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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200563 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Fantastic
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.

Entertaining while confusing
While I read a lot of Marvel titles, I haven't kept up as well as I apparently need to in order to know all the characters in this crossover.

Some positives:

Even though this section is much smaller than my complaints below, I want to be clear that I enjoyed the storyline. The overall plot was well thought out, and I enjoyed reading the Summit notes at the end of the trade paperback. The writers did a good job of keeping you interested. There were so many sides pulling at the same thing, and you only had a good idea of the agenda of the X-Men. I loved seeing the members of the different teams working together, and crossing over into different books.

Some negatives:

Art:

I echo some other thoughts I read in reviews about the "manga" style art in some of the books. I really don't enjoy that style, but especially not intermixed with other art. It's not even always easy to tell which characters are which.

Also there were several frames where the action was confusing. For instance it looked like Predator X ate Bishop, or at least chewed his arms off. Of course he seems fine a few frames later when he shot at Cable and missed (don't want to spoil anything).

There were other scenes too that were difficult to decipher, many of them involving Predator X. Graphic novels are stories told in part by text, and in part by picture. If the message isn't well communicated because the reader can't figure out what is going on in some frames, mission officially not accomplished.

Story:

I have a few complaints about the story. While others have said that the story moved too slowly, I found a few parts where it moved too fast. For instance when Rogue wakes up, gets up immediately and somehow gains an understanding of what has happened since she's been out from three semi-incoherent sentences by Mystique. That was hard for me to believe. She's not groggy from being in a coma? Other examples: The short arguments between Xavier and Cyclops, for that matter, most of the story as it pertained to Xavier, and how the X-Men escaped the Mauraders toward the beginning.

Other plot holes:

If the purifier soldiers with guns can kill several of the X-Men with a few shots, how were they completely ineffective until the one soldier was overlooked toward the end of the battle when he shot Caliban? (That speaks to a larger problem in comics, not just this line).

How were the telepaths taken out so easily in the battle with the Sentinels? How did they recover so quickly? - that was unresolved.

Why was Sinister so easily killed? What was his agenda? Is he really dead?

For that matter, who is really dead?

Lady Deathstrike
Mr Sinister
Vertigo (eaten by Predator X or not?)
Caliban
Bishop?
Xavier?
The mutants that Predator X hunts on his way to find the baby?
There were several Marauders that were stabbed through the stomach by Wolverine or Pixie or X-23, are they dead?
Some students were killed by the Sentinels
2 members of the Marauders are found dead in Alaska (then certainly remain so since they're bodies are eaten by Predator X)

It seems that they made a big deal of the 198 existing mutants, but then several nameless mutants are killed. How many are left? It seems kind of important. I count at least 9 mutants that were killed in this story arc.

I gave the story 3 stars because I will read it again. It wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't as frustrating as some of Marvel's other big story lines (Civil War, Secret Invasion).

Good Old Xmen Fun
I haven't bought comics for a long time and only resort to buying Hardcovers or Trade Paperbacks for my comic book fix. I was reluctant to buy Xmen Messiah Complex because I've heard that most crossovers have not lived up their billings. But after reading this at one sitting, I must admit that the art, story,characterization, action, tone, and complexity was very very impressive and well-done.

I found the new X-teams hard to grasp,but after a few more pages, it wasn't that hard to follow. The backstories or what comic book enthusiasts call continuity was done so that we all can understand without a back history of stories. The art was fantastic to the max.

I'd recommend this hardcover if you enjoy a good "mystery" style story with tons of action, killings,and kids learning how to fit into being heroes. This is a good Marvel crossover and there's not that many out there.

Highly recommended.