New X-Men, Vol. 7: Here Comes Tomorrow

New X-Men (2001)

by Grant Morrison, Marc Silvestri (Artist)

Meet the X-Men from 150 years in our future. While some faces may seem familiar, readers will discover all-new heroes and villains for the first time. What incredible force threatens to destroy the mutants of the future, and how will it affect the X-Men of
today?

Collecting: New X-Men (2001) 151-154

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Grant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.

In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.

Reviews

[Ingenue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wolverine's cowboy hat buttshot cover model pose will never not be funny.

[Aurora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man, Grant Morrison is so good when he is good. And his ideas are always weird and interesting. But. I think he is often mediocre and sometimes outright sucky at storytelling fundamentals. Nobody wants to read pages of clunky old-fashioned exposition, I understand. But Jesus, this is hard to follow. Too often, I don't understand what's going on until halfway though a scene. And if you don't know all the characters names and powers when the book starts, odds are you you won't get any help.

Anyway, this one is supposed to be his Days of Future Past deal, and it isn't terrible but it is very dense. And deeply hard to invest in. And every now and then the art is really crappy.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, my dear dear New X-Men. So much promise, and such a weird ending.

Perhaps weird is good. Weird is fun, interpretable, and arguably the best thing about sci-fi superhero comics anyways.

It was inevitable that Grant Morrison would have to do an alternate reality/alternate future story when it comes to the X-Men, because that is a core part of the mythos. It is fun to see Beast as evil--another trope these days--and a grownup badass Beak (or his descendant?) and it all culminates with the Phoenix, just cosmic and psychedelic enough. Yet, at its heart, the big choice is whether or not Scott Summers decides to choose love 150 years earlier...

Beautiful art by Marc Sivestri, a mainstay X-penciller since the 80s and always one of my favorites. All that said, these four issues are very well done yet so different from what came before. It's hard to love this book anywhere as much as the six volumes that came before.

It had to end somewhere, and what a run it was. Three years is an awesome go of it, and New X-Men was a vital part of bringing the mutants into the 21st century, don't get me wrong. It's just that the ending isn't the best part.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here Comes Tomorrow is yet another alternate timeline tale in the X-Men mythos that is a jumbled mess, with incoherent narrative and feels unpolished at the end.

[C. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Morrison's X-run ended not with a bang, but a whimper. A really lame whimper. The story takes place far in the future - a really lame future - and as an "alternative time-line" tale, it holds no emotional weight; Morrison kills off all the X-Men, but it doesn't resonate as none of it as real. There's a cute rip off of "The Iron Giant" in a guy and his tame Sentinal, but that hardly redeems the rediculous evil buff feral Beast villian, or the silly conclusion to the performance-enhancing drug plot line (they've been huffing evil, sentient creatures!), and the silly Phoenix Force as Green Lantern nonsense that crops up at the end. Utterly forgetable, and since its in the future, unnecessary for undestranding the storyline. Very sorry way to end one of the great runs in X-Men authorship.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Morrison doesn't know how to end a series run. He builds up momentum, sends sparks, and then lights himself on fire rather than creating a molten center.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well. That happened.

(Or DID it?)

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

This coda to Morrison's run on X-Men is, sadly, mostly incomprehensible. There's some cool stuff I guess (like the army of evil Nightcrawler clones!), but this story only makes sense if you've deciphered every other part of Morrison's story, and only a little bit of sense at that.

And who ever decided Marc Silvestri was hot shit? His pencils are as bland and second-rate Jim Lee as anyone else from the Top Cow crowd.

[Yen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume totally came out of nowhere. Most of every pages were confusing. The ending didn't come with a bang at all! A bit disappointed.

The conclusion: New X-Men was OK, but I didn't like it that much. There were good parts in this series though, but most of it were all just OK. The 70% of the artwork sucks. It didn't capture the story at all.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaaand Grant made it great.. again!

Wish I had more to read after this one.

Love the story & artwork.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here Comes Tomorrow (#151-154). The first time I read this, I found it confusing and opaque. However, read with more care, it's a refreshing take on X-Men futures and a really a nice coda to Morrison's run that reveals some of its hidden plots. We get great explanations and great endings.

Perhaps more notably it's a great setup for what was a tremendous run of X-Men following on Morrison, all the way up to Secret Wars (when things got wonky). The way that Emma and Scott come together is particularly moving.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Morrison's New X-Men run until this volume. I'm not a fan of Silvestri's art, and the plot just seemed to go off into left field.

[Sergi Oset · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorprendente final para la serie de Morrison centrada en un futuro lejano y oscuro que muestra el final y decadencia de los mutantes (tipo “Días del Futuro Pasado”), perseguidos de forma implacable por la Bestia metido en el papel de Apocalipsis y con Fénix a su servicio. Todo muy extraño (como esa ballena mutante) y salvaje (los Rondadores clon). Resaltaría el juego que da la relación del Centinela Rover y el humano Tom Skylark y como estos interaccionan con EVA o en que se han convertido Pico y las hermanas Cuco. Quizá he notado un salto temporal demasiado grande entre el número seis y este de cierre que me ha dejado un poco descolocado.

[AJ Kallas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's ALL about evolution. Not just this story. But all of Grant Morrison's New X-Men. There is so much subtext and commentary throughout this run. And it's definitely worth a read. While some of the art is not fun to look at- and some of the ideas seem very underdeveloped. Grant and the X-Team crafted a story about growth and growing in a world full of life, death, love, and animosity. Grant solidifies some of the most important aspects of the X-Men for the 00's, making these mutants feel like a real people group. And so much of his writing is continuing to impact X-Men today. So it's very ironic to us in the present that his last story arch is titled, "Here Comes Tomorrow".

[Henry Blackwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man what the fuck.

[ria · Rating 1 out of 5]

It astounds me how someone can write something so uniquely terrible. That one star is only for the art which was better compared to the other volumes.

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's leave the brainless present behind for some brainless future. The mutants have been decimated, humanity is on the brink of demise, but they all look gorgeous. Silvestri knows how to draw spectacular scenes and stunning characters.

Tom Skylark is transporting the valuable Phoenix Egg to the X-Men of the future. E.V.A. joins Tom. She can adopt a female body this time. And it's a hot one, especially if you're into metallic, skin-tight body suits. Think Seven of Nine. Or look it up if you're too young. Beast is an evil creator with access to a vast X-Men genome. He uses it to create mutants with various abilities to steal the Egg. The only thing in his way are the X-Men.

The X-Men mount an assault on Beast's stronghold to recover the Egg. Before they can succeed, Beast, or Sublime as he calls himself, cracks open the Egg. As if the swarm of enemies isn't enough to defeat the X-Men, Jean joins the fray - as Phoenix. She gives up on fighting the X-Men after reading Logan's memories which show that Beast is the evil one. But then Beast himself shows up, upgraded with several mutant DNAs. Jean feigns defeat, but then extracts and destroys Sublime, a virus that has been controlling Beast. In the end she rewrites a turning point from the present day. She gets Scott to not give up on the school, thus creating a new future. She also gets Emma. At least she won't explode on him like the Phoenix always seems to do.

[TR Naus · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Phoenix is dead, and the future will not be the same. When Scott Summers refuses to reopen the Xavier Institute after the death of his wife, he creates an alternate timeline. In 150 years, the remanents of the X-Men, now led by Cassandra Nova, recover the Phoenix Egg from the Proud People. They are unsuccessful in protecting it from the Beast and his minions of Crawlers giving him the total power of a reborn Phoenix.

This run was so confusing! The fun thing about alternate futures is that they often reveal hints about the current timeline, and this one has a few that I was supposed to understand (I didn't). It attempts to explain Sublime, the creator of the U-Men, and Kick, the addictive mutant drug, but it didn't make a lot of sense to me. The same can be said for the Cassandra Nova / No-Girl / Martha Johansson connection. All of these dangling plot points are implied, so it is hard to figure out what I was supposed to pick up. I needed to use online resources.

The story also reused a similar concept that started in Age of Apocalypse -- using the Multiple Man to create an evil army. At least this one merged Multiple Man with Nightcrawler to create the Crawlers (each of whom is further merged with another mutant). It was cool to see them, but it was not so original.

Seeing Marc Silvestri back, however, was fantastic. I am a fan of his work, and this was no exception.

[Christopher (Donut) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grant Morrison's switcheroo on Days of Future Past, and apocalyptic AF.

Just because he's done this story over and over doesn't mean it's not awesome every time.

I liked the full fledged Beak, and Rover the lone OG Sentinel, Wolverine, great as ever, and the Beast "infected" with the Sublime.

I did not literally read it in one day, but it was compelling and relatively short (about 100 pp.), so I read it quickly.

The art was A++.

[Vinnie Uube · Rating 1 out of 5]

Morrison’s epic run is comprised of 6 engaging volumes and a 7th conflated cosmic mess for a conclusion. While he started the run by reimagining the classic Xmen tropes and successfully captivating us with these new ideas. Unfortunately, Morrison fails to execute his vision of a grand finale. It feels rushed and the narrative is so confusing that by the end, it leaves you asking yourself, “so what?” That being said, Morrison’s run left a long-lasting impact on the X franchise and the very last page essentially set the stage for Joss Whedon’s excellent run.

[Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing AMAZING, the story was ok. Some good moments like the relationship between tom skylark and rover. The art was very good and i like the finale, but overall this volume was a filler and very forgetful.

[Jarek Kopeć · Rating 2 out of 5]

O.o
I think he lost it.

[ShamNoop · Rating 2 out of 5]

*throws hands up in the air out of defeat*

SURE, WHY THE HELL NOT?

[Chris Moutafis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember this blowing ass

[salomé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une sorte de days of future past à la sauce Morrison, perso j’ai passé un très bon moment

bonus point pour la cover de logan serving cunt

[Carrie Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

X Men has always been a favorite of mine. a good find at a local thrift shop

[Ignacio Izquierdo · Rating 4 out of 5]

El final de los X-Men de Grant Morrison es tan épico como podría esperarse. Se cierran mucho de los argumentos que se habían abierto durante los tomos previos de la única manera que el guionista sabe: con una solución extrañísima, loquísima y fascinante. Es una pena que acabara saliendo por la puerta de atrás y con prisas porque esta última saga se habría beneficiado de al menos un par de números más para expandir todo lo que necesitaba contar. Sin embargo y a pesar de todo, estamos ante historia del cómic, tanto que a día de hoy (y casi 20 años después) se siguen usando muchas de sus ideas y referenciando muchas otras. Etapa tremendamente sólida quizás manchada por su, en demasiadas ocasiones, irregular y flojo dibujo.

[Chris Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, Silvestri’s art is just horrible with that cross hatched nineties ugliness that put me off superhero comics in the first place. Emma Frost looks like an actual sex doll and it’s not the first time in this run that I’ve noticed Morrison is far more muddled when the art is a mess and isn’t there to help clarify the writing

That said, it’s a fascinating epilogue and one that makes more and more sense on repeated reading, with Sublime’s plan making a lot more sense of Magneto’s behaviour and the whole craziness of the riot and Kick as a drug. It’s fascinating that Morrison decides the main plot of his run basically comes down to bacteria, with a real fascination with nano technology. It’s as if he realised that if you’re going to write a comic about mutations then you need to look at what makes those mutations and turn that into the real focus of the whole series

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

150 years into the future, the X-Men struggle to fight against Sublime, who now has control of the Phoenix, and is posed to take over the Earth and beyond.

Grant Morrison is a writer who's work can be hard to decipher at times. Especially at the beginning of his runs. He tends to go to a confusing and obtuse place, then at the end, iron out the details and hopefully make it all make sense. His X-Men run is the opposite. Because up until now, the stories have been fairly straightforward. It's almost like he needed to do at least one volume with the weird and indecipherable plot that he likes to do, before the final curtain call - because this last story, is pretty hard to understand.

It has to do with how bad things have gotten in the future if Cyclops walks away from the X-Men following the events of the last volume. So Phoenix has to fix this by erasing the future, and allowing Scott to change his mind (somehow) and continue the school and begin a real relationship with Emma.

The art is handled by Marc Silvestri, and to be honest, I don't think he was the best pick for this particular story. It looks very 90's and scratchy, and I think an artist with a cleaner style would've been better, as the plot is itself not very clear. The whole thing feels very 90's and that's because of the art solely.

While this volume is not the best to end on unfortunately, the run itself is still great in my opinion. They way Morrison came in and just really shook up the status quo of the X-Men was fantastic and a needed breath of fresh air. The look, the tone, the attitude of the book completely changes and is invigorated by his run. I think this is one of the greatest runs of the X-Men team, of all time. If you haven't read the entire run and you're an X fan, stop reading this and go read it!

[MrColdStream · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, the end of an era. Morrison's run on the X-Men had been largely exciting, with several memorable moments and strong dramatic tension. He really should have left after the magnificent Planet X. The final four issues of his run are not the best though. Here, Morrison returns to the largely confusing and incomprehensible storytelling of his earliest issues and the entire story is easily skippable. I did like the characterization of the future versions of some of the caharcters, but four issues is just not enough to properly introduce and utilize this new world and the characters. Marc Silvestri's art is BEAUTIFUL and it's a shame he doesn't stay on for longer.
The volume ends with two issues penned by Chuck Austen, the incoming writer of the series. The two issues are largely filler material to fill in the gap between Morrison's and Austen's runs and are pretty much just basic X-Men material. Salvador Larroca's art is interesting to say the least, and takes some time to get used to, but I'm willing to give him a proper chance.