Carey's run on X-Men Legacy

[BadChuckBot]

So Age of X has brought Mike Carey and his X-Men Legacy onto my radar, and now I'm interested in checking out the backlog. Any recommendations on where to begin or is the whole thing worth reading? It's a shame I never really knew about this line, especially since Rogue+Gambit were my favorites back in the day.

[Fringe Division]

I myself just started his run the other day, and I would definitely recommend starting from the beginning with the Supernovas arc, X-Men #188. I'm only up to the Messiah Complex crossover now, so I have no idea how the rest of the run is, but I really loved the first few arcs of Carey's and I'm not even a huge Rogue fan, normally. The string of arcs leading up to MC are intricately plotted for the long-term. I regret not picking this up sooner.

It's too bad the wonderful tension built up by the end of Carey's last pre-MC issue had to hit such a brick wall in Brubaker's MC one-shot, the tone and set-up of which seems completely incongruous to where Carey left off. I almost thought I'd missed an issue somewhere.

[NewMutant]

Carey is an excellent writer and clearly an X-Men fanboy. Supernovas and Blinded by the Light were some of the best stories of the past several years. Once the title became Legacy my interested dropped. It was still well written but I didn't care about it. It wasn't as fun and the pace slowed. When Rogue became more centric it got better. But really it was the tie-ins to events that kept any interest.

[Oracle2009]

I loved the Professor X issues, nice to have proper character based stories in an X-Book again. Shame the rest of the writers have basically ignored that development since.

[witness]

So Age of X has brought Mike Carey and his X-Men Legacy onto my radar, and now I'm interested in checking out the backlog. Any recommendations on where to begin or is the whole thing worth reading? It's a shame I never really knew about this line, especially since Rogue+Gambit were my favorites back in the day.

The Prof X issues were very good, and overall Carey is a great writer. A word of warning though, he hasn't got a clue how to write Gambit. By the far the worst interpretation of the character I have ever read. He spends most of his time in Legacy fawning after Rogue like a pathetically desperate sick puppy. Gambit aside, it's a great book.

[a.name2012]

So Age of X has brought Mike Carey and his X-Men Legacy onto my radar, and now I'm interested in checking out the backlog. Any recommendations on where to begin or is the whole thing worth reading? It's a shame I never really knew about this line, especially since Rogue+Gambit were my favorites back in the day.

I would recommend starting right from the beginning, what he did with Rogue and her team of bandits was amazing, and a very exciting read. He created some really cool new vllians too, Children of the vault for an example was a good read.

I really enjoyed Professor X and The Acolytes, and he mad Rogue enjoyable and got rid of that pesky issue with her power. Thank goodness too..........

He has some very high notes man, worth every read. Plus he loves writers past works and he always nods to it. It's superb....

[MarvelMaster616]

Mike Carey is probably one of the best X-men writers of the last decade. I suggest you start from the beginning with his adjectiveless X-men run and go from there. I can't think of too many other runs that have been so high quality for such a consistent stretch. His run is always very character driven. Early on he focused on Rogue. Then he shifted to Charles Xavier. Now it seems with Age of X he's shifting the focus again back to more of a team book. He's always had a fantastic handle of the characters. When I read his work I find myself thinking "THIS is how these characters should be written." Now he won't tell stories that involve over-the-top explosions or cosmic level threats. That's not his style. However, he will tell great stories that focus on characters and if those are the stories you cherish, then you'll like what his run has to offer. :biggrin:

[Mechano]

After Messiah Complex, it got really boring, especially the Professor X issues. It is getting good again with age of X. I don't blame Carey for the bland issues... I think it had more to do with the characters he was writing (Charles, Gambit, Rogue, Magneto...all boring characters)

[scamprin]

After Messiah Complex, it got really boring, especially the Professor X issues. It is getting good again with age of X. I don't blame Carey for the bland issues... I think it had more to do with the characters he was writing (Charles, Gambit, Rogue, Magneto...all boring characters)

I agree with you to some extent. Gambit is pretty boring, but I think Chuck, Rogue, and Magneto are some of the best characters for building a narrative around. Outside of his early work (primarily Supernovas) and his most recent Age of X, he's seemed to wander a bit as if he wasn't sure where he was going. Age of X seems to have come out of nowhere, and I'm glad it did. I've enjoyed everything he's written, but I don't feel like he's consistent. I guess all comics writers struggle with this sort of thing, since the story never ends, unlike a novel or whatever.

For what it's worth, I'm a fan of his Unwritten, which is a Vertigo comic. It too is a bit inconsistent, at least in my opinion... but issue 12 of Unwritten is one of the coolest comics I've ever read. It's a shame that it is the twelfth issue, because it really would have been an awesome first issue.

[jcp011c]

Read the whole run. Carey's the best writer we've got right now and has been since he took over nearly five years ago. He "gets" the characters in a way that no one else has for so long....a lot of his writing focuses more on the characterization than action (given his plots with Xavier, Rogue, and the more recent "student" based arcs) but he does know how to ramp it up. Consider it akin to what Claremont did in the 80's - you have downtime issues as well as action-based issues, and both are important on team books.

[Boozier]

We all know I love Carey's work, especially in conjunction with Clay Mann.

But, yes, Supernovas up through about 204 and then when Utopia is created and Rogue returns with Gambit and Danger to find that chaos is all over in SF with the crazy Osborn trying to kill the X-Men with his Dark Avengers. Great couple issues and then it goes into a great arc with Emplate. Then his brilliant Necrosha tie-in with Proteus with a fantastic team consisting of Psylocke, Nightcrawler, Blindfold, Rogue, Husk, Magneto, Trance, and Colossus. Brilliant. That arc was the highlight for me post-name-change, until Age of X.

[thedragonreborn]

I hated the first issues of Legacy with Xavier. Thought the character should have just died in Complex, and that the whole X-verse has grown so far beyond him. Not sure if it was Carey's writing though or just the fact I've never been a huge Prof X fan. I'm getting Age of X and based on all the positive reviews I may go back and give Legacy a second chance myself.

[theXfactor]

I LOVED Carey's run before up to Blinded by the Light. After MC, it was never the same. Age of X is the only arc that has come close to Supernova in terms of quality, imo.

[krisis]

I don't know if any X-scribe in the past decade has had as good a knowledge and understanding of the X-Men's long history as Carey, as well as the chops to create new, enduring stories with the characters.

To offer a brief contrasting opinion to the above, I found Supernovas and Blinded By the Light to be rushed and disjointed - possibly due to the Bachalo art, which I am not a fan of. Despite that, they were fun team stories - something sorely lacking in the core titles in the last half decade.

By contrast, the run of Prof. X issues after MC is a goldmine of cerebral continuity-referencing stories. If you really know your first 200 issues of Uncanny there are so many rewarding references, and the Legacy/Wolverine crossover inserts a plausible retcon with staggering implications.

For a single-shot Rogue-centric adventure, the Emplate TPB is awesome.

[Chase_Stein]

Not counting AOX, it's inferior compared to his first X-men run. Somehow, it's not as interesting as his all-out crazy first run. It seemed too continuity-heavy to a point that it became dragging and boring. It did get a bit more interesting when intelligent Rogue came back with the NXM.

[Maestro]

get these books

X-Men: Supernovas
X-Men: Blinded by the Light
Messiah Complex
X-Men Legacy: Emplate
Second Coming
X-Men Legacy: Collision

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia also includes a two issue Legacy tie-in.

X-Necrosha has a four issue tie-in (takes place after Emplate)

[GambitXRemy]

Mike Carey is probably one of the best X-men writers of the last decade. I suggest you start from the beginning with his adjectiveless X-men run and go from there. I can't think of too many other runs that have been so high quality for such a consistent stretch. His run is always very character driven. Early on he focused on Rogue. Then he shifted to Charles Xavier. Now it seems with Age of X he's shifting the focus again back to more of a team book. He's always had a fantastic handle of the characters. When I read his work I find myself thinking "THIS is how these characters should be written." Now he won't tell stories that involve over-the-top explosions or cosmic level threats. That's not his style. However, he will tell great stories that focus on characters and if those are the stories you cherish, then you'll like what his run has to offer. :biggrin:

I agree with you fully i think now that mikes hitting five years on the title people are finally looking back noticing how great it is

[BadChuckBot]

Thanks for the input, fellas. I read the Salvage arc (mostly out of convenience, since my friend already had the issues), and I liked it enough to still pursue this further. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was Carey's characterization of Gambit...it's like he's only got one line, "Rogue? Rogue. Rogue! <insert something French>". I guess it's not that big a deal, since he plays a small part in that arc, but I'd like to see more out of him. Loved that Shi'ar salvage crew though...they're a fun bunch. =)

Looks like a lot of you are recommending Carey's entire run, even the pre-Legacy stuff (which I didn't even know about...just assumed he started at #208 for some reason). I'm not a big fan of Bachalo's art, so I'm a little hesitant about Supernovas, but what the hell, I'll give it a try anyway.

[coconutphone]

Thanks for the input, fellas. I read the Salvage arc (mostly out of convenience, since my friend already had the issues), and I liked it enough to still pursue this further. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was Carey's characterization of Gambit...it's like he's only got one line, "Rogue? Rogue. Rogue! <insert something French>". I guess it's not that big a deal, since he plays a small part in that arc, but I'd like to see more out of him. Loved that Shi'ar salvage crew though...they're a fun bunch. =)

Looks like a lot of you are recommending Carey's entire run, even the pre-Legacy stuff (which I didn't even know about...just assumed he started at #208 for some reason). I'm not a big fan of Bachalo's art, so I'm a little hesitant about Supernovas, but what the hell, I'll give it a try anyway.


It's really, really great stuff. You'll love it.

[Foon4000]

The pre Messiah Complex issues are great- classic X-men team book stuff. Really enjoyable. I skipped a lot of issues when Xavier was the focus, so I can't comment but since the focus switched to Rogue and the NXM the book has lost a lot of steam. Not only that, but Rogue- the Rogue who was so cool pre issue 200- is getting kind of boring. I understand that she's matured and been put into a position of responsibility, but she's just been so passive and charmless and blah. She's on mood suppressants or something.

Add to that the last year had four issue devoted to Indra, the pink and purple loser, and two to Hellion and the biggest ongoing story line being Magneto the Mental Rapist being forced into Rogue's company, Gambit being effectively written out of the title to make way for the same and the least romantic/erotic love triangle I've ever read... well. I'm not sure what to think of the next incarnation. I suspect it will be 50% excruciating love triangle/quadangle. Make of that what you will.

[Bamf25]

Constantly makes me wonder why he was not given complete control of the main x-books.

[Foon4000]

Look guys, he's been given a pretty free reign since the start as far as I know. He choose the new focus on Xavier, and then Rogue and the X-Kids and now, apparently, New!Rogue and her elderly lover, Magneto.

I really think editorial need to push for more of a proper team ethos and less of the one-character focus. It worked for Xavier- he was on a quest- but doesn't work for Rogue. Yeesh, she's getting her worst storyline in years from this. A book with characters people actually like such as Iceman, interacting with other characters people like in a fun and interesting way.

[Washout]

Look guys, he's been given a pretty free reign since the start as far as I know. He choose the new focus on Xavier, and then Rogue and the X-Kids and now, apparently, New!Rogue and her elderly lover, Magneto.

I really think editorial need to push for more of a proper team ethos and less of the one-character focus. It worked for Xavier- he was on a quest- but doesn't work for Rogue. Yeesh, she's getting her worst storyline in years from this. A book with characters people actually like such as Iceman, interacting with other characters people like in a fun and interesting way.

He didn't choose to give the book a solo focus. He's said in interviews that he would prefer to write a team, and he would rather write Uncanny.

[Foon4000]

He didn't choose to give the book a solo focus. He's said in interviews that he would prefer to write a team, and he would rather write Uncanny.

He's said in other interviews that the current format is what he prefers and is a choice. I don't see why it can't be a proper team with everyone getting stories instead of a 'plot revolves around one character' book.

[GambitXRemy]

Issue by issue mikes been the the longest constant writer the x-men titles have had since morrision

[MrHalfawake]

Emplate was one of my favorite X stories in a LONG time

[JmH Reborn]

I think Blinded by the Light and Supernovas are his best two stories, and honestly, you can go w/o the rest. The board may dislike me afterwards, but I think X-Men Legacy has been largely un-interesting since it got renamed Legacy. The purpose was meaningful, to focus on Xavier, then after that...its just been extremely boring. I've been buying out of habit, but not out of interest. As stupid as that sounds. I like Carey's passion for the X-World, but the editors have done him no favors by not giving him a team and going back to adjectiveless

[Maestro]

I always thought X-Men Legacy could use Wolverine. Ever since Sabretooth died for no good reason, it's been missing a badass

[Wellman]

Issue by issue mikes been the the longest constant writer the x-men titles have had since morrision

My thoughts exactly. Bigger fan of his Pre-Legacy X-men stories as they were more action driven team books, but I like more then a few of his Legacy stories. Although I am seriously afraid if the post AOX team because of that teaser image.

I get that Carey has gone out of his way to make this book about stories from the X-men of the past and its future (the New X-Mem/New Mutants focus) but unless he make Legion cut that ridiculous hair, I will be laughing at every single panel where he shows any emotion like I do Daken and the guy that was formerly Kid of the hip hop group Kid n Play.

[motherofpearl1]

Mike Carey is one of the best writers in comics today and he's also a good novelist. I loved his Adjectiveless run, and I'm enjoying Age of X, but I have to admit I really don't like the 'new' Rogue. I always preferred her to Jean and Storm because she was not perfect, unjudgemental and had a sense of humour but she seems to have lost those qualities. She has become a dour bossyboots and her recent treatment of Hellion was awful. The Rogue I'm familiar with would have given him an ultimatum after trying to set him on the right path. Granted she was upset at what happened to Karima, but let's face it, she's known her for five minutes compared to Nightcrawler yet she hardly seemed bothered by his death at all! I also am disappointed they're dredging up the old Magneto/Rogue love affair - I never could get a handle on that one.
Sadly, I'm afraid I intend to drop Legacy after Age of X, especially now the cast will include Frenzy, one character I just can't stand!:mad::mad::mad:

[PandemicF]

I followed Carey over to X-men from his run on Lucifer and his novels. I agree he started out with a bang and the Xavier issues were slow burns, but he seems to have a plan to tie it all together. That was something that he excelled at in his Vertigo work and the Castor novels.

I also thought at some point he should be given Uncanny. I would definitely read 2 x-books by him.

[Foon4000]

... but I have to admit I really don't like the 'new' Rogue. I always preferred her to Jean and Storm because she was not perfect, unjudgemental and had a sense of humour but she seems to have lost those qualities. She has become a dour bossyboots and her recent treatment of Hellion was awful.

Yeah, Rogue needs a shot of bad ass stat. Her proximitity to Magneto in the New!Legacy line up makes me think that's not going to happen. I'd have enjoyed the last year so much more if Iceman, Gambit or Logan had been with her on the mission rather than Grandpa Erik. Her friendships with the other X-men is one of the things I love about Rogue.


I think Blinded by the Light and Supernovas are his best two stories, and honestly, you can go w/o the rest. The board may dislike me afterwards, but I think X-Men Legacy has been largely un-interesting since it got renamed Legacy. The purpose was meaningful, to focus on Xavier, then after that...its just been extremely boring. I've been buying out of habit, but not out of interest. As stupid as that sounds. I like Carey's passion for the X-World, but the editors have done him no favors by not giving him a team and going back to adjectiveless

I agree.

[motherofpearl1]

Yeah, Rogue needs a shot of bad ass stat. Her proximitity to Magneto in the New!Legacy line up makes me think that's not going to happen. I'd have enjoyed the last year so much more if Iceman, Gambit or Logan had been with her on the mission rather than Grandpa Erik. Her friendships with the other X-men is one of the things I love about Rogue.



I agree.

One of the best things in Age of X is the scene where Logan hides Rogue. Mike has shown real chemistry between the characters and there was something incredibly noble about the powerless Logan defying the New Mutants. I have also found Basilisk to be more sympathetic in just a few issues than Cyclops in a hundred.
Oh how I wish this mini series was an ongoing.

[Foon4000]

One of the best things in Age of X is the scene where Logan hides Rogue. Mike has shown real chemistry between the characters and there was something incredibly noble about the powerless Logan defying the New Mutants. I have also found Basilisk to be more sympathetic in just a few issues than Cyclops in a hundred.
Oh how I wish this mini series was an ongoing.

I like Logan and Rogue's relationship. It's nice- personality wise, she's more his little sister than Kitty, Jubilee or Armour ever were.

[Zero Hunter]

I loved his Xavier arc. That man knows how to write Profesor X. Like other have said its crap that other writers have ignored that in favor of Xavier the whipping boy for Scott and Emma. I did start to lose interest in the book when Rogue was brought in, and finally dropped it alltogether when she became the somewhat main focus. I just can not stand modern Rogue by any writer.

[MartinRedmond]

I loved the Professor X issues, nice to have proper character based stories in an X-Book again. Shame the rest of the writers have basically ignored that development since.

Afaik it seems the other writers don't read Legacy. :frown:

[ElementalKing]

I love Mike Carey!

Supernovas was awesome. I missed the following arc where Rogue caught that disease so I can't comment. This man can write a team book. All their exploits before Messiah Complex they all bleed into each other perfectly. Carey's book was the only book that led directly into Messiah Complex from the get go.

You guys are familiar with the saying, "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer," right. When questioned by Cyclops and Wolverine, Rogue championed that. Well, Carey's pre-Messiah arc proved her and that saying wrong.

I loved his Mystique. Mystique only came to the X-Men so she can keep an eye on Rogue and keep her away from the likes of Gambit. She then betrayed the X-Men so she could betray Sinister. She didn't care about the war or the baby. She only cared for Rogue. And she saved Rogue. I thought that was very noble of her. F***ed up but noble. She also genuinely cared for Bobby too...but apparently, her love for Rogue was stronger.

I fell in love with Rogue (again) and Karima. Cable was always cool to me. Carey also managed to write the best Iceman in years. I saw a little bit of myself in Sam. I also loved how he wrote the villains Sabertooth and Lady Mastermind...

I liked his Legacy issues with Professor X but it's slowed down a lot.

Haven't read Age of X but I think I will...it's really, really good.