[Dr Kain]

Well I just finished the Claremont/Lee Omnibus I was reading and can I just say that the final issues were utter dog shit?

First off, the Omega Red story. This one was not bad despite Andrea Strucker's Powergirl costume's boob window kept changing directions. Sometimes it was a triangle pointing downward, sometimes it was pointing upward. The worst was when it changed on the same page. I did enjoy learning a bit more of Wolverine's origin despite it feeling like there was something I missed in the issues I wasn't able to read. Omega Red is just as cool a villain as I remember. Maverick was as lame as ever though. Never been a fan of him. Finally, it would have been nice if Wolverine had explained why he was back in the yellow costume. Everytime the X-Men had a costume change in the comics before they always made some type of comment on the new look, so to not have one here was kind of lame.

Then we have a story that is supposed to develop Gambit, but then Ghost Rider comes into play and it turns out the Brood is involved. WHAT THE ******************************************************!!! Not only did Ghost Rider feel completely out of place, but the Brood felt forced in as if the writers needed some last minute plot twist. Heaven forbid it couldn't have just been a backstory for Gambit. Also, it was utterly pointless to have Bishop in the first part, acting all high and mighty about how he is never going to let Gambit out of his sight, only to have him just gone for the other three issues. What happened to never letting him out of his sight? I also don't buy that the Brood were able to impregnate Ghost Rider. Another aspect that felt like they needed to force in a reason to have a battle between him and the X-Men. So during this story we learn Gambit is married and meet his wife, upsetting Rogue, only to conveniently kill her off by the end of the arc because that means they couldn't continue their romance with Rogue any longer. Oh, and did we really need to have Cyclops drooling over Psylocke? He ditched his wife and son for Jean and I'm suddenly supposed to believe he is attracted to Psylocke? NO!!!! It doesn't work that way!!!

However, I can get look past these awful issues because the next final two parter was probably the worst X-Men stories I have read over the last few months. Not only do we get Mojo (I HATE MOJO!!!), but half of the story feels rushed and it comes out of nowhere. Yeah, sure, they showed Longshot leading a rebellion a few issues ago, but this seems like I missed an entire story arc while the Brood and Ghost Rider stuff was happening. It is also weird that these issues were only 15 pages long instead of the normal 22. It should have just been an annual story or something. The last big page was really stupid as during the last panel they say they should celebrate, next page is this double page spread of the standing there in a pose. What happened to the celebration?

Overall, I am so glad to have gotten this book despite its miscomings. Sure, Claremont's run might have lasted a little too long as the late stuff didn't feel up to par with his early stuff, but the stories I read never felt this disjointed. Even my disapointment with issues 146-150 pale in comparison to the poorly written stories that came to pass in this book. On one hand, I really feel the wedding of Scott and Madelynne in 175 could have made for a great ending point. On the other hand, the storyline with Deathbird's rule over the Shi'ar Empire would have been left incomplete, which wasn't completed until like 277, which lead directly into the Shadow King plot that was clearly being built up for some time. Therefore, 280/X-Factor 60 feels like the true end to the series because all plot threads are closed.

Next up, my very first mutant crossover series, X-Cutioner's Song.