It's been a while since I last talked about anything Marvel comics-related -- well, except my other post about Marvel 1602. So I think this is a good time as any to point out some important updates.
Spider-man reset
Earlier this year (or was it late last year?), all of the Spider-Man series have been stopped, except for the Amazing Spider-Man (ASM) title, which is now printed three times a month! Biggest change, of course, is that Spider-Man is single once again, as a result of the four-part One More Day (OMD) story arc, which then made way for the still running Brand New Day (BND) story arc starting with ASM issue #546 onwards.
Needless to say, the OMD story arc was the reset button for Spider-Man in order to revert Spider-Man back to a specific status quo. Joe Quesada, Marvel Editor-In-Chief, was on a crusade to change Spider-Man back to his "earlier" days. Just to summarize, here's Spider-Man's status quo in BND:
- single and was NEVER married to Mary Jane; in fact, they recently broke up;
- the secret identity is a secret once again;
- still a fugitive for not being a registered superhuman;
- Harry Osborn -- the second Green Goblin and son of the first Green Goblin, Norman Osborn -- is alive and well;
- currently working as photographer (to be more specific, a "paparazzi") for the new DB (Daily Bugle);
- still living in Aunt may's house.
The BND story arc introduces a lot of new characters in the world of Spider-Man. One noticeable change is that Spider-Man is now on a more street-level character, dealing with more New York "localized" issues (gangsters, paparazzi, mayoral elections, financial problems) and new weird characters (Freak, Paperdoll, Menace) instead of problems that are national or global in nature (World War Hulk, Secret Invasion, Annihilation Saga).
X-Men revamp
As the result of Messiah CompleX, Cyclops has disbanded the X-Men. At least, the X-Men roster as we know it. Let's summarize each title:
Uncanny X-Men - Focuses on Cyclop's "disbanded" team (Emma Frost, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus). Cyclops and Emma are in San Francisco dealing with the "Hippie" atmosphere that has enthralled the entire city, while Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus are in Russia, who, as of issue #498, encountered Omega Red.
Adjectiveless X-Men (renamed to X-Men Legacy) - Deals with the revived Professor X, who is trying to piece together the fragments of his memories (since his brain was literally blown to bits at the end of Messiah CompleX). Mostly flashbacks and back stories previously not shown in the earlier issues.
Young X-Men - This follows a similar formula used for Avengers Disassembled storyarc leading to Young Avengers; after the previous arc, Cyclops recruits some of the last generation of mutants and trains them under the wreck of the X-Mansion. This series replaces the New X-Men series as the staple comics for the last generation of mutants under the X-Men. Current mission: take out the new Brotherhood (of Evil Mutants), consisting of the former X-Men: Cannonball, Sunspot, Magma, and Dani Moonstar.
X-Force - Consisting of the most ruthless killers in their roster, Cyclops assembles the new X-Force. Their goal: do the "dirty" deeds in secret what the upright X-Men cannot do in the open. The new black ops team consists of Wolverine (again), Warpath, and X-23 and is hunting down the Purifiers, a group of fanatical humans bent on exterminating all the remaining mutants by whatever means necessary. The last issues reveals that the X-Man Wolfsbane was brainwashed by Purifiers, and the apparent return of the "evil" Archangel during his sevitude as Horseman Death under Apocalypse!
Cable - Escaping into the future with the first (and last?) mutant baby born after M-Day, Cable is hunted by Bishop obsessed with eliminating the baby in order to prevent the apocalyptic future he lived in.
Wolverine - Similar to his role in X-Force, Cyclops sends Wolverine to eliminate the traitor Mystique. His hunt took him far into the Middle East with him finally disemboweling her, leaving her to die in the middle of the desert. Flashbacks also revealed that Wolverine and Mystique had a long history, long even before Professor X even conceived of the X-Men.
Astonishing X-Men - Finally, after long delays, it is now revealed how the story arc finally ties in (or at least partially) with the rest of the "bigger picture". We see how Kitty Pryde, the Shadowcat, sacrificed herself in order to save earth from a giant bullet launched from one of the satellites of Breakworld, home of the a ruthless warrior-race of aliens.
All in all, I'm happy with the push given to Cyclops, who is finally breaking out as the leader of the X-Men, throwing his weight around in most of the X titles. I'm not particularly excited about X-Men Legacy, though. One important thing to note is that -- except for a few titles -- each X-Men series now is more focused and self-contained, unlike the very loose and overlapping storylines during the 90s and early 2000, particularly X-Men and Uncanny X-Men series. (By overlapping, I mean, it's impossible to read and understand, say, just X-Men without also reading Uncanny X-Men.
I didn't think this post would be this long. Oh well, just wait for part II then. :)
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