Sorting out the Summers family tree The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix trade paperback collects the 1994 miniseries that attempted to sort out one of the most bizarre family trees in comics, even by X-Men standards.
This series attempts to weave these very different threads into a somewhat cohesive pattern. Scott and Jean end up spending more than a decade in the future, which gives them the opportunity to actually raise young Nathan, who is unaware of exactly who his guardians really are. The "Dayspring Family" eventually joins the underground resistance movement and makes what appears to be a final confrontation with Apocalypse. I say "appears" because Apocalypse is killed about as often as Jean Grey, and with similar long term success.
Scott Lobdell does an admirable job with an obviously difficult group of characters, origins, and events. While the series is not as fun and exciting as other X-Men adventures, it is a necessary story to tell, if for no other reason than to clean up the storylines abandoned by so many other writers.
Gene Ha's artwork is absolutely incredible. Ha is one of the most underrated artists working today, with an attention to detail that has to be seen to be believed. His art totally sets the tone of the series, and makes the otherworldly setting and characters seem that much more believable.
Overall, the Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix is a key part of X-Men history. It may not be as fascinating as the Dark Phoenix Saga or the Age of Apocalypse, but it is an important part of the lives of several key X-Men characters.
I bought this TWICE... ...because I was stupid enough to lend the miniseries to a friend. Anyway, I liked it so much I HAD to have it.
This is demi-science-fiction story about future ruled by Apocalypse and childhood of Nate Summers, known as Cable. It is EXTREMELY well written , and art is incredible, just like anything Gene Ha does. Reccomended for Marvel fans in general, other people would have too much trouble understanding who-is-who .
History of the Summers Family Tree There are simply too many people in the X-universe that carry the name "Summers". Well, at least this book clears some questions about one of them (Now if it wouldn't raise so many more). The story starts just after X-Men 30, with Scott Summers and Jean Grey-Summers (newly wed), are pulled 2000 years into the future by Mother Askani (Who happens to be Rachel Summers, the alternate future daughter of the newlyweds, who is a major time traveler). Their mission. Raise baby Nathan (who is, if you want to get technical, Rachel's older baby brother [did that even make sense?]) So here are Scott (who goes by "Slym") and Jean (Who goes by "Redd") raising one of the most powerful mutants, who has to disguise himself as a human, in a world where it is "survival of the fittest." And in this world, humans are not counted amongst the fittest, and are trated as such (Very much like in modern day comics with mutants). The unfortunate thing is that the series covers a few days in each book, over a period of twelve years. It gives us only a glimps into Cable's life. Oh well, The Askani Son series picked up the pieces there!
An X-cellent work! Clears away lots of gray areas. This graphic novel compiles the mini-series with the same title. It is very good reading and helps to clear away the grey (no pun intended) areas relating to cable's background in particular. All in all an X-cellent book. Excelcior!
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