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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic, May 9, 2008
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.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre, like any Marvel X-Men crossover, June 21, 2008
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.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Old Xmen Fun, August 2, 2008
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.
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