X-Men: The Last Stand (2006, directed by Brett Ratner)

Posted on October 19, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

Just as the world seems to be finally on the verge of accepting mutants, industrialist Warren Worthington II (Michael Murphy) announces that he has developed a shot that will suppress the X-gene, therefore “curing” mutants of their mutation. Magneto (Ian McKellen), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), and a host of other mutants break out of prison to try to stop Worthington from offering up his cure. Meanwhile, at Charles Xavier’s school, Rogue (Anna Paquin) wonders if maybe she should take the shot and become a “normal” person.

Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Logan (Hugh Jackman) have an even bigger concern than Magneto and the cure. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), thought to have died at the end of the previous movie, has returned but has given in to her dark side, the so-called Phoenix. She’s already destroyed Scott (James Marsden), and it doesn’t take her long to disintegrate Professor X. Can Logan and the Beast (Kelsey Grammer) rally what’s left of the X-Men to defeat both Magneto and the Dark Phoenix?

I can still remember seeing X-Men: The Last Stand on the day that it was first released. As an X-Men fan, I was excited to see how the Dark Phoenix storyline would be adapted for the big screen. It’s difficult to put into words how disappointed I was when Jean killed Scott. That one scene told me that X-Men: The Last Stand was not going to do the story justice. In the comic books, Jean and Scott’s relationship was the heart of the X-Men. When Jean became the Dark Phoenix, she proved herself capable of destroying an entire planet, but she couldn’t bring herself to kill Scott. She chose to destroy herself rather than him. (Marvel being Marvel, Jean was resurrected a few years later.) The X-Men films never really knew what to do with the characters of Scott and Jean. They weren’t as flamboyant as Logan or even Rogue, but fans of the comic knew who Scott and Jean were and understood their importance to the series, and having Jean destroy Scott showed that, unlike the previous two films, the third X-Men film was not being made for the fans.

A large part of the problem was that director Brett Ratner didn’t seem to be interested in the characters. X-Men: The Last Stand is a collection of action scenes with none of the small character moments that made the first two films memorable. Kelsey Grammer is a welcome addition to the cast as the Beast. (The Beast always was basically Frasier Crane with blue fur.) Otherwise, this is the most forgettable of all the X-Men films.

Even though the Dark Phoenix saga is one of the key X-Men storylines, it’s never really been given its due onscreen. A second attempt to tell the story, in Dark Phoenix, also failed to capture the drama and emotion of Jean’s transformation. The X-Men are now officially a part of the MCU, so I imagine the story will probably be told again. Maybe the third time will be the charm.

Great Moments In Comic Book History #48: Kulan Gath Transforms Manhattan

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

Kulan Gath, an evil sorcerer from the Hyborian Age who fought both Conan and Red Sonja, emerges from a magic amulet in Manhattan and casts a spell that turns the city into an ancient city, complete with warriors, wizards, and other mythical monsters. Because he was defeated by Spider-Man the last time he showed up in modern times, Gath is obsessed with capturing and sacrificing the web-slinger. He recruits and transforms members of the X-Men, Avengers, New Mutants, and the Morlocks and uses them to hunt down Spider-Man. Those whom Gath has not succeeded in capturing try to return Manhattan to normal.

Today, we know that any time a comic book takes a trip to an alternate reality or timeline, almost everyone is going to end up dead. It almost feels like it’s a way for comic book artists and writers to get out their frustration over not being able to permanently change any of the characters. We’re used to the big slaughters that take place, and it’s no longer a big deal to read that an alternate version of our favorite character was killed in battle.

I don’t know if people were used to it in 1985, when X-Men #190 and #191 told the story of Kulan Gath conquering Manhattan and featured one of the biggest bloodbaths in Marvel history. Over the course of two issues, nearly every prominent Marvel hero was either transformed into a grotesque creature or horribly killed. Rogue gets stabbed in the back. Colossus explodes. Selene loses her mouth, Even Spider-Man eventually ended up dying. Things got so extreme that Dr. Strange and Magik had to team up to change history to keep Kulan Gath from even emerging from that amulet in the first place. By the end of it, there were only six heroes left alive. When Storm, one of the survivors, said that humanity would never know that they had been saved by mutants, Captain America made a point to thank her. He says he knows it’s probably not enough. You’re right, Cap. It’s not. Did you see what they did to Spider-Man?

Written by Chris Claremont with art by John Romita, Jr. and Dan Green, the saga of Kulan Gath is a classic X-Men story. X-Men #191 was entitled “Raiders of the Lost Temple.” It could have just as easily been called “No One Lives.” I’m glad Dr. Strange was there to set everything right.

Previous Great Moments In Comic Book History:

Graphic Novel Review: X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont and Brent Eric Anderson

Posted on October 8, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills was the fifth Marvel Graphic Novel. It was first published in 1982. It’s 44 years old, and it still makes an impression. When I was a kid, there was a copy of it hidden among the periodicals and magazines at Waldenbooks. When I was in the store, I’d find it, open it, and pick up where I had left off. I knew there was no way I could get away with buying something called God Loves, Man Kills, but that’s because the story wasn’t for kids.

Two children are shot and killed in a playground and left hanging from a swing set. Why? Because they were mutants. Magneto, who until that point had been presented as a villain, is the one who gives them a proper burial. From the beginning, X-Men was a comic book that was actually about prejudice and racism, but God Loves, Man Kills made the message clear. The opening of the story wasn’t something you’d find in a normal monthly Marvel comic.

The villain is a white-haired televangelist named William Stryker. He preaches against mutants. He secretly leads the Purifiers. He kidnaps Professor X and attempts to use his powers to destroy the X-Men. The X-Men and Magneto team up and face an enemy so obsessed with their destruction that, for once, Magneto no longer seems like the fanatic. Even Professor X is tempted to give up his dream of coexistence.

Stryker appears to die, shot by a human security guard who fired to keep Stryker from killing a mutant. It’s a powerful ending. In typical Marvel fashion, the ending was ruined when they decided to bring Stryker back. Stryker died multiple times and somehow came back to life repeatedly. Eventually, he went from being a televangelist to being a Satanist. Marvel never knew how to leave well enough alone.

God Loves, Man Kills remains powerful, though. It was a true graphic novel, with a plot and themes worthy of a novel and graphics that were far more mature than anything to be found in the comics. I read it at Waldenbooks, and I’ve never forgotten it.

Great Moments In Comic Book History: “Even in Death…”

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Jedadiah Leland

The Uncanny X-Men #144 finds Scott Summers (better known as Cyclops, the occasional leader of the X-Men) working on a fishing boat in the Florida Everglades. Scott’s new boss, Lee Forrester, is obviously interested in him but Scott is still mourning Jean Grey. It’s been months since Jean, consumed by the Dark Phoenix, chose to protect the universe by destroying herself. Scott has taken a leave of absence from the X-Men to grieve and, as they used to say back in the day, find himself.

When the fear-inducing demon D’Spayre shows up, it not only drives Lee’s father to suicide but it also forces Scott to deal with his deepest fears. Scott hallucinates the plane crash that led to him and his brother being separated from their parents. He visualizes the X-Men dead, having been killed by Sentinels. And finally, in the issue’s most famous scene, he finds himself walking down a church aisle with Jean.

As they walk down the aisle, Jean’s costume changes to reflect all of the different roles that she played as member of the X-Men. She goes from being in her underwear to being in her green Ms. Marvel costume to being the Phoenix to being the Hellfire Club’s Black Queen to finally being the Dark Phoenix. When they reach the minister, Jean is dressed as a bride. When the minister tells Scott that he may kiss the bride, Jean suddenly reaches up and lifts Scott’s visor. A blast a red energy brings the wedding to an abrupt end.

Eventually, Scott teams up with the Man-Thing (who is Marvel’s version of Swamp Thing) and is able to easily defeat D’Spayre. Since all you have to do to make D’Spayre go away is refuse to believe what he’s showing you, he is not one of Marvel’s most intimidating villains. Still, Scott’s church hallucination provides not only a perfect coda for the Dark Phoenix saga but it also shows a comic book character dealing with depression. That’s an emotion that, until Chris Claremont started writing the X-Men, super heroes rarely had to deal with for more than an issue or two. Even Spider-Man, with all of his problems and guilt, always kept his sense of humor. This issue of the X-Men finds Scott deeply mired in his grief. Even after Scott defeats D’Spayre, the sadness remains but he swears to himself that will not surrender to it.

Of course, the impact of this issue is lessened by the fact that Marvel would later reveal that the Dark Phoenix who sacrificed herself was just an energy force that took on Jean’s memories and personality while the real Jean remained in suspended animation at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. X-Men #144 is still a good issue and a good example of Chris Claremont’s ability to bring out the humanity in even those with super powers.

Plus, we learn how Cyclops plays pool

The Uncanny X-Men #144 (April, 1981)

“Even in Death”

Writer: Chris Claremont
Guest Penciler: Brent Anderson
Inker: Josef Rubenstein
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Editor: Louise Jones
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Previous Great Moments In Comic Book History:

Trailer: The Wolverine (CinemaCon Exclusive)

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Arleigh

First we had the WonderCon Exclusive trailer for Pacific Rim drop a couple days ago. Now we have the CinemaCon Exclusive trailer for the upcoming The Wolverine which looks to be an improvement from this film’s first trailer.

This trailer for The Wolverine looks to emphasize the action in the film instead of the film’s story. We get many scenes of Wolverine doing what he does best. For fans of the character this storyline and setting should be recognizable as being based off of the Chris Claremont and Frank Miller mini-series about the character that helped create one of this character’s better backstory.

The Wolverine drops in the theaters on July 26, 2013.