Product Description: "Mutant" means "change," and there was plenty of that when the Uncanny X-Men counted down to the Marvel Mutant Massacre, beginning with the trial of Magneto! Rachel Summers became Phoenix and the Brotherhood became Freedom Force! Lady Deathstrike became a cyborg, Moonstar a Valkyrie, Colossus a killer, and Psylocke an X-Man! And Sabretooth first set his clawed foot into the X-Universe alongside his fellow Marauders! Guest-starring the original X-Factor, Power Pack and Thor! Gods, Morlocks, talking frogs and more! Collects Uncanny X-Men #199-213, New Mutants Special Edition #1, X-Men Annual #9, X-Factor #9-10, New Mutants #46, Thor #373-374 and Power Pack #27.
Despite some unnessary crossovers a good book I bought this book for the X Men. If i wanted to see X Factor or Thor then I would probably have bought X Factor or Thor. Despite the unnecessary tie ins it doesn't take away from the quality of the book and still makes it enjoyable.
Wow! This volume of Essential X-Men begins the era of big crossovers in the X-Universe with the Mutant Massacre winding through X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants, Thor, and Power Pack. Those issues are all included here. I know some people don't like that and just want X-Men issues, but if you're sitting down to read the story, it's good to have them all in one location. I could pull out my Essential X-Factor, but there are no volumes of Essential New Mutants, Power Pack, or Thor (from this era). This volume also adds Magneto to the roster as the head of the Mutant Academy, taking the place of Professor X. It is an interesting direction and well handled by Chris Claremont. The artwork remains supreme from John Romita, Jr. and all the others who contribute to this collection (including Barry Windsor-Smith, Walt Simonson, and Art Adams). Highly recommended!
Should have left out Thor and X-Factor Issues I've read all of the X-Men Essential collections. The issues included in this volume originally were published at about the same time that I was picking up comics as a kid, so on a personal level, they hold a very high nostalgic value for me. The whole mutant massacre concept was an incredibly dark introduction to the X-Men for a 9 year old. Events are set in place that would reverberate for pretty much the rest of Claremonts run on the X-Men (as far as who leaves the team due to injuries, and just the direction that the team takes due to line up changes and unfortunate events that happen as a part of dealing with the marauders post massacre). Anyway, it's a great book, but I've got one complaint about the inclusion of the Thor and X-Factor Issues. First of all, they are both also included in X-Factors Essential Collection. Second, even though the Thor and X-Factor issues deal with the Marauders and the Morlock Massacre, nothing in the issues really pertain to anything that happens in the Uncanny Issues. I'd even go so far as to say that the Power Pack issue is more important to the X-Men story than the X-Factor or Thor issues. The closest that they come to directly interacting, is that Magneto and X-Factor make eye contact outside of the Hell Fire club, and this same scene plays out from each sides perspective in thier respective titles.
So, that complaint aside, there is still a lot of value here. You get an awesome Hell Fire/Nimrod fight, and a few Sabretooth/Wolvie fights, and, it feels like the massacre was one of the very first battles where main characters get seriously hurt in a way that they're still affected 20-30 issues down the pipe. Pretty interesting stage in the X-Mens history that's not to be missed.
Graphic SF Reader This includes the classic Mutant Massacre, and some great Barry Windsor Smith stuff. A team of mutant assassins is hired to slaughter the Morlocks living in the tunnels after the city. Most of them fall, but they manage to get word to the X-Men, and their absentee leader, Storm. The X-Men come to help, at great cost to themselves. There is also an appearance by Thor.
Graphic Novel junkie Ok, ok, I should say comic book junkie, because that's what they were called when I first started reading them some decades ago. This whole series of Essential X-men books are a fun read unless you get bogged down in details. I never did, I just enjoyed reading them. This is a great book. Enjoy
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
