Here on the Infinite Wars we don't just swan about pandering to the latest craze in the schoolyard, no sir!The latest Hollywood blockbuster might get us as excited as the next John, but apparently all it really takes is any bold claim -- like potentially controversial claim that X-Men 2: Clone Wars (exclusive to Genesis) is the greatest licensed comic book video game of all time! [It's Virtually Comics!]
A few jittery VHS rewinds and floppy page flips later, and we're right back in the nineties, where the X-Men were at the very height of their mass market powers! A seemingly ordinary occurance for a comics blog that dwells on no single subject, but given the deterioration of the X-brand over the past decade, it's probably worth noting.
While we continue to battle toward something resembling the schedule, why not flick back through some of the other rare occasions we've glanced an era of the X-Men? Because I don't have the mutant power to deliver something more potent on a Sunday!
X-Men #6 (July 1964)"The Sub-Mariner joins the Evil Mutants" Lee/Kirby
Once friends, two of the Earth's most powerful natural forces - Professor Charles Xavier, and the man called Magneto - become bitter enemies as they are divided by philosophy.
Forming their own mutant factions, each pledged to their own ideals of a better world for mutantkind, they come to blows as rivals.
In these formative days, both Xavier and Magneto consider the possibility that the legendary war hero - the Sub-Mariner - may in fact be a mutant, and thus begins a race to pledge the mighty warrior to each other's cause.
Will the stubborn ruler succumb to Magneto's deception, or recognise the righteous path of Xavier? Stay tuned!
X-Men Annual #14 (1990)"You Must Remember This" Claremont/Adams
For humanity there exists a dark potential future.
A time where mutants have been hunted to near extinction, and humanity lives enslaved by the robotic Sentinel armies that police the streets so vigilantly.
Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers, refugees from this dark time, escape back to seek protection in a more placid time where their parents stood triumphant and hopeful against these evils. Unfortunately for them, their time travelling escape is not the only shift made from this future.
Dr. Roderick Campbell, the man-Sentinel known as Ahab, follows the two mutant rebels back through the timestream, hoping to use the environment to manipulate a final showdown with his longtime targets. Unfortunately for him, the mutants are far from extinct in this time, and despite his advanced technology and many powers, he may find himself overwhelmed...
X-Men #25 (October 1993)"Dreams Fade" Nicieza/Kubert
Growing ever tired of the struggle between human and mutant, Magneto declares himself and his intentions to the X-Men at the funeral of Illyana Rasputin. It is here that Colossus shocks his colleagues by defecting.
More powerful than ever, and intent on ending his war with humanity, Magneto poses a greater threat than ever before. With that in mind, the world initiates the Magneto protocols in an attempt to exile him from the Earth.
A net is relayed around the globe, designed to affect Magneto's powers within the electromagnetic field of the Earth. Magneto penetrates it, and bathes much of the world in a technology destroying pulse.
His hand forced, Professor Xavier forms a crack team to infiltrate Magneto's stronghold, and put an end to their feud once and for all.
Adventures of the X-Men #7 (October 1996)"Rites of Passage" Macchio/Kuhn
In their last confrontation, Sabretooth and Wolverine battled in the snowy ranges of Alaska, where the X-Man was able to out maneuver his old foe to send him hurtling down an icey ravine.
Having finally clawed his way back to the surface, Sabretooth is madder than ever, and intent on getting revenge on his arch-nemesis.
Stalking his way across America, Sabretooth returns to the X-Mansion he once infiltrated under orders of Magneto. Ironically, the X-Men are abroad in Russia tending to matters concerning the master of magnetism, leaving Professor Xavier and Jubilee alone in the mansion -- with Sabretooth!
Ultimate X-Men #49 (September 2004)"The Tempest" Vaughan/Peterson
A mysterious serial killer called Sinister has been murdering mutants throughout the Manhattan district, raising the concerns of the X-Men. Though reluctant, Professor Charles Xavier solicits the deployment of six of his most notable and seasoned students in the pursuit of the killer.
Though Wolverine and Storm track Sinister to his lair, they are horrified to discover the killer has already eluded them, and unbeknownst to the youthful X-Men left behind, he's coming for them.
Unable to detect Sinister's presence, Professor X is unable to prepare his mutants for the threat that is coming for them. Dazzler, Angel, Kitty Pryde, Rogue and Ice Man will have to fend for themselves, or die trying.
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