X-Men & Spider-Man round up.

I’ve been a Spider-Man fan for as long as I can remember, the character has appealed to me for so long that I forget exactly why I liked him in the first place. At this point in my life the character is just cool and that’s enough for me. Leave it to Marvel comics to come up with a story that reminds me a little of why I thought Spidey was cool in the first place, along with a bunch of guys calling themselves the X-Men you might have heard of them.

If you’ve read my columns before you know two things a) that I love breaking the rules and talking directly to you the reader and b) I have an issue with retconning characters. This short four issue series does some retconning, but they do it in a way that works. The best part of this series is how seamless it is. There’s nothing like a well planned, smooth delivering comic book story, and this book series is it.

What this series sets out to accomplish is to bridge the gap between the worlds of the X-Men and Spider-Man by suggesting that the X-Men’s trials with Mr. Sinister have had a major impact on Spider-Man as well. The way they go about this is very simple, they suggest a relationship that will bring the various players closer together. That relationship is the one that exists between Sinister himself and Kraven the Hunter.

The first book goes all the way back to the early days of the X-Men, with the original team. That’s right it’s Cyclops and his team catching up with Peter and Gwen Stacy. At this point the team has met Spider-Man at least once and is pulled into action when Kraven labels Peter as a mutant on national TV. This prompts the X-Men to seek Spidey out before someone like Magneto does. I really enjoyed how they set this story up, how they made the scenario make sense in context with what was going on in comics at the time.

Still in the first book Kraven is trying to track Spider-Man while the X-Men are trying to seek him out and warn him of the dangers he may be facing as a mutant. There are neet little touches thrown in throughout the story, like the fact that Peter, Flash and Harry are hanging out with MJ and Gwen at the coffee bean, a place that Harry will one day buy according to the current Spider-Man storyline. The two groups start to intermingle when the X-Men arrive on the scene in their street clothes trying to find Spider-Man. The two groups almost come to blows over the ladies when Kraven and the Blob crash the party.

Of course a huge fight breaks out but the heroes prevail. The first question I had was what the heck was the Blob doing teamed up with Kraven, unfortunately you have to wait a little while to get the answer to that.

The first book ends with Kraven delivering the DNA of the first five X-Men to Mr. Sinister, this is where I have a slight problem with the story. Hasn’t Sinister been trying to get said DNA for years? How could he need that material if he’s had it since the beginning? The story tries to answer that question itself as the book jumps ahead a good chunk of time.

The second book picks up some time around Mutant Massacre and the death of Kraven the Hunter. The X-Men have a whole new look at this point and Storm (in all her Mohawk glory) is the team’s leader. This is a tight squeeze story wise but the writers figure it out admirably. The team is informed by Spidey that Kraven kept extensive files on all of the original X-Men. He also has a lead to where they might be able to find Mr. Sinister. For those of you who don’t remember it was the Marauders that were behind the Mutant Massacre in the first place, and their leader was Mr. Sinister. Spidey (clad in his classic Black costume) and his info lead the X-Men right to the Marauders. Remember that this is comics, a fight ensues that leads the X-Men and Spider-Man to a small room hidden in the Morlock Tunnels. In this room the team finds clones of the original five X-Men, all dead. Failed experiments of Mr. Sinister.
At the end of the book we find Sinister himself visiting the grave of Kraven and letting him know that his own DNA will be put to good use.

The next chapter covers the Howard Mackie run on Spider-Man. Say what you will about the clone saga, but it did have one bright spot in the form of Ben Reilly. Not only is Ben playing the part of Spider-Man but the story features everyone’s favorite symbiote Carnage. This issue kind of rushes by and wraps up nicely. I get the feeling that this territory wasn’t exactly where the creative staff wanted to hang out (who could blame them) so they get their business done and get the heck out of dodge. The best part of this issue is the dialogue that reminds us what Marvel comics were like in the 90’s. Remember that you have to take the good with the bad.

The fourth and final book of this trip down memory lane catches us up to the modern times. Peter is back in the webs and Wolverine has metal claws again. This issue plays up the fact that Wolverine is in more books than you can shake a stick at. It really makes for great back and forth between the characters in the onset. This issue also ties back into the end of the first issue where we saw Kraven get propositioned for his own DNA. Long story short Sinister has managed to make a clone of Kraven the Hunter and the clone is even more dangerous than the original.

The fight that ensues doesn’t take too long, but it reveals a great deal. What makes this book series great is how well they worked their way to the conclusion. Xraven, the clone of Kraven is a formidable opponent to the heroes and could work as a villain in the future. How the story ends should work for you, unless you don’t like overly happy endings, considering that the whole series is rather light hearted then the ending shouldn’t be too sugary sweet.

The artwork is first rate and consistent throughout, the series comes close to retcon hell without crossing the line, and the way the characters are treated works out really well. All in all a great series for fans of either Spider-Man or the X-Men, you should be able to find every issue in a comic shop near you.

Source.

The Dark X-Men the next Movie?, X Men Deadpool or Colossus?
For Comments and reactions about the uncanny X-Men or new X men movie
who will win the production is it X Men Deadpool or X Men Darksteel Colossus?
How will be the story jump off to another X-men character?
What would be the spin of the story?