Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 14

Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men #14

by Chris Claremont, Alan Davis, Jon Bogdanove

In his very first work for Marvel in the U.S., iconic artist Alan Davis delivers on a double-sized NEW MUTANTS Annual that introduces Psylocke to the world of the X-Men! But she’s arrived just as Sabretooth and the Marauders go on the hunt for Morlocks — and they don’t mind slaying any X-Men who get in the way! The “Mutant Massacre” event shocked readers and set a high-water mark for X-Men storytelling. Plus: Longshot joins the X-Men as they — and the New Mutants — take on Mojo in an Arthur Adams-drawn Annual! Meanwhile, Kitty Pryde is slowly disintegrating, leading the X-Men to make a deal with Doctor Doom to save her. Needless to say, the Fantastic Four have something to say about that!

COLLECTING: UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) #210-219, X-MEN ANNUAL (1970) #10, NEW MUTANTS ANNUAL #2 and FANTASTIC FOUR VS. X-MEN #1-4.

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

496 pages, Hardcover

Published April 12, 2022

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

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This volume serves as a kind of landmark for me, as it marks the point where, back in the day, I switched from the UK reprints to the original US comics. Not that that means anything to anyone but me, of course! :-D

The stories in this one are great; prime Claremont. The biggest event in this is the Morlock massacre by the Marauders, which would change the X-Men’s status quo for years, largely due to Colossus, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat leaving the roster due to being almost mortally wounded in the conflict.

The only thing that lets this run down slightly is the fact that they couldn’t get the same artist to draw more than one or two issues at a time, giving it an inconsistent look.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Massacres and Resurrections

Wow, this collection covers the X-Men's darkest part of their history... the Mutant Massacre (highly recommend reading that whole crossover event, rather than just what appears here).
The rest of the story focuses on the fallout from the massacre, plus the reintroduction of Havok and Polaris, a foreshadowing of things to come.
Amazing artwork throughout, Dazzler, Longshot, Psylocke, and several amazing villains show up...
The X-Men at the top of their game for sure a

[John Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This extra-stuffed volume is a portion of a long plotline introducing the murderous Marauders to the Marvel Universe. Their goal is to kill any mutants that they can, and they begin by massacring almost all of the Morlocks, and seriously injuring several X-Men. Replacements are brought in, changing the shape of the mutant team once again. The best portion of the book, though, is the inclusion of the four-issue "Fantastic Four versus The X-Men", a superb mini-series with plenty of surprises.

[Adam Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequencing of this collection is a little weird -- the Annuals are at the beginning of the volume, but one of them takes place sequentially a bit later in this set of issues. That said, this is a great run of X-Men. The Mutant Massacre marks a major shift in storytelling and a dramatic change in the composition of the team, which sets up an interesting and somewhat unusual stretch of the series. Mostly, I liked it!

[J.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Claremont bringing the goods. Mojo; Mutant Massacre and (mainly) its aftermath—Dazzler, Psylocke, Havoc and Longshot join the team; then a deep character dive into the FF as though he’d been writing THEM the previous decade, too. The pencillers change almost every issue in here, but they’re all legends. Tho Arthur Adam’s work in X-Men Annual #10 does kinda stand out.

[ShamNoop · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m scared.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

(these are issue summaries so they include spoilers)

#210: Dazzler is possessed by Malice,one of the Marauders. Nightcrawler is found but is so injured he cannot teleport - 2.5 stars

New Mutants annual #2: Mojo and Spiral steal children through an animated show called 'Wildways' starring Betsy/Psylocke. Bobby gets sucked into it and the Mutants are devastated when it appears he dies (though it's a look-alike created by Mojo). Mojo, Spiral, and Psylocke warp Bobby, Rahne, Shan's siblings, and the Brat Pack (from Longshot) into older, twisted versions of themselves and set them against the rest of the Mutants. Psylocke saves them all and decides to come live at the School- four stars with nice Alan Davis art

X-men annual #10: Mojo drops Longshot in Xavier's School and then messes with the X-men so they start reverse aging down to kids. The New Mutants don their graduation uniforms and fight the X-men to try to shock them out of Mojo's hold - 3.5 stars with lovely Arthur Adams artwork

#211: The Mutant Massacre begins - the Marauders slaughter most of the Morlocks in their tunnels. The X-men teleport Callisto and a few of the survivors to the Academy and battle the Marauders. Colossus kills Riptide and Kitty is hit by a blast that makes her permanently in her phased form - three stars

#212: While hunting the Morlock tunnels for anyone still left alive, Wolverine is attacked by Sabretooth. Peter collapses and when Magneto tries to heal him, Colossus is conscious but paralyzed. Storm decides to step down from leadership because she feels she has failed the Morlocks but Callisto fights her until she realizes she should stay leader - four stars

#213: Betsy/Psylocke proves herself to the X-men in a fight with Sabretooth and they take her into their group - 3.5 stars

#214: Dazzler, possessed by Malice, battles the X-men. During the fight, Malice jumps from Wolverine to Rogue. Storm beats her by using herself as bait and is able to mentally hold out from being taken over - 3.5 stars

#215: Storm is captured by three WWII vets with super powers who assume she is a criminal because she was at the scene of an arson (Jean Grey's sister's home was firebombed) - two stars and feels like filler

#216: Storm is hunted by the WWII vets. Though Storm has a chance to kill one of them, she does not and instead convinces them to give themselves up to the police - two stars

#217: On Muir Island, a depressed Dazzler decides to go to town to the pub. She sees Juggernaut, is startled to find out he's a fan of hers, and fights him. She expends all of her energy and falls to the ground, seemingly dead - 2.5 stars

#218: Dazzler wakes to find herself buried in a grave by Juggernaut, who thought she was dead. With the help of other X-men, she manages to take out Juggernaut only to learn their fight was a diversion for his partner who was robbing a bank - 2.5 stars

#219: Havok, who has been having nightmares about the X-men, goes to check on them and realizes he has done this before but they altered his memories to protect him from the Marauders. While he is away, Lorna Dane is attacked and possessed by Malice who declares herself leader of the Marauders - three stars

Fantastic Four vs. X-men mini-series 1-4: three stars

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 4 out of 5]

El enfrentamiento entre la Patrulla-X, el Club Fuego Infernal y Nimrod en Central Park que habíamos visto en los números anteriores, va a conectar prácticamente de forma directa con los números de la colección dedicados a la Masacre Mutante, el primer experimento de narración compartida dentro de la familia mutante, posible gracias a la cercanía entre Chris Claremont (Nuevos Mutantes y Patrulla-X) y Louise Simonson (Factor-X). Así que mientras la Patrulla toma un poco de aire y Claremont aprovecha para hablar un poco del racismo con la metáfora mutante de por medio, vamos a ver como siguiendo a una Morlock desde San Francisco, un grupo de asesinos que se hacen llamar a sí mismos los Merodeadores, van a infiltrarse en los túneles de los morlocks, llevando a cabo una matanza sistemática de estos. Así, Claremont nos va a presentar a un grupo de asesinos (quizá los más chungos vistos hasta este momento en la Patrulla-X) formado por Cazador de Cabelleras, Arco Voltaico, Disruptor, Vértigo, Arpón, Prisma y Dientes de Sable, que van a ir simplemente masacrando a los Morlocks, de modo que Calisto va a pedir ayuda a la líder de su clan... que es por supuesto, Tormenta. Y así, la Patrulla-X va a descender a los túneles y se va a enfrentar a los Merodeadores... o más bien, van a ser vapuleados en primera instancia, con varios miembros del equipo siendo gravemente heridos. Rondador, Kitty Pryde y Coloso contarán con importantes secuelas (Rondador en coma, Kitty atrapada en su forma de fase y en proceso de descorporeización, y Coloso inmóvil en su forma metálica), lo que obligará a la Patrulla a contar con la ayuda de una recién llegada, Mariposa Mental, es decir, Betsy Braddock, la hermana telépata del Capitán Britania, recientemente rescatada por los Nuevos Mutantes de Mundo Mojo, y aunque finalmente la Patrulla llegará a una especie de impasse con los Merodeadores, que terminarán abandonando el Túnel, será precisamente Mariposa Mental quien protagonice un epílogo (dibujado por Alan Davis) en el que tendrá que hacer frente a Dientes de Sable, que se ha infiltrado en la Escuela.

Con la Patrulla-X intentando proteger a los Morlocks, el equipo se va a dividir, y mientras Pícara, Mariposa, y los recién llegados Dazzler y Longhot (es decir, todos miembros prácticamente nuevos) acuden a Isla Muir para escoltar a Calisto y los suyos, Tormenta y Lobezno se las van a ver con tres antiguos soldados mutantes, que ejerciendo su propia versión de la justicia, perseguirán a una traficante de drogas en una historia con bastantes momentos morales turbios y que presenta a Comando Escarlata, Muro de Piedra y Supersable como enemigos del equipo. Y sin los pesos pesados del equipo, Pícara, Mariposa, Dazzler y Longshot tendrán que hacer frente al Juggernaut... para dejarnos preparada la próxima amenaza... y es que el Nido, parace haber vuelto a la Tierra...

[Miclase_Mc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is one of the darkest and most defining eras for the team. The Mutant Massacre is the absolute highlight here, and it does not pull any punches. Watching the Marauders ruthlessly tear through the Morlocks and absolutely batter the core X-Men roster is brutal. It completely shatters the status quo, taking out heavy hitters and leaving the team hanging by a thread.

I also really like how the Uncanny and New Mutants Annuals properly set up the Mojoverse. It’s a wild, weird shift in tone, but it officially brings Longshot and Psylocke onto the roster, which is awesome. The absolute craziest part of this whole detour, though, is the chilling revelation that Mojo is secretly broadcasting and watching the team’s every move straight through Psylocke's bionic eyes.

The aftermath of the massacre is where things get even more Messy. The introduction of Malice possessing people—and the intense paranoia that follows—completely fractures the trust of the remaining members just as they’re trying to recover. It's right in the middle of all this chaos and internal sabotage that the completely new team dynamic officially has to form, pulling in members like Dazzler and Longshot.

Watching this thrown-together roster desperately try to gel finally pays off in a showdown against Juggernaut, Dazzler messes up the first time since she goes solo, which really breaks her confidence, but after they finally manage to work together and take him down. Of course, you still get that gut-punch realization at the very end that their entire hard-fought victory was just a distraction.

I also loved the Fantastic Four vs. X-Men crossover.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading Uncanny X-Men on Marvel Unlimited.

Rachel is gone for now (hurray)! So we can get into significantly more interesting stories, and OH BOY do things kick off!

A group of psychopathic mutants called The Marauders horrifically massacred the Morlocks, and honestly, I found the brutality quite shocking! I can't imagine what that was like to read when it was originally published! This was really great storytelling, the stakes felt incredibly high, and I could hardly put it down.

It ends up with Colossus, Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler all out of action and in need of critical care on Muir Island. I need to make a note to myself to go and read FANTASTIC FOUR VS. X-MEN #1-4. to see what happens with Kitty and Doctor Doom.

Psylocke is introduced, I believe, in a New Mutants Annual, but I didn't bother with that. Also, Longshot and Dazzler also join the team. With Storm and Wolverine off trying to find Forge and Madelyne, and Colossus, Kitty and Nightcrawler all out of action, that leaves just an inexperienced Rogue with Psyclocke, Longshot and Dazzler (who she tried to kill once).

At this point, I was reading the Vol. 14 collection but got to around #221 and was too confused about Jean not being dead and why Scott had apparently left his wife and child that I had to go off to read X-Factor!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contains the Uncanny portion of the Mutant Massacre, but also contains its aftermath.

The hidden gem here might be the Fantastic Four/X-Men mini that accompanies the ongoing series. I long ignored this mini assuming it to be a needless crossover that if it bore any import to continuity it would be tacked on at the end as an editorial mandate. But instead this mini is every kind of significant. It does beautiful character work (more on the FF side), it is resolving major fallout from the Mutant Massacre, I am sad I missed this for so long. Happy to find it in recent years.

I talk about my increasing love for the first X-Men crossover (Mutant Massacre) elsewhere, so for this I will just say the following issues play out the aftermath and help you realize the lasting impact of the tragedy. The new team is forming and Claremont is really transitioning into the latter third of his epic run.

This is all darker and our merry mutants are less merry than ever before… but I am here for the melodrama.

[Tony Romine · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a frustrating volume that contains only a portion of the multi-title crossover Mutant Massacre event. I feel like if they can include a 4 issue X-MEN VS. FANTASTIC FOUR miniseries, they could have included those issues. Instead we get a pointless, poorly written miniseries where nothing of consequence or importance happens except they needed a reason to save one of the critically injured X-Men from the Mutant Massacre story. To be honest, you'd be better just getting the collected Mutant Massacre volume unless you're a completist and want to read the middling Juggernaut storyline that followed it or four issues of the X-Men and, eventually, Fantastic Four trusting Doctor Doom for some reason.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything outside of the Mutant Massacre issues are a mixed bag. The double annual Mojo story should be more fun and a lot shorter. The animated series really found the sweet spot for that character that this early showing does not have at all. The Mutant Massacre fallout issues are enjoyable if not a bit meandering with the highlight being the Dazzler/Juggernaut fight and Marc Silvestri's first work on the title. Havok rejoins the team in a psychotic issue that totally jars with his reintroduction in the previous issue. The ending Fantastic Four vs. X-Men mini is a complete and utter waste of time.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contains the Uncanny X-Men part of the excellent Mutant Massacre event along with the Fantastic Four vs. X-men crossover, which is pretty good but nothing outstanding. It also introduces the new X-Men lineup: Storm, Wolverine, Magneto, Rogue, Dazzler, Psylocke, and Longshot. They're definitely a darker team and I'm still waiting to decide what I think of them.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mutant Massacre storyline is 2edgy4me. It’s out of character for Colossus to kill someone, like come on. Still, there’s a baseline of quality to Claremont’s writing so it’s not as if this is bad or anything. Also bonus points for She-Hulk with bangs in the X-Men vs. Fantastic Four miniseries.

[j_ay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Claremont has absolutely no stories to tell at this point...

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice collection, really enjoyed the inclusion of the X-Men versus the Fantastic Four miniseries.