Essential X-Men, Vol. 9

Essential X-Men #9

by Chris Claremont, Terry Austin (Illustrator), Sally Pashkow (Illustrator)

Storm gets younger, Polaris gets stronger, Jean Grey gets tentacles, and Psylocke gets a makeover from the Mandarin as the X-Men's adventures continue. Waves of super-villainy strike the Savage Land, Muir Isle, and the Morlock Tunnels. Collects Uncanny X-Men #244-264 and Annual #13.

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

544 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 1990

About the author

Chris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.

Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.

Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection features some of Jim Lee's first work on the Uncanny X-Men, but it was also when many first really began questioning/doubting where Claremont was taking the series. The post Inferno X-Men seem all at sea, the team is separated and each of them as amnesia!; there's also an ever expanding cast, including the debuts of Strong Guy, Jubilee(yay!) and a revamped Polaris. There's so man big changes for many of the cast as well as the huge temporary(?) loss of Rogue! The huge story arc though is the Siege Perilous, which is the cause of the huge changes to five of the team's lives. The main villains are Zala Dane, the Reavers, Morlocks, The Hand and the Serpent Society! This period foreshadowed more dilution and weaker stories with the series also going fortnightly! 7 out of 12, Three Stars. Collects Uncanny X-Men #244-264 and Annual #13.

2017, 2015 and 2010 read

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

A years worth of X-Men comics where there is effectively no X-Men? Yeah, this isn't the best time for everyone's favorite mutants. Storm is turned into a child, Rogue disappears, Colossus loses his memory, Polaris goes off to be a movie star, Psylocke becomes a villain and a ninja, and Wolverine is splitting time between this book and his own solo book. We do get to follow Forge around a lot so...yeah, not the best time for this book. Marvel would even go on to retcon a lot of the events from this time, such as why Legion killed Destiny and what was up with the whole "Psylocke is now Asian instead of British".

Notable first appearances: Jubilee

Notable events: "Acts of Vengeance". As convoluted as it is (and how stupid it was to take Psylocke's cool cloak outfit away and dress her in what amounts to a battle-ready bathing suit), Lady Mandarin vs. Wolverine vs. The Mandarin is probably the highlight of this volume.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume chronicles an interesting and unusual period of the X-men saga. Included here are Uncanny X-Men #244-264 and Annual #13. The last of the 80s leading into the 90s brings us some of Claremont's last issues on the title, and he leaves his mark!

The story starts directly following the Inferno crossover. The X-Men return to Australia to continue pretending to be dead so they can hide from the Marauders. The first couple of issues are fun little guys and girls night out stories to lighten the mood after the dark Inferno saga. This is followed by the X-Men part of the Atlantis Attacks crossover.

From issue #246-251, we get the steady disintegration of the team with one defection, one death, and 5 "deciding" to go through the Siege Perilous. After this, there is no team for a while.

Events that follow...Psylocke is reborn as a Asian assassin, Storm returns as a little girl, Colossus is reborn in New York as an artist named Peter Nicholas, Dazzler comes back as herself (with no memories), two members of Freedom Force are killed, Forge and Banshee begin a search for the X-Men, and Jubilee becomes Wolverine's newest sidekick.

This was an era I truly enjoyed when they were first published. They lost little in the re-read, but still very fun.

[Dawn Livingston · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit, I skimmed through this and didn't read most of it. This line-up is not my favorite. Some of the artwork from a few of the issues were just terrible.

I would say that if you want all of X-Men for the sake of continuity then get this, but most of the stuff in here could be skipped, it's not essential or all that great.

I would not buy this new at full price ($20). I think I'd only get it if it were just a few dollars and in good condition.

On a side not, it's interesting to see how the look of Rogue has changed over the years and continued to change after these issues, this collection.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

For die-hards only.

The X-men comics got a little bit weak in the late 80's. The team kinda disintegrates in the first half, and we see more of "on-again off-again" members Forge and Banshee than we do of the team's stars. As for villains, it's the Reavers, the Reavers, and more of the Reavers. This volume just seems to be missing so much of what makes the X-Men... well, the X-Men.

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 4 out of 5]

Después de los números de Uncanny X-Men dedicados a Actos de Venganza y la formación de un nuevo "núcleo" para la Patrulla-X formado por Lobezno, Mariposa Mental y Júbilo, llegaba el momento de ir viendo qué había pasado con el resto de los miembros del equipo que habían cruzado el Portal Peligroso, y el primero iba a ser Coloso, que de forma azarosa (la chiripa del Portal Peligroso, vaya), va a aparecer en el mismo edificio de Nueva York donde están alojados Jenny Ransome y Philip Moreau, dos personajes que habían escapado de Genosha durante el primer encuentro entre la Patrulla-X y los Genoshanos, y que ahora se las iban a ver con los magistrados, desplazados a EE.UU de forma encubierta para recuperar "sus propiedades". Pero además, Coloso, convertido ahora en el pintor Peter Nicholas, va a comenzar a obsesionarse con una mujer, una modelo sin nombre que terminaremos descubriendo que es Calisto de los Morlocks, manipulada por Máscara.

Por otro lado, Dazzler, va a aparecer en la playa de una de las casas de Lila Cheney, donde de inmediato la va a reconocer Guido, y aunque al igual que Coloso va a sufrir amnesia, Dazzler se va a encontrar enseguida con su pasado, siendo perseguida por un antiguo productor obsesionado con ella, en un cómic que sin ser nada del otro jueves a nivel de guion, es el último canto de cisne de Marc Silvestri en la colección, pues aunque aún le quedaría un número, en el que Lobezno, Mariposa y Júbilo harían frente a un equipo de paramilitares llamados Duro y los Cazadores (Claremont tenía sus momentos), este número dedicado a Dazzler es de lo mejorcito que Silvestri hizo para la colección.

Finalmente, va a haber una pequeña saga de tres números en los que el protagonismo pasa a Banshee y Forja (que temiendo una conspiración por parte de alguien de Isla Muir y después de un atentado han decidido fingir su propia muerte), que junto a Jean Grey, van a tener que hacer frente a los Morlocks de Máscara, que siembran el terror en los túneles bajo la Escuela. Y como epílogo, se les unirá la Bestia para hacer frente de nuevo a los Genoshanos y rescatar a Calisto de la influencia de Máscara, dando un aparente cierre a la historia de Coloso... aunque por supuesto, como todo en X-Men, terminaría volviendo...

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, time for me to man up: I was wrong. Having read the old X-Men Visionaries: Jim Lee trade years ago, I dismissed this entire era of X-Men as crap. I quit buying the title around maybe Issue 251, maybe earlier, as I disliked the stories circa 1989 and didn't (and still don't) like Marc Silvestri's artwork. Jubilee was, and still is, a horrible character. The Jim Lee stuff that I have seen did not impress me. In black and white Essential format, though, his linework is actually interesting. Dated and somewhat gimmicky, sure, but it definitely doesn't suck as bad as I once thought that it did. I do, however, still detest the Claremont/Lee collaboration that turned Psylocke from a British telepath to an Asian ninja. Horrible, horrible, horrible. Jim Jaaska's artwork in Issue 263 was good, and I have never heard of him before or since. Strange. Chris Claremont is a great writer when read in intervals. I tried plowing through this book a few months back and just stopped. Too repetitive, too many recaps, etc. If you read an issue a day, or every other day, then this stuff is pretty darn good. I remember being a huge Claremont fan in the '80s because of his everlasting sub-plots, and those are available in spades here, almost to the point of madness. Uncanny X-Men hadn't jumped the shark yet, but they were lacing up the ski boots.

[ribbonknight · Rating 3 out of 5]

The impact of movies like Alien, but also late 80s movies is kind of bananas. There are suddenly semi-automatic rifles and threats of rape all over the x-men comics and I don’t dig it. Watching Storm get de-aged after it just happened to Illyana Rasputin at the end of Inferno also kind of sucked.

The violence, the agony of Wolverine, the musculature and guns of Forge, the continued meandering. It’s a lot. And then almost near the end, what happened to Psylocke was...SUPER fucked up imo?!

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never boring but few issues in this collection reached the level of Fall of the Mutants or Inferno. Jim Lee coming on as the artist is still the kick in the butt it was originally. But, a lot of this collection is the team breaking apart and then seeing them in their amnesiac new life.

[Jdetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of the same, although it's nice to see Jim Lee's art pop up here.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read and all. But seeing as they “killed “ the x-men again. It wasn’t the best thing about the end of the book

[Barbalace Maximiliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential X-Men Vol. 9 - Final de la época australiana

El ultimo libro de X-Men que tengo en mi biblioteca en el formato blanco y negro, durante esta masiva re lectura de los mutantes de Claremont este volumen en especifico fue uno de los mas interesantes y emocionalmente intensos de todos, es además el final de Marc Silvestri como dibujante. Pero a su vez es la muerte simbólica de muchos personajes creados durante la second genesis, a partir de este hecho se puede visualizar la llegada de los temas a tratar durante los noventa y el interés visual del publico.

Por esto mismo me parece el mejor punto final a la enorme etapa de Chris Claremont en Uncanny X-men, igualmente tengo que confesar que los números dibujados por Jim Lee son de mis preferidos, pero también hay que ser algo honestos al ver donde se da por terminado el interés humano por contar historias que involucren una ligazón mas empática con los personajes.

Marzo 13 de 2023.

[Μιχάλης · Rating 2 out of 5]

Δεν κοιμάμαι τα μεσημέρια. ποτέ. Με το συγκεκριμένο όμως graphic novel εριξα υπνους τρικουβερτους.
Έχουμε και λέμε, πλοκή που τριγυρναει εδώ κι εκεί ανεμελα και δεν πηγαίνει πουθενά.
��ολλά τεύχη που τραβανε μία απλή ιστορία από τα μαλλιά γιατί βγάζουμε τεύχος κάθε 15 ημέρες και δεν έχουμε ιδέες.
Αλλάζουμε τους χαρακτήρες γιατί yolo και τα παιδιά το 90 θέλουν αίμα και σπέρμα. Ας κάνουμε πχ τη Psylocke νίντζα γιατί κρίμα να μας έχει μείνει μία γαματη χαρακτήρας.
Α, και ας βάλουμε στην ομάδα την πιο αδιάφορη X-man όλων των εποχών, τη Jubilee.

Μακριά!!!

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of the stories in this large volume. Though I didn't enjoy the constant disappearances of the X-men beginning with Rogue and ending with the entire team. I likes seeing the introduction of Jubilee and Psylocke's asian body.

[Lord · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably the most boring X-Men line-up ever in probably the least interesting X-Men stories ever.

[Tri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uncanny X-Men #251 - 253 (Mar. 1988)

2/10