Giant-Size X-Men Forever #1, by Chris Claremont & Mike Grell

Writer: Chris Claremont; Art: Mike Grell, Fernando Blanco & Jason Paz

Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars

Chris Claremont and Mike Grell, two comic book legends, collaborate for the very first time on Giant-Size X-Men Forever, in a story titled "Can Love Find A Way?"

In a way, Grell is the perfect choice to illustrate the main story in Giant-Size X-Men Forever. You see, Grell followed Dave Cockrum as the artist on Legion of Super-Heroes in the early 1970s. And Claremont's story in Giant-Size X-Men Forever features the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, a group that Cockrum created in the mid-70s as a homage / parody of the Legion. So it was interesting & fun, in a metatextual sort of way, to see Cockrum's successor on Legion draw the Imperial Guard.

I don't know if, when Claremont learned that Grell would be illustrating this special, he decided to write a story with the Imperial Guard, or if it's just a coincidence. Whatever the case, it works out nicely.

During his time living with the Shi'ar as consort to their empress Lilandra, Xavier made use of the alien empire's computer database to research a possible cure to "mutant burnout." Unfortunately, Xavier was a bit careless, and left a tiny hole in the Shi'ar security systems. This gap was later discovered & exploited by the Warskrulls in their attacks on the Shi'ar. And so Lilandra reluctantly dispatches the Imperial Guard to Earth to take Xavier into custody for his accidental collaboration with the enemy.

Claremont pens a riveting, action-packed tale that sees the X-Men and their allies clashing with the headstrong Imperial Guard. And Mike Grell illustrates the story with lush, beautiful detail and dramatic energy.

I played the "spot the Legion counterpart" game, which is always a bit of fun to do when the Guard appear. I identified pretty much everyone, except for a guy with purple hair who controls plant life. A stand-in for Chlorophyll Kid, perhaps?

It was nice that Claremont was able to utilize characters in this story he hadn't much room to accommodate in the regular X-Men Forever issues. There are appearances by Archangel, Iceman, Havok, Polaris, and several members of the Starjammers. Claremont also includes Charlotte Jones and Opal Tanaka, two supporting characters I really liked back in the day who haven't really been seen in the "mainstream" X-Men titles for many years. Between this, and Louise Simonson also using Charlotte and Opal in the X-Factor Forever miniseries, it feels like 1990 all over again... in a good way, of course. Hard to believe it's been twenty years.

The story ends with a difficult moral choice, one that leaves the X-Men yet again reeling and uncertain of the future. The final third of the tale is the strongest part. As good as he is at handling superhero fight scenes, Claremont excels at emotionally rich, character-driven moments. His scripting on the scenes, first between Xavier and Jean Grey, and the between the Professor and the rest of the X-Men, possess serious dramatic heft and pathos. Likewise, Grell's magnificent artwork really conveys the potent emotions of the characters.

The main tale is followed by a six-page lead-in to X-Men Forever volume 2 drawn by Fernando Blanco & Jason Paz. After the serious setbacks dealt them by the X-Men and Nick Fury, the nefarious Consortium cabal decides to get someone else to do their dirty work. The Consortium forges evidence "proving" the X-Men killed Tony Stark and uses their yet-undiscovered double agents in SHIELD to pass it along to the Avengers. The Consortium is hoping that where they have failed, Earth's Mightiest Heroes will succeed in taking down the X-Men.

I was a bit disconcerted to see G.W. Bridge was one of the SHIELD agents secretly in league with the Consortium, since I've always liked the character. But I guess that as one of the few high-ranking, well-known agents not in Nick Fury's inner circle, showing Bridge to be compromised really conveys just how deeply the Consortium have infiltrated SHIELD.

As both Tony Stark and Amelia Trask are both apparently dead, leadership of the Consortium falls to a mysterious short-haired Asian woman half-hidden in shadow. I wonder if this is, once again, a character we have seen before. Hmmmm, if I had to make a guess, I'd say it could be long-time Wolverine foe Lady Deathstrike. Less likely, but also a possibility, is Logan's former ally Yukio. But it could also be someone completely different. As with past reveals of the conspiracy's members, we'll just have to wait and see.

Rounding out Giant-Size X-Men Forever is a reprint of Uncanny X-Men #108, the first issue of that series drawn by John Byrne & Chris Claremont. I have no problem with part of the book being a reprint, since that was a characteristic of the original Giant-Size specials Marvel published in the 1970s.

I do think that the previous issue, #107, penciled by Dave Cockrum would have been a more appropriate choice. That was the debut of both the Imperial Guard and the Starjammers. But that issue ended with a cliffhanger, whereas #108 was the conclusion of the M'Krann Crystal storyline. So, yeah, I can understand why Marvel chose that issue. In an ideal world, Giant-Size X-Men Forever would have had the extra pages to reprint both. But what are you going to do? At least the complete story is easily and affordably available to be read within the black & white Essential X-Men Vol. 1 collection.

All in all, Claremont ends the first year of X-Men Forever, which as been more or less consistently solid, with what is probably a high watermark. His collaboration with Grell on Giant-Size X-Men Forever is absolutely stunning, and the prologue to volume 2 leaves me anticipating the upcoming issues.

One last note: at a signing at Jim Hanley's Universe last week, Claremont stated that he and Grell had been trying to find the time to do a story together for nearly 30 years. Well, hopefully it doesn't take nearly that long for them to coordinate their schedules a second time! Seriously, I would enjoy seeing Claremont and Grell work together again. Perhaps the opportunity will arise for them to do so.