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Earth X (Collected Editions) #3
Universe X, Vol. 2
With Earth X, Ross and Krueger presented one possible future for the Marvel Universe, where all humans are superbeings. "Universe X" is the two-volume follow-up story to the trilogy. The story will be concluded in 2002 in comic form in Paradise X.Much is revealed in the final chapter in the Universe X saga: Why has Mephisto been manipulating Thanos, Nighthawk, Gargoyle and Dr. Doom? Plus: the identity of Belasco, the fate of Her and the resurrection of the man who killed the Avengers
The Silver Surfer, the Iron Avengers, the Sentinels and Magneto unite to battle the Absorbing Man -- while Peter Parker, Venom, Sgt. Cage and the rest of New York's heroes struggle in vain against a dying world. And in the land of the dead, Captain Marvel fights for the final time against Death herself
The Silver Surfer, the Iron Avengers, the Sentinels and Magneto unite to battle the Absorbing Man -- while Peter Parker, Venom, Sgt. Cage and the rest of New York's heroes struggle in vain against a dying world. And in the land of the dead, Captain Marvel fights for the final time against Death herself
320 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2002
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197 people want to read
About the author
Jim Krueger
437 books54 followersJim Krueger is an award-winning filmmaker, video game developer and New York Times best selling comic book author.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 9, 2009
Great art, umm...I had no idea what the fuck was going on though.
April 11, 2017
2.5 stars
I loved Earth X. It disassembles the Marvel Universe, putting every aspect of the mythos under the microscope, twisting it and taking it to harsh absurd places. The story was detailed but still fluid.
Universe X takes the redefining of the Marvel Universe to the next level. The reader is just bombarded with ideas, characters, plot threads and complicated examination of anything that ever happened in Marvel's past.
Someone should have streamlined this book, there is some great elements and a semi coherent plot there somewhere but fuck it's a slog to read. The artwork is stylised and different from the typical superhero fare, some of the character designs are inspired, which is one of the few redeeming factors.
The nerdy part of me loves this, but the aspiring writer hated it. The plot is all over the place, even the interesting threads like Magneto and Toad's reversals or the fate of Cable would be cool if the writing wasn't so clumsy. An unnecessary sequel.
I loved Earth X. It disassembles the Marvel Universe, putting every aspect of the mythos under the microscope, twisting it and taking it to harsh absurd places. The story was detailed but still fluid.
Universe X takes the redefining of the Marvel Universe to the next level. The reader is just bombarded with ideas, characters, plot threads and complicated examination of anything that ever happened in Marvel's past.
Someone should have streamlined this book, there is some great elements and a semi coherent plot there somewhere but fuck it's a slog to read. The artwork is stylised and different from the typical superhero fare, some of the character designs are inspired, which is one of the few redeeming factors.
The nerdy part of me loves this, but the aspiring writer hated it. The plot is all over the place, even the interesting threads like Magneto and Toad's reversals or the fate of Cable would be cool if the writing wasn't so clumsy. An unnecessary sequel.
March 6, 2013
I first read Earth X a few years ago. I was largely unimpressed and decided not to read the sequels: Universe X and Paradise X. The whole series spans five large trade paper backs and I didn’t want to invest in the story. For some reason I decided to pick up Earth X again and give it a shot, and this time I was quickly engrossed… or at least interested.
Earth X places the Marvel universe in the unspecified future. Captain America is an old man fighting a war against a large metaphor. Reed Richards, devastated over the deaths of his wife and the Human Torch, lives in seclusion in the remains of Dr. Doom’s mostly abandoned fortress. Wolverine is a fat, lazy slob who refuses to get off the couch. Peter Parker is much the same. In this future, familiar super-heroes are supplanted by a new breed of humanity: everyone has super powers.
In the midst of this, the Watcher pulls the cyborg X-51 to the moon and names him the new Watcher. The world is ending and the Watcher wants X-51 to tell him everything that’s happening, as the Watcher has been blinded. There’s also a time machine and about a million side-plots. And dinosaurs.
The bulk of Earth X is told in a somewhat passive voice through conversation between X-51 and the Watcher. The Reader sees different events happening on earth, but immersion is mostly omitted, ironically forcing the Reader to take part as a watcher. Inserted throughout the trade paperback is various info-dumps that basically serve to fill in the Reader on more information about what exactly is going on. These info-dumps are yawn-inducing at best, largely unimportant and extremely uninteresting. They’re kind of like deleted scenes on a DVD.
This time around I still felt that Earth X was a bit heavy handed and too philosophical for its own good, but the story was somewhat entertaining. When I finished the introductory issue I happily picked up the first volume of Universe X to see where the story was heading. Not where I thought, which was a good thing, but the story turned more ridiculous as the pages depleted. By the conclusion of Universe X Volume 2 I was ready to quit again, but I hung in there, hoping the concluding volumes would be okay.
Halfway through Volume One of Paradise X I gave up the ghost and quit. The groans were too loud for me to continue. I developed a tic and a severe allergy to the Marvel Universe. I was no longer at all interested. I flipped through the rest of Volume I and did the same for Volume II, skimming over the artwork and totally ignoring the text. There were a few cool-looking scenes, and if I could somehow read the comic without the words I might continue, but I could not, and I just didn’t have it in me to start again.
Maybe I’m just the wrong audience for this kind of mega-comic. I’ve been a lifelong comic book reader, a lifelong fan of Marvel (albeit niched to really only just Spider-Man and the X-Men for most of my growing years), and I’ve even been known to enjoy an occasional philosophical tangent for no other reason than to wander down different avenues of thought. But the Earth X saga failed (twice) to live up to expectation. The writing was terrible and the plot was such a mess that meaning was lost in untranslated psychobabble. Joss Whedon wrote the introduction for Earth X, praising the series as innovative and entertaining. I disagree with Mr. Whedon here. It may have been innovative when it was written, but I cannot imagine it ever being entertaining.
All in all I really cannot recommend the five-volume saga of Earth X. There were plenty of people who enjoyed it, but count me out on this one. Sorry.
Earth X places the Marvel universe in the unspecified future. Captain America is an old man fighting a war against a large metaphor. Reed Richards, devastated over the deaths of his wife and the Human Torch, lives in seclusion in the remains of Dr. Doom’s mostly abandoned fortress. Wolverine is a fat, lazy slob who refuses to get off the couch. Peter Parker is much the same. In this future, familiar super-heroes are supplanted by a new breed of humanity: everyone has super powers.
In the midst of this, the Watcher pulls the cyborg X-51 to the moon and names him the new Watcher. The world is ending and the Watcher wants X-51 to tell him everything that’s happening, as the Watcher has been blinded. There’s also a time machine and about a million side-plots. And dinosaurs.
The bulk of Earth X is told in a somewhat passive voice through conversation between X-51 and the Watcher. The Reader sees different events happening on earth, but immersion is mostly omitted, ironically forcing the Reader to take part as a watcher. Inserted throughout the trade paperback is various info-dumps that basically serve to fill in the Reader on more information about what exactly is going on. These info-dumps are yawn-inducing at best, largely unimportant and extremely uninteresting. They’re kind of like deleted scenes on a DVD.
This time around I still felt that Earth X was a bit heavy handed and too philosophical for its own good, but the story was somewhat entertaining. When I finished the introductory issue I happily picked up the first volume of Universe X to see where the story was heading. Not where I thought, which was a good thing, but the story turned more ridiculous as the pages depleted. By the conclusion of Universe X Volume 2 I was ready to quit again, but I hung in there, hoping the concluding volumes would be okay.
Halfway through Volume One of Paradise X I gave up the ghost and quit. The groans were too loud for me to continue. I developed a tic and a severe allergy to the Marvel Universe. I was no longer at all interested. I flipped through the rest of Volume I and did the same for Volume II, skimming over the artwork and totally ignoring the text. There were a few cool-looking scenes, and if I could somehow read the comic without the words I might continue, but I could not, and I just didn’t have it in me to start again.
Maybe I’m just the wrong audience for this kind of mega-comic. I’ve been a lifelong comic book reader, a lifelong fan of Marvel (albeit niched to really only just Spider-Man and the X-Men for most of my growing years), and I’ve even been known to enjoy an occasional philosophical tangent for no other reason than to wander down different avenues of thought. But the Earth X saga failed (twice) to live up to expectation. The writing was terrible and the plot was such a mess that meaning was lost in untranslated psychobabble. Joss Whedon wrote the introduction for Earth X, praising the series as innovative and entertaining. I disagree with Mr. Whedon here. It may have been innovative when it was written, but I cannot imagine it ever being entertaining.
All in all I really cannot recommend the five-volume saga of Earth X. There were plenty of people who enjoyed it, but count me out on this one. Sorry.
February 15, 2019
Holy hell, what a slog to get through.
May 3, 2021
The Universe X story is so expansive that it needs to be told in two collections. The second volume digs deeper into Marvel lore with a new look at Balesco, Mephisto, Wakanda, and the Magneto/Toad relationship. Things continue on a downward spiral for our heroes as the Absorbing Man gets closer to being reassembled, the international Human Torches are doused one by one, and the global conditions continue to deteriorate.
The series marches on with its template of deeply personal journeys of heroes who must overcome tragedy in order to face a new world that they helped shape. Each issue again opens with a long narrative provided by Kyle Ricard (Nighthawk) and X-51 (Aaron/Machine Man).
The one-shots introduced between the series issues are a nice touch. I don't normally like (or buy) the extras of a series, but I found that they really worked here (for both volumes of Universe X). They didn't really incorporate the heavy narrative norms of Earth X or Universe X which allowed the creators to tell some good character development tales.
The series marches on with its template of deeply personal journeys of heroes who must overcome tragedy in order to face a new world that they helped shape. Each issue again opens with a long narrative provided by Kyle Ricard (Nighthawk) and X-51 (Aaron/Machine Man).
The one-shots introduced between the series issues are a nice touch. I don't normally like (or buy) the extras of a series, but I found that they really worked here (for both volumes of Universe X). They didn't really incorporate the heavy narrative norms of Earth X or Universe X which allowed the creators to tell some good character development tales.
May 9, 2024
I got this out of the library at work, not realizing it was the second volume...oh well. Like any good author should, there was no impediment to understanding the story line of this because the authors made enough references to what happened in the previous volume without taking me out of the story and without doing an exposition dump. I've always loved how comic books can teach deep lessons about the human condition wrapped in a seemingly "childish" past time of comics, and Universe X is deep indeed! (unfortunately the library at work doesn't have Volume 1!!!)
October 30, 2024
I’m rereading this because the big cosmic and multiverse narratives are pretty big right now. The post-human overtones of Earth X hit different in 2024 and so do the chaotic, Gnostic ramblings in its sequel. The omniscient narrators don’t carry the story as well in Universe X, but they are all going crazy, so what do we expect? It’s interesting to ink this sequel in the style of comics at that time, but the art of Earth X was so good!
Bullet points was a shorter lived series that I really liked and had a similar “What if?” thing going on.
Bullet points was a shorter lived series that I really liked and had a similar “What if?” thing going on.
April 12, 2020
Despite how difficult it was to get through the first half of this story, I was still hoping that it would somehow get to an interesting ending. And while there were a few notable twists that did subvert some expectations and we ended things with a decent enough way to tie-up the story. But the whole process felt ponderous and overly preachy in a manner that felt forced and trite instead of insightful and meaningful.
January 27, 2025
A climatic end to the second arc of the Earth X trilogy. The cover art is absolutely stunning, and with the added index to the second volume along with additional Alex Ross sketches, this volume is truly special. The author’s note at the end is unapologetic and honest. If you were dissatisfied and disappointed with Marvel’s What If? animated series, I highly suggest reading the Earth X trilogy.
July 27, 2022
Good conclusion to the story, I’m not 100% behind trying to give everything a base in science like Mephisto but it worked very well as a plot point. Earth X is a better book but this one is still a fun ride.
April 22, 2021
I'd probably rather give it a 3.5 if that was possible. Earth X started great and for me the series was lessened with each of the sequels. Still a good and enjoyable if somewhat heady read.
May 20, 2013
I wish I could like this book more, but where Earth X was brilliant, this second part comes across as desperate and confused. This is the 2nd part of a trilogy, and what's really interesting to me is that when I read the introduction to part 3, Paradise X, it recaps Earth X and Universe X. The re-cap of Universe X made me think i read a different book. I suppose it was accurate, but I sure felt like I hadn't read the same book.
It definitely had its points, though. There's some pretty exciting action and some really clever and interesting concepts. But some of the 3rd-rate heroes that are brought to the forefront smack of author favoritism. I dunno. It really didn't do much for me.
It definitely had its points, though. There's some pretty exciting action and some really clever and interesting concepts. But some of the 3rd-rate heroes that are brought to the forefront smack of author favoritism. I dunno. It really didn't do much for me.
January 12, 2016
Iron Maiden finally got to do stuff! Venom had some nice moments with her dad! Loki was briefly but memorably awesome! Thor finally started to realize that maybe she doesn't know everything!
That's...literally all I care about in this book, everything else was a big pile of overly convoluted wtf to me
That's...literally all I care about in this book, everything else was a big pile of overly convoluted wtf to me
January 26, 2016
Is Earth X a possible future or an alternate reality? No matter which of these possibilities holds true it all comes out as fantastic story for Marvel's superheros. Exceptional art and an excellent plot by Alex Ross make these a superb read. Very recommended
Read
July 30, 2011This view of the Marvel Universe is definitely impressive, but some of the storyline is hard to keep up with. I love the artwork and learning about new superheroes.
Read
September 12, 2016actually have this in individual issues...
July 23, 2012
The story continues, keeps us interested and reading past the hour we should have stopped.
August 20, 2014
See review for vol. 1. Truly a dismal conclusion to a somewhat promising arc.
August 14, 2020
Reading these in the right order makes them much more understandable.
June 27, 2017
Nope! Garbage.
Beasts and Iron Men, like before, were good stand alone stories. If they weren't with Universe X, I'd probably give them each 3 and 1/2 stars. Enjoyable.
But let's go back to the main story. Woof. What was going on? I actually went to the main Wiki page to see if I had missed anything. I did not! It was just SO MUCH extra stuff that had nothing to do with the main plot.
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Also, it got to the point where everyone was hitting their third mutation so every character was just whatever he or she wanted to be or whatever someone else wanted him or her to be. Which is very convenient to plots and whatnot.
Double also, Dr. Strange was stuck in astral form in the realm of Death because no one could find his body. But at the end when they beat Death, he just reappeared in his body which was being guarded by the Xen. So...it was there the whole time! You could've just gone back whenever because it's not like Strange was helping in the Death fight. He was just getting literally licked by Mephisto-who turns out to be, just...no one we've ever seen that turned into the devil because humans wanted a devil? Everyone else who was ever a character because of a third mutation turned out to be someone. Why not have Mephisto actually be Dr Strange changed and that's why no one could find his body? Eh, maybe that's insane. Who cares! This maze within a maze with way too much exposition was pretty insane. So, cool...
Beasts and Iron Men, like before, were good stand alone stories. If they weren't with Universe X, I'd probably give them each 3 and 1/2 stars. Enjoyable.
But let's go back to the main story. Woof. What was going on? I actually went to the main Wiki page to see if I had missed anything. I did not! It was just SO MUCH extra stuff that had nothing to do with the main plot.
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Also, it got to the point where everyone was hitting their third mutation so every character was just whatever he or she wanted to be or whatever someone else wanted him or her to be. Which is very convenient to plots and whatnot.
Double also, Dr. Strange was stuck in astral form in the realm of Death because no one could find his body. But at the end when they beat Death, he just reappeared in his body which was being guarded by the Xen. So...it was there the whole time! You could've just gone back whenever because it's not like Strange was helping in the Death fight. He was just getting literally licked by Mephisto-who turns out to be, just...no one we've ever seen that turned into the devil because humans wanted a devil? Everyone else who was ever a character because of a third mutation turned out to be someone. Why not have Mephisto actually be Dr Strange changed and that's why no one could find his body? Eh, maybe that's insane. Who cares! This maze within a maze with way too much exposition was pretty insane. So, cool...
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews