X-Men: Messiah Complex - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
The biggest event to hit the X-Men in ten years is here! Just when it looked like there was no possibility of a future for mutants, hope arrives. But the X-Men aren't there to meet it - The Marauders and Purifiers beat them to it. Now the race is on to get the first new mutant since House of M! Collects X-Men: Messiah Complex One-Shot, Uncanny X-Men #492-494, X-Men #205-207, New X-Men #44-46, and X-Factor #25-27

Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Spoiler Free Review May 9, 2008
21 out of 21 found this review helpful

As there are a large amount of twists and turns throughout Messiah Complex I thought it important to provide readers with a spoiler free review.

First and foremost Messiah Complex is the best X-Over in years if not ever, and easily more than the sum of its separate parts (X-men, X-Factor, New X-Men, and Uncanny X-Men). The story revolves around the first birth of a mutant child since the events of M-Day and the ensuing rush to protect/destroy it. Aside from that not much can be said without spoiling but the story is filled with action and a huge cast of characters. The baby is constantly switching hands and each page keeps you anticipating the next.

The writing throughout the book is amazing, particularly in those issues by Mike Carey. It should be noted that Ed Brubaker, whose writing on X-Men has lead to some criticisms, really steps up here and produces his best X-related work so far. Kyle, Yost, and David all shine through as well keeping the characters they've established so well perfectly defined.

The art is probably what most divides the book. It begins with a classic, Marc Silvestri, followed by Billy Tan who has a rather similar style. Scot Eaton's style follows a similar tone, particularly with the same colorist, but doesn't seem to hit on the same level and is most likely the weakest in the book. Humberto Ramos cartoony style works well for the over-the-top action which make up the majority of his issues and so it works rather well, but it does stand out when compared to the previous artists. The true standout art in the collection though comes from Chris Bachalo. His style seems darker and more manga inspired and really shines through in the actions sequences and splash panels and really sets the story apart.

As for the collection itself, Marvel hardcovers are of some of the best quality around. The colors pop, the binding is strong, and several extras are included. There are variant covers for each comic the back as well as sketches and notes from the creative summit. There are also files which contain a brief summary of each party involved in the main story. None of the extras are necessary to enjoying the story but they are worth a glance and over 30 pages of extra material is more than commonly provided and really wraps up the package nicely.

All in all 40 dollars is quite a heavy price tag, but when you consider the sheer number of creators that were involved so heavily with the stories inception it only makes sense and Messiah Complex is definitely worth the purchase.

(Also recommended: X-Men: Blinded by the Light and House of M prior to reading though neither is required)

5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic May 9, 2008
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

I really can't believe just how long it has been since there was a mega X-Men crossover. Back when Marvel had ump-teen X-titles, X-Men crossovers happened just about every few months it seemed; with a majority of which not fulfilling any promises of changing any status quos, or really amounting to much of anything in general. Well, things have changed apparently. X-Men: Messiah Complex is undoubtedly the best X-Men story you will read that doesn't have the names "Morrison" or "Whedon" attached to it, and it is undoubtedly the best X-Men crossover event since...well, maybe ever. Spanning over X-titles including Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, X-Factor, and New X-Men; Messiah Complex finds Cyclops, Wolverine and co. tracking a baby. This baby is the first new mutant baby since the events of House of M, and everyone is after the child. From Mr. Sinister and his crew of Marauders, to the mutant murdering Purifiers, to the warrior from the future Cable, and some surprises in between. Yes, there are events that take place in Messiah Complex that you WILL NOT see coming, and by the time this hardcover collection comes to an end, the status quo of many will have changed. Featuring a bevy of talent behind it, including writers Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Daredevil), Mike Carey (Hellblazer, Ultimate Fantastic Four), Craig Kyle & Chris Yost (X-23), and the great Peter David (Incredible Hulk); as well as artists Billy Tan, Chris Bachalo, Humberto Ramos, Scot Eaton, and legendary X-Men artist Marc Silvestri; Messiah Complex is a blast. If there are any downsides to Messiah Complex, and this is purely personal, the artwork of veteran X-artists Chris Bachalo and Humberto Ramos doesn't match up to the rest of the art here, and comes off as cartoony. Despite that one flaw, the rest of Messiah Complex is a fantastic X-Men event that does not disappoint one bit, and only promises for more intriguing developments to come.

2 out of 5 stars

One day... Marvel will bring back some classic mutant crossover events, but Messiah Complex is not that event. May 27, 2008
6 out of 15 found this review helpful

I have a confession. Back in the day, I was never much a fan of the Chris Claremont mutant crossovers. Mutant Massacre, Fall of the Mutants, Inferno... the list goes on. Actually... may the comic god strike me down, I was never much a fan of Chris Claremont. I liked his earliest X-Men stuff; back when Dark Phoenix and the Savage Land was what it meant to be part of the X-Men. But all this time travelling, alternate futures, and large crossover events resulting in various spin-offs is what truly lost me. Uncanny X-Men became a superhero version of The Young and the Restless. Deaths are meaningless in the comic world, but don't they seem even less significant in the mutant universe? Killing a big name once, twice, or three times... killing an ENTIRE team... it's standard fare in the mutant world.

I know I'm not alone with this opinion. There are many people who abandoned the mutant titles. Maybe they were brought back during Grant Morrison's run. Or maybe they tried to get back into the swing of things with House of M, Endangered Species, and finally... drumroll... Messiah Complex. That's where I'm at. I admit it, I freaking loved Ultimate X-Men. I enjoyed the return to basics and what made the X-Men so great back in the Stan Lee days. Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis and Brian K. Vaughan all did a super job recreating the famous mutant team. It was only when Robert Kirkman took over (whom I admire greatly, it just wasn't his "thang") that the Ultimate X-Men books started to experience some of the same doldrums that possessed the 616 X-Men. In my opinion, some of that was because Kirkman was an obvious Claremont fan and brought back the time travel, alternate dimensions, and yadi-yadi-yada, we're back to my point in the aforementioned paragraph.

So, there! All my prejudice is on the table. I thought I should cleanse myself before this review, especially since some people seem to think that Messiah Complex might be the best X-Men crossover ever. Sadly, I can't agree, and at times I wanted to drop this book and move on to something else. Now, admittedly, I have been out of the X-Men loop. I read House of M and Endangered Species so I do have a foundation for this next big mutant event, but I am a little lost with some of the new characters and shifts in allegiance. I was hoping this would be the mutant event to finally bring me back to the 616 X-Men universe and past the one-shot storylines of Astonishing X-Men. I might buy the next trade paperback collecting a big moment in mutant history, but this book certainly hasn't motivated me to do so.

The events in this book follow Endangered Species. If you read that, you'll know that it was a thoughtful look at the problems facing the mutant gene. It focused on everyone's favorite lovable blue hero, Beast, as he circumnavigated the world to solve the riddle of how the Scarlett Witch had managed to eliminate so many mutants. It wasn't a classic read, it was more of a prologue, but it set a reader up for a warm, fuzzy mutant event that I was sure would resurrect the X-Men titles. Some people think Messiah Complex did just that. I wouldn't agree.

Basically, the big event in this book is that the first mutant baby since the House of M debacle has been born. Mutant factions everywhere race to find this baby and raise it in whatever way they deem fit. There's even a menacing new creature called Predator X that senses mutants and feeds off of their energy. Predator X is eerily reminiscent of the wolf-like creature G'mork in the movie Neverending Story, and follows the same structure -- a snapshot every 15 minutes of the menacing creature running after his prey -- until at last the final battle. All of this makes for a nice beginning, but somehow, the story manages to "Claremont" itself into boredom. When Cable and Bishop play big roles in the story, you know that more time travelling madness is just around the corner. Even X-Factor is involved, which was a bit disappointing because I wish that title would stay separate. I enjoyed the early X-Factor books and don't want to see them pulled into the muck of crossover spectaculars.

The storyline of Messiah Complex in some ways acts as an introductory act for all the latest mutant spin-off titles by Marvel: Cable (Again!), X-Force (Again!), Young X-Men (Might as well be again! It's another attempt at the The New Mutants formula!) and so on. If you can't get enough mutant madness, this is the story for you because everyone is thrown into the battle. I've tried to read some of these new mutant books that spawned from this crossover event and I haven't enjoyed them that much, which isn't a surprise considering I didn't enjoy the source material that caused the split-off in the first place.

There are some important events established in Messiah Complex. You'll discover the fate of Cyclops vs. Professor X. (Who is drawn a lot like Patrick Stewart in some of these issues.) You'll find out what happened to Rogue and Gambit. Mr. Sinister is involved in a mystery or two, but I'll ruin it if I give you any hints. Layla Miller finds herself on a path that takes her out of the X-Factor comics, at least temporarily. There were times that I enjoyed this book. There certainly wasn't a lack of action. Would I say it's as good as the last big X-Men time travel or alternate future event that I remember enjoying? (That would be Age of Apocalypse!) The answer is no, but it does show some promise. I think what ruins this in the end is that all of these mini-events were created to spawn a brand new line of mutant characters and we're once again back to the days when every mutant had his own spin-off. Sometimes, simple is better. One day Marvel will wake up and realize that to successfully market mutant storylines, you don't need ten different titles.

3 out of 5 stars

Mediocre, like any Marvel X-Men crossover June 21, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

First, let me say that Messiah Complex is a good crossover, but considering Marvel's track-record, that isn't saying much. Generally, the last good crossover was X-Cutioner's Song and Age of Apocalypse, and those were back in the early-to-mid 90's. Messiah Complex follows a similar structure/template, and generally gets the same results.

Like any crossover though, it carries over many faults. For one, I felt that the New Mutants were jammed into the book. I felt the story would have been stronger and tighter if they were not included.

If you don't read all the books regularly, it'll just seem like they are too many characters to keep track of. Even if you know all the characters, you'll get the impression that most characters don't get any air-time. For example, despite Mystique being on the front cover... there is only 10 or so pages featuring her. Mr. Sinister was supposed to play a big part in the story it seemed... and he hardly gets any dialog at all.

X-Factor is another group that had very little to do with this story. Ironically, unlike X-Cutioner's Song, you can tell the crossover plotters tried very hard to give X-Factor a reason to be there. I enjoyed their plots well enough, and once again, Peter David is forced to stop what stories he is doing in favour of going along with the X-Men's plans. Fortunately, Messiah Complex is better off than X-Cutioner's Song.

The art in this book is mixed. I generally thought the art and style was fairly consistent through most of the book (Uncanny X-Men and X-Men issues being the best)... except for the issues with the New Mutants, which are featured in a "manga" style. I'm sorry, but 1/4 of the book being manga completely breaks up the book. Even worse, some of the characters really look terrible, like Gambit. Transitions between issues featuring the same locals and characters also look extremely odd. This isn't a style that works in my opinion, and the book suffers for it.

One thing Messiah Complex gets right is that the story is simple, unlike many other crossovers. It takes 13 issues to get the story across, so the pacing is a little slow, and action sequences tend to drag on longer than they need to... but at least it's not an incoherent mess.

Lastly, I don't think the book achieved a sense of scale or purpose at the end. I won't spoil anything, but the end feels anti-climatic. It doesn't feel like any real change has occurred, or that the events that happen in this book actually matter. In fact, one month after this book was published, Marvel has already retroactively changed the most controversial aspect of the book, thus completely eliminating the importance of the final 2 pages of the book! Marvel, why should the reader care if you it's not permanent and has no importance?

Generally, the story is good... but it doesn't really match something like Morrison's run, or something like that. It's worth a read - just don't expect much. I don't understand the 4- and 5-star reviews. I give it 2.5 stars.

5 out of 5 stars

Quite Possibly the Best X-Men Story of All Time May 6, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

The "Mutant Massacre" story is the only X-Men title that may even hold a candle to the "Messiah CompleX". We have it all here, folks! Destruction! Death! Lies! Betrayal! Compassion! Sadness! Action! Loyalty! Basically everything you could ever want in a comic masterpiece. Oh, and did I forget to mention the birth of the first mutant since M-Day? All of the story lines are great, and the only art that wasn't really to my taste was some of the stuff from New X-Men. For the quality of entertainment that you will get out of this series, the price is well worth it. Just one question for anyone out there. Can Sinister really be dead? I hope not. He may be one of the best of the detestable ever created. Peace and Love,Jake.

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