Part One: Introduction and
Issues 1-9
Introduction
Sometimes, I wonder why I didn’t buy this series when it
first came out. And sometimes, I’m glad
I didn’t. Eventually, every series or franchise goes through a low
point. And while I may have a certain
loyalty to some concepts, at one point or another over the years, I’ve dropped pretty
much every personal favorite including JLA,
The Avengers, Teen Titans and yes, even, the X-Men. X-Treme
X-Men debuted at a time in which I was becoming disenchanted with the
franchise. I was dropping the entire
line.
And honestly, X-Treme
X-Men was one of the reasons why. I
was very disappointed in Chris Claremont’s return to the X-Men titles in 2000. So I
was happy to see him go and wasn’t particularly interested in following him to
a new title. I did give him half a
chance and bought the first issue of X-Treme
X-Men. I didn’t care for it and
happily washed my hands of not only Claremont’s
new title, but the entire X-Men line.
So why the change of mind? The first step was Claremont’s
second return to Uncanny X-Men in 2005. While there were some obvious missteps in his
third run on the title such as the atrocious Mojo/X-Babies story, I actually
enjoyed the majority of his run. The
next step was a seemingly unrelated purchase via eBay. I bought the entire original run of New Mutants. I discovered that I really enjoyed reading an
entire series in that fashion and I started to keep an eye out for other series
that I could purchase. The third step
happened last summer when I saw the X-Treme
X-Men: Savage Land mini-series in a back issue bin. I went ahead and picked it up. I figured it was only four issues and if I
didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t be out that much in terms of either money or
time. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. Maybe it’s because I didn’t have to pay full
price. Maybe it’s because I was able to
read multiple issues at a time rather than waiting a month between
installments. But whatever the reason, I
enjoyed the Savage Land mini-series and that
was the final step that convinced me that I might also enjoy the parent
title. So when the opportunity arose to
buy the entire series online, I jumped at it. And all that brings us to X-Treme
X-Men #1.
X-Treme X-Men #1
My initial reaction to X-Treme
X-Men #1 was spot on. The issue is a
mess. The X-Treme team is already in Spain when they’re suddenly attacked individually and taken out of commission. It’s not a bad “before the credits” type of
opening. The one major flaw is that Claremont’s newest
addition to the team, Sage, is the only member not immediately defeated. It’s a typical move for Claremont, and a typical bad one. It’s the kind of mistake that writers of fan
fiction are known for. We’re supposed to
believe that long-time superheroes like Bishop and Storm can be taken down so
easily but not the new girl and we don’t.
From there, the story backs up to show us how and why the
X-Men came to Spain in the first place. We’re also treated
to a scene in which we see the Spanish authorities react to the arrival of a
team of American mutants on their soil. It’s a classic story structure- start with the action and then back up
to show us how we got to where we are- but it doesn’t work here. Again, Claremont falls prey to one of his typical mistakes. The exposition is too heavy, the dialogue too wordy. This isn’t just a break from the action. Instead, the action is brought to a
screeching halt. There are several pages
in which the word balloons take up more space than the art. Everything is explained and
over-explained. It’s bad enough when
it’s done with characters we know, like the X-Men, but it’s practically
unreadable when it’s the way that we’re introduced to new characters such as
the Spanish authorities. By the time
that Dr. Maria Pilar Cortes (the Spanish counterpart to Val Cooper) tells Diego
Sandoval (the Spanish Nick Fury) that he’d better act “before this mess turns
into a disaster,” I’m thinking, “too late, it already has.”
Next up is a quick scene with a mysterious villain named
“Vargas.” We actually met him at the
beginning of the issue and there’s supposed to be some confusion as to whether
the X-Men are being attacked by Vargas or the Spanish Action Force. This scene clarifies that the Action Force is
actually attacking the X-Men, which the villainous Vargas doesn’t approve of as
he wants to be the one to dispose of them. But by this point in the story, it’s been so long since we read about
the attack that I’m not sure we care.
Finally, we return to the X-Men. Five members of the team have been dressed in
their costumes and dumped in a sewer. As
they try to figure out what’s happened to them, they’re ambushed by the Action
Force which leaves me trying to figure out what’s happened as well. Didn’t the Action Force already defeat them
in the opening scene? Why would they
dump them in a sewer instead of a holding cell and ambush them a second
time? I understand that it’s a classic
story structure- open with action, explain with exposition, end with action-
but it just doesn’t make sense. At least
this time, the X-Men actually defeat the Action Force. But while they’re still trying to figure out
what’s going on, the floor implodes beneath them and they’re capture for a
second time in the same issue.
Like I said, this issue is a mess. Chris Claremont is displaying all of his
worst characteristics. There’s the new
pet character that looks good at the expense of everyone else: Sage. There’s the heavy-handed exposition. There’s the mysterious new villain with vague
powers: Vargas. By the time I finished
this issue, I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. However, I had paid for the entire series and
I wasn’t going to be dissuaded so easily.
X-Treme X-Men #2-3
The second and third issues are marginally better than the
first. With all of the exposition out of
the way in the first issue, Chris Claremont is able to settle down and tell his
story. We’re still treated to a few
flashbacks- such as a scene in which Storm conscripts Rogue onto the X-Treme
team in issue two- but they’re not as long and they’re more germane to the
story being told. We also learn that
Sage wasn’t the only X-person to have survived the initial attack which
alleviates some of the nepotism problem. Rogue crashed into the ocean and was left for dead. Now, she’s on the loose and is determined to
find out what happened to the rest of her team. Rogue is the star of the second issue, not Sage.
But that only addresses a few of the problems. The rest of the X-Men are still involved in a
running battle with the Spanish Action Force who inexplicably let them go in
the previous issue. Maria Pilar Cortes
is now arguing that the operation should never have been started, despite arguing
in its favor in the previous issue. The
antagonists simply aren’t making any sense. The story gets slightly better when Vargas interrupts Rogue’s attempt to
rescue the rest of the X-Men. Although
his motives are still mysterious, his goal is quite clear and his sword battle
scene is effective. However, the sword
fight turns into another example of a new character being made to look
impressive at the expense of others. Vargas and his two minions defeat veteran X-Men like Rogue, Beast and
Psylocke too easily and Psylocke’s death is too abrupt.
The third issue slows down again as it serves mostly as a
eulogy for Psylocke. The continuing
fight with the Action Force is repeatedly interrupted by flashbacks of
Psylocke’s life. It’s understandable
that
Claremont would want to remind us of the life of this character who so recently
died. Unfortunately, he tries to do more
than just that in these scenes which muddies them. He inserts Sage (then known as Tessa) into
one flashback again attempting to elevate her as major character. And he tries to set up the new Thunderbird as
someone who had been a love interest for Psylocke, which might have worked if
he had been doing a bit more of that before she died except he didn’t. The first two issues had hinted at a possible
relationship with Beast not Thunderbird so we again have flashbacks telling us
a story that seemingly comes out of nowhere.
By the end of the third issue, things don’t look good for
the X-Treme team or the title. The team
has lost two members: Psylocke is dead and Beast is heading back to the mansion
to tend to his injuries (and join Grant Morrison’s team of New X-Men). While they may have reached an understanding
with the Spanish government, Vargas is still on the loose and planning to kill
them. The dynamics of the title are in
the same sorry shape. The two new
members don’t exactly fit in: Sage keeps being made to look better than the
others, while Thunderbird is weak and ineffectual in both fight scenes and in
life. The story is occasionally nonsensical and too frequently interrupted by
back-story and exposition. I can still
find a few things to like- the gorgeous Salvador Larroca art, the swordfight
between Vargas and Rogue- but that’s because I’m looking for things to like.
X-Treme X-Men #4-9
To my surprise, X-Treme X-Men started to improve with the
fourth issue. Which I suppose is a good
thing since I had still had more than forty issues to go. There are a couple of contributing factors to
the improvement in the title. One is the
arrival of Gambit. I realize that Gambit’s
arrival wouldn’t be a plus for everyone. Kurt Busiek once answered the question, “How would you fix Gambit?” with
a blunt, “A hole in the head.” However, I’ve always seen Gambit as a Han
Solo-type. A guy who’s spent the better
part of his life on the wrong side of the law but who shows heart, loyalty,
virtue and nobility when pushed. And in
this case, Gambit makes a perfect counterpart to Vargas: they way that they
dance around each other, the way that they verbally spar when they meet, the
way that Gambit gets on Vargas’ nerves. Vargas is a villain who thinks he’s noble, while Gambit is a hero who
acts like a rogue and it’s a pleasure to see them interact.
The other contributing factor is the increasing prominence
of Destiny’s diaries. The diaries had
been mentioned in the first issue. But
it’s in the fourth issue that the X-Men actually sit down and look through
them. The result is that the team is
given a purpose, a reason for being. They suddenly have two goals- to find the rest of Destiny’s diaries and
to act on the information that they find within. And both goals set up a future conflict with
Vargas. The diaries show that Vargas is
fated to die at the sword of an X-Man. And Vargas has gotten his hands on one of the diaries. Before reading the book, I had thought that
the entire Destiny’s diaries mission would prove to be boring. Yet it’s actually had the opposite effect of
making the title more focused, and therefore more interesting.
The fifth issue offers a couple of other improvements. For one thing, we get a clear description of
Sage’s powers. In her former life as
Tessa, she had always been presented as a telepath. That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t care
for her addition to the team. With
Professor X, Jean Grey, Rachel Summers, Psylocke and the White Queen, the X-Men
have had an abundance of telepaths and they didn’t exactly need another. But now Sage is being described and depicted
as a “living computer.” She suddenly has
a very specific role which doesn’t duplicate that of other team members. Plus, she’s defined as a character by what
she does rather than by looking good at the expense of others. Much to my surprise, I find myself liking
Sage and appreciating what she brings to the team.
Bishop is similarly given a stronger role. In one issue, Bishop takes the “rookie”
Thunderbird aside and gives him advice. In another issue, Sage falsifies a badge for Bishop and he spends some
time working as a homicide detective. While his undercover role sometimes takes
him too far afield from the rest of the team, it’s nice to see him using his
brains as well as his brawn. There is a
bit of confusion that results from the team’s sudden relocation to Australia from Spain but that’s explained a little
later by the 2001 Annual.
At this point, Chris Claremont adds a couple of other
elements to the title. While figuring
out Destiny’s diaries has given the team a focus, it’s a story that’s a little
light on action. Claremont brings in a pair of foes: Red Lotus attacks Gambit and Rogue in the
fifth issue as revenge for his grandfather who he claims had been killed by
Gambit. This also gives Salvador Larroca
a great excuse to dress Rogue in a beautiful Chinese dress for a couple of
issues. Plus, Lady Mastermind begins to
work on Sage as a prologue to Sage’s former master Sebastian Shaw taking a more
active hand. These separate attacks
could have cost the title its focus, but they don’t. Instead, they serve as obstacles that the
heroes must overcome in order to continue their work while also livening up the
story with a bit of action.
Chris Claremont introduces two potential heroes as well:
Heather and Davis Cameron. Heather is a
lifeguard.Davis is a surfer. Unfortunately, their introduction doesn’t go
quite as smoothly.Claremont
plays up Heather’s heroism as a
lifeguard a bit too much in his narration which usually has the effect of
making us resent a character more than admire her. Thunderbird develops a crush on her as well. And while it makes sense that Thunderbird would
be attracted to a strong woman, it does seem odd considering that he was
supposed to be in love with Psylocke who had died fairly recently. Even worse,
Davis seems like little more than a surfboard
slacker. It’s understandable that he
might hit on Storm. It’s not as
believable that she would be interested in him.
Over the next couple of issues, Claremont does a good job of bringing all of
these stories together, causing them to overlap with each other. Lady Mastermind plays with Rogue in one issue
and Davis in another. Red Lotus
discovers that Gambit has been framed and actually fights Sebastian Shaw as a
new X-Men ally. And Rogue and Gambit are
reunited as lovers- something I didn’t think I wanted to see, and something
that I didn’t think could be pulled off in a believable fashion yet something
that feels so right when it actually happens. They had spent time imprisoned together by Red Lotus. They had worked together to escape. The illusions that Lady Mastermind gave to
Rogue reminder her of the love she used to have for Gambit. When they smile at each other at the end of
issue eight, they were friends and partners-in-arms who were attracted to each
other, lovers ready to re-unite rather than two people trapped in the
co-dependent and destructive relationship that had been depicted a couple of
years ago.
However, the best issue so far is easily issue number
nine. The fights are mostly over. The plots are mostly tied up. And the X-Men are recuperating from what
they’ve just gone through. The strongest
story is actually a psychic conversation between Storm, still in Australia,
and Jean Grey, back at the mansion. Often, these psychic conversations are painful to read- heavy on
dialogue, spoken exposition, deep emotional or psychological admissions and
metaphors- but not in this case. Storm
and Jean are treated as old friends. They update each other on what’s been happening to their various teams. And their responses provide some interesting
perspective. Jean Grey tells Storm about
the many goings-on in and around the mansion, including all of the major
elements of Grant Morrison’s first year on New
X-Men: the arrival of Cassandra Nova, the destruction of Genosha and the
public outing of the Xavier Institute as a refuge for mutants. Through Jean, Chris Claremont is able to
update us as readers. Through Storm,
he’s able to respond to those events and it proves to be both an interesting
personal conversation between two friends as well as an interesting
professional response to someone else’s story.
There’s also a surprising development regarding
Lifeguard. I’ll admit that I was
predisposed to dislike her. Based on
comments I had read in several places, I was of the opinion that she was yet
another example of Chris Claremont’s super-strong-woman with a power that
screamed deus-ex-machina. But she proved
to be a more interesting character than I had suspected. Her lack of control kept her from being the
plot contrivance I had feared. Indeed,
in one scene, she needs Thunderbird to rescue her brother because she can’t
control her sudden ability to fly. And
in this issue, I saw the attraction. There’s always been an element of wish fulfillment in comic books and
superheroes. There’s always been that
moment when the reader is supposed to think “I wish I could do that. I wish I could fly like Superman, or that I
could blast someone with a look like Cyclops.” At one point, Lifeguard is thrown into the ocean by Lady
Mastermind. She suddenly develops a
dolphin’s tail and I thought to myself, “Wow, how cool would it be to have that
power.” And I got it: Lifeguard is a
great wish fulfillment character, with just enough restrictions to her powers
to keep her from being an immediate out for any story obstacle.
I could hardly believe it myself. I was all set to dislike Sage and Lifeguard,
ready to merely put up with them while reading about characters I liked such as
Bishop and Gambit and Storm. Yet
somehow,
Claremont had turned my expectation around and I found myself warming to both Sage and
Lifeguard. I was accepting them as a
part of the team. I was truly interested
in them and in what they brought to the title. That isn’t to say that X-Treme X-Men was a perfect title at this
point. I still have no idea why Davis
Cameron is in this title, other than to play boy victim. And Thunderbird, despite having a moment to
shine when he saves Davis,
still doesn’t seem to belong. Yet I will
say that these six issues proved to be entertaining and fun. They were a definite improvement upon the opening
story in the first three issues.
Part Two: Issues 10-24
X-Treme X-Men 10-18: Invasion!
I had been pretty disappointed in the first few issues of
this series. The first issue had been
one of the worst first issues I’d ever read. The second and third were marginally better yet still plagued by
problems. However, much to my surprise,
the series started to improve with the fourth issue and I found myself really
enjoying the Australia arc through issue number nine. But the Australia arc was nothing compared to what was coming up next.
The opening wasn’t all that good. The first scene was of Davis Cameron who
apparently now has powers as well. He’s
a group teleporter, able to surf a wave of teleportation and bring others along
in his wake, and yes it’s just as stupid as it sounds. There’s also a bit of play between Davis and Storm, a
relationship I don’t believe at all. We
then jump back in time and the X-Men are again trying to decipher Destiny’s
diaries. Their progress is interrupted
by a beast who claims to be the vanguard of an invasion. He abducts Gambit for reasons unknown and Lifeguard
manages to go along. The X-Men debate
what to do next when Sage reveals that Davis is a latent mutant with powers that would enable them to follow the beast.
At this point, X-Treme X-Men is losing the good will it had
built up in the previous six issues. Sage is again a super-woman, able to do pretty much anything. She’s a living computer, but how does she
know that Davis is a latent mutant? And how does she
have the power to activate him? We
aren’t given satisfactory answers other than that Sage is Sage.
Claremont also tries to carve out a role for Thunderbird but it doesn’t work. Way back in the first issue,
Claremont had included some extra notes about
the characters. He mentioned that
Thunderbird was supposed to be the reader’s point-of-view as the character who
is new to all this. And eventually,
Thunderbird was supposed to find his place on the team as a conscience and a
moral center. But this is Thunderbird’s
first time stepping up as a moral voice and it’s to argue that they have no
right to activate Davis’ powers despite the fact that Davis clearly wants them
to. Davis even smartly throws their own ideology
back in their face by asking them if they’re ashamed of what they are. Instead of being a moral center, Thunderbird
looks weak and afraid. It doesn’t endear
him to us in the least.
Obviously, Davis gets his way. After all, we had already
seen him teleporting the team in the opening scene. The team goes to Madripoor where the enemy is
establishing a beachhead. Plus, we meet
the enemy and his name is Khan.
Despite the weak opening chapter, Khan’s invasion turns out
to be a great story. Chris Claremont and
Salvador Larroca pull out all of the stops in order to make this a big
story. Larroca draws some great
lizard-like invaders as well as multiple battalions in the background.
Claremont includes a few scenes in which the world responds, such as a meeting in the
White House situation room and another of the Avengers. We eventually learn that Khan has created a
force-field around the island of Madripoor while he
brings his troops through an inter-dimensional portal. The world’s military forces and the Avengers
are stuck on the outside- though still fighting to get in- while the X-Men and
a few select allies like Red Lotus and Viper are stuck on the inside alone. Despite the complaints that the X-Men form
their own little universe, this story clearly includes other heroes and gives
us a plausible in-story reason why they aren’t centrally involved.
The story takes an interesting turn when Khan captures Storm
and brings her back to his own dimension to be his queen. Admittedly, we’ve seen this before. It’s not the first time that a heroine has
been added to a villain’s harem. But I
think that Claremont handles it very well. Khan has a
shape-shifter named Shaitan take Storm’s form in order to oppose and distract
the X-Men. Meanwhile, Storm plays along,
pretending to surrender to Khan’s love while we get hints that she’s waiting
for the right moment to strike back. And
back in our world, the X-Men look pretty good as a guerrilla fighting
force. We even get some nice heroic
scenes for Lifeguard as she rescues civilians and for Thunderbird as he gets to
play veteran to the rookie Davis.
Eventually, Rogue –not Sage!- comes up with a plan to defeat
Khan. The only way to stop him is to
shut down his portal. With Storm
missing, Rogue takes over as team leader. She sends the bulk of the team through to Khan’s dimension. Meanwhile, she and Davis will try to keep
Khan’s forces contained on the
island of Madripoor. It’s nice to see Rogue step up as a leader. We can certainly see her potential, and we
can see why Mike Carey will eventually choose Rogue to be the leader of the
team in his title.
I also like how Claremont continues to complicate the action. Vargas reenters the title, still vowing to kill Rogue before she can
fulfill the future predicted in Desiny’s diaries. And with only Davis as an ally, Rogue is certainly
vulnerable. Storm’s role is complicated
by a rivalry within the harem. And even
Khan’s role is complicated when his Storm simulacrum argues against him. Yet the biggest complication belongs to
Lifeguard. Her power has always been the
ability to change into whatever she needs to be in order to save her life or
the life of another. Her power has also always
been uncontrollable. For example, in a
previous issue, she hadn’t been able to activate her power for a situation that
was less than life-threatening. But in
this story, her power takes a scary turn. Apparently, what she needs to save
herself from Khan’s forces is to be an alien. Heather begins to turn into a Shi’ar, a complication that completely
scares her.
From this point, the story just keeps getting bigger. We’re treated to fight after fight, battle
after battle. Yet these aren’t simply
fight comics. Each battle has a specific
goal- to defend a world, to rescue a friend. And Claremont does a great job of jumping from one moment of action to another: Davis
fighting the
invasion forces, Rogue fighting Vargas, Sage fighting Shaitan, Storm fighting
Khan. I was seriously blown away by how
exciting and how good these issues were. This is probably the best story
Claremont has written in more than fifteen years. Multiple
villains, complicated but not confusing action, sub-plots that pay off right
away, impossible odds and moments of triumph- this is really an example of
superhero comics at their best.
However, that’s not the end of the story. Just as Claremont spent some time building up the story, and lingered on the climactic battle, he
also treats us to a real denouement. In
issue 17, we see the X-Men pick up the pieces, literally. Most of the X-Men help clean up debris from
Khan’s invasion. But not all. Gambit and Rogue have been severely
injured. Khan had used Gambit for his ability
to charge things with kinetic energy as a way of powering his portal
device. Freeing Gambit from that device
drained him of his power and nearly killed him. Rogue had been stabbed by Vargas and while that didn’t kill her, it did
cause her power to go haywire. And in
issue 18, we see all those who had been kept outside of Khan’s force-field
enter the remains of the battlefield. We
see Avengers carry X-Men to their hospital beds. We see members of the other X-teams, such as
Nightcrawler, Phoenix and Beast, arrive to help minister to wounds physical (Beast), psychic (Phoenix) and
psychological (Nightcrawler).
Phoenix manages to call
Storm back from the dead in a psychic conversation that’s reminiscent of issue
9. Beast manages to save both Gambit and
Rogue, though both have apparently lost their powers. And Nightcrawler counsels Davis who has
rejected his sister as an alien. In its
own way, this issue is as exciting as the battle. As a reader, you feel like you’ve truly been
through a war- beginning, middle and end.
X-Treme X-Men 19-24: Schism
After the enormous events of the past nine issues, Chris
Claremont gives us a bit of a break. Issue 19 is a quiet issue. The
X-Men are celebrating Thanksgiving in New Orleans, complete with cake and champagne. It’s also a time for the X-Men to reflect on
what they’re going to do next. Heather
Cameron, aka Lifeguard, decides that she has to leave the team. For some reason, she hasn’t reverted to her
human form. She feels that she needs
time to get used to her new alien appearance. She also feels that her brother needs her more than the team. Thunderbird quits the team as well in order
to join her. Rogue and Gambit decide to
leave the team too. They have both lost
their powers and found each other. And
they think that maybe this is their chance to have a normal life together. With so many people leaving the team, Storm
talks to Kitty Pryde about her future plans. Kitty tells Storm that she’s only a phone call away if they need her but
for now she’s planning to go back to college. With the X-Treme team down to Storm, Bishop and Sage, Wolverine decides
to stick around.
Over the past couple of issues, Claremont has strengthened the ties between
his title and the characters appearing in New X-Men and Uncanny. With his next
story, he ties the titles even more closely together. It begins with a murder in Alaska. As he did in Australia,
Bishop inserts himself into the investigation. The trail leads Bishop and Sage to Xavier’s mansion. The killer was apparently a young mutant and
he has now sought refuge with the X-Men.
At first, this story reminded me of everything that I
disliked about Grant Morrison’s run. Previously, the X-Men had been champions of equality and
co-existence. They insisted that they
were homo sapiens superior, a sub-set
of the human species but still human nonetheless. It was the villains like Magneto and the
Hellfire Club who insisted that they were homo
superior, a new species that would
eventually replace humanity. But when
Grant Morrison took over the title, the heroes began to spout the same rhetoric
that was once the province of the villains. The White Queen moved into the mansion but she didn’t sound start to
sound like the X-Men. No, the X-Men
started to sound like her. And all of
this came to fore in this story, especially when the students at the school
attack Bishop and Sage simply for being outsiders.
Claremont,
however, saved this story for me with his second issue. The White Queen may have been spouting
militant mutant rhetoric but Bishop, Sage and Storm weren’t about to join
her. When a riot accidentally triggered
one mutant into transforming into a dragon, Bishop fought to bring her under
control and told her, “You’re not a monster, you’re a human being.” When Storm found out about the activities at
the school, she confronted Emma Frost and challenged her approach. And rather than being a feeble toady to the
White Queen, Professor Xavier inserted himself as a potential mediator. It was nice to see so many of my problems
with Grant Morrison’s approach dealt with so directly in this series. As the
title for this arc suggests, the White Queen’s approach has created a “Schism”
within the X-men.
Even so, Claremont makes sure that this is more than just a story about ideology. It turns out that the youth had been
manipulated by an evil mutant named Elias Bogan. And now that Emma Frost has allowed the child
sanctuary in the mansion, Bogan is able to get his psychic claws into her. The story suddenly turns as the X-Treme X-Men
are now trying to rescue the child and Emma from a villain, rather than trying
to arrest them. Once the X-Men are able
to separate Emma from Bogan, she and Storm are able to set aside their
differences in order to go after the immediate threat.
But that doesn’t mean that the “Schism” is over. While the hostilities may have been set aside
for a moment, they aren’t buried and gone. Once Bogan is defeated, Storm confronts both Professor X and the White
Queen about offering sanctuary to a murderer. Both sides stand their ground and the X-Treme team finally walks out in
order to go their own way. “Schism” is
almost as good as Khan’s invasion. There’s a clash of ideas plus enough plot twists to keep a reader
squirming. At this point, X-Treme X-Men has been on a roll for
more than a year.
In “Schism,” Claremont dealt with what was going on in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men. He follows that
up with a one-shot that looks at what’s been going on in Joe Casey’s Uncanny. Cannonball had been a part of the X-Corporation. His group had recently been involved in a
battle that nearly destroyed the Channel Tunnel connecting England to France and they
had lost Darkstar, one of their own. After the battle, Cannonball decides not to return right away with the
rest of X-Corp. Instead, he joins the
rescue effort helping to pull wreckage and survivors out of the tunnel. He realizes that it’s been a mistake for the
X-Men to separate themselves so much from the rest of humanity. This realization is confirmed when his fellow
rescue workers welcome him openly as a mutant. At the end of the issue, Storm invites Sam to join the X-Treme
X-Men. Sam accepts. Storm’s team isn’t about separating
themselves from humanity. It’s about
fighting for peace and protecting humanity from mutant terrorists. That sounds pretty good to Sam. And it sounds pretty good to me, too.
Part Three: Issues 25-46
X-Treme X-Men 25-30: God Loves, Man Kills II
By this point, X-Treme
X-Men has had a strong run for about twenty issues. And since the next arc- the sequel to Chris
Claremont’s classic graphic novel God
Loves, Man Kills- is the most-hyped
story of this title, there’s no reason to think that it won’t maintain its
level of quality. Unfortunately, that
doesn’t turn out to be the case.
The first mark off is the artistic change. Salvador Larroca drew the first twenty-four
issues without a break. Now, he’s being
replaced by Igor Kordey. Kordey is
actually a competent artist. It’s not
that he’s bad; it’s that he isn’t quite as good as Larroca. And since Larroca stays around as the cover
artist, we’re constantly reminded of that fact. I do have a few specific complaints. Kordey has the tendency, like Frank Quitely, to flatten heads
abnormally. It’s especially a problem
with his depiction of Storm. Plus, he
dresses Kitty Pryde in a trampy leather outfit. I realize that she’s tending bar while putting herself through college
but it just doesn’t fit with her character. However, it’s not all bad. I think he does a great job with Kitty’s body
language and facial expressions when she’s talking to a shrink. And I have no problems with his depictions of
Bishop, Deathstrike or Sage.
The story starts out with a few problems as well. Claremont’s
original God Loves, Man Kills is one of the inspirations for X-Men 2: X-Men United. The movie’s villain, Stryker, is even named
after the villain in
Claremont’s
graphic novel. So the movie sequel is
the reason for the comic book sequel. But the result is a weird blend of influences.
Claremont’s
Stryker was a reverend who had advocated a holy war against mutants- not unlike
modern ministers who preach publicly against gays and lesbians. The movie Stryker was a military man who was
using military tactics and decommissioned bases to strike out at mutant-kind. This Stryker is supposed to be the minister
of the original story but he has some odd connections to the movie version. For
example, the military Stryker had Lady Deathstrike working for him as an
operative. It made sense in the movies
as Stryker was the man behind Wolverine’s adamantium and memory loss. In the comics, Lady Deathstrike and Stryker
are allied as well. She even breaks him
out of custody during a prison transfer. But while Deathstrike refers to the alliance that Stryker struck with
her bosses, there’s no real explanation why the two of them should be working
together other than the fact that they’re connected in the movie. Plus, Stryker has some unexplained connection
with the creators of the Mandroid armor and he ends up running around in a
metal suit for most of the story.
I also became annoyed with the way in which Stryker would
constantly quote Scripture. It worked
well for his introduction and for a few other scenes. But it was overdone and a few of the quotes
were either taken wildly out of context or had little to do with the scene at
hand. The problem was multiplied when we
were introduced to Paul, another pastor with a quote for every occasion. Now, I admit that I have a particular
sensitivity to the portrayal of pastors as a pastor myself. I don’t automatically object to a pastor as a
villain but I want a certain level of characterization and complexity to go
along with it. In the first couple of
issues, I wasn’t sure I was getting that.
However, Paul and his Mount Haven sanctuary turn out to be just what we need. This story doesn’t devolve into the X-Men vs. the evil preacher. Instead, while running from Rev. Stryker,
Kitty Pryde is taken in by another pastor who has been creating a mutant haven
in the Rocky Mountains.
Claremont introduces the complexity I was looking for by setting two pastors on opposing
sides. Even better, this story doesn’t
devolve into good pastor vs. bad pastor. Paul has been creating a sanctuary for mutant children but he’s also
been killing the flat-line families that bring them. He’s every bit as deluded as Stryker and the
X-Men soon find themselves caught in the middle. Yet Claremont doesn’t let this story become a screed against everything religious. While fighting for the middle ground, both
Cannonball and Shadowcat refer to their own faith as the reason why they believe
in peaceful co-existence between humans and mutants. And even the evil preachers are shown to have
some light in them by the end. Paul is
discovered to be a computer construct. But rather than destroying it, Stryker offers to try and rehabilitate Paul. After all, he believes in the possibilities
of redemption. “God Loves, Man Kills II”
turns out to be a morality tale against intolerance and absolutism, but not
against faith. Although it’s not quite
as good as “Invasion,” “God Loves, Man Kills II” turned out to be a lot better
than I had expected based on its beginnings.
X-Treme X-Men 31-35: Intifada
Next up is “Intifada.” With “God Loves, Man Kills II,” Chris Claremont had begun to explore the
issue of co-existence between humans and mutants. He had created what appeared to be a mutant
paradise- a sanctuary in the Rocky Mountains- only to reveal a dark
underbelly. “Intifada” explores similar
territory. This time around, the
supposed paradise is a community outside of Los Angeles called Valle Soleada in which
humans and mutants live together openly. It’s reminiscent of San Francisco and its thriving gay community.
This particular community also includes
a pair of former mutants who are living out their “happily ever after”: Gambit
and Rogue.
But again, there are problems lying under the surface. The first problem is that some of the young
mutants aren’t happy with a status quo of peaceful co-existence. They believe in the Magneto rhetoric of
mutant superiority. And they’re
terrorizing local “flat-lines,” including one incident in which they force a
car off of a cliff resulting in several fatalities. The second problem is that there appears to
be a real estate agency that is trying to turn Valle Soleada into a fully
mutant community with no humans allowed. And to get their way, they’re using mutant powers of coercion to
convince humans to sell their property and get out. The third problem comes from pro-human groups
like the Friends of Humanity and Purity who want to get rid of all the mutants. They find true believers in the victims of
mutant crimes- including a girl who survived the car accident mentioned
earlier. This girl, Marie D’Ancanto,
becomes a key figure in the story after she attempts to bomb a dance club in
Valle Soleada. And finally, there’s one
last problem featured in a sub-plot. The
leaders of the world are worried about the growing mutant problem, especially
about the kind of mutant hostility that’s been shown in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, and there’s a mutant problem
summit at the president’s ranch in Texas. Gambit and Storm go to the summit undercover and
end up meeting with the behind-the-scenes mutant experts like Val Cooper,
Alexei Vashin and Maria Pilar Cortes.
As he had done in several of the previous stories, Chris
Claremont begins to weave most of these plots together. For example, Jarod Malloy, the real-estate
lawyer, tries to work his mojo on Rogue since she’s without her powers and no
longer a true mutant. And Marie
D’Ancanto tells her story to the X-Men which sets them on a path to stop the
mutant hoodlums. Claremont also works in
strands from earlier stories. Evangeline
Whedon, the mutant who can turn into a dragon as seen in X-Treme X-Men #21, is also in L.A.
She agrees to defend Marie D’Ancanto as a
client after hearing her story. And
Elias Bogan, the behind-the-scenes villain from “Schism,” has another mutant
under his control and is using her to get at the X-Men. Usually, it’s interesting to see several
strands of story come together. However,
in this case, there are a lot of characters to keep track of and it does become
a little confusing. There’s probably
enough going on in the story without bringing in Bogan.
There are a couple of reasons why I liked this story and
they’re fairly similar to the reasons why I liked “God Loves, Man Kills
II.” Once again, Claremont works with the theme of mutual and
peaceful co-existence. In this story, Claremont expands on that
theme to show the difficulties that the X-Men face in trying to control a younger
generation that doesn’t believe in Xavier’s dream. It’s eerily reminiscent of our real world
situation in which black celebrities like Bill Cosby and Jim Brown have spoken
out against the actions and attitudes of the younger generation. Plus, it shows that even an old writer like Claremont
is able to work
with new themes. Another theme that Claremont works with in
both “God Loves, Man Kills II” and “Intifada” is the theme of redemption. In “God Loves,” we saw Rev. Stryker change
his stance and offer to rehabilitate a mutant criminal. Through “Intifada” we follow the journey of
Marie D’Ancanto who, by the end of the story, is labeled a traitor to her race
by her former “friends” in the Purity movement. These are positive themes and positive developments and they’re good to
read.
That doesn’t mean that “Intifada” is a perfect story. As I noted earlier, the plot did get a little
too complicated. Also, the Storm and
Gambit sub-plot is occasionally a nice counterpoint to what’s going on in Valle
Soleada: the global perspective and the local perspective. And I like what comes out of it. The various governments agree to form the
Xavier Security Enforcers so that mutants like the X-Men can police their own-
a major element in Claremont’s
return to Uncanny X-Men in 2005. But that’s only occasionally. It’s also sometimes stretched out and
sometimes silly. It certainly wasn’t the
strongest part of the story.
X-Treme X-Men 36-39: Storm: The Arena
So far, so good. While the two latest stories weren’t quite as good as “Invasion” and
“Schism,” they were still well worth reading. Unfortunately, X-Treme X-Men’s
string of success stops here. This next
story is set up during the Storm and Gambit sub-plot. Storm agreed to the proposal that the X-Men
serve as an international security team to deal with mutant threats. Russian spook Alexei Vashin challenges Storm
to prove her intentions and her competence by taking down a mutant slave
smuggler named Tullamore Voge. This is
already a bad sign as far as I’m concerned. As Gambit reminds the readers, the X-Men have previously tangled with
Voge during Claremont’s
less-than-successful return to the team in 2000. I like the idea that the X-Men are going to
target a villain but Claremont’s
2000 return had left such a bad taste in my mouth that I didn’t want to deal
with its dangling plots and leftover villains.
The next misstep is that Claremont sends Storm in undercover and
alone. Gambit had been a part of the
conversation with Vashin but he apparently opts out of the mission because he
doesn’t want to stay away from Rogue too long- despite the fact that he has as
much personal interest in stopping Voge as Storm does and his skills as a sneak
would come in handy. The rest of the
team offer to work as back-up but Storm brushes them off. It’s dumb and several of the X-Men say so,
but Claremont goes through with it anyway. That leads
us to another misstep: an X-Treme X-Men
story that is, for all intents and purposes, a Storm mini-series.
The biggest mistake however is the story itself. Storm’s plan to uncover and stop the slave
ring is to… join the slave ring as a slave. She becomes a gladiator. And
apparently, the rush of excitement is so much that she isn’t even sure she
wants to put an end to it. This is so
stupid. This certainly isn’t the Storm
who flirted with danger in “Invasion” but only so she could bide her time until
it was opportune to strike. This is a
Storm who wants to give him to her dark side. Personally, I’m sick of gladiator stories. I’m sick and tired of seeing heroes dragged
into medieval fight clubs. And I’m tired
of the heroes relish the purity of combat. No, no, a thousands times to. The
X-Men have fought to defend a world; they’ve fought to save a friend. They’ve even fought for an ideal. But- with the possible exception of
Wolverine- they don’t fight just to fight.
Claremont tries to make this work by reminding us of great Storm stories of the
past. He reunites Storm with Yukio as a
way of releasing her wild side. He replays
the classic bout between Storm and Callisto as Callisto is also part of this
gladiatorial gang. But these moments
only serve to show how far Storm has fallen since then.
Not even an appearance by Strong Guy can save this
mess. Strong Guy is also a prisoner and
a gladiator. Yet instead of welcoming
Storm as a potential liberator, he pushes Storm to be a champion so that he
might ride her coattails to the top. I tell you, nobody in this story is
thinking clearly. Eventually, Storm does
manage to defeat most of the ringleaders. However, while she puts masters like Masque out of commission, she never
does work her way all the way up to Voge. This is an ugly, stupid story and easily the worst arc of the title.
X-Treme X-Men 40-46: Prisoner of Fire
After the drek that was “The Arena,” I was hoping that X-Treme X-Men would get back to form
with the next story, “Prisoner of Fire.” And there’s reason for hope. We’re back in Valle Soleada, the site of the pretty good “Intifada”
story. And the first issue shows some
nice character interaction. We see Rogue
and Gambit as a couple and in love. We
see Evangeline Whedon (the dinosaur mutant) and Marie D’Ancanto. And we see Cannonball reconnect with his old
friends and former teammates on the New Mutants, Sunspot and Magma, who had
both become involved in “Intifada.”
Unfortunately, a story is only as good as its villain. Elias Bogan has twice been used as a
background villain: once to good effect in “Schism,” and again as an
unnecessary complication in “Intifada.” Now it’s apparently time for this simmering feud to come to a boil. But it’s not because the X-Men decide to go
after him. No, it’s because he decides
to go after them and sends in a bunch of unimaginative patsies like Manacle,
Bludgeon and Cudgel. There’s also a
woman in black who has red eyes. The
patsies defeat Bishop and torture him until Elias Bogan is able to take over
his mind and use him as another pawn.
The X-Men bring in reinforcements and prepare for
battle. Cannonball comes up with a
decent plan, but it’s hard to take this story all that seriously. After all, they’re fighting a couple of guys
named Bludgeon and Cudgel who swing big, heavy sticks. Yeah, I can see how a woman who can turn into
a dragon and a guy with the strength of the sun would have problems dealing
with that. Skids, the former New Mutant,
even gets them to bang their heads against each other. The story tries to take a serious turn when
the X-team goes up against a brain-fried Bishop but doesn’t manage to pull it
off. The evil Bishop is an almost
laughably over-the-top villain.
Meanwhile, another squad led by Sage tries to go after Bogan
in his hideout underground. With
Shadowcat’s phasing ability and Magma’s ability to control lava, they try to
sneak into his compound from the earth rather than through the front door. This is actually one of the better issues in
this story. It’s always nice to see
heroes use their powers in inventive ways and for reasons other than
fighting. Of course, once they arrive,
they’re going to use them for fighting anyway first against some of Bogan’s
dumb minions and then against their teammates who have been defeated by Bishop
and turned against them. There are some
supposed-to-be surprising revelations, such as the fact that Gambit only
feigned being turned so that he could get close to Bogan and that Magma has
really been turned the whole time. But
neither moment is all that shocking as we’re long past the point of ridiculousness.
However, for all of that, “Prisoner of Fire” isn’t nearly as
bad as “The Arena.” There are even a
couple of developments that, while not quite making the entire story
worthwhile, insure that the end isn’t as bad as the middle. In the fifth issue, Sage is hit with a
psychic attack. Up ‘til now, Chris
Claremont has been inserting Sage in various flashbacks and sharing her
back-story in dribs and drabs. But now
we get the whole tale. We learn all
there is to know about Sage. And it’s
actually pretty interesting. Plus, Sage
had tried to keep her past hidden because she thought that the X-Men wouldn’t
accept her if they knew the truth. It
was nice to see Sage, one of Claremont’s
typical super-women, actually be vulnerable. And of course the X-Men accept her.
The other significant development is that the X-Men are
finally able to defeat the woman in black with the red eyes. She had been plaguing the X-Men since
“Intifada” and was the only one of Bogan’s stooges who had caused them any
trouble. But when they finally free her
from Bogan’s control, they discover that she’s actually their friend and former
teammate, Rachel Summers. It’s not quite
enough to make this a good story but it is nice to have Rachel back in the
fold.
And that brings us to the finale. Chris Claremont uses the final issue as both
an ending and a beginning. He ties up
some of his stories from this series such as giving Gambit his powers
back. But he’s also scheduled to take
over Uncanny X-Men again and he uses
this issue to put his new team in place for that title. Plus, he uses this issue to tie the X-Treme
team back to the other titles, something he hasn’t done since “Schism.” Angel updates Storm as to the death of Jean
Grey and the team is welcomed back to the mansion by Dani Moonstar and
Wolfsbane who are helping to run the school as seen in New Mutants and New X-Men:
Academy X. It’s actually a pretty decent final issue. There are some rough spots- I didn’t care for
the way in which Gambit’s powers were restored- but it serves as a good coda,
especially compared with the last two arcs.
And that’s X-Treme
X-Men. It was really bad in the
beginning. It was really bad at the
end. But in the middle, Chris Claremont
managed to spin some amazing stories. I’m glad I read them. Though I’m
also kind of glad that I waited five years.
The end.
(Originally Published at the Captain Comics.us as three-part series, titled,
From X-Cellent to X-Cruciating: X-Treme X-Men Series Review Part 1 of 3, Published Feb. 23, 2007,
X-Treme X-Men: An X-Cellent Series Review Part 2 of 3, Published March, 9, 2007 and
X-Treme X-Men : From X-Cellent to X-Cruciating Part 3 of 3, Published March 16, 2007)
The first thing I would do is put a team
back in New York. Well, not New York City exactly. I would put them back
in the mansion in Westchester County. This would be the classic version
of the X-Men. This would be the title readily recognizable to movie
fans.
The second team would be in San Francisco.
The team has a long history with the area. They first moved here around
issue 200 and made the abandoned Alcatraz Island their temporary base.
More recently, they set up shop in the Marin Headlands north of the
Golden Gate Bridge before relocating to Utopia Island just off the
coast. I like having a team in San Francisco. It seems new and modern,
even though it has traditional connections to the title. 
This would be X-Men, and it would have two
distinguishing features as well. One, this would be the title to
explore the new status quo of mutants. For the past decade or so, the
X-Men have been outed as mutants. Their secret identities are no longer
secret, thanks to Cassandra Nova. This title would explore what it’s
like for the X-Men to be public figures. I would put them back in the
Marin Headlands as they don’t need Utopia Island anymore. I would pick
up some of the storylines that got dropped, including their evolving
relationship with S.F.’s mayor. Two, this title would also
surreptitiously train mutant operatives. They have a lot of room to
roam. The Marin Headlands house several abandoned military
installations. Plus, Utopia Island might not be a nice place to live but
it could still be a great place to train. The New Mutants, now in their
twenties, would stick around and learn to be soldiers.
The third and final squad would go to
Dallas (you were worried that I was going to say “Australia,” weren’t
you?). The X-Men have a history with Dallas. This is where the team died
in “Fall of the Mutants” (before moving to Australia). And thanks to
Forge’s home, they’ve had plenty of reason to return including a recent
story in Astonishing X-Men.
