Review # 178: "Age of Apocalypse Prelude"

I feel pretty comfortable calling "Age of Apocalypse" the best comic book crossover of the 90's, for whatever that's worth. For my money it is the only "X-Men" story arc from the Nicieza-Harras-Lobdell trinity that stacks up with anything that came before or has come since. It was a project birthed from wild ambition, sequenced perfectly and executed soundly. All to examine what the world of the X-Men would be like if Charles Xavier had not been around to form them.

Ah, but in the lead-in lies a flaw.

Review # 172: "X-Men - 'Muertas' and 'Bloodline'"

Sometimes ideas that shouldn't miss end up doing just that. Brian Wood's all-female X-Men team is one of these examples. Maybe in a different world where Wood wrote more than just 17 issues, things would have turned out better. The work is good, only it's disappointing. "X-Men" comes off as a truncated, wasted opportunity.

Review # 142: "X-Men - Road to Onslaught Vol. 2"

Another volume of X-Men from the Nicieza-Harras-Lobdell (NHL) era during a time I thought they were doing pretty well. It's strange, though, how a collection this thick barely seems to move anything forward.

Review # 119: "Cable and X-Force - 'This Won't End Well' and 'Vendettas'"

When I bought the first collection of "Cable and X-Force" I noted that the series had potential with its character choices and was worth getting on the ground floor with. As Dennis Hopeless' run comes to a close, I feel like the elevator broke down.

Review # 103: "X-Men - Road to Onslaught Vol. 1"

A funny thing happened to the Lobdell/Nicieza/Harras-era X-Men franchise in the mid-90s: it got pretty darn good. While I personally find "The Age of Apocalypse" to be overrated, it's still excellent and I would argue as a counter that what immediately preceded and followed it was underrated as a whole.

Review # 89: "X-Men - A Skinning of Souls"

Partially out of completion, partially out of nostalgia and partially out of sadism, here I go again with some more 90s X-Men work from the Harras/Lobdell/Nicieza trio. Major credit to Marvel for continuing to fill the gaps between major events. This collects what happened in the pages of "X-Men" between what's been released in "X-Cutioner's Song" and "Fatal Attractions."

Review # 76: "X-Men by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee Omnibus Vol. 1"

Even though I've gone through all the issues included here before, there's a bit of culture shock as the last Chris Claremont X-Men work I'd read was the omnibus collecting the start of his run up until the beginning of "The Dark Phoenix Saga." We're talking about a ten year gap and a definite shift in style as the X-Men storylines are darker and a lot more cruel to the characters. This is coming in at a key moment, as - after "Inferno" wrapped up years worth of stories in a single swoop - Claremont is spinning a trademark, complex web of narratives for the last time before his exit from the franchise he defined.

Review # 66: "Uncanny X-Men - Sisterhood"

Despite the crapfest known as "X-Infernus" being billed as the sequel to "Inferno," one could argue that the pages of "Uncanny X-Men" at practically the same time were making a much stronger claim. "Sisterhood" is a novel concept as the spectre of Madelyne Pryor hatches a plan to claim the body of Jean Grey as a vessel. So she forms a team that includes Spiral, Deathstrike, Lady Mastermind, Martinique and Chimera to do her dirty work. Their first task: finding Betsy Braddock's original body. Pryor, you see, found Psylocke hopping around realities, trapped her, and - in the process of transplanting her consciousness - brainwashed her.

Review # 45: "Uncanny X-Force - Final Execution"

It's time for Rick Remender to kiss "Uncanny X-Force" goodbye as Marvel moves him over to their flagship title of Marvel NOW!, "Uncanny Avengers." "Final Execution" offers a satisfying conclusion to his run, ending on a high note after the misstep that was "Otherworld."

Review # 44 - "Uncanny X-Force - Otherworld"

I don't envy anyone who has to follow up a story as great as "The Dark Angel Saga." After such an incredible climax, perhaps the best course of action is to take things in a slightly different direction. That's what Rick Remender does with "Otherworld," as Fantomex is abducted by the Captain Britain Corps (which includes Psylocke's brothers Brian and Jamie) to pay for his actions at the end of "The Apocalypse Solution" and Betsy and X-Force launch a rescue mission.

Review # 43: "Uncanny X-Force - The Dark Angel Saga"

"The Dark Angel Saga" may very well be the best X-Men story so far this century, and rivals the drama seen in the tale its name is inspired by.

Review # 42: "Uncanny X-Force - Deathlok Nation"

"Deathlok Nation" is a tricky story for me to review. I was originally going to include this with "The Apocalypse Solution," as it's very much an extended epilogue. But it just didn't seem to fit, so here it is on its own.

Review # 40: "Uncanny X-Force - The Apocalypse Solution"

Marvel was on to something when it re-introduced X-Force as a hit squad during "Messiah Complex." While Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost did an admirable job putting together a team that was very much a callback to the Cable era, only under Wolverine, what Rick Remender did in the pages of "Uncanny X-Force" took it to the next level.

Review # 5: "X-Men by Brian Wood" Volumes 1 and 2

When it comes to female Marvel characters, more often than not the first one you'll hear mentioned in any nerdy discussion is Storm. She has the powers of a goddess and the presence of one to match. Being played by Halle Berry in the X-Men movie adaptations doesn't hurt either. But here's the thing about Storm: she hasn't really done anything important in 20 years. She had a brief marriage with Black Panther that's been wiped out and rendered irrelevant. Beyond that, nada.