Assault on Weapon Plus (New X-Men #142-145)

In our final episode, Perry, Oscar, and Pat discuss the legacy of Morrison's run twenty years later.

The final episode in the re-read of Grant Morrison's New X-Men run! This finale features a callback to two classic X-Men stories—The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. 150 years in the future, the X-Men led by Wolverine and Cassandra Nova Xavier are locked in a battle with the Beast over the fate of the newly resurrected Phoenix! We discuss the revelations about Sublime, our theories regarding Morrison's meta commentary on the X-Men, and so much more! Issues Covered: New X-Men #151 – Here Comes Tomorrow New X-Men #152 – Surrender the Starlit City New X-Men #153 – We All Have to Die Sometime New X-Men #154 – Rescue and Emergency These issues are available in New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection, Book 3 or New X-Men: Here Comes Tomorrow.

We now come to possibly the most controversial arc in Morrison's run, where Xorn was revealed to be Magneto in disguise the whole time. We discuss the fan reaction to these issues back in the day, Marvel's rapid and sloppy attempts to undo the revelations, our own theories for what the arc was really about, and so much more! Issues Covered: New X-Men #146 – Planet X New X-Men #147 – Magneto Superior New X-Men #148 – Survivor Type New X-Men #149 – Phoenix in Darkness New X-men #150 – Phoenix Invictus These issues are available in New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection, Book 3 or New X-Men: Planet X.

All three of us are back together to discuss the "guy's night out" story-arc. Cyclops has left the X-Men after Jean learned of his psychic affair. Wolverine beats Cyclops in a drinking contest, then drags him along on a raid on Weapon Plus and The World with Fantomex. We get an action-packed arc that plays to Chris Bachalo's artistic sensibilities but also gives us some great characterization, particularly of Scott, Logan, and their relationship. And also, some great commentary on The Authority and The Ultimates. Issues Covered: New X-Men #142 – Brimstone & Whiskey New X-Men #143 – The World New X-Men #144 – The Flesh New X-Men #145 – The Devil These issues are available in New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection, Book 3 or New X-Men: Assault on Weapon Plus.

Perry and Pat are just a duo for this episode to discuss the Murder at the Mansion three-part story-arc. Jean has just learned about Scott and Emma's dirty little telepathic affair and after confronting them, Emma ends up shattered! A classic whodunnit that sees perhaps the best use of Bishop and Sage as mutant detectives investigating Emma's death. Issues Covered: New X-Men #139 – Shattered New X-Men #140 – Murder at the Mansion New X-Men #141 – Whodunnit? These issues are available in New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection, Book 2 or New X-Men: Assault on Weapon Plus.

We've now entered the final phase of the Morrison run and we're switching to a new format where we cover a complete story-arc per episode. First up is Riot at Xavier's, the final arc with Frank Quitely as the interior artist, the introduction of Quentin Quire, and the beginning of a new stride for this run. Issues Covered New X-Men #135 – Teaching Children About Fractals New X-Men #136 – When X is not X New X-Men #137 – Riot at Xavier's New X-Men #138 – The Prime of Miss Emma Frost These issues are available in New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection, Book 2 or New X-Men: Riot at Xavier's.

In the prelude to the "Riot at Xavier's" story-arc, we're introduced to Quentin Quire in such a wonderful way, we almost forget this was his first appearance. We also get a wonderful new fill-in artist in the form of Keron Grant and the "resolution" of sorts of the "Beast is gay" subplot.

The final issue of the "New Worlds" trade is our focus. And if the last issue was a 9/11 tribute, this is something of a reflection of America's War on Terror. He Who Shall Not Be Named is unfortunately back as the fill-in artist, we meet the Mumbai X-Corp team, and the introduction of Dust!

After a bit of a delay, we're back with a new episode! This is the debut of Phil Jimenez as a guest artist and a 9/11-esque tribute story that was billed as a memorial Magneto issue. We talk about Morrison's use of some new characters like Quicksilver, Thunderbird, and Storm, and about Marvel's reaction to 9/11 as a whole.

The affair that would launch one of the most memorable and longest-lasting X-romances begins in this issue! What starts out as Cyclops seeking marriage advice from Emma quickly turns into something a lot more scandalous...