Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…Here is my third and final review for the week, ‘Uncanny X-Men: First Class’. Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men: First Class  #2 (preview)
Writer: Scott Gray
Artist: Roger Cruz

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue begins with Colossus rushing to aid his fallen friend, Nightcrawler. Although he had been struck down, Kurt was merely knocked out. Gorgon wants to kill him out of hand but Blackbolt decrees that there must be a trial.

Triton agrees to help Piotr. They try Lockjaw first but the inhuman canine was asleep and could not be awoken.  So they call the X-Men for assistance. Cyclops, Storm and Banshee set out in the Blackbird but are soon joined by Jean in flight.

There is a brief interlude with some scientists studying the sun for new solar flares and seeing what appears to be humanoid figures emerging from it.

Nightcrawler’s trial begins and all Kurt wants is a chance to speak his peace.  He talks about their forcing their children to change and makes a moving speech which enrages Gorgon and many of the Inhumans.

The X-Men arrive to help defend him but the fury of the mob overwhelms Jean’s senses and she pulls Kurt away. Gorgon immediately attacks and a battle breaks out between the mutants and the Royal Family. Colossus and Gorgon’s fight becomes so heated that the Inhuman strikes the ground hard enough to shatter the mountains around the city causing a massive avalanche.

Jean is able to block the rocks but knows she will not be able to hold it for long. Cyclops suggests turning the shield into a funnel and Blackbolt uses his voice to pulverize the stones. He then pardons Kurt as an outsider who is not bound by the laws of the Inhumans. The two groups part as allies if not exactly friends.

On the way back Jean and Scott have a fight over her actions that started the conflict. In the end we see Wolverine has finally landed from Gorgon’s kick. He crashes into a farm in Georgia near Russia.

MY TAKE: This was a decent if simplistic issue. Most of the comic focused on Nightcrawler and Colossus which is an interesting dynamic but ultimately not the best pairing to me personally. It also did not seem to know exactly what message it wanted to convey. Complete acceptance of yourself or acceptance by society and the people around you. Kurt seems to want both but cannot accept the customs or practices of those that welcomed him without reservation. Kurt’s speech was especially heavy handed. Calling children perfect from birth when he has hated and hid his face most of his life was extremely contradictory.

Of course, all of this is mostly an excuse to drum up tension between the teams and lead to a fight scene and that is done well. I liked how Cyclops was questioning his training and command during the battle and most of the match ups were done well.  It was also fitting that in the end, the X-Men had to save the city after it was endangered by one of their own.

Beyond that, the story is straightforward and basic. It is something we have seen plenty of times before but it is strong enough to make for an entertaining read. The characters are starting to come into their own and be more recognizable. Wolverine is still being played for humor which I dislike, it is not a role that he is well suited for. But the rest are being done well and I appreciated Jean’s trouble with her power and Scott’s displays of leadership.

I am not a huge fan of the art although it is pretty effective at grabbing attention. It is overdone, especially the faces to the point where they often do not look human. Everything is exaggerated including having the colors being extremely vibrant almost to the point of distraction.

In the end it was a straightforward but not badly written comic. It was decently scripted but not very orginal or unique. It still feels like the writer is getting a handle on the story and the characters. But it still comes across pretty well and manages to have its own voice and direction. Only time will tell if the series manages to correct its flaws and becomes a truly worthy successor to the First Class brand.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…For my next exciting review we have ‘X-Men: Forever’. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men: Forever  #5 (preview | thread)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Tom Grummett
Inker: C. Hamscher

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Gambit and the young Storm under fire. Remy tosses the child off the bridge to keep her from being shot. Rogue is able to catch her before she hits the water and Nightcrawler deals with the squad of shooters.

We then see Cyclops’ team showing up just in time to save the elder Storm from her Consortium compatriots. The group takes the men down quickly but it is Storm who kills the last one who is trying to use her as a shield. She is then able to summon her winds and escape to the skies.

S.H.I.E.L.D. shows up quickly to take into custody the agents that Nightcrawler defeated while Jean attempts to read the minds of the other group. Sabretooth is able to sniff out a secret door which leads into a warehouse with water access. S.H.I.E.L.D. shows up again and takes control before the X-Men have a change to look around. Cyclops wants to protest but he is called back to the mansion by Hank on an urgent matter.

Fury is living up to his name questioning everyone around him in the wake of the Consortium revelation. He is informed that the plane that was transporting Cortez has disappeared.  We then see Cortez who is being handed over to Consortium troops by his S.H.I.E.L.D. captors.

Back in the mansion Beast tells the others that both the older and the young Storm identically match every scan they have ever done on Ororo. But that is not all, Hank has also found some old files in the system that indicate that mutant’s own powers burn out their bodies and it is impossible for them to live past the age of sixty. The rest of the team is shocked that Xavier kept this from them but despite their anger Fury convinces them they are still needed as X-Men for now.

The issue ends with a small memorial for Logan where Scott confronts Jean about her feelings and she admits that she loves Wolverine and not him. Scott vows to keep Xavier’s dream alive and despite everything he wants to set things right.

MY TAKE: I am not sure what it is about this series but it seems to suck you right in. Looked at objectively I do not know why but it remains one of the most entertaining and fun new series I have seen in a long time. The characters are done well and even though some of the plot points do not make much sense it still manages to read very well.

That is not to say that the issue and the series do not have problems. The biggest one so far has been pacing. So much is being thrown at us so quickly that it is hard to care about any of it. For example the big reveal in this issue, coming on the heels so many other huge plot points, made me unable to feel any real outrage. Now it is a clever idea and I can understand the X-Men being upset but it just seems less important. It also struck me as a bit too much like Decimation in that we have yet another doomed mutant race scenario.

While the characters are starting to get back in their roles, there is still enough odd behavior to be noticeable. Sabretooth playing nice and Scott pretty much shrugging off being dumped by Jean are good examples of this. I am sure Claremont is attempting to make a base line for his series but as a long time X-Men fan, some of his interactions are hard to take seriously.

About the only other problem I had with the comic was in the coloring. Jean’s hair looked very pink for a lot of the issue and several other colors just did not seem to have come through correctly. Of course that could have just been my issue but it was noticeable.

But none of those problems really detract from the entertainment value of the series. Claremont has managed to hit a note that is both modern and retro and over the top without being silly or stupid. It is a hard balance to find and yet he is managing with each issue so far. If he can keep up both the tone and the plots then I expect he will have a very long run on this series.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…There wasn’t anything worth a review last week, but I am back this week for three fun-filled issues, starting with a bang reviewing Part 4 of Utopia. Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men #514 (preview)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Penciler: Terry Dodson
Inker: Rachel Dodson

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue starts with Trask’s sentinels making their existence known and attacking the city. Scott has a plan however, and meets with Dani, Domino, Mindee and Psylocke to discuss their parts in it. The Cuckoo’s job is to get arrested.

We then visit the Dark X-Men and Avengers where Daken and Bullseye are fighting. Emma steps in breaks it up calling her team into battle to stop Trask’s forces.

They are ported to the main site of the disturbance and Emma leads her people into battle. She makes saving the civilians the priority.  She scans the minds of the sentinels and finds nothing human left, so gives the order for maximum force.

Scott takes a group out to watch their progress, consisting of Pixie, Colossus, Northstar, Iceman, X-23, Dazzler, and either Armor or Karma.

Emma’s X-Men are doing well, though cracks do show in their team work. Cloak and Dagger feel forced into the team, Namor hates humanity and Daken is too savage. Interestingly Mimic wants to help the sentinels while Omega wants to lash out at them.

We briefly see Dani arrive in Las Vegas to meet with someone about her task but we do not learn any more about it.

Scott brings his group to a roof where they can study Emma’s team. He has picked his people specifically to take out a target and wants them to study their enemy. They are given a good show as the Dark X-Men perform flawlessly. They learn that Trask is at St. Francis Hospital and teleport there to find him.

Meanwhile, Illyana is with X-Force waiting for Wolverine’s arrival. X-23 returns from her studying just in time to see Logan rise from the river and vow to get their people back.

At the end we see the science team with Betsy. They are arriving at a site under the ocean to install a device at an underwater site that will spell the end for the X-Men in California.

MY TAKE: This issue is really starting to ramp up the plot and tie the story elements together. I am getting more and more interested in the conclusion of the story as it goes along, which speaks well of the writing. I am still a bit concerned that, with only two issues left, we will be given a naturally flowing conclusion rather then one that feels rushed or tacked on.

It is already starting to feel a bit pressed for space. For example several of the plot points only got a page and a couple, like the prisoners, received no screen time at all here. Hopefully there will be enough pages in the last issues to resolve all of the plot points and give them the space they need.

I was very glad to see Cyclops showing some leadership here and the X-Men going out and making a plan. The team has been back on its heels since the beginning and while they should feel like under dogs a bit, they definitely needed to start seizing the initiative. While we do not yet know the whole plan, we are given some very interesting clues and plot points to build on.

I am especially excited about Wolverine finally getting his screen time with X-Force and Dani’s mission to Las Vegas. I do wonder, however, if adding more story lines to the series will cause an even more frantic pace. There is already so much going on that the pay off is going to have to be something really special, especially since the last issue is mostly going to be fight scenes.

Besides the pacing issues, my biggest complaint is the artwork, especially the women. They are all drawn identical so you can not tell who is who without either an intro box or someone saying their name. I still am not sure who the other girl that went with Cyclops is and I had no idea it was Illyana at the end until Wolverine spoke to her.

In the end we have another strong issue of a really big story that is being crammed to fit into six comics. But even with the lack of space, it reads well and has kept me interested and entertained since the first issue. I can not wait to see what the last two issues has in store for us.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Convention season continued with Chicago Comic-Con and another batch of Wolverine news…

• CBR: Mondo Marvel Panel with Jason Aaron (details)
• CBR: Ultimate Marvel Panel with Wolverine Update (details)
• CBR: X-Men Panel with Wolverine One-Shots by Frank Tieri (details)
• CBR: Tieri Talks Wolverine (details)
• Marvel: Wolverine vs. Thor (details)
• Marvel: Wolverine vs. Mr. X (details)
• CBR: Cornell, Kirk and Lowe Talk Dark X-Men (details)

In other Wolverine News from around the Web…

• CBR: Craig Kyle & Chris Yost on Necrosha (details)
• Houston Chronicle: Wolverine vs. Dr. Octopus in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Strip (details)

And last but not least, ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ episode 15, “Hunting Grounds”, aired this past Friday, with Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch in MojoWorld against a mind-controlled Wolverine …

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 8/12/09…
–Ms. Marvel #43 (preview): Wolverine may cameo in the War of the Marvels…
–Uncanny X-Men #514 (preview): Utopia continues…
–Uncanny X-Men: First Class #2 (preview): The X-Men vs. the Inhumans…
–X-Men Forever #5 (preview): Wolverine is still dead…

Shockingly, Wolverine appeared in only ONE TITLE this past week (August 5, 2009), the final chapter of Ultimate X-Men…

Ultimatum: X-Men Requiem #1
(preview | thread)
Writer: Aron E. Coleite
Artist: Ben Oliver

As much as I despised Ultimatum, Aron Coleite is a terrific writer and does bring a true sense of sadness to the closing chapter of the Ultimate X-Men series. One can’t help but wonder if his hand would have brought a steadier flow to the remaking of the Ultimate universe.

Wolverine does appear, in a sense, and if you haven’t read this issue, do visit the preview to see what I mean.

Unfortunately, we all know that sooner or later Ultimate Wolverine will return, but I, for one, would prefer if he and the rest of the X-Men remained buried.

Share your opinion in the comments below OR join in on the fun in the Wolverine Files Forums…

The San Diego Comic-Con (officially Comic-Con International: San Diego), wrapped last week, but there is still some post-con Wolverine news dribbling out…

• Newsarama: Marvel X-Dead Shall Rise in Necrosha (details)
• Newsarama: Van Lente & Calero Return for ‘X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain’ (details)
• Newsarama: The Dark X-Men Go to War (details)

In other Wolverine News from around the Web…

• Bleeding Cool: The Wolverine Alphabet? (details and Sean Gordon Murphy portfolio)
• CBR: ‘Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus’ #1 Sneak Preview (details)
• Houston Chronicle: Wolverine vs. Dr. Octopus in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Strip (details)

And last but not least, ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ episode 14, “Stolen Lives”, aired on Friday, a particularly strong episode dealing with Wolverine’s time with Team X…

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 8/05/09…
–Ultimatum: X-Men Requiem #1 (preview): Ultimate X-Men Epilogue by Aron Coleite…

Wolverine appeared in FOUR TITLES this past week (July 29, 2009), as well as one significant Dark Wolverine appearance and a posthumous presence in X-Men Forever #4 (reviewed by our very own jrpbsp).

As usual, I will share my curmudgeonly impressions for the rest of the Wolverine docket…

Ultimatum #5 (preview | thread)
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: David Finch
Inker: Danny Miki

This much delayed finale has many of the same problems that the previous issues have had. Whole-scale slaughter without an ounce of grief, horrifically bad dialogue and plot resolutions reduced to single-page pinups.

That said, Wolverine does get to go out in style — perhaps the best single moment of the entire miniseries…

Wolverine Noir #4 (details)
Writer: Stuart Moore
Pencils: C.P. Smith

Another mediocre series mercifully comes to an end.

While ‘X-Men Noir’ had its moments, I must say that I never warmed to this series. And one hopes that sooner or later, Marvel will finally put this Noir concept out of its misery..

New Avengers #55 (preview)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Stuart Immonen
Inks: Wade von Grawbadger

Wolverine has cameos in two panels before returning to San Francisco…

Fantastic Four #569 (preview)
Story: Mark Millar
Script: Joe Ahearne
Pencils: Stuart Immonen
Inks: Wade von Grawbadger & Scott Hanna

Gratuitous Wolverine cameo sans dialogue…

Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2 (preview)
Writer: Rob Williams
Pencils: Paco Diaz
Inks: Guillermo Ortega

After the wonderfully subtle handling of Daken in ‘Dark Wolverine’ by Marjorie Liu, I found this tale of Daken joining the Dark X-Men to be rather heavy handed and blatantly contradictory…

Share your opinion in the comments below OR join in on the fun in the Wolverine Files Forums…

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Here is my one review for this week ‘X-Men: Forever’. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men: Forever #4 (preview)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Tom Grummett

Note: This issue does not contain Wolverine.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with the hidden group assessing the situation and deciding to cut their losses with Storm.

We then cut to Storm reacting to Kitty having cut her face. Kitty has one of Wolverine’s claws that is apparently a part of her. She and Storm fight briefly before Storm throws up some concealment and flees toward the Morlock tunnels.

The rest of the X-Men are trapped in the Danger Room with a power inhibitor. Xavier appears to tell them her can not track Storm. Kitty uses her new claw and frees the team from the outside.

Fury, Beast and Xavier discuss the problems with Storm and Kitty’s new power. They theorize that Kitty got the claw when she phased with Logan during the fight with Cortez.

Sabretooth offers to go with the team to get revenge against Storm. Scott agrees but only if Creed plays by their rules. He accepts and Scott splits them up. He, Creed, Kitty and Jean will pursue Ororo through the tunnels while Rogue, Kurt and Gambit take to the skies to head her off.

Hank takes some blood from Kitty’s claw to analyze the DNA. He then manages hot wire the power grid enough to use the orbital scanner to find Storm. They find two separate hits, and send Rogue’s group after the second target.

Scott’s team makes contact quickly and are hit with a surprise attack. The team recovers and Storm is forced to hit them with a whirlwind to buy herself time to run again. She makes it to the surface to find Consortium agents waiting for her. They are not there to help but rather to kill her.

Rogue’s team, meanwhile, lands on the Brooklyn Bridge and finds the source of the second signal. It is Storm still in her child phase. She hugs Gambit as we see an infrared scope draw a bead on them.

MY TAKE: While this issue is still good I feel like it has slipped a bit in quality this time around. Perhaps because they are coming out so quickly, I felt several things were not well explained and some of the characterizations felt off. Nothing was bad enough to really hurt the still strong story but it did impede the flow a bit.

I am seriously wondering why they bothered to set this in any part of the canon 616 world though. Claremont obviously has things he wants to do and it would have been a lot easier if he could have simply started with the team and abilities he wanted rather then having to make up excuses.

The biggest one of these is the sudden status changes we are getting. Cortez’s power is starting to look a lot like magic. He is only supposed to be a power and life amplifier but now he can transfer abilities and fix people’s heads too? Not to mention adamantium suddenly bonding to a normal skeleton. Add to that Logan and Jean being in love and Creed being willing to work with the X-Men and it feels like a What If?

Now that is not really a bad thing. As long as the story is good and the characters are strong, and these are, I love the What If? stories. In fact I am very much drawn into the world and plot that Claremont is crafting. He has some great ideas and the execution is good, he is just having to spend far too much time explaining away the status quo and it detracts from the story.

My only real problem with the actual story, outside of the changes, is Claremont’s love and overuse of Kitty. She is a personal favorite of mine, but he tends to make her the end all be all on the team. Her powers work when the others do not. She is given an unbreakable claw so she can fight and so on. I would rather he spread out the action more and give the others things to do.

In the end the story and plot remain strong but he is trying to make too many changes too quickly, in my opinion, and the cracks are starting to show. However, once we get through this initial story arc, I expect everything will settle down and we will be back to just telling stories. And that is the series’ strongest part.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

Sorry for the late posting of Wolverine News this week, and yes, I know the con is officially named Comic-Con International: San Diego, but it’s still the San Diego Comic-Con to me…

So without further ado, let’s get to the Wolverine-related news announced over the weekend…

• CBR: Daniel Way Talks Wolverine(s) (details)
• Newsarama: An X-Forced Confession from Chris Yost (details)
• CBR: Kyle, Yost, Carey and Wells Talk X-Crossover ‘Necrosha’ (details)
• CBR: Mondo Marvel Panel (details)
• CBR: X-Men Panel (details)
• CBR: Marvel Animation Panel (details)

And lest we forget, Wolverine continues his guest-starring role in the Amazing Spider-Man comic strip (details)

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 7/29/09…
–Dark X-Men: Beginnings #2 (preview): How Daken joined the Dark X-Men…
–The New Avengers #55 (details): Wolverine makes a mess of Cap’s apartment…
–Ultimatum #5 (details): Finally, the finale…
–Wolverine Noir #4 (preview): Another merciful finale…
–X-Men Forever #4 (details): Guest-starring Wolverine’s claw!

Wolverine appeared in FIVE TITLES last week (July 22, 2009), as well as one significant Dark Wolverine appearance.

So without further ado, our very own jrpbsp provides write-ups for…

• Wolverine: Origins #38: A Touch of (Omega) Red…
• X-Force #17: Time to Kill…
• Wolverine: First Class #17: Eyepatches Back in Style…

As usual, I will share my curmudgeonly impressions for the rest of the Wolverine docket…

Dark Wolverine #76 (preview)
Writers: Daniel Way & Marjorie Liu
Pencils: Giuseppe Camunculi
Inks: Onofrio Catacchio

As longtime readers will attest, I am no fan of Daken. But Marjorie Liu continues to impress on this ‘Dark Wolverine’ run.

Sure Daniel Way’s name is first on the credits, but his stories have never been about finesse, nor has his dialogue ever been so crisp.

So forgive me if I credit this wonderfully Machiavellian escapade to the New York Times bestselling author.

And if the upcoming ‘Dark Wolverine’ story teasers are to be believed, this fun ride promises to continue for a while more…

Amazing Spider-Man #600 (details)
Writer: Dan Slott
Pencils: John Romita, Jr.
Inks: Klaus Janson

A dying Dr. Octopus takes over Manhattan with his mind, and the New Avengers kick Spider-Man out until they can (unsuccessfully) fix the problem.

Best Wolverine line? Comes in response to Ronin’s comment that Spider-Man listens to Wolverine. “‘Cause he knows I’ll pop a claw in his ass.”

Profanity translation courtesy of DiG…

Ms. Marvel #42 (preview)
Writer: Brian Reed
Artist: Sana Takeda

Wolverine: Carol? Hey… you okay?

And this concludes Wolverine cameo theater…

Share your opinion in the comments below OR join in on the fun in the Wolverine Files Forums…