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X-Men and Spider-Man: Time's Arrow #1
X-Men and Spider-Man: The Past
The all-new team-up trilogy.
Spiderman: Marvel's most popular hero
X-Men: Marvel's most popular super-team
Spiderman: Marvel's most popular hero
X-Men: Marvel's most popular super-team
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1998
5 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Tom DeFalco
2,491 books110 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 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 29, 2025
Mostly a series of (un)fortunate cameos by recognizable Marvel characters scattered throughout the ages. Bishop acting as Spidey’s straight man in the Old West plot thread featuring the Two Gun Kid was probably the most amusing portion, Ice Man ignoring a bar full of unaccompanied females to play pool with some old dudes in 1944 was also very fun on a meta level.
Oh, no reason younger Bobby. No reason at all...
Oh, no reason younger Bobby. No reason at all...
April 21, 2015
The the mid-to-late 1990s Marvel Comics, at the height of the comics boom, started publishing a series of young adult novels based on their characters. The novels featured a variety of characters and settings, and very often told engaging stories that took advantage of it's prose format to tell stories that would not have been able to be told in funnybook format. They also had their own continuity that was related to -but separate from- the regular 616 Marvel Universe. This put the books in an odd predicament. They are affected by current Marvel continuity, but cannot affect it themselves. At the end of each story everything has to be reset back to the way it was when the stories began. Whether that is a good or bad thing, we'll try to decipher.
On to this particular story. This is the first part of a three part crossover between Spider-Man and the X-Men called the Time's Arrow Trilogy, called (appropriately) The Past.
The story begins with Kang (interestingly an Avengers villain rather than an Xmen or Spiderman villain) as he prepares an assault on time. You see at this point in the Marvel timeline, Kang's lover Ravanna has died and he has been searching alternate timelines for a replacement... A reality where he died instead of her. However, the search is futile, as his constant traveling creates additional timelines that then make his search even more difficult. So he decides to send "time bombs" to various points in history with the hope of destroying entire timelines at once, thus narrowing his search ground (and killing trillions of people in the process). This is great. It gives the villain a clear goal, human emotions to make him relatable, and some very real stakes for our heroes. It also creates a mirror for one of our heroes, Cable, who happens to be trying to be searching the timelines for his lost wife Alyah. This leads to Cable discovering Kang's plot a recruiting the XMen.
Cut to Spider-Man (actually Peter Parker) who is at a museum opening with his wife (this is pre-One More Day) Mary Jane. Criminals try to rob the exhibit (naturally) and Spidey stops them, but smashes a carriage from the wild west open and reveals a note from himself with a spider-tracer attached to it saying that he's stuck in 1896 with Bishop! He goes to the X-Mansion to investigate, hears of Kang's plot, and decides to help. This seems hooky, but it is well handled. There are a lot of well placed metaphysical conversations between Peter and MJ, and he genuinely debates going to see the X Men for fear of the notes prophesied doom coming true.
From this point the novel breaks into four different storylines, with teams of two people each going to different time periods to stop the time bombs. The bad here is that it becomes very formulaic, with a duo traveling to a time period, meeting some obstacle, then overcoming it. The stories switch between the different settings at predictable intervals to (hopefully) keep the readers interest. The GOOD here is that they don't just visit any old time periods, they visit the time periods of other Marvel characters. Gambit and Iceman visit the World War II era and meet the Human Torch and Toro. Wolverine and Beast visit a prehistoric world and meet Devil Dinosaur. Cable and Storm travel to midevil times and run into the original Black Knight, and Spiderman and Bishop travel to the old west to teamup with the TwoGun Kid. (Rouge is conspicuously missing from the lineup, I believe she was absent from the team at the time. )
The main story (arguably) is Spiderman and Bishop, and I would like to applaud the writer for not automatically thrusting Wolverine into the spotlight. Spiderman and Bishop are two characters not seen together much in the Marvel U, and this novel makes me regret that. I think an opportunity was missed. The two act like they belong in a buddy cop movie, and some of their interactions are laugh out loud funny.
Anyway, each teams diffuses their bomb and return back to the present, except Spiderman and Bishop. Their homing device was destroyed in battle, and now both are stuck in 1896. Cable sends them back a time travel device, but something goes astray in the journey... And... Well, I won't ruin it for you, but it's one of the better cliffhangers I've ever seen in a comic-related work and leads into the next novel. Great stuff.
With all the praise above, it should be no surprise that I'm awarding this novel 5/5. It's sharp and witty and well plotted, and even though we know everything will be okay it still has genuine drama, which is hard in this type of work. This is great stuff, right up with What Savage Beast in terms of scope and merit. A must for Marvel fans.
On to this particular story. This is the first part of a three part crossover between Spider-Man and the X-Men called the Time's Arrow Trilogy, called (appropriately) The Past.
The story begins with Kang (interestingly an Avengers villain rather than an Xmen or Spiderman villain) as he prepares an assault on time. You see at this point in the Marvel timeline, Kang's lover Ravanna has died and he has been searching alternate timelines for a replacement... A reality where he died instead of her. However, the search is futile, as his constant traveling creates additional timelines that then make his search even more difficult. So he decides to send "time bombs" to various points in history with the hope of destroying entire timelines at once, thus narrowing his search ground (and killing trillions of people in the process). This is great. It gives the villain a clear goal, human emotions to make him relatable, and some very real stakes for our heroes. It also creates a mirror for one of our heroes, Cable, who happens to be trying to be searching the timelines for his lost wife Alyah. This leads to Cable discovering Kang's plot a recruiting the XMen.
Cut to Spider-Man (actually Peter Parker) who is at a museum opening with his wife (this is pre-One More Day) Mary Jane. Criminals try to rob the exhibit (naturally) and Spidey stops them, but smashes a carriage from the wild west open and reveals a note from himself with a spider-tracer attached to it saying that he's stuck in 1896 with Bishop! He goes to the X-Mansion to investigate, hears of Kang's plot, and decides to help. This seems hooky, but it is well handled. There are a lot of well placed metaphysical conversations between Peter and MJ, and he genuinely debates going to see the X Men for fear of the notes prophesied doom coming true.
From this point the novel breaks into four different storylines, with teams of two people each going to different time periods to stop the time bombs. The bad here is that it becomes very formulaic, with a duo traveling to a time period, meeting some obstacle, then overcoming it. The stories switch between the different settings at predictable intervals to (hopefully) keep the readers interest. The GOOD here is that they don't just visit any old time periods, they visit the time periods of other Marvel characters. Gambit and Iceman visit the World War II era and meet the Human Torch and Toro. Wolverine and Beast visit a prehistoric world and meet Devil Dinosaur. Cable and Storm travel to midevil times and run into the original Black Knight, and Spiderman and Bishop travel to the old west to teamup with the TwoGun Kid. (Rouge is conspicuously missing from the lineup, I believe she was absent from the team at the time. )
The main story (arguably) is Spiderman and Bishop, and I would like to applaud the writer for not automatically thrusting Wolverine into the spotlight. Spiderman and Bishop are two characters not seen together much in the Marvel U, and this novel makes me regret that. I think an opportunity was missed. The two act like they belong in a buddy cop movie, and some of their interactions are laugh out loud funny.
Anyway, each teams diffuses their bomb and return back to the present, except Spiderman and Bishop. Their homing device was destroyed in battle, and now both are stuck in 1896. Cable sends them back a time travel device, but something goes astray in the journey... And... Well, I won't ruin it for you, but it's one of the better cliffhangers I've ever seen in a comic-related work and leads into the next novel. Great stuff.
With all the praise above, it should be no surprise that I'm awarding this novel 5/5. It's sharp and witty and well plotted, and even though we know everything will be okay it still has genuine drama, which is hard in this type of work. This is great stuff, right up with What Savage Beast in terms of scope and merit. A must for Marvel fans.
August 20, 2024
Surprisingly fun and well constructed for what it is.
September 7, 2025
it was so fun to read about spiderman and the xmen in novel format, but i did find this slightly boring at times. also there wasn't enough remy!! i'm very excited to read the second book though (3.25 ⭐)
October 13, 2022
I stumbled across this one. This is not your typical X-Men or Spiderman novel. The Disney Loki series has me interested in Kang. Also, this one has Cable and Bishop who are my favorites from childhood and the stories actually include them, so I'll take it. The story itself is pretty simple, but I'm curious as to what the trilogy holds.
May 25, 2017
"captivating, surprisingly scientific."
June 1, 2021
This story is a fun team up between Spidey and the X-Men, but is mostly memorable to me for making Kang an interesting villain.
October 6, 2025
a nice cozy read for a camping trip. chair out, legs extended, watching the boats go by on the st claire river, looking down every so often to read spider-man and the x-men getting up to time travel antics with other marvel deep cuts. ever want to see spider-man meet the two gun kid? cable vs morgan le fay? well, here you go.
June 1, 2023
Man, I know this trilogy and all these books were written for young adults but that’s exactly what I was when I first read them 25 years ago. Just finished book one for like the 5th or 6th time but it’s been at least 15 or more years since my last read and I still loved it.
The story of Spider-Man teaming with the X-Men to prevent Kang The Conqueror from destroying timelines is totally a 90s thing but it’s completely inspired and told well.
The story of Spider-Man teaming with the X-Men to prevent Kang The Conqueror from destroying timelines is totally a 90s thing but it’s completely inspired and told well.
June 15, 2015
I got this book at a library book sale, and was also surprised that they had all three books in this "Time's Arrow" Trilogy.
Peter Parker ,a long with his wife Mary Jane, are at a museum and Peter sees a photograph from the old west that looks like Peter and discover a plate with a message on it. Parker as Spiderman goes and seek help from the X-Men and joins them traveling back in time to different eras in groups of two to destroy arrows that are disrupting people's time lines. The groups go to different time spans: Spidey and Bishop to the Wild West, Wolverine and Beast to a Prehistoric time, Storm and Cable are in a Medieval time, and Iceman and Gambit show up in the 1940s New York. There are several other cameos in the novel, from The Human Torch and The Black Knight and Morgan LeFey.
I won't give spoilers, but since this is a Part One in a Three Part book, something does go wrong.
The writing was pretty good, and the story kept flowing, keeping the reader engaged. There was a few small parts that dragged for this reader but it did not affect the total flow of the story arc.
Marvel fans would like this book. I personally enjoyed the sections with The Beast and Wolverine the best.
Peter Parker ,a long with his wife Mary Jane, are at a museum and Peter sees a photograph from the old west that looks like Peter and discover a plate with a message on it. Parker as Spiderman goes and seek help from the X-Men and joins them traveling back in time to different eras in groups of two to destroy arrows that are disrupting people's time lines. The groups go to different time spans: Spidey and Bishop to the Wild West, Wolverine and Beast to a Prehistoric time, Storm and Cable are in a Medieval time, and Iceman and Gambit show up in the 1940s New York. There are several other cameos in the novel, from The Human Torch and The Black Knight and Morgan LeFey.
I won't give spoilers, but since this is a Part One in a Three Part book, something does go wrong.
The writing was pretty good, and the story kept flowing, keeping the reader engaged. There was a few small parts that dragged for this reader but it did not affect the total flow of the story arc.
Marvel fans would like this book. I personally enjoyed the sections with The Beast and Wolverine the best.
March 23, 2022
Revisiting these books I read as a kid. Fun, quick popcorn read with some surprising cameos.
June 12, 2023
Spiderman and the X-Men join forces in the first book in a trilogy where the ultimate villain (still operating behind the scenes) is Kang the Conqueror. The story opens with a robbery at the museum where Spiderman discovers a nineteenth century photograph of himself with a message asking for help. Since Bishop from the X-Men is also in the photograph, he goes to the X-Men who have, with the help of Cable, just discovered that four “packages” have been delivered into the past and each one has the potential to wipe out the timeline. So, the heroes divide up into four splinter-groups and go after the packages, setting up four more team ups.
This is the real fun of the story. Marvel has a large cast of almost never seen heroes—many of whom probably date back to the time before they made their mark as a superhero comic company. So, we get to see Two Gun Kid, Devil Dinosaur, The Black Knight, and the original Human Torch join the action. Each team suffers a setback, but unsurprisingly go on to basically save the timeline—for now. Spiderman and Bishop have a little extra trouble getting home, setting up the next novel.
This story fits into the better half of the string of novels Marvel produced back in the 1990s. The action is solid and the characterization pretty recognizable. When I read it the first time back when it was originally published, it was my first introduction to Bishop—a character I still don’t feel like I understand very well—but other than that, it’s a fine story.
This is the real fun of the story. Marvel has a large cast of almost never seen heroes—many of whom probably date back to the time before they made their mark as a superhero comic company. So, we get to see Two Gun Kid, Devil Dinosaur, The Black Knight, and the original Human Torch join the action. Each team suffers a setback, but unsurprisingly go on to basically save the timeline—for now. Spiderman and Bishop have a little extra trouble getting home, setting up the next novel.
This story fits into the better half of the string of novels Marvel produced back in the 1990s. The action is solid and the characterization pretty recognizable. When I read it the first time back when it was originally published, it was my first introduction to Bishop—a character I still don’t feel like I understand very well—but other than that, it’s a fine story.
December 7, 2023
What a great start to the trilogy. Perfectly captures the feel of the comics from the time it was written. It is awesome to have a story of the X-Men & Spider-Man vs Kang which you don't see cross paths often.
July 28, 2024
Book 1 shows promise even though it presents a plain. I look forward to seeing where the series goes, but overall it was a quick and easy read. I don't have much experience reading about Kang the Konqueror, so this series will hopefully fill some of that gap.
April 6, 2022
[3.5⭐] Pretty good start of the trilogy.
March 21, 2023
Slow start and overall just not a great story. There's a lot going on and not enough detail. Character however are really good. My favorite part was when spidey tried sneaking into the xmen compound.
December 8, 2023
Other than a very dated description of dinosaurs, this story holds up fairly well.
March 13, 2024
A fun story for a simple Marvel fan or major Marvel. Not bad, not good, but a basic super hero story thats fun to follow.
April 28, 2024
Bishop is one of my least favorite heroes, so Spider-Man’s time travel with him to the past was uninspiring. However, getting to see the Two-Gun Kid in action was a great addition.
April 6, 2025
It's people in tights, but if you like this particular pairing, Friendly Neighborhood and Children of the Atom types will like this trilogy. It's pure story and spins a web of fun.
June 12, 2009
Kang (usually a Fantastic Four/Avengers villain) sends four "arrows" into the past to destroy alternate timelines, which would make millions of people die, or something. Cable spots the discrepancy and heads to the Xavier mansion, as does Spiderman, who has found an antique with one of his tracers mysteriously attatched. The X-men split up and use a time machine to try and thwart Kang's dastardly plan. Spidey and Bishop go to the old west, Cable and Storm to Arthurian England, Wolverine and Beast to prehistoric times, and Gambit and Iceman to WWII-era NYC. Stuff happens and then it's to be continued.
June 18, 2011
You know what...? Not bad!
The writing was great and getting to indulge in fandom is always a win.
The writing was great and getting to indulge in fandom is always a win.
March 10, 2015
I think that it was a good spider-man book and people that would like it would be spider-man or x-men fans and comic book readers it was a wonderful comic book series.
June 22, 2014
Old Memories, great memories.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews