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By Jason Bourgeois
Grey Matters returns, and I've yet to make any deals with the devil to remove One More Day from continuity. As a special bonus, there won't be any talk about Spider-Man this month, past this paragraph. Instead, we turn back to my old standby, the X-Books.
As mentioned a few months ago, Marvel's X-titles have been building towards a huge crossover, their first in years. Back then, they were just working on setup with a several-page long backup feature running across the four main titles, all building to a full blown crossover.
That kicked off a few months ago, and it all worked pretty well. Each title managed to keep its plots going, albeit moved more towards the background while the larger plot kicked off, and everyone had their roles to play. The New X-Men, the younger team in training for those not openly following every title, may have felt a little forced, but they served their purpose, as their own book came to an end with the crossover. And if you're doing a crossover about the potential fate, or lack thereof, of the entire mutant race, having the youngest squad of mutants there at least as a presence is necessary.
The core plotline of the crossover revolved around the first mutant birth in about a year Marvel time, ever since Scarlet Witch removed the mutant gene from the pool during House of M. Several factions with knowledge of the future, and wanting the baby for their own nefarious purposes, descend upon the small town in Alaska where she was born, and stomp all over the place, leaving destruction in their wake. The X-Men show up late to the party to clean up the mess, save lives, and then start looking for the child. The teams split up and go their separate ways to deal with the various threats, and find the child, all culminating on a battle between all the forces on Muir Island. Instead of the villains being the primary threats fighting over the child, it turns out to be two X-Men, from various futures themselves, seeking to do with the child as THEY see fit. Eventually, one of them leaves with the child, and the other is none too happy and retaliates, landing a major blow against the X-Men.
Part of the purpose of the crossover was to tell a whopping great action/adventure storyline, and there it succeeded. Anyone wanting to read a fun X-Men story, or get caught up on what's going on, this is a great place to start, as the action rockets along, and even at 13 parts, it doesn't feel overly long, or padded, as each part advances the overall plot just enough, while keeping things exploding all around our heroes.
The other purpose was to shake up the books, cancel a few, and give the X-Books a purpose which they have sorely been lacking ever since House of M and before. That's a little less effective. New X-Men came to an end, as did Cable & Deadpool, and they're even adding some titles in the wake of the event. However, each book is developing its own feel. Uncanny X-Men, the flagship of the line, has yet to reveal what that purpose is, and seems to be treading water, although with very entertaining stories, until issue 500 in a few months, which will hopefully launch the titles into a clear direction.
The adjectiveless X-Men title is being renamed X-Men: Legacy and keeping its current numbering, not unlike when it became New X-Men under Grant Morrison. As to what sort of book it will be remains somewhat unclear, but it appears to focus around Charles Xavier. Time will tell what happens in that title, but focusing on the man who created the X-Men, and the legacy he's left in his wake, could make for an interesting book, and certainly helps it stand out.
New X-Men is being replaced with Young X-Men, with an altered team, and things remain to be seen what happens there. The New X-Men character X-23 is wandering over to a new X-Force title, which is centering around a black ops, secret X-Men group doing the dirty work the main team can't deal with in the spotlight. There is certainly room for a darker, morally questionable X-Title out there, and also serves to have a unique voice, and existence.
The changes in the X-titles over the next few months are under the banner of Divided We Stand, as the X-Men have broken up in the wake of the destruction of their headquarters (Again), and events in the crossover. Things all seem to be going well for the books right now, as the writers have given the books clear voices, although there remains a distinct feeling of things being stuck as we wait for the big plan to be revealed in a few months. At least that time is being spent on good stories in the meantime.
This is the best the X-Men have been in many years, in my opinion, and well worth a look by old and new fans alike. I have high hopes that things will get better as just where all this is heading becomes clearer.
See? Not everything from Marvel sends me into a seething rage in 2008.
Jason M. Bourgeois
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