X-Men and The Avengers: Lost and Found

X-Men: Gamma Quest Trilogy #1

by Greg Cox

The X-Men -- mutant protectors of a world that fears and hates them. The Avengers -- Earth's mightiest heroes, the greatest super-team ever assembled. When the Scarlet Witch of the Avengers and Rogue of the X-Men all disappear under mysterious circumstances, each team's search leads them to more questions than answers.

When the X-Men appear to attack a high-security government installation, the Avengers must track down the mutants, and learn the truth behind the abductions before it's too late

Genres: X Men, Science Fiction, Comics, Fiction, Superheroes, Mystery, Fantasy

278 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.

A book based on the Marvel characters. In this one, Scarlet Witch and Rogue go missing. Their respective teams proceed to investigate and their separate investigations lead them to each other. Chaos ensues.

All I want from a book of this caliber is a fun time and this book provided that. I don't want deep thought. I just want the characters portrayed correctly and battles between super powered beings. This book did precisely that. The character portrayal was spot on. I had no problem picturing any of the characters. It was nice to see Captain America game planning during a battle or Hulk's rage. Yes, everybody is in this book and it is a Marvel's fan delight. Within this book you get a point of view from different characters so you get to hear their respective voices and I liked this aspect. I did think the final battle was too long and that is why I did lower my rating. That being said, I would love to see it on the movie screen.

This book is exactly what I thought it would be and then some. There is a little mystery aspect that leads into the second book and I cannot wait for that reveal. I had a good time with this book as I had no problem picturing Wolverine, Beast, Iron Man, and other Marvel greats.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gamma Quest trilogy succeeds quite well in everything it attempts to accomplish, which is to provide an extended prose version of a mighty Marvel team-up adventure. The first thing the Marvel heroes have to do when they meet is have a big fight, then figure out there's a super villain behind the problem that they'd be better off fighting, then split into small groups for separate quests within the frame-work of a big team quest, assign team leaders (one of whom should be Cap), flirt with one another, fight some more, have hair-raising adventures and nick-of-time escapes, rescue their comrades, shake hands and promise to stay in touch, prepare to repeat next month. The X-Men and Avengers are the two biggest (in both senses of the word) teams in comics, and Cox set them up and carried them through quite well. I thought he captured the personalities and voices of almost all of the characters quite convincingly, and though I wasn't ever really surprised, neither was I disappointed. I don't see it as a trilogy so much as one long story that happened to be printed in three volumes; there are no good break or entry points, and I don't think anyone reading them out of sequence would get much from them. Altogether, lots of fun Marvel mayhem, lots of fun interaction between characters that don't normally spend much time together, and a good time is had by all. Excelsior!

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started out with a lot of set-up involving two as-yet-unknown villains kidnapping members of the X-Men and Avengers, and ended up with a bunch of partner-swapping fights amongst Cyclops, Storm, Captain America, Iron Man, the Vision, and the Hulk. The author seemed very knowledgeable, making references to the characters' histories and other fun Marvel-y trivia.

[Fangirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading about the comic characters in a novel was enjoyable. In the novel there is also a lot more character development in a shorter period of time.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I guess I enjoyed this first part of the Gamma Quest trilogy. I remember reading it when it first came out and felt it was pretty spot-on with how the characters were presented, with their thoughts, skills, abilities, and personalities; how they might think or act or even react in a given situation. Granted, the “big fight” between the Avengers and X-Men (and Hulk, to a lesser extent) takes place over 65 pages(!). It was a long chapter, but I thought the author did a good job trying to describe in words what might only take a few panels in a comic book. There was enough “mystery” behind the three introductory abductions (i.e. – they were “strange enough”) to get the reader’s attention and make him wonder what was going on, why three heroes were captured. The book does follow a common “Marvel trope” in that heroes tend to have to fight for a bit over a misunderstanding before they work things out and cooperate “for the greater good.” It also has some of the humor in it that one would find in various Marvel comic books (especially regarding the Beast and the way he jokes when he talks).

Storm makes a comment in the book that had me laughing. She thinks to herself, “It is just as well that the Thunder God has not accompany his allies. No Asgardian deity shall dispute my dominion over the skies” (160). It strikes me as amusing that she thinks she could defeat Thor in any fashion, or that she could control the weather better than he could. Maybe if it was peaceful weather, because Thor is God Thunder and Lord of Lightning; he controls the elements and revels in the storm. Also, I think that specific question was answered in one of Marvel’s mini-series, the second Contest of Champions, in which Thor effortlessly defeats her. He actually laughs at her attempts to use the elements against him before he easily bests her and ends their “battle.”

There were some issues I had with the story (and, yes, I know it is based on comic books). Some are “minor” issues and entirely understandable, but some are not. For starters, I wish Thor had been in the book, as well as Hawkeye, Justice and Firestar, but then the author would have had to include four more X-Men to counter them and it might have become more than he felt he could handle as a writer at that time. Apparently Thor and Hawkeye were off on “official solo missions” of their own and could not answer the call for the Avengers to meet regarding the UFOs SHIELD had detected in the NYC area (37), and both Justice and Firestar were at some New Warriors “reunion” (37). Wanda had also taken the day off and was at an exhibit at the local museum in NYC, where she was captured (chapter 1).

This is also a “minor quibble” for me, but I thought that Wolverine was taken down a bit too easily even though I realize the family of deer that attacked him were not deer at all (23-25). The injuries he was described as receiving did not seem as severe as other injuries he has been described as receiving in other stories and yet was capable of continuing the good fight. Again, author’s choice and a minor quibble. I also found myself wondering if they were Skrulls or something, because of the way their bodies kept changing and altering as they attacked Wolverine. His “final thoughts” before losing consciousness made me laugh: “Funny, I thought I was hunting them . . .” (25)

Another bit of a “medium quibble” is, how did whoever know that Rogue was going to be at that booth in NYC at the right time for those T-shirts to attack her like they did (26, 30-31)? The odds of Rogue conveniently walking by at the correct moment by that portable booth seem astronomical, but the way she is attacked makes it clear that some kind of plan was in place, but it could not have been any kind of “long-term plan,” which makes me wonder how it was conveniently enacted as quickly as it was. The T-shirts had to be “keyed” to her own unique bio-signature; otherwise, they would have attacked any mutant that walked by. I didn’t think her “take-down” was very believable. It was different and unique, but not believable (and also gets her out of the way, although the reason for her capture was a bit of a surprise the first time I read this book; I did not expect her to undergo the experiments performed upon her or the pain she had to endure).

This is a “not-quite-minor quibble,” but still not a “major quibble”: As the “official team meeting” starts, Cap wonders aloud where Wanda Maximoff is and why she has not yet answered their calls to meet for this meeting. Tony actually left his “day job” to attend this meeting, it was so important, so why were Justice and Firestar not recalled for the meeting? It seems like if it was important enough for Tony to have to break away from his responsibilities at Stark Solutions, then it should have been important enough for Justice and Firestar to have to leave their reunion/party to attend the meeting as well. The Vision finally tells the other two that Wanda was attending an exhibition (of puppets from Eastern Europe) at a local museum and did not know when she was scheduled to return (37). Honestly, something like that should have been noted somewhere and Cap should have been aware of it. The fact that she had not responded to his hails (and the fact that she had been the former team leader of the West Coast Avengers for a period of time) should have alerted each of them to the fact that she was in trouble (as she was responsible enough to know she should have responded to any hails from the rest of the team because if she was being hailed, it was important enough for her to be notified and respond because her presence was required).

Now, this is a bit more of a major quibble, as it is has more to do with the overall plot. On page 38, Cap plays a “recording” from SHIELD regarding five UFOs that have appeared around NY state in the past twenty-four hours and Nick Fury thinks it is important enough for the Avengers to get involved (as he believes it is truly extraterrestrial in origin). On page 39, Cap lets the others know he “quietly” queried Hank McCoy, aka the former Avenger and current X-Man known as the Beast, about these sightings to find out if they were of the X-Men going to-and-fro on missions and Hank assured him the X-Men were not involved. Yet, later in the book, Hank refuses to ask Cap for help in acquiring the evidence collected regarding Rogue’s disappearance from the local precinct in which she disappeared. Neither does he contact Cap regarding what he discovers regarding the T-shirts (i.e. – they were irradiated in gamma radiation), especially in light of what Cap asked him about regarding the UFOs. This created a bit of a problem for me, because Hank McCoy is much smarter than that, that he would ignore any opportunity for help from his old Avengers teammates or that he would not, at the very least, bring up the UFOs while talking about the gamma-emitting T-shirts with Storm and Cyclops (78-79).

Another “major quibble” for me is how funny it is how the X-Men are described as being a team of heroes who save a world that both hates and fears them, as if the X-Men have done “nothing wrong” to be hated and feared, yet the author has the Beast “breaking into” a police station to acquire evidence collected after Rogue was attacked by cheap T-shirts and then captured (69-71). When it is discovered he is impersonating an officer, he then heads to the “Evidence Room,” locks the door, and locates the “suspicious” T-shirts. In order to escape, he fires a bazooka(!!?!!) at the ceiling to create a hole, justifying his actions with “how his ol’ buddy and multi-millionaire pal Warren Worthington III could not only repair the damage but buy the police force a new station for its precinct.” Really?!? He breaks into a police station, steals evidence, and then destroys part of the police station in order to escape (71-79), and wonders why the general, non-mutant members of the population hate and fear “all” mutants in general (76-77)? The fact that the author has the Beast making this statement after breaking into and out of a police station, destroying part of the structure in the process, makes it even more shocking. One of the police officers summed it up the best when he said, “but I thought he was one of the good guys” (75). The Beast is still technically a reserve Avenger (as he has answered various calls for help for Reserve Members before, such as during the Evolutionary War and when the Avengers called in all members to face Morgana Le Fay after the team returned from the alternate universe created by Franklin Richards, and this story clearly takes place after that specific event occurred, based on the team members making up the Avengers squad), so why could he not have “flashed his Avengers ID card” like he wished he could do? Even if he no longer had one, he should easily have been able to contact the Avengers to either obtain their assistance or acquire a new one, thereby obviating the need to break numerous laws like he unnecessarily did.

This one alternates between being a “major quibble” and a “minor quibble”: While battling Iron Man, Storm creates an EMP that short-circuits Iron Man’s armor, and he falls 1000 feet into the water pouring over Niagara Falls, whereupon he falls another 100 feet into the water at the base of the falls (167). So, two things here: Regarding Tony falling 1000 feet into a rushing, raging river followed by falling another 100 feet amidst rushing, crashing, crushing water. Really?!? What kind of suit of armor does he have that still protects his body after falling far enough and fast enough that hitting the water will be the equivalent of landing on concrete, yet he suffers no ill effects from such a fall? He should have died from the impact upon landing (even if he did survive a fall from that height without passing out). The other issue: Storm should have killed him with her stunt, which would have made her a murder, especially as she knows he has to use the suit of armor to fly and he cannot fly on his own. Yet she lashes out at him with deadly force without considering the future consequences of her action? Perhaps it could be argued that she thought his armor was better than it was (i.e. – her EMP pulse would not actually knock it out of commission like it did) and did not expect him to lose control like he did? Regardless, the author has her clearly thinking about her actions and she lashes out with the intent to disable Iron Man. On page 166, she phrases it as, “let us see if Iron Man’s formidable technology can be as temperamental and touchy as Kitty’s precious programs” before she lets him have it. Not only does the EMP shut down Iron Man’s armor, but it also adversely affects the equipment of both the Canadian and American military units. That being the case, and the “fact” that the author never says the news helicopters overhead had actually left the area yet, one might wonder if the helicopters also crashed either to the ground or into the river. Plus, the fact that she cannot control the EMP beyond creating it, what happened to any other aircraft that were flying “nearby”? What is the range of her EMP pulse? She could have caused multiple civilian and military aircraft to drop from the skies because of her EMP, and it could also have affected the city of Niagara Falls, including the local hospital. The author makes it sound like it was “limited in nature,” but how limited was it truly? How much control does she truly have over the weather itself or “unnatural events” like an EMP? It will be interesting to see how this gets discussed in the second book, her nearly killing Iron Man like she did with her act. I doubt any of the consequences of her EMP will be discussed; I doubt the author considered it beyond it frying the military’s electrical equipment.

Also, it is funny – the X-Men are lashing out at the Avengers with greater force than the Avengers are the X-Men; Storm and/or Cyclops could have killed their respective “opponents” based on the level of energy being expended by the respective mutants. It’s kinda crazy that the X-Men are behaving exactly as they appear to be in the public eye – powerful, dangerous, and out-of-control. The author tries to make it sound like the two heroes are in “total control,” but they are still lashing out more strongly/harshly than their “human” opponents from the Avengers.

It was a fun novel to revisit. I forgot the “big fight” took sixty-five pages of the book (nearly one-third of it!), but it was still worth the read. I liked the characterizations, how they were fairly true to the comics (except that it felt like the author “favored” the X-Men over the Avengers and I have always preferred the Avengers over the X-Men. However, it was written at a time when the X-Men were at the height of their popularity and there were a host of other “offshoot titles” that really ruined it for the X-Men for a period of time as Marvel flooded the market with too many X-titles and nearly killed off interest in mutants because the artwork and stories were so bad). I thought the author did a good job building up the story to its “cliff-hanger” ending; we’ll see if the second book raises the bar further or falls short when compared to the first and third books of the trilogy. I will probably leave it as a 3-star rating; I would probably rate it 3.3 – 3.5, rounded down. I don’t think I liked it enough to say I “really liked it,” but it was a fun story to read (considering the limitations and guidelines that would have been put in place of an author trying to write a book or series of books about copyrighted characters who have a regular series of books published monthly) and I did enjoy it. I might even rate it s high as 3.6, but still round it down. It was fun to revisit it, and I hope the second book is just as good, at the very least.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I'm only talking about the first book of the trilogy in this review.

This is my first foray into Marvel books, or, really, superhero books. I wasn't sure what my feelings were going to be going into it, but I definitely enjoyed the vast majority of the book!

The X-Men and Avengers are probably the superhero teams I know the most about in the Marvel universe, thanks to the films. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about superheros I know some things about, and its clear that Cox is a fan himself because he calls back to a myriad of things from the heroes' pasts. They're clear and consistent characters and the viewpoints switch frequently, but in a way that makes sense.

I enjoyed reading about the superheroes who are taken away and about the ordeal they are suffering. It could've been a whole book just on that and I would have been quite content. But this book is more about the teams trying to find their teammates and how they are being manipulated. I struggled with the fight scene, because it was about 70 pages long and it could have been easily solved had anyone talked to each other (but it's a superhero book so fights are needed). I found that to be somewhat of a slog, but if you're a big fan I can see why you would love it!

I enjoyed the majority of this book, with just the overly-long fight scene putting me off. If you're a Marvel fan you are sure to enjoy this!

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I wasn't happy with Marvel Comics continuity by the 1990s (about the time I started to drop most modern superhero books from my reading list), this book was very entertaining. Greg Cox accurately captures the personalities of the various characters well and drops them into a well-constructed plot.

Two X-Men and an Avenger have been kidnapped. The two groups are investigating independently (neither team knows the other has the same "kidnapped member" problem), with clues that lead them to the Hulk. The villains, in the meantime, are experimenting on the captives.

The plot moves along swiftly, appropriately following Comic Book Logic as the story unfolds. The final battle at Niagara Fall--a three-way fight involving the X-Men, Avengers and Hulk, is exciting and has the various participants using tactics that make sense according to the powers they have.

I also enjoy that Cox does not identify either of the main villains until he reveals who ONE of them is in the last chapter. For comic book fans familar with the Marvel Universe, several clues to his identity had been planted along the way, making the reveal a satisfying one.

This book is the first of a trilogy, so ends with several cliffhangers.

[Anthony Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true companion to the X-Men 97 series, if you are currently watching. Which you should be.
Our heroes face a threat in the shadows and preys on the weaknesses of both the Avengers and the X-men on a personal level. Stuff gets bad here, like torture. So be aware. Nothing graphic but still.
At the heart of it , this first story of the Gamma Quest is so thrilling and action packed. I love how well the characters are written , especially Beast, Storm, and Cyclops. (Now that I think of it, basically the xmen) The avengers are here and their characters are alright- it was and always is a relief to see Cap and Ironman getting along and working together.
Either way I am excited to finish this trilogy as I continue to watch the ever epic series on Disney plus and I hope you do too.
P.s big time cliff hanger at the end. Literally.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very curious, how comments would translate into a novel format. And I was delighted to see how the author captured some of the classic elements of the comics, but really wrote a true novel. There were a ton of callbacks to events that have happened in the novels during their golden era. If you didn't know that time, you would still enjoy this story. None of those details were essential. However, for a guy like me who grew up reading the classics from the era, I really enjoyed the mentions.

Interesting story as well and the characters each had really unique voices when it was their section of the story. This could be a fun trilogy!

[Rachel]

I read this series in the early 2000s because I was very much into Rogue and the X-Men, but it became the series that really introduced me to Wanda and the Avengers. I have no idea how well the series holds up after more than 20 years and it's probably not the sort of read adult me is looking for BUT if you're a big Marvel fan or are just really enjoying Wandavision, this may be a series for you.

[Lori S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 Stars

When the Scarlet Witch (Wanda), Rogue and Logan are kidnapped, their respective teams (The Avengers and the X-MEN) jump into action and then jump all over each other. Irritating much? No one takes the time here to stop and talk to each other, instead, they each assume the other team had something to do with the kidnapping. Add in a trip to Niagara Falls to ask the Hulk questions about gamma radiation and the plot, such as it is, just flutters in the wind with no anchor points.

Meh. At least I borrowed it from the library.

[V. Arrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good... lord... I listened to this on audio and a THREE-HOUR FIGHT SCENE IS TOO LONG. GOOD GOD. MAKE IT STOP. SO BORING.

The rest of the book? Great. Really interesting start to a trilogy, great Wanda content, etc.

THREE HOURS OF FIGHTING THE BORING BORING BORING HULK? SO BORING. SO LONG.

Wanda getting kidnapped by murderous puppets? Great. Rogue being attacked by racist t-shirts? Cool. Wolverine being Wolverine? Fine.

STOP FIGHTING THE HULK FOR THREE HOURS.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, all the Avengers knowledge I had going into this book was what I learned from the movies. However, I did enjoy their interactions and learning what history of theirs was in the book.
I really liked the pacing. Everything was fairly well explained and nothing ever felt bogged down by descriptions. The action was well paced and a lot of fun to read.

[Ferginator88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun enough read, it suffers a lot from the lack of any plot resolution happening within itself. Everything is left for the next book, even the final battle at the end is put on pause to be wrapped up in Chapter 1 of book 2. A little frustrating.

The author does a great job writing each of the different characters though. They really nail Beast.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good writing for an xmen/marvel novel

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

338 - 2020

[Derrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring .... I like some stuff by Greg Cox, but this one didn't do it for me.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book has a ton of action to start off the trilogy, the plot doesn't really go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where this mash up of characters go.

[Kevin P · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've been a fan of the X-Men since 1983.
This book tried its best to change that.
Thank God Chris Claremont could write, 'cause Greg Cox can't.

[Cal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: C

[Meghan Emery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable, but it kind of fell flat. Toward the end I kind of felt like I was forced to finish it so that I could get to the next one and see if it got better. I feel that the characters were close to the comics, with Beast being the most accurate. I loved it whenever he used his phrase "Oh my stars and garters!" That was definitely classic Beast. Overall the plot, which has something to do with The Leader experimenting on some of the mutants leads the Avengers and the X-Men to locate the Hulk for more information on Gamma Radiation. The ensuing battle is expected, and a little drawn out and slow. If the rest of the trilogy is better, I'll change my recommendation, but at the moment it's only and if you are really jonesing for a superhero fix would I suggest this book.

Writing: B
Grammar: B
Characters: A
World: C
Plot: B
Overall: B
Recommendation: Only if you want superheroes but want to read a book too.

[B. Reese · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this trilogy as a teenager/early adult. I really don't know if I would like it now.

I would actually really like to re-read this trilogy imagining the movie incarnations of the characters. That would be interesting.

It was cool seeing the set up of how the teams get involved in each other's issues. I think the X-Men and the Avengers both decide to try to stop the Hulk at Niagara Falls at the same time. Lucky too, because the Hulk's enemy, the Leader is the big bad. The biggest complaint is that like almost every other X-Men novel, the overpowered Rogue is basically kidnapped or rendered a non-threat early on.

[Hyann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of comic book so normally I would give high rating to a superhero novel.

I didn't enjoy this one very much, not a bad novel but the first 200 pages bring nothing new for me (to much post reference on character history) and all the action happen in the last chapters. I will still read the rest of the trilogy I like to give all the chance to the author.

Spoiler
Rogue beaten by T-shirt? Wolverine down by dears? Come on! And I really didn't like the Leader personification.

Still 3 stars isn't that bad.

[Zach Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised at how well the action translated in this novel. The plot is also a captivating mystery that culminates in a solid cliff hanger. The characterizations and dialogue are a tad outdated, but those are the only real faults.

[Edward Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some trilogies work well, but this felt a little annoying that you not so much wanted to but were forced to read the other two books just to find out what was going on.