X-Men: Origin of Generation X (Phalanx Covenant) [Paperback]

Scott Lobdell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

In the dark recesses of the Galaxy waits an alien race. More machine than organic, they seek out inferior races which they can assimilate. They are called the Phalanx, and they have just targeted Earth as their next meal.

Humanity is helpless against the onslaught of the assimilation the Phalanx brings. Those creatures that are genetically different, known to us as mutants, possess the ability to defend themselves against the Phalanx. Of those, the group known as the X-Men present the greatest threat to the Phalanx's plans for domination.

Through means of assimilation, subterfuge, and incursion, the Phalanx have prepared a preemptive strike against the X-Men. Armed with this knowledge, the mutants have launched a desperate strike of their own, to find seven fledgling mutants: Husk, Chamber, Skin, Jubilee, M, Synch and Blink -- all that stand between the Phalanx and victory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785102167
• ISBN-13: 978-0785102168
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #583,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars varied, but def. not for newbies., April 23, 2005

By 

spacedog "spacedog7" (boston, ma United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: X-Men: Origin of Generation X (Phalanx Covenant) (Paperback)

this book includes the 3 storylines that were made up x-men crossover called "the phalanx covenant". the first storyline (reprinting uncanny x-men #316-317 and x-men #36-37) features the characters that would eventually become the x-men group known as generation x, and is def. the best of the 3. highlights include banshee rejoining the x-men family and the surprise cooperation of the white queen and sabretooth. the second story (x-factor #106, x-force #38, and excalibur #82) is less focused and features so many characters and situations that were set up before these books that newbies will prob. be very confused. the story works best when it concentrates on rahne (aka wolfsbane), cannonball, and the cypher-warlock entity called "douglock". the last is a two-parter (wolverine #85, cable #16) featuring wolverine, cable, jean grey, and cyclops, and is pretty decent although not particularly original. although again newbies will be wondering details like who hodge and lang are, which will detract from their enjoyment. as a bonus the book reprints generation x #1 which introduces chamber and penance. the artwork and writing are all representative of marvel's 90's roster (inc. andy and adam kubert, scott lobdell, fabian nicieza, etc.), and although the 90's isn't really thought of as being a golden age of marvel comics there's some good stuff here. also includes some concept art by bachalo.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for nostalgia, not for new fans, May 4, 2010

By 

Kurt Conner (South Hadley, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: X-Men: Origin of Generation X (Phalanx Covenant) (Paperback)

I loved these comics when I was 14, and at the basic story level, they still hold up well. This was an admirably restrained crossover, where for one or two months, each x-book told part of a story of a techno-organic alien race trying to take over the world. The X-Men themselves basically step aside, as the core titles follow Banshee and Emma Frost tracking down some young mutants, the secondary team titles bring all of their members together to get in some fights, and the solo characters team up to climb a mountain. I promise, it's much more engaging than I make it sound. For example, this is my favorite exploration of Forge, as we see what the world looks like through the eyes of someone who can't help but see how machines work, and I love the way that this collection deals with the effects of The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix.

This is not a good read for new fans, though, as the dialogue is just terrible. It climbs to Claremont-style heights of clunky exposition in the middle of fight scenes, dips low in its attempts to present phonetically accurate accents that end up sounding nothing like real accents, and occasionally hits sublime moments where it does both at once. That was just kind of the style in comics back then, especially x-books, and there's not much you can do about it now. I also have a problem with the way the editors of this collected edition chose to black out every box with editorial comment, as I usually find those comments helpful when a character references another story I've forgotten, and the big black boxes on the pages make me feel like someone is hiding something from me.

Overall, then, this story is a good nostalgia trip for those who read it in single-issue format back in 1994, but I would not recommend it for a new reader.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best, August 12, 2003

By 

Kyle Granstrand "thepcjedi" (Yakima, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: X-Men: Origin of Generation X (Phalanx Covenant) (Paperback)

This series was something of a rebirth of my interest in the X-Men. It had been a long time since I'd read of new and interesting heroes, and these ones were definitely enough to keep my attention going. A definite read for any X-Men fan, regardless of previous knowledge.