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TheFlow · Oct 25, 2016

lot people here love talking about the mutants so why not go back to where it all started with Claremont. I wold like to get this started on the first of November. Starting with 1 issue a day.

We can start off with this and make our way up, and vote on what to read next.
uncanny x-men #94 is where his runs begins.

how can I read this stuff. easy. Marvel unlimited has it all for just 10 bucks a month.

you can buy it digitally off the marvel.com site or comixology. Then there are the physical options. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785185690/?tag=neogaf0e-20

BenjaminBirdie · Oct 25, 2016

I'll hop on this when you hit the Byrne issues for sure.

TheFlow · Oct 25, 2016

always blows my mind how much of a boss Cyclops was back in the day.

Sgt. Kabukiman · Oct 25, 2016

Nice idea for a thread. I lost track long ago of which issues I had or hadn't read so I decided recently to just start reading Uncanny chronologically on Unlimited, starting with the All-New era. I'm up to #105. Giant-Size #1 is a relatively average story but it set the stage for my favorite superhero team ever so I definitely appreciate it.

And as much as people like to talk about Byrne, I really enjoy Dave Cockrum and Paul Smith, they are my favorite artists of the early Claremont era.

Machine · Oct 25, 2016

A great way to read old Claremont/Cockrum/Byrne issues of Uncanny is to get your hands on copies of Classic X-Men. Not only did they reprint each issue, they had additional backup stories which fleshed things out. You may have inspired me to dig through my long boxes and find my copies.

Weiss · Oct 25, 2016

I finally got my copy of the first Claremont omnibus. I love it so much.

Duane Cunningham · Oct 25, 2016

I'm definitely in!

tim1138 · Oct 25, 2016

Claremont/Byrne is the best era of X-Men, I'll pop back in when you get there.

George Oscar Bluth II · Oct 25, 2016

Best X-men.

TheFlow · Oct 25, 2016

so excited. Next tuesday it begins. that should give everyone enough time.

Duane Cunningham · Oct 31, 2016

Happy X-eve! Looking forward to tomorrow!

TheFlow · Nov 1, 2016

Ok guys today starts a massive journey through Claremont's X-men. We are starting with Giant Size X-men(1975) and then from there 94 and up.

Direct Link to Giant size x-men on Marvel Unlimited. http://marvel.com/comics/issue/8797/giant_size_x-men_1975_1

Direct Link to #94 https://marvel.com/comics/issue/12548/uncanny_x-men_1963_94

Giant Size X-men

The original x-me got rekted by someone identified power leaving Cyclops as the surivor. Prof.X has no choice but to go out and recruit a new team from across the globe.

Proudstar and Sunfire are dicks of course. too much pride to work as a unit. Cyclops is impatient with this new team, and the rest are questioning why they joined Xavier.

They are then split into teams of two to scout out the island where the original x-men went missing. This is basically where we see everyone's powers in action.

Then all hell breaks lose.The new and old x-men are fianally reunited all due to a trap.

The island is a

mutant

and it starts to rekt the team. Prof. X can barley handle it himself. With a Hail mary all on its own Storm and Polaris combine powers to fuck the island up. They get away thanks to combining powers and ice-man freezing parts of the ocean.

Overall it is a great issue to learn about the GOAT team.

Viewt · Nov 1, 2016

It can't be overstated how important Giant-Size was to keeping X-Men afloat. Straight up, the book wasn't popular, and had been reprinting old issues (with new numbering, no less) for five years. Then Claremont came aboard with #94, and the rest is history.

I don't think anyone has a better claim to calling the team "theirs" than Claremont. Dude wrote the book for 16 years. He ended up being a bit of a nut (all comic book writers are eventually shown to be crazy, either in a "funny haha" way or a "oh boy..." way), but you can't deny that the guy put in the work.

Sgt. Kabukiman · Nov 1, 2016

I forgot that Sunfire was in Giant-size #1. It's funny how everyone is incredibly hot-headed and acts like a total dick in most comics of the time. It's definitely an incredibly important issue but I cant say that I love it. Still, this is and always shall be my favorite X-Men lineup. All that was missing was Kitty Pryde.

I'm up to issue 106 right now but #94 was a weird reboot for Uncanny. It's not going to be long before Claremont finds his groove but the ani-men as the first villains for the new X-Men was a strange choice!

TheFlow · Nov 1, 2016

Yea I have already first the omnibus but decided to go back and start over.

Doing 1 issue a day unless I have to go out of town then I will double up.

CorporateClown · Nov 1, 2016

I've been going through the first omnibus (and leafing through the 2nd and third) and one thing that strikes me is how often they find an excuse to get Storm either naked or scantily clad.

Hades Hotgun · Nov 2, 2016

I always dreamt of being able to go back and read the classic X-Men stories growing up. Back then we didn't have trades, so you had no way of ever seeing the lost legendary tales.

Now as an adult, I wonder how my childhood self would have dealt with the really uneven and inconsistent way that Claremont wrote the characters, which is really apparent when you can run through the whole series in big collections like the Essentials line.

I still really love the books, but I frequently have to just try and let it go when stuff like this happens.

TheFlow · Nov 2, 2016

Hades Hotgun said:
I always dreamt of being able to go back and read the classic X-Men stories growing up. Back then we didn't have trades, so you had no way of ever seeing the lost legendary tales.

Now as an adult, I wonder how my childhood self would have dealt with the really uneven and inconsistent way that Claremont wrote the characters, which is really apparent when you can run through the whole series in big collections like the Essentials line.

I still really love the books, but I frequently have to just try and let it go when stuff like this happens.

lol dead

Ponn · Nov 2, 2016

Oh shit here it is. I'm in but i'm going to have to catch up with first two issues tomorrow.

TheFlow · Nov 2, 2016

Ponn said:
Oh shit here it is. I'm in but i'm going to have to catch up with first two issues tomorrow.

feel free to jump in whenever. I am doing 1 issue a day unless I feel a day needs two issues for something special.

I know a lot of pople will be here for the dark phoenix stuff.

TheFlow · Nov 2, 2016

http://read.marvel.com/#/book/1327

Uncanny X-men #94

now that the rescue mission is over half of the group decides to leave.

Sunfire leaves because he is a dick and only wants to serve Japan.

Ice-man, Havok, Jean, and Polaris decide to leave because they fell they have matured passed being x-men. They want to be adults on their own.

Cyclops decides to stay and help this new team out. He quickly introduces them to the Danger room.

Hank later calls in the X-men for help when a military base is overun by animal hybrids and Nefaria. As the X-men make it near they are shot down and shown falling to their deaths before the issue ends.

3/5

didn't care much for the villains but the dialog was on point. Wolverine threatening Ice-man <3.

mikespit1200 · Nov 2, 2016

Awesome, I've been looking for a reason to dive into classic Uncanny again. This is the perfect excuse.

The Right Deal · Nov 2, 2016

This will be a good excuse to re-read the Omnibuses sitting on my shelf, will try to catch up tonight!

Ponn · Nov 3, 2016

Okay so Giant Size X-Men. I mean these are classic comics but kind of like reading stuff like Teen Titans Judas Contract you can't help but laugh at some of the writing style at that time and the influences of the time. Most of the issue i kept on thinking Thunderbirds word bubbles were Wolverine's. Damn Thunderbird. And good to see Sunfire was always an asshole. A point punctuated in the next issue by the way. Damn, Krakoa was some nasty ass villain though, especially for that time period.

Captain Nefaria and his Amazing Furreal Friends!

Holy shit this was fun. I completely forgot about the Ani-Men. I spotted them on the page and flipped out. I remember these guys but for the life of me I can't remember from where. Amazing to see how far back these characters go. I am face palming at some stuff though. Like getting a mysterious package in a military base and just wantonly hitting the giant mystery button that says push me. Of course thats military protocol, of course it is. You had one fucking job Joe and you blew it!

Sgt. Kabukiman · Nov 3, 2016

Ponn said:
Captain Nefaria and his Amazing Furreal Friends!

Holy shit this was fun. I completely forgot about the Ani-Men. I spotted them on the page and flipped out. I remember these guys but for the life of me I can't remember from where. Amazing to see how far back these characters go. I am face palming at some stuff though. Like getting a mysterious package in a military base and just wantonly hitting the giant mystery button that says push me. Of course thats military protocol, of course it is. You had one fucking job Joe and you blew it!

Haha, yeah...
I love how these early issues are still kinda stuck in 60s silliness but you can still see the slow build-up of what these new X-Men will eventually become. It's very charming and I really like the old-school Dave Cockrum artwork.

TheFlow · Nov 4, 2016

Link for the issue-https://marvel.com/comics/issue/12549/uncanny_x-men_1963_95

Uncanny X-men #95

As you can see someone dies but if you are familiar with anything x-men related it is clear who the likely one is.

Battle rages hard, and with an inexperienced team it takes them a bit to find their groove. Eventually they beat the team of ani-morphs but Doctor Nefaria is escaping so thudnerbird and Banshee take pursuit. As the x-men are escaping, thunderbird starts destroying Nefaria's plane.

thunderbird was too prideful to a later. He wasn't much of a teamplayer, and ended up paying the ultimate cost.

Professor was mentally connected with Warbird the whole time and felt his pain.
Cyclops delivers a great line of "death comes with the suit"

4/5

atm Colossus and Cyclops are my favorite. Love the action panels. old school stuff but fun

Roman · Nov 4, 2016

TheFlow said:
Link for the issue-https://marvel.com/comics/issue/12549/uncanny_x-men_1963_95

Uncanny X-men #95

Powerful stuff! The Colossus dialogue is hilarious. I can definitely see how that kind of writing wouldn't fly later on. I've been trying to understand what happened to the man between Uncanny and X-Treme. It's hard to pinpoint.

Anyway, I've read the whole run in the past and will chime in here and there. I really hope you pull through on the regular updates, it's a colossal undertaking.

TheFlow · Nov 4, 2016

I am going all the way!

Hagi · Nov 4, 2016

Hell yeah I totally forgot about this. Going to start when I wake up in the morning.

Ponn · Nov 4, 2016

Issue was good, can't get over the Ani-Men goofy designs. Especially the bearded cat man. Alas poor Thunderbird, Wolverine shall inherit your attitude and your namesakes shall inherit your short life span.

BuddyJoeHooker · Nov 4, 2016

Subbed, but I will be writing impressions as if the X-Men are a menace.

Sgt. Kabukiman · Nov 4, 2016

TheFlow said:

Dat Banshee face.
Just like Wolverine, he sure got a lot more handsome over the years!

Roman · Nov 4, 2016

Sgt. Kabukiman said:
Dat Banshee face.
Just like Wolverine, he sure got a lot more handsome over the years!

The most extreme version of this in my eyes will forever be Rogue.

You can't be pretty when you're punching heroes.

Shortly after joining the X-Men, she already looked like this:

And then of course, under Jim Lee, like this:

Which brings us to the modern look:

I mean, you can argue she sucks the life out of people but still that's...a stark contrast.

Sgt. Kabukiman · Nov 4, 2016

Roman said:
The most extreme version of this in my eyes will forever be Rogue.

Oh wow, I had never seen that Dazzler cover, that's pretty hilarious.
Having grown up with Jim Lee's X-Men, it was definitely weird to go back and discover the earlier depictions of Rogue, even the Silvestri version was extremely different.

TheFlow · Nov 4, 2016

#96 link http://read.marvel.com/#/book/4552

Uncanny X-Men #96

Ah finally a Cyclop centric issue. Cyclops is beating himself up over the death of Thunderbird.

He starts destroying the yard which releases a ancient demon held within a tombstone thingy. Meanwhile we cut back to the rest of the team training and tensions are high. Wolverine goes a lil bit wild and causes worry. Prof.X gets a visitor. Moira Mactaggert has come to be the new housekeeper at the mansion while Prof.X takes a Vacay. Later on Cyclops crashes in beaten by the demon he released at the beginning of the issue.

This demon proves to be more than a match for the X-Men. That is till Wolverine goes full on berserk and rekts the demon. Kierrok the demon is able to regenerate each time he dies, and come back stronger. The team realizes they have to destroy the source of his powers. Thanks to Storm they get rid of the demon once and for all.

basically an aftermath issue after the sad death of Thunderbird.

3/5 wasn't too interested in this issue

TheFlow · Nov 5, 2016

#97 link http://read.marvel.com/#book/4553

Uncanny X-Men #97

issue Starts with Xavier dreaming of a massive space battle and it is revealed he has this dreamed countless times. Think this is foreshadowing to something. Then we cut to Alex Summers and Lorna Dane who are enjoying the retired hero life. Its been six months since they left the Mansion. They have fallen hard for each other but while Summers is out Dane is hit with a blast that turns her evil or w.e. Summers is knocked out. Another cut and we are at the Kennedy National Airport sending off Prof.X. . Thanks to Tony stark, Kurt is able to where a disguise and blend in with the public. pretty damn cool. Wolverine and Banshee stay at the Mansion so Jean decides to tag along.

Boom. Havok and Polaris are in full costume at the airport on a mission to take down a plane or something but their plans are foiled by Jean who in return gets knocked out by Havok. Eric the Red seems to have control over their minds forcing friends to fight friends.

Storm Faces off against Polaris and beats her ass. While Havok faces off against his brother. They are forced to retreat when Wolverine and Banshee show up and Cyclops refuses to blass his brother out the sky. Cyclops is tormented over this.

one of the first panels cyclops bitch slaps Logan.

Another thing to note is how much destruction goes down at this airport. like damn guys.

4/5 good action.

Bernbaum · Nov 6, 2016

I'll pre-empt the discussion for #98 by saying it's one of the first Claremont era X-books that really captured what I wanted from the series when I started going through the back issues.

It's sentinel-heavy, the 'new' X-team have an established dynamic and Storm is crazily over-dramatic.

Love it.

Ponn · Nov 7, 2016

Ok these last couple issues are definitely getting into a little more modern storytelling and i'm actually getting familiar vibes from my time reading Claremont X-Men during the 80's and 90's.

Erik the Red - yarrrrr matey, I don't know why but every time I see that character I think pirate barbarian for some reason.

It's kinda jarring between issues, total beatdown in one issue, Wolverine gets his first of many bitch slaps from Cyclops and then MERRY CHRISTMAS here are some Sentinels for all the good X-boys and X-girls. Sentinels are always awesome and hey who knew Prof. X was a fisherman.

And here we go with Wolverine and Jean...uh huh

Rooster12 · Nov 7, 2016

I wonder what ever happened to Erik the Red and Unus....haven't seen them in forever.

I'm on Uncanny #474 right now and it sucks...it seems just about everything on Uncanny around this time was faltering, Claremont forgot how to write and Tony Bedard just can't write.

Basically, the X-Men goes up against the polar opposite of the Pheonix Force, some entity called the First Fallen....it's absurd and pointless how easily he was defeated.

Hopefully Brubaker turns things around with the next issue, the beginning of the Rise and Fall of Shiiar Empire

TheFlow · Nov 7, 2016

#98 link http://read.marvel.com/#book/4554

It's Christmas time! the X-men are dressed in normal clothes enjoying the Holiday in the big apple. I love this because Kurt and Peter are hitting on women and it gets me everytime. Scott and Jean get some alone time and right before they sit down boom!

/So a massive fight takes place and even Prof X is attacked all the way in the Bahamas.

wolverine, jean, prof x, and banshee are all captured by Dr.Lang. 4 days have gone by and cyclops has yet to find them. Wolverine helps them break out due to his claws being in his body and not his suit. We get a lot of Dialog between Wolverine and Jean for the first time.

At the end of the issue we find out Cyclops hasn't been able to find them because they are in Space!

5/5

I loved this issue. anytime the Sentinels pop up it is going to be a good action issue. cyclops and storms powers are drawn so well that I can't help but get hype

RareFantasy64 · Nov 7, 2016

I've never read Claremont's run. Most of my exposure to X-men comics has been from Morrison's New X-men and onward.

Does Cyclops get much screen time in Claremont's run?

Bernbaum · Nov 7, 2016

RareFantasy64 said:
I've never read Claremont's run. Most of my exposure to X-men comics has been from Morrison's New X-men and onward.

Does Cyclops get much screen time in Claremont's run?

Heaps. Cyclops runs the show. The definitive Claremont run is from 94 to 280 before the series split into the Gold and Blue teams. There is still a bit of crossover with other Marvel properties, but it's nowhere near as messy and convoluted as the 1990's and 2000's.

TheFlow · Nov 7, 2016

RareFantasy64 said:
I've never read Claremont's run. Most of my exposure to X-men comics has been from Morrison's New X-men and onward.

Does Cyclops get much screen time in Claremont's run?

cyclops is pretty much the star.

TheFlow · Nov 7, 2016

#99 link http://read.marvel.com/#book/1328

Wolverine, Jean, and Banshee escape to find out they are in space. The sentinels easily bring their asses right back. Cyclops and the rest meanwhile have to figure out where exactly they are in space. The x-men manage to get aboard a space shuttle launching from Fl and head straight for the orbital station. So as they blast off each x-men gives off thoughts of going into space in their minds.

Peter being afraid due to his brothers death, and Kurt worrying about him is cool.

Of course they are discovered and the ship is blasted. They have no choice but to crash directly into the space station.

Once they are in a massive battle goes down. Storm is lost fighting in space which enrages Colossus but once she shows back up he is bear hugs her. Yet another reason I like peter so much. Cyclops splits up from the group to find Jean. He gives Dr.lang one hell of a beat down but plot twist. Dr. Lang is rescued by the original X-men. They are clones that he somehow created.

Full on X-men vs X-men brawl next issue.

4/5 this issue was very strong. Claremont went all out trying to make the plot believable. Lots of details went into making the flight to the station believable.

TheFlow · Nov 8, 2016

I might start doing 2-3 issues a day. especially when I get into the longer arcs. really trying to get to New mutants, and then X-men

Edit: due to the election I must take a break. to recover

TheFlow · Nov 23, 2016

I apologize for the almost 3 week break. just didn't have the urge to read comics as much.

#100 http://www.neogaf.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=221444559

Now this is what you call a fucking great chapter. The X-men and fake x-men duke it out in one of the most epic battles of the first 100 issues. The x-men hold back because they think it is their friends, but Wolverine thanks to his nose figures it out. They are X-Sentinels . They easily destroy the robots and Dr.Lang died trying to escape.

Jean decides to sacrifice herself so the ship can re-orbirt earth. It is a very emotional goodbye for the team.

It is left with one hell of a cliff hanger.

5/5 damn I loved the dynamics between the team this issue. The fastball special with Kurt and Wolverine was awesome.

101 http://read.marvel.com/#book/1304

what an awesome cover.

Anyway this issue is big for a couple reasons.

1. Wolverine finally admits to himself that he wants Jean grey

2. first issue that Jean Grey becomes the Phoenix

Anyway Jean passes out after her powers and is rushed to the Hospital. Everyone is on the edge, but she is going to pull through. Prof. x orders everyone on a mandatory vacation while Jean rest.

guess where they are staying!? Cassidy Keep. Yep Banshee owns a fucking castle. I am so done. So turns out Banshee has a evil cousin named Tom Cassidy who is about to ruin the X-men's vacation. Shit If I was a x-men I would be fed up.

The biggest wtf ever though is Juggernaut. Why the fuck is he here out of all places in the world.

4/5

TheFlow · Nov 25, 2016

#102 http://read.marvel.com/#book/1305

Wolverine yet agains causes in fighting amongst the team.

1. We get Storm's origin. Kinda crazy how she goes through a breakdown and remembers this now of all times

2. Misty Knight is introduced! Jean Grey's roommate? wth when did this happen.

turns out Black Tom and Jugg were paid to kill the x-men after being freed from prison.

chapter ends with the team getting rekted, and Scott deciding he won't help because Jean is more important. Nightcrawler is on the verge of death and taken away from the battlefield.

3/5

Bernbaum · Dec 21, 2016

Heads up that a significant chunk of Uncanny X-men back issues are going cheap on Comixology: https://www.comixology.com/comics-sale?list_id=14552&lang=1

TheFlow · Apr 26, 2017

X-men blue got me in the mood to start this back up

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