The Week That Was 022425

 X-aminations ahead, Captain America: Brave New World and Review Round-Up.

The Week That Was 1312023

Upcoming X-aminations, Oscars, shameless plugs. 

X-aminations in November 2021 & September 1996 Power Rankings

The Publication Year That Wouldn't End continues as push through more extra X-content, including another annual, the culmination of the "Cannonball & Iceman undercover in Graydon Creed's campaign" subplot, and Apocalypse's first miniseries!

 

On Sale October 1996

November 3: X-Men Unlimited #13

November 4: X-Men '96

On Sale November 1996

November 10: Uncanny X-Men #340

November 11: X-Man #23

November 17: X-Men (vol. 2) #60

November 18: Wolverine #109

November 24: Rise of Apocalypse #1-4

X-aminations in October 2021 & August 1996 Power Rankings

This monthly, we boldly go into a new era of cross-property crossovers, as Marvel uses the X-Men to get some eyes on their newly-acquired Star Trek license, and the first of several Marvel/Image crossover books arrives, as both companies put the past behind them in the name of wringing every last dollar possible out of a shrinking market. 

On Sale October 1996

October 6: Generation X #22

October 7: X-Force #61

October 13: Star Trek/X-Men

October 20: Black Knight: Exodus #1 

October 21: Excalibur #104

October 27: Generation X '96

October 28: X-Force/Youngblood #1

X-aminations in September 2021 & July 1996 Power Rankings

A relatively straightforward month, as most series continue to deal with the fallout from "Onslaught"/lead-up to "Operation: Zero Tolerance" and/or continue the stories they began last month as they moved out of the crossover's shadow. 

September 1: Generation X #21

September 2: X-Force #60

September 8: Pryde & Wisdom #1-3

September 9: Excalibur #103

On Sale October 1996

September 15: Uncanny X-Men #339

September 16: X-Man #22

September 22: X-Men (vol. 2) #59

September 23: Wolverine #108

September 29: X-Factor #129

September 30: Cable #38

X-aminations in 2021 Part 2

 

One might assume, coming out of "Onslaught" and with the comics industry crashing down around it (Marvel will itself declare bankruptcy in December of 1996), that the, ahem, onslaught of X-titles might ebb a bit. But just the opposite is true, as the second half of 1996 and into 1997 is absolutely flush with extra one-shots, inter-company crossover, and limited series, as everyone does everything they can to wring every possible dollar out of the still-lucrative X-Men franchise (similar efforts were being made over in the Spider-Man office, with the long-running "Clone Saga" coming to a close around this time). As such, there's one or more "extra" things to review in every publication month for the next several months. So I'm going to change up my approach a bit: instead of doing three regular reviews a week, broken up by standalone reviews of a miniseries or annual or something, I am going to publish two reviews a week (barring the occasional "one review" week for holidays & vacations & whatnot), putting the "extra" stuff right alongside the regular ongoing series. 

I actually did the math, and it works out to roughly the same number of reviews in the same time period, but hopefully this will also help me keep my pace more regularly, instead of feeling like I'm constantly grinding out three reviews a week just to get a one-review "breather". 

So what's ahead? Well, seemingly everyone gets a miniseries, and that burning mystery of why Black Knight recognized Exodus in "Bloodties" finally gets answered. While in the main books, most series do their now-usual "recover from the last crossover, gear up for the next one" routine. Honestly? After the churn of "Onslaught", that sounds kind of nice. 

X-aminations in June 2021 & June 1996 Power Rankings

If all goes according to plan, a week from today my wife and I will be welcoming our second child into the world, so I'm shifting into a more leisurely review pace for this month and next as I settle into the life of being a father of two (and also, you know, continuing the seemingly never-ending post-move unpacking). Fortunately (?), Marvel released a ton of additional content the same month as it was wrapping up "Onslaught", so there's plenty to cover ("hey kids, you just bought a ton of extra tie-in issues, why not an annual, too. Plus a limited series? How 'bout these trading cards?!?"). 

On Sale August 1996

June 2: "Onslaught" Action Figures 

June 9: Unstacking the Deck: Ultra Marvel Onslaught 

June 16: Wolverine '96 

June 23: X-Force/Cable '96

June 30: X-Men/Brood #1-2

X-aminations in May 2021 & May 1996 Power Rankings

We made it. While "Onslaught" will continue to linger into June, this next month represents the conclusion of the story itself (as well as an ending, of sorts, to the Marvel Universe as it existed up to that point). Then it's time to start dealing with the fall-out, both in-universe and in the real world.  

On Sale August 1996
May 5: "Onslaught" Tie-Ins: Avengers #402, Incredible Hulk #445, Iron Man #332 & Fantastic Four #416

May 12: Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1

May 19: Cable #36

May 20: Uncanny X-Men #337

May 21: X-Men (vol. 2) #57

May 26: The Road to Onslaught #1

X-aminations in April 2021 & April 1996 Power Rankings

 

We head into month two of "Onslaught", which broadens to include more of the larger Marvel Universe, while a couple of X-books, having made their obligatory contribution to the crossover, move on to other things. And just because there's not already enough X-content out there, apparently, let's throw in an annual too, why not? 

On Sale July 1996

March 31: Uncanny X-Men #336
April 2: X-Factor #126
April 3: Onslaught Tie-Ins: Amazing Spider-Man #415, Spider-Man #72, Green Goblin #12 & Punisher #11. 

April 7: Cable #35

April 8: X-Force #58 

April 9: Excalibur #101 

April 14: X-Man #19

April 15: Generation X #19

April 16: Wolverine #105

April 21: X-Men (vol. 2) #56
April 22: X-Men Unlimited #12

April 28: Uncanny X-Men '96

Power Rankings On Sale April 1996

X-aminations in March 2021 & March 1996 Power Rankings

It's all Onslaught, all the time, as the crossover expands to include Avengers, Fantastic Four and Hulk, while Excalibur reaches its 100th issue and X-Factor its 125th!

On Sale June 1996

March 3: Uncanny X-Men #335

March 4: Avengers #401

March 5: Fantastic Four #415

March 10: Cable #34 

March 11: Incredible Hulk #444

March 12: Excalibur #100

March 17: Generation X #18
March 18: Wolverine #104
March 19: X-Factor #125

March 24: X-Man #18
March 25: X-Force #57
March 26: X-Men (vol. 2) #55

X-aminations in 2021 Part 1

Onslaught, Onslaught, Onslaught! 

After several months/what feels like years of build-up, the first half of 2021 finally brings us to the main event itself! And in a testament to the sheer bloat of the event (and the X-Line in general in the summer of 1996), "Onslaught" itself is...pretty much as far as we're going to get by this summer. Though some of the blame there does fall on my shoulders - while work-related travel and comic convention volunteering are still non-factors thanks to the pandemic, my wife and I are expecting our second child in early June (and, on top of that, are hoping to sell our current house and move into a new one in the next couple months - I love my comics, but moving them sucks!), so in an effort to both stay on top of reviews in the next few months and give myself a bit of cushion around the birth of the new baby, I am taking every opportunity to schedule a "single review" week between now and then, and clustering a bunch of those towards the end of May and into June. It helps, of course, that Marvel is just churning out X-stuff non-stop in this era - and if you think this is a lot, wait until after "Onslaught": I always map this stuff out a little ahead of these posts, and there are fully fourteen limited series and one-shots that either conclude or launch between the end of "Onslaught" and January 1997. Marvel will declare bankruptcy in December of '96, and they are clearly milking the cash cow that is the X-Men for every last drop at this point. 

X-aminations in December 2020 & February 1996 Power Rankings

The ramp up to "Onslaught" continues as most the books start getting into their respective positions for the crossover (though Uncanny X-Men, in true 90s comic book fashion, first takes a moment to setup the next linewide crossover). Then we wrap up the year with another appropriate-for-Christmas action figure post and a Patron-selected review! 

On Sale April 1996
December 2: Uncanny X-Men #333
December 3: X-Factor #123
December 4: X-Man #16

December 9: X-Men (vol. 2) #53
December 10: X-Force #55
December 11: Wolverine #105

December 16: Generation X #16
December 17: Excalibur #98

December 18: Cable #32

December 23: X-amining X-Men Action Figures: Age of Apocalypse & X-Men 2099 Series I & II

December 30: What If? #87

X-aminations in November 2020 & January 1996 Power Rankings

Another month turns, apparently, as the end of the year and the holiday season draws near. And with it, the looming specter of "Onslaught". I called an audible on Wolverine #100 once I remembered it explicitly takes place before Uncanny X-Men #332 (but since they were both published in the same month, I could get away with that), which caused this month's reviews to get rejiggered a bit, but the general thrust remains the same as X-Men wraps up its last pre-"Onslaught" story, Rogue meets Joseph in X-Men Unlimited #11, and Marvel fights DC! 

On Sale March 1996
November 4: X-Men (vol. 2) #52
November 5: X-Force #54
November 6: Wolverine #101 

November 11: Generation X #15
November 12: Excalibur #97
November 13:  X-Man #15

November 18: Marvel vs. DC #1-4

On Sale April 1996

November 25: X-Men Unlimited #11

Power Rankings - On Sale January 1996

X-aminations in October 2020 & December 1995 Power Rankings

Wolverine's big centennial issue was delayed, so that gets delayed to the end of October, but otherwise, this is a pretty straight-forward month, with no goofy one-shots or limited series. Aside from Wolverine #100, we've got the bulk of the Cable/X-Man "Identity Crisis" crossover (with the order of review swapped around to allow for better crossover reading), the arrival of Mark Waid on X-Men, and the climax of the Adversary story (and, sadly, Steve Epting's run as regular artist) in X-Factor!

On Sale February 1996
September 30: Uncanny X-Men #331
October 1: X-Factor #121
October 2: Cable #30

October 7: X-Men (vol. 2) #51
October 8: X-Force #53

October 14: Generation X  #14
October 15: Excalibur #96
October 16: X-Man #14

On Sale March 1996
October 21: Uncanny X-Men #332
October 22: X-Factor #122
October 23: X-Man #15 

October 28: X-Men (vol. 2) #52
October 29: X-Force #54
October 31: Wolverine #100

X-aminations in September 2020 & November 1995 Power Rankings

Reviews of the first month of 1996 conclude, with Adjectiveless' big 50th issue, representing the line's biggest Onslaught tease since Uncanny #322, the Beast/Dark Beast switcheroo in X-Men Unlimited, and Storm's first miniseries!

On Sale January 1996
September 2: Storm #1-4

September 9: X-Men (vol. 2) #50
September 10: X-Force #52
September 11: Wolverine #99

September 16: Generation X #13
September 17: Excalibur #95
September 18: Cable #29

September 23: X-Men Unlimited  #10

X-aminations in August 2020 & October 1995 Power Rankings

The On Sale month that never ends, December 1995, continues, with a pair of stories/issues featuring Askani/Cable's future rounding out the year-end releases, before finally allowing us to move on to another month's issues.

On Sale December 1995
August 5: Generation X #12
August 6: Excalibur #94
August 7: Cable #28

August 12: Askani'son #1-4

August 19: Book of Askani

On Sale January 1996
August 26: Uncanny X-Men #330
August 27: X-Factor #120
August 28: X-Man #13

X-aminations in July 2020...and Beyond!

The second half of the year puts us on the cusp of "Onslaught", as Marvel continues to crank out X-product left and right even as the industry on the whole is in the midst of collapsing in on itself (in large part due to Marvel's switch to Heroes World for distribution earlier in 1995). Highlights from this run of titles include Storm's first solo miniseries (featuring a questionable return to the Gene Nation characters), the next big "Onslaught" tease (that ultimately makes little sense in the context of the larger story, making it especially prescient in an unintended way) in X-Men #50, and Wolverine almost getting his adamantium back as the story his book has been building towards since the return from "Age of Apocalypse" reaches its climax! Also: more Gene Ha futuristic Cable stuff, and Marvel vs. DC!

As always, if anything seems missing, let me know!

X-aminations in June 2020 & September 1995 Power Rankings

Up next: the "Sabretooth in the mansion" plotline comes to a close, The run-up to Wolverine #100 begins, and Rob Liefeld returns (sort).

On Sale November 1995
June 3: Uncanny X-Men #328
June 4: X-Factor #118
June 5: X-Man #11

June 10: X-Men (vol. 2) #48
June 11: X-Force #50
June 12: Wolverine #97

June 17: Generation X #11
June 18: Excalibur #93
June 19: Cable #27

June 24: Sabretooth Special #1

X-amination in May 2020 & August 1995 Power Rankings

May wraps up the October '95 titles as Mondo arrives in Generation X, Colossus comes to Excalibur, and we reach the final annual of 1995!

On Sale October 1995
May 6: Generation X #10
May 7: Excalibur #92
May 8: Cable #26

May 13: X-Force & Cable '95

May 20: X-Men Unlimited #9

May 27: Starjammers #1-4

August 1995 Power Rankings

X-amination in April 2020 & July 1995 Power Rankings

After wrapping up the September '95 books, Uncanny's 1995 annual, a look at the fourth Marvel Masterpieces card set, and then back to the main books as we sort of meet Joseph, X-Force gears up for its 50th issue, and X-Man continues X-Man-ing.

On Sale September 1995
April 1: Generation X #9
April 2: Excalibur #91
April 3: Cable #25

April 8: Uncanny X-Men '95

April 15: Unstacking the Deck: Marvel Masterpieces Series IV

On Sale October 1995
April 22: Uncanny X-Men #327
April 23: X-Factor #117
April 24: X-Man #10

April 29: X-Men (vol. 2) #47
April 30: X-Force #49
May 1: Wolverine #96