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X-Men and Spider-Man: Time's Arrow #2
X-Men and Spider-Man: The Present
The X-Men and Spider-Man must join forces to stop destroying the multiverse in an adventure through the past, present, and future. Dinosaurs, knights, gunslingers, World War II heroes, old-friends-turned-enemies, and future versions of themselves await them...
293 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1998
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202 people want to read
About the author
Tom DeFalco
2,471 books106 followersTom DeFalco is an American comics writer and editor, well-known for his association with Marvel Comics and Spider-Man.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 12, 2022
So, Tom DeFalco is one of my top two favorite comic book writers of all time. He is tied with Peter David. I know that a lot of other comic book fans talk about Claremont, or Brian Michael Bendis, or Hickman, but none of them matter to me. DeFalco and Peter David are where it's at. Their stories shaped me as a child, and remain my favorites to this day.
Bearing that in mind, this novelization has a lot of the elements that I cherish. Attention to continuity. Deeper characterization of minor characters. A good balance of light-hearted moments and serious ones. Cameos from more obscure characters.
The plot is straight forward. The X-Men and Spider-Man are trying to stop Kang from destroying the timeline. Along the way, Spider-Man and Bishop were stranded in an alternate reality present, while various X-Men combos fight Spider-man villains to stop chronal incursions.
I have been meaning to read this trilogy for 12 years. I read the first book 10 years ago, and now I am finally getting around to finishing up the trilogy now that it's available in audiobook form. This book came out in 1998, in case you weren't aware. And it feels so, so good to come back to the 90s.
The X-Men are still a pretty standard team of friends who operate under the direction of Charles Xavier, functioning as a combination of teachers and superheroes. No one is dedicating decades of stories to shitting on Xavier to paint him as a villain. No one is trying to insist that new student characters are just as equally X-Men as the main team of adults.
Spider-man is still married to Mary Jane, and has yet to make a literal deal with the devil to retcon his marriage into an annulment. His personality is still good, talking about the importance of responsibility and protecting the innocent, without getting bogged down too much with his money troubles. He briefly acknowledged that he went to graduate school and cared about science, but we didn't get bogged down with storylines about Peter Parker becoming the CEO of a tech company.
It's a breath of fresh air, this blast from the past.
Meanwhile, we're dealing with an over-the-top threat from Kang, and along the way we have fight scenes with more minor villains. I can't believe so many pages were dedicated to Volcana, but DeFalco made it work. He gave her character depth (beyond just the fact she was a plus-sized villain from the 80s), and made her personality likable. I was particularly moved (if a little thrown) that Razorback was given such a position of prominence. An obscure mutant (never associated at all with the X-Men) was made into the most likable character of all. And I say that despite the inexplicable cameos from Speedball and Night Thrasher.
Maybe instead of reading new comics we should all just go back and appreciate blasts from the past like this.
Bearing that in mind, this novelization has a lot of the elements that I cherish. Attention to continuity. Deeper characterization of minor characters. A good balance of light-hearted moments and serious ones. Cameos from more obscure characters.
The plot is straight forward. The X-Men and Spider-Man are trying to stop Kang from destroying the timeline. Along the way, Spider-Man and Bishop were stranded in an alternate reality present, while various X-Men combos fight Spider-man villains to stop chronal incursions.
I have been meaning to read this trilogy for 12 years. I read the first book 10 years ago, and now I am finally getting around to finishing up the trilogy now that it's available in audiobook form. This book came out in 1998, in case you weren't aware. And it feels so, so good to come back to the 90s.
The X-Men are still a pretty standard team of friends who operate under the direction of Charles Xavier, functioning as a combination of teachers and superheroes. No one is dedicating decades of stories to shitting on Xavier to paint him as a villain. No one is trying to insist that new student characters are just as equally X-Men as the main team of adults.
Spider-man is still married to Mary Jane, and has yet to make a literal deal with the devil to retcon his marriage into an annulment. His personality is still good, talking about the importance of responsibility and protecting the innocent, without getting bogged down too much with his money troubles. He briefly acknowledged that he went to graduate school and cared about science, but we didn't get bogged down with storylines about Peter Parker becoming the CEO of a tech company.
It's a breath of fresh air, this blast from the past.
Meanwhile, we're dealing with an over-the-top threat from Kang, and along the way we have fight scenes with more minor villains. I can't believe so many pages were dedicated to Volcana, but DeFalco made it work. He gave her character depth (beyond just the fact she was a plus-sized villain from the 80s), and made her personality likable. I was particularly moved (if a little thrown) that Razorback was given such a position of prominence. An obscure mutant (never associated at all with the X-Men) was made into the most likable character of all. And I say that despite the inexplicable cameos from Speedball and Night Thrasher.
Maybe instead of reading new comics we should all just go back and appreciate blasts from the past like this.
May 6, 2025
Peter Parker goes full "It's a Wonderful Life" while assorted X-Men go on ridiculous side-quests worthy of an SNES game.
Jokes aside, this was fun, and honestly would make a decent basis for a video game- make it happen, Insomniac folks!
Jokes aside, this was fun, and honestly would make a decent basis for a video game- make it happen, Insomniac folks!
June 29, 2023
This is the best book in the Time’s Arrow trilogy. Spiderman and Bishop have returned to the wrong present—one where the X-Men teamed up with Senator Kelly to become his mutant enforcers and took over the nation. Yes, the X-Men are working side-by-side with the Sentinels to enforce a police state on the country and the only people still fighting for freedom are a handful of second-rate villains.
In this world, Spiderman never became a superhero. Instead, Peter Parker became a basketball star and weirdly, all the terrible things that happened to him in our world never happened. His life is awesome. His family is alive. Does this mean our Peter Parker made the wrong calls when he dedicated his life to fighting crime?
As Spiderman struggles to build a team that can overthrow the X-Men and free Earth’s heroes, Kang the Conqueror continues with his plans to take over all of reality. This is a fast paced and exciting continuation of the Times Arrow story.
In this world, Spiderman never became a superhero. Instead, Peter Parker became a basketball star and weirdly, all the terrible things that happened to him in our world never happened. His life is awesome. His family is alive. Does this mean our Peter Parker made the wrong calls when he dedicated his life to fighting crime?
As Spiderman struggles to build a team that can overthrow the X-Men and free Earth’s heroes, Kang the Conqueror continues with his plans to take over all of reality. This is a fast paced and exciting continuation of the Times Arrow story.
August 18, 2023
Even better than book 1. This one finds the X-Men chasing down basically time stream bombs on their on own timeline. The stakes feel higher, the atmosphere is darker and all around everything just feels amped up. Bishop & Spider-Man are stuck in the present on an alternate timeline which honestly could have an entire series all to itself. More great writing from DeFalco has me remembering why I loved this book series in the first place.
July 30, 2023
Great continuation of the Time Arrow trilogy, but I strongly dislike Adam Troy Castro's apparent need for gruesome and/or disturbing details--which makes sense from someone who specializes in horror. Otherwise, the majority of this second volume seems to be written by Tom DeFalco, so I had a hard time putting this book down at times and enjoyed the story.
October 18, 2022
Bishop and Cable. Alternate Reality. This is probably the best x-men novel I've read. Spider-Man I get it and he's ok, but I was mostly just excited to learn more about Bishop and Cable as they are rare in novel form.
December 12, 2023
This turned out to be a better story than I was expecting. We get a bit deeper into Peter Parker/Spider-Man's psychological makeup, and get some real action as the X-Men and Spidy work to stop the universe from disappearing.
July 16, 2024
After finishing this, I realised just how half-baked the first book is. Now we actually got some meat to chew on, even though there were times I was like "that's it?".
Hoping we get some more Spider-Man and Bishop moments in the third book.
Hoping we get some more Spider-Man and Bishop moments in the third book.
May 27, 2025
Fast paced and brimming with multiversal mayhem, the middle chapter like all good middle chapter really seems to peak. Though the immense amount of Marvel characters featured here might leave the uninitiated reader a bit lost, it is an absolute treat for those in the know.
June 1, 2021
Probably the darkest chapter of the Time’s Arrow trilogy, especially for any readers familiar with the characters and how their lives are “supposed” to be in the present.
April 2, 2022
Part two: cameos upon cameos. Always a sucker for alternate timeline possibilities.
December 12, 2023
Again this middle book captures the feel of classic 80s -90s Marvel Crossovers.
April 28, 2024
I liked this book much better than the first in the series. Definitely “It’s a Wonderful Life” vibes, and I loved the way the revised Peter Parker was handled
September 25, 2024
This one drags a little, with an emphasis on constant action over character moments. Also, a strong central arc for Spider-man doesn't quite cancel out the absurdity of Kang's evil plan.
August 11, 2024
Book 2 was boring and felt like nothing happened over all plot wise. To be honest it was a struggle to power through and I am hoping it resolves its self in book 3.
April 21, 2015
Okay, first, big-time spoiler warnings. Anyone who is actually planing on reading this trilogy based on my first review should not read this beforehand. The reveal of the cliffhanger from the last book will be inevitably revealed very quickly here.
Last time we ended with Bishop and Spiderman trying desperately to get back to their time after a trip to the old west. They use their time travel device at the last moment and get back to present day New York... But not their present day New York! They're trapped now in an alternate universe where the XMen are government sponsored manhunters, chasing down any and all super-powered beings!
This story is reminiscent of House of M, a story that took place over a decade later. It's also the main focus of the novel and this review, and for good reason. It's thrilling and entertaining, and it's status in an alternate universe allows the AUTHOR to take real risks and put characters in real danger.
Also continuing from the plot of last issue, Cable's long lost wife is the second in command of a freedom force in this reality. The leader is, almost naturally, Magneto.
The other characters from the first novel appear again as well, but it seems even more filled-in than the first part. Having failed in his goal of destroying many past realities in the first novel, Kang has sent his "time bombs" to different locations in the present, and various XMen must again split off into teams to stop them. While it was necessary to involve them in the previous book, I feel this 'middle' chapter would have been better served focusing on Peter and Bishop, with the other XMen saved for part 3. Also, traveling to different locals in the same time is much leas interesting and doesn't allow the cameos that the first volume provided.
So back to the main plot. There are some great scenes between Bishop and Peter as Peter relates a bit of his origin over coffee and Bishop gains respect for him. Like I said in my review of part 1, these two haven't gotten a lot of time together over the years, and it's truly a missed opportunity. They form a buddy cop dynamic, with Spidey being the wisecracker and Bishop the straight man. The duo quickly runs afoul of Magneto and joins his crew against the XMen. There are some hilarious moments as we see some of the misfits that make up Magneto's team, but that initial disbelief fades when we get to see how impressive these Z-listers function against a common enemy. It ends with a climatic battle for the fate of their world... A world that is then destroyed by one of Kang's time bombs after Alyah, Bishop and Spiderman escape through a time portal.
The novel ends with our heroes back home and a stunning revelation about Kang's true plan, which (once again) I'll get into next time.
This one is good again. While not perfect, it's still very good. I'm teetering between a 3 and a 4, and in these situations I like to give the book the benefit of the doubt. 4/5. A solid second chapter.
Last time we ended with Bishop and Spiderman trying desperately to get back to their time after a trip to the old west. They use their time travel device at the last moment and get back to present day New York... But not their present day New York! They're trapped now in an alternate universe where the XMen are government sponsored manhunters, chasing down any and all super-powered beings!
This story is reminiscent of House of M, a story that took place over a decade later. It's also the main focus of the novel and this review, and for good reason. It's thrilling and entertaining, and it's status in an alternate universe allows the AUTHOR to take real risks and put characters in real danger.
Also continuing from the plot of last issue, Cable's long lost wife is the second in command of a freedom force in this reality. The leader is, almost naturally, Magneto.
The other characters from the first novel appear again as well, but it seems even more filled-in than the first part. Having failed in his goal of destroying many past realities in the first novel, Kang has sent his "time bombs" to different locations in the present, and various XMen must again split off into teams to stop them. While it was necessary to involve them in the previous book, I feel this 'middle' chapter would have been better served focusing on Peter and Bishop, with the other XMen saved for part 3. Also, traveling to different locals in the same time is much leas interesting and doesn't allow the cameos that the first volume provided.
So back to the main plot. There are some great scenes between Bishop and Peter as Peter relates a bit of his origin over coffee and Bishop gains respect for him. Like I said in my review of part 1, these two haven't gotten a lot of time together over the years, and it's truly a missed opportunity. They form a buddy cop dynamic, with Spidey being the wisecracker and Bishop the straight man. The duo quickly runs afoul of Magneto and joins his crew against the XMen. There are some hilarious moments as we see some of the misfits that make up Magneto's team, but that initial disbelief fades when we get to see how impressive these Z-listers function against a common enemy. It ends with a climatic battle for the fate of their world... A world that is then destroyed by one of Kang's time bombs after Alyah, Bishop and Spiderman escape through a time portal.
The novel ends with our heroes back home and a stunning revelation about Kang's true plan, which (once again) I'll get into next time.
This one is good again. While not perfect, it's still very good. I'm teetering between a 3 and a 4, and in these situations I like to give the book the benefit of the doubt. 4/5. A solid second chapter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2015
I got the Time's Arrow Trilogy from a library book sale. I liked the first book better than this one. In the story, the villain Kang send arrows throughout time and Spider Man teams with the X-Men to destroy them. At the end of the first book, Spidey and Bishop are trapped in version of New York that isn't Spiderman's timeline.
In this book we find out that the X-Men in this timeline are working with the government and heroes like The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and The Avengers are all captured and are menaces to society. Magneto and other "villains" are hiding underground and are going to take over (simple plot line, but there is more to this) and free the heroes. Spidey and Bishop agree to help in order to be sent back to their timeline (Magneto has one of the Core Placements from the previous book).
Spiderman finds out that in this world Peter Parker is a star basketball player and is married with children, but not to Mary Jane and ends up going to his house to talk to him about joining the revolution. Meanwhile Wolverine, Storm, Beast, and Iceman are trying to find Spidey and Bishop, while the two meet this timeline's Cyclops, Beast,and other X-Men who are working for the government.
There is a lot going on and towards the end, it gets a little confusing on which timeline X Men are which. There are too many name dropping of characters, including Howard The Duck, for me. I am not sure why there was a trilogy with 3 separate co authors 9the only stead one is Tom Defalco). The writing style is different from the first book, which I'd rather have. But then again, I only paid a quarter for these books so it was still a decent read. I will read the last just to see how it ends up, but this one lagged for me.
In this book we find out that the X-Men in this timeline are working with the government and heroes like The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and The Avengers are all captured and are menaces to society. Magneto and other "villains" are hiding underground and are going to take over (simple plot line, but there is more to this) and free the heroes. Spidey and Bishop agree to help in order to be sent back to their timeline (Magneto has one of the Core Placements from the previous book).
Spiderman finds out that in this world Peter Parker is a star basketball player and is married with children, but not to Mary Jane and ends up going to his house to talk to him about joining the revolution. Meanwhile Wolverine, Storm, Beast, and Iceman are trying to find Spidey and Bishop, while the two meet this timeline's Cyclops, Beast,and other X-Men who are working for the government.
There is a lot going on and towards the end, it gets a little confusing on which timeline X Men are which. There are too many name dropping of characters, including Howard The Duck, for me. I am not sure why there was a trilogy with 3 separate co authors 9the only stead one is Tom Defalco). The writing style is different from the first book, which I'd rather have. But then again, I only paid a quarter for these books so it was still a decent read. I will read the last just to see how it ends up, but this one lagged for me.
October 22, 2009
Thwarting Kang’s evil “time-arrow” scheme to destroy the past in the first book, our heroes now travel to the corners of the globe to stop his other devices from eliminating the present. Of course, he has hired goons in place to protect them. Wolverine and Gambit face Electro and Hydro-Man, Storm and Iceman fight the Wrecking Crew, Cyclops and Jean Grey face Speed-Demon and the Taskmaster, and the Beast and Cable tussle with the Rhino and Volcana. Meanwhile, Spider-Man and Bishop are trapped in an alternate Earth where the X-Men are working for the fascist government to imprison all other super-powered beings, good and bad. The duo team-up with Magneto and the last of the unlikely rebels left (villains like Sandman, as well as a couple of the New Warriors) for a last-ditch attempt to break everyone out.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews