This week the biggest mutant event in a decade began with several bangs as the X-MEN: MESSIAH COMPLEX ONE-SHOT by Ed Brubaker and Marc Silvestri kicked off the 13-part crossover of the same name that spreads across every issue of UNCANNY X-MEN, X-MEN, NEW X-MEN and X-FACTOR through January of 2008.
In honor of this momentous occasion, Marvel.com gathered an illustrious panel of Marvel editors and X-creators to log in with their favorite X-Crossovers of all-time.
It's Friday, so kick back, relax and enjoy.
WILL PANZO (X-Men assistant editor): "X-Cutioner's Song" is
the story that made a man of me. I was 10 when I started reading it and when I finished, I felt capable of growing a full beard and truly loving a woman. I re-read it recently and was pleased to find it's still enjoyable. Highlights include: X-Force Vs. All; Archangel confronting Apocalypse; Bishop, Cable and Wolverine stuck on a space station fit to burst from too much awesome; and soliloquies from Stryfe so poetic he should be dubbed the Hamlet of the Marvel U. Also, a Wolfsbane/ Feral catfight, Mr. Sinister, the Legacy Virus and a family reunion on the moon. In the X-office, it's required reading for new interns.
JEFF PARKER (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS writer): The X-MEN/TEEN TITANS special [with art] by Walt Simonson. I just loved the way Simonson drew everyone!
JOHN BARBER (Marvel editor): "Mutant Massacre" was the first real X-Men crossover, wasn't it? And it kicked ass. Angel getting nailed to a wall. The Marauders murdering the Morlocks. The X-Men almost meeting X-Factor. [Walt] Simonson's Thor showing up. Power Pack. Power Pack? Sure, what the hell. Power Pack. Why not. It's weird looking at it now, because "Mutant Massacre" is made up of all these separate storylines in each series that never quite intersect into one narrative the way later crossovers did. I remember a few years later, I felt really burned out about the whole X-Crossover thing, but at the time, Mutant Massacre was something really special. And looking back, I have fond memories of all of them from that era, like "Inferno" and "Fall of the Mutants".
I didn't read "Age of Apocalypse" at all when it came out. I didn't read it until about three years ago, when I was working on the Akira Yoshida/Chris Bachalo 10th anniversary book. And I was surprised by how much I loved the original. Some of it doesn't hold up, some of it's a total mess, but some of it remains freaking awesome. The whole sense of "if they lose they die—if they win they never existed" was really cool—it was the essence of that type of X-story, pushed to the extreme. It was to "Days of Future Past" as Sin City was to Mickey Spillane, as crack is to cocaine. The amazing thing was that AOA was effectively a "what if" book, an alternate universe story without the "real" versions of the characters…but it still felt big, epic, important. And it has Sugar Man. GENERATION NEXT was Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo's "Citizen Kane."
MIKE CAREY (X-MEN writer): Favorite X-overs of all time?
Top five would be:
1. "X-Tinction Agenda"
2. "Mutant Massacre"
3. "The X-Cutioner's Song"
4. "Fatal Attractions"
5. "Phalanx Covenant"
I'm probably missing some obvious ones, but those are the ones that come to mind immediately.
DANIEL KETCHUM (Marvel assistant editor): I have to go with "X-Tinction Agenda." I feel like it was the first time we glimpsed my favorite incarnation of the X-Men. And there were some great character moments. Storm—who's probably my favorite Marvel character—was maybe the most prominent X-Man in the story. There were a few interesting developments on the Cyclops/Wolverine/Jean Grey front. And relatively new characters like Cable, Psylocke, Archangel and Wolfsbane got their moment to shine.
"Age of Apocalypse" and "Shattershot" get honorable mentions.
CHRISTOS GAGE (WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN writer): I'd say "Age of Apocalypse." I'm a sucker for alternate world stories, and this one was really well done...so much so that several of the characters introduced there have become fixtures of the regular Marvel U!
AUBREY SITTERSON (Marvel associate editor): No contest: "X-Cutioner's Song," or as I calls it: "The Greatest Story Ever Told."
Here are my favorite moments:
-Madrox kills a Dark Rider by putting his hand in the dude's mouth, and making a dupe INSIDE the Dark Rider.
-Havok saves the day by passing through the Summers-DNA only barrier to blast the hell out of Stryfe.
-After Apocalypse is defeated, his Dark Riders matter-of-factly decide to follow Stryfe.
-Archangel comes super-close to killing a weakened Apocalypse.
-Cable, Bishop and Wolverine fight each other, and then after clearing everything up decide to fight together.
And finally, anything and everything that comes out of Stryfe's mouth, including but not limited to: "The time has come, Apocalypse. The devil-to-come must pay his due—to the devil who MADE him…Pay me, Master of TIME! And let your DEATH be the coin of exchange!"
Hey kids, wanna check out these classic crossovers for yourself? Here's a Mighty Marvel Checklist to help you find the comics you need!
"Mutant Massacre"
POWER PACK #27, NEW MUTANTS #46, THOR #373-374, UNCANNY X-MEN #210-213, X-FACTOR v1 #9-11
"Fall of the Mutants"
NEW MUTANTS #59-61, UNCANNY X-MEN #225-227, X-FACTOR v1 #24-26
"Inferno"
NEW MUTANTS #71-73, UNCANNY X-MEN #239-243, X-FACTOR v1 #35-39
"X-Tinction Agenda"
NEW MUTANTS #95-97, UNCANNY X-MEN #270-272, X-FACTOR v1 #60-62
"X-Cutioner's Song"
UNCANNY X-MEN #294-296, X-FACTOR v1 #84-86, X-FORCE #16-18, X-MEN v2 #14-16
"Fatal Attractions"
EXCALIBUR v1 #71, UNCANNY X-MEN #304, WOLVERINE v2 #75, X-FACTOR v1 #92, X-FORCE #25, X-MEN v2 #25
"Phalanx Covenant"
CABLE #16, EXCALIBUR v1 #82, UNCANNY X-MEN #316-317, WOLVERINE v2 #85, X-FACTOR v1 #106, X-FORCE #38, X-MEN v2 #36-37
"Age of Apocalypse"
AMAZING X-MEN #1-4, ASTONISHING X-MEN v1 #1-4, FACTOR X #1-4, GAMBIT & THE X-TERNALS #1-4, GENERATION NEXT #1-4, WEAPON X v1 #1-4, X-CALIBRE #1-4, X-MAN #1-4, X-MEN ALPHA, X-MEN CHRONICLES #1-2, X-MEN OMEGA, X-UNIVERSE #1-2
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