Dark X-Men

Dark X-Men #2

by Paul Cornell, Leonard Kirk

From the dust of UTOPIA comes DARK X-MEN! Never one to say "die," Norman Osborn is keeping what's left of HIS X-Men alive. MYSTIQUE! DARK BEAST! WEAPON OMEGA! MIMIC! They are the public face of mutants in an Osborn world. And what a face they are! But what does Nate Grey, a.k.a. X-MAN, have to do with it? The critically acclaimed team of PAUL CORNELL (BLACK WIDOW, TV's Dr. Who) and Leonard Kirk (CAPTAIN BRITAIN and MI13) take on the world of X!

COLLECTING:

Dark X-Men #1-5

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Fiction, Superheroes, Comic Book

120 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2009

About the author

Paul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out from Tor on December 6th.

via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Osborn's Dark Reign incarnation of the X-Men with the likes of the Dark Beast, Mystique, Omega and the Mimic! No holds barred in this nice piece of work as the team is bereft of most decent qualities and is essentially a group of head-cases! The main tale features the return of long forgotten mutant headliner(!); and how Osborn, The Dark Avengers and Dark X-Men deal with it. Good writing.
I read the comic books that make up this volume - Dark X-Men # 1-5, The Beginning #1-3 and Confession. A solid 8 out of 12, Four Star experience.

2018 and 2011 read

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please H.A.M.M.E.R., Don’t Hurt ‘Em.

Dark Reign, inverting the Marvel Universe - Evil is masked as Good, Good is on the run - was a great concept, but unfortunately, as a whole the crossover event didn’t deliver the goods. The Dark Avengers was one of the better runs, this is one of the worst.

Norman Osborn was once the Green Goblin, a first class loon, but meds helped him get his obsession with mounting Spider-Man’s head on a pike under control. Kind of. Now he’s a manipulator that would give Machiavelli a run for his money. He is now in control of H.A.M.M.E.R., the antithesis and replacement of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he wants to keep the mutant population in line, so what does he do but form is own X-Men team – Mystique and a bunch of head cases, Omega, Mimic, and, my favorite evil-psycho-doppelganger-from-an-alternate-reality, Dark Beast.

Enter Nate Grey, a mutant so powerful that he’s called X-Man. The X-Man. The promise here is never fully realized Having one of the most powerful mutants outwitted inside the mind of Norman Osborn, by the Green Goblin, please?. Some nice moments and a dollop of welcome humor (usually revolving around the Dark Beast) is not enough to put this title into the recommended pile.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this 3 stars, because I'm admittedly not up to date on what's been happening with the X-Men. Also, Dark Reign was not my favorite story arc. So possibly some of my problems with this book stem from those two factors?

Eh, at any rate I found myself scratching my head...a lot. There were several (main) characters that I didn't recognize at all, which didn't help matters. Plus, they were kinda dorky.
Mystique is goodish now, but Norman has planted explosives inside her body to keep her in line. Okaaay.
Nate Grey comes back, and is somehow outwitted and imprisoned by Osborn/Green Goblin. Riiiiight.
The best part was when our Dark X-Men make their journey inside Osborn's mind. Yep. They are helped my some Top Secret group of psychics. Um. Yeah, it's literally a huge group of people with psi powers who are all sort of suspended in the air like a giant human ball. I don't... Yeah.

Anyhoo, the thing that really got on my nerves were the captions describing each character at the start of every issue. They started off sort of cute, and then quickly devolve into the kind of humor you have to be high to get. Maybe not even then.
Whatever. 3 stars, because maybe I'm not clever enough to get it.

[Gary Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

8th book read in 2019.

Number 247 out of 756 on my all time book list.

Started out really slow but the last 2.5 chapters were amazing.

[Leila Anani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Norman Osborn has created a team of Dark X-Men - Mystique, Mimic (Basically a manic depressed angel), Omega Red (insane) and Dark Beast to counter the godly powerful Nate Grey. The Dark Avengers are drawn in as well.

I'll start with the positives: The artwork on this is top notch - it looks gorgeous. It also has a couple of great moments like the giant brain made up of bodies of psychics and Osborn nicely summing up the X-Men as "Mutants are super heroes with politics". I also liked the way this questioned who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. It was also nice to see the Green Goblin make an appearance - and he looked great.

What I disliked was the story and the characters. Mystique, Dark Beast and the Goblin aside the other characters were insane and unlikeable. Omega Red - off his rocker and pretty much drunk every time he got a burst of energy. Mimic I hated. Whiney, depressive and not very useful. Disliked the villain Nate Grey as well.

Another thing which annoyed me was all the music references. This collects together 5 comics. So each chapter each of the characters is re-introduced with their name, a pithy description and the title of a pop song. In volume 1 it's all Beatles tracks, v2, The Rolling Stones, V3. Kate Bush and v.4 David Bowie. In the last volume the songs are all made up. I found this off putting and didn't add anything at all other than to increase my annoyance and distract from the story.

Far from my favourite X-Men but the artwork makes it worth a look.

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

A forgettable entry into the X-Men chronology. During the Marvel Dark Reign era (aka brown color pallete year), Norman Osborne has assembled a team of unaffiliated mutants to appear as his X-Men. This series seems mostly designed to bring back Mutant X (Nate Grey) and make him interesting again, but I can't be bothered. The alternate universe clone brother uncle's second cousin's former roommate of Cable schtick from the 90s is and always has been an exhausting fanfic experiment in the X-Men universe. A bunch of writers have tried to make it interesting, but it just isn't, and doesn't seem like it ever will be.

Pitting Nate Grey against Norman Osborne, King Of The Entire World during 2010, might have been interesting if every other book that came out that year wasn't Marvel Character Vs. Norman Osborne.

The climactic moment in the book feels like it should be agonizing, but the book never earns the emotional investment for the final panel to have its desired effect.

I don't recommend this as part of an X-Men read, it really exists solely for fans of Dark Reign, and, I guess Nate Grey.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing on from X-Men: Utopia, Dark X-Men is the story of the remaining fake X-Men: Mystique, Omega (Michael Pointer), Mimic, and Dark Beast. It's a fun cast, made even more interesting by Cornell's sharp writing, which is irreverent and wacky in a way allowed by Marvel in the early '10s.

The story itself is about the return of Nathan Gray following the demise of his old X-Man series and himself. And, the story is about what green neuroses lie inside the brain of Norman Osbourne. It's all around carried off well, again with the wackiness that's often Cornell's trademark.

Overall, a series that's more out there than the rest of the Dark Reign, but it's still an intriguing bit of whimsy.

[Lissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a huge X-nut, but once I read a spoiler that Nate Grey was coming back in this title, I just had to buy it. I love Nate Grey (and Cable...sigh...I'm sad that he's gone again once his role as "super-nanny" was over), and this book was worth reading about how he manages to come back to earth.

The book is actually quite good. I didn't care for the little Matt Fraction-esque captions, but Cornell wrote the book well otherwise. There were some funny scenes, balanced out by some disturbing ones. The art was okay, but nothing spectacular.

Note for any other Nate Grey fans: Although Dark X-Men was just a limited series and is now over, Nate remains and makes an appearance in New Mutants. I'm definitely going to be checking that title out for more X-Man.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collects Dark X-Men issues #1-5

I'm currently reading through Brian Michael Bendis' full run on the Avengers titles, and I'm in the middle of "Dark Reign." Because of that, I decided to check out "Dark X-Men" to see how it might connect to the other titles I'm reading. It wasn't really a necessary read, but I loved seeing X-Man (Nate Grey) play such a big role in this book. He was one of my favorite characters to come out of the "Age of Apocalypse," and it is fun for me to learn more about him in this book. Norman Osborn's Dark X-Men are made up of:

-Mystique
-Dark Beast
-Mimic
-Omega

Final rating = 2.5 stars

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I am critical, since I think I am an artist and all that, but I felt the art could have been better, though some of the compositions were brilliant. The writing however was excellent! Well, except for characterization,... as I found myself sympathizing most with evil Norman Osborn. But that is also what made this such a cool story.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The spotlight moves away from the real X-Men to Osborne's Dark X-Men for this volume. Which was an interesting choice, as we saw what happened recently with the team, so you would think they'd have covered what they wanted to. But actually, there was a decent story again with this team.

We see a lot of Osborne madness, of course, but we also get the surprising inclusion of Nathan Summers, the X-Man. Which makes it interesting because the deus ex machina that Osborne always trots out is the Sentry. Obviously, no one can really stand against him so he usually clams everything down just by having Bob walk into the room. However, with Nathan, we have someone who is a formidable, and maybe even superior, opponent. I also loved the showdown between the two, as Nathan "wins" not with punching, but with simple questions.

The covers by Simon Bianchi were awesome, as was the interior art of the Leonard Kirk. I think the art team as whole made the book look great, which definitely makes the book feel more important. Even though its just a tie in pretty much.

I would say, even if you aren't into the whole "Dark Reign" event that was happening during this time, check this out if you like the X-Men. It was surprisingly good.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing the great x-read of 17/18...

I feel like any writer that is going to include Mystique in their book should be forced to read the first couple volumes of her solo series first. It did such amazing things with her character and nearly all of that was quickly forgotten and it sucks.

So, yeah. I am just not sold on the Dark Reign storyline at all. So that brings this down a star probably.

And then there are TWO Kate Bush references in one volume. So that takes it up a star (yes, I am serious...)

I don't know. It was by no means a bad book at all. I think the writer/artist did what they could with the mess that is Dark Reign. There is some interesting character work for sure - it is mostly the main plot that suffers.

I really wish Marvel would stop forcing all of their books into crossovers that don't fit them (and yes, I know it will only get worse from this point...).

[Judah Radd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such an exciting premise, done so poorly.

I was stoked that Nate Grey was involved. I was even more stoked to learn that he’d be fighting the Sentry, encountering Osborne and becoming involved in the greater Marvel universe after being gone for so long. All of these things were huge draws.

And then it completely shit the bed in this poorly written, boring rushjob of a comic.

How the hell is Norman Osborne able to overpower the most powerful psychic of all time? It makes no sense. All of the most interesting directions this story could have taken were skipped over. Why not dwell on X-Man’s reunion with Dark Beast, for fucks sake?! That’s the stuff that made this concept interesting. They shat it away.

What a disappointment. Yeah, the art was ok. Not terrible. But the story was such a slog. This 5 issue book felt very long.

Do not read.

[Christopher Fergo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A weak X-Men comic from the Joe Quesada era.

For a stand-alone graphic novel, you're thrown into a larger story arc (Dark Reign) that goes largely unexplained. The artwork does look nice, but the story is confusing. It is more Norman Osbourne-centric than X-Men.

TLDR: Artwork nice, story shite.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but not amazing. I didn't really get all the song references in the little blurbs about each character. Norman seemed a little too in control of himself at the end. Mystique seemed too nice much of the time. I am super curious about the fate of X-man.

[Carla Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma história extremamente legal e sobre os Dark X-Men que eu ainda não tinha lido nada.
Mas a parte dentro do cérebro do Norman e o discurso final do Nathan Grey me quebrou as pernas.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comic books aren't really my thing. But I picked this up as an end of the year quick read to get my reading challenge numbers up. I find superhero story predictable and repetitive.

[bwain_twauma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Fazun · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between Dark Beast, Norman Osborne and that creepy hive mind there is plenty of body horror to go around. I liked this more than I thought I would.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuff I Read: Dark X-Men

Perhaps this isn’t the place for such an examination, but reading this mini-series has sort of stabilized a thought I had about the X-Men franchise, and perhaps about all franchise team comics. I mean, there is something to be said about a team that has been around for forty years. And yet these characters never graduate. Characters like Mystique and Mimic are in the exact place they were in when they were first introduced, which given the state of the X-Men, is not surprising. Sure, new X-Men pop up every now and again, whole new teams at times, and yet the core team is still made up of X-Men. Not New Mutants, because they have their own team. Not X-Force members or X-Factor members or even really Excaliber members. It’s like if they didn’t start as X-Men then they never quite get there.

And so it goes with the Dark X-Men. Here they are again, never quite good enough to move on, to change in any lasting way. Mystique has many times dawned the hero garb, as has Mimic, but time after time they come back to being just another evil mutant. Not that they are bad or lacking in this regard. Or, at least they are not less entertaining in this regard. The story shows their strengths fittingly, a group of foils, people to be beaten, to follow a stronger force. These are not leaders. Not Mystique, who is supposed to be the leader. Not any of them. Osborn is their Magneto, their Professor X. He uses them, and effectively, and by doing so he is the one to benefit.

Using X-Man as the hero, or villain, or whatever, only further shows their place. For both X-Man and Osborn treat them as little more than tools, and while X-Man tells them in the end that he could have helped them be more, perhaps the more tragic note is that they are not more than they appear. What they need is not someone to guide them, but a hand to use them. Because without that they are just messed up people, with much interest or purpose.

It was very well executed as a whole. The series shows these D list cast for what it is, reveals them even to themselves. Though slow at times, it delivered the right amount of action and pathos, and in the end I cannot help but recommend it with an 8.75/10.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sólo a un guionista británico se le puede ocurrir resucitar a un personaje porque sí y con una excusa pedorra y que quede bien. O a Whedon o a Brubaker. Acá vuelve un personaje que me encantó durante gran parte de mi adolescencia pero así como me enganché con sus historias me desenganché de un día para el otro. Mientras leía sabía que toda la grandilocuencia que largaban acá iba a terminar en nada pero me daba la sensación de que el guionista también lo sabía, así que procuró contar una historia entretenida y bien armada en vez de la enésima crisis secreta del universo infinito. El dibujo no la rompe pero es correcto y funcional. Después veo si hay alguna otra cosa interesante de "Reinado Oscuro" y/o de Cornell, porque este tomo no fue lo que se dice una mala experiencia.

[Bill Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dark X-Men is a book I picked up on the strength of the creative team alone. Paul Cornell is clever and Leonard Kirk is a solid penciler. But the story is a bit of a throwback already. It takes place when Norman Osborne was running the world after the events of Secret Invasion. There are some shots of his Dark Avengers and some references to a period best left forgotten. The story is centered around a battle between Nate Gray and Osborne and it's a bore. These guys did much better work on other projects.

[David Edmonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark X-Men isn't necessarily a bad story, just not all that engaging. We learn that Norman Osborn may be a little more crazy than he's been letting on. Mystique REALLY wants to be free of his influence. Dark Beast is creepy, no question now, but all in the name of science! And Nate Grey is back, he's pissed, but maybe he is a little overconfident these days. Again, this is one of those volumes that may not seem so important now, but may be laying some necessary groundwork for later.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. The character were fleshed out and consistent. There were lots of great little touches(descriptions of the character from Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Bowie songs) and reference to the characters' history.

The only downside is the ending. It's great, but I didn't understand how all of a sudden X-Man had a phsyical body when he didn't at any point before in the story. The mood/message at the end was well delivered.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decidedly off-kilter look at a decidedly off-kilter team. The trick that Cornell manages to pull off wonderfully is allowing you to kind of connect with a bunch of sociopaths and nutjobs. The part that doesn't work so well...is allowing the reader to feel like this story matters. Because, really, as much as it would like to, the story doesn't, in the larger scheme of things. Like, at all.

[Matt Brakensiek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting story along the same line of Dark Avengers (villains posing as heroes under the leadership of Norman Osborn). While this book brings in many of the more interesting/lesser explored x-villains, it also focuses on lackluster character Nate Grey. Likeable story but not the best and no real influence on x-continuity.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have read this earlier, about the time when I was reading Siege. I think the concept was great, with Nathan Grey as the "anomaly" which drives the plot of this segment. Glad to see how Norman Osborne and the Green Goblin are one and the same.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't manage to live up to Dark Avengers or the even better Thunderbolts under Warren Ellis for one big reason: these characters are super boring, and Paul Cornell doesn't do anything to change that. 'Bad Guy Books' are interesting if the characters are intriguing, but I don't know anything about these characters!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A not very interesting instalment of an alternative X-Men, trying to be dark and edgy but ultimately being quite pedestrian. Plot hangs together loosely, you never get a real sense of what anyone's deal is, it's all just ingredients in a pot that never really rise to anything. Try-hard comic.