adams, Dan Green, Steve Moncuse, Art Thibert, and Bob Wiacek

X-Men: The X-Tinction Agenda (1992)
Reprints Uncanny X-Men #270-272, New Mutants #95-97, and X-Factor #60-62
Written by Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson
Art by Jim Lee, Art Thibert, Scott Williams, Rob Liefeld, Joe Rubinstein, Jon Bogdanove, John Caponigro, Al Milgrom, and Guang Yap

Two of Chris Claremont’s stories dominated his run and every subsequent run to follow – “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past.” That latter story inspires “Days of Future Present,” a kind of sequel focusing on the adult Franklin Richards introduced in the old story. Over in the pages of Louise Simonson’s Power Pack, she had included Franklin, the son of Mr. Fantastic, and the Invisible Woman showcases his burgeoning mutant powers. The adult version of Franklin is essentially a god who can reshape reality. He’s searching for his lost love, Rachel Summers.

Comic Book Review – X-Men by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee Omnibus Volume One

X-Men by Chris Claremont & Jim Lee Omnibus Volume One (2021)
Reprints Uncanny X-Men #244-269, X-Men Annual #13, and Classic X-Men #39
Written by Chris Claremont and Ann Nocenti
Art by Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, Rick Leonardi, Kieron Dwyer, Bill Jaaska, Whilce Portacio, Mike Collins, Dan Green, Steve Leialoha, Kent Williams, Scott Williams, Josef Rubenstein, and Art Thibert

Following the conclusion of Inferno, Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men entered a strange period. He would wrap up the Australia-era team only to disband the X-Men. Yet the comic would continue. Instead of team-centered stories, the book became a rotating anthology about mutants who had been or were associated with the X-Men. There wasn’t a team officially bearing that name for nearly a year, but the stories continued. What was happening was a showdown between Claremont and new line editor Bob Harras.

Comic Book Review – X-Men: Inferno Omnibus

X-Men: Inferno Omnibus (2018)
Reprints X-Factor #33-40, X-Factor Annual #4, X-Terminators #1-4, Uncanny X-Men #239-243 and New Mutants #71-73
Written by Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, and Mark Gruenwald
Art by Marc Silvestri, Walter Simonson, Jon Bogdanove, Terry Shoemaker, Bret Blevins, Jim Fern, Rob Liefeld, Dan Green, Bob Wiacek, Al Williamson, Al Migrom, Joe Rubenstein, Mike Manley, and Hilary Barta

For five years, Madelyne Pryor had existed as a mystery in the X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe. A few years after losing Jean Grey, Cyclops met her doppelganger, an Alaskan pilot. Their love blossomed, they married, and they even had a baby. But then Jean miraculously returned, and Cyclops abandoned his wife and child so that he could head back to New York City as part of X-Factor. Maddie was attacked by the Marauders, and her baby was stolen. She’d end up with the X-Men in Dallas, where they were killed in front of television cameras only to be resurrected by the goddess Roma and sent off into a new chapter of life in the Australian Outback. Finally, Claremont would reveal the true nature of Maddie in what would serve as the first true X-Men crossover, an event that touched on all the ongoing books and had tie-ins throughout the Marvel Universe.

Comic Book Review – X-Men: Inferno Prologue Omnibus

X-Men: Inferno Prologue Omnibus (2021)
Reprints X-Factor #27-32, X-Factor Annual #3, Uncanny X-Men #228-238, X-Men Annual #12, New Mutants #62-70, New Mutants Annual #4, Marvel Age Annual #4, and Marvel Fanfare #40
Written by Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Tom DeFalco, Walter Simonson, and Mark Gruenwald
Art by Marc Silvestri, Walter Simonson, Rick Leonardi, Jon J. Muth, Bo Hampton, Bret Blevins, Terry Shoemaker, June Brigman, Arthur Adams, Steve Lightle, Tom Artis, Paris Cullins, Ron Lim, John Buscema, and Craig Hamilton

The X-Men are dead. At least, that’s what the world believes in Chris Claremont’s landmark run. The Fall of the Mutants storyline ended with the team dying and secretly being resurrected by the goddess Roma. These are not the X-Men from the animated series or the films but a roster not referenced in contemporary comics or media adaptations. Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, and Rogue are here – standards that we associate with the team over the decades. But there’s also pre-ninja Psylocke, Cyclops’s brother Havok, pop star Dazzler, and Mojoverse refugee Longshot. Madelyne Pryor, Cyclops’s wife & a dead ringer for Jean Grey, is there too. More on them later, as this collection begins with X-Factor.

TV Review – X-Men ’97

X-Men ‘97 Season One (2024)
Written by Beau DeMayo, Charley Feldman, JB Ballard, and Anthony Sellitti
Directed by Jake Castorena, Chase Conley, and Emi-Emmett Yonemura

I was a big fan of the X-Men animated series on Fox in the 1990s. It just so happened that it aired at the same time as my sister’s beloved Saved By the Bell. Thank goodness for VCRs. I ended up with quite a few episodes on tape to rewatch them, which I did many times over. I can’t say I kept up with the show well after the first three seasons. I definitely never would have guessed we’d see a revival of the series and one that doesn’t just try and recreate the original. Instead, this is a slight maturation of the format and the quality of storytelling. It still reads like Saturday morning cartoons, albeit with a more modern serialized structure.

Comic Book Review – Daredevil & Elektra Volumes Two & Three: The Red Fist Saga

Daredevil & Elektra Volumes Two & Three: The Red Fist Saga (2023)
Reprints Daredevil (2023) #6-10 & 11-14
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Art by Rafael De Latorre, Marco Checchetto, Manuel Garcia

Despite this being Chip Zdarsky, there was so much of the final act that felt like a totally different direction and tone. And it didn’t work for me. He has leaned heavily into the religious aspects of Matt Murdock, from his strange, retconned friendship with Goldberg to the constant talk of God’s will and prophecies. I get the sense that Zdarsky wanted to play with all the classic Daredevil toys, and this was him getting the Hand out of the toy box along with a few villains, smashing them together while going “pew pew.” I say that because so much substance is lacking here. It feels like a greatest hits album of Daredevil tropes and characters rather than something that moves the hero forward meaningfully. I don’t necessarily blame Zdarsky for that; rather, it is the corporate comic book tendency to allow characters to stagnate and never allow them to change.

Comic Book Review – Daredevil & Elektra: The Woman Without Fear and The Red Fist Saga Volume One

Daredevil: The Woman Without Fear
Reprints Daredevil: The Woman Without Fear #1-3 and Elektra #100
Written by Chip Zdarsky & Ann Nocenti
Art by Rafael De Latorre & Sid Kotian

Daredevil & Elektra by Chip Zdarsky Volume One: The Red Fist Saga
Reprints Daredevil (2022) #1-5
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Art by Marco Checchetto and Rafael De Latorre

Marvel Comics has been doing something for about the last decade or more that really bothers me. It’s become a trend that even DC Comics has started for most books. When a writer ends their run on an ongoing book, the company cancels the title and reboots it a month or two later with a new #1 to signal a new writer. I get the economics of it; issue ones sell better than any other issue, but it partially destroys the sense of history. Thankfully, DC has spared Action and Detective comics from this, so they bear their original numbering, making them over 1,000 issues. Both companies might put a Legacy number under the issue number, denoting how long this character has appeared in a book on their own.

Comic Book Review – X-Men: Fall of the Mutants Omnibus

X-Men: The Fall of the Mutants Omnibus (2022)
Reprints New Mutants #55-61, Uncanny X-Men #220-227, X-Factor #18-26, Captain America #339, Daredevil #252, Fantastic Four #312, Incredible Hulk #336-337 & 340, and Power Pack #35
Written by Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Peter David, Ann Nocenti, Mark Gruenwald, & Steve Englehart
Art by John Romita Jr, Marc Silvestri, Walt Simonson, June Brigman, Todd McFarlane, Sal Buscema, Jon Bogdanove, Kieron Dwyer, Keith Pollard, Kerry Gammill, & Bret Blevins

Mutant Massacre was not the end of the shake-up Claremont wanted with the X-Men books. With the pending launch of Excalibur and Wolverine’s solo ongoing set to start, the writer stepped away from New Mutants, handing the reins to X-Factor writer Louise Simonson. The Fall of the Mutants would be a crossover in theme only; each of the three X-books at the time would have a contained storyline to dramatically shift the status quo. There are some light mentions of events in the other books, but nothing that would force readers to buy all three. The tie-ins to other comics are even less necessary and can easily be skipped (as I did with many).

Comic Book Review – X-Men: Mutant Massacre Omnibus

X-Men: Mutant Massacre Omnibus (2022)
Reprints Uncanny X-Men #210-219, X-Men Annual #11, X-Factor #9-17, X-Factor Annual #2, New Mutants #46, Thor #373-374 and 377-378, Power Pack #27, Daredevil #238, Fantastic Four vs. The X-Men #1-4, and X-Men vs. The Avengers #1-4
Written by Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Walt Simonson, Ann Nocenti, Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, and Jim Shooter
Art by John Romita Jr, Bret Blevins, Rick Leonardi, Alan Davis, Barry Windsor-Smith, Jackson Guice, Marc Silvestri, Terry Shoemaker, Walt Simonson, David Mazzucchelli, Jon Bogdanove, Sal Buscema, and Keith Pollard

One of Chris Claremont’s goals with X-Men was that it would be a team constantly experiencing change. In an interview published around X-Men #200, the writer said he wanted it so that if you picked up issue 100, you’d get one version of the team. A hundred issues later, another version and a hundred issues after that would differ from the first two. This was a particularly refreshing viewpoint in superhero comics, where stagnancy is the default setting. Think about Uncanny X-Men just as the Mutant Massacre was happening. Cyclops was married and had left the book, Magneto had taken over Xavier’s role, and Storm had lost her powers and become a mohawk-wearing punk, bringing in characters like Kitty Pryde, Rachel Summers, and Rogue. There was another significant change coming.

Comic Book Review – The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Volume Five

The Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Volume Five (2023)
Reprints Uncanny X-Men #194-209, X-Men Annual #9-10, New Mutants Special Edition, New Mutants Annual #2, Nightcrawler #1-4, Longshot #1-6, and Marvel Fanfare #33
Written by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, and Ann Nocenti
Art by John Romita Jr, Barry Windsor-Smith, Rick Leonardi, June Brigman, Dave Cockrum, Art Adams, and Alan Davis

Chris Claremont is wondering where he can go with the X-Men in 1985. He’s been writing the book for an entire decade, and you can feel him struggling to find storylines to latch onto. Plot elements get introduced but seemingly forgotten in the next issue. Sometimes, they will resurface months or even a year later. Outside of Storm, the rest of the cast is just sort of there. If you stand back and look at the comics landscape at this time, the type of stories being told and the tone of comics were dramatically changing. The old Silver Age villain-of-the-month tropes had grown tired, and more mature writing was what people wanted. Well, mature in the case of someone like Alan Moore, but not so much with everyone else. At a minimum, stories were becoming grittier or making meta-commentary on the genre.