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This would be the B-Level X-titles. Now, these are some good titles but I consider them the second tier titles since Messiah CompleX is not running through these titles, showing that Marvel themselves don’t consider them the high-level titles! Anyway, there are 10 titles here.
Oh yeah, Spoilers Ahead.
Catching Up – X-Men B-Titles:
-Astonishing X-Men #23- I was waiting for an issue like this out of the Whedon / Cassady duo. The previous issues just seemed dragged down with too much story and not enough actually going on. Scott Summers has been captured by a Breakworld soldier. He wants to know all about this Leviathan character. Cyclops won’t tell anything and eventually Wolverine and the other young one are captured. It seems that this was all a set up which we see the makings of (via Emma’s telepathy) and it is an awesome scene. The whole issue ends with Cyclops revealing he has his powers and blasting away with his optic blasts! This was an awesome issue, the best Astonishing issue I’ve read in a while. 1/1.
-Cable & Deadpool #’s 45-47- Cable and his Hydra agent friend are being sent through the timestream after their most recent mission. Issue #45 deals with a team-up with Captain America and Bucky, #46 features a team-up with the Fantastic Four where the new FF meet up with the classic FF to team up and bring Deadpool and the Hydra agent back to the current time. They were decent issues but it is lacking the fun and humor when Cable was featured in the title. This is what it looks like when a series is dying a slow death. Issue 47 sees DP teaming with Dr. Strange as Strange sends DP on a mission to restore T-Ray (an old villain) to life in order to save the multiverse. The Cruz art was pretty nice on the last issue but overall, man this title is slowly dying. 0/3.
-Exiles #’s 98-99- From one dying series to another…Issue #98 has the Exiles battling a rogue Fantastic Four team and really, it wasn’t too interesting. The team is sent at the end of the issue to many different realities. In one issue everyone is brought back except Spider-Man 2099, who lives hin his perfect world and is staying there. The last two issues were very seriously rushed and it hurts the quality. #99 leads to the Die By The Sword mini-series. Again, just two lousy issues of a title that is just waiting to be ended. Hopefully the reboot will help, but I doubt it. 0/2.
-Ultimate X-Men #’s 86-88- The Ultimate X-Men must battle Fenris, a brother-sister combo who are helping manufacture Sentinals to destroy all mutants. Bishop reveals that Psylocke is his future wife. Pyro is also infiltrating the MLF to learn more about their group and their leader, Stryfe. It is soon revealed that Stryfe is working with Fenris and using his mutant powers of disruption to create a mutant-human war! Stryfe and Fenris are beaten by the X-Men but not before the Sentinals are sent out to fight the MLF! The X-Men show up and defeat them and they are all shocked when Hank McCoy, who they thought was dead, shows up! There is also a reveal that Bishop is communicating with Cable (in the past) who has Xavier and is training him to stop the threat of Apocalyps! Issue 88 ties up some loose ends and includes an attempt by the Hellfire Club to abduct the Phoenix! There were no problems with the books here this time around. 3/3.
-X-Men First Class #4- This is just a good fun tale of the Beast and Iceman enjoying a vacation together while the other three X-Men are away. They basically take a road trip to Florida (with Warren’s car) and end up saving Florida from a sudden flood. This was just a good, enjoyable issue that makes me remember why I loved these classic X-Men. 1/1.
-The Bottom Line- Damn, a 50% success rate is pretty terrible. Exiles and Cable & Deadpool were just terrible and I am not sad to see these titles go. Astonishing X-Men had a nice turnaround while Ultimate X-Men and X-Men First Class are always solid. Still, 50% is a tough pill to swallow.
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Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
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