UNCANNY X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #5 - 8

Story: Scott Gray | Coloring: Val Staples | Lettering: Blambot's Nate Piekos
Production: Paul Acerios, Damien Lucchese & Taylor Esposito
Assistant Editor: Michael Horwitz | Editor: Jordan D. White
Supervising Editor: Nathan Cosby | Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley | Executive Producer: Alan Fine

"THE KNIGHTS OF HYKON" | "THE SKY IS FALLING" | "THE SHATTERED WORLD"
Art by Nelson DeCastro & Scott Koblish

Art: Roger Cruz

Wow! I mean, wow! I have no idea what happened here. As covered last week, the first four issues of this series were decent at best. We had inappropriate artwork from Roger Cruz and lackluster stories, albeit with decent characterization, from Scott Gray. But now, suddenly, things have changed. First, Gray ups his game in the writing department as the Knights of Hykon arrive on Earth. These creatures are alien gladiators who travel from world to world engaging in duels which ultimately leave their battlegrounds completely destroyed. Of course when they arrive on Earth they meet up with the X-Men, and it falls to the merry mutants to save the entire planet.

Gray nails everything here. Characterization for everyone is spot-on. Thought balloons abound, giving us insight into what all the various characters are thinking with regards to the Knights, the battle, and even their own interpersonal relationships. Professor X has something to do, heading into space in his astral form and then traveling to the Knights' home dimension. Phoenix showcases her power by saving the SHIELD Helicarrier from a crash. Wolverine cryptically hints at his healing factor, which wasn't yet public knowledge at the time these issues take place.

UNCANNY X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #1 - 4

Story: Scott Gray | Coloring: Val Staples | Lettering: Blambot's Nate Piekos
Production: Joe Sabino, Anthony Dial, & Paul Acerios
Assistant Editors: Jordan D. White (#1 - 3) & Michael Horwitz (#4) | Editor: Nathan Cosby
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada | Publisher: Dan Buckley | Executive Producer: Alan Fine
Dedicated with respect and admiration to Len Wein, Chris Claremont,
John Byrne, and the late, great, Dave Cockrum

In 2009, Marvel published this series featuring a handful of adventures set during the early days of the "All-New, All-Different" X-Men and starring the team lineup from that era: Cyclops, Storm, Banshee, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Phoenix. I'm unsure if this was always intended to be a limited series or if it was cancelled with #8 due to low sales, but in any case, eight issues are all that were published. Given that the Claremont/Cockrum/Byrne days are my all-time favorite period for the X-Men, this series was on my radar for years, but I never read it... until now. Thanks to Marvel Unlimited, I've finally given it a try. Here are my thoughts.

A Note For the Continuity-Anal Fan (like myself): As best I can tell, all eight issues of this series must take place during the time gap between UNCANNY X-MEN #110 and 111. My reasoning is simple: Lilandra is hanging out with the X-Men in FIRST CLASS, and she returned to Earth with the group in issue 109. Also, Jean Grey became Phoenix in issue 101, but the X-Men immediately set out on a series of adventures, without her, which also ran all the way up to issue 109. Following 109, 110 is a stand-alone story, and then 111 kicks off an extended story arc which doesn't end until the opening chapters of the "Dark Phoenix Saga", after Lilandra has returned to the Shi'ar Empire. And since it's an unstated amount of time which passes between issues 110 and 111, it seems obvious these stories are meant to fit there.