X-Men: Days of Future Past

Not what I was expecting. It's my own fault, my knowledge of the "Days of Future Past" storyline came from the version in the X-Men cartoon from the 90's, so I thought I was in for Bishop, Cable, crazy time-travel, and all sorts of good stuff.

Actually what happens is this: we see a glimpse of a future where mutants are hated and being hunted down by Sentinels. Kitty Pryde is still alive, and in one of the most hilariously silly sequences I think I've seen, even in a comic book, her brain switches places with the brain of her younger self in the "present" time. It turns out that the hysteria is caused by an attack on a politician by mutants (Senator Kelly), so Kitty and the rest of the X-Men try to stop it. [SPOILER ALERT] They actually show more kind of fail, the attack happens anyway, and we never find out if it helped prevent the future but I guess it did. Then, suddenly some kind of demonic aliens attack the X-Mansion and Kitty does a good job at not dying. Really, it has nothing to do with anything.

I read this book because I heard that it was being used as the basis for the upcoming X-Men film. I see blog posts where people are speculating on who is being cast as Bishop and Cable, which leads me to believe that in fact NOBODY is familiar with the actual Days of Future Past comic book story, since those two are not in it at all, and the "time travel" aspect is limited entirely to the brain swap. I hope the movie draws more from the cartoon than the comic book, because this shit would be boring. Hell, the "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants attack on Senator Kelly" was already done, in the first goddamn movie! I also don't understand how this movie is going to unify X-Men 3 into canon, which already shows Sentinels as part of a danger room simulation. Whatever, the X-Men film continuity is fucked.

Anyway, this comic is from an era of comics a bit before my time. I tend to read the comics that came after the "gritification" of the medium, basically the post-Frank Miller Dark Knight Returns, post-Watchmen era. I'll grant that this era is marked by perhaps an overemphasis on dark, gritty storylines and violence, but the 80's era from which this emerged just doesn't do it for me. The dialogue is so painfully corny, with everyone explaining what is happening and why they are doing everything, even in the middle of a battle. And the thought bubbles, oh God the thought bubbles.

Days of Future Past: skip it, the cartoon version is awesome, the comic book version is weak. And has random demon aliens at the end for absolutely no reason. show less

Firstly, I admit I have not seen the movie based on this story-line; moving on. The book contains 7 issues, only 2 of which are part of the title story. Mostly, this is the introduction of Kitty Pryde to the comics. These are her first issues and she's only 13 years old. This is great. All the other characters are much older than her and serve as mentors as she tries to figure out her place as an X-Man and as a mutant. (It's a little weird that none of the characters found it inappropriate that she stole a kiss from Colossus under some mistletoe, considering the age difference, but whatevs.) Also, she's a bit spooked by Nightcrawler, even after several issues, which makes him (and me) sad. (He's my favorite.)

The first issue is Scott show more Summers (Cyclops) telling the entire history of the X-Men basically. At Jean Grey's funeral. Now, if I had read all 137 issues previous to this one, I'd probably be annoyed at entire issue devoted to a recap. However, since I haven't read all of that, I was saved the trouble by Cyclops' story-telling. Naturally, he centers the whole story around himself and how everything happens to him, so take his narration with a grain of salt.

The story moves on to X-Men Annual #4 Nightcrawler's Inferno. Basically, the X-Men and Dr. Strange have to navigate Dante's Inferno, which has been created by a mysterious foe specifically for Nightcrawler. Devout Catholic that he is, he totally buys into it and feels he deserves this fate, but just wants to get his friends out of harm's way, for they have done nothing wrong. It's nice to see a 600-year-old poem continue to inspire art today. Take that, all those who feels comics have no literary merit!

Look, this volume is terrific. There's a story-line where Wolverine goes to Canada and fights a Wendigo alongside Alpha Flight. Storm shines as the leader of the X-Men after Cyclops takes a leave of absence. The artwork by John Byrne is wonderful and I love the bright colors. The last few pages are artwork from alternate covers and whatnot and there's one that I really wish I had as a full-sized poster (from Essential X_Men Vol 3 back cover). Pick this one up if you want to know the story behind the movie Days of Future Past, or if you want to see a demon crash it's way all through the mansion. show less

I can see how the title story (which only seemed to last a couple of issues?) remains an iconic impression in the X-Men universe, especially considering the timeline-altering stories still to come. But Claremont's gifts for moral centers and hot-n-cold melodrama are evened out by his tendency to pack panels with speech bubbles of redundant information.

I started by reading the slim 2-issue Days of Future Past; this volume is about 7 issues long - only the two issues are actually the Days of Future Past story line; the other issues are really good stories, but don't touch upon the story.

The first part is a really good recap of the whole X-Men story line, told from Cyclop's perspective just after Jean Grey's apparent death as Phoenix.

I enjoyed the Wendigo story line as well, and also the last story with Sprite (soon to be Shadowhawk) dealing with a monster (that they allude in various ways to the Alien monster).

The Five Faces of
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

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😍

The two issues that compromise the actual Days of Future Past story are lovely. They perfectly capture the politics of X-men, while feeling logical and fresh in its time travel aspect. It gives Kitty Pryde a chance to shine and is emotional as well.

In just two issues, Claremont manages to craft a timeless adventure, that stands out thanks to its high stakes, exciting action, and emotional impact.

😃

Great fight and team play in issue #140, where Wolverine and Alpha Flight go head to head with Wendigo.

😐

Issue #139 introduces Alpha Flight but isn't very interesting otherwise.

Annual #4 is thrown into the volume. It's a standalone adventure in Hell with the X-Men and Doctor Strange and show more has nothing to do with the rest of the volume. It's fast-paced but not very interesting.

The second issue of DoFP is mostly just fighting and isn't as interesting as the first part.

☹️

The first issue doesn't really sit very well with the rest. It recaps the events of the past 25 years and only establishes Cyclops leaving the team and Kitty Pryde entering. It's tedious and boring to read and should really be skipped unless you're interested in some history.

The final issue is a pointless little adventure with Kitty and a demon in the mansion. It's not very scary and does nothing to develop the established characters.

The volume suffers from the uneven mix of unrelated adventures; the Days of Future Past storyline stands far better on its own.

🤮

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The Final Face: 😐 show less

This is what the newest X-men movie is based on. The first issue is a good recap of X-men history, but the "Days of Future Past" storyline feels really short. Great for filmmakers looking for a story to adapt, but disappointing for some readers. Might be a good choice for girls due to Kitty Pryde. Kitty Pryde is awesome.

The jacket copy on this book hypes that THIS is the one set in the dystopian future, in which mutants are hunted down and killed, and this is all government sanctioned.

Um. Well, that 2-issue story is in here, sure, but so is a crap ton of other really boring X-Men stuff--the funeral for Jean Gray, the death of Nightcrawler and the X-Team's trip to Hades to save him? I dunno what that was about.

The dystopia isn't really strong enough that I feel like I can include it in a booklist, but it'll be good as a readalike to several other things.