When I was packing for my move from Philadelphia to Wellington there was one last book missing from my complete oversize Uncanny X-Men shelf, but I couldn’t bring myself to purchase it … because it already made me quit comics once before.
X-Men
Haul Around The World: Wedding of Cyclops & Phoenix Oversized Hardcover
I unwrap the newest addition to my oversize hardcover X-Men collection – a copy of The Wedding of Cyclops & Phoenix! I make the case for why this book has the wrong title, talk about Sabretooth’s arc in the early 90s X-Men, and explain why this might be the best oversize collection for fans of X-Men: The Animated Series.
Sabretooth, Victor Creed – The Definitive Reading Order and Collecting Guide
Unlock with PatreonNew For Patrons: The Definitive Guide to Marvel’s X-Man, Nate Grey
Today’s new guide for Patrons of Crushing Krisis covers an unusual X-Men character, a copy of another character who went one to helm one of the longest-running X-Men solo series before disappearing into the aether (literally) for nearly a decade…
X-Man, Nate Grey – The Definitive Reading Order and Collecting Guide
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: yes, this is really a guide for one 80-issue ongoing and fewer than 50 additional appearances by a character who went forgotten for a decade, and then for another half decade after a brief return.
That’s it! And, yet, X-Man AKA Nate Grey is about to make a major comeback to the world of X-Men, so it was time he got his own guide.
He debuted as part of “Age of Apocalypse” in 1995, and it’s important to remember that this event was quite specifically not an alternate reality at the time. It was the only version of Marvel’s reality that existed in the present day thanks to Legion going back in time to murder his father, Charles Xavier, rather than his target Magneto. (Oops!)
Nate Grey was a critical figure in the Age of Apocalypse – a version of Cable unravaged by time and the TO virus. While our Cable relied on his tactical skill and his leverage over the timestream to thwart his enemies, Nate Grey only needed Cable’s heritage of raw, uninhibited mutant power – the kind that Mr. Sinister had spent years trying to realize in our original timeline.
Age of Apocalypse was well-received and marvelous fun to read at the time. The idea of four of its characters and one of its titles persisting into Marvel-616 continuity was thrill! Of course, it made the most sense for that title to be X-Man, the most unique and singular of all the converted books.
However, there was the question of what to do with Nate Grey. In the Age of Apocalypse he was the most-powerful rebel, but in 616 Marvel he had nothing to rebel against. There was no narrative to welcome Nate Grey to the main Marvel timeline. [Read more…] about New For Patrons: The Definitive Guide to Marvel’s X-Man, Nate Grey
Updated: X-Men Reading Order Guide – Era #3: The New Mutants
This updated X-Men Reading Order guide is available to everyone, but it was made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis
The Revised & Expanded X-Men Reading Order Guide – Era #3: The New Mutants
This era covers every X-Men story from Uncanny X-Men #143 in March 1981 and ending with Uncanny X-Men #200 in December 1985.
That includes the significant broadening of the world of X-Men – Kitty Pryde adventuring with the team, the launch of Dazzler, the debut of Rogue, the launch of New Mutants and Alpha Flight, the first three Marvel line-wide events, and a bevy of mini-series from Magik, Wolverine, Iceman, Nightcrawler, and more!
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This is the era where the X-Men really began to explode – both in popularity and in proliferation across the Marvel Universe. [Read more…] about Updated: X-Men Reading Order Guide – Era #3: The New Mutants