Dave Harris
Jan 11, 2003, 05:18 am
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmunl-39.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmunl-39t.jpg" align=left alt="X-Men Unlimited #39"></a>Reviewer: David Harris, HeroComplex00@hotmail.com
Quick Rating: Good
Letterer: Randy Gentile
Editor: C.B. Cebulski
Managing Editor: David Bogart
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
Story Title: The Final Alternative
Storm and Magneto discuss what it means to be a mutant.
Writer: Jason Pearson
Artist: Jason Pearson
Colorist: Dave Stewart
From what I can tell, this story is meant to be a high-pressure showdown between Magneto and Storm, two of the more powerful mutants in Marvel’s line-up. However, a good number of factors conspire to make it fall short.
Firstly, there is no definite setting. It is said to take place some time in the past, but is given no definite time period, leaving it hard to interpret. Without knowing context and circumstance, how can one truly understand the story?
Secondly, this is the second X-Men Unlimited story to feature Magneto since his death. I don’t know if he is some sort of crutch for the book because he is such an important figure in the X-Men mythos, but with such a plethora of living characters to choose from, it is disappointing to find him appear so regularly.
Thirdly, with the recent events of X-Treme X-Men, this story was most unfortunately timed. In the Invasion from Dimension X arc of X-Treme X-Men, Storm’s powers begin to fail her when on another world, a problem continuing into her later recovery on our Earth. Looking at this story, Storm’s explanation to Magneto that her powers have been problematic since returning to Earth…there is potentially for this to be grossly confusing. Similar to the last Magneto story in this title, many will misunderstand this as an indication that Magneto is alive again.
Getting past the fact that Magneto remains dead, though---because of those timing issues, this story comes off as something written to follow the events from X-Treme X-Men. Things match up far too coincidentally. However, when Magneto’s appearance becomes problematic, it becomes a story from the far-flung past, as opposed to a story of the present. It would not be a total surprise to find that this story fits into continuity somewhere, but as the story is now, it just seems like shoddy worksmanship.
Getting past all those issues, the story was decent but nothing spectacular. The killing of a mutant, not unlike hate crimes occurring continually around the country. Extremely over-the-top (unbelievable, really) rabble-rousers, and the triumph of willpower over massive, grievous injury. Shakespearean quotation and tired, clichéd rhetoric. A showdown where no one at all is hurt, and no one is expected to.
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
Story Title: Wounded Animals
The duo of Wolverine and Storm infiltrate Japan to recover from war.
Writer: J. Torres
Penciler: Keron Grant
Inker: Rob Stull
Colorist: J.D. Smith
The downfall of this story is that Storm, the central character of the piece, has undefined motivations. She has agreed to a time of recovery with Logan, which would seem to imply a passive attitude. However, her interactions with Shiro are most aggressive, and even with his “warning shot” are unjustified. If she is angry enough in that instance to hit him, then surely she has some reason to say something during the entire rest of the story.
It may be dramatic for her flight to be unnarrated, but it also seems awkward, and the same applies to her rendezvous with Wolverine. In the end, the fact that most of the events were silent leaves the impression of a lacking story, as Storm’s seemingly unpredicated actions can only tell so much about her thoughts. Her glares at Shiro notwithstanding, she should express some other sign of communication. Of the two lines which Torres gives her, one is more of a playground yell than anything else, and the other is enjoyable, but in retrospect appears more to be a line found in an action movie.
The most enjoyable aspect of the story is the premise used to involve Sunfire, actually. Japan has been the site of quite a few superheroic scenes, from Japan’s short-lived national team to the escapades of Wolverine and the X-Men. It makes perfect sense to imagine that a nation would not want itself subject to the whims of the superhero, especially when taking into account how a country must appear internationally, and the thought of having superhero visas is quite well-expressed. Two mutants meeting and having an out-of-proportion disagreement is not the most original idea for a story, but this development deserves credit.
And the art team deserves credit as well. With so much motion in the early part of the story, it would have been very easy for this to be a confusing and jumbled mess. Certain subtleties especially could have led to befuddled readers if handled incorrectly. Luckily, that was not the case; the panels are very crisply done, well depicting the action and keeping the reader involved.
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
Story Title: Rebirth
Storm and Yukio forge the friendship which changed them both in…unpredictable…ways.
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist Paul Smith
Colorist: Brian Reber
Storm and Yukio’s friendship is an exceptionally close one, and this story gives a very nice perspective one how it began. Considering that it begins with something so trivial, it is amazing how quickly it becomes such a very important event for Storm, and most likely for Yukio, no matter how she likes to laugh it off as nothing. This is partly due to the convenience of a giant cliff, but considering the setting this isn’t out of the realm of possibility anyway.
This entire issue of X-Men Unlimited is meant to be character-driven and based around Storm, but this story is the first, really, that captures Storm’s character well. The tight control which she had on her emotions was very much an accentuated part of her character at the time this story takes place, the potential unhealthiness of which leads to the story’s end. Her escape from the ocean, and all the trials leading to that final emergence, are very well depicted and a pleasure to read. Having spent so much time with the character previously, Chris Claremont has a very good grasp on her mindset at the time, many would argue that he crafted her entirely to this point, and it shows here.
However, not all of the old-fashioned style is a blessing. The abundant word balloons generally progress the story, and are much appreciated over the thought balloons that could have abounded. However, at some points they begin to override the story which is actually taking place in the panels. The moment when Storm is most lost, especially, would be better served with a lack of panels, and not an over-crowding of them.
The art captures the time-period of the X-Men in which this story takes place, lending credence to it as a flashback into Storm’s past. The watery story could easily have become muddled and unreadable, but the action, which consisted mostly of continuous movement hard to depict clearly, came through excellently.
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
The shift of focus from one out-of-place story, which could vary in quality, to a series of stories focusing on a theme, has had questionable results this month. The three fitting together seemed forced, but I look to the future with hope.
ISSUE OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=223&cat=X%2DMEN+UNLIMITED) and save!
Quick Rating: Good
Letterer: Randy Gentile
Editor: C.B. Cebulski
Managing Editor: David Bogart
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
Story Title: The Final Alternative
Storm and Magneto discuss what it means to be a mutant.
Writer: Jason Pearson
Artist: Jason Pearson
Colorist: Dave Stewart
From what I can tell, this story is meant to be a high-pressure showdown between Magneto and Storm, two of the more powerful mutants in Marvel’s line-up. However, a good number of factors conspire to make it fall short.
Firstly, there is no definite setting. It is said to take place some time in the past, but is given no definite time period, leaving it hard to interpret. Without knowing context and circumstance, how can one truly understand the story?
Secondly, this is the second X-Men Unlimited story to feature Magneto since his death. I don’t know if he is some sort of crutch for the book because he is such an important figure in the X-Men mythos, but with such a plethora of living characters to choose from, it is disappointing to find him appear so regularly.
Thirdly, with the recent events of X-Treme X-Men, this story was most unfortunately timed. In the Invasion from Dimension X arc of X-Treme X-Men, Storm’s powers begin to fail her when on another world, a problem continuing into her later recovery on our Earth. Looking at this story, Storm’s explanation to Magneto that her powers have been problematic since returning to Earth…there is potentially for this to be grossly confusing. Similar to the last Magneto story in this title, many will misunderstand this as an indication that Magneto is alive again.
Getting past the fact that Magneto remains dead, though---because of those timing issues, this story comes off as something written to follow the events from X-Treme X-Men. Things match up far too coincidentally. However, when Magneto’s appearance becomes problematic, it becomes a story from the far-flung past, as opposed to a story of the present. It would not be a total surprise to find that this story fits into continuity somewhere, but as the story is now, it just seems like shoddy worksmanship.
Getting past all those issues, the story was decent but nothing spectacular. The killing of a mutant, not unlike hate crimes occurring continually around the country. Extremely over-the-top (unbelievable, really) rabble-rousers, and the triumph of willpower over massive, grievous injury. Shakespearean quotation and tired, clichéd rhetoric. A showdown where no one at all is hurt, and no one is expected to.
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
Story Title: Wounded Animals
The duo of Wolverine and Storm infiltrate Japan to recover from war.
Writer: J. Torres
Penciler: Keron Grant
Inker: Rob Stull
Colorist: J.D. Smith
The downfall of this story is that Storm, the central character of the piece, has undefined motivations. She has agreed to a time of recovery with Logan, which would seem to imply a passive attitude. However, her interactions with Shiro are most aggressive, and even with his “warning shot” are unjustified. If she is angry enough in that instance to hit him, then surely she has some reason to say something during the entire rest of the story.
It may be dramatic for her flight to be unnarrated, but it also seems awkward, and the same applies to her rendezvous with Wolverine. In the end, the fact that most of the events were silent leaves the impression of a lacking story, as Storm’s seemingly unpredicated actions can only tell so much about her thoughts. Her glares at Shiro notwithstanding, she should express some other sign of communication. Of the two lines which Torres gives her, one is more of a playground yell than anything else, and the other is enjoyable, but in retrospect appears more to be a line found in an action movie.
The most enjoyable aspect of the story is the premise used to involve Sunfire, actually. Japan has been the site of quite a few superheroic scenes, from Japan’s short-lived national team to the escapades of Wolverine and the X-Men. It makes perfect sense to imagine that a nation would not want itself subject to the whims of the superhero, especially when taking into account how a country must appear internationally, and the thought of having superhero visas is quite well-expressed. Two mutants meeting and having an out-of-proportion disagreement is not the most original idea for a story, but this development deserves credit.
And the art team deserves credit as well. With so much motion in the early part of the story, it would have been very easy for this to be a confusing and jumbled mess. Certain subtleties especially could have led to befuddled readers if handled incorrectly. Luckily, that was not the case; the panels are very crisply done, well depicting the action and keeping the reader involved.
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
Story Title: Rebirth
Storm and Yukio forge the friendship which changed them both in…unpredictable…ways.
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist Paul Smith
Colorist: Brian Reber
Storm and Yukio’s friendship is an exceptionally close one, and this story gives a very nice perspective one how it began. Considering that it begins with something so trivial, it is amazing how quickly it becomes such a very important event for Storm, and most likely for Yukio, no matter how she likes to laugh it off as nothing. This is partly due to the convenience of a giant cliff, but considering the setting this isn’t out of the realm of possibility anyway.
This entire issue of X-Men Unlimited is meant to be character-driven and based around Storm, but this story is the first, really, that captures Storm’s character well. The tight control which she had on her emotions was very much an accentuated part of her character at the time this story takes place, the potential unhealthiness of which leads to the story’s end. Her escape from the ocean, and all the trials leading to that final emergence, are very well depicted and a pleasure to read. Having spent so much time with the character previously, Chris Claremont has a very good grasp on her mindset at the time, many would argue that he crafted her entirely to this point, and it shows here.
However, not all of the old-fashioned style is a blessing. The abundant word balloons generally progress the story, and are much appreciated over the thought balloons that could have abounded. However, at some points they begin to override the story which is actually taking place in the panels. The moment when Storm is most lost, especially, would be better served with a lack of panels, and not an over-crowding of them.
The art captures the time-period of the X-Men in which this story takes place, lending credence to it as a flashback into Storm’s past. The watery story could easily have become muddled and unreadable, but the action, which consisted mostly of continuous movement hard to depict clearly, came through excellently.
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
The shift of focus from one out-of-place story, which could vary in quality, to a series of stories focusing on a theme, has had questionable results this month. The three fitting together seemed forced, but I look to the future with hope.
ISSUE OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=223&cat=X%2DMEN+UNLIMITED) and save!