X-Men: Second Coming [Hardcover]

Zeb Wells (Author), Mike Carey (Author), Matt Fraction (Author), Craig Kyle (Author), Christopher Yost (Author), Terry Dodson (Illustrator), Greg Land (Illustrator), David Finch (Illustrator), Mike Choi (Illustrator), Ibraim Roberson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: X-Men | Publication Date: September 29, 2010

The climax of four years of X-Men stories is the X-Event of 2010! What started in HOUSE OF M with the Decimation of mutantkind and erupted with the first new mutant birth in MESSIAH COMPLEX finishes here. In the epic crossover SECOND COMING, Cyclops' faith pays off when Cable returns to the present with Hope, the girl he believes to be the mutant messiah. But will she be the savior or destroyer of mutantkind? We may never know, as she is the target of an initiative for mutant eradication unlike anything the X-Men have ever experienced. Many will be wounded. Several will die. Is Hope worth it?

COLLECTING:

Second Coming: Prepare, Second Coming #1-2, Uncanny X-Men #523-525; New Mutants #12-14, X-Men Legacy #235-237, X-Force #26-28

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (September 29, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785146784
• ISBN-13: 978-0785146780
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #307,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The true sequel to Messiah Complex, October 2, 2010

By 

Ant - See all my reviews

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This review is from: X-Men: Second Coming (Hardcover)

X-Men Second Coming is a great X-Men story. We've had to deal with a lot of half hearted X-Events lately from the terrible Utopia to the mediocre Nation X or Messiah War, but this one really shines. If you've read any of the recent events this is most similar to Messiah Complex not only in plot but in general feel, all of the X-Men play at least minor parts and it really has an epic scope. The only real problem with X-Men second coming is while it starts fantastic (with about the first 6 issues) it does start to lose a little steam, that being said you still get a great story and about half the plot lines are resolved, and really if you were expecting any more than half the answers you haven't been reading comics long.

On to the art, we've got primarily four artists at work here, Mike Choi, Greg Land, Terry Dodson, and Ibraim Robertson. Mike Choi is one of the best artists in the business today, he's got a great realistic style and his action sequences are visceral and engaging, there won't be many who can find anything to complain about on his X-Force issues. Terry Dodson's style is also solid, but a bit more cartoony which may push more people away especially when compared to the other artists who are all strictly realistic, this is some of his best work though recently. Greg Land is possibly the most dividing comic book artist of all time, if you're a comic fan you love him or you hate him and you already know which, if your new to comics his style is amazingly realistic, mostly because he uses photo referencing and you'll probably enjoy it but be aware repeated exposure to Land will wear on you as he tends to reference his own art over and over and suddenly you'll start realizing you've already seen this picture of Wolverine before. Ibraim Robertson is the newcomer here and it shows. Not that his style is bad by any means, but his work is the least standout and even though he does a great job with facial expressions his action sequences leave a little to be desired.

As for the story itself, like a said its done well though it does peter off a bit at the end, and we have a great crew of writers. Mike Carey and Zeb Wells issues are really the best here, both writers do action and dialogue perfectly, and Craig Kyle and Chris Yost aren't far enough behind in this department for you to really notice, however Matt Fraction's Uncanny issues do leave a little to be desired, because its only a small number of issues you wont notice it much but there are a few places where you might find yourself asking, does this really sound like something an X-Man would say.

There's not much in the way of extras in this collection, simply the previously free issue prepare which is little more than hype for the story itself, and a few spreads that were included in issue 1, but its still a great buy. Maybe we wont see Whedon on Astonishing X-Men again anytime soon, but until that happens this and X-Men Messiah Complex are the best X-Men stories your money could buy.

Recommended Reading prior to this volume, X-Men Messiah Complex, X-Force Volume 1

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars After years of foreplay, finally the X-Men's Second Coming, October 11, 2010

By 

H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: X-Men: Second Coming (Hardcover)

The stakes are always staggering now in the X-Men universe. For our merry band of mutants (who haven't been merry in a long while), it's gone beyond superheroing and now gone beyond merely shaking off humanity's prejudice. In the aftermath of the House of M, it's become a deadly struggle for survival, a case of impending genocide. But, hey, is that a flicker of hope way over yonder, at the end of the SECOND COMING arc? Maybe. Or maybe Chris Claremont, Patron Saint of Kicking Mutants to the Curb, is somewhere stabbing needles into tiny X-Men voodoo dolls.

SECOND COMING is the final arc in a trilogy begun with MESSIAH COMPLEX and MESSIAH WAR. The Messiah Complex arc a few years ago introduced Hope, the first mutant baby born since the House of M doomed mutantkind into extinction. Hope instantly became the focal point in a frantic race as the X-Men and other mutant groups try to be the first to reach her. Messiah Complex ended with Hope and her protector, Cable, time sliding to the future, and for a while the dust settled.

MESSIAH WAR, I think I won't go into that much. It's basically a time travel adventure as X-Force travels to the future and meets up with Cable and Hope, and they get into a fighty fight with Stryfe.

The Second Coming saga features the return of Cable and Hope to the present day world, with Hope now sixteen years old and veteran of countless narrow escapes. It doesn't take long for their presence to be noted not only by the X-Men but also by the opposition, which at this juncture is identified as Bastion, the mutant-hating robot sentinel from the future, and his resurrected cronies. And here we go again.

There are only 181 people with the X-gene now left on the planet, and so things are even more desperate, the scale even more epic. How has Scott Summers changed? Cyclops, over the past few years, has become a darker and more militant leader, and there's no time anymore to see things only in white or black. Ethics have been compromised. His faith and his pragmatism will cost him and his X-Men and will alienate some of his teammates. The secret of Cyclops' covert kill team comes out, and Nightcrawler and Storm are only two of those who aren't happy campers. I love the frenzied, all-out action, I love the all-inclusiveness as Cyclops pretty much calls for the entire mutant population on Utopia to help fight for their own lives, to defend Utopia and the besieged city of San Francisco. Bastion is such a formidable adversary, man, and has access to minions numbering in the thousands. And he commands other even more frightening resources. He's even got an infiltrator in Utopia. Step by calculating step, Bastion strips away the X-Men's best tactical assets. For the mutants, reeling at the precipice, that sense of desperation rises and rises.

Bastion will stop at nothing to kill Hope. The battle-hardened, grown callous Cyclops will sacrifice everyone to keep her safe. So, yes, there are fatalities. One longtime, beloved character buys it. There are many occasions for various X-Men to step up, and they do. I, for one, appreciate that Doug Ramsay has a pivotal role to play here. I love all the high stakes drama. In the end, was it all worth it? I won't say.

I love trades, man. It so simplifies the keeping track of these crossover comics, makes for better, non-stop reading, too, and you're better able to absorb the writers' juggling of the huge assembly of characters and the handling of the sprawling plot threads. Accordingly, X-MEN SECOND COMING collects SECOND COMING: PREPARE, X-MEN: SECOND COMING #1-2, UNCANNY X-MEN #523-525, NEW MUTANTS #12-14, X-MEN LEGACY #235-237, and X-FORCE #26-28. All these issues combine to shape an epic story arc, and I am very curious now to see where Marvel is going with Hope.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wet my pants., October 27, 2010

By 

Scott Edward Calibraxis (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: X-Men: Second Coming (Hardcover)

I'll keep it brief. The reviews by Ant and H.Bala pretty much say it all, but I want to heap my praise on this book. This is absolutely the greatest. I've pretty much followed almost all the X-Men titles since 1985 or so. This series was utterly modern Marvel, while it also paid direct homage to the entire X-Men history in a way that made all that history meaningful and poignant. I actually shed tears reading this. Yes, it is a little melodramatic-- but once you accept that...

And Matt Fraction finally stopped using those stupid little boxes that identify the characters! In fact, you would hardly know it was Matt Fraction writing it-- all his little tics and imbecilities were gone.

I quite simply cannot wait to see what comes next!