The Arms of the Octopus

The Arms of the Octopus #1-3

by Mike Costa, Kris Anka (Artist), Jake Wyatt (Artist)

The All-New X-Men meet the Indestructible Hulk and the Superior Spider-Man! Dr. Octopus confronts the time-displaced young X-Men, but how is he alive?! Ock's appearance gets the immediate attention of the Superior Spider-Man (who we all know is Doc Ock's mind in Spider-Man's body), and Bruce Banner helps Spidey and the young X-Men investigate the mysterious paradox - but before they learn the truth, they're shocked by the return of the believed-dead Abomination! Who is in league with these returned villains, and how can our heroes defeat them? And can the Superior Spider-Man maintain his sanity while facing his doppelganger? Plus: Steel kitchen knives meet Adamantium claws as reality-TV star Chris Cosentino spins a culinary caper featuring Wolverine! Collecting ALL-NEW X-MEN SPECIAL #1, SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP SPECIAL #1, INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK SPECIAL #1 and WOLVERINE: IN THE FLESH #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Spider Man, Superheroes, Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2013

About the author

Mike Costa is an American comic book and television writer.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you stop the Hulk?

It’s a quandary.

1) Brute strength – I’ve seen Hulk bitch slap The Abomination with The Rhino.

2) Blow him up – If only. The dude is a product of a Gamma Bomb.

3) Send in Wolverine – Like Wolverine, Hulk has a healing factor. In the Ultimate comic’s battle, Hulk ripped him limb from limb. Heal from that one, Bub.

4) Banish him – To another dimension, to another planet? This never works because he comes back even angrier.

5) Outsmart him – When Hulk has Banner’s intellect, this is impossible. When Hulk is as dumb as a rock, The Leader, a so-called super villain genius (he has the big head to prove it) used to try this and had his big head handed to him every time. Hulk smash etc., etc., etc.

6) And the winner is…

This volume collects three different special volumes (and a crappy Wolverine outlier) that make up one story revolving around gamma radiation and the perils of hubris.

The All New X-Men (really the teenage X-Men brought into the present continuity by the current Beast) are sightseeing in New York and run into a gamma-irradiated Doctor Octopus from the past.

Cue Bruce Banner and the Superior Spider-Man.

This an entertaining storyline with much of the humor centered on Spider-Man trying to get the young, inexperienced X-Men to do anything helpful.

Spider-Man: Iceboy?

Iceman: That’s Iceman, sir.

Spider-Man: Lives depend on this and I need you to not only lower the surface and air temperature to -32 degrees but I need you to create a 12 inch ice funnel with the diameter of ¾’s of an inch.

Iceman: I can’t do that.

The Wolverine issue – First, this has nothing to do with the story above. I assume, because Wolverine is dead and they had no other place to stick it they added it to the end of this volume.

Here’s the plot – In order to catch a serial killer cannibal, Wolverine asks a chef friend of his for help, because the cuts on the victims look like a butcher did it. Yep, that’s it.

I guess the Cuckoo sisters were attending a slumber party or Emma Frost’s white outfit was at the cleaners.

A team up. With a chef.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you were hoping for some kind of story referencing Doc Ock’s fate regarding the whole Superior Spider-Man storyline like I was, you won’t find that in The Arms of the Octopus. Instead it’s a weak irrelevant crossover between Superior Spider-Man, Indestructible Hulk and All-New X-Men wherein a time-displaced young Doc Ock appears in the present temporarily. But writer Mike Costa won’t even commit to too much Doc Ock in the main story, shunting him off to the side so we can focus on the far less interesting Dr (Hey) Jude!

The story is no great shakes: the various brainy characters collaborate to fix this latest time-travel nonsense that Marvel can’t seem to get away from in between pointless fights against even duller characters. Costa does write a decent Superior Spider-Man though as we see Otto pushing the young X-Men’s abilities like a good teacher encouraging gifted students to achieve their potential. And how do you calm down Hulk and get him to turn back to Bruce Banner? Puppy bomb! That was an ingenious and adorable detail. There are too few good moments like these though amidst the overall slurry of tedium.

Also included is Wolverine: In the Flesh #1 (probably to pad out the slim volume – it has nothing to do with the main storyline) where Logan teams up with celebrity chef Chris Cosentino to find a serial killer. This one was absolute garbage. Logan and Chris make fun of vegetarians (I’m guessing Cosentino is a big meat fan?) while the killer drones on to his victims about how girls never spoke to him in high school and he didn’t have any friends. If you’re gonna be that stupid and generic with the motive, why bother? Just have the killer be silent or murmur gibberish instead – that’s creepier and less eye-rollingly awful.

This comic may have a lot of (robotic) arms but the rubbish story ain’t got no legs!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting story of team-up between Superior Spider-man, Indestructible Hulk and All-New X-Men. For a side-story, the good news is they made quite an effort to keep current with the status of each of the heroes in the here&MarvelNow!

The better news is Costa seems to have the voice of each of our characters down pretty cold. Except Bobby - he was never the genius but he's never been this dim, has he?

Bad news is, there's some pretty generic battle fluff filling in pages in the middle, which I could do without.

Art's a series of trial runs for new talent, and they seem awfully new. None working in the range of realism we're generally used to, and none seem to be taking big chances with palette, composition or layout. Passable but nothing spectacular.

Overall my expectations were exceeded. I enjoyed the story for what it was, I found something vaguely interesting in the interactions between the big brainy science minds, and I'd keep Mike Costa on my radar for the future. Generously rounding this up to four stars.

[K.T. Katzmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun stand-alone story followed by the refreshingly weirdest Marvel tale I've seen in ages.

I've been enjoying All-Star X-Men. Elevator Pitch: The teenage original X-Men are plucked out of the past and stuck in the present. That present some great situations, mostly summarized as

A) "Wait that guy/woman/me eventually does WHAT ?

B) "Wait, what? The future is weird!"

C) Jean/Beast do something awesome.

Also, Doctor Octopus's mind is stuck in Spider-Man's body.

Given all this, you'd think adding the Hulk would make this a gigantic mess. Instead, it's a wonderful sampler, setting up both of those situations simply and showing off what kind of story they can offer. The interplay between our heroes in wonderfully, the story flows, there's a great use of Marvel history that requires no foreknowledge, and it's all really fun.

And then we get the weirdest filler story of the year.

Wolverine and a celebrity chief help the police track down a serial killer.

I'll repeat that.

Wolverine and a celebrity chief help the police track down a serial killer.


It's . . . fantastic.

The idea of zen, finally-at-peace Wolverine occasionally helping out the local PD with his abilities is one that deserves a series in itself, and getting a truly unexpected sidekick helps show off the Wolverine.

This is a great comic that you can drop in the hands of anyone passingly familiar characters and say, "Go." I want more Wolverine, P.I.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hahaha this is such a weird little collection. I dug the X-Men/Spider-Man/Hulk time travel crossover situation. The bonus comic at the end where Wolverine is solving crimes with Top Chef Chris Cosentino is... one of the weirder things I've ever read.

BEST PANEL: full page panel of the Hulk covered in puppies.

WORST PANEL: Chris Cosentino and Wolverine making fun of a coroner by assuming he's vegetarian. "I bet you're a vegetarian." "Hah, he can smell you a mile away. I guess what they say about you Veg-Heads is true!" WHAT ARE THEY SAYING ABOUT US VEG-HEADS, I NEED TO KNOW.

COME AT ME BRO

[Roman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Прочитав невеликий кроссовер між Суперіор Павуком, Незнищенним Галком та Олл-нью Іксамм під назвою "Arms of Octopus".

Зав'язка сюжету полягає у тому, що наші герої намагаються розгадати загадкову появу Доктора Восьминога який уже давно вважається мертвим.

Сам сюжет вийшов досить простуватим, однак як на мене в цьому його і плюс оскільки він не встигає якось надоїсти і читається цікаво, також тут є багато прикольних та милих взаємодій між персонажами та моментів які викликають усмішку (чого тільки вартує Галк з цуценятами). Щодо молодих Іксів то тут автор зосередився на Звірі, інші тут зазвичай сидять на задньому плані, однак і з ними є декілька хороших моментів. Щодо малюнку то тут він загалом вийшов досить нормальним. З мінусів я можу назвати лише антагоніста та його план, все таки занадто багато співпадінь у його плані, ну і як на мене Банера тут все таки замало було.

Загалом "Arms of Octopus" це досить звичайний кроссовер який варто читати заради місцевих персонажів та взаємодії між ними.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't sure where this fit in when I picked it up but it turns out to be a stand alone 3 parter between Superior SM, the time travelling younger All New X-Men and Banner/Hulk. It's pretty fun albeit fairly throw away. I thought Costa managed to find Otto's voice well in his Superior even if he makes him a little too kind. Still, it was nice seeing the big brains riff off each other and there are some nice moments in the somewhat varied art (Hulk/puppies was a highlight).

The final stand alone Wolverine story is just weird. Logan feels different for a start, it's an odd story and has no real weight to it. I guess they had to fit it somewhere as it's not connected with the rest of the story.

Anyhow, if you're a completist then it's necessary, if you're a casual fan you could skip this easily, though it's pretty light weight and fun regardless.

[Get X Serious · Rating 3 out of 5]

Team up events like this normally suck, it's like, a rule or something. And considering that this team up event wasn't authored by any of the current run's writers, I was extremely skeptical. I needn't have worried, it was still pretty good.

That is to say, Marvel took my three favorite runs from Marvel Now and lumped them together into a few issues and this is what came out. It's fun but adds nothing to any of their respective stories so it isn't required reading by any means. Probably as good as these things get, really.

[Owen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just fairly average.
There were some enjoyable parts - Iceman was entertaining as ever and the 'All New X Men' were an interesting concept that I might look into further.
Otto Octavius as Spider-man was a menace - Calling everyone 'children' and him not even trying to hide his hatred for the fake Doctor Octopus was funnier than it should’ve been.
Despite the story's title, Doctor Octopus is only relevant in the first issue and the ultimate plot reveal and main villain is underwhelming.
Whilst not a bad concept, the story felt rushed at times - I had to check that I wasn't missing pages as it jumped around so much.
The less said about the filler Wolverine issue thrown on the end for no reason the better - I hope whoever thought that him teaming up with a celebrity chef was a good idea got sacked.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome mini-series that includes Superior Spider-man, Indestructible Hulk and All New X-men. Artwork on all three comics were spectacular, especially the All New X-men. Very vibrant and simple.

[The Fizza · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 STAR - I've been reading comics since I was a kid and have a collection that goes back to before I was born but I don't often review them. I have decided to do a short review on this book however because it was another in a long line of modern comics that work the oldest trope for the least reward.

When storytelling through sequential art was young it was produced for children but like their contributors the medium grew up to provide more sophisticated content. Readers can now find popular books in every genre, from biographies to superheroing. But, in the end, it's the interpersonal relationships and character depth which most readers are drawn to (graphic novel or not).

Recently the large comic book companies that produce superhero books have moved to a formula of melding high concept adventure with down to earth banter. They have supplanted the character with the types of repartee you might find in a episode of Buffy the Vampire or Gilmore Girls without feeling the need to provide something else both those programs feature: Good Characterization.

On top of which comic book layouts have changed drastically. Today muted colors, cinematic images and fewer words per page are the norm. Narration and Thought Balloons appear less and less. It is said that this allows the art to tell more of the story but more often it seems a short-cut to marching out action stories with little more than a MacGuffin to focus the plot.

Readers are expected to fill in character's angst or motivation with their own imagination. Yet, without the understanding of that character we have no starting point to infer from. Where as in the 1970's images could be just as dynamic while readers were given a look into the minds of characters, learning what actions or inactions they dwelt on.

Not all modern superhero comics fall into this pit, some are able to build their characters so that fewer words won't lead to less of an understanding. And banter, if there, will have a foundation readers can identify. Some characters are so much bigger than their stories that we know who they are by reputation.

Peter Parker, for example, had used his Spider-Man persona to act out fantasies of bravo he couldn't in his everyday life. Writers, over decades, have defined Peter's character so readers can understand why he would tease J. Jonah Jameson when wearing the mask and acquiesce to him when not.

While Peter hasn't changed much many other characters have, on occasion after great trials. However more often then not, in modern books, they change without reason. As a result characters who had been defined in the past are now mouthpieces for writer's jokes or are just pawns to move the action along.

They have become part of the plot device, MacGuffin's in themselves. Nowhere is this more noticeable than in team books - Avengers, Justice League, etc... To be fair it can be hard to balance multiple characters, action and romance with a hand full of heroes which writers are not allowed to choose or create consequences for.

The writer has to work in a static world and is expected to build content that is still gripping. These characters are now products, brands, to be exploited. To the credit of some writers they incorporation this into their stores or try to examine it. The problem being, if too heavily anchored in that readers can be put off, as Peter Milligan & Mike Allred did with their X-Force.

I don't want to sound like a troll here, nor do I mean to say that superhero comics of the past were always better. Indeed some modern books successfully reward the reader with depth and action, providing layers to peal away while not trying to reinvent the medium. Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Astro-City and The Superior Spider-Man are among those successful attempts at producing a well balanced superhero book.

This leads me to All-New X-Men / Indestructible Hulk / Superior Spider-Man: The Arms Of The Octopus, a book which has the cross-over trope in play. To it's credit the main arc is alright, nothing spectacular, but it also doesn't seem much more than another of those 'lets make some cash by crossing-over popular titles as a bunch of pricey one-shots' type of things.

The art in each chapter is striking and somewhat compelling, my favorite being Kris Anka's who illustration of the All-New X-Men chapter was a mix of bare bones cartoony and interesting story-telling techniques which helped pull you along in places where the the plot seemed muddled.

The Spidy chapter was also fun and Mike Costa does a pretty good job with this part of the writing. His characterization of the Superior Spider-Man was on point but aside from that Costa's over-all writing isn't anything special.

Though it seems the only title, in this three-way cross-over, to carry something away is Superior Spider-Man... and that would be the spider-legs Doc Ock added to his spider gear, which features in Spidy's new costume.

[If that's a confusing sentence to you, you really should read Superior Spider-Man!]

It would have been nice if the All-New X-Men carried something away from the experience, as there were plenty of opportunity for them: A love interest for Hank, Scott's personal issues and Bobby's need for more training.

At least MARVEL didn't add the over-exposed Wolverine to this already crowed arc. Unfortunately the editors of this collection did drop a Wolvie one-shot in the end, though thankfully it has no ties to the main plot.

I've already forgotten the Chris Cosentino Wolverine tale as it wasn't a very good read. Wolverine is a prime example of MARVEL today (or NOW I should say). So much money is made off of the character's popularity that story-tellers have run out of ideas and now fail to provide anything of substance. Sadly the once decent character of Wolverine has become a parody of himself.

Honestly, unless you really love the Superior Spider-Man run or are an X-Men completest I would not bother reading this book.

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I actually enjoyed this or if I couldn't be arsed anymore. Considering this is a 3 part serious you'd expect the focus to be on the title character but he doesn't appear till very late in the first issue. Then for the rest of this He's stuck babysitting the young x-men, the Hulk gets involved for no reason at all, they say it's gamma related so he must get involved.

All in all it was very slow until about halfway, then the villain came out and things started happening. It does cut away from the action to focus on people talking instead, it's also very wordy at points.

This also collects Wolverine in the flesh, utter garbage. There is a murder, Wolverine wants to help and turns out he friends with everyone. A chef, a coroner and a guy who sells tacos why is that relevant to the plot no idea, so basically Wolverine can't figure out if the killer is a butcher. So he has his chef friend have a look and decides he needs to all the way with him, he even tells him that anyone can be a hero, all they need to do is care. I hate this kind of stories, yes people can be heroes but at the end of the day if it's a comic you reading it for average joe, you're reading it for the hero.

It's not the worse thing I've read but Marvel please stop pushing agendas.

[A M H · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main story itself was alright, the introduction was a little slow, especially if you don't care about the young X-men, but once the mystery gets going it gets more interesting. There's also some nice Otto and young X-men interactions that show that Otto can be a good teacher and can use his intellect to help others become better and more creative. It makes me think of what he could have been and how his character could have formed bonds with other marvel characters if he's given the chance.

There's also an added irrelevant Wolverine one-shot story also included. Who knows why? It has nothing to do with "The Arms of the Octopus" at all. Either way, the premise was alright but some of the dialogue and the lame plot convenience wrappers (no matter if they were placed on purpose to lure mutants, I still find it weird to go by. It's a literal trash heap after all. Could have been from anything or anyone.) bring it down.

[Adam Rodgers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superior Spider-Man, the time displaced original X-men, and the Hulk work together to deal with an unknown villian that has gamma radiation and the orignal Doc Ock at their disposal.

This is a rather mediocre tale loosely strung together with average art. Stretched out over the three specials Costa spins out the tale so each set of characters controls the narrative and gets their moment to shine before wrapping everything up. Calling it 'Arms of the Octopus' is pretty tenuous too as Doc Ock has little to do with the story (outside of being Spider-Man now).

The tacked on Wolverine story is even worse, aside from not being part of the main story, it involves celebrify chef Chris Cosentino (the story is also written by him). Inserting himself into the marvel universe he helps Logan track down a serial killer with his 'superior chef skills'....its pretty bad.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

Digging back into my collection and I had somehow missed our reading this weird crossover story from the Superior Spider-Man era. I sort of get mashing up the time-displaced X-Men with Spider-Man, but throwing in the Hulk felt like a stretch. And the bonus Wolverine story at the end was just weird.

The core adventure was decent enough with the X-Men and Superior Spider-Man taking up most of the character time. The Hulk was limited to a plot device whether as Bruce Banner helping with the science or as the Hulk smashing things in the background.

The actual story was not exactly high stakes, but it made sense for what was essentially a 3-issue story.

[Emilie]

I was pleased that the entire crossover was included in this collection. I found it fun. I hadn't known that there was a time that Doc Ock took over Spider-Man's body. He behaved in a relatively cooperative and non-villainous manner, surprisingly enough. Well, it surprised me.

The All-New X-Men were cute here, and I liked seeing young Hank McCoy work with Bruce Banner doing science-y stuff. Also I liked the way used to get the Hulk to calm down.

There was a gross-out Wolverine comic included at the end that I should have skipped.

I recommend the main story, though. I enjoyed it.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was a mess. Three parts of a story that no one wanted. The team-up involving the All-New X-Men, Indestructible Hulk, and Superior Spider-Man falls completely flat. The reasons why they're together seem forced and the book was a bore. Young Hank was the only bright spot. Mike Costa has done better work and these characters deserve better. The art ranged from decent to very bad. The Wolverine story to end the book made me question why I love comics. Overall, this is a very forgettable book.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of The Arms of Doctor Octopus

This was a good read in the aspect of the X-Men and the Hulk. I thought the Wolverine story was a bit odd, but I loved reading the Superior Spider-Man story and seeing Spider-Man teach the X-Men was a treat! I recommend this to any X-Men, the Hulk, Spider-Man, or Doctor Octopus fans!

[Lillian Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing interlude in the first series of ANXM.
Superior Spider-Man is an arrogant arse as usual.
Hulk is de-Hulked by puppies.
Bobby's mastered the term 'whatever
And Hank stares at Bruce Banner's dick.
Oh and the villian isn't who you think it is.

Art style just okay throughout.

The extra unconnected Wolverine one shot? Yeah, I thought that was pants.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a nice standalone that brought three titles together from I believe Marvel NOW. Spider-Man is actually Doc Occ in his body (Superious Spider-Man he usually likes to call himself), the Hulk is doing terrible things for Shield (purposefully), and the time displaced X-Mem are even involved!

Although the last issue/story with Logan was neat, it didn’t fit with the rest of these.

[Rangga Sukmawijaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seharusnya ini adalah masa liburan mereka, seperti kata Henry McCoy. Tapi apa daya, Doctor Octopus muncul di kota dan para X-Men orisinil (minus Angel) harus bekerjasama dengan Spider-Man untuk mengalahkannya. Masalahnya, di masa sekarang, Doctor Octopus seharusnya sudah mati. Lalu, darimana datangnya Doctor yang ini?

[Jdetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but not as good as the actual All-New X-Men series, and the final Wolverine story is pointless.

[Ripley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one really great thing about this trade is the Wolverine In the Flesh one shot at the end.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting - not great.

First time reading a Doc Ock version of spider man. Not sure how I feel about it.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. Harkens back to the days of Marvel Now!

Fun dialogue. Fun story. The art was hit or miss. But I really enjoyed the story.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collects All-New X-Men Special #1, Indestructible Hulk Special #1, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up Special #1, and Wolverine: In the Flesh #1

The main story about a past version of Dr. Octopus appearing in the present was pretty fun, but also just so-so. I found it to be more funny than I would have suspected, though. If you know who the Superior Spider-Man is, you will know why Dr. Octopus appearing is of special interest to him right now. The All-New X-Men get involved because they were the first ones to happen upon this young Dr. Octopus. I especially liked the young Beast. This story allowed him to shine as both a crime-fighter and a super genius. Hulk got involved because the team needed Bruce Banner's expertise on gamma radiation. Then Abomination shows up, which is weird because he's dead. I really like this new take on the Hulk - "Hulk smashes, Banner builds."

The Wolverine story is not a part of the main series in any way. I wish so much that it wasn't a part of this collection. The only explanation is that they had no where else to release it. In this story, Logan needs the help of celebrity chef, Chris Cosentino. Everything was wrong about this story because it was simply a marketing ploy. Logan's voice was all wrong, and the addition of Cosentino was used to give the cliche theme of, "even if you don't have powers, anyone can be a hero if they care." You'd be better off skipping this story. Just read the first three issues. Or find the "Arms of the Octopus" story in individual issues, and buy them cheap. I would recommend "The Arms of the Octopus," but I can't recommend it strongly. I only recommend it for people that feel invested in the heroes that took part in the adventure. It isn't a good jumping on point for new reads.

At first I thought the art was getting worse as I progressed through each issue of this collection, but it actually started to grow on me as I read through it more.

Spoilers:

-I wonder if we will see Hank's love interest, Molly, ever again.

-The villain, Dr. Jude, was interesting to me. I would like to see more of him.

-I liked the depiction of Time Square.

-They addressed things that had come up in past issues, like Jean kissing Hank, so I thought a first-time reader may get a little confused, or just not care that much.

-The puppy bomb was the best thing I've ever seen in a Hulk book...besides Red Hulk...that was an awesome idea...

-The Bay Area Butcher in the Wolverine story wasn't the worst idea for a Wolverine villain. I think it is a good idea to pit Wolverine against someone that doesn't give off a smell.

[Anchorpete · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am trying to figure out why this book exists. I am not saying it is bad, I am just trying to figure out the reason why Marvel put these three titles together, and had a not-as-famous-as-other-Marvel-Writers Writer write the whole thing.
My main guess is because Superior Spider-Man, All-New X-men and Indestructible Hulk all feature iconic Marvel characters, and yet they are all extremely different from the way their characters are normally depicted.

Doctor Octopus is the one controlling Peter Parker's Body.

The All-New X-men are actually the original X-men, from decades ago, pulled into the modern age.

Hulk Smashes, Banner Builds in Indestructible Hulk, as we find Banner and Hulk working as SHIELD agents.

Because of this, you have two characters and a team of characters interacting with each other, that actually have years of experience working together, but are coming together as perfect strangers. It is a novel situation, unfortunately what brings the characters together is a rather convoluted plot and a villain that is neither threatening nor interesting. I enjoy the quirky artwork, adolescent Beasts fumbling attempts at flirting, and The respect that Octo-Spidey has for the junior team of X-men. Besides that, I do not feel like this book was worth the read.

Also, I technically didn't finish the book, since the last story was a story of Wolverine teaming up with top Chef Chris Consentino. Just the fact that a story like that exists sends shivers down my spine.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what happens in middle age: I forget some comics I've read, though some are more forgettable than others. This was better reading the second time, as it's a self-contained story, originally spread across annual editions featuring X-Men, the (Doc Ock) Superior Spider-Man, and Bruce Banner/Hulk. There is also a negligible story of Wolverine, well drawn by Dalibor Talijic but making the protagonist into a detective; also yucky due to the serial killer/butcher plot.
What is worthy is the writing and drawing talent here, in some art styles I haven't seen on view in the rest of Marvel's line (apart from Kris Anka, who has done a lot of good work.) It's appropriate to see a little cartoon rendition of the original 5 X-Men, teenage and unstuck in time. Artists Kris Anka, Jacob Wyatt, and Michael Dialynas are all worthy. Script by Mike Costa is fun.
Mildly recommended.

[Silas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting mash-up of Marvel properties. You don't often see crossovers involving three properties. You might see any two of Spider-Man, the X-Men, or the Hulk, but not all three. These are all somewhat different takes on all three characters, as well, so it was that much more interesting. The characterizations are quite good, though I think Beast is a bit undersold on his intelligence. The story twists and turns, and the story is a lot of fun. Again, it doesn't really have much bearing on the rest of the Marvel universe, but the story is well-done, and if you have the background with the characters (and these particular takes on the characters), it is deep and quite interesting.

[Ernest · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hulk, Spider-Man, and the original X-Men (plus Wolverine in a stand-alone story) brought into the present (don’t ask) all feature in a story involving gamma radiation, the possible original Doctor Octopus and hubris (with Wolverine with a chef in a quasi-police procedural – again, don’t ask). It is not that the story was totally bad – there was enough humour between Spider-Man and the original X-Men. It is more that this seems to be a general fluff volume – nothing of consequence happens and nothing really develops. Not all stories need to have world-altering ramifications (I’m looking at you Marvel, with your overdone universe-wide crossovers), but those that don’t need to be entertaining and engaging enough. Simply put, this wasn’t.