X-Men Forever; The Secret History of the Sentinels, Chris Claremont

"Comics legends Paul Smith and Terry Austin join the X-Men Forever team! As the X-Men attempt to recoup from brutal recent events, they're tested by an unlikely obstacle. Meanwhile, something big has surfaced in South America - an enemy the battered X-Men will have to face head-on! Collects X-Men Forever #6-10."














X-Men Forever, even by the standards of any series that has been running for 40 years, is probably the most continuity-snarled and least accessible book I have ever read. It's part continuation of the original Uncanny run of Claremont, designed to show 'what would have happened' if he had stuck around, but exists in its own continuity (where death is permanent, Sabretooth IS Wolverine's Dad, and Storm is evil).

So If you can keep up with it being a book designed exclusively for X-Men fans who want to see the 'real' Claremontian story completed that has no actual continuity or canon reality, then here is a book for you.

And boy, is it weird. This is volume 2 of the book, and considering that I've not read the first I was pretty lost. Storm has been cloned as a child and her holder version has gone evil. That's the easiest twist to explain in a series that also features a blind Sabretooth living in the X-Mens house so that he can more easily hunt Kitty who now has Wolverine's claws. It's just totally nuts.

The story itself is pretty run of the mill stuff - Nick Fury shows up when Sentinels attack his men in South America. The X-Men head off to fight them alongside Nick and Daisy Dugan (daughter of 'Dum Dum'). We then get a secret origin of Nick Fury and Wolverine, where they meet to fight Sentinels in World War Two. Don't question it.

The arts pretty, the story is characteristically bombastic, and even if it doesn't add anything new it's fun in its own slightly nuts way. But ultimately this is a tale that didn't need telling, that has no consequences at all for the X-Men, and serves as a slightly worse Elseworld or What If? tale.

Pick up Ultimate X-Men instead. Unless you really, really miss Chris Claremont.

Also Try:
What If?
Mark Millar, Ultimate X-Men
Chris Claremont, New Exiles
Chris Claremont, Uncanny X-Men