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Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #9
Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 9
By 1982, the Uncanny X-Men had become the biggest franchise in comic books. Chris Claremont's writing rose to find perhaps his most poignant and challenging expression of the mutant metaphor in "God Loves, Man Kills," while his work with Frank Miller on Wolverine skyrocketed the character's popularity. With the culmination of Paul Smith's classic run - featuring the growing romance between Kitty Pryde and Colossus, the first appearance of Callisto and the Morlocks, Rogue's debut as an X-Man. COLLECTING: Uncanny X-Men (1981) 168-175, X-Men Annual (1970) 7, Marvel Graphic Novel (1982) 5, Wolverine (1982) 1-5
399 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2015
27 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
Chris Claremont
3,280 books888 followersChris 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 14, 2024
The mid-80’s were some good years for the X-Men. Claremont was maybe at his best and produced great storylines.
Here we see introduced Callisto and most of all Madelyne Pryor, a seed for one major cross-over later.
It’s action-packed with great character development (Wolvie, Storm and her infamous mohawk and Rogue to a lesser extent) and surprises- has the Dark Phoenix returned?
The series is mostly pencilled by Paul Smith adding elegance to the action.
This volume also contains the famous "God Loves, man kills" graphic novel, a somber and beautiful plea for tolerance. Not much of a fan of Brent Anderson but the message still stands loud and clear.
Wolverine vol.1 is also included. Dark and violent, full of ninjas... and Frank Miller on the drawing board! What’s not to love?
I’ll dismiss the Annual 7, as most annuals. Supposedly funny and ultimately useless.
Here we see introduced Callisto and most of all Madelyne Pryor, a seed for one major cross-over later.
It’s action-packed with great character development (Wolvie, Storm and her infamous mohawk and Rogue to a lesser extent) and surprises- has the Dark Phoenix returned?
The series is mostly pencilled by Paul Smith adding elegance to the action.
This volume also contains the famous "God Loves, man kills" graphic novel, a somber and beautiful plea for tolerance. Not much of a fan of Brent Anderson but the message still stands loud and clear.
Wolverine vol.1 is also included. Dark and violent, full of ninjas... and Frank Miller on the drawing board! What’s not to love?
I’ll dismiss the Annual 7, as most annuals. Supposedly funny and ultimately useless.
October 23, 2024
More excellent peak-period Claremont X-Men, pencilled (mostly) by the great Paul Smith, whose work I adore.
In this volume we get the arrival of Lockheed, Rogue’s addition to the ranks, Wolverine and Cyclops’ weddings (they don’t marry each other but I’d pay good money to see that) and the beginning of the tragedy of Madelyne Prior. Solid gold.
4.6 stars, rounded up.
In this volume we get the arrival of Lockheed, Rogue’s addition to the ranks, Wolverine and Cyclops’ weddings (they don’t marry each other but I’d pay good money to see that) and the beginning of the tragedy of Madelyne Prior. Solid gold.
4.6 stars, rounded up.
December 1, 2022
Marvel Masterworks has an admirable policy of including side titles which slot into the main anthologised comic's run. In the X-Men's case this has usually meant weird little bonus stories from mags like Bizarre Adventures, but with Vol 9 the reader hits the bonus material jackpot: as well as the usual 8 issues and an annual there's the oversize God Loves, Man Kills graphic novel and the entire Wolverine mini-series with Frank Miller. Both of these extras regularly crop up on lists of best X-Men - and in the case of Wolverine, best Marvel - stories ever, and in Wolverine's case it's entirely deserved.
So this is quite the generous package even before you factor in that the collected issues are the bulk of Paul Smith's run, a visual high point for the comic. Frank Miller's ability to choreograph and design an action sequence is legendary, and though Smith is better known for his mouthwatering smooth lines he's a terrific visual storyteller in his own right. Claremont knows what he's got to work with here, and - very uncharacteristically - shuts the hell up for the comics' most thrilling, and consequential, sequences.
First, though, God Loves Man Kills. This is one of Marvel's line of original graphic novels, published outside the Comics Code and distributed away from the newsstand - the line launched in 1982 with the "Death Of Captain Marvel" OGN which established a tone of Serious Stories for Mature Readers. As the line went on that promise was more honoured in the breach, but God Loves.. keeps it. In the opening pages you've got Kitty dropping the N-bomb and mutant children being lynched (the mutant kids are also Black, just to ram home what Claremont - solemnly billed as "Christopher Claremont" - is going for here).
When I first read GLMK, years after publication as a long-term X-Men reader, I hated it. It seemed like a clumsy Very Special Episode of a comic, and represented a well the comics had gone back to endlessly to the point where its ideas felt hackneyed. And fair play, younger me - this isn't subtle, and inspired a whole lot of X-Men stories and antagonists which were even less so. But reading it in 1990 or whenever is a different experience from reading it in 2022, where people preaching open hate and stoking fear against minorities is only a click away. The best parts in GLMK are where Claremont cuts away from heroes and their enemies and checks into the response of the cops, security guys, bystanders, and media creeps on the fringes of the action. Their equivocation, confusion, and apathy still feels real and it's fitting that those characters are the ones who resolve the story.
Also, in a wider re-read, God Loves... feels fresher - the comic grappling with something that's been bubbling away in the background for a while, mostly ignored. "Days Of Future Past" established anti-mutant prejudice as the books' ultimate future threat. God Loves, Man Kills makes it an inescapable part of the comic's present, while underlining that it's not something a group of superheroes can actually fight. God Loves Man Kills sets the tone for the next several years, if not decades, of X-Men comics. Ultimately that's a problem for the line, but for now its treatment of prejudice is a jump forward from the standard approach in 60s and 70s comics, where punching out the bigots solves the problem all too neatly.
The deepening of Magneto and the arrival of the New Mutants made it inevitable that the X-Men would tell more stories about the mutant condition: God Loves Man Kills is Claremont jumping in at the deep end, and the next two X-Men stories find him on glorious form, embracing those possibilities. Both the Morlock and Rogue stories are asking an obvious question - how do the 'bad' mutants fit into what we now have to call "Xavier's dream"?
The Morlock story is immensely flawed as an answer to this question. It's also the best X-Men story since "Days Of Future Past". Maybe it's the best ever. The cast are completely out of their depth, in a situation whose implications they don't fully understand, and the way out of it requires Storm to cross a huge personal rubicon. Storm's knife fight with Callisto is a bit of all-time comics storytelling from Smith - the X-Men's equivalent of Spider-Man lifting that heavy thing. And it has the impact it does because Claremont's invested so much into both making sure we know that Storm is a person who wouldn't do this and making it believable when she does. Claremont is "good at characterisation" not because his characters have different tics or speech patterns - increasingly from now on, they don't - but because he knows when to let them change and how to sell it when the change is dramatic.
The X-Men aren't the only ones out of their depth with the Morlocks, though. They're the first sign that the implications of the mutant identity concept are too big for the comic. Judging by the art, the Morlocks instantly represent the majority of mutants we've seen in the series, living literally underneath Professor X's feet. Either he's an idiot and doesn't know about them, or his mutant politics deliberately excludes them. Neither are a great look. Storm inherits a separatist mutant army and her instructions are "stay living underground but be nicer to the humans". These problems make a story in which the X-Men are only sort of the heroes richer, but they're a reminder that the more the comic leans into the "mutant metaphor", the trickier that metaphor is to keep hold of.
Rogue's introduction is a more straightforward success. The Morlocks are a wider narrative problem; Rogue in the X-Men is only an issue for the characters, and Claremont is much surer-footed there. Throwing this malicious minor character straight into the team is a wonderful bit of trolling (so good Marvel tried it several times after Rogue, never to similar effect). But Claremont also knows the readers need to quickly love Rogue for the move to stick, and the Wolverine/Rogue team-up in 172-173 is yet another high. It's the peak of Smith's work on X-Men: the slick looks, great clothes and neon of 80s Tokyo are perfect for him, as is Rogue's awesome new wave hair. Smith sets the standard for 80s X-Men: he's The Face to John Byrne's NME.
(Smith also goes toe-to-toe with Frank Miller in terms of katana fight scenes - no mean feat. But this review is already stupidly long without covering the Wolvie mini properly: it's in here, it still bangs, the barrel-of-ninjas fight scene became as much of a cliche as the anti-mutant firebrand but so what)
Smith's final story is the climax of the Madelyne Pryor arc, with the comic acting like it's putting the Dark Phoenix saga behind it while still playing the hits one last time. There's no hint of the shitshow Madelyne's story will become: even so, this isn't a story which works well after you know the reveal. It all looks great, but in a volume so furiously dedicated to reinventing the X-Men (again), this indulgent sequel can only be an anti-climax.
So this is quite the generous package even before you factor in that the collected issues are the bulk of Paul Smith's run, a visual high point for the comic. Frank Miller's ability to choreograph and design an action sequence is legendary, and though Smith is better known for his mouthwatering smooth lines he's a terrific visual storyteller in his own right. Claremont knows what he's got to work with here, and - very uncharacteristically - shuts the hell up for the comics' most thrilling, and consequential, sequences.
First, though, God Loves Man Kills. This is one of Marvel's line of original graphic novels, published outside the Comics Code and distributed away from the newsstand - the line launched in 1982 with the "Death Of Captain Marvel" OGN which established a tone of Serious Stories for Mature Readers. As the line went on that promise was more honoured in the breach, but God Loves.. keeps it. In the opening pages you've got Kitty dropping the N-bomb and mutant children being lynched (the mutant kids are also Black, just to ram home what Claremont - solemnly billed as "Christopher Claremont" - is going for here).
When I first read GLMK, years after publication as a long-term X-Men reader, I hated it. It seemed like a clumsy Very Special Episode of a comic, and represented a well the comics had gone back to endlessly to the point where its ideas felt hackneyed. And fair play, younger me - this isn't subtle, and inspired a whole lot of X-Men stories and antagonists which were even less so. But reading it in 1990 or whenever is a different experience from reading it in 2022, where people preaching open hate and stoking fear against minorities is only a click away. The best parts in GLMK are where Claremont cuts away from heroes and their enemies and checks into the response of the cops, security guys, bystanders, and media creeps on the fringes of the action. Their equivocation, confusion, and apathy still feels real and it's fitting that those characters are the ones who resolve the story.
Also, in a wider re-read, God Loves... feels fresher - the comic grappling with something that's been bubbling away in the background for a while, mostly ignored. "Days Of Future Past" established anti-mutant prejudice as the books' ultimate future threat. God Loves, Man Kills makes it an inescapable part of the comic's present, while underlining that it's not something a group of superheroes can actually fight. God Loves Man Kills sets the tone for the next several years, if not decades, of X-Men comics. Ultimately that's a problem for the line, but for now its treatment of prejudice is a jump forward from the standard approach in 60s and 70s comics, where punching out the bigots solves the problem all too neatly.
The deepening of Magneto and the arrival of the New Mutants made it inevitable that the X-Men would tell more stories about the mutant condition: God Loves Man Kills is Claremont jumping in at the deep end, and the next two X-Men stories find him on glorious form, embracing those possibilities. Both the Morlock and Rogue stories are asking an obvious question - how do the 'bad' mutants fit into what we now have to call "Xavier's dream"?
The Morlock story is immensely flawed as an answer to this question. It's also the best X-Men story since "Days Of Future Past". Maybe it's the best ever. The cast are completely out of their depth, in a situation whose implications they don't fully understand, and the way out of it requires Storm to cross a huge personal rubicon. Storm's knife fight with Callisto is a bit of all-time comics storytelling from Smith - the X-Men's equivalent of Spider-Man lifting that heavy thing. And it has the impact it does because Claremont's invested so much into both making sure we know that Storm is a person who wouldn't do this and making it believable when she does. Claremont is "good at characterisation" not because his characters have different tics or speech patterns - increasingly from now on, they don't - but because he knows when to let them change and how to sell it when the change is dramatic.
The X-Men aren't the only ones out of their depth with the Morlocks, though. They're the first sign that the implications of the mutant identity concept are too big for the comic. Judging by the art, the Morlocks instantly represent the majority of mutants we've seen in the series, living literally underneath Professor X's feet. Either he's an idiot and doesn't know about them, or his mutant politics deliberately excludes them. Neither are a great look. Storm inherits a separatist mutant army and her instructions are "stay living underground but be nicer to the humans". These problems make a story in which the X-Men are only sort of the heroes richer, but they're a reminder that the more the comic leans into the "mutant metaphor", the trickier that metaphor is to keep hold of.
Rogue's introduction is a more straightforward success. The Morlocks are a wider narrative problem; Rogue in the X-Men is only an issue for the characters, and Claremont is much surer-footed there. Throwing this malicious minor character straight into the team is a wonderful bit of trolling (so good Marvel tried it several times after Rogue, never to similar effect). But Claremont also knows the readers need to quickly love Rogue for the move to stick, and the Wolverine/Rogue team-up in 172-173 is yet another high. It's the peak of Smith's work on X-Men: the slick looks, great clothes and neon of 80s Tokyo are perfect for him, as is Rogue's awesome new wave hair. Smith sets the standard for 80s X-Men: he's The Face to John Byrne's NME.
(Smith also goes toe-to-toe with Frank Miller in terms of katana fight scenes - no mean feat. But this review is already stupidly long without covering the Wolvie mini properly: it's in here, it still bangs, the barrel-of-ninjas fight scene became as much of a cliche as the anti-mutant firebrand but so what)
Smith's final story is the climax of the Madelyne Pryor arc, with the comic acting like it's putting the Dark Phoenix saga behind it while still playing the hits one last time. There's no hint of the shitshow Madelyne's story will become: even so, this isn't a story which works well after you know the reveal. It all looks great, but in a volume so furiously dedicated to reinventing the X-Men (again), this indulgent sequel can only be an anti-climax.
April 10, 2025
The start of my favorite run. Chris Claremont and artist Paul Smith were making magic here. God Loves, Man Kills, Madelyn Pryor’s debut, the X-Men in Japan, and Rogue joins the team. So much to love here!
October 15, 2018
I received this as a gift from an editor who knew that I had recently gotten more into comics, and I'm glad that I did.
Modern Marvel storylines are hit-or-miss for me. Every once in a while I'll come across something that I really love, but often that means wading through an incredible amount of mediocre work that just doesn't really strike me. I'm just starting to hit the event-centric era, so we'll see how that influences my thoughts.
Of the Marvel that I have read, X-men tend to be among my favorite. This was my first foray into "classic" X-Men, and I enjoyed it an awful lot. I felt like the storytelling was excellent, and it actually inspired me to dive back into other classic X-men series.
Modern Marvel storylines are hit-or-miss for me. Every once in a while I'll come across something that I really love, but often that means wading through an incredible amount of mediocre work that just doesn't really strike me. I'm just starting to hit the event-centric era, so we'll see how that influences my thoughts.
Of the Marvel that I have read, X-men tend to be among my favorite. This was my first foray into "classic" X-Men, and I enjoyed it an awful lot. I felt like the storytelling was excellent, and it actually inspired me to dive back into other classic X-men series.
August 1, 2024
soap operas 🤝 comics 🤝 looney tunes
“this cannot be happening all at once”
“this cannot be happening all at once”
November 5, 2015
This ends what I would consider the "Classic Era" of the "All-New, All-Different" Uncanny X-Men. This volume finishes off the Paul Smith issues and both Dave Cockrum and John Byrne had moved on to other projects. Claremont's collaborations after these three were remarkably different in that he became the clear "top dog" and the art was secondary to the story. This didn't change until Marvel changed it's editorially style in the 90s and drove all the talent away. While there are still some great X-Men stories to come, they also became increasingly dependent on gimmicks, promotions and unsupportable hype.
Once Marvel took the editorial stance that no one died in the Marvel Universe, it meant that change was only as durable as the next lame "crossover event."
Once Marvel took the editorial stance that no one died in the Marvel Universe, it meant that change was only as durable as the next lame "crossover event."
October 17, 2020
If you want to understand why X-Men was such a big deal in the 1980s, this is the book to read. Frank Miller does some amazing artwork for the first Wolverine solo series, and the main X-Men storyline plays to its strength as a character drama, helped by Paul Smith's solid, stylish artwork and a return to more grounded stories after the misplaced space opera and alien invasions of the previous volume.
March 10, 2022
This volume focuses on personal and relationship drama among the X-Men: Kitty Pryde is almost reassigned to the New Mutants, Wolverine travels to Japan and gets engaged to his girlfriend Mariko, ex-villain Rogue joins the team to the disappointment of everyone, Storm's personality becomes darker and she starts dressing in black leather with a mohawk, and Cyclops falls in love with Madelyne Pryor, a woman who looks just like Jean Grey. It's a lot of fun.
May 8, 2025
The Paul Smith run on art is sadly so short, but so good.
November 14, 2023
Este tomo va a recoger prácticamente la totalidad de la etapa de Paul Smith a los lápices de X-Men, dibujante que curiosamente llegó a mitad de la saga del Nido para reemplazar a Dave Cockrum y que se va a marchar a mitad del número 175 de la colección, dejando que fuera terminado por su sucesor, John Romita Jr, que tendría que acabar este número ya que Smith no llegaba con las fechas.
¿Y qué vamos a encontrarnos? Pues todo lo contrario a lo que habíamos visto durante los últimos números, y si veníamos de una saga que era todo space ópera, con la Patrulla-X en el Imperio Shi'ar enfrentándose al Nido, ahora vamos a tener al equipo bien atado a la Tierra, y dedicando tiempo a desarrollar y presentar a "nuevos" personajes que van a tener una gran importancia en la historia de la Patrulla-X. Poco después de escapar de los Shi'ar, Lobezno se va a marchar a Japón, aventuras que se desarrollarán en la primera serie de Lobezno en solitario, la famosa Lobezno: Honor, con guiones de Chris Claremont y dibujo de Frank Miller, que va a enfrentar a Lobezno con el padre de Mariko, el señor del crimen Shingen Yashida, una historia que concluirá con el compromiso de boda entre Mariko y Lobezno, trama que se terminaría de desarrollar en Patrulla-X, como ahora veremos.
El caso es que como Lobezno estaba en Japón (en aquellos tiempos no pasaba nada si Lobezno estaba sin aparecer unos números, el mundo no se venía abajo), y Cíclope andaba por Alaska con su padre y Kaos para ir a conocer a sus abuelos, y de paso conociendo a Madelyne Pryor, una piloto que trabajaba para estos y que era físicamente idéntica a Jean Grey, pues será una Patrulla-X reducida (Tormenta, Coloso, Rondador y Espíritu) quienes tendrán que hacer frente al secuestro del Ángel por parte de un grupo de mutantes deformes que viven en las alcantarillas de Nueva York, los Morlocks, en su primera aparición en los cómics Marvel, y con personajes del calibre de Calisto o Máscara, y el descubrimiento de Calibán, al que ya habíamos conocido en la época Cockrum, formaba parte de esta especie de tribu urbana. Decidida a tomar al Ángel como pareja, Calisto va a estar a punto de acabar con la vida de la Patrulla-X, pero la intervención de Calibán, enamorado de Kitty Pryde, va a permitir que finalmente Tormenta pueda hacer frente a Calisto, derrotándola y haciéndose con el mando de los Morlocks (por cierto, acabo de caer en que en su etapa, Ed Brubaker replicaría exactamente esta misma secuencia, después del largo Auge y Caída del Imperio Shi'ar, con su Patrulla-X vagando de un lado a otro del espacio, tras volver a la Tierra tendrían un enfrentamiento con los Morlocks).
Y de regreso, la Patrulla-X se va a encontrar con un nuevo miembro, y es que Pícara, va a abandonar a Mística y la Hermandad de Mutantes Diabólicos para buscar la tutela de Xavier, ya que desde su enfrentamiento con Carol Danvers, además de quedarse con los poderes de la vengadora, había absorbido parte de sus recuerdos y sentimientos. Por supuesto, esto contará con la oposición de la mayor parte del equipo, pero Pícara viajará junto a ellos a Japón, a la boda de Lobezno, donde la Patrulla-X conocerá a Madelyne Pryor, ya convertida en pareja de Cíclope, y se enfrentará a Víbora y el Samurai de Plata, que habían aparecido por primera vez poco antes en Nuevos Mutantes. Por cierto, estos números de la boda de Lobezno con Mariko, van a acabar con sorpresa.
Y por último, la última parte de la etapa de Paul Smith se va a centrar precisamente en Madelyne Pryor, o en su parecido con Jean Grey... y la posibilidad de que, de hecho, sea Fénix renacida... lo que va a suponer el regreso de un viejo enemigo de la Patrulla-X... que no es quien parece ser al principio.
Así que de nuevo un tomo lleno de historias y que mantiene un nivel bastante alto en todos los niveles, aunque debo reconocer que no es mi Paul Smith favorito (no tardaría mucho en llegar, en un cruce entre la Patrulla-X y Alpha Flight). Y nos acercamos a Secret Wars, así que no tardaremos mucho en saltar a Vengadores, o Nuevos Mutantes... antes de volver a Cuatro Fantásticos, donde empezó todo esto...
¿Y qué vamos a encontrarnos? Pues todo lo contrario a lo que habíamos visto durante los últimos números, y si veníamos de una saga que era todo space ópera, con la Patrulla-X en el Imperio Shi'ar enfrentándose al Nido, ahora vamos a tener al equipo bien atado a la Tierra, y dedicando tiempo a desarrollar y presentar a "nuevos" personajes que van a tener una gran importancia en la historia de la Patrulla-X. Poco después de escapar de los Shi'ar, Lobezno se va a marchar a Japón, aventuras que se desarrollarán en la primera serie de Lobezno en solitario, la famosa Lobezno: Honor, con guiones de Chris Claremont y dibujo de Frank Miller, que va a enfrentar a Lobezno con el padre de Mariko, el señor del crimen Shingen Yashida, una historia que concluirá con el compromiso de boda entre Mariko y Lobezno, trama que se terminaría de desarrollar en Patrulla-X, como ahora veremos.
El caso es que como Lobezno estaba en Japón (en aquellos tiempos no pasaba nada si Lobezno estaba sin aparecer unos números, el mundo no se venía abajo), y Cíclope andaba por Alaska con su padre y Kaos para ir a conocer a sus abuelos, y de paso conociendo a Madelyne Pryor, una piloto que trabajaba para estos y que era físicamente idéntica a Jean Grey, pues será una Patrulla-X reducida (Tormenta, Coloso, Rondador y Espíritu) quienes tendrán que hacer frente al secuestro del Ángel por parte de un grupo de mutantes deformes que viven en las alcantarillas de Nueva York, los Morlocks, en su primera aparición en los cómics Marvel, y con personajes del calibre de Calisto o Máscara, y el descubrimiento de Calibán, al que ya habíamos conocido en la época Cockrum, formaba parte de esta especie de tribu urbana. Decidida a tomar al Ángel como pareja, Calisto va a estar a punto de acabar con la vida de la Patrulla-X, pero la intervención de Calibán, enamorado de Kitty Pryde, va a permitir que finalmente Tormenta pueda hacer frente a Calisto, derrotándola y haciéndose con el mando de los Morlocks (por cierto, acabo de caer en que en su etapa, Ed Brubaker replicaría exactamente esta misma secuencia, después del largo Auge y Caída del Imperio Shi'ar, con su Patrulla-X vagando de un lado a otro del espacio, tras volver a la Tierra tendrían un enfrentamiento con los Morlocks).
Y de regreso, la Patrulla-X se va a encontrar con un nuevo miembro, y es que Pícara, va a abandonar a Mística y la Hermandad de Mutantes Diabólicos para buscar la tutela de Xavier, ya que desde su enfrentamiento con Carol Danvers, además de quedarse con los poderes de la vengadora, había absorbido parte de sus recuerdos y sentimientos. Por supuesto, esto contará con la oposición de la mayor parte del equipo, pero Pícara viajará junto a ellos a Japón, a la boda de Lobezno, donde la Patrulla-X conocerá a Madelyne Pryor, ya convertida en pareja de Cíclope, y se enfrentará a Víbora y el Samurai de Plata, que habían aparecido por primera vez poco antes en Nuevos Mutantes. Por cierto, estos números de la boda de Lobezno con Mariko, van a acabar con sorpresa.
Y por último, la última parte de la etapa de Paul Smith se va a centrar precisamente en Madelyne Pryor, o en su parecido con Jean Grey... y la posibilidad de que, de hecho, sea Fénix renacida... lo que va a suponer el regreso de un viejo enemigo de la Patrulla-X... que no es quien parece ser al principio.
Así que de nuevo un tomo lleno de historias y que mantiene un nivel bastante alto en todos los niveles, aunque debo reconocer que no es mi Paul Smith favorito (no tardaría mucho en llegar, en un cruce entre la Patrulla-X y Alpha Flight). Y nos acercamos a Secret Wars, así que no tardaremos mucho en saltar a Vengadores, o Nuevos Mutantes... antes de volver a Cuatro Fantásticos, donde empezó todo esto...
December 15, 2024
Coming back to Claremont Uncanny X-Men always feels like coming home and this volume was jam packed with fantastic stories; from the iconic God Loves, Man Kills to the first ever Wolverine solo series and the introduction of the Morlocks and Madelyne Pryor. I loved every single page!
I think its best to tackle this volume in parts so I'll start with God Loves, Man Kills. The seminal graphic novel is... a lot, to say the least. It's brutal in a way that's very out of step with a standard Uncanny X-Men issue with on-page child murder and Professor X on a crucifix. But unlike some darker comic book fair its edge added to the overall storytelling. The book is a mythic tale about the extremes of mutant prejudice. And while some choices (like Kitty using racial slurs to chastise her black teacher) didn't hit the mark, overall it was a powerful story well told. I especially adored the Bent Anderson and Steve Oliff's endlessly striking watercolour art style. There's a stunning expressionism to it that evoked emotion beautifully.
The other standalone graphic novel in the volume was Wolverine solo mini-series. I was hesitant about this story because I didn't know how I'd feel about Frank Miller as an artist and Wolverine as a standalone character, but thankfully my fears were assuaged. Like God Loves, Man Kills Wolverine is tonally distinct from Uncanny but Claremont strong command of voice and razor sharp vision made for a great reading experience. Here we delve into Wolverine's psyche as he attempts to win the hand of his love Lady Mariko. What I liked most about this mini is how we dive in to Logan's perspective on his monstrousness. His pathos is deeply compelling and the tragedy of his circumstances is moving. Frank Miller's art is also just stunning. He has a complete command of effective panelling and effortlessly crafts vivid and striking imagery.
The rest of the volume follows the standard adventures of the X-Men and Claremont really hits his stride here. A major highlight is Storms arc throughout the volume. Seeing her loose her sense of self and reform her identity into something harsher and meaner was so fascinating. Her battle with Callisto is easily one of the coolest moments in the entire series.
I also adored the convoluted and bonkers nature of Scott's relationship with Madelyne Pryor. Falling in love with the identical clone of your dead girlfriend is the exact kind of comic book goofiness I love and Claremont does it beautifully. What's most fascinating about this arc is how well emotions of their relationship are realized. These two get married days after their first meeting but it never actually feels contrived and the mystery surrounding it all is deeply compelling.
Other highlights include the introduction of Paul Smith and Bob Wiacek as the lead penciller and inkers for Uncanny. Their style is graceful and I swear I've never seen comic hair more beautiful than Paul Smith hair. They easily join the ranks of Terry Austin and John Byrne as stellar X-Men artists.
While all of this sounds like a lot of story packed into a relatively scant amount of issues Claremont handles interweaving storylines with the deft hand of a season writer. I'm always in awe of his of endlessly engaging vibrant storytelling and I can't wait to dive deeper into his X-Men stories.
I think its best to tackle this volume in parts so I'll start with God Loves, Man Kills. The seminal graphic novel is... a lot, to say the least. It's brutal in a way that's very out of step with a standard Uncanny X-Men issue with on-page child murder and Professor X on a crucifix. But unlike some darker comic book fair its edge added to the overall storytelling. The book is a mythic tale about the extremes of mutant prejudice. And while some choices (like Kitty using racial slurs to chastise her black teacher) didn't hit the mark, overall it was a powerful story well told. I especially adored the Bent Anderson and Steve Oliff's endlessly striking watercolour art style. There's a stunning expressionism to it that evoked emotion beautifully.
The other standalone graphic novel in the volume was Wolverine solo mini-series. I was hesitant about this story because I didn't know how I'd feel about Frank Miller as an artist and Wolverine as a standalone character, but thankfully my fears were assuaged. Like God Loves, Man Kills Wolverine is tonally distinct from Uncanny but Claremont strong command of voice and razor sharp vision made for a great reading experience. Here we delve into Wolverine's psyche as he attempts to win the hand of his love Lady Mariko. What I liked most about this mini is how we dive in to Logan's perspective on his monstrousness. His pathos is deeply compelling and the tragedy of his circumstances is moving. Frank Miller's art is also just stunning. He has a complete command of effective panelling and effortlessly crafts vivid and striking imagery.
The rest of the volume follows the standard adventures of the X-Men and Claremont really hits his stride here. A major highlight is Storms arc throughout the volume. Seeing her loose her sense of self and reform her identity into something harsher and meaner was so fascinating. Her battle with Callisto is easily one of the coolest moments in the entire series.
I also adored the convoluted and bonkers nature of Scott's relationship with Madelyne Pryor. Falling in love with the identical clone of your dead girlfriend is the exact kind of comic book goofiness I love and Claremont does it beautifully. What's most fascinating about this arc is how well emotions of their relationship are realized. These two get married days after their first meeting but it never actually feels contrived and the mystery surrounding it all is deeply compelling.
Other highlights include the introduction of Paul Smith and Bob Wiacek as the lead penciller and inkers for Uncanny. Their style is graceful and I swear I've never seen comic hair more beautiful than Paul Smith hair. They easily join the ranks of Terry Austin and John Byrne as stellar X-Men artists.
While all of this sounds like a lot of story packed into a relatively scant amount of issues Claremont handles interweaving storylines with the deft hand of a season writer. I'm always in awe of his of endlessly engaging vibrant storytelling and I can't wait to dive deeper into his X-Men stories.
September 15, 2024
Marvel Masterworks The Uncanny X-Men Vol 9. Calificación 3.5/5 estrellas.
Cuenta con God Loves, Man kills y Wolverine #1-4 como un plus, pero el Anual #7 de the X-Men es malisimo demasiado tonto, un insulto a cualquier lector sea niño de los 80s o no lo sea.
Gran arte de Frank Miller. En esta recopilación se destaca el arte de Paul Smith, en cuanto a la ilustraciónes hay de Walter Simonson y JRJR.
En la escritura cae con más bajos que altos por Chris Claremont, Jim Shooter editor en Jefe y Loise Jones Simonson editora no supieron como levantar el título desde la salida de John Byrne que hizo las tramas de The Dark Phoenix Saga y Days Of Future Past y las dejo como el pináculo de The X-Men books.
Se destacan los issues de Rogue al unirse a los X-Men, pero Claremont y su grupo creativo se estancaron en su modo telenovela.
En esta recopilación aparece el odioso dragon Lockheed impuesto por Chris Claremont a la fuerza, presenta a los intrancedentes morlocks, yukio, Silver Samurai, la fallida Madelyne Pryor Claremont no sabía que hacer con ella por años primero queria que fuera la nueva Phoenix, es una lástima que no haya sido Lynn lo que se pretendió.
También aparece el odioso Corsair y su zoofilia con Hepzibah, los Starjammers, los fallos de Claremont con historias incoclusas de la odiosa mystique y master mind que no llevó a nada, dialogos de telenovela, muletillas como "famous last words" etc.
Con textos extensos, Claremont pone una fecha en la historia de 1980 calcula la edad actual de los personajes en el presente, si Magneto estuvo en campos de concentración tendrá 100 años, Claremont mete con calzador a Carol Danvers odioso personaje.
Storm se volvió inmadura. Rogue ingresó al grupo fue de sus aciertos. Así como el protagonismo de Cyclops.
Chris Claremont instigador de la relación de Kitty (14 años) y Colossus (19 años).
¿Por qué el Professor X no leyó la mente de Mariko al ver la negativa de casarse? ¿Que acaso no fue sospechoso su cambio de parecer?, Claremont odiaba a Wolverine.
Sacando Claremont de Barbarella (1968) unas ecenas con Angel y Callisto plagiando a Pygar y Great Tyran interpretada por la groupie Anita Pallenberg ex de Brian Jones y Keith Richards.
Hay muchos sitios en Internet (Byrne Robotics, TV Trooper, foros, blogs etc) con información y entrevistas acerca de tramas no usadas pero Interesantes, debería Marvel publicar las tramas no utilizadas en X-Men, principalmente de autores como John Byrne y Chris Claremont.
Tengo ganas de ver lo que pretendía hacer John Byrne con Kitty Pryde y Caliban pienso que sería lo que hizo con Nudge/Mi-Sun Kwon y Grunt de Doom Patrol.
También me interesa la muerte de Mariko Yashida donde es atacada por Sabretooth, después Wolverine se entera que ella tiene muerte cerebral y destruye la máquina de soporte vital, para finalmente matar a Sabretooth y revelar que el era el padre de Wolverine.
Lei los 32 números posteriores de The Uncanny X-Men #143 de #144-176 y X-Men Forever Vol 1 y Vol 2 para compararlos con X-Men Elsewhen #1-32 de John Byrne, pero es mejor X-Men Elsewhen fácilmente desde el arte y tramas, aunque debo admitir que tanto Byrne como Claremont fueron repetitivos.
Marvel debería publicar en un ómnibus X-MEN ELSEWHEN ya que esos 32 números son mejores a los 32 números canónicos, que se publicaron después de la partida de Byrne con los X-Men.
Cuenta con God Loves, Man kills y Wolverine #1-4 como un plus, pero el Anual #7 de the X-Men es malisimo demasiado tonto, un insulto a cualquier lector sea niño de los 80s o no lo sea.
Gran arte de Frank Miller. En esta recopilación se destaca el arte de Paul Smith, en cuanto a la ilustraciónes hay de Walter Simonson y JRJR.
En la escritura cae con más bajos que altos por Chris Claremont, Jim Shooter editor en Jefe y Loise Jones Simonson editora no supieron como levantar el título desde la salida de John Byrne que hizo las tramas de The Dark Phoenix Saga y Days Of Future Past y las dejo como el pináculo de The X-Men books.
Se destacan los issues de Rogue al unirse a los X-Men, pero Claremont y su grupo creativo se estancaron en su modo telenovela.
En esta recopilación aparece el odioso dragon Lockheed impuesto por Chris Claremont a la fuerza, presenta a los intrancedentes morlocks, yukio, Silver Samurai, la fallida Madelyne Pryor Claremont no sabía que hacer con ella por años primero queria que fuera la nueva Phoenix, es una lástima que no haya sido Lynn lo que se pretendió.
También aparece el odioso Corsair y su zoofilia con Hepzibah, los Starjammers, los fallos de Claremont con historias incoclusas de la odiosa mystique y master mind que no llevó a nada, dialogos de telenovela, muletillas como "famous last words" etc.
Con textos extensos, Claremont pone una fecha en la historia de 1980 calcula la edad actual de los personajes en el presente, si Magneto estuvo en campos de concentración tendrá 100 años, Claremont mete con calzador a Carol Danvers odioso personaje.
Storm se volvió inmadura. Rogue ingresó al grupo fue de sus aciertos. Así como el protagonismo de Cyclops.
Chris Claremont instigador de la relación de Kitty (14 años) y Colossus (19 años).
¿Por qué el Professor X no leyó la mente de Mariko al ver la negativa de casarse? ¿Que acaso no fue sospechoso su cambio de parecer?, Claremont odiaba a Wolverine.
Sacando Claremont de Barbarella (1968) unas ecenas con Angel y Callisto plagiando a Pygar y Great Tyran interpretada por la groupie Anita Pallenberg ex de Brian Jones y Keith Richards.
Hay muchos sitios en Internet (Byrne Robotics, TV Trooper, foros, blogs etc) con información y entrevistas acerca de tramas no usadas pero Interesantes, debería Marvel publicar las tramas no utilizadas en X-Men, principalmente de autores como John Byrne y Chris Claremont.
Tengo ganas de ver lo que pretendía hacer John Byrne con Kitty Pryde y Caliban pienso que sería lo que hizo con Nudge/Mi-Sun Kwon y Grunt de Doom Patrol.
También me interesa la muerte de Mariko Yashida donde es atacada por Sabretooth, después Wolverine se entera que ella tiene muerte cerebral y destruye la máquina de soporte vital, para finalmente matar a Sabretooth y revelar que el era el padre de Wolverine.
Lei los 32 números posteriores de The Uncanny X-Men #143 de #144-176 y X-Men Forever Vol 1 y Vol 2 para compararlos con X-Men Elsewhen #1-32 de John Byrne, pero es mejor X-Men Elsewhen fácilmente desde el arte y tramas, aunque debo admitir que tanto Byrne como Claremont fueron repetitivos.
Marvel debería publicar en un ómnibus X-MEN ELSEWHEN ya que esos 32 números son mejores a los 32 números canónicos, que se publicaron después de la partida de Byrne con los X-Men.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2020
Chris Claremont's legendary run on the Uncanny X-Men is largely collected in a 12-volume (and counting) set in the Marvel Masterworks series that takes us through some of the most pivotal stories in X-Men lore. (As of volume 12, it gets up to Uncanny X-Men #200.) Here we see the launch of a new X-Men team that includes, over time, Cyclops, Jean Grey/Phoenix, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Rogue and many others. The stories include some of the most iconic in X-Men history, including the Hellfire Club saga, the Dark Phoenix saga, Days of Future Past and the Trial of Magneto. All told, the Marvel Masterworks - Uncanny X-Men series is must-read material for anyone who wishes to dive deeply into the rich (and often difficult to navigate) history of the X-Men. It is must-read material for anyone who wants to get a taste for what it was like during a period of time when the X-Men grew from an also-ran Marvel title into one of the greatest superhero tentpole franchises of all time. And if all that isn't enough, within these volumes are some of the most enjoyable writer/artist pairings you'll find from this era of Marvel comics, including Claremont's epic collaborations with John Byrne, Dan Green and John Romita, Jr. Within these volumes are stories that continue to resonate today, tales that beyond beyond people in colorful tights punching each other out and into an ongoing commentary on what it means to be hated for one's nature, on what it means to protect those who see you as an enemy, and what it means to live with heroic dignity in a world committed to stripping that very thing from you. These are some of the finest comic book stories ever published. They are deeply fun to read, and most of all, they are an important chapter of a beloved medium.
July 3, 2025
I've been reading on Marvel Unlimited, so I've lost track a bit of which issue is in which collection!
This run of issues had the introduction of Madelyn Pryor... and I found it very strange how nobody questioned how healthy it might be to have a relationship with (and marry!) a woman who looks exactly like your dead ex-finance... Nobody thought this might be a bit fucked up...
Anyway, I look forward to the Goblin Queen in the future! (And Mr Sinister!!)
This issue also saw the maybe return of Dark Phoenix (or is it?).
This is also where Rogue joins the team to the disgust of Carol Danvers (Binary), who beats her up a bit, then tells the X-Men to F' off. Fair enough.
This also kicks off Storm's new punk rock look and new bad ass attitude.
This run of issues had the introduction of Madelyn Pryor... and I found it very strange how nobody questioned how healthy it might be to have a relationship with (and marry!) a woman who looks exactly like your dead ex-finance... Nobody thought this might be a bit fucked up...
Anyway, I look forward to the Goblin Queen in the future! (And Mr Sinister!!)
This issue also saw the maybe return of Dark Phoenix (or is it?).
This is also where Rogue joins the team to the disgust of Carol Danvers (Binary), who beats her up a bit, then tells the X-Men to F' off. Fair enough.
This also kicks off Storm's new punk rock look and new bad ass attitude.
March 29, 2021
This volume starts to crystallize what made X-Men so special and memorable for a whole generation. For those (like me) who start 40 issues further back, it’s a bit of a slog until you get here and see the start of all he X-Men “stuff” that’s become what we all think of when we think of the characters: Kitty and Lockheed, Kitty and Peter, Illyana’s soul sword, Mohawk Storm, Morlocks, Wolverine fighting ninja, Mariko/Wolverine/Yukio love triangle, Rogue calls people sugah—it’s all here for the first time!
August 21, 2023
This is absolutely the best collection of X-Men storylines by Chris Claremont: Introducing the Morlocks, Wolverine’s solo run illustrated by comic genius Frank Miller, and the straight up classic graphic novella, X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills. Brilliant heartfelt stuff. This is what drew me to comics when I was kid and I still love it.
July 25, 2025
Really fun stuff here, but in particular the Wolverine solo miniseries stands out. Miller was so far ahead of the game in terms of the graphic design part of comic page layouts and panel compositions. He blows the series’s regular art right out of the water!
April 7, 2019
So good love God loves man kills and wolverine series but the main story is the best.
February 3, 2022
Includes God Loves Man Kills, and the Wolverine series
April 2, 2022
Lots of important X-Men stories in here. Really, just packed full of good stuff.
4.5 stars.
4.5 stars.
November 23, 2022
Bayangkan membaca beberapa mahakarya dalam satu jilid: God Loves Man Kills, miniseri Wolverine pertama, dan alur cerita klasik From The Ashes. Pengalaman yang luar biasa.
December 26, 2022
Would have been 5 star if not for the awful annual at the end.
April 5, 2023
More brilliance
October 4, 2023
Frank Miller's art is shockingly good, especially considering the trends of the time.
January 21, 2021
Come for legendary GOD LOVES, MAN KILLS and the Frank Miller inked WOLVERINE miniseries and stay for a decent handful of stories including Rogue joining the team. Not bad at all.... except that annual at the end.
March 11, 2018
Classics galore collected in one volume
This book is an embarrassment of riches. Marvel Comics Graphic Novel#5 "God Loves, Man Kills", the first appearance of the Morlocks, Wolverine's first series, Madeline Pryor, the Impossible Man,
This book is an embarrassment of riches. Marvel Comics Graphic Novel#5 "God Loves, Man Kills", the first appearance of the Morlocks, Wolverine's first series, Madeline Pryor, the Impossible Man,
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews