X-Men by Chris Claremont & Jim Lee Omnibus, Vol. 1

X-Men by Chris Claremont & Jim Lee

by Chris Claremont, Terry Austin, Ann Nocenti

What happens when you combine an industry veteran at the top of his game with a hot, up-and-coming young artist, and let them loose on Marvel's mightiest mutants? You get a fan-favorite, multi-year X-Men run unequaled in style, pizzazz and wall-to-wall action! It's Chris Claremont's most ambitious story arc ever, featuring Jim Lee's dynamic debut issues and major changes to the X-Men's status quo! Jubilee debuts just as the X-Men disband, granted new lives by the Siege Perilous! The Reavers enact gruesome revenge on Wolverine and decimate MuirIsland, while Psylocke is transformed into a ninja! The Shadow King makes his play for Storm, culminating in the action-packed introduction of Gambit! Wolverine's hidden past with Captain America and the Black Widow is revealed! And this is just the first volume! Collecting UNCANNY X-MEN #244-269, X-MEN ANNUAL (1970) #13 and CLASSIC X-MEN #39.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, X Men, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Comics Manga

681 pages, Hardcover

First published October 19, 2011

About the author

Chris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.

Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.

Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.

Reviews

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collects Uncanny X-men #244-269, Annual #13 as well as some supplemental material which covers May, 1989 to October, 1990.

An incredibly mixed-bag, the collection starts off weakly with a "girl's night out" story followed by a "boy's night out" story and the usual rather ridiculous annual. It gets going pretty rapidly after that as everything completely falls apart. This collection deserves the moniker "Fall of the Mutants" much more than the crossover from a couple of years earlier. The entire team disintegrates. Storm is killed (and you know it isn't going to last because they bury her and move on too quickly), Longshot quits the team (good riddance) and four of the other X-Men step through the Siege Perilous to be reborn. There really is no X-men through most of the book. Banshee teams up with Forge to try to relocate the old X-Men while Muir Island falls apart (mostly thanks to Legion). Then all the who died or went through the Siege Perilous have individual adventures as they start anew. Storm comes back as a child (I really, really wish Claremont would let Nanny and the Orphanmaker go away). Wolverine is saved from the Reavers by Jubilee and Psylocke becomes a ninja. WAY too much going on here and it's often very, very confusing. You can really tell Claremont is trying to reorient the team but isn't given enough time to tell the stories properly (Uncanny X-Men was coming out twice a month during most of this run). Some important new faces (Jubilee and Gambit) and some old ones return (Banshee and Forge) so I'm excited to see where this is going but it's a real mess, with only the Wolverine/Jubilee stories seeming really coherent and consistently engaging. Really wish they would have taken a breather to mourn Destiny as well as she was so important to Mystique and Rogue. Also, Jubilee's dialogue is awful. Claremont always was bad at using non-stop, already outdated slang for younger characters and here it is at it's worst. Some good stuff within but it's surrounded by mediocre or not well fleshed-out ideas.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great stuff, with the dissolution of the X-Men and their slow reappearance--overall, a very brave storyline to run at the time, especially with keeping some characters offscreen for over a year. Some arcs particularly stand out, such as the the Reavers issues, both in Australia and when they attack Muir Island. The Psylocke arc is also a classic.

[OmniBen · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
I thought this was a lock to be one of the best books I'd ever read. Claremont, Lee and Silvestri. Talk about a sure thing. Turns out the only sure thing here is frustration and disappointment. The last X omni I read was Inferno, so there was a little bit of a gap, but fook me, there has been quite a bit going on in the interim.
I've never been a big fan of Jim Lee, less so for the person than the art, but hot damn his stuff is pure fire here. It's just a shame that Claremont turns in some pretty dire stuff here. Not only is the writing not great, but there is far, FAR too much of it. Convoluted, some what meaningless and boring at times, too. At least it made for some pretty looking most of the time. Though Jim Lee getting top billing above Mark Silvestri despite him doing three times as many issues is poor form. 3/5


OmniBen.

[Myles Likes Tacos and Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is smaller than your typical omnibus, however 90s Claremont is so wordy that going through this is like reading all of the War of the Realms tie-ins

In terms of story,this is more setup for X-Men #1 (next volume) instead of a cohesive story. After reading this, I can understand why X-Men became so popular in the 90s

The extras are excellent, tons of Jim Lee covers from other titles, sketches, and even some of the 90s trading cards he illustrated

Modern X-Men makes so many references to the lore, so this is a must have on a bookshelf when you need to look something up. Yes I know there is google and Duck Duck go, but that is so boorrrrrinnnnnnggggggg and a search engine doesn't look cool on a bookshelf

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is the stuff I remember from my youth. I grew up in the days when these stories were being published and talked about on the playground. There are some great ideas here and also some incredible art as we see Jim Lee during his early peak. Claremont was still pumping out awesome stories, and bringing us some classic characters too. First Jubilee and Gambit here, as well as the Madripoor Nights issue. There's just so much good in this book. I could go on for ages, but I need to get some sleep so yeah, just know it's a great. Definitely one not to be missed for the X-fans who grew up in the 90's.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty close to a 4 star book. I read the last half in one big gulp. Pretty decent reading. At this point Uncanny was coming out twice a month, so you might think that would make for a faster paced story. It doesn't. It has the opposite effect. Back in the Cockrum/Byrne days X-men adventures were mostly tidy little affairs, wrapped up in an issue or two with some plot threads weaving a bit wider.

Not here in the late 80's - there's definitely some pacing problems. And problems with logic and continuity. Some things just don't make sense or aren't explained at least. Oddly as a team book, the Uncanny folks spend most of this volume spread wide and far away from each other. Often not even knowing that they even have other team members in the book.

I'm also utterly baffled as to why this book features Jim Lee so prominently in the title. He's not the lead artist of the book. Marc Silvestri is. Jim Lee draws the 2 issues featuring Psylocke turning into an Asian ninja. And that's about it. I'm a bit miffed about it. I laid out a hundred bucks on this book and the headline artist draws 2 pages out of a 1,000. What a bleeding rip-off. It's not as if he's that great of an artist either, at least to my taste.

[Aildiin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok lets be honest here, the stories and especially the art in this Omnibus haven't aged well, except that is the few issues penciled by Jim lee which have a much more modern look but sadly out of 27 issues in this Omnibus Jim lee only penciled 8 (which by the way makes calling this a Jim lee Omnibus quite a lie, end of rant).

That being said this is an interesting look at the end of Chris Claremont run and at how the X-Men stories were before the big crossover age at the beginning of the 90s.

In the end I would recommend this for collectors or anyone interested in comic history or any X-Men fan ( I am part of the third group).

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big mess story wise, but alot of great stuff as well, the X- Men ar spread out all over the word, and lots of different stories but not alot of connection. The Jim Lee issues are amazing, and its great to see the start of my favorite period with the X Men. Still there is greatness in this book and i would recommend for the X fans.

[Remxo · Rating 5 out of 5]

1990's X-Men perfection

I made an exception for Hickman's current run and Morrison's New X-Men, but other than those two runs, I've been reading Uncanny X-Men chronologically for a couple of years now, picking up an omnibus every now and then. I think it's worth noting that I am reading this material for the first time; I am not affected by childhood nostalgia.

I had to give this 5 stars (8.5/10) because this was pretty much 1990's X-Men perfection. The rather large cast is dispersed across the globe and beyond. The setting changes constantly. The narrative structure is a lot like a soap opera's. Claremont is very much in command of his characters and their various story beats. There's wasn't a single weak issue in this volume, which is pretty amazing considering the fact that the release schedule changed from monthly to bimonthly. Claremont, Lee and Silvestri clearly were having a ball and it shows.

[Robert McCallum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic book with legendary status as it contains jim lee’s first work on the x-men.

Lee’s issue are utterly stunning - a massive step up for the title with incredible art particularly regarding his work on psylocke and rogue. It’s hard to underestimate just how good his issues look.

Issue is, he only draws about 5/6 issues in the whole book and while the other issues are fine, his work makes them pale significantly in comparison.

Very little filler in the book as well as it consists of core uncanny x-men titles plus 1 annual and as such it rattles on at an excellent pace from the first page to the last.

This period is criticised as showing decline in claremonts work which no doubt is justified. It is however still well worth reading while not hitting the incredible heights of dark phoenix, god loves man kills etc

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll start with the positives- there's some cool iconic stuff here: the introduction of Jubilee and Gambit, Savage Land Rogue, Wolverine in Madripoor... But there's also a whole lot of bullshit. I knew Claremont X-Men was convoluted but this is a continuity clusterfuck. So many villains and characters are thrown in without introduction, there's so many different X teams with different line ups, and worst of all, so much goddamn mind control and memory loss and body swapping and don't even get me started on the fucking "siege perilous." It's very tedious and disjointed, and doesn't work very well as a story to follow. Also, I just don't understand why Jim Lee has this reputation as a superstar artist. While some of the designs have an undeniable 90s charm to them, there are so many terrible expressions and unnecessary edginess, and the panel-to-panel storytelling is not very effective. And that's not even getting started on the way he draws women, which is just embarrassing.

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

People tend to not like this era very much because the X-men are split up, so there’s a lot of switching perspectives and sometimes you might not see your favorite character for several issues. Personally I think all the individual storylines make for some interesting character work. Especially the focus on Forge, the re-introduction of Psylocke and the dynamic between Wolverine and Jubilee was a lot of fun.

The actual Jim Lee issues (only about 7 out of 27) are an obvious highlight, not just because of the art but also because a great artist tends to bring out the best in Claremont’s writing as well. Silvestri’s art is great too. Unfortunately there’s also a couple of issues with very bad art (for X-men anyways), but the story makes up for it. As usual, I can’t wait to keep reading to see what happens next.

[Carlo Gnutti · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

E’ un volume in cui si vede pochissimo la squadra degli X men, sia a causa delle numerose defezioni (alcune più sensate di altre) sia perché a un certo punto Claremont compie una specie di soft reboot dei personaggi che, oltre ad essere abbastanza improvviso, lascia trasparire un po’ di fatica/carenza di idee da parte di Claremont. Sicuramente ci sono dei numeri molto belli, tipo Uncanny 245 o quello su Psylocke/Lady Mandarin, e l’aggiunta di Jubilee ha dato una ventata di freschezza al roster di eroi, però in generale il volume non scorre come gli altri omnibus.

-244
Dazzler convince Betsy/Psyloche, Tempesta e Rogue (sempre più in difficoltà ad alternarsi con la psiche di Carole Denvers) a passare una giornata tra donne in un mall. Nello stesso luogo la M squad (una squadra di scienziati, sostanzialmente la versione comica dei Marauders con un pizzico di Ghostbusters, già apparsa brevemente in Inferno) viene assoldata per liberarsi di Jubilee (che qui fa il suo esordio), una ragazzina mutante il cui potere e’ sparare fasci di energia luminosa (tipo Dazzler).
A fine numero Jubilee segue la ragazze oltre il portale che le riporta nell’outback.

-245
Qui invece vediamo i ragazzi (wolverine, longshot, colosso e Havok) andare a far serata in un bar.
Numero di transizione che racconta il comico tentativo di una razza aliena di conquistare l’Australia. Si risolve tutto con Wolverine che vince a carte con un bluffone.
Durante l’assemblea aliena si posso riconoscere personaggi come Yoda, uno xenomorfo, Et, Alf, Jabba The Hutt, Boba Fett ecc…
Viene qui citata per la prime volta l’isola di Madripoor.
Disegni di Rob Liefeld

-Annual 13
Storia 1
Fa parte di una saga cross over più ampia, quindi la lettura a sé stante e’ scarsamente godibile. Se a ciò aggiungiamo che i testi (di Terry Austin) non sono niente di che e i disegni di Mike Vosburg sono bruttini abbiamo fatto centro.
Gli X men si scontrano con la Società dei serpenti.

Storia 2
Molto più interessante, che riprende esattamente da dove finiva il numero 244, con Jubilee che si teletrasporta in Australia.
Quasi tutta la narrazione e’ veicolata attraverso i pensieri di Jubilee, il che ci permette al lettore di familiarizzare col suo lessico giovanile, il suo carattere e la sua backstory (cresciuta a Beverly Hills in maniera agiata ma genitori morti).
Testi di Sally Pashkow e disegni di Jim Fern.

-246
Dazzler vede nel Seggio Periglioso che il suo destino e’ segnato da una morte infausta.
Ritorno di Nimrod, che e’ una sentinella al servizio del gran capo Master Mold.
Wolverine parte per un’avventura in solitaria

-247
Gli X Men si scontrano con la Super sentinella Master Mold e suo sottoposto Nimrod
Psylocke non riesce a salvare la moglie del Senatore Kelly, colpita da Master Mold durante lo scontro
Dazzler spedisce Master Mold e Rogue (rimasta tra le grinfie del robot) nel Seggio Periglioso.
Il senatore Kelly, addolorato per la morte della moglie Sharon, accetta di finanziare qualsiasi progetto anti mutante abbia in mente Shaw
A fine numero si vede Donald Pierce, l’ex re bianco del club infernale, promettere un attacco a sorpresa contro gli x men.

-248
Lady Deathstrike e Donald Pierce sono uniti ai Reavers.
Longshot, così dal nulla, sente il bisogno di scoprire qual e’ il suo passato (i suoi ricordi partono dal momento in cui ha incontrato gli X Men) e decide quindi di abbandonare gli X Men.
Gli X Men vengono attaccati da Tata, un robottino dagli istinti materni che vuole prendersene cura come fossero dei bambini.
Dopo aver catturato Tempesta Tata si da alla fuga. Havok per fermarla le spara un raggio dei suoi ma così facendo colpisce anche Tempesta.
Primo numero disegnato da Jim Lee

-249
Tempesta e’ effettivamente morta.
Lorna Dane chiama la base degli X Men, dicendo di essere finalmente riuscita a prendere il sopravvento su Malice (che comunque e’ ancora dentro di lei).
Gli X Men quindi vanno in suo soccorso, ma si scontrano con un gruppo di mutanti provenienti dalle Terre Selvagge e guidati da Zala Dane, vecchia assistente dell’Alto Rivoluzionario e sorella di Lorna.

-250
Zala usa il trasmutatore su Lorna al fine di privarla dei suoi poteri, ma per qualche motivo non spiegato diventa ancora più forte.

-251
Pierce e i Reavers hanno catturato e crocifisso Wolverine (la copertina del numero e’ tra le più iconico della storia degli X Men) sotto il cocente sole australiano, provocandogli frequenti deliri e allucinazioni.
Nel frattempo scopriamo (forse) che Havok, disilluso, stanco e affranto per tutti ciò che e’ capitato di recente agli X Men, convince i suoi compagni ad attraversare il Seggio Periglioso, così da poter iniziare ognuno una nuova vita.
Wolverine riesce a liberarsi da solo nonostante il dolore lancinante: uno dei momenti più intensi della storia del personaggio sulla testata.

-252
Wolverine viene soccorso e nascosto da Jubilee.
Disegni di Rick Leonardi

-253
Tempesta riappare durante un diluvio in Illinois, ma e’ diventata una bambina.
Lady Deathstrike trova Jubilee e Wolverine, ma non gli spara perché lo vuole uccidere in maniera onorevole.
Magneto sembra essere tornato sul sentiero oscuro, disinteressandosi ai nuovi mutanti e dedicandosi a diventare un nuovo membro del Club Infernale.
Lorna Dane, diretta sull’isola di Muir, naufraga con la sua imbarcazione ma viene salvata da Banshee, che ha finalmente ritrovato i poteri.
Forge percepisce che Tempesta e’ in pericolo e desidera andare a soccorrerla.

-254
Moira Mactaggart conferma a Lorna che Malice non alberga più in lei, ma non si spiega come abbia guadagnato l’invulnerabilità e la superforza.
Callisto torna alla villa di Xavier per distruggere le ultime tecnologie rimaste intatte, ma durante il tragitto viene catturata da Masque (diventato ormai leader dei Morlocks) che si vuole vendicare di lei sfigurandola.
I Reapers attaccano l’isola di Muir, ferendo gravemente Banshee
A Mystica e alla Freedom Force viene ordinato di aiutare Forge nel soccorrere i mutanti sull’isola.

-255
Psylocke rispunta su un’isola nel sud della Cina.
Continua la battaglia tra gli X Men rimasti (insieme alla Freedom Force) contro i reavers, durante la quale perdono la vita Valanga, Muraglia e Destiny (anche se quest’ultimo caso avviene fuori campo quindi il dubbio rimane).
Legione, pur essendo teoricamente dalla parte dei mutanti, aiuta i reavers in più occasioni.
Il numeri si conclude con Banshee e Forge che si accordano per andare a cercare gli X Men in giro per il mondo.

-256
Betsy e’ finita tra le grinfie della Mano, che vuole darla al Mandarino e trasformarla in un agente sotto il loro controllo.
Tutto il combattimento si svolge nella testa di Psylocke, ma e’ tutto abbastanza dimenticabile. L’unica cosa degna di nota e’ che “sblocca” la lama psichica. Finisce che e’ Mojo a prendere il controllo su di lei.
Disegni di Jim Lee, che adotta dei layout molto audaci.

-257
Il nuovo look di Psylocke (che ora si fa chiamare lady mandarin) e’ fighissimo
Anche Wolverine e Jubilee -anche lei sfoggia un nuovo fighissimo look con maglia rossa, shorts verdi, impermeabile giallo (pattern di colori molto alla robin) e occhiali da sole -sono arrivati a Hong Kong.

-258
Anche Wolverine viene sottoposto allo stesso trattamento di Psylocke, ma il risultato e’ molto più violento e inquietante.
Forge ha costruito un sistema di difesa avanzatissimo sull’isola di Muir e creato (insieme a Moira) dei nuovi costumi coordinati per gli x men (quelli iconici gialli e blu).
Una delle personalità malvagie di Legione ha preso il sopravvento e sta cominciando a influenzare le menti di chi sta sull’isola di Muir, compresa Lorna/Polaris.
Il Mandarino vuole “purificare” Jubilee dai modi americani e convertirla a quelli cinesi.
Wolverine libera Psylocke dal condizionamento del Mandarino e insieme riescono a fuggire (insieme a Jubilee ovviamente).

-259
Ritroviamo Colosso (che ora si fa chiamare Peter Nicholas) a New York, mentre salva Phillip Monreu (il figlio del Geningegnere di Genosha) da un gruppo di magistrati.
Dazzler invece appare su una spiaggia Californiana. Entrambi ovviamente non hanno memoria della loro precedente vita da X Men

-260
Eric Beale, vecchio produttore cinematografico di dazzler ora caduto in disgrazia, vuole vendicarsi e ucciderla.
Forge e Banshee schivano per caso un attentato a loro indirizzato, ma ciò non vale per la loro amica Cylla.

-261
Un gruppo militare, gli Harrier, e’ stato assoldato per catturare Wolverine, Jubilee e Psylock.
Forge e Bashee (a cui non torna il cambiamento caratteriale che sta attraversando Moira) vanno nei sotterranei della scuola di xavier per scoprire chi sta mettendo loro i bastoni tra le ruote. Anche Jean Grey e’ in visita alla scuola (quel poco che ne resta), ma viene attaccata e rapita da dei mostri con le fattezze dsgli x men.
Mentre Cylla e’ convalescente in ospedale, Pierce le offre di renderla un cyborg se verrà a lavorare per lui e lei accetta.
A fine numero scopriamo che gli Harrier erano stari assoldati da Logan stesso per testare la fedeltà e la capacità di collaborare di Psylocke e Jubilee: un twist abbastanza debole devo dire.

-262
Colosso si sta imponendo coi suoi dipinti nella scena artistica di NY
Disegni di Kieron Dwyer, che fa volti bruttissimi

-263
Forge si imbatte in Jean e Banshhee, entrambi modificati da Masque (a lui ha tolto la bocca mentre lei e’ stara trasformata in un essere tentacolare)
Il capo dei Morlocks ha catturato anche Peter e la sua cotta.
Disegni di Bill Jaaska, di cui ho apprezzato molto la gestione nell’alternanza tra la narrazione principale e i flashback di Forge in Vietnam.

-264
Magistrati di Genosha danno la caccia a Forge, che trova un’alleata nell’agente Jones (a cui fa addirittura indossare la tuta da X Men).
Il Colonello Vazhin, uno dei capi del KGB, mette in guardia riguardo l’esistenza di un certo Re delle Ombre, che a suo dire e’ dietro diverse macchinazioni legate ai mutanti.
Press gang fa irruzione sulla nave di X Factor per riprendersi Phillip Moreu, ma vengono sconfitti anche grazie all’aiuto di Forge e Jones.
Banshee e Forge propongono di unirsi a X Factor per cercare gli altri x men.
Disegni Mike Collins senza infamia e senza lode.

-265
Facciamo la conoscenza dei P!ndyr, esseri alieni alle dipendenze degli Shi’ar.
Ritorno Tata.
Scopriamo che il tizi che sta inseguendo da diversi numeri Ororo e’ proprio re delle ombre.

-266
Qui fa il suo esordio Gambit, il cui fare sbruffone/sarcastico me lo ha reso subito simpatico. Aiuta Ororo a scappare dal Re delle Ombre, che però possedendo Val Cooper riesce a far uccidere (o così sembra) Mystica.
Disegni di Mike Collins dimenticabili.

-267
Mentre Ororo e Gambit fuggono vengono catturati da Tata, che svela che l’astronave che Havok ha distrutto nel numero 248 (e la Tempesta che vi era legata) erano in realtà dei fantocci, mentre ha trasformato la vera Tempesta in nella bambina che abbiamo visto.
I due riescono a fuggire e si stanziano a New Orleans dove si comportano come moderni Robin Hood.
A fine numero dopo un altro scontro con Tata Tempesta recupera la memoria e torna adulta (circa).

-268
Racconta in parallelo due storie, entrambe ambientate a Madripoor e aventi come antagonista la Mano: la prima, ambientata nel 1941, vede Wolverine e Cap America andare in soccorso di una Natasha Romanov/Vedova Nera bambina, mentre la secondo e’ nel tempo presente e vede Wolverine, Psylocke, Jubilee e Natasha cercare si catturare i capi della Mano.

-269
Rivediamo Rogue, di ritorno dal Seggio Periglioso. Una domanda mi sorge spontanea : se lei, come gli X Men, ha attraversato il Seggio Periglioso per poi ritornare, perché al contrario degli altri si ricorda tutto del suo passato?
Rogue apprende dalle parole di Val Cooper al telegiornale che Mystica e’ morta e ne rimane ovviamente sconvolta.
Si imbatte poi nei Reavers e in Carol Denvers (le due finalmente si sono scisse) e scappando grazie a Gateway finisce nella Terra Selvaggia, mentre Carol sull’Isola di Muir. Mentre questa viene plagiata dal Re Delle Ombre, che ha preso possesso dell’isola e dei suoi abitanti (Legione e Moira, con Polaris imprigionata), Rogue sopravvive per molto tempo con le sue sole forze (non ha più i poteri di Miss Marvel) nella Terra Selvaggia. A fine numero si scontra ancora una volta con Carol Denvers ma Magneto (anche lui nella terra selvaggia chissà perché) la salva.
Cylla è’ diventata la nuova Spaccacrani dei Reavers

-Classic x men 39
E’ ambientata nei primi anni di attività degli X Men (pre saga della Fenice Nera). Facciamo la conoscenza di Billy Briggs, un mutante psicopatico che decide di vendicarsi di Tempesta perché lo ha ignorato per strada.


-What the ?! 5
Due storie brevi molto grottesche, assurde, irriverenti e metanarrative

[Reece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this Omnibus was like stumbling into the X-men's awkward teenage years. We're sat snuggly between 2 iconic plot lines. The Inferno event which came before it, and The Dark Phoenix Saga which came after.

Is it as good as any of those well structured events? Well, no, it's a bit meandering and unfocused, as plotlines could be spread across many series (such was the style of the time). You get to see aspects of the X titles that would grow in greater focus in subsequent years, even if they're relatively meaningless in the moment.

But in these issues, there's still a lot of charm. It's a bygone era of comic book creation where every issue is its own story. Every issue is someone's first, after all. And by that merit, the writers and artists were able to have some fun with it. There's time travel, alien invasions, SHOPPING at the mall, teen angst, Wolverine's trouble past, the whole lot.

The message of the X-men isn't lost despite all this. They are still maligned as freaks and enemies despite being forces for good in a world that despises them. It is still very emblematic of America's civil rights movement.

I can see why the Uncanny era gripped fans so tightly at the time. Storm is a powerful female lead, Havok is struggling with a form of PTSD stemming from his relationship with Madelyne Pryor, and Jubilee is a classic teen POV character. Gambit and Jubilee make their debuts, and we get a peek at Rogue's now iconic Savage Land fit.

If nothing else, it was fascinating to read X-men stories that wouldn't necessarily enjoy much time in the limelight.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This omnibus features a collection of stories from the ‘golden era’ of X-men by writer Chris Claremont and superstar artists Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri.

What I liked -
These ‘classic’ tales are somewhat more grounded and entirely more random than more modern comics. The teams are wonderfully random too. The stories involving Wolverine, Jubilee, Psylocke and Rogue/ Carol Danvers are decent albeit brief.

What I disliked -
Having never read the ‘classic’ X-men I figured this was a good place to start. I was wrong. The stories are so convoluted and random that they become hard to follow and enjoy. The teams are random but in a way that is fun but all too often the writing makes it confusing as to when/ where everyone is/ what they’re doing. Jumping from team to team or character to character makes it hard to get involved with the story as it’s constantly changing.

Favourite issue/ moment -
Seeing Betsy’s transformation in to the Asian body was an interesting story that, given the time of writing, is mostly just glossed over.

2/5.

[Ferzem Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best part of Claremont's X-Men era, but definitely still has some great moments and is overall worth reading. It's honestly admirable to completely dismantle the entire team and just go in a new and unexplored direction, which results in some great stories and character moments. Also, even though it's titled and marketed for Jim Lee art, most of the work is by Marc Silvestri, which is honestly for the better as Silvestri, along with Dan Green as inker, produces some of the best artwork of his run to close off the 80s era X-Men with a bang.

Girl's and Boy's Night Out (#244-245): 7/10
Return of Master Mold (#246-247): 6/10
Dissolution (#248-252): 6/10
Transitory Period (#253-264, #268-269): 7/10
Remy and 'Ro (#265-267): 8/10

[Ian Kalman]

Some weird decisions (thanks editorial), but all in all Claremont’s writing is still incredible and I love almost every issue. A lot of the setup is amazing too. I really wish we got Claremont’s full vision without those damn tugs because I can guess exactly where he wanted to go and I was totally there to see it. I honestly so far think that Jim Lee isn’t entirely too impressive either, especially having Silvestri come before him. It’s crazy that this book has Lee’s name first considering he doesn’t really do that much on it. I think X-tinction agenda might change my opinion on Jim Lee though (hopefully)… GAMBIT! (rip Longshot).

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not some of Chris Claremont’s best writing here. It was sprawling. So there were good bits and lots of not so good bits. There wasn’t a strong overarching narrative here though. After Inferno, it felt like Claremont was just looking to destroy the X-Men in a rather chaotic way by using the Seige Perilous as a plot device to reset all of the major players and in many cases this makes no sense.

However there was some great art by Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee. In addition, we get the introduction of Gambit and more character development of Wolverine and Forge.

[dillen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really good stories in here, but also a couple of REALLY dull ones. Loved the issue with captain America and Wolverine as well as the arc in which Wolverine and Jubilee were working together. Psylocke’s arc was a bit weird, but also really fun and enjoyable. Overall, I liked it a whole lot more than uncanny omnibus 5. I would’ve given it 4 stars if it was just a bit more consistent. Here’s hoping that happens in vol 2!

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gems include 'Ladies' Night', 'Men's Night', 2parter of Nimrod killing Sen. Kelly's wife, the apparent death of Storm, 2part crucifixion of Wolverine, 3part formation of Muir Island X-Men, the 3part transformation of Psylocke, 4part Muir Island X-Men & X-Factor team-up, 3part debut of Gambit, Wolverine/Black Widow/Captain America flashback, & Magneto killing the Ms. Marvel from Rogue's mind

[Cameron H · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s such an odd time for the X-Men as the team is, for the most part, are separated, but it’s also the kind of experimentation you don’t see anymore in superhero comics and only possible due to Claremont’s decade plus tenure on the book.

Weird that Gambit’s powers were initially green and seemed to manifest from his eyeballs….

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dissolution and rebirth story arc. Is a problematic one. We have amazing art from Silverstri and Lee but we have a strange deconstructionist storyline that separates the team. Pysclocke is sexed up, as is Rogue, and colossus! A lot of iconic moments. Well worth the read.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's really good stuff in here (X-Men #268 has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid) but large chunks of this are very dull or very confusing or both. Claremont had too many irons in the fire at this point and the quality suffered.

[Bruno Poço · Rating 3 out of 5]

-dissolucao e renascimento do xmen
- fantastic o arco com so carrascos a perseguir wolverine (251) E X-men
- mais de Metade da arte é de silvestri
-tem bastantes momentos de humor mas tb de horror com morlocks e vampiros
- Estreia de gambit

[Bruno Carriço · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to give it 2 stars because it has some of the worst X-men stories I ever read.... but the art is pretty good, so im keeping it a 3 :)

[Jerome Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best x-men omnibus ive read, but lays the ground work for omnibus vol 2.

[Burton Olivier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gotta admit, this was kind of a slog to get through. It was more interesting than actually good and fun to read. And it felt like a weird chunk of X-Men to collect as a first volume.

[Gabriel Lamonica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It really sucks that the story is so bad, because the 90s X-Men art and designs are the greatest to ever do it

[Geoff Mclennan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the worst Xmen comics I’ve ever read. Most of this is pointless, weird and incoherent. The Acts Of Vengeance issues and the Madripoor stuff was cool but the rest was a slog.

[Levi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content of this omnibus is really quite a mixed bag: good but not great. As usual a lot of claremont's stuff it is solidly wordy and can be burdensome at times. Additionally, when you read this omnibus you really need to be able to step back and look at a larger picture because of the amount of seemingly non-related things happening in the story; of course helps to have prior knowledge of the events leading up to this in genosha and such. The thing that makes this a rather tough read is at any given moment you have 3-4 different story arcs going on at once and each issue alternates one arc; i had a hard time understanding exactly what was happening in a lot of cases, but after finishing the book and having a chance to step back, I feel like I have a better grasp of what exactly was happening. The story arcs with wolverine and psylocke are amazing, easily the best part of this entire book, and ultimately justified the purchase in my mind. The arcs with storm and gambit were also pretty solid, but as I alluded to earlier, some of the other issues were just absolutely a burden to read through (looking at you Nanny issues.)
Generally, I find the art to be great throughout the book and really enjoyed surveying it throughout the entire omnibus, so no worries there. Silvestri and Lee make somewhat lackluster arcs fun to read and make the great arcs into an absolute treat. There were moments where I just stopped reading because I was blown away by a panel, its that good.
Overall, an okay omnibus; I personally, am big on the story arcs and plots when I read comics; I love the art but tend to put more weight upon the story. The omnibus really is a roulette of good and bad arcs intertwined and thats why I would rate this 3.5 stars. If you are more drawn to artwork when you read, then I could see this being a 4 to 5 star omnibus, but for me it just wasn't everything I was hoping for. Additionally, i think the fact that the second volume begins to tie up some of the loose ends, so I would definitely recommend picking that up along with x-tinction agenda HC.
It looks like this is going out of print and naturally prices are rising. Personally, i would not pay more than cover price for this book.

TL;DR Superb artwork, classic xmen, hit or miss story arcs, good but not great.