Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 17

by Chris Claremont, Marvel Various (illustrator), Jim Lee (cover_art)

432 pages, Hardcover

Published September 16, 2025

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

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume is a sad disappointment: the first half is nothing but uninteresting fillers – a trip to the shopping centre, yippee! – an invasion of moronic Martians – illustrated by Rob Liefeld, yuck! – an annual – rubbish, like all annuals – Nanny and Orphan-Maker because why not...?

The second part is better and forms an arc – Pierce and the Reavers attack the team, which is starting to fall apart – but suffers from incredible absurdities – Storm is supposedly killed accidentally by Havok and everyone gets over it very quickly in the next episode – before ending in utter nonsense on Muir Island with the Freedom Force.

I've seen Claremont much more inspired and able to handle better-constructed plots.

[John Peel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thick volume of X-Men stories, some humorous, some tragic. Lots of fighting, and plenty of confusing plots as Chris Claremont keeps diverting into dreams, hallucinations and prophecies which tend to lose the threads of the stories. Oh, and he keeps on killing off characters, though probably not permanently.

There has been better.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read included issues on Marvel Unlimited (which is how I read this before it was published!)